The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Eleanor Creevey, 28 May 1812
“House of Commons, 28th.
“. . . Just after I finished my letter yesterday, I
met Sheridan coming from a long
interview with the Prince, and going with a
message to Wellesley; so of course I walked
with him and got from him all I could. . . . He described the Prince’s
state of perturbation of mind as beyond anything he had ever seen. He conceives
the different candidates for office to be determined upon his ruin; and, in
short, I begin to think that his reign will end in a day or two in downright
insanity. He first sends for one person, then another. Eldon is always told everything that passes, and the Duke of York (Lord
Grey’s friend and slave) is the unalterable and inveterate
opposer of his brother having anything to do with the Opposition. He and
Eldon work day and night to keep
Prinney in the right course. Melville is a great favorite too. To-day he
(Prinney) has seen the Doctor* and Westmorland,
Buckinghamshire, and now Moira is with him. Canning has been found out in some intrigue with Liverpool already. There has been some
explanation between Grey and Whitbread, certainly creditable to the former. He has admitted
to the fullest extent the importance of the Brewer† and his own
unalterable and unfavorable opinion of Canning. He
maintained this opinion to his friends as strongly as he could, and pressed
them, as they valued able and upright men to shuffling rogues, to stand by
Whitbread and abandon Canning. In
this proposition, however, he stood alone. Petty and Holland even were against him. Grey
pronounced that tho’ he was bound by this decision, he knew such decision
must inevitably be their ruin. He has told all this to Brougham, as well as to Whitbread, and you
know he always at least tells the truth. Of course you will not quote this. . .
. From Lisbon the accounts
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| 160 | THE CREEVEY PAPERS | [Ch. VIII. |
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are very unfavorable. The American embargo has produced
the greatest consternation, and our Commissariat is utterly destitute of money
or credit. In addition to this, General officers write home that the ravages of
the late sieges and other things have made a supply of 30,000 men from this
country absolutely necessary, if Portugal alone is to be kept.”
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
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 Fane, tenth earl of Westmorland (1759-1841)
Tory peer; he was lord lieutenant of Ireland (1789-94) and lord privy seal (1798-1827).
Charles Macfarlane described him as “proud, punctilious, starch, and grim, expecting
more deference and peer-worship than he always obtained.”
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.
Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827)
He was commander-in-chief of the Army, 1798-1809, until his removal on account of the
scandal involving his mistress Mary Anne Clarke.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
