in the House of Commons last night. He said that Mr. Huskisson was under the necessity of acting as he had done in consequence of what he had said in debate upon the same subject upon a former occasion; and that he (Lord Palmerston) finding that Mr. Huskisson voted differently from Mr. Peel, and entertaining an opinion that the amendment ought not to pass, considered that he ought not by his vote to give his sanction to an amendment of which he disapproved.

He then told me that I had misunderstood Mr. Huskisson's letter; that Mr. Huskisson intended to leave in my hands an option whether he should retire or not, and that he must, of course, follow the fate of Mr. Huskisson.

I told Lord Palmerston that I thought the whole transaction had been most unfortunate. That the whole town talked of it; and that even the Lord Chancellor had mentioned it to me. I reminded him that from the formation of the government up to that moment I had done everything in my power to conciliate and keep it together; but that several unfortunate occurrences had taken place, all calculated to shake the public confidence; and that at last the event of last night had occurred to crown the whole. That Mr. Huskisson saw it as I did; and had sent me his resignation as the only remedy for the injury. That the reason for the resignation was his own, as well as the resignation itself; and that I had no option excepting to receive it, and act upon it, or request Mr. Huskisson to take it back, which could not in reason be required from me.

In answer to a remark which I made respecting the feelings of the friends of government upon all that had passed, Lord Palmerston observed that we had no reason to complain of the want of support in Parliament. I answered it was true; but that the circumstances of which I complained revolted our friends, who in the day of difficulty would abandon us; and that we should be at the mercy of our enemies. That that was not the mode in which the King's government in this country could be carried on. That I should soon find myself in the same situation as Lord Goderich; and should be under the necessity of going to the King and of telling him that his government was defunct; and that I was determined that that should not happen.

In the course of this conversation Lord Palmerston repeatedly stated that he considered himself out of office, or rather offered his resignation; of which I took no notice excepting to express

my regret that Mr. Huskisson and he should have placed themselves, the government, and me, in such difficulties.

WELLINGTON.

MEMORANDUM RESPECTING THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE
CABINET UPON MR. HUSKISSON'S RETIREMENT.

May, 1828.

The arrangement now to be made must include Lord Lowther and as many members of the House of Commons as possible who have it in their power, from their talents, to take part in debate.

That proposed last night omits Mr. Wilmot Horton, whose assistance it is very desirable to obtain. It besides removed Mr. Fitzgerald to be Secretary-at-War; a situation which he would not like, and to obtain which he would not incur the risk and expense of a contest for the county of Clare. It would besides at the moment remove Mr. Herries from Parliament and from the Finance Committee.

After considering the subject in every view, and bearing in mind the object of acquiring strength in the House of Commons, the following scheme is proposed :

Lord Aberdeen, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Arbuthnot, Chancellor of the Duchy (not in the Cabinet).
Lord Lowther, Woods and Forests.

Mr. Wilmot Horton, Secretary-at-War.

Mr. Fitzgerald, Board of Trade (in the Cabinet).

Mr. Calcraft, Paymaster of the Forces.

Sir Henry Hardinge, Secretary in Ireland.

Colonel Maberley, Clerk of the Ordnance.

Sir George Murray, Secretary of State, Colonial Department.
Sir John Byng, Commander of the Forces in Ireland.
Mr. George Bankes, to be considered.

Cabinet.

Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Bathurst, Lord Ellenborough, Duke of Wellington, Lord Melville, Lord Aberdeen, Mr. Peel, Mr. Goulburn, Mr. Herries, Sir George Murray, Mr. Fitzgerald.

WELLINGTON.

[ 892. ]

Sir William Knighton to Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington.
St. James's Palace, Tuesday Evening.

MY DEAR DUKE OF WELLINGTON,

20th May, 1828.

The King commands me to acquaint you, with his affectionate regards, that Mr. Huskisson has requested an audience of his Majesty. The King does not intend seeing him until Thursday.

I find I am to attend a trial at Guildhall to-morrow morning, at nine o'clock, so that I shall not be able to wait on your Grace as I had intended, but I hope to do so on Thursday morning at ten o'clock.

Ever yours very sincerely,

W. KNIGHTON.

The Right Hon. W. Huskisson to Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington.
MY DEAR DUKE,
Downing Street, 21st May, 1828.

