Volume I Part 11 (2/2)

[18] [Theon this subject, the counter-opinions of the Duke of Wellington, and the King's minute upon them have been published in the second voluton's Correspondence,' pp 354, 364, and 402]

Canning concealed nothing fro, nor fro to her in the greatest detail Canning's industry was such that he never left a moment unemployed, and such was the clearness of his head that he could address himself almost at the same time to several different subjects with perfect precision and without the least eh for hismuch quicker than he could commit his ideas to paper He could not bear to dictate, because nobody could write fast enough for hiout in his hand and could not write, he stood by the fire and dictated at the sae Bentinck and one on South A as fast as he could, while he turned from one to the other without hesitation or eust 10th, 1827 {p107}

The Cabinet sat yesterday enerally believed that Lord Goderich will succeed Canning at the Treasury, and Lord Lansdowne has no objection to serve under him

The Tories were full of hope and joy at first, but in proportion as they were elated at first so were they dejected yesterday, when they found that the King sent for Lord Goderich and not for the Duke of Wellington He never seeht of the Duke at all It will all be out to-day or to- up They have taken leave of office, except Peel, ill come in some day or other

[They remained out of office five e Head: WELLINGTON'S OPINION OF CANNING]

The Duke of Wellington talked of Canning the other day a great deal at , his co exactly as necessary and passing over those topics on which it was not advisable to touch, his fertility and resources inexhaustible He thought hih he prided himself extremely upon his compositions, he would patiently endure any criticisms upon such papers as he submitted for the consideration of the Cabinet, and would allow theested; he (the Duke) particularly had often 'cut and hacked' his papers, and Canning never made the least objection, but was always ready to adopt the suggestions of his colleagues It was not so, however, in conversation and discussion Any difference of opinion or dissent froe, and on such occasions he flew out with a violence which, the Duke said, had often coht not be involved in bitter personal altercation He said that Canning was usually very silent in the Cabinet, seldom spoke at all, but when he did he maintained his opinions with extraordinary tenacity He said that he was one of the idlest of men This I do not believe, for I have always heard that he saw everything and did everything himself Not a despatch was received that he did not read, nor one written that he did not dictate or correct

[Page Head: COUNCIL AT WINDSOR]

August 20th, 1827 {p108}

There was a Council at Windsor Castle on Friday last, which was a very curious scene What I saw puzzled me very much till matters have since been explained toDrummond, Lord Goderich's private secretary, came to me at my office and told me the Council would be held on Friday, and that Herries was to be appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and was going down that day with Lord Goderich to Windsor Accordingly when I arrived at the Castle I found Herries in the room, and I asked him if he was to take an oath as Chancellor of the Exchequer, because there was none in the oath-book for Chancellor, but one for the Treasurer of the Exchequer, and whether he was to take that He said he did not know, upon which I asked Wynn if he knew He did not; e all agreed to wait till Lord Bexley came,[19] and enquire of him what he had done When Lord Bexley arrived we asked him, and he said that Herries would only be sworn then as a Privy Councillor, and must take the oath of Chancellor of Exchequer in the Court of Exchequer Shortly after alked round the Castle, and so about the elevation of the Round Tohich Wyattville was anxious to accomplish, Herries said to him, 'But it is my business now to ask you what you will do it for, how much it will cost Will you do it for 10,000?' Wyattville said, 'You ive me 15,000,' so that I could have no doubt that Herries was Chancellor of the Exchequer In thepresent except the Chancellor and Lord Anglesey, who arrived afterwards As soon as Lord Goderich and Lord Lansdoere co conference Shortly afterwards the King came, when Lord Goderich went into his room He stayed some time, when the Duke of Portland went in, then Herries When Lord Goderich came out he had another conference with Lord Lansdowne, at the end of which he went again to the King He came out, and at the end of three-quarters of an hour went a third time, and after him Herries a second time, and with him Lord Bexley

Another very animated conversation took place between Lord Lansdowne and Lord Goderich, when the latter went to the King a fourth ti so to him as he went in Previous to this I remarked a conference between Lord Lansdowne, Goderich, and Carlisle, after which Carlisle took Tierney into the next roo was clearly going on, but I could not make out what I fancied that Lord Lansdowne insisted upon Lord Holland's being in the Cabinet Yesterday, however, I discovered that it was all about Herries and his appoint's, ho so odds and ends for hi then named him, and Goderichbut that he was to receive the seals, which in fact Goderich brought doith him on purpose

