APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. 523 



intention, in the event of your lord- 

 ship's resignation, to submit to his 

 majesty the nomination of lord 

 Wellesley to the war department. 



It was well known by the duke 

 of Portland, that I had been always 

 anxious for lord Wellesley 's ac- 

 cession to the cabinet, but this 

 was the first mention to me, in the 

 course of this transaction, of his 

 introduction into the war depart- 

 ment. — But for a severe indisposi- 

 tion, lord Wellesley would, before 

 this time, have been on his way to 

 Spain. 



On Thursday, the IStlv^ July, 

 the duke of Portland informed me, 

 that your lordship had, the day 

 before, actually tendered your re- 

 signation; but that your lordship 

 had annexed to it the conditions, 

 that no change should take place 

 till after the termination of the 



» expedition to the Scheldt; and 

 that it should be left to your lord- 

 ship to choose the time of making 

 any communication to lord Castle- 

 reagh, 



(July 13th to the 20th).— I made 

 the strongest remonstrancesagainst 

 this new delay, and this indefinite 

 renewal of the concealment from 

 lord Castlereagh. I said that after 

 the repeated postponements which 

 had already taken place, and after 

 the reserve which had already been 

 practised towards lord Castlereagh, 

 I could not rely upon the execution 

 of any arrangement which should 

 not be now completely settled in all 

 its parts ; and, if this were not to 

 be done, I most earnestly intreated 

 that his majesty might be advised 

 now to accept my resignation. 



The duke of Portland most anxi- 

 ously deprecated my resignation, 

 as leading, in his apprehension, to 

 the dissolution of the adaiiuistra- 



tion. He declared himself to be 

 authorized to assure me in the 

 most solemn manner, that the ar- 

 rangement now in contemplation 

 should positively take place at the 

 termination of the expedition; that 

 the seals of the war department 

 should then be offered to lord 

 Wellesley — an office (to be vacated 

 by means of your lordship's retire- 

 ment ) , being at the same time to be 

 offered to lord Castleresgh ; — and 

 that in the interval, and without loss 

 of time, lord Castlereagh's friends 

 should take opportunities of pre- 

 paring him for the change, and re- 

 conciling him to it, by representing 

 to him the great advantages to be 

 derived from it, in the acquisition 

 of additional strength to the go- 

 vernment. 



Not only the duke of Portland, 

 but other members of the cabinet, 

 lord Castlereagh's friends, some 

 directly,andsometbrough common 

 friends, urged me in the most ear- 

 nest manner, to acquiesce in the 

 postponement now proposed. It 

 was represented to me, that if in- 

 stead of pressing for the execution 

 of the arrangement now, time were 

 allowed to lord Castlereagh's friends 

 to prepare him for the change, and 

 to reconcile him to it, the arrange- 

 ment might ultimately take place in 

 an amicable manner ; that every 

 public object might thus be answer- 

 ed, without any unnecessary harsh- 

 ness to the feelings of individuals ; 

 and that so far from finding fresh 

 impediments raised to theexecution 

 of the arrangement, when the time 

 arrived, I should find all those, to 

 whose representations I yielded, 

 considering themselves pledged 

 equally with the duke of Portland, 

 to see it carried into effect. 



It is due to your lordship to say, 



that 



