I send you a few lines from hence, where I have been staying a few days. The Duke of G—— is full of the idea of changes in the Government, but is fully convinced it will not be to take in the Whigs. He thinks Lord Liverpool is to go, and Lord Londonderry to be at the head of the Government; and the latter, you may be assured, from all I have heard, has replaced himself in the King's good opinion, and has equal influence to what he has ever had. The Irish journey has done this. The Duke has not the least idea of the real state of things; but I find from him the Whigs are aware of some change before the meeting. I cannot at all guess whether the steps which were proposed are intended previous to the King's departure for Hanover. He will be in town to-morrow if the wind permits, or perhaps he may be delayed a few days. He proposed to leave town for Hanover the 16th or 17th. He appoints Lords Justices (not a Regency), to consist of all his Ministers, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Steward and Master of the Horse, and the Lord Chamberlain. These are to do nothing but the common routine of business. Lord Londonderry accompanies the King abroad; and all correspondence is to be kept up through him, and no appointments of any sort to take place but such as absolutely demand immediate filling up. He goes to Vienna, and Paris, and Homburg, Munich, &c., &c.: such is his present intention. He cannot be back till the end of November or December, and I can hardly conceive it possible they will defer all changes till that time, when any new members of a Government must be so ignorant of measures just as the meeting of Parliament is about to take place. The Duke of Wellington will be back from Paris time enough to meet the King. I do not believe one word of Lord Liverpool's going out. He certainly has not done the thing well as to the funeral; but the great blame is in that booby, Sir R. Baker. Lady C—— has been living with the King at the Phœnix Park, and he has never slept out but at Slane Castle. The Royal yacht went to Holyhead to take her over to Dublin; the Admiralty yacht took the Princess Augusta to Ostend. The latter does not go to Hanover; it is said the former does. Lord Grosvenor loses upwards of 80,000l. by his agent More's failure. He has two vacancies for Shaftesbury, and brings in Mr. Ralph Leicester, of Toft, in Cheshire, and offers the other seat to Lord Normanby. I see Canning is waiting in England (having intended to return to France), which looks very like an immediate arrangement. I suppose you heard that a Board of General Officers is examining into the conduct of Sir Robert Wilson on the 14th. I think I told you this in my last.
The story abroad is, that they are trying to cook up a match for the King with a Princess of Tour and Taxis (I believe a sister of the Duchess of Cumberland), and a sister of the Princess Esterhazy. Metternich is at the bottom of it. Query, whether Lady C—— will oppose or promote a match? If her lord would go, other objects might occur to her; indeed, it is hinted that she is trying to push her daughter for the prize. The Duchess of G—— had a long letter from the King a few days ago, full of the highest spirits.
I think I have told you all I have picked up.
Ever most truly yours,
W. H. F.
MR. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.
Llangedwin, Sept. 9, 1821.
My dear B——,
The enclosed letter came to-day from Wheatley. I send it you, though I certainly do not attach much credit to the virtuous refusal of the Whigs to come in under Lady Conyngham's auspices, forasmuch as I should rather believe that if the daughter of the Devil would engage to bring them in, they would even conform to the condition of admitting old Nicholas (not Vansittart) as their colleague and patron. The opinion of the breach between the King and his Ministers being past all mending, seems every day to gain ground, for I hear of it from different quarters. If the King goes to Hanover, it seems almost impossible that he should return in time to make any new arrangement before the meeting of Parliament.
My uncle has, I find, returned from Bowood, strongly impressed in his own mind with the wish of Lord Lansdowne, to form an Administration in conjunction with us, if he can effect it.