Peel  replied  that  if  S.  would  take  the  Chiltern  Hundreds,  G.  should  stand  against
him.  S.  retorted  that  the  Chiltern  Hundreds  is  a  place  under  government,  and  he
would  never  take  place  from  Peel ;  but  if  P.  would  dissolve  he  would  welcome
Gladstone  to  Lincoln — or  P.  himself;  and  added  privately  that  he  would  give  P.  or
G.  best  bottle  of  wine  in  his  cellar  if  he  would  come  to  Lincoln  and  fight  him  fairly. —
Lord  Broughton's  Diaries.
214      TRIUMTH  OF  POLICV— FALL  OF  MINISTER     book  ii.  1846

empire,'  Peel  wrote  to  ^[r.  Gladstone,  'be  ever  constructed,  if  a
dirterence  on  sucli  a  point  were  to  be  an  obstruction  to  union?
Might  not  any  one  now  say  with  perfect  honour  and,  what  is
of  more  importance  (if  they  are  not  identical),  perfect  satisfac-
tion to  his  own  conscience,  "  I  will  not  so  far  set  up  my  own
jud.uimcnt  on  one  isolated  measure  against  that  of  a  whole
adujinistration,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  preclude  me  from
co-operation  with  them  at  a  critical  jjeriod."  This,  of  course,
assumes  general  accordance  of  sentiment  on  the  great  outlines
of  public  policy.'  Wise  words  and  sound,  that  might  prevent
some  of  the  worst  mistakes  of  some  of  the  best  men.
