Chapter C: J. Fox (13)

We have been exceedingly alarmed here, with a report of Lord
Temple's dangerous illness. I called at your brother W.
Grenville's to know the particulars, but did not find him. I
then learnt from Fitzherbert that the crisis was happily passed,
and that you and Lady Buckingham were released from the
melancholy alarms which you both had on so dreadful a visitation
of Providence. I hope this letter will find you all as well as
you can wish or expect. I do not know how far employment and a
great situation compensate to you for other _désagrémens_; but
you seem to me to have sacrificed more than most men in devoting
yourself to your present office, and in quitting your comforts
in this country. There is no accounting for taste, and that
being yours, I cannot help remarking, with much concern, how
heavily you have been visited in your domestic enjoyments, by
the illness of Lady B. and yourself, and your boy, and by the
death of the unfortunate T----ns.

One is apt to imagine that the air of Pall Mall, Paddington and
Stowe, would have kept away such heavy misfortunes, and that you
would have been easier and happier than you are now. I sometimes
think, that idle men with good fortunes are happier than busy
men; their enjoyments perhaps are not so acute, but their cares
are fewer.

Poor Parry is retired _dans ses terres_, with a fret on his mind
which will probably soon carry him to the churchyard; this has
been much increased by a discovery that the Chancellor objected
to his competency, at least Pitt says so, and the other does not
deny it: between them all he has certainly been very ill-used,
and has been led on to expect what was never meant to be given
him.

I shall be much obliged to you for the copy of my letter to
Pitt, which I enclosed to you in my last letter, as it is the
only one I have. It has never been answered, nor has Pitt ever
said a word to me on the subject, which I think unhandsome and
unkind. He must be the best judge, whether such personal
inattentions can ensure the continuance of zeal and activity in
his interests of those who plague themselves with counties and
boroughs.

I was told yesterday by Lord Lovaine, that the Duke of
Northumberland had refused to bring Rose again into Parliament,
which shows a coolness between him and Pitt; but I dare say it
will not break out into anything like opposition, though a
strong report prevails that he has joined Lord Rawdon's armed
neutrality.

Sheridan finished his summing-up yesterday on the Begum charge,
and has certainly throughout displayed the greatest and most
artful abilities. The Opposition are very anxious to work it up
into a flame against Government; but I cannot say at present,
that I see anything more in the public than a nine hours'
wonder, and an anxiety for fashion's sake to get tickets for
wives and daughters. What may be the future impression of the
public is impossible to say, but it seems to have been an unwise
measure originally in Pitt to give such a handle to such able
men as those who conduct the prosecution against Hastings;
indeed, he seems so sensible of it himself, that he has suffered
Sir E. Impey to escape impeachment, and has protected him
against it, which I do not know is not a stronger measure than
the other would have been.

I shall remain here till the 24th, when I am to receive £2000
from Mr. Campbell; and then, with my debts paid, I shall take
Sir George Warren's, in Cheshire, in my way to Wales, whence, if
I can get leave of absence, I shall certainly come over to you
for a short time; the Viscountess being inexorable on the bare
mention of Dublin, and we all know she is a steady one in her
resolutions.

The Fortescues are by this time perched at Castlehill, and he
has mounted a cockade in his title to it, of which he is very
proud and happy. He is so much liked and esteemed, and so
deservedly, that no appointment ever gave more universal
satisfaction.

The Nevilles are at Stanlake, and we were invited there next
Monday; but they have put us off till the end of the week, so we
shall put them off till another opportunity, as I must be in
town on the 24th.

Sir William and Lady Williams are preparing for a tour to
Switzerland, with your brother Tom; but I should not be
surprised, if the scheme, from some cause or other, would fall
to the ground, and end in Brighthelmstone, or some sea-bathing
place.

I saw your brother Marquis the day before yesterday, who told
me, that he heard, with the _greatest concern_, that your
popularity in Ireland was falling apace, and that the candles
were out; and concluded by asking me whether I had heard of it,
which I assured him I had not. He followed this up by several
eulogies on the comforts of Bowood, and of his domestic life.
Hah! hah! hah!

Robert Williams has attended his guard duty very regularly, and
General Hyde is very well pleased with him; he goes the 24th,
for a month, with a detachment to Hampton Court for a month.
Lady B. and he beg their love and respects to Lady Buckingham
and yourself.

Pray give me two lines, and believe me ever affectionately your
friend and servant,

B.

The first intimation of a break in the King's health appears in June, soon after the birthday. "The King," writes Mr. Grenville, "has been a good deal out of order, but is recovered." The heavy calamity impending over the country, the seeds of which were already sown, was little suspected at that moment.

The meditated arrangements in the Administration came to nothing. Personal obstacles first interrupted, and finally frustrated them altogether. As usual, whenever a difficulty sprang up, Thurlow was found the most impracticable man in the Cabinet.

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

Whitehall, June 23rd, 1788.

