the air during the earliest years
of her Majesty's reign concerning the supposed undue influence which
Lord Melbourne exerted at Court. The more advanced Radicals complained
that he sought to render himself indispensable to the sovereign, and
that his plan was to surround her with his friends, relations, and
creatures, and so to obtain a prolonged tenure of power. The Tories also
grumbled, and made no secret of the same ungenerous suspicions. They
knew neither her Majesty nor Lord Melbourne who thus spoke. At the same
time, it must be admitted that Lord Melbourne was becoming more and more
out of touch with popular aspirations, and the political and social
questions which were rapidly coming to the front were treated by him in
a somewhat cavalier manner.

Russell had his own misgivings, and was by no means inclined to lay too
much stress on the opinions of philosophical Radicals of the type of
Grote. At the same time, he urged upon Melbourne the desirability of
meeting the Radicals as far as possible, and he laid stress on the fact
that they, at least, were not seeking for grounds of difference with the
Premier. 'There are two things which I think would be more acceptable
than any others to this body--the one to make the ballot an open
question, the other to remove Tories from the political command of the
army.' Lord Melbourne, however, believed that the ballot would create
many evils and cure none. Lord John yielded to his chief, but in doing
so brought upon himself a good deal of angry criticism, which was
intensified by an unadvised declaration in the House of Commons. In his
speech on the Address he referred to the question of Reform, and
declared that it was quite impossible for him to take part in further
measures of Reform. The people of England might revise the Act of 1832,
or agitate for a new one; but as for himself, he refused to be
associated with any such movement. A storm of expostulation and angry
protest broke out; but the advanced Reformers failed to move Lord John
from the position which he had taken. So they concentrated their
hostility in a harmless nickname, and Lord John for some time forward
was called in Radical circles and certain journalistic publications,
'Finality Jack.' This honest but superfluous and embarrassing
deliverance brought him taunts and reproaches, as well as a temporary
loss of popularity. It was always characteristic of Lord John to speak
his mind, and he sometimes did it not w