BOOKS.

THE GRENVILLE AND BUCKINGHAM CORRESPONDENCE.* THESE selections from the family correspondence in possession of the Duke of Buckingham commence in 1782, when Lord North was driven from power, and close in 1810, when the mental condi- tion of George the Third rendered a Regency inevitable. They consist of four volumes ; two of which, coming down to the end of the last century, appeared in January 1853, but never reached the Spectator; the remaining two have been published lately.. The letters, especially in the last two volumes, are mostly written to George Earl Temple, created Marquis of Buckingham in 1784, by his two younger brothers—Thomas Grenville, who was employed in negotiating the peace which recognized the independence of the United States, and amongst other things was First Lord of the Ad- miralty in the Administration of All the Talents, and William Wyndham the celebrated Lord Grenville. All three brothers were nephews of the elder Pitt, and sons of George Grenville, the well-known Minister of George the Third, whose obstinate persistence in affirming the right of this country to tax the Colonies without their consent gave rise to the American war. George, the Minister's eldest son inherited the title of Temple from his uncle, known as the double of Pitt, and for his factious activity in the stirring times of Wilkes and Junius. Indeed, he was suspected of being connected with Junius and some have conceived him to have been the author. The Glenville family is of considerable antiquity, going back to Henry the First ; but, like the greater houses of Hapsburg and Saxe-Coburg, the Grenvilles were indebted to matrimony for their prosperity, more than to themselves. By the marriage of the first .r

quis of Buckingham's grandfather with Hester Temple, the Grenvilles obtained Stowe and the peerage of Cobham as well as the earldom of Temple, besides carrying their pedigree to the times of Edward the Confessor. The marriage of the second Mar- quis and first Duke of Buckingham with the heiress of the last Duke of Chandos enriched the blood of the Grenvilles with that of the Tudors. The present Duke of Buckingham and Chandos re- presents, through his mother, Mary Tudor, sister of Henry the Eighth and Queen-Dowager of France. Of the four volumes, we think there is more variety both of writers and topics in the first and second, probably more import- ance in the third and fourth. Historical facts absolutely new we do not think they contain : they throw new light on the great subjects of the period from 1800 to 1810; but they scarcely settle anything on the new points of view, except perhaps the remote cause of the downfall of the Grenville Ministry in 1807. If we adopt the views of the letters, indeed, we shall have novelty and certainty ; but considerable allowance has to be made for the parti- sanship of the writers. The first great political features of the decade are the re- signation of Pitt, the true nature of the understanding with Ad- dington, the fairness or otherwise with which Pitt carried out this understanding, and what was really the cause why a " broad-bot- tomed" Administration, including all the ability of the country, was not formed when Pitt, Fox, and the Grenvilles, succeeded in ousting" the Doctor." The ostensible cause of Pitt's resignation was clearly enough the refusal of the King to entertain the Catholic question after the Union with Ireland : but why, then, return to power, not only without mooting the question, but even, as it is said, volunteering a stipulation that he never would again disturb his Majesty on the subject? Upon this point no new light appears in these volumes. Whether Addington undertook to be guided by Pitt, and, when he fancied himself secure, threw off the yoke, or whether Pitt got weary of retirement, and withdrew his support at times when it was most wanted, still remains an open question. That Pitt's conduct throughout was mysterious and impenetrable is alone clear. He listened willingly to communications against Addington and in praise of himself ; he allowed his followers to assail the Ministry—as witness Canning's various lampoons upon "the Doctor "; he canvassed plans for the overthrow of the Ministry • he encouraged damaging attacks upon them, but shrank from anidecisive blow,

