Chapter C: J. Fox (10)

Upon my return to England, I was honoured with every public
attention from His Majesty, who ostensibly held a language upon
my subject, calculated to raise in the strongest degree the
jealousy of his servants. In the audience which I asked, as a
matter of course, after being presented at his levée, he
recapitulated all the transactions of that period, with the
strongest encomium upon Mr. Pitt, and with much apparent
acrimony hinted at Lord Shelburne, whom he stated to have
abandoned a situation which was tenable, and particularly so
after the popular resentment had been roused. This was naturally
attended with strong expressions of resentment and disgust of
his Ministers, and of personal abhorrence of Lord North, whom he
charged with treachery and ingratitude of the blackest nature.
He repeated that, to such a Ministry he never would give his
confidence, and that he would take the first moment for
dismissing them. He then stated the proposition made to him by
the Duke of Portland, for the annual allowance of £100,000 to
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. I gave to him, very much
at length, my opinion of such a measure, and of the certain
consequences of it: in all which, as may reasonably be supposed,
His Majesty ran before me, and stated with strong disgust the
manner in which it was opened to him--as a thing _decided_, and
even drawn up in the shape of a message, to which his signature
was desired as a matter of course, to be brought before
Parliament the next day. His Majesty declared himself to be
decided to resist this attempt, and to push the consequences to
their full extent, and to try the spirit of the Parliament and
of the people upon it. I thought it my duty to offer to him my
humble advice to go on with his Ministers, if possible, in order
to throw upon them the ratification of the Peace, which they
professed to intend to ameliorate, and to give them scope for
those mountains of reform, which would inevitably come very
short of the expectations of the public. From these public
measures, and from their probable dissension, I thought that His
Majesty might look forward to a change of his Ministers in the
autumn; and that, as the last resource, a dissolution of this
Parliament, chosen by Lord North and occasionally filled by Mr.
Fox, might offer him the means of getting rid of the chains
which pressed upon him. To all this he assented; but declared
his intention to resist, at all events and hazards, the
proposition for this enormous allowance to His Royal Highness,
of whose conduct he spoke with much dissatisfaction. He asked,
what he might look to if upon this refusal the Ministry should
resign: and I observed, that, not having had the opportunity of
consulting my friends, I could only answer that their
resignation was a proposition widely differing from their
dismissal, and that I did not see the impossibility of accepting
his Administration in such a contingency, provided the supplies
and public bills were passed, so as to enable us to prorogue the
Parliament. To all this he assented, and declared his intention
of endeavouring to gain time, that the business of Parliament
might go on; and agreed with me that such a resignation was
improbable, and that it would be advisable not to dismiss them,
unless some very particular opportunity presented itself.

1785.

The Breach Between the Marquis of Buckingham and Mr. Thomas Grenville.

Mr. Pitt's Government was now reaping all the advantages of peace and security. The lull that followed the termination of the American War and the dispersion of the Coalition, enabled the Minister to consolidate his power and develop his plans. Lord North, who had the misfortune not long afterwards to lose his eyesight, was receding from the arena on which he had acted so remarkable a part during the preceding fourteen years; and Mr. Fox and his adherents, returning again to their own natural orbit, were vindicating their integrity and consistency in the maintenance of a constitutional Opposition. Faction, weakened and dismembered, had fallen before the genius of Mr. Pitt.

The principal measure in the Cabinet in 1785 was a Bill for the reform of the representation in Parliament, by which Mr. Pitt proposed to transfer the franchises of thirty-six boroughs to counties and unrepresented towns. A clause in this Bill, for giving pecuniary compensation to the disfranchised boroughs, was fatal to its reception. Mr. Fox laid down the maxim, that the franchise was not a property, but a trust: the House adopted that view of the question, and the Bill was lost. But Mr. Pitt, nevertheless, discharged his pledge to the public by thus initiating the principle of parliamentary reform.

The Marquis of Buckingham still continued a passive spectator of public events, and the correspondence of this period possesses consequently little political interest. We learn by a letter from his brother, Mr. W. W. Grenville, that he had placed his proxy in the hands of Lord Camelford, who was so embarrassed by the responsibility, that he took counsel with Lord Sydney and Mr. Grenville as to the course he should follow in reference to a particular vote. Mr. Grenville, exercising his usual good sense and practical judgment, strongly recommended his Lordship to withdraw his proxy altogether, rather than to have it exposed to the chance of compromising his opinions.

The unhappy difference between the Marquis of Buckingham and his brother, Mr. Thomas Grenville, was not yet adjusted; and time seems only to have widened a breach which both deplored, and were equally anxious to remove. The proud feelings of the Marquis, wounded by the injustice with which he conceived he had been treated, were peculiarly sensitive to every act on the part of his friends that departed in the slightest degree from the line he had marked out for himself. Perhaps he expected from them more in this respect than the obligations of public life could be reasonably expected to concede; in this instance, at least, he appears to have exaggerated into a personal wrong a vote which was given on pure and independent grounds, without a suspicion that it was open to so injurious an interpretation. Mr. Thomas Grenville's letter on this painful subject is an honourable testimony alike to his integrity and his affection.

