Whitehall, July 14th, 1788.
My dear Brother,
I now sit down to answer your three letters of the 5th, the 8th,
and the 9th, the last of which I received this morning. I am
much concerned that anything which I have said respecting this
business should have given you the impression of my having
treated it with unfairness towards you. I do most solemnly
assure you, that in every reflection that has passed in my mind
upon the subject, I have endeavoured to put myself in your
place, and to ask what line of conduct would be the most
desirable for you to adopt, with a view not only to any present
impression, but to your permanent reflections upon it. You must
allow me to say, that I persevere in my opinion, that your
resigning your office on this ground would neither be justified
in the opinion of the world in general, nor by your own cooler
reconsideration of the subject; and I must beg you to observe
that this is not my sentiment only, but that of every one of the
few other friends with whom you have communicated upon it.
The only reason which you yourself adduce, in support of such a
measure, injurious to yourself and to your friends, is the sort
of impression which you say this transaction has made in Dublin.
To this I reply, in the first place, that I must still think
that you, of all men, who ever held that situation are exactly
in those circumstances in which you can have nothing to fear
from such an expression; and although I cannot refuse, on your
evidence, to believe the actual existence of such an impression,
yet I am fully satisfied that it can neither be permanent in its
duration, nor mischievous in its effects. But it is surely at
least sufficient, even in your view of the subject, if such a
solution accompanies this difficulty, as can leave no doubt in
the mind of any man that you have weight and influence fully
sufficient for carrying on the business of your situation.
It is on this ground that you rest it, and I think with great
propriety, in your letter to Pitt, and his answer, which you
will receive with this, can hardly fail of proving to you that
you _was_ premature in stating yourself to be abandoned by those
on whom you had claims. You cannot wonder that I, who had seen
the activity and zeal which he has shown in this business, from
his first being acquainted with it, should feel hurt at being
obliged to put into his hands a complaint from you so little
merited. I felt also that in the generality of that expression I
was myself involved, and you must allow me to say that I could
not reproach myself with having deserved it.
I trust, however, that there will be no occasion for the
exertions which Pitt engages himself to make on this subject,
and that your proposal will be acceded to by the King without
reluctance. It seems to me that Fawcitt shows a real disposition
to accommodate the wishes of Pitt and yourself, and that the
terms which he proposes are by no means unreasonable. I
sincerely hope that you will not find any difficulty in making
the arrangement for the sort of intermediate compensation, which
is effected before a Government fall. It has occurred to me
that, _faute de mieux_, Hobart's office might facilitate such a
plan. You know, I presume, that he is coming into Parliament
here, and, consequently, that he must be desirous of making some
arrangement with respect to his office which he cannot well
execute by deputy. I have a place to dispose of at Chelsea (the
Comptrollership), which might be made worth about £200 or £250
per annum; but it is the sort of office that Hobart himself
could certainly not take or execute. I have endeavoured to find
some man fit for it, and who could resign to Hobart a place of
equal value, but I cannot find such a man. Perhaps, in some way
or other, this may be made useful to you; but you must observe
that the Comptroller must be a man of steadiness, integrity, and
some clearness of head.
I do not know whether Fitzherbert has written to you about
Captain Macgrath. The King thinks him entitled to the preference
which he claims, but Lord Sydney does not send over the despatch
at present, as till this other business is settled it might be
unpleasant to you.
I do not very well see how he could avoid sending over Gwynne's
commission to you, as you yourself agree that there could be no
idea of the King's revoking the appointment which he considered
as a thing actually done. You will, I trust, unquestionably
think it better to issue this commission without waiting the
result of your negotiation with Fawcitt, as a few days can make
no difference in point of impression with respect to a thing so
publicly known, and the appearance of keeping it back is not, I
think, what you yourself wish. I confess, I think, there is the
same sort of ground with respect to sending over a
recommendation ante-dated, which was not a part of Lord Sydney's
proposal as stated to you by Pitt; that was, that both his
letter and yours should be withdrawn. There could then remain
nothing but the commission, without any trace how it was
granted. Whereas, a recommendation of that sort must be felt by
the King as putting him avowedly in the wrong, and to a greater
extent than ever your construction of your commission and
instructions warrants. I think them more disputable than you do,
but they were sent not to prove that the _notification_ ought
not to have been waited for, but that there was, according to
the letter of those papers, no necessity for the
_recommendation_. The mere writing to say that Lord C.'s
appointment vacates his lieutenant-colonelcy, is surely no
object to you; and a recommendation goes beyond the claim you
can urge under the instructions. If you are satisfied with the
assurances you have received that the substantial cause of
complaint, viz., the interference with your patronage, shall not
be repeated, it is surely better to let this business rest, than
to squabble with the King about the form of what has been done,
and which substantially you cannot alter.
We hear this evening that Lord J. Townshend is to oppose Lord
Hood.
Ever most affectionately yours,
W. W. G.
Lord Hood's contest for Westminster was now dividing the attention of
the Government with graver questions. Mr. Grenville and Sir William
Young furnish some details, those of the latter bringing the features of
the scene vividly before us.