at it won in the
seventeenth and confirmed and enlarged in the eighteenth."

The intervening months did not relax this valiant and patriotic
resolution. He wrote down a short version of the story in the last year of
his life:--

The hostilities in China reached a rather early termination, and
in the early part of the session of 1861 it appeared almost
certain that there would be a surplus for 1861-2 such as I thought
would make it possible again to operate on the paper duties.
Unfortunately, the income tax was at so high a rate that we could
not reasonably hope to carry paper duty repeal without taking a
penny off the tax. The double plan strained the probable means
afforded by the budget. In this dilemma I received most valuable
aid from the shrewd ingenuity of Milner Gibson, who said: Why not
fix the repeal of the paper duty at a later date than had been
intended, say on the 10th of October, which will reduce the loss
for the year? I gladly adopted the proposition, and proposed a
budget reducing the income tax by one penny, and repealing the
paper duties from October 10, 1861. With this was combined what
was more essential than either--the adoption of a new practice with
respect to finance, which would combine all the financial measures
of the year in a single bill. We had separate discussions in the
cabinet on the constitutional proposal [the single bill]. It was
not extensively resisted there, though quietly a good deal
misliked. I rather think the chancellor, Campbell, took strong
objection to it; and I well remember that the Duke of Newcastle
gave valuable and telling aid. So it was adopted. The budget was
the subject of a fierce discussion, in which Lord Palmerston
appeared to me to lose his temper for the first and only time. The
plan, however, to my great delight, was adopted. It was followed
by a strange and painful incident. I received with astonishment
from Lord Palmerston, immediately after the adoption of the
budget, a distinct notice that he should not consider it a cabinet
question in the House of Commons, where it was known that the
opposition and the paper makers would use every effort to destroy
the plan. I wrote an uncontroversial reply (with some
self-repression) and showed it to Granville, who warmly approved,
and was silent on the letter of Lord Palmerston. The ba