MR. THOMAS GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

St. James's Street, Feb. 4th, 1785.

My dear Brother,

Anything that comes from you with the least prospect of bringing
back to me those sentiments of affection which, in spite of any
political differences, it has always been my first wish to keep
alive between us; any intimation of your looking for a brother
in one who has never ceased to be so to you; I cannot but be
eager to express the pleasure and satisfaction I feel in
receiving from you. And if I did not feel shocked and wounded by
those expressions which ascribe to my vote motives so foreign to
my nature, that I can scarce bear to read or repeat them, my
hopes of living with you in the affectionate intercourse of a
brother would have kept my attention to that pleasing prospect
only, and would have shut my lips upon every past subject of
difference. Can I really have to think that you are serious in
considering me as having struck at your honour and your life by
any vote that I have given? That such an expression can have
come from you after a year's reflection, wounds me more than
anything that could be said in the first moments of anger; and
it is not against such a charge that I can argue to defend
myself.

I cannot say with how much concern it is, that I have felt
myself obliged to allude to anything that has passed, nor could
I have been forced now to do it, was it not that to have said
nothing upon a charge so cruel might have looked like
acquiescing in the justice of it: of that vote I have always
said, and God knows, always truly said, that I made in it no
personal attack, felt in it nothing hostile to you, and
regretted in it only the misrepresentation and misconception of
others. I have said more, and still say, that the
misunderstanding of that vote is so grievous to me, that,
blameless as my motives were, I would not have given it, if I
had thought it liable to the misrepresentations that have been
made of it; yet, God knows, I thought it could be mistaken only
by those who did not know me.

I return with pleasure, my dear brother, to that part of your
note, in which I hope I find again the prospect of that near
affectionate relation, the renewal of which on your part, my
mind has ever been anxious for, and ever eager to bring about,
from the first moment that political differences had separated
us; for, upon political subjects, my mind receives no impression
that can stop in it the feelings of relationship, kindness, and
affection, all of which I will hope, my dearest brother, the
latter words of your note again open the way to--a way in which
I cannot too often repeat, how gladly and happily I should go
forward in.

Ever your very affectionate brother,
Thomas Grenville.

The following passage, in the Marquis of Buckingham's hand-writing, apparently cut out of a former letter to which the above is the reply, seems to contain the observations from which Mr. Thomas Grenville extracted the hope of reconciliation. It is enclosed in his letter as if it had been returned to the writer.

When you joined in the vote which impeached my honour, and
possibly my life, you forgot the feelings of a brother, and
dissolved the ties between us. I loathe the looking back, still
less do I mean to reproach: my heart is still alive to those
feelings which nature and religion dictate to me.

I have no false pride, and, therefore, have no conditions to
propose to you. All that I look for is a _brother_; but in that
word I comprehend all the sentiments of affection which I feel I
discharged faithfully towards you till the moment of our
separation. Consult your feelings, and God direct them.

In the next letter, Mr. W. W. Grenville communicates a scrap of political gossip to his brother.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Oakley, Sunday, August 9th, 1785.

My dear Brother,

Having just heard a most curious piece of news, I take the first
moment of acquainting you with it, though, perhaps, you will
have been informed of it through some other channel. It is no
less than a sudden resolution taken by Wyndham of resigning his
office, in consequence of an inflammatory fever with which he
was seized at Oxford, on his way back to Dublin. Lord
Northington's friends in London have undertaken very kindly to
supply his loss, and have offered his secretaryship to Tom
Pelham, who has accepted, and waits only for the form of being
appointed by Lord Northington to the situation of his
confidential Minister and friend.

Their Irish peers are Clements, Matthew, Jonson, Pomeroy, and
Mr. Hutchinson; together with Deland, Pennant, and Pennington.

The wags say that this is the second voyage to the North Pole,
in which Wyndham has stopped short. I own I think he has used
his principal very ill, and himself not very well. The other's
accepting is not much less extraordinary.

I should not be quite surprised if Lord Northington should
follow his quondam Secretary's example. At any rate, conceive
the confusion in which the country must now be, with the
harvest, the election, and nothing like a Government; the
Secretary not appointed, and the Lord-Lieutenant doing business
_on Thursdays, from twelve till two_.

You see Hussy Burgh is not in the list. Should not you write him
an ostensible letter on the subject?

I shall go to town in a day or two at furthest, and will write
to you from thence.

Adieu, my dear brother,
Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

1786.

Mr. W. W. Grenville Joins Mr. Pitt's Administration.

While the Marquis of Buckingham abstained from active participation in public business, he maintained the most friendly relations with Mr. Pitt, warmly supporting the Minister in all matters upon which his individual adhesion, advice, and local influence could add strength and character to his Administration. That he persevered, however, in cultivating the retirement he had chosen, in preference to throwing himself personally into the ocean of action, may be inferred from the following letter, which announces the accession of Mr. Grenville to the Government as Vice-President of the Committee of Trade.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, August 10th, 1786.

My dear Brother,

I said nothing to you in my last about going to Court, because,
as everybody in town had gone on Friday, I did not think it
material for you to come up, considering your distance; and I
was unwilling to advise your putting yourself to any
inconvenience of that sort, which did not appear to be
absolutely necessary.

