intention, in the event of your lordship's resignation, to submit to his Majesty the nomination of Lord Wellesley to the war department.

tion. He declared himself to be authorised to assure me, in the most solemn manner, that the arrangement now in contemplation should positively take place at the termination of the expedition; that the seals of the war department should then be offered to Lord Wellesley-an office (to be vacated by means of your lordship's retire

On Thursday, the 13th of July, the Duke of Portland informed me, that your Lordship had, the day before, actually tendered your resignation; but that your lordship had annexed to it the conditions, that no change should take place till after the termination of the expedition to the Scheld; and that it should be left to your lordship to choose the time of making any communication to Lord Castlereagh.

(July 13th to the 20th.)-I made the strongest remonstrances against this new delay, and this indefinite renewal of the concealment from Lord Castlereagh. I said that after the repeated postponements which had already taken place, and after the reserve which had already been practised towards Lord Castlereagh, I could not rely upon the execution of any arrangement which should not be now completely settled in all its parts; and, if this were not to be done, I most earnestly intreated that his Majesty might be advised now to accept ny resignation.

The Duke of Portland most anxiously deprecated my resignation, as leading, in his apprehension, to the dissolution of the administra

offered to Lord Castlereagh ;-and that in the interval, and without loss of time, Lord Castlereagh's friends should take opportunities of preparing him for the change, and reconciling him to it, by representing to him the great advantages to be derived from it, in the acquisition of additional strength to the government.

It

Not only the Duke of Portland, but other members of the cabinet, Lord Castlereagh's friends, some directly and some through common friends, urged me, in the most earnest manner, to acquiesce in the postponement now proposed. was represented to me, that if instead of pressing for the execution of the arrangement now, time were allowed to Lord Castlereagh's friends to prepare him for the change, and to reconcile him to it, the arrangement might ultimately take place in an amicable manner; that every public object might thus be answered, without any unnecessary harshness to the feelings of individuals; and that so far from finding fresh impediments raised to the execution of the arrangement, when the time arrived, I should find all those, to whose representations I yielded, considering themselves pledged equally with the Duke of Portland, to see it carried into effect.

It is due to your lordship to say,
Pp 3

1

that

that your lordship's name was not, so far as I recollect, specifically mentioned to me on this occasion; but it is equally due to myself to declare, that I never for a moment imagined, nor could have believed, that the general description of "Lord Castlereagh's friends," as stated to me without exception or qualification by the Duke of Portland, did not comprehend your lordship, whose proffered resigna tion was the basis of the whole arrangement, and without whose express consent, therefore, no other person could announce the arrangement to Lord Castlereagh.

By these representations and assurances, at length, (July 20,) most reluctantly, and I confess against my better judgment, I was induced to acquiesce in the proposed postponement of the change; and consented to remain in office till the termination of the expedition.

On Saturday, September the 2d, the result of the expedition to the Scheld being then known, I wrote to the Duke of Portland, at Bulstrode, reminding his grace, that the period fixed for offering the seals of the war department to Lord Wellesley, was arrived.

On the following Wednesday, the 6th of September, the Duke of Portland informed me, that no steps whatever had been taken by any of Lord Castlereagh's friends, to reconcile him to the change, or to prepare him for it; that the execution of the arrangement would be attended with other resignations, or at least with one other resignation, (of which I had never before received the slightest intimation); and that he had himself determined to retire.

Upon receiving this intelligence,

I immediately disclaimed any wish that the arrangement, however positively I understood it to have been settled, should be carried into ef fect under circumstances to me so unexpected; and instantly reverted to that "alternative" which, upon each successive stage of difficulties and delays, I had uniformly pressed,-that of the tender of my own resignation which I desired the Duke of Portland to lay that day before the King.

On the following day, Thursday the 7th of September, I declined attending the cabinet; stating in a letter to the Duke of Portland, (which I left it to his grace to communicate to the cabinet if he should think proper), that I considered my resignation as in his Majesty's hands; and myself as holding my office only until my successor should be named.

