On the 16th the vote was moved by the Duke himself in the House of Lords, and by Sir Robert Peel in the Commons. The good old Duke spoke warmly in praise of his friend and colleague, and, according to Greville, he spoke 'marvellously well.' He went so far as to describe Ellenborough's letter to Nott of the 4th of July, as the 'handsomest instructions he had ever seen given by any authority to any officer.' His somewhat slighting reference to the services of Sir George Pollock — for of Nott he thought highly — was amply repaired by Peel in one of his most eloquent speeches. Several of the Whig leaders in both houses sharply criticized Lord Ellenborough's acts and utterances. Lord John Russell summed up his Lordship's merits in the fact that he had ordered supplies for the troops collected by Lord Auckland, and that he 'did not prevent the forward operations against Ghazní and Kábul, but gave General Nott full liberty, if he thought right, to relinquish the attempt.' One sturdy Radical, Joseph Hume, proposed to exclude the Governor-General, pending further inquiry, from the vote of thanks. Lord Auckland's contribution to the debates did credit to his own good sense, his magnanimity, and his public spirit. His praise of our officers and men was qualified by no abuse of the Governor-General[1].
The vote of thanks parsed through both Houses without a division, for the Whigs knew their Parliamentary weakness too well to push resistance beyond words.
- ↑ Lord Colchester; Greville Memoirs; Low.