My dear Brother,

I mentioned to you in my other letter of this date, that it
appeared to me most probable that the arrangement by which I was
to succeed to Lord Sydney's office will not take place till some
new opening is made. The fact is, that the plan, as it was
originally formed, depended on Lord Mulgrave's taking Sir
Charles Middleton's office, and thereby opening the whole
Pay-Office for Lord Sydney. But this has been found
impracticable, both from the difficulty of placing Sir C.
Middleton at the Admiralty, and from the great improbability
that Mulgrave could be induced in his present frame of mind to
undertake the Comptrollership. It has, therefore, been
determined that Lord Chatham should take the Admiralty for the
present, with no other alteration in the Board except
substituting Lord Hood instead of Brett. Leveson Gower and
Middleton are on such bad terms, that it would have been
impossible for them to have acted at the same Board; and
considering Gower's conduct, his professional character, and his
connections, it seemed equally impossible to drive him from it.

This being the case, there will no longer be any opening by
which Lord Sydney could have an adequate provision made for him
in case of his retiring. You know that I was never desirous, nor
indeed should I choose, to press his being removed to make room
for me unless it could be done in a manner perfectly
satisfactory to himself, or at least satisfactory to Pitt's
mind; and, even as things now stand, it seems impossible but
that some such occasion must soon occur. Any vacancy of a
sinecure office in England would immediately hold out a retreat
for him; any such vacancy in Scotland might be given to Dundas,
who would then vacate the Treasurership of the Navy; and any
vacancy of one of the ordinary offices of Government might be
given to Mulgrave, which would open the Pay-Office. I know that
this arrangement would be considered by Pitt as the first object
in the disposal of anything that may fall, and I think,
therefore, that I am not very sanguine in believing that it is
not postponed to any very distant period. Lord Marchmont,
Stuart, McKenzie, and Barré, have all them been thought likely
to make openings since this business has been in agitation, and
there are a variety of other accidents that would answer the
same purpose. The enumerating all these chances bears the
appearance of more impatience on my part than I really feel, but
I do it to satisfy that which I know you will feel on finding
that the object is postponed after we thought it so nearly
accomplished. For my own part, I repeat what I told you in a
former letter, that the circumstances of my present situation,
in almost every point of view, and particularly the confidence
with which I am treated, leave me very little to look to, or to
hope for, from any change that can arise; and for this reason,
as long as I keep my rank and pretensions, and do not see others
advanced before me, I am by no means anxious for pressing
forward the proposed arrangement.

I have tired you long enough about myself, which I should not
have done if I was writing to one less interested in that
subject than I know you are. There are a few other things which
I am glad to take this opportunity of mentioning to you. I do
not know whether you will have heard anything of the strange
conduct of the Chancellor. When the Rolls were vacated by Sir
Thomas Sewell's death, the office lay between Kenyon and Eyre.
The Chancellor felt that he could not avoid offering it to
Kenyon, but was at the same time very desirous that he should
decline it, in order that Eyre might be appointed. Pitt was, on
the other hand, eager that he should take it, in order that
Arden might have the Chief-Justiceship of Chester, and he
succeeded in persuading Kenyon to accept. From that time, the
Chancellor conceived a pique against Arden; and although there
is no competition against him, either from Eyre, who is in a
better situation, or from any other person that the Chancellor
cares for, yet Thurlow has thrown every difficulty in the way of
his appointment. Within this last ten days he has refused to
take the necessary steps for giving it effect, and has held
language which amounted almost to an intention of resigning
rather than putting the Seal to Arden's patent. This conduct was
the more intolerable, because some months ago, when Lord
Mansfield's resignation was in question, he had expressly told
Pitt that he felt that Arden must have the Rolls, and that
though he disliked the appointment, he would not throw any
obstacles in its way. I much doubt whether it has originated in
any settled disgust, or desire of picking a quarrel, but rather
attribute it to the strange temper of his mind, soured at this
particular time by the plague of the trial, and by actual
illness. It has, however, made it necessary for Pitt to come to
an explanation with him, which, though not fully satisfactory to
my feelings, has, however, removed any further obstacles to the
particular point in question; which had indeed gone so far as to
make it utterly impossible for Pitt to recede, whatever had been
the consequences. I have given you this story at full length,
because I thought you would certainly hear something of it from
report, and that you would be desirous of knowing the real
particulars of it.