Lord Lansdowne, however, declared that he would not consent to the appointment, and hence arose all the conferences and audiences for which I could not account at the tis dislike Herries' politics, and stillupon himself to no his Ministers They are determined to resist this nomination, and the consequence of Lord Lansdowne's remonstrance was the suspension at least of the appointreeable state certainly

[19] [Lord Bexley as Mr Vansittart had been Chancellor of the Exchequer, fros are satisfied of the candour, fairness, and plain dealing of Goderich, but dissatisfied with his facility and want of fire, and wants to take advantage of the weakness of the Government and their apparent dependence upon hi to the Ministers The Whigs are not easy in their places They feel that they are not treated with the consideration to which they are entitled But they have got too far to recede, and they evidently are alar, he should accept their resignation and form a Government by a junta of the old Tories with the rest of his Administration, by which their exclusion would be made certain and perpetual I find that the Duke of Portland was likewise na himself They do not object to the Duke, on the contrary, but they object greatly to his being so appointed All this I have from Tierney, who added, if the Duke had been proposed to the King by Lord Goderich, not a member of the Cabinet would have objected, but they don't like his being na At the end of the Council, on Friday, Lord Anglesey arrived, having travelled day and night, and brought with hiton's acceptance of the coether it was a day of unusual interest, and unlike the dulness of ordinary Councils

[Page Head: MR HERRIES' APPOINTMENT]

September 1st, 1827 {p110}

Since the Council on the 17th the affair of Herries has still been going on It appears that when Goderich went into the King (at the Council) to announce to hiry, angry at having been so coive up a nomination he liked

Herries naturally felt himself very ill treated and nettled by the attacks upon hi ad which could afford due reparation to his honour, and prove that he had not been rejected for the reasons which had been assigned

This the Ministers opposed, and it was at length determined that this reed with his colleagues about Herries, went to the King, and spoke to hi consented that another arrangees Bourne should be Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Herries take the Woods and Forests without a seat in the Cabinet

Herries, who had constantly refused to accede to any arrangement by which he was to be excluded from the Cabinet, said he would consider of it; but in the ht, and refused to take the Exchequer In vain Huskisson offered to take all the trouble on hies He would not do it, and so this arrange yesterday to report progress and state to him what had occurred When they caes, Herries, and the Chancellor) Goderich wrote a long letter to Lord Lansdowne, and he is to go to the King again this evening

I had a long conversation with Tierney yesterday, and I find that the Whig Ministers are sick to death of their situation and anxious to resign They think they are not treated with the consideration which is due to thereat party who are supporting the Government Then they think Goderich has behaved so ill in this affair that they can have no confidence in hirity of his character that they do not suspect him of any duplicity in what has passed, but his conduct has been marked by such deplorable weakness as sho unfit he is for the situation he occupies He has acted equally ill to the King, to his colleagues, and to Herries himself The history of the transaction is this:--While Goderich was Chancellor of the Exchequer Herries was the man upon whose assistance he relied to carry on the business of his office, and who in fact did it all for him As soon as he was at the head of the Treasury he felt that Herries would be equally necessary to hily pressed him to take the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Herries declined After repeated solicitations, Herries told hi to his Government, and that he would take the office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and do all his Treasury business for him (this is the account of Herries' friends, which seeh he did not wish to be in the Cabinet

At last, however, Goderich prevailed on Herries to let hi, which was done The appoint, rote a letter with his own hand to Herries, desiring him to take the place When Goderich returned to toith this letter in his pocket, he went (before he delivered it) to the Cabinet, and thenwhat had passed, he found that the Cabinet would not approve of the appointment, on which he went to Herries, and said that he found that it would not do, and begged him to allow his appointment to be cancelled Herries told hiive it up

As soon as Herries had agreed to give it up Goderich pulls out of his pocket the King's letter, and says, 'By-the-by, here is a letter which I ought to have given you before' When Herries had read this letter he said, 'This puts h I a Chancellor of the Exchequer, I , and you must take me down to Windsor to-morrow for that purpose' This Goderich refused to do, when Herries said he should go down by himself He did so, and then passed all which I have described above in the account of the Council on the 19th I ought to have mentioned, as not the least curious circu sent for Sir Williahton, as closeted with hiether the sa, a proof of the inaccuracy of anecdotes and historical facts whenever they differ This is the true one