Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 60.djvu/203

 Wellesley be dealt with, and had sought in vain for a safe solution by a concordat with Rome (, i. 348; Desp. 18 March, 31 May, and 10 Aug. 1828). His speeches on the repeal of the test and corporation acts, and on the catholic question itself, were taken to show a disposition to compromise (Speeches, 17 and 28 April and 10 June;, i. 141; , i. 133). But the Clare election, and the alarming reports that soon followed it from Ireland, convinced him that something must be done without delay 'to restore to property its legitimate influence.' The Catholic Association not only controlled elections, but could raise a rebellion when it pleased; yet it was out of reach of the law as it stood. The House of Commons, which had shown a majority of six in May for the removal of catholic disabilities, would not pass measures of coercion without concession. By a dissolution the government would lose more seats in Ireland than it would gain in England. Hence there was a deadlock, as Wellington explained to the king (Desp. 1 Aug.); for the first step was to gain his consent to the consideration of a question which had been tabooed to all ministries since 1810. In a second memorandum the duke gave an outline of his plan, which included proposals for the payment and licensing of the priests, afterwards dropped because of the objections of the English bishops (ib. 16 Nov.) But it was not till 15 Jan. 1829 that the king gave the cabinet leave to consider the question.

The Duke of Cumberland was even more 'protestant' than the king, over whom he had great influence. Always a mischief-maker, his opposition to the government was so violent and unscrupulous that Wellington had at length to make formal complaint of it (Desp. 30 Jan. 1830;, ii. 118). The Duke of Clarence was 'catholic,' but his vagaries as lord high admiral had to be restrained, and after much trouble he resigned (Desp. 11 July-13 Aug. 1828). 'Between the king and his brothers the government of this country has become a most heart-breaking concern,' Wellington wrote to Peel (26 Aug.) He had other embarrassments. Peel quite agreed with him on the catholic question, but wished to resign, and only yielded when he was assured that the difficulties could not be got over without him (Desp. 12 Sept. and 17 Jan.;, ii. 53, 78). Secrecy was indispensable while the king held out, and even the lord lieutenant, Lord Anglesey, was left in the dark [see Paget, Henry William (DNB00)], Anglesey had become a strong advocate of emancipation, and was indiscreet in his dealings with the agitators. Sharp letters passed between him and Wellington, and on 28 Dec. he was told that he would be relieved. His recall was hastened by some comments which he published three days afterwards on a letter from Wellington to Dr. Curtis, the Roman catholic primate (Desp. 11 Dec., &c.; Speeches, 4 May 1829).

On 20 Jan. 1829 Wellington succeeded Liverpool as lord warden of the Cinque ports, and from that time he lived much at Walmer Castle. On 5 Feb. the king's speech asked parliament for fresh powers to maintain his authority in Ireland, and invited it to review the laws which imposed disabilities on the Roman catholics. On the 10th a bill was brought in suppressing the Catholic Association, and this having been passed, Peel introduced a bill on 5 March which swept away all catholic disabilities, with some few exceptions, and another which disfranchised the forty-shilling freeholders. The bills passed both houses by large majorities, and on 13 April they received the royal assent. But the emancipation bill was passed with the help of opponents and in the teeth of friends. At every step Wellington had had to fight against the intrigues of the Eldon section and the king's shiftiness (, Diary, i. 361-79;, i. 176, 217). No one else could have done it, and never did he deserve better of his country than in this, which he described fifteen years afterwards as 'the most painful act of my long life' (, iii. 109). He lived 'in an atmosphere of calumny,' and the charge of dishonesty, openly made against him by Lord Winchilsea, led to a duel between them at Battersea. The duke fired wide; Winchilsea fired in the air, and then apologised (, iii. 351-61).

Having broken with the liberal tories, and made the ultra tories 'sullen and sour,' the government survived only by the divisions ot its opponents. Dulness of trade and a bad harvest promoted discontent. At the beginning of the session of 1830 amendments to the address were moved from tory benches, and the government was forced to cut down the estimates. Its foreign policy, especially as regards Portugal and Greece, was attacked by the whigs and Canningites, who were primed by the Russian ambassador Lieven and his wife (Desp. 24 Aug. and 8 Nov. 1829;, i. 442). The treaty of Adrianople, which ended the war between Russia and Turkey, was in Wellington's view the deathblow to the independence of the Porte. He would rather have seen the Russians enter Constantinople, for then the other powers would have taken part in the disposal of the