rd Anglesey--Lord
Falmouth and Lord Grey--O'Connell at Dinner--The Duke breaks
with Lord Eldon--Hibner the Murderess--Theatrical Fund--The
Levee--The Duke's Carriage stopped--The King's Health--Lady
Conyngham--O'Connell's Seat--Child's Ball at Court--Princess
Victoria--Legal Appointments--Lord Palmerston on Foreign
Affairs--The King and Lord Sefton--The King's Speech on the
Prorogation--Madame du Cayla--George IV.'s Inaccuracy--
Conversation of the Duke of Wellington on the King and the Duke
of Cumberland.

[Page Head: PEEL'S SPEECH ON THE CATHOLIC BILL.]

February 6th, 1829 {p.166}

Parliament met yesterday; a very full attendance and intense
interest and curiosity. The King's Speech, which was long and
better written than usual, was not quite satisfactory to the
Catholics. I met Lord Harrowby coming from the House of Lords,
and he said they did not like it at all; the previous suppression
of the Association was what they disliked. However, all
discontent was removed by Peel's speech, which was deemed (as to
the intentions of Ministers) perfectly satisfactory even by those
who were most prejudiced before against Government. I was in the
House of Commons. Peel was very feeble, and his case for himself
poor and ineffective; all he said was true enough, but it was
only what had been said to him over and over again for years
past, and he did not urge a single argument for acquiescing now
which was not equally applicable to his situation two years ago.
However, everybody was so glad to have the measure carried that
they did not care to attack Peel or his speech, though if there
had been a Brunswicker of any talent in the House he might have
cut it up finely; two or three of them spoke, but wretchedly ill,
and Lord Chandos was not at all violent, which I expected he
would have been. Lord Eldon was violent but impotent, in the
House of Lords, and Lord Bathurst made a sort of explanation
which was very poor.

On leaving the House of Commons I fell in with Burdett, Lord
Sefton, and G. Bentinck, and they all owned that the business is
very handsomely done; and Morpeth and many others whom I saw
afterwards at the Club are quite satisfied. They would have
preferred that the Catholic Relief Bill and the suppression of
the Association should have gone together, but do not make any
difficulties on this head, and acknowledge (which is the truth)
that the Duke was probably obliged to do something to cajole t