e thinks something must be decided,
and he told me what I did not know, that the King's opinions on
the Catholic question are just the same as those of the Duke of
York, and equally strong. This is the great difficulty which
Canning has to get over with him. He does not much like Canning,
though C. does everything he can to gratify and please him. Mount
Charles told me that his mother (Lady Conyngham) has strong
opinions in favour of the Catholics, but that she never talks to
the King on the subject, nor indeed upon politics at all.

[Page Head: MR. CANNING'S ADMINISTRATION.]

April 13th, 1827 {p.092}

The King came to town a week ago. From the moment of his arrival
every hour produced a fresh report about the Administration;
every day the new appointment was expected to be declared, and
the Ministers Peel, Lord Bathurst, Duke of Wellington, and
Canning were successively designated as the persons chosen to
form a Government. He had no sooner arrived than he saw his
Ministers _seriatim_, but nothing could induce him to come to any
determination. He wavered and doubted, and to his confidants,
with whom he could bluster and talk big, he expressed in no
measured terms his detestation of Liberal principles, and
especially of Catholic Emancipation. He begged his Ministers to
stand by him, and day after day elapsed and nothing was settled.
In the meantime London was alive with reports; and the _on dit_
of the day, repeated with every variety of circumstance and with
the usual positiveness of entire ignorance, would fill a volume.
Time crept on, and Parliament was to adjourn on the 13th (this
day). On the 9th Canning went to the King, and, after a long
audience, he came away without anything being settled. On the
10th he went again, and told his Majesty that longer delay was
impossible, and that he must come to some determination. On the
evening of the 10th we received a note from Lord Bathurst, saying
that the King had desired Canning to form an Administration on
the principles of that of which Lord Liverpool had been at the
head. This was not generally known that evening. Last night it
was said that the Duke of Wellington would not remain in the new
Cabinet, and we heard that Peel had resigned. To-day everything
will probably be known. Canning and his friends say that the King
has behaved admirably in this business, and they affect to
consider his appointment unconditional and unfettered; but this
is by no means the v