Whitehall, June 23rd, 1788.
My dear Brother,
I mentioned to you in my other letter of this date, that it
appeared to me most probable that the arrangement by which I was
to succeed to Lord Sydney's office will not take place till some
new opening is made. The fact is, that the plan, as it was
originally formed, depended on Lord Mulgrave's taking Sir
Charles Middleton's office, and thereby opening the whole
Pay-Office for Lord Sydney. But this has been found
impracticable, both from the difficulty of placing Sir C.
Middleton at the Admiralty, and from the great improbability
that Mulgrave could be induced in his present frame of mind to
undertake the Comptrollership. It has, therefore, been
determined that Lord Chatham should take the Admiralty for the
present, with no other alteration in the Board except
substituting Lord Hood instead of Brett. Leveson Gower and
Middleton are on such bad terms, that it would have been
impossible for them to have acted at the same Board; and
considering Gower's conduct, his professional character, and his
connections, it seemed equally impossible to drive him from it.
This being the case, there will no longer be any opening by
which Lord Sydney could have an adequate provision made for him
in case of his retiring. You know that I was never desirous, nor
indeed should I choose, to press his being removed to make room
for me unless it could be done in a manner perfectly
satisfactory to himself, or at least satisfactory to Pitt's
mind; and, even as things now stand, it seems impossible but
that some such occasion must soon occur. Any vacancy of a
sinecure office in England would immediately hold out a retreat
for him; any such vacancy in Scotland might be given to Dundas,
who would then vacate the Treasurership of the Navy; and any
vacancy of one of the ordinary offices of Government might be
given to Mulgrave, which would open the Pay-Office. I know that
this arrangement would be considered by Pitt as the first object
in the disposal of anything that may fall, and I think,
therefore, that I am not very sanguine in believing that it is
not postponed to any very distant period. Lord Marchmont,
Stuart, McKenzie, and Barré, have all them been thought likely
to make openings since this business has been in agitation, and
there are a variety of other accidents that would answer the
same purpose. The enumerating all these chances bears the
appearance of more impatience on my part than I really feel, but
I do it to satisfy that which I know you will feel on finding
that the object is postponed after we thought it so nearly
accomplished. For my own part, I repeat what I told you in a
former letter, that the circumstances of my present situation,
in almost every point of view, and particularly the confidence
with which I am treated, leave me very little to look to, or to
hope for, from any change that can arise; and for this reason,
as long as I keep my rank and pretensions, and do not see others
advanced before me, I am by no means anxious for pressing
forward the proposed arrangement.
I have tired you long enough about myself, which I should not
have done if I was writing to one less interested in that
subject than I know you are. There are a few other things which
I am glad to take this opportunity of mentioning to you. I do
not know whether you will have heard anything of the strange
conduct of the Chancellor. When the Rolls were vacated by Sir
Thomas Sewell's death, the office lay between Kenyon and Eyre.
The Chancellor felt that he could not avoid offering it to
Kenyon, but was at the same time very desirous that he should
decline it, in order that Eyre might be appointed. Pitt was, on
the other hand, eager that he should take it, in order that
Arden might have the Chief-Justiceship of Chester, and he
succeeded in persuading Kenyon to accept. From that time, the
Chancellor conceived a pique against Arden; and although there
is no competition against him, either from Eyre, who is in a
better situation, or from any other person that the Chancellor
cares for, yet Thurlow has thrown every difficulty in the way of
his appointment. Within this last ten days he has refused to
take the necessary steps for giving it effect, and has held
language which amounted almost to an intention of resigning
rather than putting the Seal to Arden's patent. This conduct was
the more intolerable, because some months ago, when Lord
Mansfield's resignation was in question, he had expressly told
Pitt that he felt that Arden must have the Rolls, and that
though he disliked the appointment, he would not throw any
obstacles in its way. I much doubt whether it has originated in
any settled disgust, or desire of picking a quarrel, but rather
attribute it to the strange temper of his mind, soured at this
particular time by the plague of the trial, and by actual
illness. It has, however, made it necessary for Pitt to come to
an explanation with him, which, though not fully satisfactory to
my feelings, has, however, removed any further obstacles to the
particular point in question; which had indeed gone so far as to
make it utterly impossible for Pitt to recede, whatever had been
the consequences. I have given you this story at full length,
because I thought you would certainly hear something of it from
report, and that you would be desirous of knowing the real
particulars of it.
