"William, you must understand, our party is currently standing at the edge of a cliff, just a slight move and we could fall into the abyss at any moment."
Palmerston was persuading with reason and emotion: "If Peel hadn't failed to make concessions to O'Connell on the issue of the Ireland Church, we would have lost the majority of seats in the Lower House by now!"
Viscount Melbourne sighed at these words.
Of course, he knew Palmerston was not being alarmist; the House of Lords had always been a traditional Tory stronghold, and the Whig Party's current lead in the Lower House was practically negligible.
If it weren't for the long-standing grievances between Irish leader O'Connell and Peel on issues like Catholic emancipation and Irish autonomy, the Conservative Party might have already moved a vote of no confidence against the Melbourne Cabinet in the Lower House.