"Willing to wound and yet averse to strike," until perhaps he began to fear that the game might be taken out of his hands. It would seem from these letters, that Lord Gren- ville was the first to suggest the necessity of a broad Adminis- tration to replace Addington's; and that when the King put a veto upon Fox, it was not so much the person as the principle of exclusion to which Grenville objected. It is reported in Lord Malmesbury's Papers, that Fox was quite prepared for the objection—he "knew he was a proscribed man " • and that Pitt was very wroth with Grenville. It may be gathered from the work, as inference perhaps rather than as statement, that the Grenvilles suspected Pitt of jealousy—of a disposition "too fond to rule alone"; ; and that he not unwillingly gave in to the King's exclusive prejudices. Whether the experiment would have succeeded is questionable. Even when there is no " coalition " in any political sense, (for the Aberdeen section of the late Ministry were as good Free-traders as the Whigs, and as good Reformers as the present Premier,) party, personal, and private feelings come into play and induce ill- wilL Men are disappointed of places ; some great man's dignity • Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George the Third. From Original Family Documents. fly the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, K.G. In four volumes. Published by Hurst and Blackett. is hurt, or his ambition thwarted. Almost from the beginning, certainly from the death of Fox, All the Talents pulled dif- ferent, ways. The obscurer and more fiery followers became somewhat insubordinate ; there was difficulty with personal ques- tions; difficulty in finding a leader for the House of Commons after the death of Fox, and the expected death of Lord llowick's father, the first Earl Grey. Lord Grenville himself was hardly fitted for the post. He had little sense of expediency ; and would needlessly bring forward abstract questions of principle, without any other apparent end than to encounter opposition. His mind was able and capacious, but he seemed to want originative or inventive power. He saw no means of carrying on the war except a project for conquering Mexico, which was not considered practicable, and the disastrous attack upon Con- stantinople. Wliat is more conclusive even as to his judgment, (for in 1807 the war was full of difficulties,) he subsequently saw nothing but failure in Portugal and Spain; and altogether undervalued Wellington, though he had good opportunities of judging him, for young Wellesley had been an aide-de-eamp of the Marquis of Buckingham when Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and a Peer who had filled the highest offices in the state might have heard of Assaye and Arganm, as well as other exploits in India. The Premier's sense of unfitness, internal dissension, and a sensitive shrinking from the "management" necessary to a Mi- nister—united, no doubt, to great natural stitfiiess—appears to have very soon sickened Lord Grenville of the office. Dissatis- faction is visible in many letters : he writes thus to his eldest brother, the Marquis, on the break-up.

"My dearest Brother—Here I am once more free ; and, from what you have long known of my undisguised sentiments on the subject, you will easily conclude I am not sorry to be so."

Sheridan, who lost his place on the downfall of the Ministry, bitterly remarked, that he had often heard of men knocking their heads against a wall, but never before heard of men who built up a wall to knock their heads against. There was much truth in the sarcasm. The origin of the difficulty, it may be recollected, was the proposed extension to England of a law which pirmitted Roman Catholics a certain rank in the Army in Ireland. To this the King willingly assented; but he demurred to the extension to the Navy and to Dissenters, as well as to opening all ranks in the Army to Romanists, which had been proposed by the new bill. The impoliey of raising such a question under all the circumstances is obvious. The uselessness of the measure is well pointed out by Thomas Grenville, in a letter to his brother the Marquis, describ- ing a private meeting held to consider the difficulty. My own opinion was, that it was absolutely necessary to come to an immediate decision, either to concede upon the subject of the bill, or to re- sign the Government. Upon this alternative, which seemed necessarily im- posed upon us, I had no hesitation in being the first to declare that I in- clined to concession ; in the first place, because, as I expected very little benefit in Ireland from the measure if carried, so I thought there would be little, if anything, to regret on that score if it was lost ; although I admit the disappointment will be a new wound, even when the success of the measure would not have been regarded as a benefit. I could not, however, bring my mind to think that the difference between the Irish bill and the proposed extension of it was of magnitude enough to rest upon that difference the extinction of the present Government. If it had been thought prudent or fit to agitate the whole Catholic question, and if I had been convinced, which I am not, that we ought to have brought that forward, then most undoubtedly I would not have conceded, but should have thought it a duty to have re- signed rather than to have conceded in that contest. But here there is no- thing dignus vindice, and the country would neither understand nor ap- prove the difference in question as one which could justify the Government as being staked upon the issue of that question: and yet no other alterna- tive remained; for by this time we knew that, even if the bill was carried, the King was ready to resort to his last powers to prevent its passing into a law. An additional motive with me for concession was the conviction that Lord Grenville has, that this is bona. fide a conscientious scruple with the King ; and that, instead of wishing to make this a pretence for breaking up the Government, the King desires nothing so much as the continuance of it at any price, except that which is now in question."

