GENERAL HISTORY. 



I:i?9 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Domestic Occurrences — Negociations for a Change in the Administra- 

 tion— -Disturbances in the Country — Affairs of Irish Catholics — 

 Dissolution of Parliament and General Election. 



ONE of the subjects vvhich 

 most interested the British 

 public during the first half of the 

 present j ear was, the expected 

 changes in the administration, 

 concerning which, at different pe- 

 riods, curiosity was kept on the 

 stretch by negociations, either 

 openl}' carried on, or suspected to 

 be secret!}' transacting, among the 

 several parties regarded as candi- 

 dates for the great offices of state. 

 The Prince Regent had indeed left 

 the reins of government in the 

 hands of his father's ministers for 

 a lony-er time than had been gene- 

 rally predicted ; but it was thought 

 that the commencement of the 

 new era of his unrestricted re- 

 gency could not fail to be marked 

 by the accession to power of some, 

 at least, of those to whom he had 

 formerly given his confidence; and 

 although the actual ministers had 

 conducted the government with as 

 little interruption from opposition 

 as most of their predecessors, their 

 tenure was commonly considered 

 as temporary and insecure. 



Early in the year, the cabinet 

 eustained a loss, in the Marquis of 

 Wellesley's resignation of the post 

 of secretary of state for foreign af- 

 fairs, which, on account of the in- 

 fluence and abilitie* of that noble- 

 man, could not he regardeil as in- 



V01..I.IV. 



considerable. The motives by 

 which he was induced to resign, 

 as they afterwards appeared in a 

 statement made public by his 

 friends, were such as augured more 

 unfavourably than even the act it- 

 self for the duration of the minis- 

 try. His objections, it was there 

 said, arose in a great degree from 

 the narrow and imperfect scale on 

 which the efforts in the Peninsula 

 were conducted. He had repeat- 

 edly with reluctance yielded his 

 opinions to his colleagues on many 

 other •important points; and he 

 was convinced by experience that 

 the cabinet possessed neither ability 

 and knowledge to devise a good 

 plan, nor temper and discernment to 

 adopt what he thought necessary. 

 To Mr. Perceval's judgment or 

 attainments he could not pay any 

 deference without injury to the 

 public service. Entertaining these 

 sentiments, the marquis had, on 

 the 16th of January, requested 

 permission to withdraw from the 

 cabinet, and this desire was noti- 

 fied to the Prince Regent and Mr. 

 Perceval at the same time, with 

 the expression of his lordship's 

 wish that the precise time of his 

 resignation might beacccmimodated 

 to the pleasure of his Royal High- 

 ness, and the convenience of Mr. 

 Perceval, as soon as the restrictions 

 [K] thould 



