STATE PAPERS. 



36rj 



I have the honour to remain 

 with great respect, your lordship's 

 very faithful, «nd most obedient 

 servant, Lansdowne. 



No. 7. 

 Lord Holland's Letter to Lord 

 Wellesley, dated May 23rd, re- 

 lative to No. 4. 



My Lord, — I had the honour of 

 receiving- your note and inclosure, 

 and beg leave to return ray sincere 

 thanks for your attention in send- 

 ing me so interesting and so early 

 a communication. 



Lord Grenville and Lord Grey 

 i have been so good as to talk the 

 matter over with me confidentially, 

 and I have the satisfaction of 

 finding that I concur generally in 

 their views of the subject, and in- 

 deed, know no better way of 

 expressing my opinion, than by 

 referring you to a memorandum 

 which, 1 believe, it is their inten- 

 tion to deliver to you to-morrow 

 morning. 



I am, my lord, your obliged and 

 obedient humble servant. 



Vassal Holland. 

 Camelford House, 

 May 23rd. 



No. 8. 

 Memorandum from Lords Grey 

 and Grenville, May 24th, in 

 reply to Lord Wellesley's Mi- 

 nute, No. 4. 



May 24th, 1812. 

 In such a moment as the pre- 

 sent, we feel it to be the duty 

 of all public men, both by frank 

 and conciliatory explanations of 

 principle, and by the total aban- 

 donment of every personal object, 

 to facilitate, as far as may lie in 



their power, the means of giving 

 effect to the late vote of the House 

 of Commons, and of averting the 

 imminent and unparalleled dan- 

 gers of the country. 



Lord Wellesley has selected two 

 among the many important sub- 

 jects which must engage the at- 

 tention of any men, who could, in 

 such circumstances, be called upon 

 to consider of the acceptance ot 

 stations in public trust. On those 

 two points, our explanation shall 

 be as distinct as it is in our power 

 to make it. 



On the first, indeed, our opi- 

 nion is too well known, and has 

 been too recently expressed, to 

 need repetition. 



We have derived a very high 

 gratification from Lord Wellesley's 

 powerful exertions in support of 

 the claims of the Roman Catholics, 

 as well as from the manner in 

 which that subject is adverted to 

 in his minute, and we do not hesi- 

 tate to at.sure him, that we will 

 warmly support any proposal 

 made by any ministers for the 

 immediate consideration of those 

 claims, with a view to their con- 

 ciliatory adjustment; a measure 

 without which, we have already 

 declared that we can entertain no 

 hope, in any case, of rendering our 

 own services useful. 



As to the second point, no 

 person feels more strongly than we 

 do, the advantages which would 

 result from a successful termination 

 of the present contest in Spain. 

 But we are of opinion that the di- 

 rection of military operations in 

 an extensive war, and the more 

 or less vigorous prosecution of 

 those operations, are questions, not 

 of principle, but of policy: to be 

 regulated by circumstances, in their 



nature 



