free trade or a protective policy, but of parties who were generally disposed to give their confidence to Her Majesty's Ministers, 310 Gentlemen. There were three other parties-if, indeed, there were not more the first including in it all the various gradations of opinion, from the high aristocratic and exclusive Whig, down to the wildest theorist and the most extreme Radical, those parties, in all their ramifications, comprising somewhere about 260 Members. The third party consisted of Gentlemen from the sister kingdom, principally representing the views of the Irish Roman Catholic clergy, and holding the extreme doctrines of the Ultramontane school-all of them pledged by their declarations to use their utmost endeavours for the overthrow of the present or any other Government which is not prepared to act upon their extreme opinions. Further, there was a fourth party, numerically small, comprehending from thirty to thirty-five Members, Gentlemen of great personal worth, of great eminence and respectability, possessing considerable official experience and a large amount of talent Gentlemen who once professed, and I believe do still profess, Conservative opinions. Those Gentlemen possess talents which would reflect credit on any Administration, but their numbers, as I stated, are comparatively small. In this state of things it was obvious that Her Majesty's present Government, though they had by far the largest party, and were nearly a moiety of the whole House of Commons, yet they did not possess the support of an absolute majority in that House, and that consequently, if occasion should be taken, if it should be the will of all the three other parties to whom I have referred to combine in carrying out a movement for the overthrow of the Government-those three parties so combining whatever power they might possess for the formation of another Government - - had full power to destroy and overthrow that which existed. We were not long to be left in doubt as to whether the will existed on the part of those to whom I have alluded, to overthrow the Government. Before we had an opportunity of bringing forward any specific measures, notice was given of a Motion by a Gentleman holding extreme opinions-a Gentleman of whom I desire to speak with all respect, because he has throughout consistently maintained and steadily supported the same opinions when they were unpopular which he did when subsequently ratified by public opinion, so that he at all events has a perfect right to plume himself on the consistency of his opinions-and to the hands of no man could a declaration of free-trade policy be more fitly consigned. But the hon. Gentleman, as I have said, holds extreme opinions; and in order that the Government might be placed in a minority on that question, before we had any opportunity of bringing forward our measures, it was necessary that a concert should take place among all the parties to whom I have referred, because, without such concert, the Government would still be in a majority. My Lords, we are speaking here of no doubtful question. We have had some curious revelations made to us by a right hon. Baronet a Member of the other House, who has lifted the curtain, admitted us behind the scenes, shown us the actors preparing for their parts, and discussing the most convenient phrases to be adopted in order to obtain that universal concurrence which was necessary to accomplish their object, and studiously concerting their measures, so as to place the Government in a minority. An incident, my Lords, of almost a dramatic character, interfered with the full execution of that well-considered and well-concerted plan; for when these concerted measures appeared ready for execution, an Amendment was moved in another and an unexpected quarter, which placed the matter on a different footing, and prevented that union of Whigs, Conservatives, and Radicals, which was necessary for the Government to be placed in a minority. My Lords, the Government escaped defeat on this occasion by the falling asunder of the different materials of which that discordant combination was composed. We then proceeded to bring forward and to submit to Parliament the financial policy on which we proposed to conduct the business of the country; and after a lengthened debate in the House of Commons, by the union again of all the three parties, the Government were defeated in a House almost unprecedentedly full -a House, I believe, in which there were not more than six-and-twenty Members in the whole House, who, in one way or the other, did not record their opinions. In that House so constituted, the Government were subjected to a defeat by a minority of nineteen. If we had been defeated on some minor and incidental point if it were on some detail of a measure, the general principle of which was assented to by Parliament-greatly as I should feel the position of the Government weakened by being subjected to a defeat even on a minor matter-greatly as preceding Governments have been weakened of late years by submitting to repeated defeats and repeated reversals of their policy-inconvenient as I should have considered such a state of things to be-still I do not consider I should have been justified by a defeat on a minor question in abandoning the duties confided to me by Her Majesty. But, my Lords, this defeat was on no minor question-it was on the basis of our whole financial policy-let me rather say it was ostensibly on the basis of the financial policy which was to be established in the country; but in reality and in truth it was, and it was known to be-it was avowed to be-a vote that was to determine the confidence or the want of confidence of the House of Commons in the present Government. I need not stop to prove that such was the issue really intended by the vote of the other House of Parliament-such was the issue laid before the country; and on such an issue Her Majesty's Government having sustained an unequivocal defeat, I felt, and my Colleagues felt with me, that no option remained for us but to tender to Her Majesty the resignation of those offices with which She had entrusted us, but which we were no