Our cousin of Northumberland, has, I think, decidedly joined the
independent party under the auspices of Lord Rawdon and Bastard,
and in consequence of this has refused to re-elect Rose. You see
this is a pretty strong declaration of hostilities, considering
all the circumstances of Rose's situation in Government, and of
his connection with the Duke himself before he became so great a
man. It is peculiarly unhandsome after what has passed about the
Riband, which, though it could not be given to him, was kept
vacant till another fell. The immediate loss to us is very small
in point of numbers, as the greatest part of his votes are
already in opposition; and considering his character, it is
perfectly plain that there was little chance of his giving any
substantial assistance at a general election. I only lament,
therefore, that he has got his Riband; and for the rest, "I
trust we have about the Court, a thousand's good as he." And if
we had not, we might have them, for offers of negotiation are
coming in from all quarters. I believe Lord Beauchamp will be
closed with, being only for a Marquisate for Lord Hertford, and
the sole question now being the time of doing it. Upon the
whole, I am far from thinking that we end the session at all
weaker than we began it, notwithstanding some untoward
circumstances which occurred. Our foreign politics are going on,
in my apprehension, as successfully as possible. The French were
beginning to cabal against us at Berlin, but the signature of
the Treaty has completely overthrown them there. They were at
the same time giving themselves some airs of importance at the
Hague. They presented a memorial, complaining in strong terms of
the 6th Article of our Treaty, which is unquestionably as
offensive to them as it could be. This has not yet been
answered, but it will be, and in terms at least as strong as
those in which it is couched. Their Ambassador, M. de St.
Priest, appears to have had orders to behave in the most
offensive manner possible. By great good luck in the first
squabble that has occurred in consequence of this, between one
of his servants and the mob of the Hague, his man has put
himself completely in the wrong; so that when he presented a
memorial complaining of the insult offered to a person in his
service, he received for answer a letter enclosing copies of the
examinations taken before the Court of Justice, and trusting
that as those papers evidently proved the violation of their
territory by a person in his service, he would not fail to
support the complaint which the States-General _had already_
directed their Minister at Paris to make on this subject. I
mention all this, not so much for the importance of the thing
itself, which will end in a paper war, as for the sake of
showing you how much the temper of our friends must be altered,
from the time when no persuasion of ours could induce them to
act with the smallest degree of vigour or firmness.

I have not seen any account from France since I last wrote to
you, but there is a report that Calonne has had an account of
further violences at Grenoble. There is no further news of the
Imperialists. Fitzherbert seems to expect more from the Russians
than I see any reason for. He is, however, unquestionably much
better informed on that subject than I can pretend to be. I
confess I am very curious to see the effect that will be
produced by the Prussian alliance on the minds of the other
European powers, but particularly of the French. In the present
moment there seems great reason to believe that the two Imperial
Courts and France, are each of them dissatisfied with the other
two. To a certain degree, it will have a tendency to reunite
them; but there are so many causes of jealousy, that I think one
need not be very sanguine to disbelieve the probability of any
permanent good understanding being established between them.

Nothing could be handsomer than the manner in which the King
acceded to the proposal which Pitt made him, of bringing Lord
Chatham and myself forward in the manner then intended. He has
since spoken to me on the subject in the most flattering terms,
and has shown an eagerness to facilitate the arrangement by
proposing expedients for removing the only difficulty which
delays it.

Adieu, my dear brother.

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

The King's personal interference in appointments and promotions had produced, on several occasions, remonstrances and complaints from Lord Buckingham, and the judicious zeal of Mr. Grenville was in constant requisition to prevent an open rupture between the Lord-Lieutenant and the Government. Calm and enduring as he was, Mr. Grenville frankly stated to his brother that, although he could never tire of the employment of serving him, his patience was almost exhausted by finding that one case was no sooner settled or compromised (for it generally ended in that way) than a fresh one came upon the _tapis_. At length, the tenacity of the King on these points wounded Lord Buckingham so keenly, that it very nearly led to the most serious consequences. Lord Buckingham wished to appoint his nephew, Colonel Nugent, to a vacant lieutenant-colonelcy within his own patronage, and through some friendly channel notified or expressed his desire to do so; but the King, without communicating his intentions, or waiting to go through the ordinary official forms, which usually founded such appointments on the recommendation of the Lord-Lieutenant, appointed another person to the vacancy--Colonel Gwynne.

Lord Buckingham felt the slight so acutely, that he threatened to resign; and was probably dissuaded from that step by the counsels of Mr. Grenville, whose wise and temperate letter on the occasion will be read with admiration. Mr. Pitt also interposed, offering to appease Lord Buckingham's feelings by any course of proceeding which, under the circumstances, could be resorted to for the purpose of relieving the transaction of the appearance of a personal or official indignity. The grounds upon which the royal excuse rested were, that Lord Buckingham's wishes were not known to his Majesty, and that military appointments were not expressly included in the Viceroy's patronage.

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

Whitehall, July 1st, 1788.

