After the first division, Sir John Philips, who voted against us, differed with the subsequent motion of the petitioners being duly elected; meaning to make a void election of it, but Wortley, Sir Robert Long, Sir Roger Newdigate, and the whole party deserted him, but about five or six. And upon the second division the numbers were 201 against 178. Sir George Lee and his brother that was a colonel voting against us in the second division, though with us in the first: for which, after all was over, Mr. Fox gave him a fair set-down. The debate was not very entertaining, though Mr. Fox spoke very well, and Potter very tolerably. Sandwich is gone from hence, God knows in what spirits. I hope your Grace, nor none of your friends, will ever have mercy upon these rascally Tories any more. account of the affair, and in his I am, &c. &c. RICHARD RIGBY. tavern, just before the report, 1755. 1755. MR. RIGBY TO THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. Porter Club, Saturday Night, Though here has happened no event worth troubling your Grace within the last four and twenty hours, I can't help thinking that any letter dated from this Society will be acceptable to you. This, indeed, must rely entirely upon that merit. We are all as well as we wish the absent members; and Lady Betty has quite recovered that little disorder that she either shammed, or was troubled with the night before you left London. She has indeed had her remedy constantly with her, for Lady Ossory and she have never been asunder. They did me the honour to dine with me yesterday, and we all dined to-day here: and Sandwich is in as good spirits as if he had any chance for a place, or did not lose his money at quadrille, which he has done these two days. I have heard a secret in the Irish politics since I saw your Grace, that the last* and present† Lord Lieutenant, have had a dispute about turning out Mr. Clements; the old one insisting violently upon that measure, and having procured his opinion to be backed by a very strong letter from Ireland, signed by the Primate and Lord Besborough‡, as ton. The Duke of Dorset. The Duke of Dorset was made master of the horse; but his followers in Ireland did not fall without a convulsive pang; the primate and Lord Besborough sent if it was absolutely necessary for the carrying on 1755. of administration there. The Marquis flew out upon it, and his master sides with him, and inveighed against the Primate's ambition, so as to occasion two letters to be sent to Lord Besborough, one by the old Whig, the other by Lord Duncannon, to dissuade his Lordship from so strict a connection with the Churchman. This Clements, I presume your Grace knows, is paymaster of the pensions there, and a certain great Lady having a pretty considerable one upon that country, some part of his so strong support may reasonably be conjectured to come from that quarter. If she ever should run mad and turn patriot, what good might not at last arise to this country from German politics. Lord Hartington has made Varey Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in Ireland, a good 7007. a year. A report prevails strongly, that the Tories are to have another election given up to them, and Leicester and Carmarthen are each thought likely to be the sacrifice. Sir William Meredyth, as determined a Jacobite reckoned as any in the House of Commons, has been at Newcastle House since the Mitchell division; and the credit of that whole transaction on the part of the Tories is now given to Sir Walter Bagot*, who came to town on Sunday a violent letter, to deny the report of their having quarrelled, and to demand some more sacrifices. As Lord Besborough's son, Lord Duncannon, had married the new Lord Lieutenant's sister, the latter resented this symptom of attach- * Sir William Bagot, sixth 1755. night, and supped at the Cocoa Tree: and to confirm that idea a little, and in some measure to account for it, Mr. Legge* is certainly upon much better terms with the head of his board than he has been for some weeks past. I wish I had any thing more better worth troubling your Grace with than saying I am ever your most obliged and devoted R. R. MR. RIGBY TO THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. Leicester Fields, April 17. 1755. I would not have your Grace expect a verbatim account of Earl Poulet's Philippic †, or a very exact narrative of all what has passed in the *Mr. Legge was one of the commissioners of the Treasury; the Duke of Newcastle then First Lord. † An address from the House of Lords against the King's Hanoverian journey. As the motion would not be merely ridiculous, but offensive too, Mr. Fox dissuaded him from it. He was convinced; and though he had been disgraced as much as he could be, he took a panic, and entreated Mr. Fox and Lady Yarmouth to make apologies for him to the King. Before they were well delivered, he relapsed, and assembled the lords, and then had not resolution enough to utter his motion. This scene was repeated two or three times; at last, on the 24th, he vented his speech, extremely modified, though he had repeated it so often in private companies, that half the House could have told him how short it fell of what he had intended. Lord Chesterfield, not famous heretofore for tenderness to Hanover, nor called on now by any obligations to undertake the office of the ministers, represented the impropriety of the motion, and moved to adjourn. Lord Poulet cried, "My Lords, and what is to become of my motion?” The house burst into a laughter, and adjourned after he had divided singly. Walpole's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 383. House of Lords in your absence, for though I was present there all day yesterday, yet as all that came from the Earl was delivered in many whispers, none of it came to my ears. He was in the House by half an hour past one, and began his first secret with the first man that came in, which was George Haldane, and continued his mystery with at least a dozen of all sorts of parties, till he finished with Mr. Fox. The House had gone through what business they had to do, and my Lord Chancellor waited at least half an hour before his patience was worn out, and he sent the clerk into the next room to the Earl to know if he had any motion to make, or the House would adjourn, which accordingly they did, upon his answer being he had nothing that day to trouble them with: and Mr. Fox told me afterwards, his last resolution was to hold his tongue; I question much whether people in general were not more disappointed than pleased. One, and the greatest of all, will be very glad this motion will not be made. Mr. Reynard told me he was in with him yesterday, and conversing on this motion. Mr. Reynard endeavoured to make light of it, assuring him the Earl was quite single in his opinion, and that nobody would say a word in sup. port of him; upon which he added of himself, and with great warmth, that he was very glad the Duke of Bedford did not approve of it, and that he was sure the Duke of Bedford would be sorry he was gone out of town with a notion it would not be made, since as it was personal to him and concerned 1755. |