Volume I Part 25 (1/2)

George Bentinck toldis not satisfied with Stapleton's book, particularly with that part of it in which he attempts to answer Lord Grey's speech, which she thinks poor and spiritless; he is not disposed to be very severe on Lord Grey, being in a manner connected with him She is persuaded that that speech contributed to kill Canning; his feelings were deeply wounded that not one of his friends said a word in reply to it, although some of them knew that the facts in Lord Grey's speech were incorrect He veheht have an opportunity of answering it, and he had actually co the speech which he intended to reat part of this she remembers It see desire of hisyear, when he should have carried the Corn Bill through the House of Coht the battle there

January 17th, 1830 {p266}

Charles Mills told me the other day that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has beensold his India stock at the tiether, and both very forgetful and unpunctual Somebody said that if you asked Charles to dine with you at six on Monday, you were very likely to have Robert at seven on Tuesday

Edward Villiers (who has been living with Malcolm on board his shi+p in the Mediterranean) writes word that Malcolm told hi upon Constantinople, to destroy the Russian fleet If this is true, it would have been a great outrage, and a -suffering and endurance

The country gentle to arrive, and they all tell the sa distress and the certainty of things becoland, and the necessity of soeneral ruin Of course they differ as to thetowards the alteration in the currency and one pound notes It really does appear, from many representations, that a notion prevails of the Duke of Wellington's indifference to the state of the country, and of his disposition to treat the remonstrances and petitions of the people, as well as their interests and feelings, with contempt, which I believeopinion of his own all-sufficiency, and that is his besetting sin, and the one which, if anything does, will overturn his Government, for if he would be less dictatorial and opinionated, and would call to his assistance such talents and information as the crisis demands, he would be universally voted the best man alive to be at the head of the Government; but he has such a set of et over the Catholic question [Peel got over it, but not before he had expiated his conduct by being turned out]

January 20th, 1830 {p267}

The Duke and Lord Bathurst dined here yesterday, the forood spirits The battle about Leopold and Greece is still going on between his Majesty and his Ministers The Duke was talking about the robbery at Brussels of the Princess of Orange's jewels, and that there is reason to believe that Pereira, the Prince's friend, had some concern in it; many people suspect that both he and the Prince were concerned The Princess was in the country, and only one maid-servant in the house where such valuable property was left The jeere in a case, and the key of the case was kept in a cabinet, which was opened, the key taken, and the large case or chest opened by it Small footsteps (like those of Pereira, who has very small feet) were traced in the house or near it, and the day of the robbery the porter was taken by Pereira's servant to his house and there , but no steps were taken to infore Head: POLITICAL MORALITY]

January 22nd, 1830 {p267}

I believe it to be i virtue to be a successful politician, and it requires the nicest feeling and soundest judgment to know upon what occasions and to what extent it is allowable and expedient to diverge froreatest power, and with the purest intentions, are perpetually counteracted by prejudices, obstinacy, interest, and ignorance; and in order to be efficient they must turn, and tack, and temporise, sometimes dissemble They who are of the _ruat coelu their oay or not at all, must be content to yield their places to those who are certainly less scrupulous, and submit to the h it is possible that the less rigid and austere politician may be equally virtuous and disinterested, the whole context of his lifeenquiry, which unfortunately it will very seldority If Canning had had a fair field, he would have done great things, for his lofty and aour of his intellect, his penetration and sagacity, enabled hihty plans and work them out with success; but it is ih- that was dishonest, uncandid, and ungentleue, and this was the fault of his character, which was unequal to his genius and understanding

However, notwithstanding his failings he was the greatesttime, and if life had been spared to him, and opposition had not been too much for him, he would have raised our character abroad, and perhaps found remedies for our difficulties at home What a difference between his position and that of the Duke of Wellington's! Everybody is disposed to support the latter and give hied to carry men's approbation by stor, he would have been lost

[Page Head: DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S POSITION]

