brought before
them on the 2nd December--The Cabinet in permanent session--On the
5th of December Sir Robert resigns--Lord John Russell fails to form
a Government--The old Cabinet again in power--Mr. Gladstone replaces
Lord Stanley.
As stated in the last chapter, the deputation that waited on the Lord
Lieutenant was superciliously bowed out, the moment his Excellency had
finished the reading of his reply; so that the usual courtesy extended
to such bodies, of having some conversation and friendly discussion on
the subject of the address, was denied to the noblemen and gentlemen who
presented themselves at the Viceregal Lodge on the 3rd of November. Yet,
more than a fortnight previously, Lord Heytesbury had written to the
Premier, expressing great concern at the accounts daily received of the
blight. "The reports," he writes, "continue to be of a very alarming
nature, and leave no doubt upon the mind but that the potato crops have
failed almost everywhere."[68] This admission he took care not to make
to the deputation, although its truth had not only been verified but
strengthened by the accounts which he continued to receive between the
date of the letter and the 3rd of November.
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