Volume II Part 10 (1/2)

I saw Lady Jersey last night and had a long conversation with her about her squabbles She declares solemnly (and I believe it) that she never said a syllable to the Queen against her quondam friends, owns she abused Sefton to other people, cried, and talked, and the end was that I ahty glorious about her _sortie_ upon Lambton, whom she dislikes, but she is vexed at the hornets' nest she has brought round her head All this co The wisest rant in the Tuileries Gardens so on, and when taken up by the police and questioned why he went about in that guise, he said he was iet himself into jeopardy he had adopted this precaution I wonder what La others instead of Palo out, which he talked of as such an easy and indifferent ance and folly there is in the world! I don't kno long this will last, but itPrime Minister

What a foolish proverb that is that 'honesty is the best policy!'

I a with Henry Taylor to meet Wordsworth; the same party as when he had Southey--Mill, Elliot, Charles Villiers Wordsworthon sixty; hard-featured, brorinkled, with prorey hairs, but nevertheless not a disagreeable countenance; and very cheerful, merry, courteous, and talkative, rave and didactic character of his writings He held forth on poetry, painting, politics, and reat deal of eloquence; he is reater flow of animal spirits than Southey He mentioned that he never wrote down as he co, or in bed, and wrote down after; that Southey always cohareatly adenerous and affectionate in his disposition, full of duty and attention to his mother, and had adopted and provided for a whole family of his brother's children, and treats his wife's children as if they were his own He insisted upon taking the-room the other day when he went in state as Chancellor

They remonstrated with him, but in vain

CHAPTER XIV

Introduction of the Reform Bill--Attitude of the Opposition-- Refor--Old Sir Robert Peel--The City Address--Agitation for Reforham at the Horse Guards--Miss Kemble--Vote on the Timber Duties--Lord Lansdowne's Opinion of the Bill--Refor--The Prince of Orange--Peel's Reserve--Ministers beaten--Parlia in Person--Tu in their Hands--The Elections--Illumination in the City--The Queen alarmed--Lord Lyndhurst's View of the Bill-- Lord Grey takes the Garter--The King at Ascot--Windsor under Williaham at Whitbread's Brewery and at the British Museu of Peers--New Parliaewater House--The Second Refor's Coronation--Cobbett's Trial--Prince Leopold accepts the Crown of Belgium--Peel and the Tories--A Rabble Opposition--A Council for the Coronation

March 2nd, 1831 {p121}

[Page Head: THE FIRST REFORM BILL]

The great day at length arrived, and yesterday Lord John Russellin his Reform Bill To describe the curiosity, the intensity of the expectation and excitement, would be impossible, and the secret had been so well kept that not a soul knehat the uessed pretty well) till they heard it He rose at six o'clock, and spoke for two hours and a quarter--a sweeping ined, because the Ministers had said it was one which would give _general_ satisfaction, whereas this must dissatisfy all the h not to satisfy the Radicals They say it was ludicrous to see the faces of the members for those places which are to be disfranchised as they were severally announced, and Wetherell, who began to take notes, as the plan was gradually developed, after sundry contortions and gris, thren his notes with a mixture of despair and ridicule and horror Not lis followed John Russell, and Francis Leveson closed the debate in the best speech he has everis easy in these days, otherwise how Palmerston, Goderich, and Grant can have joined in a , violent, and speculative character it is difficult to conceive, they ere the disciples of Castlereagh and the adherents of Canning; but after the Duke of Wellington and Peel carrying the Catholic question, Canning's friends advocating Radical Reforham on the Woolsack, what may one not expect?

What everybody enquires is what line Peel will take, and though each party is confident of success in this question, it is thought to depend mainly upon the course he adopts and the sentiments he expresses Hitherto he has cautiously abstained fro himself in any way, and he is free to act as he thinks best, but he certainly occupies a grand position when he has _omnium oculos in se conversos_, and the whole House of Co with unalterable anxiety to his opinions and conduct Such has the course of events and circumstances reat part, and it may be a very useful one God kno this plan may be received in the country, and what ton, however, is right enough when he says that the great present danger is lest people should be toolike the panic that prevails I never saw, the apprehension that enough will not be done to satiate the demon of popular opinion, and the disposition to submit implicitly to the universal bellow that pervades this country for what they call Reforreatest evil of it is that it is a pure speculation, and may be productive of the best consequences, or the worst, or even of none at all, for all that its authors and abettors can explain to us or to theht, which retched, and Stanley's was very good, but it matters not; he will tell the people in Ireland that he had a victory, and they will believe hi, and will contribute greatly to destroy the prestige of his power

