Cleveland Square, July 9, 1822.My dear Duke,The match that has been so long pending, after a very long attachment, between the Duke of M——'s daughter and Mr. G——, is declared off, as is said, by the lady, in consequence of the insanityfound nowto prevail in the bridegroom's family. But as all the world has long known that G——'s father shot himself, and his uncle (W——) cut his throat, it seems quite incomprehensible that this should have escaped the lady's observation till now.A strange report was circulated of the eldest son of Lord Cassilis (Lord Kennedy) having shot at a boy in a tree and killed him. There was no boy, and no tree, and no shooting, and no possible account how such an entire fiction could have been circulated.I am going to see our bronze Achilles[83]mount this morning upon his pedestal in the park.Kind love to your dear wife, and God bless you!Yours affectionately,T. G.
Cleveland Square, July 9, 1822.
My dear Duke,
The match that has been so long pending, after a very long attachment, between the Duke of M——'s daughter and Mr. G——, is declared off, as is said, by the lady, in consequence of the insanityfound nowto prevail in the bridegroom's family. But as all the world has long known that G——'s father shot himself, and his uncle (W——) cut his throat, it seems quite incomprehensible that this should have escaped the lady's observation till now.
A strange report was circulated of the eldest son of Lord Cassilis (Lord Kennedy) having shot at a boy in a tree and killed him. There was no boy, and no tree, and no shooting, and no possible account how such an entire fiction could have been circulated.
I am going to see our bronze Achilles[83]mount this morning upon his pedestal in the park.
Kind love to your dear wife, and God bless you!
Yours affectionately,
T. G.
THE RIGHT HON. W. H. FREMANTLE TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
Stanhope Street, July 11, 1822.My dear Duke,We have had a very severe fagging for the last ten days, but I think we have made great progress, and I have no doubt now that the House of Commons will be up at the end of this month. The King certainly does not go to Scotland, though the decision has been fluctuating for some time past. His Ministers wished him to go, and he wished not, and has been putting up his doctors to support him by ordering them to pronounce that he would suffer from the journey, fatigue, &c. I hear that, in consequence of all this, he is not quite in such good humour with them as he was. Lord Warwick, you see, has got the Lieutenancy of Warwickshire, which has offended Lord Hertford. Lord Liverpool has had a serious attack of inflammation in the sinew of his thigh (his old complaint); he was extremely bad for two days, but is now nearly recovered. There never was anything so strange and absurd as Lord W——'s match; it was evidently planned and forced by the S——s. After he was gone he wrote three letters, which have been seen by the person who told me—one to his mother, the Duchess of B——, saying how sorry he was to have offended her by this marriage, but he was sure she would forgive him if she could witness the happiness he then enjoyed; the second to Lord Fitzroy Somerset, saying he was the most miserable man breathing, that he had been entrapped to marry, and he should never feel a moment's happiness again; the third to Lord Alvanley, saying that he had been obliged to marry; that he begged he would let him know what was said upon it, particularly by the girls (he had been making love to Lady Caroline S——). Hoped they would not quiz him, for he was unhappy enough.Can you fancy such folly and such profligacy? The fact is, I really believe he has got ... or that she made him believe it, and therefore compelled him to marry her. There is nothing but this sort of gossip stirring in town. The debates are most tedious, and the Houses very thin. I believe the Opposition as weary of it as we are. Phillimore will have some plague with his Marriage Bill, but I have no doubt will carry it, though the Chancellor is outrageous, making a prodigious noise about it, and sets up the Attorney-General to oppose it.W. H. Fremantle.
Stanhope Street, July 11, 1822.
My dear Duke,
We have had a very severe fagging for the last ten days, but I think we have made great progress, and I have no doubt now that the House of Commons will be up at the end of this month. The King certainly does not go to Scotland, though the decision has been fluctuating for some time past. His Ministers wished him to go, and he wished not, and has been putting up his doctors to support him by ordering them to pronounce that he would suffer from the journey, fatigue, &c. I hear that, in consequence of all this, he is not quite in such good humour with them as he was. Lord Warwick, you see, has got the Lieutenancy of Warwickshire, which has offended Lord Hertford. Lord Liverpool has had a serious attack of inflammation in the sinew of his thigh (his old complaint); he was extremely bad for two days, but is now nearly recovered. There never was anything so strange and absurd as Lord W——'s match; it was evidently planned and forced by the S——s. After he was gone he wrote three letters, which have been seen by the person who told me—one to his mother, the Duchess of B——, saying how sorry he was to have offended her by this marriage, but he was sure she would forgive him if she could witness the happiness he then enjoyed; the second to Lord Fitzroy Somerset, saying he was the most miserable man breathing, that he had been entrapped to marry, and he should never feel a moment's happiness again; the third to Lord Alvanley, saying that he had been obliged to marry; that he begged he would let him know what was said upon it, particularly by the girls (he had been making love to Lady Caroline S——). Hoped they would not quiz him, for he was unhappy enough.
Can you fancy such folly and such profligacy? The fact is, I really believe he has got ... or that she made him believe it, and therefore compelled him to marry her. There is nothing but this sort of gossip stirring in town. The debates are most tedious, and the Houses very thin. I believe the Opposition as weary of it as we are. Phillimore will have some plague with his Marriage Bill, but I have no doubt will carry it, though the Chancellor is outrageous, making a prodigious noise about it, and sets up the Attorney-General to oppose it.
W. H. Fremantle.
The Lord Chancellor not only continued to set his face strongly against the Grenville portion of the Government; but there exists evidence that while doing so he began to look favourably upon Opposition. He accepted an invitation to dine at Holland House, and there met, as he acknowledges, Lords Holland, Grey, Lauderdale, and "several of the Opposition."[84]A step like this from such a man, is extremely suggestive, and rumours of sweeping changes in the Administration followed, as a matter of course.
CHAPTER IX.[1822.]
SIR WILLIAM KNIGHTON APPOINTED KEEPER OF THE KING'S PRIVY PURSE. HIS SENSE OF DUTY SOMETIMES OPPOSED TO THE KING'S INSTRUCTIONS. HIS IMPORTANT SERVICES IN LESSENING THE ROYAL EXPENDITURE. ARRESTS IN IRELAND. CANNING AND PEEL. LAMENTABLE DEATH OF THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY. ESTIMATE OF THIS DISTINGUISHED STATESMAN. LETTER FROM THE KING ON THE SUBJECT. THE ROYAL VISIT TO SCOTLAND. SIR WALTER SCOTT'S RELIC. PROSPECTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. THEIR NEGOTIATIONS WITH MR. CANNING. HIS SPEECH AT LIVERPOOL. HE SUCCEEDS THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY AS SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
CHAPTER IX.
Sir William Knighton was appointed Keeper of the King's Privy Purse, and was employed in the most arduous labour of endeavouring to arrange the private accounts of his Majesty. While putting these affairs into a satisfactory state, he was sometimes obliged to oppose the King's inclinations—on one occasion so as to excite his displeasure. But George the Fourth was not the less partial to his servant for maintaining what was right and proper under such circumstances, despite his master's disapproval; and after one unpleasant scene of this nature, his Majesty wrote him the following note:
THE KING TO SIR WILLIAM KNIGHTON.
