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.  What Bernal Osborne prophesied at the time, would in all likelihood have happened, that if the noble lord went out by one door, he would come in by another.  Many thought the risk of breaking up the Government too great, considering the state of Ireland; and many Irish liberal members were but too glad of an excuse to keep it in office.  If we assume that no action of the Irish representatives would affect any votes but the votes of those returned by Irish constituencies, the division shows that it was beyond their power to secure a majority for the second reading; but it is not unreasonable to suppose that, had the Irish members maintained a united and determined opinion in favour of the bill, English members would see the wisdom and necessity of yielding to them.

Between the 4th and the 11th great activity was shown at both sides.  The friends of Lord George Bentinck, who happened to be absent from London, sent him assurances that nothing would prevent them from being present at the division; whilst the Government and their supporters laid their heads together to devise the best means of defeating the measure.  One thing they deemed essential—­the Irish members must be taken in hand, and their hopes and fears so wrought upon as to prevent them from giving a united and determined support to Lord George.  On the day fixed for the second reading of the Bill, the Premier called a meeting of his party at his private residence.  Nearly two hundred obeyed the summons.  He spoke, on the occasion, against the Irish railway scheme; but his arguments were devoid of force and solidity.  He said the money could not be raised, which nobody believed.  He said it was generally admitted, that only twenty-five per cent. of the money spent in the construction of railways went for labour; an assertion for which neither he nor the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave any authority, and which Mr. Hudson triumphantly refuted, in his speech on the Bill next day.  But Lord John further said, that he was resolved to meet the second reading with a direct negative, and that he would resign if the Government were out-voted; an announcement which, although it lacked argument, had force and meaning in it.