servants to accept of honour or reward from any Sovereign or Power; and it is desirable that this regulation should be strictly adhered to and enforced. The Duke of Devonshire might as well have avoided to communicate to Lord Hertford in what manner the honour was obtained by his Grace. But this communication having been made, and an intimation having been given to Lord Hertford at St. Petersburg, that his Imperial Majesty was disposed to confer that same honour upon his Lordship, I would beg your Majesty's permission to speak to Prince Lieven upon the subject, in order to obtain the Order of St. Andrew for Lord Hertford. I would then submit to your Majesty that your Majesty's regulations should be circulated to your Majesty's missions at foreign Courts; and that your Majesty's determination be declared to carry its provisions strictly into execution on all future occasions. All of which is humbly submitted for your Majesty's gracious pleasure by your Majesty's most dutiful and devoted subject and servant, WELLINGTON. The Duke of Newcastle to Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington. MY DEAR LORD Duke, Clumber, 4th February, 1828. Most certainly I should have answered your Grace's former letter, but that I considered it to be more in reply to mine than one which required a distinct answer. I received it also so nearly before my departure for London, that I expected to have been able to have communicated personally what I should otherwise have written to you. I only received your Grace's letter of the 1st as I was about to step into my carriage, and I thank you for it. I regretted exceedingly that I was so unfortunate as not to have been able to speak with you, for although the result of our conversation might not have placed matters between us in a different situation from what they are at present, yet I should have had the satisfaction of assuring your Grace of my personal esteem and respect, and of the deep regret which I feel at separating myself from that alliance with you which has hitherto been to me a source of pride and pleasure. It may be in your recollection that on the first announcement of the King's commission to your Grace, I wrote to you in the fullest confidence that no exceptionable means would be resorted to in forming a ministry, and if that had been the case, you would have had me heart and soul with you; as it is, I have no choice; I cannot surrender my conscience or my consistency, and as I opposed Mr. Canning's government on account of the pernicious VOL. IV. [ 814.] formation of it, so must I do the same now, seeing that the present ministry is formed on the same principle, and of mainly the same ingredients; those ingredients, too, being the most noxious in the whole materia politica. Your Grace should not deceive yourself, nor must I deceive you, "what has been done has (not) been approved of." I will take upon myself to inform you, however unpleasing the task, that in our House as well as out of doors, disappointment and distrust is general. What above all things most excites popular reprehension is the idea that your Grace holds the command of the army with the Treasury, and the opinion is that putting the Commanding-in-Chief in commission does not mend the matter. Might I, as a sincere well-wisher, take the liberty of suggesting that placing such a man as the Duke of Gordon at the head of the army would at once remove all objection and suspicion? It is right that those in power should know the truth, and it would be base to the country and to the individual in authority to withhold it, even at the risk of his displeasure; the times are difficult and dangerous, and a false move may be pregnant with infinite mischief. I cannot express how much pain and grief it has caused me to be driven to differ from your Grace, but at the same time I shall inflexibly adhere to what I conceive to be my duty, too happy if I should find myself enabled to support instead of to oppose the measures emanating from your government. Believe me to remain, my dear Lord Duke, your Grace's very sincere and faithful, To the King. NEWCASTLE. London, 8th February, 1828. I beg leave to submit to your Majesty that Lord Goderich has stated to me his concern that he has not had an opportunity of paying his respects to your Majesty, since the day on which he informed your Majesty that the government was dissolved; and he entreats your Majesty to permit him to attend your Majesty on any day that may be most convenient. Would your Majesty be pleased to allow Lord Goderich to attend your Majesty at the next Council day, Tuesday? Which is humbly submitted for your Majesty's pleasure by your Majesty's devoted subject and servant, WELLINGTON. To the King. London, 8th February, 1828. I before informed your Majesty that General Lord Hill was in town, and that the arrangement for delivering to him the command of the army was delayed only till the form of appointment could be settled according to precedent. I find that it will be necessary that Lord Hill should be a member of the Privy Council; and I beg to receive your Majesty's pleasure whether I shall desire him to attend on Tuesday to be sworn of the Privy Council; after which the arrangement will appear in Orders. Which is humbly submitted to your Majesty by your Majesty's most dutiful and devoted subject and servant, [ 815.] To Viscount Melville. WELLINGTON. MY DEAR LORD MELVILLE, London, 9th February, 1828. I return the enclosed. I knew that it was intended to remove Sir George Murray from Ireland to some office in this country as late as November or even December last, as I had a conversation with Lord Goderich and Lord Lansdowne respecting his successor, I think in December. It is perfectly true that Sir George Murray was to have had a government. I know it because I was the person who spoke