Volume III Part 15 (2/2)
Within the last few days the county elections have given a considerable turn to the state of affairs The Conservatives have been everywhere triumphant Norfolk, Derbyshi+re, Hants, Lancashi+re--two Whigs turned out and two Conservatives returned; Ingilby in Lincolnshi+re; one in Surrey, one in Kent: and if these affairs had not been infaed, they would have returned two in Surrey, two in Kent, and (if they had put up a better reat and erton in Lancashi+re, who is nearly 1,000 above his opponents, and has been received with astonishi+ng enthusiasm, and was the popular candidate, even at Manchester and with the mob These elections have damped the spirits of the Radicals, and proportionally raised those of the Govern Chronicle' was yesterday quite silent on the subject, and at Holland House, where I dined, they were evidently in no sust I told Lord Holland that I considered the Lancashi+re election as the most important event that had occurred, and one calculated to have a great moral effect in favour of the Government, which he oas true, and they did not deny that the Govern we had aat the Council Office to consider of the removal of assizes, when Lyndhurst in his off-hand way said to me, 'Well, I think we are safe now; I have no fears' 'Haven't you,' I said, 'but I have' 'Oh no, we are on a rock--adain triuht, which I did not before nobody can possibly deny that there is a great reaction in the country; and though the weight of the towns, and the power of the ten-pounders thrown into the other scale,force which will enable the better cause to erton's election will produce indirectly very i to , ti whatever Conservative sentiments they really do entertain Much remains to be done,like security can be felt, but undoubtedly the political horizon looks hter than it did
January 25th, 1835 {p199}
A ridiculous thing happened the other day The Speaker careat stew about the attacks on hiister of the nah I think he is a _pauvre sire_, he has a very tolerable case here, and I wrote a letter to the 'Ti to think of Speaker Onslow The next day appeared a letter fro that he was not the author of a letter which had appeared in his naht he could hardly be serious Munster told me the day before yesterday that he was told of the Queen's being with child on the day of the Lord Mayor's dinner; that she is noeen two and three one Of course there will be plenty of scandal Alvanley proposes that the psal It so happens, however, that Howe has not been with the Court for a considerable tie Head: CHURCH REFORM BILL]
There is a Coe the Church Bill--Rosslyn, Wharncliffe, Ellenborough, and Herries It is generally believed theyforward sos cannot oppose it with honour, nor the Tories support it without infas would support it, the honest Tories oppose it, the dishonest Tories would support, and the dishonest Whigs oppose it
He told me an anecdote at the same time which shohat the supineness and sense of security of the Church were twenty years ago An architect built a chapel on Lord Holland's land, near Holland House, and wished it to be appropriated to the service of the Church of England, and served by a curate The rector objected and refused his consent There was no reainst him, and all that could be done was to -house, or a Ro out a licence, the builder could do However, he got Lord Holland to speak to the Archbishop of Canterbury (Sutton), to tell him the difficulty, and request his interference with the rector to suffer this chapel to be opened to an Orthodox congregation After some delay the Archbishop told Holland that he had better advise his friend to take out a licence, and ht best The builder could not afford to lose the capital he had expended, and acted upon the advice of the Pri-house to this day I shall be very glad if this reforives satisfaction, and I do not know that any of the present Ministers are pledged against athe revenues of the Church, but certainly reforms, and especially ecclesiastical reforrace fro Church reform articles; and the other day I looked back at Knatchbull's speech at the Kentish , a week after the dissolution of the late Governht leave this country 'without _any change_ in _Church_ or _State_'
He has been Anti-everything during his whole life, and now he is come into office to carry into effect 'safe and necessary reforhtest occasion for while he was out All these things are disgusting; they disgust one with political life, they lower the characters of public ht of sincerity, straightforwardness, disinterestedness, consistency; each party we have constantly acting with a view to its own interests _as a party_, and always disregarding consequences with htedness
February 2nd, 1835 {p201}
[Page Head: INSECURITY OF THE TORIES]
