tion of two paragraphs on
Church or Crown lands, which were composed by Gibbon
Wakefield and Mr. Hanson. After the Report was
presented to the Colonial Office, the Government wished
these last two paragraphs to be modified. This Lord
Durham was inclined to do. Wakefield resented this and,
in order to prevent any change, he got Hanson to send a
copy of the Report to the _Times_, where it appeared
the next day. These particulars have been communicated
to me by a gentleman to whom Sir Richard Hanson related
them.]

February 14th, 1839 {p.163}

Lord Normanby was not acquainted with the intention of dismissing
Glenelg, nor was the thing settled when he was here; on the
contrary, he had made every preparation for the Dublin season,
and is put to serious inconvenience by being thus suddenly sent
for. Glenelg continues to discharge the official duties, but he
is deeply hurt at the treatment he has experienced. It is the
more remarkable because at this moment his official
correspondence with Durham is published, in which he displays
firmness, dignity, and sense, so that the world can discern no
good cause why he should be so unceremoniously turned off.
Melbourne urged him to retire when his brother (Sir Robert Grant)
died; but Glenelg thought this was from kindness and
consideration, and was so touched, that he deemed it the more
incumbent on him to remain at his post. Normanby will probably do
much better, for though he has nothing like the natural abilities
of his predecessor, he has the knack of succeeding in whatever he
undertakes; he has application, courage, and sense, and all this
in spite of a frivolous exterior. In Ireland, however obnoxious
to the Orangemen, his government has been successful, and I know
of no error that he has committed, except that of too often
releasing prisoners and commuting punishments without the
sanction and concurrence of the Judges. Nothing is so dangerous
and imprudent as to tamper with justice, and John Russell himself
has upon several occasions been rash and flippant in this
respect. It is not long ago that a man was tried and found
guilty, at the Sessions, of destroying a will with a fraudulent
intent. I forget what the punishment was, but a petition for
mercy was handed up to the Secretary of State's office--got up by
the clergyman of the parish, and signed by many names. Without
c