upon the subject to the Duke of York. . Situated as I am, I cannot now do more than leave a note with my successor of that which my predecessor and I intended. But I will do that. Ever yours, &c., Le Prince de Metternich to Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington. Vous êtes resté le vainqueur dans une grande lutte, et certainement en aucun lieu ne saurait-on apprécier plus le triomphe que vous avez emporté que chez nous. Ce triomphe est celui de la vérité sur l'erreur, du bien sur le mal, de la raison sur les passions; comme nous nous vouons au premier de ces cultes, votre triomphe est le nôtre. Je me flatte que les deux dernières expéditions à M. le Prince Esterhazy auront obtenu votre approbation. Je lui en adresse une aujourd'hui que je [ 816.] recommande sous tous les rapports à votre attention bien particulière. Le moment est d'une gravité extrême, et les complications qu'il serait difficile de ne pas entrevoir pour le très-prochain avenir exigent une entente bien claire entre nos deux Cours. Vous nous trouverez fort disposés à nous livrer à l'examen sévère de toutes les nécessités; le jeu depuis les dernières années s'est dirigé vers le soutien de la thèse que l'Autriche était ou trop stupide ou trop Turque pour pouvoir même être entendue, et bien moins encore pour pouvoir être consultée. L'esprit qui a été fait sans nous n'a pas conduit à des résultats bien heureux; je crois même qu'ils ne peuvent plus guères satisfaire ceux qui s'étaient flattés de résultats différents, et je mets à la tête des surpris le Cabinet russe lui-même. Parlons-nous clairement et simplement, et les plus mauvaises affaires prendront pour le moins une tournure plus pratique. M. le Prince Esterhazy vous parlera, mon cher Duc, de quelques scrupules de ma part. C'est à vous à les lever ou bien à guider notre conscience dans les voies utiles. Veuillez agréer l'hommage renouvelé des sentiments de haute considération et d'impérissable amitié que je me fais gloire de professer pour vous. METTERNICH. The Duke of Clarence to Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington. DEAR DUKE, Admiralty, 10th February, 1828. The enclosed memorial from Sir Edward Codrington reached me at the moment of the dissolution of the late government, on which account I then kept it back. Since that time I was not inclined to trouble your Grace, because I clearly saw the many and conflicting difficulties which existed in the arrangement of the present administration, which I trust in God is now formed. Under this persuasion I now send your Grace the memorial of Sir Edward Codrington, in behalf of himself and his brave companions in arms at the battle of Navarino, for head-money, and also stating the value of the loss of ships and vessels to the Turkish empire. Though I had the good fortune to agree with your Grace in every sentiment expressed in the House of Lords by yourself respecting the Grand Seignior being the ancient and natural ally of Great Britain, I must call your Grace's attention to the memorial, and earnestly entreat a favourable consideration of this extraordinary and novel case, where his Majesty's officers and men have conducted themselves with such honour to their King and country, and with such credit to themselves. Being now on the subject of naval, and of course of military achievements, I wish to call your Grace's mind to the propriety of re-establishing in both services the medals again, as from the statutes of the Military Order of the Bath, till officers become in either army or navy, generals or admirals, they are most properly not entitled to become K.C.B.s. Another point I wish to mention to your Grace, and on which as on these I shall converse when your Grace is less occupied, is the expediency of enlarging and of introducing the three classes into the civil part of the Order of the Bath. I remain, dear Duke, yours truly, WILLIAM. [ENCLOSURE.] The memorial of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, G.C.B., Commanderin-Chief of his Majesty's ships and vessels in the Mediterranean, in behalf of himself, the officers, seamen, and Royal marines of the squadron under his command, to his Royal Highness the Lord High Admiral. Showeth,-That having entered into the Port of Navarino in the Morea, in conjunction with the French and Russian squadrons under Rear-Admirals the Chevalier de Rigny and Count Heyden, on the 20th of October, 1827, for the express purpose of carrying into effect the Treaty and Instructions founded thereon, they being denied all other means of communicating with the Ottoman chiefs, and their intentions being by no means hostile, a general battle ensued in consequence of a Turkish fire-vessel firing on the Dartmouth's boat and killing an officer and part of her crew. That according to the nearest calculation which could be made, and from information received from the Secretary of the Capitana Bey, one of the Turkish Admirals, the fleet consisted of the following number of ships and vessels, manned and armed as herein described. That the whole of these men-of-war, with the exception of one double-banked frigate, and a few corvettes and brigs, were either burned, sunk, or driven on shore totally annihilated. That the loss in men cannot be calculated at less than six thousand. That the value of ships and stores destroyed is immense, added to which the batteries at the entrance of the harbour were also much damaged and silenced. Your Royal Highness's memorialist therefore humbly prayeth that the usual head-money and other rewards may be granted to himself, the officers, seamen, and marines of the squadron under his command upon the occasion before mentioned. And your Royal Highness's memorialist will, as in duty bound, ever pray. EDWARD CODRINGTON, Vice-Admiral. His Majesty's ship Asia, at Malta, 9th December, 1827. |