The success of this investigation prompted an in quiry into other abuses, particularly the sale of East India appointments, and disclosed a negotiation of Lord Castlereagh to barter a nomination to a Bengal writership, for the return of a member to Parlia ment. The house declined to proceed to any reso lution against his Lordship, or to entertain a motion relative to the interference of the executive govern ment in elections. A Bill for Parliamentary reform, brought in by Mr Curwen, was not directly opposed, but so materially altered in its progress as to be nu gatory when it passed into a law. The farther busi ness of the session consisted in the annual votes for the public service, and in motions by Sir S. Romil ly, on a subject which has been but lately followed up with effect—the amendment of our criminal law, by lessening the severity, but insuring the application of punishments.
The failure, in autumn, of the expedition to the Scheldt, and the resignation of the Duke of Portland, when on the verge of the grave, led to the disclosure of a remarkable secret in Cabinet history—the at tempts made, during several months, by Mr Canning, to obtain, from the Duke of Portland, the removal of Lord Castlereagh from the war department, on the ground of incompetency to the station. On making this mortifying discovery, the complaint of Lord Castlereagh was, not that his brother minister should think with slight of his abilities, but that, during all the time that he laboured against him, he should have maintained towards him the outward manner of a friend. This led to a duel, followed, not by seri ous personal injury, but by the resignation of both— causing, in the ministry, a blank which, to all ap pearance, could be filled only by bringing in the leaders of Opposition. An overture to this effect, whether sincere or ostensible, was made by Mr Per ceval. Lord Grenville, on receiving it, came to London; Lord Grey, more indifferent about office, answered it from his seat in Northumberland ; but both declared a determination to decline taking part in the administration so long as the existing system should be persisted in. Marquis Wellesley, who had gone as ambassador to the Spanish Junta, now re turned, and was invested with the Secretaryship for Foreign Affairs. Mr Percevsl was appointed premier; and the new ministry, feeble as they were in talent, received the support of a decided majority in Parlia ment, so general was the hatred of Bonaparte, and the conviction that our safety lay in a vigorous pro secution of the war.
The Session of 1810 opened on 28th January, and the leading subject of debate was our unfortunate ex pedition to Walcheren and the Scheldt. A motion leading to inquiry was carried after a close division —195 to 186. And the investigation was conduct• ed chiefly at the bar of the House of Commons, a secret committee being appointed for the inspection of confidential papers. The Earl of Chatham, and other officers concerned in planning or conducting the expedition, were examined. The inquiry lasted
several weeks, and disclosed, clearly enough, the imbecility of our commander ; but the speeches of the Opposition were pointed, not against the ma nagement of the expedition, but against its expedi ency at an enterprise ; not against the general, but the cabinet. In this they were not seconded by the majority of the house. On the policy or impolicy of the expedition being put to the vote, the former was supported by 272, in opposition to 232 ; and even the less tenable ground of keeping our soldiers in an unhealthy island for three months after relinquishing all idea of an attempt on Antwerp, was vindicated by 253 votes against decision too remarkable to be forgotten ; and which has since stamped this with the name of the Walcheren Parliament. The only ministerial change consequent on the inquiry was the removal of Lord Chatham from his seat in the cabi net, and from the Master-generalship of the Ordnance; but this was in consequence of privately delivering a statement to Me King—a statement professing to vin dicate himself at the expence of Sir Richard Strachan and the navy. The resolution adopted on this occa sion was, " That the House saw with regret that any such communication as the narrative of Lord Chat ham should have been made to his Majesty, without any knowledge of the other ministers ; that such con duct is highly reprehensible, and deserves the censure of the House." The exclusion of strangers from the gallery of the House during the Walcheren inquiry gave rise to a discussion, which, though at first unimportant, soon engaged much of the public attention. John Gale Jones, well known among the demagogues of the age, and at that time president of a debating club, animadverted on the House of Commons in a hand bill, in a style which induced the House to order his commitment to Newgate. A few weeks after, Sir Francis Burdett brought in a motion for his libera tion, on the broad ground that the House had no right to inflict the punishment of imprisonment in such a case. Baffled in this by a great majority, Sir Francis wrote and printed a letter to his consti tuents, denying this power, and applying contemp tuous epithets to the Houses. This imprudent step provoked a debate, which ended in a resolution to commit Sir Francis to the Tower. The Speaker is sued his warrant ; the Serjeant at Arms carried it to the house of Sir Francis, but withdrew on a re fusal of Sir Francis to obey. Next day the Serjeant repeated his demand, accompanied by messengers ; but the populace bad by _this time assembled in crowds near the baronet's house, and prevented his removal, until an early hour on the gth, when the civil officers burst into his house, put Sir Francis in to a carriage, and conveyed him to the Tower in the midst of several regiments of horse. Sir Francis brought actions against the Speaker and other offi cers; but they fell to the ground by non-suits, and he continued in confinement during the remainder of the session.