lord of the admiralty, and was succeeded by
Ellenborough at the board of control. Ellenborough retained his former
office of lord privy seal, which Wellington was holding in reserve with
a view to strengthening the government. But the public of those days
remained in entire ignorance of their intentions until the meeting of
parliament on February 5, 1829.

The speech of George Dawson, Peel's brother-in-law, at Derry, on August
12, had greatly startled protestants. As it was never publicly
disavowed, Brunswick clubs were formed to repel the rising tide of
sympathy with the catholics, but the only tangible indication of
Wellington's personal sentiments favoured the belief that nothing would
be done. The circumstances under which this indication was given were
peculiar. The duke had written a letter to the Roman catholic archbishop
of Dublin, an old correspondent, deprecating agitation on the catholic
question, as likely to prejudice its future settlement, of which,
however, the duke saw "no prospect".[88] This letter was improperly
sent by the archbishop to O'Connell as well as to Anglesey. O'Connell
read it to the Catholic Association as a sign of conciliatory
inclinations; Anglesey's reply suggested, at least, that agitation might
continue. He was promptly recalled, and his recall was rendered the more
significant by the appointment of the Duke of Northumberland, a known
"protestant," as his successor. What the public could not then know was
that behind all other difficulties, political or personal, lay the
almost insuperable difficulty of inducing the king to allow the cabinet
to be even consulted. Indolent and unprincipled as George IV. was, he
was still capable of rousing and asserting himself. Probably no one but
Wellington could have prevailed against his anti-catholic prejudices,
shared, as they were, not only by most of the peers, both spiritual and
temporal, but also by the mass of the English people. At this juncture
Peel informed the duke that, rather than risk the success of the
proposed measure, he would remain at his post. His example was followed
by his "protestant" colleagues.

[Pageheading: _THE INTRODUCTION OF THE RELIEF BILL._]

During the winter of 1828-29 the strongest pressure was brought to bear
on the king by his ministers to procure his consent to a measure of
relief, accompanied by safeguards. Though he afterwards assured Eldon
that he had never explicitly given such a consent, the old chancel