colleagues, except Huskisson, deserted him. The resignation of Lord
Eldon, since 1821 Earl of Eldon, must have been expected, terminating,
as it did, the longest chancellorship since the Norman conquest. But
Canning seems to have really hoped that he might secure the support of
Wellington by the assurance of his desire to carry out the principles of
Liverpool's government. The duke, however, repelled his overtures with
something less than courtesy, and even retired from the command of the
army. Peel had already intimated privately that a transfer of the
premiership from an opponent to a champion of emancipation would make it
impossible for him to retain office. Three peers, Bathurst, Melville,
and Westmorland, followed his example. Canning had no resource but to
enlist colleagues from the ranks of the whigs. In this he was at first
unsuccessful. Sturges Bourne was appointed to the home office, Viscount
Dudley became foreign secretary, and Robinson, who was raised to the
peerage as Viscount Goderich, became secretary for war and the colonies.
Canning himself united the offices of first lord of the treasury and
chancellor of the exchequer. The Duke of Portland became lord privy
seal. Palmerston, the secretary at war, was given a seat in the cabinet.
Harrowby, Huskisson, Wynn, and Bexley, retained their former posts, and
Sidmouth, hitherto an unofficial member of the cabinet, finally retired.
One important office outside the cabinet, that of chief secretary for
Ireland, was given to a whig, William Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne.
It was a happy idea to make the Duke of Clarence lord high admiral
without a seat in the cabinet, and without any power of acting
independently of his council, while Copley (as Lord Lyndhurst) proved a
good successor to Eldon.

In May some of the whigs were induced to join the ministry. Tierney
entered the cabinet as master of the mint and the Earl of Carlisle as
first commissioner of woods and forests. The Marquis of Lansdowne, the
former Lord Henry Petty, joined the cabinet without taking office. Other
minor posts were assigned to whigs, and several whig chiefs, such as
Holland and Brougham, while they remained outside the government,
tendered it a friendly support. In July Lansdowne became home secretary,
Bourne was transferred to the woods and forests department, Carlisle
became lord privy seal, and Portland remained in the cabinet without
office.

The new cabinet was therefore still in an