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+Project Gutenberg's William Pitt and the Great War, by John Holland Rose
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: William Pitt and the Great War
+
+Author: John Holland Rose
+
+Release Date: April 3, 2008 [EBook #24980]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM PITT AND THE GREAT WAR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Paul Murray, Wolfgang Menges and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+ Transcriber's Notes:
+
+
+ Italics have been marked with underscores, like '_this_'.
+
+ Greek passages have been transcribed, using '+', like '+atê+'.
+
+ OE ligature and oe ligature have been changed to 'OE' or 'oe'.
+
+ Corrections, as listed in the "ERRATA" paragraph, have been made.
+
+ Besides,
+ Page 4, "disance" changed to "distance" (owing to the long distance,).
+
+ Page 16, "circulalation" changed to "circulation" (and many of them
+ helped on the circulation).
+
+ Pages 83 and 167, "Barrère" equalized to "Barère" (according to Index).
+
+ Page 104, "imdiately" changed to "immediately" (which was immediately
+ granted.).
+
+ Page 208, "Möllendorff" equalized to "Möllendorf" (according to Index).
+
+ Page 325, "brother in-law" changed to "brother-in-law" (Pitt, owing to
+ news of the death of his brother-in-law,)
+
+ Page 399/400, "arewell" changed to "farewell" (just after saying
+ farewell to Clare at Dublin,).
+
+ Page 419, "of couse" changed to "of course" (This proposal of course
+ implied).
+
+ Page 422, "futher" changed to "further" (to make further concessions
+ to that body.).
+
+ Page 451, "symptons" changed to "symptoms" (From these extraordinary
+ symptoms he augured).
+
+ Page 456, Footnote 609, "Soo" changed to "So" (So, too, Tomline said).
+
+ Page 496, "convicton" changed to "conviction" (But that he was drifting
+ to this conviction).
+
+ Page 528, "counsellers" changed to "counsellors" (and he and his
+ counsellors saw far more hope).
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: WILLIAM PITT, IN LATER LIFE. (From a painting by
+ Hoppner in the National Portrait Gallery)]
+
+
+
+
+ WILLIAM PITT
+
+ AND
+
+ THE GREAT WAR
+
+ BY
+
+ J. HOLLAND ROSE, LITT.D.
+
+
+
+
+ England and France have held in their hands the fate of the
+ world, especially that of European civilization. How much harm
+ we have done one another: how much good we might have done!
+ --_Napoleon to Colonel Wilks, 20th April 1816._
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: Publisher's emblem]
+
+ LONDON
+
+ G. BELL AND SONS, LTD.
+
+ 1911
+
+ CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
+ TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+ PREFACE
+
+
+In the former volume, entitled "William Pitt and National Revival," I
+sought to trace the career of Pitt the Younger up to the year 1791.
+Until then he was occupied almost entirely with attempts to repair the
+evils arising out of the old order of things. Retrenchment and Reform
+were his first watchwords; and though in the year 1785 he failed in his
+efforts to renovate the life of Parliament and to improve the fiscal
+relations with Ireland, yet his domestic policy in the main achieved a
+surprising success. Scarcely less eminent, though far less known, were
+his services in the sphere of diplomacy. In the year 1783, when he
+became First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer,
+nearly half of the British Empire was torn away, and the remainder
+seemed to be at the mercy of the allied Houses of Bourbon. France,
+enjoying the alliance of Spain and Austria and the diplomatic wooings of
+Catharine II and Frederick the Great, gave the law to Europe.
+
+By the year 1790 all had changed. In 1787 Pitt supported Frederick
+William II of Prussia in overthrowing French supremacy in the Dutch
+Netherlands; and a year later he framed with those two States an
+alliance which not only dictated terms to Austria at the Congress of
+Reichenbach but also compelled her to forego her far-reaching schemes on
+the lower Danube, and to restore the _status quo_ in Central Europe and
+in her Belgian provinces. British policy triumphed over that of Spain in
+the Nootka Sound dispute of the year 1790, thereby securing for the
+Empire the coast of what is now British Columbia; it also saved Sweden
+from a position of acute danger; and Pitt cherished the hope of forming
+a league of the smaller States, including the Dutch Republic, Denmark,
+Sweden, Poland, and, if possible, Turkey, which, with support from Great
+Britain and Prussia, would withstand the almost revolutionary schemes of
+the Russian and Austrian Courts.
+
+These larger aims were unattainable. The duplicity of the Court of
+Berlin, the triumphs of the Russian arms on the Danube, and changes in
+the general diplomatic situation, enabled Catharine II to foil the
+efforts of Pitt in 1791. She worked her will on the Turks and not long
+after on the Poles; Sweden came to an understanding with her; and
+Prussia, slighting the British alliance, drew near to the new Hapsburg
+Sovereign, Leopold II. In fact, the events of the French Revolution in
+the year 1791 served to focus attention more and more upon Paris; and
+monarchs who had thought of little but the conquest or partition of
+weaker States now talked of a crusade to restore order at Paris, with
+Gustavus III of Sweden as the new Coeur de Lion. This occidentation of
+diplomacy became pronounced at the time of the attempted escape of
+Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to the eastern frontier at Midsummer
+1791. Their capture at Varennes and their ignominious return to Paris
+are in several respects the central event of the French Revolution. The
+incident aroused both democrats and royalists to a fury which foredoomed
+to failure all attempts at compromise between the old order and the new.
+The fierceness of the strife in France incited monarchists in all lands
+to importunate demands for the extirpation of "the French plague"; and
+hence were set in motion forces which Pitt vainly strove to curb. War
+soon broke out in Central Europe. His endeavours to localize it were
+fruitless; and thenceforth his chief task was to bring to an honourable
+close a conflict which he had not sought. It is therefore fitting that
+this study of the latter, less felicitous, but equally glorious part of
+his career should begin with a survey of the situation in Great Britain
+and on the Continent at the time of the incident at Varennes which
+opened a new chapter in the history of Europe.
+
+In the present volume I have sought to narrate faithfully and as fully
+as is possible the story of the dispute with France, the chief episodes
+of the war, and the varied influences which it exerted upon political
+developments in these islands, including the early Radical movement, the
+Irish Rebellion of 1798, and other events which brought about the Union
+of the British and Irish Parliaments, the break up of the great national
+party at Westminster in 1801, and the collapse of the strength of Pitt
+early in the course of the struggle with the concentrated might of
+Napoleon.
+
+That mighty drama dwarfs the actors. Even the French Emperor could not
+sustain the rôle which he aspired to play, and, failing to discern the
+signs of the times, was whirled aside by the forces which he claimed to
+control. Is it surprising that Pitt, more slightly endowed by nature,
+and beset by the many limitations which hampered the advisers of
+George III, should have sunk beneath burdens such as no other English
+statesman has been called upon to bear? The success or failure of such a
+career is, however, to be measured by the final success or failure of
+his policy; and in this respect, as I have shown, the victor in the
+Great War was not Napoleon but Pitt.
+
+To that high enterprise he consecrated all the powers of his being. His
+public life is everything; his private life, unfortunately, counts for
+little. The materials for reconstructing it are meagre. I have been able
+here and there to throw new light on his friendships, difficulties,
+trials, and, in particular, on the love episode of the year 1797. But in
+the main the story of the life of Pitt must soar high above the club and
+the _salon_ to
+
+ ... the toppling heights of Duty scaled.
+
+Again I must express my hearty thanks to those who have generously
+placed at my disposal new materials of great value, especially to His
+Grace the Duke of Portland, the Earl of Harrowby, Earl Stanhope, E. G.
+Pretyman, Esq., M.P., and A. M. Broadley, Esq.; also to the Rev. William
+Hunt, D.Litt., and Colonel E. M. Lloyd, late R.E., for valuable advice
+tendered during the correction of the proofs, and to Mr. Hubert Hall of
+H.M. Public Record Office for assistance during my researches there. I
+am also indebted to Lord Auckland and to Messrs. Longmans for permission
+to reproduce the miniature of the Hon. Miss Eden which appeared in Lord
+Ashbourne's "Pitt, Some Chapters of his Life and Times," and to Mr. and
+Mrs. Doulton for permission to my daughter to make the sketch of Bowling
+Green House, the last residence of Pitt, which is reproduced near the
+end of this volume. In the preface to the former volume I expressed my
+acknowledgements to recent works bearing on this subject; and I need
+only add that numerous new letters of George III, Pitt, Grenville,
+Burke, Canning, etc., which could only be referred to here, will be
+published in a work entitled "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies," including
+also essays and notes.
+
+ J. H. R.
+MARCH 1911.
+
+
+
+
+ CONTENTS
+
+
+ CHAP. PAGE
+
+ I. ROYALISTS AND RADICALS 1
+ II. BEFORE THE STORM 29
+ III. PEACE OR WAR? 57
+ IV. THE RUPTURE WITH FRANCE 85
+ V. THE FLEMISH CAMPAIGN (1793) 118
+ VI. TOULON 143
+ VII. THE BRITISH JACOBINS 164
+ VIII. PITT AND THE ALLIES (1794-5) 195
+ IX. THE WEST INDIES 219
+ X. SPAIN AND HAYTI 230
+ XI. THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE: CORSICA: QUIBERON 250
+ XII. PITT AS WAR MINISTER (1793-8) 265
+ XIII. DEARTH AND DISCONTENT 282
+ XIV. THE YEARS OF STRAIN (1796-7) 299
+ XV. NATIONAL REVIVAL 321
+ XVI. THE IRISH REBELLION 339
+ XVII. THE SECOND COALITION 365
+ XVIII. THE UNION 389
+ XIX. THE UNION (CONTINUED) 411
+ XX. RESIGNATION 431
+ XXI. PITT AND HIS FRIENDS (1794-1805) 454
+ XXII. ADDINGTON OR PITT? 483
+ XXIII. PITT AND NAPOLEON 505
+ XXIV. THE LAST STRUGGLE 534
+ EPILOGUE 559
+ STATISTICS OF THE YEARS 1792-1801 571
+ INDEX 573
+
+
+
+
+ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ TO FACE
+ PAGE
+
+ WILLIAM PITT, IN LATER LIFE. (From a painting by
+ Hoppner in the National Portrait Gallery) _Frontispiece_
+
+ SEAT OF WAR IN FLANDERS. 141
+
+ THE SIEGE OF TOULON. (By Emmanuel Toulougeon, Paris) 163
+
+ THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN 1793. (From a painting in
+ the National Portrait Gallery by K. A. Hickel) 164
+
+ THE HON. ELEANOR EDEN. (From a miniature) 300
+
+ HENRY DUNDAS, FIRST VISCOUNT MELVILLE. (From a
+ painting by Sir T. Lawrence) 484
+
+ BOWLING GREEN HOUSE, PUTNEY HEATH. (From a
+ pencil sketch by Elsie H. Rose) 554
+
+
+
+
+ ERRATA
+
+
+ Page 180, _ad fin._, _for_ "Hamilton, Rowan" _read_ "Hamilton Rowan."
+ " 311, line 1, _for_ "formerly" _read_ "brother of."
+ " 311, line 2, _for_ "Lord Hood" _read_ "Sir Alexander Hood."
+ " 551, line 11 from end, _for_ "6th" _read_ "4th."
+
+
+
+
+ABBREVIATIONS OF THE TITLES OF THE CHIEF WORKS REFERRED TO IN THIS
+VOLUME
+
+
+ANN. REG. = "Annual Register."
+
+ASHBOURNE = "Pitt: some Chapters of his Life and Times," by the Rt. Hon.
+Lord Ashbourne. 1898.
+
+AUCKLAND JOURNALS = "The Journal and Corresp. of William, Lord
+Auckland." 4 vols. 1861.
+
+BEAUFORT P. = "MSS. of the Duke of Beaufort," etc. (Hist. MSS. Comm.).
+1891.
+
+B.M. ADD. MSS. = Additional Manuscripts of the British Museum.
+
+BUCKINGHAM P. = "Mems. of the Court and Cabinets of George III," by the
+Duke of Buckingham. 2 vols. 1853.
+
+CAMPBELL = "Lives of the Lord Chancellors," by Lord Campbell. 8 vols.
+1845-69.
+
+CASTLEREAGH CORRESP. = "Mems. and Corresp. of Viscount Castlereagh." 8
+vols. 1848-53.
+
+CHEVENING MSS. = Manuscripts of Earl Stanhope, preserved at Chevening.
+
+CUNNINGHAM = "Growth of Eng. Industry and Commerce (Modern Times)," by
+Dr. W. Cunningham. 1892.
+
+DROPMORE P. = "The Manuscripts of J. B. Fortescue, Esq., preserved at
+Dropmore" (Hist. MSS. Comm.). 7 vols. 1892-1910.
+
+FORTESCUE = "The History of the British Army," by the Hon. J. W.
+Fortescue. vol. iv.
+
+HÄUSSER = "Deutsche Geschichte (1786-1804)," by L. Häusser. 4 vols.
+1861-3.
+
+HOLLAND = "Memoirs of the Whig Party," by Lord Holland. 2 vols. 1852.
+
+JESSE = "Mems. of the Life and Reign of George III," by J. H. Jesse. 3
+vols. 1867.
+
+LECKY = "Hist. of England in the Eighteenth Century," by W. E. H. Lecky.
+8 vols. Fifth edit. 1891-1904.
+
+MALMESBURY DIARIES = "Diaries and Corresp. of the First Earl of
+Malmesbury." 4 vols. 1844.
+
+PARL. HIST. = "History of the Parliamentary Debates" (after 1804
+continued in Hansard).
+
+PELLEW = "Life and Corresp. of the first Viscount Sidmouth," by Rev. C.
+Pellew. 3 vols. 1847.
+
+PITT MSS. = Pitt MSS., preserved at H.M. Public Record Office.
+
+PORRITT = "The Unreformed House of Commons," by E. Porritt, 2 vols.
+1909.
+
+PRETYMAN MSS. = MSS. of E. G. Pretyman, Esq., M.P., preserved at Orwell
+Park.
+
+ROSE G., "DIARIES" = "Diaries and Corresp. of Rt. Hon. G. Rose." 2 vols.
+1860.
+
+ROSE, "NAPOLEON" = "Life of Napoleon," by J. H. Rose. 2 vols. 1909.
+
+ROSE, "THIRD COALITION" = "Select Despatches ... relating to the
+Formation of the Third Coalition (1804-5)," ed. by J. H. Rose (Royal
+Historical Soc., 1904).
+
+RUTLAND P. = "MSS. of the Duke of Rutland" (Hist. MSS. Comm.). 3 vols.
+1894.
+
+RUVILLE = "William Pitt, Earl of Chatham," by A. von Ruville (Eng.
+transl.). 3 vols. 1907.
+
+SOREL = "L'Europe et la Révolution française," par A. Sorel. Pts. II,
+III. 1889, 1897.
+
+STANHOPE = "Life of ... William Pitt," by Earl Stanhope. 4 vols. 3rd
+edition. 1867.
+
+SYBEL = "Geschichte der Revolutionzeit (1789-1800)," von H. von Sybel.
+Eng. translation. 4 vols. 1867-9.
+
+VIVENOT = "Quellen zur Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserpolitik
+OEsterreichs ..." von A. von Vivenot. 1873.
+
+WRAXALL = "Memoirs of Sir N. W. Wraxall" (1772-84), edited by H. B.
+Wheatley. 5 vols. 1884.
+
+
+
+
+ WILLIAM PITT AND THE GREAT WAR
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER I
+
+ ROYALISTS AND RADICALS[1]
+
+ Détruire l'anarchie française, c'est se préparer une gloire
+ immortelle.--CATHARINE II, 1791.
+
+ The pretended Rights of Man, which have made this havoc, cannot
+ be the rights of the people. For to be a people and to have
+ these rights are incompatible. The one supposes the presence,
+ the other the absence, of a state of civil society.--BURKE,
+ _Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs_.
+
+ A constitution is the property of a nation and not of those who
+ exercise the Government.--T. PAINE, _Rights of Man_, part ii.
+
+
+In the midst of a maze of events there may sometimes be found one which
+serves as a clue, revealing hidden paths, connecting ways which seem far
+apart, and leading to a clear issue. Such was the attempted flight of
+Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to the eastern frontier of France at
+midsummer 1791, which may be termed the central event of the French
+Revolution, at least in its first phases. The aim of joining the armed
+bands of _émigrés_ and the forces held in readiness by Austria was so
+obvious as to dispel the myth of "a patriot King" misled for a time by
+evil counsellors. True, the moderates, from sheer alarm, still sought to
+save the monarchy, and for a time with surprising success. But bolder
+men, possessed both of insight and humour, perceived the futility of
+all such efforts to hold down on the throne the father of his people
+lest he should again run away. In this perception the young Republican
+party found its genesis and its inspiration. In truth, the attempted
+flight of the King was a death-blow to the moderate party, into which
+the lamented leader, Mirabeau, had sought to infuse some of his
+masterful energy. Thenceforth, the future belonged either to the
+Jacobins or to the out and out royalists.
+
+These last saw the horizon brighten in the East. Louis XVI being under
+constraint in Paris, their leaders were the French Princes, the Comte de
+Provence (afterwards Louis XVIII) and the Comte d'Artois (Charles X).
+Around them at Coblentz there clustered angry swarms of French nobles,
+gentlemen, and orthodox priests, whose zeal was reckoned by the
+earliness of the date at which they had "emigrated." For many months the
+agents of these _émigrés_ had vainly urged the Chanceries of the
+Continent to a royalist crusade against the French rebels; and it seemed
+appropriate that Gustavus III of Sweden should be their only convert.
+Now of a sudden their demands appeared, instinct with statecraft; and
+courtiers everywhere exclaimed that "the French pest" must be stamped
+out. In that thought lay in germ a quarter of a century of war.
+
+Already the Prussian and Austrian Governments had vaguely discussed the
+need of a joint intervention in France. In fact this subject formed one
+of the pretexts for the missions of the Prussian envoy, Bischoffswerder,
+to the Emperor Leopold in February and June 1791.[2] As was shown at the
+close of the former volume, "William Pitt and National Revival," neither
+Court took the matter seriously, the Eastern Question being then their
+chief concern. But the flight to Varennes, which Leopold had helped to
+arrange, imposed on him the duty of avenging the ensuing insults to his
+sister. He prepared to do so with a degree of caution highly
+characteristic of him. He refused to move until he knew the disposition
+of the Powers, especially of England. From Padua, where the news of the
+capture of Louis at Varennes reached him, he wrote an autograph letter
+to George III, dated 6th July, urging him to join in a general demand
+for the liberation of the King and Queen of France. He also invited the
+monarchs of Europe to launch a Declaration, that they regarded the cause
+of Louis as their own, and in the last resort to put down a usurpation
+of power which it behoved all Governments to repress.[3]
+
+The reply of George, dated St. James's, 23rd July, bears the imprint of
+the cool and cautious personality of Pitt and Grenville, who in this
+matter may be counted as one. The King avowed his sympathy with the
+French Royal Family and his interest in the present proposals, but
+declared that his attitude must depend on his relations to other Powers.
+He therefore cherished the hope that the Emperor would consult the
+welfare of the whole of Europe by aiding in the work of pacification
+between Austria and Turkey now proceeding at Sistova. So soon as those
+negotiations were completed, he would instruct his Ministers to consider
+the best means of cementing a union between the Allies and the
+Emperor.[4]
+
+Leopold must have gnashed his teeth on reading this reply, which beat
+him at his own game of _finesse_. He had used the difficulties of
+England as a means of escaping from the pledges plighted at the
+Conference of Reichenbach in July 1790. Pitt and Grenville retorted by
+ironically refusing all help until he fulfilled those pledges. As we
+have seen, they succeeded; and the pacification in the East, as also in
+Belgium, was the result.
+
+Equally chilling was the conduct of Pitt towards the _émigrés_. The
+French Princes at Coblentz had sent over the former French Minister,
+Calonne, "to solicit from His Majesty an assurance of his neutrality in
+the event ... of an attempt being made by the Emperor and other Powers
+in support of the royal party in France." Pitt and Grenville refused to
+receive Calonne, and sent to the Comte d'Artois a letter expressing
+sympathy with the situation of the King and Queen of France, but
+declining to give any promise as to the line of conduct which the
+British Government might pursue.[5]
+
+No less vague were the terms in which George III replied to a letter of
+the King of Sweden. Gustavus had for some little time been at
+Aix-la-Chapelle in the hope of leading a royalist crusade into France as
+a sequel to the expected escape of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. As
+readers of Carlyle will remember, the Swedish noble, Count Fersen,
+chivalrously helped their flight towards Metz; and deep was the chagrin
+of Gustavus and his squire on hearing the news from Varennes. They
+longed to strike at once. But how could they strike while Leopold,
+Catharine, and Frederick William declared that everything must depend on
+the action of England? The following significant sentence in Fersen's
+diary shows the feeling prevalent at Brussels, as elsewhere, respecting
+England: "We must know if that Power regards the continuation of anarchy
+in France as more advantageous than order."[6] Fersen had imbibed this
+notion at Brussels from Count Mercy d'Argenteau, the Austrian Minister,
+whose letters often harp on this string. Thus on 7th March 1791 he
+writes: "The worst obstacles for the King of France will always come
+from England, which wishes to prolong the horrors in France and ruin
+her." A little later he avers that the only way to save the French
+monarchy is by a civil war, "and England (unless won over) will support
+the popular party."[7]
+
+In order to win Pitt over to the cause of neutrality from which he never
+intended to swerve, Gustavus and Fersen persuaded an Englishman named
+Crawford to proceed to London with letters for George III and Pitt,
+dated 22nd July.[8] To the King he described the danger to all
+Governments which must ensue if the French revolted with impunity. He
+therefore begged to know speedily whether His Majesty would accord full
+liberty "to the Princes of Germany and to those, who, owing to the long
+distance, can only arrive by sea."[9] Evidently, then, Gustavus feared
+lest England might stop the fleet in which he intended to convey Swedish
+and Russian troops to the coast of Normandy for a dash at Paris. The
+answer of George soothed these fears, and that of Pitt, dated August
+1791, was a model of courtly complaisance.
+
+Compared with the shrewd balancings of the Emperor Leopold and the cold
+neutrality of Pitt, the policy of Frederick William II of Prussia seemed
+for a time to be instinct with generosity. Despite the fears of his
+counsellors that a _rapprochement_ to Austria would involve Prussia in
+the ruin which the friendship of the Hapsburgs had brought on France,
+the King turned eagerly towards Vienna; and on 25th July Kaunitz and
+Bischoffswerder signed a preliminary treaty of alliance mutually
+guaranteeing their territories, and agreeing to further the aims of the
+Emperor respecting France. Frederick William was on fire for the
+royalist crusade. He even assured Baron Rolle, the agent of the French
+princes, that something would be done in that season.[10] Pitt and
+Grenville disapproved the action of Prussia in signing this compact,
+impairing as it did the validity of the Anglo-Prussian alliance of the
+year 1788; but Frederick William peevishly asserted his right to make
+what treaties he thought good, and remarked that he was now quits with
+England for the bad turns she had played him.[11] On their side, the
+British Ministers, by way of marking their disapproval of the warlike
+counsels of Berlin and Vienna, decided not to send an envoy to Pilnitz,
+the summer abode of the Elector of Saxony, where a conference was
+arranged between Leopold and Frederick William.
+
+As is well known, the Comte d'Artois and Calonne now cherished lofty
+hopes of decisive action by all the monarchs against the French rebels.
+But Leopold, with his usual caution, repelled alike the solicitations of
+Artois and the warlike counsels of Frederick William, the result of
+their deliberations being the famous Declaration of Pilnitz (27th
+August). In it they expressed the hope that all the sovereigns of Europe
+
+ will not refuse to employ, in conjunction with their said
+ Majesties, the most efficient means in proportion to their
+ resources, to place the King of France in a position to
+ establish with the most absolute freedom, the foundations of a
+ monarchical form of government, which shall at once be in
+ harmony with the rights of sovereigns and promote the welfare of
+ the French nation. In that case [_alors et dans ce cas_] their
+ said Majesties, the Emperor and the King of Prussia, are
+ resolved to act promptly and in common accord with the forces
+ necessary to attain the desired common end.
+
+Obviously, the gist of the whole Declaration lay in the words _alors et
+dans ce cas_. If they be emphasized, they destroy the force of the
+document; for a union of all the monarchs was an impossibility, it being
+well known that England would not, and Sardinia, and Naples (probably
+also Spain) could not, take up arms. In fact, on that very evening
+Leopold wrote to Kaunitz that he had not in the least committed
+himself.--"_Alors et dans ce cas_ is with me the law and the prophets.
+If England fails us, the case is non-existent." Further, when the Comte
+d'Artois, two days later, urged the Emperor to give effect to the
+Declaration by ordering his troops to march westwards, he sent a sharp
+retort, asserted that he would not go beyond the Declaration, and
+forbade the French Princes to do so.[12]
+
+To the good sense and insight of Grenville and Pitt, the Pilnitz
+Declaration was one of the _comédies augustes_ of history, as Mallet du
+Pan termed it. Grenville saw that Leopold would stay his hand until
+England chose to act, meanwhile alleging her neutrality as an excuse for
+doing nothing.[13] Thus, the resolve of Catharine to give nothing but
+fair words being already surmised, the _émigrés_ found to their
+annoyance that Pitt's passivity clogged their efforts--the chief reason
+why they shrilly upbraided him for his insular egotism. Certainly his
+attitude was far from romantic; but surely, after the sharp lesson which
+he had received from the House of Commons in the spring of 1791 during
+the dispute with Russia, caution was needful; and he probably discerned
+a truth hidden from the _émigrés_, that an invasion of France for the
+rescue of the King and Queen would seal their doom and increase the
+welter in that unhappy land.
+
+Pitt and Grenville spent the middle of September at Weymouth in
+attendance on George III; and we can imagine their satisfaction at the
+prospect of universal peace and prosperity. Pitt consoled himself for
+the not very creditable end to the Russian negotiation by reflecting
+that our revenue was steadily rising. "We are already £178,000 gainers
+in this quarter," he wrote to George Rose on 10th August.[14] In fact,
+the cyclonic disturbances of the past few years now gave place to a
+lull. The Russo-Turkish War had virtually ended; Catharine and Gustavus
+were on friendly terms; the ferment in the Hapsburg dominions had died
+down, except in Brabant; the Poles were working their new constitution
+well; and, but for Jacobin propaganda in Italy and the Rhineland, the
+outlook was serene.
+
+At this time, too, there seemed a chance of a reconciliation between
+Louis XVI and his people. On 14th September he accepted the new
+democratic constitution, a step which filled France with rejoicing and
+furnished the desired excuse for Leopold to remain passive. Kaunitz, who
+had consistently opposed intervention in France, now asserted that Louis
+had voluntarily accepted the constitution. The action of Louis and Marie
+Antoinette was in reality forced. Amidst the Queen's expressions of
+contempt for the French Princes at Coblentz, the suppressed fire of her
+fury against her captors flashes forth in this sentence written to Mercy
+d'Argenteau (28th August)--"The only question for us is to lull them to
+sleep and inspire them with confidence so as to trick them the better
+afterwards."--And again (12th September)--"My God! Must I, with this
+blood in my veins, pass my days among such beings as these, and in such
+an age as this?" Leopold must have known her real feelings; but he chose
+to abide by the official language of Louis, and to advise the Powers to
+accept the new situation.[15]
+
+This peaceful turn of affairs sorely troubled the French Princes and
+Burke. In August and September 1791 his son Richard was at Coblentz, and
+informed his father of the consternation of the _émigrés_ on hearing
+that the Emperor declined to draw the sword. Burke himself was equally
+agitated, and on or about 24th September had a long interview with Pitt
+and Grenville, at the house of the latter. We gather from Burke's
+"Letters on the Conduct of our Domestic Parties," that it was the first
+time he had met Pitt in private; and the meeting must have been somewhat
+awkward. After dining, with Grenville as host, the three men conferred
+together till eleven o'clock, discussing the whole situation "very
+calmly" (says Burke); but we can fancy the tumult of feelings in the
+breast of the old man when he found both Ministers firm as adamant
+against intervention in France. "They are certainly right as to their
+general inclinations," he wrote to his son, "perfectly so, I have not a
+shadow of doubt; but at the same time they are cold and dead as to any
+attempt whatsoever to give them effect." The heat of the Irish royalist
+failed to kindle a spark of feeling in the two cousins. He found that
+their "deadness" proceeded from a rooted distrust of the Emperor
+Leopold, and from a conviction that Britain had nothing to fear from
+Jacobinical propaganda. Above all they believed that the present was not
+the time for action, especially as the imminence of bankruptcy in France
+would discredit the new Legislative Assembly, and render an invasion
+easier in the near future.
+
+Are we to infer from this that Pitt and his cousin looked forward to a
+time when the monarchs could invade France with safety? Such an
+inference would be rash. It is more probable that they here found an
+excuse for postponing their decision and a means of calming an insistent
+visitor. Certainly they impressed Burke with a belief in their sincere
+but secret sympathy with the royalist cause. The three men also agreed
+in suspecting Leopold, though Burke tried to prove that his treachery
+was not premeditated, but sprang from "some complexional inconstancy."
+Pitt and Grenville, knowing the doggedness with which the Emperor pushed
+towards his goal, amidst many a shift and turn, evidently were not
+convinced.
+
+At this time they had special reasons for distrusting Leopold and his
+advisers. The Austrian Government had received a letter, dated Dresden,
+27th August (the day of the Declaration of Pilnitz), stating that
+England promised to remain neutral only on condition that the Emperor
+would not withdraw any troops from his Belgic lands, as they were needed
+to uphold the arrangements of which she was a guarantee. This
+extraordinary statement grew out of a remark of Grenville to the
+Austrian Ambassador in London, that, in view of the unrest in the
+Netherlands, it might be well not to leave them without troops.[16] The
+mis-statement was not only accepted at Vienna, but was forwarded to
+various Courts, the final version being that England might attack
+Austria if she withdrew her troops from Flanders, and that therefore
+Leopold could not draw the sword against France until his army on the
+Turkish borders arrived in Swabia. Some were found who believed this odd
+_farrago_; but those who watched the calculating balance of Hapsburg
+policy saw in it one more excuse for a masterly inactivity.
+
+Still less were our Ministers inclined to unite with Catharine in the
+universal royalist league then under discussion at St. Petersburg. The
+Czarina having charged her ambassador, Vorontzoff, to find out the
+sentiments of Pitt and Grenville on this subject, he replied that
+England would persevere in the strict neutrality which she had all along
+observed, "and that, with respect to the measures of active intervention
+which other Powers might have in contemplation, it was His Majesty's
+determination not to take any part either in supporting or in opposing
+them." Now Russia, like Austria and Spain, had decided not to act unless
+England joined the concert;[17] and this waiting on the action of a
+Power which had already declared its resolve to do nothing enables us to
+test the sincerity of the continental monarchs. As for the Czarina, her
+royalist fervour expended itself in deposing the busts of democrats, in
+ordering the French Minister to remain away from Court, and in
+condemning any Russian who had dealings with him to be publicly flogged.
+Moreover, while thus drilling her own subjects, the quondam friend of
+Diderot kept her eyes fixed upon Warsaw. The shrewdest diplomatist of
+the age had already divined her aims, which he thus trenchantly summed
+up: "The Empress only waits to see Austria and Prussia committed in
+France, to overturn everything in Poland."[18] Kaunitz lived on to see
+his cynical prophecy fulfilled to the letter.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The reader will have noticed with some surprise the statement of Burke
+that Pitt and Grenville had not the slightest fear of the spread of
+French principles in England. As we know, Burke vehemently maintained
+the contrary, averring that the French plague, unless crushed at Paris,
+would infect the world. In his survey of the European States he admitted
+that we were less liable to infection than Germany, Holland, and Italy,
+owing to the excellence of our constitution; but he feared that our
+nearness to France, and our zeal for liberty, would expose us to some
+danger. Why he should have cherished these fears is hard to say; for to
+him the French Revolution was "a wild attempt to methodize anarchy," "a
+foul, impious, monstrous thing, wholly out of the course of moral
+nature."[19] Surely if British and French principles were so utterly
+different, we were in no more danger of infection from the Jacobins than
+of catching swine fever.
+
+This was virtually the view of Pitt and Grenville; for there were no
+premonitory symptoms of infection, but much the reverse. Londoners
+showed the utmost joy at the first news of the escape of the King and
+Queen from Paris, and were equally depressed by the news from Varennes.
+As we shall presently see, it was with shouts of "Long live the King,"
+"Church and State," "Down with the Dissenters," "No Olivers," "Down with
+the Rump," "No false Rights of Man," that the rabble of Birmingham
+wrecked and burnt the houses of Dr. Priestley and other prominent
+Nonconformists of that town. Only by slow degrees did this loyal
+enthusiasm give place to opinions which in course of time came to be
+called Radical. It may be well to trace briefly the fluctuations of
+public opinion, to which the career of Pitt stands in vital relation.
+
+The growth of discontent in Great Britain may be ascribed to definite
+evils in the body politic, and it seems to have arisen only secondarily
+from French propaganda. The first question which kindled the fire of
+resentment was that of the civic and political disabilities still
+imposed on Nonconformists by the Corporation and Test Acts of the reign
+of Charles II. Pitt's decision in the session of 1787 to uphold those
+Acts ensured the rejection of Beaufoy's motion for their repeal of 176
+votes to 98; but undeterred by his defeat, Beaufoy brought the matter
+before the House on 8th May 1789, and, despite the opposition of Pitt,
+secured 102 votes against 122. The Prime Minister's chief argument was
+that if Dissenters were admitted to civic rights they might use their
+power to overthrow the Church Establishment.[20] Clearly the opinion of
+the House was drifting away from him on that question; and it is a proof
+of his growing indifference to questions of Reform that now, four days
+after the assembly of the States-General of France at Versailles, he
+should have held to views so repugnant to the spirit of the age.
+
+Thenceforth that question could not be debated solely on its own merits.
+The attacks made by the French National Assembly on the Church of
+France, particularly the confiscation of its tithes and landed property,
+soon aroused heated feelings in this country, though on a subject of a
+wholly different kind. The result was that, while Dissenters peacefully
+agitated for permission to act as citizens, they were represented as
+endeavouring to despoil the Church, after the fashion of Talleyrand and
+Mirabeau. A work by a Manchester merchant, Thomas Walker, reveals the
+influence of this question on the political activities of the time. The
+Nonconformists of that town and county hoped to gain a majority in next
+session or in the following Parliament, while the High Churchmen, to the
+cry of "The Church in Danger," declared the two Acts of Charles II to be
+the bulwarks of the constitution.[21] This cry was everywhere taken up,
+with the result that in the Parliament elected in 1790 the Tories gained
+ground. Consequently, even the able advocacy of Fox on behalf of
+religious liberty failed to save Beaufoy's motion from a crushing
+defeat. Pitt spoke against the proposal and carried the House with him
+by 294 votes to 105. This vote illustrates the baleful influence exerted
+by the French Revolution on the cause of Reform in these islands.
+
+A second example soon occurred. Only three days later Flood brought
+forward a motion for Parliamentary Reform which the wildest of alarmists
+could not call revolutionary. He proposed to add to the House of Commons
+one hundred members, elected by the resident householders of the
+counties, those areas being far less corrupt than the towns; and he
+suggested that, if the total number of members were deemed excessive,
+fifty seats in the smallest boroughs might be declared vacant. This
+proposal differed but little from that of Pitt in the session of 1785,
+which aimed at disfranchising thirty-six decayed boroughs and
+apportioning their seventy-two members to the larger counties, as also
+to London and Westminster. In a speech which might have been made by
+Pitt in pre-Revolution times Flood declared that the events in France
+showed the need of a timely repair of outworn institutions.
+
+This was as a red rag to Windham, a prominent recruit from the Whigs,
+who now used all the artifices of rhetoric to terrify his hearers. He
+besought them in turn not to repair their house in the hurricane season,
+not to imitate the valetudinarian of the "Spectator," who read medical
+books until he discovered he had every symptom of the gout except the
+pain. These fallacious similes captivated the squires; and Pitt himself
+complimented the orator on his ingenious arguments. For himself, he
+declared his desire of Reform to be as zealous as ever; but he "could
+see no utility in any gentleman's bringing forward such a motion as the
+present at that moment," and feared that the cause might thereby suffer
+disgrace and lose ground. Fox, on the other hand, ridiculed all thought
+of panic on account of the French Revolution, but he admitted that the
+majority both in Parliament and the nation did not want Reform.
+Grenville, Wilberforce, and Burke opposed the motion, while even
+Duncombe declined to vote for it at present. It was accordingly
+adjourned _sine die_.[22]
+
+Disappointment at the course of these debates served to band
+Nonconformists and reformers in a close alliance. Hitherto they had
+alike supported Pitt and the royal prerogative, especially at the time
+of the Regency struggle. In May 1789, when Pitt opposed the
+Nonconformist claims, Dr. Priestley wrote that Fox would regain his
+popularity with Dissenters, while Pitt would lose ground.[23] Now, when
+the doors of the franchise and of civic privilege were fast barred,
+resentment and indignation began to arouse the groups of the
+unprivileged left outside. The news that Frenchmen had framed a
+Departmental System, in which all privileges had vanished, and all men
+were citizens, with equal rights in the making of laws and local
+regulations, worked potently in England, furthering the growth of an
+institution little known in this country, the political club. As the
+Jacobins had adapted the English idea of a club to political uses, so
+now the early Radicals re-adapted it to English needs. "The Manchester
+Constitutional Society"[24] was founded by Walker and others in October
+1790, in order to oppose a "Church and King Club," which High Churchmen
+had started in March, after the news of the triumph of their principles
+in Parliament. The Manchester reformers struck the key-note of the
+coming age by asserting in their programme that in every community the
+authority of the governors must be derived from the consent of the
+governed, and that the welfare of the people was the true aim of
+Government. They further declared that honours and rewards were due only
+for services rendered to the State; that all officials, without
+exception, were responsible to the people; that "actions only, not
+opinions, are the proper objects of civil jurisdictions"; that no law is
+fairly made except by a majority of the people; and that the people of
+Great Britain were not fully and fairly represented in Parliament.[25]
+
+The Church and King Club, on the contrary, reprobated all change in "one
+of the most beautiful systems of government that the combined efforts of
+human wisdom has [_sic_] ever yet been able to accomplish." The issue
+between the two parties was thus sharply outlined. The Tories of
+Manchester gloried in a state of things which shut out about half of
+their fellow-citizens from civic rights and their whole community from
+any direct share in the making of laws. In their eyes the Church and the
+monarchy were in danger if Nonconformists became citizens, and if a
+score of Cornish villages yielded up their legislative powers to
+Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, and other hives of industry.
+
+Scotland also began to awake. The torpor of that keen and intellectual
+people, under a system of misrepresentation which assigned to them
+forty-five members and forty-four to Cornwall, is incomprehensible,
+unless we may ascribe it to the waning of all enthusiasm after the
+"forty-five" and to the supremacy of material interests so
+characteristic of the age. In any case, this political apathy was now to
+end; and here, too, as in the case of England, Government applied the
+spur.
+
+On 10th May 1791 Sir Gilbert Elliot (afterwards Earl of Minto) brought
+forward a motion in Parliament for the repeal of the Test Act, so far as
+it concerned Scotland. He voiced a petition of the General Assembly of
+the Church of Scotland, and declared that the Presbyterians felt the
+grievance of being excluded from civic offices unless they perverted. On
+wider grounds also he appealed against this petty form of persecution,
+which might make men hypocrites but never sincere converts. Henry Dundas
+and his nephew, Robert Dundas (Lord Advocate for Scotland), opposed the
+motion, mainly because it would infringe the terms of the Act of Union;
+but Henry added the curious argument that, if Scottish Presbyterians
+were relieved from the Test Act, then the English Dissenters would have
+been "unjustly, harshly, and cruelly used." Pitt avowed himself "not a
+violent friend, but a firm and steady friend" of the Test Act, as being
+essential to the security of the Church and therefore of the civil
+establishment of the country. Accordingly, Elliot's motion was defeated
+by 149 votes to 62.[26] It is curious that, a month earlier, the House
+had agreed to a Bill granting slightly wider toleration to "Catholic
+Dissenters."[27]
+
+While Pitt was thus strengthening the old buttresses of Church and
+State, the son of a Quaker had subjected the whole fabric to a battery
+of violent rhetoric. It is scarcely too much to call Thomas Paine the
+Rousseau of English democracy. For, if his arguments lacked the novelty
+of those of the Genevese thinker (and even they were far from original),
+they equalled them in effectiveness, and excelled them in
+practicability. "The Rights of Man" (Part I) may be termed an insular
+version of the "Contrat Social," with this difference, that the English
+writer pointed the way to changes which were far from visionary, while
+the Genevese seer outlined a polity fit only for a Swiss canton peopled
+by philosophers. Paine had had the advantage of close contact with men
+and affairs in both hemispheres. Not even Cobbett, his literary
+successor, passed through more varied experiences. Born in 1737 at
+Thetford in Norfolk, Paine divided his early life between stay-making,
+excise work, the vending of tobacco, and a seafaring life. His keen
+eyes, lofty brow, prominent nose, proclaimed him a thinker and fighter,
+and therefore, in that age, a rebel. What more natural than that he, a
+foe to authority and hater of oppression, should go to America to help
+on the cause of Washington? There at last he discovered his true
+vocation. His broadsides struck home. "Rebellious staymaker, unkempt,"
+says Carlyle, "who feels that he, a single needleman, did by his
+'Common Sense' pamphlet, free America; that he can, and will free all
+this world; perhaps even the other." Tom Paine, indeed, had the rare
+gift of voicing tersely and stridently the dumb desires of the masses.
+Further, a sojourn in France before and during the early part of the
+Revolution enabled him to frame a crushing retort to Burke's
+"Reflections." The result was Part I of the "Rights of Man," which he
+flung off at the "Angel" in Islington in February 1791.[28]
+
+The general aims of the pamphlet are now as little open to question as
+the famous Declaration which he sought to vindicate. Paine trenchantly
+attacked Burke's claim that no people, not even our own, had an inherent
+right to choose its own ruler, and that the Revolution Settlement of
+1688 was binding for ever. Paine, on the contrary, asserted that "every
+age and generation must be as free to act for itself _in all cases_ as
+the ages and generations that preceded it. The vanity and presumption of
+governing beyond the grave is the most ridiculous and insolent of all
+tyrannies." Further, on the general question at issue, Paine remarked:
+"That men should take up arms, and spend their lives and fortunes, _not_
+to maintain their rights, but to maintain they have _not_ rights, is an
+entirely new species of discovery and suited to the paradoxical genius
+of Mr. Burke." In reply to the noble passage: "The age of chivalry is
+gone ...," Paine shrewdly says: "In the rhapsody of his imagination he
+has discovered a world of windmills, and his sorrows are that there are
+no Quixotes to attack them."
+
+After thus exposing the weak points of the royalist case, Paine
+proceeded to defend the mob, firstly, because the aristocratic plots
+against the French Revolution were really formidable (a very disputable
+thesis), and secondly, because the mob in all old countries is the
+outcome of their unfair and brutal system of government. "It is by
+distortedly exalting some men," he says, "that others are distortedly
+debased, till the whole is out of nature. A vast mass of mankind are
+degradedly thrown into the background of the human picture, to bring
+forward with greater glare the puppet show of State and aristocracy."
+Here was obviously the Junius of democracy, for whom the only effective
+answer was the gag and gyve. Indeed, Burke in his "Appeal from the New
+to the Old Whigs" suggested that the proper refutation was by means of
+"criminal justice."[29]
+
+Pitt's opinions at this time on French and English democracy tend
+towards a moderate and reforming royalism--witness his comment on
+Burke's "Reflections," that the writer would have done well to extol the
+English constitution rather than to attack the French.[30] In this
+remark we may detect his preference for construction over destruction,
+for the allaying, rather than the exciting, of passion. Nevertheless the
+one-sidedness of the English constitution made for unrest. So soon as
+one bold voice clearly contrasted those defects with the inspiring
+precepts of the French Rights of Man, there was an end to political
+apathy. A proof of this was furnished by the number of replies called
+forth by Burke's "Reflections." They numbered thirty-eight.[31] Apart
+from that of Paine, the "Vindiciae Gallicae" of Sir James Mackintosh
+made the most impression, especially the last chapter, wherein he
+declared that the conspiracy of the monarchs to crush the liberties of
+France would recoil on their own heads.
+
+Fear of the alleged royalist league quickened the sympathy of Britons
+with the French reformers; while the sympathy of friends of order with
+Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette after the Varennes incident deepened
+their apprehension of all change. Thus were called into play all the
+feelings which most deeply move mankind--love of our richly storied past
+and its embodiment, the English constitution; while on the other hand no
+small part of our people harboured resentment against the narrow
+franchise and class legislation at home, and felt a growing fear that
+the nascent freedom of Frenchmen might expire under the heel of the
+military Powers of Central Europe. Accordingly clubs and societies grew
+apace, and many of them helped on the circulation of cheap editions of
+Paine's pamphlet.
+
+The result of this clash of opinion was seen in the added keenness of
+party strife and in the disturbances of 14th July 1791. The occasion of
+these last was the celebration by a subscription dinner of the second
+anniversary of the fall of the Bastille. Both at Manchester and
+Birmingham the announcement of this insular and inoffensive function
+aroused strong feelings either of envy or of opposition. The Tories of
+Manchester resolved that, if the local Constitutional Club chose to dine
+on that day it should be at their peril. The populace was urged to pull
+down the hotel on their heads, "as the brains of every man who dined
+there would be much improved by being mingled with bricks and mortar."
+Thomas Walker's control of the local constables sufficed to thwart this
+pleasantry.
+
+But on that day the forces of reaction broke loose at Birmingham. In the
+Midland capital political feeling ran as high as at Manchester. The best
+known of the reformers was Dr. Priestley, a Unitarian minister, whose
+researches in physical science had gained him a world-wide reputation
+and a fellowship in the Royal Society. He and many other reformers
+proposed to feast in public in honour of the French national festival.
+Unfortunately, the annoyance of the loyalists at this proposal was
+inflamed by a recent sermon of Priestley on the death of Dr. Price and
+by the circulation of a seditious handbill. Dr. Keir, a Churchman who
+was to preside at the dinner, did not prove to the satisfaction of all
+that this was a trick of the enemy. Public opinion was also excited by
+the discovery of the words "This barn to let" chalked on some of the
+churches of the town; and charges were bandied to and fro that this was
+the work of the Dissenters, or of the most virulent of their opponents.
+
+What is certain is that these _hors d'oeuvres_ endangered the rest of
+the _menu_. The dinner-committee, however, struggled manfully with their
+difficulties. They had a Churchman in the chair, and Priestley was not
+present. The loyalty of the diners also received due scenic warrant in
+the work of a local artist. The dining-hall of the hotel was "decorated
+with three emblematical pieces of sculpture, mixed with painting in a
+new style of composition. The central was a finely executed medallion of
+His Majesty, surrounded with a Glory, on each side of which was an
+alabaster obelisk, one exhibiting Gallic Liberty breaking the bonds of
+Despotism, and the other representing British Liberty in its present
+enjoyment." The terms in which the fourteen toasts were proposed
+breathed of the same flamboyant loyalty, the only one open to criticism
+being the following: "The Prince of Wales! May he have the wisdom to
+prefer the glory of being the chief of an entire [_sic_] free people to
+that of being only the splendid fountain of corruption."[32]
+
+The dinner passed with only occasional rounds of hissing from the
+loyalists outside. But, as the evening wore on and the speeches inside
+still continued, the crowd became restive. Stone-throwing began and was
+not discouraged by the two magistrates, the Rev. Dr. Spencer and John
+Carles, who had now arrived. In fact, the clergyman with an oath praised
+a lad who said that Priestley ought to be ducked; Carles also promised
+the rabble drink; and when a local humourist asked for permission to
+knock the dust out of Priestley's wig, the champions of order burst out
+laughing. A witness at the trial averred that he saw an attorney, John
+Brook, go among the mob and point towards Priestley's chapel. However
+that may be, the rabble moved off thither and speedily wrecked it. His
+residence at Fair Hill was next demolished, his library and scientific
+instruments being burnt or smashed. This was but the prelude to
+organized attacks on the houses of the leading Nonconformists, whether
+they had been at the dinner or not. The resulting riots soon involved in
+ruin a large part of the town. Prominent Churchmen who sought to end
+these disgraceful scenes suffered both in person and property. A word of
+remonstrance sufficed to turn into new channels the tide of hatred and
+greed; for, as happened in the Gordon riots of 1780, rascality speedily
+rushed in to seize the spoils.
+
+The usually dull archives of the Home Office yield proof of the terror
+that reigned in the Midland capital. A Mr. Garbett wrote to Dundas on
+17th July that the wrecking still went on, that the Nonconformists were
+in the utmost dread and misery, and all people looked for help from
+outside to stay the pillage. As for himself, though he was not a "marked
+man," his hand trembled at the scenes he had witnessed. There can be
+little doubt that the magistrates from the first acted with culpable
+weakness, as Whitbread proved in the House of Commons, for they did not
+enrol special constables until the rioters had got the upper hand.
+Dundas, as Home Secretary, seems to have done his duty. The news of the
+riot of the 14th reached him at 10 a.m. on the 15th (Friday); and he at
+once sent post haste to Nottingham, ordering the immediate despatch of
+the 15th Dragoons. By dint of a forced march of fifty-six miles the
+horsemen reached Birmingham on the evening of that same day (Sunday);
+but two days more elapsed before drunken blackmailers ceased to molest
+Hagley, Halesowen, and other villages. Few persons lost their lives,
+except about a dozen of the pillagers who lay helpless with drink in the
+cellars of houses which their more zealous comrades had given over to
+the flames.[33]
+
+The verdict of Grenville was as follows: "I do not admire riots in
+favour of Government much more than riots against it." That of his less
+cautious brother, the Marquis of Buckingham, is as follows: "I am not
+sorry for this _excess, excessive as it has been_." That of Pitt is not
+recorded. He did not speak during the debate on this subject on 21st May
+1792; but the rejection of Whitbread's motion for an inquiry by 189
+votes to 46 implies unanimity on the Ministerial side.[34]
+
+In the winter of 1791-2 various incidents occurred which further excited
+public opinion. On 17th February 1792 appeared the second part of
+Paine's "Rights of Man." He started from the assumption that the birth
+of a democratic State in America would herald the advent of Revolutions
+not only in France, but in all lands; and that British and Hessians
+would live to bless the day when they were defeated by the soldiers of
+Washington. He then proceeded to arraign all Governments of the old
+type, and asserted that constitutions ought to be the natural outcome of
+the collective activities of the whole people. There was nothing
+mysterious about Government, if Courts had not hidden away the patent
+fact that it dealt primarily with the making and administering of laws.
+We are apt to be impressed by these remarks until we contrast them with
+the majestic period wherein Burke depicts human society as a venerable
+and mysterious whole bequeathed by the wisdom of our forefathers. An
+admirer of Burke cannot but quote the passage in full: "Our political
+system is placed in a just correspondence and symmetry with the order of
+the world, and with the mode of existence decreed to a permanent body
+composed of transitory parts; wherein by the disposition of a
+stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation
+of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never old, or middle-aged,
+or young, but in a condition of unchangeable constancy, moves on through
+the varied tenour of perpetual decay, fall, renovation and progression.
+Thus, by preserving the method of nature in the conduct of the State, in
+what we improve we are never wholly new; in what we retain we are never
+wholly obsolete."[35]
+
+This is a majestic conception. But, after all, the practical question at
+issue is--how much of the old shall we retain and how much must be
+discarded? Unfortunately for himself and his cause, Burke was now urging
+his countrymen to support two military Powers in their effort to compel
+the French people to revert to institutions which were alike obsolete
+and detested. Is it surprising that Paine, utterly lacking all sense of
+reverence for the past, should brand this conduct as treasonable to the
+imperious needs of the present? Viewing monarchy as represented by
+Versailles or Carlton House, and aristocracy by the intrigues of
+Coblentz and the orgies of Brooks's Club, he gave short shrift to both
+forms of Government. Monarchy he pronounced more or less despotic; and
+under aristocracy (he says) the interests of the whole body necessarily
+suffer; democracy alone secures the rule of the general will; and this
+can be thoroughly secured only in a democratic republic. He then attacks
+the English constitution as unjust and extravagant, claiming that the
+formation of a close alliance between England, France, and America would
+enable the expenses of government (Army, Navy, and Civil List inclusive)
+to be reduced to a million and a half a year.
+
+With regard to the means of raising revenue, Paine sketched a plan of
+progressive taxation on incomes, ranging from 3d. in the pound on
+incomes less than £500 to punitive proportions after £10,000 was
+reached; while in his Spartan arithmetic great wealth appeared so dire a
+misfortune that he rid the possessors of the whole of incomes of £23,000
+and upwards. As for Pitt's financial reforms, he laughed them to scorn.
+He also accused him of throwing over the fair promises that marked his
+early career, of advertising for enemies abroad, while at home he
+toadied to the Court. "The defect lies in the system.... Prop it as you
+please, it continually sinks into Court government, and ever will."
+Finally he urged a limitation of armaments, and prophesied that wars
+would cease when nations had their freely elected Conventions. The cynic
+will remember with satisfaction that, two months later, began the war
+between France and Austria, which developed into the most tremendous
+series of wars recorded in history.
+
+The republican and levelling doctrines frankly advocated in Paine's
+second pamphlet made a greater sensation than the first part had done;
+and Fox, who approved the former production, sternly reprobated the
+latter. It is possible that Government sought to stop its publication;
+for Chapman, the publisher, to whom Paine first applied, offered him
+£1,000 for the manuscript, and yet very soon afterwards declared it to
+be too dangerous for him to print.[36] Certainly the work soon quickened
+the tone of political thought. Already the London Society for promoting
+Constitutional Information, which had died of inanition in 1784, had
+come to life again before the close of the year 1791. And at the end of
+that year a determined man, Thomas Hardy, a poor shoemaker of
+Westminster, set to work to interest his comrades in politics. He
+assembled four men at an ale-house, and they agreed to take action. At
+their second meeting, on 25th January 1792, they mustered eight strong,
+and resolved to start "The London Corresponding Society for the Reform
+of Parliamentary Representation." Its finances were scarcely on a par
+with its title: they consisted of eightpence, the first weekly
+subscription. But the idea proved infectious; and amidst the heat
+engendered by Paine's second pamphlet, the number of members rose to
+forty-one.[37] The first manifesto of the Society, dated 2nd April,
+claimed political liberty as the birthright of man, declared the British
+nation to be misrepresented by its Parliament, and, while repudiating
+all disorderly methods, demanded a thorough reform of that body.
+
+So far as I have been able to discover, this was the first political
+club started by English working-men at that time. But now the men of
+Sheffield also organized themselves. Their "Association" began in an
+assembly of five or six mechanics, who discussed "the enormous high
+price of provisions" and "the waste and lavish [_sic_] of the public
+property by placemen, pensioners, luxury and debauchery,--sources of the
+grievous burthens under which the nation groans." The practical
+character of their lamentations attracted many working men, with the
+result that they resolved to reprint and circulate 1,600 copies of
+Paine's "Rights of Man" (Part I), at sixpence a copy. On 15th January
+1792 they wrote up to the "London Society for Constitutional
+Information" to plan co-operation with them.
+
+At first the ideas of the Sheffield Association were somewhat parochial.
+But the need of common action all over the Kingdom was taking shape in
+several minds, and when Scotland awoke to political activity (as will
+appear in Chapter VII) the idea of a General Convention took firm root
+and led to remarkable developments. For the present, the chief work of
+these clubs was the circulation of Paine's volumes (even in Welsh,
+Gaelic, and Erse) at the price of sixpence or even less. They also
+distributed "The Catechism of the French Constitution" (of 1791), drawn
+up by Christie, a Scot domiciled at Paris, which set forth the beauties
+of that child of many hopes. Less objectionable was a pamphlet--"The
+Rights of Men and the Duties of Men." For the most part, however, their
+literature was acridly republican in tone and of a levelling tendency.
+Thus, for the first time since the brief attempt of the Cromwellian
+Levellers, the rich and the poor began to group themselves in hostile
+camps, at the strident tones of Paine's cry for a graduated Income Tax.
+Is it surprising that the sight of the free institutions of France and
+of the forced economy of the Court of the Tuileries should lead our
+workers to question the utility of the State-paid debaucheries of
+Carlton House, and of the whole system of patronage and pensions? Burke
+and Pitt had pruned away a few of the worst excrescences; but now they
+saw with dismay the whole of the body politic subjected to remorseless
+criticism by those whose duty was to toil and not to think or question.
+
+This was a new departure in eighteenth-century England. Hitherto working
+men had taken only a fleeting and fitful interest in politics. How
+should they do so in days when newspapers were very dear, and their
+contents had only the remotest bearing on the life of the masses? The
+London mob had bawled and rioted for "Wilkes and Liberty," but mainly
+from personal motives and love of horse-play. Now, however, all was
+changed; and artisans were willing to sacrifice their time and their
+pence to learn and teach a political catechism, and spread the writings
+of Paine. Consequently the new Radical Clubs differed widely from the
+short-lived County Associations of 1780 which charged a substantial fee
+for membership. Moreover, these Associations expired in the years
+1783-4, owing to the disgust at Fox's Coalition with Lord North. We are
+therefore justified in declaring that English democracy entered on a new
+lease of life, and did not, as has been asserted,[38] merely continue
+the movement of 1780. The earlier efforts had been wholly insular in
+character; they aimed at staying the tide of corruption; their methods
+were in the main academic, and certainly never affected the great mass
+of the people. Now reformers were moved by a wider enthusiasm for the
+rights of humanity, and sought not merely to abolish pocket boroughs and
+sinecures, but to level up the poor and level down the wealthy. It was
+this aspect of Paine's teaching that excited men to a frenzy of
+reprobation or of hope.
+
+A certain continuity of tradition and method is observable in a club,
+called The Friends of the People, which was founded at Freemasons'
+Tavern in April 1792, with a subscription of five guineas a year. The
+members included Cartwright, Erskine, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Philip
+Francis, Charles Grey, Lambton, the Earl of Lauderdale, Mackintosh,
+Sheridan, Whitbread, and some sixty others; but Fox refused to join.
+Their profession of faith was more moderate than that of Hardy's Club;
+it emphasized the need of avoiding innovation and of restoring the
+constitution to its original purity.[39] This was in the spirit of the
+Associations of 1780; but the new club was far less characteristic of
+the times than the clubs of working men described above.
+
+The appearance of Paine's "Rights of Man" (Part II), the founding of
+these societies, and the outbreak of war between France and Austria in
+April 1792 made a deep impression on Pitt. He opposed a notice of a
+motion of Reform for the following session, brought forward by Grey on
+30th April. While affirming his continued interest in that subject, Pitt
+deprecated its introduction at that time as involving the risk of
+anarchy.
+
+ My object [he continued] always has been, and is now more
+ particularly so, to give permanence to that which we actually
+ enjoy rather than remove subsisting grievances.... I once
+ thought, and still think, upon the point of the representation
+ of the Commons, that, if some mode could be adopted by which the
+ people could have any additional security for a continuance of
+ the blessings which they now enjoy, it would be an improvement
+ in the constitution of this country. That was the extent of my
+ object. Further I never wished to go; and if this can be
+ obtained without the risk of losing what we have, I should think
+ it wise to make the experiment. When I say this, it is not
+ because I believe there is any existing grievance in this
+ country that is felt at this hour.
+
+At the end of the American War (he continued) when bankruptcy seemed
+imminent, he believed Reform to be necessary in order to restore public
+confidence and remedy certain notorious grievances. Even then very many
+moderate men opposed his efforts as involving danger to the State. How
+much more would they deprecate sweeping proposals which rightly aroused
+general apprehension? He then censured the action of certain members of
+the House in joining an Association (the "Friends of the People") which
+was supported by those who aimed at the overthrowing of hereditary
+monarchy, titles of nobility, and all ideas of subordination. He would
+oppose all proposals for Reform rather than run the risk of changes so
+sweeping.--"All, all may be lost by an indiscreet attempt upon the
+subject." Clearly, Pitt was about to join the ranks of the alarmists.
+But members generally were of his opinion. In vain did Fox, Erskine,
+Grey, and Sheridan deprecate the attempt to confuse moderate Reform with
+reckless innovation. Burke illogically but effectively dragged in the
+French spectre, and Windham declared that the public mind here, as in
+other lands, was in such a state that the slightest scratch might
+produce a mortal wound.
+
+The gulf between Pitt and the reformers now became impassable. His
+speech of 10th May against any relaxation of the penal laws against
+Unitarians is a curious blend of bigotry and panic. Eleven days later a
+stringent proclamation was issued against all who wrote, printed, and
+dispersed "divers wicked and seditious writings." It ordered all
+magistrates to search out the authors and abettors of them, and to take
+steps for preventing disorder. It also inculcated "a due submission to
+the laws, and a just confidence in the integrity and wisdom of
+Parliament." Anything less calculated to beget such a confidence than
+this proclamation, threatening alike to reformers and levellers, can
+scarcely be conceived. On 25th May Grey opposed it in an acrid speech;
+he inveighed against Pitt as an apostate, who never kept his word, and
+always intended to delude Parliament and people. The sting of the speech
+lay, not in these reckless charges, but in the citing of Pitt's opinions
+as expressed in a resolution passed at the Thatched House Tavern in May
+1782, which declared that without Parliamentary Reform neither the
+liberty of the nation nor the permanence of a virtuous administration
+was secure. Pitt's reply, however, convinced all those whose minds were
+open to conviction. He proved to demonstration that he had never
+approved of universal suffrage; yet that was now the goal aimed at by
+Paine and the Societies founded on the basis of the Rights of Man. The
+speech of Dundas also showed that the writings of Paine, and the
+founding of clubs with those ends in view, had led to the present action
+of the Cabinet.
+
+Undoubtedly those clubs had behaved in a provocative manner. Apart from
+their correspondence with the Jacobins Club (which will be described
+later), they advocated aims which then seemed utterly subversive of
+order. Thus, early in May 1792, the Sheffield Society declared their
+object to be "a radical Reform of the country, as soon as prudence and
+discretion would permit, and established on that system which is
+consistent with the Rights of Man." Further, the hope is expressed that
+not only the neighbouring towns and villages, most of which were forming
+similar societies, but also the whole country would be "united in the
+same cause, which cannot fail of being the case wherever the most
+excellent works of Thomas Paine find reception."[40]
+
+Now, this banding together of societies and clubs pointed the way to the
+forming of a National Convention which would truly represent the whole
+nation. In judging the action of Pitt and his colleagues at this crisis,
+we must remember that they had before them the alarming example of the
+Jacobins Club of Paris, which had gained enormous power by its network
+of affiliated clubs. This body again was modelled on the various
+societies of the Illuminati in Germany, whose organizer, Weishaupt,
+summed up his contention in the words: "All their union shall be carried
+on by the correspondence and visits of the brethren. If we can gain but
+that point, we shall have succeeded in all we want."[41] This is why the
+name Corresponding Society stank in the nostrils of all rulers. It
+implied a parasitic organization which, if allowed to grow, would
+strangle the established Government. Signs were not wanting that this
+was the aim of the new Radical Clubs. Thus the delegates of the United
+Constitutional Societies who met at Norwich drew up on 24th March 1792
+resolutions expressing satisfaction at the rapid growth of those bodies,
+already numbering some hundreds, "which by delegates preserve a mutual
+intercourse." ... "To Mr. Thomas Paine our thanks are specially due for
+his first and second parts of the 'Rights of Man'; and we sincerely wish
+that he may live to see his labours crowned with success in the general
+diffusion of liberty and happiness among mankind." ... "We ... earnestly
+entreat our brethren to increase in their Associations in order to form
+one grand and extensive Union of all the friends of liberty."[42] It is
+not surprising that this plan of a National Convention of levellers
+produced something like a panic among the well-to-do; and it is futile
+to assert that men who avowed their belief in the subversive teaching of
+Part II of Paine's book were concerned merely with the Reform of
+Parliament. They put that object in their public manifestoes; but, like
+many of the Chartists of a later date, their ultimate aim was the
+redistribution of wealth; and this it was which brought on them the
+unflinching opposition of Pitt.
+
+Nevertheless even these considerations do not justify him in opposing
+the reformers root and branch. The greatest statesman is he who
+distinguishes between the real grievances of a suffering people and the
+visionary or dangerous schemes which they beget in ill-balanced brains.
+To oppose moderate reformers as well as extremists is both unjust and
+unwise. It confounds together the would-be healers and the enemies of
+the existing order. Furthermore, an indiscriminate attack tends to close
+the ranks in a solid phalanx, and it should be the aim of a tactician
+first to seek to loosen those ranks.
+
+Finally, we cannot forget that Pitt had had it in his power to redress
+the most obvious of the grievances which kept large masses of his
+countrymen outside the pale of political rights and civic privilege.
+Those grievances were made known to him temperately in the years 1787,
+1789, and 1790; but he refused to amend them, and gradually drifted to
+the side of the alarmists and reactionaries. Who is the wiser guide at
+such a time? He who sets to work betimes to cure certain ills which are
+producing irritation in the body politic? Or he who looks on the
+irritation as a sign that nothing should be done? The lessons of history
+and the experience of everyday life plead for timely cure and warn
+against a nervous postponement. Doubtless Pitt would have found it
+difficult to persuade some of his followers to apply the knife in the
+session of 1791 or 1792. But in the Parliament elected in 1790 his
+position was better assured, his temper more imperious, than in that of
+1785, which needed much tactful management. The fact, then, must be
+faced that he declined to run the risk of the curative operation, even
+at a time when there were no serious symptoms in the patient and little
+or no risk for the surgeon.
+
+The reason which he assigned for his refusal claims careful notice. It
+was that his earlier proposals (those of 1782-5) had aimed at national
+security; while those of the present would tend to insecurity. Possibly
+in the month of April 1792 this argument had some validity; though up to
+that time all the violence had been on the Tory side. But the plea does
+not excuse Pitt for not taking action in the year 1790. That was the
+period when the earlier apathy of the nation to Reform was giving way to
+interest, and interest had not yet grown into excitement. Still less had
+loyalty waned under the repressive measures whereby he now proposed to
+give it vigour.
+
+Thus, Pitt missed a great opportunity, perhaps the greatest of his
+career. What it means is clear to us, who know that the cause of Reform
+passed under a cloud for the space of thirty-eight years. It is of
+course unfair to censure him and his friends for lacking a prophetic
+vision of the long woes that were to come. Most of the blame lavished
+upon him arises from forgetfulness of the fact that he was not a seer
+mounted on some political Pisgah, but a pioneer struggling through an
+unexplored jungle. Nevertheless, as the duty of a pioneer is not merely
+to hew a path, but also to note the lie of the land and the signs of the
+weather, we must admit that Pitt did not possess the highest instincts
+of his craft. He cannot be ranked with Julius Caesar, Charlemagne,
+Alfred the Great, Edward I, or Burleigh, still less with those giants of
+his own age, Napoleon and Stein; for these men boldly grappled with the
+elements of unrest or disloyalty, and by wise legislation wrought them
+into the fabric of the State. Probably the lack of response to his
+reforming efforts in the year 1785 ingrained in him the conviction that
+Britons would always be loyal if their burdens were lessened and their
+comforts increased; and now in 1792 he looked on the remissions of
+taxation (described in the following chapter) as a panacea against
+discontent. Under normal conditions that would have been the case. It
+was not so now, because new ideas were in the air, and these forbade a
+bovine acceptance of abundant fodder. In truth, Pitt had not that gift
+without which the highest abilities and the most strenuous endeavours
+will at novel crises be at fault--a sympathetic insight into the needs
+and aspirations of the people. His analytical powers enabled him to
+detect the follies of the royalist crusaders; but he lacked those higher
+powers of synthesis which alone could discern the nascent strength of
+Democracy.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] I am perfectly aware that the term "Radical" (in its first form,
+"Radical Reformer") does not appear until a few years later; but I use
+it here and in the following chapters because there is no other word
+which expresses the same meaning.
+
+[2] See Vivenot, i, 176-81; Beer, "Leopold II, Franz II, und Catharina,"
+140 _et seq._; Clapham, "Causes of the War of 1792," ch. iv.
+
+[3] B.M. Add. MSS., 34438; Vivenot, i, 185, 186. "He [the Emperor] was
+extremely agitated when he gave me the letter for the King" (Elgin to
+Grenville, 7th July, in "Dropmore P.," ii, 126).
+
+[4] B.M. Add. MSS., 34438.
+
+[5] _Ibid._ Grenville to Ewart, 26th July. Calonne for some little time
+resided at Wimbledon House. His letters to Pitt show that he met with
+frequent rebuffs; but he had one interview with him early in June 1790.
+I have found no details of it.
+
+[6] "Diary and Corresp. of Fersen," 121.
+
+[7] Arneth, "Marie Antoinette, Joseph II, und Leopold II," 148, 152.
+
+[8] Mr. Nisbet Bain (_op. cit._, ii, 129) accuses Pitt and his
+colleagues of waiving aside a proposed visit of Gustavus III to London,
+because "they had no desire to meet face to face a monarch they had
+already twice deceived." Mr. Bain must refer to the charges (invented at
+St Petersburg) that Pitt had egged Gustavus on to war against Russia,
+and then deserted him. In the former volume (chapters xxi-iii) I proved
+the falsity of those charges. It would be more correct to say that
+Gustavus deserted England.
+
+[9] B.M. Add. MSS., 34438.
+
+[10] Martens, v, 236-9; "F.O.," Prussia, 22. Ewart to Grenville, 4th
+August.
+
+[11] On 15th August Prussia renounced her alliance with Turkey (Vivenot,
+i, 225).
+
+[12] Sybel, bk. ii, ch. vi; Vivenot, i, 235, 243.
+
+[13] "Dropmore P.," ii, 192.
+
+[14] G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 111.
+
+[15] Arneth, 206, 210; Vivenot, i, 270.
+
+[16] Burke ("Corresp.," iii, 308, 342, 346) shows that Mercy
+d'Argenteau, after his brief mission to London, spread the slander. Pitt
+and Grenville said nothing decisive to him on this or any other topic.
+Kaunitz partly adopted the charge. (See Vivenot, i, 272.)
+
+[17] "F.O.," Russia, 22. Grenville to Whitworth, 27th October, and W. to
+G., 14th October 1791.
+
+[18] Larivière, "Cath. II et la Rév. franç.," 88-90, 110-17.
+
+[19] Burke's "Works," iii, 8, 369 (Bohn edit.).
+
+[20] "Parl. Hist.," xxviii, 1-41.
+
+[21] T. Walker, "Review of ... political events in Manchester
+(1789-1794)."
+
+[22] T. Walker, "Review of ... political events in Manchester
+(1789-1794)," 452-79. I cannot agree with Mr. J. R. le B. Hammond
+("Fox," 76) that Pitt now spoke as the avowed enemy of parliamentary
+reform. Indeed, he never spoke in that sense, but opposed it as
+inopportune.
+
+[23] Rutt, "Mems. of Priestly," ii, 25. As is well known, Burke's
+"Reflections on the Fr. Rev.," was in part an answer to Dr. Price's
+sermon of 4th November 1789 in the Old Jewry chapel, to the Society for
+celebrating the Revolution of 1688.
+
+[24] It was more of a club than the branches of the "Society for
+Constitutional Information," which did good work in 1780-4, but expired
+in 1784 owing to the disgust of reformers at the Fox-North Coalition--so
+Place asserts (B.M. Add. MSS., 27808).
+
+[25] T. Walker, _op. cit._, 18, 19.
+
+[26] "Parl. Hist.," xxix, 488-510.
+
+[27] _Ibid._, 113-9.
+
+[28] M. D. Conway, "Life of T. Paine," i, 284.
+
+[29] Burke's Works, iii, 76 (Bohn edit.).
+
+[30] _Ibid._, iii, 12. So, too, on 30th August 1791 Priestley wrote that
+Pitt had shown himself unfavourable to their cause (Rutt, "Life of
+Priestley," ii, 145).
+
+[31] Prior, "Life of Burke," 322, who states very incorrectly that not
+one of them has survived.
+
+[32] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 19.
+
+[33] _Ibid._ As late as 9th August a proclamation was posted about
+Birmingham: "The friends of the good cause are requested to meet us at
+Revolution Place to-morrow night at 11 o'clock in order to fix upon
+those persons who are to be the future objects of our malice." Of course
+this was but an incitation to plunder. See Massey, iii, 462-6, on the
+Birmingham riots.
+
+[34] "Dropmore P.," ii, 133, 136; "Parl. Hist.," xxix, 1464.
+
+[35] Burke "Reflections on the Fr. Rev.," 39 (Mr. Payne's edit.).
+
+[36] Conway, _op. cit._, ii, 330. The printer and publisher were
+prosecuted later on, as well as Paine, who fled to France.
+
+[37] "Mem. of T. Hardy," by himself (Lond., 1832).
+
+[38] Leslie Stephen, "The Eng. Utilitarians," i, 121. I fully admit that
+the Chartist leaders in 1838 went back to the Westminster programme of
+1780. See "The Life and Struggles of William Lovett"; but the spirit and
+methods of the new agitation were wholly different. On this topic I feel
+compelled to differ from Mr. J. L. le B. Hammond ("Fox," ch. v, _ad
+init._). Mr. C. B. R. Kent ("The English Radicals," 156) states the case
+correctly.
+
+[39] "Parl. Hist.," xxix, 1303-9.
+
+[40] "Application of Barruel's 'Memoirs of Jacobinism' to the Secret
+Societies of Ireland and Great Britain," 32-3.
+
+[41] "Application of Barruel's 'Memoirs of Jacobinism' to the Secret
+Societies of Ireland and Great Britain," Introduction, p. x.
+
+[42] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 20.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER II
+
+ BEFORE THE STORM
+
+ I find it to be a very general notion, at least in the Assembly,
+ that if France can preserve a neutrality with England, she will
+ be able to cope with all the rest of Europe united.--GOWER TO
+ GRENVILLE, _22nd April 1792_.
+
+Indirect evidence as to the intentions of a statesman is often more
+convincing than his official assertions. The world always suspects the
+latter; and many politicians have found it expedient to adopt the
+ironical device practised frequently with success by Bismarck on his
+Austrian colleagues at Frankfurt, that of telling the truth. Fortunately
+the English party game has nearly always been kept up with sportsmanlike
+fair play; and Pitt himself was so scrupulously truthful that we are
+rarely in doubt as to his opinions, save when he veiled them by
+ministerial reserve. Nevertheless, on the all-important subject of his
+attitude towards Revolutionary France, it is satisfactory to have
+indirect proofs of his desire to maintain a strict, if not friendly,
+neutrality. This proof lies in his handling of the nation's armaments
+and finances.
+
+The debate on the Army Estimates on 15th February 1792 is of interest in
+more respects than one. The news of the definitive signature of peace
+between Russia and Turkey by the Treaty of Jassy, put an end to the last
+fears of a resumption of war in the East; and, as the prospects were
+equally pacific in the West, the Ministry carried out slight reductions
+in the land forces. These were fixed in the year 1785 at seventy-three
+regiments of 410 men each, divided into eight companies, with two
+companies _en second_. In 1789 the number of companies per regiment was
+fixed at ten, without any companies _en second_. Now the Secretary at
+War, Sir Charles Yonge, proposed further reductions, which, with those
+of 1789, would lessen each regiment by seventy privates, and save the
+country the sum of £51,000. No diminution was proposed in the number of
+officers; and this gave Fox a handle for an attack. He said that the
+natural plan would be to reduce the number of regiments to sixty-four.
+Instead of that, the number of seventy regiments was retained, and new
+corps were now proposed for the East Indies, one for the West Indies,
+and one for Canada, chiefly to be used for pioneer work and clearance of
+woods. General Burgoyne and Fox protested against the keeping up of
+skeleton regiments, the latter adding the caustic comment that the plan
+was "the least in point of saving and the greatest in point of
+patronage."[43]
+
+The practices prevalent in that age give colour to the charge. On the
+other hand, professional men have defended a system which kept up the
+_cadres_ of regiments in time of peace, as providing a body of trained
+officers and privates, which in time of war could be filled out by
+recruits. Of course it is far inferior to the plan of a reserve of
+trained men; but that plan had not yet been hammered out by Scharnhorst,
+under the stress of the Napoleonic domination in Prussia. As to the
+reduction of seven men per company, now proposed, it may have been due
+partly to political reasons. Several reports in the Home Office and War
+Office archives prove that discontent was rife among the troops,
+especially in the northern districts, on account of insufficient pay and
+the progress of Radical propaganda among them. The reduction may have
+afforded the means of sifting out the ringleaders.
+
+Retrenchment, if not Reform, was the order of the day. Pitt discerned
+the important fact that a recovery in the finance and trade of the
+country must be encouraged through a series of years to produce a marked
+effect. For then the application of capital to industry, and the
+increase in production and revenue can proceed at the rate of compound
+interest. Already his hopes, for which he was indebted to the "Wealth of
+Nations,"[44] had been largely realized. The Report of the Select
+Committee of the House of Commons presented in May 1791 showed the
+following growth in the ordinary revenue (exclusive of the Land and Malt
+Taxes):
+
+ 1786 £11,867,055
+ 1787 12,923,134
+ 1788 13,007,642
+ 1789 13,433,068
+ 1790 14,072,978
+
+During those five years the sum of £4,750,000 had been allotted to the
+Sinking Fund for the payment of the National Debt; and a further sum of
+£674,592, accruing from the interest of stock and expired annuities, had
+gone towards the same object--a crushing retort to the taunts of Fox and
+Sheridan, that the Sinking Fund was a mere pretence. On the whole the
+sum of £5,424,592 had been paid off from the National Debt in five
+years. It is therefore not surprising that three per cent. Consols,
+which were down at fifty-four when Pitt took office at the end of 1783,
+touched ninety in the year 1791. The hopes and fears of the year 1792
+find expression in the fact that in March they stood at ninety-seven,
+and in December dropped to seventy-four.
+
+For the present Pitt entertained the highest hopes. In his Budget Speech
+of 17th February he declared the revenue to be in so flourishing a state
+that he could grant relief to the taxpayers. In the year 1791 the
+permanent taxes had yielded £14,132,000; and those on land and malt
+brought the total up to £16,690,000; but he proposed to take £16,212,000
+as the probable revenue for the following year. The expenditure would be
+lessened by £104,000 on the navy (2,000 seamen being discharged), and
+about £50,000 on the army; £36,000 would also be saved by the
+non-renewal of the subsidy for Hessian troops. There were, however,
+additions, due to the establishment of the Government of Upper Canada,
+and the portions allotted to the Duke of York (on the occasion of his
+marriage with a Prussian princess) and the Duke of Clarence. The
+expenditure would, therefore, stand at £15,811,000; but, taking the
+average of four years, he reckoned the probable surplus at no more than
+£401,000. On the other hand, he anticipated no new expenses except for
+the fortification of posts in the West Indies and the completion of
+forts for the further protection of the home dockyards. On the whole,
+then, he reckoned that he had £600,000 to spare; and of this amount he
+proposed to allocate £400,000 to the reduction of the National Debt and
+the repeal of the extra duty on malt, an impost much disliked by
+farmers. He also announced a remission of permanent taxes to the extent
+of £200,000, namely, on female servants, carts, and waggons, and that of
+three shillings on each house having less than seven windows. These were
+burdens that had undoubtedly affected the poor. Further, he hoped to add
+the sum of £200,000 every year to the Sinking Fund, and he pointed out
+that, at this rate of payment, that fund would amount to £4,000,000 per
+annum in the space of fifteen years, after which time the interest might
+be applied to the relief of the nation's burdens.
+
+Then, rising high above the level of facts and figures, he ventured on
+this remarkable prophecy:
+
+ I am not, indeed, presumptuous enough to suppose that, when I
+ name fifteen years, I am not naming a period in which events may
+ arise which human foresight cannot reach, and which may baffle
+ all our conjectures. We must not count with certainty on a
+ continuance of our present prosperity during such an interval;
+ but unquestionably there never was a time in the history of this
+ country, when, from the situation of Europe, we might more
+ reasonably expect fifteen years of peace than at the present
+ moment.
+
+Imagination pictures what might possibly have been the outcome of events
+if Great Britain and France had continued to exert on one another the
+peaceful and mutually beneficent influence which Pitt had sought to
+bring about. In that case, we can imagine the reformed French monarchy,
+or a Republic of the type longed for by Mme. Roland, permeating the
+thought and action of neighbouring States, until the cause of
+Parliamentary Reform in England, and the cognate efforts for civic and
+religious liberty on the Continent achieved a lasting triumph. That Pitt
+cherished these hopes is seen not only in his eloquent words, but in the
+efforts which he put forth to open up the world to commerce. The year
+1792 ought to be remembered, not only for the outbreak of war and the
+horrors of the September massacres at Paris, but also for the attempt to
+inaugurate friendly relations with China. Pitt set great store by the
+embassy which he at this time sent out to Pekin under the lead of Lord
+Macartney. In happier times this enterprise might have served to link
+East and West in friendly intercourse; and Europe, weary of barren
+strifes, would have known no other rivalries than those of peace.
+
+Alas: this is but a mirage. As it fades away, we discern an arid waste.
+War broke out between France and Austria within two months of this
+sanguine utterance. It soon embroiled France and England in mortal
+strife. All hope of retrenchment and Reform was crushed. The National
+Debt rose by leaps and bounds, and the Sinking Fund proved to be a
+snare. Taxation became an ever-grinding evil, until the poor, whose lot
+Pitt hoped to lighten, looked on him as the harshest of taskmasters,
+the puppet of kings, and the paymaster of the Continental Coalition. The
+spring of the year 1807 found England burdened beyond endurance, the
+Third Coalition stricken to death by the blows of Napoleon, while Pitt
+had fourteen months previously succumbed to heart-breaking toils and
+woes.
+
+Before adverting to the complications with France which were thenceforth
+to absorb his energies, I must refer to some incidents of the session
+and summer of the year 1792.
+
+One of the most noteworthy enactments was Fox's Libel Bill. In May 1791
+that statesman had proposed to the House of Commons to subject cases of
+libel to the award of juries, not of judges. Pitt warmly approved the
+measure, maintaining that, far from protecting libellers, it would have
+the contrary effect. The Bill passed the Commons on 31st May; but owing
+to dilatory and factious procedure in the Lords, it was held over until
+the year 1792. Thanks to the noble plea for liberty urged by the
+venerable Earl Camden, it passed on 21st May.[45] It is matter of
+congratulation that Great Britain gained this new safeguard for freedom
+of speech before she encountered the storms of the revolutionary era.
+
+There is little else to chronicle except two occurrences which displayed
+the power and the foresight of Pitt. They were the fall of Thurlow and
+the endeavour of the Prime Minister to form a working alliance with the
+Old Whigs. The former of these events greatly impressed the
+contemporaries of Pitt, who likened the ejected Chancellor to Lucifer or
+to a Titan blasted by Jove's thunderbolt. In this age we find it
+difficult to account for the prestige of Thurlow. His legal learning was
+far from profound, his speeches were more ponderous than powerful, and
+his attacks were bludgeon blows rather than home thrusts. Of the lighter
+graces and social gifts he had scant store. Indeed, his private life
+displayed no redeeming feature. Everyone disliked him, but very many
+feared him, mainly, perhaps, because of his facility for intrigue, his
+power of bullying, and his great influence at Court. As we have seen,
+the conciliatory efforts of the monarch had hitherto averted a rupture
+between Pitt and Thurlow. But not even the favour of George III could
+render the crabbed old Chancellor endurable. His spitefulness had
+increased since Pitt's nomination of Pepper Arden to the Mastership of
+the Rolls; and he showed his spleen by obstructing Government measures
+in the House of Lords. In April 1792 he flouted Pitt's efforts on behalf
+of the abolition of the Slave Trade; and on 15th May he ridiculed his
+proposal that to every new State loan a Sinking Fund should necessarily
+be appended. The Commons had passed this measure; but in the Lords
+Thurlow spoke contemptuously of the proposal; and his influence, if not
+his arguments, brought the Government majority down to six.
+
+Pitt was furious. Despite a letter from Windsor urging the need of
+forbearance in the interests of the public service, he resolved to end
+this intolerable situation. Respectfully but firmly he begged the King
+to decide between him and Thurlow. The result was a foregone conclusion.
+Having to choose between an overbearing Chancellor, and a Prime Minister
+whose tact, firmness, and transcendent abilities formed the keystone of
+the political fabric, the King instructed Dundas to request Thurlow to
+deliver up the Great Seal.[46] For the convenience of public business,
+his resignation was deferred to the end of the session, which came at
+the middle of June. The Great Seal was then placed in commission until
+January 1793 when Lord Loughborough, formerly a follower of the Prince
+of Wales and Fox, became Lord Chancellor.
+
+The dismissal of Thurlow is interesting on general as well as
+constitutional grounds. It marks an important step in the evolution of
+the Cabinet. Thenceforth the will of the Prime Minister was held to be
+paramount whenever any one of his colleagues openly and sharply differed
+from him. Thus the authority of the Prime Minister became more clearly
+defined. Not even the favour of the Sovereign could thenceforth uphold a
+Minister who openly opposed and scorned the head of the Cabinet. The
+recognition of this fact has undoubtedly conduced to the amenity of
+parliamentary life; for etiquette has imposed on Ministers the
+observance of outward signs of deference to their chief, and (save a few
+times in the breezy careers of Canning and Palmerston) dissensions have
+been confined to the council chamber.
+
+As to Thurlow's feelings, they appear in his frank admission to Sir John
+Scott, the future Chancellor, Lord Eldon: "I did not think that the King
+would have parted with me so easily. As to that other man [Pitt], he
+has done to me just what I should have done to him if I could."[47] It
+is not often that a plotter shows his hand so clearly; and we must
+admire Pitt's discernment no less than his firmness at this crisis.
+Would that he had found a more faithful successor. Possibly some
+suspicion as to Loughborough's powers of intrigue led Pitt to make
+cautious advances to that promising lawyer, Sir John Scott. To his
+honour, be it said, Scott at once declared that he must cease to be
+Solicitor-General, as he had received much assistance from Thurlow. In
+vain did Pitt expostulate with him. At last he persuaded him to consult
+Thurlow, who advised him to do nothing so foolish, seeing that Pitt
+would be compelled at some future time to confer the Great Seal upon
+him. With this parting gleam of insight and kindliness, the morose
+figure of Thurlow vanishes.
+
+More than once in the session of 1792 rumours were afloat as to a
+reconstruction of the Cabinet. Early in that year, when the debates on
+the Russian armament somewhat shook Pitt's position, it was stated that
+the King desired to get rid of him. Gillray heard of the story, and
+visualized it with his usual skill. He represented the Marquis of
+Lansdowne ("Malagrida") as driving at full speed to St. James's Palace,
+heralded by the dove of peace, while Fox, Sheridan, etc., hang on behind
+and cry out, "Stop; stop; take us in." Pitt and Dundas are seen leaving
+the palace. The rumour gains in credibility from a Memorandum of the
+Marquis; but it is doubtful whether George ever thought seriously of
+giving up Pitt, still less of seeking support from the discredited and
+unpopular Lansdowne, whose views on the French Revolution were utterly
+opposed to those of the King. Probably the King put questions to him
+merely with the view of gratifying his own curiosity and exciting unreal
+hopes. Certainly Pitt scoffed at the idea of resignation. On 3rd March
+he referred to the rumour, in a letter to the Earl of Westmorland,
+merely to dismiss it as ridiculous.[48]
+
+Far more important were the negotiations that began in May-June 1792.
+Pitt paved the way for a union with the Old Whigs by consulting the
+opinions of the Duke of Portland and other leading Whigs, assembled at
+Burlington House, respecting the proclamation against seditious
+writings. They suggested a few alterations in his draft and he adopted
+them. Fox alone declared against the whole scheme, and afterwards hotly
+opposed it in the House of Commons. This step having shown the cleavage
+in the Whig party, Dundas and Loughborough sought to effect a union of
+the Portland Whigs with the Government. The Duke of Portland strongly
+approved of it. Even Fox welcomed the proposal, but only on the
+understanding that the Whigs joined the Ministry on fair and even terms,
+sharing equally in the patronage. The Duke further suggested that Pitt
+should give up the Treasury and allow a neutral man like the Duke of
+Leeds to take that office. We can picture the upward tilt of the nose
+with which Pitt received this proposal.
+
+Lord Malmesbury, who was present at this discussion of the Whig leaders
+on 13th June, himself saw great difficulties in such a plan, as also
+from the opposition of the King and the Prince of Wales. On the next day
+Loughborough met Pitt at Dundas's house, and reported him to be
+favourable to the idea of a coalition. Pitt further said that the King
+and the Queen would welcome it, except in so far as it concerned Fox,
+whose conduct in Parliament during the last few months had given great
+offence. Pitt further declared that he did not remember a single word in
+all the disputes with Fox which could prevent him honourably and
+consistently acting with him. He added that it might be difficult to
+give him the Foreign Office at once, but he could certainly have it in a
+few months' time. On 16th June Malmesbury saw Fox at Burlington House,
+and found him in an unusually acrid and suspicious mood, from the notion
+that the whole affair was a plot of Pitt to break up the Whig party.
+Beside which, Fox said that it was idle to expect Pitt to admit the Whig
+leaders on an equal footing. Malmesbury, however, maintained that, if
+Fox and the Duke were agreed, they would lead the whole of their party
+with them, at which remark Fox became silent and embarrassed.
+
+Pitt, on the other hand, was very open to Loughborough, and expressed a
+wish to form a strong and united Ministry which could face the
+difficulties of the time. The chief obstacle to a coalition, he said,
+was Fox's support of French principles, which must preclude his taking
+the Foreign Office immediately. The remark is noteworthy as implying
+Pitt's expectation that either Fox might tone down his opinions, or the
+Revolution might abate its violence. Further, when Loughborough
+reminded him of the ardour of his advocacy of the Abolitionist cause, he
+replied that some concession must be made on that head, as the King
+strongly objected to the way in which it was pushed on by addresses and
+petitions, a method which he himself disliked. Further, he freely
+admitted that the "national Aristocracy" of the country must have its
+due weight and power.[49] These confessions (assuming that Loughborough
+reported them correctly) prepare us for the half right turn which now
+becomes the trend of Pitt's political career. In order to further the
+formation of a truly national party, he was willing, if necessary, to
+postpone the cause of the slaves and of Parliamentary Reform until the
+advent of calmer times.
+
+At this stage of the discussions, then, Pitt was willing to meet the
+Whigs half way. But the chief difficulty lay, not with Fox and his
+friends, but with the King. When Pitt mentioned the proposal to him,
+there came the characteristic reply: "Anything complimentary to them,
+but no power."[50] How was it possible to harmonize this resolve with
+that of Fox, that the Whigs must have an equality of power? Grenville
+was a further obstacle. How could that stiff and ambitious man give up
+the Foreign Office to Fox, whose principles he detested? We hear little
+of Grenville in these days, probably because of his marriage to Lady Ann
+Pitt, daughter of Lord Camelford. But certainly he would not have
+tolerated a half Whig Cabinet.
+
+It is therefore strange that the proposals were ever renewed. Renewed,
+however, they were, in the second week of July. Loughborough having
+spread the impression that Pitt desired their renewal, Leeds was again
+pushed to the front, it being suggested that he might be First Lord of
+the Treasury. Finally, on 14th August, the King granted him a private
+interview at Windsor, but stated that nothing had been said on the
+subject for a long time, and that it had never been seriously
+considered, it being impossible for Pitt to give up the Treasury and act
+as _Commis_ to the Whig leaders. This statement should have lessened the
+Duke's astonishment at hearing from Pitt on 22nd August that there had
+been no thought of any change in the Government.[51] This assertion
+seems to belie Pitt's reputation for truthfulness. But it is noteworthy
+that Grenville scarcely refers to the discussions on this subject,
+deeply though it concerned him. Further, Rose, who was in close touch
+with Ministers, wrote to Auckland on 13th July that he had heard only
+through the newspapers of the "negotiations for a sort of Coalition,"
+and that he knew there had been none; that Dundas had conferred with
+Loughborough, but there had been no negotiation.[52]
+
+Now the proneness of these two men to scheming and intrigue is well
+known; and it seems probable that they so skilfully pulled the wires at
+Burlington House as to quicken the appetites of the Whig leaders. Dundas
+may have acted with a view to breaking up the Whig party, and
+Loughborough in order to bring about a general shuffle of the cards
+favourable to himself. Malmesbury and others, whose desires or interests
+lay in a union of the Portland Whigs with Pitt, furthered the scheme,
+and gave full credence to Loughborough's reports. But we may doubt
+whether Pitt took the affair seriously after the crushing declaration of
+the King: "Anything complimentary to them, but no power." The last blow
+to the scheme was dealt by Pitt in an interview with Loughborough, so we
+may infer from the following letter from George III to the former:
+
+ Weymouth, _August 20, 1792_.[53]
+
+ I cannot but think Mr. Pitt has judged right in seeing Lord
+ Loughborough, as that will convince him, however [whoever?] were
+ parties to the proposal brought by the Duke of Leeds, that the
+ scheme can never succeed: that the Duke of Portland was equally
+ concerned with the former appeared clearly from his letters....
+
+The King, then, looked on the whole affair as a Whig plot; and Pitt,
+whatever his feelings were at first, finally frowned upon the proposal.
+Doubtless, in an official sense, there was justification for his remark
+to the Duke of Leeds, that the coalition had never been in
+contemplation; for the matter seems never to have come before the
+Cabinet. But as a statement between man and man it leaves something to
+be desired on the score of accuracy. Annoyance at the very exalted
+position marked out for the Duke, whose capacity Pitt rated decidedly
+low, may have led him to belittle the whole affair; for signs of
+constraint and annoyance are obvious in his other answers to his late
+colleague. There, then, we must leave this question, involved in
+something of mystery.[54] We shall not be far wrong in concluding that
+Pitt wished for the formation of a national Ministry, and that the plan
+failed, partly from the resolve of Fox never to play second to Pitt; and
+still more from the personal way in which the King regarded the
+suggestion.
+
+The King meanwhile had marked his sense of the value of Pitt's services
+by pressing on him the honourable position of Warden of the Cinque
+Ports, with a stipend of £3,000 a year, intimating at the same time that
+he would not hear of his declining it (6th August).[55] It is a proof of
+the spotless purity of Pitt's reputation that not a single libel or gibe
+appeared in the Press on his acceptance of this almost honorary
+post.[56]
+
+One brilliant recruit to the Whig ranks was now won over to the national
+cause, of which Pitt was seen to be the incarnation. Already at Eton and
+Oxford George Canning had shown the versatility of his genius and the
+precocious maturity of his eloquence. When his Oxford friend, Jenkinson
+(the future Earl of Liverpool) made a sensational _début_ in the House
+on the Tory side, Sheridan remarked that the Whigs would soon provide an
+antidote in the person of young Canning. Great, then, was their
+annoyance when the prodigy showed signs of breaking away from the
+society of the Crewes and Sheridan, in order to ally himself with Pitt.
+So little is known respecting the youth of Canning that the motives
+which prompted his breach with Sheridan are involved in uncertainty. It
+is clear, however, from his own confession that, after some discussion
+with Orde, he himself made the first offer of allegiance to Pitt in a
+letter of 26th July 1792. He then informed the Prime Minister that,
+though on terms of friendship with eminent members of the Opposition, he
+was "in no way bound to them by any personal or political obligation,"
+and was therefore entirely free to choose his own party; that he was
+ambitious of being connected with Pitt, but lacked the means to win an
+election, and yet refused to be brought in by any individual--a
+reference, seemingly, to an offer made to him by the Duke of Portland.
+In reply, Pitt proposed an interview at Downing Street on Wednesday,
+15th August.[57]
+
+At noon on that day the two men first met. We can picture them as they
+faced one another in the formal surroundings of the Prime Minister's
+study. Pitt, at this time thirty-three years of age, had lost some of
+the slimness of youth, but his figure was bony, angular, and somewhat
+awkward. His face was as yet scarcely marked by the slight Bacchic
+blotches which told of carouses with Dundas at Wimbledon. Months and
+years of triumph (apart from the Russian defeat) had stiffened his
+confidence and pride; but the fateful shadow of the French Revolution
+must have struck a chill to his being, especially then, on the arrival
+of news of the pitiable surrender of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and
+the shooting down of the Swiss Guards at the Tuileries. No royalist
+could look on the future without inward shuddering; and both these men
+were ardent royalists. We know from Canning's confession that it was the
+starting of the club, the Friends of the People, in April 1792, which
+disgusted him with the forward section of the Whigs; and their
+subsequent action completed the breach. Pitt's endeavour to form a
+national Administration must have gained a new significance from the
+terrible news from Paris. We may be sure, then, that the youth of
+twenty-two years gazed with eager interest on the stately form before
+him as at the embodiment of political wisdom, purity, and patriotism.
+
+They shook hands. Then for a time they ambled coyly around the subject
+at issue, and talked of "France and Jenkinson, and other equally
+important concerns." Indeed Pitt seems to have been as nervous and
+awkward as the novice. At length he plunged into business. "It is your
+wish, I believe, Mr. Canning (and I am sure it is mine), to come in,
+etc." On Canning bowing assent, Pitt remarked that it was not easy to
+find an inexpensive seat, and commented on his expressed desire not to
+tie himself to any borough-owner. Whereupon the young aspirant, with
+more pride than tact, threw in the remark that he would not like to be
+personally beholden to such an one, for instance, as Lord Lonsdale (who
+first brought Pitt into Parliament). The Prime Minister seemed not to
+notice the _gaucherie_, and stated that the Treasury had only six seats
+at its disposal, but could arrange matters with "proprietors of
+burgage-tenures." Thereupon Canning broke in more deftly. In that case,
+he said, it must be made clear that he bound himself to follow, not the
+borough-owner, but the Prime Minister. Here he more than recovered lost
+ground, if indeed he had lost any. Pitt expressed his sense of the
+compliment, and said that this could be managed, unless the young member
+came to differ absolutely from his patron. Canning then frankly
+confessed his inability to follow Pitt in maintaining the Test Act.
+Equally frank and cordial was the reply, that he (Pitt) did not claim
+exact agreement, especially on "speculative subjects," but only "a
+general good disposition towards Government," which might be
+strengthened by frequent contact.