The Duke has lately given audience to the West Indians who cas and taxation and to implore relief Murray and Goulburn were present, neither of whom, it is said, spoke a word The Duke cut them very short, and told the would be done for them He is like the philosopher in Moliere's play, who says, 'Il ne faut pas dire que vous avez recu des coups de baton, mais qu'il vous semble que vous en avez recus'

Lawrence was buried yesterday; a nificent funeral, which will have cost, they say, 2,000 The pall was borne by Clanwilliaar Ellis, and three -coaches and eighty private carriages The ceremony in the church lasted two hours

Pretty well for a man who died in very embarrassed circumstances

The favourites for the chair of the Academy are Shee and Wilkie, painters, and West of Clanwilliaar said was the quickest ers were 'the _quick_ and the _dead_' Looking over the 'Report of the Woods and Forests and the Cost of the Palaces,' so the public: see Rejected Addresses) must pay; Luttrell said 'the public was the pensive and the King the expensive'

January 26th, 1830 {p269}

Yesterday afternoon Tierney died He sank back in his chair and expired suddenly, without any previous illness; he had been in an indifferent state of health for some time, but he had resolved to make one more effort in Parliament and deliver his opinion on the present state of affairs He is a great loss to all his friends; his political life was already closed

Shee was elected President of the Royal Acadehteen votes; Sir William Beechey six, as the nearest to Shee; Wilkie only two He is an Irishman and a Catholic, a bad painter, a tolerable poet, and aconversation with Arbuthnot yesterday, who is weak, but knows everything; his sentiments are the Duke's They are furious with the old Tories, especially Lord Lonsdale, and not well satisfied with Lowther, who, underhand part The Duke is determined not to alter his Governthen it Arbuthnot said that the Duke had shown he did not mean to be exclusive when he had taken in Scarlett and Calcraft, and that 'his friends'

would not have borne any more extensive promotion from that party; that of all Ministers he was the one who least depended upon Parliareat families; and that if Lord Lonsdale and all his members were to leave him to-morrow, he would not care a straw Still he pays theh he suspects him Arbuthnot said that as soon as the Duke became Minister he said to him, 'Now, Duke, for God's sake settle that question' (the Catholic), which was as ot rid of every enemy and every rival, now that you can raise your own reputation, and that you will share the glory with no one, do that which you would never let anybody else do, and fight for the ined he would not have said this unless he had been fully aware of the Duke's sentihtcame into office, when they _all_ went out, _on the Catholic question_ He says it is utterly false that the Duke is unconscious of or indifferent to the distress, but that it is exaggerated, and the Duke attributes it to temporary and not to permanent causes; that he labours incessantly on the subject, and his thoughts are constantly occupied with devising a remedy for it, which he thinks he can do He adverted to the difficulties with the King, who is never to be depended upon, as his father was He remembers upon soht the difficulties of his situation great, he represented to George III

his sense of the's anshich was in these words:--'Do you stand by me as I will stand by you, and while we stand by each other we have nothing to fear'

I told Arbuthnot it was reported that the Duke had given a very rough answer to the West Indian deputations, and that if he had it was unwise, as, though he ht not adopt such measures of relief as they desired, he could treat thee

He said that, so far from it, Lord Chandos had returned to the Duke the next day, and apologised for their conduct to hi him that he was ashamed and tired of his connexion with them, and should withdraw from it as soon as possible This I mentioned at Brookes', but Gordon (a West Indian) said that they had all been shocked at the manner in which he had used theo to hie Hibbert, who has been their agent these thirty years, and had attended deputations to every Prime Minister since Pitt, had told him that he never saw one so ill received before It is customary for every deputation to draw out a minute of their conversation with the Minister, which they submit to him to admit its correctness They did so, but the Duke destroyed their minute, and sent them back one drawn out by himself, which, however, they declare was not so correct as that which had been transht to complain of this, on the contrary