Carlton House, July 11, 1822.Wednesday morning, Eight o'clock.You may easily imagine, warm and sincere as my affections are towards you, I have had but little rest since we separated last night. The feeling that I may possibly and unfortunately, in a hurried moment, when my mind and my heart were torn in fifty different ways from fifty different causes, have let an unjust or hasty expression escape me to any one, but most especially to you, whom I so truly love, and who are so invaluable to me as my friend, is to me a sensation much too painful to be endured—therefore let me implore you to come to me, be it but for a moment, the very first thing you do this morning, for I shall hate myself until I have the opportunity of expressing personally to you those pure and genuine feelings of affection which will never cease to live in my heart so long as that heart itself continues to beat. I am much too unhappy to say more, but that I amEver your affectionate friend,G. R.[85]
Carlton House, July 11, 1822.Wednesday morning, Eight o'clock.
You may easily imagine, warm and sincere as my affections are towards you, I have had but little rest since we separated last night. The feeling that I may possibly and unfortunately, in a hurried moment, when my mind and my heart were torn in fifty different ways from fifty different causes, have let an unjust or hasty expression escape me to any one, but most especially to you, whom I so truly love, and who are so invaluable to me as my friend, is to me a sensation much too painful to be endured—therefore let me implore you to come to me, be it but for a moment, the very first thing you do this morning, for I shall hate myself until I have the opportunity of expressing personally to you those pure and genuine feelings of affection which will never cease to live in my heart so long as that heart itself continues to beat. I am much too unhappy to say more, but that I am
Ever your affectionate friend,
G. R.[85]
This communication proves that the writer was not so thoroughly selfish and heartless as he has often been represented. His correspondence with Sir William Knighton and other persons in his confidence is characterized by the same tenderness and good feeling. His Majesty sanctioned all the proceedings of his Privy Purse to put an end to abuses in his private expenditure, that had long been a source of embarrassment and vexation, and later in the year issued the following document:—
Royal Lodge, Oct. 26, 1822.I hereby authorize and direct Sir William Knighton, Bart., Keeper of my Privy Purse, to give notice to our several tradesmen that they are not to receive orders or to furnish any articles of furniture, &c. &c. &c., or to incur any expense whatsoever from their different trades, where such expense is to be provided for by my said Privy Purse, without receiving a specific order in writing for that purpose from the said Sir William Knighton Bart.; and I do also give my authority to the said Sir William Knighton, Bart., and order and direct him, during our will and pleasure, to undertake the entire management of my private affairs, with a view to the observance of the most strict and rigid economy, that we may have the opportunity of relieving ourselves from certain embarrassments which it is not necessary to mention further in detail. We do therefore rely with confidence on the said Sir William Knighton for the strict performance and fulfilment of all our wishes on this head.[86]George R.
Royal Lodge, Oct. 26, 1822.
I hereby authorize and direct Sir William Knighton, Bart., Keeper of my Privy Purse, to give notice to our several tradesmen that they are not to receive orders or to furnish any articles of furniture, &c. &c. &c., or to incur any expense whatsoever from their different trades, where such expense is to be provided for by my said Privy Purse, without receiving a specific order in writing for that purpose from the said Sir William Knighton Bart.; and I do also give my authority to the said Sir William Knighton, Bart., and order and direct him, during our will and pleasure, to undertake the entire management of my private affairs, with a view to the observance of the most strict and rigid economy, that we may have the opportunity of relieving ourselves from certain embarrassments which it is not necessary to mention further in detail. We do therefore rely with confidence on the said Sir William Knighton for the strict performance and fulfilment of all our wishes on this head.[86]
George R.
It is but justice to add that Sir William's management worked a reform, the beneficial effects of which were acknowledged and appreciated. "I see with pleasure," writes the Duke of Clarence, "and hear with equal satisfaction how well the Privy Purse is carried on under your able management."[87]The King was not only freed from large accumulations of pecuniary liabilities, but was enabled considerably to increase his donations to public and private charities.
The new members of the Board of Control were not quite pleased with their position on their first taking office, and it is clear from their representations of the unsatisfactory state of the Government, that some of them at least were not indisposed to break the tie that connected them with it. It becomes more and more evident that the dissatisfaction of the President was leading him into a desire for change, but it does not appear that the Duke of Buckingham encouraged such speculations—indeed, the interest taken by the Duke in politics had so greatly subsided, that he was sailing about the coast preparatory to quitting the country for an absence of considerable duration. He followed the advice given by Mr. Fremantle in a subsequent letter.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
July 15, 1822.As far as I can judge from my conversations with Canning, he is perfectlyin earnestwith respect to his intended voyage, and much as I regret it for the country, I think that considering the great personal disinclination both of the King and (I believe) the Duke of York towards him, the unstable nature of the Government, and the state of his own affairs, the course he pursues is far the best for his own interests. I think I told you that both Liverpool and Londonderry evidently considered the completion of this appointment as a great advantage gained, and were in high spirits on the occasion.It cannot be doubted that Peel and Lord Bathurst strongly participate in this feeling, and that the Chancellor carries it a good deal farther. Under these circumstances, the Duke of Wellington is the only man of any weight in the Cabinet, of whose co-operation in a plan for retaining Canning in this country there could be a hope, and without that, we could not hold out such a probability of success as alone could justify any communication to Canning, or expectation that he would listen to it. If it could be effected, I have no hesitation in saying that it would be a measure of great benefit to the country.I have lately heard much general rumour of disinclination on the part of certain members of the Cabinet who are not cordial towards as, and of Peel's having said that things would not go on well till they had got rid of the Grenvilles. This I do not believe, as he is much too cautious a man to commit himself by such a speech, but I cannot but admit that the coldness and reserve of his manner to me make me think that the opinion, though not uttered, is not unlikely to be entertained by him. He assures me that he still continues in the same complete ignorance as to the persons lately arrested in Ireland. The only depositions transmitted are those of persons who believe them to be engaged in a traitorous conspiracy for the overthrow of the Government; but what the facts against them are, whether any papers have been taken, whether any of them have given information, and even whether they have been examined before the Privy Council, the Lord Lieutenant has not judged it necessary to inform him. It is evident things cannot go on in this way, and I do not think it unlikely that Peel is lying back in order to make as strong a case as he can, before he attacks Lord W——, after which he would more easily overturn us.The last resolution was, I believe, in favour of the visit to Scotland, but not to stir beyond Edinburgh.I am very glad that you are satisfied with the alterations in the Irish Constables Bill. I think you quite right in your plan of writing a letter to Plunket to explain your general views with respect to Ireland. He must remember that he is Attorney-General, and from his character ought to be House of Commons Minister for that country, besides being representative of that shabby body called Trinity College. He cannot conceal from himself the resolution of the Irish members, and indeed of the House, to force the Tithe question, and that the only thing in his power to determine is, whether the Government will take the conduct and management of the business to themselves or leave it to the Opposition.I have entered in this letter more fully into our position than I otherwise should, as you mention that it will reach you insafety. I never know exactly how far the post is to be trusted, but the time which elapses between putting in the letters and their dispatch by the mail is sovery short, that I think, unless under very particular circumstances indeed, there can be little chance of private correspondence being violated. I know that itcanbe done, but believe it very seldom is.Arbuthnot spoke to Phillimore of the good disposition of Lord Liverpool and Londonderry towards us, as in contrast to some other members of the Cabinet, and Plunket has evidently taken the same opinion.
July 15, 1822.
As far as I can judge from my conversations with Canning, he is perfectlyin earnestwith respect to his intended voyage, and much as I regret it for the country, I think that considering the great personal disinclination both of the King and (I believe) the Duke of York towards him, the unstable nature of the Government, and the state of his own affairs, the course he pursues is far the best for his own interests. I think I told you that both Liverpool and Londonderry evidently considered the completion of this appointment as a great advantage gained, and were in high spirits on the occasion.
