ng commentary upon a curious passage in Irish history; and
although the circumstances to which they relate have long been
completely disposed of, the Union having obliterated all the matters in
dispute, the insight which they give us into the detail of Cabinet
discussions, the occasional traits they bring to light of the characters
of public men, and the calm and luminous views they develope of the
distracting politics of Ireland, confer a permanent interest upon them.
Two facts, by no means unimportant, are established in these
letters--namely, the lively and judicious anxiety Lord Temple and his
brother uniformly felt in their endeavours to restore the tranquillity
of Ireland, and the impediments they met in their strenuous efforts to
preserve the faith and honour of England in her transactions with that
country.

MR. W. WYNDHAM GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.

Pall Mall, Nov. 27th, 1782.

My dear Brother,

I saw Townshend on the evening of my arrival here, which was
Sunday. Lord Shelburne was then out of town, so that I was of
course obliged to state what I had to say to Townshend alone.
This I did very fully, in a conversation which lasted near two
hours, and in which, to say truth, Townshend bore a less part
than I expected and could have wished. What he did say was,
however, very fair and explicit. He expressed a strong
determination in the King's servants to give you every possible
support. He had found _no_ opportunity (as I understood him) of
convening a Cabinet on the affairs of Ireland, but had talked
separately with all the Ministers upon the subject, and found in
them no difference of opinion, except perhaps in General Conway,
whom he thought "a little influenced by his nephew's pamphlet,
and by his own natural temper, to look towards further
concession." He saw little difficulty in what you wished;
thought you best able to judge of the propriety of the moment
for such a measure; and said it was the King's opinion, as well
as his own, "that where there was not some marked difference of
opinion, the Lord-Lieutenant should be _left to himself_,
without however being _abandoned_." I stated to him pretty
strongly the effect of the ideas of changes of men and opinions
in this country. On that point, as far as related to men, I
could get little or nothing from him, although I recurred to it
more than once