er telling him he was not to go except in a case of
emergency, then the Government was not to move from Calcutta, and he
endeavoured in his minute and the others in theirs to make an apparent case
of emergency that they might move.

As to the last point there is an anachronism, as the orders not to leave
Calcutta _as a Government_ arrived after the minutes were recorded.

The Duke told Lord Combermere that all the orders for reduction of
expenditure having proved inefficacious, it was necessary for the
Government here to take reduction into their hands, and it was very natural
and obvious to enforce an order twice repeated and already obeyed at the
other presidencies.

When the army assumed the tone which appeared in the memorials, it was
impossible for the Government to do otherwise than insist upon the
enforcement of the order. They had expected from him that his whole
influence would have been used to strengthen the Government and to prevent
any ebullition of feeling on the part of the army. Lord Combermere left the
Duke very angry. If the King had been well he would have joined Lord
Anglesey. As it is, I expect he will oppose the Government. Lord Hill saw
him for a few minutes, and had only some unimportant conversation with him.
He told Lord Hill he had made thirteen or fourteen lacs. He made seven lacs
by prize money at Bhurtpore.

The French have not yet given a written explanation as to Algiers. Their
army is said to be in very fine order.

Leopold seems to have insinuated that our yielding on the subject of the
loan was sudden and late, &c. Aberdeen understood him to allude to the
King's illness, and to impute our concession to the wish to get him out of
the way. He took no notice of it, and treated the thing as settled.

Preparations have been made for the event of the King's death.

Peel has been obliged to leave London, as his father is dying.

_May 4._

Committee. No witnesses. Walked with Lords Bathurst and Rosslyn to the
Duke's. The bulletin is good. The King had some sleep and is better.
Halford's account, too, is better. The King slept six hours, but the water
was so much increased about the legs that they have made punctures to draw
it off. Upon the whole the account leads one to suppose the thing will be
protracted.

In the House of Commons last night, Goulburn was obliged to withdraw the
vote of 100,000L. for Windsor Castle and refer it to a Committee upstairs.
The expectation of a disso