It cannot be doubted that Peel and Lord Bathurst strongly participate in this feeling, and that the Chancellor carries it a good deal farther. Under these circumstances, the Duke of Wellington is the only man of any weight in the Cabinet, of whose co-operation in a plan for retaining Canning in this country there could be a hope, and without that, we could not hold out such a probability of success as alone could justify any communication to Canning, or expectation that he would listen to it. If it could be effected, I have no hesitation in saying that it would be a measure of great benefit to the country.
I have lately heard much general rumour of disinclination on the part of certain members of the Cabinet who are not cordial towards as, and of Peel's having said that things would not go on well till they had got rid of the Grenvilles. This I do not believe, as he is much too cautious a man to commit himself by such a speech, but I cannot but admit that the coldness and reserve of his manner to me make me think that the opinion, though not uttered, is not unlikely to be entertained by him. He assures me that he still continues in the same complete ignorance as to the persons lately arrested in Ireland. The only depositions transmitted are those of persons who believe them to be engaged in a traitorous conspiracy for the overthrow of the Government; but what the facts against them are, whether any papers have been taken, whether any of them have given information, and even whether they have been examined before the Privy Council, the Lord Lieutenant has not judged it necessary to inform him. It is evident things cannot go on in this way, and I do not think it unlikely that Peel is lying back in order to make as strong a case as he can, before he attacks Lord W——, after which he would more easily overturn us.
The last resolution was, I believe, in favour of the visit to Scotland, but not to stir beyond Edinburgh.
I am very glad that you are satisfied with the alterations in the Irish Constables Bill. I think you quite right in your plan of writing a letter to Plunket to explain your general views with respect to Ireland. He must remember that he is Attorney-General, and from his character ought to be House of Commons Minister for that country, besides being representative of that shabby body called Trinity College. He cannot conceal from himself the resolution of the Irish members, and indeed of the House, to force the Tithe question, and that the only thing in his power to determine is, whether the Government will take the conduct and management of the business to themselves or leave it to the Opposition.
I have entered in this letter more fully into our position than I otherwise should, as you mention that it will reach you insafety. I never know exactly how far the post is to be trusted, but the time which elapses between putting in the letters and their dispatch by the mail is sovery short, that I think, unless under very particular circumstances indeed, there can be little chance of private correspondence being violated. I know that itcanbe done, but believe it very seldom is.
Arbuthnot spoke to Phillimore of the good disposition of Lord Liverpool and Londonderry towards us, as in contrast to some other members of the Cabinet, and Plunket has evidently taken the same opinion.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
East India Board, July 20, 1822.My dear B——,Before Plunket left town, I had a conversation with him on the subject of the Armagh arrest, mentioned in my last, and found him very much inclined to fear that it had taken place on insufficient evidence, particularly of one individual who represents himself as having become a Protestant three or four years ago, but to have continued an ostensible Papist for the purpose of penetrating and betraying the Catholic plots now carrying on. The arrest was made by a Colonel Blacker, one of the most furious Orange agents, and of course the trial must take place at Armagh, by a red-hot Orange jury, which it may be expected will convict, however slight the case may be, and which will not obtain credit for having done justice even if the evidence be sufficient.It is scarcely possible to make any complaint of Peel's manner, as though it is cold and reserved, I should be told that it is such to others, and that to notice it would only increase the evil. The reports which I mentioned of his conversation, are such as I do not myself believe to be true, though they may be founded upon what the inventors of them believe and hope to be his ulterior wishes.The King is to be attended in Scotland by Peel and Lord Melville, but not to pay any visits; he is to be quartered at Dalkeith, and his suite in Holyrood House. We are, in consideration of the reversal of the Scotch attainders, to signalize his visit, but this is all undecided as yet.Ever affectionately yours,C. W. W.
East India Board, July 20, 1822.
My dear B——,
Before Plunket left town, I had a conversation with him on the subject of the Armagh arrest, mentioned in my last, and found him very much inclined to fear that it had taken place on insufficient evidence, particularly of one individual who represents himself as having become a Protestant three or four years ago, but to have continued an ostensible Papist for the purpose of penetrating and betraying the Catholic plots now carrying on. The arrest was made by a Colonel Blacker, one of the most furious Orange agents, and of course the trial must take place at Armagh, by a red-hot Orange jury, which it may be expected will convict, however slight the case may be, and which will not obtain credit for having done justice even if the evidence be sufficient.
It is scarcely possible to make any complaint of Peel's manner, as though it is cold and reserved, I should be told that it is such to others, and that to notice it would only increase the evil. The reports which I mentioned of his conversation, are such as I do not myself believe to be true, though they may be founded upon what the inventors of them believe and hope to be his ulterior wishes.
The King is to be attended in Scotland by Peel and Lord Melville, but not to pay any visits; he is to be quartered at Dalkeith, and his suite in Holyrood House. We are, in consideration of the reversal of the Scotch attainders, to signalize his visit, but this is all undecided as yet.
Ever affectionately yours,
C. W. W.
THE RIGHT HON. W. H. FREMANTLE TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
House of Commons, July 23, 1822.My dear Duke,I have delayed answering your letter for some days, because I wished to ascertain the ground, and see how the thing looked before you ventured to take any steps with regard to communicating with so slippery and uncertain a man as C——. The fact is, you may be assured that he has the best disposition to trip these people up, but I am persuaded he will not be able to do it; and they are fully aware of his designs. My own opinion is, that no overture or communication will be had with him—there is no part of the Government who wish for his connexion. They find the strength and power of Peel have completely answered their purpose, and with more popularity and feeling of the House than the other would have done; and above all, be assured there is a mortal antipathy against C—— in the K——. All these circumstances combined would, in my judgment, not make it worth your while to attempt any movement through him, or to have any communication with him.I cannot but think that Wynn is gaining strength in the Cabinet, and the best support he has is, in my opinion, Lord Londonderry's, which would be totally destroyed by any underhand communication with C——; and your seeing him or corresponding with him would have that effect. I should, therefore, on the whole, strongly advise all abstainment from all connexion with him.Things look a great deal better than they did, though the K——, I should fear, is not quite in the good humour he was. He dislikes the journey to Scotland, and I have no idea why they plagued him to take it (which is said to have been the case). The intention is now only to stay in Scotland ten days, and visit no one. Peel and Lord Melville are the Ministers who attend him. He is to make a public entry into Edinburgh, but to live entirely at Dalkeith House.I don't know the names of all his retinue in the yacht, but Lord Fife is invited to be one of his companions, and goes accordingly. The Marchioness of C—— is going to Ireland, by Scotland, therefore I should not be surprised ifaccidentbrings her to Edinburgh, about the same time.We shall not adjourn this House till Friday week. I shall get out of town on Tuesday, I hope. Everybody but Hume and Bennett are sick to death of it, and literally every other Opposition man gone out of town.I hope your sailing has done you a great deal of good, and that I shall have the pleasure of hearing you are quite re-established.Ever most truly yours,W. H. F.
House of Commons, July 23, 1822.
