re
about the form, will he?' I said, 'If there is no precedent, make
one,' and accordingly the Order passed. They are very angry with
the House of Lords, and Lord John said they had behaved very ill,
and ought to have waited till the whole case was before them: but
I think it _was_ all before them.

August 20th, 1838 {p.125}

At Stoke on Saturday, where Lord Sefton is sinking to the grave
in a miserable state of depression and mental debility. Up by the
railroad and dined at Holland House for the first time for above
a year; sat next to Lord FitzGerald at dinner, who lamented to me
the loss of the Corporation Bill; he said he would not have
consented to the lesser qualification, but would have agreed to
all the other clauses if he had had his own way. The continuance
of the trusts in the hands of the old Corporation he thought
unwise, calculated to offend feelings and prejudices, and
inconsistent with their own opinion of the corporators
themselves. Wharncliffe, on the other hand, told me some time ago
that he did not care about the qualification, but he defended,
though feebly, the trusts. This shows how dissatisfied the
moderate and sensible of the party are with their own
proceedings.

August 23rd, 1838 {p.126}

[Page Head: REVIEW OF THE SESSION.]

In looking back at the past Session, unexampled in duration, the
first thing that occurs to one is how uneventful it has been, and
how precisely the political state of affairs has ended as it
began. The characters of certain conspicuous men have manifested
themselves in a very striking manner, but that is all; the
Government are still in their places, not a jot stronger than
they were, and the Opposition maintain their undiminished phalanx
without being at all nearer coming into power. The House of
Commons uniformly supports the Government, the House of Lords
frequently opposes it, but the difference between the two Houses
seldom swells to a dispute; it is languidly carried on and
carelessly regarded, the country at large not seeming to mind who
are in or who are out. The great meteor of the year has been
Brougham, who, by common consent, has given proofs of the
undiminished force of his wonderful capacity, and who has spoken
with as much, if not with greater eloquence than at any previous
period of his life. But while he has excited no small degree of
wonder and admiration, he has not raised his reputation for
wisdom or honesty. He has exhibited such an unbr