But yesterday's levée was fuller than Friday's, and crowded with
all sorts of people, particularly the Opposition, who came from
all quarters of the kingdom. This being the case, I cannot help
thinking that you would do right to come up for the next levée,
which is Friday next; the King keeping the Duke of York's
birthday on Wednesday, at Windsor. I mentioned the subject
to-day to Pitt, who seemed to think it very desirable that you
should do this, as a mark of attention, in return for the many
civilities which we have lately received from that quarter. As
several places have addressed on the occasion, I think if you
would bring up an address from the loyal corporation of
Buckingham, it would be a sort of apology for your absence
hitherto.

The Committee of Trade is to be declared that day in council.
Lord Hawkesbury is to kiss hands as President, and your humble
servant as Vice-President. Lord Hawkesbury also kisses hands for
the Duchy, and Lord Clarendon for the Post-Office, in the room
of Lord Tankerville, who goes out upon a sort of quarrel between
him and Lord Cartaret. Mornington kisses hands to-morrow for the
Treasury.

I believe these are all the arrangements that will now be made.
The seat on the Bench is not yet disposed of, and from what I
judged by the Chancellor's looks the other day, when I saw him
at council, I very much fear that a more extensive law
arrangement will soon be necessary. Lord Mansfield is also said
to be worse again.

Adieu, my dear brother,
Believe me ever most sincerely and affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

That the weight of Lord Buckingham's opinions was strongly felt in the nomination of Mr. Grenville and others to office, is abundantly testified by a letter of the same date, in which Lord Mornington ascribes to the favourable recommendations of the Marquis his seat at the Treasury.

LORD MORNINGTON TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

August 10th, 1786.

My dear Lord,

I trouble you with this letter to inform you that Pitt has
offered me the vacant seat at the Board of Treasury, and that I
have accepted it: nothing could be more flattering or kind than
the manner in which this offer was made; I will trouble you with
the circumstances which attended it when I have the pleasure of
seeing you. William Grenville's friendship has been exerted with
its usual warmth and sincerity on this occasion; and I feel so
strongly the effect of your former activity in my favour, that
although your absence from town has prevented my applying to you
on this occasion, yet I must attribute this, as I shall any
future success, to the ground which you laid for me, and to the
uniform assiduity with which you have supported my pretensions:
therefore, although you have had no immediate concern (that I
know) in this specific object, I must beg of you to accept a
very large share of the gratitude which I feel to those who have
promoted it for me. The Vice-Treasurerships, as I suppose you
know, do not go to Ireland.

I hope to have the pleasure of paying my duty to you at Stowe,
in the autumn; perhaps I may have the good fortune to see you
sooner in town, as I hear that you are coming up with a loyal
address. I beg my best compliments to Lady Buckingham.

Believe me, my dear Lord,
Ever most sincerely your obliged and affectionate
Mornington.

The "object," dimly and cautiously alluded to in the annexed letters, was that of a peerage, to which the high pretensions of Mr. W. W. Grenville justified him in looking forward; but which his prudence, holding his honourable ambition in check, made him desirous of postponing until he had won even greater distinction as a statesman than he had already attained.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Thursday, Dec. 12th, 1786.

My dear Brother,

You do not say a word in your letter of Apsley and his deer.

Sir William Bowyers' man has declined the clerkship for himself,
and has no son old enough for it. I have a very handsome letter
from Mulgrave, leaving the Wardrobe Keeper to my disposal. On
inquiry, it appears to be worth at least £100 per annum, besides
apartments in Chelsea, and coals and candles. But residence is
absolutely necessary.

You will therefore judge what to do with it; but the Clerk's
place must be filled up without further delay. I have allowed
the widow of the Wardrobe Keeper to remain in the office till
March; but if you decide on the man, I can, in order to prevent
accidents, appoint him now to take possession in March. I
mention this the rather as I fear that, to my great sorrow, I am
going to have a new colleague, which I will explain to you in
ten days, by which time I hope to be at Stowe. It gives me very
real concern, because it is impossible for any man to have
behaved in a more gentleman-like and friendly manner than
Mulgrave has done on every occasion; and I fear his successor
will have _a clan_ upon him, but that is not settled.

You know my _principal_ object: should I press to have it opened
for me now? If I did, I believe it would be done; but I am so
much pleased with my present situation, that I am unwilling to
quit it so soon, especially as every year removes difficulties
in the way of the other. Yet, perhaps, it is not prudent to let
opportunities pass by one. On the other hand, I shall, I am
confident, be able in the next session, by the help of my
present situation, to put myself much more forward in the House
than I have hitherto done, which appears to me a great object to
attain, previous to accepting of what after all, I fear, will
wear the appearance of putting myself _hors de combat_.

I am not in the same mind about it for any ten minutes together.
Pray write something to me by the return of the post.

I am much grieved to hear so unpleasant an account of Lady
Buckingham, but earnestly hope that what she goes through will
be confined to suffering only, and that you will not be
disappointed in an object so interesting to you both.

Nothing is yet known of law enactments, nor is it by any means
certain that Lord Mansfield resigns during his life, which is,
however, in all probability, no very long period.

