The Sun.
London, England, 1827-05-03 00:00:00

denied that there ever had been any such conspiracy as
that alluded to, and any person .stating such to have been
the case was guilty of a base and a foul falsehood.—(Hear,
hear, hear.)—The Noble Duke here read the letter which
accompanied the tender of his resignation of office to his
Majesty, and proceeded to observe, that when he felt it
necessary to withdraw himself from his Majesty's Coun-
cils, he had determined also to retire from the great
public offices which he held. The office of Comman-
der-in-Chief was one which necessarily brought the per-
son who held it into immediate and frequent contact with
the head of the Administration. It was impossible to
move the Army of Portugal, or any portion of our
armies stationed in the three Kingdoms, without such
direct and immediate personal communication. He was
happy upon all occasions to follow the example of his
illustrious predecessor, and he was quite sure, that were
his Royal Highness (the late Duke of York) now alive,
he would have acted as he (the Duke of Wellington) had
done, under similar circumstances. He had resigned, be-
cause he considered, from the tenor of the last letter he
received, announcing his Majesty') instructions to the
Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Canning) to form a new
Administration, that it was impossible for him (the Duke
of Wellington) longer to hold office either with advantage
to his Majesty's service, or with honour to himself. This it
was which induced him to retire from the high and im-
portant duties with which the King had been graciously
pleased to intrust him.—(Applause.)—But he understood it
to have been said, that the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
Canning) had tlken offence at the letter in which he (the
Duke of Wellington) had inquired who was to be at the
head of the Administration. Now he wished that the
nature and manner of that inquiry might he minutely exa-
mined. that their Lordships might see what ground oi
offence it contained. He had had a conversation with the
Right Hon. Gentleman previously to the writing of that
letter, in which he (Mr. Canning) stated, that his Ma-
jeety had directed him to reconstruct the Government, and
that one of his (Mr. Canning's) plans was, to send Mr.
Robinson to the House of Peers as First Lord of the Trea-
sury, as the best means of securing unity in the Admini-
stration. From this it was clear, that he could not con-
template that Mr. Canning was. to be the Prime Minister ;
and, therefore, he was justified, upon a subsequent com-
munication, in inquiring who was to fill that office,
which question was, in fact produced by the Right Hon.
Gentleman's own statement. But he would go further,
and spew that the question he asked was a' fair one,
and was founded upon general practice in negocia-
tious of this description. At one time a Noble Relative
of his, now holding the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ire-
land, waited, by command of the Prince Regent, upon a
Noble Earl, and a Noble Lord, not now in their places,
requesting them to consider the formation of, a new Ad-
ministration ; and it appeared, upon inquiry, that his
Noble Relative had only a Commission to that effect, and
did not mean or wish to occupy any place himself.—
(Hear, hear !)—There was another instance, one in which
Lord Moira had received a similar commission. to certain
Noble Lords (Grenville and Gray), which failed; but the
Noble Lord (Moira) upon being questioned, declared that
lie did not know how a single seat in the Cabinet was to
be filled up, or who was to be at the head of the Adrni7
nistration.—(Hear.)--But there was yet another and a
stronger case in point, to which he begged shortly to
call the attention of their Lordships. Shortly after the
death of Mr. Percival, the Earl of Liverpool applied
to the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Canning) to form
part of the Administration, and from a memorandum
which he held in his hand, it appeared, that Mr. Canning's
first question was, " Who is to be First Lord of the Trea-
sury ?"—(Hear, hear, bear!)—Now he thought that the
question which the Right Hon. Gentleman felt it necessary
to put to Lord Liverpool in 1512, he (the Duke of Wel-
lington) might, without impropriety, put to the Right Hon.
Gentleman in I 827—(Cheers.)—The case, however, did
not vest here. The Right lion. Gentleman had stated, that
his Majesty did not intend to depart from the principles or
policy of my Lord Liverpool. He believed the Right Hon.
