his Government. them; but if his Majesty did not think fit they should be put in, I should not put them in. He told me that I must in this be guided by the Duke of Grafton, the Lord Lieutenant; so I did not put them in.

But I was not so fond of

November 24th, Friday. - Sir R. Walpole came to my house, and informed me that there was a treaty on foot between the King and the Duke of Wolfenbuttel, whose resident, Count Dehn, was here; that it was as good as adjusted, and that Lord Townshend being sick, he could not attend to it; and that the King would not let it be communicated to the whole Cabinet, but would take the three first of the lay Lords, viz. the Chancellor, President of the Council, Privy Seal, the two Secretaries, and Sir R. Walpole, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I told him I had heard nothing of it, but that whatever the King commanded must be submitted to. He left with me a draft of the intended treaty in English. I desired to see the French, because that must be the original.

At this time, he took occasion to tell me of the great credit he had with the King, and that it was principally by the means of the Queen, who was the most able woman to govern in the world.

However, he wished now he had left off when the King came to the throne, for he looked upon himself to be in the worst situation of any man in England; that that which engaged him to go on, was seeing every one willing to settle a large Civil List on the King. He went with the others, and that the Civil List now given exceeded the Civil List given to his father, and all the additions made to it; so that this Civil List, which was given with unanimity, was more than the late King ever had, and so was a justification of his conduct as to that matter in the late reign: that he was now struck at by a great number of people. All those who had hopes on the King's coming to the throne, seeing themselves disappointed, looked upon him as the cause. All the discontented Whigs, and Carteret, Roxburgh, Berkeley, Bolingbroke, the Speaker, Compton, and Pulteney, were entered into a formal confederacy against him; and if he could once retire, he never would meddle by way of opposition, but would comply with the Government in every thing.

25th.-Lord Townshend sent me the French draught of the intended treaty.

Sunday 26th.-At Court. Sir R. Walpole desired me to be at home the next evening, for

he would come and talk with me about the treaty. The King spoke to me that he was entering into a treaty with the Duke of Wolfenbuttel; that it was personal to him, and that he had appointed me a Commissioner. I told him it was usual to appoint the whole Cabinet. He said he did not like it. I told him I must submit to his pleasure.

27th. I was at home all the evening to expect Sir R. Walpole; but he sent me word at eight that evening that he could not come.

28th.-Sir R. Walpole came to me in the evening, and talked to me about the treaty, and that he was against having the Cabinet; no good ever came from them.

29th. This being the day in term when I had resolved to go to Ockham, just before I went out, there came a Bill to me by a messenger, signed by the King, for passing the Commission under the Great Seal, to treat and sign with the Ministers of the Duke of Wolfenbuttel. The said Bill or Warrant was dated the 28th of November. I immediately put the seal to the Commission, delivered it to the messenger, and forthwith went to Ockham.

30th.-Received at Ockham a letter from the Duke of Newcastle, dated November 29th, wherein he acquainted me that the treaty with

the Duke of Wolfenbuttel had been adjusted with Count Dehn; and he being very pressing to have it signed forthwith, the Duke desired me to be in town this day, that so we might meet, and sign with Count Dehn on Friday. He likewise took notice, that when I came, the Commission must be re-sealed, the reason whereof he would tell me when he saw me. To this I returned answer, that my constant and continued application to the business of the Court of Chancery had brought upon me rheumatical and sciatical pains; and if I had any regard to myself or family, I must for remedy stay three or four days in the country. And therefore, I hoped he would excuse my coming this day, especially when there was no necessity, because two are sufficient to sign.

Dec. 1st.-Received a letter from the Duke of Newcastle, dated 30th November, letting me know that there was a mistake in the date of the full power, and that which made it material was, that Count Dehn had writ to his master, on Saturday the 25th, that the treaty was then signed; and therefore the treaty must be antedated, and the King's warrant, and so sent me a new warrant, dated the 25th, to which I put the seal and returned it. And he told me by the same letter, that on the return

of this full power new sealed, they could sign the treaty without giving me any farther trouble. I received at the same time a letter from Sir R. Walpole, much to the same purpose.

January 2nd, 1728. In the evening at the Duke of Devonshire's, there being present the said Duke, the Duke of Newcastle, Sir R. Walpole, Lord Trevor, and myself. The Duke of Newcastle and Sir R. Walpole communicated to us that the King of France had sent orders to Count Rottemburg, with memoires or instructions very little different from what had been desired of them; and producing a copy of these memoires, Sir R. Walpole asked whether any thing was to be objected to these memoires, or to our assenting to them. I asked him whether they were not already gone from the Court of France to Rottemburg at the Court of Spain. He told me they were. I then said that our assent was not now of any great importance. On that he went on to read them, and asked particularly whether in that part of the memoires or orders which related to the ship Prince Frederick, that it should be determined at the Congress whether it was contraband or not, et en cette discussion all the pretensions of Spain should be considered, and the affair of Gibraltar, or any thing relating