ting upon events, up to the
moment when they brought forward their famous India Bill. The following
letter, written a few days before the opening of Parliament, shows how
little was known at that moment of the views of Ministers, and enables
us to perceive that, although Lord Temple was in frequent communication
with the King, he had not yet decided upon the line of conduct to be
adopted. The state of affairs implied in the letter is curious enough;
exhibiting the Sovereign, on the one side, taking secret counsel of the
Opposition, and the Ministry, on the other, coming down to Parliament
with measures which they were well aware His Majesty was eagerly
watching for a constitutional excuse to thwart and defeat.

LORD TEMPLE TO LORD MORNINGTON.

Stowe, Nov. 6th, 1783.

My dear Lord,

As Stephen Fremantle will deliver this to you, I have not the
same difficulties which attend the writing a post letter. I go
to town to-morrow, in order to settle our winter arrangements.
My first principle will be to throw Ireland out of the book of
opposition, unless I am attacked upon it, which I sincerely hope
may be the case; although I have but little hopes that by any
management in either House, Ministry will be brought to
acknowledge the language which their agents uniformly hold upon
my subject. Their politics are, I own, inexplicable upon
Ireland; they speak the language of high crimination of me, for
the concession (which I call no concession) made in the last
sessions; they affect to talk loudly and strongly upon all
subsequent claims or popular subjects, and to have no fear upon
the event of any of those questions; and yet I know that Lord
Northington is frightened, and has uniformly proposed concession
on every point _to the fullest extent_; this communication I
know directly from the King's mouth, though not to me, but to
another person; consequently, it is for your private ear. It is
possible that Wyndham, the professed friend to Parliamentary
Reform, may have taken his resolution to resign upon that
measure being negatived, which we understand certainly to have
been decided here. But in all modes of turning it, how is it
possible to reconcile a heap of contradictions? I shall see the
King upon particular business (no idea of a change) on Friday;
and if with propriety I can state anything further upon this,