Before Lord Temple had received this letter he had declined the secretaryship, and accepted the appointment of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, his brother, Mr. William Wyndham Grenville (afterwards Lord Grenville) accompanying him as Chief Secretary. In the reply that follows, Lord Temple expresses the profound sorrow he felt at his brother's determination to resign, of which he was confessedly not in a position to form a competent judgment.
LORD TEMPLE TO MR. THOMAS GRENVILLE.
Pall Mall, July 12th, Eleven, P.M.
I have received your letter, my dearest brother, which has sensibly—I need not say how sensibly—affected me. My letter to you did not propose to decide upon the propriety of the great question, whether you should or not continue to keep the character in which you are now employed; of that I could be no judge. The total and absolute ignorance in which I have remained, since you left England, of what was passing at Paris, and the total want of information of what was passing here, so far as concerned your mission, make me wholly incompetent to the question; of that you must be the judge, and I trust and hope that your decision will stand every test. My object was solely to prevent the possibility of your coming away precipitately, and so far my point is gained. I will say nothing of the cruel situation in which I stand; I feel it most bitterly, and feel it the more because my affection to you has no bounds. I am not Secretary at State; but think, my dearest brother, what must have been my feelings, if I had (as was much pressed upon me from every quarter) accepted that department to which your negotiation was more immediately annexed, in confidence that you would have done that for me which you have done for Mr. Fox. If I had listened to that persuasion (and surely my heart might have prompted me to have done so), I might have had the mortification of finding myself in a situation which I can hardly think of without the most violent agitation; the voice of every one had pointed out to me that department; and every reason, public and private, seemed to call me to it. Think this over, my dearest brother, and tell me if the ties of private friendship are such as would have justified you to your own feelings for fixing upon me a disgrace, the extent of which I shudder at.
I know, I feel, that you love me; but, great God! to what have you exposed me! and, much as you value Mr. Fox, am I to think (good God! after the uniform affection, which has never felt more truly for you than at this hour) that you trust your honour and reputation in his hands to an extent that knows no bounds; and that the moment which calls upon you to withdraw yourself from your situation, is that which possibly had put your brother in that confidential public situation in which I trusted he had stood with you in private life? I cannot dwell upon this. I would have fought your quarrels, I would have felt with you every reason which may have induced you to urge this recal, possibly very prudently, justly, and honourably; but it was not necessary to convince every member of the Cabinet, that your honour, safe in the hands of Mr. Fox, was not so in mine. Good God! my dearest brother, loving me as you do, and knowing how I prize and value you, think over this picture of possibilities, and join with me (which is all I will ever say to you on a subject which cuts me to the very heart) in the happiness I feel, that motives, in which I will say that considerations for your credit, your honour, and your ease, were decisive, determined me to reject the first and to accept a second proposition. That die is cast; my opinion, my reputation, and my honour are pledged to it. I will believe, because it is my only joy at such a crisis, that your affections beat as highly to what conduces to my honour and situation as ever I could wish; and tell me, my dearest brother, if the whole tenor and every hour of my life has not proved to you how I valued your confidence, and how truly it would be my pride to consult your advancement; and if in taking this situation I have consulted what was most for the honour and ease of every one of my family, if I have peculiarly consulted the possible delicacy of your situation, and have sacrificed every favourite passion of my heart to it, think what my present feelings are, in the uncertainty of the extent of those sacrifices which you may still think yourself obliged to make. The thought, my dearest brother, distracts me; I hint it to you, but I shall not feel a moment's happiness till I see you. My letter is dreadfully incoherent, but it will paint to you the agitation of a mind struggling for its dearest and nearest object—the affection of a brother, whom from my childhood I have pressed nearest to my heart.—I cannot go on.
I called upon Lord Shelburne the moment I had your letter, and saw him soon after. I carefully obeyed every injunction, and pressed your immediate recal. He stated the necessity of calling a Cabinet, as he could not take it upon himself, and the King does not return to town till Wednesday. I urged it with every eagerness, and have prevailed that a leave of absence shall be granted to you to come away immediately, and this to prevent public mischief. But it is understood that you resign the commission on your arrival here. I have prevailed that the messenger is to return very early to-morrow morning; and most ardently do I wish to annihilate the next eight tedious days. Feel for me, my dear brother; consult your reason and your affection, and let me hope that you will feel that satisfaction which every one of my family most earnestly feels at my acceptance of the Lieutenancy of Ireland. You know what follows, and you will have time to think it over; but I conjure you, by everything which you prize nearest and dearest to your heart, by the joy I have ever felt for your welfare, by the interest I have ever taken in your uneasiness, weigh well your determination; it decides upon the complexion of my future hours. I am jealous and nice of your honour more than of my own; but think that I have staked my happiness upon this cast; and may God direct you, my dearest brother, to the only answer which can convince me that your esteem and affection equals that which I have ever borne you. God ever bless you.
RESIGNED.
Mr. Fox.
Lord J. Cavendish.
Mr. Burke.
Lord Robert Spencer.
Lord Althorpe.
Lord Dungannon.
Mr. Townshend.
Mr. Montagu.
Mr. Lee.
These are all who have resigned.
APPOINTED
Lord Shelburne Treasury.
Mr. T. Grenville ¯|
Mr. Jackson |Ditto.
Mr. Elliott _|
Mr. Pitt Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr. T. Townshend Secretary of State, Home Department.
Lord Grantham Ditto, Foreign Department.
Sir G. Yonge Secretary-at-War.
Mr. Aubrey ¯|
|Admiralty.
Mr. Pratt _|
Lord C. Spencer Vice-Treasurer.
Colonel Barré Paymaster.
Vacant Treasurer of the Navy.
Ditto Solicitor-General.
Duke of Richmond ¯|
Duke of Grafton |
Lord Camden |Continue in their offices.
Lord Keppell |
General Conway _|