My dear Duke,
I have delayed answering your letter for some days, because I wished to ascertain the ground, and see how the thing looked before you ventured to take any steps with regard to communicating with so slippery and uncertain a man as C——. The fact is, you may be assured that he has the best disposition to trip these people up, but I am persuaded he will not be able to do it; and they are fully aware of his designs. My own opinion is, that no overture or communication will be had with him—there is no part of the Government who wish for his connexion. They find the strength and power of Peel have completely answered their purpose, and with more popularity and feeling of the House than the other would have done; and above all, be assured there is a mortal antipathy against C—— in the K——. All these circumstances combined would, in my judgment, not make it worth your while to attempt any movement through him, or to have any communication with him.
I cannot but think that Wynn is gaining strength in the Cabinet, and the best support he has is, in my opinion, Lord Londonderry's, which would be totally destroyed by any underhand communication with C——; and your seeing him or corresponding with him would have that effect. I should, therefore, on the whole, strongly advise all abstainment from all connexion with him.
Things look a great deal better than they did, though the K——, I should fear, is not quite in the good humour he was. He dislikes the journey to Scotland, and I have no idea why they plagued him to take it (which is said to have been the case). The intention is now only to stay in Scotland ten days, and visit no one. Peel and Lord Melville are the Ministers who attend him. He is to make a public entry into Edinburgh, but to live entirely at Dalkeith House.
I don't know the names of all his retinue in the yacht, but Lord Fife is invited to be one of his companions, and goes accordingly. The Marchioness of C—— is going to Ireland, by Scotland, therefore I should not be surprised ifaccidentbrings her to Edinburgh, about the same time.
We shall not adjourn this House till Friday week. I shall get out of town on Tuesday, I hope. Everybody but Hume and Bennett are sick to death of it, and literally every other Opposition man gone out of town.
I hope your sailing has done you a great deal of good, and that I shall have the pleasure of hearing you are quite re-established.
Ever most truly yours,
W. H. F.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
East India Board, July 26, 1822.My dear B——,It was yesterday determined that Lord Londonderry should attend the Congress at Vienna, upon which subjectstrict secrecywas recommended; but it was observed that it had on Tuesday night been communicated by Lord Francis Conyngham to all the ladies at the opera-house.We have accounts of the Prince Royal of Portugal having been addressed to take on him the title of Perpetual Regent of Brazil, to which he graciously consents, provided it shall appear to be the will of the people. The probable consequence will be his exclusion from the throne of Portugal, which there has been already a strong disposition to pronounce.The Cortes of Spain, though in possession of full evidence of the King and French Minister's share in the late attempt of the Guards to effect a counter-revolution, and even of his having placed each of his Ministers in separate confinement during the whole of the night of the attack, seem to think the time not yet ripe to get rid of him, and therefore conceal everything. If they are obliged to dispose of him before the country will allow them to proclaim a republic, they are many of them disposed to propose a union of the Peninsula under the King of Portugal, as the most inefficient shadow of royalty that can be set up.Bobus Smith the other night proposed a caricature of a private conference between Hume and Vansittart as a dialogue of penny-wise and pound-foolish.I see no reason to doubt Canning's going to India. His writ will, I believe, be moved the last day of the session, and as the K—— is going for Scotland immediately afterwards, there will be no room left for intrigue to avert it. The Duke of Wellington is the only one who has appeared to me at all sensible of the loss we shall experience in him, and he speaks of him as being nearly useless out of the walls of the House.
East India Board, July 26, 1822.
My dear B——,
It was yesterday determined that Lord Londonderry should attend the Congress at Vienna, upon which subjectstrict secrecywas recommended; but it was observed that it had on Tuesday night been communicated by Lord Francis Conyngham to all the ladies at the opera-house.
We have accounts of the Prince Royal of Portugal having been addressed to take on him the title of Perpetual Regent of Brazil, to which he graciously consents, provided it shall appear to be the will of the people. The probable consequence will be his exclusion from the throne of Portugal, which there has been already a strong disposition to pronounce.
The Cortes of Spain, though in possession of full evidence of the King and French Minister's share in the late attempt of the Guards to effect a counter-revolution, and even of his having placed each of his Ministers in separate confinement during the whole of the night of the attack, seem to think the time not yet ripe to get rid of him, and therefore conceal everything. If they are obliged to dispose of him before the country will allow them to proclaim a republic, they are many of them disposed to propose a union of the Peninsula under the King of Portugal, as the most inefficient shadow of royalty that can be set up.
Bobus Smith the other night proposed a caricature of a private conference between Hume and Vansittart as a dialogue of penny-wise and pound-foolish.
I see no reason to doubt Canning's going to India. His writ will, I believe, be moved the last day of the session, and as the K—— is going for Scotland immediately afterwards, there will be no room left for intrigue to avert it. The Duke of Wellington is the only one who has appeared to me at all sensible of the loss we shall experience in him, and he speaks of him as being nearly useless out of the walls of the House.
The town was startled in the month of August by a terrible incident. The Marquis of Londonderry, on the 12th of the month, terminated his existence by his own hand, at one of his residences, North Cray Farm, near Bexley, Kent, in the fifty-third year of his age. The elevated position he had filled for many years in the Government of this great empire, had made him a prominent mark for the malicious shafts of those who had, or fancied they had, an interest in opposing his policy. During his long and most honourable career, no statesman had accomplished such a series of important services. The Legislative Union of Great Britain and Ireland, had it been suffered to bear the fruit which only came to perfection thirty years later, was a measure of such vital importance to the State, that its successful settlement under the extraordinary circumstances which attended its discussion, entitled him to rank with the ablest ministers of his time; but eminently sagacious and beneficial as was this measure, it was thrown into the shade by the success of subsequent calculations of Lord Castlereagh, first as Secretary-at-War, and then as Foreign Secretary, which effected the overthrow of that brilliant genius by whom his country had so long been menaced. These services appear to have called into existence hosts of political enemies, imbued with the vindictive spirit that prevailed at this period, from whose attacks he was rarely free. They included in their ranks many of a younger generation of adventurers—quite as depreciatory in their opinions, if not as malicious—who regarded his downfall as affording an opening in the direction of place and power. Nothing could exceed the manliness of his bearing in the unequal conflict in which every session he found himself engaged, unless it is to be looked for in the inexhaustible amiability that characterized his relations with the most implacable of his foes. It is, however, evident that as his health began to fail from the long course of exhausting labours which his office imposed upon him, he became more sensitive to such provocations, and though he carefully concealed it from outward view, an increasing irritability affected his whole nervous system.
The melancholy result, though unfortunately too easily explained, excited reports as ingenious as malevolent, to account for its suddenness, but like the injustice to his memory he has received from rivals or successors, who sought to raise a reputation by advocating an adverse policy, they had but a brief existence. As a statesman, as a gentleman, as a man, the Marquis of Londonderry was the Bayard of political chivalry,sans peur et sans reproche, and it reflects no slight disgrace on this monument-rearing age, that neither in the land of his nativity nor in that of his adoption has any memorial been raised worthy of his fame.
