Lords Sitting of 2 May 1834

MINUTES.
Petitions presented. By Earl FITZWILLIAM, from Kirkaldy, for applying the Ecclesiastical Revenues to Purposes purely National; from the Hand-Loom Weavers of Ayr, and two other Places, for a Board of Trade, and for Relief; from Airdrie, against the Ministers of Churches (Scotland) Bill; from several Places, for the Repeal of the Duties on Malt and Hops; from a Parish in Dewsbury, for Protection to the Established Church; from a Number of Places; and by the Marquess of LANSDOWN, from a Number of Places, for Relief to the Dissenters.—By the same, by the Marquess of LANSDOWN, the Earl of RADNOR and Lord BEXLEY, from several Places,—for the Better Observance of the Sabbath.

CORN-LAWS.
Earl Fitzwilliampresented a Petition from Perth, praying for the Repeal of the Corn-laws. In the justice and propriety of the prayer of the petition he entirely concurred.
The Earl of Malmesburysaid, that from the language used in this and similar petitions, one would be led to think, that no restriction was placed on the importation of anything except corn; than which it was impossible to conceive a more absurd notion. This he could prove in five words. What, he would ask, were the duties on foreign shoes, on foreign clothes, on foreign hats, and on many other articles, which were quite as much necessaries of life as articles of food. If those who opposed the Corn-laws would go to the full length of their arguments, and call for a Repeal of Duty on every article that might be deemed a necessary of life, then he, for one, would say, that there was some appearance of reason in their de-
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mand; but that he knew, and so did they, to be perfectly impracticable.
Earl Fitzwilliamsaid, his noble friend had observed, that the petitioners had no right to complain. ["No, no!" from the Earl of Malmesbury.] Well, that was the inference to be drawn from his noble friend's speech, His noble friend said, that there would be some reason for complaint on the part of the petitioners, if other articles were not taxed on importation as well as corn; that it was erroneous to assert, that corn was the only article taxed, when a duty was imposed on shoes, hats, and other articles, when imported into this country. Such certainly was the fact. But to what extent were those articles taxed? They paid a duty of about thirty per cent. And what was the amount of the tax on corn? It was full 100 per cent. Let his noble friend go to Dantzic, and ascertain the price of corn there—let him then return to London, and inquire of the Board of Trade, what the duty payable on the importation of corn amounts to, and he would find that, at the present moment, the duty was greater here than the price of corn on the continent; and whatever might be said to the contrary, corn was emphatically the prime necessary of life, and should, on that account, sooner than any other article, be freed from restrictions on importation. The existing laws did nothing for the farmer, when, through the bounty of Providence, corn was cheap; but when a scarcity existed, they operated to aggravate an evil which it was the duty of every wise Legislature to alleviate by every means in their power. He admitted, that the alteration made in the Corn-laws was, to a certain extent, beneficial, because it tended to bring prices to a lower and more certain level; but when the landlords declared, that the effects of the altered law would be to keep corn at 64 s. the quarter, they had deluded their tenants. That was the real cause, and the true history of the pressure under which the agricultural interest now laboured. The farmer had been induced to offer higher rents than he was afterwards able to realise. The Corn-laws were, in fact, as mischievous to the farmer as to any other class of people. He had, however, such confidence in the force of truth, when pressed on even the most unwilling auditors, that he was convinced, though they might not in the present Session, repeal those laws, yet that they

