The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Eleanor Creevey, 25 [May] 1812
“House of Commons, (May) 25th, 1812.
“Oh dear! I have been waiting for Whitbread’s latest intelligence, till I
have little time left. First then, when Prinney sent for Wellesley,
the latter began by mentioning some of the Opposition as persons to be
consulted with; to which the former replied—‘Don’t mention
any names to me now, my lord, but make an Administration for me.’
To which the other says—‘In a business of such nicety I trust
your Royal Highness will not press me for
time.’—‘Take your own time,’ says
Prinney, ‘tho’ there is not a shilling
left in the Exchequer.’ Well, off sets
Wellesley, calling at the doors of the
Opposition—![]()
| 1812.] | WHO SHALL BE PREMIER? | 157 |
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Grey, Grenville, Holland and
Moira; and yesterday some minutes of
their conversations were made that had taken place between
Wellesley, Grey and
Grenville about the Catholic question and the war in
Spain. There is some vague kind of coincidence of sentiments expressed between
them on these subjects—no other subject mentioned. With this first fruit
of his expedition Wellesley went to Carlton House last
night at seven, and just as he was beginning to dilate upon his success,
Prinney told him he was busy,
and that he must call again to-day. . . . This I know to be quite true; it
comes from Grey through Whitbread to
me.
“This is the whole effect of the defeat of the old
Government, and in the meantime the said old Government have one and all
contracted with each other in writing never to act with such a villain as
Wellesley again; in which they are
quite right, but what think you of such a patron for our friends? Well: we had
Whitbread and Lady Elizabeth at Holland House yesterday,
Milton, Althorp, Lord John Russell,
Sheridan, Lord Ossory, Fitzpatrick, Horner,
Bennett and many more, and we had a
very merry day, occasioned by my jokes about our new patron the Marquis
[Wellesley]. Poor Holland was quite inimitable, but I will tell you more about it
to-morrow. They will be all ruined: they have flung
Whitbread overboard: he has just told me so
himself, and that Lord Grey had just told him so in the
coolest manner. Not a word of this! but it is death to
them. He told me yesterday his fixed determination to have nothing to do with
Wellesley and Canning, and they have anticipated him. . . .”
Henry Grey Bennet (1777-1836)
The son of Charles Bennet, fourth earl of Tankerville; educated at Eton and Peterhouse,
Cambridge, he was a Whig MP for MP for Shrewsbury (1806-07, 1811-26) and a legal
reformer.
George Canning (1770-1827)
Tory statesman; he was foreign minister (1807-1809) and prime minister (1827); a
supporter of Greek independence and Catholic emancipation.
John Fitzpatrick, second earl of Upper Ossory (1745-1818)
Of Ampthill in Bedfordshire, the son of the first earl (d. 1758) and the uncle of Lord
Holland; he was educated at Westminster and Trinity College, Cambridge and was MP for
Bedfordshire (1767-94). In 1794 he was given an English peerage as Baron Upper
Ossory.
Richard Fitzpatrick (1748-1813)
English military officer, politician, and poet allied with Fox and Sheridan in
Parliament; he was secretary of state for war (1783, 1806) and author of
Dorinda, a Town Eclogue (1775).
Henry Richard Fox, third baron Holland (1773-1840)
Whig politician and literary patron; Holland House was for many years the meeting place
for reform-minded politicians and writers. He also published translations from the Spanish
and Italian;
Memoirs of the Whig Party was published in 1852.
William Wyndham Grenville, baron Grenville (1759-1834)
Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he was a moderate Whig MP, foreign secretary
(1791-1801), and leader and first lord of the treasury in the “All the Talents” ministry
(1806-1807). He was chancellor of Oxford University (1810).
Charles Grey, second earl Grey (1764-1845)
Whig statesman and lover of the Duchess of Devonshire; the second son of the first earl
(d. 1807), he was prime minister (1831-34).
Francis Horner (1778-1817)
Scottish barrister and frequent contributor to the
Edinburgh
Review; he was a Whig MP and member of the Holland House circle.
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).
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816)
Anglo-Irish playwright, author of
The School for Scandal (1777),
Whig MP and ally of Charles James Fox (1780-1812).
John Charles Spencer, third earl Spencer (1782-1845)
English politician, son of the second earl (d. 1834); educated at Harrow and Trinity
College, Cambridge, he was Whig MP for Northamptonshire (1806-34) and chancellor of the
exchequer and leader of the lower house under Lord Grey (1830).
Richard Wellesley, first marquess Wellesley (1760-1842)
The son of Garret Wesley (1735-1781) and elder brother of the Duke of Wellington; he was
Whig MP, Governor-general of Bengal (1797-1805), Foreign Secretary (1809-12), and
Lord-lieutenant of Ireland (1821-28); he was created Marquess Wellesley in 1799.
Lady Elizabeth Whitbread [née Grey] (d. 1846)
The daughter of General Charles Grey, first Earl Grey; in 1788 she married the brewer and
politician Samuel Whitbread. Maria Edgeworth described her as “in one word,
delightful.”
Samuel Whitbread (1764-1815)
The son of the brewer Samuel Whitbread (1720-96); he was a Whig MP for Bedford, involved
with the reorganization of Drury Lane after the fire of 1809; its financial difficulties
led him to suicide.