My dear Brother,

I received yesterday morning your two letters of the 25th and
27th, and was preparing to answer them to-day, when I received a
third letter from you with its enclosures. Nothing could exceed
my surprise at reading Lord Sydney's letters. The only reason of
their having been delayed till the 23rd was, that, at my
request, Pitt had desired Lord Sydney not to write to you till
he could see him, in order more certainly to secure--what I had
understood to have been before settled with him--that the thing
should _not_ be done in the form in which it has been done. I
had never imagined that the thing itself could be pleasing to
you, although I certainly entertained no apprehensions of your
thinking of quitting your situation, because in a single
instance the King's private wishes had interfered with your
patronage. I had, on the contrary, supposed that if it was done
in such a manner as to mark, unequivocally, that it was a
personal interference of the King's in behalf of his own
aid-de-camp and equerry, and that it was not a competition for
patronage on the part of any other person, you would think it
right to do what is done in every other department of
Government--to acquiesce in it as a thing out of the ordinary
course, and as a gratification of the King's personal wishes. It
was under these impressions, that when I was informed of the
circumstance by Fitzherbert, on the Saturday morning, I thought
it infinitely more desirable for you that I should confine
myself to securing that the attention due to you should be
preserved in the mode of doing it, and that it should be stated
to you in a private letter, and afterwards be carried into
effect upon your recommendation, than that I should endeavour to
take any steps for inducing the King to withdraw his
interference in favour of a man for whom he felt personally
interested, and whom he had acquainted with his intentions in
his favour. It was very doubtful whether any endeavours of this
sort, from whatever quarter they came, could be successful after
he was so far engaged; and he could not fail to consider the
attempt in the most ungracious light, both with respect to you
and to every other person engaged in it. Add to this, that I did
not then know that you had any object in it, beyond the common
course of army patronage. With respect to what you mention of
the aggravation arising from the preference given in this
instance over your own nephew, and of its being publicly known
in Dublin that Colonel Nugent's name, and your wishes in his
behalf, had been previously stated to the King, I can positively
assure you that neither Pitt nor myself, nor even Fitzherbert,
as he has expressly told me, had any knowledge of your intention
to recommend Colonel Nugent till several days after this
transaction passed. Under these circumstances, I cannot still
help thinking that I acted right in not taking such steps as
must involve you, whether you wished or not, in a personal
contest of this nature with the King.

In the point which I did labour, I have failed; but from what
reason, or from what fatality, I am utterly at a loss to
conceive. It is certainly true that, both in the commission and
in the instructions to the Lord-Lieutenant, all military
promotions are expressly reserved to the King, and that they do
not fall in the line either of those offices which the
Lord-Lieutenant himself disposes of, or of those on which the
King declares his intention of waiting for the Lord-Lieutenant's
recommendation. But the practice and the understanding certainly
is, and it is so recognised in Lord Sydney's letter, that the
Lord-Lieutenant should recommend to all commissions below the
rank of Colonel. It is on this ground that I thought, and
continue to think, that the King's _wishes_ only ought to have
been intimated to you, and that your recommendation ought to
have preceded the appointment. I understood Fitzherbert, at the
time, that he had been assured by Lord Sydney that the thing
should be done in this mode. To make this more secure Pitt,
undertook, as I have before mentioned, to see him before he
wrote to you, and as that was impossible before the Monday, he
begged him to delay his letter till then. We none of us
conceived that the delay of these two days would have afforded
you any additional uneasiness, as the whole circumstance would,
in the interim, have been stated to you, and explained by
Fitzherbert and myself. When I saw Pitt afterwards, he assured
me that the thing would be done as I wished it. How it has
happened, after this, that you have received the notification
exactly in that form which both Pitt and myself laboured so much
to prevent, is to me utterly inexplicable. I know that what I am
going to say will seem to you extraordinary, and yet I must say
it, because it is the real truth: I am still in the entire,
firm, and thorough persuasion that there is not in Lord Sydney
the remotest wish (as there cannot be the shadow of an interest)
to do anything that can be personally offensive, or even
disagreeable to you. Pitt, on whose sincerity I have ever found
reason to rely, has assured me that he is in the same belief,
and Fitzherbert entirely agrees with me. I am to see Pitt again
in the course of to-day; but I am not sure whether it will be
time enough for this letter. He will have endeavoured to inform
himself upon the subject, and to see whether any and what
solution can be found for the difficulties which you feel with
respect to it. You will, I am sure, feel--and, indeed, your last
letter seems to express it--that after what has passed it is
impossible to induce the King to withdraw Colonel Gwynne, as
that would be a disgrace to which nothing could make him submit,
short of a necessity more absolute than he could see in this
case. Whatever else can be done you will, I am sure, find Pitt
ready and desirous to do. I showed him your letter, which I
received to-day; but I had not communicated to him your two
former letters, because he is spoken of there in terms very
different from what his conduct in this business has merited.
Your letter to him was written in a strain of more justice; but
it is surely early in this business for you to complain of
having been abandoned.

