there is no
conspiracy, or we should have heard of it.

_November 1._

Cabinet at St. James's at one. The Lord-Lieutenant has prohibited, by
Proclamation, the meeting of the Volunteer Society. Very properly and
consistently. It was a much more dangerous society than the other. He is a
firm man, not to be turned from the course he thinks right.

O'Connell has not been spoken to in the clubs he has entered. At Brookes's
they turned their backs upon him.

There was no meeting at Maidstone. Probably they had intimation of the
movements of troops. Lord Beresford told me there were 3,000 artillerymen
at Woolwich, enough to serve guns for an army.

Went through the speech again. Aberdeen is the most obstinate man I ever
saw, about the mere _words_ of his part of the speech. We lost half an hour
at least in talking about words to-day. Peel read his concluding sentence,
which is very good. He laments the outrages, and the attempt to disturb the
concord between portions of the empire whose union is essential to their
mutual strength and happiness, declares the King's determination to exert
the powers confided to him by the Law and the Constitution for the
punishment of sedition, and ends by expressing a firm reliance on the
loyalty of the great body of the people.

As far as I could judge by the King's countenance when the speech was read,
he acquiesced, and thought it right, but was pained at being obliged to
hold such language.

I had prepared a paragraph to be used in case it had been thought right to
say anything about India. For my own part I thought it better not. We could
not produce a measure this year, and it would hardly be fair by the Court
to declare to Parliament that we thought the monopoly must be put an end to
without having previously acquainted them with our determination. The Duke
said he had seen nothing yet to satisfy him that the revenues of India
could meet the expenditure without the China trade. I think his reluctance
increases to put an end to the present system. My disposition to terminate
the existence of the Company increases the more I see of them.

_November 2_

House at five. Lord Bute made a very long, heavy speech. Lord Monson a very
little one, not bad. The stuff would do; but he has neither stature nor
voice.

We then had Lord Winchilsea, Lord Camden, Duke of Leinster, and Lord
Farnham. Lord Winchilsea right in tone, but desiring inquiry into
agricultural distress. This, too, wa