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would be ultimately repealed. He did not believe, that any man in his senses could suppose, that the present system would, ten years hence, continue to form part of the law of England. Truth might be opposed for a time; but, in the end, he was perfectly satisfied, that it would prevail; and if there were anything that he looked forward to more than another, in the confident expectation of its speedy occurrence, it was this—that they would have, in the course of a very few years, a free trade in corn. He did not mean a free trade without any duty whatever, because he conceived that corn, like any other commodity, was a fair object of revenue. But he was quite sure, that the duty would be levied, not as now, for the purpose of what was called protection, but merely as a matter of revenue.
The Earl of Malmesburycontended, that the articles which he had mentioned were as much necessaries of life as corn. He was not in the habit of laying wagers; but to show that they were essential necessaries of life to which he had alluded, he would place his noble friend in Palace-yard in puris naturalibus, letting him have as much food as he pleased, while he, without refreshment, but well clothed, would sit down beside him, and he fancied, that he would be able to endure the inclemency of the weather longer than his noble friend.
The Duke of Wellingtonhad not intended to have said a word on this occasion, for he conceived, that it was very inconvenient to introduce a discussion of this kind without notice, if it had not been for certain expressions which had fallen from the noble Earl. One of these was, that the landlords had deluded their tenants when the last alteration of the Corn-laws was effected, by informing them, that the Bill then introduced was framed so as to keep corn at a certain high price. Such a declaration was never made by any person during the consideration of that subject. The landlords could not, therefore, have deluded their tenants, either on that or on the former occasion, since no one had affected to say, that the consequence of the measures introduced would be to keep up the price of corn. The noble Lord said, that corn was taxed 100 per cent, and that if they went to Dantzic, they would find, that the duty here was greater than the price of corn there. If that were so, how, he would ask, could the farmer main-
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tain anything like competition, if the duty were only twenty-five per cent?
Earl Fitzwilliamagreed with the noble Duke, that it was inconvenient to discuss a subject of this nature without notice; but he certainly would, at a future day, of which due notice should be given, bring the question under their Lordships' consideration. He intended to have presented the petition intrusted to his care sub silentio, if the noble Earl opposite had not made some observations on the subject; but when one noble Lord stood up and made a long speech, it was not surprising that another noble Lord should make an equally long one in reply.
The Petition laid on the Table.
Earl Fitzwilliam, in presenting a petition from Greenock against all duties on corn, took occasion to refer to the Corn-bill of 1815, which, he said, had been represented to the farmers as calculated to keep up the price of wheat at 80 s.—a fact which he supposed his noble friend, the keeper of the Privy Seal must recollect, while the Bill of 1821 and 1822 would, it was supposed, sustain the price of wheat at 64 s. In neither instance had this expectation been realized, although it had tended to raise rents very much. It was thus that the tenants were deluded, and to this the agricultural distress complained of was to be attributed.
The Earl of Riponcertainly had a recollection of the Bill of 1815, but that recollection was entirely at variance with the recollection of his noble friend. He had always acted in a manner directly contrary to that which his noble friend had ascribed to him. He at the time stated distinctly the grounds on which Ministers deemed it advisable to submit the Corn-bill to Parliament. So far from declaring, that the effect of the Bill would be to fix the price of corn permanently at 80 s., it was stated, that 60 s. would be the maximum not the minimum price. That was the fact; and, therefore, it could not be said, that Parliament had deluded the farmer, by telling him, that the Bill would keep up corn at 80 s. His noble friend had referred to the supposed interest which the landlord had with respect to the Corn-laws, in a manner which he must always regret, because he thought that his noble friend's assertion was not correct. His noble friend said, that truth must prevail, and that, ten years hence, those laws would not be in existence. Now, he

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wished truth to prevail as much as his noble friend did; and if the Corn-laws produced all the mischiefs which his noble friend attributed to them, he would readily consent to their being altered. But he could not consent to alter those laws on such grounds as the noble Lord had stated. He could not look upon this as a Landlords' Bill, imposed by them on the community at large, for the purpose of serving themselves. That, he contended, was a delusion. If such a sentiment were applied to legislation in general, it would render all laws so unpopular, that they would not be obeyed by the community.
Earl Fitzwilliamsaid, he did think, notwithstanding what had been stated, that the landlord was the only person who had an interest in this law, and that was, in fact, small in comparison with the value which he placed on it. The tenant, he maintained, had no interest whatever in it.
Petition laid on the Table.

ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION.
The Bishop of Chichester presented a Petition from inhabitants of Chichester, praying the Ecclesiastical Corporations might grant land for a perpetual ground-rent, instead of fines on the renewal of leases.
The Bishop of Londontook that opportunity of saying a few words upon that subject. The members of that commission had been very actively employed; but they had found, that the labours they had undertaken were very heavy and very difficult. When it was considered that they had to communicate by letter with nearly 11,000 incumbents respecting the nature and extent of their ecclesiastical property, their Lordships must see the difficulty of procuring the required information in a short period of time was such as in itself to amount to a sufficient excuse for some delay in making the returns. It was extremely difficult, too, so to frame the question, as not to be liable to misunderstanding, which had made it in many cases necessary to have two or three communications before it was possible to obtain the particulars which were not included in the first return. He was happy to say, that the returns were now nearly complete, and to be able to add, that the Commissioners met with scarcely any refusal on the part of any ecclesiastical person, to give them the information they desired. They had made up the account of the aggregate incomes of the
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incumbents, and he hoped, that the tabular statements would soon be ready; but he believed, that their Lordships would agree with him, that when so great a question was afloat, and the public mind was so agitated upon that question, it was better to put up with a little delay than to make a return which might be afterwards found to be insufficient.
The Duke of Richmondsaid, the prayer of the petition was, that their Lordships would take into their consideration the laws affecting the lands now belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Chichester; that these lands surrounded that city; and that it was very desirable that opportunity should be afforded for building upon them; and if the Dean and Chapter were empowered to let them out for that purpose, it would lead to a great improvement of the city.
Petition to lie on the Table.

THE MARQUESS OF ANGLESEY'S LETTER.
The Earl of Winchilseafelt, that he should not be acting with that courtesy towards the noble Earl at the head of his Majesty's Government which that noble Earl deserved, and which he begged to assure the noble Earl, with perfect sincerity, he individually entertained for him, on account of the consistency of his public life, although he differed from him warmly upon many questions—he felt that he should not act with proper courtesy to the noble Earl if he allowed what had lately appeared in public in connexion with his name to pass without affording him an opportunity to give an explanation to their Lordships. The matter to which he alluded was a statement made in the other House of Parliament to the effect, that a letter had been written to the noble Earl by a noble Marquess holding the office of Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, recommending the abolition and destruction of the Church Establishment in that country. He thought it right and courteous to the noble Earl to give him an opportunity of stating that he had not received such a letter. If the noble Earl should call upon him (the Earl of Winchilsea) to say, in the first instance, whether he believed that such a letter had ever been written to him, he should honestly avow, that he did not believe it possible. Although there had been many acts in the official conduct of the noble Marquess in question from which he dis-

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sented, yet he did not believe the noble Marquess capable of writing such a letter. But, if the noble Marquess had written such a letter, he was sure the noble Earl had not given it the slightest attention. He believed, the letter which had been sent forth to the world through the public prints, in consequence of what had occurred in the other House, to be a gross fabrication of that party of agitators in Ireland, whose object was to make the Protestant patty in that country dissatisfied and distrustful of his Majesty's Government, in order the more effectually to effect their own traitorous projects of separation. Having succeeded in organizing the Catholics, they thought they had now only to stir up the Protestants to hostility to the Government to succeed in their objects; and they sought to do this by disseminating, that the Government were preparing to subvert the Established Church in that country. No one who had noticed the noble Earl's frequent declaration of attachment to the Established Church, could for one moment believe, that he was capable of lending himself to such a plan. If he had wanted a proof of the noble Earl's sincerity upon that point, he should have found it in the answer he lately gave to the body of Dissenters who had waited upon him, wherein he warned them, that if they persevered in the course they were pursuing, they would give just ground of suspicion that they entertained the expectations which their enemies imputed to them. No one act of the noble Earl's Administration had diffused more general satisfaction than that. He (the Earl of Winchilsea) thanked the noble Earl for his firmness upon that occasion. He hoped the noble Earl would not think him wanting in courtesy in the course he had taken. The statement which had gone forth had been made, he firmly believed, for the most mischievous and dangerous purposes, to further the ends of a party hostile to the interests of both countries. If that statement should be allowed to remain unanswered, it would be productive of great pain to the friends of the Church.
Earl Greycertainly had not to complain of any want of courtesy on the part of the noble Earl in the course which he had pursued, seeing that he had given him notice of his intention; but he must express his surprise, after the flattering manner in which
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the noble Earl had spoken of him, and after what had passed no longer ago than yesterday in another place, that the noble Earl should have thought it necessary to put this question. The noble Earl had stated, that a letter had been referred td in the other House of Parliament which, if true, would have shown that a proposal had been made by the noble individual who lately occupied the important situation of Lord-lieutenant of Ireland which recommended, to use the noble Earl's own words, nothing short of the abolition and destruction of the Established Church in that country. The noble Earl had given him credit for sincerity in the professions which he had made of his anxiety to support the Church, and his resolution and determination to maintain it inviolate. Giving him that credit, he thought the noble Earl, without any answer from him, might have concluded that no such proposition could have been made to him from any one holding a high and important situation in the State, without immediately causing a separation between that individual and himself. He had, however, no hesitation in stating, that no proposition recommending the abolition and destruction of the Established Church in Ireland had been made to him; and he was sure, that no such proposition was made to any other person by the noble Marquess who was lately at the head of his Majesty's Government in Ireland. He must, however, at the same time admit that a letter was written to him of the date stated in another place, a letter perfectly consistent with the duty of the noble person referred to, pointing out to him (Earl Grey), for communication to the Cabinet, the views which that noble person had adopted with respect to the situation of Ireland, and pointing out what appeared to him to be the best means of removing those evils under which that unhappy country had so long suffered. That letter, he must observe, was of the most confidential nature. When it was referred to in another place, no intimation was given of the time at which it was written. His noble friend (Lord Althorp) after that statement had been made, questioned him (Earl Grey) as to his recollection of such a letter having been addressed to him. His answer was, that with respect to the particular expressions to which his noble friend referred, he had no recollection of them. Some difficulty was experienced