The characters of few public men have been so unfairly treated; his political opponents, numbering among them many writers of great ability and influence, have allowed their judgments to be warped by party animosity, and have descended to misrepresentation to an extent truly pitiable. Thus his countrymen have received impressions of his policy and administrative capacity during his long and arduous career, totally at variance with the truth.[88]One writer of eminence has, however, recently stepped forward to uphold his fame with emphatic earnestness, and we make no apology for inserting here his estimate of this distinguished and much-maligned statesman:
"His whole life was a continual struggle with the majority of his own or foreign lands: he combated to subdue or to bless them. He began his career by strenuous efforts to effect the Irish Union, and rescue his native country from the incapable Legislature by which its energies had so long been repressed. His mature strength was exerted in a long and desperate conflict with the despotism of revolutionary France, which his firmness as much as the arm of Wellington brought to a triumphant issue; his latter days in a ceaseless conflict with the revolutionary spirit in his own country, and an anxious effort to uphold the dignity of Great Britain and the independence of lesser States abroad. The uncompromising antagonist of Radicalism at home, he was at the same time the resolute opponent of despotism abroad. If Poland retained after the overthrow of Napoleon any remnant of nationality, it was owing to his persevering and almost unaided efforts, and at the very time when the savage wretches who raised a shout at his funeral were rejoicing at his death, he had been preparing to assert at Verona, as he had done to the Congresses of Laybach and Troppau, the independent action of Great Britain, and her non-accordance in the policy of the Continental sovereigns against the efforts of human freedom.
"His policy in domestic affairs was marked by the same far-seeing wisdom, the same intrepid resistance to the blindness of present clamour. He made the most strenuous efforts to uphold the Sinking Fund—that noble monument of Mr. Pitt's patriotic foresight; had those efforts been successful, the whole National Debt would have been paid off by the year 1845, and the nationfor everhave been freed from the payment of thirty millions a-year for its interest. He resisted with a firm hand, and at the expense of present popularity with the multitude, the efforts of faction during the seven trying years which followed the close of the war, and bequeathed the constitution, after a season of peculiar danger, unshaken to his successors. The firm friend of freedom, he was on that very account the resolute opponent of democracy, the insidious enemy which, under the guise of a friend, has in every age blasted its progress and destroyed its substance. Discerning the principal cause of the distress which had occasioned these convulsions, his last act was one that bequeathed to his country a currency adequate to its necessities, and which he alone of his Cabinet had the honesty to admit was a departure from former error. Elegant and courteous in his manners, with a noble figure and finely chiselled countenance, he was beloved in his family circle and by all his friends, not less than respected by the wide circle of sovereigns and statesmen with whom he had so worthily upheld the honour and dignity of England."[89]
Lord Londonderry's colleagues entertained a similar opinion:—"Our own country and Europe," writes one of the most sagacious of them, "have suffered a loss, in my opinion irreparable. I had a great affection for him, and he deserved it from me, for to me he showed an uniform kindness, of which no other colleague's conduct furnished an example."[90]
The King had proceeded a few days before, on a visit to his Scottish dominions, and the startling news reached him soon after theRoyal Georgehad dropped her anchor at the termination of the voyage. His Majesty, fully impressed with the irreparable nature of his loss, hastily wrote to the most influential members of the Cabinet, to deprecate any hasty arrangement. We quote the following:—
THE KING TO LORD ELDON.
Royal George Yacht, Leith Roads,Aug. 15th, half-past eightp.m., 1822.My dear Friend,I have this moment heard from Liverpool of the melancholy death of his and my dear friend, poor Londonderry. On Friday was the last time I saw him; my own mind was then filled with apprehensions respecting him, and they have, alas! been but too painfully verified. My great object, my good friend, in writing to you to-night, is to tell you that I have written to Liverpool, and I do implore you notto lend yourselfto any arrangementwhatever, until my return to town. This, indeed, is Lord Liverpool's own proposal, and as you may suppose, I have joinedmost cordiallyin the proposition. It will require themost prudent foresighton my part, relative to the new arrangements that must now necessarily take place. You may easily judge of the state of my mind.Ever, believe me,Your sincere Friend,G. R.
Royal George Yacht, Leith Roads,Aug. 15th, half-past eightp.m., 1822.
My dear Friend,
I have this moment heard from Liverpool of the melancholy death of his and my dear friend, poor Londonderry. On Friday was the last time I saw him; my own mind was then filled with apprehensions respecting him, and they have, alas! been but too painfully verified. My great object, my good friend, in writing to you to-night, is to tell you that I have written to Liverpool, and I do implore you notto lend yourselfto any arrangementwhatever, until my return to town. This, indeed, is Lord Liverpool's own proposal, and as you may suppose, I have joinedmost cordiallyin the proposition. It will require themost prudent foresighton my part, relative to the new arrangements that must now necessarily take place. You may easily judge of the state of my mind.
Ever, believe me,
Your sincere Friend,
G. R.
The King's intention to visit the northern portion of his kingdom, made there as great a stir as had been created by his previous one to Ireland. Sir Walter Scott was at the time in Edinburgh, and took a prominent part in the preparations that were making in the Scottish capital to receive its Sovereign, and on the royal yacht coming to anchor in Leith Roads, he was the first Scotsman to venture on board, on a very rainy day (August 15th), to present his Majesty with a St. Andrew's Cross in silver, from the ladies of "Auld Reekie." The King, much gratified, invited the novelist to drink his health in a bumper of whisky, which having done, the latter requested permission to keep the glass as a relic to hand down to his posterity. This having graciously been granted, he put it very carefully in his pocket, and took his leave. On returning home, he found Crabbe the poet, who had just arrived from his English home, to pay a long promised visit; and Sir Walter was so earnest in welcoming his guest, that the precious relic was forgotten, till sitting down suddenly he crushed it to atoms, not without inflicting on himself a severe scratch from the sharp fragments.[91]
The King delighted his Scottish subjects by wearing the Highland garb, in which he was very carefully dressed by the Laird of Garth, but the pride of the Macgregors and Glengarries who thronged around the royal person, suffered a serious blow when a London alderman entered the circle clothed in a suit of the same tartan. The portly figure and civic dignity of Sir William Curtis gave to the costume too much the appearance of a burlesque to pass unnoticed either by the Sovereign or his loyal admirers, and it was some time before they recovered their gravity. On the 24th, the magistrates of "the gude town" entertained the King with a banquet in the Parliament House, in the course of which his Majesty gave as a toast, "The Chieftains and Clans of Scotland, and prosperity to the Land of Cakes." The King did not quit his Scottish dominions till the 29th, when he embarked from Lord Hopetoun's seat on the Firth of Forth, previously directing a letter to be written to Sir Walter Scott by Sir Robert Peel, expressing his warm personal acknowledgments for the deep interest he had taken in every ceremony and arrangement connected with his Majesty's visit.[92]
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
East India Office, Friday.My dear B——,I have only time to write one hurried line to say that I am in town, but know nothing. Lord Liverpool very cast down, and depressed in the extreme. No arrangement or preparatory discussion to take place till after the King's return, and till we are collected from the different quarters in which we are at present scattered. The Duke of Wellington is expected back to-night or to-morrow, and is immediately to be dispatched with the instructions which had been prepared for Lord Londonderry, to Vienna.I think that though nothing can absolutely be determined in the absence of Peel, Lord Harrowby, and Lord Melville, there still must be something substantially understood before the Duke will turn his back on England, and this somethingmust, I am convinced, be Canning. What other changes may take place cannot yet be foreseen, but from a word which Lord Liverpool dropped, I think he anticipates more than simply a new Secretary.The funeral takes place on Tuesday, by Lady Londonderry's particular desire, in the Abbey!!! I think it most unwise to run the chance of the insults of a London mob on such an occasion.
East India Office, Friday.
My dear B——,
I have only time to write one hurried line to say that I am in town, but know nothing. Lord Liverpool very cast down, and depressed in the extreme. No arrangement or preparatory discussion to take place till after the King's return, and till we are collected from the different quarters in which we are at present scattered. The Duke of Wellington is expected back to-night or to-morrow, and is immediately to be dispatched with the instructions which had been prepared for Lord Londonderry, to Vienna.
