The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 1 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IVGreville, Charles
History
The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 1 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV
Greville, Charles
Great Britain -- History -- George IV, 1820-1830; Great Britain -- History -- William IV, 1830-1837
On Tuesday morning Drummond, Lord Goderich's private secretary,
came to me at my office and told me the Council would be held on
Friday, and that Herries was to be appointed Chancellor of the
Exchequer and was going down that day with Lord Goderich to
Windsor. Accordingly when I arrived at the Castle I found Herries
in the room, and I asked him if he was to take an oath as
Chancellor of the Exchequer, because there was none in the
oath-book for Chancellor, but one for the Treasurer of the
Exchequer, and whether he was to take that. He said he did not
know, upon which I asked Wynn if he knew. He did not; when we all
agreed to wait till Lord Bexley came,[19] and enquire of him what
he had done. When Lord Bexley arrived we asked him, and he said
that Herries would only be sworn then as a Privy Councillor, and
must take the oath of Chancellor of Exchequer in the Court of
Exchequer. Shortly after we walked round the Castle, and some
conversation occurring about the elevation of the Round Tower,
which Wyattville was anxious to accomplish, Herries said to him,
'But it is my business now to ask you what you will do it for,
how much it will cost. Will you do it for £10,000?' Wyattville
said, 'You must give me £15,000,' so that I could have no doubt
that Herries was Chancellor of the Exchequer. In the meantime all
the Ministers arrived, the whole Cabinet being present except the
Chancellor and Lord Anglesey, who arrived afterwards. As soon as
Lord Goderich and Lord Lansdowne were come they retired into the
next room and had a long conference. Shortly afterwards the King
came, when Lord Goderich went into his room. He stayed some time,
when the Duke of Portland went in, then Herries. When Lord
Goderich came out he had another conference with Lord Lansdowne,
at the end of which he went again to the King. He came out, and
at the end of three-quarters of an hour went a third time, and
after him Herries a second time, and with him Lord Bexley.
Another very animated conversation took place between Lord
Lansdowne and Lord Goderich, when the latter went to the King a
fourth time, and after him Lord Lansdowne, Goderich whispering
something to him as he went in. Previous to this I remarked a
conference between Lord Lansdowne, Goderich, and Carlisle, after
which Carlisle took Tierney into the next room, evidently
communicating what had passed. Something was clearly going on,
but I could not make out what. I fancied that Lord Lansdowne
insisted upon Lord Holland's being in the Cabinet. Yesterday,
however, I discovered that it was all about Herries and his
appointment. The appointment was the King's, with whom Herries
had ingratiated himself by transacting some of his pecuniary
business, and getting odds and ends for him out of _droits_, &c.
The King then named him, and Goderich made no objection. Herries
came to Windsor, not doubting but that he was to receive the
seals, which in fact Goderich brought down with him on purpose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account