The King spoke to Halford for some time with much composure and piety as to his situation.
Lord Bathurst looked into the precedents in Queen Anne's reign, and at the declarations of several kings on their first meeting their Privy Council.
House. A good and useful speech from Lord Goderich on the funded and expended debt. He showed that the receipt from taxes was about the same as in 1816, although 9 millions had been taken off, and that the interest of the National Debt would, in 1831, be reduced 44 millions below its amount in 1816.
Cabinet at half-past ten at Aberdeen's. A letter from Leopold, endeavouring to throw upon us the blame of delay for two months, and treating acquiescence in his terms of loan as a sine quâ non. Now the terms we propose are not exactly the same, as we make a payment by annual instalments a part of it, and I expect he will break off at last; but he will wait till the King is actually dead.
May 7.
A very good account of the King. He has passed twenty-four hours with mitigated symptoms.
Dined with Sir J. Murray. I must next year have an Indian dinner.
May 9.
Read as I went to town to Cabinet, and returned in the carriage Cabell's memorandum on the Hyderabad transactions.
The Duke read the letter he had received from Sir H. Halford. It gave a bad account of the King. Yesterday was a day 'of embarrassment and distress,' and he is swollen notwithstanding the punctures made by Brodie. He is anxious about himself, and must know his danger, yet he talks of the necessity of having a new dining-room at the Cottage ready by Ascot.