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 (tin 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 parts" 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 general 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, 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 ;
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.