The "wall" of Sheridan however, was their mode of announce-

ment—their stipulatory threat, ' reat, as if they really wished to get out. "Those of us who are friends to Catholic Emancipation met yesterday, viz. Lord Howick, Lord Holland, Lord H. Petty, Lord Moira, Wyndham, Lord Grenville, and myself, and we agreed upon a paper to the mil., in which we stated the' impossibility of modifying the bill, and the opinion that under the present circumstances it would be better to abandon it. But we protested for the necessity of each of us expressing our sentiments on the Catholic question, if the petition should (against our opinion) be brought i forward n Parliament. We earnestly expressed our apprehensions for the state of Ireland, and distinctly claimed that, if we continued in Government, we should be considered by the King as competent to propose to him, at all times, any measure respecting Ireland which might appear to us to be ne- cessary or useful to the safety and prosperity of the empire."

The difficulty of properly filling important posts, what with the lack of men, the claims of service, and the rules of routine, is in- dicated in the following passage from the same writer, then First Lord of the Admiralty.

"I have determined, at all events, to get Saumarez for the Channel fleet, and shall this morning write for him to come to town. Lord St. Vincent writes me word today that he knows no man so capable of watching Brest as Saumarez. My chief present difficulty is about Cotton, whose claims are hourly growing by serving in the Channel fleet to reach the command of it ; for which he is, as I believe, entirely unfit. My present views for replacing Lord St. Vincent, whenever he goes, rest with Collingwood and Duckworth, the first of whom must, I suppose, have the Channel, and the second the Mediterranean; but this is inconsistent with keeping Cotton; and yet it is not easy to remove him. If I could do that, I would immediately make Saumarez Vice, and second to Lord St. Vincent. But if I cannot get rid of Cotton, Saumarez must be third. Markham tells me that Cotton has already declined Newfoundland : shall I offer him Jamaica, instead of Decree?

"I have inquired about Calder ; but I fear that his general reputation. will not warrant the restoring him. Those who acquit him of want of cou- rage dwell, however, very much upon his extreme indecision in critical situations; and that defect produces almost as bails result for command as downright fear. How can I weed the list of Admirals I is a list of in- curables."

The same thing is continued in this explanation by Wellington's brother, Wellesley Pole, of the impossibility of allowing the `1Se- poy General" to have such a "high command" as Portugal ; though be had gained the battles of Rolioa and Vimiera. The story is told by an anonymous correspondent of the Marquis, who figures as , and who seems to have had some knowledge of the press; but whoever he was had access to good information. The subject was the Cintra business, the news of which had just arrived, and great public anger was expressed at Sir Arthur Wellesley's having signed (under Sir Hew Dalrymple's directions) the convention.

"Yesterday I called early at W. Pole's house, and he saw me instantly. I told him my motive for calling was to ascertain if possible what share Sir Arthur had in the transaction; for obvious reasons, &c. • • * ' " He then read a word or two, which in substance related to some mea- sures which ought at any rate to be adopted to make "those fellows" re- store the church plate,' and then [Pole] added of himself, 'The fact is, the case was so much altered after the French had ceased to be pushed, that my brother, seeing that there would be nothing but bungle go forward, thought it a wise thing to get the French out of Portugal, but distinctly protested against those terms which you have seen, but which you cannot abhor more than I do. And as to Arthur's signing them, I suppose he acted agreeably to the rules of his profession—at least his idea of them ; but I tell you can- didly, I would rather have thrust my right hand into this fire than have put it to such an instrument.'

"I said, I hope, sir, this thing brings their own conduct home to the Go- vernment, and that they see their folly in the appointment, &c. He said, I'll tell you candidly, as the army is constituted here. Arthur could not be left in this great command—there were too many older officers ; but the in- dividual appointment of Sir Hew was quite accidental, and was merely meant to parry something of that kind much worse.' We parted with great civilities and professions on his part. Sydenham, nor Lord Wellesley, nor IL Wellesley, are come to town ; which surprises me. The brutal mob are violent against Sir Arthur."