I shall write to you again to-morrow, and it is not impossible
that you may receive that letter even before this, as I think I
shall avail myself of Bernard's offer to be the carrier of it. I
have written this in the same free and unreserved manner in
which I am happy to think our correspondence has ever been
carried on; I am not, however, without uneasiness as to the
impression which it may make on your mind. I feel the
peculiarity of my situation, and the possibility of your
thinking that I am biassed by my own personal objects, to lay
less stress upon points affecting your honour than I should
otherwise do. I have, however, relied on your entertaining a
more favourable opinion of me. If I do not grossly flatter
myself, I am capable of forming an opinion unbiassed by the
considerations to which I allude; especially on points where my
own honour, or that which I value as dearly as my own, is
concerned. I have examined my own heart, and can say, with
confidence, that it is not from personal motives that I speak,
when I say that you lay upon these points a degree of weight far
beyond what they deserve. If you were in a situation of
inferiority or dependance, a watchful attention to everything of
this sort would be necessary, and therefore commendable;
because, without that, you could not preserve the degree of
respect and consideration which is essential to carrying on the
duties of your office. In your actual situation, it is surely
not doing justice to yourself to talk of being disgraced by such
circumstances as these, or to imagine that your consequence can
be lessened or impaired by them. With respect to the thing
itself, I believe that it never happened to the most absolute
Minister that ever governed this country to feel it in his power
to exclude all personal interference from the Crown in the
nomination to offices. I am sure it is not a matter of policy to
any Minister to wish it; and a very little reflection will
convince you that such at least is not the system of the present
Government, or of the present times. How, then, are you
disgraced, because a single instance of this nature occurs
within what are understood to be the limits of your patronage?
But you will say this may be repeated, and I shall lose the
means of carrying on the Government. My answer is, that you will
act in Ireland as you would act here in any of the situations of
this Government; that the line is perfectly easy to be defined
to every man's understanding, though not reduced to a written
rule, and the limits easily seen, where the King's
recommendations cease to be the casual exertions of private
favour, and begin to be systematic interferences with the power
entrusted to his servants. Ask yourself which is the case in
this instance.

I could say much more upon this subject--particularly to state
the effect which a resignation on these grounds would have--but
I am satisfied, from the tenour of your last letter, that this
is a step you will not adopt, except on more pressing grounds.

I have not time to add anything more to this letter--not even
those assurances (which are, however, I trust, unnecessary) of
my constant, sincere, and zealous affection and interest in
whatever concerns you. You shall hear again from me at latest by
to-morrow's post.

Ever yours,
W. W. G.

MR. PITT TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Downing Street, July 3rd, 1788.

My dear Lord,

Nothing could happen to give me more pain than I have felt from
the contents of your letter of the 27th, and from the
circumstance which gave occasion to it. I trust, however, that
on full consideration you will see that there was, in some
respects, less ground than you imagined for the feelings under
which you wrote, and that what I have to mention to you will do
away every idea of your going to the extremity you mention;
which you must forgive my saying that the occasion can never
justify, either towards the public or yourself. It is most
certainly true that the general practice has been, and ought to
be, to wait for the Lord-Lieutenant's recommendation to vacant
commissions, and I undoubtedly understood that the King's wishes
respecting Colonel Gwynne were to be privately intimated to you,
so as to give you the opportunity of officially recommending
them.

I cannot, however, find that the general rule is founded in
anything but practice, or that there is any such promise as you
suppose in the instructions--that the King will wait for the
Lord-Lieutenant's recommendation to military commissions. There
is a clause containing a promise of this nature, but it refers
only to _ecclesiastical_ and _civil_ offices; and from the
manner in which commissions are mentioned in the preceding
article, as well as from the words of the Lord-Lieutenant's
commission, it appears by no means to apply to them. There seems
to me, therefore, to be, strictly speaking, nothing _irregular_
in the King's directing the appointment in the first instance;
though I most sincerely wish such a step had not been taken, and
am persuaded there is no danger of a repetition of it. I mention
this only to show that there is, at least, no such ground for
objecting in point of form to this proceeding as to compel you
to take it up in the strong manner you meditated.

But whatever weight you might give to this observation, I trust
from what you say in your letter, that you can in no degree feel
yourself called upon to carry the business any further, unless
on the supposition of receiving from Lord Sydney an official
answer, justifying his former letter. He is far from having any
intention of sending such an answer, and I am sure, I can
prevail upon him either to leave your last letter without reply,
or, if it will be more satisfactory to you, to let both that and
his letter which gave occasion to it be withdrawn from the
office. This is all which appears to me to be now possible. The
appointment having actually taken place, and being warranted by
the letter both of the instructions and the commission, it is
impracticable to propose anything which would amount to
disavowing the King's own act, and renouncing a power which,
though I hope he will not again be inclined to exercise, he
certainly seems to have reserved in his own hands.

I therefore hope that one of the two expedients I have mentioned
will appear to you satisfactory, and I shall wait most anxiously
to know your wishes on the subject. As to any intention in Lord
Sydney or any one else to show any want of attention personally
to you, or to the situation you fill, I trust you will feel the
impossibility of such an intention existing; because you must
know that there can exist no one motive for such an intention,
and there exists, in fact, every motive for the contrary.

With regard to the disappointment of your views for Colonel
Nugent, I say less on that subject, because, though I most truly
regret it, and most anxiously wish to find any means of
repairing it, I am persuaded from your letter, and from the
nature of the King, that the mere personal disappointment is
what you will not allow to influence your determination on a
subject of so much consequence to the public service, and to us
all. I am satisfied, however, that you will find no difficulty
in obtaining your object for him on some more favourable
occasion, which I hope may occur before long; and if I can find
any way of making any arrangement on this side of the water,
which can make an opening earlier than it would otherwise occur,
you may depend upon my doing everything I can for that purpose.

I have not time to add more now, but will write in a few days in
answer to your former letter. You will easily imagine how
impatiently I shall wait for an answer to this.

Believe me ever, my dear Lord,
Sincerely and affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.

