Volume III Part 30 (2/2)
On the other hand the Tories worked hard for Burdett He appeared on the hustings at the nomination, and was received quite as well as his opponent, and the show of hands was in his favour This reduced the betting to even, but nobody was prepared for the great reat triureat disappoints, and still ht of it Melbourne is probably sincere when he says he is very glad of it, and for this reason, 'that the Radicals are very difficult to e as it is, and if they had carried this election there would be no doing anything with thereat many people on both sides would not vote I would not, for one I hate Leader's politics, and don't like Burdett's; nobody can tell what he is, for his answers and explanations are of a shuffling, a over the new Poor Lahich was a base coh I would not vote, I was rather glad he caht, 'he was glad at Leader's defeat, and sorry for Burdett's success'
[7] [A contested election in Westminster between Mr Leader (Radical) and Sir Francis Burdett (Conservative)
Burdett was returned by a majority of 515 It was a chivalrous contest Burdett had resigned his seat voluntarily to test the feeling of his constituents, and Leader resigned a seat for Bridgewater solely to meet Burdett in Westreat triu the Conservatives at Burdett's success, raised to a higher pitch by that of Broadwood at Bridgewater, whichfallen between the two stools, and now they expect to get Glasgow, if they succeed in which there will be no bounds to their exultation Then it is suspected that there have been difficulties and divisions in the Cabinet There was aat Lord Grey's of Ministers and Ministerial adherents, it was supposed for the purpose of his patching upof what occurred The Duke of Wellington, too, had an audience of the King on Wednesday last, and all these things set surmises afloat At another time I should probably have bestirred myself and found out what all this meant, but I have been so occupied and absorbed with the Derby that I could think of nothing else
The King prayed that he e, and he was very nearly dying just as the event arrived
He is better, but supposed to be in a very precarious state
There has been a fresh squabble between Windsor and Kensington about a proposed allowance to the Princess
June 2nd, 1836 {p399}
[Page Head: ILLNESS OF THE KING]
The King has been desperately ill, his pulse down at thirty; they think he will now get over it for this time His recovery will not have been accelerated by the duchess of Kent's answer to the City of London's address, in which she went into the history of her life, and talked of her 'friendless state' on arriving in this country, the gist of it being that, having been abandoned or neglected by the Royal Family, she had thrown herself on the country
June 11th, 1836 {p399}
At Buckhurst last week for Ascot; went on Monday and returned on Friday On Tuesday the Queen came to the course, but only stayed an hour They had an i's illness I ave h not for the ; no disease, but excessive weakness without power of rallying He also gavewrote a letter to the Princess offering her 10,000 a year (not out of his privy purse), which he proposed should be at her own disposal and independent of her ham with orders to deliver it into the Princess's own hands
Conynghaton (where Conroy received him) and asked to be admitted to the Princess Conroy asked by what authority He said by his Majesty's orders Conroy went away, and shortly after Conyngham was ushered into the presence of the duchess and Princess, when he said that he had waited on her Royal Highness by the King's coed by his Majesty The duchess put out her hand to take it, when he said he begged her Royal Highness's pardon, but he was expressly co to deliver the letter into the Princess's own hands Her mother then drew back and the Princess took the letter, when Conyngha, thanking hi his offer He then sent to say that it was his wish to name the person who should receive this an the dispute The duchess of Kent objected to the arrangement, and she put forth her claim, which was that she should have 6,000 of the money and the Princess 4,000 How the matter had ended Adolphus did not knohen I saw him [It never was settled]
The duchess of Northuoverness a few days before
[Page Head: ILLNESS OF THE KING]
On Wednesday it was announced for the first tily ill, on Thursday the account was no better, and in the course of Wednesday and Thursday his immediate dissolution appeared so probable that I concerted with Errol that I should send to the Castle at nine o'clock on Thursday evening for the last report, that I o to London directly or not On Wednesday the physicians wanted to issue a bulletin, but the King would not hear of it He said as long as he was able to transact public business he would not have the public alarmed on his account; but on Friday, nevertheless, the first bulletin was issued
It is in this state of things, with the prospect of a new reign and a dissolution, and in complete uncertainty of the direction which affairs would take under a new influence, when it is peculiarly desirable thatcounsels should prevail, that Lyndhurst comes down to the House of Lords and fires off one of his violent speeches, and at his bidding the Irish Municipal Corporation Bill has been again postponed All this is very disgusting to me, and I am at a loss to comprehend why such men as the Duke and Peel lend themselves to such courses In the House of Commons John Russell took a very different line, for he atherum Radical tirade of Roebuck's; just such a speech as a Minister ought tobefore the House of Lords the question of privilege, on which he is at issue with the House of Commons, and there seems luckily a disposition to deal with it cales are all with their colleagues, but Peel has taken a strong part with the House of Coht
Iwould not recover Lord Harroas very much astonished as well as annoyed at Lyndhurst's speech the other night, it having been previously agreed upon that all violence and everything offensive should be avoided They had resolved to postpone the Committee on the Bill as before, but it was to have been done in the most conciliatory way, and they were not prepared for this outbreak of Lyndhurst's
June 13th, 1837 {p401}
Bad accounts of the King yesterday Melbourne desired I would get everything ready _quietly_ for a Council He has been busily occupied in exa the precedents in order to conduct the first ceremonies properly, and the first questions have been whether the duchess of Kent could cohter, and whether the Duke of cu of Hanover as he will be) should be summoned to it
June 16th, 1837 {p401}
On Wednesday the King was desperately bad, yesterday he was better, but not so as to afford any hope, though Chah the bulletins tell so little, everybody is noare of his Majesty's state He dictates these reports himself, and will not allow more to be said; he continues to do business, and his orders are taken as usual, so he is resolved to die with harness on his back
Yesterday Lord Lansdowne sent for ht be ready, and in the next to say that they were perplexed to knohat steps, if any, they ought to take to ascertain whether the Queen is with child, and to beg me to search in our books if any precedent could be found at the accession of Jaotten that the case had been provided for in the Regency Bill, and that in the event of the King's death without children, the Queen is to be proclaihts of any posthuht to have known this, but it is odd enough that there is nobody in office who has any personal knowledge of the usual forms at the first Council, for not one of these Ministers was in office at the accession of Williaue, Buller, as present as Clerk of the Council, is dead, and I was abroad
[Page Head: PRAYERS ORDERED FOR THE KING]