Fawcitt will have the red riband with another person, who will
surprise you.

What should you think of an arrangement to be settled now, and
to take place at the opening of the session of 1788? The worst
is, it would be known, which would be unpleasant to me in a
thousand ways. I never had a point to decide which puzzled me so
much. That very circumstance will probably make me pass it, as
if I take any step, I must do it within a day or two at
furthest. Pray write to me.

Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

If it is done in the manner I last mentioned, you must
understand that it will be irrevocably fixed, as a positive
engagement will be taken for my present office to be given at
that time; so that if I alter my mind in 1788, I shall be an
independent country gentleman.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, Dec. 21st, 1786.

My dear Brother,

I have nothing decisive to say to you on the subject which we
discussed so much at Stowe, except that the particular
arrangement, which we agreed to be in so many respects
objectionable, certainly will not take place. My opinion is,
that it will end in my remaining as I am till _the other event_
happens, when it will be time enough to decide the question,
which will then occur, either of my present situation
continuing, or of the arrangement which you suggested instead of
it, which I mentioned to Pitt, and which he seemed in many
respects to like. The negotiation with respect to that _other
event_ has not yet been opened, but will immediately be so. The
period must depend upon that person's wishes as well as mine;
but mine, as far as they will have weight, are for the time
which you seemed to prefer.

I do not know whether you will understand my hieroglyphics, but
I hope to explain them to you some time next week, as Lord
Harcourt and myself have, I think, nearly settled to take our
holidays then.

We determined nothing about the Wardrobe Keeper. Lord Grimstone
has been written to about Hepburne's arrangement, but we have no
answer yet. This need not, however, delay any decision which you
may take about the other, which I am very anxious to settle
before the clannism takes place,

Adieu, my dear brother,
Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

1787.

The Dawn of Free Trade--The Assembly of Notables--Affairs of Holland--Arthur Wellesley--The Marquis of Buckingham Assumes the Government of Ireland for the Second Time.

Looking back upon the acts of past administrations, with a view to the influence they exercised over the policy of their successors to the present time, perhaps the most important measure introduced at this period by Mr. Pitt was a commercial treaty with France, which may be regarded as the first recognition by an English Minister of the principles of Free Trade. Mr. Fox maintained that France was the natural enemy of England, and that it was useless to attempt to veil the rivalry of the two countries under commercial regulations. Mr. Pitt, on the other hand, urged that it was their mutual interest to liberate their commerce; and that if France obtained a market by this treaty of eight millions of people for her wines and other productions, England profited still more largely by gaining a market for her manufactures of twenty-four millions.

The general principle of this treaty was to admit a mutual exportation and importation of commodities, at a low _ad valorem_ duty. The Opposition made great head against it in the House of Commons, but it was finally carried by a majority of 76. Curiously enough, the treaty was negotiated by Mr. Eden, who had held the office of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland under the Coalition, and who was the first person to break away from that heterogeneous confederacy, and ally himself with Mr. Pitt. His defection was the more memorable from the fact, that the Coalition is said to have originated with him; at all events, he divides the credit of the project with Mr. Burke. Distinguished by his zeal and activity, Mr. Eden was soon afterwards raised to the peerage, under the title of Baron Auckland.

While this reciprocity treaty was in progress, the finances of France were reduced to such a state of derangement by a system of corruption and profligate expenditure, as to call for some strong and universal measure of redemption. The famous Convention of Notables was the remedial project suggested by that able but speculative financier, M. de Calonne, who had succeeded M. Necker as Minister of Finance. This assembly, by royal authority, of all the considerable persons in the kingdom, excited some curiosity in England. What was thought of it in the ministerial circles may be gathered from a passage in a letter from Mr. W. W. Grenville to Lord Buckingham, dated the 8th of January.

A resolution has been taken by the French Government, and
declared by the King in his council, which occasions a good deal
of speculation. It is no less than the calling an Assemblée
generale, who are to consist of archbishops, bishops, nobles,
and deputies from the different parliaments, &c., to the number
of one hundred and fifty-nine. They are to meet at Versailles, I
think in the course of next month. It is not yet declared what
is to be proposed to them. But I think it probable that they
will be to deliberate on two great plans which the Government
have in contemplation; one for abolishing all the internal
custom-houses, and the other for reducing all the import duties
universally to duties from 12 per cent to 1/4 per cent, _ad
valorem_ according to certain classes. Besides this, it is
probable that the state of their finances is such as to require
very strong measures, both to provide for the existing debt, and
to make up any deficiencies arising from either of these plans,
and that Calonne thinks that he will be safer in obtaining the
sanction of such an Assembly as this. His friends give out, that
it is at his earnest entreaty that this measure is adopted. You
will probably agree with me in thinking it a hazardous one.

Mr. Grenville's prediction was abundantly verified by the event. The issue of the project is one of the familiar incidents of French history. The Assembly of Notables took place on the 22nd of February, when M. de Calonne had the opportunity he desired of explaining his magnificent plans. On the 5th of April, the Assembly was adjourned to the 12th; and in the interval the Minister was dismissed and exiled. France became involved in inextricable confusion, and the Notables were finally dissolved at the close of the ensuing year.

