ffiT. 50.] LORD ROSSLYN. 493 



" ARCHEEFIELD, HADDINGTON, 

 Oct. 31, 1827. 



"Mr DEAR BROUGHAM, I did not receive your 

 letter of Friday till last night, and I must confess that 

 it greatly surprised me ; but as you state that your 

 question came entirely from yourself and without the 

 least authority, and that both it and my answer are 

 to rest between ourselves, I have no hesitation in reply- 

 ing to it with perfect frankness. I have had no reason 

 to believe that it has ever been in the contemplation 

 of ministers to offer me the Ordnance, and I have 

 heard from various quarters that the same high au- 

 thority which has excluded you from the great offices 

 in your own profession to which your talents and 

 influence entitled you to aspire, is no less adverse to 

 the admission of Lord Holland into the Cabinet. But 

 be that as it may, -I cannot bring myself to believe 

 that his acceptance of office, if it were offered to him, 

 could in any way be influenced by the decision of so 

 inconsiderable a person as myself, more especially as 

 we have had no communication upon politics, and 

 I know that everything I have said or done since 

 the formation of Canniog's Government has met with 

 his disapprobation. Had this been suggested by any 

 other person, I could not have treated it as serious ; 

 as it is, I must still remain persuaded that you are 

 mistaken in your information. 



" But to answer your question simply and distinctly 

 as it relates to myself, I have only to say that I 

 deliberately joined with Lord Grey in withholding any 

 declaration of adherence or general support to Mr 

 Canning's Administration ; and I concurred with him 

 in thinking that the new arrangement under which 



