The Duke saw Lord Combermere to-day, having received the letters I sent him before the interview. The Duke told him the Government were parties to the disapprobation expressed by the Court of Directors. Lord C. threw the whole blame upon Lord W. Bentinck. He had carried the order into execution without communication with him, 'and had told the army if they objected to it, they might memorialise.' This _I do not believe_. Lord C. said the army was not in a state approaching to mutiny, and never had been. He had not said it was in his minutes (but he did in a letter); as to the minutes of the other members of Council, he was not responsible for them. They were civilians. Besides, Lord W. wished to go up the country. He had received in July a letter telling him he was not to go except in a case of emergency, then the Government was not to move from Calcutta, and he endeavoured in his minute and the others in theirs to make an apparent case of emergency that they might move. As to the last point there is an anachronism, as the orders not to leave Calcutta _as a Government_ arrived after the minutes were recorded. The Duke told Lord Combermere that all the orders for reduction of expenditure having proved inefficacious, it was necessary for the Government here to take reduction into their hands, and it was very natural and obvious to enforce an order twice repeated and already obeyed at the other presidencies. When the army assumed the tone which appeared in the memorials, it was impossible for the Government to do otherwise than insist upon the enforcement of the order. They had expected from him that his whole influence would have been used to strengthen the Government and to prevent any ebullition of feeling on the part of the army. Lord Combermere left the Duke very angry. If the King had been well he would have joined Lord Anglesey. As it is, I expect he will oppose the Government. Lord Hill saw him for a few minutes, and had only some unimportant conversation with him. He told Lord Hill he had made thirteen or fourteen lacs. He made seven lacs by prize money at Bhurtpore. The French have not yet given a written explanation as to Algiers. Their army is said to be in very fine order. Leopold seems to have insinuated that our yielding on the subject of the loan was sudden and late, &c. Aberdeen understood him to allude to the King's illness, and to impute our concession to the wish to get him out of the way. He took no notice of it, and treated the thing as settled. Preparations have been made for the event of the King's death. Peel has been obliged to leave London, as his father is dying. _May 4._