I think that though nothing can absolutely be determined in the absence of Peel, Lord Harrowby, and Lord Melville, there still must be something substantially understood before the Duke will turn his back on England, and this somethingmust, I am convinced, be Canning. What other changes may take place cannot yet be foreseen, but from a word which Lord Liverpool dropped, I think he anticipates more than simply a new Secretary.
The funeral takes place on Tuesday, by Lady Londonderry's particular desire, in the Abbey!!! I think it most unwise to run the chance of the insults of a London mob on such an occasion.
THE RIGHT HON. W. H. FREMANTLE TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
Stanhope Street, Aug. 20, 1822.My dear Duke,I came to town last night for the funeral, and am returning this instant. I find Wynn has written to you, and I hope you will go to him at Broadstairs; he isquite satisfiedwith the prospect, though of course nothing is or can be arranged till the King's return. I was at Dropmore; your uncles both think it would be worse than nothing to attempt a Government without Canning, and such seems to be the opinion of everybody, such was the language ofallthe official men this morning. But after all, I fear we shall not, even with Canning and Peel, and even Grant in addition, be altogether so well off as with Londonderry. His rank, his long standing, the sort of authority and power he possessed, all contributed to his advantage and that of the Government.Ever most truly yours,W. H. Fremantle.
Stanhope Street, Aug. 20, 1822.
My dear Duke,
I came to town last night for the funeral, and am returning this instant. I find Wynn has written to you, and I hope you will go to him at Broadstairs; he isquite satisfiedwith the prospect, though of course nothing is or can be arranged till the King's return. I was at Dropmore; your uncles both think it would be worse than nothing to attempt a Government without Canning, and such seems to be the opinion of everybody, such was the language ofallthe official men this morning. But after all, I fear we shall not, even with Canning and Peel, and even Grant in addition, be altogether so well off as with Londonderry. His rank, his long standing, the sort of authority and power he possessed, all contributed to his advantage and that of the Government.
Ever most truly yours,
W. H. Fremantle.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
East India Office, Aug. 20, 1822.My dear B——,The formal determination transmitted to the King is, that there shall be not only no arrangement but no discussion till his return. Tho real effect of which is only to enable Lord Liverpool to lock himself up, and decline talking to those whom he wishes to avoid, among whom I must reckon myself. I have, however, seen the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson, and had much conversation with both of them, and the result of the whole is very satisfactory to me so far as it goes. Neither of them seems to anticipate the possibility of any other arrangement, but that of Canning succeeding to the lead of the House of Commons, and the Duke of Wellington expressed much anxiety that he should also succeed to the vacant seals.He showed me, however, the King's letter, which seems distantly to allude to objection to Canning for that particular department. This, however, he thinks, can be overcome, and I am therefore the more pleased that he remains till after the King's return, instead of proceeding immediately to Vienna. I should I believe myself, if Canning could be induced to accept the Exchequer (which at one time he certainly was ready to have done), with the lead of the House of Commons, like to transport Nic Van to India, send Lord Bathurst to the Foreign Department, Robinson to the Colonial, and Huskisson to the Board of Trade.The strongest proof to me of the universal impression of the necessity of consigning the lead of the House of Commons to Canning, and that the No Popery party will not venture to propose Peel, was, that I found Westmoreland, with whom I was associated in the funeral this morning, quite of that opinion. Now, if the Chancellor were intriguing for Peel, would he not have secured Westmoreland.I concur very much in your view of the impropriety of remaining in an Administration,boththe leaders of which are the most decided opponents of the Catholic question, and intimated as much to Robinson, who appeared to feel the similarity of his own situation. I have had much conversation also with an intimate personal friend of Peel's, whose opinion it was that Peel would be by no means desirous of undertaking the lead, as independent of other objections, his health was not sufficiently strong to admit of his assuming functions so laborious and incessant.The King has mentioned his intention of leaving Edinburgh as on Saturday next. Poor Liverpool's bridal ideas have been quite driven out of his head, and I do not yet hear of a fresh day for consummation being fixed. I am very sorry for the public effect of the visit to Bowood at this time, but it had been fixed I believe before Lord Londonderry's death, and Lord G—— does not feel any necessity of extending to Opposition any of that coyness he shows towards Government. Both my uncles are fully satisfied of the absolute necessity of Canning's leading the House of Commons, and probably the more so from his having lately paid a visit of two days to Dropmore.Ever most affectionately yours,C. W. W.
East India Office, Aug. 20, 1822.
My dear B——,
The formal determination transmitted to the King is, that there shall be not only no arrangement but no discussion till his return. Tho real effect of which is only to enable Lord Liverpool to lock himself up, and decline talking to those whom he wishes to avoid, among whom I must reckon myself. I have, however, seen the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson, and had much conversation with both of them, and the result of the whole is very satisfactory to me so far as it goes. Neither of them seems to anticipate the possibility of any other arrangement, but that of Canning succeeding to the lead of the House of Commons, and the Duke of Wellington expressed much anxiety that he should also succeed to the vacant seals.
He showed me, however, the King's letter, which seems distantly to allude to objection to Canning for that particular department. This, however, he thinks, can be overcome, and I am therefore the more pleased that he remains till after the King's return, instead of proceeding immediately to Vienna. I should I believe myself, if Canning could be induced to accept the Exchequer (which at one time he certainly was ready to have done), with the lead of the House of Commons, like to transport Nic Van to India, send Lord Bathurst to the Foreign Department, Robinson to the Colonial, and Huskisson to the Board of Trade.
The strongest proof to me of the universal impression of the necessity of consigning the lead of the House of Commons to Canning, and that the No Popery party will not venture to propose Peel, was, that I found Westmoreland, with whom I was associated in the funeral this morning, quite of that opinion. Now, if the Chancellor were intriguing for Peel, would he not have secured Westmoreland.
I concur very much in your view of the impropriety of remaining in an Administration,boththe leaders of which are the most decided opponents of the Catholic question, and intimated as much to Robinson, who appeared to feel the similarity of his own situation. I have had much conversation also with an intimate personal friend of Peel's, whose opinion it was that Peel would be by no means desirous of undertaking the lead, as independent of other objections, his health was not sufficiently strong to admit of his assuming functions so laborious and incessant.
The King has mentioned his intention of leaving Edinburgh as on Saturday next. Poor Liverpool's bridal ideas have been quite driven out of his head, and I do not yet hear of a fresh day for consummation being fixed. I am very sorry for the public effect of the visit to Bowood at this time, but it had been fixed I believe before Lord Londonderry's death, and Lord G—— does not feel any necessity of extending to Opposition any of that coyness he shows towards Government. Both my uncles are fully satisfied of the absolute necessity of Canning's leading the House of Commons, and probably the more so from his having lately paid a visit of two days to Dropmore.
Ever most affectionately yours,
C. W. W.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
London, Aug. 21, 1822.My dear Duke,I have received your letter, which, according to your permission, I have communicated to Lord Liverpool. When the deplorable event occurred which gave reason for your writing it, Lord Liverpool requested the King not to consider of the measures to be adopted to fill the situation in H. M.'s Councils which had been held by Lord Londonderry, till H. M. should return to London, and he assured the King that he likewise on his part would take no step whatever on the subject till he should have the honour of seeing his Majesty. This matter then stands exactly as it did on the day of the fatal catastrophe, and so will remain till the King's return.Lord Liverpool is very anxious that your Grace, and those who wish well to the Government, should take no step and make no declaration previously to his Majesty's return, which might embarrass the Government or themselves. He hopes that you will so far confide in him as to be certain that he will do what he ought upon this occasion, and you may rely upon his taking the earliest opportunity of making you acquainted with the steps which he will have taken.Believe me, my dear Duke,With the most sincere respect and affection,Ever yours most faithfully,Wellington.
