usual ability. The Bishops of Lincoln and Llandaff, in short and becoming speeches, expressed their intention of voting for the Bill.

All which, &c.

GREY.

No. 407.

Sir H. Taylor to Earl Grey.

St. James's Palace, April 14, 1832.

My dear Lord,-The King has ordered me to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter of this morning and the enclosures, and to express His Majesty's sincere satisfaction that the Bill has at length been committed in the House of Lords. Nor does His Majesty regret the postponement of the Committee until after the holidays, as it will allow time for cool consideration. His Majesty will be glad to see you at half-past-three, or as late as four, if more agreeable to you; and, as he wishes you to get as much rest as possible, he has ordered me to send this to Mr. Wood, to be delivered at his discretion.

I have, &c.

The division on the second reading of the Bill was,

H. TAYLOR.

The House adjourned at a quarter past seven on the morning of Saturday,

April 14.

No. 408.

The King to Earl Grey.

Windsor Castle, April 16, 1832.

The King's mind has dwelt so much and so anxiously upon considerations connected with the Foreign Policy of this country, and the principles by which it should, in his opinion, be governed, arising out of some observations made to him by Earl Grey in his interviews with him on Thursday and on Saturday last, that His Majesty does not consider that it would be acting fairly by Earl Grey, or doing justice to himself, if he were to conceal from him the uneasiness to which they have given rise.

The King has long apprehended that this country may be gradually and imperceptibly, and, he verily believes, unintentionally, drawn into the adoption and the establishment of a system of Foreign Policy which appears to His Majesty inconsistent with its real interests and its permanent prosperity, and calculated to alienate from it all Governments which are not disposed to encourage revolutionary projects and innovations detructive of existing power and authority.

What dropped from Earl Grey was viewed by the King as indications, certainly slight, but still as indications, of what he may be called upon to take into his consideration, namely, a more earnest and more direct interference respecting Poland than has yet been offered by this country; and a disposition to unite, for this and other objects, more closely with France; and therefore to treat, as undeserving of attention, the reports and ap

pearance of designs entertained by France to extend her establishments in the Mediterranean by adding to the possession of Algiers, and other points on the coast of Barbary, that of the Island of Minorca, and possibly

some others.

With regard to the first point, the King must call Earl Grey's attention to a letter which he addressed to Viscount Palmerston on the 25th of November last, with reference to the instructions given to Lord Heytesbury about that period, respecting the construction to be claimed for the articles of the Treaty of Vienna relating to the Polish Constitution, and respecting the Polish question generally.

His Majesty's sentiments are stated so much at length in that letter, that it is unnecessary for him to do more than to request Earl Grey's perusal of it, and to add that his opinions have continued the same, as may be shown by his remark upon the draft of instructions to Lord Heytesbury, submitted to His Majesty by Viscount Palmerston on the 18th or 19th ult. And if there should be any intention of calling upon the King to sanction further representation or remonstrance to the Court of St. Petersburg respecting Poland, His Majesty desires that his objections and his remarks, as recorded in the above letter, may be taken into the serious consideration of his confidential servants.

The King wishes to draw Earl Grey's attention also to his recent correspondence with Viscount Palmerston on the subject of the instructions sent to Mr. Seymour, with respect to the proposed administrative changes in the Papal dominions; and His Majesty is desirous that this correspondence should be laid before the Cabinet,

as it will show that his sentiments with regard to the Foreign Policy which should be pursued by this country have undergone no change; and that he dreads and deprecates at present, as he did in November, as he has ever done, the adoption of too liberal a system by this country, too ready and unreserved a leaning to the 'spirit of the times,' and the eager encouragement of principles and projects which must have the effect of exciting the jealousy and suspicion of its ancient allies, without offering, in the closer connexion with France, any security or advantage which shall afford adequate compensation for the change, as it is impossible to place any reliance upon the stability of its Government, upon the consistency of its policy, the permanency of its cooperation, or the sincerity of its professions.

His Majesty is not disposed to undervalue the importance of being upon good terms with France, or even the advantage which England may derive from this circumstance in its negotiations with other Powers. He is not inclined to deny that the peace of Europe may have been mainly preserved by the concert of measures between England and France with respect to the Belgic question in its more recent stage; and His Majesty is willing to believe, that the good effects of this union may be felt in other quarters, so long as it shall suit the views and the immediate interests of France to pursue a pacific policy. But His Majesty does not trust France. He does not believe that she has abandoned her schemes of conquest and of extension of territory, or her designs of disturbing the tranquillity and the prosperity of other countries, by the propagation of revolutionary doctrines and principles; and His Majesty is anxious that this

country should carefully abstain from committing itself unwarily in the support of measures, which may possibly accord with the spirit of the times, but which aim at the destruction of all established authority, and which it is therefore His Majesty's determination, as it is his duty, to resist to the utmost of his power.

The King may be told, and he does not doubt, that M. Casimir Perrier is a strenuous advocate for the preservation of peace, that many others connected with the administration in France, and interested in the maintenance of the present order of things, may feel inclined to sacrifice to this object designs which would be at variance with it; but he believes this feeling to be selfish, and not to result from any fixed or honest principle; and he is confident that the French Government, such as it is, would lend itself to any project which might prove injurious to other States, and would take advantage of any casual circumstance which might promote such end; nay, would not scruple to create it, if it thought it could do so without incurring the risk of detection.

This has been shown in the conduct of its agents, from General Guilleminot to Captain Gallois and Colonel Combes. Their treachery and their attempts to promote war or revolution have been too gross to escape detection, or to relieve their Government from the necessity of disavowing their acts and recalling them; but it has been stated that they acted under instructions from some one of the Ministers, and their impunity has given a colour to the statement in every instance. All these are circumstances which, in His Majesty's opinion, would point out the necessity of closely watch