The Greville Memoirs, Part 3 (of 3), Volume 2 (of 2): A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1852 to 1860Greville, Charles
History
The Greville Memoirs, Part 3 (of 3), Volume 2 (of 2): A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1852 to 1860
Greville, Charles
Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901
_Hatchford, March 30th._--On Friday last Disraeli brought on the
Government India Bill, which Ellenborough told some of his friends
would be 'a great success,' and which everybody expected would be an
improvement on Palmerston's. Never was there a greater failure; the
bill was received with general aversion and contempt. The Radicals,
who want to keep the Government in for the present, could not stomach
it, Roebuck pronounced it a sham, and Bright, who detests Palmerston,
said he preferred his bill of the two. It is evidently impossible that
this bill can pass, and everybody sees what a fix it places public
affairs in, and what difficulties and uncertainties present themselves
on all sides. The only people who are pleased are the Palmerstonians.
They think that when this bill has been rejected or withdrawn theirs
will pass, and this will, _ex necessitate_, compel Derby to retire
and open the way to Palmerston's return to office. They are therefore
chuckling over the dilemma, but it may be without its leading to the
realization of their hopes. There are a great many men in the House
of Commons, Peelites or Radicals principally, but also some others,
who cannot endure the notion of Palmerston's coming back, and who
will oppose his bill, after the other has been swept away, merely
to prevent his return. What the Radicals would like is that both
bills should be referred to a Select Committee, and a third bill be
concocted out of the two; but this scheme would not be likely to meet
with general approbation, for it would be in fact a delegation of the
proper functions of government to the House of Commons. It appears not
unlikely that both bills will fail and that no measure at all will pass
this year. The Government people are extremely dejected at the state of
affairs, but it is said they do not mean to resign upon the defeat of
their bill.
Meanwhile John Russell has made a sort of overture to Granville, i.e.
he sent George Byng to him on Sunday to invite him to say what he
thought would be the most eligible course to adopt in the present state
of affairs, and with reference to the Government bill. This was not
very judicious on his part, and Granville was an odd man to select,
being in a different House of Parliament, and so bound to Palmerston
that he could not avoid communicating to him the overture and his reply
to it. George Byng says Granville appeared a good deal surprised, but
he thought rather pleased. Granville said he could give no immediate
answer, but would write to him, which he did the next day, and told him
George Lewis would go down to Pembroke Lodge to see Lord John. I have
no idea that anything will come of this, for none of the late Cabinet
can or will transfer their allegiance from Palmerston to Lord John,
unless the former consents to it, and abdicates his position of chief
of the Whig party, which he seems to have no thoughts of doing, and it
is impossible to conciliate their rival claims and pretensions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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