longer able to perform with satisfaction to ourselves, or with the ability to carry out our own views and objects. On the morning after we had sustained that defeat-my Lords, I speak only of the facts of the case, I am not about to argue upon them; something I perhaps might have said with regard to the character of the combination, and the animus displayed in this settled purpose to overthrow the Government; but I wish to abstain from all expressions, the use of which can by possibility give rise to controversy or angry feeling-having had a distinct declaration of want of confidence on the part of the House of Commons, and having ascertained that my Colleagues unanimously concurred with me as to the only course we ought to pursue, I proceeded to wait upon Her Majesty, and to tender to Her, in my own name and that of my Colleagues, the humble resignation of our offices. Her Majesty was pleased to accept our resignation, and signified Her pleasure, which was acted upon in the course of the same day, to send for and take the advice of two noblemen, Members of your Lordships' House-both of them of great experience and considerable ability— of long practice in public life, and one of them-I speak without the slightest disrespect of the other-peculiarly distinguished, not only by long experience, but by his well-known moderation and temper, by the spirit of mingled firmness and courtesy with which he has on all occasions discharged his duties here, and which is admirably calculated to conciliate friends and to disarm opposition. The noble Marquess to whom I allude was prevented by illness from attending the summons of Her Majesty; and on the following day, in answer to a further summons from Her Majesty, the Earl of Aberdeen-the other nobleman to whom I refer-waited upon Her Majesty and received Her Majesty's commandswhich he signified his readiness to obeyto undertake the formation of a new Administration. My Lords, on what principle that Administration is to be formed, how that Administration is to be composed-of what its materials, and of what views and principles, I know nothing. We shall, I presume, before long, receive from the noble Earl himself a full declaration of his intentions and views on these subjects. I remember, and probably your Lordships remember also, that on more than one occasion the noble Earl has declared in this House that-the question of free trade excepted-he knew none on which there was any difference of opinion between himself and Her Majesty's present Government. I presume, then, that it is the intention of the noble Earl-and I shall believe it until I hear it contradicted by himself—to carry on the Government, if he is enabled to form one, upon strictly Conservative principles, and in a Conservative spirit. My Lords, how those principles are to be carried out at present, with such associates and with such support as I apprehend the noble Earl must avail himself of, I confess I entertain some little doubt and anxiety. But of this I shall say nothing-I shall abstain from a single expression which can have the effect of prejudging the course to be pursued by the noble Earl. This I may say in his absence, as I would say in his presence, that I am confident he relies, and he may justly rely, on having more forbearance shown him by the great Conservative party with which I have the honour to act, than that Conservative party has experienced at the hands of others. I venture to promise that if the Government about to be formed be conducted upon Conservative principles, and with a view to resist the onward pro which have gained the acknowledgments both of the Members of this House and of the country at large. For these reforms we are indebted to the zeal and assiduity, and distinguished talent and thorough professional knowledge of my noble and learned Friend who sits on the woolsack, aud for whom, when he quits it, it will be difficult, indeed, for any Government to find a successor who will not give the country cause to regret the change. I take no credit to the present Government for the state of our finances; but I think I may take credit for our having done this-for having for the first time broken the apathy, the dangerous apathy, which for so many years has existed, to the injury of the public service, in regard to the internal defences of this country. And if we leave the affairs of this country in such a state that there is no fear of hostility from abroad the great Powers-we leave it also in a condition of self-defence which is partially effected, and towards the full completion of which we have laid a ground which I trust will not be abandoned by those who may succeed us--who, I trust, will not be neglectful of those great elements of selfdefence which we have called into operation gress of democratic power in the constitution-in that event, the noble Earl may rely on having, if not the cordial, at all events the sincere and conscientious support of the great Conservative party in this country. He will find, if the past cannot be altogether forgotten, that at least personal feeling shall exercise no influence on our conduct; and he will find that he will be encountered on the part of myself and my friends by no factious opposition, and that he will be met by no unprincipled combination. My Lords, for my own part, I need hardly say that personally to myself the surrender of office is no sacrifice, and costs no pain in personal feeling. It would, indeed, be a deep mortification to me if in resigning the trust reposed in my hands by my Sovereign, I left the country in a less advantageous position than I found it; but I rejoice to think that, short as has been the period during which I and my-in a state of friendly relations with all Colleagues have held office, that period has not been without some advantage to the country-that period has not elapsed without some beneficial measures having been carried; and that we shall leave the country in a condition of as great peace and tranquillity as we found it. My Lords, I have no hesitation in saying that, in regard to the foreign relations of the country, we leave it in a more advantageous state-that