[238] The new appointments were, Lord Howick, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Mr. T. Grenville, Admiralty, in place of Lord Howick; Mr. Tierney, President of Board of Control, in succession to Mr. Grenville; Lord Sidmouth, President of the Council, in place of Lord Fitzwilliam; and Lord Holland, Lord Privy Seal, in place of Lord Sidmouth. [239] Lord Holland states fully his reasons for accepting office in a letter to Lord Lauderdale, dated September 22. It is published in _Memoirs of the Whig Party_, ii. 53. [240] Early in March Murat was given the Duchy of Berg and Cleves, ceded to Napoleon by Bavaria, and other territories claimed by Prussia were occupied by French troops a month later--this without any communication to the Prussian Cabinet. These and other arbitrary actions, following closely on the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, opened the eyes of the Prussians to the true policy of the French Emperor, but the final blow to their _amour propre_ was the discovery of their Ambassador in France, Lucchesini, that Napoleon had cheated them over Hanover, by his willingness to restore it to England, and that he threw no obstacles in the way of the immediate re-establishment of the Kingdom of Poland. [241] Prince Louis Ferdinand, nephew of Frederick the Great, was born in 1772. He served with distinction against Napoleon and was killed at Saalfeld in 1806 in command of the advance guard. [242] ‘They want ordnance, and yet would begin by spiking one of their great guns.’ Lord Holland relates this as another remark of Windham’s upon the proposal. [243] Sir Home Popham’s expedition to South America, where he effected the capture of Buenos Ayres on June 28. He had been originally despatched to the Cape of Good Hope, where he met with complete success and annexed that colony to the British Empire. Fired with this triumph he made his way to the Rio Plate, without any instructions from Government, who on hearing of his destination took steps to stop him, but their orders arrived too late. Buenos Ayres remained in his hands until August 4, when it was retaken by the Spaniards, with severe loss to the British. [244] Lord Morpeth was sent to Berlin to offer the assistance of England conditionally upon the immediate restoration of Hanover. He arrived at headquarters two days before the battle of Jena, and found Haugwitz, with whom he was to negotiate, unwilling to meet him in any way. The intriguing Prussian still hoped to retain Hanover, and expected after the battle to be able to say so. The result, however, was contrary to his expectations, and as no diplomatic negotiations were possible in the confusion after the battle Lord Morpeth returned to London. [245] Bartholomew Frere (1778–1851), a younger brother of John Hockham Frere, and son of John Frere, M.P. for Norwich. He was Secretary of Legation to his brother in Spain and held various minor diplomatic posts.