Volume III Part 11 (1/2)

London, Novee Head: REFLECTIONS ON THE TURF]

For two months nearly that I have been in this country I have not written a line, having had nothing worth recording to put down It is not worth my while to write, nor anybody else's to read (should anybody ever read theseand all that thereunto appertains, and though several disagreeable occurrences have ruffled the strea these; for if their consequences pass away, and I can forget them, it is better not at any future tiriefs subdued' Of public events I have known nothing but what everybody else knows, and it would have been mere waste of tiration of the Houses of Parlian on the turf has been a successful one Still all this success has not prevented frequent disgusts, and I derive anything but unmixed pleasure from this pursuit even when I win by it Besides the continual disappointments and difficulties incident to it, which harass theout of it, the associates and the war against villany and trickery, being haunted by continual suspicions, discovering the trust-_un_worthiness of one's most intimate friends, the necessity of insincerity and concealht and would desire to bewith the lowest of mankind, and absorbed in the business for the sole purpose of getting radation of intellect, the conviction of the deteriorating effects upon both the feelings and the understanding which are produced, the sort of drahts tor in toent to Crockford's, where I found all the usual set of people, and soon after Sefton came in Lord Spencer's death had taken place the day before; he knew nothing of the probable arrangeo to the Admiralty and Auckland to India But what he was fullest of was that Mrs Lane Fox's house was becoreat rendezvous of a considerable part of the Cabinet The Chancellor, Melbourne, Duncannon, and Mulgrave are there every day and all day; they all dine with her, or meet her (the only woman) at each other's houses, as often as they can It certainly is a droll connexion The squabbles between Brougham and Durham seem to have resolved themselves into a mere personal coldness, and there is no question now of any hostilities between theh some people apparently did; but they both would ht

November 14th, 1834 {p140}

Went down to the Council Office yesterday, and found them in the middle of Lord Westmeath's case--Lord Lansdowne, the Vice-Chancellor, Parke, Erskine, and Vaughan Lushi+ngton was for Lady Westument there was a discussion, and well did Westmeath do, for they reduced the alimony from 700 to 315 a year, and the arrears in the sareat measure in his appeal, which he would not have done if the Chancellor had contrived to lug on the case as he wished; for Erskine was all for giving her more, the others did not seeht principle, as well as what best accorded with the justice of the case, she would certainly have got a e Head: RECENT LAW APPOINTMENTS]

The Vice-Chancellor afterwards told al appointham and Melbourne on the subject of either Campbell accepted the Attorney-Generalshi+p on the express condition that he should not expect to succeed as a ht to any vacancy in the Courts, but on Leach's death he did instantly urge his claiham wrote to Melbourne, and speedily followed his letter to London, and they both agreed not to listen to this claim, and to promote Pepys I don't kno they disposed of Horne's claim Bickersteth[8] refused to be Solicitor-General on account of his health, and not choosing to face the House of Cohaested Rolfe when the vacancy occurred, that he had not been in great practice, but was a good lawyer and excellent speaker, and that the Chancellor and Melbourne had likewise concurred in this appointements rendered necessary by Lord Spencer's death, but Melbourne went to Brighton yesterday Rice has worked hard to master the Colonial business, and probably will not like to be translated to the Exchequer; besides, it is supposed that his seat at Caoing on; how can any others go on better?

[8] [Mr Bickersteth refused to be Solicitor-General because the offer was made to him by the Lord Chancellor, and not by the Prime Minister At that time he was personally unacquainted with Lord Melbourne, but he consented to call on him at Lord Melbourne's request, and the offer was repeated, but not accepted

The real reason of his refusal was his profound distrust of Lord Broughaht it unworthy of himself to accept the office of a law officer of the Crown under a Chancellor hom he could not conscientiously act I have read a MS narrative of the whole transaction by Lord Langdale hily expressed]

Lord Lansdowne has just returned from Paris, where, he toldThe new Ministry is a wretched patched-up affair; but the Governreat power and influence in the Chambers, and not the ability of his Ministers (be they who theyThis influence appears to be i any popularity, there is an universal opinion that Louis Philippe is indispensable to France

He told Lord Lansdowne that he had always been against the appointh he had a high opinion of himent sufficient for that post, and he had told his Ministers that he would consent to the appointment if they insisted on it, but that he warned them that it would break up the Government Whatever may be the instability of this or any other Ad can be 's tenure of his crown He appears, in fact, to be the very our of life and has a reasonable prospect of a long reign, he will probably consolidate the interest of his faht be of the restoration of the old effete dynasty

CHAPTER XXV

Fall of Lord Melbourne's Governue--Effect of the _Coup_ at Holland House--The Change of Govern's Address to the New Ministers--The Duke's Account of the Transaction--And Lord Lyndhurst's--Difficult Position of the Tories--Their Policy-- The Duke in all the Offices--Negotiation with Mr Barnes--Power of the 'Tiham offers to be Lord Chief Baron--Mr Barnes dines with Lord Lyndhurst--Whig View of the Recent Change--Liberal Views of the Tory Ministers--The King resolved to support the and Lord Melbourne--Lord Stanley's Position--Sydney S at St Paul's-- Lord Duncannon and Lord Melbourne--Relations of the four Seceders to Peel--Young Disraeli--Lord Melbourne's Speeches at Derby--Lord John Russell's Speech at Totness--The Duke of Wellington's Inconsistencies and Conduct

