ice, who said last
night that instead of excluding him you should pay him to come
into Parliament, and rather buy a seat for him than let him
remain out. If they keep him out it can only be from wretched
motives of personal spite, and to revenge themselves on him for
having compelled them to take the course they have adopted. The
imprudence of this exception is obvious, for when pacification is
your object, and to heal old wounds your great desire, why begin
by opening new ones and by exasperating the man who has the
greatest power of doing mischief and creating disturbance and
discontent in Ireland? It is desirable to reconcile the Irish to
the measures of disfranchisement, and to allow as much time as
possible to elapse before the new system comes into practical
operation. By preventing O'Connell from taking his seat
his wrongs are identified with those of the disfranchised
freeholders. He will have every motive for exasperating the
public mind and exciting universal dissatisfaction, and there
will be another Clare election, and a theatre for the display of
every angry passion which interest or revenge can possibly put in
action. It is remarkable that attacks, I will not say upon the
Church, but upon Churchmen, are now made in both Houses with much
approbation. The Oxford parsons behaved so abominably at the
election that they have laid themselves open to the severest
strictures, and last night Lord Wharncliffe in one House and
Murray in the other commented on the general conduct of Churchmen
at this crisis with a severity which was by no means displeasing
except to the bishops. I am convinced that very few years will
elapse before the Church will really be in danger. People will
grow tired of paying so dearly for so bad an article.

[Page Head: DIVISION ON THE CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL.]

March 8th, 1829 {p.185}

Yesterday the list came out of those who had voted on the
Catholic question, by which it appeared that several people had
voted against the Government (particularly all the Lowthers) who
were expected to vote with them, and of course this will be a
test by which the Duke's strength and absoluteness may be tried,
so much so that it is very generally thought that if he permits
them to vote with impunity he will lose the question. It was said
in the evening that Lowther and Birkett had resigned, but Lord
Aberdeen, whom I met at dinner, said they had not at five o'clock
yesterday evening. It is, I think, impo