A Cabinet council was held almost immediately after the publication of Lord John Russell’s letter, and Peel recommended the summoning of Parliament in order to take instant measures to cope with the distress in Ireland, and also to introduce legislation distinctly intended to prepare the way for the repeal of the corn laws.  Lord Stanley could not accept the proposition.  The Duke of Wellington was himself of opinion that the corn laws ought to be maintained, but at the same time he declared that he considered good government for the country more important than corn laws or any other considerations, and that he was therefore ready to support Sir Robert Peel’s Administration through thick and thin.  Lord Stanley and the Duke of Buccleuch, however, declared that they could not be parties to any legislation which tended toward the repeal of the corn-laws.  Sir Robert Peel did not feel himself strong enough to carry out his project in the face of such opposition in the Cabinet itself, and he tendered his resignation to the Queen.  The Queen sent for Lord John Russell, but Russell’s party were not very strong in the country and they had not a majority in the House of Commons.  Lord John tried, however, to form a ministry without a Parliamentary majority, and even although Sir Robert Peel would not give any pledge to support a measure for the immediate and complete repeal of the corn laws, Lord John Russell was not successful.

Lord Grey, son of the Lord Grey of the Reform Bill, objected to the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston, and thought a seat in the Cabinet ought to be offered to Cobden.  Lord John Russell had nothing to do but to announce to the Queen that he found it impossible to form a ministry.  The Queen sent for Sir Robert Peel again and asked him to withdraw his resignation.  Peel complied, and almost immediately resumed the functions of First Minister of the Crown.  The Duke of Buccleuch consented to go on with him, but Lord Stanley held to his resolution and had no place in the Ministry.  His position as Secretary of State for the Colonies was taken by William E. Gladstone.  Gladstone, however, did not sit in Parliament during the eventful session when the corn laws were repealed.  He had sat for the borough of Newark, which was under the influence of the Duke of Newcastle; and as the Duke of Newcastle had withdrawn his support from the Ministry, Gladstone did not seek re-election for Newark, and remained without a seat in the House of Commons for some months.

Parliament met on January 22, 1846.  The “speech from the throne,” delivered by the Queen in person, recommended the legislature to take into consideration the necessity of still further applying the principle on which it had formerly acted, when measures were presented “to extend commerce and to stimulate domestic skill and industry, by the repeal of prohibitive and the relaxation of protective duties.”  In the debate on the “address” Sir Robert Peel rose, after the mover and seconder had spoken