Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/295

 1837-] First Reformed Parliament to Death of William IV. 281 ing Parliaments, 87. In all cases these were purely Radical votes, the ministers opposing them all ; and what is note- worthy is, that in most of the cases they were Tory members who supported the Government. Thus on the ballot division, which took place on the 7th of March, out of 267 votes against Grote's motion, 200 were given by Tories. The "Annual Register," speaking on these divisions generally, and refer- ring especially to that on the proposal to shorten the duration of Parliaments, in which the numbers were ninety-one to eighty-seven, says, "It will be observed that on all these divisions on constitutional questions the ministers were alto- gether dependent upon the Tories for the stand they were enabled to make against their more Liberal allies. On the present occasion, the number of Whigs and reformers who voted with Lord John Russell did not exceed twenty-nine, including persons in office ; the remainder of their majority being gathered altogether from the benches of opposition." * To this depth of helpless dependence and of inefficiency had the Ministry fallen, and on the Qth of June, the day to which the Irish Municipal Bill stood adjourned in the Lords, and the tithes question in the Commons, Roebuck moved for a committee on the state of the nation. In his speech, the member for Bath was .almost as bitter as Lyndhurst himself on the feebleness and shortcoming of the Government. What would have been the fate of the resolution if any considerable number of Tories had supported Roebuck cannot be told. It was, however, withdrawn, for by this time it was known that an event was imminent which would change altogether the immediate relations of parties, and the position of the Government towards the Crown and the nation. Early in the year William IV. had been weak and ailing ; towards May he became much worse ; in June he was so seriously ill that bulletins began to be issued ; and on the 2Oth of that month he died.
 * " Annual Register," 1837, p. 126.