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The Founders of Canterbury

Reigate, 10th June, 1849

Reigate, 10th June, 1849.

My Dear Rintoul,

—I have just learnt, positively, (but do not mention it to any one as coming from me) that the Grahamites are at a dirty trick about Vancouver. The Stanleyites were ready to support Lincoln as a party. But he puts into his motion some words about "commercial freedom" implying approval of free trade. The Stanleyites say, that, with those words in the motion, they can't support it. The words have no proper relation to the subject: but Lincoln refuses to take them out, saying that he has no idea of being dictated to, &c. He does this, knowing that he will thereby lose Stanleyite support: for he was distinctly told so. Is it not clear that he does not wish to carry his motion? It is sham-fighting; and the sham is plain.

I have some hope that it may be exposed in one of the Stanley Journals: but if not, should not Spectator at any rate spoil the dirty game? I suspect now, on reflecting back, that Lincoln has been humbugging us all along.

page 66

If you agree, send me the very words of Lincoln's motion, and, if you can, the strongest words in which Gladstone denounced the Vancouver job, both last session and the other day.

My information comes, by an accident, out of a secret conclave of Peelites, where Graham, probably, Lincoln, and Gladstone were, and the Stanleyite proposal to have the words left out, as made by Stafford, was considered and deliberately rejected.

I shan't want more than a few of the strongest expressions in Gladstone's speech, which are probably in the Spectator.