Gentleman to be as incapable of misrepresensation as lie
himself war, and therefore lie felt bound to give implicit
credence to his statements. If, then,- it was the policy of
hii Majesty and of the Right Honourable Gentleman to
form an Administration upon such principles, he (the
Duke of Wellington) had no right to suppose that the
Right Honourable Gentleman was to be at its head. With
this impression upon his mind, he surely was not guilty
of any thing like rudeness, in wishing to know upon the
10th April who,was to be at the head of the Administra-
tion—(Hear, hear.)—He asked only the single fact, and
the Right Hon. Gentleman might have informed him who
was or who was not to fill that office ; but he returned no
direct answer—on the contrary, he felt it necessary to ap-
ply to his Majesty before he gave a reply.--(Hear, hear,
hear.)—lt was clear, then, in his opinion, that the Right
Hon. Gentleman was not at the head of the Administration
either on the 10th or on the 1 1 th, and that in fact the
matter was not decided until he (Mr. Canning) repre-
sented to the King on the 12th that it would be impos-
sible for him to carry on his negotiations during the holi-
days, unless his Writ was moved for, and his appointment
announced in the House of Commons on that day. Now
really he mightbe charged with peevishness, with ill temper
and with having acted hastily, in retiring from the service of
his Majesty ; but he did so. not from any such feelings. He
resigned because he was not satisfied with the answer he re-
ceived as to the chief appointment in the Administration. He
had now been in the Administration several years, and during
that time had had the good fortune to enjoy the good-will
of his Colleagues, including the Right Hon. Gentleman
(Mr. Canning). And he appealed to the Noble Lord
(Bexley) opposite, whether any person could have tried
more than lie did to keep men together, and to prevent the
separation of the Ministry? He appealed also to the same
Noble Personage as to whether any warmth or petulance
had been manifested by him upon the occasion—(Hear,
hear.) ?—Notwithstanding this, however, he had been ac-
cused openly of being a conepirater—of having acted with
levity—and of having left his Majesty's service without
cause ! 'Whether he had or had not so acted, he left it to
their Lordships to judge from this explanation—(Hear,
hear.)—He had now come to a conclusion, and thanking
their Lordships for the patient attention with which they
had listened to him, be left it to that House and the country
to decide whether he had or had net been accused without
cause—(Applause.)

Lord BEXLEY next addressed the House, but in a tone
which rendered it impossible to collect below the bar even
the substance of his speech. In the few sentences which
were audible, we understood his Lordship to say, that after
having tendered his resignation, de was induced again to
resume office by the assurance be had received that the line
of policy adopted in the Administration of Lord Liverpool
would not be abandoned. As to the question of making one
of a divided Administration, the Noble Lord observed, that
in
rti'espectliere was no departure from the principle
of Liverpool's Administration. The Noble Duke
(WeLollling ton) had appealed to him on the subject of the
this
charges which had been made against those members of the
Cabket who had resigned. After what had been stated
by the Noble Duke himsgf on that head, their Lordships
would feel that any confirmation on his part was unneces-
sary ; but as the appeal bad been made to him, he must
say, that the charge of concert in the resignation of their
offices by the late members of the Cabinet was a gross
calumny.—(Hear, hear.)
The Earl of MANSFIELD said, that highly as he va-
lued the feelings of those distinguished individuals who had
retired from office, he much doubted whether the course
they had pursued was judicious, or tended to assist the
Protestant cause, which, no doubt, they intended to aid.
If they had kept open the communication with his Majesty,
they might have recommended the formation of a Mi-
niE,iry on Protestant principles, backed by the assur-
ance.that such a Government would meet with the warm
support of a large majority in that House and in the
country. If the Ministry were even to be divided into two
parties, that decided preponderance might have been
given to the Protestant cause in it, which would ensure
its continued superiority. Htiwever well those noble indi-
viduals had meant, they had not taken that course; and one
consequence was, that the country had to regret the retire-
ment of so many individuals by whom it bad been so long
and so ably served—bad to regret the lass of the eminent
services of the Noble Duke, of the Noble and Learned Lord
(Eldial) near him, and of a Right Hon. Gentleman whose
talents and unwearied zeal in the public service had ren-
dered him so deservedly popular in the country. He (Lord
Mansfield) would fain express his opinion of the great me-
rits and important services of those distinguished indivi-
duals, and he might do so without apprehension of having
his motives questioned, for the general vice was to hail the
rising and not the setting sun ; but he did not wish to cripple
their fair need of praise by uttering it in their presence,—