THE DUKE OF CLARENCE'S RESIGNATION EXPLAINED.
MORNISG CtilIONICLE—The resignation of the Duke of Clarence pro- ceeded from an honourable and spirited feeling in his Royal Highness, and augurs well for the character of his Government, when, in the course of nature, he may ascend the Throne. The Lord High Admiral found that his Council opposed the measures which he thought important to the public service, in a manner not altogether sufficiently guarded to prevent the pos- sibility of personal offence. In fact umbrage was taken at the conduct of one individual. An explanation took place. From this it appeared that the administration required that the department of the navy shonld be made use of, as before Mr. Canning was the premier, for the purpose of strengthen- ing e the hands of ministers; but the independence of the Duke, as a prince
of blood, and as wholly unconnected with party, made such a course impracticable. It was then settled that his council should be responsible to—or, in other words, take their orders from Downing-street. This eclaircissement, while it removed the grounds of personal offence, rendered it impossible for his Royal Highness to remain in office, if he valued either his self-esteem or the good opinion of the nation. Immediate and unhesita- ting resignation was the consequence. We shall not be suspected of flattery when we say that this is an event deeply to be deplored. The stories of extravagant expenses are wholly unfounded. We defy contradiction when we state that the sum of 1,000/. will cover all the charges upon the Treasury ; and that the Duke most liberally employed a large portion of his private income in executing his official duties I The " head and front of his offend- ing" was this—Lord Melville's system was no longer acted upon. Services and merit became the passports to promotion. The recommendations, or rather claims, of the boroughmongers were disregarded. The Duke of Wellington's government felt that without wielding, for the purposes of purchasing and retaining Parliamentary support, all the public patronage, it could possess no stability. It, perhaps, may be urged, that in the present corrupt state of the representation, all administrations must act in a similar manner ; but if this defence be admitted, it shows in the strongest possible light the necessity of Parliamentary Reform. SraNeatie.—The purpose of the persons who imposed this fabrication upon our contemporary is no secret from us, though we believe it is from those upon whom it has been imposed. To explain the grounds of a quarrel upon a false hypothesis, which may provoke the publication of the truth is no bad mode of .preventing an accommodation. With this maxim we shall leave the subject, and disappoint the pacific writer ia the Morning Chronicle. NEW Ttstes.—We believe the facts to be these. The Duke of Wellington felt the inconvenience of an office of such grave importance as that of the Lord High Admiral, being filled by an irresponsible agent. However well qualified the Duke of Clarence might be to discharge the duties of his situa- tion, still he was an irresponsible officer. He was under no controul ;lie was amenable to no superior ; and his power was as unlimited, as his errors, if he might be led into any, were beyond the restraint of the Executive.
The Duke of Wellington kit the force of this objection, and the irksomeness of an uncontrollable responsibillty which fell upon himself, and he was natu- rally desirous to be relieved from it. He, therefore, proposed that all the orders of the Lord High Admiral should be countersigned by an officer appointed by the Ministry, and responsible to them and to Parliament. In short he wished that his Royal Highness would confide his power to a deputy exclusively under the restraint of the Government. To ..this arrangement, upon the representations of the noble Duke, his Majesty assented. But to this arrangement his Royal Highness demursed, and his resignation followed. These are the fitcts of the case, which led to a secession which has caused so much speculation in the liberal world. We do not state them upon official information—but they are true.
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