The affairs of Holland now began to engage the serious attention of the English Government, and Mr. Grenville was sent on a special mission to the Hague, to ascertain the actual state of things, which, through a series of complicated events, had at last assumed an aspect of hostilities that appeared to threaten extensive consequences to the peace of Europe.

Without entering into the conflict of diplomacies in which Holland was embroiled with Prussia and Austria, the immediate point to which these entangled transactions were narrowed at the moment of Mr. Grenville's mediation, was the attitude taken by the Prince of Orange for the restitution of his office of hereditary Captain-General, which had been vested in him by the unanimous vote of all the members of the State, but which had been recently transferred to the Deputies of Haerlem by a formal resolution of the States of Holland. In consequence of that resolution, the Prince had withdrawn from the Hague; and an application which was made by the King of Prussia (to whose sister he was married) to reinstate him in his rights, and a somewhat similar remonstrance on the part of England, having produced no effect, the Prince, removing his Court to Nimeguen, encamped near Utrecht, apparently with hostile intentions. He had in vain addressed himself to the States, the resistance to his authority increasing with each fresh attempt at negotiation; and at length, desirous, perhaps, of averting extremities as long as he could, he permitted his consort, the Princess, to adopt the singular expedient of proceeding in person to the Hague, where the States-General were assembled. This was in the month of June. It could hardly have been anticipated that the States would consent to receive so unusual an ambassador, or that they would even allow her to proceed on her journey; and, accordingly, they took measures to arrest her before she reached the Hague, sending her back under escort to Nimeguen. This very decided step simplified the matter at once. There was no longer a pretext for hesitation or compromise; and the King of Prussia, affecting to regard the indignity offered to his sister as a personal insult to himself, immediately set about organizing an army for the purpose of invading Holland. The greatest consternation prevailed throughout the country; and it was at this crisis, while the Prussian force was gathering in the Duchy of Cleves, that Mr. Grenville was sent to the Hague. On the 3rd of August, immediately after his arrival, he writes to his brother:

Nothing new has occurred here. All eyes are turned towards the
King of Prussia, whose conduct still appears contradictory. I
trust that by to-morrow we shall know something decisive. In the
meantime his army is certainly collecting, and the Duke of
Brunswick has accepted the command. Yet his other measures
indicate much leaning towards France. I am rather in better
spirits about my own particular task here, though by no means
satisfied with what I have undertaken, and which I now think I
must have had the vanity of a French Abbé to expect to perform
in four or five days.

A hurried note of the same date, made up just at the departure of the packet, adds that the writer intends to go to Nimeguen, and hopes to be in England at the end of the week. On the 6th, he writes again from the Hague, stating his intention to set out the next morning for Nimeguen, where he should see the Princess, and expected to find the Prince and the Duke of Brunswick, to whom it was understood the King of Prussia had committed the charge, not only of the military, but also of the political part of the business. A few days afterwards, a note from Whitehall announces his return to England, adding: "There is every reason to believe that we shall disarm without subsequent negotiation, as you must be satisfied at last."

The course of events, however, rendered subsequent negotiations unavoidable. On the 8th of September, Mr. Grenville writes: "Everything is going on much as it was. The Duke of Brunswick's army is collected, and was to act in about a day or two from this date, if satisfaction was not previously given, which seemed not impossible." On the 11th, he says: "If nothing has since occurred to alter the plan--which, however, is by no means improbable--the Prussian troops were to begin their march on this day."

It soon became obvious that the expectations founded on the likelihood of the submission of Holland were not to be realised. In a letter of the 13th, Mr. Grenville states that "the business is drawing fast to its crisis, whatever that may be." The Prussian Ambassador had given in demands requiring satisfaction, including the punishment of the offenders, within four days; in failure of which, the troops were to act. "I doubt," he adds, "whether the State of Holland can give this, even if they were so disposed, which is not clear. In the meantime, not a man has moved in France, and the confusion seems by every account to be increasing."

On the very day on which this letter was written, the Duke of Brunswick, at the head of twenty thousand men, had entered Holland.

How nearly these events had involved Europe in a war, may be gleaned from the next letter, which is marked "private."

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

(Private.) Whitehall, Tuesday, Sept. 18th, 1787.

My dear Brother,

The storm is at last burst upon us. Montmorin has communicated
to Eden an application from Holland to the French Court for
assistance against the Prussian army, and the determination of
France to comply with this request. The answer will be, that we
cannot in any case be quiet spectators of the operations of a
French force in the Republic, and that we have consequently
given orders for arming our fleet. The press warrants will be
out on Thursday, and every other step of the same sort is taking
with the utmost expedition.

The Prussian army had got to Arnheim on Friday, and I trust will
have been able to act with effect before France can give them
any interruption. If this should be the case, I think there is
still a possibility of settling the business without coming to
blows, but the chances are infinitely against it.