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in ascertaining whether any letter had been written; but the date having been ascertained, reference was made to the voluminous correspondence which he had with the noble Marquess while he was Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and a letter—that to which he supposed allusion had been made—was found. Now that letter was one which he thought it was the duty of the noble Marquess to write; because in that communication he stated his views of questions concerning Ireland which were then under the consideration of his Majesty's Government. But, he repeated, it was a letter strictly and entirely confidential, to be communicated only to his Majesty's Ministers, and which had reference solely to the momentous questions which were then under their consideration. Having stated this, he thought he had stated enough to show to their Lordships, that it was a letter to which no public reference could fairly be made; and he would add, that it could only have been produced to the public by a most foul and scandalous violation of confidence. It was not for him to state how the person getting possession of such a letter, the character of which was most evidently confidential, could satisfy himself as to the propriety of making it public. Speaking of his own notions of the obligations of honour, he should say that, if a letter came into his possession bearing the character, as that letter did, of a confidential communication, he should have thought himself precluded from making use of it, unless he had the sanction of the individual by whom it was written, or of him to whom it was addressed. But when he said this, let not the House suppose, that there was anything in that letter discreditable to the noble Marquess. It was a letter which ought not to have been publicly produced, because it was furnished to assist deliberations in the Cabinet, which led to measures that were afterwards brought before Parliament; and whether those measures went further, or fell short of the advice given in that communication, was a matter of no importance. They all knew that men's opinions were frequently altered and modified before they agreed on settled and specific plans of policy. He should say, that, whether the measures that had been brought forward went further or fell short of the advice that had been given, was not a matter of interest to the public. It was
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enough to say, that the measures which Government had afterwards proposed had received the sanction of the Legislature. He knew very well, that of those measures the noble Earl entertained an opinion very different from his. All he would say was, that these measures were framed and brought forward in a spirit of sincerity and truth. They were not intended for the abolition and destruction of the Established Church;—no; they were adopted as the best means for protecting and supporting that Establishment, which he was sure all of their Lordships wished to preserve. It was not necessary for him to say more. He was certain, that their Lordships would not countenance a precedent so inconvenient,—he would say, so dangerous,—to any set of Ministers, as to sanction the production of documents which were only intended for deliberation in the Cabinet, pending the introduction of measures before the Legislature. He called on their Lordships to judge of Ministers by their actions and measures alone; and he was sure, that the noble Earl, acting upon the principle of candour and fairness which he had professed, would agree with him in saying, that such a question as this could never have arisen unless the most dishonourable conduct had been pursued,—unless the grossest breach of faith had been perpetrated in some quarter or another. That the noble Marquess, to whom reference had been made, had written a letter—a confidential letter—was true, but that that communication had been disclosed by him to another party nobody would, for a moment, believe. The information alluded to must have been obtained by the foulest and most treacherous abuse of public confidence of which any example could by possibility be found. He could not sit down without again stating how utterly at variance with every notion and principle of honour he should hold, in the execution of his private duty, or his public duty in that House, the introduction, for any purpose whatever, of a confidential communication.
The Earl of Winchilseasaid, he agreed with the noble Earl entirely in his opinion, that the publication of this letter was a most treacherous act. He, however, had only done his duty; and he felt gratified in giving the noble Earl an opportunity of making so satisfactory an explanation.