The elections are over, and still each side claims a majority It will turn out probably that the Government have about 270 thick and thin s have certainly not been so elated, though they still expect to succeed They begin with the Speakershi+p, and put up Abercromby, who is probably the best candidate they could select; he is a dull, grave man, sensible and hard-headed I fancy, but it has always been matter of astonishment to me that they should ton is constantly regretting that he did not abstain fro office, as he wished to do, and I hear that Peel now thinks it would have been better: but he thinks so because he fancies that Stanley would have joined if the Duke had not been there, which is after all very doubtful Stanley has preserved the strictest neutrality through the late contest, and been very guarded and cautious in his language--so ainst Manners Sutton, which I don't believe The Church Refor of its details
Pozzo di Borgo is co here, and the Emperor sends him partly to save tioodwill, by sending his ablest and most confidential diplolad enough to coone to Richecote A great rossesse_; the h they think it no certainty
February 8th, 1834 {p201}
On Monday last we had the Sheriffs' dinner at Lord Rosslyn's,[7]
where I met for the first time all the new men Murray did not coer considers himself of the Cabinet Before dinner Peel told me he had offered the vacant Lordshi+p of the Treasury to Charles Canning,[8] in a letter to Lady Canning, saying it would give hireat pleasure to introduce her son into public life, and that he should be glad to treat him with confidence, and do all that lay in hiracious answer, saying that she preferred his being in Parliament some time before he took office, but neither he nor she was indisposed to support him and his Government At this dinner the Duke talked to me about Spain, and said that the affair at the Post Office at Madrid, in which Canterac was killed, was thethat had happened, and the most discreditable to the Government; that if the Carlists did not rise upon it all over Spain, it was clear there were none; that it was a most extraordinary war, in which the Carlists had the superiority in the field, but possessed no fortified and even no open town; and that, notwithstanding all the plunder and devastation incidental to such a state of things, all the farularly paid their rents
[7] [The Lord President's annual dinner to the Cabinet, at which the Sheriffs for the ensuing year are selected, to be appointed by the King at the next Council]
[8] [Afterwards Viscount Canning and Governor-General of India in 1856]
Sandon is to move the address in the House of Commons, Lord Carnarvon refused to move it in the House of Lords I think the Church Reforood, especially as it is backed up by Peel's refusing to fill up the vacant Prebendary of West it at the disposal of the Cohts, and met the duchess, Countess, the Granvilles, and Pahlen It was agreeable enough Lord Granville told us a curious story of an atrocity very recently coovernor of a military acade a woman who lived with him into the establishment The man persisted, and he finally ordered her to be ejected
Resolving to be revenged, the officer took these overnor's, who let hiot into the bedroohter, ravished her, and then wounded her severely with soirl is still alive, but in a state of frenzy; the case is co before the French tribunals [This was the famous case of La Ronciere, very inaccurately stated above There is now little doubt that La Ronciere was innocent, and that the story was got up by the girl to revenge herself on hie Head: THE KING'S WHIMS]
My brothers tell , who thinks it necessary to be giving advice and opinions upon different ree ridiculous and absurd He is just now nant at Lord Napier's affair at Canton, and wants to go to ith China He writes in this strain to the Duke, who is obliged to write long answers, very respectfully telling him what an old fool he is Another crotchet of his is to buy the Island of St Bartholos to Denmark, and which the Danes want to sell) for fear the Russians should buy it, as he is very jealous of Russia The Duke told hio to Parliament; and he did not think any House of Commons ere likely to have would vote such a sum for such a purpose Then he does not at all like Pozzo di Borgo's co here, and wrote to say that since he was to coilant eye of the Duke to watch hiht than as the servile tool of advancing the a and unprincipled Power, or words to that effect He thinks his present Ministers do not treat hih The last, it seems, constantly fed him with scraps of information which he twaddled over, and probably talked nonsense about; but it is difficult to i more irksome for a Government beset with difficulties like this than to have to discuss the various details of theirold felloho can by no possibility co
CHAPTER XXVII
The Speakershi+p--Temporary Houses of Parliae Bill--Peel's False Position--Burke-- Palmerston's Talents as a Man of Business and Unpopularity-- Sympathy of Continental Courts with the Tories--Abercromby elected Speaker--Defeat of the Government--Tactics of the Opposition--The Speaker does not dine with Peel--Meeting of Stanley's Friends--Debate on the Address--Lord John Russell leads the Opposition--The Stanley Party--Second Defeat of the Govern--Debate on Lord Londonderry's Appointden resigns the Great Seal of Ireland-- Lady Canterbury--Broughae--Lord Canterbury and Stratford Canning proposed for Canada--Approaching Fall of the Peel Governs of the Opposition--Further Defeat--Sir Robert Peel's own View of the State of Affairs--He resigns