The circumstance is certainly an unpleasant one, and the crisis
in some respects hazardous; but I trust that we meet it with as
much advantage, all things considered, as ever this country had
when she embarked in a war. We must therefore go to it with
resolution, and I wish I could say with unanimity, for that
appears to me to be the one thing most wanted. The absence of so
many people from town, makes it impossible as yet to do more
than speculate on that subject, which is open to very great
difficulties. I need not say that you may rely on hearing from
me upon it as soon as there is anything to say, and above all,
that nothing will be wanting on my part to forward your wishes
to the utmost, as far as I know and understand them.

Believe me ever most truly and affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

Mr. Eden was at that time negotiating the matter in Paris; and although the Government may have reposed implicit confidence in his discretion, they appear to have felt that he did not possess a sufficiently accurate knowledge of the complicated questions out of which this difficult position had arisen, to enable him to act with the requisite caution and promptitude. In order, therefore, to assist him through the negotiations, in the hope of bringing about an honourable and satisfactory peace, Mr. Grenville was requested to proceed to Paris.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, Sept. 19th, 1787.

My dear Brother,

In Eden's account of the conversation, in which M. de Montmorin
notified to him the intention of France to assist their friends
against the Duke of Brunswick's army, he mentions that an
intimation was made of a strong wish on their part that means
might yet be found for an amicable conclusion of the business,
and a desire that the negotiation for that purpose might be
pursued with more activity than ever.

Although it is very doubtful whether this is anything more than
a _persiflage_, yet, as in their present situation their
resolution may change every hour, it has been thought, after
much consideration, that we ought so far to avail ourselves of
it, as to try whether anything can be done in this way, but, at
the same time, by no means to lessen or suspend our
preparations. One of the difficulties on this subject was Eden's
want of a competent knowledge of the points in dispute, to
enable him to discuss them thoroughly, and to bring them to
those short and distinct issues to which they must be reduced,
if anything is to be done upon them in the very little time that
now remains for negotiation. Another, and perhaps not the least
of the two, was the strong bent of his mind to admit the
assertions of the French Government, however unfounded, and to
soften our communications, in order to keep back a rupture,
which he has so great a personal interest to prevent, in
addition to those motives which we all have in common for
wishing the continuance of peace.

With a view to these considerations, I was earnestly requested
to proceed to Paris for a fortnight or three weeks, in order to
carry on this negotiation jointly with him. I have been very
unwilling to accept this commission, because my opinion of the
possibility of its success is much less sanguine than that of
others. But I am satisfied that it is the duty of Government to
leave nothing untried, however hopeless, which can enable us to
maintain our ground without having recourse to extremities. And
there is certainly, _cæteris paribus_, a better chance of doing
this with the assistance of one who is in some degree acquainted
with the particulars which are likely to come in question, and
who will most undoubtedly state explicitly the real sentiments
which are entertained here. For these reasons, I have thought
myself not at liberty to refuse, and have given a reluctant
consent.

I shall probably set out either to-morrow evening or Friday
morning. It seems best for me not to go with any ostensible
character, as that would be ridiculous in the case of my coming
back _re infectâ_ within a few days after my appointment. But in
the other much less probable event, it would, I think, be right
for me to have powers to sign with Eden.

It is, on the whole, a very hazardous undertaking, and one
which, for a variety of reasons, I would gladly have avoided. I
think I am sure to carry with me your warmest wishes for my
success; and as I know the anxiety which you feel upon it, you
may depend on hearing from me as soon as I have anything worth
communicating, either good or bad.

In the meantime, believe me, with the truest affection,

My dear brother,
Most sincerely yours,
W. W. Grenville.

P.S. There is no news, either from Harris or Eden, since I
wrote.

Two days afterwards, Mr. Grenville, in a few hasty lines, informs his brother that he is that instant setting out for France. "Accounts were at this moment received," he concludes, "that Utrecht and all the towns in North Holland had surrendered to the Prussian troops; and that the Free Corps were all called in to Amsterdam, which they talked of defending."

The surrender of Utrecht, the stronghold of democratic zeal, literally paralyzed the Dutch. Gorcum, Dordt, Schoonhoven, and other towns surrendered immediately afterwards, without striking a blow. The Senate of Amsterdam made a vain show of resistance, by passing a resolution to suspend the office of Stadtholder; but the resolution was waste-paper. Wherever the Prussians appeared, all opposition vanished, and the onward progress of the Duke of Brunswick's army was literally a procession of triumph.

We now follow Mr. Grenville to Paris.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Sève, Sept. 25th, 1787.

My dear Brother,

I arrived at Paris this evening, and immediately set off for
this place, where Eden has a house. You will have heard all the
good news in Holland. The effect it has produced here seems to
be that of frightening these people into withdrawing themselves
from the business. If so, my mission will soon be ended, and the
general result will be so happy, that I shall have nothing to
fear from my particular share in it. I have but just time to
scrawl these three lines, as the courier is waiting, and his
getting to Calais early is of real importance.

Ever yours,
W. W. G.

The "good news" was neither more nor less than the rapid and complete success which attended the arms of Prussia, without striking a blow. While Mr. Grenville was negotiating in Paris, to dissuade the French from interfering, the Prince of Orange was making his public entry into the Hague--an event which, to the astonishment of Europe, after the sturdy independence shown by the States in the first instance, took place within seven days from the date of the invasion.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Sève, Sept. 27th, 1787.

