Part 25 (1/2)

Richmond, Dec. 3, 1821.

MY DEAR LORD,

I received your kind note just as I was going to dinner. I will not detain your servant longer than to return you my sincere thanks. I will write more fully in the course of the evening, and will take care that you shall receive my letter early to-morrow. In the meantime I beg leave to inform you that I wrote to Lord Grenville as soon as I was authorized to write to any person, and I wrote to your Lords.h.i.+p at the same period of time. In my letter to Lord Grenville I requested an interview previous to my departure, for the purpose of receiving his inestimable advice; at that moment I had no idea of any other object. I could have attended Lord Grenville to-morrow, but I have received the King's commands to wait on him at Brighton, and I must depart early. On my return I shall be happy to pay my duty at Dropmore or in London, according to Lord Grenville's convenience.

I was very insufficiently informed of the circ.u.mstances mentioned by you, and was not aware even of their general tenor until yesterday.

I need not state what my ardent wishes are. The Duke of Wellington did not know of the commands which I had received from Brighton when he spoke of the possibility of my visiting Dropmore to-morrow.

Ever, my dear Lord, yours most faithfully,

WELLESLEY.

THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Richmond, Dec 3, 1821.

MY DEAR LORD,

In my short note this evening I stated to your Lords.h.i.+p generally the restraints which precluded my earlier communication with you and Lord Grenville; my desire, expressed to him, of receiving the great benefit of his advice previously to my departure for Ireland; and my earnest and anxious hope that Lord Grenville, your Lords.h.i.+p, and your friends, might concur in acting with the Government which had called me to the administration of the affairs of Ireland.

I was informed a few days ago (but in no distinct statement) that it was probable that your Lords.h.i.+p and Lord Grenville might give your countenance to the Government, and that some of your friends might accept office; but it was not until yesterday that I understood the arrangements for that desirable object to be in any advanced state, and from what I then collected, I had hoped that all difficulties had been removed.

My desire to see Lord Grenville rested entirely on my sense of the advantage of receiving his opinions, which I was satisfied he would impart to me with all the freedom and confidence of long-established friends.h.i.+p, and of mutual esteem and affection; but I should not have presumed, without his express injunction, to suggest any opinion respecting the conduct of his friends or his own in the present crisis. With regard to the settlement of the Roman Catholic grievances, my general opinions are unalterable; but the course to be pursued by the Executive Government in Ireland in the existing state of the law, and in the present condition of that country, must be regulated by practical considerations, in which persons may cordially concur whose sentiments may greatly differ on the great and final question. My view of the present state of affairs in Ireland would lead me to think that an impartial, equitable, and mild administration of the law (of which the alteration cannot be effected or attempted by a Lord Lieutenant), is the only safe course which can now be pursued, and the only channel through which we can ever reach a happy and permanent settlement.

With this view I entertain no apprehension of interruption in my government from the influence mentioned by your Lords.h.i.+p, as the subject of alarm in some most respectable minds. I really do not believe that any person now in high office, or likely to be in high office in either country, would attempt to contravene the liberal and benevolent spirit of the King's gracious and conciliatory admonitions to Ireland; and I trust that, by general consent, the system of government is abolished by which the laws respecting the Catholics were administered in a spirit much more severe than their letter. This is a step towards more substantial improvement, and every step in this salutary career must advance us still more near the complete attainment of general union and harmony. This is my plan, from which I cannot deviate, and in the execution of which I apprehend no interruption.

I understand from the Government here, and I most ardently hope, that our highly respectable and admirable friend Mr. Plunket is likely to hold a high official station in Ireland, where I shall place the most firm confidence in him, and receive the constant benefit of his council and a.s.sistance. This will be a great comfort and strength to me in a situation of great and arduous exertion; where, however, the course to be observed cannot be doubtful, whatever doubt the uncertainty of all human affairs must cast over the prospect of success.

If your Lords.h.i.+p had desired my opinion, I should certainly have declared, that as your junction with the Government cannot fail to be of great advantage to the country, so it could not be injurious to the Catholic cause, which can prosper only by the regular and steady progress of a prudent and temperate system. On this point, however, I repeat that I would not venture to obtrude my weak judgment. I am obliged to attend the King to-morrow, otherwise I should have endeavoured to see your Lords.h.i.+p and Lord Grenville; on my return I hope for that advantage.

Believe me always, my dear Lord,

With true esteem and regard,

Yours most faithfully,

WELLESLEY.

My brother Arthur has mentioned Lieut.-Col. Fremantle to me with great regard. I shall be very happy, if it should be in my power, to promote his wishes; but, in the very extended state of my old engagements, I cannot make any decision before my arrival in Ireland.

MR. W. C. PLUNKET TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Dublin, Dec. 3, 1821.

MY LORD,

The mails have arrived here after a continuance of eight or nine days of storm, and I have just received your Lords.h.i.+p's letter of the 30th. I hasten to acknowledge it, and to express the strong sense I entertain of your Lords.h.i.+p's kindness and confidence. When I was in town last March, I took the liberty of asking Lord Grenville's advice, with reference to an overture which had been made to me on the part of his Majesty's Ministers, and on which I had declined to act, until I should have the opportunity of learning his sentiments; finding that he had formed a decided (and I must say most unfortunate) resolution not to become a member of administration, but knowing, at the same time, how entirely his views and opinions on the state of public affairs coincided with those of the Government, I felt disposed to accede to the proposal which had been made, of resuming my former office of Attorney-General in Ireland. Your Lords.h.i.+p was not then in town, or I should certainly have availed myself of your confidence and friendly interest in my affairs, and have asked the benefit of your advice. Lord Grenville agreed with me that there was _no possible objection to the proposed arrangement_; at the same time he suggested the propriety of holding myself free as to the time and mode of dealing with the Roman Catholic question.