Cabinet at half-past three.

The Duke read a list of the several points to be considered before the next
Session. I cannot recollect half of them. East India Charter; Bank Charter;
Usury Laws; East Retford; Duties on Sugar; Duties on Tobacco; Canada; West
Indies; Education in Ireland; Irish and English Churches; Poor in Ireland;
Public Works; Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts; Reform of English
Courts; Reform of Welsh Judicature; Reform of Courts of Equity; Scotch Law
of Entail; Salaries of Scotch Judges--_increase_; Salaries of English
Judges--_reduction_; Grand Juries, Ireland; Militia Laws; Stamp Duties,
&c., &c.

The only talk we had was about Irish Poor, and Public Works in Ireland. The
feeling seemed against anything like Poor Laws, and against Public Works
too. This is mine. The first productive of mischief, the second useless.

Undoubtedly it is a great hardship that the English parish should have the
burden of Irish poor, but on the other hand in many cases the payers of
poor's rates in these parishes have derived advantage from Irish labour.

Fitzgerald, Peel, and Goulburn are to look into this subject, and all
connected with Ireland.

Fitzgerald, Peel, Lord Rosslyn, and, I think, either Herries or Goulburn
seemed to think the opposition to the continuance of the China monopoly
would be much greater than we expected. Fitzgerald seemed desirous the
question of commerce should be reserved, and that of Government decided. I
told him the two were inseparably connected.