In justice to myself, I cannot acquiesce for a moment in the construction which your letter of last night puts upon my conduct. You cannot refuse to me the right of knowing the motives of my own actions; and I solemnly declare that in both my letters I was actuated by one and the same feeling. It was simply this-that it was not for me, but for you as the head of the government, to decide how far my vote made it expedient to remove me from his Majesty's service. I felt that I had no alternative, consistently with personal honour (in a difficulty not of my own seeking or creating), but to give that vote; that the question in itself was of very minor importance; that the disunion was more in appearance than in reality; but I also felt that possibly you might take a different view of it, and that, in case you should, I ought (as I had once done on a similar occasion with Lord Liverpool) to relieve you from any difficulty arising out of personal consideration towards me in deciding upon a step to which you might find it your public duty to resort on the occasion. It was under this impression alone that I wrote to you immediately upon my return from the House of Commons.

If you had not misconceived that impression, as well as the purport of my second letter, I am persuaded that you could not suppose me guilty of the arrogance of expecting that " 'you and his Majesty's government should submit themselves to the necessity of soliciting me to remain in my office," or do me the injustice of believing that I could be capable of placing you in the alternative of choosing between the continuance of my services (such as they are), and the loss to your administration of one particle of character, which, I agree with you, is the foundation of public confidence.

If, understanding my communication as I intended it to be understood, you had in any way intimated to me, either that the occurrence, however unfortunate, was not one of sufficient moment to render it necessary for you, on public grounds, to act in the manner in which I had assumed that you might possibly think it necessary, or that you were under that necessity-in either case there would have been an end of the matter. In the first supposition, I should have felt that I had done what in honour and fairness towards you I was bound to do; but it never could have entered

my imagination that I had claimed or received any sacrifice whatever from you or any member of his Majesty's government.

On the other hand, nothing can be further from my intention than to express an opinion that the occasion was not one in which you might fairly consider it your duty to advise his Majesty to withdraw from me the seals of my office on the ground of this vote. I do not therefore complain; but I cannot allow that my removal shall be placed on any other ground. I cannot allow that it was my own act; still less can I admit that, when I had no other intention than to relieve the question on which you had to decide from any personal embarrassment, this step on my part should be ascribed to feelings the very reverse of those by which alone I was actuated either towards you or his Majesty's government.

Believe me, my dear Duke, yours very sincerely,

W. HUSKISSON.

To the Right Hon. William Huskisson.

[893.]

MY DEAR HUSKISSON,

London, 21st May, 1828.

In

of consequence your

last letter I feel it to be necessary

to recall to your recollection the circumstances under which I received your letter of Tuesday morning.

It is addressed to me at two o'clock in the morning, immediately after a debate and division in the House of Commons.

It informs me that you lose no time in affording me an opportunity of placing your office in other hands, as the only means of preventing an injury to the King's service, which you describe. It concludes by "regretting the necessity of troubling me with this communication."

Could I consider this in any other light than as a formal tender of the resignation of your office, or that I had any alternative but either to solicit you to remain in office, contrary to your sense of duty, or to submit your letter to the King?

If you had called on me the next morning after your vote, and had explained to me in conversation what had passed in the House of Commons, the character of the communication would have been quite different, and I might have felt myself at liberty to discuss the whole subject with you, and freely to give my opinion upon any point connected with it. But I must still think that if I had not considered a letter couched in the terms in which that letter is couched, and received under the circumstances under which I received it, as a tender of resignation, and had not laid it before the King, I should have exposed the King's government and myself to very painful misconstructions.

[894.]

My answer to your letter will have informed you that it surprised me much, and that it gave me great concern.

I must consider, therefore, the resignation of your office as your own act, and not as mine.

Believe me, &c.,

WELLINGTON.

To the King.

23rd May, 1828.

I did not solicit an audience of your Majesty this day, as I had nothing to say upon the affair of Mr. Huskisson.

I saw Lord Dudley, who was very anxious that I should give him my opinion as to the mode of bringing this affair to a conclusion; which I declined. I really feel that it has gone so far that the public will and must eventually have a knowledge of its details; and it would not suit either party or the dignity of your Majesty that it should appear that there had been any collusion or understanding to produce its settlement.

All of which is submitted for your Majesty's pleasure by your Majesty's most dutiful and devoted subject and servant,

WELLINGTON.

[ 895. ]

To Lord Francis Leveson Gower.*

MY DEAR LORD FRANCIS,

23rd May, 1828.

I had determined that I would give no opinion respecting the mode which Mr. Huskisson should adopt to relieve the administration from the difficulty in which his letter to me of the 20th has placed us; because, whatever we may wish, the public will insist upon knowing, discussing, and probing all the details of the transaction, in consequence of the time which has elapsed since the letter was written; and it will not suit either party that it should be supposed that there had been any collusion or understanding in the settlement.

But I will say this, that the mode suggested by you-I say nothing of the details-would be most objectionable; first, as it would involve his Majesty in the affair; secondly, because it

*Afterwards Earl of Ellesmere.