The Creevey Papers
Henry Grey Bennet to Thomas Creevey, 21 July 1816
“Walton, July 21.
“. . . The last session has been very damaging to
the country. . . . The Opposition has made no way and the Government are
certainly stronger than ever, for all the tinsel and lace have rallied round
them. At the same time, these attacks on the constitution have made the liberty
boys feel more kindly towards us. But we must allow that, tho’ the
Government are hated, we are not loved. . . . As you may imagine, our friend
Brougham has done everything this year
with no help, for there literally is no one but Folkestone who comes into the line and fights. Our leaders are
away—poor Ponsonby from idleness
and from fatigue, and Tierney from ill
health. I fear he will never show again as he used to do. Who is to lead us
now? God knows! Some talk of Ld. George
Cavendish,
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which I resist, because I think his politicks are
abominable and his manners insolent and neglectful; but also because the
Cavendish system, with the Duke [of Devonshire] at the head, is not the thing for the
present day. They are timid, idle and haughty: the Duke dines at Carlton House
and sits between the Chancellor and
Lord Caithness, and I have no doubt
will have, one of these days, the Ribband. Then the Archduchess (as they call
him) is a great admirer and follower of Prinnie’s,
and presumes to abuse the Mountain, and as I am in duty bound to protect
myself, he singles me out as the most objectionable person in the H. of
Commons, and says my politics are revolutionary. This last offence determines
me to submit to no Cavendish leader. Milton is named, and Tavistock,* who would be the best of all, but I fear he loves
hunting too much, and has not enough money, for we must have a leader with a
house and cash. So amid all the difficulties, I propose a Republic—no
leader at all! . . .”
William Pleydell- Bouverie, third earl of Radnor (1779-1869)
Son of the second earl (d. 1828); educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he was Whig MP
for Downton (1801) and Salisbury (1802-28), and an associate of Sir Francis Burdett and
Samuel Whitbread.
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
George Cavendish, first earl of Burlington (1754-1834)
The son of William Cavendish, fourth Duke of Devonshire; he was a Whig MP for
Knaresborough (1775-80), Derby borough (1780-97), and Derbyshire (1797-1831); he was raised
to the peerage in 1831.
William Cavendish, fifth duke of Devonshire (1748-1811)
Whig peer, the son of William Cavendish, fourth duke of Devonshire; after succeeding to
the title in 1764 he married the famous Lady Georgiana Spencer in 1774.
Princess Charlotte Augusta (1796-1817)
The only child of George IV; she married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg in 1816 and died
in childbirth the following year.
George Ponsonby (1755-1817)
The son of John Ponsonby (d. 1787); he was speaker of the Irish House of Commons, lord
chancellor of Ireland in the Fox-Grenville ministry (1806) and succeeded Lord Grey as
leader of the Whigs in the British House of Commons.
Francis Russell, seventh duke of Bedford (1788-1861)
Son of the sixth Duke (d. 1839); he took an MA from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1808
and served as Whig MP for Peterborough between 1809 and 1812 and for Bedfordshire between
1812 and 1832. He succeeded to the title in 1833.
John Scott, first earl of Eldon (1751-1838)
Lord chancellor (1801-27); he was legal counsel to the Prince of Wales and an active
opponent of the Reform Bill.
James Sinclair, twelfth earl of Caithness (1766-1823)
The son of Sir John Sinclair of Mey, sixth baronet, succeeding as earl in 1789; he was
Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness (1794-1823) and a Scottish representative peer
(1807-18).
George Tierney (1761-1830)
Whig MP and opposition leader whose political pragmatism made him suspect in the eyes of
his party; he fought a bloodless duel with Pitt in 1798. He is the “Friend of Humanity” in
Canning and Frere's “The Needy Knife-Grinder.”
William II, king of the Netherlands (1792-1849)
Educated at Oxford, he was aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington (1811), was briefly
engaged to Princess Charlotte, and succeeded his father in 1840.