London, Aug. 21, 1822.
My dear Duke,
I have received your letter, which, according to your permission, I have communicated to Lord Liverpool. When the deplorable event occurred which gave reason for your writing it, Lord Liverpool requested the King not to consider of the measures to be adopted to fill the situation in H. M.'s Councils which had been held by Lord Londonderry, till H. M. should return to London, and he assured the King that he likewise on his part would take no step whatever on the subject till he should have the honour of seeing his Majesty. This matter then stands exactly as it did on the day of the fatal catastrophe, and so will remain till the King's return.
Lord Liverpool is very anxious that your Grace, and those who wish well to the Government, should take no step and make no declaration previously to his Majesty's return, which might embarrass the Government or themselves. He hopes that you will so far confide in him as to be certain that he will do what he ought upon this occasion, and you may rely upon his taking the earliest opportunity of making you acquainted with the steps which he will have taken.
Believe me, my dear Duke,
With the most sincere respect and affection,
Ever yours most faithfully,
Wellington.
THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS, K.G., TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
My dear Duke,I beg that you will assure Lord Liverpool that nothing could be further from my intention or my wishes, than to hasten forward any discussion or precipitate any decision respecting the steps to be taken to complete and strengthen the Government under existing circumstances: on the contrary, no one is more convinced than I am of the absolute necessity of the Government having most mature deliberation on this very momentous question. For this very reason I thought it due to Lord Liverpool that he should at as early a moment as possible be put in possession of the sentiments and feelings of those connected with his Government, provided you thought mine of sufficient importance to be transmitted to him.Believe me always yours sincerely,B. C.
My dear Duke,
I beg that you will assure Lord Liverpool that nothing could be further from my intention or my wishes, than to hasten forward any discussion or precipitate any decision respecting the steps to be taken to complete and strengthen the Government under existing circumstances: on the contrary, no one is more convinced than I am of the absolute necessity of the Government having most mature deliberation on this very momentous question. For this very reason I thought it due to Lord Liverpool that he should at as early a moment as possible be put in possession of the sentiments and feelings of those connected with his Government, provided you thought mine of sufficient importance to be transmitted to him.
Believe me always yours sincerely,
B. C.
Of Canning at this period one of his intimate friends thus speaks:—"Great as his talents for Parliament are, and great as is the want of them on the Ministerial side of the House, it is not without the utmost reluctance that the rest of the Cabinet will consent to receive him as an associate. If they make him any proposal, it will be only because they are forced to it by the opinion and wishes of their own friends, and if they make him afairproposal, it will be a clear proof that they think that the Government cannot go on without his aid."[93]
A little later we learn from the same authority: "The delay that has taken place in filling up the very important station that was held by Lord Londonderry is itself a pretty good proof of the embarrassment of the King and his Ministers. Canning will be a bitter pill to them, and yet I am more inclined than I was at first to think that they will swallow it. I give Canning full credit for what he declared at Liverpool, that heknew nothing; and yet without imputing to him any Jesuitical reservation, I consider his speech to be that of a man who thought that he was more likely to come in than not."[94]
Canning knew well enough that he had only to wait, and the necessities of the Government, notwithstanding the aversion of the majority, would force him into the position his great rival had left vacant. Many persons of influence shared in this conviction, and though far from cordial in their admiration for this political leader, they were eager to adopt him as their colleague or superior, seeing no other assistance at hand so capable of advancing their particular policy.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
Broadstairs, Aug. 24, 1822.My dear B——,My letter of yesterday will have sufficiently put you in possession of my opinion, that although I agreed in the principle of your letter, yet the addressing it under the present circumstances to the D—— of W——, and through him to Lord Liverpool, was premature. They seem to have thought the same, though I wish they had expressed it in a manner less unambiguous.It is difficult to make up one's mind whether it would, on the whole, be more desirable to see Canning at the Exchequer or in the Foreign Office. I rather believe that by Huskisson's assistance he would discharge the duties of the former office better than the latter, to which the disinclination of Carlton House and the very unconciliating style of correspondence in which he indulges himself (and of which the records of the Board of Control have shown me some specimens) are great objections. If, indeed, the arrangement which I chalked out in a former letter for the promotion of Lord Bathurst, Robinson, Huskisson, and either W. Lambe or C. Grant, could take place, I should have no doubt that it would be best to give Canning the Exchequer. But if the result should be, as many anticipate, to consign the Foreign Seals to your friend the D—— of W——, it is not easy to decide whether the inconvenience of that appointment would not counterbalance the benefit of removing Van.From being in the first coach, I could see little of the behaviour of the mob at the funeral, but all that I saw or heard was perfectly proper till the moment of the removal of thecoffinfrom the hearse to enter the Abbey, when a Radical yell was set up from St. Margaret's churchyard.Lady Londonderry's wish that he should be interred in Westminster Abbey, and with the pomp of a private funeral, seems to me extraordinary, and under the unfortunate circumstances of his death, very ill-judged. I had myself proposed, in order to obviate the possibility of any expression of hostile or disrespectful feeling, that the body should at once have been brought on the preceding night to the Jerusalem Chamber, instead of to his house in St. James's-square, and that the procession should be formed from thence on foot.Sunday, 25th.A letter from town this morning tells me that the King is not to leave Edinburgh till the 28th, which will of course extend my stay at this place. Everything leads me to believe that the discussion will rather turn on the particular official situation to be held by Canning, than on the vesting in him the lead of the House of Commons, the necessity of which seems to be so generally and strongly felt, that opposition to it must be ineffectual. At the same time nothing is yet known of Peel's sentiments, and there will not be wanting those among his friends who will urge him to refuse servingunderCanning.Have you any ground for mentioning Harrowby as a decided opponent of C——'s admission? I should have thought that agreement on the Catholic question would have reconciled him to it.Ever most faithfully yours,C. W. W.
Broadstairs, Aug. 24, 1822.
My dear B——,
My letter of yesterday will have sufficiently put you in possession of my opinion, that although I agreed in the principle of your letter, yet the addressing it under the present circumstances to the D—— of W——, and through him to Lord Liverpool, was premature. They seem to have thought the same, though I wish they had expressed it in a manner less unambiguous.
It is difficult to make up one's mind whether it would, on the whole, be more desirable to see Canning at the Exchequer or in the Foreign Office. I rather believe that by Huskisson's assistance he would discharge the duties of the former office better than the latter, to which the disinclination of Carlton House and the very unconciliating style of correspondence in which he indulges himself (and of which the records of the Board of Control have shown me some specimens) are great objections. If, indeed, the arrangement which I chalked out in a former letter for the promotion of Lord Bathurst, Robinson, Huskisson, and either W. Lambe or C. Grant, could take place, I should have no doubt that it would be best to give Canning the Exchequer. But if the result should be, as many anticipate, to consign the Foreign Seals to your friend the D—— of W——, it is not easy to decide whether the inconvenience of that appointment would not counterbalance the benefit of removing Van.