My dear Brother,

I had scarce time to put down three lines to you by the last
messenger; but you will have seen from them that our business
here bears a favourable aspect. I have this morning received
your letter of the 23rd, and can with truth assure you that I
feel in the strongest manner the kindness and affection which
give rise to the anxiety you express.

I have not yet seen any of the French Ministers, and am not to
do so till to-morrow. But the opportunities which I have of
knowing their sentiments, enable me to judge that it is not
probable that I shall enter into negotiation with them. Their
inclination certainly is very strongly to abandon the business,
and to withdraw themselves entirely from it. In this opinion
they will of course be desirous of doing this silently; and by a
sort of tacit acquiescence, rather than by any agreement or
treaty on the subject. The only thing that appears likely to
alter this, is the manner in which what has passed in Holland is
received in Paris. The indignation on the subject is almost
general; and the Ministers are universally condemned as having
been cajoled or bullied by us into the loss of their object. The
imputation is, in my opinion, very unjust. I do not believe that
they have been for a moment deceived as to our intentions, nor
have we taken any pains to deceive them. But I think that they
weighed the merits of the question itself, and decided upon it
like wise men. It is, however, impossible to say, in a country
where so much depends on public opinion, what effect may be
produced by this sort of clamour; and whether that may not drive
them, against their wishes, into measures of violence.

In this case, it is easy to see that they must act with
precipitation, and even with the appearance of passion, so that
either way, it is probable that I shall be at liberty to return
in a week or ten days' time. I shall certainly do it with much
pleasure; for though I felt I could not in honour decline the
commission; I accepted it, as you know, with little
satisfaction.

The Parliament of Paris is returned, having made a most
disgraceful compromise, of registering an edict for continuing
the two new Vingtièmes, without any exceptions or privileges of
exemption. By this mode, the Court get the money they want, but
in a manner more oppressive and ruinous to the country than that
of the taxes they had proposed. I suppose the example will, as
is generally the case, be followed by the provincial
Parliaments.

Adieu, my dear brother.
Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

The successes of the Prince of Orange had relieved France of a difficulty; for, notwithstanding that she secretly regarded these successes with dissatisfaction, her finances were in such a condition of derangement, that she was glad enough of an excuse for avoiding the expenditure of a war. Nevertheless, up to the 1st of October, Mr. Grenville did not feel quite sure of the issue. "Things," he observes, "remain here still in a very undecided state. They are making vigorous preparations, and holding very high language. At the same time, I still think that they will not be disinclined to listen to proposals for disarming."

Similar preparations were making in England; and in this unsettled and rather menacing condition the negotiation remained, when Mr. Grenville returned to England. In the course of the month, however, the Duke of Dorset, who was the English Ambassador at Paris, brought the question to a conclusion in a formal shape.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, Oct. 24th, 1787.

My dear Brother,

Despatches were received yesterday from the Duke of Dorset and
Eden, with a project of a declaration and counter-declaration
for disarming, which the French Ministers were ready to sign.
These will be returned to them to-day with a few alterations,
but of such a nature, that I have myself little doubt of their
being agreed to without difficulty, in which case the whole
business will be immediately concluded, and in a manner which I
think highly satisfactory and honourable to us. You will,
however, naturally suppose that we feel a good deal of anxiety
till the thing is actually done, as some circumstances may arise
every hour to vary it. Although Amsterdam has formally
submitted, there is a fund of much ill-humour there; but I do
not think that much is to be apprehended from it, especially if
proper and vigorous measures are taken for the security and
protection of the present Government in Holland.

The alliance with the Republic will be begun upon immediately;
but it will not be a triple one, from considerations which have
originated not here, but there.

You will see in the papers, that the Bishop of Hereford is dead.
I immediately renewed the application to Pitt, on the subject of
Marylebone, and wrote to the Chancellor myself to state the warm
interest that we both take in Cleaver's advancement. I have this
moment received a note from Pitt, informing me that the
Chancellor has agreed, and in the handsomest manner. I think it
very lucky for Cleaver, that this man died before Lord North. I
have written to him to inform him of the Chancellor's promise.

With respect to myself, I think I see ground to say, with
certainty, that nothing of the sort will take place before
Parliament meets.

Believe me, my dearest brother,
Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

On the 27th of October, the Duke of Dorset presented a memorial to the King of France, proposing the discontinuance of warlike preparations at both sides, which was at once agreed to, M. de Montmorin observing that it never had been the intention of His Majesty to interfere by force in the affairs of Holland.

The death of the Duke of Rutland in Ireland, on the 24th of October in this year, once more placed the office of Lord-Lieutenant at the disposal of the Administration. As soon as the intelligence was received in England, communications on the subject were opened with the Marquis of Buckingham, who, having no longer any grounds of hesitation, personal or political, accepted the office, and on the 2nd of November wrote to the Lords Justices to announce his appointment. Public opinion appears at once to have pointed out his Lordship as the fittest person to undertake the government of Ireland; and before anything could be known in that country of the intention of Ministers, Lord Mornington wrote to the Marquis, commending a special case to his consideration, under the impression that he would certainly be selected for the office. A passage in a subsequent letter of Lord Mornington's, dated 4th of November, written upon the occasion of Lord Buckingham's appointment, possesses peculiar interest on account of the illustrious individual to whom it refers. This is, perhaps, the earliest allusion in the correspondence of the period to Arthur Wellesley, whose name now appears for the first time emerging from boyhood into that public life in which he was afterwards destined to act so conspicuous a part. At this time, he was little more than eighteen years of age.