+
+Such was the course of this memorable interview. It sealed for ever the
+allegiance of the youth to his self-chosen leader. He had prepared
+Sheridan, and through him Fox and Bouverie, for this change of front.
+The openness, the charm, the self-effacing patriotism of the Minister
+thenceforth drew him as by an irresistible magnet. The brilliance and
+joviality of Fox and Sheridan counted as nothing against the national
+impulse which the master now set in motion and the pupil was destined to
+carry to further lengths. There was a natural sympathy between these men
+both in aim and temperament. It is a sign of the greatness of Pitt that
+from the outset he laid the spell of his genius irrevocably upon
+Canning.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Deferring to the next chapter a study of the democratic movement in
+Great Britain, we now turn our attention to the relations of Pitt to
+France, a topic which thenceforth dominates his life story and the
+destinies of mankind.
+
+In the month of January 1792, there arrived in London an envoy charged
+with important proposals from the French Government. It was Talleyrand,
+ex-bishop of Autun. Pitt had become acquainted with him during his
+residence at Rheims in the summer of 1783; but the circumstances of the
+case now forbade anything more than passing intercourse with that most
+charming of talkers and subtlest of diplomatists. Talleyrand, having
+been a member of the first, or Constituent, Assembly, was prevented by
+the constitution of September 1791 from holding any office for two
+years after that date. Therefore his visit to London was ostensibly on
+private affairs. The Duc de Biron was the envoy, and Talleyrand merely
+his adviser. He was instructed to seek "to maintain and strengthen the
+good understanding which exists between the two Kingdoms."[58]
+
+This was only the official pretext for the mission, the secret aim of
+which was to win the friendship, if not the alliance, of England in case
+of a Franco-Austrian war. In the early days of January 1792 the
+constitutional Ministry, holding office, though not power, at Paris,
+seemed to be working for a rupture with the Hapsburgs, partly in order
+to please the Jacobins, and partly to escape the ever increasing
+difficulties of its position. The earlier causes of dispute do not
+concern us here. As we have seen, the Emperor Leopold was far from
+desirous of war; but the provocative attitude of the Legislative
+Assembly at Paris and the humiliations of his sister, Marie Antoinette,
+aroused his resentment; and, early in January, he was heard to say "that
+if the French madmen were determined to force him into a war, they
+should find that the pacific Leopold knew how to wage it with the
+greatest vigour, and would oblige them to pay its expenses in something
+more solid than assignats." Our ambassador, Sir Robert Keith, was,
+however, convinced that this outburst and the westward march of troops
+were but "empty parade."[59]
+
+On the other hand Earl Gower, British ambassador at Paris, reported that
+the Ministry, the Assembly, and the Jacobins Club (with the exception of
+Robespierre and his clique) desired war.[60] In truth, there seemed
+little risk in a struggle with the exhausted Hapsburg States, provided
+that they had support neither from Prussia nor from England. De Ségur
+therefore set out for Berlin, and Talleyrand for London, to secure the
+friendly neutrality or support of those Governments. The latter envoy
+was specially suited for his mission, as he carried on the traditions of
+Mirabeau, who in the closing months of his life urged the need of an
+Anglo-French _entente_.[61]
+
+Talleyrand and Biron reached London on 24th January 1792. Before
+reaching the capital they read in the English papers that they had
+arrived there, and had been very coldly received by Pitt--a specimen of
+the arts by which the French _émigrés_ in London sought to embitter the
+relations between the two lands. Talleyrand had the good fortune to
+occupy a seat in the Strangers' Gallery at the opening of Parliament
+close to two ardent royalists, Cazalès and Lally-Tollendal. What must
+have been their feelings on hearing in the King's speech the statement
+of his friendly relations to the other Powers and his resolve to reduce
+the army and navy?
+
+Already Pitt had seen Talleyrand. He reminded him in a friendly way of
+their meeting at Rheims, remarked on the unofficial character of the
+ex-bishop's "mission," but expressed his willingness to discuss French
+affairs, about which he even showed "curiosity." Grenville afterwards
+spoke to the envoy in the same courteous but non-committal manner.
+Talleyrand was, however, charmed. He wrote to Delessart, the Foreign
+Minister at Paris: "Your best ground is England; ... Believe me the
+rumours current in France about the disposition of England towards us
+are false."[62] He urged the need of showing a bold front; for "it is
+with a fleet that you must speak to England."
+
+Talleyrand throughout showed the sagacity which earned him fame in
+diplomacy. He was not depressed by the King's frigid reception of him at
+St. James's on 1st February, or by the Queen refusing even to notice
+him. Even the escapades of Biron did not dash his hopes. That envoy ran
+up debts and bargained about horses _avec un nommé Tattersall, qui tient
+dans sa main tous les chevaux d'Angleterre_, until he was arrested for
+debt and immured in a "sponging house," whence the appeals of the
+ex-bishop failed to rescue him. As Biron had come with an official order
+to buy horses with a view to the impending war with Austria, we may
+infer that his arrest was the work of some keen-witted _émigré_.
+
+Even this, however, was better than the fortunes of Ségur, who found
+himself openly flouted both by King and courtiers at Berlin. For
+Frederick William was still bent on a vigorous policy. On 7th February
+his Ministers signed with Prince Reuss, the Austrian envoy, a secret
+treaty of defensive alliance, mainly for the settlement of French
+affairs, but also with a side glance at Poland. The Prussian Ministers
+probably hoped for a peaceful but profitable settlement, which would
+leave them free for a decisive intervention in the Polish troubles now
+coming to a crisis; but Frederick William was in a more warlike mood,
+and longed to overthrow the "rebels" in France. Ségur's mission to
+Berlin was therefore an utter failure. That of Talleyrand, on the other
+hand, achieved its purpose, mainly because Pitt and Grenville never had
+any other desire than to remain strictly neutral. It was therefore
+superfluous for Talleyrand to hint delicately at the desirability of the
+friendship of France for England, in view of the war with Tippoo Sahib
+in India, and the increasing ferment in Ireland.[63]
+
+On 1st March Grenville again assured him of the earnest desire of the
+British Government to see the end of the troubles in France, and
+declared that Pitt and he had been deeply wounded by the oft-repeated
+insinuations that they had sought to foment them. All such charges were
+absurd; for "a commercial people stands only to gain by the freedom of
+all those who surround it." We may reasonably conclude that these were
+the words of Pitt; for they recall that noble passage of the "Wealth of
+Nations": "A nation that would enrich itself by trade is certainly most
+likely to do so when its neighbours are all rich, industrious, and
+commercial nations."[64] For the rest, Grenville defied the calumniators
+of England to adduce a single proof in support of their slanders, and
+requested Talleyrand to remain some time in England for the purpose of
+observing public opinion. He warned him, however, that the Cabinet could
+not give an answer to his main proposal.
+
+More than this Talleyrand could scarcely expect. He had already divined
+the important secret that the Cabinet was divided on this subject, the
+King, Thurlow, and Camden being hostile to France, while Pitt,
+Grenville, and Dundas were friendly. When Talleyrand ventured to ascribe
+those sentiments to Pitt and Grenville, the latter did not deny it, and
+he at once echoed the desire expressed by the envoy for the conclusion
+of an Anglo-French alliance. That the greater part of the British people
+would have welcomed such a compact admits of no doubt. On the walls were
+often chalked the words: "No war with the French." Talleyrand advised
+the Foreign Minister, Delessart, to send immediately to London a fully
+accredited ambassador; for the talk often was: "We have an ambassador at
+Paris. Why have not you one here?" Nevertheless, a despatch of Grenville
+to Gower, on 9th March, shows that Pitt and he keenly felt the need of
+caution. They therefore enjoined complete silence on Gower. In truth,
+Grenville's expressions, quoted above, were merely the outcome of the
+good will which he and Pitt felt towards France. But these words from
+the two powerful Ministers meant safety for France on her coasts,
+whatever might betide her on the Meuse and the Rhine.
+
+On the day when Grenville spoke these words of peace, two events
+occurred which portended war. Leopold II died; and an irritating
+despatch, which he and Kaunitz had recently sent to Paris, was read out
+to the Legislative Assembly. Thereafter a rupture was inevitable.
+Francis II, who now ascended the throne of his father, was a shy, proud,
+delicate youth of twenty-four years, having only a superficial knowledge
+of public affairs, scarcely known to the Ministers, and endowed with a
+narrow pedantic nature which was to be the bane of his people. He lacked
+alike the sagacity, the foresight, and the suppleness of Leopold.
+Further, though his inexperience should have inspired him with a dread
+of war for his storm-tossed States, yet that same misfortune subjected
+him to the advice of the veteran Chancellor, Kaunitz. That crabbed old
+man advised the maintenance of a stiff attitude towards France; and
+this, in her present temper, entailed war.
+
+The last despatch from Vienna to Paris contained strongly worded advice
+to the French Government and Assembly to adopt a less provocative
+attitude, to withdraw its troops from the northern frontier, and, above
+all, to rid itself of the factious minority which controlled its
+counsels. If Leopold had hoped to intimidate France or to strengthen the
+peace-party at Paris, he made the greatest mistake of his reign. The war
+party at once gained the ascendancy, decreed the arrest of Delessart for
+his tame reply to Vienna, and broke up the constitutional Ministry.
+Their successors were mainly Girondins. The most noteworthy are Roland,
+who took the Home Office; Clavière, Finance; and Dumouriez, Foreign
+Affairs. The last was a man of great energy and resource. A soldier by
+training, and with a dash of the adventurer in his nature, he now leapt
+to the front, and astonished France by his zeal and activity. He was not
+devoid of prudence; for, as appears from Gower's despatch of 30th March,
+he persuaded the Assembly to postpone action until an answer arrived to
+his last despatch to Vienna. Gower found from conversation with
+Dumouriez that a rupture must ensue if a satisfactory reply did not
+arrive by 15th April.[65] Four days later, as no answer came, the
+Council of Ministers decided on war; and on the next day Louis formally
+proposed it to the Assembly, which assented with acclamation.
+
+Secondary causes helped on the rupture. Frederick William encouraged the
+young Emperor to draw the sword, and led him to expect Alsace and
+Lorraine as his share of the spoil, the duchies of Jülich and Berg
+falling to Prussia. Catharine also fanned the crusading zeal at Berlin
+and Vienna in the hope of having "more elbow-room," obviously in
+Poland.[66] Further, the news from Madrid and Stockholm indisposed the
+French Assembly to endure any dictation from Vienna. At the end of
+February Floridablanca fell from power at Madrid, and his successor,
+Aranda, showed a peaceful front. And, on 16th March Gustavus of Sweden
+was assassinated by Anckarström, a tool of the revengeful nobles. This
+loss was severely felt. The royalist crusade now had no Tancred, only an
+uninspiring Duke of Brunswick.
+
+Though France took the final step of declaring war, it is now known that
+Austria had done much to provoke it and nothing to prevent it. The young
+Emperor refused to withdraw a word of the provocative despatch; and in
+his letter to Thugut at Brussels, he declared he was weary of the state
+of things in France and had decided to act and put an end to it; "that
+he should march his troops at once, and the French must be amused for
+two months until the troops arrived; then, whether the French attacked
+him or not, he should attack them."[67] Keith also wrote from Vienna to
+Grenville on 2nd May, that the French declaration of war had come in the
+nick of time to furnish the Hapsburgs with the opportunity of throwing
+the odium of the war upon France.[68] Other proofs might be cited; and
+it seems certain that, if France had not thrown down the gauntlet, both
+the German Powers would have attacked her in the early summer of 1792.
+Pitt and Grenville, looking on at these conflicting schemes, formed the
+perfectly correct surmise that both sides were bent on war, and that
+little or nothing could be done to avert it.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+We must now trace the policy of Pitt somewhat closely. The question at
+issue is, whether he favoured the royalist or the democratic cause, and
+was responsible for the ensuing friction between England and France,
+which culminated in the long and disastrous strifes of 1793-1801.
+
+Dumouriez, as we have seen, threw down the gauntlet to Austria in the
+hope of securing the neutrality of Prussia and the friendship of
+England. Accordingly he decided to send Talleyrand on a second mission
+to London. That skilful diplomat had recently returned to Paris; and the
+Foreign Minister drew up, perhaps in concert with him, a Memoir entitled
+"Reflections on a Negotiation with England in case of War," which
+provided the text for Talleyrand's discourse to Pitt and Grenville. The
+gist of it is that Talleyrand must convince the British Government of
+the need of a French attack on the Belgic provinces of Austria as the
+sole means of safety. For, while offensive in appearance, it is in
+reality defensive. France does not intend to keep those provinces; and,
+even if her conquest of them brings about the collapse of the
+Stadholder's power in Holland, England will do well not to intervene in
+favour of the Orange _régime_. For what good can the Island Power gain
+by war with France? She may take the French colonies; but that will mean
+a tiresome struggle with the revolted negroes in the West Indies.
+France, meanwhile, with her new-born strength, will conquer Central
+Europe and then throw her energy into her fleet. The better course,
+then, for England will be to remain neutral, even if Holland be
+revolutionized, and the estuary of the Scheldt be thrown open to all
+nations. Or, still better, England may help France to keep in check the
+King of Prussia and the Prince of Orange. In that case the two free
+Powers will march hand in hand and "become the arbiters of peace or war
+for the whole world."
+
+This remarkable pronouncement claims attention for several reasons.
+Firstly, it proves that Dumouriez and Talleyrand believed their sole
+chance of safety to lie in the conquest of Austria's Belgic provinces,
+where a cognate people would receive them with open arms. That is to
+say, they desired war with Austria, and they did not dread the prospect
+of war with Prussia, provided that England remained neutral and
+friendly. Pitt and Grenville were well aware of this from Gower's
+despatches. Our ambassador had warned them that France recked little of
+a war with the whole of Europe, provided that England held aloof.
+Secondly, this fact disposes of the subsequent charge of Fox against
+Pitt, that he ought to have sided with France in 1792 and thereby to
+have prevented the attack of the German Powers. For, as we have seen, it
+was she who took the irrevocable step of declaring war on Austria; and
+further, the details given above prove that all that Frenchmen expected
+from Pitt was neutrality. By remaining neutral, while the French overran
+Belgium, Pitt was favouring the French plans more than any British
+statesman had done since the time of James II. Thirdly, we notice in the
+closing sentences of these Reflections signs of that extraordinary
+self-confidence which led Girondins and Jacobins to face without
+flinching even the prospect of war with England.
+
+What was Pitt's conduct at this crisis? He knew enough of the politics
+of Berlin and Vienna to see that those Courts would almost certainly
+make war on France. He adopted therefore the line of conduct which
+prudence and love of peace dictated, a strict neutrality. But he refused
+to proclaim it to the world, as it would encourage France to attack
+Austria. At the same time Grenville let it be known that Austria must
+not be deprived of her Belgic lands, which England had assured to her,
+firstly by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), and quite recently by the
+Reichenbach Convention. As Grenville phrased it--"The Pays Bas form the
+chain which unites England to the Continent, and the central knot of our
+relations to Austria and Russia. It would be broken if they belonged to
+France." Talleyrand and Dumouriez knew this perfectly well, and
+prudently declared that France had no intention of keeping those lands.
+Would that the Jacobins and Napoleon had shown the same wise
+self-restraint! It was their resolve to dominate the Netherlands which
+brought them into irreconcilable opposition to Pitt and his successors
+down to the year 1814.
+
+Statesmanlike though the aims of Dumouriez were, they suffered not a
+little in their exposition. Talleyrand, the brain of the policy, was not
+its mouthpiece. In the French embassy at Portman Square he figured
+merely as adviser to the French ambassador, the _ci-devant_ Marquis de
+Chauvelin, a vain and showy young man, devoid of the qualities of
+insight, tact, and patience in which the ex-bishop of Autun excelled his
+contemporaries. Had this sage counsellor remained in London to the end
+of the year, things might have gone very differently. The instructions
+issued to Chauvelin contain ideas similar to those outlined above; but
+they lay stress on the utility of a French alliance for England, in
+order to thwart the aims of a greedy Coalition and to ensure her own
+internal tranquillity, which, it is hinted, France can easily ruffle.
+Talleyrand is also charged to offer to cede the small but valuable
+island, Tobago, which we lost in 1783, provided that the British
+Government guaranteed a French loan of £3,000,000 or £4,000,000, to be
+raised in London; and he is to suggest that, if the two Powers acted
+together, they could revolutionize Spanish America and control the
+world.[69]
+
+Our curiosity is aroused as to the reception which Pitt and Grenville
+gave to these schemes. It is not certain, however, that Chauvelin and
+Talleyrand showed their hand completely; for events told against them
+from the outset. Chauvelin bore with him an autograph letter from
+Louis XVI to George III, couched in the friendliest terms, and
+expressing the hope of closer relations between the two peoples.[70] But
+before he could present it to the King at St. James's, it appeared in
+the Paris papers. This breach of etiquette created a bad impression; for
+it seemed that the letter was merely a bid for an alliance between the
+two peoples. It is quite possible that Dumouriez, with his natural
+impulsiveness, allowed it to gain currency in order to identify
+Louis XVI with French democracy, and that in its turn with public
+opinion in England. Further, we now know that Marie Antoinette, in her
+resolve to paralyse the policy and the defensive power of France, wrote
+at once to Fersen at Brussels that her consort's letter was very far
+from speaking his real sentiments.[71] This news, when passed on to
+London, must have made it clear that the two envoys represented the
+Girondin Ministry, but not the King of France. Then again tidings soon
+arrived of the disgraceful flight of the French troops on the Belgian
+frontier, the new levies, at sight of the Austrian horse, rushing back
+to Lille in wild disorder and there murdering their General, Theobald
+Dillon. George III and Grenville wrote of this event in terms of disgust
+and contempt.[72] It is therefore not surprising that the reception of
+Chauvelin was far from promising; and Talleyrand doubtless felt that
+the time was not ripe for discussing an Anglo-French _entente_ for the
+control of the world.
+
+In fact, the envoys were received coolly from the outset. The outbreak
+of war on the Continent had caused almost a panic in the City. The Funds
+dropped sharply, and Pitt ordered an official denial to sinister reports
+of a forthcoming raid by the press-gang. A little later he assured a
+deputation of merchants that England would hold strictly aloof from the
+war. Chauvelin reported these facts to his Government along with the
+assurance that the Cabinet had definitely resolved on neutrality. How he
+came to know of that decision is a mystery; and it is scarcely less odd
+that a copy of his despatch reporting it should be in the Pitt
+Papers.[73] On the whole, then, France had good reason to be satisfied
+with Pitt. Austria, on the other hand, disliked his conduct. Kaunitz,
+with his usual acerbity, gave out that England was secretly hostile to
+the House of Hapsburg; and Keith, finding his position increasingly
+awkward, begged for his recall.
+
+The first sign of friction between England and France arose out of the
+King's proclamation against seditious writings, which we noticed in the
+last chapter. Chauvelin complained of some of its phrases, and stated
+that France waged war for national safety, not for aggrandizement.
+Grenville thereupon loftily remarked that Chauvelin had no right to
+express an opinion on a question which concerned solely the King's
+Government and Parliament. The British reply irritated by its curt
+correctness.
+
+Equally unfortunate were some incidents in the ensuing debates on this
+topic. Some members emphasized their loyalty by adverting tartly to the
+connections of Thomas Paine and English reformers with the French
+Jacobins. On 31st May the Duke of Richmond charged that writer with
+being an emissary from abroad, because he had advised the destruction of
+the British navy.[74] There is no such passage in the "Rights of Man";
+and the Duke must have read with the distorting lens of fear or hatred
+the suggestion that, if England, France, and the United States were
+allied, a very small navy would be needed, costing not more than half a
+million a year.[75] But this incident is typical of the prejudice that
+was growing against France. Grenville in the same debate declared that
+the Corresponding Societies avowed their connection with foreign clubs
+and were engaged in circulating pamphlets. The conclusion was obvious,
+that close relations with France must be avoided. As to the feeling of
+the Royal Family, it was manifested in an effusively loyal speech by the
+Prince of Wales, his first speech at Westminster. In it he marked his
+entire severance from Fox on this question.
+
+Grenville's complaisance to the French envoys was perhaps little more
+than a blind to mask his contempt for them and their principles. On 19th
+June he wrote to Auckland respecting the "ignorance and absurdity of the
+French mission," but suggested that the picking a quarrel with France
+would only help the English Jacobins to introduce French notions. Even
+if this mission were got rid of, some one else might come who might make
+even more mischief. These expressions refer to the connections which
+Chauvelin and Talleyrand had formed with the Opposition. As Bland Burges
+remarked: "Talleyrand is intimate with Paine, Home Tooke, Lord
+Lansdowne, and a few more of that stamp, and is generally scouted by
+every one else." George III's words were equally contemptuous and marked
+his resolve to have as little as possible to do with France.[76] Pitt
+did not state his opinions on this topic; but he probably held those of
+Grenville.
+
+The prejudices of the King and the resolves of the two chief Ministers
+proved fatal to an ardent appeal which came from Paris in the middle of
+June. As the attitude of the Court of Berlin became more and more
+warlike, Dumouriez put forth one more effort to gain the friendly
+mediation of England and thus assure peace with Prussia. Chauvelin,
+swallowing his annoyance at Grenville's recent note, pointed out that
+Austria was making great efforts to induce Prussia, Holland, and the
+lesser German States to join her in the war against liberty. The designs
+of the monarchs against Poland were notorious; and it was clear that a
+vast conspiracy was being hatched against the free States of the
+Continent. Would not England, then, endeavour to stop the formation of
+this reactionary league?
+
+The occasion was, indeed, highly important. It is conceivable that, if
+British influence had been powerful at Berlin, a spirited declaration
+would have had some effect at that Court. Unfortunately our influence
+had sunk to zero since the Oczakoff fiasco of 1791. Moreover, the
+Prussian Government had by that time decided to break with France. Her
+envoys were dismissed from Berlin in the first week of June, and it is
+probable that Pitt and Grenville by 18th June knew of the warlike
+resolve of the Prussian Government. In any case, after a delay of twenty
+days, they sent once more a reply to Chauvelin's request, affirming the
+earnest desire of His Majesty to contribute to the restoration of peace,
+but re-asserting his decision in favour of unswerving neutrality. On
+24th July Prussia declared war against France, and three days later the
+Duke of Brunswick issued the famous manifesto to the French people which
+thrilled the French people with indignation against the hapless
+sovereigns at the Tuileries whom it was designed to protect.[77]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The outbreak of war on the Rhine and Meuse was an event of incalculable
+importance. As we have seen, Pitt discouraged the bellicose tendencies
+of the _émigrés_ and of the Austrian and Prussian Courts. But the
+passions of the time ran too high to admit of the continuance of peace;
+and State after State was soon to be drawn into the devouring vortex of
+strife. Strange to say the first to suffer from the outbreak of
+hostilities was Poland. That Republic entered on a new lease of life in
+the spring of the year 1791. The constitution adopted with enthusiasm on
+3rd May substituted an hereditary for an elective monarchy, and
+otherwise strengthened the fabric of that almost anarchic State. Social
+and civic reforms promised also to call its burghers and serfs to a life
+of activity or comfort. But the change at once aroused keen dislike at
+St. Petersburg and Berlin. Prussian statesmen resented any improvement
+in the condition of their nominal ally, and declared that, if Russia
+gained a strong position on the Euxine, Prussia and Austria must secure
+indemnities at the expense of Poland.
+
+The Czarina soon succeeded in heading them in that direction. After the
+signature of the Peace of Jassy with the Turks early in January 1792,
+she began openly to encourage the factious efforts of Polish
+malcontents. The troubles at Paris also enabled her to engage the Courts
+of Vienna and Berlin in a western crusade on which she bestowed her
+richest blessing, her own inmost desires meanwhile finding expression in
+the following confidential utterance: "I am breaking my head to make the
+Cabinets of Vienna and Berlin intervene in the affairs of France. I wish
+to see them plunged into some very complicated question in order to have
+my own hands free."[78] Though her old opponent, Kaunitz, fathomed her
+intentions, she partly succeeded in persuading the Austrian and Prussian
+Ministers that their mission clearly was to stamp out Jacobinism at
+Paris, while Providence reserved for her the duty of extirpating its
+offshoots at Warsaw. In the Viennese Court, where the value of a
+regenerated Poland as a buffer State was duly appreciated, there were
+some qualms as to the spoliation of that unoffending State; but Prussian
+politicians, in their eagerness for the Polish districts, Danzig and
+Thorn, harboured few scruples as to betraying the cause of their allies
+at Warsaw.
+
+Little by little the outlines of a scheme were sketched between Austria
+and Prussia for securing indemnities for the expenses of the war against
+France; and it was arranged that Prussia should acquire the coveted
+lands on the lower Vistula; also Anspach and Baireuth; Austria was to
+effect the long-desired Belgic-Bavarian exchange, besides gaining parts
+of Alsace; and it was understood that Russia would annex the Polish
+Ukraine and work her will in the rest of Poland. The Polish part of the
+scheme was, however, stiffly opposed by Kaunitz; and in the sequel the
+old Chancellor ended his long and distinguished career by way of protest
+against a change of front which he deemed unwise and disgraceful.[79]
+
+Early in May everything was ready for the restoration of anarchy in
+Poland. Catharine ordered her troops to enter its borders; and the
+factious Polish nobles whom she had sheltered during the winter returned
+to their land and formed a "Confederation" at Targowicz on 14th May for
+the purpose of undoing the reforms of 1791. Daniel Hailes, our envoy at
+Warsaw, kept Grenville fully informed of this affair. On 16th June he
+reported Austria's desertion of Poland, the brutal refusal of the Court
+of Berlin to accord help to its ally, the heroic efforts of Kosciusko
+and the Polish levies to resist the Russian armies, and the despair of
+the patriots of Warsaw, adding the cynical comment that at Warsaw
+patriotism was only a cloak for private interest, and that the new
+constitution was generally regarded as the death-blow to Polish
+independence.[80] Whether he added these words to please Grenville, who
+had always discouraged the Polish cause,[81] is not easy to say; but the
+statement cannot be reconciled with Hailes's earlier enthusiasm for that
+well-meant effort.
+
+On all sides the Polish patriots now found indifference or hostility.
+The Elector of Saxony (their King-elect) gave them cold words; and
+Catharine demanded the restoration of the old constitution of which she
+was a guarantor. King Stanislaus, a prey to deep despondency, saw the
+defence collapse on all sides, and at the close of June the Russians
+drew near to Warsaw. Many of the Polish reformers fled to Leipzig and
+there prepared to appeal to Europe against this forcible suppression of
+a truly national constitution.
+
+Amidst these scenes Hailes was replaced by Colonel Gardiner, who
+received from Grenville the following instructions, dated 4th August
+1792. He informed him that Hailes had last year been charged "to confine
+himself to such assurances of His Majesty's good wishes as could be
+given without committing H.M. to any particular line of conduct with
+respect to any troubles that might arise on the subject [of the Polish
+Revolution]. The event has unhappily but too well justified their
+reserve; and the present situation is such as to leave little hope that
+the tranquillity of that unfortunate land can be restored without its
+falling again into the most entire dependence on the power of Russia,
+even if no further dismemberment of territory should take place."
+Grenville then stated that Prussia's conduct was due to fear of a strong
+Government in Poland; but the present alternative (a Russian occupation)
+would probably be worse for her. He added these sentences: "No
+intervention of the Maritime Powers [England and Holland] could be
+serviceable to Poland, at least not without a much greater exertion and
+expense than the importance to their separate interests could possibly
+justify.... You are to be very careful not to do anything which could
+hold out ill-grounded expectations of support from this country."
+
+In these words Grenville passed sentence of death upon Poland. On this
+important subject he must have acted with the consent of Pitt; but the
+opinion of the latter is unknown. It would seem that after the weak
+treatment of the Oczakoff crisis by Parliament, he gave up all hope of
+saving either Turkey or Poland. If that was impracticable in the spring
+of 1791, how much more so in August 1792, when French affairs claimed
+far closer attention? It is worth noticing that several of the Foxites
+(not Fox himself, for he was still intent on a Russian alliance),[82]
+now revised their opinion about Catharine II and inveighed against her
+for trampling on the liberties of Poland. Did they now discover the
+folly of their conduct in previously encouraging her?
+
+In despair of help from England, some of the patriots of Warsaw turned
+towards France. But this added to their misfortunes. It gave the
+schemers of Berlin the longed-for excuse of intervening by force under
+the pretext that they must stamp out "the French evil" from States
+bordering on their own. On hearing of the advance of three Prussian
+columns, Catharine threw her whole weight into Polish affairs.
+
+So closely did the fortunes of Poland intertwine themselves with those
+of France. The outbreak of the Franco-Austrian war meant ruin for the
+reformers at Warsaw. Had Austria held to her former resolve, to prevent
+the triumph of Russia or Prussia in Poland, it is possible that Pitt and
+Grenville would have decided to support her. As it was, they maintained
+their cautious and timid neutrality. The reports of Hailes were explicit
+enough to show that another partition was at hand; but, so far as I can
+discover, they lifted not a finger to prevent it. The excess of Pitt's
+caution at this crisis enables us to gauge the magnitude of the disaster
+to the Polish cause involved by his surrender to the Czarina in the
+spring and summer of 1791. By a wonderful display of skill and audacity
+she emerged triumphant from all her difficulties, and now, while egging
+on the German Powers to war with France, planted her heel on the
+liberties of Poland. Her conquest was easy and profitable. The
+restoration of order at Paris proved to be fraught with unexpected
+dangers, and the German sovereigns scarcely set their hands to the task
+before they discovered that they were her dupes. If the French war
+worked disaster at Warsaw, the prospect of a partition of Poland
+undoubtedly helped to lessen the pressure on France during the campaign
+of Valmy. Hope of further spoils in 1794-5 distracted the aims of the
+Allies; and Pitt was destined to see the efforts of the monarchical
+league in the West weaken and die away under the magnetic influence of
+the eastern problem. Well would it have been for him if he could have
+upheld Poland in 1791. By so doing he would have removed the cause of
+bitter dissensions between the Houses of Romanoff, Hapsburg, and
+Hohenzollern. As will appear in due course, Revolutionary France
+achieved her marvellous triumphs partly by the prowess of her sons, but
+still more owing to the intrigues and feuds which clogged the efforts of
+the Allies and baffled the constructive powers of Pitt.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[43] "Parl. Hist.," xxix, 810-15.
+
+[44] _Ibid._, 834.
+
+[45] "Parl. Hist.," xxix, 551-602, 1404-31.
+
+[46] Stanhope, ii, 148-50, and App., xv.
+
+[47] Twiss, "Life of Lord Eldon," ch. x.
+
+[48] Fitzmaurice, "Shelburne," iii, 500-4; Salomon, "Pitt," 596. The
+King later on teased the Duke of Leeds by a more compromising overture.
+
+[49] "Malmesbury Diaries," ii, 454-64.
+
+[50] "Leeds Mem.," 188.
+
+[51] _Ibid._, 194.
+
+[52] "Auckland Journals," ii, 417, 418.
+
+[53] Pitt MSS., 103.
+
+[54] I accept, with some qualification, Mr. Oscar Browning's
+explanation, that Lord Loughborough had exaggerated the accounts of his
+interviews with Pitt and the Whig leaders. (see "Leeds Mem.," 197,
+note).
+
+[55] Stanhope, ii, 160.
+
+[56] "Bland Burges P.," 208.
+
+[57] Stanhope, "Miscellanies," ii, 57-63. Letter of Canning to W.
+Sturges Bourne, 3rd September 1792. This interview is not referred to by
+Mr. H. W. V. Temperley ("Canning," ch. ii), Mr. Sichel ("Sheridan"),
+Captain Bagot ("Canning and his Friends"), or E. Festing ("Frere and his
+Friends"). In "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies" I shall publish new
+letters of Canning. One, dated 15th March 1793, declines an offer of
+Portland to bring him into Parliament.
+
+[58] Pallain, "La Mission de Talleyrand à Londres," 41.
+
+[59] Keith's "Mems.," ii, 494. Keith to Grenville, 14th January 1792.
+
+[60] "Gower's Despatches," 142, 143, 145, 149.
+
+[61] Pallain, pp. xv-xviii.
+
+[62] Pallain, 56, 57.
+
+[63] Pallain, 106, 107.
+
+[64] "Wealth of Nations," bk. iv, ch. iii.
+
+[65] "Gower's Despatches," 165, 171.
+
+[66] Sorel, ii, 216.
+
+[67] Fersen, "Diary" (Eng. edit.), 255.
+
+[68] Clapham, "Causes of the War of 1792," 231.
+
+[69] On the Tobago proposal see "Dropmore P.," ii, 260.
+
+[70] Pallain, 215-9. The original is in Pitt MSS., 333.
+
+[71] Fersen, "Diary" (Eng. edit.), 316, 319.
+
+[72] "Dropmore P.," ii, 267. See, too, further details in "Dumouriez and
+the Defence of England against Napoleon," by J. H. Rose and A. M.
+Broadley.
+
+[73] Pitt MSS., 333. Chauvelin to Dumouriez, 28th April.
+
+[74] "Parl. Hist.," xxix, 1522.
+
+[75] "Rights of Man," pt. ii, ch. v.
+
+[76] "Dropmore P.," ii, 282; "Auckland Journals," ii, 410.
+
+[77] "Ann. Reg." (1792), 178-82, 225-32; Sorel, ii, 445-54; Heidrich,
+pt. ii, ch. ii. I fully agree with Dr. Salomon ("Pitt," 537) as to the
+sincerity of Pitt's desire for neutrality.
+
+[78] Sybel, ii, 142.
+
+[79] For the discussions between the three Powers on Poland see
+Heidrich, 165-219; and Salomon, "Das Politische System des jüngeren Pitt
+und die zweite Teilung Polens" (Berlin, 1895).
+
+[80] "F. O.," Poland, 6. Hailes to Grenville, 16th and 27th June 1792.
+
+[81] "Dropmore P.," ii, 142; see, too, ii, 279.
+
+[82] "Mems. of Fox," iii, 18.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER III
+
+ PEACE OR WAR?
+
+ It seems absolutely impossible to hesitate as to supporting our
+ Ally [Holland] in case of necessity, and the explicit
+ declaration of our sentiments is the most likely way to prevent
+ the case occurring.--PITT TO LORD STAFFORD, _13th November
+ 1792_.
+
+
+One of the first requisites for the study of a period whose outlines are
+well known, is to bar out the insidious notion that the course of events
+was inevitable. Nine persons out of ten have recourse to that easy but
+fallacious way of explaining events. The whole war, they say, or think,
+was inevitable. It was fated that the Duke of Brunswick should issue his
+threatening manifesto to the Parisians if violence were offered to
+Louis XVI; that they should resent the threat, rise in revolt, and
+dethrone the King, and thereafter massacre royalists in the prisons. The
+innate vigour of the democratic cause further required that the French
+should stand their ground at Valmy and win a pitched battle at Jemappes,
+that victory leading to an exaltation of soul in which the French
+Republicans pushed on their claims in such a way as to bring England
+into the field. History, when written in this way, is a symmetrical
+mosaic; and the human mind loves patterns.
+
+But events are not neatly chiselled; they do not fall into geometrical
+groups, however much the memory, for its own ease, seeks to arrange them
+thus. Their edges are jagged; and the slightest jar might have sent them
+in different ways. To recur to the events in question: the Duke of
+Brunswick objected to issuing the manifesto, and only owing to the
+weariness or weakness of old age, yielded to the insistence of the
+_émigrés_ at his headquarters: the insurrection at Paris came about
+doubtfully and fitfully; the issue on 10th August hung mainly on the
+personal bearing of the King; the massacres were the work of an
+insignificant minority, which the vast mass regarded with sheer
+stupefaction; and even the proclamation of the French Republic by the
+National Convention on 21st September was not without many searchings of
+heart.[83]
+
+Meanwhile Pitt and Grenville had not the slightest inkling as to the
+trend of events. The latter on 13th July 1792 wrote thus to Earl Gower
+at Paris: "My speculations are that the first entrance of the foreign
+troops [into France] will be followed by negotiations; but how they are
+to end, or what possibility there is to establish any form of
+government, or any order in France, is far beyond any conjectures I can
+form."[84] This uncertainty is illuminating. It shows that Pitt and
+Grenville were not farseeing schemers bent on undermining the liberties
+of France and Britain by a war on which they had long resolved, but
+fallible mortals, unable to see a handbreadth through the turmoil, but
+cherishing the hope that somehow all would soon become clear. As to
+British policy during the summer of 1792, it may be classed as masterly
+inactivity or nervous passivity, according to the standpoint of the
+critic. In one case alone did Pitt and Grenville take a step displeasing
+to the French Government, namely, by recalling Gower from the embassy at
+Paris; and this was due to the fall of the French monarchy on 10th
+August, and to the danger attending the residence of a noble in Paris.
+Only by a display of firmness did Gower and his secretary, Lindsay,
+succeed in obtaining passports from the new Foreign Minister,
+Lebrun.[85]
+
+That follower of Dumouriez had as colleagues the former Girondin
+Ministers, Clavière, Roland, and Servan. Besides them were Monge (the
+physicist) for the Navy, and Danton for Justice, the latter a far from
+reassuring choice, as he was known to be largely responsible for the
+massacres in the prisons of Paris early in September. Little is known
+about the publicist, Lebrun, on whom now rested the duty of negotiating
+with England, Spain, Holland, etc. It is one of the astonishing facts of
+this time that unknown men leaped to the front at Paris, directed
+affairs to momentous issues, and then sank into obscurity or perished.
+The Genevese Clavière started assignats and managed revolutionary
+finance; Servan controlled the War Office for some months with much
+ability, and then fell; Pétion, Santerre, the popular Paris brewer, and
+an ex-hawker, Hanriot, were successively rulers of Paris for a brief
+space.
+
+But of all the puzzles of this time Lebrun is perhaps the chief. In his
+thirtieth year he was Foreign Minister of France, when she broke with
+England, Holland, Spain, and the Empire. He is believed by many (_e.g._,
+by W. A. Miles, who knew him well) to be largely responsible for those
+wars. Yet who was this Lebrun? Before the Revolution he had to leave
+France for his advanced opinions, and took refuge at Liége, where Miles
+found him toiling for a scanty pittance at journalistic hack-work.
+Suffering much at the hands of the Austrians in 1790, he fled back to
+Paris, joined the Girondins, wrote for them, made himself useful to
+Dumouriez during his tenure of the Foreign Office, and, not long after
+his resignation, stepped into his shoes and appropriated his policy. In
+order to finish with him here, we may note that he voted for the death
+of Louis XVI, and, as President of the Executive Council at that time,
+signed the order for the execution. He and other Girondins were driven
+from power on 2nd June 1793 (when Hanriot's brazen voice decided the
+fate of the Girondins) and he was guillotined on 23rd December of that
+year, for the alleged crime of conspiring to place Philippe Egalité on
+the throne. Mme. Roland, who helped Lebrun to rise to power, limns his
+portrait in these sharp outlines: "He passed for a wise man, because he
+showed no kind of _élan_; and for a clever man, because he was a fairly
+good clerk; but he possessed neither activity, intellect, nor force of
+character." The want of _élan_ seems to be a term relative merely to the
+characteristics of the Girondins, who, whatever they lacked, had that
+Gallic quality in rich measure.
+
+Chauvelin, the French ambassador in London, is another of these
+revolutionary rockets. Only in fiction and the drama does he stand forth
+at all clearly to the eye. History knows him not, except that he had
+been a marquis, then took up with the Girondins, finally shot up among
+the Jacobins and made much noise by his intrigues and despatches. With
+all his showiness and vanity he had enough shrewdness to suit his
+language at the French embassy in Portman Square to the Jacobin jargon
+of the times. After the September massacres the only hope for an
+aristocratic envoy was to figure as an irreproachable patriot.
+Chauvelin's dealings with the English malcontents therefore became more
+and more pronounced; for indeed they served both as a life insurance
+and as a means of annoying Pitt and Grenville in return for their
+refusal to recognize him as the ambassador of the new Republic.
+Londoners in general sided with the Ministry and snubbed the French
+envoys. Dumont describes their annoyance, during a visit to Ranelagh, at
+being received everywhere with the audible whisper, "Here comes the
+French embassy"; whereupon faces were turned away and a wide space was
+left around them.[86]
+
+Such, then, were the men on whom largely rested the future of Europe.
+Lebrun mistook fussiness for activity. At a time when tact and dignity
+prescribed a diminution of the staff at Portman Square, he sent two
+almost untried men, Noël and, a little later, Benoît, to help Chauvelin
+to mark time. Talleyrand also gained permission to return to London as
+_adjoint_ to Chauvelin, which, it appears, was the only safe means of
+escaping from Paris. Chauvelin speedily quarrelled with him. But the
+doings of the French embassy concern us little for the present, as Pitt
+and Grenville paid no attention to the offers, similar to those made in
+April, which Lebrun charged his envoys to make for an Anglo-French
+alliance. It is not surprising, after the September massacres, that
+Ministers should hold sternly aloof from the French envoys; but we may
+note that Miles considered their attitude most unwise. He further
+remarked that the proud reserve of Grenville was almost offensive.[87]
+We made the acquaintance of Miles as British agent at Paris in 1790 and
+noted his consequential airs. In 1792 they were full blown.
+
+The opinions of George III and Pitt on the events of that bloody
+harvest-time in Paris are very little known. The King's letters from
+Weymouth to Pitt in August-September are few and brief. On 16th
+September, after the arrival of news of the massacres, he writes to say
+that his decision respecting the Prince of Wales's debts is irrevocable.
+After that there is a long silence. Pitt's reserve is equally
+impenetrable. We know, however, from the letters of Burke that the
+conduct of Ministers deeply disappointed him. Writing to Grenville on
+19th September he says that the crisis exceeds in gravity any that is
+recorded in history; and he adds these curious words: "I know it is the
+opinion of His Majesty's Ministers that the new [French] principles may
+be encouraged, and even triumph over every interior and exterior
+resistance, and may even overturn other States as they have that of
+France, without any sort of danger of their extending in their
+consequences to this Kingdom."[88] Can we have a clearer testimony to
+the calm but rigid resolve with which Pitt and his colleague clung to
+neutrality? On the following day (the day of the Battle of Valmy) Pitt
+frigidly declined the request of the Austrian and Neapolitan
+ambassadors, that the British Government would exclude from its
+territories all those who should be guilty of an attack on the French
+royal family. On 21st September Grenville issued a guarded statement on
+this subject to the _corps diplomatique_; but it was far from meeting
+the desires of the royalists.[89]
+
+Reticence is a virtue over-developed in an aristocracy--"that austere
+domination," as Burke terms it. The virtue is slow in taking root among
+democracies. The early Radical clubs of Great Britain regarded it as
+their cherished privilege to state their opinions on foreign affairs
+with Athenian loquacity; and the months of October and November 1792,
+when we vainly seek to know the inner feelings of Pitt, are enlivened by
+resolutions expressing joy at the downfall of tyrants, and fervent
+beliefs in the advent of a fraternal millennium, the first fruits of
+which were the election of Paine as deputy for Calais to the National
+Convention.
+
+In the dealings of nations, as of individuals, feelings often count for
+more than interests. This was the case in the last four months of the
+year 1792, when the subjects in dispute bulked small in comparison with
+the passions and prejudices which magnified and distorted them. The
+psychology of the time therefore demands no less attention than its
+diplomacy. Its first weeks were darkened by news of the September
+massacres. Even now the details of that cowardly crime arouse horror:
+and surely no part of Carlyle's epic sinks so low as that in which he
+seeks to compare that loathsome butchery with the bloodshed of a
+battlefield.[90] No such special pleading was attempted by leaders of
+thought of that period. On 10th September Romilly, a friend of human
+progress, wrote to Dumont: "How could we ever be so deceived in the
+character of the French nation as to think them capable of liberty?...
+One might as well think of establishing a republic of tigers in some
+forest of Africa." To which the collaborator of Mirabeau replied: "Let
+us burn all our books; let us cease to think and dream of the best
+system of legislation, since men make so diabolical a use of every truth
+and every principle."[91] These feelings were general among Frenchmen.
+Buzot stated that the loss of morality, with all its attendant evils,
+dated from the September massacres.
+
+It seems strange that the democratic cause made headway in England after
+this fell event. Probably its details were but dimly known to the poor,
+who were at this time the victims of a bad harvest and severe dearth.
+The months of September and October were marked by heavy and persistent
+rains. The Marquis of Buckingham on 23rd September wrote at Stowe to his
+brother, Lord Grenville, that he was living amidst a vortex of mud,
+clay, and water such as was never known before--the result of six weeks
+of unsettled weather, which must impair the harvest and increase the
+difficulty of maintaining order.[92] Certainly the stars in their
+courses fought against the _ancien régime_. The rains which made a
+receptive seed-bed for the writings of Paine also hampered the progress
+of Brunswick towards the Argonne, crowded his hospitals with invalids,
+and in part induced that inglorious retreat. As the storms lasted far
+into the autumn, disaffection increased apace.
+
+The results serve to enliven the dull tones of our Home Office archives.
+There one reads of bread riots and meal riots so far back as May 1792,
+in which stalls are overturned and despoiled; also of more persistent
+agitation in the factory towns of the North. Liverpool leads off with a
+dock-strike that is with difficulty ended. Then the colliers of Wigan
+stop work and seek to persuade all their comrades to follow their
+example. Most threatening of all is the situation at Manchester and
+Sheffield. There, in addition to disorder among the townsfolk,
+disaffection gains ground among the troops sent to keep order. This
+again is traceable to the dearness of food, for which the scanty pay of
+the trooper by no means suffices. Here, then, is the opportunity for the
+apostle of discontent judiciously to offer a cheap edition of the
+"Rights of Man," on which fare the troop becomes half-mutinous and sends
+in a petition for higher pay. This the perplexed authorities do not
+grant, but build barracks, a proceeding eyed askance by publicans and
+patriots as the beginning of military rule.[93]
+
+The South of England, too, is beset by fears of a novel kind. After the
+overthrow of the French monarchy on 10th August fugitives from France
+come fast to the coasts of Kent and Sussex. The flights become thicker
+day by day up to the end of that fell month of September. Orthodox
+priests, always in disguise, form the bulk of the new arrivals. As many
+as 700 of them land at Eastbourne, and strain the hospitality of that
+little town. About as many reach Portsmouth and Gosport, to the
+perplexity of the authorities. When assured that they are staunch
+royalists and not apostles of Revolution, the commander allots shelter
+in the barracks at Forton, where for the present they exist on two pence
+a day each. Plymouth, which receives fewer of them, frowns on the
+newcomers as politically suspect and economically ruinous. The mayor
+assures Dundas that, if more priests arrive, or are sent there, they
+will be driven away by the townsfolk for fear of dearth of corn. In
+Jersey the food question eclipses all others; for 2,000 priests (so it
+is said) land there, until all ideas of hospitality are cast to the
+winds and the refugees are threatened with expulsion. Only in the vast
+obscurantism of London is there safety for these exiles. A subscription
+list is started on their behalf; the King offers the royal house at
+Winchester for the overplus at Portsmouth: and by degrees the scared
+throngs huddle down into the dire poverty and uneasy rest that are to be
+their lot for many a year.[94]
+
+Strange adventures befell many of the French nobles in their escape. The
+Duc de Liancourt, commanding the troops at Rouen, was fain to flee to
+the coast, hire a deckless craft, and conceal himself under faggots. In
+that manner he put to sea and finally made the opposite coast at
+Hastings. There, still nervous, he made his way to the nearest inn, and,
+to proclaim his insularity, called for porter. The beverage was too much
+for him, and he retired to his room in a state of unconscious passivity.
+On his awaking, the strange surroundings seemed those of a French
+lock-up; but as he crept down to make his escape, the mugs caught his
+eye; and their brightness convinced him that he was in England. Such
+was his story, told to the family at Bury, where Fanny Burney was
+staying. Several of the wealthier French refugees settled at Richmond,
+and there found Horace Walpole as charmer and friend. But the most
+distinguished group was that at Juniper Hall, near Dorking where finally
+Mme. de Staël and Talleyrand enlivened the dull days and long drives
+with unfailing stores of wit. We shall later on make the acquaintance of
+the French _émigrés_ in a more active and bellicose mood.
+
+Such, then, was the mental condition of our folk. Depressed by rain and
+dear food, beset by stories of plotters from Paris, or harrowed by the
+tales of misery of the French _émigrés_, Britons came to look on France
+as a land peopled by demons, who sought to involve other lands in the
+ruin to which they had reduced their own. In this state of nervousness
+and excitement little was needed to bring about a furious reaction on
+behalf of Church and King.
+
+The follies of English democrats helped on this reaction. Whispers went
+about of strange and threatening orders of arms at Birmingham. A
+correspondent at the midland capital informed Dundas at the end of
+September that a Dr. Maxwell, of York, had ordered 20,000 daggers, which
+were to be 12 inches in the blade and 5 1/4 inches in the handle. The
+informant convinced the manufacturer that he must apprise the Home
+Secretary of this order and send him a specimen of the weapon. Probably
+it was the same which Burke melodramatically cast down on the floor of
+the House of Commons during his speech of 28th December. The dimensions
+exactly tally with those named by the biographer of Lord Eldon, who
+retained that dagger, though Bland Burges also put in a claim to have
+possessed it. The scepticism which one feels about this prodigious order
+of daggers, which others give as 3,000, is somewhat lessened by finding
+another letter, of 2nd October 1792, addressed to Dundas by James
+Maxwell of York, who stated that he highly disapproved of the "French"
+opinions of his younger brother (specimens of whose letters he
+enclosed), and had just given him £500 so as to dissuade him from going
+to Manchester to stir up discontent there.[95] This unbrotherly conduct
+condemns the elder Maxwell, but his information to some extent
+corroborated that which came from Birmingham. The whole affair may have
+been merely a device to frighten Ministers; but report says that Pitt
+took it seriously and ascribed to him the singular statement that
+Ministers soon might not have a hand to act with or a tongue to speak
+with.[96]
+
+Certainly there was a good deal of discontent in the manufacturing
+towns, but it is not easy to say whether it resulted more from dear food
+or from political reasons. At Stockport a new club styled "The Friends
+of universal Peace and the Rights of Man," issued and circulated a
+manifesto asserting their right to inquire into political affairs:
+
+ It is our labour that supports monarchy, aristocracy, and the
+ priesthood.... We are not the "swinish multitude" that Mr. Burke
+ speaks of. A majority of the House of Commons is returned by
+ less than 6,000 voters; whereas, if the representation were
+ equal (and we sincerely hope that it shortly will be), nearly
+ that number will elect every single member. Not one-twentieth
+ part of the commoners of Great Britain are electors.... We have
+ a National Debt of more than £270,000,000, and pay £17,000,000 a
+ year in taxes. More than one fourth of our incomes goes in
+ taxes.[97]
+
+The Radical clubs also showed a desire to pry into foreign affairs;
+witness the following letter from Thomas Hardy to Dr. Adams, Secretary
+of the London Society for Constitutional Information:
+
+ No. 9 Piccadilly (London), _Sept. 21 1792_.[98]
+
+ The London Corresponding Society having taken the resolution of
+ transmitting to the French National Convention an address ... to
+ assure that suffering nation that we sympathize with them in
+ their misfortunes; that we view their exertions with admiration;
+ that we wish to give them all such contenance [_sic_] and
+ support as individuals unsupported and oppressed themselves can
+ afford; and that, should those in power here dare (in violation
+ of the nation's pledged faith of neutrality and in opposition to
+ the well-known sentiments of the people at large) to join the
+ German band of despots united against Liberty, we disclaim all
+ concurrence therein, and will to a man exert every justifiable
+ means for counteracting their machinations against the freedom
+ and happiness of mankind.
+
+ I am ordered by the Committee to acquaint the Society for
+ Constitutional Information therewith, in order to be favoured
+ with their opinions thereon, and in hopes that, if they approve
+ the idea and recommend its adoption to the different societies,
+ the publication of such a respectable number of _real_ names
+ will greatly check the hostile measures which might otherwise be
+ put in execution.
+
+On 5th October the Society for Constitutional Information agreed to the
+plan, and ordered the drafting of a joint address to the French
+Convention. By this time the news of the successful stand of the French
+troops against the Allies at Valmy and the subsequent retreat of the
+latter greatly encouraged the English democrats; and a more militant
+tone appears in their addresses. Thus in that meeting of 5th October a
+letter was read from Joel Barlow containing these sentences: "A great
+Revolution in the management of the affairs of nations is doubtless soon
+to be expected through all Europe; and in the progress of mankind
+towards this attainment it is greatly to be desired that the convictions
+to be acquired from rational discussion should precede and preclude
+those which must result from physical exertion."
+
+Why "precede and preclude"? The two expressions are incompatible. It
+seems that some more moderate member must have added the latter word as
+a sop to the authorities. In any case the last words of the sentence
+were clearly intended as a threat. On 26th October, John Frost being in
+the chair, the same Society framed the following resolution:
+
+ That the Secretary do procure correct copies of the Manifesto
+ published by the late General Burgoyne while in America, of the
+ first Manifesto lately published by the Duke of Brunswick in
+ France, of the last Royal Proclamation against writings and
+ meetings in England, and of the Emperor's recent proclamation at
+ Brussels on the same subject; in order that these four pieces
+ may be printed fairly together on one sheet of paper, and be
+ transmitted by this Society to all the associated Societies in
+ Great Britain.[99]
+
+It was then resolved to publish this resolution in the "Argus," "Morning
+Chronicle,"[100] "Star," "Morning Post," "English Chronicle," "World,"
+and "Courier." These papers supported the democratic cause. In order to
+counteract their influence Pitt and his colleagues about this time
+helped to start two newspapers, "The Sun" and "The True Briton," the
+advent of which was much resented by Mr. Walter of "The Times," after
+his support of the Government.[101] Apparently these papers were of a
+more popular type, and heralded the advent of a cheap and sensational
+royalism. Sheridan wittily advised that the motto of "The Sun" should
+be, not merely the beginning, but the whole of the passage:
+
+ Solem quis dicere falsum
+ Audeat? Ille etiam caecos instare tumultus
+ Saepe monet, fraudemque, et operta tumescere bella.[102]
+
+The combined address from several patriotic (_i.e._ reform) societies,
+arranged for by Thomas Hardy, was not read at the bar of the French
+Convention until 7th November. It set forth that the five thousand
+signatories indignantly stepped forth to rescue their country from the
+opprobrium thrown upon it by the base conduct of the Government. In vain
+did Ministers seek to overawe the timid and mislead the credulous: for
+Knowledge and Reason were making great strides in England, so that
+Britons now looked on Frenchmen only as "citizens of the world, children
+of the common Father," not as enemies to be assassinated "at the command
+of weak or ambitious Kings, or of corrupt Ministers." Their real enemies
+were the destructive aristocracy, "the bane of all the countries of the
+earth. You have acted wisely in banishing it from France." They (the
+signatories) could not take up arms to help France, because the
+Government had pledged the national faith that it would remain neutral.
+The Elector of Hanover had joined his troops to those of traitors and
+robbers; "but the King of England will do well to remember that England
+is not Hanover; should he forget this, we will not forget it.... We
+ardently wish a Triple Alliance, not of crowned heads, but of the people
+of America, France, and Great Britain will give liberty to Europe and
+peace to the world." The address was signed by Margarot and Hardy. It
+and other addresses were reported verbatim by our _chargé d'affaires_,
+Munro, to the Foreign Office.[103]
+
+The democratic ferment in England speedily aroused a decided opposition.
+Macaulay probably does not much exaggerate when he says that out of
+twenty well-to-do persons nineteen were ardently loyal and firmly
+anti-Jacobin. The month of November saw the formation of an "Ante
+[_sic_]-Levelling Society, for supporting the Civil Power in suppressing
+Tumults and maintaining the constitutional Government of this Country in
+King, Lords, and Commons." Its programme leaves much to be desired in
+the matter of style, but nothing in respect to loyalty.[104] The club
+was founded by Reeves and others. Hardy notes in his memoirs that it
+soon began to do much harm to the Corresponding Society.
+
+Far aloof from this turmoil stands the solitary and inscrutable figure
+of Pitt. At this time he was leading, almost with ostentation, the life
+of a country gentleman, dividing his time between Holwood and Walmer
+Castle. Very few of his letters of this period survive. Writing from
+Walmer on 16th October to Grenville, he makes merely a verbal alteration
+in an important despatch on which the latter consulted him. Indeed he
+left the conduct of foreign affairs to Grenville far more fully than he
+had done to the Duke of Leeds. I have found no draft of a despatch
+written wholly by Pitt at the time, or indeed at the crisis that
+followed. There is, however, a significant phrase in his letter to
+Grenville, that, if the French retained Savoy, this would bring about a
+new order of things.[105] For the most part Pitt at this time gave
+himself up to rest and recreation at Walmer Castle. The charm of the sea
+and of the Downs seems to have laid hold on him; for General Smith,
+writing to Lord Auckland from Walmer, says that Pitt is soon in love
+with the King's present and gladly spends there all the time he can
+spare. Lord and Lady Chatham were with him and encouraged his passion
+for that retired spot. A little later he had a flying visit from one who
+was to become a devoted friend, the brilliant and versatile Earl of
+Mornington. Coming over from Ramsgate and lunching at Walmer, he found
+that Pitt had so far taken up with country sports as to follow the
+hounds in chase of "a basketted hare."
+
+Apart from the bad harvest and the spectre of want which crept over the
+country, Pitt found little to alarm him at this time. In preparation for
+the opening of Parliament, he distributed to each of his friends six
+printed copies of his speech on the abatement of the Spanish armament
+taxes, for the purpose of circulation in the country.[106] Clearly he
+thought that the proposed economies in the public services would salve
+the prevailing discontent. At the close of October the French agent,
+Noël, reported to Lebrun that Pitt was not arming, and was still
+inclined to hold aloof from French affairs.[107] In fact, so late as 6th
+November, Grenville wrote to Auckland that on all grounds
+non-intervention in continental affairs is the best policy for Great
+Britain.[108]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+But now a time drew near when anger was to expel calculation; when the
+impulses of the populace flung aside the counsels of statesmen, and the
+friends of universal peace helped to loose the dogs of war. This new
+phase in the life of Europe opened up when the dense columns of
+Dumouriez drove the thin lines of Austria from a strong position at
+Jemappes (6th November). Mons opened its gates on the following day; and
+the other towns of Belgium speedily followed suit, the French receiving
+a hearty welcome everywhere. The conquest of the Belgic Provinces puffed
+up the French with boundless pride mingled with contempt for the old
+Governments; and these feelings awakened a formidable response in these
+islands. The news of the conquest of the Pays Bas by the _sansculottes_,
+received with bewilderment and disgust in Piccadilly, aroused wild hopes
+among the weavers of Spitalfields. "The activity and insolence of the
+French emissaries and their allies in this country have certainly
+increased much with Dumouriez's success," so wrote Grenville to Auckland
+on 26th November.
+
+In these days we smile at the notion of foreign agents influencing
+public opinion; but it seems certain that Chauvelin and his staff made
+persistent efforts to fan the embers of discontent into a flame.[109]
+Lord Sheffield declared that even the neighbourhood of Sheffield Park,
+near Lewes, was thoroughly worked by French emissaries; but it is not
+unlikely that landlord nervousness transfigured some wretched refugees,
+on their way from the coast, into Jacobinical envoys. Certainly the town
+which gave him his title was in a dangerous state. An officer stationed
+there describes the joy of the men of Sheffield in celebrating
+Dumouriez' victory. They roasted an ox whole, devoured it, and then
+formed a procession, 10,000 strong, behind the French tricolour and a
+picture which represented Dundas stabbing Liberty and Burke treading
+down "the swinish multitude." He states that they were enrolled in
+Corresponding Societies, had bought firearms, and were seeking to
+corrupt the soldiery.[110]
+
+Derby seems to have been equally fervid, if we may judge by the address
+which on 20th November went from its branch of the Society for
+Constitutional Information to the French National Convention, couched in
+these terms. "It was reserved for the Gallic Republic to break the
+accursed knot which has leagued Kings for ages past against the rest of
+the world. Reason and Philosophy are making great strides; and precedent
+and hereditary notions go fast to decline. By teaching mankind that they
+are all equal in rights, you have dedicated a glorious edifice to
+Liberty, which must hereafter prove the dungeon of tyrants and the
+asylum of the oppressed."[111]
+
+Still more seditious was the action of the London Corresponding Society.
+On 28th November Joel Barlow and John Frost, deputed by that body,
+presented an address to the French Convention, congratulating it on the
+triumphs of liberty, and assured Frenchmen that innumerable societies
+and clubs were springing up in England. "After the example given by
+France," they said, "Revolutions will become easy. Reason is about to
+make rapid progress; and it would not be extraordinary if in a much less
+space of time than can be imagined, the French should send addresses of
+congratulation to a National Convention of England." They then informed
+the French deputies that 1,000 pairs of shoes had come from the Society
+as a gift to the soldiers of liberty, and the gift would be repeated
+weekly for the next six weeks. They also presented an address which
+ended thus: "Other nations will soon follow your steps in this career of
+improvement, and, rising from their lethargy, will arm themselves for
+the purpose of claiming the Rights of Man with that all-powerful voice
+which man cannot resist." Next came a deputation from the English and
+Irish residents in Paris, which assured the French deputies that a
+majority of the British people desired to copy their example, and that
+the old Governments would soon survive merely as a memory. The three
+addresses aroused immense enthusiasm, and a decree was passed for their
+printing and circulation.[112]
+
+These ecstatic praises of the Convention sounded oddly, as that body had
+just been discussing a petition from several Parisians who had lately
+been imprisoned without knowing why or by whom. And the Belfast address
+of congratulation on the progress of religious liberty was followed by
+the complaints of two members of the Convention that they had been half
+drowned at Chartres for a profession of atheism.[113] But undoubtedly
+these addresses by British Radicals caused exultation on both sides of
+the Channel. Frenchmen believed that our people were about to overthrow
+the Cabinet;[114] while the visitors returned home to trumpet forth the
+triumphs of Reason and the doom of Tyranny.
+
+Certainly the action of the French Convention seemed to assume the
+speedy advent of a Jacobinical millennium. To the eye of faith the
+headlong flight of the Austrians from Belgium opened up boundless vistas
+of conquest, or rather, of fraternization with liberated serfs.
+Consequently the month from 16th November to 15th December witnessed the
+issue of four defiantly propagandist decrees. That of 16th November
+enjoined on French generals the pursuit of the Austrians on to any
+territory where they might find refuge--obviously a threat to the German
+and Dutch States near at hand. On the same day the French deputies
+decreed freedom of navigation on the estuary of the River Scheldt within
+the Dutch territory, which that people had strictly controlled since the
+Treaty of Münster (1648). In this connection it is well to remember that
+the right of the Dutch to exclude foreigners from that estuary had been
+recognized by France in five treaties signed with Great Britain since
+the Peace of Utrecht. Further, by the Anglo-Dutch alliance of the year
+1788, we had covenanted to uphold the rights of the Dutch in this and
+other respects. Thus, the French Republic was taking upon itself to
+rescind a well-established right of the Dutch Republic.
+
+There is, however, another side to this question. The law of Nature, as
+distinct from the law of nations, forbade the barring of a navigable
+river to the commerce of aliens; and in this particular case the
+exclusive privileges retained by the Dutch had almost strangled the
+trade of Antwerp. Visitors describe the desolate aspect of the quays and
+streets in a city which was clearly designed to be one of the great
+marts of the world. Of this gospel of Nature, as set forth by Rousseau,
+the French were the interpreters; but they would have done well to
+appeal to Holland and Great Britain to abrogate this odious privilege,
+adding also the assurance, formerly given by Dumouriez, that Belgium
+would never become French.
+
+Unfortunately the disinterested character of the crusade for liberty was
+now belied by two additional decrees which created the worst possible
+impression. On 19th November the French Convention declared its resolve
+to "grant fraternity and assistance to all people who wish to recover
+their liberty," and further ordered its generals to give effect to this
+decree. Eight days later it rescinded the former resolution, that France
+would make no conquests, by ordering the incorporation of Savoy in the
+French Republic. The priest Grégoire was equal to the task of proving
+that this involved no contradiction of the former principle, because the
+Savoyards wished to join France and Nature herself had proclaimed the
+desirability of union. By the same patriotic logic France could
+rightfully absorb all parts of the Continent where Jacobins abounded and
+natural frontiers were lacking.
+
+These decrees brought about an entirely new situation. The annexation of
+Savoy furnished a practical commentary on the airy proposals announced
+on 16th and 19th November; but these alone were sufficient to cause Pitt
+and Grenville the deepest concern. On the 27th the latter wrote to
+Auckland at The Hague in terms which show his conviction that France
+meant to revolutionize the Dutch Republic, and also, if possible, Great
+Britain. Respecting the decrees of the 16th and 19th he wrote: "The
+whole is a concerted plan to drive us to extremities, with a view of
+producing an impression in the interior of the country."[115] That is,
+he believed the Convention to be set on forcing England either to
+declare war, or to give way disgracefully; and in either case the result
+would be an increase of seditious feeling in these islands. This
+continued to be his view. For on 4th December, after reading the
+seditious addresses of the English societies to the Convention, he wrote
+again to Auckland that the French evidently relied on the malcontents
+both in England and Holland to paralyse the Governments; and, he added,
+"This is above all others a reason for firmness in the present moment,
+and for resisting, while the power of resistance is yet in our hands.
+For the success of their unfounded claims would not only give rise to
+new pretensions, but would give them additional influence."[116] Pitt's
+views were the same, though he stated them more firmly and not as an
+alarmist. On 9th December he wrote to the Earl of Westmorland, Lord
+Lieutenant of Ireland, that the gross disregard of treaties shown of
+late by France, her encouragement of the spirit of revolt in all lands,
+and her public reception of addresses from English societies, "full of
+treasonable sentiments," compelled the Government, though very
+reluctantly, to add to the armed forces. He added these words: "I am
+clear that the circumstances require vigour and decision both at home
+and abroad. And the spirit of the country seems within these last ten
+days to have taken so favourable a turn that I think we may look with
+great confidence to the event."[117] Thus Pitt and Grenville equally
+felt the need of firmness in resisting the French decrees, partly
+because of their aggressive and illegal nature, but also because
+surrender would inflate the spirits of British malcontents.
+
+Current events served to strengthen this opinion. France had hitherto
+won all the points of the game by sheer audacity. Everywhere she had
+attacked, and everywhere she had found unexpected weakness. Custine's
+army had extorted a forced loan from Frankfurt. Dumouriez was
+threatening Aix-la-Chapelle on the east, and the Dutch on the north. The
+spirit which animated the French Foreign Office appears in the letter
+which Lebrun, its chief, wrote to Dumouriez on 22nd November: "To the
+glory of having freed the Belgian Catholics, I hope you will join that
+of delivering their Batavian brothers from the yoke of the
+Stadholder."[118] There can be no doubt that the general laid his plans
+for that purpose, though he also sent pacific overtures to Auckland at
+The Hague.[119]
+
+To crown the indignation of royalists, there came the tidings that on
+3rd December the French Convention decreed the trial of Louis XVI for
+high treason against the nation. The news aroused furious resentment;
+but it is noteworthy that Pitt and Grenville rarely, if ever, referred
+to this event; and that, before it was known, they had declared the
+impossibility of avoiding a rupture with the French Government if it
+persisted in adhering to the November decrees. On this question the
+final court of appeal is the despatches and letters of our Ministers. An
+examination of them discloses the reasons for their firmness. On 13th
+November, when the evacuation of Brussels by the Austrians was known,
+Ministers assured the Dutch Government that they would oppose a French
+invasion of Holland. They charged Auckland to declare that His Majesty
+had "no hesitation as to the propriety of his assisting the Dutch
+Republic as circumstances might require, against any attempt on the part
+of any other Power to invade its dominions or to disturb its
+Government." This declaration was to be published in order to discourage
+the plots of the Dutch "Patriots," and to warn the French Government and
+its general of the danger of a hostile advance. Auckland replied on 16th
+November: "It is impossible to convey to Your Lordships an adequate
+sense of the impression made by this voluntary declaration of His
+Majesty's sentiments and intentions respecting the Republic on the
+occasion of the present crisis. The generosity of this measure, which in
+a few hours was generally known, and which to-morrow will be circulated
+on the Continent in the newspapers of the Republic, is acknowledged by
+everyone." The Prince of Orange at once wrote to thank the King for this
+proof of his friendship, and added the suggestion that the anchoring of
+a British squadron in the Downs would, more than anything else, tend to
+"hold in check our enemies."[120]
+
+Pitt and Grenville did not comply with this last request; and the
+British declaration itself came just two days too late to give pause to
+the National Convention, before it published the decree on the opening
+of the Scheldt. Possibly in the days of telegraphs the warning would
+have been flashed from The Hague to Paris in time. As it was, both
+Powers publicly committed themselves on the same day to opposite courses
+of action from which pride or conviction forbade them to recede. So
+narrow sometimes is the space that at first divides the paths leading
+towards peace and war.
+
+The concern of Pitt and Grenville at the French conquest of Belgium
+appears in their instructions to Stratton, our _chargé d'affaires_ at
+Vienna, to confer with the Austrian Chancellor, Cobenzl, on the
+threatening situation, setting forth the desire of George III to
+contribute to the tranquillity of all the States of Europe. In his reply
+of 22nd December Cobenzl declared that Austria and Prussia must have
+indemnities for their expenses in the war, the restoration of monarchy
+at Paris being another essential to a settlement.[121] These statements
+were most discouraging: the former pointed to a speedy partition of
+Poland; and the forcible restoration of the Bourbons was at this time
+wholly repugnant to the feelings of Pitt.
+
+Meanwhile the prospect of war with France had become far more
+threatening. The decree of 16th November on the Scheldt, and that of
+19th November on helping foreign malcontents, were a direct defiance to
+all neighbouring States, and especially to Great Britain and Holland. In
+the latter country the Patriots were, as in 1787, actively helped from
+Paris, and threatened the existence of the Orange _régime_, of which we
+were the guarantors. Moreover, the opening of the Scheldt was a serious
+blow to Dutch commerce. Sir James Harris, writing from The Hague in
+December 1784, when this very question brought Joseph II to the brink of
+war with Holland, quoted the declaration of the Grand Pensionary, that
+the Dutch ought to spend their last florin "rather than submit to so
+destructive and humiliating a measure as the opening of the
+Scheldt."[122] The effusive thanks of the Dutch when the Court of
+Versailles opposed the demand of Joseph II, shows that they looked on
+the control of that estuary as vital to their interests. This question
+was brought to an issue on 23rd November, when French gunboats entered
+the Scheldt, and, despite the fire of the Dutch guardship, made their
+way up the river in order to assist in the reduction of the citadel of
+Antwerp. The senior captain of the gunboats announced that he did this
+by order of Dumouriez. On 8th December seven French ships sailed up to
+that city, the first since the Treaty of Münster.
+
+The affair of the Scheldt was not the only cause of alarm. The Dutch
+authorities managed to get a copy of a secret letter (dated 20th
+November) from Dumouriez to Maulde, French envoy at The Hague, in which
+he assured him that he would do his best to keep him in that post
+(despite the ill will of the Paris Government); for he had much need of
+him for certain negotiations. He added these words: "I count on carrying
+liberty to the Batavians (Dutch) as I have done to the Belgians; also
+that the Revolution will take place in Holland so that things will
+return to the state they were in 1788." The Dutch Government gave a copy
+of this letter to Auckland, who forwarded it to Grenville on 23rd
+November. It reached Whitehall three days later. Curiously enough,
+Grenville did not hear of the French decree for the opening of the
+Scheldt until 26th November. But on that day he wrote to Auckland a
+despatch which shows his conviction that France meant to force us into
+war, and that the chief question for Great Britain and Holland now
+was--when should hostilities begin? Clearly, then, Grenville, and
+probably Pitt, regarded a rupture with France as unavoidable, unless she
+revoked the aggressive decrees. Nevertheless they decided to send a
+special envoy to Paris, and drew up rough drafts undated and addressed
+to some person unnamed, bidding him make careful inquiries into the
+state of affairs at that capital.
+
+We cannot wonder that Pitt took a gloomy view of things; for on 24th
+November a "moderate" member of the French Convention proposed an
+addition to the decree of 19th November (offering help to malcontents in
+other States), so as to limit it to nations with which France was at
+war. This proposal--obviously designed to soothe the apprehensions of
+Pitt--displeased the "patriotic" majority, which disposed of it by
+carrying the "previous question." After this the decree of 19th November
+could no longer be treated as a meaningless effervescence of Gallic
+enthusiasm; and, when taken with the disloyal addresses presented by
+certain English clubs on 28th November, its reaffirmation produced the
+worst possible impression.
+
+On the 29th, Nagel, the Dutch envoy in London, proffered a formal appeal
+for help, in addition to requests which he had made to Grenville a few
+days before. He further begged him to order the assembling of a squadron
+at the Downs, or at Gravesend, so as to assist the Dutch speedily, if
+need arose.[123] Meanwhile our allies (as usually happens with small
+States in presence of danger) sought to temporize; and herein, as also
+in the caution of Pitt and Grenville, lay the reason why war did not
+break out at once. No one can peruse the despatches of our Ministers
+without seeing that they considered war inevitable, unless the French
+retracted the obnoxious decrees. It is well to notice that at this time
+the question of the trial of Louis XVI had not come up for
+consideration. The dispute turned solely on the frontier rights of the
+Dutch, which Pitt and his colleagues believed to be violated by France,
+and which we were in honour bound to vindicate.
+
+On 1st December, then, came the first of those precautionary measures
+which not seldom precipitate the conflict they are designed to avert.
+The Cabinet issued a royal proclamation, calling out part of the
+militia. Ministers took this step partly as a retort to the seditious
+addresses of English Radical clubs to the French Convention,[124] partly
+in order to repress tumults. There had been rioting in a few towns, and
+the reports from Scotland were alarming. On 22nd November Dundas,
+writing to Pitt from Melville Castle, N.B., stated that sedition had
+spread rapidly of late in Scotland, and he estimated that five regiments
+would be needed to hold down Dundee, Perth, and Montrose. He added that
+the clergy of the Established Church and their following were loyal, the
+others far otherwise.[125]
+
+Still worse was the news from Ireland. Early in 1792 the Dublin
+Parliament repealed one or two of the most odious statutes against Roman
+Catholics; but later in the year contumeliously rejected their petition
+for the franchise. Consequently the mass of Irishmen was ready to join
+the Society of United Irishmen, a formidable association founded in
+Ulster in 1791 by Wolfe Tone. This able young lawyer, fired with zeal
+for the French Revolution, conceived the statesmanlike notion of banding
+together both Presbyterians and Catholics in a national movement against
+the exclusive and dominant English caste. The conduct of the Dublin
+Parliament made his dream a reality. At once the ultra-Protestant
+traders of the North clasped hands with the Catholic gentry and peasants
+of the Centre and South. This unheard-of union was destined to lead Pitt
+on to a legislative experiment which will concern us later. Here we may
+notice that the clubs of Irish malcontents proceeded to act on a plan
+already mooted in the English societies, that of sending delegates to
+form a National Convention in Dublin. The aim was to constitute a body
+far more national than the corrupt Protestant clique that sat in
+Parliament, and, after overawing that body, to sunder the connection
+with England. The precedent set by the Ulster Volunteers in their
+meeting at Dungannon in 1782 warranted the hope of an even completer
+triumph than was then secured. The correspondence that passed between
+Pitt and the Lord-Lieutenant, Westmorland, reveals the concern which
+they felt at the news. Pitt advised the early meeting of the Dublin
+Parliament, the proposal of concessions sufficient to allay discontent,
+and a determined resistance to all attempts at intimidation. He also
+suggested the keeping a close watch on the importation of arms, and
+levying a Militia if it were practicable.[126] In reply Westmorland
+stated (1st December) that the manifesto of a meeting of United Irishmen
+in Dublin was most threatening, and that the "French mania" was
+spreading everywhere. He added: "Belfast is, as always, noisy and
+republican; but not above 200 or 300 Volunteers are there."[127] It
+seems probable that the embodying of the Militia in Great Britain was
+partly with the view of enabling a few regular regiments to proceed to
+Ireland.
+
+While taking these precautionary measures, Pitt and Grenville adopted a
+tone far from unfriendly to the French envoy. Earlier in the autumn
+Grenville refused to see Chauvelin on the ground that the French
+Government which sent him no longer existed. But after some
+_pourparlers_ he consented to receive him on 29th November. With his
+usual _hauteur_ he prepared to teach the ex-Marquis his place from the
+outset. He placed for him a stiff small chair; but the envoy quickly
+repelled the slight and vindicated the honour of the Republic by
+occupying the largest arm-chair available. After this preliminary
+skirmish things went more smoothly; but only the briefest summary of
+their conversation can be given here. Chauvelin assured Grenville of the
+desire of France to respect the neutrality of the Dutch, though they had
+fired on two French vessels entering the Scheldt. The opening of that
+river, he said, was a right decreed by Nature, and confirmed to France
+by the conquest of Brabant--a point which he pressed Grenville to
+concede. He then charged England with unfriendly conduct in other
+respects. In reply Grenville said that he welcomed this informal
+explanation, but he declined to give any assurance on the Scheldt
+affair. If (said he) France and England were not on good terms, it was
+not the fault of the latter Power, which had consistently remained
+neutral but declined to allow the rights of its Allies to be
+violated.[128]
+
+Equally firm, though more affable, was the behaviour of Pitt in an
+interview of 2nd December with a Frenchman who was destined to become
+Foreign Minister under Napoleon. Maret, the future Duc de Bassano, at
+this time made a very informal _début_ on the stage of diplomacy.
+Despite many statements to the contrary it is certain that he had no
+official position in England. He came here merely in order to look after
+the affairs of the Duke of Orleans, especially to bring back his
+daughter, who had for some time resided in Suffolk with Mme. de Genlis
+and "Pamela." Maret's own words to Miles are decisive on this point: "I
+was not a secret agent; I had no authority to treat, nor had I any
+mission; and in declaring this to Mr. Pitt and to you I said nothing but
+the truth."[129] With characteristic mendacity Lebrun afterwards
+informed the Convention that Maret was a secret agent and that Pitt had
+requested an interview with him. The interview came about owing to the
+exertions of William Smith, M.P., a well-intentioned Whig, who hoped
+much from an informal conversation between Pitt and one of the head
+clerks of the French Foreign Office. Chauvelin viewed it with jealousy,
+it being his aim to represent Maret as an emissary to the British and
+Irish malcontents.[130] Pitt, when he granted the interview, cannot have
+known of this, or of the design of Lebrun ultimately to foist Maret into
+the place of Morgues at the French Embassy. Accordingly he welcomed
+Maret cordially. No tactical skirmish about chairs took place, and Maret
+afterwards declared that the great Minister behaved affably throughout,
+brightening his converse at times by a smile. As the personality of the
+two statesmen and the gravity of the crisis invest this interview with
+unique interest, Pitt's account of it, which is in the Pretyman MSS.,
+must be given almost in full.
+
+ He [Maret] expressed his regret at the distant and suspicious
+ terms on which England and France appeared to stand, his
+ readiness to give me any _éclaircissement_ he could, and his
+ belief that the present French Government would be very glad if
+ means could be found by private agents, with no official
+ character, to set on foot a friendly explanation.
+
+ I told him that, if they were desirous of such an explanation,
+ it seemed to me much to be wished under the critical
+ circumstances; as we might by conversing freely learn whether it
+ was possible to avoid those extremities which we should very
+ much regret but which seemed from what we saw of the conduct and
+ designs of France to be fast approaching; and I then mentioned
+ to him distinctly that the resolution announced respecting the
+ Scheldt was considered as proof of an intention to proceed to a
+ rupture with Holland; that a rupture with Holland on this ground
+ or any other injurious to their rights, must also lead to an
+ immediate rupture with this country; and that altho' we should
+ deeply regret the event and were really desirous of preserving,
+ if possible, the neutrality to which we had hitherto adhered, we
+ were fully determined, if the case arose, to give our utmost
+ support to our ally.
+
+ His answer was that he hoped nothing of the sort would happen;
+ that he believed there was no design of proceeding to
+ hostilities against Holland; and that it was much the wish of
+ the French Government to be on good terms with this country;
+ that they wished to _ménager l'Angleterre_, and therefore to
+ _ménager l'Hollande_; that these were the sentiments of M. le
+ Brun when he left Paris about 3 weeks ago; that he believed them
+ to be those of M. Dumouriez; and that, from the despatches of M.
+ Chauvelin, which he had seen while here, he believed they
+ continued to be those of the _Conseil Exécutif_; that he thought
+ a confidential explanation on this subject very desirable; and
+ would either go to Paris or write to M. le Brun, to state what
+ had passed in our conversation, and that he was persuaded they
+ would be disposed to [send?] some other person here to enter
+ privately into negotiations upon it. He afterwards dropped an
+ idea that some difficulty might perhaps arise from the _Conseil
+ Exécutif_ feeling itself pressed by the weight of public opinion
+ to propose to us to receive some person here in a formal
+ character. To this I observed that the circumstances would by no
+ means admit of any formal communication, and that they would
+ certainly see the necessity of avoiding the difficulties which
+ must arise from such a proposal, if they were sincere in wishing
+ an explanation with a view to remove obstacles.
+
+ Towards the end of the conversation, on his repeating his belief
+ that it would be the wish of the French Government to have such
+ an explanation and to remove, if possible, the grounds of
+ misunderstanding, I remarked to him that, if this was really
+ desired, there was another point which must be attended to--that
+ he must have seen the impression made here by the decree in
+ France avowing a design of endeavouring to extend their
+ principles of government by raising disturbances in other
+ countries; that, while this was professed or attempted, and till
+ we had full security on this point, no explanation could answer
+ its purpose, and that such a conduct must be considered as an
+ act of hostility to neutral nations. He answered that he knew
+ the impression which this circumstance produced, and had seen
+ the decree I mentioned with consternation; that he believed it
+ passed only in a moment of fermentation and went beyond what was
+ intended; that it could be meant only against nations at war,
+ and was considered as one way of carrying on war against them;
+ that he believed it was not conformable to the sentiments of the
+ _Conseil Exécutif_, and that they might possibly find means to
+ revise it. To this I said that, whatever were the sentiments of
+ the _Conseil Exécutif_, the decree, as it stood, might justly be
+ considered by any neutral nation as an act of hostility. He
+ concluded by saying that he would immediately send to M. le Brun
+ an account of what had passed, which he hoped might lead to
+ happy consequences.
+
+Maret prefaced his report of this interview by assuring Lebrun that Pitt
+was decidedly in favour of peace, and in fact dreaded war more than the
+Whig aristocrats; but, he added, Lord Hawkesbury and the majority of
+Ministers were for war--a somewhat doubtful statement. Maret's
+description of the interview is graphic but far from complete. He
+reported Pitt's gracious effort to minimize the difficulties of form
+arising from the lapse of official relations between France and England.
+But (he wrote) the Minister's brow darkened at the mention of the names
+of Noël and Chauvelin; and he finally suggested that Maret should be the
+accredited French agent at London.[131]
+
+Pitt's account does not name these personal details, and it lays more
+stress on the difficulties caused by the French decrees opening the
+Scheldt and offering help to malcontents. We must further remember that
+Maret's words of warning to his compatriots on the latter subject were
+suppressed in the version published at Paris, which therefore gave the
+impression that Pitt was not deeply moved by recent events. This
+_suppressio veri_ partly accounts for the persistence of the French
+deputies in their resolves, which prevented the friendly explanations
+undoubtedly desired by Pitt and Maret.
+
+Bad news also came in from The Hague, to the effect that the French were
+demanding a passage through the Dutch fortress of Maestricht. These
+tidings caused the worst impression. Grenville wrote in reply to
+Auckland on 4th December. "The conduct of the French in all their late
+proceedings appears to His Majesty's servants to indicate a fixed and
+settled design of hostility against this country and the [Dutch]
+Republic." Equally threatening were "their almost undisguised attempts
+now making to excite insurrection here and in Holland." Consequently His
+Majesty had decided to arm in self defence, and he hoped that the Dutch
+would firmly repel all attempts derogatory to their neutrality. The King
+(he added), while taking these precautionary measures, would not omit
+such steps as might lead to friendly explanations with France through
+the private agents of that Government; but no ambassador would be
+received.[132] Pitt and Grenville set little store by the soothing
+explanations of Dumouriez and his friend, Maulde, who had made overtures
+to Auckland which met with a guarded but not unfavourable response. On
+their renewal, Auckland received them coldly, remarking that the whole
+situation was changed by the late violent decrees of the French
+Convention. At that time, too, the friendly Maulde was recalled and
+replaced by Tainville, "a professed Jacobin with brutal manners and
+evident indiscretion,"[133] Thus faded away the last faint hopes in that
+quarter.
+
+Equally sombre was the outlook at Paris. The pacific reports sent by
+Maret and Maulde from London and The Hague were before the French
+Ministers at their meeting on 5th December. They had also the benefit of
+a lucid and suggestive _Mémoire_ sent by Talleyrand from London a week
+earlier, setting forth the desirability of a friendly understanding
+between the two free peoples, who, advancing hand in hand, might give
+liberty to backward peoples (especially Spanish America), and draw
+thence boundless benefits. It was the plan which Dumouriez and he had
+drawn up in the spring of that year. Probably the Executive Council took
+no notice of it; for certain papers found in the iron chest at the
+Tuileries cast doubts on the purity of Talleyrand's patriotism. Further,
+as Pache, Minister at War, hated Dumouriez, personal bias told strongly
+against the moderate proposals coming from London and The Hague.
+Nevertheless the Executive Council now decided to defer for the present
+the invasion of Holland, meanwhile chasing the Austrians beyond the
+Rhine, and fortifying Antwerp. The last step was declared not to
+infringe the principles of the Republic, "which oppose the spirit of
+conquest."
+
+Obviously there was nothing to prevent the same liberal adaptation of
+these principles to Belgium as Grégoire had proposed for the welfare of
+the Savoyards. A few deputations of the liberated people, asking for
+union with France, would enable some equally skilful dialectician to
+discover that Belgium was naturally a part of the Republic. For the
+present, however, the Belgians sent a deputation to demand unconditional
+independence; and it taxed the ingenuity even of Barère, then President
+of the Convention, to waive aside that request, with airy phrases as to
+the alliance of the two peoples emanating from the hands of Nature
+herself (4th December).[134]
+
+Pitt cannot have heard of the French Cabinet's decision of 5th December,
+but he must have read of the ambiguous treatment of the Belgians at the
+bar of the Convention the day previously. It had long been a maxim at
+Whitehall that the Pays Bas must never go to France. To prevent such a
+disaster England had poured forth blood and treasure for more than a
+century. Pitt's resolve two years before, to maintain Austrian authority
+in those provinces, had deeply offended Prussia. Now he and Grenville
+turned to the Court of Vienna, and on 7th December made friendly
+overtures to Stadion, Austrian ambassador at London.[135] Thus, the
+French menace ended the long period of estrangement between Great
+Britain and Austria, though, as will duly appear, mutual confidence took
+root very slowly.
+
+On 9th December Lebrun sent off an important despatch to Chauvelin. With
+respect to the decree of 19th November, it stated that France would
+never demean herself by assisting rioters, but would respond to the
+"general will" of a people that desired to break its chains. Further,
+France could not reverse her decision concerning the Scheldt. She would
+not revolutionize Holland, but she expected Great Britain not to
+intervene in support of a constitution which the Dutch considered
+"vicious and destructive of their interests." Finally, the French
+Government could not recognize the guarantees of the Dutch constitution
+undertaken by England and Prussia in 1788.[136] On the same day Lebrun
+sent a message to Maret, who was still in London, adverting in ironical
+terms to the military preparations in England, at which the French would
+feel no alarm, and insinuating that the doctrines of liberty were making
+rapid progress there. As to negotiations, the only bases on which they
+could proceed were the recognition of the Republic, and the refusal of
+the French Cabinet to treat except by a fully accredited envoy.
+
+On receipt of this letter on the 14th, Maret at once showed it to Miles,
+who urged him to request an immediate interview with the Prime Minister.
+This was accorded, and at 8 p.m. of that day, Maret met Pitt again. I
+have found no account of this interview. All we know is that it was
+short and depressing. Maret had to impart the unwelcome news that all
+the communications to the French Government must pass through the hands
+of Chauvelin--a personal triumph for that envoy. Pitt on his side
+declined to give any answer on the subject of Maret's communication, or
+on that of receiving Chauvelin.[137] We can imagine that under that
+stiff and cold exterior the Prime Minister concealed deep agitation; for
+the determination of the French rigidly to adhere to their decrees, to
+force Chauvelin upon the British Government, and to require the
+recognition of the French Republic, meant war.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[83] Aulard, "La Rév. Franç.," 270-2.
+
+[84] "Dropmore P.," ii, 291.
+
+[85] "Bland Burges P.," 207, 211.
+
+[86] Dumont, "Souvenirs"; Bulwer Lytton, "Hist. Characters"
+(Talleyrand).
+
+[87] W. A. Miles, "Corresp.," i, 349-51; Sorel, iii, 18-20.
+
+[88] Burke, "Corresp.," iv, 7.
+
+[89] Sorel, iii, 139.
+
+[90] Carlyle, "Fr. Rev.," iii, bk. i, ch. vi.
+
+[91] "Mems. of Romilly," i, 351, 352.
+
+[92] "Dropmore P.," ii, 318.
+
+[93] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 19, 20.
+
+[94] _Ibid._ In all, 3,772 French refugees landed in September 1792
+("Ann. Reg." 39). The first subscription for them realized £1,468. Burke
+gave £20.
+
+[95] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 21; Twiss, "Life of Lord Eldon," i,
+218; "Bland Burges P.," 203. Our agent, Munro, on 17th December 1792
+reported from Paris: "Dr. Maxwell has at last obtained a company in the
+French service, and I understand is soon to leave this to join the army"
+(Gower's "Despatches," 260). Mr. Elgar has not been able to trace him
+afterwards.
+
+[96] Massey, iv, 45. This was said to be spoken to Bland Burges; but the
+papers of the latter (p. 204) contain no reference to it.
+
+[97] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 21.
+
+[98] _Ibid._
+
+[99] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 21.
+
+[100] Miles ("Corresp.," 333) states that the editors of the "Argus" and
+"Morning Chronicle" were regularly paid by the French Embassy and were
+often there.
+
+[101] "Bland Burges P.," 227-9.
+
+[102] Virgil, "Georgics," i, 463-5. "Who would dare call the sun a liar?
+In truth, he often warns of the approach of hidden seditions and of the
+swellings of treachery and strifes yet unseen."
+
+[103] "F. O.," France, 40.
+
+[104] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 22.
+
+[105] "Dropmore P.," ii, 322.
+
+[106] "Auckland Journals," ii, 449, 455; "Dropmore P.," ii, 324.
+
+[107] Sorel, iii, 143.
+
+[108] "Auckland Journals," ii, 465.
+
+[109] On 24th November Noël wrote from London to Lebrun: "Tous les
+symptômes annoncent que les mouvements révolutionnaires ne peuvent être
+éloignés." Quoted by Sorel, iii, 214. See, too, Ernouf's "Maret," p. 84.
+
+[110] "Auckland Journals," ii, 481. Tomline, iii, 458, 459. Burke's
+unfortunate phrase in the "Reflections": "Learning will be cast into the
+mire and trodden down under the hoofs of a swinish multitude."
+
+[111] B.M. Place MSS., vol. entitled "Libel, Sedition, Treason,
+Persecution."
+
+[112] "Moniteur," 29th November 1792.
+
+[113] "Residence in France in 1792-5," by an English Lady, i, 190-2.
+
+[114] Auckland says ("Journals," ii, 473) he has seen Paris bulletins
+and letters which counted absolutely on a revolt in England.
+
+[115] "Dropmore P.," ii, 344. Grenville to Auckland, 27th November.
+
+[116] _Ibid._, 351-2.
+
+[117] Salomon, "Pitt," 599.
+
+[118] Rojas, "Miranda dans la Rév. Franç.," 3-4.
+
+[119] "Dropmore P.," ii, 339, 341, 343; "Auckland Journals," ii, 471;
+Lecky, vi, 70-4.
+
+[120] "F. O.," Holland, 20.
+
+[121] "F. O.," Austria, 31, 32. See, too, Vivenot, ii, 446, 447.
+
+[122] "Malmesbury Diaries," ii, 89, 90.
+
+[123] "Malmesbury Diaries," ii, 89, 90. This despatch, and the letter of
+the Prince of Orange referred to above, correct the statement of Mr.
+Browning ("Varennes," etc., 191) and Mr. Hammond ("Fox," 257), that the
+Dutch did not call upon us for help. This was asserted by Lord Lansdowne
+on 21st December, but his information was unofficial and is refuted by
+that given above.
+
+[124] Marsh, "Politics of Great Britain and France," i, 260-2. The
+militia were not called out in Surrey, Herts, Berks, and Bucks
+("Dropmore P.," ii, 348).
+
+[125] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[126] Pitt to Westmorland, 14th October and 18th November 1792, in
+Salomon, "Pitt" (App.); "Dropmore P.," ii, 318, 320-3, 328, 330, 333,
+336; "Mems. of Lord Ed. Fitzgerald," 155-60.
+
+[127] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[128] "F. O.," France, 40. For Grenville's account of the interview, see
+"Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies."
+
+[129] Miles, "Correspondence," ii, 46; see, too, Ernouf, "Maret," 89,
+95. This corrects the mis-statement of Lecky (vi, 94) on this topic.
+
+[130] Ernouf, "Maret," 90.
+
+[131] "Ann. Reg." (1792), 190-3; Ernouf, "Maret," 94-8.
+
+[132] "F. O.," Holland, 41; B.M. Add. MSS., 34446. Grenville to
+Auckland, 4th December.
+
+[133] "F. O.," Holland, 42. Auckland to Grenville, 7th and 8th December
+1792. See, too, Miles, "Correspondence," i, 382; Sorel, iii, 224.
+
+[134] Sorel, iii, 204, 224.
+
+[135] Vivenot, ii, 393.
+
+[136] Sorel, iii, 225, 226.
+
+[137] Miles, "Corresp.," i, 388, 389.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER IV
+
+ THE RUPTURE WITH FRANCE
+
+ La guerre aux rois était la conséquence naturelle du procès fait
+ au roi de France; la propagande conquérante devait être liée au
+ régicide.--SOREL.
+
+
+The opening of Parliament on 13th December 1792 took place amidst
+circumstances that were depressing to friends of peace. Affairs were
+gyrating in a vicious circle. Diplomacy, as we have seen, had come to a
+deadlock; but more threatening even than the dispute between Pitt and
+Lebrun were the rising passions of the two peoples. The republican
+ferment at Paris had worked all the more strongly since 20th November,
+the date of the discovery of the iron chest containing proofs of the
+anti-national intrigues of the King and Queen. Hence the decree (3rd
+December) for the trial of Louis XVI at the bar of the Convention with
+its inevitable sequel, the heating of royalist passion in all
+neighbouring lands. It is one of the many mishaps of the revolutionary
+movement that its enthusiasm finally aroused an opposite enthusiasm, its
+fury begot fury, and thus set in a series of cyclones which scarcely
+spent their force even at Waterloo.
+
+An essentially philosophic movement at the outset, the French Revolution
+was now guided by demagogues and adventurers, whose only hope of keeping
+erect lay in constant and convulsive efforts forwards. Worst symptom of
+all, its armies already bade fair to play the part of the Praetorians of
+the later Roman Empire. Nothing is more singular at this time than the
+fear of the troops. Amidst the distress prevalent at Paris, much
+apprehension was felt at the return of the armies of Custine and
+Dumouriez. In part, of course, this uneasiness arose from a suspicion
+that these men, especially the latter, might take up the _rôle_ of Monk
+and save Louis. But a member of the French Convention assured Miles that
+the disbanding of those tumultuary forces would bring on a social
+crisis.
+
+ War, [he wrote on 9th December] is to a certain extent
+ inevitable, not so much for the purpose of opening the Scheldt,
+ for that is rather a pretext in order to animate the people and
+ preserve their enthusiasm, but to get rid of 300,000 armed
+ vagabonds, who can never be allowed to return without evident
+ risk to the Convention and Executive Council.... It is her
+ opinion [Madame Roland's] and mine that we cannot make peace
+ with the Emperor without danger to the Republic, and that it
+ would be hazardous to recall an army, flushed with victory and
+ impatient to gather fresh laurels, into the heart of a country
+ whose commerce and manufactures have lost their activity, and
+ which would leave the disbanded multitude without resources or
+ employment.[138]
+
+These words are noteworthy; for they show that prudential or party
+motives led some at least of the Girondins, formerly friends of England,
+to desire an extension of the war.
+
+In England, too, the war spirit was rising. The traditional loyalty of
+the land had been strengthened by the tactful behaviour of George III
+since Pitt's accession to power. These feelings warmed to a steady glow
+at the time of the King's illness in 1788-9; and now the trial of
+Louis XVI, albeit on grounds which Britons could not understand, seemed
+an act of contemptible cruelty. To bring Louis from Versailles to Paris,
+to load him with indignities at the Tuileries, to stop his despairing
+bolt for freedom, to compass his downfall, to attack him in his palace
+and massacre his defenders, to depose him, and now to try him for his
+life for the crime of helping on his would-be deliverers, appeared to a
+nation of sportsmen a series of odious outrages on the laws of fair
+play. The action of certain Radical Clubs in sending addresses of
+congratulation to the National Convention also aroused deep disgust; and
+(as Bland Burges wrote to Auckland on 18th December) Loyal Associations
+sprang up on all sides.[139] A typical address was sent by the Dover
+Association to Pitt, as Lord Warden, on 19th December, asking for
+permission to take arms in defence of King and Constitution against
+invaders from without or levellers within.[140] The example was widely
+followed; and thus, as usually happens in this land, the puny
+preparations of Government were helped on by the eager exertions of the
+people.
