Godwin is anxious with regard to William Lamb Melbourne, 2nd Viscount because there were proposals to abolish sinecure offices, and he feared his would be swept away with the others. In a letter to Mary Jane Godwin (30 August 1834) he related that he had written to Melbourne but that he was still out of town and was waiting until his return to deliver the letter. In a postscript he subsequently related that he had left a letter with Melbourne’s servant. It took some time to resolve the issue of Godwin’s office (which was preserved during his lifetime) and there was a correspondence between Godwin and Melbourne, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel, and some with Lady Sophia Sidney whom he asks to intercede on his behalf.

See Morning Chronicle, 3 September 1834 and Abinger Papers, Dep b. 227.4a-30 (27 August 1834); Dep b. 227.4a-31 (16 October 1834); Dep b. 227.4a-32 (28 November 1834); Dep b. 227.4a-33 (28 November 1834); Dep b. 227.4a-34 (18 December 1834) and Dep b. 227.4a-35 (3 January 1835).