cided opposition to each
other. I confess I never had much faith in any union between them
which was likely to be durable or satisfactory. Stanley has been
living constantly with the Whigs, and probably looks forward to
joining them again, when the settlement, or some settlement, of
the Church question will allow him; and it will be much more
congenial to his tastes and character to be the rival of Peel than
his subordinate. I told Lyndhurst that I hoped the House of Lords
would be moderate, confine their opposition to certain great
measures, and not thwart the Government without necessity. He said
he was desirous so to do, to deal with great measures of
legislation as they might see fit, but no more. I asked him why
they threw out certain Bills last year, among others the Dublin
Police Bill, to which there really had seemed to be no objection.
He said, for two reasons; one was that they did not choose to
admit the practice that after Parliament had been sitting many
months, during which Bills might have been sent up, and plenty of
time afforded for their consideration, they should be laid upon
the table of the House of Lords just at the end of the session,
when they were to be hurried over, and passed without that mature
deliberation which they required; and particularly as to the
Dublin Police Bill, that they well knew it was a mere job to
provide for certain of O'Connell's friends. He then mentioned a
fact in justification of the first of the above reasons--that, in
discussing with Duncannon one of the Irish Bills of which he had
the management, he alluded to one particular clause. Duncannon
asserted that there was no such clause in the Bill. He repeated
that there was, when Duncannon went away, and soon afterwards
returned and acknowledged that he had been in error, that the
clause was there, though he was not aware of it, nor had it been
inserted in the copy with which he had been first furnished.

I heard a great deal more about Perceval's proceedings, and those
of his colleagues yesterday; they continue to visit the Privy
Councillors. Lyndhurst told me he had been with him for an hour,
Lord Lansdowne the same. When he gave Lord Lansdowne his book, as
he glanced over it, Perceval said, 'I am aware it is not well
written; the composition is not perfect, but I was not permitted
to alter it; I was obliged to write it as I received it.'
Drummond went in a chaise and four to the Archbishop of York at
Nuneham, who en