+
+The revulsion in public opinion early in December was so marked as to
+impress even Chauvelin. He warned Lebrun that within a month the English
+had so changed as scarcely to be recognizable; but he added: "Pitt seems
+to have killed public opinion in England." A conversation which Sheridan
+had with him on 7th December ought to have disproved this fable. The
+Whig orator sternly reprobated the French decree of 19th November,
+offering aid to malcontents, and stated that the Opposition desired
+peace with France, but not if she attacked Holland. Nine-tenths of the
+people would resent any attempt to interfere with England or her Allies.
+
+This patriotic utterance of Sheridan expressed the feelings of a large
+part of the Whig Opposition. Parliament on 13th December showed marked
+approval of the King's Speech, which, while affirming his peaceful
+intentions, asserted his resolve to strengthen the forces. Lansdowne and
+Stanhope struck a few jarring notes; but in the Commons the Opposition
+was almost paralysed by a split between the New and Old Whigs. At a
+meeting of the party, held on 11th December at Burlington House, the
+majority decided to support the Government. Indeed Parliament would
+probably have presented a united front but for the action of Lansdowne,
+Stanhope, and Fox. Much depended on the conduct of the great orator at
+this crisis. A warning uttered by him to French Republicans might have
+had the most salutary effect. Unfortunately his conduct was such as to
+impair the unity of English sentiment and thereby to encourage the
+delusions of the men in power at Paris. In the meeting on 11th December
+he asserted that there was no fear of a revolt (in which he was
+doubtless correct) and that the calling out of the Militia was a mere
+trick, which he would strenuously oppose. He admitted that we must
+support the Dutch if they were attacked, and disapproved of the French
+decree respecting the Scheldt, but strongly deprecated war on that
+account. On the 12th he threw caution to the winds, and stated with an
+oath that there was no address that Pitt could frame on which he would
+not propose an amendment and divide the House.[141] This is party spirit
+run mad; but it was in that spirit that Fox went to the House on the
+13th.
+
+There he made one of his finest flights of oratory. None of his speeches
+excels it in beauty of diction and matchless energy of thought. Most
+forcible was the passage in which he derided the ministerial maxim that
+the canon of English laws and liberties was complete; that we might
+thenceforth stand still, and call upon a wondering world to admire it as
+a model of human perfection. Even more biting were his taunts at
+Ministers for seeking to stamp out the discontent which their injustice
+and violence had created.
+
+ You have gone upon the principles of slavery in all your
+ proceedings; you neglect in your conduct the foundation of all
+ legitimate government, the rights of the people; and, setting up
+ this bugbear, you spread a panic for the very purpose of
+ sanctifying this infringement, while again the very infringement
+ engenders the evil which you dread. One extreme naturally leads
+ to another. Those who dread republicanism fly for shelter to the
+ Crown. Those who desire Reform and are calumniated are driven by
+ despair to republicanism. And this is the evil that I dread.
+ These are the extremes into which these violent agitations hurry
+ the people, to the decrease of that middle order of men who
+ shudder as much at republicanism on the one hand as they do at
+ despotism on the other.[142]
+
+He then taunted Ministers with abandoning Poland and not opposing the
+coalition of Austria and Prussia, and asserted that the Cabinet refused
+to negotiate with France because she was a Republic, and her Ministers
+had not been anointed with the holy oil of Rheims. The weakest part of
+the speech was that which dealt with the existing crisis. For of what
+use was it to point out where Ministers had gone astray months and years
+before, if he did not now mark out for them a practicable course? In
+truth, though the prince of debaters, Fox lacked self-restraint, balance
+of judgement, and practical sagacity. The sole important issue was the
+encouraging of the peace party at Paris, with a view to the revocation
+of the aggressive decrees of the Convention. In private, Fox had
+admitted that they were wholly indefensible; and yet, in order to snatch
+an oratorical triumph, he fired off a diatribe which could not but
+stiffen the necks of the French Jacobins. At such a crisis the true
+statesman merges the partisan in the patriot and says not a word to
+weaken his own Government and hearten its opponents. To this height of
+self-denial Fox rarely rose; and the judgement alike of his fellows and
+of posterity has pronounced this speech a masterpiece of partisan
+invective and of political fatuity.
+
+For how was it possible to recognize the French Republic until it had
+withdrawn its threats to existing Governments? Pitt had reason to
+believe that a firm protest against the aggressive decrees of November
+was the only means of averting an overturn of international law. He took
+the proper means of protesting against them, and his protest was
+disregarded. In such a case, to recognize a revolutionary Government
+which had just proclaimed its sympathy with malcontents and its resolve
+to dictate terms to our Dutch allies, would have been a sign of
+weakness. There was but one chance of peace, namely, that Parliament
+should give so overwhelming a support to Pitt and Grenville as to
+convince the tyros at Paris that they had to do, not with a clique, but
+a nation. This unanimity the efforts of Fox impaired. Some of his
+friends voted with him from a sense of personal regard; but the greater
+number passed over to the Government or did not vote. Consequently the
+Foxites mustered 50 votes against 290.
+
+Equally inopportune was his motion of 15th December, for sending a
+Minister to Paris to treat with that Government. His knowledge of all
+that went on at the French Embassy in Portman Square was so exact
+(witness his repetition publicly on the 13th of the very words of one of
+Lebrun's despatches to Chauvelin),[143] that he must have known of the
+informal communications between Pitt and Maret, and of the arrival on
+the 14th of despatches from Paris, which negatived the requests of the
+Prime Minister. Doubtless it was this last circumstance which curtailed
+and weakened Fox's second speech. Grey, Erskine, and Whitbread
+vigorously supported the motion; but there was a general feeling that
+the despatch of an ambassador to Paris would be a weak acquiescence in
+the French claims. The motion was therefore negatived. Pitt was not
+present at these first debates, not having yet been re-elected by the
+University of Cambridge after his recent acceptance of the Lord
+Wardenship of the Cinque Ports. The defence of the Government therefore
+devolved chiefly upon Dundas, Windham, and Burke--a significant
+conjunction of names. On 16th December Burke for the first time took his
+seat on the Treasury Bench.
+
+A national party might now have been formed but for the inaction of the
+Duke of Portland. During the meetings at his mansion, Burlington House,
+he evinced strong disapproval of the views of Fox; and, as official
+leader of the Whigs, he had it in his power to bring nearly the whole of
+the party over to the Government side. From this course, which would
+have placed country above party, the Duke shrank; and his followers were
+left to sort themselves at will. There was a general expectation that
+Portland would publicly declare against Fox; but friendship or timidity
+held him tongue-tied. Malmesbury sought to waken him from his "trance,"
+but in vain.[144] He lay under "the wand of the magician" (Pitt's phrase
+for the witchery that Fox exerted), even when so staunch a Whig as Sir
+Gilbert Elliot saw that the wizard's enchantments were working infinite
+mischief.[145]
+
+Owing to the wrong-headedness of Fox and the timidity of Portland,
+Pitt's triumph in the Commons was not decisive enough to tear the veil
+away from the eyes of the French Jacobins. Nothing short of unanimity at
+Westminster could have worked that miracle. Surely not even that novice
+in diplomacy, Lebrun, would have threatened to appeal from the British
+Government to the British nation, had he not believed the Government to
+be without support.
+
+This delusion appears in the memorable decree of 15th December. The
+French Convention thereby asserts its resolve to revolutionize all
+countries where its armies are or shall come. It will recognize no
+institutions alien to the principles of Liberty, Equality, and
+Fraternity. All feudal dues, customs, and privileges are to be annulled,
+and the liberated people will meet in primary assemblies to organize an
+Administration. Arrangements will be made for defraying the expenses of
+the liberating army, and for maintaining it while it remains.[146]
+Finally France declares that she will treat as an enemy the people which
+refuses to accept Liberty and Equality, and tolerates its prince and
+privileged castes. The decree is at once followed by a proclamation
+drawn up for the benefit of the subject peoples whom it may concern.
+Finally, the Convention decides that the course of rivers must
+everywhere be free, and directs its generals to enforce that principle
+with respect to the Scheldt.
+
+In view of this stern reiteration of the right to overturn all
+Governments that conflict with revolutionary principles, it is
+impossible to consider the decree of 19th November, offering assistance
+to malcontent peoples, as a meaningless display of emotion. Subsequent
+events threw a sinister light on it. The annexation of Savoy on 27th
+November was not a convincing proof of altruism; and the refusal of the
+Executive Council, on 8th and 9th December, to reconsider its decision
+on the Scheldt, marked a firm resolve to carry out French policy in the
+Pays Bas, even if it led to war with England. Now there came, as a
+damning corollary, the decree of 15th December, which flung defiance at
+all Governments of the old type. Like Mohammed, Lebrun stood forth with
+the "Contrat Social" in one hand, the sword in the other, and bade the
+world take its choice.
+
+For England there could be no doubt. Pitt and Grenville had decided that
+the only chance of peace lay in offering a firm front to every act of
+aggression. In this they had general support. Fox might choose to
+distort facts by declaring that Ministers were about to plunge the
+country into war on a matter of form[147] (the refusal to treat
+officially with the French Republic); but everyone knew that the first
+aggressive action was that of France, directed against the Anglo-Dutch
+alliance. The firmness of Ministers gained them support in unexpected
+quarters. On 20th December, when they asked for a vote for 25,000
+seamen, including 5,000 marines, Sheridan heartily declared that he
+would have supported a vote for 40,000 seamen if that number had been
+deemed necessary. He also made a suggestion that the British Parliament
+or people should appeal to the generous instincts of Frenchmen to spare
+the life of Louis XVI. The proposal came somewhat oddly in a debate for
+increasing our forces against France; and it brought up Burke in one of
+his most acrid moods. Such an appeal, he said, was futile, for Louis was
+in the custody of assassins who were both accusers and judges: his death
+was inevitable. Sheridan and Fox heartily reprobated this recklessly
+vindictive language.
+
+Pitt then pointed out that on 17th August George III had expressed an
+earnest desire for the safety of Louis and the Royal Family of France in
+terms which were then read out. The same was the desire of every Briton;
+and the sentiments now expressed in that House would be heard and noted
+at Paris. If any more formal measure were to be adopted, he suggested
+the entering a protest in the Journals of the House; but any public
+representation, he said, must be couched in terms of indignation which
+must tend to defeat its own object. With this method of procedure Fox
+and Sheridan expressed their entire concurrence.[148] It is therefore a
+malicious falsehood to say that Pitt opposed their suggestion.[149]
+Burke certainly did so, and in the worst possible taste; but Pitt
+carried it out so far as was deemed desirable. If Sheridan and Fox
+wished for a public appeal, it was for them to set it on foot.
+
+I must here notice the vague and misleading statements in Godoy's
+Memoirs (written a generation later) that Spain made strenuous efforts
+to save the life of Louis XVI and opened "an unlimited credit" at Paris
+with the view of bribing members of the Convention to secure his
+acquittal. Further, that he, Godoy, secretly approached Pitt in order to
+secure his financial aid, which that statesman obstinately refused.[150]
+The story does not hang well together; for if Spain had already opened
+an unlimited credit at Paris, why did she want pecuniary help from Pitt?
+Further, the opening of unlimited credit, presumably with a Parisian
+bank, did not consort well with the secret methods which were essential
+to the success of the plan.
+
+In order to probe this matter to the bottom, I have examined the British
+Foreign Office archives relating to Spain for the months of December and
+January. They are detailed and apparently complete. F. J. Jackson, our
+_chargé d'affaires_ at Madrid, wrote to Lord Grenville every three or
+four days, as the relations of the two States had been far from cordial
+owing to friction caused by the cession of Nootka Sound, Captain
+Vancouver having been employed to settle the boundaries and fix a
+neutral zone between the two Empires. Grenville also wrote three times
+to Jackson to express his apprehension that the timidity and poverty of
+Spain would cause her to yield to the French Republic in the matter of
+some demonstrations on the frontier. But there is no word implying that
+Spain requested help from England, either pecuniary or diplomatic, in
+order to save Louis. Early in January Charles IV made such an appeal to
+the French Convention, but it was treated with contemptuous
+indifference. At that time the Courts of London and Madrid were
+beginning to draw closer together in order to withstand the demands of
+France; but nothing passed between them officially respecting the saving
+of Louis. Now, where the life of a King was at stake, any communication
+must have been official, and if it were made through the Spanish
+ambassador in London, Grenville would certainly have referred to it in
+his despatches to Madrid.[151] We may therefore dismiss Godoy's story as
+a cruel and baseless slander, due to the spiteful desire of a
+discredited politician to drag down a great name nearer to his own
+level.
+
+It is also worth noting that Malouet, who was then in close touch with
+Grenville on San Domingo affairs, does not mention in his Memoirs any
+attempt to involve the Cabinet in a scheme for bribing the
+Convention--an action which the French exiles in England and Holland
+were perfectly able to carry out themselves had they been so minded. The
+only document bearing on this question is a Memorial drawn up on 7th
+December by Malouet, Lally-Tollendal, and Gillier, stating their horror
+at the King's trial, and their belief that his life might be spared if
+George III and the British Government issued a Declaration stating their
+lively interest in Louis XVI and his family, their resolve for ever to
+refuse an asylum to all regicides, and to cut off all supplies of food
+from France if the crime were committed.[152] The Memorial was probably
+presented to Lord Grenville; but its inutility, or danger, in the proud
+and exacting mood then prevalent at Paris, is obvious. The confidential
+reports sent by "M. S." from Paris to Lord Grenville do not refer to any
+such overture to the Cabinet.[153]
+
+Lastly, there is the curious fact that the ex-abbé Noël, one of
+Chauvelin's "advisers," came to Miles late on 18th December, and
+affected much concern at the prospect of the execution of Louis. He then
+suggested that Pitt should confer with a M. Talon, residing in Sloane
+Street, who had immense resources and stood well with all parties in
+France, in order to devise some means for saving the life of that
+monarch. When Miles asked Noël how Pitt was to assist in this laudable
+project, no answer was forthcoming. We must commend Noël's prudence; for
+he had already stated that Talon was under impeachment in France. How a
+man accused of treason could help his King, save by secretly using some
+of his immense resources to bribe the deputies, is no more apparent to
+us than it was to Miles. In fact he detected a snare in this effort to
+associate Pitt with a wealthy French exile in what must evidently be
+merely an affair of bribery. He therefore declined to bring the matter
+before Pitt, whereupon Noël betrayed signs of satisfaction at finding
+that the Minister really was neutral on French internal affairs.[154]
+This little episode should open the eyes of detractors of Pitt to the
+extraordinary difficulty of his position. Of one thing we may be
+certain. The readiest way of assuring the doom of the hapless monarch
+was to take up some one of the silly or guileful schemes then mooted for
+pressing the British Government to take sides in the trial. Pitt's
+rigorous neutrality was the best means of helping the advocates of Louis
+in their uphill fight with the hostile Convention.
+
+Reverting to events at Westminster, we note that Ministers, on 21st
+December, introduced into the Upper House an Aliens Bill for subjecting
+to supervision the many thousands of foreigners who had flocked to these
+shores. The debates on this measure showed some approach to unanimity,
+though Lansdowne and Lauderdale in the Lords, and Fox in the Commons
+opposed it as a breach of the hospitable traditions of this land. On the
+28th Burke spoke in its support with his usual passion, flinging down a
+Birmingham dagger as a sign of the French fraternity now introduced
+into these happy islands.[155] After a few alterations in committee, the
+Bill passed on the last day of the year.
+
+Meanwhile, on 18th December, Lebrun had sent to the Convention a report
+on the negotiations, which was not adapted to soften the passions of the
+time, being merely a piece of parliamentary declamation; but, as
+declamation rather than reason held sway at Paris, some of its phrases
+must be quoted. After citing with approval passages from the recent
+speech of Fox, Lebrun referred to the eager interest taken by the
+British nation in the triumphs of the French arms. "But," he continued,
+"these glorious events have a quite contrary effect upon the English
+Minister. In a moment, the dread and jealousy of our victories, the
+entreaties of cowardly rebels [the French _émigrés_], the vile intrigues
+of hostile Courts, and the secret suspicions that the numerous addresses
+from all parts of England excited, determined him to more decisive
+military preparations and to an immediate assembling of Parliament."
+Lebrun then accused Pitt of seeking to stir up public opinion against
+France, and of exciting, "by the most corrupt means, distrusts, doubts,
+and disorders." A still more extraordinary charge followed, namely, that
+Pitt and Grenville, while refusing to acknowledge the French diplomatic
+agents, had "requested to see them confidentially, to hold
+communications with them, and to grant them secret conferences."[156]
+Lebrun then referred in contemptuous terms to the British naval
+preparations, and stated that he had firmly maintained the decree
+respecting the Scheldt. He then affirmed the reasonableness of the
+decree of 19th November; and scouted the notion that France harboured
+designs against Holland. In answer to this last he had said in effect:
+"That it was much to be wished that the British Ministry had never
+meddled more with the internal government of that Republic than we
+ourselves wish to meddle." Finally, if these disputes led to a rupture,
+"the war will be only the war of the British Minister against us; and we
+will not fail to make a solemn appeal to the English nation." ... "In
+short, we will leave it to the English nation to judge between us, and
+the issue of this contest may lead to consequences which he [Pitt] did
+not expect."
+
+In the sordid annals of party strife this report of Lebrun holds a high
+place. In order to furbish up the dulled prestige of the Gironde he
+sought to excite national animosity, and to revive the former hatred of
+the name of Pitt. What could be more criminal than to sneer at the
+smallness of England's naval preparations? What more false than to
+charge Pitt and Grenville with secretly begging for interviews with
+agents whom outwardly they scorned? It is by acts like these that
+nations are set by the ears; and generally they are at one another's
+throats before the lie can be exposed. Lebrun's report was received with
+loud applause. No one questioned the accuracy of its details; and these
+blind followers of a blind guide unanimously voted that it should be
+printed and widely circulated. On 20th December Lebrun sent a copy of it
+to Chauvelin, along with instructions which lost none of their emphasis
+in the note drawn up at Portman Square. He forwarded another copy of the
+report to Noël, with this significant explanation: "This document will
+keep you in touch with the ideas of this country and will show you that
+I scarcely have this affair in my hands any longer."[157]
+
+This admission is illuminating. The trial of Louis XVI had, as the men
+of the Mountain foresaw, placed the Girondin Ministry and its followers
+in a most embarrassing position. Many of them inclined to mercy or to
+compromises which found little favour with the populace. Accordingly,
+the procedure at the trial, as also the final verdict, turned largely on
+the desperate efforts of the Jacobins to discredit their rivals, who
+sought by all means to keep their foothold in the revolutionary torrent.
+One of the most obvious devices was to represent the Executive Council
+as the champion of ultra-democratic ideas as against envious and
+reactionary England. If this notion gained currency, Lebrun and his
+colleagues might hope still to ride on the crest of the wave.
+
+Historical students will remember another occasion when a tottering
+Ministry sought to keep pace with public opinion at Paris. The Duc de
+Gramont on 12th July 1870 instructed the French ambassador, Benedetti,
+to insist on obtaining from King William of Prussia an immediate answer
+to a demand that was certain to arouse angry feelings; and he sent to
+Benedetti the explanation that public opinion was _outflanking_ the
+Ministry, and that "the effervescence of spirits is such that we do not
+know whether we shall succeed in mastering it." Thus, twice within
+eighty years France was hurried towards the brink of the precipice
+because her Foreign Minister could not control an effervescence of
+spirits which he himself had helped to excite.
+
+Lebrun's missives of 20th December bore fruit seven days later in
+Chauvelin's despatch to Grenville. As this document has often been
+printed, only a brief summary need be given here. The French envoy
+insisted that the conduct of France towards England had throughout been
+correct and conciliatory; but the Executive Council had long observed
+with concern the unfriendliness of the British Ministers, and now
+pressed its envoy to demand definitely whether they held the position of
+a neutral or an enemy. The only possible cause of enmity could be a
+misinterpretation of the decree of 19th November, which obviously
+applied merely to peoples that demanded the fraternal aid of Frenchmen.
+As France wished to respect the independence of England and her allies,
+she would not attack the Dutch. The opening of the Scheldt, however, was
+a question decided irrevocably by reason and justice, besides being a
+matter of small moment; and the British Ministers could not venture to
+make it a cause of war. If they did, they would not be supported by the
+British people. Chauvelin then demanded an official reply, and expressed
+the hope that the British Cabinet would not engage in a war for which it
+alone would be responsible and to which the people would not accord its
+support.[158]
+
+What Pitt and Grenville thought of Chauvelin's last effort on behalf of
+peace will best appear in Grenville's despatch of 28th December to
+Auckland at The Hague:
+
+ The tone and language of Chauvelin's note of the 27th appear
+ calculated to accelerate a rupture, and the same conclusion
+ seems to follow from the circumstance of M. Maret's having
+ informed Mr. Pitt that it was not intended by the _Conseil
+ Exécutif_ to charge any private agent with any commission of the
+ nature which he had himself suggested in his first conference. I
+ have some reason to believe that it is now intended to bring
+ forward immediately in Holland the same question of receiving
+ formal and official communication from the _Conseil Exécutif_. I
+ trust that the answer will be conformable to opinions
+ entertained here; and, with the view of avoiding as far as
+ possible, any difference, however slight, in the expression of
+ our sentiments, I shall lose no time in sending to Your
+ Excellency the copy of the answer to M. Chauvelin when it is
+ settled.
+
+ I cannot conclude this dispatch without again urging Your
+ Excellency to press in the strongest manner possible upon the
+ Dutch Ministers the necessity of immediately bringing forward
+ their whole force. It is evident that the present intentions of
+ France are those of aggression. Whichever of the Allies is first
+ attacked, there can be no doubt under the present circumstances,
+ but that they must make common cause in order to render the
+ calamity of war short, if it is unavoidable. And if the state of
+ the preparations of the Republic is found inadequate to the
+ emergency, the attack will certainly be first made there where
+ least resistance is expected. Every circumstance therefore, of
+ interest and dignity require [_sic_] that no exertion of which
+ the Republic can be made capable, should be spared at such a
+ moment as the present.[159]
+
+Evidently Grenville looked on Chauvelin's note as an ultimatum; and it
+is noteworthy that Pitt on 28th December refused to see Chauvelin. Our
+Dutch Allies, however, were by no means ready. The separate Admiralties
+of the Dutch Provinces had not enough men to equip, still less to man,
+their ships; and almost their only defence lay in a British squadron
+which set sail for Flushing on or about 29th December.[160]
+
+For the present, then, Pitt and Grenville contented themselves with
+sending a stiff rejoinder to Chauvelin's note. Grenville reminded him
+that he had no official character in this country since the fall of the
+French monarchy, and that the sinister meaning of the decree of 19th
+November, as shown in the public reception given at Paris to the
+promoters of sedition in this country, was in no wise cleared away by
+his recent declaration, which still claimed the right to encourage
+disloyalty. With regard to the Scheldt question, Grenville declared
+again that it was of the highest importance both in point of fact and of
+principle; of fact, because the action of France pre-supposed her
+sovereignty of the Low Countries; of principle, because, if passed over,
+it would give her the right to abrogate treaties at her will. The desire
+of England to preserve strict neutrality in French affairs was
+universally acknowledged, and he (Chauvelin) had not urged a single
+circumstance in disproof of it. But, England (continued Grenville) "will
+never see with indifference that France shall make herself, either
+directly or indirectly, sovereign of the Low Countries, or general
+arbitress of the rights and liberties of Europe. If France is really
+desirous of maintaining friendship and peace with England, she must show
+herself disposed to renounce her views of aggression and aggrandisement,
+and to confine herself within her own territory, without insulting other
+Governments, without disturbing their tranquillity, without violating
+their rights."[161]
+
+This stern rebuke to the flippant claim of the French Ministers to
+settle the affairs of neighbouring States in accord with their own
+principles has often been ascribed to Pitt himself. This is doubtful. I
+can find no proof that he intervened directly in the affairs of the
+Foreign Office after the accession of Grenville, as he had done in the
+days of the Duke of Leeds. Perhaps the austere personality of Grenville
+forbade any intervention; or it may be that the two cousins were in so
+complete an agreement on principles that Pitt left all details to the
+Foreign Minister. Certain it is that he himself remained almost passive
+at this time; and all the acts were the acts of Grenville. It was well
+known that the two men were in close touch. "I consider his lordship the
+same as Mr. Pitt," wrote Miles to Aust.[162]
+
+More important is the question--What were the aims of the British
+Government for the settlement of Europe? Fortunately, we are able to
+answer this without a shadow of doubt. For on 29th December Grenville
+sent off a despatch to Whitworth at St. Petersburg referring to an
+effusive offer of alliance from Catharine II. Through Vorontzoff, her
+envoy at London, she expressed her admiration of the generous conduct of
+George III, and her earnest desire to help him in restoring order to
+Europe by means of a concert of the Powers, which might be formed at
+London. At the same time she found means to instruct her partisans in
+the British Parliament to relax their efforts against the Ministry.[163]
+Pitt and Grenville were not dazzled by these proposals. The latter
+generously declared to Auckland that he did not believe the Opposition
+to be influenced by unpatriotic motives; and he doubted the sincerity of
+Catharine's offer.[164] Nevertheless, in view of the imminence of a
+French attack on Holland, Grenville decided to encourage the Czarina to
+form a league of the Powers; but the instructions which he sent on 29th
+December to Whitworth set forth aims very different from hers. He
+suggested that the Powers not yet at war should invite the French people
+to accept the following terms:
+
+ The withdrawing of their arms within the limits of the French
+ territory: the abandoning their conquests; the rescinding any
+ acts injurious to the sovereignty or rights of any other
+ nations; and the giving, in some public and unequivocal manner,
+ a pledge of their intention no longer to foment troubles and to
+ excite disturbances against their own Governments. In return for
+ these stipulations the different Powers of Europe who should be
+ parties to this measure might engage to abandon all measures or
+ views of hostility against France or interference in their
+ internal affairs, and to maintain a correspondence or
+ intercourse of amity with the existing powers in that country
+ with whom such a treaty may be concluded. [If, however, France
+ refuses to give these pledges, then the Powers will take] active
+ measures to obtain the ends in view, and it may be considered
+ whether, in such a case, they might not reasonably look to some
+ indemnity for the expenses and hazards to which they would
+ necessarily be exposed.[165]
+
+From this remarkable pronouncement it appears that Pitt and Grenville
+harboured no hostility to the French Republic as such, provided that it
+acted on the principles which it professed up to the end of October
+1792. The ensuing acts of aggression and propagandism they unflinchingly
+opposed, but in the hope that the combined remonstrances of all the
+Powers would induce the French leaders to withdraw their untenable
+claims. Above all, the British Cabinet did not refuse eventually to
+recognize the new state of things at Paris, a point of view very far
+removed from the flaming royalism of Catharine II and Burke. Whether a
+concert of the Powers could have been formed on these moderate terms is
+very doubtful. What is certain is that Pitt and Grenville saw in it the
+chief hope of peace, and that they did not desire to force royalty on
+reluctant France. For them the war, if it came, was not a war of
+opinion--Monarchy _versus_ Republic. It was a struggle to preserve the
+Balance of Power, which in all ages our statesmen had seen to be
+incompatible with the sovereignty of France in the Low Countries. That
+danger averted, they were content to let France settle her own affairs,
+if she behaved with the like tolerance towards her neighbours.
+
+Unhappily, these pacific and enlightened views were not accompanied by
+conciliatory manners. It was the bane of Pitt, and still more of
+Grenville, that their innate reserve often cooled their friends and
+heated their opponents.[166] In the case of so vain and touchy a man as
+Chauvelin a little affability would have gone a long way; and this was
+especially desirable, as he had enough support at Paris to thwart the
+attempt to replace him by some envoy less disliked at St. James's.
+Nevertheless, they persisted in their resolve not to recognize him
+officially; and the Executive Council made it a point of honour to force
+him on the British Court. Personal questions therefore told against a
+peaceful settlement. Even at the end of the year 1792 it was not wholly
+impossible, provided that the questions in dispute were treated with
+open-mindedness and a desire to understand the point of view of the
+opponent.
+
+Undoubtedly it was for the French Government to take the first steps
+towards reconciliation by retracting or toning down the decrees of 16th
+and 19th November and 15th December, which had brought about the crisis.
+Further, the Convention ought to have seen through and thwarted the
+attempt of Lebrun to regain popularity by insulting Pitt in the report
+of 18th December. Had that body been less intent on the party manoeuvres
+centring in the trial of Louis XVI, it would assuredly not have
+furthered the insidious designs of that Minister. It might have offered
+to recall Chauvelin, and to substitute Maret, a man known to be a
+_persona grata_ to Pitt. Finally, in view of the large concourse of
+Frenchmen now in London, reckoned at 15,000, the Executive Council would
+have done well to say nothing about the passing of the Aliens Bill,
+obviously a precautionary measure called for by the emergency.[167]
+
+The French Ministers took exactly the contrary course. On 30th December
+they decided that Chauvelin should demand the withdrawal of that
+measure, as contrary to the treaty of 1786; failing this, France would
+declare that compact at an end. They also began to prepare for an
+invasion of England, on a plan which came before them on 28th December;
+and on the last day of the year, Monge, Minister for the Navy, issued a
+circular letter to Friends of Liberty and Equality in the seaports. It
+contained passages to the following effect:
+
+ The English Government is arming, and the King of Spain,
+ encouraged by this, is preparing to attack us. These two
+ tyrannical Powers, after persecuting the patriots on their own
+ territories, think no doubt that they will be able to influence
+ the judgment to be pronounced on the traitor, Louis. They hope
+ to frighten us; but no! a people which has made itself free, a
+ people which has driven out of the bosom of France, and as far
+ as the distant borders of the Rhine, the terrible army of the
+ Prussians and Austrians--the people of France will not suffer
+ laws to be dictated to them by any tyrant. The King and his
+ Parliament mean to make war upon us. Will the English
+ republicans suffer it? Already these free men show their
+ discontent and the repugnance which they have to bear arms
+ against their brothers, the French. Well! We will fly to their
+ succour. We will make a descent in the island. We will lodge
+ there 50,000 caps of Liberty. We will plant there the sacred
+ tree, and we will stretch out our arms to our republican
+ brethren. The tyranny of their Government will soon be
+ destroyed.
+
+What did the famous mathematician think of this effusion in the heyday
+of the Empire, when he became Count of Pelusium with a Westphalian
+estate bringing in 200,000 francs a year? A collection of the frank
+confessions of the _ci-devant_ Jacobins would form an entertaining
+volume.
+
+Not the least piquant of them would be the criticisms of a Breton
+captain, Kersaint, on the bellicose speech which he launched at the
+Convention on 1st January 1793. Admitting that Pitt really wanted peace,
+while Fox only desired to abase his rival, he averred that the Prime
+Minister would try to arrest France in her rapid career of land conquest
+either by a naval war or by an armed mediation. War, said Kersaint, must
+result, were it only from the perplexities of Pitt and the hatred of
+George III for the French Republic. France, then, must threaten to free
+the Scottish and Irish nations which England had so long oppressed. The
+Republic could appeal with telling effect to the English sailors not to
+fight against the champions of the Rights of Man. Further, France need
+not fear the British Empire; for it is vulnerable in every sea, on all
+the continental markets, while France stands four-square, rooted in her
+fertile soil. Let them, then, attack the sources of British wealth which
+are easily assailable. "The credit of England rests upon fictitious
+wealth, the real riches of that people are scattered everywhere....
+Asia, Portugal and Spain are the best markets for English products....
+We must attack Lisbon and the Brazils, and carry an auxiliary army to
+Tippoo Sultan." As for Spain (continued Kersaint) she could be paralysed
+by the revolutionizing of Spanish America--the suggestion of Miranda to
+Dumouriez. In fact, Frenchmen need not fear war with all Governments.
+Open enmity was better than neutrality. This war would "regulate the
+destiny of nations and found the liberty of the world." Accordingly he
+proposed to offer to England either war or an alliance; to equip thirty
+sail of the line and twenty-four frigates; and to form a Committee of
+General Defence. The Convention assented to this last and referred the
+other questions to it.
+
+Thus opened the terrible year, 1793. The circular letter of Monge and
+the speech of Kersaint furnished the weather-gauge for the future. In
+them we detect the mental exaltation, the boundless daring, the
+overwrought conviction of their neighbours' weakness, which were to
+carry Frenchmen up to bewildering heights of glory and overwhelm them in
+final disaster. We behold in awful perspective the conquest of Holland,
+Italy, and Central Europe, the Irish Rebellion, the Egyptian Expedition,
+the war on British commerce, culminating in the Continental System, with
+its ensuing campaigns in Spain and Russia, and the downfall of Napoleon.
+All this and more can be seen dimly, as in a crystal globe, in that
+fateful phrase of Kersaint--"The credit of England rests upon fictitious
+wealth."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Turning to the last details that preceded the declaration of war, we
+notice that on 7th January Chauvelin, acting on the order of Lebrun,
+sent in a sharp protest against the Aliens Bill as an infraction of
+Pitt's Treaty of Commerce of 1786. On one count Chauvelin certainly had
+a right to complain; for, strange to say, the Act was put in operation
+against Talleyrand, nominally his adviser, and the champion of the
+Anglo-French _entente_. The ex-Bishop of Autun penned an eloquent
+protest, which apparently had some effect, for he was not expelled until
+March 1794.[168] Far more incisive was Chauvelin's complaint. We can
+imagine his feelings when Grenville curtly declined to receive it.[169]
+At the same time Grenville refused to discuss or explain the stoppage of
+certain cargoes of grain destined for French ports. His private
+correspondence with Auckland shows that this measure was due to the fear
+that the French would store the corn for the use of the army that was
+threatening Holland. That motive of course could not be disclosed to
+Chauvelin; and Grenville declined to explain it at all until the
+resolutions arrived at in Paris were clearly set forth.
+
+On Sunday, 13th January, Chauvelin received from Lebrun a long despatch,
+drawn up in less provoking terms than the last. He sought an informal
+interview with Grenville, which was immediately granted. Grenville's
+hitherto unpublished account of the interview may be quoted in full, as
+it enables us to see the _nuances_ of the situation:
+
+ _Jan. 13, 1793._[170]
+
+ M. Chauvelin as soon as he came into my room began by stating
+ that he was desirous of explaining that all his steps subsequent
+ to the date of my letter of Dec. 31 had been taken in
+ consequence of positive instructions from the _Conseil
+ Exécutif_, given before they had received that letter. That they
+ had seen in that letter one thing which had been satisfactory to
+ them, notwithstanding the other things of which they might
+ complain--this was the assurance which enabled them to reject
+ the idea entertained by some persons in France of its being the
+ intention of the Government here to declare war at all events.
+ Under this assurance they had authorized him to give to their
+ answer a form which was not liable to the exceptions which had
+ before been taken. He then gave me the despatch from M. Le Brun.
+ When I had read it I told him only that the circumstances were
+ too critical for me to say anything as to its contents except to
+ refer him to the answer which I should be [_sic_] to give to it.
+
+ He then said that there was one other point which he was
+ desirous of mentioning. That one of the difficulties of the
+ present situation of the two Countries was the want of a proper
+ channel of communication. That he himself, from having no access
+ to the King's Ministers, was frequently unable to give accounts
+ of their real views and intentions. That he was therefore to
+ desire the permission to see me often _sous la même forme_ that
+ he had now come [_sic_].
+
+ I told him that this was a point on which I was unwilling to
+ take upon myself personally to give him an answer; but that he
+ should have one; and in order to avoid mistakes I repeated to
+ him the phrase, that his request was to see me _sous la même
+ forme_. He said "yes," and that this was conceived to be a means
+ of arriving sooner at the object of his being allowed to
+ present to the King the _lettres de créance_ with which he was
+ charged. As he did not express this quite distinctly, I asked
+ him again whether I understood him right; that his present
+ request was only to communicate under the form in which he now
+ came. He again assented to this, but in doing it threw out that
+ he had _almost_ had direct orders from the _Conseil Exécutif_ to
+ apply for permission to present his letters. He however
+ expressly assented to my statement that the other was at present
+ his only request.
+
+ Nothing else material passed, except justifications of himself
+ from the imputation of treating on public business with some
+ persons in this country with whom he had connections of private
+ friendship and intercourse, and complaints of the manner in
+ which he was treated in the newspapers. To neither of these
+ points I said anything.[171]
+
+It is not surprising that Grenville asked for time to consult his
+colleagues (probably also the King) before returning an answer to
+Lebrun's missive; for, though unobjectionable in form, it re-affirmed
+the French claims and justified all the proceedings of that Government.
+Lebrun accused the Pitt Cabinet of raising difficulties of form and of
+discovering hostile intentions where none existed. While repudiating the
+notion of annexing Belgium, he firmly adhered to the Scheldt decree.
+France, he declared, would respond to all appeals which emanated from
+the general will of a nation, and he even asserted that she could treat
+only with a Government which "is deemed the organ of the general will of
+the nation governed." If her efforts for peace failed, she would fight
+England with regret but without fear.[172]
+
+In effect, then, this despatch held out no hope of a reconciliation.
+There came with it, however, a long and rambling letter from Maret to
+Miles, which was intended partly to threaten, partly to cajole the
+Ministry. In its more dulcet passages the hope was set forth that the
+Scheldt affair could be settled, and even that Chauvelin might be
+replaced by the estimable Barthélemy. Miles, highly elated, hurried to
+the Foreign Office on that momentous Sunday, 13th January, and found
+that a Cabinet meeting was proceeding. Pitt came out and cordially
+received Maret's note. He returned to the Cabinet meeting (at which,
+strange to say, Burke was present) but came out again "furious,
+freighted with the bile of the whole Cabinet," and forbade Miles to have
+any dealings with the French Executive Council.[173]
+
+How are we to explain this change from affability to anger? The
+impressionable Miles believed that in that hour Pitt capitulated to
+Burke and became a man of war. The reader who takes the trouble to
+compare Lebrun's note with that of Maret will probably come to another
+conclusion, namely, that the latter seems very like a device to throw
+the British Ministry off its guard. The terms of the two notes are
+widely divergent; and, in such a case, Pitt naturally accepted that of
+Lebrun and scouted that of Maret, as of a busybody or an intriguer.
+Grenville objected to this double-dealing;[174] and probably the
+presence of Burke at the Cabinet meeting sharpened the demand for its
+cessation.
+
+Another explanation of Pitt's fury is possible. Grenville and he may
+have received news of the warlike preparations going on in the French
+seaports and on the Dutch borders. I have found no proof of this; but it
+is certain that by this time they must have had before them the
+inflammatory appeal of Monge to French and English Jacobins as well as
+the boastful tirade of Kersaint to the Convention. Having these proofs
+of the warlike ardour of the French and of their reliance on British
+reformers, how could Pitt and Grenville look on the philanthropic
+professions of Maret as anything but a snare, and Miles as his dupe?
+Miles had ever been officious. Clearly the time had come to stop his
+fussy advances to an unofficial agent, which Lebrun might once more
+ascribe to Pitt's secret fear of France.
+
+It would be interesting to discover how far Pitt and Grenville were at
+this time aware of the secret designs of the French Executive Council.
+On this topic I have found no definite evidence. It is very unlikely
+that on 13th January they knew of the aggressive plans which the
+Executive Council had formed three days before. But it is certain that
+such plans were set on foot on 10th January. On that day the Executive
+Council drew up secret orders for Generals Dumouriez and Miranda. The
+former was then at Paris concerting plans for the next campaign, not
+for the purpose of saving Louis XVI, as he afterwards stated. Whether he
+fanned the warlike ardour of the Executive Council will perhaps never be
+known. But undoubtedly on 10th January the Executive Council bade him
+order his lieutenant, Miranda, to prepare for the invasion of Dutch
+Flanders and Walcheren within twelve days. Furnaces were to be supplied
+to the French gun-vessels in the Scheldt so as to beat off the frigates,
+whether English or Dutch is not stated.[175]
+
+Why did not Miranda carry out this plan? Merely because he had neither
+stores nor food[176]--a fact which justifies the British Government in
+placing an embargo on the corn intended for France. Undoubtedly if he
+had had supplies, Miranda would have seized the lands at the mouth of
+the Scheldt, and cut off the retreat of the Stadholder to his place of
+refuge, Walcheren. It will further be observed that these orders were
+given at Paris three days after the despatch of Lebrun's and Maret's
+notes to London. The design apparently was to amuse England until a
+deadly blow could be struck at the Dutch. Auckland, writing on the 11th
+at The Hague, expressed to Grenville the hope that war might be avoided,
+or, if that were impossible, that the rupture should be postponed until
+the Austrians and Prussians had re-crossed the Rhine. The preparations
+of the Dutch were going on with the usual slowness.[177] Evidently the
+French Government counted on their traditional inertia and on the
+malcontents in Great Britain and Ireland. The private letters of Maret,
+that _soi-disant_ friend of peace, breathe full assurance of
+victory.[178]
+
+Grenville of course sent no answer to the last missive of Maret; but to
+Lebrun he replied, on 18th January, that his explanations were wholly
+unsatisfactory, as they maintained the right of the Executive Council to
+annul treaties at will. Until satisfaction were granted for the
+aggressions on His Majesty's ally, he would continue to take all
+measures needful for their common safety. The terms of this reply were
+doubtless due to the last news received from Paris. On 12th January the
+arch-intriguer, Brissot, had fired off at the Convention a warlike
+harangue in which he depicted the British Ministry as helpless in the
+midst of a discontented populace and without a friend in the world.
+France could therefore easily arouse Ireland and Scotland to revolt,
+besides carrying liberty to India.[179] On the following day the
+Convention ordered the equipment of 30 sail-of-the-line and 20 frigates,
+and the construction of 25 sail-of-the-line and 20 frigates.
+
+On his side Chauvelin saw the rupture to be imminent. In forwarding
+Grenville's despatch to Lebrun on the 19th he described his situation in
+London as intolerable, and added that no alternative but war was left.
+His assistant, Reinhard, ended a letter of that day to Miles with the
+words "_M. Chauvelin leaves_." That resolve must have been strengthened
+by Grenville's haughty note of the 20th, stating that no special means
+could be taken to protect his couriers and that he must rank "among the
+general mass of foreigners resident in England." On the same day
+Grenville informed Sir James Murray, who had gone on a special mission
+to the Prussian headquarters, that war was likely to break out, as
+France "insists on terms entirely inconsistent with the Government of
+this country and His Majesty's dignity and honour." His Majesty is
+strenuously making preparations and hopes to concert plans with Prussia
+and Austria.[180]
+
+Such was the state of affairs on 21st January, when Louis XVI laid his
+head on the block in the Place de la Révolution. The news of this
+tragedy reached London late in the afternoon of the 23rd; and the horror
+which it aroused led to a demand at the Haymarket that the farce should
+be put off. On the advice of the Cabinet George III now intervened. At a
+Court held on the morrow at the Queen's House (on the site of Buckingham
+Palace) an order was issued that Chauvelin, as the envoy deputed by
+Louis XVI, should leave the country on or before 1st February. But on or
+before 25th January, that is, before the news of this mandate can have
+reached Paris, Lebrun had decided to recall the French mission from
+London. On 25th January he wrote to Monsieur Greenville [_sic_] stating
+that, as his plenipotentiary, Chauvelin, had orders to return to Paris,
+Maret would proceed to London to look after the papers at the French
+Embassy. This statement merits attention; for it shows that Chauvelin's
+departure was hastened only a day or two by the King's command;[181]
+and further it refutes the oft-repeated assertion that Maret came
+charged with offers of peace to which Pitt and Grenville paid no heed.
+
+It will be well to examine this latter question somewhat closely. In
+order to understand the situation at Paris, we must remember that
+Dumouriez was at that time hesitating between an attack on Holland and a
+pacific mission to England. On 23rd January, while at Paris, he wrote
+two very significant letters, one to Miranda, the other to Auckland. In
+the former he states: "The Executive Council ... has thought of sending
+me as special ambassador to England to make that country decide
+definitely for peace or war. Consequently _an order has been given for
+our ambassador, Chauvelin, to return_. To-morrow they will send a secret
+agent [Maret], very well known to Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox, to ask the two
+parties (that is to say the whole nation) for a safe-conduct for me and
+an assurance that I shall be welcome. As I have to ask for _yes_ or
+_no_, like Cato at Carthage, this mission will not last more than eight
+days." Pending the reply to the first question (says Dumouriez) he will
+set out for Dunkirk, Bruges, and Antwerp. His second letter, of the same
+date, is to Auckland at The Hague, stating that he knows him to be
+desirous of peace, as he himself is. Can they not have an interview on
+the Dutch frontier, near Antwerp, where he will be on 30th January?[182]
+
+Now it is clear from Grenville's and Auckland's correspondence that
+Ministers paid some heed to the offer of Dumouriez. Nothing came of it
+owing to the arrival of news of the French declaration of war; but the
+proposal was at least considered.[183] There is not a line to show that
+Pitt and Grenville took Maret's so-called "mission" at all seriously.
+For, in the first place, he had no powers, no authority to do anything
+more than collect the papers of the embassy. He himself gave out to
+Miles that he came on a "pacific mission," but he carefully refrained
+from telling even him what it was.[184] His biographer, Ernouf, has
+invested his journey to London with some importance by declaring that on
+22nd January he (Maret) drew up and sent off a "despatch" to Chauvelin,
+stating that the French Executive Council desired peace, and that he was
+coming as _chargé d'affaires_ to the French Embassy in London. This
+missive (whether signed by Lebrun is not stated) met Chauvelin on his
+way from London to Dover; but it produced no change whatever in his
+plans. He proceeded on his way to Paris, passing Maret in the night near
+Abbeville. To assign much importance to his "despatch" is to overrate
+both his errand and his position at Paris. Maret was only one of the
+head clerks at the French Foreign Office and had no right to sign
+official despatches. If he really was charged by Lebrun to tender the
+olive-branch, why was not that despatch sent to London in a form and
+manner which would procure credence and have some effect? Again, if
+Maret came to restore peace, why did he not at once produce his powers?
+The question was infinitely important and undeniably urgent. Instead of
+taking decisive action, as any well-wisher of mankind must have done at
+so awful a crisis, he declined to enter into particulars, and, on the
+plea that Chauvelin was ordered to Paris (which he himself knew before
+he left that city) waited for further instructions--which never came.
+Finally he confessed to Miles that he came to prepare the way for
+Dumouriez and to discover whether that general would be assured of
+personal safety if he came to England.
+
+ Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.
+
+Such must have been the thought of Miles, when he heard this singular
+admission. For what trust could be placed in Dumouriez, whose conquest
+of Belgium--the source of the present difficulties--had by no means
+sated his desire for its natural sequel, the conquest of Holland? That
+Maret had credentials of some kind may be admitted; for he showed them
+to Miles and claimed to be _chargé d'affaires_; but, as Miles found his
+powers to be "extremely limited,"[185] we may doubt whether they
+extended beyond the collection and transport of the archives of Portman
+Square. If he had any authority to treat with our Government, it is
+curious that he refrained from doing so merely on the ground of
+Chauvelin's departure. "Apprehensive that this event might derange what
+had been agreed upon, he despatched a messenger with a letter to Lebrun
+stating that _under the present circumstances, he should not think
+himself authorized to communicate with the British Ministers without
+fresh instructions_."[186]
+
+Notwithstanding the urgency of the case, he received not a line, not
+even a newspaper, from Paris during his stay in London. In fact, the
+_soi-disant "chargé d'affaires"_ of France knew so little of the real
+state of affairs that he assured Miles of the desire of his countrymen
+to give up Nice, Mainz, Worms, the Rhineland, the Scheldt, and the Low
+Countries[187]--at the very time (31st January) when Danton carried
+unanimously a decree annexing the Low Countries to the French Republic.
+
+The explanation of the silence of Maret and the ambiguous conduct of
+Dumouriez may be found in the Memoirs of the latter. He states that a
+proposal came up in the French Executive Council at Paris on 22nd
+January to send him to London; but it was negatived by three votes to
+two. Nevertheless, he arranged with the minority (Lebrun and Garat) that
+he should go to Antwerp and have _pourparlers_ with Auckland preparatory
+to a mission to England, while Maret returned to London to pave the way
+for him.[188] The scheme was a private venture, proposed by Dumouriez,
+and favoured only by the minority of the Council. In such a case neither
+Dumouriez nor Maret could be invested with official functions; and it
+was only a last despairing effort for peace that led Maret to pose as a
+_chargé d'affaires_ and write to Paris for "fresh instructions." This
+praiseworthy device did not altogether impose even on Miles, who clearly
+was puzzled by the air of mystery that his friend assumed.
+
+In view of the facts now set forth, can we blame Pitt and Grenville for
+declining to treat with Maret? He brought with him no proof that he had
+any other function than that of taking over the archives of the French
+embassy. Grenville stated to Auckland that Maret's presence caused much
+dabbling in the funds, and that his presence was most undesirable if
+Dumouriez really intended to treat for peace. Pitt afterwards assured
+the House of Commons that Maret had not made the smallest communication
+to Ministers.[189] Evidently they looked on him as an unofficial
+emissary, to which level Chauvelin had persistently endeavoured to
+degrade him.
+
+Finally, on 4th February, Grenville ordered Maret to leave the country.
+By this time news had arrived from Paris that France had laid an embargo
+on British ships in her ports; and this portended more serious news. By
+that time the die was cast. On 31st January Danton carried the
+Convention with him in a fiery speech, crowned with that gigantic
+phrase--"Let us fling down to the Kings the head of a King as gage of
+battle"; then, in defiance of the well-known facts of the case, he urged
+the deputies to decree an act of political union with the Belgians, who
+were already one at heart with them. On the following day the Convention
+confirmed this aggressive action by unanimously decreeing war against
+Great Britain and Holland. By so doing the deputies of France merely
+endorsed the decision formed by the Executive Council on 10th January.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The outbreak of war between France and England is an event so fraught
+with momentous issues to Pitt, to the two Powers, and to the whole
+world, that I have striven to set forth as fully as possible every
+incident, every misunderstanding, every collision of interests or
+feelings, that brought it to pass. No episode in the development of the
+nations of Europe is so tragic as this. That two peoples should, within
+the space of nine months, abjure their friendly relations and furiously
+grapple in a life and death struggle over questions of secondary
+importance leads the dazed beholder at first to grope after the old
+Greek idea of +atê+ or Nemesis. In reality the case does not call for
+supernatural agency. The story is pitiably human, if the student will
+but master its complex details. It may be well to close our study with a
+few general observations, though they almost necessarily involve the
+risk of over-statement.
+
+Firstly, the position of absolute neutrality which Pitt took up from the
+beginning of the troubles in France was extremely difficult to maintain
+amidst the rising passions of the year 1792. The Franco-Austrian war
+soon led to a situation in which the future conduct of the neutral
+aroused far more suspicion, and scarcely less hatred, than that of the
+enemy himself. When brains reeled with rage against tyrants; when cheeks
+flushed at the thought of the woes of Marie Antoinette, correct
+neutrality seemed inhuman. In an age that vibrated to the appeals of
+Madame Roland and Burke, cold passivity aroused doubt or contempt. Yet
+it is certain that Pitt and Grenville clung to that position, even when
+its difficulties increased tenfold with the fall of the monarchy and the
+September massacres. Lebrun, on coming into office after the former of
+those events, was careful to inform his countrymen that the withdrawal
+of the British ambassador was not an unfriendly act, and that England
+was making no preparations for war. Later on he chose to represent
+Pitt's conduct as persistently unfriendly; but his earlier words prove
+the contrary.
+
+Again, was it practicable (as Fox claimed) for Pitt to forbid Austria
+and Prussia to coalesce against France? Probably it was not possible,
+without bringing Russia and Sweden into the field on the royalist side.
+In the excited state of men's minds, an act so annoying as that of armed
+mediation would have widened the circle of war; and, as we have seen, it
+was the belief of Pitt and Grenville, in August-September 1792, that the
+continental war might probably end from the inability of the combatants
+to continue it. No one at that time foresaw the easy conquest of Savoy
+and the Low Countries by the French troops. In one of the few references
+to foreign affairs in Pitt's letters of the month following, we find him
+stating that if France conquers and keeps Savoy, a new situation will
+arise.[190] But he remained passive while the French drove the Sardinian
+troops from Savoy; and his whole conduct at this time moved Burke to
+indignation, if not despair. So late as 6th November Grenville expressed
+to Auckland his firm belief in the policy of strict neutrality.[191]
+
+What was it, then, that blighted these hopes? The answer must be that
+the French victory of Jemappes (6th November) and the phenomenally easy
+conquest of the Austrian Netherlands speedily brought about a new and
+most threatening situation. It has been usual to say, with Goethe, that
+Valmy was the birth of a new age. Far more truly may we say so of
+Jemappes and its immediate results. That decisive triumph and the
+welcome accorded by the liberated Belgians opened up vistas of
+beneficent triumph that set the brain of France in a whirl. Hence the
+decrees of 16th November-15th December, which tear to pieces the old
+diplomacy, and apply to astonished Europe the gospel of Rousseau. In
+place of musty treaties there will be Social Contracts; instead of
+States there will be nations that will speak straight to one another's
+heart. They do speak: English Radical Clubs speak to the heart of
+France, the Convention; and Grégoire, President of that body, makes
+answer that if the rulers of England threaten the delegates and their
+comrades, Frenchmen will cross the Straits and fly to their help--"Come,
+generous Britons," he cries, "let us all confederate for the welfare of
+Humanity."[192] In the new age, then, political life will be a series of
+_tableaux_ from the gospel of Rousseau. To the true believer there can
+be no compromise. Relics of old-world customs, such as the closing of
+the Scheldt by the Dutch, must vanish. Here, as elsewhere, Nature will
+infallibly guide men aright.
+
+It was the application of these principles to our ally, the Dutch
+Republic, which Pitt refused to accept, especially as their corollary
+made for the aggrandisement of France. In his eyes international law
+imposed stringent obligations, which no one State, or nation, had the
+right to revoke. Old world theories of life, when rudely assailed at
+Paris, moved their champions to an enthusiasm scarcely less keen than
+that of the Jacobins. Britons who fraternized with the new hierophants
+were counted traitors to their King. Moreover, by a most unfortunate
+coincidence, the British Government publicly announced its resolve to
+support the Dutch Republic on the very day when the French Convention
+passed the first of its subversive decrees. Thus, national pride came
+sharply into conflict. Neither side could give way without seeming to
+betray alike its principles and its honour.
+
+Personal questions played a baneful part in embittering the feud. Pitt
+and Grenville shrouded themselves in their insular and innate austerity.
+They judged the English Radical clubs too harshly; they ascribed to
+those who congratulated the Convention on 28th November treasonable
+aims which can scarcely have arisen in England when the addresses were
+drawn up. Apart from frothy republican talk, which should have been
+treated with quiet contempt, those congratulations contained no sign of
+consciousness that France was about to challenge us to conflict. We may
+admit that Frost and Barlow showed great tactlessness in presenting
+those addresses when friction between the two nations had already begun;
+for the incident, besides stiffening the necks of Frenchmen, gave the
+Reform movement an appearance of disloyalty to England which worked
+infinite harm. Nevertheless, on reviewing these questions, we see that
+Pitt treated the foolish ebullitions of youth as though they implied
+malice.
+
+Surely, too, he, and still more Grenville, were unwise in placing
+Chauvelin under a political and social ban, which naturally led him to
+consort with the bitterest enemies of Government in order to annoy
+Ministers here and please his employers at Paris. A touchy and sensitive
+nature like Chauvelin's is usually open to the soothing influences of
+flattery. Grenville, however, drove him to open enmity, which finally
+wreaked its revenge;[193] for it was Chauvelin's report on the readiness
+of Britons to revolt which finally decided the Convention to declare war
+on 1st February. We may also inquire why the Court of St. James's did
+not make clear the course of conduct which it proposed to take in the
+future respecting France.[194] As outlined in the despatch of 29th
+December to Whitworth, it formed the basis of a practicable compromise.
+If it could be stated confidentially to Russia, Austria, and Prussia,
+why not to France? Probably the objections of George III to the faintest
+sign of recognition of the French Republic[195] account for the fact
+that these enlightened intentions remained, down to the year 1800,
+secret except to those Powers. But statesmen err when they bury their
+good intentions in the secrecy of archives and allow public opinion to
+sympathize with the enemy. Here was Pitt's most serious blunder. At the
+outset of the struggle, and throughout its course, he scorned those
+tactful arts and melodramatic ways which win over waverers and inspire
+the fainthearted. Here he showed himself not a son of Chatham, but a
+Grenville. The results of this frigidity were disastrous. All Frenchmen
+and many Britons believed that he went out of his way to assail a
+peaceful Republic in order to crush liberty abroad and at home. History
+has exposed the falseness of the slander; but a statesman ought not to
+owe his vindication to research in archives. He needs whole-hearted
+support in the present more than justification by students.
+
+In this respect Pitt showed less of worldly wisdom than the journalists
+and barristers who leaped to power at Paris. Their chief source of
+strength lay in skilful appeals to popular passion. In reality their
+case was untenable before any calm and judicial tribunal. But the France
+of that age was anything but calm and judicial. It lived on enthusiasm
+and sensation; and the Girondins and Jacobins fed it almost to
+repletion. Unfortunately Danton, the only man who combined strength with
+some insight into statecraft, was away in Belgium while the crisis
+developed; and the conduct of affairs rested mainly with Lebrun and his
+envoy Chauvelin. It is only fair to remember that they were thirty and
+twenty-seven years of age respectively, and had had just four months and
+eight months of official experience. In such a case pity must blend with
+censure. The frightful loss of experienced men and the giddy preference
+for new-comers were among the most fatal characteristics of the
+revolutionary movement. Needing natures that were able, yet
+self-restrained, bold, but cautiously bold, it now found as leaders
+calculating fanatics like Robespierre, headstrong orators and
+wire-pullers like the Girondin leaders, or lucky journalists like
+Lebrun. To play to the gallery was his first instinct; and the tottering
+fortunes of the Gironde made it almost a necessity. Hence his refusal
+and that of his colleagues to draw back a hair's breadth from the
+unjustifiable position which they had taken up. Behind them loomed the
+September massacres, fatal to two Foreign Ministers of France; before
+them shone the splendours of a liberating crusade. We can scarcely blame
+men so ardent, so hard pressed.
+
+But there are some rules of the game which even the most irresponsible
+of Ministers must observe. Here both Chauvelin and Lebrun went fatally
+astray. Chauvelin's _pique_ at the interview which Pitt had with Maret
+on 2nd December led him flagrantly to misrepresent that incident, and
+Lebrun, as we have seen, reported it to the Convention in such a way as
+to impute to Pitt a discreditable and cowardly intrigue. This is the
+climax of malice. An envoy and a Minister who scatter such insinuations
+are the most reckless of firebrands. By this conduct both Lebrun and
+Chauvelin inflamed the passions of their countrymen. In truth, it was
+passion, not policy, that made the war. The charges which they brought
+against England were of secondary importance--her demand for the
+revocation of the decrees concerning the Scheldt and the encouragement
+offered to malcontents, together with her stoppage of corn ships lading
+for France, and her Aliens Bill. Such were the pretexts for the recall
+of Chauvelin, which, as we have seen, was decided at Paris before the
+Court of St. James's determined to dismiss him.
+
+Another fact comes out clearly from a survey of the evidence given
+above, namely, that the execution of Louis XVI was in no sense the cause
+of the war. The question turned essentially on the conduct of France
+towards our Dutch Allies. Before Louis was put on his trial Pitt and
+Grenville had decided that the French must retract their aggressive
+decree against Holland, backed up as it was by a claim to support
+malcontents in any land. Failing this, war would have ensued, even if
+Louis had not been condemned to death. The tragedy of 21st January made
+no difference to the issue; for, as we have seen, the French Government
+by 10th January decided to push on its plans against the Dutch Republic.
+It is also impossible to attach any importance to the vague offers of
+Dumouriez and Maret, at which Lebrun connived probably so as to be able
+to say, without committing himself in the least, that he had done all he
+could for peace.
+
+We may therefore conclude that the wealth and defencelessness of the
+Dutch Netherlands lured on the enthusiasts and intriguers of Paris to an
+enterprise the terrible results of which were unsuspected by them.
+Nothing is more remarkable than the full assurance of victory which
+breathes in the letters of Dumouriez, the despatches of Lebrun, and the
+speeches of the French deputies. Experienced statesmen were soon to
+stand aghast at the triumph of the Republican arms; but it fell short of
+the hopes of the French politicians. In this boundless self-confidence,
+sublime were it not so disastrous, is to be found the chief cause of war
+in 1793.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[138] Miles, "Corresp.," i, 385-7.
+
+[139] B.M. Add. MSS., 34446.
+
+[140] Pitt MSS., 245. Published in "Napoleon and the Invasion of
+England," by H. E. Wheeler and A. M. Broadley, ii, App.
+
+[141] "Malmesbury Diaries," ii, 475.
+
+[142] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 19-21.
+
+[143] Miles ("Corresp.," i, 391), who also asserts that Sheridan echoed
+words used by the French agent, Noël.
+
+[144] "Malmesbury Diaries," ii, 478-81.
+
+[145] "Life and Letters of Earl Minto," ii, 82.
+
+[146] Chuquet, "Jemappes," 196-7, shows that the urgent needs of the
+army in Belgium were the _raison d'être_ of the decree.
+
+[147] "Dropmore P.," ii, 359-62; "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 126.
+
+[148] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 137-46.
+
+[149] "Méms. tirés des Papiers d'un homme d'Etat," ii, 100. This false
+assertion was adopted by Malouet ("Méms.," ii, 201), whence it has been
+copied largely, without examination of the debate itself.
+
+[150] Godoy, "Mems.," i, ch. vi.
+
+[151] "F. O.," Spain, 25, 26.
+
+[152] "F. O.," France, 40.
+
+[153] "F. O.," France, 40, 41.
+
+[154] Miles, "Corresp.," i, 398-400. Unfortunately, Lord Acton ("Lects.
+on the French Rev.," 253) accepted the stories against Pitt. He states
+that Danton secretly offered to save Louis for £40,000; that Lansdowne,
+Sheridan, and Fox urged Pitt to interpose; and that Pitt informed Maret
+that he did not do so because the execution of Louis would ruin the
+Whigs. I must reply that Lord Fitzmaurice assures me there is no sign
+that the first Lord Lansdowne urged Pitt to bribe the Convention, though
+in the debate of 21st December 1792 he suggested the sending an
+ambassador to Paris to improve the relations of the two lands, and
+assuage the hostility to Louis. Further, Danton could scarcely have made
+that offer; for he left Paris for Belgium on 1st December, and did not
+return till 14th January, after which he was engrossed in the last
+illness of his wife. Danton's name was dragged into the affair probably
+by mistake for Dannon (see Belloc, "Danton," 200). Lastly, as Maret left
+London on 19th December, and did not return until 30th January, he did
+not see Pitt at the crucial time of the trial. And would Pitt have made
+so damaging a remark to a Frenchman? Is it not obviously a Whig slander?
+
+[155] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 189. See ch. iii of this work.
+
+[156] See ch. iii for a refutation of this.
+
+[157] Sorel, iii, 241. So, too, Gouverneur Morris, then in Paris,
+thought the French Ministers, despite their bluster, wished to avoid war
+"if the people will let them." (Quoted by Lecky, vi, 114.)
+
+[158] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 250-3; "Ann. Reg." (1793), 114-16.
+
+[159] B.M. Add. MSS., 34446.
+
+[160] _Ibid._, and "Dropmore P.," ii, 361.
+
+[161] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 253-6; "Ann. Reg." (1793), 116-9.
+
+[162] Miles, "Corresp.," i, 351.
+
+[163] "Dropmore P.," ii, 363.
+
+[164] B.M. Add. MSS., 34446.
+
+[165] B.M. Add. MSS., 34446. Grenville to Whitworth, 29th December.
+
+[166] Miles, "Corresp.," i, 441.
+
+[167] _Ibid._, i, 439.
+
+[168] I published it in the "Eng. Hist. Rev." for April 1906; see, too,
+Fitzmaurice, "Shelburne," iii, 515. Bulwer Lytton, "Hist. Characters"
+(Talleyrand), wrongly states that he was at once expelled.
+
+[169] "Ann. Reg.," 122-5; "Parl Hist.," xxx, 259-61; Miles, "Corresp.,"
+ii, 4.
+
+[170] "F. O.," France, 41.
+
+[171] Whether Chauvelin was guilty of any worse offence than
+entertaining at his house the editors of Opposition newspapers (Miles,
+"Corresp.," i, 440) is not proven. Maret admitted to Miles that some
+scoundrels were sowing sedition in England; but he added the not very
+comforting assurance that, in that case, they would cease to be
+Frenchmen. Miles evidently believed those intrigues to be the work of
+French emissaries, (_Ibid._, 450, 451).
+
+[172] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 262-6; "Ann. Reg.," 119-22.
+
+[173] Miles, "Corresp.," ii, 28-36, 42. See, too, Sorel, iii, 258, on
+Maret's letter.
+
+[174] "Dropmore P.," ii, 366; but see Miles, "Corresp.," ii, 43, 44.
+
+[175] "Corresp. du Gén. Miranda avec le Gén. Dumouriez ... depuis
+janvier 1793," 3-8. See "Dropmore P.," ii, 371, on Dumouriez' plan.
+
+[176] _Ibid._, 8.
+
+[177] "Dropmore P.," ii, 365.
+
+[178] Miles, ii, 36.
+
+[179] "Gower's Despatches," 278.
+
+[180] B.M. Add. MSS., 34447.
+
+[181] "F. O.," France, 41. The order to Chauvelin must have been given
+earlier, probably on 22nd January, as will be seen by Dumouriez' letter
+to Miranda soon to be quoted. George III's order of 24th January
+(endorsed by Pitt) for Chauvelin's expulsion cannot have the importance
+which Mr. J. L. le B. Hammond ("Fox," 262-3) assigns to it. See "Pitt
+and Napoleon Miscellanies" for Lebrun's letter to Grenville.
+
+[182] Published in "Dumouriez, etc.," 159, 160, by J. H. Rose and A. M.
+Broadley, from B.M. Add. MSS., 34447.
+
+[183] Lecky, vi, 119-22.
+
+[184] Miles, "Corresp.," ii, 55.
+
+[185] Miles, "Conduct of France towards Great Britain," 108; "Corresp.,"
+ii, 62.
+
+[186] Miles, "Conduct of France towards Great Britain," 108.
+
+[187] Miles, "Corresp.," ii, 62.
+
+[188] Dumouriez, "Méms.," ii, 128-31 (edit. of 1794).
+
+[189] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 350. Fox admitted (p. 371) that Maret did not
+think himself authorized to negotiate. See, too, Bland Burges in
+"Auckland Journals," ii, 493. I cannot agree with Mr. Oscar Browning
+("Varennes, etc.," 198), and Mr. J. L. le B. Hammond ("Fox," 258) as to
+the importance of Maret's "mission." Lecky (vi, 126) also overrates it,
+in my judgement.
+
+[190] "Dropmore P.," ii, 322.
+
+[191] "Auckland Journals," ii, 465.
+
+[192] "Moniteur," 29th November 1792.
+
+[193] Maret stated that "M. Chauvelin had shamefully deceived the
+Executive Council, and that nothing but misrepresentations and
+falsehoods had marked his despatches since he lost all hope of remaining
+in this country" (Miles, "Corresp.," ii, 62).
+
+[194] Wilberforce urged this ("Life," ii, 13).
+
+[195] "Dropmore P.," ii, 339, 351, 378.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER V
+
+ THE FLEMISH CAMPAIGN (1793)
+
+ The war is not only unavoidable, but, under the circumstances of
+ the case, absolutely necessary to the existence of Great Britain
+ and Europe.--PITT, _Speech of 11th March, 1793_.
+
+
+In this chapter and the following, dealing with phases of the Great War,
+the narrative may seem at times to diverge far from the life of Pitt.
+But, in truth, his career now depended upon the issue of this gigantic
+strife. Therefore an account merely of his domestic concerns, of the
+debates at Westminster, or even of British and Irish affairs, would be a
+one-sided and superficial sketch. For in reality his destiny, together
+with that of Great Britain and of Europe at large, turned upon the
+events that unfolded themselves in Flanders and the Rhineland, at Toulon
+and Quiberon, in Hayti, Corsica, and Egypt. As these in their turn were
+potently influenced by the policy pursued at Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and
+Madrid, we must take a survey, wide but minute, sometimes to all
+appearance diffuse, yet in reality vitally related to the main theme. In
+order to simplify the narrative, I have sought to disentangle the
+strands of war policy and to follow them severally, connecting them,
+however, in the chapter entitled "Pitt as War Minister," which will sum
+up the results of these studies on the period 1793-8.
+
+If proof be needed that Pitt entered upon the French war with regret, it
+may be found in the fact that on 5th February he and Grenville empowered
+Auckland to discuss the pacific overtures of Dumouriez. Grenville, it is
+true, saw in this move merely a device to gain time;[196] and we may
+detect in the British reply the sanguine nature of the Prime Minister.
+But his hopes ended on 8th February, when news arrived of the
+declaration of war by the French Convention against Great Britain and
+Holland. Thereupon Pitt entered into the struggle without a shadow of
+doubt.[197] For him it was always a struggle to prevent the domination
+of the Netherlands by France; and we may note, as a sign of the
+continuity of that policy, that on it largely depended the rupture with
+Napoleon in 1803. Pitt summed up the object of the war in the word
+"security." In his view, as in that of his successor, Castlereagh,
+national security was wholly incompatible with the possession of
+Holland, or even the Belgic Provinces, by France.
+
+In taking this practical view of the crisis Pitt differed sharply from
+George III and Burke. They looked on the struggle as one for the
+restoration of monarchy. The King on 9th February wrote to Grenville
+that he hoped the war would be the "means of restoring some degree of
+order to that unprincipled country," and Burke flung into an unquotable
+phrase his anger that the war should turn on the question of the
+Scheldt.[198] For the present the aggressive conduct of France welded
+together these two wings of the royalist party; but events were soon to
+reveal the fundamental difference of view. Indeed, it coloured all their
+opinions about the struggle. Wilberforce reports Pitt as saying that the
+war would be a short war, and certainly ended in one or two campaigns.
+"No, Sir," retorted Burke, "it will be a long war and a dangerous war,
+but it must be undertaken."[199] In his eyes the struggle was one
+between two irreconcilable principles--democracy and monarchy. Certainly
+the effort to force 25,000,000 Frenchmen back into the well-worn grooves
+was stupendous. Further, the great Irishman, with the idealism and
+chivalry which invest his nature with so much charm, urged the Allies to
+abjure all thought of indemnifying themselves at the expense of France,
+and to declare their sole aim to be the destruction of anarchy and the
+restoration of monarchy, a course of action which would range on their
+side a large number of Frenchmen and avert all risk of identifying that
+nation with the regicide Republic. The new letters of Burke suggest the
+advantages of such a declaration and most justly censure the Allies for
+avowing their intention of taking land from France. The old man saw
+clearly that by so doing they banded Frenchmen together for a national
+effort. In the following pages the thoughtful reader will notice the
+disastrous effects of this blunder. Here Burke stood on strong ground;
+and Pitt was far from guiltless.
+
+On the general question, however, whether the war should be for the
+restoration of monarchy or the attainment of security, Pitt's position
+is unassailable. For the mere suspicion that the Allies intended to
+impose Louis XVII on France condemned monarchy in the eyes of patriotic
+Frenchmen. Only amidst the exhaustion following on the Napoleonic wars
+could an intensely patriotic people accept a king at the sword's point.
+In the first glow of democratic ardour absolute destruction seemed
+preferable to so craven a surrender. While, then, we join Burke in
+censuring the procedure of the Allies, we must pronounce his advice
+fatal to the cause which he wished to commend. Further, his was a
+counsel of perfection to Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic.
+Deeming themselves attacked by France, they were determined to gain
+security from the reckless schemes of aggrandizing philanthropy now in
+favour at Paris; and, viewing the matter impartially, we must admit that
+they were right. The French having been the aggressors, the three States
+justly demanded security at that weak point in the European system, the
+Flemish border. Further, as Pitt limited his aims to the expulsion of
+the French from the Low Countries, he might reasonably hope for a speedy
+peace, the task which he set before himself being far smaller than that
+of forcing a king back on the French nation.[200] Ultimately the
+stiffneckedness of Napoleon brought all the Powers to the latter
+solution; but no one in 1793 could foresee the monstrous claim for "the
+natural frontiers"--the Rhine, Alps, Pyrenees, and Ocean--which
+prolonged the struggle to the year 1814.
+
+Pitt's optimism will appear not unnatural, if we review the general
+situation early in the year 1793. The political atmosphere was
+disturbed by two cyclones, one in the west, the other in the east, of
+Europe. That which centred in the French Revolution seemed to have
+reached its maximum intensity; and skilled observers augured from the
+execution of Louis XVI a relapse into savage but almost helpless
+anarchy. The recent successes of the French in the Rhineland and Brabant
+were rightly ascribed to the supineness of Prussia and Austria; and
+already the armies of Custine and Dumouriez were in sore straits. The
+plunder of the liberated peoples by the troops and by commissioners sent
+to carry out the decrees of fraternity had led to sharp reprisals all
+along the straggling front from Mainz to Bruges; and now Danton's decree
+of 31st January, annexing the Belgic provinces to France, exasperated
+that people.
+
+Further, the men in power at Paris had as yet shown no organizing
+capacity. The administration of the War Department by "papa" Pache had
+been a masterpiece of imbecile knavery which infuriated Dumouriez and
+his half-starving troops. We have heard much of the blunders of British
+Ministers in this war; but even at their worst they never sank to the
+depths revealed in the correspondence of Dumouriez with Pache. In truth,
+both Powers began the war very badly; but France repaired her faults far
+more quickly, chiefly because the young democracy soon came to award the
+guillotine for incompetent conduct over which the nepotism of Whitehall
+spread a decent cloak. The discovery by the Jacobins of the law of the
+survival of the fittest served to array the military genius of France
+against Court favourites or the dull products of the system of
+seniority.
+
+For the present, the misery of the French troops, the immense extent of
+their lines, and the singular ingratitude of the liberated peoples,
+promised a speedy reversal of the campaign of 1792. For the re-conquest
+of Belgium, the Allies now had ready on or near the Rhine 55,000
+Austrians under the Duke of Coburg. On their right were 11,000
+Prussians, under Frederick of Brunswick-Oels, and 13,000 Hanoverians,
+destined for Guelderland. These last were to be paid by the Maritime
+Powers. In reserve were 33,000 Prussians, under Hohenlohe-Kirchberg. For
+the invasion of Eastern France, Frederick William of Prussia marshalled,
+near Frankfurt, a force of 42,000 of his own troops, together with
+14,000 other Germans. Further south was General Wurmser with 24,000
+Austrians. And this was not all. The Holy Roman Empire promised a force
+of 120,000, whenever its Translucencies, Bishops, Abbesses, and Knights
+could muster them; and further east there loomed the hosts of Russia. If
+these forces had been used straightforwardly, France must have been
+overborne.[201]
+
+But the half of them were not used at all. Before the campaign opened,
+the eastern cyclone drew to itself the energies which ostensibly were
+directed against France. Just one week before the execution of
+Louis XVI, five Prussian columns crossed the borders of Poland. This act
+aroused a furious outcry, especially as Frederick William preluded it by
+a manifesto hypocritically dwelling upon the danger of allowing
+Jacobinism to take root in Poland. Fears of Prussian and Muscovite
+rapacity had induced Pitt and Grenville to seek disclaimers of partition
+at Berlin and St. Petersburg. Assurances enough were forthcoming. On
+29th January 1793 Markoff sought to convince Whitworth that no partition
+was intended.[202] But in view of the entire passivity of Pitt on the
+Polish Question since his surrender to Catharine in 1791 the two Powers
+laid their plans for the act of robbery which took place a few months
+later.[203]
+
+In this they had the rather doubtful acquiescence of Austria, provided
+that they furthered the Belgic-Bavarian exchange so long favoured at
+Vienna and resisted at Berlin. As we have seen, Pitt strongly opposed
+the exchange; but, early in February 1793, Grenville and he heard that
+the Emperor Francis II hoped to facilitate the transference of the
+Elector of Bavaria from Munich to Brussels by adding Lille and
+Valenciennes to his new dominion.[204] These tidings led them to adopt a
+decision which was largely to influence the course of the war. They
+resolved to commit Austria deeply to war with France by favouring the
+acquisition of Lille and Valenciennes by the Hapsburgs provided that
+they retained Belgium. This, however, was far from the wishes of that
+Court, which longed for parts of Alsace and Lorraine, and viewed Belgium
+merely as a sop to be flung to the Elector of Bavaria.[205]
+
+Was there ever a more singular game of cross-purposes? Austria pursued
+the war with France chiefly with the object of gaining Bavaria and parts
+of Eastern France, Belgium (with Lille and Valenciennes) being allotted
+to the Elector uprooted at Munich. Prussia and Russia promised to abet
+this scheme as a set-off to their prospective plunder of Poland; but,
+obviously, after securing their booty in the summer of 1793, they had no
+interest in aggrandizing the House of Hapsburg. Further, England entered
+on the Flemish campaign with motives widely different from those of
+Austria. Pitt and Grenville sought to plant her more firmly at Brussels
+by girdling her with the fortresses of French Flanders; but she sought
+to recover Belgium only to fling it to the Elector. Finally neither
+Russia nor the German Powers cared an iota about the security of
+Holland. Their eyes were fixed on Warsaw or Munich. In truth, despite
+all their protestations as to the need of re-establishing the French
+monarchy, they were mainly bent on continuing the territorial scrambles
+of former years. The two aims were utterly incompatible.
+
+In comparison with the motives prompting the actions of States, treaties
+are of secondary importance. Nevertheless (to finish with these
+wearisome details) we may note that on 25th March Grenville and
+Vorontzoff signed at Downing Street a treaty of alliance whereby Russia
+promised, firstly, to use her forces, along with those of England,
+against France; secondly, to prevent neutrals from helping France
+indirectly (a clause which involved the lapse of the principles of the
+Armed Neutrality), and thirdly, to grant to England a favourable
+commercial treaty.[206] Agreement with Prussia and Austria was more
+difficult, but at last, on 14th July and 30th August, compacts were
+signed with them for military aid in return for subsidies; and in the
+spring and summer of 1793 Grenville arranged similar conventions with
+Sardinia, Hesse-Cassel, Spain, and Naples. In this haphazard manner did
+these States agree to war against France. Their aims being as diverse as
+their methods were disjointed, the term "First Coalition" applied to
+this league is almost a misnomer.
+
+Before describing the first campaign of the war it will be well briefly
+to survey the armed forces of the Crown and the organization for war.
+Firstly, we must remember that Pitt had devoted great attention to the
+navy and to the fortification of Portsmouth and Plymouth. Despite the
+hostile vote of the House of Commons in 1785, he had succeeded in
+finding money enough to enable the Duke of Richmond to place those
+dockyard towns beyond reach of a _coup de main_; and to Pitt may be
+ascribed the unquestioned superiority of Britain at sea. Of the 113
+sail-of-the-line then available, about 90 could soon be placed in
+commission, that is, so soon as the press-gang provided the larger part
+of the _personnel_.
+
+The state of the army was far less satisfactory. Never, in all
+probability, since the ignominious times of Charles II, had it been in
+so weak a condition relatively to the Continental Powers. In the Budget
+of 1792 Pitt asked merely for 17,013 men as guards and garrisons in
+these islands; and he reduced even that scanty force to 13,701 men for
+the next six months. The regiments were in some cases little more than
+skeletons, but with a fairly full complement of officers. Nominally the
+army consisted of eighty-one battalions; but of these the West Indies
+claimed as many as nineteen. India needed nine; and on the whole only
+twenty-eight line regiments, together with the Guards and the cavalry,
+remained for the defence of Great Britain and Ireland. Efforts were made
+in December 1792 to bring in recruits, but with little effect. The
+defence of London, the dockyard towns, and other important posts,
+depended of course partly on the militia; 19,000 of that useful force
+were embodied early in February. But as the authorities forbore to
+compel men to serve in person, there was a rush for substitutes, which
+naturally told against recruiting for the Line.[207] Volunteer
+Associations were also relied on for local defence, and for overawing
+the malcontent or disorderly elements in the populace. The safety of the
+coasts and therefore of the capital rested primarily with the navy; and
+for England the war promised to be almost entirely a naval war.
+
+Equally chaotic was the administration for war. Some time in February
+1793 Dundas sent to Pitt a Memorandum respecting a new arrangement of
+offices which had been mooted in the Cabinet. The need of some change
+may be judged by the fact that Dundas was Secretary for Home Affairs
+(down to July 1794), First Commissioner for India (that is, virtually,
+Secretary for India), and Treasurer of the Navy, besides drawing glory
+and profit from his airy duties of Groom of the Stole. What changes had
+been proposed does not appear; but Dundas expressed himself as follows:
+"First: That I should remain precisely as I am while the war continues,
+provided the arrangement takes place respecting the Groom of the Stole
+to Lord Chatham, together with all the consequent changes in other
+offices. This in my judgment is by much the best for the public service,
+and ought to supersede all other individual wishes." Failing this
+patriotic arrangement, Dundas requested that he should have the first
+claim for the Privy Seal for Scotland, provided that Lord Chatham did
+not take the Stole. He (Dundas) would give up the latter but retain his
+office at the India Board and the Navy. Or, thirdly, if he received the
+Privy Seal for Scotland, he would give up his other offices except that
+at the India Board. This last plan would involve a large reduction of
+income, but he preferred it to the others except the two previously
+named.[208]
+
+Nevertheless no change of any importance took place. Dundas continued to
+be a portly pluralist, utterly unable to overtake the work of three
+important offices, with the conduct of the war often superadded; and
+Chatham remained at the Admiralty until the close of 1794, to the
+annoyance of all champions of efficiency. In the course of that year
+Pitt urged the need of strengthening both the Admiralty and War
+Departments; but, as we shall see, Dundas strongly objected to the
+creation of a Secretary of State for War, because his duties would
+overlap those of the other Departments, and important decisions must be
+formed by the Cabinet as a whole.[209] I shall touch on this question
+more fully in Chapter XII, but mention it here as a sign of the mental
+cloudiness which led British Ministers for the first eighteen months of
+the war to plod along with the most haphazard arrangements known even to
+that age. The contrast between the boyish irresponsibility of military
+management in England and the terrible concentration of power in the
+hands of Carnot at Paris, after July 1793, goes far to explain the
+disasters to the Union Jack after the first few months of the war.
+
+The triumph of the French Republic and its transformation into a
+military Empire cannot be understood until we probe the inner weakness
+of the First Coalition and realize the unpreparedness of Great Britain.
+Moreover, as the Allies believed that France would speedily succumb,
+the allocation of the spoil claimed their attention more than
+preparations for the hunt. The unexpected vigour of the French might
+have undeceived them. While Coburg was leisurely preparing to drive the
+levies of Dumouriez from the district between Verviers and
+Aix-la-Chapelle, the latter laid his plans for a dash into the almost
+unprotected Dutch Netherlands, where he hoped to find precious spoils
+and valuable munitions of war.[210] Breaking up therefore from Antwerp
+on 16th February, the Republicans quickly advanced towards the estuary
+known as the Hollandsdiep, while two other columns marched on Breda and
+Bergen-op-Zoom. As Dumouriez had foreseen, the torpor of the
+Stadholder's forces was as marked as the eagerness of the Dutch Patriots
+to welcome the invaders. Breda fell on 26th February; but he failed to
+cross the Hollandsdiep, for there the Sea Power intervened.
+
+On 15th February Auckland begged that the Duke of York might be sent
+over with a few battalions. The Ministry at once answered the appeal. On
+20th February seven battalions of the British Guards were paraded at
+Whitehall; the Duke of York announced that the first three would go to
+Holland, and asked for volunteers from the other four. The whole line
+stepped forward. Huddled on to small transports, the little force
+reached the Dutch estuaries in time to thwart the efforts of Dumouriez.
+Their arrival heartened the defenders of the Hollandsdiep, and held the
+French at bay. Meanwhile Coburg had bestirred himself, and, marching on
+Miranda's vanguard on the River Roer, threw it back in utter rout.
+Dumouriez, falling back hastily to succour his lieutenant, encountered
+the Austrian force at Neerwinden, where the unsteadiness of the
+Republican levies enabled Coburg and his brilliant lieutenant, the
+Archduke Charles, to win a decisive triumph (18th March). A great part
+of the French levies melted away. The Belgians rose against the
+retreating bands; and in a few days that land was lost to France. The
+failure of Dumouriez to turn his army against the Convention, and his
+flight to the Austrian outposts, need not be described here.[211]
+Suffice it to say that the northern frontier of France lay open to
+attack. An advance in force in the month of April or May might have
+ended the war.
+
+But, as we have seen, the Allies were too jealous and too distrustful to
+act with the necessary vigour. Austria refused to recognize the Prussian
+scheme for the Partition of Poland; and the North German Power
+retaliated by withholding its contingent from the support of
+Coburg.[212] That commander, finding himself duped by the Prussians,
+pressed the British and Dutch Governments to send him succour. To this
+he had some claim; for it was the Austrian victory at Neerwinden which
+saved Holland from the French; and the best method of protecting that
+land was to capture the northern fortresses of France. The Dutch army
+numbered on paper 50,000 men; 13,500 Hanoverians were marching towards
+Guelderland; 8,000 Hessians were entering the British service. In such a
+case it would have been disgraceful not to assist Coburg in completing
+his triumph. Thus, as often happens with British expeditions, the scope
+of the Duke of York's operations now greatly widened. His original
+instructions of 23rd February ordered him not to move more than
+twenty-four hours away from Helvoetsluys. On 19th March, as the danger
+lessened, the War Office gave him leave to advance, moving on the right
+of Coburg's army towards Antwerp and Ghent.[213]
+
+The news of Neerwinden led George III to adopt even more vigorous
+measures. True, he disliked Coburg's pressing demand for help, seeing
+that no treaty of alliance was formed; but he permitted the forward move
+on Ghent, and formulated a still bolder scheme, that the British,
+Hanoverians, and Dutch should advance to besiege Dunkirk; for the
+capture of that place would enable a siege-train to be brought easily to
+the Austrians for the leaguer of Lille and Valenciennes.[214] To
+Grenville he expressed the hope that these measures would speedily end
+the war.[215]
+
+The letter is important as showing the great influence of the King on
+military affairs. It must be remembered that Pitt, Grenville, and Dundas
+(the three leading members of the Cabinet) had no knowledge of these
+questions, while that shadowy personage, Sir George Yonge, Secretary at
+War, had no seat in the Cabinet. A more unsatisfactory state of things
+cannot be conceived. It tended to subject questions of military policy
+to that influential trio, which in its turn was swayed by the will of
+the King. According to constitutional custom, the Cabinet was
+collectively responsible for questions of war policy; but it is
+difficult to say how far Ministers were individually responsible. Pitt
+and Grenville certainly influenced the decisions arrived at; Dundas drew
+up and signed the chief military despatches; but the wishes of
+George III had great weight.
+
+ [Illustration: SEAT OF WAR IN FLANDERS.]
+
+In fact, questions of war policy turned largely on motives other than
+military. The resolve of the King and his Ministers to share in the
+invasion of France sprang not only from feelings of military honour,
+but also from the exigencies of diplomacy. By the middle of March it was
+clear that Russia and Prussia would acquire unexpectedly extensive
+tracts of Polish land. Francis II vented his spleen at this rebuff on
+his Chancellor, Philip Cobenzl, who was virtually disgraced, while a
+clever but unprincipled schemer, Thugut, took his place.[216] Another
+unwelcome surprise was in store. The Emperor had hoped to find in the
+Belgic-Bavarian exchange "compensation" for the presumedly moderate
+gains of his rivals in Poland. But to this plan, as we have seen,
+George III and his Ministers stoutly demurred; and Grenville held out
+the prospect of the acquisition of Lille and Valenciennes in order once
+more to lay that disquieting spectre. As it also alarmed some of the
+German princes, whose help was needed against France, the Court of
+Vienna saw this vision fade away until Thugut hit upon the design of
+conquering Alsace, and finding there the means of effecting the
+longed-for exchange. Pitt and Grenville, however, clung to the policy of
+rooting Austria firmly at Brussels, with Lille and Valenciennes as her
+outworks, and this involved the effort of winning those two fortresses
+for the Hapsburgs. Thugut suggested that, if Austria could not secure
+French Flanders, she must find compensation elsewhere; and he declined
+to satisfy Eden's curiosity on this threatening word.[217] It therefore
+behoved us to strengthen Austria's stroke at French Flanders, especially
+as she now acquiesced in the British contention, that the Allies should
+neither interfere with the form of Government in France nor recognize
+the Comte de Provence as Regent.[218]
+
+The British Government, however, moved forward its troops into Flanders
+reluctantly, firstly, because it wanted to use them in the West
+Indies,[219] and also discerned the preference of Frederick William for
+a Polish to a Flemish campaign. That monarch and his generals left the
+Austrians to bear the brunt of everything on the banks of the Rhine, and
+also in Brabant. His manner of setting about the siege of Mainz was a
+masterpiece of politic delay, in which amorous dalliance played its
+part.[220] When complaints came from his Allies, he hotly retorted that
+Coburg had sent him only 5,000 troops from the northern army instead of
+the 15,000 that were promised. The Austrians replied with no less warmth
+that Coburg needed those 10,000 men because he had had no succour from
+the Prussian force supporting him. The result was that the Duke of
+York's corps was thrust into the part which the Prussian contingent
+ought to have taken. Accordingly Pitt and some of his colleagues deemed
+it preferable, now that Holland was safe, to withdraw the British troops
+with a view to a series of expeditions against the coasts and colonies
+of France. This problem called for a clear and decided solution. Nowhere
+do we so much lament the secrecy of Cabinet discussions as on these
+questions--should the meagre forces of Britain be used on maritime
+expeditions (their normal function in war), or form a petty division in
+the crusade of two great Military Powers; or, worst of all, should they
+be parcelled out in both kinds of warfare?
+
+All that we know is that George III, on 29th March, strongly advocated
+the siege of Dunkirk, in the hope that the capture of that seaport would
+assist the Austrians in reducing the fortresses of French Flanders, and
+thus put an end to the war. On the other hand, the Duke of Richmond
+counselled the withdrawal of the British force for use against the
+coasts and colonies of France; and his two letters to Pitt, dated
+Goodwood, 3rd and 5th April, show that Pitt inclined to that opinion.
+The question was important in view of a forthcoming conference of the
+allied commanders and envoys at Antwerp. The letters are too long for
+quotation. In that of 3rd April the duke declares that Ministers must
+soon decide whether to persevere in Flanders or in maritime expeditions.
+"To attempt both is to do neither well." For himself, he would much
+prefer to attack Cherbourg, Brest, l'Orient, Rochefort, Nantes and
+Bordeaux; but he fears that the ardour of the Duke of York will lead him
+into an extensive campaign in Flanders.
+
+In the second and longer letter, Richmond warns Pitt that, if he prefers
+to attack the ports and colonies of France (especially the West Indies),
+he ought at once to warn the envoys of the Allies at Antwerp (who were
+about to discuss the plan of campaign), that we could not long afford
+succour to them, and trusted that after six weeks they could do without
+it, or, at least, would need it only to a very slight extent. If, he
+continues, Coburg and the Prussians demur to this, we must reply that
+England was at first no party to the war, and entered into it only for
+the defence of the Dutch; that participation in a continental campaign
+is so unpopular and ruinous, that we may be compelled to desist from it;
+that by means of naval expeditions we can help the common cause steadily
+and effectively; and that we are in no position to act on the Continent
+because "our army, cavalry and infantry, consists almost wholly of
+recruits, no part of which (men or horses) have been raised two months,
+and the greater part of which are at this moment only raising." Further,
+if we clearly warn the Allies of our resolve to withdraw our troops,
+they cannot complain of it. Pitt should therefore instruct Lord Auckland
+to give clear expression to these ideas. Coburg will then probably argue
+as to the extreme importance of clinching the successes already won, and
+will therefore urge the Duke of York to besiege Dunkirk, Graveline, and
+St. Omer, with a view to drawing him on finally towards Paris. But any
+such proceeding is to be resisted. The German Powers will dismember
+France; but we, having little military weight, shall probably gain next
+to nothing. Far more advantageous will be our action elsewhere, _e.g._,
+in the seizure of Cherbourg, Toulon, etc. Richmond ends by requesting of
+Pitt the favour of an interview.[221]
+
+Either the interview did not take place, or the duke's arguments failed
+to lower the sanguine spirits of the Prime Minister to the level of
+prudence. All the letters of Pitt at that time exude confidence from
+every line. He hopes that Dumouriez will succeed in overthrowing the
+regicides at Paris. The backwardness of the Prussians in supporting
+Coburg does not deter him from ordering to Flanders all the available
+British and mercenary troops, in order to besiege Dunkirk, and otherwise
+help the Imperialists. As if this is not enough, on or just before 1st
+April he treats with Malouet, the French envoy from Hayti, for the
+transfer of that colony to the British Crown; he writes hopefully of
+finding a force large enough to make an attempt on the French coast; and
+a little later Grenville mentions a Mediterranean campaign. The King,
+too, in referring to a recent offer of peace from Paris, writes that the
+bounds of "that dangerous and faithless nation" must be greatly
+circumscribed before such a proposal can be entertained.[222]
+
+Thus France is to be attacked in Flanders, on the north or north-west
+coast, on the Mediterranean coast and in Corsica, as well as the West
+Indies, by an army which musters scarcely 20,000 effectives. In this
+confidence, which wells forth into five distinct schemes, is to be found
+the cause for the Jacobin triumphs which shattered the First Coalition.
+
+Austria and Prussia were equally puffed up with unreal hopes. At the
+conference at Antwerp in the second week of April occurred the first of
+the many blunders which helped to rally Frenchmen around the tricolour.
+Coburg's promise, in a recent proclamation to Dumouriez and the French
+nation, that the Allies would not make conquests at the expense of
+France, was warmly disavowed at the first sitting. Accordingly, a few
+days later, Coburg issued a second proclamation, announcing the end of
+the armistice and omitting all reference to his disinterested views. The
+change of tone speedily convinced the French people of the imminence of
+schemes of partition. This it was, quite as much as Jacobin fanaticism,
+which banded Frenchmen enthusiastically in the defence of the Republic.
+Patriotism strengthened the enthusiasm for liberty, and nerved
+twenty-five million Frenchmen with a resolve to fling back the
+sacrilegious invaders.
+
+About this time the French Government sent pacific proposals to London,
+which met with no very encouraging reception, Pitt and Grenville
+probably regarding them as a means of sowing discord among the Allies,
+of worming out their plans, or of gaining time for the French
+preparations. It is indeed difficult to believe that they had any other
+object. After the defection of Dumouriez and his Staff, France was in a
+desperate state, and her rulers naturally sought to gain a brief
+respite. Grenville therefore replied that if France really desired to
+end the war which she had forced upon England, definite proposals might
+be sent to the British headquarters in the Netherlands.[223] None was
+sent.
+
+Meanwhile, the jealousies of the German Powers, the delay of Austria in
+coming to terms with England, and the refusal of Coburg to define his
+plan of campaign, paralysed the actions of the Allies and saved France.
+As for the British force, it was too weak to act independently; and yet
+the pride of George III forbade its fusion in Coburg's army.[224] By the
+third week of April the Duke of York had with him 4,200 British
+infantry, 2,300 horsemen, besides 13,000 Hanoverians (clamorous for more
+pay), and 15,000 Dutch troops of poor quality and doubtful fidelity;
+8,000 hired Hessians had not yet arrived.[225] Yet the King and his
+Ministers persisted in hoping for the conquest of French Flanders. The
+War Office despatch of 16th April specified as the chief aim of the war
+the re-conquest of the Low Countries by Austria, "with such extended and
+safe frontier as may secure the tranquillity and independence of
+Holland." But Pitt and his colleagues, far from concentrating on
+Flanders, continued to toy with expeditions to Brittany, Provence,
+Corsica, and the West Indies.
+
+At first they pressed Coburg to consent to the deviation of the British
+force towards Dunkirk; and only on his urgent protest was that
+ex-centric move given up until Valenciennes should have fallen. The
+Austrian contention was undoubtedly right, as the British Government
+grudgingly admitted. The Duke of York's force therefore moved along with
+that of Coburg towards that fortress and showed great gallantry in
+compelling the French to evacuate the supporting camp of Famars (23rd
+May). Early in June the siege of Valenciennes began in earnest. A
+British officer described the defence of the French as "obstinate but
+not spirited." They made no sorties, and Custine's army of 40,000 men,
+which should have sought to raise the siege, did not attack, probably
+owing to the unsteadiness and apathy of his troops.[226] This lack of
+energy cost him his life; for on 10th July he was ordered back to Paris
+and soon went to the guillotine.
+
+At that time the Jacobins were in a state of mind in which fury and
+despair struggled for the mastery. The outlook was as gloomy as before
+Valmy in September 1792. Bad news poured in from all sides. The
+Girondins, after the collapse of their power on 2nd June, appealed to
+the Departments, and two thirds of France seemed about to support them
+against the tyranny of the capital. Had not the Jacobins developed an
+organizing power immeasurably superior to that of the moderates, the
+royalists, and the Allies, the rule of that desperate minority must
+speedily have been swept away. On 12th July the Parisian Government
+declared itself at war with the moderates, who now had the upper hand at
+Lyons and in neighbouring districts. On that same day Condé (a small
+fortress north of Valenciennes) opened its gates. On 22nd July Mainz
+surrendered to the King of Prussia; and six days later the Austrian and
+British standards were hoisted on the ramparts of Valenciennes.
+
+This event raised to its climax the fury of the Jacobins; and on 9th
+August the Convention passed with acclamation a decree declaring Pitt to
+be an enemy of the human race. This singular manifestation of Gallic
+effervescence came about in the following way. The Committee of Public
+Safety having presented a report on the scarcity of corn and bread, the
+Convention was electrified by the doleful recital. In the ensuing debate
+stories are told of men disguised as women who practise insidious
+devices among the _queues_ at the bakers' shops. At once the Convention
+decrees that men acting thus while in disguise shall be deemed worthy of
+death. A deputy named Garnier then suggests that as this is clearly a
+device of the infamous Pitt to increase disorder, it shall be declared
+lawful to murder him. Couthon, for once speaking the language of
+moderation, objects to this proposal as unworthy of the Republic, and
+moves that Pitt be declared an enemy of the human race. This is at once
+approved as worthy of the humanity and dignity of the Convention. The
+decree, then, was obviously a device for shelving the stupid and
+bloodthirsty motion of Garnier. The whole discussion may be compared
+with Pitt's declaration to the House of Commons on 12th February 1793,
+that the war, though undoubtedly provoked by France, would never be
+waged by England for motives of vengeance, but merely for the attainment
+of security.
