Letter from Lord Munster, London, to Mary Georgiana Dawson-Damer, 1832 May 8 : autograph manuscript.

Concerning the Reform Bill; saying :"I write this early in order to finish it at the House of Lords where I suppose we shall have some communication and I hope proceed on the Enfranchising clauses at once and I think it will tranquilize the Country at once - But I do not see any way at all, as altho' the King hopes He has made sufficient Peers agreed to stay away, - I believe many will take their own Line - However I hope the House of Lords is saved from being swamped which will, for some little time, give a [illegible] strength to what will be left [illegible] in these Three Kingdoms - If the Bill is carried the King is safe for a moment but we must go from bad to worse - I really hope I have been of service to the King in many ways & He was not left without an alternative, if things had or do come to the worst - and I settled this so as to satisfy the King's mind, what was a great thing at such a time, as he has gone through in the last few days;" continuing the letter which he dated "4 o'clock; "saying I fear we are going from bad to worse - The King cajoled by the Ministers or Sir Taylor, or his own weak Mind has wrote to several Peers stating that some of them are tonight to declare they intend not to oppose the measure any farther - No one has an Idea of this, not one Peer, I have seen, knows what it means & I think matters are really becoming most serious - Conceive the King seeing the D. of Gloucester and Cumberland this morning & never telling them what was coming! He is certainly out of his Senses - I cannot possibly conceive anything worse than this happening;" referring to Lord Grey and the Duke of Wellington up and speaking; continuing to describe the events of the day in MA 3498.194 and MA 3498.195.