our foreign relations are in a more friendly and in a more satisfactory position-than when my noble Friend the Foreign Secretary received charge of that department; and I rejoice to have this opportunity of bearing my testimony to one than whom no one has been more unsparingly, and, I venture to say, more unjustly maligned than my noble Friend. From first to last I have had no cause for anything but self-gratulation in having obtained in the Foreign Department the services of one who, without previous political experience, has brought to bear an ability, a diligence, and a good judgment on the affairs of his department, which reflect the highest credit upon him, and which I venture to say, without fear of contradiction, has extorted the applause and admiration of old and experienced diplomatists, against whose views he has on more than one occasion had to combat, and successfully to combat. If we look to the department of law, we shall find that greater improvements and reforms have taken place in that department during the last twelve months than have taken place for many years previous reforms of a magnitude and importance -the old and constitutional force of the militia, and the increase of that naval force on which primarily, and in the first instance, the safety and honour of the country depend. My Lords, we leave the Administration with the country in a state, I hope, of tranquillity, of contentment, and of prosperity; at peace with all foreign Powers-with increased, if not with fully accomplished, means of self-defence and self-dependence. Under these circumstances, it is no personal sacrifice to us to surrender the reins of office. I rejoice to see that those who may succeed us, apart from those personal difficulties which I cannot but think they have created for themselves, have a comparatively easy task before them. I trust that they will go on in a course of social improvement, and that they will place this country on that footing on which it ought to stand. I trust that, with regard to those great measures and objects to which I have alluded, they will complete the course which we have successfully commenced; and I hope that this great country will still continue to enjoy security at home, with tranquillity and contentment, peace abroad, and an increasing prosperity among all classes of the people, by whosesoever hands it may be the will of the Sovereign that the affairs observations said he was anxious to avoid of this great country shall be administered. everything that could give rise to controMy Lords, I have only further to state-versy, or that was likely to create a hostile though it it is hardly necessary for me to feeling. I regret that through a very condo so after what I have said that I and siderable portion of his speech the noble my Colleagues hold our offices only until our Earl did not adhere to that determination. successors shall have been appointed, and I certainly, my Lords, do not feel less until the noble Earl to whom the task has anxious than the noble Earl to avoid everybeen entrusted shall be enabled to present thing that can promote controversy and to for Her Majesty's approbation, and to in- abstain from everything that can excite troduce to this and the other House of Par- angry feeling; and, therefore, I shall avoid liament a Government with which he may, entering upon any of the topics except one in his judgment, feel himself capable of to which the noble Earl has referred. I conducting the affairs of this country. shall not stop to consider how far the Under these circumstances, my Lords, I course which the noble Earl has taken is received from the noble Earl this morning, in strict conformity with that courtesy a communication which I must confess did which it is the custom that a Minister who a little surprise me; because I certainly has resigned office should manifest to one did anticipate, after what has taken place who has received Her Majesty's commands --after the conferences which have been to form a new Administration, namely, to held between various parties, and the de- adjourn the House to the not unreasonable cided steps which have been adopted to period desired by the latter. I shall not put Her Majesty's Government at the ear- stop to discuss that question, as I am liest possible opportunity in a minority-I anxious to avoid as much as possible enanticipated that not four-and-twenty, cer- tering upon any topic which can excite untainly not eight-and-forty, hours would pleasant feeling; but I think there was elapse before the noble Earl would be in a one statement made by the noble Earl position to submit a programme of his future which requires to be contradicted now, Administration to Her Majesty. Never- even though the House is to be adjourned tbeless, I received a communication from only till Thursday next; for I think it is the noble Earl in the course of the day, due to the character of some Gentlemen requesting me to move the adjournment of who are not Members of your Lordships' the House to this day week. I informed House, and I may add it is due to some the noble Earl in reply, that I would con- who are Members of your Lordships' sult his wishes, and move the adjournment House, and particularly it is due to the of the House; but that, looking to the pe- noble Earl who has received Her Majesty's riod of the year, and to the inconvenience commands to form a new Administration that would be experienced by many of your I say it is due to them that some notice Lordships by being detained in town over should be taken of a statement which Christmas-day- though, of course, all the noble Earl made with the greatest other considerations must yield to that confidence, and founded, as he said, on paramount one of providing duly for the facts patent to all your Lordships, and on public service-I would, subject of course some explanations of a right hon. Baronet, to his approval, move the adjournment of a friend of mine, in the other House of the House till Thursday, hoping that by Parliament. Now, I beg to give to that that time the noble Earl would have made statement a most positive and emphatic, such progress in