+
+Why at this time the name of Pitt should have driven the Parisian
+legislators half frantic is not easy to see. Up to that time the
+exploits of the small British force at Famars and Valenciennes had been
+no more than creditable; and it was not till the end of the month that
+the news of the entry of Admiral Hood's fleet into Toulon threw Paris
+into a frenzy. The decree of 9th August therefore has merely a
+psychological interest. When tyrants thundered at the gates of the
+Republic, France needed some names the mere sound of which sufficed to
+drive her sons to arms. In 1792 it was Brunswick or Condé. When they
+ceased to be effective, the populace found others first in Coburg and
+finally in Pitt. Other names waxed and waned; but that of the son of
+Chatham stood fixed in a dull haze of hatred. Thus, by a singular irony,
+the very man who in 1786 had branded with folly those Englishmen who
+declared France to be our natural enemy, was now by her banned as the
+enemy of the human race. And such he remains for the great majority of
+Frenchmen. The hasty and fortuitous phrase of Couthon, which was
+designed to save him from the assassin's knife, will doubtless be the
+permanent catchword, irremovable by research and explanation.
+
+The ravings of the French Convention would soon have ended, had not a
+great organizer now appeared. On 17th August 1793 Carnot entered the
+Committee of Public Safety, and thenceforth wielded its limitless powers
+for purposes of national defence. He was an officer of engineers, and
+had eagerly studied the principles of strategy. Throwing himself with
+ardour into the Revolution, he became a member of the National Assembly,
+and now was charged with the supervision of the War Department. At the
+War Committee he had the help of officers scarcely less able. Among them
+Mallet du Pan, in an interesting survey of French administrators, names
+D'Arçon as largely contributing to the French triumphs at Dunkirk and
+Maubeuge. He calls him a soul on fire and full of resource.[227] But the
+brain and will of this Committee was Carnot. His application to work for
+some twelve or fourteen hours a day, his hold on masses of details, and
+his burning patriotism, enabled him to inflame, control, and energize
+Frenchmen until they became a nation in arms. Moreover, Carnot had the
+invaluable gift of selecting the best commanders. True, the Frenchman
+was not hampered by a monarch who regarded the army as his own, nor by
+clogging claims of seniority. The "organizer of victory" had before him
+a clear field and no favour.
+
+The most urgent danger for the Republic soon proved to be not in
+Flanders, but in Brittany and la Vendée. There _la petite noblesse_ and
+the peasantry still lived on friendly terms. They were alike shocked by
+the expulsion of the orthodox priests and the murder of the King.
+Summoned by the Republic to arms in the spring of 1793, they rushed to
+arms against her. In la Vendée, the densely wooded district south of
+the lower Loire, everything favoured the defence. The hardy peasants
+were ably led by that born leader of men, the chivalrous Marquis de
+Larochejaquelein, who had inspired the men of his neighbourhood with the
+words: "If I advance, follow me; if I retreat, slay me; if I fall,
+avenge me." With him was his cousin, Lescure, not less brave, but of a
+cooler and more calculating temper. The ardently Catholic peasantry of
+the west furnished as leaders a carter, Cathelineau, of rare ability and
+generosity of character, and Stofflet, a gamekeeper, of stern and
+vindictive stamp. Nerved by fanatical hatred against the atheists and
+regicides of Paris, these levies of the west proved more than a match
+for all the National Guards, whole columns of whom they lured into the
+depths of the Bocage and cut down to the last man. As Victor Hugo has
+finely said: "It was a war of the town against the forest." At first the
+forest-dwellers threatened to overrun the towns. On 11th June they took
+Saumur, a town on the Loire, after a desperate fight, and sought to open
+communication with the coast and the British fleet by seizing Nantes.
+This attempt, however, failed; and it is generally admitted that they
+erred in not marching on Paris after their first successes. After
+gaining a sure base of operations, they should have strained every nerve
+in order to strike at the heart. And if distance and lack of supplies
+and equipment shortened their reach, they might at least have carried
+the war into the rich central provinces, on which the capital subsisted.
+
+But the mistake of these poor peasants was venial when compared with
+those of the Allies. On the capture of Mainz, Condé, and Valenciennes,
+the Prussian, Austrian, and British commanders did not enforce an
+unconditional surrender, but offered to allow the garrisons to march out
+with the honours of war on condition of not serving against them for a
+year. A better example of shirking present problems at the cost of
+enhanced difficulties in the future cannot be imagined. By this
+improvident lenity the Allies enabled the regicides to hurl fully 25,000
+trained troops against the royalists of the West and deal them terrible
+blows. In September and October the Republicans gained considerable
+successes, especially at Cholet. Soon the Vendéan War became little more
+than a guerilla strife, which Pitt fed by means of arms and stores, but
+not in the energetic manner desired by Burke and Windham.
+
+These ardent royalists constantly pressed him to help the men of Poitou
+and Brittany, but had to deplore the wearisome delays which then clogged
+all military and naval operations. Most bitterly did Burke write to
+Windham, early in November 1793, that Ministers were so eager in seeking
+to win indemnities from France that they had hardened the national
+resistance of that nation, and meanwhile had not sent a single shipload
+of stores to the brave men of Poitou. Of course it was less easy than
+Burke imagined to get stores across a sea not yet fully commanded by the
+British fleet, and through inlets and harbours closely watched by the
+enemy. But the inaction of a force entrusted to the Earl of Moira for
+the support of the French royalists is certainly discreditable to him
+and to Ministers. Among them the Duke of Richmond, Master of Ordnance,
+distinguished himself by his incapacity and his ridiculous orders.
+Another obvious misfit was Lord Chatham at the Admiralty. But how can we
+explain the inactivity of four regiments in the Channel Islands all the
+summer? Surely they could have seized St. Malo or the Quiberon
+Peninsula.[228] Such a diversion would have been highly effective. For
+the Bretons and Vendéans, when supplied with arms, could have marched
+eastwards and roused the royalists of Normandy, Maine, and Touraine.
+With so potent a foe near to Paris, must not the regicides have been
+overborne by Coburg in Flanders? Everything tends to show that the
+Republicans feared the royalists of the West more than the Austrians in
+the North. But, as will appear in a later chapter, Pitt and Dundas
+decided to throw their strength into the West Indies. On 26th November
+1793, Sir John Jervis sailed for that deadly bourne with 7,000 troops.
+
+Events were soon to reveal the seriousness of this mistake. It was far
+more important to strike at Paris through Brittany than to occupy even
+the richest of the French West Indies. For a triumphant advance of the
+Bretons and Vendéans must not only have lessened the material resources
+of the Republic but also have deprived its defenders of one of their
+chief advantages. Hitherto the Republicans had been better massed
+together, while their assailants were spread over wide spaces. It is a
+well-known principle in war that an army operating on an inner arc, or
+what are termed interior lines, has a great advantage over forces spread
+over the outer circumference. The Allies then held the Pyrenees, the
+Maritime Alps, the Rhine, and most of Flanders, Brittany, and parts of
+the South. The defenders, possessing the central provinces, could mass
+their units far more quickly and choose the point on that outer curve
+against which they would aim their blow.
+
+This principle was thoroughly understood by Carnot. Near the centre of
+the circle he massed the levies that were to save the Republic, and,
+confiding them to zealots who were resolved to conquer or die, he soon
+had on foot armies which, however contemptible as units, were formidable
+from their weight and their enthusiasm. As in mechanics the mass
+multiplied by the speed gives the effective force, so in the campaign of
+1793 the _levée en masse_ multiplied by enthusiasm and impelled by the
+brain power of Carnot begot a momentum which, when brought to bear on
+light, scattered, and almost stationary bodies, proved to be
+irresistible. For while Carnot trusted to concentration, the Allies
+either sank into inertia, or made ex-centric movements which ultimately
+played into their opponents' hands. The Prussians, after taking Mainz,
+did little more than rest on their laurels, their only move being
+towards Luxemburg. Coburg was inclined to follow their example on the
+ground that an advance to Paris would unite all the French parties
+against him, while the siege of the remaining fortresses in the North
+would allow anarchy to run riot at the centre.[229] The argument is a
+good example of political _finesse_ applied to a military problem, with
+disastrous results. Coburg therefore set about the siege of Quesnoy.
+
+Certainly he could urge in excuse that the British Government now
+insisted on the resumption of its favourite plan, the capture of that
+nest of privateers, Dunkirk. On receipt of the news of the surrender of
+Valenciennes, an order was sent to the Duke of York to begin the siege
+of that once important stronghold, and capture it for Great Britain,
+though it might be allowed finally to fall to the Emperor as one of his
+new Barrier fortresses, provided that we gained indemnities in other
+parts of the world. French and German historians, with their usual bias
+against Great Britain, have assumed that she had resolved to keep
+Dunkirk. The contrary is proved by the despatches of Dundas to Murray,
+and by a letter of Sir Gilbert Elliot whom Pitt appointed commissioner
+to regulate affairs at Dunkirk. Writing to Lady Elliot on 10th
+September Sir Gilbert says: "No further conquests are to be made in that
+quarter in the name of Great Britain, nor is it intended to retain
+Dunkirk after the peace."[230] A speedy capture of Dunkirk was evidently
+expected, for the same despatch ordered that the Hessian corps, some
+8,000 strong, then with the Duke, must be held in readiness to depart to
+some other destination.[231] This referred either to the expedition in
+the Mediterranean (soon to be noticed) or to another, also in course of
+preparation, against Brittany. The Duke of York disapproved of the
+divergence towards Dunkirk, and the withdrawal of troops from his
+command.[232]
+
+We here touch upon the weak side of Pitt's war policy. His aims at first
+had been merely to defend England from invasion, and to use the fleet
+and as many troops as could well be spared, to threaten various points
+along the coast of France and to capture her colonies. From these
+comparatively simple aims he had been drawn aside into a continental
+campaign, owing to the desirability of re-establishing Austria firmly in
+the Pays Bas. That is to say, a political aim drew him away from the
+simple and effective plan of a maritime and colonial war. Or rather it
+would be more correct to say that he tried to carry on a limited
+continental campaign as well as the coast expeditions which promised to
+paralyse the activities of large numbers of Frenchmen.
+
+Accordingly, Pitt and his colleagues, instead of concentrating their
+activities on Flanders, prepared also to harass the coasts and colonies
+of France, and to withdraw part of the Duke of York's force for service
+in the Mediterranean or the West Indies. Instructions to this effect
+annoyed both the duke and Coburg. Most reluctantly did the latter
+consent to the divergence of the British towards Dunkirk; but, as he had
+already decided to spend the rest of the campaign in reducing the border
+fortresses, the division of forces had none of those appalling results
+which Alison and others have detected. The duke's corps, then, turned
+off to the right, and, after gaining some successes over bodies of the
+French, set about the siege of Dunkirk. If his siege train had arrived
+in time, the town would probably soon have surrendered. But now Carnot
+was able to utilize some of the forces raised in the _levée en masse_.
+By the beginning of September the French relieving army amounted to
+45,000 men under General Houchard; while the Hessians and Hanoverians
+covering the siege operations did not exceed 9,000 men. These made a
+most obstinate and skilful defence in the village of Bambeke, and
+thereafter at Hondschoote; but the inequality of force was too great;
+and they were outflanked and driven back towards Furnes and Nieuport
+with the loss of 2,600 men (6th to 8th September). The garrison also
+attacked the besiegers and received much assistance from French gunboats
+moored near the shore. It was an unfortunate circumstance that a storm
+on 1st September had compelled a British frigate and a sloop to leave
+their moorings. Even so, the duke's force beat back their assailants
+into the town. But the defeat of the covering army at Hondschoote placed
+it between the French, the walls of Dunkirk, and the sea. Only by a
+speedy retreat could he save his men; and at midnight he drew off,
+leaving behind 32 siege guns and large quantities of stores.[233]
+
+At once there arose an outcry against our naval and transport
+authorities for not sending a squadron to cover the right flank of the
+Duke of York opposite Dunkirk. Elliot reports that the duke violently
+censured Richmond, head of the Ordnance Department, and Chatham, First
+Lord of the Admiralty, the latter of whom was universally allowed to be
+incompetent. Elliot adds: "I have seen Dundas and Pitt since the bad
+news. Dundas seems much dismayed. Pitt tried to carry it off
+better."[234] Certainly the delay in sending ships and stores was
+discreditable to all concerned. But the decisive action was that of
+Hondschoote, six miles distant from the coast, and that reverse was due
+to the inability of Coburg to spare the reinforcements which Murray
+pressed him to send. On its side the French Government was ill satisfied
+with the success at Hondschoote. Censuring Houchard for not pressing his
+advantage to the utmost and capturing the duke's whole army, it replaced
+him by his young and energetic subaltern, an ex-draper named Jourdan,
+who was destined to become one of Napoleon's marshals, while Houchard
+speedily went to the guillotine. By these drastic methods France found
+leaders who could conquer. For them the inspiring thought was--victory
+or the guillotine.
+
+The news of the failure at Dunkirk shattered Pitt's hope of a speedy end
+to the war. That he faced the prospect of a second campaign with his
+usual buoyancy appears from some notes which bear the date 16th
+September [1793] and are headed: "Force to be employed in Flanders, or
+on the coast of France in the Channel and the Ocean." He proposes to
+increase 9 regiments at home to 800 men apiece, to raise 8 new
+regiments; and these, along with Guards and troops from Ireland would
+number at least 20,000. He also hoped that at least 20,000 more
+Austrians and about 25,000 Bavarians would be available for Flanders,
+raising the total force in that quarter to 175,000 men.[235] These
+roseate views are apt to provoke derision; but we must remember that not
+until the close of the year 1793 did the Republic put forth her full
+strength and beat back her enemies at all points.
+
+It would be tedious to follow in detail the rest of Coburg's operations
+in Flanders. Early in September he took Quesnoy, and then drew together
+his forces for the capture of the intrenched camp at Maubeuge. In this
+he seemed about to succeed, when Jourdan's relieving force of 60,000
+men, handled by Carnot, drove the Austrians back at Wattignies with much
+loss, and thus saved the garrison at Maubeuge, now in dire straits. On
+that day, 16th October, the head of Marie Antoinette fell at Paris.
+
+As for the Duke of York's army, after remaining in a sorry plight near
+Ostend, it moved forward to Quesnoy to prolong Coburg's right; but the
+retreat of the main body involved his retirement towards Ostend, near
+which town he routed some detachments of French. For a time the Allies
+gained a few advantages and recovered lost ground. But the Republicans
+more than made up for occasional losses by pouring troops into Flanders;
+and, moving under cover of their fortresses, they often dealt heavy
+blows. In quality the Austrians and British far surpassed the raw levies
+of France; but these, having the advantage in number and position, could
+take the offensive along a wide ill-defended front. Wherever Coburg and
+the Duke of York attacked, they gained an advantage, soon to be lost in
+face of the gathering masses of the enemy. As Coburg pointed out, France
+sent forth another horde to take the place of one which perished or
+melted away; and the Allies rarely had the chance of taking the
+offensive. By this last statement he passed sentence against himself. An
+able commander, even with inferior forces, will mass them so as to
+strike with effect. Pitt and Grenville continually pressed him to form
+some plan of action in conjunction with the Duke of York; but to this he
+as persistently demurred.[236] Is it surprising that Pitt demanded the
+removal of Coburg?
+
+The Rhenish campaign, in which Austria took more interest, also
+languished owing to the sluggishness of the Duke of Brunswick. This, in
+its turn, resulted from political reasons. Frederick William, in spite
+of his treaty obligations to England, refused to move forward until she
+guaranteed his late gains in Poland and made further advances of money.
+Then, too, he felt no interest in Austria's proposed acquisition of
+parts of Alsace and Lorraine. Pitt and Grenville despatched Lord
+Yarmouth to the King's headquarters to make a formal protest against the
+proposed withdrawal of the Prussian army. Finally, Frederick William
+gave the order to advance, but too late to gain the results which prompt
+and vigorous co-operation with the Austrians should have achieved.[237]
+In short, the course of events in 1793 affords the classic example of
+the collapse of vast and imposing efforts owing to division of interests
+and the intrusion of jealousies and intrigues. Pitt and Grenville did
+their best to keep the Coalition united and active; but a Power which
+granted only limited help could not impart that unity of design without
+which great enterprises come to naught.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[196] "Dropmore P.," ii, 377.
+
+[197] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 565.
+
+[198] "Dropmore P.," ii, 378; Prior, "Burke," 368.
+
+[199] "Life of Wilberforce," ii, 11. Note the statement of George Rose
+to Auckland (8th February, 1793): "Our revenue goes on gloriously. The
+year ending 5th January shows £300,000 more than the year preceding....
+We may suffer in some respects; but we must crush the miscreants"(B.M.
+Add. MSS., 34448).
+
+[200] "F. O.," Austria, 32 (Stratton to Grenville, 22nd December, 1792).
+Cobenzl, Austrian Chancellor, assured Stratton that Francis II would
+require from France "l'établissement d'une constitution quelconque
+fondée sur les bases les plus essentiels du gouvernement monarchique."
+
+In view of these considerations I cannot endorse Lecky's censure (vi,
+134) on Pitt's "blindness" as to the character of the war.
+
+[201] Sir James Murray, our envoy at Frankfurt, was assured on 1st
+February that 138,419 Austrians were ready for the campaign.
+
+[202] B.M. Add. MSS., 34448.
+
+[203] See Martens, v, 530-5, for the Russo-Prussian treaty of 13th July
+1793.
+
+[204] Murray to Grenville, 19th January 1793; see "Pitt and Napoleon
+Miscellanies," which also contain the new letters of Burke referred to
+above.
+
+[205] Vivenot, ii, 498-506.
+
+[206] Martens, v, 438-42.
+
+[207] Hon. J. W. Fortescue, "Hist. of the British Army," iv, 77-83.
+
+[208] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[209] Chevening MSS.
+
+[210] Murray reported to Grenville on 10th and 18th February that the
+Allies at Frankfurt were disturbed by news of the negotiation with
+Dumouriez. See too, Vivenot, ii, 489.
+
+[211] "Dropmore P.," ii, 377-81; "Dumouriez," by J. H. Rose and A. M.
+Broadley, 162-75.
+
+[212] "F. O.," Austria, 32, Morton Eden to Grenville, 30th March.
+
+[213] "War Office" 6, (7); 23rd February, to Duke of York; B.M. Add. MSS
+34448, Grenville to Auckland, 23rd February; Calvert, "Campaigns in
+Flanders and Holland," chs. i, ii.
+
+[214] This letter (for which see "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies")
+corrects Mr. Fortescue's statement (iv, 125) that Ministers alone were
+responsible for the Dunkirk scheme. George III was morally responsible
+for it.
+
+[215] "Dropmore P.," ii, 387.
+
+[216] "F. O.," Austria, 33, Eden to Grenville, 27th and 28th March, 10th
+April; Vivenot, ii, 541; Häusser, i, 483.
+
+[217] _Ibid._, Eden to Grenville, 15th April. This probably refers to
+Alsace; but it may possibly hint at a partition of Venice which had been
+mooted at Vienna before. A slice of Piedmont was also desired (Eden to
+Grenville, 8th June).
+
+[218] _Ibid._, Eden to Grenville, 30th March.
+
+[219] The West India expedition was again and again deferred in favour
+of that to la Vendée or Toulon (Vivenot, iii, 383).
+
+[220] Sybel, iii, 38-40; Häusser, i, 488, 489.
+
+[221] Pretyman MSS. I have published the letter of 5th April 1793 almost
+in full in the "Eng. Hist. Rev." for April 1910.
+
+[222] "Dropmore P.," ii, 388-93, 399.
+
+[223] "F. O.," France, 42. I cannot agree with Sorel (iii, 405) in
+taking the French overtures seriously.
+
+[224] "W. O.," 6 (10), Dundas to Murray (now secretary to the Duke of
+York).
+
+[225] Calvert, 80.
+
+[226] Calvert, ch. iii; Fortescue, iv, 111.
+
+[227] "Dropmore P.," iii, 493.
+
+[228] "Dropmore P.," ii, 436.
+
+[229] Sybel, iii, 136, 137.
+
+[230] "Mems. of Sir G. Elliot (Earl of Minto)," ii, 159.
+
+[231] "W. O.," 6 (10), 1st August, to Sir J. Murray, which corrects the
+statement in Sybel (iii, 140), that England meant to keep Dunkirk.
+
+[232] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 18.
+
+[233] Calvert, 119-21.
+
+[234] "Mems. of Sir G. Elliot," ii, 160.
+
+[235] Pitt MSS., 196.
+
+[236] Vivenot, iii, 352, 353.
+
+[237] _Ibid._, 320, 321, 339, 379, 380; "Dropmore P.," ii, 470, 536. In
+the last passage Yarmouth accuses the King of Prussia of deliberately
+thwarting the action of the Austrian army under Wurmser.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER VI
+
+ TOULON
+
+ Delay leads impotent and snail-paced beggary:
+ Then fiery expedition be my wing,
+ Jove's Mercury, and herald for a King.
+ --SHAKESPEARE, _King Richard III_, act iv, sc. 3.
+
+
+The enterprise destined to develop into the occupation of Toulon arose
+out of the negotiations for alliance with Austria, Sardinia, and Naples.
+By the first of these England pledged herself to send a considerable
+fleet into the Mediterranean, as an effective help to the military
+operations then going on in the Maritime Alps and the Genoese Riviera.
+Indeed, the Court of Vienna made this almost a _sine quâ non_ of its
+alliance. On its side the British Government gained assurances of
+military aid from Sardinia and Naples, the former of those States
+agreeing to furnish 20,000 troops in return for the annual subsidy of
+£200,000.
+
+Here, then, were the foundations of a Mediterranean policy on which Pitt
+and his colleagues began to build in the years 1793-4, with the singular
+and unforeseen results at Toulon and in Corsica. Everything favoured
+some such design. The French marine was enfeebled by mutiny, and, as the
+spring of 1793 merged into summer, there came ominous signs of revolt in
+the South against the Jacobin faction supreme at Paris. Accordingly
+Grenville urged the Hapsburg Court, in return for British help in
+Flanders, to assist an expedition of the Allies to the coast of
+Provence. The conduct of the Austrian Chancellor, Thugut, was
+characteristic. Far from strengthening the Imperial forces in Italy, he
+prepared to withdraw some of them for the Rhenish campaign, now that a
+British fleet spread its covering wings over the Kingdom of
+Sardinia.[238]
+
+Nevertheless the British Ministers persevered with their scheme; but
+whether they at first aimed at Corsica or Toulon is uncertain.[239]
+Certain it is that Pitt on 19th July proposed to detach three line
+regiments from the Duke of York's force in Flanders and send them to the
+Mediterranean along with one brigade of the Hessian corps and a body of
+Würtembergers. He pointed out that the naval superiority of Hood and the
+Spanish fleet in that sea would enable us to strike a telling blow at
+Provence if we were helped by Sardinians, Neapolitans, and Austrians
+from the Milanese. He admitted the strength of the arguments in favour
+of our land forces acting together on one point; but he added: "What I
+now mention seems to offer a fair chance of doing something material in
+the South [of France], and, if we distress the enemy on more sides than
+one, while their internal distraction continues, it seems hardly
+possible that they can long oppose any effectual resistance."[240]
+
+Pitt wrote thus at the time when Mainz and Valenciennes were on the
+point of surrender, and the Bretons, together with nearly the whole of
+the South of France, were in open revolt against the regicide Republic.
+Equally characteristic of his sanguine temperament is his Memorandum of
+23rd August 1793 as to the allied forces which ought to be available for
+service against France in June 1794, namely, 30,000 in Flanders, while
+50,000 marched thence on Paris; 50,000 to attack Brest, and as many more
+to attack Toulon.[241]
+
+It so chanced that on that very day the ardour of the Provençaux brought
+about a very different situation. The arrival of Hood's fleet encouraged
+the moderates to send two Commissioners, representing the two coast
+Departments, to seek help from the British fleet. Thereupon on his
+flagship, the "Victory," Hood drew up a public Declaration that, if the
+ships-of-war in Toulon and Marseilles were unrigged and the French Royal
+standard hoisted, he would take those cities under his protection,
+respect private property and, on the conclusion of peace, restore the
+warships to the French monarchy. He then sent to a Spanish squadron,
+under Langara, cruising off the coast of Roussillon, with a request for
+help. That officer soon had the promise of 2,000 Spanish troops, to be
+detached from the army invading that province. The Jacobin forces under
+Carteaux having crushed the moderates in Marseilles, Hood made for
+Toulon, though as yet the Spanish ships were not in sight. He cast
+anchor in the outer roadstead on 27th August, and landed 1,500 men near
+Fort Lamalgue, east of the town. In the afternoon fifteen Spanish ships
+arrived, and on the next day landed 1,000 men. On the 28th Hood also
+issued a proclamation to the effect that he would hold Toulon in trust
+only for Louis XVII until peace should be restored to France.[242] To
+this the Toulonese assented; the opposition of some of their sailors and
+troops soon collapsed; and a detachment of Carteaux' force was easily
+dislodged from a strong position near Ollioules, north-west of the town
+(31st August). Toulon therefore seemed a sure gain for the royalist
+cause.
+
+Yet Pitt and his colleagues were careful not to identify themselves with
+that cause. Hood, having implied in his Toulon proclamation that one of
+the objects of Great Britain was the restoration of the French monarchy,
+Ministers warned him that "the true ground of the war was to repel an
+unjust and unprovoked aggression against His Majesty, and his Allies,
+and the rest of Europe, which had been evidently threatened and
+endangered by the conduct of France." True, in the course of the
+struggle England had supported the French Royalists, and might find it
+prudent, especially in view of the events at Toulon, to assist in
+restoring monarchy. "But," adds Lord Chatham, "it is to be considered as
+arising out of the circumstances and founded on the considerations which
+I have stated, and not as making part of the object for which His
+Majesty originally took up arms."[243] This gentle rebuke to Hood (an
+impetuous and opinionated officer), clearly shows the attitude of the
+Cabinet towards that problem. For Great Britain the re-establishment of
+monarchy was not an affair of principle, but solely of expediency. It is
+also noteworthy that the inhabitants of Toulon retained the tricolour
+flag, thus signifying their adhesion to constitutional royalism as
+established in 1791.
+
+The fortunes of the Republic now appeared desperate; and the Allies
+would certainly have triumphed had they put forth a tithe of the energy
+developed by the Jacobins at Paris. With ordinarily good management on
+the part of Austria, Sardinia, and Naples, Toulon might have become the
+centre of a great royalist movement in the South. That was certainly the
+expectation of Pitt; and Langara, the Spanish admiral at Toulon,
+expressed to his Government the hope that the war would soon end with
+honour.[244]
+
+No one at first realized the difficulties of the enterprise. The
+ramparts of Toulon were extensive; and the outlying forts, from Lamalgue
+on the east to Mount Faron on the north, and the works on the west and
+south-west, spread over a circumference of fully fifteen miles. Then
+again the French royalist committee in Toulon was somewhat suspicious of
+the Allies. In truth a blight seemed to settle on the royalist cause
+when it handed over to foreigners one of the cherished citadels of
+France. Loyalty to Louis XVII now spelt treason to the nation. The
+crisis is interesting because it set sharply against one another the
+principles of monarchy and nationality; and the sequel proved that the
+national idea, though still far from mature even in France, had more
+potency than royalism. A keen-sighted observer had very forcibly warned
+the Marseillais against delivering their city into the hands of the
+Spaniards, a crime which must ruin their efforts. Such was the judgement
+of Bonaparte in that curious pamphlet "Le Souper de Beaucaire."
+
+Other invisible agencies, those of time and space, told against the
+Allies. Despatches sent by Hood were at least eleven days in reaching
+their destination, and often far longer. Consequently, the plans framed
+at home were always belated. The first tidings (received on 7th
+September) found the Cabinet half committed to another enterprise, that
+in the West Indies, which Pitt very reluctantly postponed owing to the
+drain of troops to Flanders and Toulon. A further disadvantage was that
+disputes between the British and Spanish commanders at Toulon were known
+at Whitehall long after they had come to a head; and the final reports
+of the sore straits of the garrison led to the despatch to Cork of
+orders for the sailing of reinforcements five days after the evacuation
+began at Toulon.
+
+In these brisk and giddy-paced times it is difficult to realize the
+difficulties which then beset British commanders warring in the
+Mediterranean against an enemy who could send news to Paris in three
+days. Now the telegraph has annihilated space; but then, as in the
+campaigns of Francis I against Charles V, the compactness of France and
+her central position told enormously in her favour. The defence of
+Toulon was practicable, provided that adequate reinforcements arrived in
+time. As will soon appear, Pitt urged the despatch of strong
+reinforcements from Ireland; and, but for delays due to the want of
+transports, things might have gone very differently at Toulon. He also
+expected Austria to send succours if only as a means of protecting her
+Italian possessions. In truth, if the Hapsburgs had discerned the signs
+of the times, they would have taken steps to defend the Milanese at
+Toulon. They were destined to rue their folly.
+
+Further, on 14th September, despite bad news from Dunkirk, Dundas issued
+orders that 4,000 Hessians, serving under the Duke of York, must be
+withdrawn in order to strengthen the garrison at Toulon, their place
+being taken by others hired at Cassel. On 28th September Dundas added
+that the artillery sent for Dunkirk would be withdrawn from Flanders as
+it was urgently needed at Toulon. Thus these two expeditions competed
+together, and produced a dislocation of plans and ordering of troops to
+and fro, which told against success in either quarter. By 27th October
+Ministers definitely decided that Toulon, or la Vendée, was a better
+fulcrum for their scanty forces than Flanders.[245] Even so, with all
+these dislocations of the Flemish plans, Pitt and Dundas relied too much
+upon Austria; and all too late found out that she was a broken reed. The
+Sardinians, also, lacking due support from the Court of Vienna, were
+afraid to denude their borders and therefore sent an inadequate
+contingent, despite the fact that they had promised to place 20,000
+troops at the disposal of England free from all expense.
+
+Far different was the procedure of the French. Carnot determined to
+retake Lyons and Toulon, even if the efforts against Spain and Sardinia
+had to be relaxed. Further, on the 16th of September there arrived at
+the Republican army west of Toulon the incarnation of warlike energy and
+skill. At the bidding of the Commissioners of the Convention, Napoleon
+Bonaparte had come from the arsenal at Marseilles to assist the few
+artillerymen then before Toulon. On the 17th he was placed in command
+of their insignificant siege artillery, and forthwith from the slopes
+two miles west of the town he opened fire on the nearest ships. It is
+incorrect to claim for him the origination of the plan of sinking the
+fleet by a fire from the height behind l'Eguilette; for three days
+earlier the Commissioners of the Convention had written that they would
+secure a position whence the allied fleet could be sunk by red-hot
+cannon-balls; and there was no point but the high ground behind Fort
+l'Eguilette which dominated both the inner and the outer harbours.[246]
+But it may freely be granted that Bonaparte clinched the arguments in
+favour of this course and brought to bear on it that masterful energy
+which assures triumph. It was the first occasion on which he crossed the
+path of Pitt; and here, as always, he had the advantage of a central
+position, and of wielding a compact and homogeneous force against
+discordant Allies.
+
+The worst difficulty confronting the defenders of Toulon remains to be
+noted. There the Sea Power is at the mercy of the Land Power. To attempt
+to defend that city at the head of its land-locked harbour, dominated by
+promontories, was to court disaster unless the fleet had an army to
+protect it. In such a case a fleet is a source of danger rather than of
+safety. Its true function is to act where it can, either directly or
+indirectly, command the land. It operates with most effect against low
+and exposed coasts. St. Jean d'Acre affords, perhaps, the best example
+of a town at the mercy of a fleet. Portsmouth, Sydney, Brest, and Toulon
+cannot be held by an enemy unless he brings forces sufficient to hold
+the neighbouring heights. In occupying Toulon, the Sea Power was
+virtually putting its head into the lion's jaw. Only by degrees did the
+authorities at home understand this all-important fact. For some time it
+was veiled from Pitt; and, as we shall see, the Austrian Chancellor,
+Thugut, never did understand it. To those who were on the spot, the need
+of occupying the promontory behind l'Eguilette was apparent; and on 21st
+September Lord Mulgrave and Rear-Admiral Gravina led a force to seize
+the very height on which Bonaparte's will had already fastened. The
+Allies crowned it with a temporary work dignified by the name of Fort
+Mulgrave. The fortunes of Toulon turned on the possession of all the
+heights commanding the harbour, but especially of this one.
+
+ [Illustration: THE SIEGE OF TOULON, 1793, from "L'Histoire de
+ France depuis la Révolution de 1789," by Emmanuel Toulougeon,
+ Paris, An. XII. [1803]. A. Fort Mulgrave. A'. Promontory of
+ L'Eguillette. 1 and 2. Batteries. 3. Battery "Hommes sans Peur."
+ The black and shaded rectangles are the Republican and Allied
+ positions respectively.]
+
+Even before the arrival of Bonaparte the difficulties of defence were
+very great. A British naval officer wrote on the 14th to Lord St.
+Helens, British ambassador at Madrid, that the situation of the little
+garrison was very critical owing to daily attacks from the 5,000 French
+at Ollioules and the same number on the eastern side. The Allies, he
+added, could not wholly trust the French royalists serving with them,
+and they were glad to send away on four French sail-of-the-line some
+6,000 French sailors who had bargained to be landed on the Biscay coast.
+Having only 1,570 British and 3,460 Spaniards, they could scarcely man
+the ramparts and forts, several of which, especially those on Mount
+Faron, were not nearly ready. The houses of the town were far too near
+to the ramparts; but the Allies dared not demolish them until
+reinforcements arrived. Fortunately the Spanish Admiral, Gravina, was
+alert, intelligent, and trustworthy; and Piedmontese were known to be
+advancing over the Maritime Alps into the county of Nice. Part of Hood's
+fleet was engaged in intercepting the supplies and stores destined for
+the Republicans.[247]
+
+The letter brings out vividly the perils of the garrison, which must
+have evacuated Toulon had not reinforcements speedily arrived. On 26th
+September Hood wrote that the Allies were kept in perpetual alarm by the
+French batteries, which must be kept under at all risks, until more
+troops arrived.[248] Fortunately the foresight of Pitt and Grenville had
+provided the means of backing up operations in the Mediterranean. Apart
+from the treaty with Sardinia, there was a compact with Naples, whereby
+that Court promised a force of 6,000 men and 12 warships, the naval
+expenses being borne by England.[249] By 5th October 1,350 Sardinian
+and 4,000 Neapolitan troops arrived, thus enabling the garrison to hold
+up against the ever increasing forces of the Republicans. On the other
+hand, the fall of Lyons on 9th October set free large numbers who were
+available for service at Toulon. Consequently the troops and seamen of
+the Allies were persistently overworked, so that Hood was constrained to
+hire 1,500 Maltese seamen, to take the place of those serving the
+batteries. At first only 750 British troops could be spared from
+Gibraltar; but by the end of October, when further help was at hand, the
+allied forces (rank and file) stood as follows:
+
+ British 2,114
+ French Royalists 1,542
+ Spaniards 6,840
+ Neapolitans 4,832
+ Sardinians 1,584
+ ------
+ 16,912
+ ------
+
+So exacting was the service, and so unhealthy the season (it cost
+Bonaparte a sharp attack of malarial fever), that the number fit for
+duty did not exceed 12,000.
+
+It is interesting to compare these figures with the estimate of Pitt
+which is in the Pitt MSS. (No. 196).
+
+ _September 16._
+
+ Force which it is supposed may be collected at Toulon by the end
+ of October or early in November:
+
+ Rank and File.
+
+ British Marines 1,500
+ " flank companies from Gibraltar 600
+ " " " " Ireland 2,000[250]
+ " Two battalions from Flanders (to be replaced by
+ detachments from the Guards) 1,200
+ " Cavalry from Ireland 900
+ Hessians from Flanders (to be replaced by the additional
+ corps ordered) 5,000
+ Spanish (suppose) 3,000
+ Neapolitan 6,000
+ Sardinian 9,000
+ Austrian 5,000
+ ------
+ Total 33,200
+ [_sic_--really 34,200.]
+
+ This Force may be estimated (allowing for some deduction) at
+ 30,000 men. To this may possibly be added some Force from
+ Corsica, and probably early in the spring, an additional body of
+ 11,000 Sardinians, perhaps also of 10,000 Austrians, and some
+ troops of Baden from hence. Possibly also a body of Swiss, and
+ in the course of the next summer (if the expedition to the West
+ Indies is successful) about 4,000 or 5,000 British on their
+ return from the Islands. If 10,000, or 12,000, Swiss can be
+ secured, it seems not unreasonable to expect that, by the
+ beginning of next year, there may be an army in the South of
+ France of near 60,000 men.
+
+Pitt, then, regarded Toulon as the base of operations in the South of
+France so extensive as to deal a decisive blow at the Republic. The
+scheme was surely due to the influence of Bacchus rather than of Mars.
+For how was it possible to spare 6,200 men from the Duke of York's
+force, then hard pressed after its retreat from Dunkirk? The estimate of
+the Sardinian contingent was based on the treaty obligations of that
+Power rather than on probable performance; while that for the Spaniards
+is strangely beneath the mark. How boyishly hopeful also to suppose that
+the British forces destined for the future conquest of Corsica could
+spare a contingent for service in Provence in the spring of 1794, and
+that the nervous little Court of Turin would send an _additional_ body
+of 11,000 men far into France. Thus early in Pitt's strategic
+combinations we can detect the vitiating flaw. He did not know men, and
+therefore he did not know Cabinets. He believed them to be acting
+according to his own high standard of public duty and magnanimous
+endeavour. Consequently he never allowed for the calculating meanness
+which shifted the burdens on to other shoulders.
+
+The one factor on which he had a right to count was the despatch of a
+respectable force of Austrians from the Milanese by way of Genoa. The
+Austrian Governor of Milan promised to send 5,000 men; but not a man
+ever stirred.[251] Hood did not hear this disappointing news till 24th
+November.[252] He at once sent off to London an urgent request for
+succour; and orders were given _on 23rd December_ (the day after the
+arrival of the news) for three regiments to sail from Cork for his
+relief. Thus it came about that 12,000 Allies were left unsupported at
+Toulon to bear the brunt of attacks of some 40,000 Frenchmen now
+directed by a genius. O'Hara, who took over the command on his arrival
+on 27th October, at once gave a verdict consonant with his pessimistic
+character. Hood wrote on the morrow to Dundas: "General O'Hara has just
+been with me and alarmed me much. He says our posts are not tenable and
+that we are in a dangerous situation for lack of troops that can be
+relied upon. And, what is very unpleasant, is the conduct of the
+Spaniards, who are striving for power here." On 11th November O'Hara
+reported that, in the absence of engineer officers, the forts had been
+injudiciously constructed; that their garrisons began to suffer from
+exposure to the bleak weather; that the broken and wooded country
+greatly favoured the advance of the enemy, and hampered all efforts to
+dislodge him; that the Spaniards and Sardinians had no artillery, tools,
+or camp equipments; and that the only means of securing Toulon was to
+have an army capable of taking the field.[253] Hood and he therefore
+counted the hours for the arrival of 5,000 Austrians from Genoa, and of
+troops from England.
+
+The difficulties of the Allies were enhanced by the disputes which soon
+arose between the British and Spaniards as to the command of the
+garrison. The tactful Gravina having been badly wounded in driving the
+French from Mount Faron, Langara put in a claim that his successor
+should be commander-in-chief of the allied forces (23rd October). To
+this Hood stoutly demurred, on the ground that he received Toulon in
+trust before the Spaniards appeared; and, though it was true that the
+Spanish troops outnumbered the British, yet the command of the
+Neapolitan and Sardinian contingents belonged of right to the
+subsidizing Power. He therefore claimed the supreme command for General
+O'Hara. This matter caused much annoyance at Madrid, where that rankling
+sore, Nootka Sound, was still kept open by the all-powerful Minister,
+Alcudia. Hood's testiness increased the friction at Toulon. The
+Spaniards were justified in claiming equality at that fortress; for only
+by their arrival did the position become tenable; and the joint
+proclamations of Hood and Langara formed a tacit admission of that
+equality. But Pitt early resolved to take a firm stand on this subject.
+On 17th October, in discussing the instructions for Sir Gilbert Elliot,
+the British Commissioner designated for Toulon, he declared that we must
+appoint him governor of that town in consequence of its surrender to
+us.[254]
+
+Pitt kept up this stiff attitude, and on 30th November stated to St.
+Helens that, as Toulon surrendered to Hood alone (Langara having
+declined to share in the original enterprise) England must appoint the
+commander-in-chief, especially as she could not transfer to a Spaniard
+the command of her subsidized Allies. The despatch concluded thus: "His
+Majesty has in no case any view upon that place different from that
+which has been avowed in his name--that at the conclusion of peace that
+port should be restored to the crown of France and that in the interval
+it should serve in His Majesty's hands as a means of carrying on the war
+and as a pledge of indemnity to him and his Allies, including the Crown
+of Spain, whose claim to indemnity His Majesty has so distinctly
+avowed."[255]
+
+These words were added because the French Royalists and the Spaniards
+asserted that England's high-handed conduct at Toulon arose from her
+resolve to make of it a second Gibraltar. The insinuation struck home
+then, and has been widely repeated.[256] But, on the first receipt of
+the news of the gain of Toulon, Grenville declared explicitly to the
+Austrian Court "that whatever indemnification is to be acquired by this
+country must be looked for in the foreign settlements and colonies of
+France."[257] As we shall see in later chapters, Corsica and the French
+West Indies were the acquisitions aimed at by the Pitt Ministry.
+
+Some colour was given to this charge by the refusal of the British
+Government to allow the Comte de Provence, the _soi-disant_ Regent of
+France, to proceed to Toulon. Grenville even instructed Francis Drake,
+our envoy at Genoa, to prevent him embarking at that port. At first
+sight this conduct seems indefensible, especially as the Court of Madrid
+favoured the Prince's scheme. It must be remembered, however, that the
+British Government had consistently refused to acknowledge the Prince as
+Regent, and was now exceedingly annoyed with him for announcing his
+resolve to go to Toulon, without first applying for permission to
+George III.[258] This violation of etiquette prejudiced his case from
+the outset. Further, the Royalists of Toulon had declared for
+Louis XVII, and a majority of them throughout France opposed the claim
+of "Monsieur" to the Regency. The constitution of 1791 gave him no such
+right on his own initiative; and, as Toulon stood for that constitution,
+not for the "pure" royalism which he now championed, his arrival would
+place the garrison "at the discretion of wild and hot-headed emigrants
+and expose them to the reproaches and discontents of the Regent's
+Court."[259] Besides, what could the Regent of France do in Toulon, a
+town closely besieged and in danger of being taken? His dignity and
+influence would be far better maintained by remaining at large than by
+proceeding thither.[260]
+
+Finally, the two princes had given no assurance or promise that they
+would recognize the claims of the Allies to indemnities from France for
+the expenses of the war.[261] On this last matter the _émigrés_ were
+beginning to raise shrill protests at London; and it was certainly wise
+to come to some understanding with the princes on this point before
+they were put in possession of Provence. Pitt and Grenville were not
+made of the same stuff as the Ministers in power in 1815, who demanded
+no return for the sacrifices of blood and treasure in the Waterloo
+campaign. None the less, it is certain that Pitt and his cousin had no
+thought of keeping either Dunkirk or Toulon, save as a pledge for the
+acquisition of some of the French West Indies and Corsica.[262] This was
+hinted at plainly in the British Declaration issued at Toulon on 20th
+November:
+
+ That altho' at the conclusion of peace, we shall think ourselves
+ entitled to stipulate such terms as may afford just security to
+ ourselves and our Allies, and a reasonable indemnification for
+ the risks and expenses of a war in which, without any
+ provocation on our part, we have been compelled to engage, yet
+ that, for our part our views of indemnification can only have
+ relation to places not on the Continent of Europe.
+
+After this explicit statement, there ought to have been no bickerings
+about British aggrandisement at Toulon. Some of the hot-heads in that
+town (echoed by Fox later on at Westminster) chose to consider the
+Declaration as an infraction of Hood's promise that he would hold Toulon
+merely in trust for Louis XVII. The difference, however was not vital.
+Pitt and Grenville intended to hold Toulon merely as a pledge that the
+British claims to an indemnity elsewhere would be satisfied. Spain had
+most cause for annoyance with the Declaration, inasmuch as she, though
+having a superior number of troops in that town, was neither allowed to
+consider it as a pledge for her future indemnities, nor to share in its
+government. It was confided to three Commissioners--Sir Gilbert Elliot,
+Hood, and O'Hara, Elliot being virtually Governor.
+
+In one other matter the Courts of St. James and of Madrid were at
+variance. The latter urged the need of speedily removing the French
+warships from Toulon to a Spanish port, or of making preparations for
+burning them. Whereas Pitt, who regarded Toulon, not as a windfall, but
+as a base of operations for a campaign in Provence, maintained that such
+conduct must blight their prospects. With phenomenal stupidity, Langara
+allowed his secret instructions on this topic to leak out, thereby
+rousing the rage of the Toulonese and the contempt of his British
+colleagues. The Duke of Alcudia (better known as Godoy) expressed
+sincere regret for this _bêtise_. But the mischief was done. The French
+royalists thenceforth figured as traitors who had let in a band of
+thieves intent only on the seizure of the French warships.
+
+As if this were not enough, Hood quarrelled with our military officers,
+with results highly exasperating to our land forces.[263] These last did
+not shine during the siege. True, in the sortie of 29th November they
+captured a battery recently erected north of Malbosquet; but, their
+eagerness exceeding their discipline, they rushed on, despite orders to
+remain in the battery, like a pack of hounds after a fox (wrote
+Hood);[264] whereupon the French rushed upon them, driving them back
+with heavy loss. O'Hara, while striving to retrieve the day, was wounded
+and captured. His mantle of gloom devolved upon Major-General David
+Dundas, a desponding officer, who had recently requested leave to return
+on furlough on the ground of ill health and inability to cope with the
+work. This general's letters to his ever confident relative, Henry
+Dundas, at Whitehall, were always in a minor key. In his eyes the
+Spanish troops were "everything that is bad"; half of the Toulonese were
+hostile to the Allies; and the latter were heavily handicapped by having
+to defend their own fleets. There was some truth in this; but the
+whining tone of the letters, due to ill health, drew from the Minister a
+stinging retort, to the effect that the occupation of Toulon had taken
+Ministers wholly by surprise; that they had done their best to comply
+with the new demands for troops, and expected their general not to look
+at his own difficulties alone, but to remember those of the enemy and
+endeavour to beat him.[265]
+
+This was the spirit in which Hood faced the problem. Even at the close
+of November, when all hope of the arrival of the 5,000 Austrians was
+past, he refused to listen to David Dundas's advice for the evacuation
+of Toulon; and surely this pertinacity was consonant with the traditions
+of the British navy, and of the army in its better days; but out of
+this question arose a feud between army and navy which developed in
+Corsica with disastrous results. Ministers strove to send all the
+succour available. But they did not hear until 22nd December that the
+5,000 Austrians were being withheld. Henry Dundas's letter of the 28th
+also breathes deep concern at the news that Sir R. Boyd had not
+forwarded from Gibraltar the reinforcements ordered thence. Further, it
+appears from an official estimate drawn up at Whitehall on 18th
+December, that the troops already at or ordered to Toulon were believed
+to be as follows: British, 2,828; Spanish, 4,147; Sardinians, 2,162;
+Neapolitans, 8,600. Dundas also included the 1,100 British troops
+ordered from Gibraltar (where at that time there was no chance of an
+attack), and 2,361 men under directions to sail from Cork, but which
+could not stir owing to the non-arrival of the transports.[266] The
+resulting total of 21,198 is, of course, merely a sign of Henry Dundas's
+optimism. But obviously Ministers were unaware of the acute crisis at
+Toulon at the time of its surrender. In the age of telegraphy, that
+disaster would have been averted. The delays of the Austrians, and the
+muddles at Gibraltar and Cork, would have been known betimes.
+
+Strange to say, there was at that time lying at anchor at Spithead a
+force under Lord Moira's command, destined for Brittany, but held back
+for various causes, which would probably have turned the balance at
+Toulon, had Ministers known of the dire need of reinforcements. It is
+mortifying to read the letters of Pitt and the Marquis of Buckingham
+early in December, complaining that Moira's force is strangely
+inactive.[267] Still more startling is it to read the hurried order of
+23rd December (six days after the loss of Toulon), that the 40th
+regiment, then unexpectedly detained at Cork, though detached for
+service with Lord Moira, should set sail at once for the French
+stronghold along with the other regiments also detained at Cork.[268]
+What might not have happened, had those troops set sail for Toulon
+before the close of November?
+
+Hero-worshippers will probably maintain that, even if Toulon had been
+held harmoniously by all the troops which the imagination of Pitt and
+Dundas conjured up, nevertheless the genius and daring of the little
+Corsican would have prevailed. This view is tenable; but the prosaic
+mind, which notes the venturesome extension of Bonaparte's batteries in
+November-December, until they presented their right flanks to the cliffs
+and their rear to the open sea, though at too high a level to be
+cannonaded, will probably conclude that, if Hood and Langara had had a
+force of 20,000 men, they could have driven the French from those works.
+As it was, the Allies, not having enough men, stood on the defensive all
+along their very extensive front, and were overpowered at Fort Mulgrave,
+which was some miles away from the city. Its garrison of 700 men
+(British, Spanish, and a few Neapolitans) was assailed in the stormy
+night of 16th-17th December by 7,000 of the best of the Republican
+troops. The ensuing conflict will best be understood from the hitherto
+unpublished account given by the commander-in-chief. After describing
+the heavy cannonade from three French batteries against Fort Mulgrave,
+he continues thus:
+
+ H.M.S. "Victory," Hières Bay, _Dec. 21, 1793_.[269]
+
+ ... The works suffered much. The number of men killed and
+ wounded was considerable. The weather was rainy and the
+ consequent fatigue great. At 2 a.m. of the 17th, the enemy, who
+ had every advantage in assembling and suddenly advancing,
+ attacked the fort in great force. Although no part of this
+ temporary post was such as could well resist determined troops,
+ yet for a considerable time it was defended; but, on the enemy
+ entering on the Spanish side, the British quarter, commanded by
+ Captain Conolly of the 18th regiment, could not be much longer
+ maintained, notwithstanding several gallant efforts were made
+ for that purpose. It was therefore at last carried, and the
+ remains of the garrison of 700 men retired towards the shore of
+ Balaguier, under the protection of the other posts established
+ on those heights, and which continued to be faintly attacked by
+ the enemy. As this position of Balaguier was a most essential
+ one for the preservation of the harbour, and as we had no
+ communication with it but by water, 2,200 men had been placed
+ there for some time past. On the night preceding the attack, 300
+ more men had been sent over, and on the morning of the 17th, 400
+ were embarked still further to support it.
+
+ When the firing at Balaguier ceased, we remained in anxious
+ suspense as to the event, till a little before daylight, when a
+ new scene opened by an attack on all our posts on Mt. Pharon.
+ The enemy were repulsed on the east side, where was our
+ principal force of about 700 men, commanded by a most
+ distinguished officer, the Piedmontese Colonel, de Jermagnan,
+ whose loss we deeply lament; but on the back of the
+ mountain--near 1,800 feet high, steep, rocky, deemed almost
+ inaccessible, and which we had laboured much to make so--they
+ found means once more to penetrate between our posts, which
+ occupied an extent of above two miles, guarded by about 450 men;
+ and in a very short space of time we saw that with great numbers
+ they crowned all that side of the mountain which overlooks the
+ town.
+
+In this despatch David Dundas proclaimed his own incompetence. For some
+time it had been obvious that the Republicans were about to attack Fort
+Mulgrave, which everybody knew to be essential to the defence of the
+fleet. Yet he took no steps to strengthen this "temporary post" so that
+it might resist a determined attack. He also entrusted one half of the
+battery to the Spaniards whom he had declared to be "everything that is
+bad." On his own showing, as many as 2,500 allied troops were near at
+hand on the Balaguier or Eguilette heights to act as supports, before
+Bonaparte's attack began; and 400 more were sent thither soon
+afterwards. A spirited attack by those troops on the victors at Fort
+Mulgrave on its blind side might have retrieved the day; but a panic
+seized part of the supports, whom Sidney Smith describes as rushing like
+swine towards the sea though the enemy was only in a condition to attack
+"faintly." Hood was furious at this spiritless acceptance of defeat; and
+in his despatch to Whitehall censured the troops for not making a timely
+effort;[270] but as David Dundas had all along opined that the place was
+untenable, he decided to hold a council of war. It registered the wishes
+of the desponding chief. The officers decided that it was impossible
+either to retake the two positions lost, or to establish a post on the
+outer, or Cepet, peninsula, capable of protecting the roadstead from the
+cross fires which the French would pour in from the Balaguier and Cape
+Brun promontories.
+
+During the next three days the evacuation took place amidst scenes of
+misery for the royalist refugees that baffle the imagination. As many as
+14,877 were crowded on board the British ships, together with some 8,000
+troops. At the same time Captains Sidney Smith, Hare, and Edge, with a
+picked body of men burnt or otherwise damaged 27 French warships left in
+the harbour, while 18 were brought away by the Allies. Eleven of the
+twenty-seven were not seriously injured by the fire, and they afterwards
+flew the tricolour. But the loss of 34 warships and nearly all the masts
+and other valuable stores was a blow from which the French navy did not
+recover until Bonaparte before his Egyptian expedition breathed his own
+matchless vigour into the administration. In ships and stores, then,
+France suffered far more heavily than the Allies. Their losses elude the
+inquiries of the statistician. They consisted in the utter discredit of
+the royalist cause throughout France, the resentment that ever follows
+on clumsy or disloyal co-operation, and the revelation of the hollowness
+of the imposing fabric of the First Coalition. In the south of France
+four nations failed to hold a single fortress which her own sons had
+placed in their power.
+
+The Nemesis which waits upon weakness and vacillation has rarely
+appeared in more mocking guise than at the close of the year 1793. About
+the time when Toulon surrendered, the Austrian Government finally came
+to the determination to despatch thither the 5,000 men which it had
+formerly promised to send. Grenville received this news from Eden in the
+first days of 1794, shortly after the surrender of the fortress was
+known. Thereupon he penned these bitter words: "If the first promise had
+been fulfilled agreeably to the expectation which His Majesty was
+justified in forming, the assistance of such a body of disciplined
+troops would have sufficed to ensure the defence of that important post;
+and the injury which the common cause has sustained on this occasion can
+be ascribed only to the tardiness and indecision which so strongly
+characterize the Austrian Government."[271] Most tactfully he bade Eden
+refrain from reproaches on this occasion and to use it merely as an
+argument for throwing greater vigour into the next campaign.
+
+Events pointed the moral far more strongly than Eden could do. As by a
+lightning flash, the purblind politicians of Vienna could now discern
+the storm-wrack drifting upon them. The weakness of the Piedmontese
+army, their own unpreparedness in the Milanese, the friendliness of
+Genoa to France, and the Jacobinical ferment in all parts of Italy,
+portended a speedy irruption of the Republicans into an almost
+defenceless land where they were sure of a welcome from the now awakened
+populace. So long as Toulon held out, Piedmont and Milan were safe.
+Now, the slackness of Austria enabled her future destroyer to place his
+foot on the first rung of the ladder of fame, and prompted those mighty
+plans for the conquest of the Italian States which were to ensure her
+overthrow and his supremacy.
+
+Well might Eden dwell on the consternation prevalent at Vienna early in
+1794. For, along with news of the loss of Toulon, tidings of defeat and
+retreat came from the Rhineland. Able and vigorous young generals, Hoche
+and Pichegru, had beaten back Austrians and Prussians from the hills
+around Wörth and Weissenburg; so that the Allies fell back with heavy
+losses towards the Rhine. Thus, on the whole, the efforts of Austria,
+Great Britain, Prussia, Holland, and some of the smaller German States
+had availed merely to capture four fortresses, Mainz, Condé,
+Valenciennes, and Quesnoy. It is not surprising that public opinion in
+England, even in loyal circles, became clamorous against the conduct of
+the war.[272]
+
+Not the least of the misfortunes attending the Toulon episode was that
+the logic of events, and also the growing savagery of the Reign of
+Terror, edged Pitt away from his standpoint of complete neutrality as to
+the future government of France. How could the ally of the Toulonese
+Royalists profess indifference on that topic? On 5th October he wrote as
+follows to Grenville respecting the powers to be granted to Sir Gilbert
+Elliot at Toulon:
+
+ I do not see that we can go on secure grounds if we treat with
+ any separate districts or bodies of men [in France] who stop
+ short of some declaration in favour of monarchy: nor do I see
+ any way so likely to unite considerable numbers in one vigorous
+ effort as by specifying monarchy as the only system in the
+ re-establishment of which we are disposed to concur. This idea
+ by no means precludes us from treating with any other form of
+ regular Government, if, in the end, any other should be solidly
+ established; but it holds out monarchy as the only one from
+ which we expect any good, and in favour of which we are disposed
+ to enter into concert.[273]
+
+These words are remarkable. Clearly, in Pitt's view of things,
+"security" for England and Holland was the paramount aim; but he was
+beginning to feel that the Republican groups which scrambled to power at
+Paris over the headless trunks of their enemies, could offer no
+adequate security. When the Revolution began to solidify, as it seemed
+about to do in 1795-7, he was willing to treat with its chiefs; but
+already he was feeling the horns of the dilemma, which may be described
+in words adapted from Talleyrand's famous _mot_ of the year 1814:
+"Either the Bourbons or the Republic: everything else is an intrigue."
+The Toulon episode, more than anything else, bound France to the
+regicide cause, and Pitt, albeit unwillingly, to the irreconcilable
+Royalists. Thus the event which brought Bonaparte to the front,
+shattered the aim of the Prime Minister to effect merely the restoration
+of the Balance of Power.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[238] "F. O.," Austria, 33, Grenville to Eden, 11th June; Eden to
+Grenville, 26th June.
+
+[239] "Dropmore P.," ii, 392, 399, 407, 412. Spain hoped to find her
+"indemnity" in Corsica. See too Fortescue, iv, 116, 117.
+
+[240] See "Eng. Hist. Rev." for October 1909, p. 748.
+
+[241] Pitt MSS., 196.
+
+[242] "H. O.," Adm. Medit., 1793.
+
+[243] _Ibid._
+
+[244] "F. O.," Spain, 28. St. Helens to Grenville, 4th and 11th
+September.
+
+[245] "W. O.," 6 (10). See Fortescue (iv, pt. i, chs. vi, vii) for
+criticisms of these measures.
+
+[246] The arguments of Mr. Spenser Wilkinson in "Owens College Essays,"
+do not convince me that Napoleon alone devised that plan. Chuquet's
+conclusion ("Toulon," 176), "Bonaparte partageait l'avis des
+représentants," seems to me thoroughly sound. So, too, Cottin, "Toulon
+et les Anglais," ch. xi.
+
+[247] "F. O.," Spain, 28.
+
+[248] "H. O." (Adm. Medit., 1793). Nevertheless Hood sent off a small
+squadron to offer help to Paoli in Corsica, but with very disappointing
+results. On 7th October he writes: "Paoli is a composition of art and
+deceipt [_sic_]." He also dwells on the hostile conduct of Genoa and
+Tuscany.
+
+[249] Martens, v, 473-83. In "H. O.," Secrs. of State, 4, is a despatch
+of General Acton of 30th October 1793 to Sir W. Hamilton, stating that
+when transports reach Naples, they will take off 1,200 more troops for
+Toulon, making a total of 6,300. But ships and supplies of food were
+wanting. The troops must be commanded by a Neapolitan, Marshal
+Fortiquerri, whom Hood had censured for incompetence!
+
+[250] On 15th September Pitt wrote to the Earl of Westmorland, Viceroy
+of Ireland, asking him to send the flank companies (the best men) of the
+regiments then in Ireland. Westmorland agreed on 18th September, but
+said they could not sail in less than three weeks. As the crisis at
+Toulon deepened, Pitt, about the middle of November, begged the Lord
+Lieutenant to send the 35th, 41st, and 42nd regiments from Ireland to
+Toulon. On 20th November Westmorland agreed (though pointing out the
+danger of an Irish rising). On the 30th he said the two latter regiments
+were ready to sail from Cork whenever the transports should arrive; but
+the delays in the arrival and sailing of transports had always been
+serious--a prophetic remark (Pitt MSS., 331).
+
+[251] "Dropmore P.," ii, 471. Thugut took no interest whatever in Toulon
+(see Vivenot, iii, 324, 327, 362, 363). Other proofs follow (pp. 381,
+384) of the pressing demands which Grenville, also Mr. Trevor at Turin,
+made for the fulfilment of the Emperor's promise. Some difficulties
+supervened as to the provisioning of the 5,000 Austrian troops on the
+march and the place of embarkation; but these were far from insuperable.
+Clearly the operating cause was Thugut's conviction that there was at
+Toulon a number of troops "excédant ce que toute place quelconque peut
+exiger pour sa défense" (_ibid._, 385).
+
+[252] "H. O." (Adm. Medit, 1793), Hood to Dundas, 24th November.
+
+[253] _Ibid._ O'Hara to Hood. This reached London on 8th December; but,
+as we have seen, Ministers up to 22nd December continued to rely on the
+arrival of the Austrians as providing a sufficient reinforcement.
+
+[254] "Dropmore P.," ii, 447; "Mems. of Sir G. Elliot," ii, 190, _et
+seq._
+
+[255] "F. O.," Spain, 28.
+
+[256] Even by M. Cottin in his works, "Toulon et les Anglais,"
+"L'Angleterre et les Princes."
+
+[257] "F. O.," Austria, 34. Grenville to Eden, 7th September. So in his
+letter of 4th October to Pitt he refers to "such other towns or
+districts [in S. France] as may become objects of indemnity." See, too,
+"Dropmore P.," ii, 412, 438; Vivenot, iii, 326.
+
+[258] "Dropmore P.," iii, 487.
+
+[259] "H. O.," 455, _ad fin._
+
+[260] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 33.
+
+[261] "F. O.," Spain, 28. Grenville to St. Helens, 22nd October 1793.
+Cottin omits this despatch, which is essential to the understanding of
+British policy. See for further details C. J. Fox, "Bonaparte at the
+Siege of Toulon," bk. ii, ch. ii.
+
+[262] "F. O.," Spain, 28. On 30th November Grenville instructed St.
+Helens to express regret that Spain seemed to retract her wish,
+previously expressed, that Corsica should go to England; and also to
+advise that Spain should take her indemnity from France on the Pyrenean
+frontier.
+
+[263] Fortescue, iv, 172.
+
+[264] "H. O.," Adm. Medit., 1793.
+
+[265] "H. O.," Mil., 455. Fortescue (iv, 175) vehemently censures Henry
+Dundas, but I think without sufficient ground. The letters of David
+Dundas called for reproof. See Mr. Oscar Browning's "Youth of Napoleon"
+(App. iv).
+
+[266] Pitt MSS., 331; "H. O.," Mil., 455.
+
+[267] "Dropmore P.," ii, 476, 477; "Mems. of Sir G. Elliot," ii, 198.
+
+[268] Admiralty. Out Letters, xiii.
+
+[269] "H. O.," Mil., 455.
+
+[270] "H. O.," Adm. Medit., 1794.
+
+[271] "F. O.," Austria, 36. Grenville to Eden, 3rd January 1794.
+
+[272] Pellew, "Sidmouth," i, 112.
+
+[273] "Dropmore P.," ii, 438.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER VII
+
+ THE BRITISH JACOBINS
+
+ The much better way doubtless will be, in this wavering
+ condition of our affairs, to defer the changing or
+ circumscribing of our Senate more than may be done with ease
+ till the Commonwealth be thoroughly settled in peace and
+ safety.--MILTON, _A Free Commonwealth_.
+
+ But cease, ye fleecing Senators
+ Your country to undo,
+ Or know, we British _sans-culottes_
+ Hereafter may fleece you.
+ THELWALL, _A Shearing Song_.
+
+The outbreak of hostilities often tends to embitter the strife of
+parties. Those who oppose war find abundant cause for criticism in the
+conduct of Ministers, who in their turn perforce adopt measures alien to
+the traditions of Westminster. A system founded on compromise cannot
+suddenly take on the ways of a military State; and efforts in this
+direction generally produce more friction than activity. At such times
+John Bull, flurried and angry, short-sighted but opinionated, bewildered
+but dogged as ever, is a sight to move the gods to laughter and his
+counsellors to despair.
+
+The events of the session of 1793 illustrate my meaning. In view of the
+notorious sympathy of the Radical Clubs with France, Pitt proposed a
+Bill against Traitorous Correspondence with the enemy. Both he and Burke
+proved that the measure, far from being an insidious attack on the
+liberties of the subject, merely aimed at enforcing "the police of war."
+Nevertheless, it passed only by a majority of one--a warning to the
+Ministry not to proceed further in that doubtful course (9th April
+1793). Pitt had the full support of the House in opposing Grey's motion
+for Parliamentary Reform, which was thrown out by 282 votes to 41. The
+war spirit also appeared in a sharp rebuff given to Wilberforce and the
+Abolitionists on 14th May. The institution of a Board of Agriculture
+(which Hussey, Sheridan, and Fox opposed as a piece of jobbery) and the
+renewal of the Charter of the East India Company were the chief
+practical results of that session. But the barrenness of the session,
+the passing of the Traitorous Correspondence Bill, and the hardships
+connected with the balloting for the militia stirred the Radical Clubs
+to redoubled energy; so that home affairs for two or three years centred
+in their propaganda and in Pitt's repressive efforts. The development of
+a keen political consciousness in the masses is a subject of so much
+interest that I may be pardoned for dwelling on it somewhat fully, with
+the aid of new materials drawn from the Home Office Archives.
+
+ [Illustration: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN 1793. (From a painting in
+ the National Gallery by K. A. Hickel)]
+
+There we see the causes of unrest. Hunger, hatred of the militia laws,
+chafing against restraints entailed by the war, all conduce to
+discontent. The newly awakened Caliban is also a prey to suspicion. He
+hates foreigners. Yet, either as refugees or prisoners, they swarm along
+the south coast (there were for a time 5,000 prisoners in Winchester).
+Fishermen are tempted to help in their escape, and a mariner of Emsworth
+is arraigned for treason on this count. Even so far west as Bodmin the
+prisoners are numerous and threatening. They convince many of the
+townsfolk that England would be better off as a Republic; and two
+patriotic ladies in fear and horror inform Lord Mount Edgcumbe
+anonymously that Frenchmen cut a mark round the neck of King George on
+all coins. The vicar of Ringmer, near Lewes, reports that the smugglers
+of the Sussex coast carry on a regular intercourse with France. In the
+Isle of Wight even the French royalists, who are there awaiting the
+despatch of Lord Moira's long-deferred expedition to Brittany, figure as
+murderous Jacobins. In Bath, too, the mayor, Mr. Harington, is troubled
+by the influx of Gallic artists and dancing-masters, especially as they
+mix in all the "routs," and dare even there to whisper treason against
+King George. Another report comes that a French usher in a large school
+near London--was it Harrow?--has converted several of the boys to
+republicanism. Clearly, these are cases for the Aliens Act.
+
+Even Britons, untainted by Gallic connections, are suspect. At
+Billingsgate a soldier swears that he was set upon at night because he
+wore the uniform of "a d----d tyrant"; and other evidence proves that
+the service was unpopular for political reasons as well as the poor pay.
+Farmers are plied by emissaries of the clubs as they come in to market.
+Complaints come to Dundas that farmers and shippers on the coasts of
+Lancashire and Cumberland sell corn to "the natural enemy."
+
+The discontent takes colour from its surroundings. At Pocklington in
+Yorkshire the villagers threaten to burn the magistrates in their houses
+in revenge for the conviction of poachers. The rowdies of Olney in
+Bucks. (formerly a sore trial to Cowper and John Newton) terrorize the
+neighbourhood. Everywhere the high price of corn produces irritation.
+The tinworkers of North Cornwall march in force to Padstow to prevent
+the exportation of corn from that little harbour; otherwise they are
+law-abiding, though a magistrate warns Dundas that local malcontents are
+setting them against the Government. Multiply these typical cases a
+thousand fold, and it will be seen that the old rural system is strained
+to breaking point. The amenities of the rule of the squires are now paid
+back, and that, too, at a time when England needs one mind, one heart,
+one soul. At and near Sheffield serious riots break out owing to the
+enclosures of common-fields and wastes, the houses of the agricultural
+"reformers" being burnt or wrecked. On the whole, however, I have found
+fewer references to enclosures than might be expected.[274]
+
+As generally happens in times of excitement, the towns are the first to
+voice the dumb or muttering hatreds of the villages. Parisians led the
+Revolution in France, though its causes lay thickest and deepest in the
+rural districts. Not until Paris "stormed" its castle did the villagers
+attack theirs. So, too, in the muffled repetition of the revolutionary
+music which England sounds forth, the towns buzz, while the country
+supplies but a dull ground-tone. Dearness of food and scarcity of work
+were the chief causes of discontent. The spokesmen for the Spitalfields
+weavers, who number 14,000, sent up a temperate petition setting forth
+their distress; but, as is often the case in London, their thoughts
+turned not to politics, but to practical means of cure. They stated that
+the trade in velvets, brocades, and rich silks would be absolutely
+ruined unless steps were taken to revive the fashion in these fabrics.
+In Liverpool there were far other grievances. There, as in all seaports,
+the tyranny of the press-gang was sharply resented; and, early in
+November 1793, the populace clamoured for the election of a
+"liberty-loving mayor," Mr. Tarleton, who promised to keep the
+press-gang out of the town.[275]
+
+In general the malcontents urged their case most pointedly in towns and
+villages, where branches of the Radical Societies had taken root. These
+Societies or clubs continued to grow in number and influence through the
+year 1793, the typical club being now concerned, not with faro, but with
+the "Rights of Man." Some of the Reform Clubs sought to moderate the
+Gallicizing zeal of the extreme wing. Thus, the "Friends of the People,"
+whose subscription of two and a half guineas was some guarantee for
+moderation, formally expressed their disapproval of Paine's works and
+all Republican agencies--a futile declaration; for his "Rights of Man"
+was the very life-blood of the new clubs. Working men had shown little
+or no interest in the earlier motions for Reform. The Associations of
+the years 1780-5 had lapsed; and it was clearly the joint influence of
+the French Revolution and Paine's productions which led to the
+remarkable awakening of the year 1792.
+
+Besides the London Corresponding Society, started (as we saw in
+Chapter III) by Thomas Hardy early in that year, there was another
+formidable organization, the Society for Constitutional Information,
+founded in London at the close of 1791. It, too, was concerned with much
+more than the Reform of Parliament; for on 18th May 1792 it recommended
+the publication in a cheap form of Paine's "Rights of Man"; and on 21st
+November it appointed a Committee for Foreign Correspondence. A little
+later were adopted some of the phrases used in the French Convention,
+and St. André, Roland, and Barère were admitted to membership. It does
+not appear that either this Society, or Hardy's, corresponded with
+France after the declaration of war; for the Parliamentary Committee of
+Secrecy, charged in 1794 to report on seditious proceedings would, if it
+were possible, have fastened on so compromising an act. Its members
+belonged to a higher class than those of Hardy's Society; for they
+included Romney the painter, Holcroft the dramatist, Horne Tooke, the
+humorous _littérateur_, and Thelwall, the ablest lecturer of the
+day.[276] That these men had advanced far beyond the standpoint of the
+Whiggish "Friends of the People," appears from a letter from one of the
+Norwich Radical Clubs to the London Corresponding Society:
+
+ The Friends of the People mean only a partial Reform, because
+ they leave out words expressing the Duke of Richmond's plan and
+ talk only of a Reform; while the Manchester people seem to
+ intimate, by addressing Mr. Paine, as though they were intent
+ upon Republican principles only. Now, to come closer to the main
+ question, it is only desired to know whether the generality of
+ the Societies mean to rest satisfied with the Duke of Richmond's
+ plan only, or whether it is their private design to rip up
+ monarchy by the roots and place democracy in its stead.[277]
+
+These Societies seem to have put forth no definite programme. Their
+defenders claimed that they adhered to the Westminster programme of
+1780, championed by Fox and the Duke of Richmond. But Fox strongly
+disapproved of their aims, and even refused to present their petition
+for annual parliaments and universal suffrage.[278] In truth, the
+actions of these bodies belied their words. They largely devoted their
+funds and their energies to the circulation in a cheap form of the works
+of Paine, 200,000 copies being sold in 1793,[279] and still more in the
+following year. The Societies also adopted methods of organization
+similar to those of the French Jacobins Club, and advocated the assembly
+of a representative Convention. Every sixteen members of the London
+Corresponding Society could form a division; and the divisions, by the
+process of swarming-off, rapidly extended the organization. They also
+sent delegates who conferred on matters of importance, either locally or
+at headquarters; and the head delegation finally claimed to represent
+very large numbers in London and affiliated centres. In the conduct of
+details Spartan self-restraint was everywhere manifest. Members were
+urged to be brief in their remarks and business-like in their methods.
+Officials must give a solemn promise not to skulk, or make off, owing to
+persecution; and members were warned that noisy declamation was not a
+proof of zeal but might be a cloak for treachery. Above the chairman's
+seat was suspended a card with the words--"Beware of Orators." One
+would like to have witnessed the proceedings of these dully earnest men.
+
+Both in the provinces and in London, reformers of the old type sought to
+curb the more dangerous of these developments, especially correspondence
+with the Jacobins' Club at Paris. Thus, the Manchester Constitutional
+Society having published its address of congratulation to that body,
+together with the reply of Carras, a member, George Lloyd, entered a
+formal protest in these terms: "We are not a Republican Society; but
+from such connection and correspondence we shall involve ourselves in
+the imputation of Republicanism." He added that their aim was solely the
+Reform of Parliament, and with that foreigners had no concern
+whatever.[280] Nevertheless the Society kept up its foreign
+correspondence, and received addresses from Jacobin Clubs in France.
+
+Another threatening symptom was the attempt to excite discontent among
+the soldiery. There being then very few barracks, the men were quartered
+on the public houses; and several petitions were sent to Whitehall by
+publicans (sometimes even by Corporations), pointing out the many
+inconveniences of this custom. Thus in the autumn of 1793 the publicans
+of Winchester complained that they had had to lodge as many as 5,000 men
+during their passage through that city, besides the Bucks. regiment
+stationed there, and they begged that barracks might be built. The
+authorities paid the more heed to these petitions because local
+malcontents "got at" the soldiery in the taverns, and brought home to
+them their grievances, namely, poor pay, insufficient allowance for food
+at its enhanced prices, and the severities of discipline exercised by
+"effeminate puppies" drawn from aristocratic circles. In particular they
+circulated a pamphlet--"The Soldiers' Friend: or Considerations on the
+late pretended Augmentation of the Subsistence of the Private
+Soldiers"--pointing out the close connection between the officers and
+"the ruling faction," which "ever must exist while we suffer ourselves
+to be governed by a faction."
+
+When the war with France unexpectedly lengthened out, the Ministry
+decided to erect new barracks, accommodating 34,000 men, at a total
+expense of about £1,400,000. In the debate of 8th April 1796, Fox and
+General Smith savagely assailed this proceeding as fatal to English
+liberty. "Good God!" exclaimed Smith, "is every town to be made a
+citadel and every village converted into a garrison?" Windham had little
+difficulty in showing that the old barracks were in general badly
+situated, and not adapted for cavalry. Buildings for the use of 5,400
+horsemen were now erected; and on the whole question he asserted that
+the men would live more cheaply, and would contract less vicious habits
+than when lodged in inns. Above all, they would be removed from the
+sedition-mongers, who now plied them with doctrines destructive alike of
+loyalty and military discipline. Windham then quoted a phrase from
+Molière's "Médecin malgré lui": "If I cannot make him dumb, I will make
+you deaf."[281] The inference was that the inability of the Cabinet to
+silence malcontents involved the expenditure of £1,400,000 partly in
+order to stop the ears of the soldiery.
+
+Lord Bacon, in his pregnant aphorisms upon sedition, does not venture on
+a definition of that indefinable term. Where, indeed, shall one draw the
+line between justifiable discontent and the inciting of men to lawless
+and violent acts? We shall notice presently the claim of a Scottish
+judge that an agitator may have good and upright intentions, and yet, if
+his words and acts lead to general discontent, he is guilty of sedition
+and perhaps of high treason. At the other extreme of thought stands the
+born malcontent. He is generally an idealist, having a keen sense of the
+miseries of mankind and very imperfect notions as to the difficulty of
+peacefully and permanently ending them. In times of political excitement
+the statesman has to deal with large bands of zealots nerved by these
+irreconcilable principles. It was the misfortune of Pitt that he sought
+to hold together a nation rent asunder by the doctrines of Burke and
+Paine. Compromise was out of the question; and yet a British statesman
+cannot govern unless the majority of the people is ready for compromise.
+His position becomes untenable if, while upholding the throne, he
+infuriates all friends of progress; if, when he seeks to remove abuses,
+he is dubbed a traitor to King, Church, and Constitution. And yet, to
+abandon his post because of these difficulties is not only cowardly, but
+also an act of disloyalty alike to King and people.
+
+As the political thermometer rose towards fever point through the years
+1792-3, Government kept closer watch upon the political Societies; but
+for a long time Pitt took no action against them. It seems probable
+that, if they had confined themselves to their professed programme (that
+of the Westminster Reformers of 1780) he would have remained passive. He
+did not prosecute those which in November 1792 congratulated the French
+Convention on the triumph of its arms in Belgium and the advent of a
+Gallic millennium. What, then, were the developments which met with his
+stern opposition?
+
+But, firstly, we must ask the question, Why did not Pitt, in view of the
+unswerving loyalty of the great majority of Britons, rely on the good
+sense and weight of that mass to overbear the Jacobinical minority? It
+is much to be regretted that he did not take that more intelligent and
+more courageous course. But the events of the French Revolution seemed
+to show the need of early taking decided measures against a resolute and
+desperate group. At half a dozen crises in the years 1789-92 firm action
+would have crushed the anarchic forces in Paris, Lyons, and Marseilles;
+but, for lack of a strong guiding hand, those forces broke loose, with
+results which all genuine friends of liberty have ever since deplored.
+It is perfectly certain that, if Mirabeau had had a free hand, he would
+have used coercive measures by the side of which those of Pitt's
+so-called "Reign of Terror" would have been but as a pop-gun to a
+cannon. Besides, to taunt Pitt with falseness to his principles of the
+years 1782-5 is to ignore the patent facts that he advocated very
+moderate changes in the representation. The Reform movement virtually
+collapsed in 1785. That which now borrowed its watchwords was in the
+main a Republican and levelling agency. The creed of the Radicals of
+1793 was summed up, not in the academic programme of the Friends of the
+People, the lineal heir to the earlier Associations, but in Part II of
+Paine's "Rights of Man."
+
+Here, surely, are the reasons for Pitt's repressive policy. He entered
+on it regretfully, but he felt no sense of inconsistency in his change
+of attitude towards Reform. The times had wholly changed; and that
+movement changed with them. As Macaulay has well pointed out, Pitt never
+declared that, under no circumstances, would he favour a moderate Reform
+of Parliament. But he did declare that in his view Reform was at present
+highly perilous; and he resolutely set himself to the task of coercing
+those men and those agencies who advocated it in dangerous forms and by
+lawless methods.
+
+The first prosecution that need be noticed here was directed against
+Paine for the seditious utterances in the "Rights of Man," particularly
+in Part II. The Attorney-General made out a formidable indictment,
+whereupon Paine, then a member of the French National Convention,
+informed him that the prosecution might as well be directed against the
+man in the moon, and that the liberties of the people of England were in
+reality on their trial. After this impertinence the sentence went
+against Paine by default, and that, too, despite a skilful speech by
+Erskine (December 1792). The aim of Government of course was to warn
+those who were circulating Paine's works that their conduct was
+seditious and that they did so at their peril.
+
+The Home Office Archives show that in very many cases the warning was
+disregarded, and several prosecutions ensued, with varying results.
+Still more frequent were the cases of cursing the King, sometimes in
+obscene terms. To these we need pay no heed. Frequently the offence was
+committed in taverns by democrats in a state of mental exaltation. To
+this exciting cause we may probably ascribe the folly of John Frost, the
+attorney with whom Pitt had some dealings during the Reform agitation of
+1782. He was now charged with exclaiming excitedly: "I am for equality";
+and, when challenged as to the meaning of his words, he added: "There
+ought to be no Kings." In this connection it should be remembered that
+Frost and Barlow had on 28th November 1792 presented to the French
+National Convention the most mischievous of all the addresses sent by
+Radical Clubs to that body. It ended with the statement that other
+nations would soon imitate France (that is by overthrowing the monarchy)
+and would "arm themselves for the purpose of claiming the Rights of
+Man."[282] This piece of bravado must have told against Frost at the
+trial; for it proved that amidst his potations at the tavern he spoke
+his real mind. Erskine did his best to defend Frost by quoting Pitt's
+letters to him of May 1782, on the subject of Reform.[283] The device
+was clever; but obviously Pitt's association with Frost for strictly
+constitutional purposes in 1782 could not excuse the seditious language
+of the latter under wholly different conditions eleven years later.
+Frost was condemned to six months' imprisonment in Newgate and was
+struck off the roll of attorneys.[284] Other noteworthy trials ensued,
+notably that of the "Morning Chronicle" newspaper, which ended in an
+acquittal; but it will be well now to turn to the important developments
+taking place north of the Tweed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Scotland had now thrown off the trance under which she had lain since
+1745; and her chief towns bade fair to outbid London, Leeds, Sheffield,
+and Norwich as centres of democratic activity. There was every reason
+why she should awake. She had very little influence in Parliament. She
+returned 45 members as against Cornwall's 44; while the total number of
+persons entitled to vote for the fifteen representatives of the Scottish
+burghs was 1,303,[285] a number smaller than that of the electors of the
+city of Westminster. This singular system was defended chiefly on the
+ground of the turbulence of the national character. Even in 1831 a
+Scottish member declared that Scots could never assemble without drawing
+blood; and one of their champions, Lord Cockburn, made the quaint
+admission: "The Scots are bad mobbers. They are too serious at it. They
+never joke, and they throw stones." It did not occur to that generation
+that the cure for this bloodthirsty seriousness was frequent public
+meetings, not no meetings at all. That a high-spirited people should so
+long have remained in political childhood seems incredible, until we
+remember that a borough election like that of Westminster was absolutely
+unknown in the whole course of Scottish history. Further, it was
+notorious that the 45 Scottish members were the most obedient group of
+placemen in the House of Commons; and their docility had increased under
+the bountiful sway of Henry Dundas, whose control of patronage sufficed
+to keep the Caledonian squad close to heel.
+
+This political apathy was now to end. The men of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and
+Dundee began to discuss the "Rights of Man," and to follow the lead
+given by the London Corresponding Society. Thus, on 3rd October 1792,
+Lieutenant-Colonel William Dalrymple presided over the first meeting of
+"The Associated Friends of the Constitution and of the People," held at
+Glasgow. Resolutions were passed in favour of an equal representation of
+the people in Parliament, shorter Parliaments, and co-operation with
+"the Friends of the People" in London. The entrance and annual
+subscriptions were fixed at sixpence and one shilling. Thomas Muir of
+Huntershill, an able young advocate, was appointed Vice-President. Other
+Societies were soon formed, and on 11th December there assembled at
+Edinburgh a General Convention of Delegates from the Societies of the
+Friends of the People throughout Scotland. Its proceedings were orderly,
+beginning and ending with prayer. Resolutions were passed deprecating
+violence whether in language or action; and the presence either of Lord
+Daer or Colonel Dalrymple in the chair showed that some, at least, of
+the gentry were for Reform. This was exceptional. A little later the
+gentlemen of several towns and counties asserted their loyalty in
+flamboyant petitions; and the farmers of Dalkeith district at their
+meeting added to their loyal toasts the following: "May we have no fox
+in our fold or greys (wild oats) in our corn."[286] Sir Kenneth
+Mackenzie on 3rd January 1793 informed William Pulteney that in the
+North the towns were thoroughly loyal, with the exception of Perth and
+Dundee, where certain ministers and writers led the people astray.[287]
+
+Nevertheless, the authorities, notably the Lord Advocate, Robert Dundas,
+took alarm; and on 2nd January 1793 Thomas Muir was brought before the
+deputy-sheriff of Midlothian. Muir was a man of highly interesting
+personality. The son of a Glasgow tradesman, he had shown marked
+abilities at school and at the University, whence, owing to his advanced
+opinions, he was forced to migrate to Edinburgh. There, in his
+twenty-seventh year, he soon became a leader of the Scottish Reformers,
+his sincerity, eloquence, and enthusiasm everywhere arousing keen
+interest. Had his good sense been equal to his abilities, he might have
+gone far; but events soon showed him to be tactless and headstrong. He
+went far beyond the rest of the delegates assembled at Edinburgh,
+namely, in bringing forward, despite the reluctance of the Convention,
+an Address from the Society of United Irishmen in Dublin. Their conduct
+much alarmed the authorities at Dublin Castle, who adopted stringent
+precautions. Muir should therefore have seen, what his colleagues did
+see, that any plan of co-operation was certain to irritate Government.
+Nevertheless he persisted in bringing before the Convention the Irish
+Address, which strongly pointed out the need of common action in the
+struggle for Reform and urged both peoples to persevere "until we have
+planted the flag of freedom on the summit, and are at once victorious
+and secure." Further, the authorities accused Muir of circulating
+Paine's writings and other pamphlets, including "A Dialogue between the
+Governors and the Governed," which contained such sentences as these:
+"The law is the general will--a new order." "Nations cannot revolt;
+tyrants are the only rebels." "We will live without tyrants, without
+impostors (priests)."[288] The writings were probably seditious in their
+tendency;[289] but the evidence that he circulated them was of the
+flimsiest character.[290]
+
+Unfortunately, Muir left the country, though in no clandestine manner,
+while legal proceedings were pending. After a short stay in London he
+proceeded to Paris, in order (as he said at his trial) to try to
+persuade the French democrats to spare the life of Louis XVI. The
+credibility of this statement is lessened by the fact that he arrived in
+Paris only the evening before the King's execution and remained there
+long after that tragedy.[291] A letter from a Scot in Paris, James
+Smith, to a friend in Glasgow, which the postal authorities opened,
+stated that the writer met Muir in a _café_ of the Palais Royal; that
+Muir did not hear of his indictment till the evening of 8th February,
+and would return to face his trial, though he was loth to leave France,
+as he had made "valuable and dear connections." "Mr. Christie advised
+me," adds the writer, "to make some little proficiency in the language
+before I begin to think of beginning to do anything."[292] Now, as a
+clique of Britons in Paris had not long before drunk the toast of "The
+coming Convention of Great Britain and Ireland," Government naturally
+connected the efforts of Muir with this republican propaganda. His next
+doings increased this suspicion. He left France on an American ship
+which landed him at Belfast; he stayed there a few days, and landed at
+Stranraer on 31st July, only to be arrested, along with his books and
+papers, and sent to Edinburgh.
+
+The ensuing trial, held on 30th and 31st August, aroused intense
+interest, owing to the eloquence of Muir and the unscrupulous zeal of
+the Scottish authorities in ensuring his conviction. They packed the
+jury with men who belonged to a loyal Association; and it is said that
+the Lord Justice Clerk, McQueen of Braxfield, welcomed one of them with
+the words: "Come awa', Maister Horner, come awa', and help us to hang
+ane of thae daamed scoondrels." The trial itself bristled with
+irregularities; and Muir, who rejected the proffered help of Erskine and
+conducted his own defence, fastened on them so effectively, that at the
+conclusion of his final speech the Court resounded with applause. All
+was in vain. The jury found him guilty, whereupon the Court of
+Justiciary pronounced sentence of transportation for fourteen
+years.[293]
+
+Admiration of the virtues and courage of Muir must not blind us to the
+fact that his conduct had been most provocative. His visit to Paris, on
+the scarcely credible pretext that he went thither to save the King's
+life, his connection with the United Irishmen, and his stay in Belfast,
+told against him. Robert Dundas, in informing his uncle, Henry Dundas,
+of his arrest, added: "I have little doubt that, tho' he avows his
+intention of coming home to have been a view to stand trial, [that] he
+is an emissary from France or the disaffected in Ireland."[294] The Scot
+who first advocated common action with the Irish malcontents should have
+paid good heed to his steps. Muir did not do so. Accordingly, though the
+direct evidence at the trial told in his favour, the circumstantial
+evidence weighed heavily against him.[295] At such a time men's actions
+count for more than their words. It was the visit to Paris and the
+dealings with the United Irishmen, far more than biassed witnesses and
+the bullying of Braxfield, which led to the condemnation of this
+talented youth. For his arrest occurred at the time when terror was the
+order of the day at Paris, and when the issue of an inflammatory address
+at Dundee spread panic in official circles.
+
+Before adverting to this matter, we may note that Muir settled down by
+no means unhappily at Sydney, and bought a farm which he named
+Huntershill, after his birthplace. It is now a suburb of Sydney. A
+letter from the infant settlement, published in the "Gentleman's
+Magazine" of March 1797, describes him and the other Scottish
+"martyrs"--Skirving, Margarot, and Gerrald--as treated indulgently by
+the authorities, who allotted to them convicts to till their lands.
+Shortly afterwards Muir escaped, and, after exciting experiences, in
+which he was wounded, made his way to France. In Paris, early in 1798,
+he published some articles on the United Irishmen, which Wolfe Tone and
+other Irish patriots deemed most harmful to their cause. They therefore
+remonstrated with him, but received the reply that he knew Ireland as
+well as they did, and had the confidence of the United Irishmen as much
+as they had. Wolfe Tone says of him: "Of all the vain obstinate
+blockheads that ever I met I never saw his equal."[296] Fortunately for
+his associates, Muir retired into the provinces and died in the year
+1799.
+
+Dundee played a leading part in the democratic agitation. Its
+population, consisting largely of poor weavers, suffered severely in the
+year 1793 from dearness of food and scarcity of fuel. On this mass of
+needy operatives the doctrines of Paine fell like a spark on tinder.
+Dundee became the chief focus of discontent in Scotland. A Tree of
+Liberty was planted in Belmont Grounds; bread riots were of frequent
+occurrence; and Dundas was burnt in effigy. In the Home Office Archives
+is a statement that a local tradesman named Wyllie generously supplied
+the waistcoat and breeches: "they was of satin."[297] In July 1793 there
+appeared an "Address to the People," dated "Berean Meeting House,
+Dundee," which painted the Government in the darkest colours, and
+contained these assertions: "You are plunged into war by a wicked
+Ministry and a compliant Parliament, who seem careless and unconcerned
+for your interest, the end and design of which is almost too horrid to
+relate, the destruction of a whole people merely because they will be
+free.... Your treasure is wasting fast: the blood of your brethren is
+pouring out, and all this to form chains for a free people and
+eventually to rivet them on yourselves." On 1st August 1793 a
+Government agent found the MS. from which this placard was printed in
+the house of a liquor-seller in Edinburgh. It was in the writing of a
+minister, Palmer: so were two letters referring to it.[298] Robert
+Dundas therefore sent to have Palmer arrested. In mentioning this fact
+to Henry Dundas, he added that Palmer was "the most dangerous rebel in
+Scotland." It transpired in the course of the trial that the address was
+originally written by a weaver named Mealmaker, and that Palmer re-wrote
+it, toning down some expressions which he thought too strong. Mealmaker
+was a witness at the trial, but was not allowed directly to incriminate
+himself. The authorities preferred to strike at Palmer, a man of parts,
+educated at Eton and Cambridge, who latterly had officiated as Unitarian
+Minister at Montrose and Dundee. Doubtless these facts as well as his
+association with the Scottish Friends of Liberty brought on him a
+sentence of five years' transportation.[299]
+
+If the authorities hoped to crush the Scottish movement by these
+severities they were disappointed; for it throve on them. A spy, "J.
+B.," who regularly supplied Robert Dundas with reports about the
+Edinburgh club, wrote on 14th September 1793 that the sentence on Palmer
+had given new life to the Association; for, after a time of decline in
+the early summer, more than 200 now attended its meetings. On 28th
+October he stated that nearly all the Scottish clubs had revived.
+Dunlop, Lord Provost of Glasgow, also declared that discontent made
+progress every day; that the soldiery were corrupted, and that there was
+an urgent need of barracks.[300] Indignation also ran high at London.
+Evan Nepean wrote to Robert Dundas: "There is a devil of a stir here
+about Muir and Palmer." Braxfield's address to the jury was thus
+parodied in the "Morning Chronicle" of 4th March 1794:
+
+ I am bound by the law, while I sit in this place,
+ To say in plain terms what I think of this case.
+ My opinion is this, and you're bound to pursue it,
+ The defendants are guilty, and I'll make them rue it.
+
+Nevertheless, as another Convention had met at Edinburgh, Robert Dundas
+wrote to his uncle on 2nd November 1793 strongly deprecating any
+mitigation of the sentences. It was therefore in vain that the Earl of
+Lauderdale, Grey, and Sheridan interviewed the Home Secretary and
+pointed out that the offence of "leasing-making," or verbal sedition,
+was punishable in Scots law only with banishment, not with forcible
+detention at the Antipodes.[301] Henry Dundas informed his nephew on
+16th November that he would refer the whole question back to the Court
+of Justiciary, and if it defended the verdict "scientifically" and in
+full detail, he would "carry the sentence into execution and meet the
+clamour in Parliament without any kind of dismay."[302] Braxfield and
+his colleagues defended their conduct in an exhaustive treatise on
+"leasing-making," which the curious may read in the Home Office
+Archives.
+
+What was the attitude of Pitt towards these events? Ultimately he was
+responsible for these unjust and vindictive sentences; and it is a poor
+excuse to urge that he gave Dundas a free hand in Scottish affairs.
+Still, it is unquestionable that the initiative lay with the two
+Dundases. If any Englishman exerted influence on the sentences it was
+the Lord Chancellor, Loughborough.[303] He treated with contempt the
+motion of Earl Stanhope on 31st January 1794 for an examination into the
+case of Muir, when the Earl found himself in the position which he so
+much coveted--a minority of one. On the cases of Muir and Palmer coming
+before the Commons (10th March), Pitt upheld the Scottish Court of
+Justiciary in what was perhaps the worst speech of his whole career. He
+defended even the careful selection of jurymen hostile to Muir on the
+curious plea that though they were declared loyalists, yet they might be
+impartial as jurymen. He further denied that there had been any
+miscarriage of justice, or that the sentence on the "daring delinquents"
+needed revision. And these excuses for biassed and vindictive sentences
+were urged after Fox had uttered a noble and manly plea for justice, not
+for mercy. Grey bitterly declared that Muir was to be sent for fourteen
+years to Sydney for the offence of pleading for Reform, which Pitt and
+the Duke of Richmond advocated twelve years before. They sat in the
+King's Cabinet: Muir was sent to herd with felons. This taunt flew wide
+of the mark. Pitt in his motions for Reform had always made it clear
+that, while desirous of "a moderate and substantial Reform," he utterly
+repudiated universal suffrage. If those were his views in 1782-5, how
+could he accept the Radical programme now that it included the absurd
+demand for annual Parliaments? None the less Pitt was answerable for the
+action of the Home Minister in referring the sentences back to the
+judges who inflicted them--a course of conduct at once cowardly and
+farcical. Pitt's speech also proves him to have known of the
+irregularities that disgraced the trials. But he, a lawyer, condoned
+them and applauded the harsh and vindictive sentences. In short, he
+acted as an alarmist, not as a dispenser of justice.
+
+It is easy for us now to descant on the virtues of moderation. But how
+many men would have held on an even course when the guillotine worked
+its fell work in France, when the Goddess of Reason was enthroned in
+Notre Dame, and when Jacobinism seemed about to sweep over the
+Continent? Here, as at so many points, France proved to be the worst foe
+to ordered liberty. Robespierre and Hébert were the men who assured the
+doom of Muir and Palmer. A trivial incident will suffice to illustrate
+the alarm of Englishmen at the assembly of a British Convention. In
+December 1793 Drane, the mayor of Reading, reported to his neighbour
+Addington (Speaker of the House of Commons) that the "infamous Tom
+Paine" and a member of the French Convention had been overheard
+conversing in French in a public-house. Their talk turned on a proposed
+visit to the British Convention then sitting in Edinburgh. At once
+Addington sent for a warrant from the Home Office, while the mayor urged
+his informant to hunt the miscreants down. The machinery of the law was
+set in motion. A search was instituted; the warrant came down from
+Whitehall; and not until the sum of fourteen guineas had gone to the
+informant for his patriotic exertions did the authorities discover that
+they had been hoaxed.[304]
+
+The Edinburgh Convention, consisting of delegates of forty-five Reform
+Societies, seems to have pursued dully decorous methods until 6th
+November, when citizens Hamilton Rowan and Simon Butler came to
+represent Ireland; Joseph Gerrald and Maurice Margarot were the
+delegates from the London Corresponding Society; and Sinclair and York
+from the Society for Constitutional Information which met at the Crown
+and Anchor. A Convention of English Societies assembled at London about
+the same time, and deputed the four delegates to join the Edinburgh body
+and form a British Convention.[305] Accordingly, on 19th November, it
+took the title, "British Convention of Delegates of the People,
+associated to obtain Universal Suffrage and Annual Parliaments." The
+statement of Margarot, that the London police sought to prevent his
+journey to Edinburgh, should have been a warning to members to measure
+their words well. Unfortunately, Margarot, a vain hot-headed fellow, at
+once began to boast of the importance of the Radical Societies; though
+fluctuating in number, they were numerous in London; there were thirty
+of them in Norwich; and in the Sheffield district their members numbered
+50,000. "If," he added, "we could get a Convention of England and
+Scotland called, we might represent six or seven hundred thousand males,
+which is a majority of all the adults of the Kingdom; and the Ministry
+would not dare to refuse our rights."[306] Butler then declared that
+Belfast was in a state of veiled rebellion; Gerrald, the ablest and best
+educated of the delegates, also scoffed at the old party system, and
+said, "party is ever a bird of prey, and the people their banquet." On
+19th November a delegate from Sheffield, M. C. Brown, moved that the
+next British Convention should meet near the borders of England and
+Scotland. Thereupon Gerrald proposed that York should be chosen, despite
+its ecclesiastical surroundings; for (said he), "as the Saviour of the
+world was often found in the company of sinners, let us go there for the
+same gracious purpose, to convert to repentance."[307]
+
+All this was but the prelude to more serious work. On 26th-28th November
+the Convention declared it to be the duty of citizens to resist any law,
+similar to that lately passed in Dublin, for preventing the assembly of
+a Convention in Great Britain; and the delegates resolved to prepare to
+summon a Convention if the following emergencies should arise--an
+invasion, the landing of Hanoverian troops, the passing of a Convention
+Act, or the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. These defiant
+resolutions were proposed by Sinclair; and, as he afterwards became a
+Government informer, they were probably intended to lure the Convention
+away from its proper business into seditious ways. However that may be,
+the delegates solemnly assented to these resolutions.