On Friday the 8th, I heard from the Duke of Portland that Lord Castlereagh had sent in his resigna tion. I have been informed since, (but whether correctly or not I cannot affirm), that he did so, in consequence of a communication made to him, by your lordship, after the cabinet of the preceding day.

On Thursday the 14th of September, your lordship called upon me at the foreign office, by your own appointment, for the purpose of explaining the causes which had prevented your making any commuDication to Lord Castlereagh in the earlier stages of the transaction.

On Tuesday, September 19th, your lordship, in answer to a letter of mine of the preceding day, explained to me the grounds of your silence to Lord Castlereagh, during the latter period of the transaction.

On

On Wednesday morning, September the 20th, I received from Lord Castlereagh the letter, which produced our meeting.

From this series of facts it appears,

That, in April, I made a representation to the King's first minister, on the general state of the administration; and that, in the course of the discussions arising out of that representation, I proposed on public grounds, not, as Lord Castlereagh appears to have been informed, his removal from the administration, but the alternative of a change, either in the war or foreign department.

That on the 10th of May, the Duke of Portland submitted to his Majesty the subject of my representation: and informed me that his Majesty would be pleased to to take it into his consideration:

That, from the 10th of May until the 8th of June, I was wholly unapprized of the result of that consideration: but ihat, for fear of misapprehension, I had, in person, during that interval,-viz. on May 31,-humbly repeated my representation, and tendered my resignation to his Majesty;

That, on or about the 8th of June, for the first time, an arrangement was stated to me, which had for its object a new distribution of the business of the war department, and that, on the 13th, I signified my acquiescence in that arrangement, so far as I was concerned ;

That, on the 18th, another arrangement was stated to me, to be substituted for that in which I had acquiesced but that, on the 21st, it was announced to me that the first arrangement was finally decided upon; was to be immediately

carried into effect; and was to be communicated to Lord Castlereagh by your Lordship:

That, on the 27th of June, no step appearing to have been taken, either to execute the intended arrangement, or to apprise Lord Castlereagh of it, I remonstrated against the delay, and against the concealment from Lord Castlereagh: and that, on the 28th, I again tendered my resignation; and that on the same day your lordship received an injunction to communicate the intended arrangement to Lord Castlereagh.

That, on the 5th of July, a new plan was stated to me to be in contemplation; a plan originating with your lordship, and depending for its execution upon a step to be taken by yourself: that this plan was, on the 13th, announced to me as settled, and as intended to be substituted for that which had been first proposed:

That I at that time renewed my remonstrances in the strongest manner, both against the delay and against the concealment; but that it was stated to me to be an indispensible condition of this plan on your lordship's part,-that it should not be acted upon till the termination of the expedition to the Scheld; and that the time of making the communication to Lord Castlereagh should be left to your lordship's discretion.

That, at length, in compliance with the representations and intreaties of the Duke of Portland, and of others, Lord Castlereagh's friends, and upon the most solemn assurances that Lord Castlereagh should in the nean time be prepared by his friends for the change, and that the change should posiPp4

tively

tively take place at the period fixed by your lordship, I consented to remain in office.

That on Wednesday the 6th of September, finding that nothing had been done towards preparing Lord Castlereagh for the arrangement; aud that the execution of it would be attended with difficulties of which I had not before been apprised, I desired the Duke of Portland to lay my resignation before the king.