The letters exhibit a strong affection among the brothers, who seem to have been ready to sacrifice anything on the family altar. The Marquis, indeed, was very " touchy" in questions affecting his own dignity, either from nature or the reflection of the Viceregal splendour of Ireland. In early life he quarrelled with Tom about a vote ; at one time he gave the brothers and their friends a great deal of trouble on some military division of the kingdom, which he conceived clashed with his dignity as Lord-Lieutenant of Buck- inghamshire; when his brother became Premier he fancied him- self slighted, and so annoyed Lord Grenville as to draw from him a long reply, of which this is the opening.

" Downing Street, May 9, 1806. "My dearest Brother—It would be useless for me to attempt to describe either the pain or the astonishment with which I received your letter this Morning. These are first fruits of that unfortunate resolution which I adopted at your urgent solicitation and my brother's, contrary to my own earnest wishes and better judgment. Twenty years of anxiety and misery might have taught me, and had taught me, what was to follow from it ; but /133T only confidence was in the affection of my few friends and of my nearest and dearest relations. This has now failed me ; and if I ask myself why, I am utterly and totally at a loss to answer. "You speak to me of a change of manner : I know of none, nor could I have thought that at our time of life, and after thirty years of such inter- course as we have enjoyed, it could be necessary for me to watch what effect incessant vexation and fatigue produced upon my manner towards my bro- ther. My visits at your house have been fewer than when I had my ,wkole time to myself. Is this a fault, or a misfortune to me ? I considered it as the latter ; but I think your own feelings for me, as well as for the counkry, Would have made you regret instead of rejoicing, if when I have occupation pressing upon me for forty-eight hours out of every twenty-four, I had added to the mass of business daily falling in arrear, by visits for the purpowta really should have hoped an unnecessary one) of convinoing my own bro- ther, and that brother you! that my head was not so turned with my situa- tion as to lead me at near fifty years old to forget those whose affection I have cherished all my life, and to whom I never have ceased to acknowledge the greatest obligations.

"Now as to want of communication, and state secrets, and not stating to you day by day all that passed about this man or that being called to the Cabinet. Let me speak to you fairly and plainly. I am conscious of no concealment; I had nothing to conceal ; I never courted the task which was east upon me. Nothing but your wishes and my brother's—I repeat it, for it is absolutely and positively true, and I appeal to that God who now sees me write this—nothing else has prevented me from doing long since what I shall now certainly do the very first instant I can do itrwith honour, with- drawing myself altogether from a scene and course of life which fdetest, and in which I cannot but too plainly see it will be impossible for me to maintain the only thing I do value in life, which is the affection of my friends and relations, and most of all that of my brothers."

The Grenvilles were far too well-bred, in the breeding of a bet- ter day perhaps as regards manners, to obtrude their family or their high opinion of themselves; but occasionally it comes out in a quiet way. Towards the close of Pitt's last Administration, when the Grenvilles were drawing towards Fox and the Whigs, and had been communicating with the Prince of Wales, the Prince himself visited Stowe. Tom Grenville, in writing to the Marquis on the forthcoming fête, thus fixes the aspirations of Riohard Brinsley in relation to the house of Grenville.

"I have sometimes thought it might be advisable to ask you how you fegl disposed as to asking Sheridan. He is a man upon whom such an invitation would hare great eject, and snake great impression; it would likewise be probably very acceptable to the Prince; and upon the whole, I should feel in- clined to think the invitation desirable, particularly as the Prince has always had him at his most select dinners with us.

"I know Sheridan is engaged to a party in Northumberland next week, and therefore perhaps he may be engaged; but I wish you to think of it, and therefore have mentioned it to you.'

The family feeling was too lofty, in the best sense of the term, to permit any dealings in vulgar and sordid jobs ; but the Gren- vales had the idea which is engrafted in the ruling classes, that the public service may rightly be used for their private purposes,

and an influence, perhaps difficult to resist, brought to bear on men charged with the responsibility of 'affairs. Lord Ebrington had " a very laudable and earnest desire to look at what is passing in the very interesting quarter of Spain and Portugal " where Wellington was then going for the first time. The matter was, how the "laudable and earnest desire " could be best managed for the advantage of my lord. " The situation of a volunteer is often very irksome and awkward, both for the volunteer and for the army which he follows ; and, on the other hand, it does not seem to be pro dignitate, or to accord with his rank and age, to join a marching regiment in the capacity of cornet or ensign: but if he could be adopted as a supernumerary aide-de-camp by any of the lead- ing general officers, neither he nor we can see any objection to his taking a half-pay commission, for the mere purpose of enabling him to be given out in orders as aide-de-camp, if that appointment could be obtained for him. On this head, your influence with Sir A. Wellesley has occurred as being perhaps sufficient to insure to Ebrington the situation which he is so desirous of obtaining."