+
+Scotsmen will notice alike with pride and indignation that the delegates
+of the Societies north of the Tweed adhered to their main purpose,
+Parliamentary Reform, until, under the lead of the men of London,
+Sheffield, and Dublin, debates became almost Parisian in vehemence. As
+reported in the "Edinburgh Gazetteer" of 3rd December, they gave Robert
+Dundas the wished-for handle of attack. Then and there he decided to
+disperse the Convention, so he informed Henry Dundas in the following
+letter of 6th December: "Last Tuesday's '[Edinburgh] Gazetteer,'
+containing a further account of the proceedings of the Convention
+appeared to the Solicitor and me so strong that we agreed to take notice
+of them. The proper warrants were accordingly made, and early yesterday
+morning put in execution against Margarot, Gerrald, Callender, Skirving,
+and one or two others, and with such effect that we have secured all
+their Minutes and papers. Their conduct has excited universal
+detestation."[308] The expulsion took place quite peaceably. The Lord
+Provost informed the delegates that it was not their meeting, but their
+publications, that led him to intervene. The Chairman, Paterson,
+thereupon "skulked off"; but Brown, the Sheffield delegate, took the
+chair, and declared that he would not quit it save under compulsion. The
+Lord Provost and constables then pulled him down; and the meeting was
+adjourned. Events ran the same course on the morrow, save that the
+chairman, Gerrald, was allowed to wind up the proceedings with prayer
+before he was pulled down. Thus ended the first British Convention.
+
+The natural sequel was a trial of the leaders, Sinclair, Margarot,
+Gerrald, and Skirving. Sinclair turned informer, whereupon his
+indictment was allowed to lapse. The others were charged with attending
+the meetings of the Convention which, "under the pretence of procuring a
+Reform of Parliament, were evidently of a dangerous and destructive
+tendency," modelled on those of the French Convention and with the like
+aims in view. The charge was held to be proven, and they were severally
+sentenced to transportation for fourteen years. The cases aroused keen
+interest, in part owing to the novel claims put forward by the
+prosecutor and endorsed by the Judges. The Lord Advocate argued that
+these men, in claiming to represent a majority of the people, were in
+reality planning a revolt; and Lord Justice Clerk finally declared that
+the crime of sedition consisted "in endeavouring to create a
+dissatisfaction in the country, which nobody can tell where it will end.
+It will very naturally end in overt rebellion; if it has that tendency,
+though not in the mind of the parties at the time, yet, if they have
+been guilty of poisoning the minds of the lieges, I apprehend that that
+will constitute the crime of sedition to all intents and purposes."[309]
+
+To find a parallel to this monstrous claim, that sedition may be
+unintentional and may consist in some action which the Government judges
+by its results, one would have to hark back to the days of Judge
+Jeffreys, whom indeed McQueen of Braxfield resembled in ferocity,
+cunning, and effrontery. The insolence of Margarot at the bar to some
+extent excused the chief judge for the exhibition of the same conduct on
+the bench. But in the case of Gerrald, an English gentleman of refined
+character and faultless demeanour, the brutalities of Braxfield aroused
+universal loathing. In one respect Gerrald committed an imprudence. He
+appeared in the dock, not in a wig, but displaying a shock of
+dishevelled hair, a sign of French and republican sympathies which
+seemed a defiance to the Court. Nevertheless, his speech in his own
+defence moved to its depths the mind of a young poet who had tramped all
+the way from Glasgow in the bleak March weather in order to hear the
+trial. At the end of the speech young Campbell turned to his neighbour,
+a humble tradesman, and said: "By heavens, Sir, that is a great man"; to
+which there came the reply: "Yes, Sir, he is not only a great man
+himself, but he makes every other man feel great who listens to him."
+
+In truth, the Scottish trials were a moral defeat for Pitt and his
+colleagues. Sympathy with the prisoners and detestation of the judges
+aroused a general outcry, which became furious when Braxfield declared
+that he had no idea that his sentence of transportation involved
+servitude and hard labour.[310] The assertion implies an incredible
+ignorance in the man who had packed the juries and sought to get his
+victims hanged. It may be regarded as a cunning and cowardly attempt to
+shift part of the odium on to the Government. Certainly the prestige of
+the Cabinet now fell to zero. Ministers were held responsible for
+Braxfield's wanton vagaries, and were accused of luring English
+democrats into the meshes of the Scottish law. This last charge is
+absurd. As we have seen, the London police sought to stop Margarot,
+Sinclair, and Gerrald from going to Edinburgh. It was their presence and
+that of the Irishmen which gave to the Convention almost a national
+character, and placed it in rivalry to Parliament. Their speeches were
+by far the most provocative. Finally, as the letter quoted above shows,
+the initiative in arresting the delegates was taken by Robert Dundas and
+the Scottish Solicitor-General. On 11th December Henry Dundas wrote to
+his nephew: "You get great credit here [London] for your attack on the
+Convention."[311]
+
+Far different was the comment of the London Corresponding Society. On
+20th January 1794 that body convened a great meeting which passed
+protests against the war, the expulsion of the British Convention, and
+the arrest of delegates. It also resolved that the general committee
+should sit permanently throughout the ensuing session. Further, that if
+the Government attacked the liberties of the people in the ways
+described above, the committee should call "a General Convention of the
+People for taking such measures under their consideration."[312] Equally
+threatening were the resolutions of the Constitutional Society of
+London.[313] Pitt resolved to take up the gauntlet flung down by these
+two powerful Societies. On 24th February 1794 Eaton, a publisher of
+Newgate Street, was tried for publishing in his periodical pamphlet,
+"Politics for the People: or Hogs-wash," a little parable with which
+that witty lecturer, Thelwall, had delighted a debating society. He told
+how a gamecock, resplendent with ermine-spotted breast, and crown or
+cockscomb, lorded it greedily over all the fowls of the farmyard.[314]
+The parallel to George III was sufficiently close to agitate the
+official mind; but the jury gave an open verdict, which implied that the
+King was not hinted at.
+
+The next prosecution, that of Thomas Walker, of Manchester, and six
+others broke down in a way highly discreditable to the authorities.
+Walker's services to the cause of Reform had, as we have seen, been
+conspicuous alike in energy and moderation, and his enemies in the
+Church and King Club made great exertions in order to procure a
+conviction. The archives of the Home Office throw a sinister light on
+their methods. A magistrate of Manchester, the Rev. John Griffith,
+informed the Home Secretary that Booth, a man who was imprisoned in June
+1793 for seditious practices, made a declaration against Thomas Walker
+and McCullum, members of the local Constitutional Society. According to
+Booth, McCullum had said: "Petitioning Parliament be d----d. You may as
+well petition the devil to reform himself. The only way is for each
+Society to send a number of delegates to a certain place, and there
+declare themselves the Representatives of the People and support
+themselves as such." Thomas Walker had also said that each member must
+have a musket, for they would soon want them.[315] But it transpired in
+the trial of Walker, McCullum, and others that Griffith had let Booth
+see that he wanted to incriminate Walker. He not only offered Booth his
+pardon for such evidence, but left him alone with Dunn, a malicious
+perjurer, the falsity of whose charges against Walker was convincingly
+demonstrated.[316] The case proves how far an unscrupulous magistrate
+could succeed in getting charges trumped up against an innocent man who
+opposed him in politics. Doubtless in other cases personal spite, or the
+desire of a reward, led to the offer of false charges; and the student
+who peruses the Home Office archives needs to remember the Greek
+caution, +memnêsth' apistein+, as much as if he were perusing French
+Memoirs.
+
+It is therefore with much doubt that one reads the declaration of a
+Sheffield magistrate, in May 1794, that there was in that town "a most
+horrid conspiracy against State and Church under the pretence of
+Reform." A vast number of pikes and spears had been made and "cats" to
+throw in the road to lame the horses. 2nd July was fixed for the
+storming of the barracks and town. "It is a mercy the plot is
+discovered. I am to be all night in the search." More detailed is the
+deposition of a magistrate of Sheffield, James Wilkinson, that a
+democrat named Widdison had made several pikes and sold twelve to Gales,
+a well-known Jacobinical printer. Further, that a witness, William
+Green, swore that a man named Jackson had employed him and others to
+make spear-heads; they made twelve dozen or more in two days, and the
+heads were sent to the lodgings of Hill and Jackson. Wilkinson wrote for
+instructions how to deal with these men; also for a warrant to arrest
+Gales. On 20th May Dundas sent down warrants for the arrest of Gales, W.
+Carnage, H. Yorke (_alias_ Redhead), W. Broomhead, R. Moody, and T.
+Humphreys; he also issued a warrant against Williams, a gun-engraver, of
+the Tower, in London.[317]
+
+In Birmingham, as we have seen, the two magistrates, Carles and Spencer,
+were out and out loyalists; and, as they wrote to Dundas on 23rd May
+1794 that there was not enough evidence to warrant a search for arms, we
+may infer that the Midland capital caused the authorities less concern
+than rebellious Sheffield. But even at Birmingham, with its traditions
+of exuberant loyalty, there were grounds for concern. John Brook, the
+mayor, informed Dundas that there were many malcontents in the
+neighbourhood, especially at Dudley.
+
+Turning to the East, we find signs that Norwich seethed with discontent.
+From that city had come the first suggestion of a General Convention of
+the People. On 5th March 1793 one of the thirty Societies of Norwich
+wrote up to the London Corresponding Society advocating that step, which
+Hardy and his colleagues approved "so soon as the great body of the
+people shall be courageous and virtuous enough to join us in the
+attempt." I have found no proof that either at Norwich or in London
+these Societies used illegal methods. The seditious placards posted up
+at Norwich may have been the work of some fanatic or of an _agent
+provocateur_. But it is very doubtful whether the holding of a People's
+Convention in the manner proposed was not an act of defiance to
+Parliament, and therefore seditious. Individual members certainly came
+within the ban of the law. Thus, Dundas received tidings that two
+members of Hardy's Society, named Stone and Meakins, were circulating
+seditious writings in Essex. When arrested they had with them one or
+two military books, copies of the revolutionary song, _Ça ira_, and
+similar papers;[318] but this fact does not incriminate the Society at
+large. In fact, the reports as to the purchase of arms and secret
+drillings are not very convincing. To take a few instances: information
+was sent to the Home Office that a man named Kitchen had sixty pikes in
+his house in George Street, near York Buildings; also that men were
+drilled secretly at the house of Spence, a seller of seditious pamphlets
+in the Little Turnstile, Holborn, and at that of Shelmerdine, a small
+tradesman of Southwark; the arms in the last case were bought from
+Williams, of the Tower, with a sum of £10 contributed by "a desperate
+tailor of China Walk, Lambeth."[319] Did patriotism or private spite or
+greed of money incite these reports? Drawings of pikes and spear-heads
+also diversified the report of the Secret Committee of the Lords
+appointed to investigate seditious proceedings, and probably convinced
+lovers of realism that plots actually existed.
+
+More alarming in reality were the preparations for a General Convention
+of the People. The authorities knew that plans were actually on foot for
+sending delegates to form such a body. On 27th March 1794 the London
+Corresponding Society consulted the sister club on this question; and in
+due course delegates from the two Societies passed resolutions in favour
+of the scheme. Hardy thereupon sent a printed letter round to similar
+bodies, probably early in the month of April 1794. It ran thus:
+
+ Notwithstanding the unparalleled audacity of a corrupt and
+ overbearing faction which at present tramples on the rights and
+ liberties of our people, our meetings cannot, in England, be
+ interrupted without the previous adoption of a Convention
+ Bill[320]--a measure it is our duty to anticipate.... Let us
+ then form another British Convention. We have a central
+ situation in our view, which we believe would be most convenient
+ for the whole island, but which we forbear to mention ... till
+ we have the answers of the Societies with which we are in
+ correspondence. Let us have your answer, then, by the 20th at
+ farthest, earlier if possible, whether you approve of the
+ measure and how many delegates you can send, with the number
+ also, if possible, of your Societies.
+
+ PS. We have appointed a Secret Committee on this. Will you do
+ the same?[321]
+
+In order to further the scheme, the London Corresponding Society held a
+meeting on 14th April at Chalk Farm, when an ardent appeal was read from
+Hardy to resist the encroachments on liberty recently made by "apostate
+reformers"--a fling at Pitt. "Are they alone," he asked, "to judge of
+the fit time for Reform?" The meeting then thanked Earl Stanhope for his
+manly and successful opposition to the attempt to bring Hanoverian and
+Hessian troops into England; it also condemned the late rapid advances
+of despotism and the arming one part of the people against the other.
+Finally it declared that in cases of necessity the safety of the people
+was the only law. We may here note that a few Hanoverian and Hessian
+battalions had been landed in Hampshire, as a temporary measure,
+previous to their transference to other ships. This occasioned some
+clamour at Westminster, Grey, Fox, Sheridan and others claiming that the
+liberties of England were in the direst danger. Pitt refused to accept a
+Bill of Indemnity for his action, and the House supported him by a great
+majority.[322]
+
+The other reference at the Chalk Farm meeting was to the proposal to
+sanction the subscriptions to the Volunteer forces now being raised in
+various counties.[323] At the outset this noble movement had in view the
+defence of the constitution no less than of the land; and this doubtless
+accounts for the fact that Coke, Mingay, and other Norfolk Whigs
+struggled desperately and successfully to break up a county meeting held
+at Norwich for this purpose on 12th April, shouting down even so able a
+speaker as Windham. In general, however, these meetings were an immense
+success. That at Aylesbury realized £5,851 for a county corps; and one
+at Epsom, for Surrey, brought in nearly double as much.[324] Most
+noteworthy of all these meetings was one of 19th April 1794 at
+Birmingham, where loyal sentiments crystalized in a rhetorical jewel of
+rare lustre. The "Loyal True Blues" of Birmingham, in view of the
+threats of the French "to insult the chalky cliffs of Albion and to
+plant in this island their accursed tree of liberty, more baneful in its
+effects than the poisonous tree of Java which desolates the country and
+corrupts the winds of heaven," resolved to quit the field of argument
+and to take arms as a Military Association. For nothing could be so
+effective as "the decided and awful plan of the whole Nation rising in a
+mass of Volunteers, determined to dispute every inch of ground with
+their daring aggressors and to spill the last drop of their blood in
+defence of their religion and their laws." They beg Edward Carver to
+command them; they will choose their uniform, will arrange themselves as
+grenadiers and light infantry; and, "to preserve the _coup d'oeil_, the
+whole corps will be arranged with the strictest attention to the height
+of the members."[325] Possibly the Royalists of Birmingham may have
+known of the hint conveyed in Hardy's letter, that the National
+Convention should assemble in some convenient centre, a phrase which
+seemed to point to their town, which, indeed, the Chartists chose for
+that purpose in 1839.
+
+In view of the fervent loyalty manifested on all sides, Ministers might
+surely have trusted to the majority to control the restless minority.
+Auckland expressed the general opinion when he said that the country in
+the proportion of ten to one was sound and loyal.[326] As the majority
+was armed, while the malcontents had but small stores of pikes, there
+was little cause for fear, though in the minority were some desperate
+men. In particular, Richard Davison, a prominent member of the Sheffield
+Constitutional Society, recommended the clubs of London and Norwich to
+buy consignments of pikes in order to resist the "newly-armed minions of
+the bare-faced aristocracy of the present Administration"; and it
+afterwards appeared that he could sell them at twenty pence each.[327]
+This letter was sent off on 24th April, 1794, seventeen days after the
+holding of a mass meeting on Castle Hill, Sheffield, at which the
+chairman, Henry Yorke (_alias_ Redhead), declared that, when the sun of
+Reason shone in its fullest meridian, the people would turn out the 558
+gentlemen from Westminster. The meeting resolved that, as the people
+ought to demand universal suffrage as a right, and not petition for it
+as a favour, they would never again petition the House of Commons on
+this subject.[328] Contemptuous epithets were now constantly hurled at
+Parliament. On 2nd May, that genial toper, Horne Tooke, of Wimbledon,
+declared at a dinner of the Constitutional Society in London that
+Parliament was a scoundrel sink of corruption, and that the scoundrel
+Opposition joined the scoundrel Government in order to destroy the
+rights of Englishmen. In order to add weight to his epithets he called
+the company to witness to his complete sobriety.[329]
+
+Pitt and his colleagues now decided to strike at the leaders who were
+planning a British Convention. Of these the most formidable was the
+Secretary of the London Corresponding Society. Accordingly, early on
+12th May, some Bow Street officers made their way into Hardy's shop, No.
+9, Piccadilly, arrested him, seized his papers, ransacking the room
+where Mrs. Hardy was in bed. The shock to her nerves was such as to
+bring on premature child-birth with fatal results. On the same day a
+royal message came to Parliament announcing that the efforts of certain
+Societies to summon a Convention in defiance of Parliament had led him
+to order the seizure of their books and papers. Those of the
+Corresponding and Constitutional Societies were brought, sealed up, to
+the House of Commons on the morrow, whereupon Pitt moved for the
+appointment of a secret committee to examine them. He himself, Dundas,
+and nineteen other members soon drew up the Report. When presented on
+16th May, it contained a statement of all the threatening symptoms of
+the time, and so far ignored the legal efforts of those Societies as to
+form a very alarming diagnosis.[330]
+
+The fears of Ministers were further aroused by the contents of a letter
+from the Rev. Jeremiah Joyce (tutor of Earl Stanhope's son) to Horne
+Tooke, which the Post Office had seized. It announced the arrest of
+citizen Hardy, and ended thus: "Query: is it possible to get ready by
+Thursday?"[331] Some effort of the imagination was needed to figure the
+Silenus of the literary world as a plotter against the lives of
+Ministers. But they now decided to arrest him and the Reverend Jeremiah,
+as well as Bonney, Richter, and Kyd, also members of the Constitutional
+Society, besides Camage and one or two other democrats of Sheffield.
+Davison, the would-be seller of pikes, had fled betimes.
+
+These were the circumstances which induced Pitt to propose the
+suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act (16th May). The Report of the Secret
+Committee having been read, he proceeded to exaggerate the import of the
+more threatening parts of the evidence, and to convince the House that
+these Societies, which had congratulated the French Convention, and
+still aped its methods, were plotting to set up an authority openly
+hostile to Parliament. With all the force of his oratory he pictured the
+state of things that must ensue--"an enormous torrent of insurrection,
+which would sweep away all the barriers of government, law and religion,
+and leave our country a naked waste for usurped authority to range in,
+uncontrolled and unresisted." Despite the warning of Fox that the remedy
+now proposed was worse than the evil which it sought to avert; despite
+the pleas of Grey and Sheridan against indecent haste in hurrying on
+this arbitrary measure, it was forced through every stage in the Commons
+at that single sitting; finally, at half-past three in the morning, the
+numbers of the Whig protestors sank to 13, while the Ministerialists
+still mustered 108 strong.[332]
+
+This collapse of the Opposition was due to a sharp cleavage in its ranks
+on the vital issues now at stake. As has already appeared, Pitt had
+consulted the Duke of Portland and his immediate followers on subjects
+affecting public order. Some of the Old Whigs, notably Windham, served
+on the Committee of Secrecy; and the evidence there forthcoming led them
+to propose a general support of Government both in its war policy and
+the maintenance of order. Those eager Royalists, Burke and Windham, took
+the lead in proposing an alliance with the Ministry. The question arose
+whether the Old Whigs should support from outside or actually coalesce
+with the Ministry, taking their fair share of power. Burke strongly
+advised the latter course as the only means of assuring continued and
+strenuous support. This opened a sluice gate of correspondence,
+resulting in important changes in the Cabinet. I shall refer to this
+matter later, merely noting here that the Duke of Portland took over
+from Dundas the Home Office, which was thenceforth limited to British
+and Irish affairs, Dundas becoming Secretary of State for War, and
+Windham Secretary at War. The changes were most opportune; for they
+strengthened the administrative machine and served to build up a
+national party strong enough to cope with the growing difficulties of
+the time. Thenceforth there was no danger of the overthrow of the
+Ministry. Further, the panic pervading all parts of England in May 1794
+was soon allayed by the news of Howe's victory, termed "the glorious
+First of June"; while in July the fall of Robespierre caused a general
+sense of relief. In view of these events, Pitt would have done well to
+relax his efforts against the British Jacobins. He held on his way and
+encountered sharp rebuffs. The trial of Hardy and others in October
+dragged on to a great length; and, after hearing an enormous mass of
+evidence (some of which proved the possession of arms by democrats) the
+jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. This result, due to the masterly
+defence by Erskine and Gibbs, aroused a tumult of joy in the vast crowd
+outside such as London had rarely seen. Hardy afterwards asserted that,
+in case of a conviction, Government had decided to arrest about 800 more
+persons.[333] This is mere hearsay; but it has been fastened upon by
+those who seek to father upon Pitt the design of reviving the days of
+Strafford and "Thorough." A fortnight previously Watt, once a government
+informer, was convicted at Edinburgh of a treasonable plot to set the
+city on fire, sack the banks, and attack the castle. Before he went to
+execution he confessed his guilt.[334]
+
+This was the only conviction obtained by Government. The trial of Horne
+Tooke ran a course unfavourable to Ministers, the evidence for the
+prosecution being flimsy in the extreme. Pitt himself was called to the
+witness-box, and when closely cross-questioned by Erskine as to his
+former connection with the Reform cause, admitted that he was present at
+a meeting at the Duke of Richmond's residence, at which delegates from
+county Reform Associations were present. The admission exposed him to
+the charge of inconsistency in the eyes of those who looked only at the
+surface of things. In reality, those who met at the Duke of Richmond's
+house had nothing in common with the democratic clubs which proposed to
+override the will of Parliament by a National Convention. Yet, as the
+superficial view gains a ready assent, the fame of Pitt now underwent
+an eclipse. Never again did he hear the whole-hearted acclaim which
+greeted him in the years 1784-90. The roar of delight which went up at
+the news of the acquittal of Horne Tooke was a sign of the advent of a
+new era, in whose aspirations Pitt had no part.
+
+The prosecutions against Bonney, Joyce, Kyd, and Holcroft were now
+dropped. The charge against Thelwall was pressed home, but resulted in
+another defeat for Government. Thus, except in the case of Watt, no
+proof was forthcoming of treasonable designs, though the apprehension of
+Davison of Sheffield might perhaps have led to discoveries of that
+nature. In the main, then, Pitt and his colleagues failed to justify the
+harsh measure of suspending the Habeas Corpus Act; and the failure of
+the State prosecutions led to a marked increase of the membership and
+activity of the London Corresponding Society, with results which will
+appear later.
+
+Nevertheless, Pitt's conduct is far from indefensible with regard to the
+main point at issue, the meeting of a National Convention. In view of
+the projects of some of the wilder spirits at London, Sheffield,
+Norwich, and Edinburgh, it is presumptuous to charge him with
+causelessly seeking to bring about a "Reign of Terror." He was face to
+face with developments which might easily have become dangerous; and,
+with the example of Paris before him, he not unnaturally took what he
+thought to be the safer course, that of stopping them at the outset.
+Indeed, we may question whether Fox, had he been in power, would have
+allowed the assembling of a National Convention, pledged to press upon
+Parliament measures which he reprobated.
+
+It is when we come to details that Pitt is open to the charge of acting
+with undue severity. Considering the proved loyalty of the great mass of
+the people, what need was there to inaugurate a system of arbitrary
+arrests? After all, England was not France. Here no systematic assault
+had been made on the institutions in Church and State. The constitution
+had suffered dilapidation, but it was storm-proof, and the garrison was
+strongly entrenched. Moreover, the democrats for the most part urged
+their case without any of the appeals to violence which wrought havoc in
+France. There the mob delighted to hurry a suspect to _la lanterne_ and
+to parade heads on pikes. Here the mass meeting at Chalk Farm, or on
+Castle Hill, Sheffield, ended with loss neither of life nor of
+property. So far as I have found, not one life was taken by the people
+in the course of this agitation--a fact which speaks volumes for their
+religious sense, their self-restraint even amidst deep poverty, and, in
+general, their obedience to law even when they deemed it oppressive. The
+hero of the year 1794 is not William Pitt, but the British nation.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[274] See "The Complaints of the Poor People of England," by G. Dyer,
+B.A. (late of Emmanuel College, Camb., 1793).
+
+[275] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 27, 28.
+
+[276] E. Smith, "The English Jacobins," 111-3; C. Cestre, "John
+Thelwall," ch. ii.
+
+[277] "Report of the Committee of Secrecy," May 1794. The Duke of
+Richmond's plan was the Westminster programme of 1780, which became the
+"six points" of the Charter of 1838.
+
+[278] See Fox's letter of 2nd May 1793 to Hardy in "State Trials," xxiv,
+791.
+
+[279] M. Conway, "Life of T. Paine," i, 346.
+
+[280] In the Place MSS. (Brit. Mus.), vol. entitled "Libel, Sedition,
+Treason, Persecution"--a valuable collection.
+
+[281] "Parl. Hist.," xxxii, 929-44.
+
+[282] "Collection of Addresses ... to the National Convention of France"
+(Debrett, 1793), 14.
+
+[283] "Speeches of Lord Erskine," 293.
+
+[284] "State Trials," xxii, 471-522.
+
+[285] Porritt, ii, 128.
+
+[286] "H. O.," Scotland, 7.
+
+[287] _Ibid._
+
+[288] "State Trials," xxiii, 118-26.
+
+[289] I differ here from Lord Cockburn, "Examination of the Trials for
+Sedition in Scotland," i, 147.
+
+[290] _Ibid._, i, 162-5; "State Trials," xxiii, 146-8, 160.
+
+[291] P. Mackenzie, "Life of Muir," does not state the reason for Muir's
+visit to Paris.
+
+[292] "H. O.," Scotland, 8. Dunlop, Lord Provost of Glasgow, sent it to
+Robert Dundas on 12th March 1793. For this William Christie, who
+translated the French Constitution of 1791 into English, see Alger,
+"Englishmen in the French Revolution," 78, 98.
+
+[293] See Campbell, "Lives of the Lord Chancellors," vii, 273, note, and
+viii, 143-5, for criticisms on the judges: also Cockburn, _op. cit._, i,
+147-80; "Life of Romilly," i, 23.
+
+[294] "H. O.," Scotland, 8. Letter of 2nd August 1793. Dundas further
+stated that Muir had several Irish handbills on him.
+
+[295] Curiously enough, Lord Cockburn paid no heed to this in his
+otherwise able examination of the case.
+
+[296] T. Wolfe Tone, "Autobiography," ii, 285.
+
+[297] "H. O.," Scotland, 7.
+
+[298] "H. O.," Scotland, 8. W. Scot to R. Dundas, 1st August.
+
+[299] See the "Narrative of the Sufferings of T. F. Palmer and W.
+Skirving" (1794), and "Monthly Mag.," xvii, 83-5, for Palmer's
+adventures. He died of dysentery in 1799.
+
+[300] "H. O.," Scotland, 9.
+
+[301] Their Memorial to Henry Dundas is in "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic),
+27. They did not claim that he was innocent, merely that the punishment
+was excessive and unjust.
+
+[302] "Arniston Mems.," 240.
+
+[303] Campbell, _op. cit._, viii, 145, 147.
+
+[304] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 27.
+
+[305] For the instructions see E. Smith, "The Story of the English
+Jacobins," 87.
+
+[306] "State Trials," xxiii, 414.
+
+[307] J. Gerrald had published a pamphlet, "A Convention the only Means
+of saving us from Ruin" (1793). It is in the British Museum.
+
+[308] "H. O.," Scotland, 9.
+
+[309] "State Trials," xxiii, 766.
+
+[310] "Auckland Journals," iii, 205.
+
+[311] "Arniston Mems.," 242.
+
+[312] E. Smith, "The Eng. Jacobins," 93-7.
+
+[313] See "Report of the Committee of Secrecy" (17th May 1794).
+
+[314] C. Cestre, "John Thelwall," 77.
+
+[315] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 30.
+
+[316] "State Trials," xxiii, 1055-1166. For technical reasons this
+statement of Booth could not be given at Walker's trial. Besides
+Walker's Constitutional Society, there were two others, the Reformation
+and Patriotic Societies, founded in March and April 1792.
+
+[317] See E. Smith, "The Eng. Jacobins," ch. vi, for the meetings at
+Sheffield and the part played by Yorke.
+
+[318] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 31.
+
+[319] _Ibid._, 27, 29. Spence purveyed "Pigs' Meat," while Eaton sold
+"Hogs' Wash." The titles are a take-off of Burke's phrase "the swinish
+multitude."
+
+[320] _I.e._, similar to the one passed in Dublin against a People's
+Convention.
+
+[321] "Report of the Parl. Comm. of Secrecy" (17th May 1794).
+
+[322] "Parl. Hist.," xxx, 1363-91; xxxi, 1-27.
+
+[323] _Ibid._, xxxi, 97-121.
+
+[324] "Morning Chronicle" for April 1794.
+
+[325] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 30.
+
+[326] "Auckland Journals," iii, 213.
+
+[327] "State Trials," xxiv, 588, 600, 601.
+
+[328] "State Trials," xxiv, 626.
+
+[329] E. Smith, "Eng. Jacobins," 116.
+
+[330] "Parl. Hist.," xxxi, 475-97.
+
+[331] "Life of Horne Tooke," ii, 119. It was afterwards absurdly said
+that Dundas, Horne Tooke's neighbour at Wimbledon, had had the letter
+filched from his house. Both of them lived on the west side of the
+"green."
+
+[332] "Parl. Hist.," xxxi, 497-505.
+
+[333] "Life of T. Hardy," 42; "State Trials," xxiv, 717, 729, 762, etc.
+The evidence fills 1,207 pages.
+
+[334] _Ibid._, 1-200.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER VIII
+
+ PITT AND THE ALLIES (1794-5)
+
+ The main object of His Majesty is the keeping together by
+ influence and weight this great Confederation by which alone the
+ designs of France can be resisted, and which, if left to itself,
+ would be too likely to fall to pieces from the jarring interests
+ of the Powers engaged in it.--GRENVILLE TO MALMESBURY, _21st
+ April 1794_.
+
+ The disgraceful failure of every military operation His Prussian
+ Majesty has undertaken since the year 1791 has destroyed the
+ reputation of the Prussian army; and the duplicity and
+ versatility of his Cabinet put an end to all confidence and good
+ faith.--MALMESBURY TO GRENVILLE, _20th September 1794_.
+
+
+As in parliamentary life, so too in the wider spheres of diplomacy and
+warfare, a Coalition very rarely holds together under a succession of
+sharp blows. This is inherent in the nature of things. A complex or
+heterogeneous substance is easily split up by strokes which leave a
+homogeneous body intact. Rocks of volcanic origin defy the hammer under
+which conglomerates crumble away; and when these last are hurled against
+granite or flint, they splinter at once. Well might Shakespeare speak
+through the mouth of Ulysses these wise words on the divisions of the
+Greeks before Troy:
+
+ Look how many Grecian tents do stand
+ Hollow upon this plain, so many hollow factions.
+ ...
+ Troy in our weakness stands, not in her strength.[335]
+
+Pitt and his colleagues were under no illusion as to the weakness of the
+first Coalition against France. They well knew the incurable jealousies
+of the Houses of Hapsburg and Hohenzollern, the utter weakness of the
+Holy Roman Empire, the poverty or torpor of Spain, Sardinia, and
+Naples, the potent distractions produced by the recent partition of
+Poland, and the Machiavellian scheme of the Empress Catharine II to busy
+the Central Powers in French affairs so that she might have a free hand
+at Warsaw. All this and much more stood revealed to them. But they
+grounded their hopes of success on two important considerations; first,
+that the finances of France were exhausted; secondly, that the rule of
+the Jacobins, fertile in forced loans, forced service, and guillotining,
+must speedily collapse. On the subject of French finance there are many
+notes in the Pitt Papers, which show that Pitt believed an utter
+breakdown to be imminent. Grenville, too, at the close of October 1793,
+stated that France had lost at least 200,000 soldiers, while more than
+50,000 were in hospital. The repugnance to military service was
+universal, and the deficit for the month of August alone was close on
+£17,000,000.[336]
+
+Above all, Pitt and Grenville believed the French Government to be
+incompetent as well as exasperatingly cruel. In their eyes Jacobins were
+sworn foes to all that made government possible. The mistake was
+natural. The English Ministers knew little of what was going on in
+France, and therefore failed to understand that the desperadoes now in
+power at Paris were wielding a centralized despotism, compared with
+which that of Louis XIV was child's play. As to the Phoenix-like
+survival of French credit, it is inexplicable even to those who have
+witnessed the wonders wrought by Thiers in 1870-3. All that can be said
+is that the Jacobins killed the goose that laid the golden egg, and yet
+the golden eggs were laid. Let him who understands the miracle of
+revolutionary finance cast the first stone at Pitt.
+
+The Prime Minister also erred when he believed the French social
+structure to be breaking up. Here again the miscalculation was perfectly
+natural in an age which regarded kings, nobles, and bishops as the fixed
+stars of a universe otherwise diversified only by a dim Milky Way. The
+French were the first to dispel these notions. In truth the strength of
+the young giant bore witness to the potency of the new and as yet allied
+forces--Democracy and Nationality. In 1792 Democracy girded itself
+eagerly against the semi-feudal Powers, Austria and Prussia; but the
+strength latent in the French people appeared only in the next year
+when, on the accession of England, Spain, and the Empire to the
+Coalition, plans were discussed of detaching Alsace, Lorraine,
+Roussillon, and Flanders.[337] To these sacrilegious schemes the French
+patriots opposed the dogma of Rousseau--the indivisibility of the
+general will. "Perish 25,000,000 Frenchmen rather than the Republic one
+and indivisible." This perfervid, if illogical, exclamation of a
+Commissioner of the Convention reveals something of that passion for
+unity which now fused together the French nation. Some peoples merge
+themselves slowly together under the shelter of kindred beliefs and
+institutions. Others again, after feeling their way towards closer
+union, finally achieve it in the explosion of war or revolution. The
+former case was the happy lot of the British nation; the latter, that of
+the French. Pitt, with his essentially English outlook, failed to
+perceive that the diverse peoples grouped together under the French
+monarchy had now attained to an indissoluble unity under the stress of
+the very blows which he and his Allies dealt in Flanders, Alsace, and
+Provence.
+
+For by this time the counter-strokes dealt by the Republicans were
+telling with fatal effect on their adversaries. The failure of the
+Spanish campaign in Roussillon and the irruption of a French force into
+Catalonia dashed the spirits of that weak and wavering monarch,
+Charles IV; and already whispers were heard that peace with France was
+necessary. The disputes with England concerning Nootka Sound and affairs
+at Toulon predisposed the King and his people to think with less horror
+of the regicides of Paris. As for Sardinia, the childish obscurantism of
+the Court of Turin had nursed to quick life a mushroom growth of
+Jacobinism. The army defending the Alpine passes was honeycombed with
+discontent; and the suspicious conduct of Austria towards her little
+ally foreshadowed the divisions and disasters which quickly followed on
+the advent of Bonaparte at that theatre of the war.
+
+It was clear that only from London could come the impulse which would
+invigorate this anaemic Coalition. Pitt sought to impart such an impulse
+in the King's Speech at the opening of the Session of 1794. It had
+throughout a defiant ring. The capture of three of the northern
+fortresses of France, the gains in the East and West Indies (they
+amounted to Pondicherry, Chandernagore, and Tobago, together with
+Miquelon and St. Pierre), the blow dealt to her navy at Toulon, and the
+impossibility of her continuing the recent prodigious exertions, were in
+turn duly emphasized. And on 21st January 1794, when Fox moved an
+amendment in favour of peace, the Prime Minister spoke even more
+strongly of the madness of coming to terms with the present rulers of
+France. Could any statesman not gifted with second sight have spoken
+otherwise? At that time the Reign of Terror was approaching its climax.
+The Goddess of Reason had lately been enthroned in Notre Dame amidst
+ribald songs and dances. The schism between Robespierre and the
+atheistical party was beginning to appear; and few persons believed that
+France would long bend the knee before the lords of the guillotine,
+whose resources were largely derived from the plunder of churches and
+banks, forced loans from the wealthy, and a graduated Income Tax
+resembling the Spartan proposals of Thomas Paine.
+
+In such a case Pitt naturally repeated his statement of the previous
+session, that he altogether deprecated a peace with France, unless it
+possessed some elements of permanence, and secured due indemnity to
+Great Britain. Nay, he declared that he would rather persevere with war,
+even in the midst of disasters, than come to terms with the present
+rulers of France, who were alike enemies of order and rabid foes of
+England. They drove men into battle by fear of the guillotine; they
+formed rapine and destruction into a system, and perverted to their
+detestable purposes all the talents and ingenuity derived from the
+civilization around them. He was careful, however, to correct the
+mis-statement of Fox, that the Government was struggling for the
+restoration of the French monarchy. While believing that that nation
+would live most happily under a King, Pitt denied that a restoration was
+the object of the present war. We have already seen that he held this
+view in his correspondence with the Austrian Court. The House supported
+Ministers by 277 votes to 59.
+
+These declarations, backed by so large a majority, caused great
+satisfaction at Vienna, and heartened that Government in the midst of
+its many uncertainties. There was every need of encouragement. In that
+age, when the great monarchs of the eighteenth century had passed, or
+were passing, away, Francis II stood somewhat low among the
+mediocrities on whom fell the strokes of destiny. He was a poor replica
+of Leopold II. Where the father was supple and adroit, the son was
+perversely obstinate or weakly pliable. In place of foresight and
+tenacity in the pursuit of essentials, Francis was remarkable for a more
+than Hapsburg narrowness of view, and he lacked the toughness which had
+not seldom repaired the blunders of that House. Those counsellors swayed
+him most who appealed to his family pride, or satisfied his other
+dominant feelings, attachment to the old order of things and a pedantic
+clinging to established usages. But the weakness of his character soon
+became so patent as to excite general distrust, especially as he was
+swayed by the wayward impulses of his consort, a daughter of
+Ferdinand IV and Maria Carolina of Naples. From her mother she inherited
+a hatred of French principles and the bent towards intrigue and
+extravagance which wrecked the careers of that Queen and of her sister,
+Marie Antoinette. Francis II and his consort longed to stamp out the
+French plague; but they lacked the strength of mind and of will that
+commands success. Our special envoy at Vienna, Thomas Grenville,
+questioned whether the Emperor "had steadiness enough to influence the
+Government."
+
+According to the same competent judge, the Chancellor Thugut was the
+only efficient Minister, being very laborious in his work, and indeed
+"the only man of business about the Court."[338] Yet Thugut was rather a
+clever diplomat and ideal head-clerk than a statesman. In forethought he
+did not much excel his master. Indeed, his personality and his position
+alike condemned him to aim at cheap and easy gains. His features and
+figure were mean. Worse still, he was of low birth, a crime in the eyes
+of nobles and courtiers who for nearly half a century had seen the
+prestige of the Chancery enhanced by the lordly airs and whims of
+Kaunitz. Fear of courtly intrigues ever obsessed the mind of Thugut; and
+thus, whenever the horizon darkened, this coast-hugging pilot at once
+made for the nearest haven. In particular, as the recovery of Belgium in
+the year 1793 brought no financial gain, but unending vistas of war, he
+sought other means of indemnity, and discovered them in Alsace-Lorraine,
+South Poland, and Venice. The first was a concession to the pride of
+the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine; but Thugut saw in Venetia and in the
+land south of Warsaw the readiest means of indemnifying Austria for the
+loss of her Belgic Provinces, which after the defeat of Wattignies
+(October 1793) he probably expected and welcomed.
+
+In this orientation of Hapsburg policy Thugut did but follow the impulse
+first imparted by Hertzberg at Berlin. As we have seen, Frederick
+William II entered on the French war in one of his chivalrous moods,
+which passed away amidst the smoke of Valmy. The miseries of the retreat
+Rhinewards, and the incursion of the French into the valley of the Main
+taught him prudence, while the ease of his conquest of Great Poland
+early in the year 1793 assured the victory of statecraft over chivalry.
+Morton Eden reported from Berlin that, had the preparations for the
+Valmy campaign equalled in thoroughness those for the invasion of
+Poland, events must have gone very differently in Champagne. The
+circumspection with which the Prussians conducted the siege of Mainz in
+the summer of 1793, and the long delays of the autumn, have already been
+noticed. The result of it was that at Christmastide of the year 1793
+Pichegru and Hoche threw back Wurmser in disastrous rout, and compelled
+Brunswick hurriedly to retire to the Rhine.
+
+As always happens between discordant allies after defeats, Berlin and
+Vienna indulged in a war of words, amidst which the Coalition would
+probably have broken up but for the efforts of British diplomacy. The
+Pitt Ministry had despatched to Berlin the ablest of British
+diplomatists, Lord Malmesbury, with a view to strengthening the accord
+between the three Powers; and the mingled charm and authority of his
+presence did much to thwart the petty prejudices and intrigues prevalent
+at that capital. He took Brussels and Frankfurt on his way to Berlin,
+and his diary shows the listlessness or discontent which had infected
+the officers of the British army. Many of them openly brought against
+the Duke of York the most outrageous and unfounded charges, and it seems
+that about fifty of them went on furlough to England, where they spread
+those slanders and played into the hands of the Opposition.[339]
+Malmesbury's converse with the Duke and others at Ath convinced him that
+the commander-in-chief was striving manfully and generously against a
+situation full of difficulty.
+
+At Frankfurt, and again at Berlin, Malmesbury found signs that Frederick
+William was ashamed at the ignominious issue of the campaign, and
+professed a desire to take up the duties which the Duke of Brunswick had
+so haltingly fulfilled. The King seemed rather pleased than otherwise at
+the Austrian reverses in the north of Alsace, but by no means indisposed
+to renew the attack upon France, always provided that England paid him a
+sufficient subsidy. He assured the envoy that his _chef-d'oeuvre_, the
+Triple Alliance of 1788, was still a reality, but he declared, on the
+faith of an honest man, that the state of Prussia's finances would not
+enable him to face a third campaign. In point of fact, out of the
+reserve fund of 80,000,000 crowns which Frederick the Great had handed
+on, only 20,000,000 or perhaps only 14,000,000 remained in the early
+days of 1794.[340]
+
+Other difficulties beset the Prussian monarch. Want of work had driven
+the weavers of Silesia to a state of frenzy and tumult almost resembling
+a _Jacquerie_; and there and elsewhere serfs and peasants talked openly
+of casting off the restraints and burdens of Feudalism. In such a case
+the veriest autocrat must pause before he commits his country to the
+risks of a loan (that of 1792 had exhausted Prussia's credit), or to a
+campaign where the losses were certain and the gains doubtful. On this
+last topic various schemes had been bandied to and fro between Berlin
+and Vienna. The debt of honour certainly bade Frederick William help to
+secure to his rival a counterpart to Prussia's acquisitions in Poland;
+but, apart from this consideration and the need of stamping out the
+French pest in the Rhineland, the politicians of Berlin found few
+reasons for prolonging the war. What wonder, then, that they set on foot
+intrigues with the regicides of Paris? Marshal Möllendorf, the commander
+whom Frederick William substituted for the weary and disgusted Duke of
+Brunswick, proved to be a partisan of peace.[341]
+
+Royalist at heart, but beset by advisers and mistresses who fanned his
+jealousy of Austria and love of ease, Frederick William wavered under
+the whims of the hour or the counsels of the last comer. Malmesbury thus
+summed up the question now at issue in his letter to Pitt of 9th January
+1794: "Can we do without the King of Prussia or can we not? If we can,
+he is not worth the giving of a guinea for. If we cannot, I am afraid we
+cannot give too many." Malmesbury saw no means of keeping Frederick
+William steady up to the end of the war. Pitt and Grenville, however,
+devised the following expedient. They offered the sum of £2,000,000 for
+bringing 100,000 Prussians into the field. Of this sum Great Britain
+would furnish two fifths (or £800,000), and Austria and Holland each one
+fifth, the last fifth being advanced by Prussia herself until she
+reimbursed herself from France at the general peace. The device was
+suggestive of that of the rustic who tempts his beast of burden onwards
+by dangling a choice vegetable before his nose.
+
+Frederick William alone might have been attracted by the offer; but his
+advisers haggled long and obstinately over details. Chief among the
+objectors was a Councillor of State, Haugwitz, an oily, plausible
+creature, whose Gallophil leanings were destined finally to place his
+country under the heel of Napoleon and deal a death-blow to Pitt. For
+the present, he treated Malmesbury with a moderation and courtesy that
+deftly veiled a determined opposition. The British envoy was fully his
+match. Finding that Haugwitz ascribed all difficulties and delays to the
+Austrian embassy, he advised him to propose the transfer of the
+negotiations to The Hague, where these annoyances would cease. Vain and
+always prone to take the easiest course, Haugwitz swallowed the bait and
+succeeded in carrying a point which was all in Malmesbury's favour,
+especially as it saved time in communicating with Downing Street. After
+annoying delays they set out on 23rd March; and with the aid of
+twenty-two horses at each post traversed the 326 (English) miles to The
+Hague in 120 hours during the days, 23rd-30th March, when the campaign
+ought to have opened.
+
+The prospects at Vienna were equally gloomy. Morton Eden's reports to
+Grenville form an unrelieved jeremiad. Even amidst the alarms caused by
+the disasters at Toulon and in the Palatinate, jealousy of Prussia was
+the dominant feeling. The utmost efforts of our ambassador failed to
+convince Francis II and Thugut of the need of humouring Prussia by
+meeting her demand for an additional subsidy and by guaranteeing bread
+and forage for the 20,000 men who formed her contingent in the Austrian
+service. Into these wearisome quarrels we need not enter, further than
+to note that they were envenomed by the acerbity of the Prussian
+ambassador at Vienna. The Marquis Lucchesini, born at Lucca in 1752,
+early entered the service of Frederick the Great, to whom he acted as
+reader. He advanced rapidly under his successor. His commanding
+demeanour and vivacity of speech, added to great powers of work, and
+acuteness in detecting the foibles of others, made him a formidable
+opponent. Further, his marriage with the sister of Bischoffswerder,
+until lately the King's favourite adviser, added to his influence,
+which, as was natural with a foreigner, inclined towards the attractive
+and gainful course. Long afterwards the saviour of Prussia, Baron vom
+Stein, classed him among the narrow, selfish, insincere men who had been
+the ruin of nations.[342] Certainly he helped to ruin Poland; and now
+his conduct at Vienna clogged the efforts of Morton Eden and Malmesbury
+to strengthen the Coalition against France. Eden complained that he
+behaved as an intriguing subaltern rather than as an ambassador; and
+rumour credibly ascribed his tortuous and exasperating conduct to French
+gold.
+
+In the midst of his irritation against Prussia and her envoy, Thugut
+heard with astonishment the British proposals, presented at Berlin early
+in February, to bring 100,000 Prussians into the field. Urgently he
+remonstrated with Eden, pointing out that Prussia had played them false
+in two campaigns, and would do so again, witness her late contention
+that France must not be weakened. On no account, then, must Frederick
+William head a compact mass of 100,000 men in the Palatinate. He would
+be the arbiter of the situation. He would be between the Austrian army
+in Brabant and the Hapsburg States. Nay, he might march into Swabia,
+reach the Danube, take boats at Ulm, and, sailing down that stream, have
+Vienna at his mercy![343] So pressing were these anxieties that, at the
+close of February, Thugut sent a special request to Catharine II to
+guarantee the security of Austria's possessions in case Frederick
+William withdrew from the Coalition.
+
+Despite the utmost efforts of the British Ministry and its envoys, no
+plan of vigorous co-operation could be arranged between the two German
+rivals; the sole link connecting them was the clause of the treaty of
+1792, whereby Austria, as having been attacked by France, claimed the
+help of 20,000 Prussians. Frederick William decided that this force
+must remain at Mainz, in order to guard the Empire from a French raid.
+He promised 80,000 more troops to Great Britain and Holland, provided
+that they were paid for. On one point alone the four Allies came near to
+agreement, namely, that the main Prussian army should operate in
+Flanders, so as effectively to defend the Dutch territory, secure
+conquests in the North of France, and, above all, preclude the quarrels
+which must ensue if it acted near the Austrians.[344] Thugut of course
+assented, his great aim being to remove the Prussians as far as possible
+from Swabia. Disputes on these subjects went on up to the end of March
+1794, the time when an advance into French Flanders promised great
+results.
+
+The reader will naturally ask--Can this be called a Coalition? A
+Coalition implies some power of coalescing. But among the four Powers
+there was far more of disunion than union. In fact, England was the sole
+link between these wrangling confederates, and that, too, solely by
+means of what Carlyle called the cash nexus. Grenville, using a more
+homely metaphor, averred that the German princes turned towards England
+as an inexhaustible milch-cow. The animal in this case could dictate her
+terms; and thus the relations of the three Powers resembled those of a
+rich but somewhat exigent employer to grumbling and distrustful
+employees. Holland also, in return for her sacrifices in men and money,
+demanded from Austria a better frontier on the side of Dutch Flanders
+and Maestricht, to which the Viennese Court opposed a quiet but firm
+resistance.
+
+It speaks volumes for the confidence inspired by Pitt and Grenville, and
+for the tactful zeal of Malmesbury and Eden, that they induced the
+German rivals to make one more effort. The Duke of York also played an
+important part in the formation of the plan of campaign; for he it was
+who persuaded Colonel Mack to accompany him to London, and there discuss
+with Ministers the alternative schemes. The mention of Mack will excite
+surprise among those who know of him only by the futile Neapolitan
+campaign of 1799, and the frightful disaster of Ulm. In regard to
+strategy and the theory of war he displayed much ability; and his
+administrative talents and energy as Quarter-Master-General in 1793
+should have screened him from the criticism that he discoursed
+brilliantly on war in _salons_, and in the council rhetorically
+developed specious and elegant plans.[345]
+
+Mack's plan of operations was first submitted to the judgement of the
+Archduke Charles, the Prince of Coburg, Count Mercy, the Prince of
+Orange, and the Duke of York, at Brussels. Next, he proceeded, along
+with Counts Stahremberg and Merveldt to London, and on 13th February
+unfolded his plan to Pitt, Grenville, and Dundas. The Duke of York had
+preceded him by two days, but was absent from this conference. It became
+piquant when Pitt "playfully" remarked to Mack that a great general had
+recently arrived at London whose appointment to the command of the
+British force in Flanders would doubtless meet with his warm approval.
+After a little more fencing, Pitt gave the name of the Marquis
+Cornwallis, who had just returned from his Viceroyalty in India. Mack by
+no means welcomed the proposal, and made the irreverent remark that the
+best General, after fighting elephants in India, would be puzzled by the
+French. Pitt thereupon observed that the Duke of York had not the
+confidence of the army, to which Mack and Merveldt replied by praising
+his character, and decrying his critics as a set of influential but
+inexperienced youths.
+
+The matter then dropped, and the Duke was present at the conference on
+the morrow. Finally, Austria and England bound themselves to make great
+efforts, the latter with at least 40,000 men, either British or German
+auxiliaries. The Prussian and Dutch forces were to be increased so as to
+bring the grand total to 340,000 men. Of this large number 170,000 were
+to operate in Flanders with a view to a march on Paris; 35,000 held the
+country along the right bank of the Meuse; 15,000 protected Luxemburg;
+65,000 Prussians prolonged the line eastwards to the Rhine, which was
+guarded by 55,000 Austrians. Certainly the plan called for a third of a
+million of men, if all the frontier strongholds of Flanders were to be
+taken before the march to Paris began. In regard to details, Pitt,
+Grenville, and Dundas urged that Cornwallis should command the British
+and subsidiary forces defending West Flanders--a suggestion which
+George III warmly approved, on condition that the Duke of York, serving
+with the main body nearer the centre of the long line, had a number of
+troops proportionate to his rank and talents.
+
+Thus the effort of Pitt and his colleagues to shelve the Duke of York
+was foiled. On another and weightier matter he had his way. Coburg's
+conduct had been so languid and unenterprising as to lead to urgent
+demands for his recall; and it was understood that the Emperor Francis
+would take the command, with Mack as Chief-of-Staff and virtual director
+of the campaign. Pitt expressed to Mack his marked preference of this
+arrangement to the alternative scheme, the appointment of the Archduke
+Charles; for the extreme youth of the Archduke might hinder a good
+understanding between him and his subordinate and senior, the Duke of
+York. Seeing, then, that Mack declined absolutely to serve under
+Coburg,[346] nothing but the presence of the Emperor could end the
+friction in Flanders.
+
+But alas for the monarchical cause! At the very time when the Kaiser was
+to set out for Brussels, alarming news came from Cracow. The temper of
+the Poles, heated by the wrongs and insults of two years, burst forth in
+a rising against the Russian and Prussian authorities. Kosciusko, the
+last hope of Poland, issued an appeal which nerved his countrymen to
+dare the impossible. Rushing to arms, they astonished the world by
+exhibiting in the last throes of their long agony a strength which, if
+put forth in 1791, might have saved their land from spoliation. Even now
+their despairing struggles turned towards Warsaw much of the energy
+which should have trended towards Paris; and thus, once again, and not
+for the last time, did the foul crimes of 1772 and 1793 avenge
+themselves on their perpetrators. The last struggles of Poland helped on
+the French Republic to its mighty adolescence. Finally, on 2nd April,
+Francis II departed for Brussels. Thugut set out nine days later; and in
+the interval, on the plausible pretext that Prussia would seize more
+Polish land, he stopped the reinforcements destined for Flanders. He
+also urged the Czarina on no account to allow a partition of
+Poland.[347]
+
+While the Continental States were thus pulling different ways, British
+diplomacy won two notable triumphs at The Hague. By dint of threatening
+Haugwitz with the rupture of the whole negotiation, Malmesbury induced
+that Minister to countermand the order for the retirement of the
+Prussian troops, which had already begun. He thereby saved the Allies in
+the Palatinate and Flanders from very serious risks in view of the
+gathering masses of the French.[348] Further, on 19th April, he induced
+Haugwitz to sign a treaty which promised to revivify the monarchical
+cause. Prussia agreed to furnish, by 24th May, 62,400 men, who were to
+act conjointly with the British and Dutch forces in Flanders. For this
+powerful succour the two Maritime States would pay a subsidy of £50,000
+a month, besides the cost of bread and forage, reckoned at £1 12_s._ per
+man per month, and £300,000 for initial expenses. As Great Britain and
+Holland wholly supported this army, they prescribed the sphere of its
+operations, and retained any conquests that it might make. The treaty
+was for the year 1794; but its renewal was stipulated in a separate
+article. Prussia of course still supplied to Austria the 20,000 men due
+by the treaty of 1792.
+
+If Malmesbury had not induced Haugwitz to sign the treaty then, it would
+never have been signed at all. Almost alone in the Court of Berlin,
+Frederick William desired to continue the struggle. His uncle, Prince
+Henry, had always opposed war with France, and long before Valmy, had
+prophesied that her untrained but enthusiastic levies would be a match
+for any professional army. His influence and that of the Duke of
+Brunswick, Lucchesini, and Möllendorf, were still cast against the
+western crusade, so that Grenville believed Prussia to be dragging on
+the negotiation solely in order to embarrass her Allies by throwing it
+up early in the campaign.[349] Moreover, Malmesbury's treaty contained
+its own death warrant. A Great Power can ill afford to hire out its
+troops to non-military States, unless they lessen the humiliation of
+such a proceeding by according the utmost possible freedom. But the
+Hague Convention specified that the subsidized Prussian army must
+operate where the paymasters directed; and they now decided on removing
+it from the Palatinate to the valley of the Meuse near Dinant, or even
+further west, provided that Austria could fill up the gap thus left in
+the Palatinate.[350] In passing, I may note that this important decision
+was due to George III, as appears in Grenville's final instruction to
+Malmesbury: "The King's determination is finally taken not to agree to
+any plan by which the Prussians would be employed more to the left than
+the country of the Meuse."[351] No one who knows the rigour of the
+King's resolves can doubt that he was responsible for a determination
+fraught with unexpected issues.
+
+It is alien to my purpose to recount the ensuing disputes. I can glance
+only at the part played by Pitt. At one point his conduct was weak and
+dilatory. Early in May, when Malmesbury proceeded to London for the
+purpose of securing the ratification of the treaty and the payment of
+the first subsidy to Prussia, he encountered most annoying delays. Pitt
+and Grenville left him severely alone, probably because they were then
+so occupied with the coercion of the English Jacobins as to have no time
+for the plans which promised the overthrow of the French Jacobins.
+Another topic engaging their attention was the hoped-for coalition with
+the Portland Whigs, which shrouded from their gaze the needs of the
+European Coalition. However we may explain the fact, it is certain that
+during sixteen days (6th to 22nd May) Malmesbury, despite his urgent
+entreaties to Grenville, could procure neither instructions as to his
+future conduct, nor a promise for the payment of the first Prussian
+subsidy. News of a British disaster in Flanders at last quickened the
+laggards of Whitehall. On the 23rd Malmesbury gained his heart's desire,
+and set out for the Prussian headquarters on the following day.[352]
+Meanwhile, owing to this long delay (one of the most discreditable
+incidents in the careers of Pitt and Grenville), Prussia took no steps
+to carry out the terms of the compact. It so happened that on 24th May
+her army in the Palatinate, commanded by Möllendorf, gained a victory
+over the French at Kaiserslautern in the Palatinate; but that event set
+them the more against Malmesbury's treaty, which implied a march of some
+120 miles through difficult country, and across an enemy's front.
+
+Moreover, as has been hinted, reverses had by this time overtaken the
+right wing of the Allies, in West Flanders. At the centre, near the
+Sambre, the campaign opened with promise, the British cavalry gaining a
+brilliant success at Bethencourt. But Carnot, having drawn upon the
+French troops in Lorraine and the Palatinate, threw his heaviest columns
+at points on the extreme west of the French front, the result being that
+at Turcoing the Republicans shattered the isolated corps of the Duke of
+York and General Otto (18th May). The successes of the Prussians and of
+the Austrian army, on the Sambre, saved the situation for a time. But
+the prospects even in that quarter were overclouded by the resolve of
+the Emperor Francis to leave his army and return to Vienna. News of the
+critical state of affairs in Poland prompted this decision, the results
+of which soon appeared in quarrels at headquarters and discouragement in
+the rank and file. The Austrian soldiery saw in the withdrawal of the
+Kaiser the end of his rule in the Netherlands. They were right. The
+counsels of Thugut had now prevailed. South Poland was to be the prize
+of the Hapsburgs. The tiresome and distant Netherlands were to be given
+up, the pecuniary support of England, however, being assured as far as
+possible by a feint of defending them.
+
+Here we have the explanation of the half-hearted effort made by the
+Austrians at Fleurus. There was every reason why Coburg, now again the
+commander of the main Austrian force, should strike vigorously at the
+French force besieging Charleroi. A decisive victory in front of
+Charleroi would not only save that place, but would give pause to the
+French forces further west, now advancing rapidly towards Ghent.
+Accordingly Coburg, advancing as far as Fleurus, hard by the village of
+Ligny, attacked the Republicans. He had on the whole the best of the
+fight, when the arrival of news of the surrender of Charleroi led him
+most tamely to call off his men and fall back. The retirement took place
+in discreditably good order, not a single gun being lost (25th June
+1794). A bold leader would have beaten the enemy and probably would have
+saved Charleroi. With the same excess of prudence Coburg conducted his
+retreat, several positions and strongholds being abandoned in craven
+fashion.
+
+Meanwhile Pitt and Dundas made great efforts to save West Flanders. In
+haste they despatched reinforcements to Ostend; and among the regiments
+which landed there on 25th and 26th June was the 33rd, commanded by
+Colonel Wellesley. The future Duke of Wellington found the small
+garrison of Ostend in a state of panic; and his chief, the Earl of
+Moira, deemed it best to meet the French in the open. By great good
+fortune Moira, with most of the regiments, reached Bruges, and beyond
+that town came into touch with Clerfait's force. Wellesley, taking ship,
+sailed round to Antwerp and reached that column by a safer route and
+earlier than his chief. His action is characteristic of a judgement that
+never erred, a will that never faltered. In this campaign, as he
+afterwards said, he learnt how not to make war. But success not seldom
+crowns the efforts of him who has the good sense to probe the causes of
+failure. Certainly it rarely comes to British commanders save after very
+chastening experiences; and Wellesley now took part in what was, for the
+Austrians, a fore-ordained retreat. Despite the manly appeals of the
+Duke of York, Coburg declined to make a stand on the fateful ridge of
+Mount St. Jean; and the name of Waterloo appears in the tepid records of
+1794 at the head of a plan for arranging the stages of the retreat (5th
+July) which the nervousness of Coburg soon condemned to the limbo of
+unfulfilled promises.[353] Is it surprising that, two days later, the
+Duke of York declared to him that the British were "betrayed and sold to
+the enemy"? Worse still, the garrisons of Valenciennes, Condé, Quesnoy,
+and Landrecies, amounting to nearly 11,000 men, were now left to their
+fate.
+
+Indirectly Pitt and Dundas were responsible for these disasters. They
+weakened the British force in Flanders by sending large drafts to the
+West Indies, as will in due course appear. They also allowed Corsica to
+be occupied in the spring of 1794, and yet they made little or no use of
+that island for expeditions against the Riviera, which the royalist
+natives would readily have undertaken under an inspiring leader. They
+also relied too much on the Austrians and Prussians, though the former
+were known to care little for their Netherlands, apart from the prospect
+of gaining the Barrier fortresses of French Flanders in order to further
+the Belgic-Bavarian exchange. Above all, as we have seen, Pitt's conduct
+towards Prussia was annoyingly halting. Malmesbury's treaty could have
+no effect unless it led the Prussians to move at once. The delay of
+sixteen days at Whitehall must rank as one of the causes of the failures
+just recounted; and though Grenville was technically guilty, Pitt must
+be blamed for not ensuring the needful despatch in an all-important
+decision. It is curious that he never realized his responsibility.
+Speaking at a later date of the campaign of Fleurus, he said that it
+turned upon as narrow a point as ever occurred: that England was
+unfortunate, but the blame did not rest with her.[354] This probably
+refers to the surrender of Charleroi and the retreat from Fleurus. But
+Pitt did not understand that the timely advent of part of the Prussian
+force on the Meuse, or even its advance into Lorraine, would have
+changed the situation; and for their inactivity he was in some measure
+responsible.
+
+At times Pitt lived in dreamland. On 15th July, while the Austrians were
+quietly withdrawing from Central Belgium, he drew up a Memorandum as to
+the course of events. By the close of the year Austria was to bring
+100,000 men into Flanders, a close alliance being framed on the basis of
+her acquisition of the French border districts (Valenciennes had not yet
+surrendered). England was to retain all conquests in the two Indies. The
+Prussians were to march towards Flanders, which they obstinately refused
+to do. Dutch and other troops were to be engaged by England, the
+presumption being that the year 1795 would see the losses of 1794 more
+than retrieved. The mistake of 10,000 in adding up the totals of the
+troops (78,000 instead of 88,000) enables one to conjecture at what time
+of the day this sketch was outlined.[355] One would not take it
+seriously had not the Foreign Office soon despatched Earl Spencer and
+Mr. Thomas Grenville as special envoys to Vienna to propose very similar
+plans, Austria being urged on by the prospect of acquiring the French
+Barrier fortresses from Lille to Sedan.[356]
+
+They aroused in Thugut a spirit of greed, not of honourable emulation.
+In a private letter to Pitt, dated Vienna 16th August, Spencer warned
+him that that Government was "neither possessed of sufficient energy and
+vigour, nor sufficiently actuated by the true principles on which the
+cause in which we are engaged ought to be conducted" to justify the
+demands of Thugut. They included British subsidies for Austria, though
+she could well support the war, and the sacrifice of British maritime
+conquests at the general peace as a means of ensuring the recovery of
+her losses on land. As to Belgium, added Spencer, Thugut looked on it
+"as irrecoverably lost and not worth regaining, unless with the addition
+of a very strong and extended barrier, composed of fortresses which he
+to-day plainly told us he did not think there was the least chance of
+taking in the course of the war, but that they must be obtained as
+cessions from France at the peace."[357] Thus Thugut expected that, while
+the Austrians were ignominiously evacuating the Netherlands, the
+British fleet should win French colonies valuable enough to induce
+France both to retire from Belgium, and to surrender to Austria her
+northern fortresses from Lille to Sedan or Thionville.
+
+The capture of Valenciennes and the slaughter of the _émigrés_ in the
+Austrian garrison was the retort of the French to these day-dreams (29th
+August). The fall of Robespierre a month earlier, and the enhanced
+authority now enjoyed by Carnot enabled the authorities at Paris to
+press on the conquest of Belgium with an energy which set at defiance
+the boyish miscalculations of Pitt and the wavering plans of the
+Hapsburgs.
+
+Towards the close of July Pitt and Grenville saw the need of abating the
+rigour of their demands on Prussia. For of what use was it to move
+60,000 Prussians more than 100 miles to defend West Flanders when that
+province was lost? Malmesbury therefore was empowered to pay the monthly
+subsidy of £50,000 on behalf of Great Britain and Holland, provided that
+Möllendorf's army attacked the French about Trèves, thus lessening the
+pressure on Coburg's left wing. On 27th July he framed such an agreement
+with Hardenberg. This statesman was destined to be one of the saviours
+of the Prussian State in its darkest days, 1810-12; but now, as always,
+his conduct was shifty; and it is questionable whether he, any more than
+Haugwitz, dealt honourably with England. It must suffice to say that
+Möllendorf made not even a demonstration towards Trèves. His inactivity
+was in part due to the withdrawal of several regiments towards Poland,
+though Great Britain and Holland still paid for the maintenance of the
+full quota on the Rhine.
+
+So flagrant was the breach of faith as to elicit heated protests from
+Malmesbury; and Pitt, justly indignant at the use of British money for
+what was virtually a partition of Poland, decided to remonstrate with
+Jacobi, the Prussian ambassador at London. Summoning him to Downing
+Street, at the end of September, he upbraided him with this
+dishonourable conduct, declaring that, unless the Prussians moved
+forward at once, the British and Dutch subsidy for October would be
+withheld. Much as we may sympathize with this indignant outburst, we
+must pronounce it unwise. For firstly, Pitt was intruding upon the
+sphere of Grenville in making this declaration, which was far more acrid
+than the despatches of the Foreign Secretary. Secondly, it was made in
+the presence of Dundas, with whom Grenville was already on bad terms. Is
+it surprising that the Foreign Secretary wrote sharply to Pitt
+protesting against his acting on a line different from that previously
+taken at Downing Street? In his despatch of 30th September to Berlin,
+Grenville was careful to make the withdrawal of the subsidy strictly
+conditional, and his protest was probably less sharp than that which
+Pitt addressed to Jacobi.
+
+So annoyed was Grenville at Pitt's interference during his own temporary
+absence that he wrote to express his willingness to retire from the
+Foreign Office if this would solve the difficulties caused by the
+appointment of Earl Fitzwilliam to the Irish Viceroyalty. To that topic
+I shall recur in a later chapter on the Irish troubles which now became
+acute. Here it must suffice to say that Pitt declined to accept
+Grenville's offer, and affairs at Downing Street righted
+themselves.[358] But at Berlin the mischief was irremediable. Jacobi, a
+born intriguer, and ever hostile to England, represented the words of
+Pitt in the worst possible light. Accordingly Frederick William affected
+great indignation at the conduct of Pitt, accused him of ending the
+alliance, and discovered in his own ruffled feelings the pretext for
+giving rein to the dictates of self-interest. He gave orders to end the
+campaign on the Rhine; and though Grenville sought to patch matters up,
+compromise was clearly impossible between Allies who had lost that
+mutual confidence which is the only lasting guarantee of treaties.
+
+At the autumnal equinox of 1794 Pitt was confronted by a far more
+serious crisis than at the beginning of the war in February 1793. The
+Republicans, after throwing back Clerfait beyond the River Roer, towards
+Aix-la-Chapelle, compelled the Duke of York to abandon the natural line
+of defence of Holland, the River Waal; and in the early days of October
+the British retired behind Bergen-op-zoom and other Dutch fortresses.
+These were found to be totally unprepared to sustain a siege. The
+sluggishness of the Orange party, dominant in Holland since 1787, stood
+in marked contrast to the eagerness of the Dutch Patriots to help the
+invaders. Consequently in a few weeks the friends of the Stadholder saw
+their hopes fade away.
+
+There was but one chance of rescue. The Duke of Brunswick, who so
+skilfully led the Prussians to Amsterdam in 1787, might be expected to
+impart some courage to the Dutch garrisons and some show of discipline
+to the disordered relics of York's and Clerfait's forces now drifting
+slowly northwards. His position as a Field-Marshal of the Prussian army
+also promised to interest the Court of Berlin in recovering some part,
+at least, of the supremacy of the Allies in the Dutch Netherlands. As
+the crisis in Holland had served to unite the two great Protestant
+Powers, so now it might prevent the dissolution of that salutary
+compact. Further, George III, though greatly disliking the substitution
+of Cornwallis for the Duke of York, favoured the appointment of the
+veteran Brunswick to the supreme command. Family considerations, always
+very strong in the King, here concurred with reasons of state. Not only
+had Brunswick married the sister of George III; but their daughter, the
+Princess Caroline, was now the reluctant choice of the Prince of Wales.
+The parents, both at Windsor and at Brunswick welcomed the avowal by the
+royal prodigal of the claims of lawful wedlock. The Duchess of Brunswick
+fell into raptures at the brilliant prospects thus opened out for her
+daughter; and it seemed that both Hymen and Mars, for once working in
+unison, conspired to bring from his inglorious retreat at Brunswick the
+man whom that age still acclaimed as its war-lord.
+
+Malmesbury therefore proceeded to Brunswick for the double purpose of
+arranging the marriage and urging the Duke to take the command of the
+allied forces on the Lower Rhine. Overjoyed at leaving the atmosphere of
+intrigue at Möllendorf's headquarters, the envoy journeyed into the
+northern plain in hopes of assuring the safety of part of Holland. Early
+in November Pitt and his colleagues received a refusal from the Duke,
+but now they sent through Malmesbury an offer to subsidize a corps of
+20,000 or 30,000 Austrians in that quarter. These, along with the
+British, Hanoverian, and Hessian troops, when marshalled by Brunswick,
+might surely be trusted to stay the French advance. The crisis was
+momentous. Brunswick well understood that in reality the fate of North
+Germany was at stake; for the French, if masters of the Rhine and Ems
+valleys, could easily overrun the northern plain, including his own
+duchy. Self-interest, pride in the German name, hatred of French
+principles, and, finally, satisfaction at the marriage alliance, bade
+the Duke draw his sword before it was too late.
+
+But here again the malign influence of Berlin thwarted the plans of
+Pitt. In vain did Malmesbury ply the Duke with arguments and the Duchess
+with compliments. On 25th November the Duke informed him that, as a
+Prussian Field-Marshal, he was bound to consult Frederick William: and
+"the answer he had received was not of a nature which allowed him to
+accept of an offer otherwise so highly honourable and flattering to
+him." He then handed to the envoy his formal refusal.[359]
+
+Whether the elderly Duke of Brunswick could have withstood the impetuous
+onset of the ill-clad, half-starved, but unconquerable peasants now
+following the French tricolour in its progress through Holland, who
+shall say? The exploits of Pichegru and his levies border on the
+miraculous until we remember that half of the Dutch laboured on their
+behalf, while the troops of York and Clerfait distrusted or despised
+those leaders. This consideration it was that led Pitt to take a step
+which he deemed most necessary for the public service as well as for the
+reputation of the Duke of York. On Sunday, 25th November, he wrote at
+Holwood a very lengthy letter to the King, setting forth most
+deferentially the reasons which impelled him and his colleagues to
+request the withdrawal of the Duke from Holland.[360] He touched with
+equal skill and firmness on the unfortunate feeling prevalent in the
+army respecting the Duke of York; and, while eulogizing His Royal
+Highness, expressed the conviction of the Cabinet that, in his own
+interests as well as those of the country, he should be recalled from a
+sphere of action where the difficulties were wellnigh insuperable. Pitt
+also suggested to the King the advisability of transferring the British
+forces to a more promising sphere, Brittany or la Vendée. The King's
+answer evinced considerable irritation, a proof that he saw little but
+the personal aspects of the case. Pitt, however, held to his point, and
+the Duke was recalled in order to become a little later
+commander-in-chief, a position for which he was far better suited than
+for a command in the field. At the close of the year Pitt showed his
+regard for the public service by requesting from the King leave to
+displace his brother, the Earl of Chatham, from the Admiralty, where his
+lethargy had several times hindered the naval operations. Lord Spencer
+became First Lord, the Earl of Chatham succeeding to Spencer's position
+as Lord Privy Seal.
+
+Pitt's magnanimous resolve to brave the royal displeasure rather than
+keep a royal prince in a situation for which he was unfit met with
+general approval. The times were too serious to admit of pedantic
+trifling or unmanly shrinking. In quick succession there arrived news of
+the definite refusal of the Duke of Brunswick to come forward, of the
+incredible apathy of the Dutch, and of the demoralization of the Allies
+in their continued retreat. To add to their misfortunes, nature gripped
+that land of waters in a severe frost, so that the Dutch loyalists were
+unable, even if they had the hardihood, to let loose the floods against
+the invaders. In endless swarms these pressed on from the South,
+determined now to realize Dumouriez' dream of conquering Holland in
+order to appropriate its resources, pecuniary, naval, and colonial.
+Pichegru it was who won immortal fame by this conquest, which in truth
+needs not the legendary addition of his cavalry seizing a Dutch squadron
+in the Zuyder Zee. A singular incident attended the journey of
+Malmesbury with the future Princess of Wales towards Helvoetsluys, on
+their way to England. Unaware of the inroads of the French horse, they
+had to beat a speedy retirement, which, unfortunately for the Prince of
+Wales, placed them out of reach of the raiders. A little later the Duke
+and Duchess of Brunswick were fain to pack up their valuables and leave
+their capital in haste.
+
+Such was the French conquest of Holland and part of Hanover in the
+winter of 1794-5. So speedy was it that Pitt and Dundas took no timely
+means to ensure the carrying off the Dutch fleet. As no small part of it
+was loyal to the Prince of Orange, who now fled to England, the
+oversight is to be censured. Surely Flushing or the Brill could have
+been secured. The Cabinet, however, as we shall see later, prepared to
+rescue from the general ruin the most valuable of the Dutch colonies,
+the Cape of Good Hope, the importance of which, for the safety of India,
+Pitt and Dundas rated most highly. Meanwhile, under the command of
+Abercromby, Harcourt, Cathcart, and Walmoden, the British and subsidized
+German forces fell back towards the River Ems, and thence to the Weser.
+Pitt, as we have seen, desired to recall the British regiments for
+service in the West of France. But various considerations told against
+this plan; and, as will appear later, the King obstinately opposed the
+withdrawal of the British cavalry from the confines of his beloved
+Electorate until the autumn of 1795. In April of that year the infantry,
+now reduced to some 6,000 effectives by the rigours of winter, embarked
+at Bremen.
+
+Thus ended an expedition unprecedentedly fatal to the British arms. The
+causes of the disaster are not far to seek. The campaigns of 1793-4 were
+undertaken heedlessly, in reliance upon the strength of a Coalition
+which proved to have no strength, and upon the weakness of the French
+Republic which proved to be unconquerably strong. The Allies were
+powerful enough to goad France to fury, too weak to crush its
+transports. Their ill-concealed threats of partition bound France to the
+cause of the Jacobins, which otherwise she would have abjured in horror.
+Thus the would-be invaders drove France in upon herself, compelled her
+to organize her strength to the utmost; and that strength, when
+marshalled by Carnot, was destined to shatter the Coalition and overrun
+neighbouring lands. She then learnt the fatal secret that she could
+conquer Europe.
+
+In a later chapter I propose to survey Pitt's conduct as War Minister.
+Here I need only point out that his mistakes resulted mainly from his
+unquenchable hopefulness. A singular proof of this admirable but
+dangerous quality is seen in his effort during the months of February
+and March 1795 to frame one more plan of co-operation with the Court of
+Berlin, which had so cynically deceived him. To this proposal Grenville
+offered unflinching opposition, coupled with a conditional threat to
+resign. Pitt persuaded him to defer action until the troubles in Ireland
+were less acute. But the King finally agreed with Pitt, and Grenville
+was on the point of retiring when news arrived of the defection of
+Prussia.[361] For some time she had been deep in negotiations with
+France, which had the approval of Möllendorf and the officers of her
+Rhenish army.[362] The upshot of it all was a treaty, which Hardenberg
+signed with the French envoy at Basle on 5th April 1795. By this
+discreditable bargain Frederick William of Prussia enabled France to
+work her will on the lands west of the Rhine, on condition of his
+acquiring a general ascendancy over North and Central Germany, which now
+became neutral in the strife. Austria and the South German States
+remained at war with France for two years longer, by which time the
+tottering Germanic System fell beneath the sword of Napoleon Bonaparte.
+
+Prussia's bargain with France marks a reversion to her traditional
+policy, which viewed that Power as the friend and Austria as the enemy.
+It undid the life-work of Prince Kaunitz, now nearing his end at Vienna,
+and left the Hapsburg States enfeebled. True, they had a profitable
+share in the third and last Partition of Poland, which soon ensued; but
+this scarcely made good the loss in prestige due to the undisputed
+hegemony of Prussia in the greater part of Germany. The House of
+Hohenzollern, impelled by men like Lucchesini, Haugwitz, and Hardenberg,
+took the easy and profitable course and plumed itself on over-reaching
+its secular rival at Vienna. In reality it sealed the doom not only of
+the truly conservative policy of Pitt, but of the European fabric.
+Prussia it was which enabled the Jacobins to triumph and to extend their
+sway over neighbouring lands. The example of Berlin tempted Spain three
+months later to sign degrading terms of peace with France, and thus to
+rob England of her gains in Hayti and Corsica. Thanks to Prussia and
+Spain, France could enter upon that career of conquest in Italy which
+assured the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and the temporary ruin of
+Austria. The mistakes of Pitt were great; but, after all, they might
+have been retrieved were it not for the torpor of the Viennese Court and
+the treachery of Prussia.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[335] "Troilus and Cressida," act i, sc. 3.
+
+[336] "Dropmore P.," ii, 452.
+
+[337] Thugut in the autumn of 1793 sketched a scheme for annexing the
+north of France from the Somme to Sedan.
+
+[338] "Dropmore P.," ii, 628. So, too, Morton Eden wrote to Grenville on
+1st January 1793: "The steadfastness of the Emperor does not equal his
+moral rectitude" ("F. O.," Austria, 32).
+
+[339] "Dropmore P.," ii, 491; "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 17-19, 69.
+
+[340] "Dropmore P.," ii, 494; "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 31, _et seq._
+
+[341] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 50; Sorel, iv, 17.
+
+[342] Seeley, "Stein," i, 65.
+
+[343] "F. O.," Austria, 36. Eden to Grenville, 15th and 27th February.
+
+[344] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 81, 82.
+
+[345] Sorel, iv, 13.
+
+[346] Vivenot, iii, 89-96; "Dropmore P.," ii, 505-7.
+
+[347] "F. O.," Austria, 36, Eden to Grenville, 31st March, 9th April.
+See, too, Vivenot, iii, 172, for proofs that Kosciusko sought to delay
+the rising, and looked to Vienna for help against Russia and Prussia.
+
+[348] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 85, 89.
+
+[349] "Dropmore P.," ii, 516.
+
+[350] "F. O.," Prussia, 33. Grenville to Malmesbury, 21st April.
+
+[351] _Ibid._, Same to same, 23rd May.
+
+[352] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 96.
+
+[353] "W. O.," I, 169. See an admirable article in the "United Service
+Mag." (Aug. 1897), by Colonel E. M. Lloyd, founded on the papers of
+General Sir James Craig, Adjutant-General of the Duke of York.
+
+[354] "Parl. Hist.," xxxii, 1132.
+
+[355] "Dropmore P.," ii, 599.
+
+[356] "F. O.," Austria, 38. Despatch of 19th July.
+
+[357] Pitt MSS., 180. See, too, "Dropmore P.," ii, 617-20, 626.
+
+[358] See "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies" for Grenville's letters. Pitt
+was the guest of Grenville at Dropmore at the end of November 1794
+("Buckingham P.," ii, 319).
+
+[359] "F. O.," Prussia, 35. Malmesbury to Grenville, 25th November 1794.
+
+[360] See "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies" for this letter.
+
+[361] "Dropmore P.," iii, 26-30, 50, 57.
+
+[362] Ranke, "Hardenberg," i, 258; "Paget P.," i, 95, _et seq._
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER IX
+
+ THE WEST INDIES
+
+ Unfortunately, the war was carried on on the old principle of
+ almost undivided attention to what was termed British
+ interests--that is, looking to and preferring the protection of
+ trade and the capture of the enemy's colonial establishments
+ rather than to the objects which had involved Great Britain in
+ the contest with France.--COLONEL THOMAS GRAHAM'S _Diary_.
+
+
+If we try to picture the course of the war as mapped out by Pitt, it
+would probably have appeared somewhat as follows. Great Britain, after
+lending to the Dutch a few regiments as a protection against the
+threatened raid of Dumouriez, withdraws them, leaving the Dutch and the
+subsidized German corps to guard the rear of the legions of Prussia and
+Austria during their conquering march to Paris. England, in the
+meantime, harasses the coasts of France, thereby compelling her to
+detain considerable forces at the important points, and further cripples
+her by sweeping her fleets and merchantmen from the sea and seizing her
+colonies.
+
+In short, Pitt's conception of the true function of Great Britain in a
+continental war was based on that of his father, who accorded
+comparatively little military aid to Frederick the Great even in his
+direst need, but helped him indirectly by subsidies and by naval
+expeditions that stalemated no small portion of the French army. If
+Chatham's tactics succeeded when Prussia was striving against France,
+Austria, and Russia, how much more might Pitt hope to win a speedy
+triumph over anarchic France during her struggle with Austria, Prussia,
+Spain, Naples, Sardinia, and Holland? He expected, and he had a right to
+expect, that these States would need British money, not British troops,
+while the Sea Power restricted its operations to a "minor offensive"
+along the seaboards of France and her colonies. Pitt's efforts in this
+direction were constantly thwarted by the drain of men to Flanders; but
+his letters to Murray, Chief of Staff to the Duke of York, evince his
+anxiety to strike at Toulon and the West Indies, and not merely to
+lighten the military duties of Austria and Prussia on the French
+borders.[363] It would be tedious to recount his various attempts to
+prepare an expedition for the West Indies.[364] Of more interest are the
+requests for protection which he received from the French colonists of
+Hayti, the western part of the great island of San Domingo.
+
+As appeared in Chapter XX of the former volume, the decrees of the
+National Assembly of Paris fired the negroes of the French West Indies
+with the resolve to claim the liberty and equality now recklessly
+promised by the mother-land. The white settlers, on the contrary, having
+recently acquired autonomous rights, disputed the legality of that
+levelling legislation, and rejected all authority but that of Louis XVI.
+Amidst the ensuing strifes, the chief colonies, especially Hayti, were
+menaced by that most horrible of all commotions, a servile revolt, when,
+most opportunely, help arrived from Jamaica. The contrast between the
+timely succour of England and the reckless iconoclasm of Paris struck
+the imagination of the French settlers, and the Assembly of Hayti
+forthwith drew up a declaration, setting forth the illegality of the
+French decrees, the miseries resulting from them, and the resolve of the
+colonists to sever a connection absolutely fatal to their welfare.
+Citing the example of the United States fifteen years before, and
+recounting the misdeeds of the mother country, they proclaimed to the
+world the justice of the act of severance.
+
+A copy of this declaration, signed by de Cadusey on 27th September 1791,
+was sent forthwith to Pitt, with a request for the protection of Great
+Britain. He received it at Burton Pynsent on 27th October.[365] One of
+the chief delegates from Hayti was de Charmilly, who on 14th November
+sought an interview with Pitt, and a fortnight later wrote to him,
+earnestly begging the help of the only nation which could avert ruin
+from those islands. France, he declared, had passed a decree of blood
+against her own colonies and was powerless to stop its effects. The
+National Assembly, having by its annexation of Avignon recognized the
+right of that papal district to belong to whom it would, Hayti of equal
+right now voted for union with England. He further advised that its
+ports should remain open to all nations, a course of action which would
+herald the dawn of commercial and political freedom among the Spanish
+colonies of the New World.[366] These alluring prospects failed to
+entice Pitt from the strict neutrality to which he had pledged himself.
+So far was he from desiring to profit by the misfortunes of France, as
+the French princes first, and after them the Jacobins, maliciously
+asserted.
+
+Once more the deputies of France flung the torch of discord across the
+Atlantic. By their decree of 4th April 1792 they declared absolute
+equality of rights between whites, half-castes, and blacks, and sent out
+commissioners to enforce this anarchic fiat. They forthwith took the
+side of the rebels, who in Toussaint l'Ouverture found a leader of
+terrible force of will. Martinique and Guadeloupe and the smaller
+islands were also a prey to civil war. In sheer desperation the planters
+and merchants of Guadeloupe sent over a delegate, Curt, to appeal to the
+British Government for protection. Lord Hawkesbury accorded to him an
+informal interview in the closing days of 1792. Curt pressed him for
+official help, without which his fellow colonists must lose their lives
+and property, and declared that he and many others abjured the name of
+Frenchmen.[367] Malouet, once prominent in the National Assembly and
+destined to become famous under Napoleon, also approached our Ministers,
+but with more caution. He knew that in some of the islands the Republic
+had many adherents; but after the outbreak of war in February 1793 he
+too advocated the sovereignty of Great Britain under certain conditions,
+and on behalf of the colonists of Hayti signed a compact with Dundas to
+that effect.
+
+Fear of a revolt of the slaves had induced Ministers to send out
+reinforcements, so that, early in 1793, 19 battalions were in the
+British West Indies. In the month of April a small British force easily
+captured Tobago and restored that valuable little island to Great
+Britain. An attack on Martinique at midsummer was, however, a failure.
+These attempts, it may be noted, were made with forces already in the
+West Indies.[368] Pitt and Dundas have been severely blamed for sending
+further reinforcements to the West Indies.[369] But a letter which Pitt
+wrote to Grenville some time in June or July 1793 shows that the news
+of a French expedition having set sail to the West Indies, escorted by
+six or seven sail-of-the-line from Brest, led him to urge the despatch
+of a force for the protection of that important group of colonies.[370]
+
+Besides, was a forward policy in the West Indies unwise? In these days
+it is hard to realize the value of those islands. The mention of Hayti
+conjures up a vision as of a ship manned by gorillas; for there and in
+Liberia is seen the proneness of the negroes to aimless lounging varied
+by outbursts of passion. But in the year 1789 Hayti far surpassed
+Jamaica in wealth and activity. The French possessed only the western
+third of the island; but the Spanish portion to the east was far less
+fertile, and far worse cultivated. The French genius for colonization
+was seen in the excellent system of irrigation carried on in the vast
+and fertile plain, the _Cul-de-Sac_, east of the capital,
+Port-au-Prince. But other portions, notably the long peninsula to the
+south-west, were also highly prosperous. The chief towns equalled in
+splendour and activity the provincial cities of France. Port-au-Prince
+and Cap Français were the pride of the West Indies; and the rocky
+fortress, Mole St. Nicholas, dominated those waters as Gibraltar
+dominates the Eastern Mediterranean. The population of Hayti was
+reckoned at 40,000 whites, 60,000 mulattoes or half-castes, and some
+500,000 negro slaves. Its exports (chiefly sugar, coffee, and cotton)
+were assessed at upwards of £7,500,000, or more by one third than that
+of all the British West Indies. To some extent Jamaica flourished on its
+ruin. For in May 1796 an official report stated that two
+coffee-planters, refugees from Hayti, who had settled in the mountains
+behind Port Royal, were introducing so many improvements as to bring the
+exports of coffee up to 6,000,000 lb.; and they would soon amount to
+50,000,000 lb.[371]
+
+The colonists of Hayti, who offered this valuable prize to Great
+Britain, were far from being unprincipled adventurers. Malouet, on whom
+fell the chief responsibility, was an upright and able man; and both he
+and his comrades were deputed by representative Assemblies which sought
+to save society from sinking into a gulf of unutterable horrors. His
+letters to Pitt[372] are instinct with the conviction that the men of
+Hayti unanimously desired a British protectorate, and recognized that
+the colonists must pay for the support accorded to them. As we were
+framing an alliance with Spain, no difficulties were to be anticipated
+from the Spanish part of that island. When five or six valuable islands
+were to be had, to all appearance with little risk except from the
+slaves, Ministers would have been craven in the extreme not to push on
+an enterprise which promised to benefit British commerce and cripple
+that of France.
+
+Unfortunately, owing to the drain of the Flemish campaign, their action
+was tardy. The schisms between Royalists and Republicans at the city of
+Cap Français enabled the negroes to burst in at midsummer of 1793 with
+fire and knife and glut their vengeance on some thousands of persons.
+Even after these atrocities the Jacobin commissioners continued to make
+use of the blacks in order to enforce their levelling decree; and the
+year ended amid long drawn out scenes of murder, rape, and pillage. By
+these infamous means did democracy win its triumph in the West Indies.
+
+In their despair the French loyalists applied for further aid to
+Major-General Williamson, the governor of Jamaica. He sent a force which
+received a hearty welcome at the little fortress of Jérémie (19th
+September), and a few days later at that important stronghold, Mole St.
+Nicholas, then blockaded on land by the blacks. An attempt by the
+Republicans at the capital, Port-au-Prince, to send an expedition for
+the recapture of Mole St. Nicholas was thwarted; and late in the year
+1793 five other towns accepted British protection. The rapid recovery of
+prosperity in the district forming the lower jaw of the griffin-like
+head of Hayti is seen in the official exports from the port of Grand
+Anse at its tip. During the quarter 20th September to 31st December 1793
+it sent the following quantities to British ports, chiefly Kingston in
+Jamaica: Coffee, 644,751 lb.; Sugar, 91,593 lb.; Cotton, 56,339 lb.;
+Cocoa, 66,944 lb. Even larger quantities of coffee were exported to
+foreign ports.[373] In 1796 the produce of Hayti was valued at
+£1,500,000; the colony employed more than 400 ships.[374] Was not this a
+land for which some risks might be encountered?
+
+Meanwhile the Spaniards from their part of the island had overrun
+certain districts, especially those to the north of Port-au-Prince. In
+particular, they for a time occupied the port of Gonaives, about midway
+between the capital and Mole St. Nicholas, a step almost as threatening
+to the British forces as to the French Republicans. It is hard to fathom
+the designs of the Spaniards at this time. Their pride, their hereditary
+claims to the whole of the Indies, and their nearness to this splendid
+prize, all urged them on to an effort from which lack of men, ships and
+money, and the hatred of the French and the blacks to their sway should
+have warned them off. Seeing also that the French colonists had
+officially handed over their possession to Great Britain, Spain should
+have come to some understanding with her Ally before invading what was
+now in effect British territory. She did not do so; and subsequent
+events proved that her King and statesmen harboured deep resentment
+against the transfer, and sought to thwart it by underhand means. For
+the present, however, their inroad into the north-central districts
+dealt one more blow to the power of the French Jacobins and their black
+friends. These last were formidable only when the quest was plunder.
+Even the iron will of their ablest leader, Toussaint l'Ouverture, could
+infuse no steadiness into the swarthy levies, which, roving almost at
+will in the mountainous interior, were wellnigh as dangerous to the
+Republicans as to the British.[375]
+
+It is not surprising, then, that Pitt and Dundas, despite the drain of
+ships and men to Ostend and Toulon, did all in their power to secure
+this colony, which had always been deemed essential to the prosperity of
+French commerce. On 11th October 1793 Pitt reluctantly admitted the need
+of further postponing the West India expedition owing to the uncertainty
+of the fate of Ostend and the chance of a French raid on our shores. But
+when these dangers passed away the original plan held the first place;
+and it should be noted that, by the middle of November, when the
+expedition was finally decided on, the position of the Royalists at
+Toulon was thought to be satisfactory. Much, of course, can be urged
+against sending troops so far away, when the loyal Bretons needed
+succour; but Pitt, Grenville, and, still more, Dundas were bent on this
+colonial enterprise; and, viewing the situation as it then was, not as
+we with our knowledge of later events see it, their decision seems
+defensible.[376]
+
+On 26th November, then, Sir John Jervis (afterwards Earl of St. Vincent)
+set sail with some 7,000 troops commanded by Sir Charles Grey. After
+touching at Barbados he made for Martinique and succeeded in reducing
+that island by 22nd March 1794. St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante,
+and the Saintes surrendered in April, but after struggles which showed
+that the Republicans, backed by mulattoes and blacks, were formidable
+foes. This anarchic combination was already threatening the small and
+scattered British garrisons in San Domingo. But, when further
+reinforcements from England reached Mole St. Nicholas, a force detached
+thence under Major-General Whyte made a dash upon Port-au-Prince.
+Vigorously handled, and under cover of a violent thunderstorm, the
+landing parties carried an important outwork in handsome style, and thus
+assured the surrender of the whole place. The spoils were 101 cannon and
+32 ships, with cargoes worth about half a million sterling (4th June
+1794). This brilliant success cost the assailants very few lives; but
+the heats of the summer and probably also the intemperance of the troops
+soon thinned their ranks. The French, too, having received succours
+which slipped out from Rochefort, recovered Guadeloupe in the month of
+September.[377] And from this point of vantage they sought, often with
+success, to stir up the slaves in the British islands.
+
+Thus by the autumn of 1794 the position was somewhat as follows. The
+British had secured all the French colonies in the West Indies,
+excepting Guadeloupe. In Hayti they held nearly all the coast towns, and
+maintained an intermittent blockade over the others; but their position
+was precarious owing to the thinness of their garrisons, the
+untrustworthiness of their mulatto auxiliaries, and the ravages of
+disease. It seems probable that, with ordinary precautions and some
+reinforcements, the garrisons might have held out in the towns then
+occupied, provided that the fleet intercepted French expeditions
+destined for the West Indies; and this ought to have been possible after
+Howe's victory of 1st June 1794. The fact that the Republic strenuously
+prepared to regain those islands at the very time when the Coalition in
+Europe and the revolt in Brittany threatened its existence, suffices to
+justify Pitt and his colleagues in attacking France in that quarter. A
+colony which is worth regaining must be worth gaining. To the capture of
+Louisburg, a weaker stronghold than Mole St. Nicholas, England devoted
+several expeditions a generation earlier. Had Pitt and Dundas declined
+to have as a gift this key to the Indies, what would not their critics
+have said of their incapacity and cowardice? For the West Indies were
+then far more highly prized than Canada.
+
+Endless difficulties beset every expedition to the tropics, even when
+forethought and care minimize the risks from disease. The story of
+England's ventures in those seas is, in general, one of hasty action and
+long repentance. No one had made a special study of the needs of white
+men in that climate. In fact, the military martinets of those days made
+little allowance for the altered conditions of service under a broiling
+sun; and, until the advent of Abercromby, only slight changes took place
+either in the uniform or the time of drills. Dr. Pinckard, in his
+account of this enterprise, mentions cases of gross stupidity,
+slovenliness, and even of dishonesty on the part of army officials in
+those colonies;[378] and it is clear that to this cause the long
+death-roll was largely due. The following figures at the close of 1794
+are instructive:[379]
+
+ BRITISH. | COLONIAL.
+ |
+ Effective. Sick. | Effective. Sick.
+ |
+ Port-au-Prince 366 462 | 496 48
+ Mole St. Nicholas 209 166 | 209 38
+ Jérémie 95 59 | --- ---
+ St. Marc 48 33 | 813 321
+ Tiburon 34 18 | --- ---
+ ------------- | -------------
+ Total 1490 | 1925
+
+It will be observed that the French and coloured troops were far more
+immune from sickness. Indeed, the loyal French colonists felt much
+annoyance at the comparative uselessness of the British force at this
+time. Charmilly, after a long visit to Hayti, returned to London in
+September 1794, and laid stress on this in several letters to Pitt. On
+11th October he urges him to sanction a plan (already approved) for
+raising a force of French _émigrés_ in service in Hayti. A month later
+he complains that nothing is being done, though the loyalists of Hayti
+are willing to pay their share of the expenses. As it is, they are
+growing disheartened; for the British troops remain in the strongholds,
+thus leaving the colonial troops in the country too weak to cope with
+the roving bands of brigands. As for himself, he is weary of soliciting
+help which is never vouchsafed; and he warns Pitt that opinion is
+gaining ground in Hayti as to the uselessness of maintaining a struggle
+in which the British people take no interest. The note of egotism rarely
+absent from Charmilly's letters appears in his assurance that, if
+something is not done soon, England will lose the splendid possession
+which he has placed in her hand.[380]
+
+There were good reasons why Pitt and his colleagues should not commit
+themselves deeply to the Haytian embroglio. In that anxious time, the
+autumn of 1794, the most urgent needs were to save Holland from the
+Jacobins, to distract them by helping the Royalists of Brittany, and
+from our new base in Corsica to clog their attempts at an invasion of
+Italy. Owing to the slackness of our Allies, these enterprises proved
+unexpectedly difficult. In truth any two of them would have strained the
+scanty resources of the British army; and Pitt is open to censure for
+not ruling out all but the most essential of them. But here a word of
+caution is needful. For us, with our knowledge of the sequel, it is a
+comparatively easy task to assess the gains and losses of the war, and
+to blame perseverance in one course as wasteful folly or backwardness in
+another as stupid slothfulness. If later critics would seek to realize
+the amount of information possessed by fallible mortals at the time of
+their decisions, the world would be spared floods of censure. How was
+Pitt to know that the Dutch were about to hamper, rather than assist,
+the defence of their land by the Allies; that Prussia would play him
+false; that the schisms among the French Royalists would make Quiberon a
+word of horror; that Paoli would stir up strife in Corsica; or that
+Spain was preparing to ruin British rule in Hayti? With loyal
+cooperation on the part of the Allies, all these enterprises might have
+proceeded successfully side by side.
