508 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



a change in the war department 

 should take place immediately upon 

 the close of the session. When that 

 time arrived, the earnest and re- 

 peated entreaties of most of lord 

 Castlereagh's friends in the cabinet 

 were employed to prevail upon Mr. 

 Canning to consent to the post- 

 ponement of the arrangement. 



At length, and most reluctantly, 

 he did give his consent to its being 

 postponed to the period proposed 

 by lord Castlereagh's friends, viz. 

 the termination of the expedition 

 then in preparation; but did so 

 upon the most distinct and solemn 

 assurances, that, whatever might 

 be the issue of the expedition, 

 the change should take place at 

 that period ; that the seals of the 

 war department should then be 

 offered to lord Wellesley (the per- 

 son for whose accession to the ca- 

 binet Mr. Canning was known to 

 be most anxious), and that the in- 

 terval should be diligently employ- 

 ed by lord Castlereagh's friends in 

 preparing lord Castlereagh's mind 

 to acquiesce in such an arrange- 

 ment. 



It was therefore matter of asto- 

 nishment to Mr. Canning, when at 

 the issue of the expedition he re- 

 minded the duke of Portland that 

 the time was now come for his 

 grace's writing to lord Wellesley, 

 to find, that so far from the inter- 

 val having been employed by lord 

 Castlereagh's friends in preparing 

 lord Castlereagh for the change, 

 the same reserve had been continu- 

 ed towards him, against which Mr. 

 Canning had before so earnestly 

 remonstrated. Being informed of 

 this circumstance by the duke of 

 Portland, and learning at the same 

 time from his grace that there 

 were other difficulties attending the 



promised arrangement, of which 

 Mr. Canning had not before been 

 apprised; and that the duke of 

 Portland had himself come to a 

 determination to retire from office, 

 Mr. Canning instantly, and before 

 any step whatever had been taken 

 towards carrying the promised ar- 

 rangement into effect, withdrew 

 his claim, and requested the duke 

 of Portland to tender his (Mr. 

 Canning's) resignation, at the same 

 time with his grace's, to the king. 

 This was on Wednesday the 6th of 

 September, previously to the levee 

 of that day. 



All question of the perform- 

 ance of the promise made to Mr. 

 Canning being thus at an end, the 

 reserve which lord Castlereagh's 

 friends had hitherto so persevering- 

 ly practised towards lord Castle- 

 reagh, appears to have been laid 

 aside, lord Castlereagh was now 

 made acquainted with the nature 

 of the arrangement which had been 

 intended to have been proposed to 

 him. 



What may have been the rea- 

 sons which prevented lord Castle- 

 reagh's friends from fulfilling the 

 assurances given to Mr. Canning, 

 that lord Castlereagh's mind should 

 be prepared by their communica- 

 tion for the arrangement intended 

 to be carried into effect ; and what 

 the motives for the disclosure to 

 lord Castlereagh after that arrange- 

 ment had ceased to be in contem- 

 plation, it is not for Mr. Canning 

 to explain. 



In addition to Lord Castlereagh^ s M 

 and Mr. Cannings statements of ^ 

 the origin of the late duel, — the 

 following has been published by 

 Lord Camden :— 

 As it may be inferred from a 

 statement 



