They went off to C. H. at two o’clock. By Adam’s report, S.’s description of what had passed here was a most gross misrepresentation, and a malicious interpretation of every word uttered. They all parted in wrath; the P. determining to keep what S. made him believe was his own, whereas in fact it was S.’s. This is one of his artifices by which he ensnares the P., first suggesting ideas and words, which he dexterously contrives to make the P. believe are his own. (He avowed this to us some months ago.[383]) Some of Sheridan’s phrases were very bad. The Prince was to say in a taunting manner that he hoped the authority he was to be invested with would be as brief as it was restricted, showing a silly soreness towards the Parliament. On Friday the deputation came; and the paper composed by S. and the Prince was delivered. Grey and Grenville upon the rejection of their paper drew up a remonstrance glancing at secret advisers, which they delivered to Adam to give to the Prince. In the meantime the P. expressed a wish to explain to Ld. H. the whole transaction, and fixed calling upon him on Saturday. By a mistake of Ld. Moira’s, Ld. H. waited for him, as he ought to have told him that the P. could not come till this day, Sunday, 13th Jan., 1811, Pall Mall.
The interview was long; only Mr. Adam present. Authorised an explanation to the two Lords, that he did not conceive his application to them could as yet be considered as official. Consequently they were not in any responsible situation; that they proceeded upon a misconception.
GRENVILLE’S AUDITORSHIP
Sunday, 20th.—A very stormy week, but down to this evening the political horizon brightens. When the two Lords began to discuss arrangements the difficulties seemed insurmountable. Ld. Grey reminded Lord Grenville of the conversation they had formerly had together upon the subject of the impossibility of his holding his place of Auditor of the Exchequer with that of the First Ld. of the Treasury. Ld. Grenville alleged poverty, proposed that Tom,[384] who par parenthèse, has been voluntarily out of Parlt. these three years, should have the Admiralty and the first peerage. Upon the obstacle of the Auditorship being strongly re-argued, a singular paper was delivered in to Grey, in which statements were made of the condition of the First Lords for the preceding 40 years, all of whom had enjoyed large places with the Treasury; stating his own difficulties of undertaking such an expensive station with the mere addition of 1000l. pr. ann.; that he should be overwhelmed with debt. That he could not consent to take the Home Department without an express and distinct understanding that all the Patronage of Church and State which had hitherto gone through the First Ld. of Treasury, should be annexed to the Home Department. That the Minutes of Cabinet should be drawn up by Ld. G. and laid before the Regent or King; that he could not yield his pre-eminence; and rather an arrogant and flourishing termination. The whole composition evinced a sordid and low mind. Scarcely had it been sent, before Ld. Auckland was dispatched to recover it. Ld. Grey hesitated, because if a rupture became inevitable, it was such a complete acquittal of himself.
By-the-bye, I forgot to mention that the first hitch arose from a proposal on the part of Lord Grenville that, from the state of the H. of Commons they ought to look about them for strength, that the lists were not satisfactory, and that they could not be sure of majorities. The plain English of this was that they wanted an organ of their own, Canning for instance, as a barrier against the popular principles of the Whigs and the unpopular and odious manners of Whitbread, whom unfortunately all parties concur in hating, however they may respect him as a public character. Ld. Grey replied that upon consulting his own friends, he was satisfied that the numbers were such as to enable a Govt, to go on well, that by taking Mr. C. weight would be lost, not gained; for the gain would be 10 votes, and the loss of three times that number of real, staunch friends. That upon the mere report of such a junction already Mr. Coke declared his first vote under the new Governt. should be against them, if Mr. C. composed one of the Govt.; also that Messrs. Byng, Brand, &c., were of the same opinion, Ld. J. Cavendish, and most of the old Foxites.