This was addressed by Tom Grenville to the Marquis of Bucking- ham ; who appears to have written to Lord Grenville suggesting an application to the Marquis Wellesley. Lord Grenville replies.

" I have not written, and think it best not to write to Lord Wellesley. You have claims enough upon Sir Arthur to entitle you to ask much more from him than this favour, if favour it can be called, which is, in fact, an honour and distinction shown to him."

It is true that Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley had once been an aide of the Marquis of Buckingham, as he had once been a boy or even a baby. It is also true that the first Lord Morningtou was only an Irish Peer : but his son had been Governor-General of India, and was then Marquis Wellesley. It is moreover possible that many people may conceive the two brothers bad even at that time served their country quite as well, and secured as great an historical reputation, as the house of Grenville, which, beyond being the mediate cause of the loss of America, had done nothing save fill certain offices without any striking success. In fact, the Grenvilles were not a successful race except in their own affairs, and not always in them.

The most precise information in these volumes relates, of course, to the time when Lord Grenville was in office, in 1800 and in 1806-'7, or was so near office that he refused to negotiate with Percival in 1809, or when he was endeavouring to excite Pitt to openly attack the Addington Ministry, in 1802-'4. The other periods cannot display such direct or original knowledge of facts. Still there are a good many, as well as reports and comments. Lord Grenville professed aversion to office, and perhaps felt disgust when its diffioulties, responsibilities, and minor troubles beset him : still he continued to feel a keen in- terest in affairs, and certainly did not hold out to the wprld any idea that he was not prepared to take office ; nor, indeed; does that . appear to have been his determination, if he could get power on his own terms, which were somewhat impracticable. The own and his brother Thomas's letters, as well as those of their nephew. Lord Temple, exhibit a keen attention to what is going on ; and though the facts may in themselves be only occasionally new, there is a good deal of interest in their comments,—especially on such matters as the Waleheren expedition ; Mrs. Clarke's exposure of the Duke of York ; the intrigues of Canning, who comes out badly ; the behaviour of the Prince of Wales, who comes out self- ish, small, and false. Besides the immediate members of the family, there are several other correspondents who deal in informa- tion or remarks. One has already been quoted, whose signature was Mr. Freemantle, a client of the house of Buckingham— so intimates the editor—who held some office at court, furnishes a good deal of curious information respecting the King's health, some of it of a delicate character. The letters of the leading corre- spondents are of a high class; the writers full of their subject, and with sufficient literature to express themselves clearly, but without attempts at even careful writing, or the compliments, turns, and forced vivacity, which were the mode some century or half a cen- tury before their time. Tom Grenville is perhaps upon the whole' the best epistolary writer : goodnatured, sensible, accomplished, he had an easy naturalness of style, and though capable of high em- ployment, he was better fitted to "enjoy his garden and his books in quiet "—he was a various scholar, and great bibliographer. Lord Grenville's epistles support his reputation • they slightly add to the proof of his impracticability, and show him more amiable and natural than has been supposed, with a quiet touch of sar- casm, which does not always spare his own family. When Pitt's last Ministry was supposed to be breaking up, on Addington's withdrawal, he writes to his brother from Dropmore—" I need' hardly say, that the moment any discussion is set on foot, three hours will bring me to town ; but till then, I hold that I am more in my place here, than sitting like [the first] Lord Temple with his long legs crossed, and his long fingers playing changes against each other, waiting to be sent for," —a family figure he had evidently seen in youth. The volumes are readably edited with a knowledge of the Gren- ville family affairs and the persons connected with them. The more public or historical information is not so great, nor are the conclusions which the editor presents always supported by the letters on which he grounds them. In a certain sense the collec- tion is well edited for popular purposes. The letters on each par- ticular topic or section are preceded by a short account of the subject, so that the reader is kept alive to the matters treated of by the correspondence. This supplies a species of unity which heaps of family letters with nothing but distracting foot-notes generally want.