;ET. 46.] EARL GREY. 465 



90, and corn bears a fair price, reasoning to the coun- 

 try, at least to the land and trade, is labour lost. But 

 surely we ought to keep alive the spirit of hatred 

 towards the Holy Allies, and of friendship towards 

 the free states formed in North, and forming in South 

 America. And though nothing can equal the gross 

 inconsistency and brutal trading spirit of a policy 

 which should now make war for the colonies after 

 doing nothing for the mother country, we have no 

 such inconsistency imputable to us, and our views are 

 not mercantile. Yours ever, H. BROUGHAM." 



"February^, 1824. 



"MY DEAR LORD GREY, I am sorry I was pre- 

 vented so many days from writing after receiving 

 yours, but I have been extremely busy. We had a 

 dinner and meeting at the Clarendon the day before. 

 I never saw anything like the flatness of people; 

 but they were not wrongheaded at all, and quite 

 steady, of course. But Western was finally resolved to 

 move an amendment, and behaved, as he always does, 

 with perfect propriety and fairness. After long con- 

 versation with him, both the night before and on 

 Monday, he said he really felt it a matter of con- 

 science, and could not waive it ; but he would take care 

 to say it was only his own, and committed no one but 

 himself, and that he should not divide. He rose after 

 the seconder, and I got up too ; so he gave way : and 

 as I had begged him to wait to see whether my pro- 

 test in a speech was not as strong as one in the shape 

 of an amendment, he reconsidered the matter and said 

 nothing. As for the debate, I think Canning and I 

 tried which could speak worst, and that I beat him by 



VOL. II. 2 G - 