+
+There were no solid reasons for distrusting Spain. The Court of Madrid
+had eagerly taken up arms against the regicides of Paris; and Pitt, as
+we shall see, early sought to avoid friction in the West Indies.
+Otherwise, he would be highly blameable; for England's easy acquisition
+of Hayti could not but ruffle the feelings of the Dons. No chord in the
+highly strung nature of the Spaniard vibrates so readily and so
+powerfully as that of pride in the retention or recovery of the
+conquests of his ancestors. The determination of the Court of Madrid to
+win back Louisiana and the Floridas, not to speak of Minorca, had
+potently influenced its policy in the recent past, and the prospect of
+seeing the Union Jack wave over Hayti and Corsica now envenomed the ever
+open wound of Gibraltar. True, the French colonists of Hayti, acting
+through their local Assemblies, had the right to will away their land to
+England. Spain, at least, could not say them nay; but none the less she
+longed to see her flag float once more over the western districts which
+had slipped from her grasp.
+
+Pitt and Grenville had early foreseen trouble ahead with Spain on the
+subject of the West Indies. When affairs at Toulon were causing
+friction, Grenville instructed Lord St. Helens, British ambassador at
+Madrid, to urge that Court to secure the hoped-for indemnities in the
+French districts north of the Pyrenees. As for England, she had in view
+Hayti and certain of the French Leeward Islands. This plan, continued
+Grenville, could not offend Spain, seeing that the Haytian or western
+part of San Domingo fronted Jamaica and fell naturally to the Power
+holding that island. But, as the Court of Madrid was known to cherish
+desires for a part of Hayti, St. Helens must endeavour to ascertain
+their extent so as to come to a friendly compromise.[381] The Spanish
+Government, at that time incensed by the quarrels at Toulon, vouchsafed
+no reply to these courteous overtures. They were renewed during the year
+1794, but with no better result.
+
+Meanwhile, Don Garcia, the Spanish Governor of San Domingo sought to
+pour oil on the flames of civil strife. He allowed the bands of negroes
+to retire into the Spanish districts, and replenish their stores. In
+fact, his conduct was so openly hostile to England, that on 11th
+November 1794 Grenville instructed Jackson, British _chargé d'affaires_
+at Madrid, to demand the recall of that arrogant official.[382]
+Charmilly also averred that the brigands often sallied forth from
+Spanish territory to ravage the western districts.[383] Other facts
+point in the same direction. Whence could the Republicans and their
+black allies have gained supplies of arms and ammunition but from the
+Spaniards? The survey of the British over the western coasts was close
+enough to bar those supplies, at least in the quantities that the
+negroes demanded. In truth, the enigmas of the Hayti affair can be
+solved only by delving in the Spanish archives. The whole question is
+closely connected with the extraordinary change that came over
+Anglo-Spanish relations in the years 1795-6, a topic which will be
+treated in the following chapter.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[363] See "Eng. Hist. Rev.," October 1909.
+
+[364] "Dropmore P.," ii, 395, 438, 443, 444, 464.
+
+[365] Pitt MSS., 349.
+
+[366] Pitt MSS., 121.
+
+[367] "F. O.," France, 40.
+
+[368] Malouet, "Méms.," ii, 209-11; Morse Stephens, "French Rev.," ii,
+481-4; "Dropmore P.," ii, 388.
+
+[369] Fortescue, iv, pt. i, 77, 78.
+
+[370] "Dropmore P.," ii, 402, 403.
+
+[371] Pitt MSS., 349.
+
+[372] Pitt MSS., 155, 349. In the latter packet is Malouet's letter of
+10th March 1793 from Kingston, Jamaica, to M. Franklyn at London,
+dwelling on the woes of San Domingo and Martinique--all due to the folly
+and wickedness of one man, probably Brissot. He despairs of the French
+West Indies. See, too, "Dropmore P.," ii, 388.
+
+[373] Pitt MSS., 349.
+
+[374] "Parl. Hist.," xxxiii, 586.
+
+[375] The facts stated above suffice to refute the strange statement of
+Mr. Morse Stephens ("Fr. Rev.," ii, 476) that the English invasion of
+San Domingo was "absurd." It was not an invasion, but an occupation of
+the coast towns after scarcely any resistance.
+
+[376] "Dropmore P.," ii, 443, 454, 464.
+
+[377] Fortescue, iv, pt. i, chs. xiii, xiv; James, i, 250-2.
+
+[378] Pinckard, "Notes on the Expedition to the West Indies," ii,
+especially Letter 15.
+
+[379] Bryan Edwards, "Hist. Survey of S. Domingo" (1801), 204. Fortescue
+(iv, 385) assesses the British losses in the West Indies in 1794 at
+12,000 men, apart from deaths in battle.
+
+[380] Pitt MSS., 121.
+
+[381] "F. O.," Spain, 28. Grenville to St. Helens, 30th November 1793.
+On 1st October Pitt pressed Grenville to open this question to the
+Spanish Court ("Dropmore P.," ii, 433, 438).
+
+[382] "H. O." (Secretaries of State), 5.
+
+[383] Pitt MSS., 349. He added that in 1788, 584 European and 699
+American ships set sail from Hayti: 37,447 negroes were imported.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER X
+
+ SPAIN AND HAYTI
+
+ Are not Martinique, Mole St. Nicholas, and the Cape of Good Hope
+ most important conquests?--PITT, _Speech of 9th December 1795_.
+
+
+More than once it has happened that, after a time of national revival,
+Spain has fallen under the dominion of a ruler led by wrongheaded
+counsellors and intriguing favourites. Such was the case in the year
+1788. Charles III, who then passed away, had restored the finances, the
+prosperity, the navy, and the prestige of that land. But his successor,
+Charles IV, proved to be one of the weakest and most indolent members of
+that dynasty. Fond of display, and devoted to the pleasures of the chase
+and the table, he squandered the resources of the State, and soon saw
+his finances fall into hopeless confusion. Worse still, his consort, a
+princess of the ducal House of Parma, and a woman of much energy,
+conceived a violent passion for Manuel Godoy, a young private in the
+royal guards, on whom she heaped favours and dignities, so that he
+forced his way into the highest circles with the title Duke of Alcudia.
+He was endowed with a dignified mien, handsome features, affable
+manners, and good abilities, so that the British ambassador, Lord St.
+Helens, happily characterized him as a Birmingham Villiers. The measure
+of his importance and of the degradation of the Sovereigns may be gauged
+from the fact that the paramour of the Queen became the chief Minister
+of the King. In truth, the Queen, her lover, and her two confessors
+governed Spain.
+
+The habits of the favourite were as follows. He rose early, drove or
+rode for an hour, and after breakfast transacted business for a time. He
+then relieved the tedium of that time by witnessing exhibitions of skill
+and daring by his private matadors, after which he spent about three
+hours in the society of the Queen. He then devoted the same length of
+time to the conduct of public business with the King; and the day ended
+with dinner, fêtes, the opera, or the consideration of requests for
+patronage. This function of State generally occupied three evenings in
+the week; and on these occasions a crowd of some 250 suitors filled his
+meanly lit ante-room with jealous expectancy and long baffled
+hopes.[384]
+
+Certainly the representatives of monarchy at this time of acute trial
+were unequal to the strain. Catharine of Russia was supremely able, but
+no less corrupt. Frederick William of Prussia equalled her in vice and
+in nothing else. Francis of Austria had the brain of a master of
+ceremonies; George III that of a model squire; Ferdinand of Naples was
+in his place in the kennel; Victor Amadeus of Sardinia, in the
+confessional. It is difficult to say to what place Charles IV of Spain
+and his consort can most fitly be assigned; for they could not live
+apart from Godoy; and with Godoy they would have been excluded from any
+residence but the royal palace of Spain. The policy of that Court
+wavered under his whims and devices. Hated by the grandees, loathed by
+honest people, and yet fawned on by all alike, he sought to strengthen
+his power by jobbery, with results fatal to the public services. Such a
+man evades difficulties instead of grappling with them. He lives for the
+day. "After me the deluge" is the motto of all Godoys.
+
+The favourite soon perceived that the war with France pleased neither
+the Court, the merchants, nor the people. Charles IV had gone to war for
+the restoration of royalty; but, thanks to the perfidy of Prussia and
+the vacillations of Austria, that ideal had vanished; and in its place
+there appeared the spectres of want and bankruptcy. By the end of 1794
+the Republicans had gained a firm foothold in Catalonia and Biscay; and
+the prospect of further campaigns was highly distasteful to a Court
+which kept up the traditional pomp of the Spanish monarchy. Even when
+the Spanish forces in Catalonia and Biscay were wellnigh starving, the
+Court borrowed £160,000 to defray the expenses of the usual migration to
+San Ildefonso; and the British ambassador computed that the cost of a
+campaign could be saved by a sojourn in Madrid for the whole year. But
+parsimony such as this was out of the question. Accordingly the only
+possible alternatives were, peace with France, an issue of paper money,
+or a bankruptcy. Godoy inclined strongly to peace, and discovered in
+Anglophobia a means of betraying the French House of Bourbon. England,
+so he averred, had entered on the war solely for her own aggrandisement,
+with the view of appropriating first Dunkirk, then Toulon, and, failing
+them, Corsica and Hayti, to the manifest detriment of Spain. The
+argument was specious; for Pitt's resolve to cripple France by colonial
+conquests necessarily tended to re-awaken the old jealousies of the
+Spaniards; and herein, as in other respects, the son had to confront
+difficulties unknown in the days of his father. The task of the elder
+Pitt was simple compared with that of humouring and spurring on five
+inert and yet jealous Allies.
+
+Among them Spain was not the least slothful and exacting. After the
+quarrels between Langara and Hood at Toulon, the despatches from Madrid
+to London were full of complaints. Now it was the detention of Danish
+vessels carrying naval stores, ostensibly for Cadiz, but in reality, as
+we asserted, for Rochefort. Now it was the seizure and condemnation of a
+Spanish merchantman, the "Sant' Iago," on a somewhat similar charge.
+England had equal cause for annoyance. The embers of the quarrel of 1790
+were once more fanned to a flame by Spanish officials. Captain
+Vancouver, of H.M.S. "Discovery," while on a voyage to survey the island
+which now bears his name, had his ship and crew detained and ill-treated
+at Monterey Bay by the Governor of California. The Court of St. James
+warmly protested against this conduct as contrary to the Nootka Sound
+Convention of 1790; and thereby inflamed that still open wound. Valdez,
+Minister of Marine, the only rival of Godoy, now openly avowed his
+hostility to England. Early in February 1795, in a conference with the
+King, he hotly denounced British designs in Corsica and Hayti.
+Thenceforth there was no hope of securing the co-operation of the
+Spanish fleet for the blockade of Toulon and other duties too exacting
+for Admiral Hotham's squadron. On 11th February Godoy handed to Jackson,
+our _chargé d'affaires_, a state paper containing the assurance that
+Spain desired to continue the struggle against France; but "if His
+Christian Majesty finds another road less dangerous than that which he
+follows, he will take it with the dignity becoming his rank; he will
+exhaust the means he may have till he shall obtain the welfare of his
+people; but he will not look on their annihilation with indifference, if
+those who have a similar interest vary the mode of pursuing it." In
+plain language this meant that, as Prussia was then treating with
+France, Spain would follow her example when she thought fit.[385]
+
+Thereafter the Spanish Ministers either manifested sullen reserve or
+indulged in petulant complaints respecting the "Sant' Iago," Corsica,
+and Hayti. The conduct of the Marquis del Campo at London was equally
+sinister; his despatches represented the policy and conduct of England
+in the darkest colours. In the hope of softening these asperities Pitt
+and Grenville decided to send the Earl of Bute to Madrid in place of
+Jackson, who desired to escape from the insolences of that capital. Thus
+by one of the subtle ironies of history, the son of Chatham despatched
+to the Court of Madrid the son of the man who thwarted Chatham's aims
+respecting that same Power. Bute's instructions (dated 5th April) bade
+him humour that Court, but none the less look out for any signs of a
+Franco-Spanish compact, and discover at what place in the Spanish
+colonies a blow might be dealt with most effect.
+
+On 13th April, after receiving news of a Spanish success in Catalonia,
+Grenville urged Bute to re-awaken Castilian pride by holding out the
+prospect of gains beyond the Pyrenees, and expressed the hope that Spain
+might renew her treaty with England, promising also to consider her
+claims to parts of the north-west of Hayti. These hopes were futile.
+Early in that year France and Spain began to draw close together. The
+more moderate Republicans, Sieyès, Boissy d'Anglas, and Cambacérès, let
+it be known that France would offer moderate terms. Barthélemy, the able
+French envoy in Switzerland, furthered these plans, which came near to
+fulfilment when Prussia signed with France the Treaty of Basle (5th
+April 1795). Charles IV was only waiting for some excuse to follow suit.
+As a relative of Louis XVI, he scrupled to take the lead; but he was
+ready to follow the lead of Prussia. The sacrifices demanded of him in
+March 1795 were considerable, viz., the province of Guipuzcoa and San
+Domingo. But Bourgoing, the special envoy to Madrid, offered a prize
+which far counterbalanced these losses. He held out to Godoy the bait
+which in the more skilful hands of Napoleon was destined to catch both
+him and his credulous master. Portugal was to be theirs if they made
+common cause with France. Acting together, the two Latin nations would
+overwhelm this "province of England," and together they would chase the
+British from the Mediterranean. That Portugal had loyally supported
+Spain in the monarchist cause mattered little. In place of the costly
+war of principle, Godoy sought to substitute an effort with limited
+liability, effective partnership, and enormous profits. He knew not that
+in entering on this broad and easy path, he assured the ruin of Spain
+and the ultimate loss of her colonial empire.
+
+In this secret chaffering Pitt and Grenville were worsted as inevitably
+as in the similar case of the Partition of Poland. The Power that cries
+"hands off" to abettors of robbery needs to have overwhelming force at
+its back; but both here and on the banks of the Vistula England was
+helpless. There was no Court of Appeal. Christendom had vanished amidst
+the schemes of the monarchs in the East, and under the stabs of
+regicides in the West. Thus, while the champions of monarchy were
+sharing the last spoils of Poland, France succeeded in detaching Spain
+from the royalist league by inciting her to the plunder of Portugal.
+
+Few moves have been more mean and cowardly; though the conduct of the
+Court of Madrid in this matter touches far deeper depths of infamy. For
+its present position was far from hopeless. With the help of the British
+fleet the progress of the French troops towards Bilbao might have been
+stayed. Affairs in Catalonia wore a hopeful aspect. England offered to
+recognize the Spanish conquests in Hayti and to press for further
+indemnities from France at the general peace. But all representations
+were in vain. Godoy brushed them aside in order to compass the ruin of
+the House of Braganza. On this enterprise he concentrated all his
+faculties. He inveighed against the invasion of Hayti by British troops.
+"His Britannic Majesty," he said, "ought to have abstained from any
+interference with the island of San Domingo, upon the whole of which His
+Christian Majesty had a well-founded claim; or, if any enterprize was
+undertaken there by Great Britain, it should have been in the way of
+auxiliary to Spain in order to restore to her her ancient possessions in
+the West Indies." On other occasions he moaned over the heavy expenses
+of the war, the misery of the people, and the impossibility of resisting
+the superior power of France. But his chief theme was Hayti, and he
+finally suggested that the British acquisitions in that island should
+be held in trust for Louis XVII. He was not a little ruffled by the
+reply that they belonged of right to George III, who would keep them as
+compensation for the expenses of the war. Another significant fact was
+the removal of a fine corps of French _émigrés_, some 3,300 strong, from
+the northern provinces to Cadiz, on their way to the West Indies.
+
+At the time of the arrival of Bute at that port (25th May), Fortune
+vouchsafed a few gleams of hope to the Allies. Spanish pride having
+kicked against the French demands, especially that of the province of
+Guipuzcoa, Bourgoing's mission proved fruitless. The diplomatic
+situation also improved. In February 1795, as we have seen, Catharine II
+of Russia signed a defensive treaty with Great Britain, to which Austria
+acceeded on 20th May. Thus did Pitt replace the outworn Triple Alliance
+with Prussia and Holland by a more powerful confederacy. With these
+bright prospects in view, and animated by the hope of rousing Western
+France from Quiberon, Pitt had a right to expect some measure of
+fortitude even in the Court of Madrid.[386] But Godoy remained obdurate.
+On 11th June, in his first interview with Bute, he said he had no faith
+in Russia; the vacillations of Austria were notorious; and Pitt was said
+to be about to send Eden to Paris to sue for peace. As for Spain, she
+was hard pressed; French and American emissaries had stirred up strife
+in her colonies; and affairs were most "ticklish" in San Domingo. His
+Government had therefore sought for a composition (not a definite peace)
+with France. In fact, the war as a whole had failed, for whereas the
+Allies had set themselves to crush French principles, they had succeeded
+merely in uniting the French people in one common cause. On 11th July he
+promised to recall the Anglophobe Governor of San Domingo; but he
+declared the island to be in so distracted a state that both Spaniards
+and British would probably be expelled. He then complained that somehow
+England always got the better of Spain; witness Nootka Sound, Hayti, and
+Corsica. In spite of Bute's assurance that he came to end these
+jealousies, Godoy continued to drift on the tide of events. "No plan is
+prepared," wrote Bute on 11th July, "no measures are taken. The accident
+of the day seems to determine everything, and happy do the Ministers
+feel when the day is passed." He therefore advised that Godoy should be
+bribed.
+
+The advice came too late. Already the favourite had instructed Don
+Domingo d'Yriarte, his envoy to the now extinct Polish Republic, to
+confer with Barthélemy, the French Ambassador at Basle. The actions of
+Yriarte, of course, depended on the secret behests of Godoy. On 2nd July
+Godoy informed him that peace was the only means of thwarting the
+efforts of the bad counsellors of the Crown; and four days later he
+wrote:
+
+ Every day makes peace more necessary. There is no hope of
+ restoring affairs in Navarre. Cowardice has unnerved our army
+ and the French will dictate their terms to us.... I fear that
+ their claims will be excessive, and condescension is our only
+ resource if we are to succeed in saving ourselves even in part.
+ Your Lordship need not take alarm at the rigour of the terms of
+ peace; listen to them, accept them, and forward them to me,
+ saying to yourself that perhaps they will not be so fatal as the
+ results of a delay in the negotiation might be.[387]
+
+Yriarte, a nervous valetudinarian, eagerly accepted this despicable
+advice. Already one of his secretaries had allowed Barthélemy to see an
+almost equally base effusion from Godoy; so that the French ambassador
+on 21st July informed the Committee of Public Safety that the game was
+in their hands. This was the case. Yriarte, after receiving two packets
+from Madrid, hastily sought a nocturnal interview with Barthélemy by the
+help of a dark lantern. The French ambassador received him with some
+surprise, especially on hearing that he came to sign a treaty of peace
+on terms not yet known at Paris. When the Spaniard insisted on signing
+at once, Barthélemy examined the conditions, and finding them highly
+favourable to France, consulted his secretaries, with the result that he
+finally decided to conclude the affair.
+
+Thus came about the Peace of Basle (22nd July 1795). Spain now waived
+her former demands, the restoration of religious worship in France, and
+French aid in the recovery of Gibraltar. The French, however, now agreed
+to restore all the districts held by their troops in the North of Spain,
+while the Court of Madrid ceded San Domingo. Spain also made peace with
+the Dutch or Batavian Republic, and offered to mediate between France
+and Portugal, Naples, Sardinia, and Parma.[388] Such were the chief
+clauses of this astonishing compact. It dealt a deadly blow to Pitt. For
+at the very time when he was building up a formidable league and rousing
+Brittany against the Republic, Spain seceded from the monarchist cause,
+and by surrendering San Domingo to France, doomed to failure his costly
+efforts in Hayti. Further, as will appear in Chapter XI, by setting free
+large numbers of the French troops at the Pyrenees, she greatly enhanced
+the difficulties of the expedition of General Doyle to the coast of la
+Vendée. Worst of all, it soon appeared that Godoy was bent on reviving
+the policy of the Family Compact, making common cause even with the
+murderers of Louis XVI in order to thwart England's expansion oversea.
+Bute therefore warned our Government to prepare to strike a blow at
+once, before the Spanish fleet should be ready to help the French either
+in Corsica or Hayti. These precautions proved, for the present at least,
+to be unnecessary. The degradation of the Court and populace of Madrid
+may be measured by the joy with which the news of that inglorious peace
+was received. The Queen, fearful that the failures in the war would lead
+to the fall of her paramour, procured the speedy ratification of the
+Treaty of Basle and decorated him with the title Prince of the Peace.
+
+On hearing of the defection of Spain, Pitt at once took steps to guard
+Hayti against a treacherous attack by detaching the greater part of the
+British force then preparing to help the French Royalists of la Vendée.
+The general opinion both in London and Madrid was that war must ensue.
+Godoy kept a close watch upon Bute, who took a mansion in Madrid on a
+long lease in order to lull that Court into security. It was of the
+highest importance to avert or delay a rupture with Spain; for the
+condition of the British West Indies was most critical. The French,
+having recovered Guadeloupe and St. Lucia, despatched thence emissaries
+to fire the slaves in the British islands with the hope of gaining
+liberty and equality. The peril became acute in Jamaica. There about 500
+negroes had escaped to the mountains, especially in Trelawny and
+Charlestown Counties, and by night carried out murderous raids against
+the planters and their dependents. So fiendish were the atrocities of
+these Maroons, that the authorities in that island applied to the
+Spaniards in Cuba for one hundred bloodhounds and twenty huntsmen in
+order to track the Maroons to their fastnesses. This device proved
+successful; the murderers were by degrees hunted down, and were
+transported to British North America, £25,000 being voted by the Jamaica
+Assembly for settling them there.
+
+Nevertheless the use of bloodhounds, which placed Britons on a level
+with the Spanish crusaders, aroused general disgust. Attempts were made
+in the House of Commons by General Macleod, Sheridan, and Courtenay to
+represent the Maroons as men worthily struggling for liberty. Dundas,
+while pruning these sprays of rhetoric, declared that Ministers would
+thereafter prohibit the use of bloodhounds. These troubles with the
+slaves prejudiced Parliament against any change in their condition. In
+vain did Francis, in one of the last speeches of an acrid but not
+discreditable career, press for the amelioration of their lot. At the
+outset he showed the bitterness of his enmity to Pitt by charging him
+with the betrayal of the cause which, in his oration of 2nd April 1792,
+he had irradiated with the beatific vision of a regenerated and blissful
+Africa. Why, he asked, did not the Minister resign office after his
+failure to realize his heart's desire? He then charged him with
+insincerity on the whole question, and urged the House to be content
+with alleviating the condition of the slaves by giving them the
+rudiments of education and some rights of property, above all by
+securing the sanctity of their marriages. Fox followed with a speech
+aimed more against Pitt than the slave-owners. The Prime Minister then
+replied. Ignoring the charges of his opponents, he pointed out that the
+proposed improvements were utterly inadequate to remedy the ills of the
+negroes so long as Parliament allowed shiploads of these unhappy
+creatures to be cast into the West Indies every year. What was needed,
+he said, was the abolition of that hateful traffic, indeed of the whole
+system of slavery. For himself, he still hoped that Parliament would
+adopt those measures, which alone could be effective. Wilberforce was
+absent through illness. Francis, having elicited in the main mere
+personalities, not declarations of principle, withdrew his motion.
+
+The lapse of the question of Abolition in the years 1795-6 was a public
+misfortune; for the slaves, despairing of justice from England, turned
+to France. For the good of the cause they murdered men, women, or
+children, with equal indifference; and, when hunted down, died with the
+cry _Vive la République_. Here was our chief difficulty in the West
+Indies. Owing to the refusal of Parliament to limit the supply of slaves
+or to alleviate their condition, we had to deal with myriads of blacks,
+exasperated by their former hardships, hoping everything from France,
+and able to support climatic changes which dealt havoc to the raw
+English levies. In truth, the success of the West India expeditions
+depended on other factors besides military and medical skill. It turned
+on political and humanitarian motives that were scouted at Westminster.
+The French Jacobins stole many a march on the English governing classes;
+and in declaring the negro to be an equal of the white man they nearly
+wrecked Britain's possessions in the West Indies.
+
+For a great negro leader had now appeared. Toussaint l'Ouverture, though
+probably not of pure negro blood, was born at Breda in the north of
+Hayti in 1746. His mental gifts were formidable; and when sharpened by
+education and by long contact with whites, they enabled him to play upon
+the elemental passions of his kindred, to organize them, to lead them to
+the fight, to cure their wounds, and to overawe their discontent. A
+barbarian in his outbursts of passion, and a European in organizing
+power, he became a zealot in the Republican cause. A quarrel with
+another masterful negro, Jean François, forced him for a time to retire
+into the Spanish part of San Domingo; but he soon returned, and proved
+to be our most formidable enemy.
+
+The position in Hayti at the close of 1795 was somewhat as follows. The
+Republicans and their coloured allies, often helped by the Spaniards,
+held or ravaged the greater part of the territory which the French
+Royalists had invited us to possess. Their hopeful forecasts had led
+Pitt and Dundas to send far too few troops for what proved to be an
+increasingly difficult enterprise; and at this time British authority
+extended scarcely beyond the reach of the garrisons. The French
+Royalists had not given the help which Malouet and Charmilly had led our
+Ministers to expect.[389] And on the other hand, Victor Hugues, the
+Republican leader, managed to spread revolt in St. Vincent, Grenada, and
+Dominica. In this critical state of things, the Cabinet decided to
+accord to Major-General Williamson, Governor of Hayti, a long furlough,
+and to place in supreme command a man of great resourcefulness and power
+of character.
+
+Sir Ralph Abercromby was at this time sixty-one years of age; but in
+zeal and ardour he excelled nearly all the junior officers. His
+toughness and energy had invested with dignity even the disastrous
+retreat from Holland early in the year. He was not a great commander;
+for he lacked both soundness and firmness of judgement, and he had no
+grasp of the principles of strategy; but he restored the discipline and
+prestige of the British army; and in him Moore and Wellesley hailed the
+dawn of a brighter era. "The best man and the best soldier who has
+appeared amongst us this war," was Moore's comment after Abercromby's
+glorious death near Alexandria.[390] Pitt has often been charged with
+lack of judgement in selecting commanders. Let it be remembered, then,
+that he sent Abercromby to the post of difficulty and danger.
+
+Unfortunately, delays multiplied at Spithead. Though the Cabinet
+withdrew the marrow of the Vendean expedition, yet not enough troops
+were available to complete Abercromby's muster; and when the men were
+ready, the ordnance and transports were not at hand. What Department and
+what officials were answerable for this scandalous state of things it is
+hard to say. Buckingham, who had several correspondents at Portsmouth,
+suspected Abercromby of shiftlessness. However that may be, the autumn
+wore away amidst recriminations and growing discontent. When the fleet
+at last put to sea, it encountered a terrible storm off Portland;
+several transports were dashed to pieces on that point; while others in
+the van were flung back on to the Chesil Beach or the shore near
+Bridport (18th November). The horrors of the scene were heightened by
+the brutality of the coast population, which rushed on the spoil in
+utter disregard of the wretches struggling in the waves. The rest of the
+convoy put back to Spithead; and not till the spring of 1796 did
+Abercromby reach Jamaica. Dundas had instructed him first to recover St.
+Lucia and Guadeloupe, whence Victor Hugues had flung forth the brands of
+revolt. Ultimately the flames shrivelled up the colonies of France; but,
+for the present, they were more formidable than her fleets and armies.
+It was therefore sound policy to strike at those two islands. In a
+"secret" despatch of 4th November, Dundas also warned Major-General
+Forbes closely to watch the Spaniards in San Domingo, and, though not
+attacking their posts, yet to support the French Royalists with arms and
+money in case they desired to do so.
+
+Among those who sailed from Portsmouth early in 1796 was Colonel
+(afterwards Sir John) Moore.[391] He found the West India service most
+unpopular. Yet the energy of Abercromby and Moore brought about the
+surrender of that almost impregnable fortress, Morne Fortunée, in St.
+Lucia. Moore was left as governor of the island, but with a garrison
+insufficient to complete the subjection of the fanatical blacks. General
+Whyte found the conquest of the Dutch settlement of Demerara a far
+easier task than its retention. Abercromby then relieved St. Vincent and
+strengthened the defences of Grenada, that island having been recaptured
+by General Nicols. Abercromby and his comrades thus saved those
+possessions from the most imminent danger. His services were almost as
+great in the quarters as on the field. He adapted the cumbrous uniform
+to the needs of the tropics, and, by abolishing parades and drills in
+the noontide heats, and improving the sanitary conditions of the camps,
+sought to stay the ravages of disease, of which the carelessness or
+stupidity of officials had been the most potent ally. On 21st April 1796
+Sheridan moved for a return of the troops who had succumbed to disease
+in the West Indies. He asserted that several of them, on landing, were
+without shoes and stockings, that hospitals crowded with sick were
+without medicines or bandages, and that in one case a hundred patients
+had to spend the night on the bare beach. Dundas's reply was virtually
+an admission of the truth of these charges.
+
+The declaration of war by Spain in the autumn of 1796 brought about a
+new situation. The Republicans and their black allies regularly took
+refuge and found their supplies in the central parts of San Domingo now
+ceded to France; but when the British sought to follow and attack them
+there, they were assured that it was neutral territory. The British
+Government warmly protested against this duplicity. Either the island
+was Spanish, or it was French. If the former, then Toussaint and his men
+had no right to retreat thither. If the latter, the British could attack
+them. In point of fact, plans for the transfer of San Domingo to France
+were at that time dragging slowly along at Madrid: and when the French
+General, Rom, failed to bend that Court to his terms, he departed for
+the island under the convoy of a Spanish squadron. This incident was
+typical of the recent policy of Madrid. In every possible way it
+favoured France. Early in 1796 seven French warships underwent extensive
+repairs in the royal dockyard at Cadiz. Merry, secretary of legation at
+Madrid, further reported numerous seizures of British merchantmen by
+French privateers which brought them into Spanish harbours. Twelve ships
+were thus brought into Alicante in the winter of 1795-6; and English
+merchants could get no redress for these seizures. French privateers
+also fitted out at Trinidad to act against Grenada and Tobago.[392]
+
+Provocations were not all on one side. Early in 1796, three Spanish West
+Indiamen were overhauled by two English frigates and taken to Bermuda,
+in the belief that war had broken out. They were, however, at once
+released. Godoy protested angrily against this indignity, and early in
+March hinted that Spain's neutrality would cease on the establishment of
+a French Government. Two months later Bute found that Spain was seeking
+to form a Quadruple Alliance, namely, with France, Denmark, and Sweden,
+a scheme which Ehrenthal, the Swedish envoy, warmly furthered. The news
+of Bonaparte's victories in Italy and of the financial troubles in
+England evidently puffed up Godoy with the hope of playing the part of
+an Alberoni for the humiliation of England; and in 1796 Spain had better
+prospects of worsting the islanders than in 1718 when they had the
+alliance of France, Austria, and Holland. In truth, no period was more
+favourable for a revival of the Latin races than the years 1796-7, when
+England was in dire straits, when Austria succumbed under the blows of
+Bonaparte, and the Dutch, Danes, and Swedes opposed the British Power.
+With singleness of purpose and honesty in their administrations, France,
+Spain, and their Allies should have wrecked the lifework of the two
+Pitts.
+
+The British Ministers felt the gravity of the situation. In view of the
+collapse of the Austrian Power in Lombardy, Pitt wrote to Grenville on
+28th June in unusually despondent terms, that it was hopeless to expect
+Austria to prolong the war after the present campaign. We should be left
+alone to confront France and Holland, "probably joined by Spain, and
+perhaps favoured more or less openly by the Northern Powers."[393]
+Accordingly we must see to our home defences, and also consider the
+possibility of a general peace. Grenville therefore urged Bute to seek
+by all methods compatible with his dignity "to preserve the good
+understanding of the two countries." In fact, Pitt and his colleagues
+now decided to bring about a general pacification; and, as will appear
+later, they held to that resolve, in spite of the strong opposition of
+George III. But, on 5th August, while they were discussing details,
+Bonaparte won a crushing victory over Wurmser at Castiglione, and,
+eleven days later, Godoy definitely sided with France. Pitt feared that
+the hostile league would include Denmark and Sweden; and, but for his
+foresight in gaining over Catharine, this would have been the issue of
+events. Even so, Godoy hoped to form a Quadruple Alliance with France,
+Holland, and Prussia. He therefore took a high tone with Bute, declaring
+that England would not be allowed to attack San Domingo, as it was still
+Spanish, and there was a necessary connection between France and Spain;
+but he would not hear of Bute accepting that statement as a declaration
+of war.
+
+Clearly, Spain was trying to gain time; for reports from Cadiz showed
+her fleet to be far from ready, several of the ships being leaky. The
+repairs to the French ships at that dockyard also went on in the most
+leisurely manner. But on 4th August all was ready. Admiral Mann with a
+small blockading force having been called by Jervis into the
+Mediterranean, the French ships set sail, escorted by twenty Spanish
+sail-of-the-line. The French squadron made for the Bank of Newfoundland
+and inflicted great damage. Why it did not proceed along with the
+Spaniards to the West Indies is hard to say. The impact of twenty-seven
+sail-of-the-line in that quarter would have been decisive; but probably
+Godoy did not yet feel warranted in throwing down the gauntlet. Pitt and
+Grenville decided to overlook the gross breach of neutrality at Cadiz,
+and even now hoped for a change in Godoy's mood. On 26th August
+Grenville informed Bute that, though England had good cause for
+declaring war, she would await the result of the recent proposals to
+Spain. On or about that date Las Casas, the Spanish ambassador,
+pettishly left London on a flimsy pretext; and two days later Dundas
+warned the commander-in-chief in Hayti of the imminence of war.
+Nevertheless, while taking every precaution, he was not to attack the
+Spaniards until definite news of a rupture arrived. Further, on the
+31st (as will appear in the following chapter) Portland despatched
+orders to Sir Gilbert Elliot, Viceroy of Corsica, to prepare for the
+immediate evacuation of that island.
+
+It is therefore clear that Pitt and his colleagues used all possible
+means to avert war with Spain. Bute, acting on orders from London,
+carried complaisance to lengths derogatory, as he thought, to the honour
+of Great Britain, and Godoy humoured him to the top of his bent. Thus,
+on 10th September, in the course of a singular interview, Godoy assured
+him that, even if war broke forth, it would be brief. If (he continued)
+England had not annoyed Spain by her naval and colonial policy, the
+latter might have arranged to find some indemnity, either at the expense
+of Holland, or else "something on the coast of California. You English
+have a passion for California, and the trade is in the most flourishing
+state." Half amused by these dilatory tactics, Bute sought to find out
+the real state of the case; and he discovered that the Franco-Spanish
+compact aimed at the joint conquest of Portugal as well as of Naples,
+Sicily, and Gibraltar, while England was to be compelled to surrender
+Honduras and Hayti. On the 5th of October he received from Godoy the
+Spanish declaration of war. It laid stress on the disputes at Toulon,
+England's seizure of Corsica, Hayti, and Dutch Demerara, besides the
+founding of British mercantile posts on the River Missouri, which
+evidently aimed at securing the routes to the Pacific.[394] Of these
+schemes, the conquest of Portugal lay the nearest to the heart of Godoy.
+
+The rupture with Spain is an event of prime importance. Because her
+fleet was disastrously beaten by Jervis off Cape St. Vincent in February
+1797, it has too often been assumed that she counted for little in the
+war. An examination of the British Records reveals the error of that
+assumption. The evacuation of Corsica and of the Mediterranean by the
+British forces resulted solely from the Spanish offensive. Though weak
+in herself, Spain held so strong a position in Europe and the West
+Indies as to endanger British enterprises at many points, besides
+threatening the coasts of Ireland. In truth, but for Spanish support in
+the Mediterranean, Bonaparte could never have ventured upon his Eastern
+expedition. Thus the defection of the Court of Madrid changed the
+character of the war. Thenceforth it revolved more and more around
+colonial questions, to the weakening of the royalist and republican
+motives which had worked so potently in its early stages. The oriental
+adventure of the young Corsican was to emphasize the contrast between
+the years 1793 and 1798; but the scene-shifting began with the intrigues
+of Godoy. In a sense Pitt himself helped on the transformation. He did
+not regard the struggle against France as one of political principle. He
+aimed solely at curbing the aggression of the Jacobins upon Holland; and
+the obvious device of weakening France by expeditions to the West Indies
+further helped to bring events back into the arena of eighteenth-century
+strife. Now that Spain, the protagonist of the French Bourbons, deserted
+their cause and attacked the Power in which they most trusted, all
+pretence of a war of principle vanished. The importance of the change
+was not perceived at the time, though signs of it were not wanting. Both
+in France and England democratic enthusiasm speedily died down, and the
+discontent, which now and again flared forth in both lands, was but a
+feeble sputter compared with the devouring flame of 1789.
+
+In the West Indies the effects of the rupture with Spain were speedily
+felt. On 9th September 1796 Dundas instructed Forbes, commander-in-chief
+in Hayti, to help the Spanish settlers if they resisted the transfer of
+their part of the island to France. He also enjoined the utmost possible
+economy in public expenditure, and urged that the French settlers should
+have a large share in the conduct of local affairs. This zeal on behalf
+of local self-government was markedly opportunist. It arose from a
+suggestion of Colonel Wigglesworth, Commissary-General in Hayti, that
+the expenses of that colony would not lessen until there was a regular
+Government. In the midst of the financial strain at home Pitt and his
+colleagues desired that the French settlers should bear their share of
+the expense of maintaining bands of native auxiliaries. By one of the
+unaccountable impulses that sway the negro mind, a considerable force
+was now available; but it could not be utilized owing to the rigid
+economy enjoined by the Home Government. As the financial outlook
+darkened, Portland and Dundas sent urgent warnings to the new Governor
+of Hayti, Major-General Simcoe, bidding him concentrate the whole of the
+British force at Cape Nicholas Mole, the probable objective of the
+French and Spaniards. The military administration must be withdrawn to
+that fortress, the British cavalry being sent home. Further, as Great
+Britain could in no case bear a larger financial burden than £300,000 a
+year for Hayti, expenses were to be reduced on all sides, the residue
+falling to the share of the colonists. A larger naval force would,
+however, be sent; and Simcoe was advised to seize the island of Tortuga
+and to alarm the Spaniards by feints against Havannah.
+
+This was the beginning of the end at Hayti. Ministers, in despair of
+pacifying that racial cauldron, now looked on the Spanish colonies as an
+easier prize. Dundas therefore ordered Abercromby to capture Porto Rico
+or Trinidad; and he even dallied with a fantastic scheme for shipping
+the Haytian colonists to Porto Rico. Abercromby, however, who again set
+sail from Portsmouth in November 1796, decided to make for Trinidad, and
+by a brilliant stroke captured its capital, Port of Spain. The attack on
+San Juan, in Porto Rico, met with unexpected difficulties, and ended in
+failure (February and April 1797). Matters now became desperate in
+Hayti. The rebels captured several posts near Port-au-Prince, largely
+owing to dissensions among the defenders. Simcoe, despite a serious
+illness on his way out, worked miracles with his skeleton regiments, but
+both he and his subordinates failed to cut down expenses as the Cabinet
+demanded. Accordingly, on 9th June 1797, Portland and Dundas reminded
+him that no further reinforcements could be sent out, and added this
+ominous sentence: "It is but too obvious that ... the immense sacrifices
+this country has made for the protection of the French part of San
+Domingo have too frequently been diverted from purposes of public
+utility to answer the worst ends of private peculation and inordinate
+cupidity."
+
+In a recent debate in the House of Commons St. John assessed the
+expenses of Hayti for January 1797 at £700,000; and stated that, for the
+discharge of judicial duties, a Frenchman was receiving £2,500 a year,
+which he was now squandering in London. Pitt remained silent. Dundas did
+not deny these allegations, but begged members to recollect the great
+difficulties of our officials in Hayti.[395] This was undeniable. It is
+the curse of a policy of retirement that waverers haste to leave betimes
+with all the spoils obtainable. The signs of abandonment of Hayti caused
+a stampede, demoralizing to all concerned. On 1st January 1798,
+Portland and Dundas penned the order for the evacuation of Hayti, owing
+to the impossibility of making good the loss of troops or of recruiting
+in the island. After dwelling on the impossibility of reducing the
+expenditure to the requisite amount, Ministers explained that they had
+deferred the evacuation of Hayti "as long as the negotiation which His
+Majesty had opened with the enemy at Lille, and the disposition of a
+majority in the two Councils of Legislature in France, left a hope that
+some immediate arrangement might be made with that country, which in its
+consequences might operate to relieve England from the intolerable
+burdens by which the British part of St. Domingo is retained, and to a
+certain degree to ensure to its inhabitants a continuance of security
+and protection.... The rupture of the negotiation and the avowed system
+of the present Government of France appear on the one hand to render the
+attainment of this desirable end precarious, if not remote, whilst on
+the other they impose on H.M.'s confidential servants an additional
+obligation of reducing the heavy burdens of a war, the continuance of
+which is unavoidable, within the narrowest limits, in order to be able
+to persevere in it until adequate terms of peace can be obtained; and it
+is certainly their first and essential duty to appropriate the resources
+of the country with such management and economy as may ensure the
+preservation and defence of the essential possessions of the Crown...."
+
+The good faith of Pitt in the Lille negotiation appears clearly in this
+interesting statement, which further proves that he held on to Hayti in
+the hope of ceding it to France on terms satisfactory to Great Britain
+and the colonists. Doubtless it was the perception of this truth which
+led many of the settlers to decamp after spoiling the Egyptians. The
+thankless duty of evacuation devolved on Brigadier-General Maitland, who
+carried it out with skill and patience. Especially admirable is his
+secret bargain with Toussaint, whereby that able chief agreed not to
+molest the British either in Hayti or in Jamaica, while in return he was
+to receive provisions at certain ports under his control. Ministers had
+not advised any such proceeding, but they cordially approved of it,
+despite the clamour of the West India planters at a compact with a
+negro.[396] Thus was laid the basis of that good understanding which
+subsequently enabled Toussaint to defy Bonaparte.
+
+The success attending this agreement shows what power England might have
+wielded had not her King, her Princes, and her Parliament insisted on
+maintaining intact the institution of slavery. They thereby aroused an
+enemy more terrible than yellow fever, the negro. France profited by the
+blunder; but she rushed blindly forward, using the black man with a
+recklessness which gave him the mastery. On the other hand, if Pitt and
+Wilberforce had succeeded in carrying out their programme in the years
+1790-2, the incendiary devices of Brissot and Victor Hugues would have
+come to nought. In that case the transfer of Hayti to England would have
+placed at her disposal myriads of devoted blacks, ready and able to
+plant the Union Jack on every fortress in the West Indies, and to
+conquer the colonies of Spain if she changed sides. It was not to be.
+Far from gaining an accession of strength in that quarter, England lost
+heavily in men and treasure, and at the Peace of Amiens retained only
+Trinidad in return for all her sacrifices.
+
+In no part does Pitt's war policy appear to more disadvantage than in
+the West Indies. He entered into those expeditions when the army at home
+was unable to meet the demands of the service in Flanders, and on the
+coasts of Brittany and Provence, not to speak of the needs of Ireland
+and the East Indies. He allowed Dundas to send out levies which were far
+too raw to withstand the strain of the tropics. This fact, together with
+the stupidity of the regulations and the inexperience, or worse, of the
+medical staff, accounts for the waste of life and the barrenness of
+these tedious campaigns. At no time had England in the West Indies a
+force sufficient to withstand the ravages of disease and to overcome the
+Republicans and their black allies. Nevertheless, while the conduct of
+the West Indian campaigns is open to censure, it is difficult to see
+what other course could have been adopted towards those important
+colonies, in view of the resolve of the French Jacobins to revolutionize
+them. The attempt was made and partly succeeded. Could Pitt and his
+colleagues stand merely on the defensive, while incendiaries sought to
+stir up a war of colour? Was it not the natural and inevitable step to
+endeavour to extirpate those fire-brands? And when so attractive an
+offer as that of Hayti was made by the royalist settlers, could the
+British Government hold timidly aloof and allow that rich land to breed
+revolt? Surely a servile war could be averted only by intervention at
+the natural centre of influence. If from Guadeloupe, after its recapture
+by the French, the seeds of rebellion were sown broadcast, would not
+Hayti have become a volcano of insurrection? Finally, it is
+unquestionable that the change of front of the Court of Madrid in the
+years 1795-6 blighted the whole enterprise at the very time when success
+seemed attainable. On Godoy, then, not on Pitt, must rest the
+responsibility for the lamentable waste of life in the West Indies and
+the ultimate lapse into barbarism of their most fertile island.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[384] "F. O.," Spain, 36. Bute to Grenville, 26th June 1795.
+
+[385] "F. O.," Spain, 36. Jackson to Grenville, 2nd January and 11th
+February 1795.
+
+[386] "F. O.," Spain, 37. Grenville to Bute, 5th, 12th, and 19th June.
+
+[387] Del Cantillo, "Tratados," 660.
+
+[388] "Papiers de Barthélemy," vi, Introd., xv, 71, 77-85.
+
+[389] "W. O.," vi, 6, which contains other despatches of Dundas cited
+later.
+
+[390] "Diary of Sir John Moore," i, 208, 221, 233, 243; ii, 18, 19.
+
+[391] "Diary of Sir John Moore," 2 vols. Edited by General Maurice.
+
+[392] "F. O.," Spain, 39, 40. Merry to Grenville, 20th and 25th December
+and 19th January, 10th February, 6th and 29th March.
+
+[393] "Dropmore P.," iii, 214.
+
+[394] "F. O.," Spain, 44. Bute to Grenville, 10th September and 21st
+October.
+
+[395] For the disgust of Pitt and Dundas, see "Dropmore P.," iii, 390.
+
+[396] Malouet wrote to Pitt on 24th June 1798: "The wisdom of General
+Maitland's measures, the perfect order in which he has conducted the
+operations have lessened the disasters attending it, and by means of a
+truce and convention agreed on with the Republican chiefs, not an
+inconsiderable number of inhabitants has been induced to remain on their
+plantations" (Pitt MSS., 146).
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XI
+
+ THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE: CORSICA: QUIBERON
+
+
+The French Jacobins early laid stress on the weakness of the British
+Empire. An official report issued in January 1793 at Paris advocated a
+close alliance with Tippoo Sahib, the Raja of Mysore, and recommended
+that the French force sent to assist him should threaten or secure the
+Dutch possessions at the Cape of Good Hope, and in Java and Ceylon.
+"There," it continued, "you would meet only with men enervated by
+luxury, soft beings that would tremble before the soldiers of liberty."
+The French conquest of Holland and the capture of the Dutch fleet in the
+winter of 1794-5 brought these schemes within measurable distance of
+fulfilment. Failing to save a single Dutch fortress or warship, Pitt and
+his colleagues became alarmed about the Dutch colonies; and when the
+lethargic Stadholder and his consort Wilhelmina landed in England,
+Ministers conferred with him on this topic.
+
+On 7th February 1795, shortly after his arrival at Kew House,
+thenceforth the scene of his debauches, he drew up an order for the
+Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, bidding him welcome the arrival of a
+friendly British force, which would save Cape Town from the French. That
+important post belonged to the Dutch East India Company, then virtually
+bankrupt, and altogether unable to maintain its neutrality amidst the
+struggles for a world-empire now entering on a new phase. The officials
+of the Company at Amsterdam on 3rd February issued warnings to all Dutch
+ships in British ports to set sail forthwith, and further requested the
+French Government to secure Dutch vessels from attacks by its war
+vessels or privateers.[397] A few days later the invaders of Holland
+laid hands on British ships and detained even the packet-boats. In fact,
+though the Dutch did not frame an alliance with France until 16th May,
+it existed in effect from the month of February.[398] These facts
+explain the action of the Prince of Orange, which is otherwise
+unjustifiable. It was a natural retort to the conduct of the Dutch
+authorities. The British archives also show the alarm of our India Board
+and of its president, Dundas. On 5th February he urged the British East
+India Company to send in duplicate urgent messages to India. On 8th and
+10th February he inquired whether the extra troops needed for India
+could sail on three of their ships now ready in the Thames; and he
+requested that some of the Company's troops stationed at St. Helena
+should proceed to India, their place being taken by drafts from
+home.[399]
+
+Foremost among Dundas's plans for assuring British supremacy in India
+was the acquisition of the Cape. Not that he valued the Cape and Egypt
+on their own account. That generation regarded them merely as
+half-way-houses to India, witness the curious statement of Sir Francis
+Barings, Director of the East India Company, to Dundas, that the Cape
+was of no advantage whatever to us, and might be a dangerous drain upon
+our population; but in the hands of France it would most seriously
+menace our interests.[400] Of how many prosperous British colonies has
+not this been said? For similar reasons we took possession of large
+parts of India and Canada, not to speak of Malta, portions of Australia,
+New Zealand, and the Egyptian Soudan.
+
+Early in March Commodore Blankett set sail from Spithead with four
+ships, having on board part of the 78th regiment, besides marines. The
+"Sphinx" was to join them at St. Helena. The land forces were commanded
+by Major-General Sir James Craig. Early in April Rear-Admiral Sir Keith
+Elphinstone sailed with a larger force, and a further expedition was in
+preparation under the command of Major-General Alured Clarke. The
+Cabinet expected little or no resistance, and even referred to a
+friendly reception as the probable issue. They had some grounds for
+hope. The Dutch force at the Cape consisted of about 800 German
+mercenaries, whose pay was far in arrears. It was suggested that we
+should take them into our pay, and quiet the people by the promise of
+abolishing the abuses of the Dutch Company. These hopes proved
+excessive. Craig, on making False Bay on 11th June, soon found Governor
+Sluysken totally unaffected by the Stadholder's letter. He was a man
+"of the most uncommon _sangfroid_" professing affection to England and
+dislike of France, but resolved to keep a firm hold of Cape Town. He
+offered to give the squadron all it wanted, and begged for time to
+consider the British demand.
+
+Meanwhile mounted burghers poured in from the eastern settlements, and
+greatly strengthened the Dutch camp, situated in a pass half way between
+the town and False Bay. These sturdy farmers hoped to win entire
+independence; for indeed the Dutch East India Company cramped the life
+of the settlers at every turn. Despite the wealth of that land in corn,
+cotton, wine, and cattle, it made little progress. The fisheries might
+have been productive but for the regulations which forbade the colonists
+even a pleasure boat. The Company claimed one-tenth of the produce of
+all sales and had the right of pre-emption and of fixing the prices of
+goods. Settlers might not even kill their own cattle for food without
+the permission of officials. Cape Town was the only market for foreign
+commerce, and all products going in and out were subject to heavy
+dues.[401] Far from thriving on these exclusive rights, that corporation
+found its funds crippled by the very regulations which impoverished and
+irritated the burghers. In fact the first aim of the Boers was to trek
+beyond reach of the arm of the law. Thus came about the settlement of
+the remote townships, Swellendam and Graaf-Reinet, and thus was
+implanted in that virile race the resolve to secure complete
+independence of the enfeebled motherland.
+
+The time seemed to have come when the British force menaced Cape Town.
+The Boers, no less than the Governor Sluysken, regarded the letter of
+the Prince as a forgery and the whole affair a mere trick. In vain did
+Elphinstone and Craig offer guarantees for good government. The
+officials and soldiery were impressed by the offer of enrolment in the
+British service, but the armed farmers proved intractable. Not having
+artillery or sufficient troops, Craig awaited the arrival of
+reinforcements from St. Helena; but on 14th July he landed about 1,600
+men at Simon's Town, and somewhat later began the advance towards Cape
+Town. With little difficulty his men drove the Dutch from a strong
+position in the Pass of Muysenberg. On the next day the Dutch advanced
+from Cape Town with all their force and eight guns, but failed to
+dislodge Craig, despite his lack of artillery.
+
+A period of much anxiety ensued, owing to the delay in the arrival of
+the reinforcements under Major-General Alured Clarke, without which an
+advance on Cape Town was perilous. The Dutch meanwhile received supplies
+from interlopers, concerning whom Elphinstone wrote with nautical
+emphasis: "The seas are infested with Americans, Danes, Genoese,
+Tuscans, etc., or in other terms smuggling ships, mostly belonging to
+Britain and Bengal, entrenched with oaths and infamy, who trade to the
+French islands [Bourbon, etc.] and all the ports in India, changing
+their flags as is most convenient to them."[402] He therefore forbade
+any of them to touch at the Cape. On the arrival of Clarke's force Craig
+took the offensive. About 4,000 strong, the British pushed on towards
+Cape Town, amidst a dropping fire from the mounted burghers, until they
+drew near to Wynberg. There the Dutch prepared to offer a stout
+resistance; but the diversion caused by three British ships entering
+Table Bay, and firing at Cape Town, unsteadied them; and, after little
+fighting, they retired towards the capital, crying out that Sluysken had
+betrayed them. Early on the morrow he offered to surrender; and the
+Union Jack was hoisted on 16th September.
+
+The conquest was delusively easy. The mounted Boers, who were the heart
+of the defence, rode off with their arms, vowing vengeance against the
+invaders; and some hundred of the foreign mercenaries, who entered the
+British service, soon deserted. On 22nd September Craig wrote that,
+except the six principal merchants in Cape Town, all the population was
+hostile, and would certainly join the French, if they appeared, Jacobin
+ideas being rife alike in town and country. He hoped that the abolition
+of "the abominable monopolies" would have some effect. After Clarke and
+most of his troops sailed on to their destination, India, Craig viewed
+the future with concern, as Cape Town and the neighbouring bays needed a
+considerable force for adequate defence. The population of Cape Town and
+district then amounted to 4,957 settlers and their children, 6,068
+servants, and 9,049 slaves. In the whole colony there were 14,929 free
+settlers, 11,555 servants, and 19,807 slaves. The oxen numbered 418,817.
+
+The news of the capture of Cape Town caused great relief at Whitehall.
+Dundas on 16th January 1796 assured Craig that His Majesty would have
+preferred a peaceful acquisition. The remark does not evince much
+sagacity; for in that case the Boers would have represented the
+occupation as an act of trickery concocted with the Prince of Orange. As
+it was, the Cape was conquered after a fair fight. Undoubtedly in the
+month of August the burghers might have beaten Craig had they been
+either well led or enterprising. Dundas also instructed Clarke to leave
+a strong garrison at Cape Town, and forwarded news of the capture of
+Trincomalee, the Dutch stronghold in Ceylon. The Dutch soon sent a force
+of 2,000 troops convoyed by six warships, for the recapture of the Cape;
+but, while sheltering in Saldanha Bay, some fifty miles north of Cape
+Town, it was surprised by Elphinstone's squadron and capitulated (17th
+August 1796). The news of this disaster hastened the surrender of the
+burghers of Graaf Reinet who had defied British authority.
+
+In order to mark the permanence of British rule, Pitt decided to send
+out as Governor Lord Macartney, who previously had undertaken a mission
+to "Louis XVIII" at Verona. His arrival in May 1797 helped to check the
+growth of discontent which was again becoming formidable. Macartney's
+difficulties were great. The Dutch held sullenly aloof, in the belief
+that England must give up her prize at the peace. Our military and naval
+officers disliked Cape Town, owing to the lack of amusements, the
+dearness of provisions, and the badness of the roadstead. Admiral
+Pringle declared to Lady Anne Barnard that, as a naval station, it was
+the worst that the devil could have contrived; that the people were
+objectionable, and the animals vile, even the hens being unable to lay
+fresh eggs. The soldiers grumbled at the high prices; for, though beef
+was only fourpence a pound, and good wine sixpence a bottle, yet an egg
+cost threepence and a dish of cauliflowers eighteenpence. Readers of
+Lady Anne's sprightly letters will note in germ the problem that has
+beset the British in South Africa.[403] They formed a restless minority
+among a people curiously unreceptive and suspicious. They were bored by
+the surroundings, puzzled by Dutch elusiveness, and doubtful as to the
+future. The war was going far from well; and the alliance of Spain with
+France in the summer of 1796 facilitated attacks from the Canaries and
+Monte Video. These difficulties were enhanced by the cold and tactless
+behaviour of Macartney.
+
+Nevertheless Pitt resolved at all costs to hold the Cape. Signs of
+disgust at the state of affairs in Corsica and the West Indies early
+figure in his letters; but as to the retention of Cape Town he never
+wavered. Bonaparte's capture of Egypt in 1798 showed that India was
+about to be assailed by way of the Red Sea. The greater, then, was the
+need to retain the stronghold which dominated the sea-route to the East
+Indies. The resolve of Pitt to assure the communication with India by
+one or other of the two routes will concern us later. But we may risk
+the assertion that he would certainly have avoided the blunder of the
+Addington Ministry in 1802 in giving up the Cape and neglecting to
+secure Malta against recapture by Napoleon. Early in the course of the
+Napoleonic War, Pitt resolved at all costs to retain Malta and to
+re-conquer the Cape. During the negotiations of 1805 with Russia he
+refused to allow the discussion of our title to Malta; and in the
+parleys with Prussia a little later he distinctly excepted the Cape from
+the list of the conquered colonies which Britain might be willing to
+restore at the general peace.[404] Six days before Pitt expressed this
+resolve, Nelson won his last and greatest triumph, thus enabling the
+Prime Minister to deal with full effect the blow which won Cape Colony
+for the British flag. It is clear, then, that Pitt discerned the
+enormous importance of that station as an outwork of India. In fact,
+after the expedition of Bonaparte to Egypt and the renewal of his
+oriental schemes in 1803, no statesman worthy of the name could fail to
+see that either Egypt and Malta, or the Cape of Good Hope, must belong
+to the mistress of the East Indies. In the last resort, then, it was the
+world-policy of Napoleon which planted the Union Jack for ever both at
+Malta and the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Naval campaigns almost of necessity resolve themselves into a series of
+experiments; and after the failure of the attempt to hold Toulon, a blow
+at Corsica was the natural sequel. At a time when Great Britain had no
+post within the Mediterranean, that island was a most desirable prize.
+Its supplies of naval stores to the dockyard at Toulon were of the
+highest value to the French; and Nelson declared the occupation of
+Corsica to be imperatively necessary, as it furnished that dockyard with
+the decks, sides, and straight timbers for ships.[405] Accordingly,
+after the evacuation of Toulon by the Allies in December 1793, Admiral
+Hood decided to effect the reduction of the island for the royalist
+cause.
+
+Already, while at Toulon, he had received an urgent invitation from
+Paoli, the leader of the Royalist, or British, party in Corsica, to help
+the islanders in driving out the French. Victor in the long feud against
+the Bonapartes, whom he expelled at midsummer, Paoli now resolved to
+root out the Jacobins, and his Anglophil leanings induced him to offer
+the crown of Corsica to George III. Both the King and his Ministers
+received the offer favourably, Pitt and Grenville regarding Corsica as
+one of the indemnities to be exacted from France. Sir Gilbert Elliot,
+the King's Commissioner in the Mediterranean, was therefore charged to
+administer Corsica. Disputes between Admiral Hood and General Dundas, the
+commander of the British troops, somewhat hampered the sieges of the
+three French garrisons still holding out; but by August 1794 Calvi, the
+last hope of the French, succumbed to the vigour of the attack of
+General Stuart, effectively helped by Nelson, who there lost the sight
+of his right eye.
+
+Subsequent events in Corsica, although of great interest, are not
+closely connected with the life of Pitt; and I therefore propose to
+describe them and the details of the Quiberon expedition in the volume
+entitled "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies." In this chapter only the
+incidents which more particularly concern Pitt will be noticed.
+
+The attempt to rule that most clannish and suspicious of Mediterranean
+peoples first called forth the administrative powers of Sir Gilbert
+Elliot, first Earl of Minto. Acting as Viceroy of Corsica, he sought to
+promote contentment by promulgating an excellent constitution and
+administrative reforms. But, being hampered from the outset by the
+factious behaviour of Paoli, he, with the consent of the Cabinet,
+deported him to England in the autumn of 1795. An equally serious
+complication was the feud between the British army and navy. These
+disputes, originating at Toulon, grew apace in Corsica. Elliot sided
+with Hood, and was therefore detested by Dundas, his successor, Sir
+Charles Stuart, and their coadjutor, Colonel Moore. This brilliant young
+officer, by nature somewhat a _frondeur_, was finally guilty of
+expressions so disrespectful as to lead to his removal shortly before
+that of Paoli. He carried his complaints to Pitt, who bade him set forth
+his case dispassionately. Indeed, so impressed was he with Moore's
+abilities, that he decided to employ him in the West Indies, and
+afterwards advanced him to posts of high importance.
+
+Pitt took little interest in Corsica, leaving it to the intermittent
+attentions of Portland. Consequently that interesting experiment had not
+a fair chance. The possession of the island was also nearly useless in a
+military sense; for the British garrison could spare no detachments,
+which, even with the help of the loyal Corsicans, could effectively
+harass the French forces campaigning in the Genoese Riviera. Elliot
+entered into relations with the Knights of Malta, and in other ways
+sought to develop a Mediterranean policy; but in this he met with scant
+support from London. In excuse of Pitt it must be said that he had his
+hands more than full elsewhere. Moreover the peace between France and
+Spain, framed in July 1795, caused him great concern, especially as the
+Court of Madrid manifested deep resentment at the British occupation of
+Corsica. In October 1795 Pitt inclined strongly towards peace, and
+thenceforth carried on the war mainly with a view to securing
+indemnities. Corsica apparently he now looked on as burdensome; for in
+his speech of 9th December 1795 he did not include it among the three
+valued acquisitions of the war--Martinique, Cape Nicholas Mole (in
+Hayti), and the Cape of Good Hope. Dundas always looked on the
+occupation of Corsica as prejudicial to the colonial efforts which held
+the first place in his thoughts. Accordingly it was not utilized in the
+spring of 1796, when expeditions ought to have set forth to hamper the
+march of Bonaparte's ill-equipped columns along the coast from Nice to
+Savona.
+
+The opportunity then lost was never to return. Bonaparte's triumphs in
+Italy enabled him to prepare at Leghorn to deal a blow for the recovery
+of his native island. Checked for the time by the other claims of the
+war and the presence of Nelson, he kept this aim in view; and the
+conquest of North and Central Italy at the close of that campaign
+compromised the safety of the small British and _émigré_ force in
+Corsica. The final reason, however, for the evacuation of the island was
+neither the menace from Italy nor the discontent of the islanders, but
+the alliance of Spain with France. As Nelson foresaw, that event
+endangered the communications with England. Ministers also knew that a
+plan was on foot for a French invasion of Ireland, which, as we shall
+see, was attempted at the end of the year. They therefore determined to
+concentrate their forces for home defence and the protection of the most
+important possessions, a decision which involved the abandonment of the
+Mediterranean. Accordingly, on 31st August 1796, Portland sent orders
+for the evacuation of Corsica and of Elba. For a few days in the latter
+half of October Ministers revoked these orders, and bade Elliot hold
+firm, their hope being to tempt the Empress Catharine to active
+co-operation against France by the cession of Corsica to her. Whether
+that wily potentate saw through this device is doubtful; for she died on
+16th November. Her death put an end to the fleeting hope of opposing
+France with an equality of force; for the bent of her successor, Paul I,
+was at first towards peace.
+
+Despite the comparative neglect of Mediterranean affairs by Pitt at this
+time, they exerted a profound influence upon his career. In view of the
+many claims upon the British navy, it was perhaps impossible to exert
+upon the coast of Nice and Genoa the pressure which Elliot desired; but
+the failure to do so in the spring of 1796 enabled Bonaparte to win the
+triumphs which changed the history of the world. Further, the British
+occupation of Corsica, scarcely less than that of Hayti, aroused keen
+jealousy at Madrid, and thus helped to set in motion forces which for
+the time checkmated England in the Mediterranean. Not until the
+Spaniards were beaten by Jervis and Nelson could she stretch forth her
+trident over that sea, first from Minorca and finally from Malta. The
+loss of Corsica was keenly felt. For, had England made full use of that
+island as a base of operations, Bonaparte could not have carried out his
+Egyptian expedition in 1798. Austria also ascribed her overthrow in
+Venetia and Styria to the withdrawal of the British fleet from the
+Mediterranean. That step seemed a confession of pitiable weakness,
+though in reality it enabled the Government to concentrate the fleet at
+points more important than Bastia and Ajaccio.
+
+Amidst the disasters at the end of the Flemish campaign of 1794 Pitt
+sought to divert the energies of England to a more promising field.
+Thwarted on the Lower Rhine by the vacillations of the German Powers and
+the torpor of the Dutch, he hoped for success among the Royalists of
+Brittany and la Vendée. He framed this decision reluctantly; for it
+involved co-operation with the French princes, the Comte de Provence and
+the Comte d'Artois, and with the swarms of fanatical _émigrés_ who had
+long pestered him with mad projects. Further, he had always been loath
+to declare for the restoration of the Bourbons. To do so would be to
+flaunt the _fleur-de-lis_ in the face of a nation which hated all that
+pertained to the old régime. Besides, it implied a surrender to the
+clique headed by Burke and Windham, which scoffed at the compromise
+between monarchy and democracy embodied in the French constitution of
+1791. Pitt, with his innate moderation and good sense, saw the folly of
+these reactionary views and the impossibility of forcing them upon the
+French people. Nevertheless, as an experiment in the course of that
+bewildering strife, he had recourse to the _émigrés_.
+
+The accession of Windham to the Cabinet, in July 1794, had strengthened
+their influence at Westminster; and incidents which occurred in France
+during the winter of 1794-5 evinced a decline of Jacobinical enthusiasm.
+The sentiment of loyalty, damped by the chilling personality of
+Louis XVI and the follies of his brothers, revived now that the little
+Louis XVII was being slowly done to death by his gaolers in the Temple.
+The rapacity and vulgar ostentation of the Thermidorian party, then in
+power, provoked general disgust; and despair of any satisfactory
+settlement began to range friends of order on the side of the monarchy.
+The late American envoy at Paris, Gouverneur Morris, informed Bland
+Burges at our Foreign Office, on 28th June 1795, that the state of
+France was so desperate as to admit of cure only by the restoration of
+the old dynasty; that the recent death of Louis XVII was a benefit to
+the cause inasmuch as his mind had been completely brutalized; and
+finally the envoy heartily wished success to every effort to overthrow
+the despicable Government at Paris.
+
+Though the Royalist leaders in the west of France early in the year 1795
+made a truce with the Republic, yet the resumption of the civil war in
+that quarter was known to be only a question of time. Windham,
+therefore, urged the despatch of an expedition to Brittany. His royalist
+zeal had now developed his powers to their utmost. Early in the course
+of the French Revolution the chivalry of his nature detached him from
+the Foxites. The glow and beauty of his periods marked him out as the
+successor of Burke in the House of Commons; yet in no respect did he
+attain complete success. His speeches were too refined and subtle for
+that audience; and, worse still, his diffidence or torpor led him often
+to miss opportunities of effective intervention. The sensitiveness of
+his nature appeared in his falling in love at first sight with a
+Highland girl whom Burke and he casually met during a tour. His loss of
+her made a painful impression on him.[406] The butt of an unkind fate,
+he seemed destined also to be the leader of lost causes; and the proud
+and penniless _émigrés_ found in him their most devoted friend.
+
+Despite the opposition of Dundas, and the doubts of Pitt, his views
+prevailed; and preparations began for an Anglo-French expedition to the
+coast of Brittany. During the winter there had arrived in London a
+Breton leader of gigantic stature and considerable mental powers, the
+Comte de Puisaye. He had fought devotedly for the constitutional
+monarchy in that great province and had the confidence of its
+inhabitants, whether nobles or peasants (_Chouans_). But French princes
+and the cliques of "pure" Royalists looked on him, as Marie Antoinette
+looked on Mirabeau, merely as a rebel who had partly seen the error of
+his ways. Secretly they resolved to make use of him, as he had gained
+the confidence of Windham and Pitt, but to throw him over at the first
+opportunity.
+
+Meanwhile the Cabinet began to equip regiments of French Royalists
+destined to form the spearhead of the "Royal and Catholic Army." Various
+causes delayed the preparations, the chief being the absence in North
+Germany of seasoned corps of _émigrés_ whose presence in Brittany, was
+essential. Puisaye therefore urged Ministers to allow him to enrol
+recruits from among the French prisoners of war in England--a dangerous
+device which, unfortunately, was adopted. Undoubtedly the initiative in
+this matter rested with him; and it is noteworthy that other royalist
+leaders had tried the plan, hitherto with no untoward results.[407]
+Prisoners were not forced into the new corps; but it is clear that some
+of them enlisted in order to get back to France. As for the finances of
+the enterprise, they were partly met by the manufacture of royalist
+_assignats_. Whether they were like the forged _assignats_ manufactured,
+with the connivance of Government, near Hexham and Durham, is not clear.
+It is alleged by royalist writers that they bore a mark ensuring
+identification, so that, in case of a monarchist triumph, they would be
+duly honoured. The chief aim, however, certainly was to discredit the
+republican notes and to embarrass the Parisian Government. That Pitt
+should in any way have countenanced these underhand devices is
+discreditable.
+
+Owing to the declaration of war by Holland (May 1795), the vacillations
+of Spain, and the determination of George III to keep troops in
+Hanover,[408] very few British were available for the enterprise. It is
+worth noting that the King disliked the _émigrés_ and often shocked
+Windham by assertions at Court that they would prove false. His
+influence was used steadily against all attempts in their favour. There
+were, indeed, good grounds for suspicion even at this time. Seeing that
+Charette and other Breton leaders still observed the truce with the
+Republic, the risks of a landing were great; and this explains the
+reluctance of the Cabinet to allow the Comte d'Artois to proceed with
+the first contingent.[409] It was charged to occupy the Quiberon
+Peninsula as a base for further exertions, to supply arms to the
+Bretons, and thus prepare for a general rising, the effect of which
+would be clinched by the arrival of a larger force. The vanguard set
+sail from Spithead on 17th June 1795. It consisted of some 3,800
+_émigrés_, under the general command of Puisaye, though by some mistake
+in drafting the orders, considerable power was given to Comte
+d'Hervilly, the senior officer of the subsidized regiments. At first all
+went well. The convoying fleet under Lord Bridport, after capturing
+three French sail-of-the-line off l'Orient, made Quiberon Bay and
+assisted in the capture of Fort Penthièvre, commanding the narrow
+isthmus (3rd July).
+
+Disputes now began between Puisaye and Hervilly, the former desiring to
+push on boldly, while the latter insisted on remaining in the peninsula.
+Time was thus given for the republican general, Hoche, to collect his
+forces and make spirited attacks upon the invaders, who soon fell a prey
+to schism and discouragement. The doom of the expedition was decided by
+the treacherous surrender of the fort to Hoche's men at the close of a
+night attack (21st July). As day dawned the Republicans drove their foes
+into the peninsula. Wild scenes of panic ensued. A storm having
+compelled the larger British warships to keep in the offing, Puisaye
+went off in a boat to beg succour from Admiral Warren. The defence
+speedily collapsed. De Sombreuil, who was left in command near the tip
+of the tongue of land, unaccountably surrendered, though a British
+corvette, the "Lark," and gunboats were effectively covering his flank.
+At the instigation of Tallien, the French Convention disavowed the
+promise of its officers at Quiberon to spare the lives of those who laid
+down their arms; and 712 Royalists were shot down in cold blood at Auray
+and neighbouring places.
+
+The evidence proves that the Pitt Ministry had done its best for this
+expedition, which went to pieces owing to the quarrels of its leaders
+and the refusal of Charette to stir a finger on behalf of Puisaye, whom
+he detested. For the final massacre Tallien and the French Convention
+are wholly responsible. Yet it suited the tactics of the English
+Opposition to accuse Pitt of planning the death of the French Royalists.
+Fox, in one of his wildest outbreaks, charged Ministers with
+deliberately sending noble gentlemen to a massacre. Sheridan, too,
+declared that, though British blood had not flowed, yet "British honour
+had bled at every pore." These reckless mis-statements have been refuted
+by the testimony of La Jaille, Vauban, and Puisaye, royalist officers
+who escaped.
+
+Before these horrible events were known in England, Ministers prepared
+to succour the vanguard at Quiberon. News that Spain had made peace with
+France in a highly suspicious manner weakened this second effort, it
+being necessary to safeguard the British West Indies from a probable
+attack by the Spaniards. As no more than four newly raised British
+regiments could be spared for the Biscay coast, the Earl of Moira threw
+up the command, which General Doyle then accepted. It seems probable
+that by 3rd August Pitt doubted the expediency of sending a second
+expedition to Brittany or la Vendée. Nevertheless, the Comte d'Artois,
+who about that time arrived at Spithead from North Germany with a force
+of _émigrés_, desired to make the venture, relying on Charette, and
+other royalist chiefs who had once more aroused the men of the West. The
+Count also cherished the hope that the numerous bands of malcontents in
+Paris would overthrow that tottering Government.
+
+Events turned out otherwise. The first plan, that of occupying
+Noirmoutier, an island close to the Vendéan coast, proving
+impracticable, Doyle sailed to a smaller island, Yeu, farther out at
+sea. There the 5,500 troops, miserably cramped and underfed, waited
+until the Comte d'Artois should make good his boast of throwing himself
+into a boat, if need be, in order to join his faithful Charette. It was
+soon apparent that he preferred to stay in Yeu with his mistress, Mme.
+Polastron. In vain did the Bretons under Puisaye and Vauban, and the
+Vendéans under Charette, beg him to join them. Meanwhile, amid the early
+autumn rains the troops deteriorated, and the royalist rising at Paris
+proved a miserable fiasco, some 30,000 National Guards being scattered
+by a small force well handled by Bonaparte and Barras (5th October).
+Finally, a deputation of Bretons proceeded to Yeu, and begged Artois to
+place himself at the head of the numerous bands of devoted gentlemen and
+peasants who still awaited his appearance. All was in vain. _Je ne veux
+pas aller Chouanner_ (play the Chouan) was his reply (12th November). On
+the morrow he informed Vauban that he had received orders from England
+to return at once. This assertion was at the time generally believed to
+be false; the letters of Grenville to the Prince prove it to be grossly
+exaggerated. To the despair and disgust of his soldiers he departed, and
+finally sought refuge from his creditors in Holyrood Castle. The British
+and French royalist regiments were withdrawn with much difficulty during
+the storms of December 1795. Nearly all the horses had to be destroyed.
+
+Undoubtedly Pitt and Grenville had become disgusted with the torpor of
+Artois and the follies of the French Royalists. In particular the absurd
+failure at Paris seems to have prompted the resolve of the Cabinet to
+withdraw the British troops from Yeu. Pitt's letters of the latter half
+of October also evince a desire to pave the way for some understanding
+with the French Directory. As that Government was firmly installed in
+power, an opportunity presented itself, for the first time since the
+opening of the war, of arranging a lasting peace. These hopes were to be
+blighted; but it is certain that Pitt cherished them; and, doubtless,
+among the motives operating in favour of peace the foremost was a
+feeling of disgust at the poltroonery of the French Princes and the
+incurable factiousness of their followers, in whom the faculties which
+command success were lost amidst vices and perversities sufficient to
+ruin the best of causes. Pitt continued to support the Chouans by money
+and arms; but, despite the frequent protests of Windham, not a British
+soldier was landed on that coast.[410]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[397] "F. O.," Holland, 57.
+
+[398] "Cape Records," i, 98.
+
+[399] "W. O.," vi, 67.
+
+[400] "Cape Records," i, 17, 22.
+
+[401] "Cape Records," i, 23-6, 138-40; Cory, "Rise of South Africa," i,
+ch. ii.
+
+[402] "W. O.," i, 323. In "F. O.," Holland, 57, is a memorial of
+Elphinstone and Craig to Grenville, stating why they had detained at the
+Cape the U. S. ship "Argonaut," whose owners now prosecuted them for
+£100,000.
+
+[403] "South Africa a Century ago." By Lady Anne Barnard.
+
+[404] "F. O.," Prussia, 70. Pitt to Harrowby, 27th October 1805.
+
+[405] "Nelson Despatches," ii, 5.
+
+[406] "Corresp. of Sir John Sinclair," i, 141-3.
+
+[407] Puisaye, "Mems.," ii, 594-603; Forneron, "Hist. des Emigrés," ii,
+13, 14.
+
+[408] Cornwallis, "Corresp.," iii, 289.
+
+[409] "F. O.," France, 44. Grenville to d'Harcourt, 19th June 1795.
+
+[410] On 19th January 1798 Pitt, Windham, and Canning agreed to give
+£9,082 and £9,400 for the discharge of debts due for services of the
+Royalists in France, incurred in England and France respectively,
+leaving a balance of £8,000 for future payment. The following sums were
+paid to the Duc d'Harcourt for the support of "Monsieur": in 1796,
+£3,000; in 1797, £9,000; and after May 1798 at the rate of £500 per
+month (B.M. Add. MSS., 37844). I have not found the sums allowed to the
+Comte d'Artois.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XII
+
+ PITT AS WAR MINISTER (1793-8)
+
+ Si vous affaiblissez vos moyens en partageant vos forces, si
+ vous rompez en Italie l'unité de la pensée militaire, je vous le
+ dis avec douleur, vous aurez perdu la plus belle occasion
+ d'imposer des lois à l'Italie.... La guerre est comme le
+ gouvernement, c'est une affaire de tact.--NAPOLEON, _Letters of
+ 14th May 1796_.
+
+
+In estimating the services of Pitt as War Minister during the first
+phases of the conflict we must remember that the ambition of his life
+was to be a Peace Minister. Amidst the exhaustion caused by the American
+War, he deemed it essential to ensure the continuous growth of savings
+and investments which, under favourable conditions, advance at the rate
+of Compound Interest. His success in the time of peace 1783-93, may be
+measured by the fact that, despite the waste of war, the rate of
+progress was not seriously checked in the years 1793-6. A Scotsman,
+MacRitchie, who travelled through England in 1795[411] was surprised to
+find the large towns in a most flourishing state; and it is well known
+that the exports of cottons largely increased in the last decade of the
+century. Seeing that the war became "a contention of purse," the final
+triumph of England may be ascribed to the reserve of strength which Pitt
+had helped to assure. He did not live on to witness the issue of the
+economic struggle brought about by the Continental System of Napoleon.
+But a study of the commercial war of the years 1806-13 shows that Pitt's
+forethought enabled Britain to foil the persistent efforts of her
+mightiest enemy.
+
+Military critics will, however, reply that Pitt's economies in the
+earlier period so far weakened her army as to lead to the failures of
+the Revolutionary War. There is some force in this contention. A closer
+examination, however, will reveal facts that necessarily weaken it.
+Firstly, England had never kept up a large army in time of peace.
+Dislike of a standing army was almost inconceivably strong; and it is
+certain that an attempt by Pitt to maintain an army in excess of the
+ordinary peace establishment would have aroused a powerful opposition.
+He therefore concentrated his efforts on the navy; and the maritime
+triumphs of the war were due in the last resort to his fostering care.
+As for the army, he kept it at its normal strength until the spring of
+the year 1792, when he decided to effect some reductions. In one sense
+this decision is creditable to him. It proves that he neither desired
+nor expected a rupture with France. In his view the risks of war were
+past. After his surrender to the Empress Catharine in 1791 peace seemed
+assured. Further, his decision to reduce the British Army was formed
+before the declaration of war by France against Austria (20th April
+1792). After the rupture of France with Sardinia and Prussia it appeared
+the height of madness for a single disorganized State to enlarge the
+circle of its enemies. Consequently, up to the second week of November
+1792, Pitt and Grenville were fully justified in expecting the duration
+of peace for Great Britain. Here, as at many points in the ensuing
+struggle, it was the impossible which happened.
+
+Is Pitt to be blamed for effecting economies which led to a reduction of
+taxes and an alleviation of the burdens of the poor? The chief danger of
+the years 1791, 1792 came not from the French Jacobins, but from their
+British sympathizers; and experience warranted the belief that, with a
+lightening of the financial load, the nation would manifest its former
+loyalty. On 23rd August 1791 Grenville wrote: "Our only danger is at
+home, and for averting that danger, peace and economy are our best
+resources."[412] These considerations are political rather than
+military. But it is impossible to separate the two spheres. The strength
+of the army depends ultimately on the strength of the nation.
+
+It is also well to remember that systematic preparation for war was an
+outcome of that struggle. Conscription was a bequest of the French
+Revolution. Planned first by Carnot, it was carried out by Dubois Crancé
+and others in 1798. But in 1793 the days of large armies had not dawned.
+It was usual to maintain small forces of professional soldiers, together
+with a more or less inefficient militia. In England methods not unlike
+those of the age of Falstaff still held good. War was an adventure, not
+a science. In France first it became an intensely national effort. The
+Jacobins evoked the popular enthusiasm; the Committee of Public Safety
+embodied it in citizen armies; and the science of Carnot and Napoleon
+led them to victories which shattered the old-world systems and baffled
+the forecasts of Pitt.
+
+Let us briefly survey the conduct of the war by Pitt in its chief stages
+up to the year 1798. The first period is from the declaration of war in
+February 1793, to the Battle of Fleurus, near the close of June 1794. At
+the outset he is alarmed by the irruption of Dumouriez into Holland, and
+hastily sends a small British force under the Duke of York, solely for
+the defence of Helvoetsluys and its neighbourhood. It answers its
+purpose; the French are held up at the Hollandsdiep, while the Austrians
+crush their main force at Neerwinden. Thereupon Coburg claims the Duke's
+assistance in driving the Republicans from the fortresses of French
+Flanders. Pitt and his colleagues give their assent, because the
+enterprise seems easy after the defection of Dumouriez, and Dunkirk is a
+tempting prize near to hand, but mainly owing to their urgent desire
+that Austria shall find her indemnity not in Bavaria, but in the French
+border fortresses. Thus, for reasons which are political, rather than
+military, the Cabinet embarks an insufficient force on what proves to be
+a lengthy and hazardous enterprise. Further, while the British push on,
+Prussia holds back; so that the Duke of York virtually takes the place
+of the Prussian contingent. Unaware of the duplicity of Berlin, and
+trusting that the Allies will soon master the border strongholds, Pitt
+and Dundas prepare to harry the coasts of France, and to secure her most
+valuable colony, Hayti. These are their chief aims in the war. But,
+while preparing maritime expeditions, they also drift into a continental
+campaign, from which they find it hard to withdraw.
+
+The efforts put forth at Toulon and in Corsica were the outcome of the
+treaties with Austria, Sardinia, and Naples, which required the
+appearance of a British fleet off the coasts of France and Italy. While
+seeking to strengthen both the Coalition and the Royalists of Provence,
+Admiral Hood's force found an unexpected sphere of action at Toulon. In
+August 1793 that city admitted the British troops and a Spanish force a
+few days later. Thereupon Pitt claimed the help which he had a right to
+expect from his Allies. Naples and Sardinia sent contingents deficient
+in quality or numbers; and the Court of Vienna, after promising to send
+5,000 troops from the Milanese, neglected to do so. Quarrels and
+suspicions hampered the defence; but the arrival of the Austrian
+contingent would probably have turned the scale. Owing to the length of
+time required for despatches from Toulon to reach London, Pitt and his
+colleagues did not hear of the remissness of Austria until 22nd
+December, that is, five days after the fall of that stronghold. Had they
+known it a month earlier, they could have sent thither the large force,
+then mustering in the Solent, which on 26th November set sail for the
+West Indies.
+
+This seems an unpardonable diffusion of efforts. But Ministers must
+already have regretted their readiness to take up the duties incumbent
+on Prussia in Flanders; and doubtless they resolved not to play the part
+of the willing horse at Toulon. In the early days of every league there
+comes a time when an active Power must protest against the shifty ways
+which are the curse of Coalitions. Besides, Pitt had to keep in view the
+interests of Great Britain. These were, firstly, to guard the Low
+Countries against French aggression, and, secondly, to gain an indemnity
+for the expenses of the war either in the French West Indies, or in
+Corsica. The independence of the Low Countries was a European question.
+The maritime conquests concerned England alone. Were Britons to shelve
+their own interests for a question of international import? The
+statesman who does so will not long hold the reins at Westminster.
+Besides, no device for weakening France was deemed more effective than
+that of seizing her wealthiest group of colonies. On the other hand,
+there was pressing need of armed help for the Royalists of Brittany; and
+on this ground we must pronounce the West India enterprise ill timed. A
+still worse blunder was the continued inactivity of Moira's force in the
+Solent and the Channel Islands. The reports of an intended French
+invasion form a wholly inadequate excuse for his inaction. His troops
+could have rendered valuable service either in Brittany, Flanders, or at
+Toulon. The riddle of their inaction has never been solved. Ultimately
+the blame must rest with Pitt, Dundas, and Lord Chatham.[413]
+
+In 1794 Pitt hoped to retrieve the failures of the first campaign and to
+wear down the French defence. For this purpose he liberally subsidized
+Austria and concluded with Prussia a treaty which, with better
+management, might have brought a second highly efficient army into
+Flanders. The compacts of that springtide warranted the hope that
+340,000 allied troops would advance on the north and north-east
+frontiers of France. They were not forthcoming; but, even as it was, the
+Imperialists and the Duke of York routed the French levies in Flanders
+and seemed about to open the way to Paris. Earl Howe's victory, named
+"the glorious first of June," ensured supremacy in the Channel. Brittany
+and la Vendée were again aflame. The Union Jack replaced the tricolour
+on the strongholds of Corsica and in the most fertile parts of the West
+Indies. In April-May 1794 the collapse of the Jacobins seemed imminent.
+
+But these early triumphs of the Allies were almost as fatal as their
+later disasters. Indeed they were largely the cause of them. Believing
+that they had the game in their hands, Prussia and Austria relaxed their
+efforts at the very time when France girded herself for a mightier
+struggle. Moreover, the emergence of the Polish Question in an acute
+phase served once again to distract the German rivals and to weaken
+their efforts in the West. Moreover, the Anglo-Prussian Treaty of May
+1794 prescribing the valley of the Meuse as the sphere of action of the
+62,400 Prussians subsidized by England and Holland was so rigid as to
+furnish their generals with good excuses for refusing to march from the
+Palatinate across the front of the French columns now pressing forward.
+The upshot was that England and the Dutch Republic got nothing in return
+for their subsidies, while the Prussians on their side chafed at the
+insistent demands from London and The Hague for the exact fulfilment of
+the bargain. The situation was annoying for military men; and the
+British Government erred in tying them down too stringently to a flank
+march, which was fraught with danger after the long delay of Pitt in
+ratifying the compact (6th-23rd May); while the postponement in the
+payment of the first subsidies gave the Prussians a good excuse for
+inaction.[414] His remonstrance to the Prussian envoy in London, at the
+close of September 1794, was also unwise. For it exceeded the more
+measured protests of Grenville, and furnished the Berlin Court with the
+desired excuse for recalling its troops from the Rhine. In short, the
+campaign of 1794 failed, not so much because the French were in superior
+force at the battles of Turcoing and Fleurus, as because the Allies at
+no point worked cordially together. The intrusion of political motives
+hampered their generals and turned what ought to have been an
+overwhelming triumph into a disgracefully tame retreat.
+
+The disasters at Turcoing and Fleurus open up the second stage of the
+war. Realizing more and more the difficulty of defending Holland and
+Hanover, Pitt seeks to end that campaign and to concentrate on colonial
+enterprises and the war in Brittany and la Vendée. Experience of the
+utter weakness of his Administration for purposes of war also leads him
+to strengthen it at the time of the union with the Old Whigs. They
+demanded that their leader, the Duke of Portland, should take the Home
+Office. On Dundas demurring to this, Grenville generously assented to
+Pitt's suggestion that he should vacate the Foreign Office (6th July).
+Fortunately the Duke declined to take it; and Pitt resolved to make
+drastic changes, especially by curtailing the functions of the Secretary
+of State for Home Affairs, and creating a War Ministry of Cabinet rank.
+Some change was clearly requisite; for of late Dundas had supervised
+internal affairs, including those of Ireland, as well as the conduct of
+the war; as Treasurer of the Navy he managed its finances, and, as
+President of the India Board, he sought to control the affairs of that
+Empire. As for the War Office, it was a petty office, controlled by a
+nonentity, Sir Charles Yonge, who was soon to be transferred to the
+Mint.
+
+In the haphazard allotment of military business to the
+Commander-in-Chief, Amherst, to the head clerk of the War Office, Yonge,
+and to the overworked pluralist, Dundas, we discern the causes of
+disaster. The war with France being unforeseen, Pitt had to put up with
+these quaint arrangements; but the reverses in Flanders and the incoming
+of the Portland Whigs now enabled him to reduce chaos to order. He
+insisted that the Secretary of State for Home Affairs should cease to
+direct the course of the war, but consented that colonial business
+should fall to his lot. On the other hand he greatly enlarged the
+functions of the War Office. His will prevailed. On 7th July Portland
+agreed to become Home Secretary, while his supporter, Windham, came into
+the re-organized War Office as Secretary at War, Dundas becoming
+Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Despite the obvious need of
+specializing and strengthening these Departments, the resistance of
+Dundas was not easily overcome. His letter to Pitt on this subject
+betrays a curious cloudiness of vision on a subject where clearness is
+essential:
+
+ Wimbledon, _July 9, 1794_.[415]
+
+ ... The idea of a War Minister as a separate Department you must
+ on recollection be sensible cannot exist in this country. The
+ operations of war are canvassed and adjusted in the Cabinet, and
+ become the joint act of His Majesty's servants; and the Secy of
+ State who holds the pen does no more than transmit their
+ sentiments. I do not mean to say that there is not at all times
+ in H. M.'s Councils some particular person who has, and ought to
+ have, a leading and even an overruling ascendency in the conduct
+ of public affairs; and that ascendency extends to war as it does
+ to every other subject. Such you are at present as the Minister
+ of the King. Such your father was as Secretary of State. Such
+ you would be if you was Secretary of State, and such Mr. Fox
+ would be if he was Secretary of State and the Duke of Bedford
+ First Lord of the Treasury. In short it depends, and must ever
+ depend, on other circumstances than the particular name by which
+ a person is called; and if you was to have a Secretary of State
+ for the War Department tomorrow, not a person living would ever
+ look upon him, or any other person but you, as the War Minister.
+ All modern wars are a contention of purse, and unless some very
+ peculiar circumstance occurs to direct the lead into another
+ channel, the Minister of Finance must be the Minister of War.
+ Your father for obvious reasons was an exception to the rule.
+
+ It is impossible for any person to controvert the position I now
+ state; and therefore, when you talk of a War Minister, you must
+ mean a person to superintend the detail of the execution of the
+ operations which are determined upon. But do you think it
+ possible to persuade the public that such a separate Department
+ can be necessary? Yourself, so far as a general superintendence
+ is necessary, must take that into your own hands. If it was in
+ the hands of any other, it would lead to a constant wrangling
+ between him and the various Executive Boards.
+
+The illogicality of this letter would be amusing if it had not been so
+disastrous. Because war depends ultimately on money, therefore (said
+Dundas) the Chancellor of the Exchequer ought to control its operations
+and act virtually as Secretary of State for War. Then why not also as
+First Lord of the Admiralty? No sooner is the question formulated than
+we see that Dundas is confusing two very different things, namely,
+general financial control and the administration of military affairs. In
+fact, Dundas still clung to the old customs which allotted to the
+Secretaries of State wide and often overlapping duties. He did not see
+the need of a specialized and authoritative War Office, though the
+triumphs achieved by Carnot and the Committee of Public Safety during
+the past twelvemonth might have opened his eyes. Fortunately, Pitt
+discerned the necessity of strengthening that Department; and, as we
+have seen, he made Dundas and Windham War Ministers, with seats in the
+Cabinet. Thus from July 1794 military affairs had a chance of adequate
+treatment in that body; and Pitt deserves great credit for remodelling
+the Cabinet in a way suited to the exigencies of modern warfare.
+
+Why did he not appoint that experienced soldier, the Marquis Cornwallis,
+Secretary of State for War? The answer is that he designed him as
+successor to the Duke of York in Flanders. As has already appeared, Pitt
+framed this resolve in February 1794, on the return of Cornwallis from
+India; and, though rebuffed then, he continued to revolve the matter
+until the beginning of the autumn, when the opposition of George III and
+of Francis II of Austria prevented the appointment of that experienced
+soldier to the supreme command of the Allies. As for the accession of
+Windham to the War Department, it seems to have been merely a device to
+satisfy the Old Whigs. Probably the question was not even discussed
+until 4th July, when the Duke of Portland first named it to Windham. As
+it finds no place in the Pitt-Grenville letters until 7th July, we may
+infer that Pitt and Dundas accepted Windham with some reluctance as an
+ardent partisan of Burke and the _émigrés_. Windham now persistently
+urged an expedition to Brittany; and the Quiberon and Yeu enterprises
+were largely due to him. Pitt and Dundas, after their experience of the
+_émigrés_, had no great hope in these efforts; and after the defection
+of Spain they discerned the increasing need of concentrating their
+efforts on home defence and operations which safeguarded British
+interests in the East and West Indies. To these causes may be ascribed
+their decision to withdraw the British force from the island of Yeu. The
+indignant letters of Windham to Pitt in 1796-8 show that, after the Yeu
+fiasco and the beginning of the peace negotiations with France, his
+advice was slighted. His moanings to Mrs. Crewe over the degeneracy of
+the age also tell their tale. In October 1796 he merely "drags on" at
+the War Office until he sees what turn things will take.
+
+Pitt's determination to ensure efficiency in the services appears from
+two incidents of the closing weeks of 1794. He deposed Lord Chatham from
+the Admiralty in favour of the far more efficient Lord Spencer; and he
+removed the Duke of York from the command in Holland. Another change
+remains to be noted, namely, the retirement of the Master General of the
+Ordnance. The Duke of Richmond had for some time ceased to attend the
+meetings of the Cabinet. During six months Pitt put up with this
+peevishness; but on the receipt of alarming news from Holland, he
+exerted his authority. On 27th January 1795 he informed Richmond that
+his long absence from the Cabinet and his general aloofness would make
+his return unpleasant and "embarrassing to public business. This
+consideration," he added, "must decide my opinion ... and at this
+critical time it seems indispensable to make some such arrangement as
+shall substitute some other efficient military aid in so important a
+Department."[416] This cutting note produced the desired result.
+Richmond resigned and Cornwallis took his place at the Ordnance and in
+the Cabinet. No change was more beneficial. During the next three years
+the Ministry had the advice of the ablest soldier of the generation
+preceding that of Wellington. Unfortunately the Cornwallis letters are
+so few that his share in the shaping of war policy is unknown; but it is
+clear that he helped Ministers finally to override the resolve of the
+King to keep the relic of the British force for the defence of
+Hanover.[417]
+
+To conclude the survey of these changes, we may note that the Duke of
+York, after returning from Holland, became Commander-in-Chief of the
+British army, a situation in which he earned general approbation. Thus,
+when it is asserted that Pitt altogether lacked his father's power of
+discerning military talents, the reply must be that he rendered an
+incalculable service by organizing a competent War Ministry, that he
+put the right men in the right place, though at the cost of offending
+the King, the Duke of York, a powerful nobleman, and his own brother;
+and that he quickly noted the transcendent abilities of Moore even when
+under censure for acts of disobedience in Corsica. The results attained
+by the elder Pitt were far more brilliant; for he came to the front at a
+time when the problems were far less difficult and illusory than those
+of the Revolutionary Era; but, if the very diverse conditions of their
+times be considered, the services of Pitt will not suffer by comparison
+even with those of his father.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The torpor of the Dutch in defending their country and the refusal of
+the Duke of Brunswick to organize the defence of North Germany virtually
+ended the war on that side. In one respect the defection of Prussia in
+April 1795 proved beneficial; for she undertook to keep the States of
+North and Central Germany entirely neutral. Had George III condescended
+at once to place his Electorate under her covering wing, the whole
+British and subsidized force might have been withdrawn in the spring of
+that year. Pride, however, for some time held him back from that politic
+but humiliating step. Consequently several battalions remained in
+Hanover for so long a time as to weaken the blow dealt at Paris through
+Quiberon. This was highly prejudicial to the Breton movement, which
+would have found in the troops detained in Germany the firm nucleus that
+was so much needed. Even after the ghastly failure at Quiberon, had the
+French _émigré_ corps arrived at Spithead at the end of July instead of
+August, the expedition to the Vendéan coast might have ended
+differently. It is usual to blame Pitt or Dundas for the delay in those
+preparations. But George must be held finally responsible. As to the
+Quiberon disaster, it has been proved to result from the hot-headedness
+of Puisaye, the criminal carelessness of Hervilly, and the ceaseless
+schisms of the Royalists.
+
+With the alliance of the Dutch and French Republics in May 1795, and the
+almost open avowal of the French cause by the Court of Madrid in July,
+the war entered upon a third phase. Thenceforth the colonial motive was
+paramount at Westminster, for Pitt and his colleagues questioned the
+wisdom of holding Corsica. On the other hand they sought to safeguard
+India by seizing the Cape of Good Hope, and to preserve Hayti from the
+inroads of the French, to whom Spain handed over her possession, San
+Domingo. Unfortunately the greater the prominence accorded to colonial
+affairs, the wider grew the breach with Spain, until in October 1796 the
+Court of Madrid declared war. Is Pitt to be blamed for the rupture with
+Spain? From the standpoint of Burke and Windham he is open to grave
+censure. Surveying the course of events from their royalist minaret,
+these prophets ceased not to proclaim the restoration of the Bourbons to
+be the sole purpose of the war. Let there be no talk of indemnities. Be
+content with crushing Jacobinism and restoring order. Such was their
+contention; and much may be said for it.
