The “Pope” of Holland House
John Whishaw to Thomas Smith, 18 December 1819
Dec. 18th.
When I said that I considered the meeting of the 18th of August
to be illegal, I meant that the Judges would certainly hold it to be so, and that
they would have sufficient authorities for that opinion. It must be observed,
however, that the law respecting tumultuous meetings, and the right of the
magistrates
1 Publication of anonymous pamphlet, “A Trifling
Mistake,” for which he was prosecuted for breach of privilege.
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to interfere, is unfortunately rather vague, and
ought to be settled by some definitive enactments. The poor people who were
assembled and the principal actors in the meeting certainly thought they were
acting legally, and were justified in their opinion by the acquiescence of
Government in what had passed at Smithfield and other places.
The Opposition have certainly been of great use in modifying the
restrictive measures of the Government. In their present shape, with some
exceptions, they are not on the whole very objectionable. Lord Castlereagh’s partial and qualified acquiescence in
Lord J. Russell’s motion1 was very gratifying, and a great surprise to the House. It
was an approach, though a very slight one, to the principles of Parliamentary
reform. But I do not believe that the Bill will be suffered to pass.
I am much concerned for Hobhouse, though he is probably fortunate in having escaped an
Information by the Attorney-General, which would have been followed by an
imprisonment for two years. I consider what has passed as a vindictive act, on the
part of Canning, in return for the anonymous letter; Wortley and Courtenay being his particular friends, and the latter entirely his
dependent. In the late number of the Quarterly Review there is an attack upon Hobhouse
unquestionably from the same quarter.
I am glad you are so much pleased with Lord J. Russell’s book, which is very creditable to him.2 A work
on the East by Mr. Henry Hope has been
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lately published, called “Anastatius,” the
fictitious history of a Greek interspersed with anecdotes and observations
collected by the author during his travels. I have a great dislike to such mixtures
of truth and fiction, which have usually the effect of spoiling both. The present
work seems to be an exception to this general remark.
I am obliged to conclude, being surrounded by the young
Romillys, who are just come from school, and are going
into Wales on Monday.
Much is said about the Prince’s divorce being brought forward in Parliament. His
Royal Highness is much bent upon it, but Lord
Liverpool and the Chancellor are
disinclined to it, and I think the latter will prevail, but time is not propitious.
George Canning (1770-1827)
Tory statesman; he was foreign minister (1807-1809) and prime minister (1827); a
supporter of Greek independence and Catholic emancipation.
Thomas Peregrine Courtenay (1782-1841)
The son of Henry Reginald Courtenay, bishop of Exeter, educated at Westminster School; he
was a Tory MP for Totnes (1811-32) who wrote for the
New Monthly
Magazine and published
Commentaries on the Historic Plays of
Shakespeare (1840).
John Cam Hobhouse, baron Broughton (1786-1869)
Founder of the Cambridge Whig Club; traveled with Byron in the orient, radical MP for
Westminster (1820); Byron's executor; after a long career in politics published
Some Account of a Long Life (1865) later augmented as
Recollections of a Long Life, 6 vols (1909-1911).
Thomas Hope (1769-1831)
Art collector and connoisseur, the son of a wealthy Amsterdam merchant and author of the
novel
Anastasius (1819) which some thought to be a work by Byron.
His literary executor was William Harness.
John Russell, first earl Russell (1792-1878)
English statesman, son of John Russell sixth duke of Bedford (1766-1839); he was author
of
Essay on the English Constitution (1821) and
Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe (1824) and was Prime Minister (1865-66).
John Scott, first earl of Eldon (1751-1838)
Lord chancellor (1801-27); he was legal counsel to the Prince of Wales and an active
opponent of the Reform Bill.
The Quarterly Review. (1809-1967). Published by John Murray, the
Quarterly was instigated by Walter
Scott as a Tory rival to the
Edinburgh Review. It was edited by
William Gifford to 1824, and by John Gibson Lockhart from 1826 to 1853.