JET. 34.] ASSASSINATION OF PERCEVAL. i; 



either could not or would not agree to this ; and said 

 that the inquiry must go on, only again urging delay. 

 A belief soon became prevalent that the Government 

 intended to give up the Orders in Council, and I lost 

 no time in again seeing Castlereagh, to urge the ex- 

 pediency of not at once taking this course, but separat- 

 ing it by some short interval from the lamentable fate 

 of his colleague, both in justice to his memory, that it 

 might not seem to be admitted he was the author of 

 the system, which he really was not ; and in fairness 

 to its adversaries, to show that they had not encour- 

 aged such grounds of opposing it ; and, above all, to 

 show that such detestable acts had not been successful, 

 if directed towards such an end. He said there was 

 great soundness in my view, but that there was no 

 intention of recalling the Orders, and that we must go 

 on with our case, which I said I felt quite sure must, 

 when completed, lead to the result supposed to be in 

 contemplation. This, he again said, was a groundless 

 report ; and again urged, as he had before done, that 

 we ought to delay our proceedings, in consequence of 

 what had happened, and I again refused to do so. I 

 afterwards found that my desire to keep Bellingham's 

 act separate from our inquiry and its supporters had 

 not been groundless ; for my excellent friend Dr Shep- 

 herd, who had lately come to London from Liverpool, 

 told me that one of our most zealous supporters at 

 Liverpool (Colonel Williams, a retired military man 

 who had seen much service) said he considered Bel- 

 lingham a very remarkable man, and acting upon 

 strongly-fixed principles. Now, that he was deranged 

 there can be no manner of doubt. He confessed that 

 his primary intention had been to kill Lord Grenville, 



VOL. II. B 