his arrangements as to be though at the same time a courteous, deable to take upon himself the responsibility nial. The noble Earl stated that from the of the public service; but I added that if very commencement of the Session there had he had not made the requisite progress in been a determination on the part of three his arrangements by Thursday, I would parties, whom he enumerated, to overthrow then move-and I am sure your Lordships his Government; and he quoted the speech will concur in the noble Earl's desire-that of a right hon. Baronet in the other House this House should be adjourned from Thurs- of Parliament, to prove that attempts had day to Monday next. My Lords, I have been made to form a combination by which to thank you for the patience with which the Government would be prevented from you have listened to me, and I now move bringing their measures before the counthat this House at its rising do adjourn till try. My Lords, the very opposite of that Thursday next. statement is the truth. The part which he did take was announced by the right hon. Baronet as having been taken by him The DUKE of NEWCASTLE: My Lords, the noble Earl in the course of his self and others, in concert with my noble | he has assumed to exist; for he has inFriend, who is now absent; and I think it formed your Lordships with some surprise, is absolutely necessary for me, or for some nay, even reprobation, that the noble Earl one of his Friends-very few of them are who was summoned to Osborne on Saturto-day present in the House-to rise in day, required a week in order to form an his place and to state the real facts of the Administration. I will not now enter furcase. My Lords, I say that the statement ther into a discussion on this subject. We of the right hon. Baronet was this: that have heard before of Prime Ministers who attempts were made by a few Gentlemen were taken by surprise, and found them-himself included-to prepare a Reso- selves, or declared that they found themlution which should combine together the selves in a position which they had little whole of the friends of free trade, and, at expected. My noble Friend (the Earl of the same time, to separate that Reso- Aberdeen), when he appears in this House, lution from all measures of hostility or will be capable of explaining to your Lordeven appearance of opposition to the ships the part which he has taken in all Government. It was for that express these transactions much better than I can purpose that my right hon. Friend's la- do for him; but this I must say, that if the bour was bestowed on the preparation of high honour and reputation of my noble his Resolution; and, my Lords, can there Friend, both as a private individual and as be a more conclusive disproof of the exist- a Member of this House, did not command ence of such a combination as the noble from the noble Earl opposite an abstinence Earl described to have been formed for the from the insinuations which he has thrown purpose of upsetting the Government, out against him-I think the duty in which, than the simple fact, that the very words by the command of his Sovereign, he is which my right hon. Friend framed, were now engaged, ought to have protected him the words which were eventually accepted from charges and imputations of this naand adopted by the Government itself, ture. I rose, my Lords, for no other purthough they did not receive the sanction pose than to say that the statement made and approbation of the hon. Gentleman by the noble Earl, with reference to the who first gave notice of his intention to existence of a combination for the purpose propose a Motion to the House of Com- of preventing Her Majesty's Government mons on the subject of free-trade policy? explaining their measures to the country, Consequently the conduct of the Govern- is perfectly and entirely unfounded, and I ment itself proves that these Resolutions was anxious to give it the most positive and could not have had the effect, as assu- immediate contradiction. I can assure the redly they had not the purpose, now noble Earl that if, on any future and more attributed to them. My Lords, I have regular occasion-for the noble Earl must already said I do not wish to arouse con- forgive me for saying that his course upon troversy; but it is due to my right hon. the present occasion has been a most unFriend in the other House-it is due to usual one-but if on a future occasion he the noble Earl-that such a statement will raise any of these complaints, he shall should not go forth uncontradicted. The be fully and fairly met; and if he has been opposite statement is the real represen- deceived, for in justice to him I cannot betation of the case. There was a strong lieve that he is attempting to deceive, the and earnest desire that the noble Earl and facts shall be explained to him. It is most his Colleagues in the other House of Par- important that through such lips as those of liament should produce before the country the noble Earl the country should not be untheir measures; and the course of my right der any misconception as to the views, the hon. Friend, and of those to whom the honesty, and the straightforward conduct of noble Earl alluded as members of a party those who perhaps before long will be enof thirty-five-the course they took with trusted with the duties of the Administraregard to the Resolution moved by the tion of this country. I beg pardon of your hon. Gentleman (Mr. Villiers) are facts pa- Lordships for having detained you with tent to all; and were it not for the broad those remarks. I found myself placed in statement made by the noble Earl to-night, an unusual position; but with the affection I should have thought that contradiction I bear to the noble Earl (the Earl of Aberwas unnecessary. When the noble Earl deen) as a friend, as well as from regard talks of combination, I must say that he to other friends of mine in the House of has himself informed the House of a fact Commons whose characters have been which affords the strongest contradiction drawn into this discussion, I could not to the combination and preparation which refrain from offering a few remarks to the |