ertainly they are not; no such thing is
expected of them by any man or any set of men, but common prudence
and a sense of their own condition and their own relative strength
under the new dispensation demand that they should exercise their
undoubted rights with circumspection and calmness, desisting from
all opposition for opposition's sake, standing out firmly on
questions involving great and important principles, and yielding
with a good grace, without ill-humour, and without subserviency on
minor points. They ought, for example, to have followed in the
footsteps of Peel in this Irish Corporation Bill, and to have
satisfied themselves with making those amendments which he strove
for without success in the House of Commons, and no more. As it
is, he wholly disapproves of the course they have taken, and so I
believe did the Duke of Wellington in the beginning of the
discussions, but Lyndhurst took the lead with the violent party,
overruled the Duke, neglected Peel, and dealt with the Bill in the
slashing manner we have seen.

[Page Head: SECLUSION OF SIR R. PEEL.]

I was talking to Lord John Russell yesterday at Court on this
subject, and he said that he had no doubt Peel highly disapproved
of their proceedings, and that it was evident he did not pretend
to guide them; for one day in the House of Commons he went over to
Peel, and said that he meant to recommit (or some such thing, no
matter what the particular course was) the Bill that night, and he
supposed he would not object. Peel said, 'Oh, no, I don't object,'
and as he was going away Peel called him back and said, 'Remember
I speak only for myself; I can answer for no other individual in
the House.' He went out of town about a fortnight ago, has never
returned, and will not; his own friends think he ought, but it is
evident that he prefers to wash his hands of the matter. He knows
well enough that the Conservatives hate him in their hearts;
besides having never cordially forgiven him for his conduct on the
Catholic question, they are indignant at his Liberal views and
opinions, and when they adopted him as their leader it was in the
fond hope that he would restore the good old days of Tory
Government, than which nothing could be farther from his thoughts.
John Russell said of him yesterday 'that he was, in fact, a great
lover of changes and innovations;' and so he is. It often occurs
to me that he would not care very much if the House of Lords did
go to the wa