I enclose extracts of those parts of the instructions and
commission to which I refer.

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

Whitehall, July 14th, 1788.

My dear Brother,

I now sit down to answer your three letters of the 5th, the 8th,
and the 9th, the last of which I received this morning. I am
much concerned that anything which I have said respecting this
business should have given you the impression of my having
treated it with unfairness towards you. I do most solemnly
assure you, that in every reflection that has passed in my mind
upon the subject, I have endeavoured to put myself in your
place, and to ask what line of conduct would be the most
desirable for you to adopt, with a view not only to any present
impression, but to your permanent reflections upon it. You must
allow me to say, that I persevere in my opinion, that your
resigning your office on this ground would neither be justified
in the opinion of the world in general, nor by your own cooler
reconsideration of the subject; and I must beg you to observe
that this is not my sentiment only, but that of every one of the
few other friends with whom you have communicated upon it.

The only reason which you yourself adduce, in support of such a
measure, injurious to yourself and to your friends, is the sort
of impression which you say this transaction has made in Dublin.
To this I reply, in the first place, that I must still think
that you, of all men, who ever held that situation are exactly
in those circumstances in which you can have nothing to fear
from such an expression; and although I cannot refuse, on your
evidence, to believe the actual existence of such an impression,
yet I am fully satisfied that it can neither be permanent in its
duration, nor mischievous in its effects. But it is surely at
least sufficient, even in your view of the subject, if such a
solution accompanies this difficulty, as can leave no doubt in
the mind of any man that you have weight and influence fully
sufficient for carrying on the business of your situation.

It is on this ground that you rest it, and I think with great
propriety, in your letter to Pitt, and his answer, which you
will receive with this, can hardly fail of proving to you that
you _was_ premature in stating yourself to be abandoned by those
on whom you had claims. You cannot wonder that I, who had seen
the activity and zeal which he has shown in this business, from
his first being acquainted with it, should feel hurt at being
obliged to put into his hands a complaint from you so little
merited. I felt also that in the generality of that expression I
was myself involved, and you must allow me to say that I could
not reproach myself with having deserved it.

I trust, however, that there will be no occasion for the
exertions which Pitt engages himself to make on this subject,
and that your proposal will be acceded to by the King without
reluctance. It seems to me that Fawcitt shows a real disposition
to accommodate the wishes of Pitt and yourself, and that the
terms which he proposes are by no means unreasonable. I
sincerely hope that you will not find any difficulty in making
the arrangement for the sort of intermediate compensation, which
is effected before a Government fall. It has occurred to me
that, _faute de mieux_, Hobart's office might facilitate such a
plan. You know, I presume, that he is coming into Parliament
here, and, consequently, that he must be desirous of making some
arrangement with respect to his office which he cannot well
execute by deputy. I have a place to dispose of at Chelsea (the
Comptrollership), which might be made worth about £200 or £250
per annum; but it is the sort of office that Hobart himself
could certainly not take or execute. I have endeavoured to find
some man fit for it, and who could resign to Hobart a place of
equal value, but I cannot find such a man. Perhaps, in some way
or other, this may be made useful to you; but you must observe
that the Comptroller must be a man of steadiness, integrity, and
some clearness of head.

I do not know whether Fitzherbert has written to you about
Captain Macgrath. The King thinks him entitled to the preference
which he claims, but Lord Sydney does not send over the despatch
at present, as till this other business is settled it might be
unpleasant to you.

I do not very well see how he could avoid sending over Gwynne's
commission to you, as you yourself agree that there could be no
idea of the King's revoking the appointment which he considered
as a thing actually done. You will, I trust, unquestionably
think it better to issue this commission without waiting the
result of your negotiation with Fawcitt, as a few days can make
no difference in point of impression with respect to a thing so
publicly known, and the appearance of keeping it back is not, I
think, what you yourself wish. I confess, I think, there is the
same sort of ground with respect to sending over a
recommendation ante-dated, which was not a part of Lord Sydney's
proposal as stated to you by Pitt; that was, that both his
letter and yours should be withdrawn. There could then remain
nothing but the commission, without any trace how it was
granted. Whereas, a recommendation of that sort must be felt by
the King as putting him avowedly in the wrong, and to a greater
extent than ever your construction of your commission and
instructions warrants. I think them more disputable than you do,
but they were sent not to prove that the _notification_ ought
not to have been waited for, but that there was, according to
the letter of those papers, no necessity for the
_recommendation_. The mere writing to say that Lord C.'s
appointment vacates his lieutenant-colonelcy, is surely no
object to you; and a recommendation goes beyond the claim you
can urge under the instructions. If you are satisfied with the
assurances you have received that the substantial cause of
complaint, viz., the interference with your patronage, shall not
be repeated, it is surely better to let this business rest, than
to squabble with the King about the form of what has been done,
and which substantially you cannot alter.

We hear this evening that Lord J. Townshend is to oppose Lord
Hood.

Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

Lord Hood's contest for Westminster was now dividing the attention of the Government with graver questions. Mr. Grenville and Sir William Young furnish some details, those of the latter bringing the features of the scene vividly before us.

