Whitehall, March 6th, 1788.
My dear Brother,
I am very sorry to send you, in return for all your good news,
an account from hence of a very different nature. By one of
those strange caprices, to which our friends in the House of
Commons are so peculiarly liable, they have taken the alarm
about our explanatory East India Bill; and although that Bill
does no more than declare that to be the law which not only
every man who can think, but every man who can read, must agree
with you is already the law on that subject, they have suffered
themselves to be persuaded that we are doing neither more nor
less than assuming to ourselves all the power of Fox's Bill.
You must often have observed, that of all impressions the most
difficult to be removed, are those which have no reason whatever
to support them, because against them no reasoning can be
applied. Under one of these impressions; the question of the
Speaker's leaving the chair came on last night, and after
debating till seven this morning, we divided, in a majority of
only 57: Ayes, 183; Noes, 125. So many of our friends were
against us in this division, and that sort of impression runs so
strongly after such a display of weakness, that I have serious
apprehensions of our being beat either to-morrow on the report,
or Monday on the third reading. I need not tell you, that
besides much real inconvenience and embarrassment, with respect
to the measure itself, such a defeat would be in the highest
degree disreputable to Government, the personal opinions,
conduct and character of every leading man in the House of
Commons on our side being involved in this discussion. Add to
this the impression in the country, where the people will
certainly be persuaded that this House of Commons would not have
rejected such a Bill, except on just and solid grounds. We must,
however, weather it as well as we can, and submit to the
consequences of an evil which, I think, you will agree with me
it was not easy to foresee. What hurt us, I believe, materially
last night was that Pitt, who had reserved himself to answer
Fox, was, just at the close of a very able speech of Fox's,
taken so ill as not to be able to speak at all, so that the
House went to the division with the whole impression of our
adversaries' arguments, in a great degree, unanswered. I had
spoken early in the debate, and Dundas just before Fox. I think
this is the most unpleasant thing of the sort that has happened
to us; but I console myself with recollecting how many similar
disasters we have surmounted. I have seen nobody this morning
but apprehend that we shall certainly go on with the Bill, as
nothing, I think, would be saved by withdrawing it.
Till within this last day or two I have been much out of order,
and this, added to the hurry of this business for the last week,
has made it impossible for me to get an answer to your queries.
I fear it will be impossible for me to do it before Tuesday, but
you may depend upon my exerting myself as much as I can.
I do not agree at all with what I understand from Young to be
your opinion on the reduction of interest; holding with Smith,
that the hire of money, like that of any other commodity, will
find its level, and going even beyond him in thinking the
grounds on which he states such a measure to be sometimes
justifiable, such as will not support him on his own principles.
I have also a doubt, but of that you are a much better judge
than I can be, whether it is often desirable to hold a
neutrality on the part of Government with respect to such
questions. That, however, depends on circumstances, and I can
easily conceive such as would make that the only line you could
prudently adopt.
This has been the most sickly of all seasons with us. Jemmy has
been very ill, and is not recovered, though, I trust, entirely
out of all danger. Hester has also been seriously ill, but is
out again. I agree most entirely with Fitzgibbon, in reprobating
that some _lex et consuetudo_ Parliament, which is to supersede
the good old common law of the land. Fox's whole conduct and
language has been singularly indecent.
Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.
It will be seen that Mr. Grenville complains of the failure, on the part
of the friends of the Government, in answering the arguments of the
Opposition. Amongst those whose talents raised the highest expectations,
only to be disappointed in the moment of debate by want of resolution,
was Lord Mornington--subsequently distinguished by the brilliancy and
solidity of his orations. Mr. Grenville elsewhere alludes to Lord
Mornington's intention of speaking from day to day, which he fears he
will suffer the session to pass over without carrying into execution,
and begs of Lord Buckingham to write to him urgently on the subject.
Lord Bulkeley gives a less dignified version of Mr. Pitt's retreat from
the discussion on this occasion, and, in his usual rattling way, runs on
about the prominent topics of the hour. In this letter some names appear
which were afterwards destined for a wide celebrity, more especially
those of "a Mr. Tierney" and "young Grey."