Your lordship will therefore perceive,

That up to the 8th of June, so far from being in possession of any 68 promise for Lord Castlereagh's removal," aud from his continuance in office being made thereby "dependent upon my pleasure" -no decision whatever had, to my knowledge, been taken up to that time; no proposal had been made to me by the Duke of Portland, in any way affecting Lord Castlereagh's political situation; and -no intimation had been given to me, whether my own resignation would be finally accepted or declined;

That the arrangement which was in contemplation from the 8th of June to the 5th of July, in no de-gree affected, and was never intended to affect," the conduct of the expedition to the Scheld;"

That Lord Castlereagh's "removal from the War Department" was first determined upon as part of the plan of which your lordship's resignation was the basis;

That his "removal from the administration" was not at any time "demanded" by me;

And, lastly, that I did employ the tender of my own resignation, not to enforce decision," only (as Lord Castlereagh's Letter supposes),

but equally to "enforce disclo sure;" and that in fact I did ultimately resign, rather than "enforce" the intended change, under circumstances so so different from those which I had been authorised to expect.

It cannot be expected that I should labour very anxiously to refute the charge of my having “supposed" your lordship and others "to be Lord Castlereagh's friends;" aud having, under that impression, deferred to your opinion and "authority," in a matter affecting Lord Castlereagh's interests and feelings.

That your lordship, in particular, as well from near connection as from an active and anxious partiality, was entitled to consultation, and to deference on such an occasion;-is a persuasion which I felt in common, as I believe, with every member of the government; and which not even Lord Castlereagh's disclaimer has induced me to re

nounce.

I should not have been surprised, nor should I have thought myself entitled to take the smallest offence, if your lordship had, instead of concurring in the expediency of a change in Lord Castlereaghi's department, protested against it, and had recommended to the Duke of Portland, to advise the king to accept my resignation: and it was perfectly known by the Duke of Portland, and I am confident, not unknown by your lordship, that, at any moment from the beginning of these discussions to the end, I was not only ready but desirous to terminate them by resigning.

But when the opinion of the expediency of a change in the war department, had been adopted by

30 many of the immediate friends of Lord Castlereagh, upon the condition that it should be reconciled to Lord Castlereagh's feelings, and when they and your lordship among the first, had devised and concerted with the king's first minister the mode of carrying that object into execution, I cannot help thinking that I should have been much, and justly, blamed, if I had insisted upon taking the communication to Lord Castlereagh out of your hands into my own.

I now come to your lordship's Statement. That Statement is as follows

"As it may be inferred, from a statement which has appeared in the public papers, that Lord Camden withheld from Lord Castlereagh a communication which he had been desired to make to him, it is necessary that it should be understood, that however Mr. Canning might have conceived the communication alluded to, to have been made to Lord Camden, it was never stated to Lord Camden, that the communication was made at the desire of Mr. Canning; and, so far from Lord Camden having been authorized to make the communication to Lord Castlereagh, he was absolutely restricted from so doing.

"As it may also be inferred that Lord Camden was expected to prepare Lord Castlereagh's mind for any proposed change, it is necessary that it should be understood, that Lord Camden never engaged to communicate to Lord Castlereagh any circumstances respecting it, before the termination of the expedition."

Morning Chronicle, Oct. 19th.

This Statement appears to me to have been much misunderstood. It has been construed, as if your lordship had meant to aver that what you were restricted from doing and what you had not engaged to do, were one and the same thing ;whereas your lordship's Statement, in point of fact, contains two distinct propositions, and refers to two separate periods of time.

The period during which your lordship states yourself to have been "absolutely restricted" from making a communication to Lord Castlereagh, extends from the 28th of April, on which day the first communication was made by the Duke of Portland to your lordship, to the time at which the proposed arrangement, for the new distribution of the business of the war department was superseded by your lordship's tender of your resignation.

The period during which your lordship states yourself "not to have engaged" to make a communication to Lord Castlereagh, extends from the time of the tender of your lordship's resignation to the termination of the expedition to the Scheld.

It ought, however, to be observed, that during the first of these two periods, from the 28th of April to the 12th of July,-the nature of communication to be made to Lord Castlereagh, and the nature of the restriction imposed upon your lordship, were entirely changed.

Previously to the 8th of Junethe communication which your lordship would have had to make to Lord Castlereagh, was simply that I had represented the expediency of a change either in his department

or