Part 66

The King was perfectly reasonable about Lord Combermere. The Duke showed His Majesty the letters which had passed, and the King said he should not think of it. He told Peel and Lord Melville he wished the Royal Academy to remain open till after the King's funeral, that he might see the exhibition, and said Peel should attend him when he went. This Peel thinks very foolish, and his disposition seems to be to turn the King into ridicule, and to throw the suspicion of insanity upon all his acts. This is the tactique of the Whigs. The King takes the Sacrament on Sunday, and has desired the two English and one Irish archbishop to attend. This they call 'an indication.'

June 29.

At half-past ten went to Lord Rosslyn's, to arrange with him the Lords' Address. Went with him to Peel's, to show it to him. He was reading when we went in, and hardly looked up. He heard the Address which I read, and approved of it; but he hardly took any notice of us or of it. He seemed really ill, and quite broken down.

Called on Hardinge. We had some conversation respecting the state of the Government. His idea is that the strength of the Government in the House of Commons is much injured by Peel's being in a subordinate situation to the Duke. That if he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Lord of the Treasury, things would go on better, the Duke taking a secretaryship of State. This would do very well in the House of Commons, but very ill in the Cabinet. He is for getting Mr. Stanley, and suggests (or Rosslyn did, or both, for having talked to both on the same subject I may confound them) that Lord F. Leveson should be made a peer. I think that a good idea. He is of no use in the Commons, and his peerage would open a place which Mr. Stanley could fill.

Rosslyn thinks Aberdeen's notions upon foreign politics have, together with his assumption of independence which is of recent date, made the Duke rather sore, and that he would not be sorry to have another Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Lord Rosslyn wants to have Lord Grey in, and says he would as soon be First Lord of the Admiralty as Foreign Secretary. Rosslyn would, I think, like to go to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant. He would willingly give up the Privy Seal to Aberdeen. He thinks Sir G. Murray would make an excellent Governor General. I fear he would be too indolent. He said he knew, if there was a vacancy, the Duke would be glad to make him Master General.

I had said I believed Lord Beresford would go to Portugal as Minister, if Miguel would be on good terms with us. It seems Goulburn would be glad to be Speaker. That would open a proper office for Herries, and his offices might be divided, Lord Althorpe having the Board of Trade.

I really think some arrangement must be made to give us strength in the House of Commons. Saw the Duke at two. He approved of the address. Rosslyn, was with him. I told him how ill Peel seemed. He said he would go to see him.

House. The Duke moved the Address. He gave a character of the late King as one of the most accomplished, able, and remarkable men of the age. I saw Lord Grey smile a little, but the House generally was grave and formal. Lord Grey assented to the Address, but laissait entrevoir that he should be hostile to the Address to-morrow, hinting at the Regency. The same thing was done in the Commons.

The Duke told me the late King had three disorders which must have proved fatal, and he died of bursting a blood-vessel in the stomach. He had a concretion as large as an orange in his bladder, his liver was diseased, and his heart was ossified. Water there was not much, and all proceeding from the interruption of circulation about the heart. I read the report, signed by Halford, Tierney, Brodie, and A. Cooper.

We had East Retford again. Lord Londonderry, whom Lord Durham puts forward as his tool, moved an adjournment. The question was postponed till Friday. Afterwards the Duke of Buckingham, when most peers had gone away, moved the same thing, and then Lord Londonderry twice. We had majorities but gave it up at last. The Chancellor is heartily tired of the whole thing. The Duke went away while Lord Londonderry was explaining in answer to his speech, to the noble Lord's great annoyance.

I rode home with the Duke, who spoke of Lord Londonderry as a madman. He said Peel had not taken a sufficiently high line. He did not like the position he stood in in the House of Commons. The Duke said no Government was ever beaten by its enemies, but many have been by their friends.

The King was very amenable and good-natured to-day.

June 30.

Occupied all the morning in looking at the precedents in the case of regency. There are two modern contradictory precedents, 24 Geo. II. and 5 Geo. III., and no experience of either, nor has there been a minority since Edward VI. in 1547.

It is clear the sovereign is sovereign whatever be his age, and the Act appointing a regent must have his assent. Whatever has at any time been done, has been done or sanctioned by Parliament. Parliament cannot supersede the Royal authority.

It is remarkable that Parliament in 1811 made provision for the care of the King's person in case of his death; but none for the care of the kingdom in the event of the Regent's death, although the Princess Charlotte was but fifteen.