+
+On the other hand, we must remember that at first England was not a
+principal in the contest. It was thrust upon her by the aggressions of
+the Jacobins, and perforce she played a subordinate part in continental
+campaigns, the prizes of which Austria and Prussia had already marked
+out. The reproaches hurled by Burke and Windham were the outcome of
+ignorance as to the aims of the powerful Allies, whose co-operation,
+illusory though it came to be, was at that time deemed essential to
+success. Further, in striking at the French colonies, Pitt followed the
+course successfully adopted by England in several wars. But here again
+his difficulties were greater than those of Chatham. Indeed, they were
+enhanced by the triumphs of Chatham. Where now could he deal the most
+telling blow? Not against Canada; for his father had reft that prize.
+The French settlements in the East Indies were of small account. It was
+in Hayti, Martinique, and Guadeloupe that French commerce could be
+ruined. At them, therefore, he struck. But in so doing he reopened the
+old disputes with Spain. In vain did he seek to avert bickerings by
+suggesting a friendly understanding about Hayti. Godoy was determined to
+bicker. And, as the war changed its character, the old Latin affinities
+helped that adventurer to undermine the monarchical league and to draw
+back Spain to the traditional connection with France.
+
+The Spanish declaration of war in October 1796 opens the fourth phase of
+the struggle. Thenceforth England stood on the defensive in Europe in
+order to guard and strengthen her Colonial Empire. She abandoned Corsica
+and Elba; she withdrew her fleet from the Mediterranean so that Ireland
+might be screened from attack. Pitt's views also underwent a change.
+Foreseeing the collapse of Austria, he sought to assure peace with
+France and Spain by conquering enough territory oversea to
+counterbalance the triumphs of Bonaparte and Moreau in Italy and the
+Rhineland. If he could not restore the Balance of Power on the
+Continent, he strove to safeguard British interests at all essential
+points. Failing to save Holland from the Jacobins' grip, he conquered
+and held the Cape. This was the bent of his policy during the peace
+overtures of the year 1796. He struggled on reluctantly with the war,
+opposing as inopportune the motions of Fox, Grey, or Wilberforce for
+peace, but ever hoping that France would be compelled by the pressure of
+bankruptcy to come to terms and surrender some of her continental
+conquests on consideration of recovering her colonies. Wilberforce heard
+him declare that he could almost calculate the time when her resources
+would be exhausted. On the philanthropist repeating this at a dinner
+party, one of his guests, de Lageard, wittily remarked: "I should like
+to know who was Chancellor of the Exchequer to Attila."[418] This remark
+shore asunder Pitt's financial arguments and reveals the weak point of
+his policy. He conducted the war as if it were a Seven Years' War. It
+was a Revolutionary War; and at this very time a greater than Attila was
+at hand. Bonaparte was preparing to use the spoils of Italy for the
+extension of the arena of strife. Nelson, then seeking to intercept the
+supplies of Bonaparte's army in the Riviera, foresaw the danger and thus
+graphically summarized it: "Italy is the gold mine; and if once entered,
+is without means of resistance." As by a flash we see in this remark and
+in that of de Lageard the miscalculation which was to ruin the life work
+of Pitt and almost ruin his country.
+
+Despite the opposition of the King and Grenville to the negotiations for
+peace, Pitt held firm; and early in 1796 advances were made through
+Wickham, our enterprising envoy in Switzerland. They were foredoomed to
+failure; on 26th March the Directory declared its resolve to listen to
+no proposals involving the surrender of any of the lands incorporated in
+France by the terms of the constitution of 1795. This implied that she
+would retain the Rhine boundary, along with Savoy, Nice, and Avignon.
+Grenville received the news with satisfaction, remarking to Wickham that
+the Directory had acted clumsily and "in fact played our game better
+than we could have hoped."[419] The effect on public opinion was even
+better when it appeared that France expected England to surrender her
+colonial conquests. That France should gain enormously on land while the
+British acquisitions oversea were surrendered, was so monstrous a claim
+as to arouse the temper of the nation. Even Fox admitted that if France
+retained her conquests in Europe, England must keep those gained at sea.
+As Pitt pointed out in his speech of 10th May 1796, the French demands
+blighted all hope of peace; and we must struggle on, "waiting for the
+return of reason in our deluded enemy."
+
+Pitt regarded the French conquest of Italy as counterbalanced by the
+triumph of Jervis and Nelson at Cape St. Vincent in February 1797; and
+he therefore refused to consider the cession of Gibraltar to Spain.
+Wholeheartedly he sought for peace in that year. But it was to be peace
+with honour. In fact, Great Britain fared better after 1796 than before.
+As Allies fell away or joined the enemy, her real strength began to
+appear. The reasons for the paradox are not far to seek. Open enemies
+are less dangerous than false friends. Further, the complexities of the
+war, resulting from the conflicting aims of the Allies, vanished.
+England therefore could act in the way in which Pitt would all along
+have preferred her to act, namely, against the enemy's colonies. In
+Europe her attitude was defensive; and for a time in the summer and
+autumn of 1796 fears of invasion were rife. Accordingly the
+Quarter-Master-General, Sir David Dundas, drew up a scheme of coast
+defence, especially for the district between Pegwell Bay and Pevensey
+Bay; he also devised measures for "driving" the country in front of the
+enemy. In November of that year he recommended the construction of
+batteries or entrenchments at Shooter's Hill, Blackheath, on the hills
+near Lee, Lewisham, Sydenham, Norwood, Streatham, Merton, and
+Wandsworth. The failure of Hoche's attempt at Bantry Bay and the victory
+off Cape St. Vincent somewhat assuaged these fears; but, owing to the
+alarming state of Ireland, England remained on the defensive through the
+years 1797-8, until Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition enabled her to
+strike a crushing blow at the chief colonial enterprise of her
+antagonist. That adventure, together with the aggressions of France at
+Rome and in Switzerland, aroused the anger or fear of Russia, Austria,
+and Naples, and thereby led up to the war of the Second Coalition.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Amidst the conflict of aims which distracted the Allies in the First
+Coalition, Pitt's foresight was not seldom at fault. But only those who
+have weighed the importance of the diplomatic issues at stake, and have
+noted their warping influence on military affairs, have the right to
+accuse him of blindness and presumption. The problem before him was of
+unexampled complexity, and its solution could be effected only by a
+succession of experiments. That he put forth too many efforts at one
+time may be granted; and yet in each case, if the details are fully
+known, the reasons for making the attempt seem adequate. Did not Chatham
+fail in most of the expeditions which he sent against the coasts of
+France? Even those who censure Pitt for his blunders in the war will
+admit that the inspiring influence of his personality and patriotism
+nerved the nation and Parliament for the struggle. True, the Opposition
+indulged in petty nagging and in ingeniously unpatriotic tactics; but
+they only served to throw up in bold relief the consistent and
+courageous conduct of the Prime Minister. It was an easy task to refute
+the peevish efforts of Fox to justify the French Jacobins alike before
+the war, throughout its course, and in their rejection of the British
+overtures for peace. But in every encounter Pitt won more than a
+personal triumph. He proved that the war was forced upon us; that on our
+side it was a defensive effort; and that despite the perverse conduct of
+Prussia and Spain, England had won notable gains oversea and might
+expect an advantageous peace, provided only that the nation persevered.
+
+One question remains. Why did not Pitt call the nation to arms? The
+reasons for his caution are doubtless to be found in the ingrained
+conservatism of the English character, and in the political ferment
+which marked the years 1794-5. The mere proposal to merge Line, Militia,
+and Volunteers in one national array would have seemed mere madness. For
+the populace had recently been protesting against the facilities given
+to the loyal to arm and drill themselves. It was rumoured that, by way
+of retort, the men of Sheffield, Southwark, and Norwich secretly
+mustered for practice with pikes. In such circumstances, conscription
+might well spell Revolution. Here was the weak place in Pitt's armour.
+By parting company with the reformers, he had embittered no small
+section of his countrymen. In 1794, as we have seen, he was considered a
+reactionary and an oppressor. He therefore could not appeal to the
+nation, as Carnot did in France. Even his Bill of March 1794 for
+increasing the Militia by an extension of the old custom of the ballot
+or the drawing of lots produced some discontent. A similar proposal,
+passed a year earlier by the Dublin Parliament for raising 16,000
+additional Militiamen in Ireland, led to widespread rioting, especially
+in Ulster. Not until 1797 did the Scottish Militia Act ensure the
+adoption of similar methods by Scotland, though regiments of Fencibles
+were raised in the meantime.
+
+The preparations for national defence continued to proceed in these
+parochial ways. Pitt's authority at Westminster was at no time more
+firmly founded than at the time of the meeting of the new Parliament in
+the autumn of 1796. Yet the piecemeal methods went on as before. He
+proposed to raise by means of the ballot a levy of 15,000 men in order
+to recruit the navy and the Line regiments; and he further asked for a
+levy of 60,000 men as a Supplementary Militia, one tenth being embodied
+by turns so as not to withdraw from work too many hands at one time. Nor
+was this all. For the purpose of strengthening the irregular cavalry, he
+proposed that every person who kept ten horses should be required to
+furnish one horseman and a horse for such a corps, and those who owned
+more than ten horses were to subscribe a proportionate sum towards its
+maintenance. He also required gamekeepers and those who took out
+licenses to shoot either to serve on horseback or to find a substitute.
+In all he expected to raise 20,000 horsemen by these means.
+
+The attitude of the House was on the whole highly favourable to these
+proposals. Fox accused Ministers of raising an invasion scare in order
+to compass their own nefarious designs; but Pitt's first proposals
+passed without a division; that on the cavalry by 140 votes to 30.
+Nevertheless, Pitt did nothing towards securing cohesion in these
+diverse forces, except by a provision which obliged Volunteers to enrol
+in the Supplementary Militia, to take the oath as such, and to train by
+turns for twenty days at a time in any part of the country, instead of
+training once or twice a week in their own towns. This must have been
+beneficial where it was carried out; but, as the Militia was controlled
+by the Home Office, it is doubtful whether enough energy was thrown into
+the scheme to ensure success.
+
+These arrangements are miserably inadequate in comparison with the
+_levée en masse_ of Carnot, which baffled the calculations of foreign
+statesmen, flung back the armies of the Coalition, and opened up the
+path of glory for Bonaparte. Here the popular armament did not become in
+any sense national until after the renewal of war in 1803. The
+possibilities open to England, even in that trying year 1795, were set
+forth by Major Cartwright in a suggestive pamphlet--"The Commonwealth in
+Danger." After pointing out that, having been deserted by Prussia and
+Spain, we must now depend on ourselves alone, he depicted the contrast
+between England and France. The French Republic, relying on the
+populace, had more than a million of men under arms. Great Britain was
+"a disarmed, defenceless, unprepared people, scarcely more capable of
+resisting a torrent of French invaders than the herds and flocks of
+Smithfield." How, then, could the danger be averted? Solely (he replied)
+by trusting the people and by reviving the ancient laws which compelled
+householders to bear arms. But this implied the concession of the
+franchise. Be bold, he said. Make the Kingdom a Commonwealth and the
+nation will be saved. He continued in these noteworthy words: "The enemy
+is at the gates, and we must be friends or perish. Adversity is a school
+of the sublime virtues. Necessity is an eloquent reconciler of
+differences.... By saying to Britain--Be an armed nation, she secures
+her defence and seals her freedom. A million of armed men, supporting
+the State with their purse, and defending it with their lives, will know
+that none have so great a stake as themselves in the Government....
+Arming the people and reforming Parliament are inseparable."
+
+At first sight this seems mere rhetoric, but on reflection it will
+appear the path of prudence. By the talisman of trust in the people
+France conjured up those armed hosts which overthrew old Europe. At the
+stamp of Napoleon's heel a new Europe arose, wherein the most potent
+defiance came from the peoples which drew upon their inmost reserves of
+strength. That these consist in men, not in money, is clear from the
+course of the struggle against the great Emperor. Spain, Russia, and
+Prussia adopted truly national systems of defence, and quickly forged to
+the front. Britain and Austria clung to their old systems, and, thanks
+to Wellington's genius and Metternich's diplomacy, they survived. But
+they did not play the decisive part which they might have done if
+George III and Pitt, Francis II and Thugut, had early determined to
+trust and arm their peoples. Unfortunately for England, she underwent no
+military disaster; and therefore Pitt was fain to plod along in the old
+paths and use the nation's wealth, not its manhood. He organized it
+piecemeal, on a class basis, instead of embattling it as a whole. In the
+main his failure to realize the possibilities of the situation arose
+from his abandonment of those invigorating principles which nerved him
+to the achievements of the earlier and better part of his career. It is
+conceivable that, had he retained the idealism of his youth and
+discovered a British Scharnhorst, Waterloo might have been fought in
+1796 and won solely by British troops.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[411] "Diary of a Tour through Great Britain in 1795," by W. MacRitchie
+(1897).
+
+[412] "Dropmore P.," ii, 172.
+
+[413] In "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 27, are Dundas's instructions to
+Moira, dated 20th November 1793, appointing him Major-General in an
+expedition to Guernsey, with Admiral MacBride, taking with him a Hessian
+corps as soon as it arrives. He is to seize St. Malo or any place near
+it suitable for helping the Royalists and harassing the enemy. If he
+deems success doubtful, he is to await reinforcements. The aim is to
+help the cause of Louis XVII and lead to a general pacification.
+
+[414] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 96-8.
+
+[415] Chevening MSS.
+
+[416] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[417] "Cornwallis Corresp.," ii, 289.
+
+[418] "Life of Wilberforce," ii, 92.
+
+[419] Sorel, v, 41; "Wickham Corresp.," i, 269-74, 343. Some
+mis-statements of Sorel may be noted here. On pp. 39, 40 of vol. v he
+states that Pitt was intent on acquiring Malta and Egypt (though he was
+then in doubt whether to retain Corsica): also that, after the insult to
+George III in London on 29th October 1795, Pitt proposed a loan of
+£18,000,000 and new taxes, which Parliament refused. The facts are that
+Pitt asked for that loan on 7th December 1796, and it was subscribed in
+twenty-two hours. On the same day Parliament voted the new taxes.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIII
+
+ DEARTH AND DISCONTENT
+
+ The Waste Land Bill will turn the tide of our affairs and enable
+ us to bear without difficulty the increased burdens of the
+ war.--SINCLAIR TO PITT, _13th March 1796_.
+
+
+On 29th October 1795 occurred an event unparalleled within the memory of
+Englishmen then living. An immense crowd, filling the Mall, broke into
+loud hissing and hooting when George III left Buckingham House in the
+state carriage to proceed to Westminster for the opening of Parliament.
+The tumult reached its climax as the procession approached the Ordnance
+Office, when a small pebble, or marble, or shot from an air-gun, pierced
+the carriage window. The King immediately said to Westmorland, who sat
+opposite, "That's a shot," and, with the courage of his family, coolly
+leaned forward to examine the round hole in the glass. Similar scenes
+occurred on his return to St. James's Palace. The mob pressed forward
+with an eagerness which the Guards could scarcely restrain, calling out
+"Peace, Peace; Bread, Bread; No Pitt; No Famine." With some difficulty
+the gates of the Horse Guards were shut against them. Opposite Spring
+Gardens a stone struck the woodwork of the carriage; and the intrepid
+monarch alighted at St. James's amidst a commotion so wild that one of
+the horses took fright and flung down a groom, breaking his thigh.
+Thereafter the rabble set upon the state carriage, greatly damaging it;
+and when George later on proceeded in his private carriage to Buckingham
+House, he again ploughed his way through a din of curses. Pitt kept
+discreetly in the background, or he would have been roughly handled.
+
+A loyalist caricature of the period gives an imaginative version of the
+incident. In it Pitt figures as the coachman whipping on the horses of
+the royal carriage amidst a shower of stones, eggs, and cats. The King
+sits inside absolutely passive, with large protruding eyes; Lansdowne,
+Bedford, Whitbread, and others strive to stop the wheels; Fox and
+Sheridan, armed with bludgeons, seek to force open the door; while
+Norfolk fires a blunderbuss at the King. The sketch illustrates the
+fierce partisanship of the time, which stooped to incredibly coarse
+charges. But scarcely less strange was the insinuation of Lansdowne,
+immediately after the affair, that Ministers had themselves planned it
+in order to alarm the public and perpetuate their despotic rule. The
+same insinuation found favour with Francis Place, a rabid tailor of
+Holborn, and a prominent member of the London Corresponding Society, who
+charged Pitt with imperilling the life of George III in order to keep
+office. "It is a curious circumstance," he wrote, "that Pitt carried all
+his obnoxious measures, silenced or kept down his opponents and raised
+vast sums of money by means of the alarms which he and his coadjutors
+had created. The war was commenced after an alarm had been created, and
+it was kept up by the same means."[420] Fox and his followers often
+uttered similar taunts.
+
+The insults to the King were but the climax of an agitation which had
+previously gone to strange lengths. On 27th October 1795 the London
+Corresponding Society convened a monster meeting in the fields near
+Copenhagen House, Islington, in order to protest against the war and to
+press for annual Parliaments and universal suffrage. A crowd said to
+number nearly 150,000 persons assembled under the chairmanship of John
+Binns, and passed an "Address to the Nation," which concluded as
+follows: "If ever the British nation should loudly demand strong and
+decisive measures, we boldly answer, 'We have lives and are ready to
+devote them either separately or collectively for the salvation of our
+country.'" Outwardly the meeting was orderly, if that epithet can be
+applied to a monster meeting which advocated civil war. But probably
+less than one tenth of the assemblage heard the resolution. Equally
+threatening was a hand-bill circulated in London on the practice of
+"King-killing." Place says nothing about this, and ridicules the
+"Address to the Nation" as a foolish production, which he had opposed no
+less strongly than the convocation of the meeting. This was the usual
+attitude of Place. He sought to figure as the apostle of reasonableness,
+deprecating all unwise acts and frothy talk on the part of his
+associates, but minimizing the follies of British democrats, which he
+usually ascribed to the insidious advice of the emissaries of Pitt.
+
+Let us enlarge our survey. From the Home Office Records it is clear that
+dear food and uncertain work had aggravated the political discontent of
+the years 1792-4, until the autumn of 1795 witnessed almost an epidemic
+of sedition. To take one significant episode. An inflammatory placard,
+dated Norwich, 16th October 1795, was widely circulated. That city, as
+we have seen, was a hotbed of Radicalism. There it was that the
+democratic clubs sought to federate with the view of forming a National
+Convention. One of their members, named Besey, now posted up the
+following placard. After stating that the prevailing misery is due to
+the present unjust and unnecessary war, the number of abuses and
+sinecures, and "the monopoly of farms which disgraces this country," it
+continues thus: "The Minister would gladly instigate you to riot and
+plunder that he might send against you those _valiant_ heroes who
+compose his devoted Volunteer corps.... This would accelerate his
+darling object of governing us by a military aristocracy. The countries
+which supplied us with quantities of corn now groan under the iron yoke
+of the Tigress of the North or lie desolate from this infernal war. We
+send immense stores to the emigrants and the _Chouans_. Those rebels,
+not satisfied with traitorously resisting the constituted authorities of
+their country, have desolated the face of it. These honourable Allies
+must be fed, as others of the kind are paid, by us." He then urges them
+to form popular Societies and demand redress of grievances. He concludes
+thus: "You may as well look for chastity and mercy in the Empress of
+Russia, honour and consistency from the King of Prussia, wisdom and
+plain dealing from the Emperor of Germany, as a single speck of virtue
+from our HELL-BORN MINISTER."[421]
+
+In view of these facts, is it surprising that Ministers decided to issue
+a royal proclamation against seditious assemblies and the circulation of
+treasonable papers? Sheriffs, magistrates, and all law-abiding men were
+charged to apprehend those who distributed such papers and to help in
+the suppression of seditious meetings (4th November). Six days later
+Grenville introduced the Treasonable Practices Bill, while Pitt in the
+Commons moved the Seditious Meetings Bill. The Prime Minister stated
+that, as soon as the Habeas Corpus Act came again into operation, the
+political clubs renewed their propaganda and brought about the present
+dangerous situation. In order to suppress gatherings of a definitely
+seditious character, he proposed that, before a meeting of more than
+fifty persons which was not convened by the local authorities, notice
+must be given by seven householders and sent to the magistrates. The
+Bill also required the presence of a magistrate, and invested him with
+power to stop any speech, disperse the meeting, and order the arrest of
+the speaker. But this was not all. The authorities had been alarmed by
+the popularity of Thelwall's racy discourses, resumed early in 1795,
+which represented Government as the source of all the country's ills.
+Whether his sprightly sallies were dangerous may be doubted; but Pitt,
+with characteristic lack of humour, paid Thelwall the compliment of
+ordaining that lecture-halls must be licensed by two magistrates; and a
+magistrate might enter at any time. The Bill was passed for three years.
+
+Equally drastic was the Treasonable Practices Bill. Declaring the
+planning or levying war within the kingdom to be an act of substantive
+treason, it imposed dire penalties on those who devised evil against the
+King, who sought to coerce Parliament or help the invaders. Even those
+who spoke or wrote against the constitution came under the penalties for
+treason and might be transported for seven years. As Fox indignantly
+exclaimed, if he criticized a system which allotted two members to Old
+Sarum and none to Manchester, he might be sent to Botany Bay. The alarm
+of Pitt at the state of affairs appears in a request which he and
+Portland sent to the Duke of York, on 14th November, for reinforcements
+of cavalry. They asked him to despatch three troops of the 1st Dragoon
+Guards from Romford to Hackney, replacing the Pembroke Fencible Cavalry,
+which was utterly useless; to order up two troops of the Cornish
+Fencible Cavalry from Barnet to Hampstead and Highgate; to despatch the
+11th Light Dragoons from Guildford to Ewell or Kingston, and the 1st
+Fencibles from Reading to Uxbridge. These, along with the Lancashire
+Militia at Lewisham and Greenwich, and the Guards in London, would
+suffice for the crisis.[422]
+
+Such were the conditions under which the debates on the two Bills
+proceeded. They turned largely on the connection between the Islington
+meeting and the outrage on the King. Canning stoutly affirmed that
+connection, which Sheridan and Fox no less vehemently denied.
+Wilberforce on this occasion supported the Government. Pitt showed
+little zeal in defending his Bill, promising to safeguard the right of
+public meeting when lawfully exercised. The debate in the Lords elicited
+from the Bishop of Rochester the significant statement that he did not
+know what the great mass of the people had to do with the laws except to
+obey them. The Earl of Lauderdale pilloried this utterance, thereby
+consoling himself for being in a minority of 5. In the Commons Fox
+mustered 22, as against 167 for the Government (6th November-14th
+December 1795). Meanwhile monster meetings of protest were held on 12th
+November and 2nd and 7th December, the two last in Marylebone Fields,
+which now form the greater portion of Regent's Park. The orderliness of
+these vast throngs, comprising perhaps a quarter of a million of men,
+affords a strong argument against the two Acts. Lord Malmesbury much
+regretted that there was no rioting, now that all was ready for its
+repression. After the passing of those "barbarous bloodthirsty" measures
+(as Place called them) the country settled down into a sullen silence.
+Reformers limited their assemblies to forty-five members; but even so
+they did not escape the close meshes of the law. Binns and Jones,
+delegates of the London Corresponding Society who went to Birmingham,
+were arrested there; and the Society soon gave up its propaganda. All
+but the most resolute members fell away, and by the end of 1796 it was
+£185 in debt.[423]
+
+Undoubtedly these measures mark the nadir of Pitt's political career.
+Nevertheless, the coincidence between the London Corresponding Society's
+meeting at Islington and the attempted outrage on George III was
+suspiciously close in point of time; and a dangerous feeling prevailed
+throughout the country. Pitt, as we shall see, took steps to alleviate
+the distress which was its chief cause; but after the insult to the King
+he could not but take precautionary measures against sedition. After
+such an incident, a Minister who did nothing at all would be held
+responsible if the monarch were assassinated. Some coercive measures
+were inevitable; and it is clear that they cowed the more restive
+spirits. Among other persons who wrote to Pitt on this topic, Wilson,
+formerly his tutor at Burton Pynsent and Cambridge, sent him a letter
+from Binfield, in which occur these sentences: "The Sedition Bills also
+have had so good an effect. Our farmers can now go to market without
+being exposed to the danger of having republican principles instilled
+into them while they are dining." Apparently, then, the loyal efforts of
+Berkshire magistrates extended to the interiors of inns. Whether the two
+Acts were not needlessly prolonged is open to grave question. Certainly,
+while driving the discontent underground, they increased its explosive
+force. General David Dundas, in his Report on National Defence of
+November 1796, states that at no time were there so many people disposed
+to help the invaders. Perhaps we may sum up by declaring the two Acts a
+disagreeable but necessary expedient during the time of alarm, and
+mischievous when it passed away.[424]
+
+The insult to the King was but one symptom of a distemper widely
+prevalent. Its causes were manifold. Chief among them was a feeling of
+disgust at the many failures of the war. The defection of Prussia and
+Spain, the fruitless waste of British troops in the West Indies, the
+insane follies of the French _émigrés_, the ghastly scenes at Quiberon,
+and the tragi-comedy of Vendémiaire in the streets of Paris, sufficed to
+daunt the stoutest hearts. By the middle of the month of October 1795,
+Pitt decided to come to terms with France, if the Directory, newly
+installed in power, should found a stable Government and exhibit
+peaceful tendencies. His position in this autumn is pathetic. Reproached
+by the _émigrés_ for recalling the Comte d'Artois from Yeu, taunted by
+Fox for not having sought peace from the Terrorists, and reviled by the
+populace as the cause of the dearth, he held firmly on his way, shelving
+the _émigrés_, maintaining that this was the first opportunity of
+gaining a lasting peace, and adjuring the people to behave manfully in
+order the more speedily to win it.
+
+This advice seemed but cold comfort to men and women whose hardships
+were severe. Political discontent was greatly increased by dear food and
+uncertainty of employment. The symptoms had long been threatening. At
+midsummer of the year 1795 the men of Birmingham assembled in hundreds
+opposite a mill and bakehouse on Snow Hill, crying out: "A large loaf.
+Are we to be starved to death?" They were dispersed by armed force, but
+not without bloodshed. At that time insubordination in the troops was
+met by summary executions or repression at Horsham, Brighton, and
+Dumfries. In July a drunken brawl at Charing Cross led to a riot, in the
+course of which the mob smashed Pitt's windows in Downing Street, and
+demolished a recruiting station in St. George's Fields, Lambeth. The
+country districts were deeply agitated by the shortage of corn resulting
+from the bad harvest of 1794. A report from Beaminster in Dorset stated
+that for six weeks before the harvest of 1795 no wheat remained; and the
+poor of that county would have starved, had not a sum of money been
+raised sufficient to buy cargoes of wheat which then reached Plymouth.
+
+The suffering was increased by the extraordinary cold of that midsummer
+which destroyed hundreds of newly-shorn sheep and blighted the corn.
+Driving storms of rain in August laid the crops. On heavy land they were
+utterly spoilt, so that even by October the poor felt the pinch. From
+all parts there came the gloomiest reports. In Oxfordshire there was no
+old wheat left, and the insatiable demands from the large towns of the
+north sent up prices alarmingly. In November Lord Bateman wrote from
+Leominster that the wheat crop was but two thirds of the average, and,
+if Government did not import wheat directly, not through fraudulent
+contractors, riots must ensue. Reports from Petworth, East Grinstead,
+and Battle told of the havoc wrought by blight and rains. At Plymouth
+the price of wheat exceeded all records. Lord Salisbury reported a
+shortage of one third in the wheat crop of mid-Hertfordshire. Kensington
+sent a better estimate for its corn lands. But the magistrates of
+Enfield and Edmonton deemed the outlook so threatening that they urged
+Pitt and his colleagues (1) to encourage the free importation of wheat,
+(2) to facilitate the enclosure of all common fields and the conversion
+of common and waste lands into tillage; (3) to pass an Act legalizing
+relief of the poor in every parish by the weekly distribution of bread
+and meat at reduced prices in proportion to the size of the family and
+of its earnings.[425]
+
+The protests against the Corn Laws are significant. In 1773 the bounty
+system of the reign of William III was revised, the average price of
+wheat being reckoned at forty-four shillings the quarter. If it fell
+below that figure, a bounty of five shillings a quarter was granted on
+export, so as to encourage farmers to give a wide acreage to wheat, in
+the assurance that in bountiful seasons they could profitably dispose of
+their surplus. But when the price rose to forty-four shillings
+exportation was forbidden, and at forty-eight shillings foreign corn was
+admitted on easy terms so as to safeguard the consumer; for, as Burke
+said: "he who separates the interest of the consumer from the interest
+of the grower starves the country." Unfortunately, in 1791, Government
+raised the price at which importation was allowed to fifty-four
+shillings the quarter. The upward trend of prices may have called for
+some change; but it was too drastic. In view of the increase of the
+manufacturing townships, Pitt should have favoured the import of foreign
+corn, though not in such a way as unduly to discourage agriculturists.
+England, in fact, was then reaching the stage at which she needed
+foreign corn when nature withheld her bounties at home, and it is well
+to remember that 1792 was the last year in which England exported any
+appreciable amount of wheat. During the Great War she became an
+importing country, and at no time was the crisis worse than in the
+winter of 1795-6. Early in the year 1796 the best wheat sold at six
+guineas the quarter, or four times its present price; the inferior kinds
+were very dear, and many poor people perished from want if not from
+actual starvation. So grave was the crisis as to evoke a widespread
+demand for Free Trade in corn. This feeling pervaded even the rural
+districts, a report by John Shepherd of Faversham being specially
+significant. In the towns there was an outcry against corn merchants,
+who were guilty of forestalling and regrating. Possibly but for these
+tricks of trade the supply of home wheat might almost have sufficed.
+
+Pitt seems to have thought so; for he wrote to the Marquis of Stafford,
+stating his desire to have powers for compelling exhaustive returns of
+the wheat supply to be sent in. On the whole, however, he deemed such an
+expedient high-handed and likely to cause alarm. He therefore decided to
+call for a special committee to inquire into the high price of corn, and
+explained his reasons to the House of Commons on 3rd November 1795. He
+urged the need of modifying the old and nearly obsolete law relating to
+the assize of bread, and he suggested the advisability of mixing wheat
+with barley, or other corn, which, while lessening the price of bread,
+would not render it unpalatable. As to prohibiting the distillation of
+whiskey, he proposed to discontinue that device after February 1796, so
+that the revenue might not unduly suffer. The committee was equally
+cautious. In presenting its report eight days later, Ryder moved that
+the members should pledge themselves to lessen the consumption of wheat
+in their households by one third. These proposals appeared wholly
+inadequate to Bankes and Sheridan, who urged that all classes should be
+compelled to eat the same kind of bread. Francis, however, asserted that
+the poor in his district now refused to eat any but the best wheaten
+bread. There was therefore every need for a law compelling bakers to
+make bread only two thirds of wheat. Nevertheless, the House agreed to
+the proposals of the committee. Members also bound themselves to
+forswear pastry, and by all possible means to endeavour to lessen the
+consumption of fine wheaten flour. History does not record how far these
+resolves held good, and with what hygienic results. An external sign of
+the patriotic mania for economy in wheat was the disuse of hair-powder,
+which resulted from the tax now imposed on that article. Thus Rousseau,
+Pitt, and Nature are largely responsible for a change which in its turn
+hastened the disappearance of wigs.
+
+Pitt and his colleagues sought to check the practice of forestalling.
+But, as usually happens in a struggle with human selfishness, success
+was doubtful. More fruitful was the expedient of attracting foreign corn
+by granting large bounties on imports. As if this were not enough,
+British warships sometimes compelled neutral corn-vessels, bound for
+France, to put in at our harbours and sell their cargoes at the high
+prices then prevailing, a high-handed practice which prepared the way
+for the Armed Neutrality League of 1800. These exceptional expedients
+seem to have been due to what Sheffield called "a sure little
+junto,"--Pitt, Ryder, and Jenkinson. He further accused them of taking
+the corn trade out of the hands of the merchants and then dropping State
+management prematurely. Over against this captious comment may be placed
+the undoubted fact that, early in the year 1796, wheat sold at six
+guineas the quarter, and by the month of May was down nearly to normal
+prices. In that month Pitt deemed the crisis past; for the King's Speech
+of 19th May, at the end of the last session of that Parliament,
+congratulated members on the success of their efforts to afford relief
+to the people. The harvest of 1796 was more abundant; but confidence
+was not restored until late in the year. As Whitbread pointed out, the
+increase of large farms at the expense of the little men led to the
+holding back of the new corn. The small farmer perforce had to sell his
+corn at once. The wealthy farmer could bide his time.[426]
+
+In these years of dearth, when the troubles in Poland restricted the
+supply of corn from that natural granary, the importance of the United
+States became increasingly obvious. Pitt had consistently sought to
+improve the relations with our kinsmen, and in 1791 sent out the first
+official envoy, George Hammond. The disputes resulting from the War of
+Independence and those arising out of the British Maritime Code during
+the Great War, brought about acute friction; but the good sense of Pitt,
+Washington, and John Jay, his special envoy to London, led to the
+conclusion of an Anglo-American Treaty (7th October 1794). Though hotly
+opposed by the Gallophil party at Washington, it was finally ratified in
+September 1796, and thus postponed for sixteen years the hostilities
+which had at times seemed imminent. For the present the United States
+sent us an increased quantity of cotton wool, but mere driblets of corn
+except in seasons of scarcity. Lancashire benefited from the enhanced
+trade, while the British farmer did not yet discern the approach of
+times of ruinous competition.[427]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Agriculture had long been an occupation equally fashionable and
+profitable. No part of the career of George III deserves more
+commendation than his patronage of high farming. That he felt keen
+interest in the subject appears from the letters which he sent to "The
+Annals of Agriculture" over the signature of "Ralph Robinson," one of
+his shepherds at Windsor. A present of a ram from the King's fine flock
+of merinos was a sign of high favour. Thanks to this encouragement and
+the efforts of that prince of agricultural reformers, Arthur Young, the
+staple industry of the land was in a highly flourishing condition. The
+rise in the price of wheat now stimulated the demand for the enclosure
+of waste lands and of the open or common-fields which then adjoined the
+great majority of English villages. The reclamation of wastes and fens
+was an advantage to all but the very poor, who, as graziers,
+wood-cutters, or fishermen, dragged along a life of poverty but
+independence. Though they might suffer by the change to tillage, the
+parish and the nation at large reaped golden harvests.
+
+The enclosure of common fields was a different matter. Though on them
+the traditional rotation of crops was stupid and the husbandry slipshod,
+yet the semi-communal tillage of the three open strips enabled Hodge to
+jog along in the easy ways dear to him. In such cases a change to more
+costly methods involves hardship to the poor, who cannot, or will not,
+adopt the requirements of a more scientific age. Recent research has
+also shown that villagers depended mainly on their grazing rights. Now,
+a small grazier does not readily become a corn-grower. Even if he can
+buy a plough and a team, he lacks the experience needful for success in
+corn-growing. Accordingly, the small yeomen could neither compete with
+the large farmers nor imitate their methods. While the few who succeeded
+became prosperous, the many sank into poverty. These results may also be
+ascribed to the expense and injustice too often attending the enclosures
+of this period. Far from striking off at one blow the fetters of the old
+system, as happened in France in 1789, English law required each parish
+to procure its own Enclosure Act. Thus, when the parishioners at the
+village meeting had decided to enclose the common fields and waste,
+there occurred a long and costly delay until the parochial charter was
+gained.
+
+Then again, the difficult task of re-allotting the wastes and open
+fields in proportion to the rights of the lord of the manor, the
+tithe-owner, and the parishioners, sometimes furnished an occasion for
+downright robbery of the poor. That staunch champion of high-farming and
+enclosures, Arthur Young, names many instances of shameful extortion on
+the part of landlord and attorneys. Where the village carried out its
+enclosure fairly and cheaply, the benefits were undoubtedly great. The
+wastes then became good pasture or tolerable tillage; and the common
+fields, previously cut up into small plots, and worked on a wasteful
+rotation, soon testified to the magic of individual ownership. A case in
+point was Snettisham, near Sandringham, where, as the result of the new
+wealth, the population increased by one fifth, while the poor-rate
+diminished by one half. Young also declared that large parts of
+Norfolk, owing to judicious enclosures, produced glorious crops of grain
+and healthy flocks fed on turnips and mangolds, where formerly there had
+been dreary wastes, miserable stock, and underfed shepherds.
+
+The dearth of the year 1795 brought to the front the question of a
+General Enclosure Act, for enabling parishes to adopt this reform
+without the expense of separately applying to Parliament. To devise a
+measure suitable to the wide diversities of tenure prevalent in English
+villages was a difficult task; but it had been carried out successfully
+in Scotland by the Act of 1695; and now, a century later, a similar boon
+was proposed for England by one of the most enterprising of Scotsmen.
+Sir John Sinclair was born in 1754 at Thurso Castle. Inheriting large
+estates in the county of Caithness, he determined to enter political
+life, and became member for Lostwithiel, in Cornwall. Differing sharply
+from Pitt over the Warren Hastings affair, he adopted the independent
+line of conduct natural to his tastes, and during the Regency dispute
+joined the intermediate party known as the Armed Neutrality.
+
+Above all he devoted himself to the development of Scottish agriculture,
+and began in 1790 a work entitled "A Statistical Account of Scotland."
+He also founded a society for improving the quality of British wool, and
+in May 1793 he urged the Prime Minister to incorporate a Board of
+Agriculture. Young bet that Pitt would refuse; for, while favouring
+commerce and manufactures, he had hitherto done nothing for the plough.
+He lost his bet. Pitt gave a conditional offer of support, provided that
+the House of Commons approved. The proposal won general assent, despite
+the insinuations of Fox and Sheridan that its purpose was merely to
+increase the patronage at the disposal of the Cabinet. Sinclair became
+president, with Young as secretary.[428] The Englishman complained that
+Sinclair's habit of playing with large schemes wasted the scanty funds
+at their disposal. But the Board did good work, for instance, in setting
+on foot experiments as to the admixture of barley, beans, and rice in
+the partly wheaten bread ordained by Parliament in 1795.
+
+With the view of framing a General Enclosure Act, Sinclair sought to
+extract from parochial Enclosure Acts a medicine suitable to the myriad
+needs and ailments of English rural life. His survey of typical
+enactments is of high interest. He summarizes the treatment accorded to
+the lord of the manor, the rector or other tithe owner, and the
+parishioners. Thus, in the case of three parishes near Hull, namely,
+Hessle, Anlaby, and Tranley, the wastes and open fields, comprising
+3,640 acres, were divided by an act of the year 1792 in a way which
+seems to have given satisfaction. Commissioners appointed by the local
+authorities divided the soil among the lords of the manors, the
+tithe-owners, and the parishioners, the landlords retaining half of
+their portions in trust for the poor. Other instances, however, reveal
+the difficulty of the question of tithes. Young and Sinclair felt
+bitterly on this subject, as their recent proposal to give a detailed
+description of the lands of every parish in England was successfully
+opposed by Dr. Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury.
+
+Pointing out the need of a General Enclosure Act, Sinclair claimed that
+of the 22,107,000 acres of waste in England and Wales, a large portion
+could be afforested, while only one million acres were quite useless--a
+very hopeful estimate.[429] In order to investigate this question, a
+Select Committee was appointed, comprising among others Lord William
+Russell, Ryder, Carew, Coke of Norfolk, Plumer, and Whitbread. The
+outcome of its research was the General Enclosure Bill introduced early
+in the session of 1796, which elicited the sanguine prophecy of its
+author quoted at the head of this chapter.
+
+The measure aroused keen interest. On 15th March the London Court of
+Aldermen urged its members to assist in passing some such measure with a
+view to increasing the food supply, and providing work for the poor, as
+well as for soldiers and sailors discharged at the peace. The proposals
+were as follows: The present method of enclosure would be extended so as
+to enable the parties concerned to frame an inexpensive and friendly
+agreement. In case of disagreement the Bill would enable the majority of
+the parishioners, voting, not by head, but according to the value of
+their rights, to decide on the question of enclosure. But, in order to
+safeguard the rights of the poor, the choice of commissioners charged
+with the duty of re-allotting the soil would rest with the majority,
+reckoned both according to heads and value. The lord of the manor could
+not veto enclosure; but his convenience was specially to be consulted in
+the re-apportionment of the land. Sinclair also pointed out to Pitt
+that, as tithe-owners were now "much run at," their interests must be
+carefully guarded. As for the cottagers, they would find compensation
+for the lapse of their fuel rights by the acquisition of small
+allotments near to their cottages. The poor also would not be charged
+with the expenses of enclosure, and might raise money on loan to fence
+the plots awarded to them in lieu of their share in the waste and the
+open fields. To insist, said Sinclair, on four acres being annexed to
+every cottage was really harmful. Finally he expressed the hope that,
+under his plan, the legal expenses of enclosure would on an average be
+£5 per parish as against the present burden of £500.[430]
+
+Pitt's treatment of the General Enclosure Bill is somewhat obscure.
+Again and again Sinclair urged him to greater activity. In April 1796 he
+begged him to consult with the judges so as to meet the objections of
+tithe-owners. In May he warned him of the general disappointment that
+must ensue if no measure of that kind passed in that session. He asked
+him whether the Bill, as now amended by the committee, would not answer
+its purpose. Pitt gave no encouraging sign. On the contrary, he
+gratified the country gentlemen by opposing a Bill for the Reform of the
+Game Laws. The proposer, Curwen, sought merely to legalize the killing
+of game started on ground farmed by the occupier. But the squires took
+alarm, asserting that every small farmer could then pursue hares and
+rabbits from his ground into their preserves, and that country life, on
+those terms, would be intolerable. Pitt took their side, averring that
+sport was a relaxation well suited to the higher Orders of State, but
+likely to entice farmers away "from more serious and useful
+occupations." Much may be forgiven to a Prime Minister shortly before a
+General Election, which, in fact, gave to Pitt a new lease of power.
+
+To Sinclair the election brought defeat and chagrin. He travelled
+northward to the Orkneys to seek a seat there, and, writing from
+Edinburgh on 6th July, tartly informed Pitt of his rejection after a
+journey of nearly a thousand miles. He must (he adds) either obtain a
+seat elsewhere, or take no further interest in the Board of
+Agriculture. If Pitt approves of his labour at the Board, will he show
+it in some way? "If, on the other hand," he continues, "you feel the
+least hesitation about giving it support, your candour, I am persuaded,
+will induce you to inform me at once, that I may no longer be tempted to
+waste so much time and labour in such pursuits.... I still flatter
+myself, however, that you will see the object in such a light that you
+will give the President of the Board of Agriculture a seat either in the
+Upper or the Lower House, that he may be encouraged to carry on the
+concerns of that useful institution with redoubled energy." Pitt's
+comment on the back of the letter is suggestive: "That he has lost his
+election, but flatters himself that a seat will be given him either in
+the _Lower_ or Upper House, or he must decline taking further concern in
+the proceedings of the Board of Agriculture." A little later Sinclair
+renewed his appeal for a seat either at Midhurst, or in Scotland.
+Failing that, he hinted that the President of the Board of Agriculture
+ought to be a Peer. Is it surprising that Pitt fulfilled the suggestion
+by giving his influence in favour of Lord Somerville, who displaced
+Sinclair at the Board in 1798? Loughborough it was who suggested the
+change;[431] but Pitt must have approved it; and thereafter the Board
+deteriorated.
+
+In truth the thane of Thurso had become a bore. His letters to Pitt teem
+with advice on foreign politics and the distillation of whisky, on new
+taxes and high farming, on increasing the silver coinage and checking
+smuggling, on manning the navy and raising corps of Fencibles. Wisdom
+flashing forth in these diverse forms begets distrust. Sinclair the
+omniscient correspondent injured Sinclair the agrarian reformer. Young
+treated the Prime Minister with more tact. His letters were fewer, and
+his help was practical. A pleasing instance of this was his presence at
+Holwood in April 1798, when Pitt was draining the hillside near his
+house, so as to preserve it from damp and provide water for the farm and
+garden below. Young drew up the scheme, went down more than once to
+superintend the boring and trenching, and then added these words: "I beg
+you will permit me to give such attention merely and solely as a mark of
+gratitude for the goodness I have already experienced at your
+hands."[432]
+
+Sinclair, now member for Petersfield, brought his General Enclosure Bill
+before Parliament in 1797. In order to meet the objections of
+tithe-owners and lawyers, he divided it into two parts, the former
+applying to parishes where all the persons concerned were unanimous, the
+latter where this was not the case. Even so the measure met with
+opposition from the legal profession; and on 13th May he wrote to Pitt
+expressing deep concern at the opposition of the Solicitor-General. In
+July he besought Pitt to make the Bill a Cabinet measure in order to
+"prevent either legal or ecclesiastical prejudices operating against
+it." Nevertheless Pitt remained neutral, and the Bill was lost in the
+Lords, mainly owing to the opposition of the Lord Chancellor.[433] In
+December Sinclair announced his intention of bringing in a Bill for the
+improvement of waste land; but, he added significantly, "I should be
+glad previously to know whether it is your intention to support that
+measure or not." Pitt gave no sign, and the proposal did not come
+forward.
+
+Pitt's treatment of one of the most important questions of that time
+deserves censure. We may grant that the fussiness of Sinclair told
+against his proposals. It is also true that the drafting of a Bill
+applicable to every English parish was beset with difficulties, and that
+enclosures, while adding greatly to the food supply of the nation, had
+for the most part told against the independence of the poorer villagers.
+But this was largely due to the expense and chicanery consequent on the
+passing of parochial Acts of Parliament; and what objections were there
+to facilitating the enclosure of wastes and open fields by parishes
+where everyone desired it? In such a case it was the bounden duty of
+Parliament to end the law's delays and cheapen the procedure.
+
+That Pitt did little or nothing to avert the hostility of bishops and
+lawyers in the Upper House convicts him either of apathy or of covert
+opposition. He is largely responsible for the continuance of the old
+customs, under which a parish faced the expense of procuring a separate
+Act of Parliament only under stress of severe dearth; and, as a rule,
+the crisis ended long before the cumbrous machinery of the law enabled
+the new lands to come under the plough. It is, however, possible that he
+hoped to inaugurate a system of enclosures of waste lands by a clause
+which appeared in his abortive proposals of the year 1797 for the relief
+of the poor. His Bill on that subject comprised not only very generous
+plans of relief, but also the grant of cows to the deserving poor, the
+erection of Schools of Industry in every parish or group of parishes,
+and facilities for reclaiming waste land. His treatment of the question
+of poor relief is too extensive a subject to admit of adequate
+description here; but I propose to return to it and to notice somewhat
+fully the criticisms of Bentham and others.[434] It must suffice to say
+that the draft of that measure bespeaks a keen interest in the welfare
+of the poor, and indeed errs on the side of generosity. Abbot,
+afterwards Lord Colchester, was asked by Pitt to help in drafting the
+Poor Bill; and he pronounced it "as bad in the mode as the principles
+were good in substance."[435]
+
+After the withdrawal of Pitt's Poor Bill, nothing was done to facilitate
+enclosures until the accession of Addington to power. His General
+Enclosure Act of the year 1801 afforded timely relief in the matter of
+food-supply, a fact which shows that the difficulties in the way of such
+a measure were far from serious. The passing of that Bill, it is true,
+was helped on by the terrible dearth of that year, when the average
+price of wheat was close on 116 shillings the quarter. But Pitt was
+content to meet the almost equally acute crisis of 1795-6 by temporary
+shifts, one of which exasperated the neutral States of the North and
+prepared the way for the renewal of the hostile League of the Baltic.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[420] B.M. Add. MSS., 27808.
+
+[421] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 36.
+
+[422] "H. O.," (Departmental), Secs. of State.
+
+[423] B.M. Add. MSS., 27808; "Hist. of the Two Acts," 330 _et seq._
+
+[424] Pitt MSS., 190; "W. O.," 113.
+
+[425] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 36.
+
+[426] "Parl. Hist.," xxxii, 235-42, 687-700, 1156; Tooke, "Hist. of
+Prices," i, 185 _et seq._; Porter, "Progress of the Nation," 147, 452.
+
+[427] "Dropmore P.," iii, 87, 243, 526-30; "Report of the American Hist.
+Assoc." (1903), ii, 67-9, 354, 375, 440 _et seq._, 552-8; E. Channing,
+"United States," 148-50; Cunningham, 512, 694.
+
+[428] "Mems. of Sir John Sinclair," i, ch. iv; ii, ch. i.
+
+[429] "Mems. of Sir John Sinclair," ii, 60-4, 104; Sinclair,
+"Address ... on the Cultivation of Waste Lands (1795)"; "Observations
+on ... a Bill for facilitating the Division of Commons." He first urged
+this on Pitt on 10th January 1795 (Pitt MSS., 175).
+
+[430] Pitt MSS., 178.
+
+[431] "Corresp. of Sir John Sinclair," i, 124.
+
+[432] Pitt MSS., 193. Sinclair raised two corps of Fencibles. The list
+of his works, pamphlets, etc., fills thirty-two pages at the end of his
+Memoirs.
+
+[433] "Mems. of Sir John Sinclair," ii, 106-9.
+
+[434] "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies."
+
+[435] "Lord Colchester's Diary," i, 82.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIV
+
+ THE YEARS OF STRAIN (1796-7)
+
+ Torn as we are by faction, without an army, without money,
+ trusting entirely to a navy whom we may not be able to pay, and
+ on whose loyalty, even if we can, no firm reliance is to be
+ placed, how are we to get out of this cursed war without a
+ Revolution?--CORNWALLIS TO ROSS, _15th December 1797_.
+
+
+The year 1797, which opened with events portending the overthrow of
+Austria and the financial collapse of England, brought a passing gleam
+of sunshine into the gray life of Pitt. For some time he had been a
+frequent visitor at Eden Farm, Beckenham, the seat of Lord Auckland. It
+was on the way to Holwood, and the cheerful society of that large family
+afforded a relief from cares of state not to be found in his bachelor
+household. His circle of friends, never large, had somewhat diminished
+with the wear and tear of politics. His affection for Wilberforce,
+perhaps, had not quite regained its former fervour. As for the vinous
+society of Dundas, a valuable colleague but a far from ideal companion,
+Pitt must in his better moments have held it cheap. He rarely saw his
+mother, far away in Somerset; and probably his relations to his brother
+had cooled since he removed him from the Admiralty. In truth, despite
+his loving disposition, Pitt was a lonely man.
+
+The voice of rumour, in his case always unfair, charged him with utter
+indifference to feminine charms. His niece, Lady Hester Stanhope, who
+later on had opportunities of observing him closely, vehemently denied
+the charge, declaring that he was much impressed by beauty in women, and
+noted the least defect, whether of feature, demeanour, or dress. She
+declared that, on one occasion, while commending her preparations for
+the ball-room, he suggested the looping up of one particular fold. At
+once she recognized the voice of the expert and hailed the experiment
+as an artistic triumph. Hester's recollections, it is true, belong to
+the lonely years spent in the Lebanon, when she indulged in ecstatic or
+spiteful outbursts; and we therefore question her statement that Pitt
+was once so enamoured of a certain Miss W----, who became Mrs. B----s of
+Devonshire, as to drink wine out of her shoe. But Hester's remarks are
+detailed enough to refute the reports of his unnatural insensibility,
+which elicited coarse jests from opponents; and we may fully trust that
+severe critic of all Pitt's friends, when, recalling a special visit to
+Beckenham Church, she pronounced the Honourable Eleanor Eden gloriously
+beautiful.[436]
+
+ [Illustration: THE HON. ELEANOR EDEN. (From a miniature)]
+
+To this bright vivacious girl of twenty years Pitt's affections went
+forth in the winter of 1796-7;[437] and she reciprocated them. Every one
+agrees that Eleanor combined beauty with good sense, sprightliness with
+tact. Having had varied experiences during Auckland's missions to Paris,
+Madrid, and The Hague, she had matured far beyond her years. In mental
+endowments she would have been a fit companion even to Pitt; and she
+possessed a rich store of the social graces in which he was somewhat
+deficient. In fact, here was his weak point as a political leader. He
+and his colleagues had no _salon_ which could vie with those of the Whig
+grandees. The accession of Portland had been a social boon; but Pitt and
+his intimate followers exerted little influence on London Society. He
+and Grenville were too stiff. Neither Dundas nor Wilberforce moved in
+the highest circles. Portland, Spencer, and Windham held somewhat aloof,
+and Leeds, Sydney, and others had been alienated. Accordingly, the news
+that Pitt was paying marked attentions to Auckland's eldest daughter
+caused a flutter of excitement. Her charm and tact warranted the belief
+that in the near future the Prime Minister would dominate the social
+sphere hardly less than the political.
+
+Among his friends who knew how warm a heart beat under that cold
+exterior, the news inspired the hope that here was the talisman which
+would reveal the hidden treasures of his nature. The stiff form would
+now unbend; the political leader would figure as a genial host; the
+martinet would become a man. Assuredly their estimate was correct.
+Pitt's nature needed more glow, wider sympathies, a freer expression. A
+happy marriage would in any case have widened his outlook and matured
+his character. But a union with Eleanor Eden would have supplied to him
+the amenities of life. We picture her exerting upon him an influence not
+unlike that which Wordsworth believed that his sister had exerted upon
+his being:
+
+ thou didst plant its crevices with flowers,
+ Hang it with shrubs that twinkle in the breeze,
+ And teach the little birds to build their nests
+ And warble in its chambers.[438]
+
+It was not to be. After toying with this day-dream, Pitt suddenly broke
+away to Downing Street. His letter to Auckland, written there on 20th
+January 1797, announced the decision of the Minister in chillingly
+correct terms. In pathetically halting and laboured phraseology he
+implied that he had throughout observed a correct aloofness. After five
+long sentences of apology to the father he proceeded thus:
+
+ Whoever may have the good fortune ever to be united to her is
+ destined to more than his share of human happiness. Whether, at
+ any rate, I could have had any ground to hope that such would
+ have been my lot, I am in no degree entitled to guess. I have to
+ reproach myself for ever having indulged the idea on my own part
+ as far as I have done, without asking myself carefully and early
+ enough what were the difficulties in the way of its being
+ realised. I have suffered myself to overlook them too long, but
+ having now at length reflected as fully and as calmly as I am
+ able on every circumstance that ought to come under my
+ consideration (at least as much for her sake as for my own) I am
+ compelled to say that I find the obstacles to it decisive and
+ insurmountable.[439]
+
+Auckland had a right to feel the deepest pain at this official missive.
+The matter had been discussed in newspapers. Indeed, a caricaturist
+ventured to publish a sketch showing Pitt as Adam conducting Eve to the
+nuptial bower in the garden of Eden, while behind it squatted Satan as a
+toad, leering hatred through the features of Fox. It is to be hoped that
+Auckland did not know of this indelicate cartoon when he replied to
+Pitt. That letter has very properly been destroyed. But we have Pitt's
+second letter to Auckland, in which he again assures him how deeply he
+is affected by hearing of "the sentiments of another person, unhappily
+too nearly interested in the subject in question." He adds these moving
+words: "Believe me, I have not lightly or easily sacrificed my best
+hopes and earnest wishes to my conviction and judgment." Auckland's
+reply of 23rd January reveals the grief of his wife and daughter. For
+two or three days they remained in absolute solitude, and that, too, in
+a household remarkable for domestic affection. To Pitt also the decision
+was a matter of deep pain and life-long regret. Thenceforth he trod the
+path of duty alone. On 7th February the Archbishop of Canterbury wrote
+to Auckland (his brother-in-law) that Pitt lived in seclusion and seemed
+dreamy. At a recent Council meeting his face was swollen and unhealthy
+looking. Probably this was the time at which Pitt informed Addington
+that he must take the helm of State.[440]
+
+We can only conjecture as to the insuperable obstacles to the union; but
+it seems highly probable that they were of a financial kind. In the Pitt
+MSS. (No. 196) there is a brief Memorandum in Pitt's writing, of the
+year 1797, which must refer to his yearly expenses, either at Downing
+Street or at Holwood. It gives the liquor account of the steward's room
+as "£300 and upwards," and states that the other expenses of that room
+might be reduced from £600 to £300, those of his own wardrobe from £600
+to £400, and those of the stable from £400 to £300. These figures do not
+tally with those of the Downing Street or Holwood accounts for the
+latter half of 1797, which will be stated later; and the loose way in
+which Pitt estimates his expenses is highly suggestive. We now know that
+he was heading straight for bankruptcy throughout this period; and
+probably on looking into his affairs he discovered the fact. It is also
+certain that he lent money to his mother. She seems to have lost on
+farming experiments at Burton Pynsent; for she charged her sons to
+defray her just debts incurred in this manner, and the Bishop of Lincoln
+in July 1801 stated that she owed to Pitt the sum of £5,800 on which she
+ought to pay interest but did not. Chatham also borrowed £1,000 from
+Pitt in August 1791, and the fact that he paid not a penny to help to
+discharge the debts of his brother in the year 1801 seems to show that
+he himself was still in low water.[441]
+
+Piecing together these fragments of evidence, we may infer that Pitt's
+near relations were a source of considerable expense, and that his own
+heedlessness had by this time further served to embarrass him.
+Therefore, his conduct towards Miss Eden, which at first sight seems
+heartless, was probably dictated by sheer financial need. We may also
+reject the spiteful statement in which Lady Hester Stanhope represented
+Pitt as saying: "Oh, there was her mother [Lady Auckland],--such a
+chatterer! and then the family intrigues! I can't keep them out of my
+house; and for my King's and my country's sake I must remain a single
+man." This is mere romancing. Pitt went to the Aucklands' house, not
+they to his. As for the remark about Auckland's intrigues, it clearly
+refers to the painful days after 1801, when Pitt broke with the
+household at Beckenham.
+
+There was only one method whereby Pitt could have assured his marriage
+with Eleanor Eden, namely, by condescending to political jobbery. It was
+beyond the power of Auckland, a comparatively poor man, burdened with a
+large family, to grant a dowry with her unless Pitt awarded to him a
+lucrative post and sinecures. Of course any such step was wholly out of
+the question for either of them. In fact, Pitt opposed Auckland's
+promotion, opened up by the death of Lord Mansfield, President of the
+Council, though the public voice acclaimed Auckland as the
+successor.[442] Equally noteworthy is the fact that, early in the year
+1798, Pitt appointed Auckland Postmaster-General, with an annual stipend
+of £2,500, but required him to give up his pension of £2,000 for
+diplomatic services.[443] It is pleasing to record that their friendship
+was not overclouded, except for a brief period.
+
+There, then, we must leave this painful incident, but with heightened
+admiration for Pitt. Outwardly his conduct appears frigid in the
+extreme. Those, however, who probe the secrets of that reserved soul see
+that his renunciation of conjugal bliss resulted from a scrupulous sense
+of honour. As to the tenderness of his feelings at this time,
+Addington, who knew him well, gives striking testimony, averring that in
+his disposition there was "very much of the softness and milkiness of
+human nature." That was the real Pitt.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Finance was the all-absorbing question in that gloomy winter of 1796-7.
+The triumphs of Bonaparte in Italy and Hoche's attempt to invade Ireland
+sank into insignificance in comparison with the oncoming shadow of
+bankruptcy. The causes of this phenomenon are too technical to receive
+adequate treatment here. Certainly the Bank Crisis of February of 1797
+was not due to the exhaustion of the nation; for the revenue testified
+to its abounding vitality. The Permanent Taxes maintained nearly the
+high level reached in the prosperous year of peace, 1792, and the
+figures for British Imports and Exports told the same tale, but the sums
+of money borrowed in the years 1796, 1797 undoubtedly strained the
+national credit.[444] Austria also applied to England for loans to
+enable her to continue the war; and Pitt helped her to borrow in London
+the sum of £4,600,000 in 1795, and £4,620,000 in 1796.
+
+In one particular Pitt's action was unprecedented. In July 1796, during
+the interval between the seventeenth and eighteenth Parliaments of Great
+Britain, Austria sent urgent requests for pecuniary help so as to stay
+the triumphs of the French in Italy and Swabia. Pitt yielded and
+secretly remitted the sum of £1,200,000 as a loan. Undoubtedly this
+opportune help enabled Austria to make the surprising efforts which
+flung back the French to the Rhine, and checked the triumphal progress
+of Bonaparte. Nevertheless, Fox threatened his rival with impeachment
+for this unconstitutional action. Pitt replied with irresistible cogency
+that the crisis called for bold handling, and that England helped her
+ally to save the Empire and to maintain the contest in Italy. The House
+condoned his action by 285 votes to 81, a proof that he dominated the
+new Parliament as completely as its predecessor. He has been accused of
+lavishing money on the Allies; but, except in this instance, he did not
+by any means satisfy their claims. Moreover, they were justified in
+expecting England to provide money in lieu of the troops which her War
+Office failed to raise. Austria also solemnly covenanted to repay the
+loans; and her neglect to do so occasioned a bitter dispute which long
+held the two Powers apart. Pitt also refused her request for a loan in
+the year 1797. As far as possible, he discouraged the raising of war
+loans in London. Early in 1796 he did so in the case of Portugal from a
+fear that the export of bullion would impair credit.[445]
+
+At that time a novel expedient was shaping itself in his mind. On New
+Year's Day he drove Sir John Sinclair from Dundas's house at Wimbledon
+up to town; and on the way the baronet suggested the raising a great
+loan on easy terms by an appeal to the loyalty of Britons.[446] The need
+of some such device became increasingly apparent; for sinister symptoms
+began to appear amidst the alarms of the autumn of 1796. The threats of
+invasion led the Ministry to propose a special levy of 15,000 men to
+reinforce the army, of 20,000 irregular cavalry, and of 60,000
+supplemental Militia (18th October). These expenses, in addition to the
+ever growing demands for the public services, involved a deficit of
+£18,000,000. It was most important to raise this sum promptly in order
+to uphold the credit and display the loyalty of the nation; for, as we
+shall see, Pitt had recently opened negotiations for peace at Paris in
+the hope that the late successes of the Austrians both in Italy and the
+Rhineland (which proved to be only temporary), would induce the
+Directory to accord fair terms to enemies who thus evinced their energy
+and vitality. After consultation with the officials of the Bank of
+England, he decided to raise the required sums, not by means of
+"contractors," but by appealing direct to the public. Accordingly, on
+1st December, he adopted the unusual course of appealing to the Lord
+Mayor and the Directors of the Bank of England to encourage in every
+possible way the raising of an extraordinary loan of £18,000,000. The
+rate of interest, 5 5/8 per cent., seems somewhat high in the case of a
+"Loyalty Loan," especially as Consols rose from 53 3/4 in September to
+57 in November; but competent authorities agree that it was not too
+high.[447]
+
+The response was most gratifying. The Bank subscribed £1,000,000, the
+Directors in their private capacity further contributing £400,000.
+Similar feelings were displayed in the City and in the provinces.
+Before the hour of 10 a.m. on 5th December, when the subscription list
+was opened at the Bank, the lobby of the hall and even the approaches
+were crowded with eager patriots, who fought their way towards the
+books. Those in the rear called to more fortunate friends in the front
+to inscribe their names. Within an hour and twenty minutes the amount
+which could then be allotted was made good, and hundreds retired
+disappointed. Similar scenes ensued on the two following days, the whole
+sum of £18,000,000 being subscribed in less than fifteen and a half
+hours.[448]
+
+It was under these encouraging conditions that on 7th December 1796 Pitt
+made his Budget Statement, which included the proposal of further
+advances of £3,000,000 to our Allies. As a set-off to this, he pointed
+to the yield of the taxes and the Imports and Exports for the quarter as
+affording gratifying proof of the strength of the country. But, he
+added, "this flourishing state of our affairs ought not to lessen our
+moderation or abate our desire for peace." Those who blame him for
+continuing to pay £200,000 into the Sinking Fund, while he had to borrow
+large sums at a ruinous rate of interest, should remember that he
+believed this costly device to be only temporary in view of his efforts
+for peace.
+
+The usually dull details of finance are at this point enlivened by the
+ingenious suggestions poured in upon Pitt for opening up new sources of
+revenue. The aim of financiers then being to press on the taxpayer at
+all points with the imperceptible impartiality of air, the hints as to
+the taxation of neighbours and rivals are of refreshing variety. Among
+the less obvious are duties on barges, pawnbrokers' takings, toys,
+theatre and concert tickets, buttons, corks, glass bottles, umbrellas,
+sheriffs and under-sheriffs, county commissioners and attorneys who keep
+clerks. On behalf of the last suggestion an anonymous writer points out
+that it would enhance the dignity of the legal profession. Another
+correspondent suggests a similar impost on physicians, surgeons, and
+chemists, ranging from ten guineas in London to three guineas in the
+provinces, in order to discourage the entry of illiterates. He also
+urges the need of stopping the increase of luxury and amusements by
+taxing hot-houses, horses and carriages let out on Sundays, organs,
+pianos, and all musical instruments, as well as the owners thereof, on
+the ground that this step will lessen the alarming growth of
+bankruptcies and divorces. A tax on armorial bearings is suggested as
+one which will not be resented by the rich. A fourth correspondent
+advocates a graduated Income Tax, ranging from 6_d._ in the pound on
+incomes under £400, up to 5_s._ in the pound on incomes of more than,
+£30,000 a year, and estimates the total yield at £62,625,000. The same
+writer urges the need of a tax on sinecures and pensions, and finally
+begs Pitt for a place for life, devolving on his son.[449]
+
+The Chancellor of the Exchequer therefore had the choice of the direct
+attack on the purse or the increase of atmospheric pressure. For the
+present he chose the latter method, enhancing the duties on tea, wines,
+sugar, spirits, game licences, glass, tobacco, and snuff, besides
+raising the "Assessed Taxes" by ten per cent. The produce of some of
+these imposts is curious. Hair-powder yielded £197,000; the extra tea
+and wine duties £186,000 and £923,000, severally; those on tobacco and
+snuff only £40,000. Pitt's procedure in December 1796 was very cautious.
+He carefully watched the yield of the new taxes, in order to see whether
+the increase of price checked consumption. Finding that this did not
+happen in the case of tea and spirits, he further raised the duties on
+those commodities; but, on behalf of the poor, he exempted the cheaper
+kinds of tea. On the other hand he proposed to check the consumption of
+spirits by imposing an extra duty of five pence a gallon along with a
+surcharge on distillery licences. Further, as the duties on bricks,
+auction sales, sugar, bar iron, oil, wines, and coal had not lessened
+consumption, he again increased them. A questionable experiment was an
+increase in the postage of letters and parcels, and in the duties on
+newspapers, stage coaches, and canal tolls. A new House Duty, levied in
+proportion to the number of servants, is open to less objection. On the
+whole he expected the new taxes to yield £2,138,000. The total supply
+asked for was £27,640,000.
+
+The financial outlook grew darker in the year 1797. At the close of
+January came the news of Hoche's expedition to Bantry Bay, which
+revealed the possibility of revolutionizing Ireland. On 4th February
+Pitt heard of the triumph of Bonaparte at Rivoli. The tidings told
+disastrously on markets already in a nervous state. A correspondent of
+Pitt attributed the decline to the action of the Bank of England at the
+close of 1795, in reducing their discounts. Fox and his friends ascribed
+it to the export of specie to Vienna; while Ministers and their friends
+gave out that it resulted from the fears of invasion, and the desire of
+depositors everywhere to withdraw their money and place it in hiding.
+Privately, however, Pitt confessed to Auckland that the export of gold
+brought matters to a climax.
+
+The amount of specie in the Bank of England, which was nearly £8,000,000
+in 1795, fell to £1,272,000 in February 1797. In reality the Bank was
+solvent, but it could not have realized its securities; and on several
+occasions the Directors warned Pitt that any further withdrawals of
+specie would bring on a crisis.[450] The final cause of alarm was a loan
+of £1,500,000 to the Irish Government, the first occasion on which any
+large sum was raised for that Administration.[451] On 25th and 26th
+February, then, crowds rushed to withdraw money from the Bank into which
+eleven weeks before they thronged in order to procure shares in the
+Loyalty Loan. So serious was the crisis that Ministers decided to
+intervene. On Sunday the 26th a meeting was held of the Privy Council,
+which issued an Order in Council empowering the Directors to refuse
+payments in cash until Parliament gave further orders on the
+subject.[452]
+
+For a few hours there was the prospect of a general collapse; and as
+the Bank issued no notes for less than £5, though Sinclair and others
+had advised the issue of £3 and £2 notes, small traders were threatened
+with a recurrence to barter. Fortunately on 27th February the Directors
+published a reassuring statement, and the Lord Mayor presided at an
+influential meeting on the same day, which decided to accept banknotes
+as legal tender for any amount. Thus a crash was averted. But Fox,
+Sheridan, and the Opposition ably accused Pitt of leading his own
+country to the brink of bankruptcy, even while he proclaimed the
+imminent insolvency of France. They thundered against the export of gold
+to the Emperor, and demanded a searching inquiry into the high-handed
+dealings of the Minister with the Bank and with national finance. "We
+have too long had a confiding House of Commons," exclaimed Fox; "I want
+now an inquiring House of Commons." Despite Pitt's poor defence of his
+loans to the Emperor, the Government carried the day by 244 votes to 86
+(28th February); but the unwonted size of the minority was a sharp
+warning to curtail loans and subsidies. Apart from a small loan to
+Portugal in 1798, nothing of note was done to help Continental States
+until Russia demanded pecuniary aid for the War of the Second Coalition.
+In order to provide a circulating medium, the Bank was empowered to
+issue notes for £2 and £1, and to refuse cash payments for sums
+exceeding £1 (March to May 1797).
+
+Meanwhile, shortly after the Bank crisis, came news of the failure of an
+American, Colonel Tate, with some 1,400 French gaol-birds, to make a
+raid at Fishguard in Pembrokeshire. A later legend sought to embellish
+this very tame affair by ascribing his failure to the apparition on the
+hills of Welsh women in high hats and scarlet cloaks, whom the invaders
+took for regulars. Unfortunately for lovers of the picturesque, the
+apparition occurs only in much later accounts.[453] Far more important
+were the tidings from Cape St. Vincent. There Jervis, with only fifteen
+ships, boldly attacked twenty-seven Spaniards while still in confusion
+after a foggy night. As is well known, the boldness of Nelson, in
+wearing out of the line so as to prevent the reunion of the enemy's
+ships, crowned the day with glory (14th February). The weakness of the
+Spanish navy stood glaringly revealed, and the fear of invasion, which
+turned mainly on a junction of their fleet to that of France,
+thenceforth subsided.
+
+Jervis remarked before the fight that England never stood in more need
+of a victory. The news reached London most opportunely on 3rd March;
+for, along with the Bank crisis, came rumours of serious discontent
+among our seamen. Even Jervis could scarcely stamp out disaffection in
+the fleet that rode triumphantly before Cadiz; and in home waters mutiny
+soon ran riot. Is it surprising that sailors mutinied? In large part
+they were pressed men. Violence swept the crews together, and terror
+alone kept them together. The rules of the service prescribed flogging
+for minor offences, hanging for refusal to work. How men existed in the
+over-crowded decks is a mystery. On paper the rations seem adequate, a
+pound of meat per day, a proportionate amount of biscuit, and half a
+pint of rum. But these provisions were issued by pursers who often eked
+out their scanty pay by defrauding the crew. Weevilly biscuits and meat
+of briny antiquity were therefore the rule, excess of salt and close
+packing being deemed adequate safeguards against decay. Finally the
+indurated mass became so susceptible of polish as in the last resort to
+provide the purser with a supply of snuff-boxes. One little comfort was
+allowed, namely, cocoa for breakfast. But the chief solace was rum,
+cheap, new, and fiery, from the West Indies. This and the rope-end
+formed the _nexus_ of the crew. As for the pay, from which alone the
+sailor could make his lot bearable, it had not been increased since the
+reign of Charles II. Thanks to the Duke of York, that of the army had
+been raised from 8 1/4_d._ to 1_s._ a day, though not in proportion to
+the cost of living, the net gain being only 2_d._ a day. The sailor
+alone was forgotten, and, lest he should come into touch with Radical
+clubs, leave of absence was rarely if ever accorded.
+
+The men of the Channel Fleet were the first to resolve to end their
+chief grievances, namely, insufficient pay, withdrawal of leave of
+absence, and the unfair distribution of prize money. On putting back to
+Spithead in March 1797, they sent to Admiral Howe several round-robins
+demanding an increase of pay. He was then ill at Bath, and, deeming them
+the outcome of a single knot of malcontents, ignored them. This angered
+the men. His successor in command, Lord Bridport (brother of Sir
+Alexander Hood), was less popular; and when it transpired that the fleet
+would soon set sail, the men resolved to show their power. Accordingly,
+on 15th April, on the hoisting of the signal to weigh anchor, the crew
+of the flag-ship, the "Queen Charlotte," manned her shrouds and gave
+three cheers. The others followed her example, and not an anchor was
+weighed. On the next day (Easter Sunday) the men formed a central
+committee, sent ashore some hated officers, and formulated the demands
+outlined above, promising to fight the French if they put to sea, and
+afterwards to renew the same demands.
+
+That Easter was a time of dismay in London. Ministers at once met in
+Cabinet Council and agreed to despatch to Portsmouth Spencer, first Lord
+of the Admiralty, along with Admiral Young, and others. Spencer's
+reputation for sincerity, love of justice, and regard for the seamen
+inspired general confidence; and when the Commissioners were joined by
+Bridport, Parker, Colpoys, and Gardner, there was hope of a compromise.
+The men allowed Bridport to retain his command, provided that he did not
+issue orders for sea; they enforced respect to officers; they flogged
+one man who became drunk, and ducked more venial offenders three times
+from a rope tied at the main-yard. Their committee of thirty-two (two
+from each ship), met every day on the "Queen Charlotte"; it demanded an
+increase of pay from 9 3/4_d._ to 1_s._ a day. But when Spencer promised
+to lay this request before the King, on condition of immediate
+restoration of discipline, the men demurred. Conscious of their power,
+they now claimed that rations must be served out, not 12 ounces, but 16
+ounces to the pound; that the power of awarding heavy punishments for
+petty offences should be curtailed, extended opportunities being also
+granted for going ashore. In vain did Spencer and his colleagues protest
+against this dictation of terms. A personal appeal to the crew of the
+"Royal George" had no effect; and when Gardner vehemently reproached the
+men for skulking from the French, they ran at him; and he would have
+fared badly had he not placed his neck in a noose of a yard-rope and
+called on the men to hang him provided they returned to duty. The men
+thereupon cheered him and retired.
+
+On 18th April the men's committee formulated their demands in two
+manifestoes. Further conferences took place, in one of which Gardner
+shook a delegate by the collar and was himself nearly murdered. The
+whole fleet then defiantly flew the red flag. Spencer and his colleagues
+returned to London for an interview with Pitt; and along with him and
+the Lord Chancellor they posted to Windsor to urge the need of
+compliance with the men's demands. Grenville, journeying from Dropmore,
+joined them, and a Privy Council was held. Pitt's and Spencer's views
+prevailed, and a Royal Proclamation was drawn up on 22nd April,
+pardoning the crews if they would return to duty. A horseman riding at
+full speed bore the document to Portsmouth in seven hours, and the
+fleet, with the exception of the "Marlborough," re-hoisted the white
+ensign and prepared for sea. The discontent rife at Plymouth also
+subsided. On 26th April, during a Budget debate, Pitt promised to
+provide for the extra pay to seamen and marines.
+
+But on 3rd May an indiscreet opening of the whole question in the House
+of Lords by the Duke of Bedford led to a revival of discontent at
+Spithead. He upbraided Pitt with delay in introducing a Bill to give
+effect to the Royal Proclamation. Howe thereupon proceeded to justify
+his former conduct; and Spencer remarked that he did not expect to
+receive the King's commands to bring down any communication on the
+affair to the House of Lords. By an unscrupulous use of these remarks
+agitators inflamed the crews with the suspicion of ministerial trickery;
+and on 7th May, every ship refused to obey Bridport's orders to weigh
+anchor. The men arrested Colpoys and sent fifteen officers on shore.
+Pitt thereupon, on 8th May, moved a resolution in the terms of the
+decision framed at Windsor on 22nd April. He begged the House for a
+silent vote on this question; but Fox and Sheridan could not resist the
+temptation to accuse him of being the cause of this second mutiny.
+Clearly it resulted from the remarks in the House of Lords on 3rd May,
+which led the seamen to believe that Pitt was about to play them false.
+
+The Commons passed the resolution; but Whitbread, on the morrow, moved a
+vote of censure on Pitt for delay in dealing with this important
+question. Again Pitt pointed out that the promise given during the
+Budget debate sufficed for the time, but he admitted that preliminary
+forms and inquiries had absorbed an undue amount of time. Fox and
+Sheridan pounced down on this admission, the latter inveighing against
+the "criminal and murderous delay" of Ministers, whose incapacity
+earned the contempt of the House. Spying a party advantage in
+protracting these debates, Whitbread renewed his attack on the next day
+(10th May). Pitt replied with admirable temper, and showed that the
+delay in presenting a Bill arose partly from the action of the
+Opposition itself. Will it be believed that Parliament wasted two days,
+while the navy was in mutiny, in discussing whether Pitt had or had not
+been guilty of delay? The results were deplorable. An anonymous
+chronicler, hostile to Pitt, confessed that the men at Spithead were
+"better pleased with reading Fox and Sheridan's speeches than with the
+long-expected settlement of their claims."[454]
+
+In this state of things Pitt despatched Howe ("Black Dick"), the most
+popular of the admirals, in order to convince the seamen of the
+sincerity of Government. The following is the letter in which he
+apprised Bridport of Howe's mission:
+
+ Downing Street, _May 10, 1797_.[455]
+
+ The account we have received this morning led to a great degree
+ of hope that the distressful embarrassments which you have
+ experienced may already in a great degree have subsided. You
+ will, however, have learnt that in the suspense in which we
+ remained yesterday, it had been determined to send Lord Howe
+ with such instructions under the sign manual as seemed to us
+ best adapted to the very difficult emergency. His presenting
+ this commission seems still [more] likely to confirm the good
+ disposition which had begun to show itself, and his not coming
+ after the intention had once been announced might lead to
+ unpleasant consequence [_sic_]. It was thought best to make this
+ a civil commission in order not to interfere with the military
+ command of the fleet, and at the same time to give the
+ commission to a distinguished naval character, though not with
+ any naval authority or functions. It was also thought that
+ making a communication of this nature after all that had passed
+ through some other channel than the commander of the fleet was
+ for other reasons preferable and likely to be thought so by you.
+
+ I earnestly hope this measure will produce good effects and will
+ both in itself and in its consequences be satisfactory to you.
+ At all events I am sure you will continue to contribute your
+ exertions with the same zeal and public spirit which you have
+ shewn under such trying difficulties to bring this arduous work,
+ if possible, to a happy termination. I hope I need not say how
+ sincerely and deeply, in addition to the public difficulties, I
+ have felt for the situation in which you have been placed. If
+ the favourable turn which has been given to affairs should be
+ happily confirmed, I look forward to the hope that your command
+ may still be attended with circumstances which may repay you for
+ the labour and anxiety with which you have had to struggle.
+
+Howe found it no easy task to vindicate the good faith of Ministers; but
+by visiting each ship in turn, he prevailed on the men to submit to
+discipline. The 14th of May was a day of great rejoicing at Spithead;
+the men's delegates landed and carried the venerable admiral in triumph
+to Government House, where he and his lady entertained them at dinner.
+Three days later the whole fleet put to sea.
+
+But already there had fallen on Pitt a still severer blow. On 10th May
+appeared the first signs of discontent in the ships anchored off
+Sheerness. In all probability they may be ascribed to the factious
+wrangling at Westminster and the revival of the mutiny at Spithead on
+7th May. Seeing that the demands of the sailors had been conceded before
+this outbreak occurred at the Nore, nothing can be said on behalf of the
+ringleaders, except that amidst their worst excesses they professed
+unswerving loyalty, firing salutes on 29th May in honour of the
+restoration of Charles II and on 4th June for King George's birthday.
+Apart from this their conduct was grossly unpatriotic. On 12th May the
+crew of H.M.S. "Sandwich," headed by a supernumerary named Parker,
+captured the ship, persuaded eleven other crews to mutiny, and sent
+delegates to Portsmouth to concert action with Bridport's fleet.
+
+In this they failed; and, had Vice-Admiral Buckner, in command at the
+Nore, acted with vigour, he might have profited by the discouragement
+which this news produced. He acted weakly; and the men paid no heed to
+the Royal Proclamation issued on 23rd May, offering the same terms as
+those granted at Portsmouth and pardon to all who at once returned to
+duty. Spencer and his colleagues came from London in the hope of
+persuading the men, but in vain. The men sought to tempt the one loyal
+ship, the "Clyde," from its duty. Fortunately this Abdiel of a false
+company was able to slip off by night and guard the entrance to
+Sheerness harbour. Government then hurried up troops and had new
+batteries constructed to overawe the fleet. Unfortunately, at the end of
+May, thirteen more ships, deserters from the fleets of Duncan and
+Onslow, joined the mutineers at the Nore. This event might have led to a
+double disaster. Stout old Duncan with only two ships sailed on
+undaunted to the Texel, where lay a Dutch fleet of fifteen sail
+preparing for sea. In order to impose on them he kept flying signals as
+if to consorts in the offing, a stratagem which entirely succeeded. The
+danger was, however, acute until, acting on Spencer's suggestion,
+Vorontzoff ordered a Russian squadron, then in British waters, to sail
+to Duncan's help.
+
+Equally serious was the situation at the Nore. The mutineers, strong in
+numbers but lacking beef and beer, stopped the navigation of the Thames
+and captured provisions from merchantmen, thus causing a panic in
+London. On 5th June, after firing the royal salute, the crews seized
+some unpopular officers and boatswains, tarred and feathered them, and
+landed them at Gravesend, a spectacle for gods and men. In these and
+other reckless acts the fever expended its force. Food and water ran
+short; for the banks were strictly guarded, and ships ceased to arrive.
+The desperate suggestion of handing the ships over to the Dutch was
+frustrated, if it were ever seriously considered, by the removal of the
+outer buoys. One by one ships fell away and replaced the red flag by the
+white ensign. Enough force was now at hand to quell the desperate
+minority; and on 15th June the "Sandwich," renouncing the authority of
+Parker, sailed under the guns of Sheerness. A fortnight later Parker
+swung from the yardarm of that ship. His had been a strange career. The
+son of a tradesman of Exeter, he is said to have entered the navy as a
+midshipman, but to have been thrice dismissed from his ship for bad
+conduct. Settling down at Perth, he was imprisoned for debt, but gained
+his freedom and also a bounty for enrolling in the navy as a volunteer.
+His daring spirit and sturdy frame brought him to the front in the way
+that we have seen, the moral perversity of his nature largely
+determining the course of the mutiny at the Nore. After him twenty-two
+other mutineers were hanged.
+
+Few men have done more harm to England than Parker. So heavy a blow did
+the Nore mutiny deal to credit that 3 per cent. Consols, which did not
+fall below 50 at the Bank crisis, sank to 48 in June, the lowest level
+ever touched in our history. After the collapse of the mutiny they rose
+to 55 1/2. The serenity of Pitt never failed during this terrible time.
+A remarkable proof of his self-possession was given by Spencer. Having
+to consult him hastily one night, he repaired to Downing Street and
+found that he was asleep. When awakened, he sat up in bed, heard the
+case, and gave his instructions, whereupon Spencer withdrew.
+Remembering, however, one topic which he had omitted, he returned, and
+found him buried in slumber as profound as if he had not been disturbed.
+Fox and his friends were far from showing the same equanimity. Because
+the House by 256 votes to 91 opposed a motion for Reform which Grey most
+inopportunely brought forward in the midst of the mutiny, they decided
+to leave Parliament. But the effect of this "secession" was marred by
+the occasional reappearance of Sheridan, Tierney, and others who had
+loudly advocated it.[456] Unpatriotic in conception, it speedily became
+ludicrous from its half-hearted execution.
+
+The question has often been raised whether the mutineers were egged on
+by malcontent clubs. There are some suspicious signs. A mutineer on
+board H.M.S. "Champion" told his captain that they had received money
+from a man in a black coat. This alone is not very convincing. But the
+malcontents at the Nore certainly received money, though from what
+source is uncertain. The evidence brought before the Committee of
+Secrecy as to the connection of the United Irishmen with the mutineers,
+seems rather thin. As to French bribery, the loyal sailors at Spithead
+in their address to the Nore mutineers bade them not to be any longer
+misled by "French principles and their agents, under whatsoever mask."
+It was also reported in August 1798 that the French Government paid an
+Irishman, Duckett, to go and _renew_ the mutiny. The officials of the
+Home Office believed the London Corresponding Society to be guilty; and
+on 16th June one of them, J. K[ing], issued a secret order to two of his
+agents at Sheerness to discover whether two members of that society,
+named Beck and Galloway, had had dealings with the rebel crews. The
+agents, A. Graham and D. Williams, on 24th June sent to the Duke of
+Portland the following report, which merits quotation almost in
+full:[457]
+
+ ... Mr. Graham and Mr. Williams beg leave to assure his Grace
+ that they have unremittingly endeavoured to trace if there was
+ any connexion or correspondence carried on between the mutineers
+ and any private person or any society on shore, and they think
+ they may with the greatest safety pronounce that no such
+ connexion or correspondence ever did exist. They do not however
+ mean to say that wicked and designing men have not been among
+ the mutineers; on the contrary they have proof sufficient to
+ found a belief upon that several whose mischievous dispositions
+ would lead them to the farthest corner of the kingdom in hopes
+ of continuing a disturbance once begun have been in company with
+ the delegates on shore, and have also (some of them) visited the
+ ships at the Nore, and by using inflammatory language
+ endeavoured to spirit on the sailors to a continuance of the
+ mutiny, without however daring to offer anything like a plan for
+ the disposal of the fleet or to do more than insinuate that they
+ were belonging to clubs or societies whose members wished well
+ to the cause, but from which societies Mr. Graham and Mr.
+ Williams are persuaded no such persons were ever regularly
+ deputed. Neither do they believe that any club or society in the
+ kingdom or any of those persons who may have found means of
+ introducing themselves to the delegates have in the smallest
+ degree been able to influence the proceedings of the mutineers,
+ whose conduct from the beginning seems to have been of a wild
+ and extravagant nature not reducible to any sort of form or
+ order and therefore capable of no other mischief than was to be
+ apprehended from a want of the fleet to serve against the enemy.
+ In this state however they were unfortunately suffered to go on
+ without interruption until they began to think themselves
+ justifiable in what they were doing, and by stopping up the
+ mouth of the Thames they were suspected of designs for which Mr.
+ Graham and Mr. Williams can by no means give them credit. The
+ want of beer and fresh beef prompted them to revenge, and that
+ and nothing else induced them to interrupt the trade of the
+ river. It was done on the spur of the occasion, and with a view
+ of obtaining a supply of fresh provisions. Another thing, namely
+ the systematic appearance with which the delegates and the
+ sub-committees on board the different ships conducted the
+ business of the mutiny may be supposed a good ground of
+ suspecting that better informed men than sailors in general are
+ must have been employed in regulating it for them. This Mr.
+ Graham and Mr. Williams at first were inclined to believe too;
+ but in the course of their examinations of people belonging to
+ the fleet they were perfectly convinced that without such a
+ combination and with the assistance of the newspapers only
+ (independent of the many cheap publications to be had upon
+ subjects relating to clubs and societies of all descriptions)
+ and the advantage of so many good writers as must have been
+ found among the quota-men, they were capable of conducting it
+ themselves.
+
+Graham and Williams arrested at Sheerness three strangers, Hulm,
+McLaurin, and McCan, who were making mischief. Nothing seems to have
+come of these arrests; and, despite the opinion of Pitt, expressed in
+his speech of 2nd June, we may dismiss the charge against the London
+Corresponding Society. It is clear, however, that busybodies circulated
+newspapers and pamphlets at Sheerness, Chatham, and Maidstone. The
+reports of the parliamentary debates of 3rd, 8th, 9th, and 10th May
+would alone have encouraged the mutineers; and the chiefs of the
+Opposition must bear no small share of responsibility for the disastrous
+events at Spithead and the Nore. They were warned that their nagging
+tactics would cause trouble in the navy. They persisted, in the hope of
+discrediting the Ministry. They succeeded in paralysing the navy; and
+the only excuse for their conduct is that their hatred of Pitt blinded
+them to the obvious consequences. From this censure I must except
+Sheridan, whose speech of 2nd June was patriotic; and he further is said
+to have suggested the plan of removing the buoys beyond the mutinous
+fleet.
+
+For a brief space disquieting symptoms appeared in the army. An
+inflammatory appeal to the troops was distributed at Maidstone by Henry
+Fellows; and the same man addressed a letter to some person unnamed,
+asking him to send on 100 copies of the Ulster Address, 50 of
+"Boniparte's [_sic_] Address," 50 of "the Duke of Richmond's Letter,"
+and 50 of Payne's "Agrarian Justice." The last named was found among the
+papers of John Bone, a member of the London Corresponding Society.[458]
+It is not unlikely that this propaganda was connected with that at
+Chatham barracks, where a seditious handbill was left on 21st May 1797,
+urging the men to cast off the tyranny misnamed discipline, to demand
+better food, better clothing, and freedom from restraint in barracks.
+"The power is all our own," it concludes. "The regiments which send you
+this are willing to do their part. They will show their countrymen they
+can be soldiers without being slaves ... Be sober, be ready."[459] The
+paper was probably connected with the mutiny at the Nore. There were
+also some suspicious doings in London barracks. One of the incendiaries
+there was, "wicked Williams," who certainly had run through the whole
+gamut of evil. First as a clergyman, he ruined himself by his excesses;
+then as a penitent he applied to Wilberforce for relief, and, after
+disgusting even that saintly man, he in revenge carried round to certain
+barracks the signature of his would-be benefactor appended to a
+seditious appeal. Busybodies lacking all sense of humour therefore
+buzzed it about that the abolitionist leader sought to stir up a mutiny.
+On 13th May Pitt sent to him to sift any grains of truth that there
+might be in this peck of lies. The following unpublished letter from
+Wilberforce to Pitt shows that he advised him to use Williams so as to
+get at the grains:
+
+ 2.20 Saty mng. [_May 1797_?][460]
+
+ Williams has been with Windham and is to wait on him again. The
+ latter has been with me, and I have been guarding him about
+ Wms's character, telling him that we wish to enable some proper
+ person to watch Wms's motions by becoming acquainted with his
+ person. Now, if this watch should be at or near Windham's, this
+ point could be obtained. My other means of making the discovery
+ have failed, and I can devise no other. Williams avowed to
+ Windham that he had been employed in endeavouring to inflame the
+ soldiery, but that his mind was not prepared to go the lengths
+ he found it would be required to go. I am pretty sure the best
+ way would be to give Williams money, a little, to infuse a
+ principle of hope. I dare say he is hungry. You must place no
+ dependence whatever on him, but if he would act for you, he
+ would be a useful agent, and I think a little money in his case
+ indispensable. I intreat you not to neglect this. I suppose
+ there will now be no use in my seeing Ford.
+
+In a second letter, written an hour later, Wilberforce urges Pitt not to
+neglect this note. Williams some years ago sought to make a mutiny; he
+was skilled in intrigue, had "held Jacobinical language, and was going
+on in the most profligate and abandoned way." This is all the
+information that the Pitt MSS. yield upon this question. But in the
+private diary of Wilberforce there is the significant entry: "Pitt
+awaked by Woolwich artillery riot and went out to Cabinet." The cool
+bearing of Lord Harrington, commander of the forces in London, helped to
+restore confidence. On 3rd June Government introduced and speedily
+passed a Bill for preventing seduction of the soldiery. There were
+rumours of an intended mutiny in the Guards; but fortunately the troops
+remained true to duty, and some of them helped to quell the mutiny at
+the Nore.
+
+A survey of Pitt's conduct during these critical months reveals the
+limitations of his nature. He was wanting in foresight. He seems to have
+been taken unawares both by the Bank crisis and the mutinies. He met the
+financial crisis promptly when it became acute, though by means which
+caused incalculable inconvenience at a later time. The mutinies also
+ought to have been averted by timely concessions to the sailors, who
+needed increase of pay fully as much as the soldiery. For this neglect,
+however, the Admiralty Board, not Pitt, is chiefly to blame. When the
+storm burst, Ministers did not display the necessary initiative and
+resourcefulness; and the officials of the Admiralty must be censured for
+the delay in bringing forward the proposals on which Parliament could
+act. The Opposition, as usual, blamed Pitt alone; and it must be
+confessed that he did not exert on officials the almost terrifying
+influence whereby Chatham is said to have expedited the preparation of a
+fleet of transports. The story to that effect is of doubtful
+authenticity.[461] But there is no doubt that Chatham's personality and
+behaviour surpassed those of his son in face of a national crisis. The
+eagle eye of the father would have discerned the growth of discontent in
+the navy, and his forceful will would have found means to allay or crush
+it. Before the thunder of his eloquence the mewlings of faction must
+have died away. The younger Pitt was too hopeful, too soft, for the
+emergency. But it is only fair to remember the heartache and ill health
+besetting him since the month of January, which doubtless dulled his
+powers during the ensuing period of ceaseless strain and anxiety.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[436] "Mems. of Lady Hester Stanhope," i, 177-81. Tomline asserted that
+a lady of the highest rank desired to marry Pitt. Various conjectures
+have been made on this topic. Lord Rosebery suggests that the Duchess of
+Gordon was hinted at.
+
+[437] "Auckland Journals," iii, 356, 363, 369, 373-4.
+
+[438] Wordsworth, "Prelude," bk. xiv.
+
+[439] Pretyman MSS. Quoted in full, with Pitt's second letter and one of
+Auckland, by Lord Ashbourne ("Pitt," 241-4).
+
+[440] Pellew, i, 183.
+
+[441] Ashbourne, 162, 179; G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 410, 429.
+
+[442] "Auckland Journals," iii, 359. George III, who disliked Auckland,
+ordered the appointment of Chatham.
+
+[443] _Ibid._, iii, 387.
+
+[444] See Appendix for the sums borrowed, expended on the army and navy,
+and raised by the Permanent Taxes in 1792-1801.
+
+[445] "Parl. Hist.," xxxii, 1297-1347; Pitt MSS., 102. Pitt to Boyd, 4th
+January 1796.
+
+[446] "Mems. of Sir John Sinclair," ii, 276.
+
+[447] W. Newmarch, "Loans raised by Pitt (1793-1801)," pp. 16, 25-33.
+
+[448] On 2nd December 1796, Thomas Coutts, Pitt's banker, wrote to him:
+"Mr. Dent, Mr. Hoare, Mr. Snow, Mr. Gosling, Mr. Drummond, and myself
+met today, and have each subscribed £50,000.... I shall leave town
+tomorrow, having staid solely to do any service in my power in
+forwarding this business, which I sincerely wish and hope may be the
+means of procuring peace on fair and honourable terms. P.S.--We have
+subscribed £10,000 in your name, and shall take care to make the
+payments" (Pitt MSS., 126). Mr. Abbot ("Lord Colchester's Diary," 76)
+states that fear of a compulsory contribution helped on the Loyalty
+Loan.
+
+[449] Pitt MSS., 272.
+
+[450] Ann. Reg. (1797), 130-42.
+
+[451] Sir J. Sinclair, "Hist. of the Public Revenue," ii, 143.
+
+[452] Pitt MSS., 272; "Parl. Hist.," xxxii, 1517; Gilbart, "History ...
+of Banking" (ed. by E. Sykes), i, 46. On 25th February 1797 Pitt wrote a
+memorandum (Pitt MSS., 102), stating that the crisis was due to the too
+great circulation of paper notes by banks having limited resources.
+Their stoppage affected larger Houses and paralysed trade. He had wanted
+to meet the City men, who met on the 22nd to discuss the situation, but
+failed to agree on any remedy. Finally they agreed to meet at the
+Mansion House to discuss the issue of Exchequer Bills. Coutts, on 19th
+March 1797, informed Pitt that gambling in the Prince of Wales'
+Debentures, which exceeded £432,000, ruined the market for ordinary
+securities (Pitt MSS., 126). Sinclair had vainly urged Pitt to compel
+bankers to find and exhibit securities for the paper notes which they
+issued ("Corresp. of Sir J. Sinclair," i, 87).
+
+[453] H. F. B. Wheeler and A. M. Broadley, "Napoleon and the Invasion of
+England," ch. ii, have proved this.
+
+[454] "Parl. Hist.," xxxiii, 473-516; "Hist. of the Mutiny at Spithead
+and the Nore" (Lond. 1842), 61-2; "Dropmore P.," iii, 323.
+
+[455] Pitt MSS., 102. Lord Mornington deemed the surrender to the seamen
+destructive of all discipline in the future ("Buckingham P.," i, 373).
+
+[456] Holland, i, 84-91.
+
+[457] "H. O.," Geo. III (Domestic), 137.
+
+[458] "Report of the Comm. of Secrecy" (1799), 23; App., v, vi.
+
+[459] From Mr. Broadley's MSS.
+
+[460] Pitt MSS., 189. See, too, "Life of Wilberforce," ii, 217; Windham
+("Diary," 363) saw Williams on and after 13th May.
+
+[461] J. Corbett, "England in the Seven Years' War," i, 191.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XV
+
+ NATIONAL REVIVAL
+
+ A common feeling of danger has produced a common spirit of
+ exertion, and we have cheerfully come forward with a surrender
+ of part of our property, not merely for recovering ourselves,
+ but for the general recovery of mankind.--PITT, _Speech of 3rd
+ December 1798_.
