—Not without a fear of being deemed impertinent, and not forgetting the proverbs which threaten meddlers, I am tempted, as an old navigator in the waters of colonial politics abroad and at home, to say that I fancy there may be doings at the Colonial Reform dinner at Greenwich in which you would not like to participate, even by your presence, without speaking; still less by speaking. Considering who is to be in the chair, and what are the feelings of disappointment and anger, of some who will attend and speak, the tone of the meeting is almost sure, I think, to be very hostile towards Lord Grey: and it has struck me, though nobody dislikes him more than myself, that if you were aware of this probability you would not be disposed to attend the meeting. So I venture to say my mind. In other directions I am beating up for diners, in order that the meeting may not prove a falling off from last year in point of numbers.