And finally, on the evening of the same day, the Duke wrote thus to Mr.
Canning.--
London, April 11, 1837.
My dear Mr. Canning,--I have received your letter
of this day, and I did not understand the one of yesterday
evening as you explained it to me. I understood
from yourself that you had in contemplation another
arrangement, and I do not believe that the practice to
which you refer has been so invariable as to enable me to affix a
meaning to your letter which its words did not, in my opinion, convey. I
trust that you will have experienced no inconvenience from the delay of
this answer, which I assure you has been occasioned by my desire to
discover a mode by which I could continue united with my recent
colleagues.--I sincerely wish that I could bring my mind to the
conclusion that, with the best intentions on your part, your government
could be conducted practically on the principles of that of Lord
Liverpool; that it would be generally so considered; or that it would be
adequate to meet our difficulties, in a manner satisfactory to the king,
or conducive to the interests of the country. As, however, I am
convinced that these principles must be abandoned eventually, that all
our measures would be viewed with suspicion by the usual supporters of
the government; that I could do no good in the cabinet; and that at last
I should be obliged to separate myself from it, at the moment at which
such separation would be more inconvenient to the king's service than it
can be at present, I must beg you to request his majesty to excuse me
from belonging to his councils. Ever, my dear Mr. Canning, yours most
sincerely,