ot brought matters to this pass by
agitation and association, things might have remained as they
were for ever, and all these Tories would have voted on till the
day of their death against them.

Mahony, who is here, has written over to O'Connell, as have all
the other Catholics, to implore him to use his whole influence to
procure the dissolution of the Association, and it is said that
O'Connell had an idea of resigning his seat for Clare to Vesey,
on the ground that, having turned him out because he had joined a
Government hostile to their claims, he owed him this reparation
on finding it not to be the case. But I doubt whether this scheme
is practicable; still, I think if O'Connell could do it it would
be a good thing, and serve to reconcile the people here to him,
and give a great lift to his character. I expect to hear that the
Association has dissolved itself on receiving intelligence of the
proceedings in the House of Commons. Lord Anglesey spoke very
well, but nobody will care for his case now; besides, I doubt his
making out a good one. The fact is that they laid a trap for him,
and that he fell into it; that the Duke's letters became more
insulting, and that a prudent man would have avoided the snare
into which his high spirit and passion precipitated him.

[Page Head: DINNER AT CHARLES GRANT'S]

February 8th, 1829

Peel spoke on Friday night better than he did on Thursday.
Huskisson made a spiteful speech, and George Dawson one which I
heard Huskisson say he thought one of the neatest speeches he had
ever heard. I dined yesterday with all the Huskissonians at
Grant's. There were there Lords Granville, Palmerston, and
Melbourne, Huskisson, Warrender, and one or two more. Huskisson
is in good humour and spirits, but rather bitter; he said that if
Peel had asked the advice of a friend what he should do, the
advice would have been for his own honour to resign. I said I did
not think Peel would have got credit by resigning. He said, 'But
don't you think he has quite lost it by staying in?' He owned,
however, that the Duke could not have carried it without Peel,
that his influence with the Church party is so great that his
continuance was indispensable to the Duke.

This affair of the Portuguese at Terceira[1] (which certainly,
unless it can be explained, seems a gross outrage) they all fell
upon very severely, and Lord Harrowby told me afterwards he could
not understand it, and thought for the honour of