I had some conversation in the House with Lord Lauderdale on China trade, &c.  He seems friendly to the Company and to the Government.

Went to the House at 4.  Found a good many peers there.  By mere mistake a Bill, slightly and necessarily amended by the Lords, was not sent down to the Commons, although directions to that effect were given, and it by accident was placed amongst the Bills ready for the Royal assent.  So it received the Royal assent.  It became necessary to pass a Bill to make this Bill valid in law.  Lord Shaftesbury thought our House ought to inform the Commons we had discovered the error; but the Speaker, [Footnote:  C. Manners Sutton, afterwards Lord Canterbury.] to make a flourish, insisted on announcing it first to the House of Commons.  All the steps to be taken were settled between the Speaker, Lord Shaftesbury, and Courtenay.  When I went down I found it had not been settled that anything should be done first by us.  I suggested that Lord Shaftesbury should acquaint the House with the circumstance, and that we should appoint a Committee to inquire before the message from the Commons came up.  This was done.

We ordered a message to be sent, but before our messengers left the House we heard the Commons would not receive a message, so I moved that the order we had just made should be rescinded, and we had a second conference.  The Commons were well satisfied with our reply.  The last sentence had been, ‘The Lords hope the Commons will be satisfied with this explanation.’  As we in the first paragraph expressed our desire to preserve a good understanding between the two Houses, and in the second one regret that this mistake had taken place, I thought it was going too far to express a hope only that our explanation would be satisfactory.

We inserted ‘the Lords doubt not,’ instead of ‘the Lords hope.’

At night received a letter from the Duke of Wellington, saying he thought we might get Courtenay to resign at once and get in Lord Chandos.  I am to see him at ten to-morrow on the subject.

June 23, 1829.

Wrote early to the Chairs and begged them to come to me immediately.  Sent Loch the Duke’s note and told him why Lord Chandos’s being brought in was of so much importance.  Saw the Duke at 10.  The King was very much out of humour yesterday.  He wanted to make Nash a baronet.  The Duke refused.  The King then went upon his Speech, which he did not like and had altered.  He left out the specific mention of the Relief and Franchise Bill, and there he was right, and he converted the prayer that the measure might tranquillise Ireland, &c., into a hope that it would—­thus making it a little stronger, but that he did not know.

The Duke of Cumberland, on hearing of Castlereagh’s appointment, said, ‘Whoever ratted he would not,’ alluding to Lord Londonderry, who has been nibbling at the Cumberland faction.  However, Lord Londonderry is much annoyed at Castlereagh’s taking office.  He neither likes the expense of an election for Downshire, nor losing a vote he thought he could dispose of.