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Perceval parts of the bill which would have interfered with the mode in which ministerial patronage was employed were omitted. The effect of his criticism was to give him the appearance of defending and seeking to perpetuate the abuses which had recently been brought to light by the report of the East India patronage committee; but there is no ground for supposing that he was personally concerned in, or a supporter of, any corrupt appointments.

With the earlier part of the strife between Castlereagh and Canning, which took place in the summer of 1809, Perceval does not appear to have been concerned. It was not until after the meeting of the cabinet in June, at which the Walcheren expedition was resolved upon, that he was even informed of Canning's arrangement with the Duke of Portland for Castlereagh's removal from office. He then took Castlereagh's part, intimated that Castlereagh was entitled to have been informed of what it was proposed to do with him, and insisted that till the Walcheren expedition, which Castlereagh had planned, was over, his removal ought not to take place. He did not, however, directly communicate with Castlereagh, and was careful to maintain friendly relations with Canning, in spite of his admission to his friend Lord Harrowby that ‘the making a conclusive arrangement with regard to Lord C.'s fate, and pledging ourselves to stand by it previously to his knowing anything about it, is unjust and dishonourable to him.’ When the Duke of Portland's illness at the end of August left the government practically leaderless for the moment, and tolerably certain to require a new leader very shortly, Perceval entered into communication upon the subject with Canning. He expressed himself at first as willing to act under any head satisfactory to Canning and the rest of the ministry, provided he would take his fair share of the responsibility of the treasury work. Canning replied that he thought the new minister must be in the commons, and, if so, must be Perceval or himself. The upshot was that Perceval, being either more popular with his colleagues or more adroit in his manœuvres than Canning, succeeded the Duke of Portland as prime minister. The cabinet had, while matters were still unarranged, recommended that Lord Grey and Lord Grenville should be approached with a view to the formation of a coalition ministry; but although the king reluctantly assented to the scheme (, Diary, ii. 211, 217;, Life of Eldon, ii. 97), neither lord entertained the proposal (see the various letters contained in Life of Spencer Perceval; , Diary, ii. 205 sqq.; Courts and Cabinets of George III, iv. 374; , Memoir of Plumer Ward, i. 229). Perceval's task under these circumstances was one of extreme difficulty. Pitt's old party was broken up, and some of the ablest of the tories were standing aloof with Canning; Castlereagh had been deeply mortified; Lord Sidmouth's assistance would cause a loss of more votes than it would bring; and the whig leaders would not assist, and indeed refused all overtures in a manner which indicated that they considered themselves insulted by the proposal (, Memoirs, ii. 295). Perceval himself was anxious to be rid of the burden of the chancellorship of the exchequer, but nobody could be found to take it. After five persons had refused it, Perceval at last, on 2 Dec. 1809, completed his cabinet by retaining it himself. With a disinterestedness which in his case was especially praiseworthy, he held the office without salary.

The new ministry was generally regarded as a weak one; in debating power it was especially deficient. Perceval's own authority over the rank and file of his party was steadily declining, and he had, almost single-handed, to face an opposition which, with the assistance of Castlereagh and Canning, he had hardly kept in check in 1809. Many doubted if he would meet parliament. The Walcheren expedition and the retreat after the victory of Talavera were not matters easy to commend to a hostile house. In the first week of the session the ministry was four times defeated. Such a beginning was ominous. The ministerial vote of thanks for Talavera and motion for a pension to Wellington were carried only after strong opposition. Lord Chatham's conduct in sending his report to the king direct, and not through Lord Castlereagh, was made the subject of a vote of censure, which was carried. With difficulty the ministry saved themselves by forcing Chatham to resign. The disputes connected with Burdett's arrest on the speaker's warrant for breach of privilege were, though Perceval's own speech on them was sensible enough, equally little to the credit of his administration (see, for the speaker's version, Diary, ii. 245 sqq.) A successful budget somewhat redeemed his fortunes, but he was beaten on Banke's proposal for the reform of sinecures. Nor were the military and fiscal troubles of the government less formidable than their parliamentary difficulties. England had to pay for the Spanish army in the Peninsular war when she could scarcely pay for her own, and to pay in gold when gold was hardly to