MUSICAL FESTIVAL—WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
The Duke of Newcastlesaid, that, in pursuance of the notice he had given, he called the attention of their Lordships to the proposed plan of holding a certain Musical Festival—in other words, of having a Musical Performance—in Westminster Abbey. He assured their Lordships, that he did not bring the subject under their consideration from any feeling of puritanism, but beeause he thought that the course intended to be pursued was most improper; nor should he have brought it under their consideration, had he not thought them the guardians of the best interests of the community, and consequently of the Church. He, therefore, considered it his duty to call their attention to the subject. He did not think that the performance of music, merely because it was sacred music, was any reason for justifying it. Nor did he think that the object of that performance made much difference in the matter. The fact that a charity was to be benefited did not change his objections to the thing. He knew it was said, that the object of this performance was to aid a charity; but he was not sure that that was the fact, for he had heard, that the funds were to go to a body of musicians, but he had not heard that they were to be given to any great charity, or to any churches or chapels. He knew it would be said, that the example of George 3rd was against him on this subject; and he knew that, in differing from George 3rd, he might be thought to take too much upon himself. But, with the greatest respect for that pious Monarch, he had great doubts upon the subject. One decided objection he had to it, which was, that the preparations for this Festival were the means of abridging the performance of Divine Service for the people. He must add, that, to him, it seemed a dangerous thing to weaken that impression which the sacredness of an edifice, consecrated to religious uses, had upon the mind. Why, then, should they desecrate those holy places by familiarizing the mind to associate with them the pleasures and vain pursuits of this life? The whole measure was ill-advised, and was calculated to do great injury to religion. He had heard, indeed, that the design was not approved of by the Dean and Chapter, and that it was at one time contemplated to hold the meeting in Westminster Hall.
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What good reason could be assigned against such an arrangement? Or, if the Hall were not suitable, might not other places be selected without doing violence to the consciences of those who regarded such performances in churches as acts of desecration, and as having a direct tendency to destroy the influence of religious impressions on the minds of the people? The Bishops, too, as he had been informed, were against the scheme, and had represented their dissent in a high quarter. Churches, by the consecration service, were to be separated from all profane and common uses, and set apart in a solemn manner for the performance of the several offices of religious worship; and, in a beautiful prayer, it is entreated "that the Almighty will consecrate the place to the honour of his great name, separating it from henceforth from all unhallowed, ordinary, and common uses, and dedicating it to his service." A church was desecrated when it was used for other than the purposes of Divine Worship. He would conclude by quoting Divine authority, and referred their Lordships to the well-known act of our Saviour, when he entered the temple, and finding them that sold doves, and sheep, and oxen, and the changers of money sitting:—He overthrew the tables, and drove them out that sold in the temple, and told them that his Father's house was a house of prayer, but that they had made it a house of merchandise. He anxiously hoped, then, that the desecration might yet be prevented; and it was to obtain this result, that he had called their Lordships' attention to the subject. Without submitting any specific motion upon it, he must leave it to the judgment of their Lordships to deal with this matter as they thought fit.
The Earl of Malmesburyhoped, as he had said a few words when this subject was, on a former occasion, before their Lordships, that he might be allowed again to refer to it. He did not see, that the ceremony, to which the noble Duke alluded, could be considered as a desecration of the Abbey. There were matters of which it would be proper to complain,—he meant the use of Churches for purposes of a very different kind; and he did think, that they were desecrated by being made the scenes of parish broils. He must say, that the plan now proposed was sanctioned by the example of his most gracious Sovereign George 3rd. His