March 3rd, 1831 {p123}

Last night the debate went on, nobody re but Macaulay and Wetherell; the for, and he sat doith such loud and long cheering as everybody agreed they had never heard before in the House of Commons, and which was taken not so much as a test of the merits of the speech as of an indication of the disposition of the ood fun in a conversation he iined at cockermouth between Sir Jaht very strange that none of the Ministers have spoken, except Althorp the first night The general opinion is that the Bill will be lost in the House of Commons, and that then Parliaht and prefer to change his Ministers

March 5th, 1831 {p123}

On Thursday night the great speeches were those of Hobhouse on one side and Peel on the other, which last was received with the greatest enthusiasm, and some said (as usual) that it was the finest oration they had ever heard within the walls of Parliament; it seems by the report of it to have been very able and very eloquent The people co their different accounts all tinctured by their particular opinions and prejudices, so that the exact truth of the relative merits of the speakers is only attainable by the newspaper reports, imperfect as they are, the next day The exciteht Stanley answered Peel in an excellent speech and one which is likely to raise his reputation very high He is evidently desirous of pitting hiainst Peel, whom he dislikes; and it is probable that they are destined to be the rival leaders of two great Parlias settle down into the ancient practices of Parlianation of Charles Wynne and his opposition to the Bill, and the unexpected defection from Government of Lord Seymour, the Duke of Somerset's son, and Jeffrey's speech, which was very able, but so talked of, thought of, dreamt of, but Reform Every creature one o? What is the last news? What do _you_ think? and so it is froht, in the streets, in the clubs, and in private houses

Yesterdaymet Hobhouse; told hiht of Peel's speech; he said it was brilliant, i, but not much in it Everybody cries up (more than usual) the speeches on their own side, and despises those on the other, which is peculiarly absurd, because the speaking has been very good, and there is so much to be said on both sides that the speech of an adversary ht Hobhouse told me he had at first been afraid that his constituents would disapprove this measure, as so many of them would be disfranchised, but that they had behaved nobly and were quite content and ready to make any sacrifices for such an object I asked hiht it would be carried; he said he did not like to think it would not, for he was desirous of keeping what he had, and he was persuaded he should lose it if the Bill were rejected I said it was an unlucky dileht like him and the other half were equally convinced that if it be carried they shall lose everything

Dined at Boodle's with the Master of the Rolls and Charles Grant, who talked about Peel and the reconstruction of the Tory party; that Peel and Wetherell do not _yet_ speak, but that the parties have joined, and at theat Wetherell's Herries went to represent Peel with sixteen or eighteen of his friends Ross, another of Peel's _a and that they would soon coton had expressed his readiness to take any part in which it was thought he could render service, either a prominent or a subordinate one or none at all If so he will be a greaterand pathetically about the West Indies, and told me a curious anecdote on the authority of Scarlett, as present When Wilberforce went out of Parlia and offered hi hiive hith which to an a took three days to consider it, but finally declined, and then the party elected Brougham as their chief; hence the representation of Yorkshi+re and e Head: THE FIRST SIR ROBERT PEEL]

Grant gave er son of a merchant, his fortune (very small) left to hiave up the fortune and started in business without a shi+lling, but as the active partner in a concern with two other hter he afterwards married) and another--who between the he left 250,000 apiece to his five younger sons, 60,000 to his three daughters each, and 22,000 a year in land and 450,000 in the funds to Peel In his lifetiave Peel 12,000 a year, the others 3,000 and spent 3,000 hi theht he would have undervalued He paid for Peel's house when he built it, and for the Chapeau de Paille (2,700 guineas) when he bought it

March 10th, 1831 {p125}

The debate has gone on, and is to be over to-night; everybody heartily sick of it, but the exciteood, and vehemently cheered by the Govern way to their zeal; Attwood, the other way, good; Grahaot into nautical terms and a simile about a shi+p, in which he floundered and sank Sir J Yorke quizzed hireat effect To-day the City went up with their address, to which the King gave a very general answer There was great curiosity to knohat his ansould be I rather think this address was got up by Governe the Reforht; and Pearson ith Ellice at the Treasury for an hour the day before this address was one so far that they certainly wish for agitation here The Duke of Wellington is alaro Went to Lady Jersey the day before yesterday to read her correspondence with Brougham, who flummeried her over with notes full of affection and praise, to which she responded in the sa her reply the Duke of Wellington came in, on which she huddled it up, and I conclude he has not seen her effusion News arrived that the Poles have been beaten and have subreat fall in the French funds, as they are expected not to pay their dividends Europe is in a nice mess The events of a quarter of a century would hardly be food for a week now-a-days