rd offensive to the Queen. Lord John Russell was very nervous,
feeble and ineffective. In the other House Melbourne made, as all
allow, a capital speech; Clarendon, a good and fair judge, told
me that he never heard Melbourne speak so well throughout; while
the Duke was painful to hear, exhibiting such undoubted marks of
caducity: it did not, however, read ill. Melbourne made one
admission, for which Lord John Russell was very angry with him,
and that was of the 'erroneous impression' on the Queen's mind,
because his argument was that there was 'no mistake.' Lord Grey
and Lord Spencer would either of them have spoken, but it was
deemed better they should not, or Brougham would have been
unmuzzled, and as it was he adhered to his engagement to Lord
Tavistock and held his peace. He had said, 'If you let off
Althorp or old Grey, I must speak.'

June 1st, 1839 {p.212}

Laid up with the gout and confined to my room for ten days, very
ill and utterly disinclined to write. Nothing new of consequence,
but little things keep oozing out, throwing light on the recent
transaction, and all tending to the same conclusion. In the
meantime Parliament met, but nothing has been done. Lord John
Russell began by deferring the Education question, which he will
be obliged to abandon, for the Church has risen up and put forth
all its strength against it, and having been joined by the
Wesleyans, will, without difficulty, defeat it. The Bishop of
London made a most eloquent philippic against it at Exeter Hall
the other day. Government have brought in another Jamaica Bill,
not very different from Peel's proposed measure, and which they
will probably contrive to pass.

The Radicals have been again bestirring themselves, and trying to
turn the present occasion to account and extract some concessions
from the Government. Warburton has been in communication with
Lord John Russell, and they expect some declarations from him and
Melbourne of their future intentions, and some indications of a
disposition to give way on some of the favourite Radical
measures. Melbourne's intention was to be elicited by certain
questions of which Lord Winchilsea gave notice, and which he
actually put last night, as to the principles on which the
Government was to be conducted. Melbourne replied in a very
guarded and somewhat didactic style, but, so far from evincing
any disposition to make Radical concessions, he intimated with
sufficient clearness that he was re