you, or rather earlier, reports came round
to Pitt and myself that the party who had acted in opposition in
Ireland, and particularly Ponsonby and Grattan, had held the
strongest language respecting assurances received by them from the
Duke of P. and Lord F., that the latter was immediately to be
declared Lord-Lieutenant, that Mr. Pitt had given Ireland over
entirely to them, and that a new system of measures and men was to
be adopted. In these reports particular persons were mentioned as
being to be dismissed, and amongst these the Chancellor. The only
impression which these produced on my mind was, that Lord F. had
talked too soon of his intended appointment, as it had been
uniformly explained that he could not be named till some provision
was found for Lord W., the fact being that when the latter went to
Ireland he accepted that situation, on an express engagement that
he should return to one not less advantageous than the Post-Office,
which he then quitted. I imagined also that in his communications
with persons, whose support to a new Government in Ireland we all
wished to secure, he had been less guarded than he might have been,
and had given in his conversation more way to ideas stated by them
than it could be prudent to do. And in this impression I wrote to
you, thinking all the rest to proceed only from the usual
exaggeration of reports of this nature, particularly in Ireland;
and feeling confident that before any measure was really determined
upon, we should have an opportunity of discussing it fully, and of
weighing the proposed advantages of it against the very great
objections which naturally and at first sight occur.

Soon after this we heard that Lord F. had actually taken such steps
in Ireland as marked his persuasion of his being immediately to be
appointed, and as gave on that account great offence to Lord W., to
whom no communication of that nature had yet been made on our part,
because we saw no such opening as it would have been necessary to
hold out to him when such communication was made.

While we were doubting what step it might be best to take on this
subject, to avoid giving any ground of uneasiness or
dissatisfaction, the Duke of P. wrote to Pitt to urge the immediate
appointment of Lord F. as a thing already determined