therefore I propose to you to appoint A B, instead of one or the other,' Goderich stated the quarrel, the impossibility of the two going on as colleagues, and gave the king to understand that he had no advice to give, and did not know what to do. But the king knew very well what he had to do; he bid Goderich go home, and take care of himself, and keep himself quiet; and he immediately sent for the Duke of Wellington to form a government.

'One of the first acts of Goderich's administration had been to ask the Duke of Wellington to be Commander-inChief; Lord Anglesey had been sent to make the offer. He traveled without stopping, arrived at some countryhouse in the west where the duke was staying, about three in the morning, found the duke in full uniform, just come home from a fancy ball, obtained his immediate acceptance, and arrived with it at Windsor while we were sitting in council on the memorable day in August at which Lord William Bentinck also was present to be sworn in Governor-General of India.

"Lord Anglesey said to us, 'Well, gentlemen, I have done what you sent me to do. I have brought you the Duke of Wellington's acceptance as Commander-in-Chief; and, by God, mark my words, as sure as you are alive he will trip up all your heels before six months are over your heads.'

"Before the six months were well over the duke was in, and our heels were up; but the king was the great plotter, and Holmes and Planta worked upon Goderich, and persuaded him he could never overcome the difficulties he would have to encounter."

The projected arrangements ended, as we know, by the Duke of Wellington being named Premier instead of Lord Goderich, though the post of Premier was one for which he had declared himself a short time previous wholly unfit.

I have been told by a gentleman yet alive, and likely to be well informed on the subject, that Lord Wellesley expected this appointment, and had been encouraged by his brother to do so. That when the duke was summoned by the king, it was understood that he should recommend the marquess as more fit to take the lead in civil affairs than himself; that the marquess expected the duke's return with much anxiety, anticipating his own elevation, and that the disappointment that ensued occasioned a coolness between these two eminent men. Whatever may be the precise truth of this story-and such stories are rarely told with perfect accuracy--I venture to express an opinion that it would have been, upon the whole, fortunate for the duke's reputation, great as that reputation is, if he had followed the course which I have heard he at one time intended to pursue. I have been told by many of his contemporaries that no man of his time was endowed with so many of the highest attributes of a statesman as Lord Wellesley. With great eloquence, large and liberal views, free from impracticable theories, unbiased by obsolete prejudices, he was the man peculiarly fitted to bridge the abyss on which the past had to run into the future, and could have done with credit and consistency what the duke could not do without making concessions which, not being the result of conviction, would assuredly appear the result of fear and necessity; thus commencing a policy which has had too many imitators--a policy carrying bitterness into the hearts of those who have been vanquished, and contempt into the hearts of those who have triumphed; for to give what you dare not deny is a humiliation to one party, and no satisfaction to the other.

BOOK V.

What happened to Lord Palmerston on the formation of the new administration-Extract from autobiography-Private letters to Mr. Temple on foreign and home politics-Extracts from journal beginning March 9, 1828, and including a long, detailed, and interesting account of the events which led to the withdrawal of Mr. Huskisson from the Duke of Wellington's government.

ORD PALMERSTON thus relates what occurred to

L°

himself at the formation of the new administration :* "When the duke came in, he sent for Huskisson to Apsley House, as head of the Canningite party, and asked him to join his government. The inducements held out were these:

"The Catholic question to be, as before, an open question; and to have, therefore, the benefit of the influence belonging to a portion of the Cabinet being in its favor.

"The Greek treaty to be faithfully executed; and Dudley to be left, as Foreign Secretary, to watch over its execution. Huskisson's principles of trade to be acted upon, and Charles Grant to be left at the Board of Trade, as a pledge and security on that point. Huskisson, Grant, Dudley, and myself to have seats in the Cabinet; Lamb to remain as Irish Secretary, as a guarantee that an impartial system would be pursued toward the Catholics. Eldon and Westmoreland to be excluded from the Cabinet, they being the representatives of the most illiberal opinions.

* From biographical memoir.

"Dudley, Lamb, Binning, Grant, and myself met at Huskisson's house in Somerset Place, which he still occupied-being very unwell-in order to take these proposals into consideration. We discussed the matter fully, with reference both to the personal question between Herries and Huskisson, and to the public interests and political questions involved; and our determination was that the offer ought to be accepted.

"We did accept it, therefore, not as individuals, but as a party representing the principles and consisting of the friends of Mr. Canning.

"We joined the new government in January. We left it in May. We joined as a party; as a party we retired. The only one who hesitated was Dudley; and he would willingly have given six thousand a year out of his own pocket, instead of receiving that sum from the public, for the pleasure of continuing to be Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs."

The feebleness of the Wellington Cabinet is sufficiently explained by the fact here stated, viz., that the Canningites joined it as a party mistrusting its chief.

The following letter-going back to the formation of that Cabinet-states the feelings with which Lord Palmerston saw himself now transferred from a union with the moderate Whigs to a union with the liberal Tories, whom he distinguishes from the Tories of a more antiquated cast, or, as he styles them, the "pig-tails."

To the Hon. Wm. Temple, Berlin.

"MY DEAR WILLIAM,

"STANHOPE STREET, Jan. 18, 1828.

"I received yesterday your last letter, stating that you had received the Gazette and official notice of appointment, and had written to Dudley. This is certainly not the most

The

agreeable time of year for a journey to Petersburg; but, under all the circumstances of the case, I think you have no reason to regret the arrangement which has been made, as you might have waited longer and fared worse. Duke of Wellington has been employed since Wednesday, the 9th, in taking steps to reorganize the government; but he found it so much longer an operation than he expected, that he has been obliged to prorogue Parliament for another week, and put it off to the 29th. He has made propositions to Huskisson, Dudley, Grant, and myself. He first proposed to Huskisson, who said that he could not at all events come in without us three and William Lamb; and we three determined not to come in without Huskisson, considering him as representing in Parliament certain political principles which we profess, and for which his presence in office would be a security and guarantee.

"There has been some difficulty about Herries, with whom Huskisson felt a reluctance to serve, but he referred that point to Dudley, Grant, and myself; and, after two days' anxious consideration, we could not find any sufficient public grounds upon which Huskisson could rest his objection to serve with Herries, provided Herries were not Chancellor of Exchequer, and provided the government and its arrangements were in other respects satisfactory.

"This result was yesterday communicated to the duke, and he was then enabled to go on with his communications with other persons. He wishes to form a strong government, and a liberal one. Eldon and Westmoreland will not be in it, though I fear Bathurst is inevitable, but he will be President of the Council, or hold some other office which gives no departmental influence. But Canning's principles of policy will be preserved, which is a great tribute of homage to his memory; Dudley will carry them on in our foreign relations; Huskisson and Grant in our