From being in the first coach, I could see little of the behaviour of the mob at the funeral, but all that I saw or heard was perfectly proper till the moment of the removal of thecoffinfrom the hearse to enter the Abbey, when a Radical yell was set up from St. Margaret's churchyard.
Lady Londonderry's wish that he should be interred in Westminster Abbey, and with the pomp of a private funeral, seems to me extraordinary, and under the unfortunate circumstances of his death, very ill-judged. I had myself proposed, in order to obviate the possibility of any expression of hostile or disrespectful feeling, that the body should at once have been brought on the preceding night to the Jerusalem Chamber, instead of to his house in St. James's-square, and that the procession should be formed from thence on foot.
Sunday, 25th.
A letter from town this morning tells me that the King is not to leave Edinburgh till the 28th, which will of course extend my stay at this place. Everything leads me to believe that the discussion will rather turn on the particular official situation to be held by Canning, than on the vesting in him the lead of the House of Commons, the necessity of which seems to be so generally and strongly felt, that opposition to it must be ineffectual. At the same time nothing is yet known of Peel's sentiments, and there will not be wanting those among his friends who will urge him to refuse servingunderCanning.
Have you any ground for mentioning Harrowby as a decided opponent of C——'s admission? I should have thought that agreement on the Catholic question would have reconciled him to it.
Ever most faithfully yours,
C. W. W.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
Whitehall, Sept 3, 1822.My dear B——,My principal reason for doubting the expediency of your step was, that if, as I believed, the view which you yourself took was also entertained by those to whom you addressed it, the declaration which it contained might have been reserved, to be afterwards brought forward in support of them, when it might be better applied to the existing circumstances. My own inclination is to consider the offer of the lead to Canning as indispensable, and that no other proposition should be offered as an alternative. Yet, did he or any one else ever give a proof of worse judgment than his speech at Liverpool, in which he recommends a compromise, and that the question should be allowed to rest after "perhaps" one more general discussion? Admitting that the advice might be good if addressed to the Catholics, his bringing it into his Liverpool speech at the present moment is just the way to defeat his object, and to persuade the Catholics that he is ready to sacrifice them to his own objects of ambition.Matters are but little advanced, that is to say, that Lord L—— has laid the proposition of an application to Canning before the K—— this morning, and desired him to take till Thursday to consider it, and to consult any others of his servants. This makes me feel strong hope that none of them have decidedly opposed it. Repugnance was expressed, but I see that L——[95]as well as W——[96]thinks that it will finally succeed. To-morrow we are to have a Cabinet, which, but for the delight of procrastinating everything, might just as well have been held yesterday or on Sunday.L—— distinctly stated to me, that he felt that the country could not be satisfied unless a proposal were made to Canning, but referred to the possibility of his insisting on unreasonable conditions. Should this be the case, I can only sayalors comme alors, and that the course to be pursued must depend on the peculiar circumstances which one cannot anticipate.Ever affectionately yours,C. W. W.
Whitehall, Sept 3, 1822.
My dear B——,
My principal reason for doubting the expediency of your step was, that if, as I believed, the view which you yourself took was also entertained by those to whom you addressed it, the declaration which it contained might have been reserved, to be afterwards brought forward in support of them, when it might be better applied to the existing circumstances. My own inclination is to consider the offer of the lead to Canning as indispensable, and that no other proposition should be offered as an alternative. Yet, did he or any one else ever give a proof of worse judgment than his speech at Liverpool, in which he recommends a compromise, and that the question should be allowed to rest after "perhaps" one more general discussion? Admitting that the advice might be good if addressed to the Catholics, his bringing it into his Liverpool speech at the present moment is just the way to defeat his object, and to persuade the Catholics that he is ready to sacrifice them to his own objects of ambition.
Matters are but little advanced, that is to say, that Lord L—— has laid the proposition of an application to Canning before the K—— this morning, and desired him to take till Thursday to consider it, and to consult any others of his servants. This makes me feel strong hope that none of them have decidedly opposed it. Repugnance was expressed, but I see that L——[95]as well as W——[96]thinks that it will finally succeed. To-morrow we are to have a Cabinet, which, but for the delight of procrastinating everything, might just as well have been held yesterday or on Sunday.
L—— distinctly stated to me, that he felt that the country could not be satisfied unless a proposal were made to Canning, but referred to the possibility of his insisting on unreasonable conditions. Should this be the case, I can only sayalors comme alors, and that the course to be pursued must depend on the peculiar circumstances which one cannot anticipate.
Ever affectionately yours,
C. W. W.
THE RIGHT HON. W. H. FREMANTLE TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
Englefield Green, Sept. 8, 1822.My dear Duke,Having had nothing to communicate I have not written to you; indeed now there seems nothing to discuss till you know the terms on which Canning is to come in; I have no doubt the offer is, the Chancellorship of the Exchequer and lead of the House of Commons, and Cabinet for Huskisson or any one other friend. Whether he will think this enough I doubt; I am rather confident from what I have heard, that he will not surrender the foreign seals to anybody but the Duke of Wellington. I have no doubt they are intended for Lord Bathurst. He must feel and know we cannot do without him, and having so good a thing in his present possession, he will of course not accept office but in such a way as shall fully meet his wishes. The King sent for the Duke of York, who, with the Chancellor, will, I am sure, throw every difficulty in the way, though they must know that nothing but his connexion can save and support the Government. The arrangement of getting rid ofVanwould certainly be the most eligible and satisfactory to the public that could be adopted. The Duke of Wellington has been seriously ill, but is now better. Whether this will impede his expedition to Vienna I know not, but should not think it would. The King is most delighted with his expedition to Scotland, preferring it infinitely to his Irish jaunt; this will not pleasePaddy.I should be delighted to hear that Nugent got Ireland, but I am sure his rank is now too high, the station has been lowered to acommandingofficer only, and a full General's staff is not allowed. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are come to Bagshot; they seem to think theRegnanteis losing ground; I don't believe one word of it, indeed I am quite sure of the reverse.Ever most faithfully yours,W. H. F.
Englefield Green, Sept. 8, 1822.
My dear Duke,
Having had nothing to communicate I have not written to you; indeed now there seems nothing to discuss till you know the terms on which Canning is to come in; I have no doubt the offer is, the Chancellorship of the Exchequer and lead of the House of Commons, and Cabinet for Huskisson or any one other friend. Whether he will think this enough I doubt; I am rather confident from what I have heard, that he will not surrender the foreign seals to anybody but the Duke of Wellington. I have no doubt they are intended for Lord Bathurst. He must feel and know we cannot do without him, and having so good a thing in his present possession, he will of course not accept office but in such a way as shall fully meet his wishes. The King sent for the Duke of York, who, with the Chancellor, will, I am sure, throw every difficulty in the way, though they must know that nothing but his connexion can save and support the Government. The arrangement of getting rid ofVanwould certainly be the most eligible and satisfactory to the public that could be adopted. The Duke of Wellington has been seriously ill, but is now better. Whether this will impede his expedition to Vienna I know not, but should not think it would. The King is most delighted with his expedition to Scotland, preferring it infinitely to his Irish jaunt; this will not pleasePaddy.
I should be delighted to hear that Nugent got Ireland, but I am sure his rank is now too high, the station has been lowered to acommandingofficer only, and a full General's staff is not allowed. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are come to Bagshot; they seem to think theRegnanteis losing ground; I don't believe one word of it, indeed I am quite sure of the reverse.
Ever most faithfully yours,
W. H. F.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.