Our cousin of Northumberland, has, I think, decidedly joined the
independent party under the auspices of Lord Rawdon and Bastard,
and in consequence of this has refused to re-elect Rose. You see
this is a pretty strong declaration of hostilities, considering
all the circumstances of Rose's situation in Government, and of
his connection with the Duke himself before he became so great a
man. It is peculiarly unhandsome after what has passed about the
Riband, which, though it could not be given to him, was kept
vacant till another fell. The immediate loss to us is very small
in point of numbers, as the greatest part of his votes are
already in opposition; and considering his character, it is
perfectly plain that there was little chance of his giving any
substantial assistance at a general election. I only lament,
therefore, that he has got his Riband; and for the rest, "I
trust we have about the Court, a thousand's good as he." And if
we had not, we might have them, for offers of negotiation are
coming in from all quarters. I believe Lord Beauchamp will be
closed with, being only for a Marquisate for Lord Hertford, and
the sole question now being the time of doing it. Upon the
whole, I am far from thinking that we end the session at all
weaker than we began it, notwithstanding some untoward
circumstances which occurred. Our foreign politics are going on,
in my apprehension, as successfully as possible. The French were
beginning to cabal against us at Berlin, but the signature of
the Treaty has completely overthrown them there. They were at
the same time giving themselves some airs of importance at the
Hague. They presented a memorial, complaining in strong terms of
the 6th Article of our Treaty, which is unquestionably as
offensive to them as it could be. This has not yet been
answered, but it will be, and in terms at least as strong as
those in which it is couched. Their Ambassador, M. de St.
Priest, appears to have had orders to behave in the most
offensive manner possible. By great good luck in the first
squabble that has occurred in consequence of this, between one
of his servants and the mob of the Hague, his man has put
himself completely in the wrong; so that when he presented a
memorial complaining of the insult offered to a person in his
service, he received for answer a letter enclosing copies of the
examinations taken before the Court of Justice, and trusting
that as those papers evidently proved the violation of their
territory by a person in his service, he would not fail to
support the complaint which the States-General _had already_
directed their Minister at Paris to make on this subject. I
mention all this, not so much for the importance of the thing
itself, which will end in a paper war, as for the sake of
showing you how much the temper of our friends must be altered,
from the time when no persuasion of ours could induce them to
act with the smallest degree of vigour or firmness.
I have not seen any account from France since I last wrote to
you, but there is a report that Calonne has had an account of
further violences at Grenoble. There is no further news of the
Imperialists. Fitzherbert seems to expect more from the Russians
than I see any reason for. He is, however, unquestionably much
better informed on that subject than I can pretend to be. I
confess I am very curious to see the effect that will be
produced by the Prussian alliance on the minds of the other
European powers, but particularly of the French. In the present
moment there seems great reason to believe that the two Imperial
Courts and France, are each of them dissatisfied with the other
two. To a certain degree, it will have a tendency to reunite
them; but there are so many causes of jealousy, that I think one
need not be very sanguine to disbelieve the probability of any
permanent good understanding being established between them.
Nothing could be handsomer than the manner in which the King
acceded to the proposal which Pitt made him, of bringing Lord
Chatham and myself forward in the manner then intended. He has
since spoken to me on the subject in the most flattering terms,
and has shown an eagerness to facilitate the arrangement by
proposing expedients for removing the only difficulty which
delays it.
Adieu, my dear brother.
Believe me ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.
The King's personal interference in appointments and promotions had
produced, on several occasions, remonstrances and complaints from Lord
Buckingham, and the judicious zeal of Mr. Grenville was in constant
requisition to prevent an open rupture between the Lord-Lieutenant and
the Government. Calm and enduring as he was, Mr. Grenville frankly
stated to his brother that, although he could never tire of the
employment of serving him, his patience was almost exhausted by finding
that one case was no sooner settled or compromised (for it generally
ended in that way) than a fresh one came upon the _tapis_. At length,
the tenacity of the King on these points wounded Lord Buckingham so
keenly, that it very nearly led to the most serious consequences. Lord
Buckingham wished to appoint his nephew, Colonel Nugent, to a vacant
lieutenant-colonelcy within his own patronage, and through some friendly
channel notified or expressed his desire to do so; but the King, without
communicating his intentions, or waiting to go through the ordinary
official forms, which usually founded such appointments on the
recommendation of the Lord-Lieutenant, appointed another person to the
vacancy--Colonel Gwynne.
Lord Buckingham felt the slight so acutely, that he threatened to
resign; and was probably dissuaded from that step by the counsels of Mr.
Grenville, whose wise and temperate letter on the occasion will be read
with admiration. Mr. Pitt also interposed, offering to appease Lord
Buckingham's feelings by any course of proceeding which, under the
circumstances, could be resorted to for the purpose of relieving the
transaction of the appearance of a personal or official indignity. The
grounds upon which the royal excuse rested were, that Lord Buckingham's
wishes were not known to his Majesty, and that military appointments
were not expressly included in the Viceroy's patronage.