W. H. F.
LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.
Dec. 26, 1820.
I return you Fremantle's letter; it tells me no more than I had already collected from what is passing.
I do believe that there is arising in the country enough of a Royalist spirit and feeling to have enabled such a man as Pitt, with his courage and abilities, and with some foundation of natural personal popularity, to avail himself of it, and by putting a speedy end, quoquo modo, to the discussions about the Queen's business, to make a good stand for the maintenance of Government.
But it is needless to remark, that these people have neither decision of mind to view their situation in its true light, nor the means of acting upon it in such a course as could alone extricate their master and themselves from all their difficulties.
On the other hand, it is no less evident that he satisfies himself with talking about his situation, and does not feel reliance enough upon himself to act upon it in either of the two ways which are alone open to him—that of making himself the active partisan and supporter of his present system, and lending himself fully to every exertion of personal aid which he could still give them, by appearing in public, holding his levees, opening his house, &c. &c.; or, on the other hand, of opening immediate communication for a capitulation, the terms of which, irksome as they would now be, must daily become more and more so by the inevitable course of events, independently of those peculiar circumstances of personal temper which are unhappily so evident even in this moment, and will certainly not lose their force by the continuance of the contest.
The Ministers have chosen for their field of battle precisely the very weakest post in their whole position; and though personally (if I took any personal part in these things) I should not have an instant's hesitation in voting against any party interference with the manner in which the K—— in Council, as head of the Church, has directed his family to be prayed for, yet I have hardly a doubt, from what I hear, that the majority of this House of Commons will think otherwise.
As to Canning, I am certainly no admirer of any part of his conduct, past, present, or likely to come, on the subject of the Q——; but I must, after all, in fairness, say that the past having been such as it has, I do not see how he could at this time continue in office to advise, conduct, and answer for the K——'s measures against her.
I know nothing of Peel, nor have any clue to guess his intentions; but I am clear that it would be little short of an act of direct insanity for any man not already involved in this mass of difficulty to go voluntarily and implicate himself in it.