The National Register. — London, England, 1809-12-03 00:00:00

E NATIONAL REGISTER. 771 • the newspapers, espousing Lord Castlereagh's quarrel, and sup posed (I tru;t, most ild.trioasly) to be his Lordship's particular friteels. The perversions and misrepresentations of annonymeu writ, rs, however, Weald net have extorted from me any replY • But. to them succeeded the publication of Lord Castlereagh's letter to me of the 19(11 of September. I entirely disbelieve that Lord Castleseash, and 1 distinctly deny that 1 myself, had any . know ledge of this publication. liut,bY what means it matters not, the letter is before the world ; and though the course (vi gils:oly chosen by Lord Castlereagh precluded , tee from offering any e pl;ivatioa to him, the con r , .e which has since been adopteo on his behalf (ti n nod iuhtedly without his privity), :night, perhaps, have been considered as rendering such an explanation due to myself. It is, however, only since vonr Lordship's puh lication, that I have felt it to be iiiiispensably necessary. The statement on my behalf, which has alse found its way (without soy consent and against my wish), into the public papers, was written under a sense of delicacy and restraint as to the particu . lara of the transaction, which from the character of the transac tion itself, must al was s continue to prevail in a great degree; but . from which, until Wednesday, the 110 of October, the day on which I gave up the seals, I had not au opportunity of soli citing any dispensation. Of the indulgence which 1 then most humbly solicited, I trust I shalt be able to avail myself suffici ently for my own vindication, without losing sight of those con siderations of duty and propriety, by which the use of such an indulgence must necessarily he regulated and confined. It is stated in Lord Castlereagh's letter," That I had demanded and procured frem the Dulie of Portland, before the rising of Par liament, a promise for Lord Castlereagh's removal from the War department ; that, by this promise, Lord Castlereagh's situa stion, as a Minister of the Crown, was made dependent npon my ; ,pleasure; and that t:tis promise I afterwards thought myself ~entitled to enforce."--"'That after, and notwithstanding this .virtual supersession of Lord Castlereagh in his office, I allowed him tooriginate and conduct the expedition to the Schelt ; and ..that during this whole period, I knew that the agitation and the decision of the question for his removal were concealed from him, and was party to this concealment." Lerd Castlereagh, indeed, admits, that he" has no right, as a public man, to resent my demanding, upon public grounds, his eeasoval from his office, or even from the Administration, as a cotaiition of my continuing a Member of the Governmeut." But ..be contends, that a proposition " justifiable in itself," ought not to - have been " executed in an nejustifiahle mummer:" and he 'cakes me responsible for the manner in which the " Head of the Administration." and some Members of the Government, as supped to he his (Lord Castlereagh's) friends," executed the proposition which he attributes to me. He is ready to ac knowledge, indeed. " that 1 pressed for a disclosure at the same time that: 1 pressed fur a decision; and that the disclosure was resistedhy the Duke of Portland and his (Lord Castlereagh's) supposed friends." But, in this circumstance, Lord Castlereagh professes not to see any justification of what he conceives to have been my conduct towards him : because, by acquiescing in the advice or intreaties of his " supposed friends, I admitted "an authority" sin their part s " which I must have known them not to possess ;" because, by " pressing for disclosure," shewed my own sense of the " unfairness of concealment ; and, because, with that sense I " ought," (as he conceives me not to have done), " to have availed myself of the same alter native, nartrily, my own resignation, to enforce disclosure, which I did to enforce decision." In April, 1 made a representation to the King's First Minis ter, on the g eneral state of the Administration; and titat, in the course of the discussions as i.ine out of that representation, 1 proposed on public grounds, not, as Lord Castlereagh appears to have been informed, his removal front the Administration, hut 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 nth representation; and informed we, that his Majesty would be pleased to take it into his con eideration ; That, Isom the 10th of May until the Bth of June, I was wit:olly unor rized of the result of that consideration ; hut that, for fear of misapprehension. I had, in person, during that in terval, viz. on the 31st of !slay, humbly repeated my represen tation, amd tendered my resignation, to his Majeidy ; That, on or abut the Bth of June, for the first time, an ar rangetaent was stated to me. w bids had for its object a new distribution of the business of the War Depaetment ; and that, on the 13th, I signified my acquiesceuce in that arrangement, so far as I was concerued. IDEC. 1 That, on the 18th, another arrangement was stated to me, as intended to be substituted for that ia .which I had acquiesced; nut that on the 2lst, it w;is announced to me that the first ar rangement was finally decided upon; was to be immediately c .:rried into effect ; and was to be communicated to Lord Cas tlereagh by your Lordship; That, on the 27tH of June, no step appearing to have been taken, either to exectite the intended arrangement, or to ap prise Lord Castlereagh of it, I remonstrated against the delay, and against the concealment from Lord Castlereagh : and ti►at, on the 2Sth, I :n.7nin tendered my resignatiort; and Out on the s.one day your Lordship received an injuliction to communicate the intended arrangement to Lord -Castlereagh ; That, on the sth of July, a new plan was stated to me to be in contemplation ; a plan originating w ith your LortLhip, a n d 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 ; hut that it was stated to me to be an indispensible condition of this plan on your Lordship's part, that it was not to be acted upon till the termination of the expedition to the Scheldt, 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 entreaties of the Duke of Portland, and of others, Lord Castle reagh's friends, and upon the most solemn assurances that Lord - Castlereagh should in the mean time be prepared by his friends for the change, and that the change should positively take place at the period fixed by your Lordship, I cossented to remain in office. That on Wednesday. the 6th of September, finding that no thing had been dune towards preparing Lord Castlereagh for the arrangement; and that the execution of it would be attend ed with difficulties of which I had not before been apprized, I desired the Duke of Portland to lay my resignation before the King. Your Lordship will therefore perceive, That up to the Bth of June, so far from being in possession of any " promise for Lord Castlereagh's removal," and from his continuance in office being made thereby " dependant 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 de clined; That the arrangement which was in contemplation from the Bth of June to the sth of July, in no degree affected, and was never intended to affect, " the conduct of the Expedition to the Scheldt ;" That Lord Castlereagh's " removal from the War Depart ment" was first determined upon as part of the plan of which your Lordship's resignation was the basis; That his " removal froth the Administration" was not at any time " demanded" by me; And, lastly, that I did employ the tender of my own resigna tion, not to "enforce decision" only (as Lord Castlereagh's letter supposes) but equally to " enforce disclosure ;" and that in fact I did ultimately resign, rather than" enforce" the change, under circumstances so different from those whicn I had been authorised to expect. It cannot be expected that 'should labour very anxiously to refute the charge of my having " supposed" your Lordship and others •' to be Lord Castlereagh's friends ;" and having, under that impression, deferred to youropinion and " authority," in a matter affecting Lord Castlereagh's interests and feelings. That your Lordship, in particular, as well from near eannee tint) as from an active and anxious partiality, was entitled to consultation, and to deference on such an occasion, is a persua sion which I felt in common, as I believe, with every Member of the Government ; and which not even Lord Castlereagh's dis claimer has induced me to renounce. I should not have been surpriFed, nor should I have thought. tnysell entitled to take the smallest offence, if your Lordship had, instead of concurring in the expediency of a change in Lord Castlereagh's department, protested against -it, and had Tecom mended to the Duke of Portland to advise the King to acctpt my resignation : and it was perfectly known by the Doke of Portland and I ttm contident 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 la the War Depart. 4