if the result of them—namely, that the Government are apprehensive can do any good to any of our friends, you might give them that hint.

"I hope I may be wrong in my construction, but I fear the worst.-Ever yours truly,

"H. BROUGHAM."

Many of my Liverpool friends, as well as Baring, had urged me to go as negotiator with the American Government. My answer was, that if they thought that my position with respect to the late repeal might facilitate so desirable an event as a settlement of the American dispute, I had no objection, however great the personal sacrifice might be, but said that Baring would be better, from his American connections. Both he and the others, however, considered that rather as an objection to him; besides, that I had been the leader in the late contest, and had taken the part of America in all the controversies which had arisen for the last five or six years. Therefore, in consequence of these solicitations, and in redemption of the pledge I had given, both privately to Castlereagh and on the 23d June in the House of Commons, I wrote to Castlereagh on the 1st August, that "I had no objection to undertake the negotiation;" and the day after added, that, if necessary, I should not object to proceed to America, "the only expense to the country being my passage there and back with a single servant."

His answer was, that he regarded this offer " as fully and honourably redeeming the pledge I had given," but declining the offer "for the present," which of course meant altogether; and so it turned out, for I heard no more of it.

Before I went the summer circuit, I had the following letter from Horner :

FROM FRANCIS HORNER.

"IVY BRIDGE, DEVON, July 25, 1812.

"DEAR BROUGHAM,-I received your letter just as I was leaving Exeter, the great kindness of which gave me very sincere pleasure.

"I learned with very great satisfaction from Whishaw that the Liverpool people have manifested in the most appropriate manner their gratitude for the services, unexampled in the modern history of Parliament, which you have rendered them, in common with all the commercial and manufacturing interests of the country. It is the true reward for such indefatigable, persevering exertions, and will give delight and pride to all your friends.-Believe me always very faithfully yours, FRA. HORNER."

The communications I had been about this time making to Lord Grey on all these matters led to the following correspondence:

TO EARL GREY.

"DURHAM, August 2, 1812. "MY DEAR LORD GREY,—I had meant to write some days ago to you on many subjects, and delayed it owing to business. One was what you allude to— Ward's movement, or rather declaration.* He was, as you might suspect, the person I alluded to at Ledstone. Now, I really think you are wrong as to his

* John William Ward, afterwards Viscount Dudley and Ward by succession; and, in 1827, Earl Dudley by creation.

I

motives, which, if altogether personal and private, and on that account less respectable in some sort, are, know, quite free from any tinge, even the slightest, of corruption or place-hunting. In truth, had Canning been in office he would not have declared, or thought of it; and a year ago he often said to me (when annoyed by things in the House of Commons) how he wished you were all in office that he might join the ex-party-viz., Canning. I had several long and most warm conferences with him before he made up his mind, and of course said what occurred to me freely. At the same time, when he put it to me whether, in point of honour, he was acting blamably, I could not say so, considering his loose connection at all times with us, and his decided difference on some points. I did not conceal from him, however, that this might not be the opinion of all his friends.

"I can tell you distinctly how this matter stands, and I wish you would let Lord Grenville and any other friends know it also, though, in general, it is nine parts in ten personal. He greatly admires, somewhat likes, and in no little degree fears, Canning, for his classical attainments, and his jokes and flings. So do William Lamb* and Granville Vernon, and so do Peel and all the other young fry about the officesvery inferior to our youths, of course. Now Ward, like them, is a dealer in a sort of ware, very marketable up to a certain price and for some time, but base in its real nature, and which don't keep-I mean little prize essays of speeches, got up and polished, and useless, quite useless, for affairs. To have Canning-the leader in this line—against them, and sneering at them,

* Afterwards Lord Melbourne.

they do not like; and not being men of very great minds (though very good and clever men-one part of them, at least), they would fain at all costs be with him. First they move heaven and earth to get him and you together, and then, when the clay and gold won't unite, they go after the former. Depend on it, this is at the bottom of it all. I know the men, and have sounded them for years; of this I never saw a moment's reason to doubt. But this feeling prevails in different strength in them. In Ward it is predominant, and he follows it. He does not like our House of Commons leaders, and particularly objects (as many others do, and, in my fair and candid opinion, with much reason) to Tierney, whose errors and fears really do mightily diminish his acknowledged merits. You know, among other great blunders, he is a general discourager, and does nothing to bring forward or protect the young ones. He throws cold water on all that is proposed; and it is proved to the satisfaction of every man who knew anything of the progress of the question, that had he had his own way, in any one particular, of the many in dispute among us, [that of] the Orders in Council would have failed almost entirely -possibly they might never have been brought forward, certainly by me they never could, though I don't know who he had in his eye. But I speak of his general habit of discouraging-the very reverse of Fox's and yours. He always forgets that an Opposition can hardly be too active or adventurous, and he acts as if he were in the Cabinet. My answer to all this is (and so I told Ward), that we look not to Tierney but to you, and to George Ponsonby as your friend. Then he objects to our leader's not being in the House of

Commons-a misfortune, no doubt-and says if you had remained there he should no more have thought of looking abroad to Canning than to Lord Liverpool. In short, you see there is a mixture of likings and dislikings, all for the most part groundless, in my opinion, but not in his, I verily believe. Place he really cares nothing about, and I believe he never would take it with any set of men. As for another tie, that which I or any of his old and personal friends (I believe it applies to me chiefly) may have over him,-on this we have often spoken together; but, unfortunately, we differ on some radical points. He is an alarmist about reform and popular principles; and he considers me as being a Jacobin, or at least a sort of link between you and the Mountain-very absurdly, as I often have told him, for I don't believe (as far as my opinions signify) I ever thought of going beyond you in anything of the kind. The question of peace and neutral points, perhaps the most important of any, I put to him strongly, and found he considered his differences with Canning on the former to be no greater than with you on the latter. I really forget how he answered, for in truth I considered the case as up before we came to that part of it.

"By the way, another point, I daresay, is the Hollands; you know his difference with them is very far the reverse of mine (if you ever heard of mine), which neither they nor I can tell the grounds of, and which is really the most comical and absurd thing in the world. But Ward has a real quarrel, and hates them, and is disliked by them. This has no little additional influence.

"Almost all these motives are personal, you see, and I don't say highly respectable. He goes over to Can