ty
persuades.

April 10th, 1839 {p.185}

[Page Head: IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION TO GRAHAM.]

I wrote to X. on Saturday last, and said that what I heard here
of the confidence of Government about their majority made me
hesitate about saying anything for fear Lord John should not be
in the same mind. He replied that he had no reason to believe he
had changed his mind, but that it might be better to say nothing
for the present. I had therefore resolved to say nothing, but on
Monday John Russell announced the terms of his motion,[10] and
Peel gave notice that on Friday he would give out his amendment;
therefore, if anything was to be done (as they were thus coming
to close quarters), no time was to be lost; and accordingly,
after much reflexion, I resolved to speak to Graham, with whom
old intimacy enabled me to converse more freely than I could with
Peel, whose coldness and reserve, and the doubt how he would take
my communication, would certainly have embarrassed me. I called
on Graham yesterday, and had a conversation of two hours with
him. He began by saying that he could hold no communication with
me upon any political subject without telling me that he should
feel bound to impart everything to Peel, and I replied that such
was my intention. I then told him, without mentioning names, or
giving any authority, the reason I had for speaking to him, and
the conviction in my own mind that there would be found (in the
event of a change of Government) a disposition on the part of
John Russell and others of the moderate Whigs to support Peel. I
told him that I thought it of such vital importance that such a
disposition should be fostered, and not checked or suppressed by
any violence in the conduct or language of his party, such as
might render it impossible for them to give that support
hereafter; that I had resolved to make known to him, for his
consideration and that of Peel, this my conviction; at the same
time, he must fully understand, I had no _authority_ for saying
so, that I might be mistaken, and he must take it for just what
he judged it to be worth. I went more at length into the subject,
conveying to him much of the information which had been imparted
to me.

[10] [This was the motion approving the Irish policy of the
Government, above referred to.]

[Page Head: NEGOTIATION WITH GRAHAM AND PEEL.]

He replied that he was fully aware of the great importance of
this communication, and did not