After an animated
discussion, in which Mr. Bernal Osborne, Mr. Roebuck, Alderman Thompson,
Mr. Hume, Smith O'Brien, Mr. John O'Connell and Henry Grattan took a
part, the bill was read a first time, and the 11th of February fixed for
the second reading.
The Government had made up their mind to oppose Lord George Bentinck's
bill. But seeing that he had a large following, and that the Irish
members, and many independent English members too, would support him,
they had recourse to the stale trick of weak governments--the threat of
resignation. The affairs of the country were at the moment in a most
critical position, and every hour's delay in sending relief to Ireland
would add hundreds to the deaths from starvation. The confusion which
would be caused by resignation, would inflict serious injury on the
country that Lord George Bentinck was so anxious to serve: Lord John
knew this well, and, therefore, he knew his threat of resignation had a
certain coercive power in it. Moreover, the Tory party was split in two;
Lord George was at the head of the Protectionists, who had deserted
Peel, or rather, who had been deserted by him; Sir Robert had still many
adherents, but a fusion of the two sections of the party was, at the
moment, next to impossible, so that there could be no Tory Government
framed to succeed Lord John Russell's.
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