JET. 32.] CANNING'S POSITION. 481 



to what remained of Castlereagh's office ; and that 

 among other parts of what remained under Castle- 

 reagh, should be comprehended the Scheldt expedi- 

 tion. To all this Canning agreed, though he thought 

 it might not prove ' satisfactory to the public feel- 

 ing/ meaning, I suppose, the Board of Control part 

 of it, after the recent business of the writership. Soon 

 after this, upon pressing the execution of the above 

 arrangement, they told him they had thought of 

 another which would be better. He does not say 

 what, but he agreed to it. On pressing this, he was 

 again told that they had given it up, and recurred 

 to the first plan, to which he again agreed ; and so 

 on they went, putting him off from time to time. 

 One plan was that Lord Camden was to resign, and 

 Castlereagh to have his place ; and it was proposed to 

 Canning that Lord Wellesley should have the War 

 Department in that event, he (Lord Wellesley) hav- 

 ing been detained in England by illness. Once the 

 king ordered him to say nothing. In short, Canning 

 must, at the very least, admit that he behaved with the 

 utmost possible weakness ; but even that would not 

 do, for he can't account for his never having written 

 to Castlereagh himself ; nor can he explain the mani- 

 fest inconsistency of making such a fuss, God knows 

 why, about turning Castlereagh out of the manage- 

 ment of some part of the war, and consenting to his 

 conducting the most important part of it ; for it is 

 remarkable that he acquiesced in the plan which left 

 the Scheldt business in Castlereagh's department, and 

 VOL. i, a H 



