that ever since the time of the first Duke of Cumberland, the army had been considered as under the exclusive control of the sovereign, without any right of interference on the part of his ministers, save in matters relating to levying, clothing, feeding, and paying it; and he expressed a strong disinclination to make any concession which should fetter himself, and the Duke of York, in doing as they pleased with their own.
Lord Grenville, however, remained firm; for, in the opinion of himself and his friends, the safety of the kingdom required that he should be so, and, ultimately, the king gave way, on condition that no changes should be carried into effect at the Horse Guards without his knowledge and approval.
But other and more complaisant advisers soon replaced Lord Grenville, and circumstances, entirely corroborative of the estimate which Grenville and Cornwallis had formed of his character, rendered it advisable that the Duke of York should retire from public life.[1] Sir David Dundas, notoriously one of the most incapable and unfit general officers in the service, was selected by the court as H.R.H.'s successor; and, about two years afterwards, George III. finally disappeared from the scene, and the Regency commenced.[2] Then the duke, in spite of all that had transpired, was instantly recalled by his royal brother to Whitehall, where he remained until his death. The Regent was not the man to waive one iota of what he held to be his prerogative. During his reign, the right of the Crown to the irresponsible direction of the British army was fully asserted; and, in spite of five years of almost unvaried success in the Peninsula, and of the crowning glory of Waterloo, a fantastically dressed, luxurious, and unpopular body it became under the royal auspices. To the present day, regimental officers, fond of their glass, bless his Majesty for what is called "the Prince Regent's allowance," a boon which daily ensures to them a cheap after-dinner bottle of wine, at a cost to their more abstemious brother officers, and to taxpayers in general, of 27,000l. a year.
Happily for the present generation, matters have changed since those corrupt times, in many—many respects for the better. The British army is no longer looked upon by the people as a costly and not very useful toy,
- ↑ "The Duke of York is certainly in a bad way. All that we can do will be to acquit him of corruption; and indeed I doubt whether we shall be able to carry him so far as to acquit him of suspecting Mrs. Clarke's practices and allowing them to go on. If we should succeed in both these objects, the question will then turn upon the point whether it is proper that a prince of the blood, who has manifested so much weakness as he has, and has led such a life (for that is material in these days), is a proper person to be intrusted with the duties of a responsible office. "We shall be beat upon this question, I think. If we should carry it by a small majority, the duke will equally be obliged to resign his office, and most probably the consequence of such a victory must be that the government will be broken up."—Sir A. Wellesley to the Duke of Richmond, 1809.
- ↑ "General Dundas is, I understand, appointed commander-in-chief, I should imagine much against the inclination of the king's ministers; but I understand that it is expected that the Duke of York will be able to resume his situation by the time Sir David is quite superannuated, and it might not be so easy to get a younger or a better man out of office at so early a period."—Sir A. W. to the Duke of R., 1809.
