MR. W. H. FREMANTLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Stanhope Street, March 20, 1821.

My dear Lord,

I have seen the Duke, who desired me to express to you his very sincere thanks for the trouble you have taken in the subject of this detestable quarrel of the W——s. He assured me he would never mention your name to any human being; and you may rest assured that no letter to me shall ever go out of my hands.

With regard to leaving the whole matter in dispute to the arbitration of mutual friends, the Duke says there is no difficulty whatever in procuring Lady W——'s consent to it; she has repeatedly offered it, and is now ready to abide by such a reference. With regard to the child, this is a subject that must be decided by the Court, and cannot, and ought not, to form a part of the reference. If the father is entitled to take his child, he will, of course, have it; and there seems to be no doubt on this point. The real question of reference would be the litigation which is now carrying on between Lord W—— and Mr. W——, and the pecuniary arrangements and formal separation of the parties.

The Duke says, that, with regard to the dispute between Lord W—— and Mr. W——, it stands independent of all other subjects; and as Lord W—— is now compelled to put in his answer (the rule being made absolute), and as the case must ultimately be most injurious and disgraceful in all its bearings to Lord W—— (as it affects his conduct to Mr. W——), he thinks the best advice to be given to Lord W——, and the best course for him to follow, would be for him to write a letter to Mr. W——, saying that though he still condemns, and shall never cease to condemn, the injurious manner in which Mr. W——'s counsel had thought proper and been advised to treat him in his pleadings, yet he was sorry for the conduct he had adopted to Mr. W—— in consequence thereof, and was ready to offer his apology. This would satisfy W——, and stop his further proceedings, and thus end this part of the business. The second consideration—namely, the separation and allowance—this must now, of course, be decided, and under some strict and clear covenant; and which, undoubtedly, could best be done by arbitration of mutual friends. Lord C—— would guarantee any pledge or engagement on the part of his sister, and the same could be done on the part of Lord W——. Indeed, if she were disposed to make difficulties, her family would urge her to it. The Duke is quite satisfied that she would now most willingly do what she has repeatedly offered—namely, to decide the question by a reference to friends; and to show how far he has before effected this object, he put into my hands the enclosed, which was the terms agreed to in 1819 by both parties, and which the Duke is convinced, if they had been acted upon, Lord W—— would now have been in his wife's bed. Of course, that part which relates to their residence in the same house is now gone by, and it must be separation; but the great object is, if possible, to separate, by a distinct arrangement, the dispute with W——. This is the part that affects Lord W—— the most; and it is in order to lessen the heavy censure that would fall on him by the exposure of all his conduct towards Mr. W——, that he now seeks to ... to mingle the Duke in the history. Lady W—— cannot proceed in this cause if W—— is satisfied, for she cannot plead or maintain his case for him.

Nothing of importance occurred in Court on Saturday. The Lord Chancellor has got rid of it, and turned it over to Judge Dallas, who requires more time; so there is now time for friends to interfere, if it can be done with effect.

You will understand the possession of the child. The Duke has nothing to do with it. Lord W—— has her now with him. A habeas corpus has been moved, and the law must, of course, decide this. You will be so good as to return the Duke's letter, as he desired me to let him have it again. He really seems much obliged to you for the interest you have taken about it, and I think is much more at ease on the subject than he appeared to be on Friday. He knows for certain that Lord N—— did advise Lord W—— on the question of Mr. W——.

Believe me, ever most truly yours,

W. H. Fremantle.