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

Whitehall, July 30th, 1788.

My dear Brother,

I have not written to you for the last ten or twelve days, on
account of my time being wholly taken up with the election. You
know me well enough to imagine, that a canvass of this sort for
a fortnight together, especially in such a place as Westminster,
was no very agreeable undertaking for me. We were, however, in
want of nothing but active exertion; and I felt that I owed it
to the cause in which we are embarked to set the example. I am
persuaded, that if this had been done a little sooner, nothing
could have prevented our success; but Lord Hood's security for
the first three days, and his total inactivity for three days
more, after the opposition had been declared, gave the enemy so
much the start of us, that it is wonderful we should have been
able to do what we have. As it is, Townshend will certainly be
returned. It is impossible, without more minute inquiry, to
speak with _real_ confidence as to the event of a petition. It
is _unquestionable_, that their majority is owing to bad votes,
and to bribed votes; but in what proportion, it is not yet
possible to say. Before a Committee, it will be easy to detect
and strike off the former; but the proof of bribery is often
difficult, if not impossible. It must, therefore, depend on a
more minute inquiry to decide what probability there is of
succeeding in a petition. Even if we fail, this contest has, I
am satisfied, laid the foundation of an opposition at the
general election, not to Townshend only, but also to Fox. The
advantage of this you will easily see, is not the one vote, more
or less, in the House of Commons, or any _éclat_ from this
particular place; but the benefit we shall derive from carrying
the war into their head-quarters, and engaging their attention
to one point--an object, which was, I am sure, of the utmost use
to us last time.

The election is not yet over, nor will Lord Hood decline the
poll. It will, therefore, last till Monday next, unless closed
before by the consent of both parties.

Lord Howard's peerage, with limitation to Neville, is settled;
and will, I believe, take place in a fortnight, at furthest. I
have this morning received your letter of Saturday last. You do
not mention in it what the sort of expectation is which you wish
to be enabled to hold out to Doyle in future. I shall, for that
reason, not say anything about it to Lord Sydney at present, as
nothing could be done in it till the King comes back from
Cheltenham; and by that time I may receive your answer, without
which I should be embarrassed what to ask or press for.

I have not yet done anything about the Comptrollership of
Chelsea. I need not say, that your wishes (especially in behalf
of Tompkins, under all the circumstances which interest you for
him), are the most powerful of all considerations with me; but I
own that, from my knowledge of him, I cannot help doubting how
far he is equal to discharge an office of that sort of detail,
without involving himself and me in difficulties, which would in
the end be greatly distressing, even to yourself. You, however,
know him much better than I do; and I should therefore be
obliged to you, if you would consider this doubt, and let me
know what you think of it.

Lord Chatham is better, and goes on mending; but he is not yet
out. As far as I have an opportunity of judging, his appointment
has been well received.

I have been so pestered with that Hoghton, and his eternal
Ensign Maudesley, that I shall be obliged to write him word,
that if the young man will wait upon you, you will see him,
which is the only way that I see of putting an end to a weekly
correspondence on the subject.

Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

You have never sent me any answer about the Bucks Justices, by
which means I am offending Powis and the rest of them; nor about
the Cranbourne chair proposal, by which means that business is
delayed.

SIR WILLIAM YOUNG TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

London, August 10th, 1788.

My dear Lord,

The bustle of the Westminster election had thrown me so far in
arrears of private business, which pressed upon me in the
various items of correspondence, accounts, and papers, that I
have been obliged to delay this letter longer than I intended.
My attorney hath now his leave of absence from me, to anew paint
the green door, and repolish the brass knocker of his country
villa. As soon as Lady Y. is sufficiently strong I propose
quitting town, remaining ten days at Delaforde, and then
proceeding to swim at Southampton or Lymington, having as just
claim to breathe a sweeter air as the said attorney.

On Monday last, I quitted for a few hours the Westminster
contest, to dine with the Stoke Club, which was well attended,
and your Lordship's venison declared to be in high season.
Captain Salter hath suffered some severe loss of fortune from
the bankruptcy of the house of Maine, at Lisbon, as I
understand; in consequence thereof, he hath let his house at
Stoke to Major Masters, and means himself and family to reside
at Bath. He hath let his house for £200 per annum, and for a
term.

Late in the evening, I hastened back from Slough to protect my
house, in case of a riot; but the precaution of the police, in
appointing for the occasion some hundreds of extra constables,
kept all quiet. The Foxites, aware of the circumstance, sought
to arrogate all credit from that tranquillity of the night which
they could not prevent, and advertised "be quiet" accordingly.
Unprecedented modesty! I could wish to give some idea of the
conduct of the party, but cannot convey a just one. On the
hustings a daily farce passed, which even those busy in the
general scene, but who attended not that spot, can have no
conception of.

