"London, 17th July, 1767.
"Dear Sir,—We are still in as unsettled a condition as when you left us. There will certainly be a considerable alteration in the ministry; and I do not at present reckon my principal's situation more precarious than that of any other minister. He speaks, however, like a man who is to be out of office
in a few days. I have also taken the precaution to desire him to request of the king, in my name, the liberty, after my dismission, of inspecting all the public records, and all the papers in the Paper-office. His majesty was pleased to say, that he very willingly complied with my request, and was glad to hear of my intentions. But my chief view is to run over such papers as belong to the period which I have already wrote, in order to render that part of my History as little imperfect as possible. It would be folly to think of writing any more; and even as to correcting, were it not an amusement, to what purpose would it serve, since I shall certainly never live to see a new edition?"[394:1]
On the same subject, and in the same tone, he writes to his brother, on 6th October:—
"As to myself, I pass my time, as I told you, in an agreeable enough kind of business, and not too much of it. My income, also, is at present very considerable—above £1100 a-year, of which I shall not spend much above the half. Notwithstanding, I sometimes wish to be out of employment, in order to prosecute my History, to which every body urges me. When Mr. Conway was on the point of resigning, I desired him to propose to the king that I might afterwards have the liberty of inspecting all the public offices for such papers as might serve to my purpose. His majesty said, that he was glad that I had that object in my eye; and I should certainly have all the assistance in his power. He was also pleased, some time after, to send to me the Baron Behr, minister for Hanover, to tell me that he had ordered over some papers from Hanover, to be put into my hands, because he believed
they would be of use to me. I believe I have told you that the use of the Marlborough papers had been promised me by Lord and Lady Spencer; but Marchmont, who had some pretence of authority over them, as trustee, delayed giving them up, suspecting, I suppose, the use they intended to make of them."[395:1]
Though it was as part of Lord Rockingham's administration that Conway became secretary of state, and his political connexions attached him to that leader, he had been prevailed on to retain office on the formation of the Grafton and Chatham cabinet, in August 1766. In the summer of 1767, that ministry seemed likely to be formidably assailed by the united efforts of the Rockingham and Bedford parties, whose meetings and resolutions at Newcastle House are matters well known in history. General Conway's resignation would have terminated Hume's tenure of office; and we find, in his correspondence, a few indications of interest in the political movements of the time; yet so calm and modified, that even the possession of office seems scarcely to have affected the stoic philosophy with which he contemplated ministerial revolutions.
He says to his friend Blair, on the 18th of June:—
"We are all again in confusion. Negotiations for a new ministry; the fatal month of July approaching; a new settlement to be made, which will be no settlement. I fancy I return, in a few weeks, to my former situation."[395:2]
And to Smith, on 14th July:—