House at 5. The Duke moved the Address in a very short speech, not adverting to the regency. Lord Grey followed and declared his opinion of the incapacity of Government as exhibited in their measures during the last five months. Goderich said 'nothing had been done,' and was for going on with the business. Lord Harrowby wished a short Regency Bill to be passed, giving the regency to the Queen for six weeks, to provide for the case of pregnancy. The Chancellor made a speech, not long, admitting the law to be as stated, that is, that the sovereign immediately on accession possessed all Royal power. Eldon spoke against us, and treated the question of a King en venire sa mere with jocularity. I followed, and observed gravely upon his jocularity on such a subject; then stated my view of the question, and expressed my regret and surprise at Lord Grey's declaration, added I was happy to know at last where we were, who were our friends and who were our enemies.

Then got up the Duke of Richmond, totally misrepresenting what I had said as to Lord Eldon and Lord Grey, and endeavouring to make them appear as personal attacks to which no gentleman could submit. Lord Londonderry followed in the same tone. (After the Duke of Richmond I explained that I had not attributed improper motives to Lord Grey, nor attacked Lord Eldon's character.) We had afterwards Lord Lansdowne, Lord Harewood giving his first vote for the Government after the Catholic Question, and that because it was the first measure of the new King. A foolish reason, but I dare say many voted on the same ground. Lord Wharncliffe spoke against us, Lords Bute and Wicklow and the Duke of Buckingham for us, Lord Radnor shortly against. The Duke replied. Then Lord Grey spoke, and observed, of course, upon what I had said, but not angrily, and I made an explanation which was satisfactory, and set us quite right again. He had imagined me to say he owed a debt of gratitude to the Government for the measure of last session. I said he had expressed gratitude, but we had not claimed it, because we only did our duty. In the lobby during the debate Lord Jersey told me he was afraid Lord Grey might have misunderstood the meaning of what I said about gratitude, and begged me to set him right immediately if it was so.

We had 100 to 54. A very good division. We went, at ten, to Goulburn's to dinner, and expected soon to see the members of the House of Commons, and to hear of as good a division there as in the Lords, but after an hour we heard the division had only been 185 to 139. This made us a little flat, and Lord Bathurst drank no more champagne.

I intentionally committed the Government thoroughly with the Whigs, for after Lord Grey's declaration it was idle to expect a vote from them, and our people were pleased, as I knew they would be. The Duke of Bedford and Lord Jersey voted with us. So did Dudley.

I shall have work enough now, as they have ten or twelve speakers, and we but three.

July 1.

Looked over the debates on the Forgery Bill this morning. Committee at one. Examined a manufacturer of camlets and bombazines from Norwich. House. Forgery Bill. The Chancellor made an admirable speech, Lord Lansdowne followed him, then Lords Wynford, Tenterden, and Eldon all against the bill. We divided 77 to 20. The Duke was delighted, he said, 'How very right we were.' So said the Chancellor. Peel would have given it up. Now, I think one large majority will set public opinion right again. The Chancellor said all that was contained in Peel's two speeches and much more. Peel and Brougham were under the throne.

Lord Bathurst, with whom I walked home from the House at three, when we talked of Goulburn's becoming Speaker, suggested Hardinge as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He would be an excellent one.

I met Goulburn in the Park this morning. He did not seem much pleased with the House last night. I see there were strong words indeed in the second debate, Brougham talking of the parasites of the Duke of Wellington. Peel asked whether he presumed to call him a parasite? There was great confusion, and it ended by Peel's making an explanation for Brougham, in which Brougham acquiesced. Several members, amongst the rest, I hear, Castlereagh, were going to call Brougham out.

In the House Lord Bathurst told me Wortley had stayed away from the division last night, and had sent in his resignation. Soon after I received a note from Wortley telling me so, expressing great regret that he could not vote for a course of measures which excluded a Regency Bill. His regret was increased by my kindness and encouragement. I have sent his letter to the Duke, having shown it to Lord Bathurst in the House. I wrote an answer to say I felt great regret at his not being able to adopt our line, and expressing my personal regret at losing him, and my acknowledgments for the assistance I had derived from him.

His father and father-in-law both voted against us last night. He says in his note he has taken his line entirely on his own view.

I had some talk with Dudley in the lobby of the House. I began by saying he had acted very handsomely by us. He said he was friendly to the Government, and above all things unfriendly to Lord Grey and the Duke of Newcastle. The motion of last night he called pure faction.