At dinner, in Downing Street, I was requested to take "my day or
two station" on the hustings; it being necessary to have some
gentlemen there who might notice procedure, and prevent the high
bailiff yielding in every case to the most abject fears on every
threat of Mr. Fox, which he did, insomuch that Lord Apsley and
myself were obliged to threaten him with a prosecution. On the
hustings were posted a set of young men, neatly dressed in blue
and buff for the occasion, blacklegs from all the race-courses,
and all the Pharo and E.O. tables in town. Their business was to
affront every gentleman who came on the hustings without their
livery. "You lie!" "Who are you? damn you!" and a variety of
such terms echoed in every quarter; something of the sort soon
tingled in my ears.

On observing a dirty-looking man encouraged to swear, and not
mind _that fellow_, meaning your humble servant, I could not
refrain expressing my disgust, at hearing even invitations to a
disregard of perjury; on which, Counsellor Garrow, of Newgate
education, addressed me with, "Damn your eyes and limbs! and who
are you, who give yourself these airs?" Having made up my mind
to put a stop, _in limine_, to such mode of address, I gave him
my card, and told him we had better settle the rest of the
business elsewhere, "and immediately." He was for the first time
in his life abashed, and made excuses, which I gladly enough
accepted; observing aloud, that being incapable of using an
illiberal term, I should in similar manner _insist_ on none
being used towards me. I was afterwards treated civilly for that
place. I have mentioned the above anecdote, as characteristic of
the deportment of the blue and buff for special purpose of
clearing the hustings; and too often they succeeded, occasioning
moderate men, who did not choose to commit themselves, to
withdraw; and thus getting whole divisions of the hustings to
themselves, where they polled every beggar from the streets. The
question is not of title to vote in most cases, but of identity;
most families being at this season out of town, a rascal was
found to personate every absentee. The suborners of perjury not
regularly conferring, very many instances occur of an absentee
being represented by four or five, _all_ admitted to vote on
their mere attestation.

The petition, I understand, will be founded on bribery, as well
as other allegations of violence, and false votes. Details of
bribery advanced are numerous, and well attested; but I doubt if
it can be brought home to direct agency. The publicans, who
immediately distributed the money, whom we know, and who may
turn informers to save themselves, will probably only have to
tell us of a false name and a disguised person; however, Lord
Hood and his solicitors are more sanguine.

It is generally understood that future elections in Westminster
are to be regulated by a new statute, the heads of which are to
be: parochial polls, churchwardens and overseers, and
inspectors, and parish rate-books conclusive, if against any
voter--that is to say, if his name is not there.

Our second dinner of the Constitutional Club, on Wednesday, went
off exceedingly well, and may prove a good political net to
catch young men just launching into the world from College. Such
use hath been made of the Whig Club, and something was wanting
to counteract. Other good effects, not merely confined to a
Westminster election, may too have place. In short, the late
business seems to have awakened us all to our good cause and
just political interests, as well as to have drilled us against
the period of our being called out to the general election.

I shall not leave town till the 1st of September, and ere I quit
it shall again make my remittance of such news as occurs.

My last boy is a fine fellow, and my wife is as well as
possible. She desires in the best manner to be kindly remembered
to the Marchioness, with, my dear Lord, your ever affectionately
faithful, and obliged friend and servant,

W. Young.

If we did not know that matters of higher import engaged the attention of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, it might almost appear that his chief business consisted in controlling the pretensions of a variety of persons to every office that fell vacant, and of keeping a host of disappointed expectants in check and good-humour, so large a space does this matter of patronage occupy in the semi-official correspondence of the period. Amongst the most urgent of them was the appointment of Fitzgibbon (afterwards Earl of Clare) to the Chancellorship of Ireland, which Lord Lifford was daily expected to resign.

Lord Lifford seems to have been a man of limited capacity and singular simplicity of character, formal and credulous, and tedious in his intercourse with the world. His letters to Lord Buckingham, written in a great clerkly hand, are full of solemn platitudes and ceremonious civilities; and whatever other excellent qualities he possessed, it cannot be inferred that he was a man of much mental reach or vigour. Obsolete in manners and ideas, and living in the modes of a past age, he was respected for the sincerity of his disposition and the rectitude of his character, rather than for the strength or activity of his intellect. In his seventy-fourth year he came over to London to resign the Seals to His Majesty, laden with the burden of years and hypochondriacal infirmities; yet, up to the last, vacillating in his resolution. Lord Mornington, who met him at dinner at Pitt's during this visit, says: "I met old Lifford at dinner at Pitt's, and never saw him look in better health or spirits; he is, as you may well believe, most generally _quizzed_ in London." The letter in which he announces to Lord Buckingham his intention of resigning of the Seals, after many misgivings before he could make up his mind to it, is thoroughly characteristic.

LORD LIFFORD TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Royal Hotel, Pall Mall,

Saturday, August 30th, 1788.

My very good Lord,

My complaints at times to your Excellency, and my apprehensions
expressed to you that bodily weakness and the infirmities of old
age were coming upon me apace, will prevent your Excellency from
being much surprised when I tell you that my journey hither,
which at first I thought would have relieved me, hath served
only to confirm me in the apprehensions I had conceived that the
hour of infirmity, which is an enemy to all exertion, and first
weakens and slackens the course of business, and soon afterwards
disables, was not far off.