Novee Head: A STRANGE INTRIGUE]

Yesterdaythe toas electrified by the news that Melbourne's Governhtest suspicion of such an i catastrophe; the Ministers themselves reposed in perfect security I never saw astonishreat on every side; nobody pretended to have prophesied or expected such an event Thus it befell:--On Thursday Melbourne went to Brighton to ements necessary on Lord Spencer's death He had previously received a letter fro indicative of the fate that awaited him He had his audience on Thursday afternoon, and offered his Majesty the choice of Spring Rice, Lord John Russell, or Abercromby to lead the House of Co made some objections, and said he ht, and the next day, when Melbourne saw the King, his Majesty placed in his hands a letter containing his determination It was couched in terms personally co lost the services of Lord Althorp as leader of the House of Commons, he could feel no confidence in the stability of his Government when led by any other member of it; that they were already in a minority in the House of Peers, and he had every reason to believe the removal of Lord Althorp would speedily put them in the same situation in the other House; that under such circuements to be necessary, and that it was his intention to send for the Duke of Wellington

Nothing could be more peremptory and decisive, and not a loophole was left for explanation or arrange wrote to the Duke, and, what is rather droll, the letter was despatched by Melbourne's carriage, which returned to town It is very evident that the King has long deteretting rid of these people, whom he dislikes and fears, and that he thinks (justly or not reood opportunity, and such a one perhaps assince a Governularly kicked out, in the siues expected his return without a shadow of apprehension, or doubt He got back late, and wrote to none of them The Chancellor, who had dined at Holland House, called on him and heard the news; the others (except Duncannon, ent to hinorance till yesterdaywith the astounding intelligence All the Ministers (except Brougham) read the account of their dis, and this was the first they heard of it Melbourne resolved to say nothing that night, but suham called on him on his way from Holland House Melbourne told him, but made him promise not to say a word of it to anybody He promised, and the moment he quitted the house sent to the 'Times' office and told them what had occurred, with the well-known addition that 'the Queen had done it all'

They attribute their fall to the influence of the Queen, and fancy that it is the result of a preconcerted scheue with the Tories, neither of which do I believe to be true With regard to the latter notion, the absence of Sir Robert Peel, who is travelling in Italy, is a conclusive proof of its falseness He never would have been absent if he had foreseen the remotest possibility of a crisis, and the death of Lord Spencer has been imminent and expected for some time past I am convinced that it is the execution of a project which the King has long nourished of delivering hiinal dislike has been exasperated to a great pitch by the hausted at the Radical propensities which the Durham dinner has manifested, that he is resolved to try whether the Government cannot be conducted upon principles which are called Conservative, but which shall really be _bona fide_ opposed to the ultra doctrines and wild schemes which he knows are not distasteful to at least one-half of his late Cabinet

His resentainst these people has been considerably increased by the discovery (which he believes he has rossly deceived at the period of Lord Grey's retirement and the formation of Melbourne's Administration The circumstances of this part of the business I know only iood deal that requires explanation in order to ood authority yesterday that at that titon were quite prepared to undertake the formation of a Government if it had been proposed to them, and that he had every reason to believe they had been betrayed by 'that scoundrel H----,' who had been employed by some of the other party to find out what their intentions and dispositions were upon that point; that H---- had gone to the at that time entire confidence in him, they had told him if it was offered to them they certainly would undertake it; that he had never told theiven them any reason to believe that he was commissioned to find out their resolution, and they think he returned to his employer and told him that they must take care how such an offer was made to the Tories, as they would certainly accept it if it was offered Melbourne was no party to this transaction, but the consequence of it was that the King was given to understand that it would be useless to propose to them to form a Government, for they were not prepared to do so, and he was advised to make the proposal of a coalition, which was , it appears, subsequently discovered what their disposition had been at the time, and that he had been nant

I should like to know this story more in detail, for it would be curious to learn ere the agents in the intrigue, and, above all, what could induce H---- to sacrifice the interests of the Duke of Wellington (hoations) and of the party froes to those of the Whigs, from whom he could derive no benefit sufficient to coer as well as treachery of the transaction I never liked this fellow, and always thought hiuard, and, however shrewd and active, a bad confidant and 'fidus Achates'

for the Duke to have taken up; but the folly and shortsightedness of this proceeding see of its villany) that I cannot without strong proofs yield h Peel is not a rounds

ThisLord Lansdorote me word that the Duke had accepted, but it is probable that nothing can be done till Peel returns from Italy He will accept no post but that of Pri would prefer to put the Duke there if he would take it

Novee Head: EFFECT OF THE COUP AT HOLLAND HOUSE]