Great Seal, which had been put in commission,
was now held by Lord Cottenham.]

The great body of the Tories, on the other hand, are thirsting
for office: they are, or pretend to be, greatly alarmed at the
Radical tendencies of the Government, but they are well aware
that in the actual state of the House of Commons they have the
power of keeping the Government in check and of defeating every
Radical scheme while _in opposition_, but that it would be
dangerous to attempt to turn them out and take their places. So
far from being satisfied with this position of exceeding strength
and utility, they are chafing and fuming that they can't get in,
and would encounter all the hazards of defeat for the slightest
chance of victory. It is only the prudent reserve of Peel (in
which Stanley and Graham probably join) that restrains the
impatience of the party within moderate bounds. The Radicals are
few in number, and their influence is very low; they are angry
with the Government for not making greater concessions to them,
but as they still think there is a better chance of their views
being promoted by the Whigs remaining in, they continue to vote
with them in cases of need, though there are some of them who
would prefer the dissolution of the Ministry and war with a Tory
Government rather than the present imperfect alliance which
subsists between themselves and the Whigs. The Whigs then expect
to gain by the new elections and to obtain an accession of
strength to their Government. They think the popularity of a new
reign, and the partial neutrality of the Tory principle, will be
of material advantage to their cause. The Tories, though they
maintain that they shall not lose at the elections, evidently
feel that they take the field under a great disadvantage, and do
not deny that the King's death has been a heavy blow to them as a
party.

June 29th, 1837 {p.006}

All the accounts continue to report well of the young Queen, of
her quickness, sense and discretion, and the remarkable facility
with which she has slid into her high station and discharges its
duties. The Duchess of Kent never appears at Kensington, where
the Queen occupies a separate range of apartments, and her
influence is very silently exercised, if at all. The town is rife
with reports of changes and appointments, some very natural and
others very absurd; all agree that the power vested in
Melbourne's hands is unbounded, and that (as far as Court
ap