o take advantage of the present movement to
treat all parties, especially the Tories, in the spirit of a general
amnesty." To the Queen his language was the same: "You should now hold
out the olive-branch a little."--_Life of the Prince Consort_, i., 83.]

[Footnote 259: He became Prime-minister in September, 1841, and retired
in June, 1846--four years and three-quarters afterward.]

[Footnote 260: "Life of the Prince Consort," i., 266. It may be remarked
that, in spite of the opinion thus expressed by Sir Robert Peel, of
those who, since his retirement in 1846, have held the same office, the
majority have been members of the House of Commons. The peers who have
since been Prime-ministers have been Lord Aberdeen and Lord Derby; the
members of the House of Commons have been Lord John Russell, Lord
Palmerston, Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Gladstone; though it may be thought
that in his second ministry Mr. Disraeli showed his concurrence in Sir
Robert Peel's latest view, by becoming a peer in the third year of his
administration.]

[Footnote 261: Lord Stanhope tells us "the remedial resolutions moved by
Pitt in the House of Commons, as abolishing the old duties and
substituting new ones in a simpler form, amounted in number to no less
than 2537."--_Life of Pitt_, i., 330. Peel, in his speech, March 21,
1842, states that he reduces or takes off altogether (wherever the duty
is trifling, but is practicable) the duty on 750 articles of import.]

[Footnote 262: In the Commons by 307 to 184; in the Lords by 226 to 69.]

[Footnote 263: The following statements of the members of colleges and
of the three denominations for 1879, 1874, and 1869 appear in the last
_Queen's University Calendar_:

1879. 1874. 1869.
Church of Ireland ....... 201 189 211
Roman Catholics ....... 223 188 161
Presbyterians .......... 388 249 227
Other denominations...... 88 87 83
--- --- ---
900 713 682]

[Footnote 264: In the course of the session, in order to tranquillize
the public mind on the subject, secret committees were appointed by both
Houses of Parliament to investigate the subject, from whose inquiries it
appeared that, since the days when the government was endangered by the
plots of the Jacobites, the power had been very sparingly used. The most
conspicuous instance of its employment had been in the case of Bishop
Atterbury, several of