he should make a public demonstration of his
influence in a Court notoriously disaffected to the Reform Bill.

[Page Head: UNCONSTITUTIONAL COURSE OF THE WHIGS.]

The origin of the present mischief may be found in the
objectionable composition of the Royal Household at the
Accession. The Queen knew nobody, and was ready to take any
Ladies that Melbourne recommended to her. He ought to have taken
care that the female part of her household should not have a
political complexion, instead of making it exclusively Whig as,
unfortunately for her, he did; nor is it little matter of wonder
that Melbourne should have consented to support her in such a
case, and that he and his colleagues should have consented to act
the strange, anomalous, unconstitutional part they have done.
While they really believed that she had been ill-used, it was
natural they should be disposed to vindicate and protect her; but
after the reception of Peel's letter they must have doubted
whether there had not been some misapprehension on both sides,
and they ought in prudence, and in justice to her, even against
her own feelings, to have sifted the matter to the bottom, and
have cleared up every existing doubt before they decided on their
course. But to have met as a Cabinet, and to have advised her
what answer to send to the man who still held her commission for
forming a Government, upon points relating to its formation, is
utterly anomalous and unprecedented, and a course as dangerous as
unconstitutional.[1] The danger has been sufficiently exemplified
in the present case; for, having necessarily had no personal
cognisance of the facts, they incurred the risk of giving advice
upon mistaken grounds, as in this instance has been the case.
_She_ might be excused for her ignorance of the exact limits of
constitutional propriety, and for her too precipitate recurrence
to the counsels to which she had been accustomed; but _they_
ought to have explained to her, that until Sir Robert Peel had
formally and finally resigned his commission into her hands, they
could tender no advice, and that her replies to him, and her
resolutions with regard to his proposals, must emanate solely and
spontaneously from herself. As it was, the Queen was in
communication with Sir Robert Peel on one side, and Lord
Melbourne on the other, at the same time; and through them with
both their Cabinets; the unanimous resolutions of the former
being by her conveyed to, and her answer