STATE PAPERS. 



367 



I 



"conciliatory" that adjustment 

 must be so framed as to embrace 

 the interests and opinions of the 

 English Catholics, — also to obtain 

 the enlightened and deliberate con- 

 sent of the Protestants of both 

 countries. They would think any 

 adjustment very imperfect which, 

 instead of extinguishing discon- 

 tent, only transferred it from the 

 Catholic to the Protestant. 



But they concur in entertaining 

 a confident belief, that the great 

 purpose of securing the peace of 

 the empire may be answered, not 

 by giving a triumph to any one 

 party, but by reconciling all. 



In the substance of the second 

 proposition, there is no variance as 

 to any practical and prospective 

 purpose, though undoubtedly there 

 is, and it is natural there should 

 be, some as to the past, arising 

 from the difference of Mr. Can- 

 ning's and Lord Wellesley's re- 

 spective situations. 



When Mr. Canning says, that 

 the Peninsular war is to be carried 

 on "with the best means of the 

 countr)-," he intends the greatest 

 scale of exertion which the means 

 of the country may be found cap- 

 able of sustaining. 



If Lord Wellesley's expression, 

 "a scale of adequate vigour," 

 may be construed to imply the 

 proposition, that the late exertions 

 of this country have not been pro- 

 portioned to the great object of 

 the war, or have not been duly 

 distributed or apportioned ; this 

 proposition Mr. Canning certainly 

 does not intend either to affirm, 

 or to deny; simply because, not 

 having been in the government 

 during the last two years, he has 

 not sufficient information to be 



able to pronounce an opinion, 

 whether the exertions of those two 

 years have or have not been below 

 the proper scale, or have been well 

 or ill administered ; nor how far 

 they may now admit of being ex- 

 tended or more judiciously ap- 

 plied. 



He concurs, however, entirely 

 with Lord Wellesley, in wishing 

 to extend them to the utmost 

 power of the country ; and to ap- 

 ply them in the manner best cal- 

 culated to answer their end. 

 (Signed) Wellesley. 



George Canning. 



No. 15. 

 Letter from Lord Grey to Lord 



Wellesley. 



Portman Square, 

 May 29, 1812. 



My Lord, — I had last night the 

 honour of receiving your lordship's 

 letter, inclosing a paper explana- 

 tory of the difference which I had 

 remarked between your lordship's 

 minute and Mr. Canning's, toge- 

 ther with a copy of the latter. 



I beg your lordship to be assured 

 that in the observation to which I 

 had thought it necessary to call 

 your lordship's attention, I could 

 have no object but that of pre- 

 venting the possibility of any fu- 

 ture misunderstanding. We had 

 not entered into any explanation, 

 which, under the circumstances of 

 the moment, would perhaps have 

 been premature, of the details of 

 conduct necessary to give effect to 

 the first of the propositions, offered 

 by your lordship as the basis of a 

 new administration. From the dif- 

 ference of the terms used by Mr. 

 Canning in stating that proposition, 



I was 



