London, April 21st, 1853.—I have had such a bad fit of gout in my hand, that I have been unable for some time past to write at all, though there has been plenty to write about. The Government has been sustaining defeats in the House of Commons on detached questions of taxation, much to their annoyance and embarrassment, and which were more serious from the inference to be drawn from them than for their intrinsic importance. They were caused by the meddling and absurd crotchets of some of their friends, and the malignity and unprincipled conduct of their enemies: the first bringing forward motions for reduction of certain items, merely to gratify clients or constituents, and the Tories joining with the Radicals in voting for things which they opposed when they were themselves in office, reckless of consistency or of consequences. But the whole affair was unpleasant, as it displayed strikingly how little authority the Government has over the House of Commons, and the difficulty, if not impossibility, of carrying on the service of the country.

MR. GLADSTONE'S BUDGET.

These little battles were, however, of little moment compared with the great event of Gladstone's Budget, which came off on Monday night. He had kept his secret so well, that nobody had the least idea what it was to be, only it oozed out that the Income Tax was not to be differentiated. He spoke for five hours, and by universal consent it was one of the grandest displays and most able financial statement that ever was heard in the House of Commons; a great scheme, boldly, skilfully, and honestly devised, disdaining popular clamour and pressure from without, and the execution of it absolute perfection. Even those who do not admire the Budget, or who are injured by it, admit the merit of the performance. It has raised Gladstone to a great political elevation, and, what is of far greater consequence than the measure itself, has given the country assurance of a man equal to great political necessities, and fit to lead parties and direct governments.

April 22nd.—I met Gladstone last night, and had the pleasure of congratulating him and his wife, which I did with great sincerity, for his success is a public benefit. They have been overwhelmed with compliments and congratulations. Prince Albert and the Queen both wrote to him, and John Russell, who is spitefully reported to have been jealous, has, on the contrary, shown the warmest interest and satisfaction in his success. The only one of his colleagues who may have been mortified is Charles Wood, who must have compared Gladstone's triumph with his own failures. From all one can see at present, it promises certain success, though many parts of the Budget are cavilled at. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to find any common ground on which Radicals or Irish can join the Derbyites to overthrow it, and the sanguine expectations which the latter have been entertaining for some time, of putting the Government into some inextricable fix, have given way to perplexity and despondency; and they evidently do not know what to do, nor how to give effect to their rancour and spite. Lord Derby had a great meeting not many days ago, at which he recommended union, and cheered them on in opposition, of course for form's sake, talking of moderation and principles, neither of which he cares a fig for. Mischief and confusion, vengeance against the coalition, and taking the chance of what may happen next, are all that he and Disraeli are bent upon. I met the latter worthy in the street just before the Budget, a day or two previous. He asked me what I thought of the state of affairs, and I told him I thought it very unpleasant, and it seemed next to impossible to carry on the Government at all, everybody running riot in the House of Commons, and following his own fancies and crotchets; nor did I see how it could be otherwise in the present state of parties and the country; that since Peel's administration, which was a strong Government, there had been and apparently there could be none. The present Government was not strong, and they were perpetually defeated, on minor points indeed, but in a way that showed they had no power to work through Parliament. I said of course they would dissolve if this continued, but that Gladstone's Budget might make a difference one way or the other. Disraeli scouted the idea of a dissolution, by which, he said, they would certainly gain nothing. Why, he asked, did not the Peelites join us again, as they might have done, and got as good terms as they have now, and then there would have been a strong Government again? As I don't want to quarrel with anybody, I restrained what it was on my lips to say—'You could not possibly expect them to join you'—but I did tell him that, even if the present Government could not maintain itself, of all impossible things the most impossible was the restoration of his Government tale quale, to which he made no reply. To be sure, the Protectionist seceders from Peel have now drunk the cup of mortification, disgrace, and disaster to the very dregs. They are a factious and (as I hope) impotent Opposition, under the unprincipled guidance of men, who, clever and plausible though they be, are totally destitute of wisdom, sincerity, and truth. They have not only lost all the Protection for the maintenance of which they made such struggles and sacrifices, but they have likewise brought upon themselves the still heavier blow to the landed interest which is going to be inflicted in the shape of the legacy duty. Had they possessed more foresight, and been less violent and unreasonable, this would not have happened to them; for if Peel's original Government had held together, and they had been content to accept his guidance, no Budget would have contained this measure. Schemes might have been devised to lighten their burdens, or to increase the compensations they really have obtained in other ways; but, be this as it may, they would certainly have been saved from this direct impost, which I doubt if Peel himself ever contemplated, but which he would certainly have spared them if they had not deserted him, nor would his successors have departed from his policy in this respect. But from first to last their conduct has been suicidal in every respect.

SUICIDAL CONDUCT OF THE TORIES.

May 3rd.—The Government is going on very flourishingly. A capital division in the House of Lords on the Canada Clergy Reserves Bill,[1] on which occasion there was a scene between Derby and Clarendon, in which both were, to my mind, in the wrong. The whole affair appears in all the newspapers, but what does not appear is the rather absurd termination of it, when, after much excitement and strong language interchanged, the belligerents ended by drinking each other's healths in water across the table. The victory in the Lords has been followed up by one still more important in the House of Commons on the Income Tax, which was carried by 71, a great many of the Opposition voting with Government, much to the disgust of their friends. These divisions have filled the Derbyites with rage and despair, and nothing can exceed their depression and their abuse of the Budget and its authors. What vexes and provokes them so much is the ascendency and triumph of the Peelites. They could endure it in the Whigs, but their hatred of the name and party of Peel is inextinguishable.

[1] [This was a Bill abolishing the title of the Protestant Clergy to certain portions of waste lands in the Colony.]

May 15th.—At Newmarket last week, during which the Budget was making its way very successfully through the House of Commons, where Gladstone has it all his own way. The Speaker told me he was doing his business there admirably well. While I was at Newmarket came out the strange story of Gladstone and the attempt to extort money from him before the police magistrate. It created for the moment great surprise, curiosity, and interest, but has almost entirely passed away already, not having been taken up politically, and there being a general disposition to believe his story and to give him credit for having had no improper motive or purpose. Nevertheless it is a very strange affair, and has not yet been satisfactorily explained. It is creditable in these days of political rancour and bitterness that no malignant attempt has been made to vilify him by his opponents or by the hostile part of the press. On the contrary, the editor of the 'Morning Herald' wrote him a very handsome letter in his own name and in that of the proprietor, assuring him of their confidence in his purity and innocence, and that nothing would induce them to put anything offensive to him in the paper, and they had purposely inserted the police report in an obscure part of the paper. It is very fortunate for Gladstone that he was not intimidated and tempted to give the man money, but had the courage to face the world's suspicions and meet the charge in so public a manner.

[1] [An attempt had been made to extort money from Mr. Gladstone on a spurious charge, which he met by instantly giving the delinquent into custody and meeting the case at a police office.]

THE STAFFORD COMMITTEE.