590 CAX THE TORIES TAKE OFFICF AFTER ALL ? 



phalanx, was not the loyal and constitutional device of a faction tam- 

 pering with the royal prerogative, and erecting, as it insanely sup- 

 posed, " a tower of strength" in the King's name ? The plausible 

 pretence of pleading an alibi, put forth by the Tory organs, is not only 

 contemptibly absurd, but irresistibly ludicrous. This juggler's trick 

 with the cup and balls this " hey, presto, they're gone !" will not 

 serve the turn of the Tories, when the imposition is discovered. They 

 had laid the train long before " the captain's a bold man," and 

 waited on the spot to apply the match, while they got out of the way 

 till the danger was over. 



But, it may be asked, wherefore be at the trouble of devising this 

 complicated and ingenious manoeuvre ? The answer is at hand. In 

 the first place, it might tend to induce a belief (and to a certain 

 extent the ruse has been successful), that there was no premeditation 

 in the matter at all ; and, in the next, it would afford time and op- 

 portunity to feel the public pulse, and, if the wrist were not riotous, 

 to slip on our old chains once more, and so keep the pulse in subjec- 

 tion by steel hand-cuffs. And, in this coup-de-main, we find that 

 the Duke has displayed more sagacity than he did at Waterloo, 

 where he left himself no possibility of retreat ; for, by reserving the 

 premiership for his friend on his travels, he cannot be said absolutely 

 to have seized the reins of government ; and, should the public pulse 

 beat too high, what more easy than to come before the country with 

 Sir Robert Peel in his hand, and frankly tell the people that his 

 friend and he find that they cannot undertake the government under 

 present circumstances ? In the meanwhile, he is no inactive or un- 

 skilful politician ; he knows the time of day well, and, with the 

 Horse Guards' clock in his fob, and the seals of office dangling 

 before him, he parades Parliament-street, a virtual dictator in a 

 mixed commonwealth, with a troop of slavish adherents at his back, 

 crying " This is the King's prerogative !" 



It is, doubtless, not only expedient, but just, for the preservation 

 of the balance, as it is called, that the King should possess the power 

 of choosing his own Ministers. The prerogative of the people it is 

 to see that they propose good measures ; and these failing, to dismiss 

 them from the councils of the King, by means which the Constitu- 

 tion has pointed out for the preservation of their liberties means 

 which, till within the last three years, have been abused, to the 