WHIG DISUNION
Ld. Grenville seemed thunderstruck at Grey’s urging that if a motion was made by the enemy against the union of the offices of Treasurer and Auditor, it would be impossible to prevent many of their own friends from voting against them. In the evening Ld. G. wrote to Grey to say that the point in discussion could not be canvassed by them in conversation. Proposed by Grey that Ld. Spencer should be First Lord of Treasury; Grenvilles all eager to declare that he had entirely withdrawn from public life. Various other modes suggested, such as Ld. Grenville’s placing the Auditorship in trust and not receiving the salary whilst he enjoyed the Treasury. On the 16th matters seemed in a state of complete disunion, and the differences between the two Lords began to be talked of in public. In stating the friends with whom Ld. Grenville said he should consult before he came to a final determination, he mentioned Lords Stafford and Carrington. He now talked of giving up all idea of forming an Administration, and recommending the Prince to keep the present Ministers; but Ld. Grey will not agree, as in his opinion it is a scandalous desertion of the Prince. Tom Grenville has begged Grey not to be offended at any dryness and formality in the style of Ld. Grenville’s letters, as official habits early in life make all he writes upon topics of business seem as dry as a chip. In conversation it had been thrown out that the Treasury stripped and degraded would not be fit for Ld. Grey to accept, but that George Ponsonby or Lord Lansdowne might do the duties of it; but this was not listened to, it being impossible, notwithstanding all Lord Grenville said of the present salary, patronage, and influence of the Treasury being a usurpation upon the patronage of the Home Department, to consent to such a glaring alteration as to reduce that which had been hitherto considered as the first office in the State to as low a condition even as a mere Lord of the Treasury. From Lord Temple’s language, which is violent and indiscreet, and from Tom’s, which tho’ milder and more guarded betrays much soreness, it is clear that it is not the numbers of the H. of Commons which induced them to urge a junction with Mr. Canning, but that they felt they had no man of their own, and could not submit to be represented by such persons as Whitbread, &c.
However, at present (21st) all stands well again. On 18th Ld. Grenville with great good humour has given up his schemes of advancement (?), and is content to take the Treasury, yielding all the other offices to Ld. Grey’s nomination, excepting the Secretary at War for Ld. Temple, and the Board of Control, with a seat in Cabinet!! for Ld. Auckland; and with respect to the Auditorship, he offered to put it into trust, but could not afford to give up the salary, and all he required was that Whitbread should acquiesce in the arrangement and defend it, were it to be attacked in Parlt. This proposal was submitted to Whitbread, and strongly urged by Lds. Grey and Holland, but he could not be brought to agree, tho’ he acknowledged that in principle he had no objection to the Auditorship being vested in trust whilst Ld. G. held the Treasury. He admitted that so far from thinking that 4000l. a year was too great an addition to the present salary of the Treasury, that he was ready to propose in the House of Commons that the salary of that and of every high office should be raised to 10,000l. pr. ann., but he could not defend his holding the two offices. He grounds his objection upon a foolish piece of personal vanity, having last year demanded, in an imperative tone, of Perceval whether Yorke received his salary of Teller of Exchequer during his enjoyment of the emoluments of First Lord of Admiralty, and having, as he thought, intimidated them from it as he was answered in the negative, he could not bring himself to defend what he had by his tone reprobated in public. He was very obstinate in his manner, and gave a specimen of his want of conciliating disposition for hereafter, tho’ in this instance he was not so much in the wrong, as he had been assured in the beginning of the arrangements that Ld. G. would give it up. Whitbread continued inflexible, and on the 19th Ld. Grey wrote a very handsome letter to Lord Grenville’s proposal, in which he stated Whitbread’s unwillingness to defend the measure, expressing his own sincere regret at W.’s resolution, adding that he could not bring himself to act with Mr. Canning, and therefore nothing remained for him but to abandon all thoughts of taking part in the Govt., leaving Ld. G. at liberty to form whatever Administration he chose, which he was ready to engage he should not oppose, tho’ he could not assist. Ld. Grenville was hurt at Whitbread’s conduct. On 20th, in morning, Ld. Grenville consented to give up the salary of Auditor during his being at the head of Treasury. They were to go on the following day to the Prince, which is the day appointed for their answer.
21st Jan.—The paper they delivered to the Prince was to inform him that they were ready to undertake the Govt., but advising him before he undertakes the Regency to institute an examination of physicians as to the state of the King’s health, and if the result should be that it is probable that the King would be so far recovered within any limited time so as to be able to resume the exercise of the royal functions, in that case they advise him not to change the Ministers, giving them such an explanation of his motives for retaining them as would prevent him from being justly considered as approving, much less as adopting, the system of their policy. The whole was a very vague, loose way of expressing themselves.
THE QUEEN’S LETTER