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Majesty lived in very stormy times; and he did not believe, that we were more strict or rigid, with regard to religion, now than at that time. Indeed, he did not wish that we should be, for we might go from one extreme to the other, as was generally the case. His noble friend was mistaken in supposing, that the object of this Festival was not a charitable object. It was to support the Royal Society of Musicians. He believed that to be so; if he were wrong, he could be corrected, for he believed, that the noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack was a member of the Committee. Their Lordships must all of them be acquainted with similar festivals in their respective counties. He remembered, many years ago, a musical meeting in Salisbury Cathedral, and similar meetings had taken place in those of York, and Worcester, and other places, on a great many different occasions. These meetings always took place under the authority of the Diocesan, and were generally for the benefit of the County Hospital; and under these circumstances, justified as this festival was by so many precedents, he trusted, that the noble Duke would change his view of the matter. He could assure the noble Duke, that, if he thought Divine Service would be impeded by it, he should object to the festival; but he had inquired, and he found that that was not the case. He hoped that the noble Duke would be satisfied with what he had said, and that the directors of the festival would take notice of the observations that had been made, and would see, that no impediment was offered by the arrangement, to the performance of Divine Service.
The Bishop of Londonsaid, that if the noble Earl who had just sat down had not entered so largely into the merits of the matter, he should have remained silent; but he now begged leave to say one or two sentences, feeling, as he did, that if he remained silent, he should be compromising his own sincerity if he did not state, that he conscientiously approved of the objections of the noble Duke, upon a very clear and distinct ground,—not those which had been supposed in the public papers, in which his motives and opinions had been misrepresented. He had objections to these and similar festivals, because he did not think it right that places solemnly consecrated to the worship of God should be afterwards used for any other purpose whatsoever.
The Duke of Cumberlandsaid, that he should have been the last person in the world to refuse his support to the noble Duke, if he did not conscientiously feel, that there was little or no ground for his objections to this festival. He was sure that no man more conscientiously than his revered father, whom he should ever lament, supported the Church, or had a greater regard for its sacredness, but he had approved of a festival of this sort. The festival now proposed was intended for the benefit of a charity,—a charity which, he was sorry to say, was now in danger from a deficiency of funds. He had inquired into the matter of the impediments offered to Divine Service, and he had been informed, that no impediments would occur, and that the only change was, that some parts of the service must, for a short time, be performed in different parts of the Church. Whenever, in the course of the week, Divine Service was required to be celebrated, the men withdrew from their work. He repeated, that he should he the last person in the world to sanction anything that could, in the slightest respect, interfere with the interests of the Established Church of this country; and he was sure, that he could not be injuring the interests of the Church in supporting that which had been approved of by his father and by Bishop Porteous.
The Lord Chancellordid not rise to prolong, beyond a single sentence, this discussion, the introduction of which he lamented. He had the honour to be a Vice-President, or one of the Stewards of the festival, and he wholly approved of the object of it, which was that of pure charity, for an unfortunate, but very deserving body of men. It was a matter of which he approved, whether connected with religion or not,—as not connected with religion, music tended to the innocent recreation of men, and was calculated to humanize and soften them, and therefore ought to be encouraged by all wise Legislators; but, with respect to religion, he and other Episcopalians thought, that music of a certain kind could not be improper as connected with the subject of religion, when the object in view was charitable. When he was asked to become one of the officers of this festival, which was patronized by her most gracious Majesty, he felt, that he could not refuse; and he should do his test to do his duty.

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As to the right reverend Prelate who had just addressed their Lordships, a more inoffensive or more liberal manner of stating his opinion, or rather his religious scruples, could not have been adopted; and nothing could be more gross than to speak of him as the right reverend Bishop said he had been spoken of, though he (the Lord Chancellor) was not aware of it, in a disrespectful manner on this subject. If he entertained the same feelings as the right reverend Prelate, he should speak in the same manner; but he did not. This was not the first time that churches had been used for these purposes; so that not to have the festival in the Abbey would be a deviation from the common course. Festivals had been held in all the other cathedrals of the kingdom, and he himself remembered having been present at two such festivals in that most magnificent of all our religious edifices, the Minster at York, in the presence, on one occasion at least, of that most venerable person, the primate of England, the Archbishop of York. On the earliest of these occasions, in 1823, he could certainly speak to the presence of his Grace, and to his Grace's approval of the manner in which the festival was conducted; and he recollected that, when an attempt at applause had been made, his Grace, in the most mild and dignified manner, said, that that was not the place in which such things should be done; and from that time nothing more had taken place in the way of applause or disapprobation, than if it had been Divine Service on a Sunday. There had been festivals in Westminster Abbey on three occasions previous to this. In the years 1783, 1789, and 1791, and those under the reign of a Sovereign, who, if ever there was one disposed to uphold to the utmost of his power the religion of the country, and to testify his belief in it, George 3rd was that Sovereign. He hoped that, under these circumstances, the noble Duke would not think of proceeding further with this matter.
The conversation was dropped.