Part 33 (1/2)

He had gone round on Wednesday to the reporters, and had told them they would never have a holiday if they reported speeches on a Wednesday, so they did not, and they will not. This will put an end to all speechifying on holidays.

_May 3._

Cabinet. Saw a letter from Halford to the Duke. The King was 'in a most distressing, not to say alarming, state' from eight to-day evening to half- past three. He cannot get sleep. Halford says it was 'a gigantic struggle.'

The Duke saw Lord Combermere to-day, having received the letters I sent him before the interview. The Duke told him the Government were parties to the disapprobation expressed by the Court of Directors.

Lord C. threw the whole blame upon Lord W. Bentinck. He had carried the order into execution without communication with him, 'and had told the army if they objected to it, they might memorialise.'

This _I do not believe_.

Lord C. said the army was not in a state approaching to mutiny, and never had been.

He had not said it was in his minutes (but he did in a letter); as to the minutes of the other members of Council, he was not responsible for them.

They were civilians. Besides, Lord W. wished to go up the country. He had received in July a letter telling him he was not to go except in a case of emergency, then the Government was not to move from Calcutta, and he endeavoured in his minute and the others in theirs to make an apparent case of emergency that they might move.

As to the last point there is an anachronism, as the orders not to leave Calcutta _as a Government_ arrived after the minutes were recorded.

The Duke told Lord Combermere that all the orders for reduction of expenditure having proved inefficacious, it was necessary for the Government here to take reduction into their hands, and it was very natural and obvious to enforce an order twice repeated and already obeyed at the other presidencies.

When the army a.s.sumed the tone which appeared in the memorials, it was impossible for the Government to do otherwise than insist upon the enforcement of the order. They had expected from him that his whole influence would have been used to strengthen the Government and to prevent any ebullition of feeling on the part of the army. Lord Combermere left the Duke very angry. If the King had been well he would have joined Lord Anglesey. As it is, I expect he will oppose the Government. Lord Hill saw him for a few minutes, and had only some unimportant conversation with him.

He told Lord Hill he had made thirteen or fourteen lacs. He made seven lacs by prize money at Bhurtpore.

The French have not yet given a written explanation as to Algiers. Their army is said to be in very fine order.

Leopold seems to have insinuated that our yielding on the subject of the loan was sudden and late, &c. Aberdeen understood him to allude to the King's illness, and to impute our concession to the wish to get him out of the way. He took no notice of it, and treated the thing as settled.

Preparations have been made for the event of the King's death.

Peel has been obliged to leave London, as his father is dying.

_May 4._

Committee. No witnesses. Walked with Lords Bathurst and Rosslyn to the Duke's. The bulletin is good. The King had some sleep and is better.

Halford's account, too, is better. The King slept six hours, but the water was so much increased about the legs that they have made punctures to draw it off. Upon the whole the account leads one to suppose the thing will be protracted.

In the House of Commons last night, Goulburn was obliged to withdraw the vote of 100,000. for Windsor Castle and refer it to a Committee upstairs.

The expectation of a dissolution is acting powerfully on votes, and he would have been beaten. The Duke approved entirely of his having withdrawn the motion.

The continuance of the King in this state would be highly inconvenient indeed. There would be no possibility of carrying on the money business in the House of Commons.

In the House of Lords we had a motion from Lord MountCashel for an address for a commission to enquire into the abuses of the English and Irish Church. No one thought it worth while to reply to him.

_May 5._

Read and altered a letter relative to the new arrangement of civil allowances.