Letter – Charles Grey to John Swinburne – 11 Dec 1825

      Govt House.   Dec 11th 1825

Dear Sir John

      I have this morning received your letter of the 6th & have no doubt that it has been dictated by the friendly regard I have always experienced from you, however mortifying it may be to me, in the opinion you have felt yourself bound to express.  It cannot be necessary for me to call to [underlined: ‘your’] recollection etc what has passed respecting the North’d Election. You know how ready I was to offer my support to Monck, or to concur in any measure what might be thought most effectual for <exerting> the Whig Interest to rescue the County from the disgrace of being represented by Beaumont.  It was not till after repeated offers to this effect had been made & declined, in consequence of our indecision that an opportunity had been lost of getting rid of Beaumont without difficulty, that I at last, when a Dissolution was almost hourly expected determined to take upon myself the whole risk &announced to my friends that Ld Howick would offer himself at the approaching Election.

      Having taken this step, under the circumstances which I have thus shortly described, it cannot, I think, be reasonably expected that Howick should withdraw his pretensions because Monck may now find it convenient to come forward, & Beaumont, as is quite evident, feels that he is unable to make any resistance.  Ld Howick, therefore, will certainly be put in nomination, come what come may, & if upon a full statement of all the circumstances which have induced him to form, & to persevere in this resolution, the feelings of the Freeholders shall appear favourable to him, he will as certainly go to a Poll.  If this should divide the Whig Interest I may lament but I cannot help it.  I shall console myself with the reflection that it cannot be imputed to deny fault on my part & to say the truth, if that interest can be divided under such circumstances, I do not feel that its union is much worth preserving.

      I do not pretend to decide what is proper for others.  Every man is the best judge of what is due to his own character & honor.  But I can have no hesitation in declaring that if any proposition had been made to me, directly or indirectly, from such a man as Beaumont, I should have thought myself disgraced for listening to it for a moment; much more for appearing to tolerate the idea, that he who had rendered himself unfit to represent the County, should be allowed to stipulate for the person who was to succeed him.  I am always desirous of putting the most favourable construction on the conduct of those whom I have long known and esteemed.  I am willing therefore to believe that Monck himself has not been a party to the communications that have been going on, to induce Beaumont to withdraw.  But it is quite clear that the matter has been chiefly managed by the intervention of some Tory Squires who, it seems, are now to have the selection of the candidate by whom the Whig Interest is to be represented.  I have answered you with the frankness of which you have set me the example, & from which I shall always be obliged to you, even when one’s views may differ as much as they unfortunately appear to do, the present occasion.