KANDOM RECOLI.r.CTlONS OF TOE HOUSE OF LORDS. 339 



but himself, when he first declared his intention of bringing forward those 

 measures, who, with the House of Lords and the prejudices of George the 

 Fourth in his eye, ever dreamed that the noble Duke would succeed in the 

 objects he had view. 



"The Duke of Wellington has generally evinced an intimate knowledge of 

 the resources of his own party, and of the amount of force which would be 

 necessary to carry their point, and d.^feat their opponents. Hence, as must 

 often have been observed, he has not only on many occasions pursued a more 

 moderate course than those of the more , bigoted and less calculating of his 

 Tory friends, but in various cases he has refused to co-operate with them at 

 all. In several instances this refusal to co-operate with his own party against 

 particular measures of a liberal Government, has arisen as much from a con- 

 viction of the imprudence of defeating Ministers — had those on his side of the 

 House possessed the power — as from a consciousness of the utility of the at- 

 tempt. In fact, his whole conduct shows that he is a man of great shrewd- 

 ness and prudence. 



" Perhaps no man of the present day possesses greater moral courage than 

 the Duke of Wellington. It is that peculiar description of moral courage, too, 

 which teaches him to disregard alike the opinions both of friends and foes. 

 Let him be but convinced that a certain measure has become indispensable to 

 the peace or welfare of the country, and to the carrying of that measure, he will 

 lend all his energies in utter disregard alike of the smiles and frowns of others. 

 I do not believe that he is either to be smiled into or frowned out of a par- 

 ticular measure, however seductive the smile in the one case, or ominous 

 the frown in the other. He appears as indifferent to popularity as any public 

 man I know of the present day. 



" Indeed, my impression is, that his moral courage is so extreme as to de- 

 generate into a blemish in his character. It was his utter indifference to popu- 

 larity that prompted his ill-judged and, to his own Government, fatal declara- 

 tion of November 1829, against all reform. And the same disregard of public 

 opinion contributed, there can be no doubt, to his resolution to centre the entire 

 government of the country in his own person during the space which inter- 

 vened between the ejection of the Melbourne Ministry in November 1834, and 

 the return of Sir Robert Peel from Italy. That was an experiment which no 

 one, not even his own greatest friends, ever undertook to justify. It was an 

 experiment, indeed, which admitted of no justification ; but was considered by 

 his own party, as well as by those of opposite politics, to be as unconstitu- 

 tional as it was bold and daring. ', 



" One of the greatest defects in the character of the Duke as a statesman is, 

 his neither anticipating public opinion, nor keeping abreast with it. He 

 generally resists it till it has acquired an overwhelming power. Had he, when 

 in office, only granted a moderate measure of reform, the nation would have 

 been satisfied, at least for a time, and he might still have been Prime Minister 

 of the country. But by his refusal to yield one iota to the public demand, 

 that demand became more extensive in its scope, and louder in its tone, until 

 it could no longer be resisted with safety to the public peace- — He refuses the 

 little which would be gratefully received as an act of grace, and then finds 

 himself in the end compelled to make a much larger concession, for which he 

 does not even receive the thanks of his countrymen. 



" His general information is neither varied nor profound ; but he very seldom 

 commits blunders in his speeches. He always pays particular attention to 

 any question of importance before the House before he ventures to open his 

 mouth on it. And there are few men who can so speedily master the leading 

 details of any question. His mind is acute, and his understanding vigorous ; 

 so that, in as far as the mere matter of his speeches is concerned, he generally 

 appears to some advantage. He often strikes out new courses of thought, 

 but seldom pursues them far. It is nothing uncommon to hear him urge a 

 series of ingenious arguments in favour of his view of the subject, without 