I sincerely wish you the same success in Ireland which attended
your last Government; your only difficulty will be to maintain
the high character which your Administration bore, in the minds
of every description of people. You will certainly be received
by the sanguine expectations of the whole country; and from my
heart and soul I earnestly hope that you may return home with
the same popularity and credit that you carry out. I must be
lost to all feeling, if I did not take the warmest interest in
the honour and prosperity of your Government, and if I did not
acknowledge myself to be bound by the strongest ties of
friendship and gratitude to contribute everything within my
power to promote its strength, in any way in which you may
please to call upon me.

You may well believe with what pleasure I received your
appointment of my brother to a place in your family, not only as
being a most kind mark of your regard for me, but as the
greatest advantage to him. I am persuaded that under your eye he
will not be exposed to any of those risks, which in other times
have accompanied the situation he will hold. I can assure you
sincerely that he has every disposition which can render so
young a boy deserving of your notice; and if he does not engage
your protection by his conduct, I am much mistaken in his
character. My mother expects him every hour in London, and
before this time I should hope that he had himself waited on
you. Once more, my dear Lord, before I close this part of my
letter, let me thank you most warmly for this flattering
instance of your friendship. Grenville, I hope, has shown you my
letter, in which I declare that I would not have asked you for
this favour, knowing your inclination to attend to my requests,
and apprehending that you might suffer your regard for me to
interfere to the prejudice of your Government; but certainly
this object for my brother was very near my heart, and I accept
it with a gratitude proportioned to the anxiety with which I
desired it, and to the most friendly manner in which it has been
given.

The rest of the letter is filled with recommendations of other persons--Hobart, Captain Fortescue, Jephson, who had the care of the stables at the Castle, an office which he had held for twenty years, and of whom Lord Buckingham seems to have received some unfavourable impressions, a Mr. Mockler, for whom Lord Mornington solicited "anything above £70 a year in a _genteel line_" (his own phrase), and others. In another letter, dated 8th of November, Lord Mornington, in a postscript, refers again to the appointment of his brother Arthur.

I am sorry to find by a letter from my mother to-day, that her
extreme anxiety to get my brother into your family induced her
to make an application to you through W. Grenville on the
subject; I have already stated, that I never would have urged
this point, though I accept the favour from you with the utmost
gratitude. However, the eagerness which has led her to this
step, affords a sufficient proof of the satisfaction which she
must feel, in the very kind manner in which you had anticipated
her wishes.

The answer of Lord Buckingham to the numerous requests of Lord Mornington, evinces the promptitude of his desire to promote the wishes of his correspondent.

I have desired that your brother may buy his men from a Charing
Cross crimp, that he may not be spoilt by recruiting, and am
happy that I can name him as aide-de-camp. Your Mr. Jephson is
a ----, I will not say what, but knowing him to be so, I may
possibly keep him. Your Mr. Mockler shall be ensign as soon as I
can make him one, or some other _genteel thing_. Your Mr. Elliot
may be chaplain, if he likes being at the tail of my list, with
the impossibility of ever getting anything.

And so on through the rest of the catalogue.

The following letters from Mr. Grenville refer to personal matters, and chiefly to the promotion of Dr. Cleaver, which Lord Buckingham was anxious to obtain, and which is promised in a subsequent letter from Mr. Pitt.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, Nov. 7th, 1787.

My dear Brother,

I have received your letter of yesterday. I do not know what I
can say on the subject, more than you will have learnt from
Pitt's letter. If you really feel disposed to insist on the
engagement, without waiting ten days to hear the difficulties
explained to you, or the solution proposed, I have no doubt,
from a thorough knowledge of Pitt's honour, that he will most
strictly and literally fulfil his promise, whatever the
inconvenience may be to himself. I have only to add, in answer
to one part of your letter, that you must recollect that
Harley's promotion, instead of being a breach of the rule, was
in the strictest adherence to it; and that Lord Lonsdale was
obliged to make his recommendation to Carlisle conformable to
it.

I saw Orde to-day, who, understanding that you do not come up
till the 17th, returns to Bath, as he was waiting here only to
see you. He pressed so much to know his successor, that I
thought there could be no impropriety in telling him in
confidence, especially as he will see Fitzherbert at Bath, and
may there settle with him the variety of private arrangements
which must be adjusted between them.

I enclose a letter from Mornington. I have not seen Captain
Fortescue, as I have been out of town till to-day.

I have just seen Sir James Erskine, who is come with a message
from St. Leger, to say that he has the disposal of the vacant
seat at Doneraile, which he is desirous of offering to you for
your secretary. I referred him to you; and when you come to town
will tell you more about it.

Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. Grenville.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, Nov. 8th, 1787.

My dear Brother,