+
+
+The desire of Pitt for peace with France led him in the autumn of 1796
+to renew more formally the overtures which he had instituted early in
+that year. His first offer was repelled in so insolent a way that the
+King expressed annoyance at its renewal being deemed necessary to call
+forth the spirit of the British lion. Pitt, however, despatched Lord
+Malmesbury on a special mission to Paris; and the slowness of his
+journey, due to the bad roads, led Burke to remark: "No wonder it was
+slow; for he went all the way on his knees." Pitt's terms were by no
+means undignified. He offered that France should keep San Domingo and
+her conquests in Europe except those made from Austria. The French
+reverses in Swabia and the check to Bonaparte at Caldiero made the
+French Directory complaisant for a time; but his victory at Arcola (17th
+November), the death of the Czarina Catharine, and the hope of
+revolutionizing Ireland, led it to adopt an imperious tone. Its
+irrevocable resolve to keep Belgium and the Rhine boundary appeared in a
+curt demand to Malmesbury, either to concede that point or to quit Paris
+within forty-eight hours (19th December).[462]
+
+It argued singular hopefulness in Pitt that, despite the opposition of
+the King, he should make a third effort for peace in the summer of the
+year 1797, when the loyalty of the fleet was open to grave doubt, when
+rebellion raised its head in Ireland, and Bonaparte had beaten down the
+last defences of Austria; but so early as 9th April he urged on George
+the need of making pacific overtures to Paris, seeing that Austria was
+at the end of her resources and seemed on the point of accepting the
+French terms. The untoward events of the next weeks deepened his
+convictions; and to a letter of the Earl of Carlisle, pressing on him
+the urgent need of peace, he replied as follows:
+
+ [_Draft._] _Private._
+ Downing St., _4 June 1797_.[463]
+
+ I can also venture to assure you that I feel not less strongly
+ than yourself the expediency of taking every step towards peace
+ that can be likely to effect the object, consistent with the
+ safety and honour of the country; and I have no difficulty in
+ adding (for your _private_ satisfaction) that steps are taken of
+ the most direct sort, and of which we must soon know the result,
+ to ascertain whether the disposition of the enemy will admit of
+ negotiation. On this point the last accounts from Paris seem to
+ promise favourably. You will have the goodness to consider the
+ fact of a step having been actually taken, as confidentially
+ communicated to yourself.
+
+Three days previously Pitt had sent to Paris suggestions for peace.
+Delacroix, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose asperities were so
+unbearable in 1796, now replied with courtesy. Pitt therefore
+persevered, declaring it to be his duty as a Christian and a patriot to
+end so terrible a war. On the other hand Grenville pronounced the
+negotiation mischievous at the present crisis, when the French
+Government would certainly proffer intolerable demands. Much, it was
+true, could be said in favour of concluding peace before Austria
+definitely came to terms with France; and if Russia and Prussia had
+shown signs of mediating in our favour, the negotiation might have had a
+favourable issue. But neither of those Courts evinced good-will, and
+that of Berlin angered Grenville. He therefore strongly opposed the
+overture to France, and herein had the support of the three Whig
+Ministers, Portland, Spencer, and Windham. The others sided with Pitt,
+Lord Liverpool after some hesitation. On 15th June there were two long
+and stormy meetings of the Cabinet, the latter lasting until midnight;
+but on the morrow, the day after the collapse of the Nore Mutiny, the
+Cabinet endorsed the views of Pitt. Thereupon Grenville entered a
+written protest, and wrote to the King, stating that he would offer his
+resignation if the times were not so critical. George thanked him, and
+in a highly significant phrase urged him to remain at his post so as "to
+stave off many farther humiliations."[464]
+
+Malmesbury proceeded to Lille and entered into negotiations with the
+French plenipotentiaries, Letourneur, Pléville, and Maret. The last was
+he who came on a fruitless errand to London in January 1793, and finally
+became Duc de Bassano, and Foreign Minister under Napoleon. It soon
+appeared that the only hope of peace lay in the triumph of the Moderates
+over the Jacobins at Paris. The former, who desired peace, and had an
+immense majority in the country, at first had the upper hand in the
+Chambers. They were willing to give up some of the French conquests on
+the Rhine and in the Belgic Provinces, if their distracted and nearly
+bankrupt country gained the boon of peace. Their opponents, weak in
+numbers, relied on the armies, and on the fierce fanaticism which clung
+alike to the principles and the conquests of the Jacobins. Pitt was
+willing to meet France half-way. He consented to leave her in possession
+of her "constitutional" frontiers, _i.e._, Belgium, Luxemburg, Avignon,
+Savoy, and Nice, besides restoring to her and her allies all naval
+conquests, except the Cape of Good Hope and Trinidad. Ceylon, a recent
+conquest, was to be reserved for exchange. So far, but no farther, Pitt
+consented to go in his desire for peace. Later on he assured Malmesbury
+that he would have given way either on Ceylon or the Cape of Good Hope.
+But this latter concession would have galled him deeply; for, as we
+shall see, he deemed the possession of the Cape essential to British
+interests in the East. Spain's demand for Gibraltar he waived aside as
+wholly inadmissible, thus resuming on this question the attitude which
+he had taken up in the years 1782-3.[465]
+
+Far though Pitt went on the path of conciliation, he did not satisfy
+the haughty spirits dominant at Paris. It was soon evident that the only
+means of satisfying them were subterranean; and a go-between now offered
+himself. An American, Melvill, who claimed to be on intimate terms with
+the most influential persons at Paris, assured Malmesbury that he could
+guarantee the concession of the desired terms, on consideration of the
+payment of £450,000 to the leading men at Paris. Malmesbury at first
+believed in Melvill's sincerity and sent him over to see Pitt. They had
+some interviews at Holwood at the close of August, apparently to the
+satisfaction of the Prime Minister; for, after referring the proposal to
+Grenville, he laid it before the King. His reply, dated Weymouth, 9th
+September, advised a wary acceptance of the terms, provided that France
+also gave up her claim of indemnity for the ships taken or burnt at
+Toulon in 1793.
+
+The King did not then know of the _coup d'état_ of Fructidor 18 (4th
+September), whereby Augereau, the right hand of Bonaparte, coerced the
+Moderates and installed the Jacobins in power. The work was done with
+brutal thoroughness, prominent opponents being seized and forthwith
+deported, while the triumphant minority annulled the elections in
+forty-nine Departments, and by unscrupulous pressure compelled voters to
+endorse the _fiat_ of the army. Thus did France plunge once more into a
+Reign of Terror, and without the golden hopes which had made the former
+experiment bearable. Such was virtually the end of parliamentary
+government in France. It is indeed curious that critics of Pitt, who
+label his repressive measures a "Reign of Terror," bestow few words of
+regret on the despicable acts of the "Fructidorians," whose policy of
+leaden repression at home and filibustering raids abroad made the name
+of Liberty odious to her former devotees.
+
+The new tyrants at Paris withheld all news of the _coup d'état_ until
+they could override the policy of the French plenipotentiaries at Lille.
+There it seemed probable that peace might ensue, when, on 9th September,
+the first authentic news of Augereau's violence arrived. Even so, Pitt
+hoped that the triumphant faction would be inclined to enjoy their
+success in peace. It was not to be. A member of the French embassy at
+Lille discerned far more clearly the motives now operating at Paris,
+that the new Directory, while making peace with Austria, would continue
+the war with England in order to have a pretext for keeping up its
+armies and acquiring compensations. In any case the successors of the
+pacific trio with whom Malmesbury had almost come to terms, demanded
+that England should restore every possession conquered from the French
+or their allies. This implied the surrender of the Cape, Ceylon, and
+Trinidad, besides minor places on which Pitt and his colleagues held
+firm. Brief discussions took place, Malmesbury continuing to show tact
+and good temper; but on Sunday, 17th September, the French
+plenipotentiaries requested him, if he could not grant their demands, to
+leave Lille within twenty-four hours. He departed early on Monday,
+reached London by noon of Wednesday, and saw Grenville and Canning
+immediately. Pitt, owing to news of the death of his brother-in-law,
+Eliot, was too prostrate with grief to see him until the morrow. It then
+appeared that the Directory on 11th September issued a secret order to
+its plenipotentiaries to send off Malmesbury within twenty-four hours if
+he had not full powers to surrender all Britain's conquests.[466]
+
+Even now there was a glimmer of hope. By some secret channel, Melvill,
+O'Drusse, or else Boyd the banker, Pitt received the startling offer,
+that Talleyrand, if he remained in favour at Paris, could assure to
+England the Dutch settlements in question if a large enough sum were
+paid over to Barras, Rewbell, and their clique. Pitt clutched at this
+straw, and on 22nd September wrote to the King, stating that for
+£1,200,000 we could retain Ceylon, and for £800,000 the Cape of Good
+Hope. While withholding the name of the intermediaries, known only to
+himself and Dundas, he strongly urged that £2,000,000 be paid down when
+a treaty in this sense was signed with France, provided that that sum
+could be presented to Parliament under the head of secret service.
+George, now at Windsor, cannot have been pleased that Pitt and Dundas
+had a state secret which was withheld for him; but he replied on the
+morrow in terms, part of which Earl Stanhope did not publish. "I am so
+thoroughly convinced of the venality of that nation [France] and the
+strange methods used by its Directors in carrying on negotiations that I
+agree with him [Pitt] in thinking, strange as the proposal appears, that
+it may be not without foundation."
+
+George, then, was more sceptical than Pitt; and Grenville and
+Malmesbury soon had cause to believe the offer to be merely an effort of
+certain Frenchmen to speculate in the English funds. Nothing came of the
+matter. Melvill, O'Drusse, and Talleyrand on the French side, and Boyd
+in London, seem to have been the wire-pullers in this affair, which was
+renewed early in October; it may have been only a "bull" operation. The
+secret is hard to fathom; but Pitt and Dundas were clearly too
+credulous. Such was the conclusion of Malmesbury. It tallied with the
+pronouncement of Windham, who in one of his captious moods remarked to
+Malmesbury that Pitt had no knowledge of the world, and kept in office
+by making concessions, and by "tiding it over." Grenville (he said)
+thought more of the nation's dignity, but was almost a recluse. In fact,
+the Cabinet was ruled by Dundas, whom Grenville hated. Dundas it was who
+had sacrificed Corsica, which involved the loss of Italy.[467] Windham
+of course detested the author of the colonial expeditions, which had
+diverted help from the Bretons. In the Chouans alone he saw hope; for
+how could England struggle on alone against France if she could use all
+the advantages offered by Brest and Cherbourg?
+
+Much can be said in support of these contentions; for now that the
+Directory threw away the scabbard, England felt the need of the stout
+Bretons, whose armies had become mere predatory bands. The last
+predictions of Burke were therefore justified. That once mighty
+intellect expended its last flickering powers in undignified gibes at
+the expense of Pitt and his regicide peace. Fate denied to him the
+privilege of seeing Malmesbury again expelled from France and whipped
+back "like a cur to his kennel." The great Irishman passed away, amidst
+inconceivable gloom, in his 68th year, at Beaconsfield (8th July 1797).
+In the view of Windham and other extreme Royalists, Burke was wholly
+right, and Pitt's weakness was the cause of all his country's ills.
+
+We may grant that the summer of the year 1797 was one of the worst
+possible times in which to open a negotiation with triumphant France;
+for she was certain to exact hard terms from a power whose credit and
+whose prestige at sea had grievously suffered. Nevertheless, the
+mistake, if mistake it was, is venial when compared with the
+unstatesmanlike arrogance of the French Directors, who, when an
+advantageous and brilliant peace was within their reach, chose to open
+up a new cycle of war. Of late France had made use of the pretext that
+she must gain her "natural frontiers"--the Rhine, the Alps, the
+Pyrenees, and the Ocean--for the sake of security against the old
+dynasties. By rejecting Pitt's overtures, her leaders now proclaimed
+their resolve to dominate Italy and Germany and to secure supremacy at
+sea. Their intrigues with British malcontents and the United Irishmen
+also showed their determination to revolutionize our institutions. Thus
+England was to be abased and insulted, while France lorded it over all
+her neighbours and prepared to become mistress of the seas. The war
+therefore ceased to be in any sense a war of principle, and became for
+France a struggle for world-wide supremacy, for England a struggle for
+national existence; and while democratic enthusiasm waned at Paris, the
+old patriotic spirit revived everywhere in Great Britain. The newspapers
+were full of appeals for unanimity; and on 20th November appeared the
+first number of that bright and patriotic paper, the "Anti-Jacobin,"
+under the editorship of Canning and Hookham Frere, which played no small
+part in arousing national ardour. On the next day the French Directory
+issued an appeal to France to bestir herself to overthrow the British
+power, and to dictate peace at London.
+
+There was need of unanimity; for while France was stamping out revolt,
+and Great Britain felt increasingly the drag of Ireland, Pitt
+encountered an antagonist of unsuspected strength. Over against his
+diffuse and tentative policy stood that of Bonaparte, clear-cut, and for
+the present everywhere victorious. While Pitt pursued that will o' the
+wisp, a money-bought peace, the Corsican was bullying the Austrian
+negotiators at Udine and Campo Formio. Finally his gasconnades carried
+the day; and on 17th October Austria signed away her Netherlands to
+France and her Milanese and Mantuan territories to the newly created
+Cisalpine Republic. Bonaparte and the Emperor, however, agreed to
+partition the unoffending Venetian State, the western half of which went
+to the Cisalpines, the eastern half, along with Venice, Istria, and
+Dalmatia, to the Hapsburgs. The Court of Vienna struggled hard to gain
+the Ionian Islands; but on these, and on Malta, the young general had
+set his heart as the natural stepping-stones to Egypt. At the close of
+the year he returned to Paris in triumph, and was invited by the
+Director, Barras, to go and conquer England.
+
+Some such effort, either directly against London, or by a deadly
+ricochet through Ireland, would have been made, had not Duncan, on 11th
+October, crushed the Dutch off Camperdown, taking nine ships out of
+fifteen. The consequences were far reaching. The Dutch navy was
+paralysed; and without it the squadrons at Cherbourg and Brest were not
+yet strong enough to attack our coasts, until the Toulon and Cadiz
+fleets sailed northwards. Bonaparte, who was sent to survey the ports in
+Flanders and the north of France, reported to the Directory on 23rd
+February 1798 that there were fitting out at Brest only ten
+sail-of-the-line, which moreover had no crews, and that the preparations
+were everywhere so backward as to compel Government to postpone the
+invasion until 1799. The wish was father to that thought. Already he had
+laid his plans to seize Egypt, and now strongly advised the orientation
+of French policy. A third possible course was the closing of all
+continental ports against England, an adumbration of the Continental
+System of 1806-13 for assuring the ruin of British commerce.
+
+The news of Camperdown and Campo Formio added vigour to Pitt's appeal
+for national union in his great speech of 10th November, in which he
+gave proofs of the domineering spirit of the party now triumphant at
+Paris. Very telling, also, was his taunt at the Whig press, "which knows
+no other use of English liberty but servilely to retail and transcribe
+French opinions." Sinclair, who had moved a hostile amendment, was so
+impressed as to withdraw it; and thus at last the violence of the French
+Jacobins conduced to harmony at Westminster.
+
+Already there were signs that the struggle was one of financial
+endurance. At the close of November 1797 Pitt appealed to the patriotism
+of Britons to raise £25,500,000 for the estimated expenses of the next
+year, in order to display the wealth and strength of the kingdom. He
+therefore proposed to ask the Bank of England to advance £3,000,000 on
+Exchequer bills; and he urged the propertied classes to submit to the
+trebling of the Assessed Taxes on inhabited houses, windows, male
+servants, horses, carriages, etc. The trebling of these imposts took the
+House by surprise, and drew from Tierney, now, in the absence of Fox,
+the leader of Opposition, the taunt that Pitt had to cringe to the Bank
+for help. A few days later Pitt explained that the triple duty would
+fall only upon those who already paid £3 or more on that score. If the
+sum paid were less than £1 it would be halved. Those who paid £3 or more
+would be charged at an increasing rate, until, when the sum paid
+exceeded £50, the amount would be quadrupled. Nor was this all. By a
+third Resolution he outlined the scheme of what was in part a
+progressive Income Tax. Incomes under £60 were exempt; those between £60
+and £65 paid at the rate of 2_d._ in the pound; and the proportion rose
+until it reached 2_s._ in the pound for incomes of £200 or more.
+
+Though Pitt pointed out the need of a patriotic rejoinder to the threats
+of the French Government, the new Assessed Taxes aroused a furious
+opposition. "The chief and almost only topic of conversation is the new
+taxes," wrote Theresa Parker to Lady Stanley of Alderley. "How people
+are to live if the Bill is passed I know not. I understand the
+Opposition are much elated with the hope of the Bill's being passed, as
+they consider Mr. Pitt infallibly ruined if it does, and that he must go
+out."[468] The patriotism of London equalled that of the Foxites. City
+men, forgetting that the present proposals were due to the shameless
+evasions of the Assessed Taxes, raised a threatening din, some of them
+declaring that Pitt would be assaulted if he came into the City. Several
+supporters of Pitt, among them the Duke of Leeds, Sir William Pulteney
+and Henry Thornton, opposed the new imposts, and the Opposition was
+jubilantly furious. Sheridan, who returned to the fray, declared that
+though the poor escaped these taxes they would starve; for the wealth
+which employed them would be dried up. Hobhouse dubbed the Finance Bill
+inquisitorial, degrading, and fatal to the virtues of truthfulness and
+charity. Squires bemoaned the loss of horses and carriages and the hard
+lot of their footmen. Arthur Young warned Pitt that if the taxes could
+not be evaded, gentlemen must sell their estates and live in town. Bath,
+he was assured, welcomed the new imposts because they would drive very
+many families thither. He begged Pitt to reconsider his proposals, and,
+instead of them, to tax "all places of public diversion, public dinners,
+clubs, etc., not forgetting debating societies and Jacobin meetings";
+for this would restrain "that violent emigration to towns, which the
+measure dreadfully threatens."[469]
+
+A sign of the hopes of the Opposition was the re-appearance of Fox.
+Resuming his long vacant seat, he declared Pitt to be the author of the
+country's ruin. For himself, he upheld the funding system, that is, the
+plan of shelving the debt upon the future. The palm for abusiveness was,
+however, carried off by Nicholls and Jekyll. The former taunted Pitt
+with losing all his Allies and raising France to undreamt-of heights of
+power, with failing to gain peace, with exhausting the credit and the
+resources of England until now he had to requisition men's incomes. As
+for Jekyll, he called the present proposals "a detestable measure of
+extortion and rapacity." The debates dragged on, until, after a powerful
+reply by Pitt in the small hours of 5th January 1798 the Finance Bill
+passed the Commons by 196 to 71. The Lords showed a far better spirit.
+Carrington declared that Pitt's proposals did not go far enough. Lord
+Holland in a maiden speech pronounced them worse than the progressive
+taxes of Robespierre. But Liverpool, Auckland, and Grenville supported
+the measure, which passed on 9th January 1798 by 75 to 6.
+
+For a time the Finance Bill injured Pitt's popularity in the City.
+During the State procession on 19th December 1797, when the King, Queen,
+and Ministers went to St. Paul's to render thanks for the naval triumphs
+of that year, he was hooted by the mob; and on the return his carriage
+had to be guarded by a squadron of horse. Nevertheless, it is now clear
+that Pitt's proposals were both necessary and salutary. The predictions
+of commercial ruin were soon refuted by the trade returns. Imports in
+1798 showed an increase of £6,844,000 over those of 1797; exports, an
+increase of £3,974,000. In part, doubtless, these gratifying results may
+be ascribed to renewed security at sea, the bountiful harvest of 1798,
+and the recent opening up of trade to Turkey and the Levant. But, under
+a vicious fiscal system, trade would not have recovered from the severe
+depression of 1797. Amidst all the troubles of the Irish Rebellion of
+1798, Pitt derived comfort from the signs of returning prosperity.
+
+The confidence which he inspired was proved by the success of a
+remarkable experiment, the Patriotic Contribution. In the midst of the
+acrid debates on the Finance Bill, the Speaker, Addington, tactfully
+suggested the insertion of a clause enabling the Bank of England to
+receive voluntary gifts, amounting to one-fifth of the income. Pitt
+gratefully adopted the proposal, and early in the year 1798 patriots
+began to send in large sums. Pitt, Addington, Dundas, the Lord
+Chancellor, and Lords Kenyon and Romney at once gave £2,000 each; the
+King graciously allotted from the Privy Purse £20,000 a year during the
+war. The generous impulse speedily prevailed, and the City once more
+showed its patriotism by subscribing £10,000; the Bank gave £200,000. A
+platform was erected near the Royal Exchange for the receipt of
+contributions. Among others, a wealthy calico printer, Robert Peel,
+father of the statesman, felt the call of duty to give £10,000. He went
+back to Bury (Lancashire) in some anxiety to inform his partner, Yates,
+of this unbusinesslike conduct, whereupon the latter remarked, "You
+might as well have made it £20,000 while you were about it." If all
+Britons had acted in this spirit, the new taxes would have met the needs
+of the war. But, as will subsequently appear, they failed to balance the
+ever growing expenditure, and Pitt in 1799-1800 had to raise loans on
+the security of the Income Tax to make up its deficiencies.
+
+A pleasing proof of the restoration of friendship between Auckland and
+Pitt appears in a letter in which the former asked advice as to the
+amount which he should give to this fund. He was now Postmaster-General,
+and stated that his total gross income was £3,600, out of which the new
+taxes took £320. Should he give £1,000? And what should he give for his
+brother, Morton Eden, ambassador at Vienna? Pitt answered that £700
+should be the utmost for him; the sum of £500 for Morton would also be
+generous.[470] On the whole, £2,300,000 was subscribed--a sum which
+contrasts remarkably with the driblets that came in as a response to
+Necker's appeal in the autumn of 1789 for a patriotic contribution of
+one fourth of the incomes of Frenchmen.
+
+Even so, Pitt had to impose new taxes in his Budget of 1798, and to
+raise a loan of £3,000,000. Further, on 2nd April, he proposed a
+commutation of the Land Tax. Of late it had been voted annually at the
+rate of 4_s._ in the pound, and produced about £2,000,000. Pitt now
+proposed to make it a perpetual charge upon parishes, but to enable
+owners to redeem their land from the tax at the existing valuation. The
+sums accruing from these sales were to go to the reduction of the
+National Debt. His aim, that of enhancing credit, was as praiseworthy as
+his procedure was defective. For there had been no valuation of the land
+for many years, and the assessments varied in the most surprising manner
+even in neighbouring districts. Doubtless it was impossible during the
+Great War to carry out the expensive and lengthy process of a national
+valuation; but, as manufactures and mining were creating a new
+Industrial England, the time was most unsuited to the imposition of a
+fixed quota of Land Tax.
+
+Nevertheless, Pitt took as basis the assessment of 1797, and made it a
+perpetual charge upon each parish. The results have in many cases been
+most incongruous. Agricultural land, which was generally rated high,
+continued to pay at that level long after depreciation set in. On the
+other hand, large tracts in the manufacturing districts, rapidly
+increasing in value, paid far less than their due share. In some cases
+where a barren moor has become a hive of industry, the parish now raises
+its quota by a rate of .001 in the pound. In a few cases, where the fall
+in value has been severe, the rate is very heavy, in spite of remedial
+legislation. Pitt could not have foreseen differences such as these;
+but, in view of the rapid growth of manufactures in the Midlands and
+North, he should have ensured either a re-valuation of the parochial
+quotas or a complete and methodical redemption from the Land Tax. He
+took neither course, and that, too, in spite of the warnings of Lord
+Sheffield and Sinclair as to the injustice and impolicy of his
+proposals. They passed both Houses by large majorities, perhaps because
+he offered to landlords the option of redeeming their land at twenty
+years' purchase. Less than one fourth of the tax was redeemed before the
+year 1800, a fact which seems to show that the landed interest was too
+hard pressed to profit by the opportunity. As Sir Francis Burdett said,
+country gentlemen had to bear a heavy burden of taxation, besides
+poor-rates, tithes, and the expense of the mounted yeomanry. Thurlow
+compared the country magnates to sheep who let themselves be shorn and
+re-shorn, whereas merchants and traders were like hogs, grunting and
+bolting as soon as one bristle was touched. In defence of Pitt's action,
+it may be said that he hoped to secure a considerable gain by the
+investment of the purchase money in Consols and to enhance their value;
+but it appears that not more than £80,000 a year was thus realized.[471]
+
+The prevalence of discontent early in 1798 and the threatened coalition
+of Irish and British malcontents will be noticed in the following
+chapter. Pitt was so impressed by the danger as to press for the
+suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act and the renewal of the Aliens Act
+(April 1798). As happened in 1794, the revival of coercion produced
+vehement protests. Already the Duke of Norfolk had flung defiance at
+Ministers. Presiding at a great banquet held at the Crown and Anchor, on
+the occasion of Fox's birthday, 24th January, he not only compared the
+great orator to Washington, but hinted that the 2,000 men present might
+do as much as Washington's handful had done in America. Finally he
+proposed the distinctly Jacobinical toast, "Our Sovereign, the Majesty
+of the People." For this he was dismissed from the command of a militia
+regiment and from the Lord Lieutenancy of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
+
+Fox chose to repeat the toast early in May 1798, when large parts of
+Ireland were on the brink of revolt. In so dire a crisis it behoved a
+leading man to weigh his words. But the wilful strain in his nature set
+all prudence at defiance. Thereupon several of Pitt's friends
+recommended a public prosecution for sedition, or at least a reprimand
+at the bar of the House of Commons. To the former course Pitt objected
+as giving Fox too much consequence, besides running the risk of an
+acquittal; but he saw some advantage in the latter course; for (as he
+wrote to Dundas) Fox, when irritated by the reprimand, would probably
+offer a new insult and could then be sent to the Tower for the rest of
+the Session. The suggestion is perhaps the pettiest in the whole of
+Pitt's correspondence; but probably it was due to the extremely grave
+situation in Ireland and the fear of a French invasion. Further, Fox had
+ceased to attend the House of Commons; and a member who shirks his duty
+is doubly guilty when he proposes a seditious toast. Pitt, however, did
+not push matters to extremes, and the course actually adopted was the
+removal of the name of Fox from the Privy Council by the hand of
+George III on 9th May.
+
+Sixteen days later, Pitt and Tierney had a passage of arms in the
+House. That pugnacious Irishman had thrust himself to the fore during
+the secession of Fox and other prominent Whigs from the House, and had
+to bear many reproaches for his officiousness. He also nagged at Pitt at
+every opportunity, until, on his opposing a motion of urgency for a Bill
+for better manning the Navy, Pitt's patience gave way. He accused the
+self-constituted leader of seeking to obstruct the defence of the
+country. The charge was in the main correct; for Tierney's opposition to
+a pressing measure of national defence was highly unpatriotic.
+Nevertheless, Tierney had right on his side when he called Pitt to order
+and appealed to the Speaker for protection. Rarely has that personage
+been placed in a more difficult position. Pitt was right in his facts;
+but etiquette required that he should withdraw or at least attenuate his
+charge. Addington politely hinted that the words were unparliamentary,
+but suggested that the Minister should give an explanation. Pitt stiffly
+refused either to withdraw his words, or to explain their meaning. There
+the incident closed. On the next day, Saturday, 26th May, Tierney sent
+Pitt a challenge, which was at once accepted.
+
+We find it difficult now to take seriously a duel between a slim man of
+near forty who had rarely fired a shot in sport, never in anger, and a
+stoutly built irascible Irishman, for whom a good shot meant lynching or
+lasting opprobrium. Visions of Bob Acres and Sir Lucius O'Trigger flit
+before us. We picture Tierney quoting "fighting Bob Acres" as to the
+advantage of a sideways posture; and we wonder whether the seconds, if
+only in regard for their own safety, did not omit to insert bullets. The
+ludicrous side of the affair soon dawned on contemporaries, witness the
+suggestion that in all fairness Pitt's figure ought to be chalked out on
+Tierney's, and that no shot taking effect outside ought to count. But,
+on the whole, people took the incident seriously. Certainly the
+principals did. Pitt made his will beforehand, and requested Addington
+as a friend to come and see him, thereby preventing his interposition as
+Speaker. He asked Steele to be his second; but, he being away from town,
+Dudley Ryder took his place. Leaving Downing Street about noon on
+Whitsunday, 27th May, the pair walked along Birdcage Walk, mounted the
+steps leading into Queen Street, and entered a chaise engaged for their
+excursion. After passing the villages of Chelsea and Putney, and,
+topping the rise beyond, they proceeded along the old Portsmouth Road,
+which crosses the northern part of Putney Heath. At the top of the steep
+hill leading down into Kingston Vale they alighted, made their way past
+the gibbet where swung the corpse of a well-known highwayman, Jerry
+Abershaw, long the terror of travellers on that road. Did Pitt know that
+libellers likened him to the highwayman; for "Jerry took purses with his
+pistols, and Pitt with his Parliaments"? Lower down Pitt and Ryder found
+Tierney and his second, General Walpole, in a charming dell radiant with
+golden gorse and silver birches.[472]
+
+But they were not alone. That fine Whitsuntide had brought many chaises
+along the road; and not a few curious persons skirted the rising ground
+towards Putney and Wimbledon. To these inquisitive groups rode up a tall
+bland-looking man, now more than usually sedate. It was Addington.
+Probably he was the most anxious man alive. He knew that his weakness as
+Speaker had freed Pitt from the necessity of apologizing to Tierney as
+the occasion demanded. Now, too, as Speaker, he ought to intervene. As a
+friend, pledged by Pitt to secrecy, he could do nothing but look on.
+Below, in the dell, the seconds saw to the pistols and measured the
+distance--twelve paces. Pitt and Tierney coolly took aim, and, at the
+signal, fired. Addington's heart must have leaped with joy to see Pitt's
+figure still erect. Again the seconds produced pistols, and again the
+pair fired: but this time Pitt discharged his weapon into the air. Was
+it a sign of his contrition for his insult to Tierney, or of his
+chivalrous sense of Tierney's disadvantage in the matter of
+target-space? Certain it is that Walpole leaped over the furze bushes
+for joy on seeing the duellists still erect.
+
+Thus ended the duel, to the satisfaction of all present. Pitt had
+behaved with spirit, and Tierney had achieved immortal fame. But that
+the duel was fought at all caused deep concern. Hannah More was
+inexpressibly shocked at the desecration of Whitsunday; Wilberforce also
+was deeply pained. Indeed, he deemed the matter so serious as to propose
+to give notice of a motion for preventing duelling; but he dropped it
+on Pitt frankly assuring him that, if carried, it would involve his
+resignation. George III signified to Chatham his decided disapproval,
+and expressed to Pitt a desire that such an incident should never occur
+again. "Public characters," he added, "have no right to weigh alone what
+they owe to themselves; they must consider what they owe to their
+country." Thomas Pitt strongly reprobated the conduct of Tierney in
+challenging Pitt; for we find the latter replying to him on 30th May: "I
+shall feel great concern if the feelings of my friends betray them into
+any observations on Mr. Tierney's conduct reproachful or in the smallest
+degree unfavourable to him, being convinced that he does not merit
+them." This is the letter of a spirited gentleman. Buckingham evidently
+sympathized with Thomas Pitt; for he expressed his surprise that the
+Prime Minister should risk his life against such a man as Tierney. A
+more jocular tone was taken by the Earl of Mornington, soon to become
+the Marquis Wellesley. Writing to Pitt from Fort St. George on 8th
+August 1799 (three months after the capture of Seringapatam), he
+expressed strong approval of his Irish policy and concluded as follows:
+"I send you by Henry a pair of pistols found in the palace at
+Seringapatam. They are mounted in gold and were given by the late King
+of France to the 'citizen Sultan' (Tippoo). They will, I hope, answer
+better for your next Jacobin duel than those you used under Abershaw's
+gibbet."[473]--What became of those pistols?
+
+The general opinion was adverse to Pitt's conduct. For at that time the
+outlook in Ireland could scarcely have been gloomier, and Bonaparte's
+armada at Toulon was believed to be destined for those shores. In such a
+case, despite the nice punctilio of honour, neither ought Tierney to
+have sent a challenge nor Pitt to have accepted it. The recklessness of
+Pitt in this affair is, however, typical of the mood of the British
+people in the spring and summer of that year. The victories of Jervis
+and Duncan, the rejection of Pitt's offers of peace by the French
+Directory, and its threats to invade these shores, aroused the fighting
+spirit of the race. As the war became a struggle for existence, all
+thoughts of surrender vanished. The prevalent feeling was one of
+defiance. It was nurtured by Canning in the "Anti-Jacobin," in which he
+lampooned the French democrats and their British well-wishers. Under
+the thin disguise of "the Friend of Humanity" he satirized Tierney in
+the poem, "The Knife-Grinder," a parody, in form, of Southey's "Widow,"
+and, in meaning, of Tierney's philanthropic appeals. In a play, "The
+Rovers," he sportfully satirized the romantic drama of Schiller, "The
+Robbers." In one of the incidental poems he represented the hero, while
+in prison, recalling the bright days
+
+ at the U-
+ -niversity of Göttingen,
+ -niversity of Göttingen.
+
+Pitt was so charmed with this _jeu d'esprit_ that he is said to have
+added the following verse in the same mock-heroic style:[474]
+
+ Sun, moon, and thou, vain world, adieu,
+ That Kings and priests are plotting in;
+ Here doomed to starve on water gru-
+ -el, never shall I see the U-
+ -niversity of Göttingen,
+ -niversity of Göttingen.
+
+A Prime Minister who can throw off squibs, and a nation that can enjoy
+them, will not succumb even in the worst crisis.
+
+In truth, all patriots were now straining their utmost to repel an
+aggressive and insolent enemy. The Volunteer Movement more than ever
+called forth the manly exertions of the people; and one of the most
+popular caricatures of the time (May 1798) shows Pitt as a Volunteer
+standing rigidly at attention. Sermons, caricatures, pamphlets, and
+songs, especially those of Dibdin, served to stimulate martial ardour.
+Singular to relate, Hannah More (now in her fifty-third year) figured
+among the patriotic pamphleteers, her "Cheap Repository" of political
+tracts being an effective antidote to the Jacobinical leaflets which
+once had a hold on the poorer classes. Space will not admit of an
+account of all the agencies which heralded the dawn of a more resolute
+patriotism. Though the methods were varied, the soul of them all was
+Pitt.[475]
+
+The tone of public opinion astonished that experienced writer, Mallet du
+Pan, who, on coming from the Continent to England, described the change
+of spirit as astounding. There the monarchical States, utterly devoid of
+dignity and patriotism, were squabbling over the details of a shameful
+peace. "Here," he writes in May 1798, "we are in the full tide of war,
+crushed by taxation, and exposed to the fury of the most desperate of
+enemies, but nevertheless security, abundance, and energy reign supreme,
+alike in cottage and palace. I have not met with a single instance of
+nervousness or apprehension. The spectacle presented by public opinion
+has far surpassed my expectation. The nation had not yet learnt to know
+its own strength or its resources. The Government has taught it the
+secret, and inspired it with an unbounded confidence almost amounting to
+presumption." No more striking tribute has been paid by a foreigner to
+the dauntless spirit of Britons. Rarely have they begun a war well; for
+the careless ways of the race tell against the methodical preparation to
+which continental States must perforce submit. England, therefore,
+always loses in the first rounds of a fight. But, if she finds a good
+leader, she slowly and wastefully repairs the early losses. In September
+1797 the French Directory made the unpardonable mistake of compelling
+her to prepare for a war to the knife. Thenceforth the hesitations of
+Pitt, which had weakened his war policy in 1795-6, vanished; and he now
+stood forth as the inspirer of his countrymen in a contest on behalf of
+their national existence and the future independence of Europe.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[462] "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 259-368; "Dropmore P.," iii, 239-42,
+256, 287, 290.
+
+[463] Pitt MSS., 102. See Stanhope, iii, App., for the letters of the
+King and Pitt; "Dropmore P.," iii, 310 _et seq._; also C. Ballot, "Les
+Négociations de Lille," for an excellent account of these overtures and
+the European situation.
+
+[464] See Pitt's letter of 16th June to the King and new letters of
+Grenville in "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies"; "Windham's Diary," 368;
+C. Ballot, _op. cit._, ch. v and App.; Luckwaldt (_vice_ Huffer)
+"Quellen," pt ii, 153, 161, 176, 183.
+
+[465] On 1st August 1797 Wilberforce wrote to Pitt a letter (the last
+part of which is quoted in Chapter XX of my former volume) urging him,
+even if the negotiation failed, to declare on what terms he would resume
+it. In Mr. Broadley's library is a letter of Lord Shelburne to
+Vergennes, dated 13th November 1782, which makes it clear that Pitt in
+1782-3 was wholly against the surrender or the exchange of Gibraltar.
+
+[466] Ballot, _op. cit._, 302, who corrects Thiers, Sorel, and Sciout on
+several points.
+
+[467] "Dropmore P.," iii, 377, 380-2; "Malmesbury Diaries," iii, 590.
+
+[468] "Parl. Hist.," xxxiii, 1076; "The Early Married Life of Lady
+Stanley," 149.
+
+[469] Pitt MSS., 193. Mr. Abbott, afterwards Lord Colchester, differed
+from his patron, the Duke of Leeds, on this question. See "Lord
+Colchester's Diaries," i, 124-31.
+
+[470] B.M. Add. MSS., 34454.
+
+[471] "Parl. Hist.," xxxiii, 1434-54, 1481; "Mems. of Sir John
+Sinclair," i, 310, 311.
+
+[472] Addington's description (Pellew, "Sidmouth," i, 206) fixes the
+spot. Mr. A. Hawkes, in an article in the "Wimbledon Annual" for 1904,
+places it in front of the house called "Scio," but it must be the deeper
+hollow towards Kingston Vale. Caricatures of the time wrongly place the
+duel on the high ground near the windmill. A wag chalked on Abershaw's
+gibbet a figure of the two duellers, Tierney saying: "As well fire at
+the devil's darning-needle."
+
+[473] Pretyman MSS.; "Dropmore P.," iv, 222.
+
+[474] The hero is probably Robert Adair, the Whig "envoy" to St.
+Petersburg in 1791,
+
+ "the youth whose daring soul
+ With _half a mission_ sought the frozen pole."
+
+Pitt's authorship of the lines quoted above is denied by Mr. Lloyd
+Sanders in his Introduction to the "Anti-Jacobin" (Methuen, 1904); but
+his arguments are not conclusive. Lines 370-80 of "New Morality" are
+also said to be by Pitt.
+
+[475] In "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies" I shall describe Pitt's work
+in the national defence. See an excellent account of the popular
+literature of the time in "Napoleon and the Invasion of England," by H.
+F. B. Wheeler and A. M. Broadley, i, ch. vii.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVI
+
+ THE IRISH REBELLION
+
+ The dark destiny of Ireland, as usual, triumphed.--T. MOORE,
+ _Mems. of Lord Edward Fitzgerald_.
+
+
+Various orders of minds ascribe the Irish Rebellion of 1798 to widely
+different causes. The ethnologist sees in it the incompatibility of Celt
+and Saxon. To the geographer it may yield proofs of Nature's design to
+make Ireland a nation. If approached from the religious standpoint, it
+will be set down either to Jesuits or to the great schism of Luther. The
+historian or jurist may trace its origins back to the long series of
+wrongs inflicted by a dominant on a subject race. Fanatical Irishmen see
+in it a natural result of the rule of "the base and bloody Saxon"; and
+Whig historians ascribe it to Pitt's unworthy treatment of that most
+enlightened of Lords-Lieutenant, Earl Fitzwilliam. Passing by the
+remoter causes, I must very briefly notice the last topic.
+
+The appointment of the Whig magnate, Fitzwilliam, to the Irish
+Viceroyalty in 1794 resulted from the recent accession of the "Old
+Whigs," led by the Duke of Portland, to the ministerial ranks. That
+union, as we have seen, was a fertile cause of friction. Fitzwilliam was
+at first President of the Council; but that post did not satisfy the
+nephew and heir of the Marquis of Rockingham. He aspired to the
+Viceroyalty at Dublin; and Portland, who, as Home Secretary, supervised
+Irish affairs, claimed it for him. Pitt consented, provided that a
+suitable appointment could be arranged for the present Viceroy, the Earl
+of Westmorland. This was far from easy. Ultimately the position of
+Master of the Horse was found for him; but, long before this decision
+was formed, Fitzwilliam wrote to the Irish patriot, Grattan, asking him
+and his friends, the Ponsonbys, for their support during his
+Viceroyalty. This move implied a complete change of system at Dublin,
+Grattan and the Ponsonbys having declared for the admission of Roman
+Catholics to the then exclusively Protestant Parliament. True, this
+reform seemed a natural sequel to Pitt's action in according to British
+Catholics the right of public worship and of the construction of schools
+(1791). Further, in 1792, he urged Westmorland to favour the repeal of
+the remaining penal laws against Irish Catholics; but the Dublin
+Parliament decisively rejected the proposal. Nevertheless, in 1793 he
+induced Westmorland to support the extension of the franchise to
+Romanists, a measure which seemed to foreshadow their admission to
+Parliament itself. There is little doubt that Pitt, who then expected
+the war to be short, intended to set the crown to this emancipating
+policy; for even in the dark times that followed he uttered not a word
+which implied permanent hostility to the claims of Catholics. His
+attitude was that of one who awaited a fit opportunity for satisfying
+them.
+
+Unfortunately, the overtures of Fitzwilliam to Grattan and the Ponsonbys
+became known at Dublin, with results most humiliating for Westmorland.
+The exultation of the Ponsonbys and the Opposition aroused the hopes of
+Catholics and the resentment of the more extreme Protestants. Chief
+among the champions of the existing order was the Irish Lord Chancellor,
+Baron Fitzgibbon, afterwards Earl of Clare. A man of keen intellect and
+indomitable will, he swayed the House of Lords, the Irish Bar, and the
+Viceregal councils. It was he who had urged severe measures against the
+new and powerful organization, the United Irishmen, started in Ulster by
+Wolfe Tone, which aimed at banding together men of both religions in a
+solid national phalanx. Scarcely less influential than Fitzgibbon was
+Beresford, the chief of the Revenue Department, whose family connections
+and control of patronage were so extensive as to earn him the name of
+the King of Ireland. Like Fitzgibbon he bitterly opposed any further
+concession to Catholics; and it was therefore believed that the
+dismissal of these two men was a needful preliminary to the passing of
+that important measure. Rumours of sweeping changes began to fly about,
+especially when Grattan came to London, and had interviews with the Lord
+Chancellor. The frequent shifts whereby the Scottish Presbyterian,
+Wedderburn, became the reactionary Lord Loughborough were notorious; and
+it is one of the suspicious features of the Fitzwilliam affair that he,
+now Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, should urge Pitt to treat
+Fitzwilliam with the confidence due to his prospective dignity. The
+Attorney-General, Sir Richard Pepper Arden, sent to Pitt the following
+caution:
+
+ _September 1794._[476]
+
+ ... My wife says she dined the other day with Grattan at the
+ Chancellor's. I am sadly afraid that preferment in Ireland will
+ run too much in favour of those who have not been the most
+ staunch friends of Government; but, pray, for God's sake, take
+ care that the new Lord Lieutenant does not throw the Government
+ back into the hands of Lord Shannon and the Ponsonbys, nor turn
+ out those who behaved well during the King's illness to make way
+ for those who behaved directly the reverse. Excuse my anxiety on
+ this head but I fear there is good reason for it.
+
+Arden was correctly informed. Now or a little later, Fitzwilliam formed
+the resolve to dismiss Fitzgibbon and Beresford. On the other hand, the
+lowering outlook in Holland in the autumn of 1794 induced in Pitt the
+conviction that the time had not yet come for sweeping changes at
+Dublin. Accordingly, late in October, or early in November, he and
+Grenville thoroughly discussed this subject with the newly appointed
+Ministers, Portland, Fitzwilliam, Spencer, and Windham. Grenville's
+account of this conference, which has but recently seen the light,
+refutes the oft repeated statement,[477] that Pitt accorded to
+Fitzwilliam a free hand at Dublin. On the contrary, it was agreed,
+apparently with the full consent of the Viceroy-elect, that he should
+make no change of system.[478] Fully consonant with this decision was
+the reply of Pitt to Sir John Parnell, Grattan, and the two Ponsonbys,
+who in the third week of November 1794 begged him to lower the duties on
+inter-insular imports. While expressing his complete sympathy with their
+request, he declared the present critical time to be inopportune for a
+change which must arouse clamour and prejudice.[479] The conduct of
+Fitzwilliam was far different. Landing near Dublin on 4th January 1795,
+he on the 7th sent Daly to request Beresford to retire from office.
+Beresford refused, and sent off an appeal to his old friend, Auckland,
+with the result that the Cabinet soon met to consider the questions
+aroused by this and other curt dismissals. It being clear that
+Fitzwilliam was working with the Ponsonbys for a complete change of
+system, he was asked to modify his conduct. He refused to do so.
+
+The King now intervened in an unusually incisive manner. He informed
+Pitt that it would be better to recall Fitzwilliam than to allow further
+concessions to Catholics, a subject which was "beyond the decision of
+any Cabinet of Ministers." Accordingly, Fitzwilliam was recalled, his
+departure from Dublin arousing a storm of indignation which bade fair to
+overwhelm the Administration of his successor, Earl Camden.
+
+Such is a brief outline of the Fitzwilliam affair. No event could have
+been more unfortunate. It led Irish patriots and the Whigs at
+Westminster to inveigh against the perfidy and tyranny of Pitt. He was
+unable to publish documents in his own defence, while Fitzwilliam
+crowned his indiscretions by writing two lengthy letters charging the
+Cabinet with breach of faith and Beresford with peculation. Nominally
+private, they were published at Dublin, with the result that Pitt and
+Camden were held up to execration and contempt. On reviewing this
+question, we may conclude that Pitt erred in not procuring from
+Fitzwilliam a written statement that he would make no sweeping changes
+at Dublin, either in regard to men or measures, without the consent of
+the Cabinet. It is, however, clear that Ministers regarded the verbal
+understanding with Fitzwilliam as binding; for Grenville, Portland,
+Spencer, and Windham sided with Pitt in this painful dispute, Portland's
+chilling behaviour to the Earl on his return marking his disapproval of
+his conduct.
+
+Never did a Lord-Lieutenant enter on his duties under auspices more
+threatening than those besetting the arrival of Camden on 31st March
+1795. After the swearing-in ceremony the passions of the Dublin mob
+broke loose. Stones were flung at the carriages of the Primate and
+Fitzgibbon. The rabble then attacked the Speaker's residence and the
+Custom House, and not till two of their number fell dead under a volley
+of the soldiery did the rioters disperse. The rebellion which
+Fitzwilliam predicted on his departure seemed to be at hand.
+
+Camden, on whom this storm was to burst three years later, was not a
+strong man. He entered on his duties doubtfully and before long sent
+requests for his recall on account of his family concerns. He might
+well quail at the magnitude of his task. His instructions bade him by
+all available means discourage the claims of the Catholics, and rally
+the discouraged Protestants. Thereafter he might conciliate the
+Catholics by promising relief for their parochial clergy, the foundation
+of a seminary for the training of their priests, and some measure of
+education for the peasantry. The instructions ended thus: "Moderate,
+soothe, conciliate these jarring spirits. We have great confidence in
+your judgment, firmness, discretion."[480] The despatch refutes the
+oft-repeated assertion that the Ministry sought to inflame the
+animosities of Protestants and Catholics in order to force on the Union.
+That was the outcome of the whole situation; but in the spring of 1795
+Ministers hoped to calm the ferment, which they rightly ascribed to the
+imprudence of Fitzwilliam. Their forecast for a time came true. In the
+first debates at Dublin the lead given by Camden's able Secretary,
+Pelham, served to close the schism in the Protestant ranks. Despite the
+vehement efforts of Grattan, his Bill for the admission of Catholics was
+thrown out by a majority of more than one hundred; and Ireland entered
+once more on the dreary path of reaction.
+
+In the hope of softening the asperities of Irish life, Pitt favoured the
+plan of founding a seminary for the training of Catholic priests in
+Ireland. The proposal was alike one of justice and expediency; of
+justice, because the expense of training Irish priests in foreign
+seminaries had been a sore burden to their co-religionists; and of
+expediency, because the change promised to assuage the anti-British
+prejudices of the priests. Moreover, amidst the sweeping triumph of
+secularism in France and Belgium, most of the seminaries frequented by
+Irish youths had disappeared. The chief objections urged against the
+scheme were the narrowness of view certain to result from the curriculum
+of a semi-monastic institution, and the desirability of educating
+priests at Trinity College along with Protestants. On these grounds we
+must regret Pitt's decision to found a separate training college, albeit
+at first intended for the education of lay youths as well. The
+considerations above set forth, however, prevailed; and the chief
+legislative result of the year 1795 at Dublin was the charter
+establishing Maynooth College. Undoubtedly it was the outcome of Pitt's
+desire to pacify Catholic Ireland; but the unhappy conditions of the
+ensuing period told heavily against success. Indeed, as Wolfe Tone
+predicted, that institution fostered insular patriotism of a somewhat
+narrow type.
+
+The trend of things in the years 1795-7 set steadily towards rebellion.
+The discontent was most threatening among the sturdy Presbyterians of
+Ulster, chafed as they were by the exaction of tithes by the Protestant
+Established Church. The founders and the ablest leaders of the League of
+United Irishmen were Protestants. For a time they aimed merely at a
+drastic measure of Parliamentary Reform similar to that advocated by
+English Radicals. But the disappointment of the hopes of Grattan and
+Irish Whigs in the spring of 1795 exasperated all sections of reformers
+and impelled the League towards revolutionary courses. Sops like
+Maynooth they rejected with scorn; and at the close of that year, after
+the passing of certain repressive measures, their organization became
+secret; they imposed an oath on members and gradually devised means for
+organizing the whole of Ireland in brotherhoods, which by means of
+district and county delegations, carried out the behests of the central
+committee at Dublin.
+
+Yet their system was far from absorbing the whole of the nation. The
+vivacity of the Celt and the hardness of the Saxon tell against close
+union; and where the two races dwell side by side, solidarity is a
+dream. Now, as always, in times of excitement the old animosities burst
+forth. The Catholic peasantry banded together in clubs, known as
+Defenders, to glut their hatred upon Protestant landlords and
+tithe-reaping clergy. Their motives seem in the main to have been
+agrarian rather than religious; but, as in Leinster, Munster, and
+Connaught the dividing lines between landlords and peasants were almost
+identical with those between Protestants and Catholics, the land feud
+became a war of creed. The ensuing horrors, midnight attacks,
+cattle-maiming, and retaliation by armed yeomanry, exerted a sinister
+influence upon Ulster, where the masses were fiercely Protestant.
+Certain of the Catholic villages were ravaged by Protestant Peep o' Day
+Boys, until the Irishry fled in terror to the South or West, there
+wreaking their vengeance upon squires and parsons. By degrees the Peep
+o' Day Boys became known as Orangemen, whose defiant loyalty sometimes
+caused concern to Camden and Pitt; while the Defenders joined the
+better drilled ranks of United Ireland, which therefore became a
+preponderatingly Catholic body.
+
+Thus affairs revolved in the old vicious circle. Feuds, racial,
+religious, and agrarian, rent Ireland asunder. Disputes about land have
+ever sunk deep into the brooding imagination of the Celt; and the
+memories of holdings absorbed, or of tithes pitilessly exacted in lean
+years, now flashed forth in many a deed of incendiarism or outrage. To
+Camden there appeared to be only one means of cure, coercion. An
+Indemnity Act was therefore passed to safeguard squires and yeomen who
+took the law into their own hands. Then followed the Insurrection Act,
+for disarming the disaffected, and the suspension of the Habeas Corpus
+Act for strengthening the arm of the law.
+
+The outcome was that the United Irishmen turned towards France. Even in
+the year 1793 the Republic sent agents into Ireland to stir up revolt.
+Nothing definite came of those efforts, except that a section of Irish
+patriots thenceforth began to strive for separation from Great Britain.
+Early in 1796 Wolfe Tone proceeded to Paris to arrange for the despatch
+of a French auxiliary corps. On 20th April General Clarke, head of the
+Topographical Bureau at the War Office, agreed to send 10,000 men and
+20,000 stand of arms. The mercurial Irishman encountered endless delays,
+and was often a prey to melancholy; but the news of Bonaparte's
+victories in Italy led him to picture the triumph of the French
+Grenadiers in Ireland.[481]
+
+Another interesting figure is that of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Sprung
+from the ancient line of the Geraldines, and son of the Duke of
+Leinster, he plunged into life with the gaiety and bravery of a Celt.
+After serving with distinction in the British army in America he
+returned, became a member of the Irish Parliament, and in 1790 during
+the acute friction with Spain, received from his uncle, the Duke of
+Richmond, an introduction to Pitt, who offered him the command of an
+expedition against Cadiz. Nothing came of the proposal; but the incident
+reveals the esteem in which the chivalrous young officer was held. He
+soon married Pamela, the reputed daughter of the Duke of Orleans and
+Mme. de Genlis, whence he himself was often dubbed "Egalité." The
+repressive policy of Camden made him a rebel; and in May 1796 he made
+his way to Hamburg, hoping to concert plans for a French invasion.
+There he was joined by Arthur O'Connor, who impressed Reinhard with a
+sense of ability and power. Together the two Irishmen travelled to
+Basle, where they induced Barthélemy to favour their scheme. Meanwhile
+the French Directory entered into the plan of Wolfe Tone; the mission of
+Fitzgerald had no direct result, apart from the revelation of his plan
+to a travelling companion, who had been the mistress of a British
+Minister, and now forwarded a description of it to London.[482]
+
+Meanwhile Wolfe Tone had sketched the outline of the enterprise to
+Clarke and General Hoche, predicting to the latter, the commander-elect,
+that he would "amputate the right hand of England for ever."[483] As is
+well known, Hoche's expedition to Bantry Bay at the close of the year
+1796 was an utter failure; and the sterner spirits in Ulster believed
+that the French had designed that it should end so. The malcontents
+therefore relaxed their efforts for a time, until, in the spring
+following, the mutinies in the British fleet aroused new hopes. It seems
+probable that their intrigues had some effect on events at the Nore. In
+quick succession United Ireland despatched to Paris two delegates, named
+Lewins and McNevin, to concert plans for another landing. The Directory
+sent an agent to treat with the League. Fitzgerald met him in London,
+and declared that the Irish Militia and Yeomanry would join the French
+on their landing. The United Irishmen also sought help from Spain.[484]
+
+In Ireland the organisation went on apace until Camden struck sharp
+blows through the military. In the middle of May 1797, when the
+malcontents were excited by news of the second mutiny at Portsmouth,
+they rose in the North, but in three or four engagements the loyal
+Militia and Yeomanry broke up their bands. The South remained quiet, and
+the efforts to seduce the army and Militia were fruitless; but Lord
+Clifden, writing to Abbot on 15th May, predicted a general rising when
+the French attempted a second invasion, as they certainly would.[485] On
+19th June Beresford wrote from Dublin to Auckland, stating that, but for
+the repressive measures and wholesale seizures of arms, not a
+loyalist's head would have been safe.[486] The spring of 1797 was
+indeed a time of great risk. But for the weakness of the Dutch and
+French navies, a landing in Ireland could have taken place with every
+chance of success. As it was, Camden's vigorous measures so far cowed
+the malcontents that the rebellion was deferred for a year. This respite
+probably saved the British Empire. Amidst the financial and naval
+difficulties of the first half of the year 1797, a telling blow struck
+at Ireland could scarcely have failed of success. Rarely were the
+enemies of England so formidable; never were her means of defence so
+weak. Fortunately, no blow was aimed at her until the month of October;
+and then, when the Dutch fleet set out to convoy an expedition to
+Ireland, it was utterly crushed by Duncan at Camperdown. There was
+therefore little risk of an invasion in force after October 1797, the
+very month which saw Napoleon Bonaparte set free from his lengthy
+negotiations with Austria. Verily, if Fortune pressed hard on Pitt at
+Toulon and in Flanders and Hayti, she more than redressed the balance by
+her boons at sea in the year 1797.
+
+Camden's letters to Pitt reveal the imminence of bankruptcy in Ireland
+throughout that year; and it is noteworthy that the loan raised for the
+Irish Government in January and February was the final cause of the Bank
+crisis in London. Even so, the Irish Exchequer was in dire need. On 25th
+April Camden informed Pitt that only £8,000 remained in the Exchequer,
+and he had no means for equipping the troops if the French should land.
+The sum of £200,000 must be sent at once. Such a demand at that time was
+impossible; and not until the end of May could Pitt forward the half of
+that sum, Camden meanwhile borrowing money in Dublin at 8 3/8 per cent.
+On 1st June he wrote to Pitt a confidential letter, laying bare his real
+aims. He urged him to do all in his power to procure peace from France.
+He had recommended this step in April; but now his language was most
+insistent. Assuming that it would be sheer madness to tempt fortune in
+another campaign, he suggested that, if the French terms were too
+onerous, Pitt should leave it to another Prime Minister to frame a
+peace. But whatever happened, Pitt must not lower his dignity by
+conceding Reform and Catholic Emancipation in Great Britain and Ireland.
+If those measures were inevitable, others must carry them. The latter
+would only satisfy the Irish Catholics for a time, their aim being to
+rule the country. The only way of escaping these difficulties was a
+Union of the Parliaments; but he (Camden) could not undertake to carry
+it, still less Catholic Emancipation. Finally he declared the
+Presbyterians of Ulster to be Republicans who would rise _en masse_ if
+the French landed; but if Cornwallis were sent over to lead the troops,
+even that crisis might be overcome.[487]
+
+Pitt received this letter at the height of the mutiny at the Nore. He
+seems to have sent no answer to it: indeed, silence is the best reply to
+such an effusion. Camden's letters to Pitt show that he longed for his
+recall. In that of 16th November 1796 he concluded with the significant
+remark that he looked forward to the time when they would once more live
+as country gentlemen in Kent. Pitt had the same longing; but he never
+wrote a line expressing a desire to leave the tiller at the height of
+the storm. Obviously Camden was weary of his work. Fear seems to have
+been the motive which prompted his proclamation of martial law in
+several counties and the offer of an amnesty to all who would surrender
+their arms before Midsummer 1797. Those enactments, together with the
+brutal methods of General Lake and the soldiery in Ulster and Leinster,
+crushed revolt for the present but kindled a flame of resentment which
+burst forth a year later. As the danger increased, so did the severities
+of the Protestant Yeomanry and Militia. Thus, fear begot rage, and rage
+intensified fear and its offspring, violence. The United Irishmen had
+their revenge. In the summer of 1797 their two delegates, Lewins and
+McNevin, did their utmost to defeat the efforts of Pitt to bring about
+peace with France; and the former had the promise of the Director,
+Barras, that France would never sheathe the sword until Ireland was
+free.[488]
+
+Again Camden begged Pitt to seek the first opportunity of freeing him
+from his duties in order to disentangle his private affairs which were
+in much confusion, the excess of expenditure over income at Dublin being
+a further cause of embarrassment. In fact nothing but a sense of public
+duty, in view of a hostile invasion, kept him at his post. So far from
+the truth are those who, without knowledge of the inner motives of
+statesmen, accuse them of delight in cruelty and of intriguing to
+provoke a revolt.
+
+Early in the year 1798 the hopes of malcontents centred in the naval
+preparations progressing at Brest and Toulon.[489] Bonaparte also seemed
+about to deal a blow at London. In February he surveyed the flotilla at
+Dunkirk and neighbouring ports; and the hearts of English Jacobins beat
+high at the thought of his landing in Kent or Sussex. The London
+Corresponding Society, after a time of suspended animation, had now
+become a revolutionary body. On 30th January its new secretaries,
+Crossfield and Thomas Evans, issued an encouraging address to the United
+Irishmen. Somewhat later Evans and Binns formed a society, the United
+Englishmen, which imposed on its members an oath to learn the use of
+arms, its constitution in local, or baronial, committees being modelled
+on that of the United Irishmen. A society of United Scotsmen was founded
+about the same time; a society of United Britons also came to being, and
+issued a fraternal address to the United Irishmen on 5th January.
+
+Most significant of these effusions is one, dated 6 Pluviôse An VI [25th
+January 1798], by "the Secret Committee of England" to the French
+Directory, containing the assurance that Pitt had come to the end of his
+borrowing powers and that the people were ready to throw off his yoke.
+"United as we are," it concluded, "we now only await with impatience to
+see the Hero of Italy and the brave veterans of the great Nation.
+Myriads will hail their arrival with shouts of joy: they will soon
+finish the glorious campaign." This address was drawn up fourteen days
+before Bonaparte set out for Dunkirk. It is clear, then, that its
+compilers were not so ignorant as that consequential tailor, Francis
+Place, represented them. Their chief mistake lay in concluding that
+Bonaparte intended to "leap the ditch." As we now know, his tour on the
+northern coast was intended merely to satisfy the Directors and
+encourage the English and Irish malcontents to risk their necks, while
+he made ready his armada at Toulon for the Levant.[490] Meanwhile the
+United Britons and United Irishmen sought to undermine Pitt's Government
+so that it might fall with a crash at the advent of the hero of Italy.
+They knew not that the chief efforts of the "soldiers of liberty" were
+then being directed to the pillage of Rome and of the cantonal
+treasuries of Switzerland in order to provide funds for Bonaparte's
+oriental adventure.
+
+Already Irish, English, and French democrats had been fraternizing. In
+January 1798 the United Englishmen sent over two delegates to Dublin to
+concert action, and about the same time a priest of Dundalk, named
+O'Coigly (_Anglicé_ Quigley), came over from Ireland as a delegate from
+the United Irishmen to Evans's Society. Place asserts that his plan of
+proceeding to France was not known. But, as Place habitually toned down
+or ridiculed the doings of that Society, this is doubtful. Owing to
+secret information (probably from Turner, a British spy at Hamburg) the
+Government arrested Quigley, Arthur O'Connor, and Binns, a leading
+member of the London Corresponding Society, at Margate as they were
+about to board a hoy for France (28th February). A little later Colonel
+Despard, Bonham, and Evans were arrested. The evidence against all but
+Quigley was not conclusive, and they were released. The case against
+Quigley depended on a paper found by a police officer in his pocket,
+urging a French invasion of England. He was therefore condemned for high
+treason and was hanged on 7th June 1798. Probably Quigley had that paper
+from a London Society; but if so, why were not its officials seized? In
+some respects the Quigley affair still remains a mystery. Certainly it
+added fuel to the hatred felt for Pitt by British and Irish
+Jacobins.[491]
+
+The evidence against O'Connor was weighty. It was proved that he was the
+leader of the party and that he knew Quigley well. He had a cipher in
+his possession, which was surely superfluous if, as he stated, he was
+travelling on private business. Probably his acquittal was due to his
+relationship to Lord Longueville, an influential Irish peer. Fox,
+Sheridan, and the Duke of Norfolk also proceeded to Maidstone to answer
+for the virtuous and patriotic character of O'Connor, a fact which
+probably led the judge to give a strangely favourable summing-up. The
+conduct of the Opposition leaders in this matter led their former
+comrade, the Earl of Carlisle, to declare that they had now sunk to a
+lower political hell than any yet reached. The Government, however, had
+not done with O'Connor. He was at once arrested at Maidstone on another
+charge (22nd May), and was in prison in Dublin during the rebellion. He
+then confessed that he had done more than any one to organize Leinster
+for revolt, also that he had had conferences with French generals with a
+view to invasion so far back as 1793; and he stated that he knew the
+member of the United Irishmen who in the winter of 1796 advised the
+French not to come until the spring of 1797.[492] There certainly was
+some misunderstanding between the Irish rebels and their would-be
+helpers; but the full details are not known. Finally O'Connor was
+allowed to retire to France; he became a French general, and helped
+Napoleon to concert plans for the invasion of Ireland, assuring him
+that, after the work of liberation was done, 200,000 Irishmen would help
+him to conquer England.
+
+Meanwhile further news respecting the Franco-Irish plans reached Pitt
+through a man named Parish at Hamburg. An American friend of his at
+Brussels, while waiting at the municipal office for passports, saw those
+of two young Irishmen, named O'Finn, delegates of the United Irishmen of
+Cork. They had a large packet for the Directory at Paris, which
+contained the plans of the United Irishmen, the numbers and positions of
+the British troops and of the British warships between Dungeness and the
+North Foreland. The O'Finns stated this to the commissary of the
+Brussels bureau, who heard it with joy. The American secretly forwarded
+the news to Parish. The fact that the O'Finns had a list of the forces
+on the Kentish coast implied information from the English malcontents.
+Accordingly, on 19th April, Government seized the papers of the London
+Corresponding Society. They contained nothing of importance except the
+constitution of the Society, the oath to learn the use of arms, and the
+address to the United Irishmen. The Parliamentary Committee of Secrecy
+also believed that a plan was afoot for bringing to London a band of
+Irish fanatics to strike a blow which would paralyse Government while
+the French landed and Ireland revolted. This inference seems
+far-fetched; but the evidence at hand warranted the suspension of the
+Habeas Corpus Act, which Pitt procured from Parliament on the following
+day. Place, with his usual perverse ingenuity, argued that Pitt nursed
+the conspiracy in order to be able to create alarm and govern
+despotically.[493]
+
+Events were now moving fast in Ireland. Chief among the exciting causes
+were the repressive measures of Camden and the licence of the Militia
+and Yeomanry. So able and active a commander as General Abercromby
+failed to keep discipline and prevent military outrages. Not long after
+his return from the West Indies he reluctantly accepted these thankless
+duties (November 1797). His dislike of the work appears in the following
+letter, addressed probably to one of Pitt's colleagues:
+
+ Bantry, _Jan. 28, 1798_.[494]
+ DEAR SIR,
+
+ ... I have found the country everywhere quiet, but there exists
+ among the gentlemen the greatest despondency: they believe, or
+ affect to believe, that there is a plot in every family, and a
+ conspiracy in every parish, and they would abandon the country
+ unless the troops were dispersed over the face of it for their
+ protection. I believe the lower ranks heartily hate the
+ gentlemen because they oppress them, and the gentlemen hate the
+ peasants because they know they deserve to be hated. Hitherto
+ rents have been paid, tithes have not been refused or taxes
+ withheld. No arms or ammunition have anywhere been introduced,
+ and there are no tumultuous assemblings of the people. I have
+ often heard of disaffection among the militia; it may perhaps
+ exist among a few individuals; but it cannot exist to any
+ considerable amount. My inquiries have been unremitted in this
+ particular. Were, however, a landing of the enemy to take place,
+ I cannot say what might happen to a people dissatisfied with
+ their situation and naturally of great levity; the new doctrines
+ would give activity. We are preparing for whatever may happen
+ and no labour or exertion shall be wanting.
+
+Abercromby soon proclaimed his disgust at the excesses of his troops in
+unmeasured terms. True, he had much provocation. The militia officers
+under him were a loose swaggering set, whose cruelties to the peasantry
+during the prolonged search for arms were unpardonable. Further, their
+powers had been enlarged by Camden's order of May 1797, allowing them to
+use armed force without the requisition of magistrates, a step deemed
+necessary to screen the civil authorities from outrage or murder. Seeing
+that officers often put these powers to a brutal and arbitrary use,
+exasperating to the peasants and demoralizing to the soldiery,
+Abercromby determined publicly to rescind the viceregal mandate. The
+language in which he announced his decision was no less remarkable than
+the decision itself. On 26th February 1798 he stated in a general order:
+"That the frequency of courts-martial, and the many complaints of
+irregularities in the conduct of the troops in this kingdom having too
+unfortunately proved the army to be in a state of licentiousness which
+must render it formidable to everyone but the enemy, the
+commander-in-chief" forbids officers ever to use military force except
+at the requisition of magistrates.
+
+That the army and militia did not assault their commander after this
+outrageous insult shows that their discipline had not wholly vanished.
+In face of the vehement outcries of the Irish loyalists against
+Abercromby, Camden showed much forbearance. He issued a guarded
+statement that Abercromby had been accustomed to command troops abroad,
+and did not realize the impression which would be caused in Ireland by
+his censure of the soldiery. Portland, however, openly blamed the
+commander-in-chief. Pitt's letter of 13th March to Camden shows that,
+had he seen Portland's censure before it went off, he would have toned
+down some of its expressions; but on the whole he heartily disapproved
+of Abercromby's indiscriminate rebuke to the army as not only unjust,
+but calculated to depress its spirits and encourage those of the French
+and the Irish malcontents. Portland's reprimand brought about
+Abercromby's resignation, which Camden sought to avert. Thus again
+events took the worst possible course. Abercromby was an able and
+energetic man; and his resignation, at the time when the arrival of the
+French was expected, undoubtedly helped to raise the hopes of
+malcontents. Well might Camden write to Pitt on 25th April that
+Abercromby had done much harm. With that commander's desire to repress
+the outrages of the soldiery everyone must sympathize. The manner in
+which he sought to effect it was incredibly foolish.
+
+Meanwhile, the work of the conspirators had been undermined by
+treachery. One of the conspirators, named Reynolds, took fright and
+revealed the secret of the plot to an official at Dublin Castle (26th
+February), adding the information that the Dublin committee would hold a
+secret meeting on 12th March. The police, bursting in, seized eighteen
+members, including McNevin, along with their papers, amongst which were
+some incriminating O'Coigly. Lord Edward Fitzgerald escaped for a time;
+but an informer gained knowledge of his movements, and those of two
+brothers named Sheares. On his warning the Castle that they were about
+to arouse Dublin to revolt, Camden resolved to anticipate the blow. Two
+police officers, Swan and Ryan, tracked Fitzgerald to his lair on the
+19th of May. They found him in bed. At once the fierce spirit of his
+race surged up. He sprang at them with the small dagger ready by his
+side and struck at Swan. The blow went home, while the pistols aimed by
+the officers missed fire. Turning on Ryan, he dealt thrust upon thrust.
+The two wounded men clung to him while he struggled and struck like a
+wild beast. He was dragging them towards the door when Major Sirr rushed
+in and shot him in the shoulder. Even then his convulsions were so
+violent that two or three soldiers, who ran upstairs, scarcely
+overpowered him. Swan soon died. The wounds of Ryan were not mortal.
+That of Fitzgerald was not deemed serious, but it mortified, and he
+passed away on 4th June, mourned by all who knew his chivalrous daring
+spirit.[495]
+
+The fury of Fitzgerald is intelligible. He was the one necessary man in
+the plot then coming to a head for the capture of Dublin on 23rd May.
+Among his effects were found a green uniform, the seal of the Irish
+Union, the line of route for the Kildare rebels in their advance,
+together with a plan for the seizure of the chief officials. The triumph
+of the Castle was completed by the capture of Neilson and the Sheares.
+Their papers showed that no quarter was to be given. Irish historians
+(among them Plowden) maintained that Pitt and Camden all along knew of
+the plot and allowed the conspirators to drive on their mine in order at
+the right moment to blow them up. There is no evidence to this effect,
+except during the few days preceding the blow. Camden's efforts were
+uniformly directed towards disarmament and coercion, so much so that he
+is reproached for his cruelty by the very men who accuse him of playing
+with the conspiracy. It is clear that he sought to prevent a rising,
+which was expected to coincide with a French invasion. In fact the only
+prudent course was to repress and disarm at all possible points.
+
+The severity of the crisis appears in the letters which Beresford,
+Cooke, and Lees, officials at Dublin Castle, wrote to Auckland. In
+answer to Lord Moira's reckless charge in the Irish Parliament, that
+they were pushing on the country to rebel, Beresford on 10th April asks
+Auckland how can they, who are daily exposed to murder, push on a nation
+to deeds of violence which must fall on them? On 1st May he writes: "We
+think the Toulon squadron will join the expedition against Ireland....
+Pikes are making in numbers, and the idea of a rising prevails. Kildare
+and Wicklow are armed, organized, and rebellious. Dublin and the county
+are very bad. The rebels expect the French within a month. Such is their
+last Gazette." On 7th May Lees writes to Auckland: "Lord Camden must
+steel his heart. Otherwise we are in great jeopardy." On 9th May
+Beresford states that it would be a good plan to seize a number of
+malcontents, threaten them with flogging and induce them to turn
+informers. He adds: "At present the quiet which prevails in some parts
+is deceptive. Where the country is organized, quiet appears. Where the
+organization is going on there is disturbance. In Kildare there are
+complete regiments, with large quantities of arms in their possession."
+On 10th May Lees writes that Galway is arming for revolt, and, nine days
+later, after the arrest of Fitzgerald, he states that they expect a
+rising in Dublin on the morrow. On 21st May after the arrest of the
+Sheares, Cooke writes: "A rising is not given up; but I think it will
+not take place. Parts of Kildare will not give up arms.... A search for
+arms will commence. We are in good spirits." On 20th May Beresford
+informs Auckland of the receipt of news at the Castle from three
+different quarters that there would be a rising on the 21st, owing to
+the vigorous measures now taken by the Government.[496]
+
+This is not the language of men who are nursing a plot. It evinces a
+resolve to stamp out disaffection before the Brest and Toulon fleets
+arrive. As for Pitt, his letters show a conviction of the need of
+continuing the repressive measures whereby Camden had "saved the
+country." He approved the plan of allowing officers to act without the
+orders of magistrates, seeing that the latter were often murdered for
+doing their duty. The thinness of his correspondence with Camden is
+somewhat surprising until we remember that his energies mainly went
+towards strengthening the army and navy. His letter to Grenville early
+in June shows that he expected news of the arrival of the French off the
+Irish coast, since they had got out from Toulon on 19th May.
+
+It is not surprising that Ireland was thought to be their goal.
+Bonaparte and the Directory had kept the secret of their Eastern
+Expedition with far more care than Pitt displayed in worming it out.
+Certainly Pitt's spy system was far less efficient than has been
+imagined.[497] With ordinary activity the oriental scheme could have
+been found out from one of Barras' mistresses or from some official at
+Toulon. The fact that Bonaparte had some time previously engaged Arab
+interpreters might surely have enlightened an agent of average
+intelligence. So far back as 20th April French engineers in uniform,
+accompanied by interpreters, had arrived at Alexandria and Aleppo in
+order to prepare for the reception of large forces. The interpreters, it
+is said, "collect all possible information respecting Suez and the
+navigation of the Red Sea, as also particularly whether the English have
+any ships in the Persian Gulf. It is supposed that General Buonaparte
+will divide his army, one corps to be embarked from the Red Sea and pass
+round to the Gulf of Persia, the other part to proceed from Syria
+overland to the Euphrates, by which river they are to advance and join
+the remainder near the mouth of this river; from thence to make,
+_united_, the grand descent on the coast of Malabar or Deccan."[498] In
+these days it is difficult to imagine that this news did not reach Pitt
+until about 5th July.
+
+The Irish malcontents were as ill informed as Pitt. Basing their hopes
+on the arrival of the French fleet, they prepared to rise about the end
+of May. But the arrests in Dublin hurried on their plans. The men of
+Kildare and Westmeath received orders from the secret Directory in
+Dublin to take arms on 23rd May, on the understanding that the whole of
+Ireland would revolt. They were to seize the towns and villages on the
+roads to Dublin, while the rebels in the city murdered the authorities
+and captured the chief positions. But on the 22nd the Government seized
+quantities of arms, and the presence of General Lake's garrison of 4,000
+Yeomen daunted the United Irishmen; on the night of the 23rd-24th only
+the more daring of them stole about the environs, waiting for a signal
+which never came; and by dawn their bands melted away. In Meath also the
+rising failed miserably. A large concourse assembled on the historic
+slopes of Tara Hill, whence 400 Fencibles and Yeomen drove them with
+ease (25th May).
+
+In Kildare and the north of Wicklow, where the influence of the
+Fitzgeralds made for revolt, large throngs of men assembled on the night
+of 23rd-24th May, and made desperate attacks on Naas and Clane,
+important posts on the roads leading to the capital. Their headlong
+rushes broke in vain against the stubborn stand of the small garrisons.
+But at a village hard by, named Prosperous, the rebel leaders fooled the
+chief of a small detachment by a story of their intention to deliver up
+arms. Gaining access to the village, they surprised the soldiers in the
+barracks, girdled them with fire, and spitted them on their pikes as
+they jumped forth. That night of horror ended with the murder of the
+Protestant manufacturer, whose enterprise had made their village what it
+was. A few days later General Ralph Dundas somewhat indiscreetly granted
+an armistice to a large body of Kildare rebels at Kilcullen on the
+promise that they would give up their arms and go home. Nevertheless a
+large body of them were found on the Curragh and barred the way to
+General Duff, who courageously marched with 600 men to the aid of
+Dundas. Duff was informed that these rebels would be willing to lay down
+their arms. His men were advancing towards them when a shot or shots
+were fired by the rebels, whether in bravado or in earnest is doubtful.
+The troops, taking it as another act of treachery, charged with fury and
+drove the mass from the plain with the loss of more than 200 killed.
+Thus, here again, events made for animosity and bloodshed. Protestants
+remembered the foul play at Prosperous; the rebels swore to avenge the
+treachery at the Curragh.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+News of the first of these events sped across the Irish Sea on 25th and
+26th May. They reached Pitt just before or after his Whitsunday duel on
+Putney Heath. Thick and fast came the tales of slaughter. On 29th May
+Camden wrote in almost despairing terms--The rebellion was most
+formidable and extensive. It would certainly be followed by a French
+invasion. It must be suppressed at once. The Protestants and the
+military were mad with fury, and called aloud for a war of
+extermination. The strife would be marked by unheard-of atrocities. For
+the sake of human nature, Pitt must at once send 5,000 regular troops.
+Camden added that cavalry were useless against lines of pikemen, a
+phrase which tells of the dogged fury of the peasantry. Nevertheless,
+his assertion that the rebellion was extensive proves his lack of
+balance. The saving facts of the situation were that the Ulstermen had
+not yet moved; that Connaught and Munster were quiet; and of Leinster,
+only Kildare, Wexford, and parts of Carlow and Wicklow were in arms. In
+Dublin murder was rife, but the pikemen did not muster.
+
+Pitt's reply of 2nd June to Camden is singularly cool. In brief and
+businesslike terms he stated that, despite the difficulties of the
+situation, he had already prepared to despatch 5,000 men; but Camden
+must send them back at the earliest possible moment in order not to
+disarrange the plans for the war. Still more frigid was the letter of
+George III to Pitt. The King lamented the need of sending troops to
+Ireland, as they would thereby be cut off from "active service." Camden
+(he wrote) must really not press for them unnecessarily. However, as the
+sword was drawn in Ireland, it must not be sheathed until the rebels
+submitted unconditionally. Eleven days later the King wrote to Pitt that
+the new Lord Lieutenant "must not lose the present moment of terror for
+frightening the supporters of the Castle into an Union with this
+country; and no further indulgences must be granted to Roman Catholics,
+as no country can be governed where there is more than one established
+religion."[499] The thinness of the King's thought is in part redeemed
+by its tenacity. His mind resembled an elemental two-stringed
+instrument, which twanged forth two notes--Church and State.
+
+In strange contrast to the calculations of the King and Pitt were the
+effusions of Camden. On 7th June he referred plaintively to Portland's
+despatch, stating that only 3,000 men could be sent. He warned Pitt that
+it was a religious war; priests marched at the head of the rebels, who
+swept together and drove at their head the reluctant. For the sake of
+humanity Pitt must send larger reinforcements. He added that Lake was
+unequal to the emergency. Fortunately, on that day Pitt received the
+consent of the Marquis Cornwallis to act as Lord Lieutenant and
+Commander-in-Chief in Ireland. As Camden had more than once pointed out
+the urgent need of that appointment, it is surprising to find him on
+16th June upbraiding Pitt with the suddenness of the change. Surely it
+was no time for punctiliousness. Already the Ulstermen were rising, and
+30,000 rebels were afoot in Wexford. But, as it happened, the worst of
+the trouble was over before Cornwallis could take the field. Landing on
+20th June near Dublin, he heard news portending a speedy decision in
+Wexford.
+
+It is not easy to account for the savagery of the revolt in that county.
+The gentry resided among their tenants on friendly terms; and the search
+for arms had been carried out less harshly than elsewhere. Gordon, the
+most impartial historian of the rebellion, admits that the floggings and
+half-hangings had been few in number, yet he adds that the people were
+determined to revolt, probably from fear that their turn would come.
+Neither is the religious bigotry of the rebels intelligible. The
+Protestants were numerous in Wexford town, Enniscorthy, and New Ross;
+but there seems to have been little religious animosity, except where
+tales were circulated as to intended massacres of Catholics by
+Orangemen. The Celt is highly susceptible to personal influence; and,
+just as that of the Fitzgeralds largely accounts for the rising in
+Kildare, so does the personality of Father John Murphy explain the
+riddle of Wexford. The son of a peasant of that county, he was trained
+for the priesthood at Bordeaux, and ardently embraced the principles of
+the French Revolution and the aims of United Ireland. His huge frame,
+ready wit, and natural shrewdness brought him to the front in Wexford;
+and he concerted the plan of establishing an Irish Republic on a
+strictly Romanist basis, a programme incompatible with that of Wolfe
+Tone and the United Irishmen.
+
+Murphy, marching with his flock to the house of a neighbouring
+Protestant clergyman, bade him and his terrified friends surrender.
+Meeting with a refusal, they fired the outbuildings; and when the flames
+gained the house, they granted the prayers of the occupants for mercy if
+they came out. On coming out the adult males were forthwith butchered.
+Meeting with large reinforcements from the hills, Father John's pikemen
+beat off a hasty attack by 110 men of the North Cork Militia, only seven
+of whom escaped to Wexford. Such were the doings on that Whitsunday in
+Wexford (27th May). Next, the rebels swept down upon Enniscorthy; and
+though beaten back from the very heart of the town by the steady valour
+of the defenders, these last were yet fain to fall back on Wexford. But
+for the plundering habits of the peasantry, not a man could have reached
+that town. The priest and his followers now took post on Vinegar Hill, a
+height east of the River Slaney, which overlooks Enniscorthy and the
+central plain of the county. There on successive days he and his council
+dealt out pike-law to some four or five hundred Protestants and
+landlords. Meanwhile, as no help drew nigh, Maxwell, the commander at
+Wexford, deeming that town untenable, beat a timely retreat westwards to
+Duncannon Fort on Waterford Harbour (30th May).
+
+Master of Wexford county, Murphy and his colleague, Father Michael,
+proposed to raise Wicklow and Waterford. If these efforts succeeded, it
+was probable that Dublin and Munster would rise. Ulster might then
+revolt; and the advent of the French would clinch the triumph. In full
+confidence, then, the masses of pikemen moved against the loyalists at
+New Ross, an important position on the River Barrow. Parish by parish,
+the priests at their head, they marched, some 30,000 strong. At dawn of
+5th June, when near the town, they knelt during the celebration of
+Mass. Then they goaded on herds of cattle to serve as an irresistible
+vanguard, and rushed at the old walls. General Johnstone and the 1,400
+defenders were at first overborne and had to retreat over the bridge;
+but the plundering habits of the victors were their ruin. The soldiery
+re-formed, regained their cannon, and planting them skilfully, dealt
+such havoc among the disorderly mass, that finally it surged out into
+the plain.[500] After their defeat the rebels deposed Harvey, a
+Protestant, from his nominal command.
+
+This success of the loyalists saved Waterford and Kilkenny from anything
+more than local riots; and Moore, moving up from Fermoy and Clonmel,
+soon threatened the rebel county from the west. The beaten peasants
+glutted their revenge on Protestant prisoners near New Ross; and a
+general massacre of prisoners at Wexford was averted only by the rapid
+advance of Moore. Meanwhile, Father John, moving into County Wicklow
+with a force some 30,000 strong, sought to break down the defence at
+Arklow. But that important post on the River Avoca was stoutly held by
+General Needham with some 1,500 men, mostly militia and yeomen. There,
+too, the priests led on the peasants with a zeal that scorned death. One
+of the peasant leaders rushed up to a gun, thrust his cap into it, and
+shouted, "Come along, boys; her mouth is stopped." The next moment he
+and his men were blown to pieces. Disciplined valour gained the day (9th
+June), and John and his crusaders retired to Vinegar Hill. His
+colleague, Father Michael Murphy, who had claimed to be able to catch
+Protestant bullets, was killed by a cannon-shot; and this may have
+decided the rebels to retreat.
+
+The British Guards had now arrived, to the inexpressible relief of
+Camden and his advisers. Beset by reports of a general rising in Ulster
+and by the furious protests of loyalists against the inaction of Pitt,
+the Lord Lieutenant had held on his way, acting with energy but curbing
+the policy of vengeance, so that, as he informed Pitt, he was now the
+most unpopular man in Ireland. Nevertheless, before he left her shores,
+he had the satisfaction to see his measures crowned with success. The
+converging moves of Lake, Needham, Dundas, and Johnstone upon Vinegar
+Hill cooped up the rebels on that height; and on 21st June the royal
+troops stormed the slopes with little loss. The dupes of Father John no
+longer believed in his miraculous powers. The survivors broke away
+southwards, but then doubled back into the mountains of Wicklow. The war
+now became a hunt, varied by savage reprisals. Father John was hanged on
+26th June. By his barbarities he had ended the dream of United Ireland.
+Few of the malcontents of Antrim and Down obeyed the call to arms of the
+United Irishmen early in June; and the risings in those counties soon
+flickered out. Religious bigotry enabled Dublin Castle once more to
+triumph.
+
+Pitt was vehemently blamed by Irish loyalists for his apathy at the
+crisis. The accusation, quite natural among men whose families were in
+hourly danger, was unjust. As we have seen, even before the arrival of
+Camden's request, he took steps to send off 5,000 men. As the Duke of
+York and Dundas cut down that number to 3,000, and endeavoured to
+prevent any more being sent, they were responsible for the despatch of
+an inadequate force. If the French detachments intended for Ireland had
+arrived early in June, they must have carried all before them. But it
+was not until 22nd August that General Humbert, with 1,100 men, landed
+at Killala. Even so his little force was believed to be the vanguard of
+a large army, a fact which explains the revival of rebellion at the end
+of the summer.
+
+Not until 1st September did Pitt hear this alarming news. At once he
+ordered all possible reinforcements to proceed to Ireland. There was
+need of them. The Irish militiamen under Lake and Hutchinson who opposed
+the French at Castlebar rushed away in wild panic from one-fourth of
+their numbers (27th August). Such were "the Castlebar Races." Probably
+the Irishmen were disaffected; for many of them joined the enemy.
+Cornwallis proceeded to the front, and with 11,000 men made head against
+the rebels and the French. The latter were now but 800 strong, and after
+a most creditable stand finally surrendered with the honours of war (8th
+September). Cornwallis issued a tactful bulletin,[501] commending his
+troops for their meritorious exertions and trusting to their honour not
+to commit acts of cruelty against their deluded fellow subjects. In
+point of fact 11,000 men with difficulty brought 800 to surrender and
+then gave themselves up to retaliation on the rebels. Fortunately the
+French Directory sent only small parties of raiders. A month later,
+Wolfe Tone, with a squadron, appeared off Lough Swilly; but the French
+ships being overpowered by Sir John Warren, Tone was captured, taken to
+Dublin, and cut his throat in order to escape the ignominy of a public
+hanging. Another small French squadron entered Killala Bay late in
+October, but had to make for the open. Thus flickered out a flame which
+threatened to shrivel up British rule in Ireland.
+
+What causes contributed to this result? Certainly not the activity and
+resourcefulness of Pitt and his colleagues; for their conduct at the
+crisis was weak and tardy. The Duke of York and Dundas must primarily be
+blamed for the despatch of inadequate reinforcements; but Pitt ought to
+have overruled their decision. Perhaps the Cabinet believed England to
+be the objective of Bonaparte and the fleet at Brest; but, thanks to the
+rapid growth of the Volunteer Movement, England was well prepared to
+meet an invading force and to quell the efforts of the malcontent
+Societies. In Ireland the outlook was far more gloomy. After the
+resignation of Abercromby, Camden and the officials of Dublin Castle
+were in a state of panic. Pitt did well finally to send over Cornwallis;
+but that step came too late to influence the struggle in Leinster. In
+truth the saving facts of the situation were the treachery of informers
+at Dublin and the diversion of the efforts of Bonaparte towards the
+East. The former event enabled Camden to crush the rising in Dublin; the
+latter left thousands of brave Irishmen a prey to the false hopes which
+the French leaders had designedly fostered, Barras having led Wolfe Tone
+to believe that France would fight on for the freedom of Ireland. The
+influence of Bonaparte told more and more against an expedition to her
+shores; but the Irish patriots were left in the dark, for their rising
+would serve to distract the energies of England, while Bonaparte won
+glory in the East. To save appearances, the French Government sent three
+small expeditions in August to October; but they merely prolonged the
+agony of a dying cause, and led that deeply wronged people to ask what
+might not have happened if the promises showered on Wolfe Tone had been
+made good.
+
+It is recorded of William of Orange, shortly before his intended landing
+in England, that, on hearing of the march of Louis XIV's formidable army
+into the Palatinate, he serenely smiled at his rival's miscalculation.
+Louis sated his troops with plunder and lost a crown for James II.
+Similarly we may imagine the mental exultation of Pitt on hearing that
+Bonaparte had gone the way of Alexander the Great and Mark Antony.
+Camden and he knew full well that Ireland was the danger spot of the
+British Empire, and that the half of the Toulon force could overthrow
+the Protestant ascendancy. Some sense of the magnitude of the blunder
+haunted Napoleon at St. Helena; for he confessed to Las Casas: "If,
+instead of the expedition to Egypt, I had undertaken that against
+Ireland, what could England have done now?" In a career, illumined by
+flashes of genius, but wrecked by strange errors, the miscalculation of
+the spring of 1798 was not the least fatal. For of all parts of the
+British Empire Ireland was that in which the Sea Power was most helpless
+when once a French _corps d'armée_ had landed.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[476] Pitt MSS., 108. See "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies," for a fuller
+investigation of the Fitzwilliam affair in the light of new evidence.
+
+[477] Lecky, vii, 41-4.
+
+[478] "Dropmore P.," iii, 35-8.
+
+[479] Pitt MSS., 331.
+
+[480] Quoted by Froude, "The English in Ireland," iii, 158-61.
+
+[481] "Autobiography of Wolfe Tone," ii, chs. iv-vi; Guillon, "La France
+et l'Irlande."
+
+[482] "Mems. of Ld. E. Fitzgerald," ch. xx.
+
+[483] Tone, "Autob.," ii, 99.
+
+[484] "Report of the Comm. of Secrecy" (1799), 22, 25; W. J.
+Fitzpatrick, "Secret Service under Pitt," ch. x; C. L. Falkiner,
+"Studies in Irish History," ch. iv; "Castlereagh Corresp.," i, 270-88.
+
+[485] "Lord Colchester's Diary," i, 103.
+
+[486] B.M. Add. MSS., 34454.
+
+[487] Pitt MSS., 326. Quoted with other extracts from Camden's letters,
+in "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies."
+
+[488] Tone, "Autob.," ii, 272.
+
+[489] "Castlereagh Corresp.," i, 165-8.
+
+[490] B.M. Add. MSS., 27808; "Report of the Comm. of Secrecy" (1799),
+App. x; "Nap. Corresp.," iii, 486-92. For Place see _ante_, ch. vii.
+
+[491] W. J. Fitzpatrick, "Secret Service under Pitt," ch. iii; "Report
+of the Comm. of Secrecy" (1799), App. xxvi. For Despard, the plotter of
+1802, see "Castlereagh Corresp.," i, 306, 326; ii, 4.
+
+[492] "Auckland Journals," iv, 52. I have published the statements of
+O'Connor, etc., and the news sent by a British agent at Hamburg, in the
+"Eng. Hist. Rev." for October 1910.
+
+[493] Pitt MSS., 324; B.M. Add. MSS., 27808; "Dropmore P.," iv, 167. On
+24th May 1798 Thelwall wrote to Thos. Hardy from Llyswen, near
+Brecknock, describing his rustic retreat, and requesting a new pair of
+farmer's boots for "Stella." He hopes that O'Connor has returned in
+triumph to his friends. Tierney's vote in favour of suspending the
+Habeas Corpus Act does not surprise him, for he is vulgar and a
+sycophant. Hardy is too angry with Sheridan, whose chief offence is in
+going at all to the House of Commons. Sheridan surely does well in
+encouraging the people to resist an invasion. "I remain steady to my
+point--'no nation can be free but by its own efforts.' As for the French
+Directory and its faction, nothing appears to me to be further from
+their design than to leave one atom of liberty either to their own or to
+any nation. If, however, Mr. Sheridan supposes that all his talents can
+produce even a temporary unanimity while the present crew are in power,
+even for repelling the most inveterate enemy, he will find himself
+miserably mistaken. No such unanimity ever can exist: I am convinced,
+nay, the Ministers themselves seem determined, that it _shall_ not. The
+only way to produce the unanimity desired is to stand aloof, and let
+these ruffians go blundering on till our most blessed and gracious
+sovereign shall see that either Pitt and Co. must bow down to the will
+of the people or his British crown bow down to five French shillings....
+But what have we to do with Directories or politics? Peaceful shades of
+Llyswen! shelter me beneath your luxuriant foliage: lull me to
+forgetfulness, ye murmuring waters of the Wye. Let me be part farmer and
+fisherman. But no more politics--no more politics in this bad world!"
+(From Mr. A. M. Broadley's MSS.)
+
+[494] Pretyman MSS. See, too, "Diary of Sir J. Moore," i, ch. xi.
+
+[495] "Castlereagh Corresp.," i, 458-67; "Life and Letters of Lady Sarah
+Lennox," ii, 299-302; "Mems. of Lord E. Fitzgerald," chs. 27-30.
+
+[496] B.M. Add. MSS., 34454.
+
+[497] "Dropmore P.," iv, 230, 239.
+
+[498] B.M. Add. MSS., 34454. News received through Sir F. d'Ivernois.
+
+[499] Pretyman MSS. The King also stated that Pitt had "saved Ireland"
+by persuading Pelham to return and act as Chief Secretary. Pelham was a
+clever man, but often disabled by ill health.
+
+[500] J. Alexander, "... Rebellion in Wexford" (Dublin, 1800).
+
+[501] "Cornwallis Corresp.," ii, 395-404. For the panic in Dublin see
+"Dropmore P.," iv, 289 _et seq._ Cooke wrote to Castlereagh on 28th
+September that the Bishop of Killala and his family were saved from
+slaughter by a few French officers, "who execrate our savages more than
+they whom they have plundered." He adds that though the United Irishmen
+began the plot the Catholics are turning it solely to their own
+interests (Pitt MSS., 327). See, too, H. F. B. Wheeler and A. M.
+Broadley, "The War in Wexford" (1910).
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVII
+
+ THE SECOND COALITION
+
+ To reduce France within her ancient limits is an object of
+ evident and pressing interest to the future tranquillity and
+ independence of Europe.--_Foreign Office Despatch of 16th
+ November 1798_.
+
+
+It is difficult to realize that the independence of Europe was
+endangered by the French Republic. We associate the ascendancy of France
+in Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland with the personality
+of Napoleon; and by contrasting him with the pygmies who strutted on the
+stage after the death of Pitt we find the collapse of Europe
+intelligible. But a backward glance of one decade more shows France
+dominating the Continent. True, it was Bonaparte's genius which brought
+Austria to the humiliating Peace of Campo Formio (October 1797); but his
+triumphs in Italy merely crowned the efforts of France in 1793-5. After
+the close of his Italian campaigns a touch of her little finger unseated
+the Pope. At the Congress of Rastatt her envoys disposed of German
+duchies and bishoprics in the lordliest way. Switzerland she overran,
+plundered, and unified. Ferdinand IV of Naples and his consort, Maria
+Carolina, quaked and fumed at her threats. Prussia was her henchman. And
+in the first months of his reign Paul I of Russia courted her favour.
+French policy controlled Europe from the Niemen to the Tagus, from the
+Zuyder Zee to the Campagna.
+
+Yet this supremacy was in reality unsound. So fitful a ruler as the Czar
+Paul was certain to weary of his peaceful mood. He had good ground for
+intervention. By the Treaty of Teschen (1779) Russia became one of the
+guarantors of the Germanic System which the French now set at naught.
+Moreover his chivalrous instincts, inherited from his mother, Catharine,
+were chafed by the news of French depredations in Rome and Switzerland.
+The growth of indignation at St. Petersburg begot new hopes at Vienna.
+In truth Francis II, despite his timidity, could not acquiesce in French
+ascendancy. How could his motley States cohere, if from Swabia,
+Switzerland, and Italy there dropped on them the corrosive acid of
+democracy? The appeals from his father-in-law, Ferdinand of Naples, also
+had some weight. In fine the Court of Vienna decided to make overtures
+to London. On 17th March 1798 the Chancellor, Thugut, urged his
+ambassador, Stahremberg, to find out whether England would help Austria
+against "a fierce nation irrevocably determined on the total subversion
+of Europe, and rapidly marching to that end"; also whether Pitt would
+send a fleet to the Mediterranean, and, if necessary, prolong the
+struggle into the year 1799.[502] The entreaties from Naples were still
+more urgent.
+
+Pitt resolved to stretch out a helping hand. Early in April he sought to
+induce Earl Spencer, First Lord of the Admiralty, to send to that sea a
+strong squadron detached from Earl St. Vincent's force blockading Cadiz.
+His letter asking for information on several topics is missing; but
+Spencer's letter to Grenville throws so much light on the situation that
+I quote parts of it, summarizing the remainder:[503]
+
+ Admiralty, _April 6, 1798_.
+
+ "I send you by Mr. Pitt's desire a sketch I have made out of
+ answers to the queries he put down upon paper yesterday in
+ Downing Street. The result is to my mind a decision which I fear
+ will not tally very well with our wishes and the views you have
+ formed as the groundwork of the communication at present
+ proposed with Vienna." He then states that, even if a Russian
+ squadron appears in the North Sea, yet we cannot keep a
+ permanent squadron in the Mediterranean. "For that purpose we
+ should at least have 70 sail, as the Channel cannot be trusted
+ with safety with less than 35, including the coast of Ireland,
+ and the remaining 35 would be but barely enough to watch Cadiz
+ and command the Mediterranean. Our best plan appears to me to be
+ to maintain as long as we can a position between Lisbon and
+ Cadiz, and when we are excluded (which I conclude we soon shall
+ be) from the Tagus, to send Lord St. Vincent with the fleet he
+ now has to take a sweep round the Mediterranean and do all the
+ mischief he can to the French navy." If, he adds, the Spaniards
+ come northward, our home fleet can deal with them: if they go to
+ the Mediterranean and join the French there will not be much
+ danger from so ill-combined a force when opposed to St.
+ Vincent's fleet, "which I consider as being the best formed to
+ act together that perhaps ever existed." If Austria would be
+ satisfied with our sweeping round the Mediterranean, Spencer
+ advocates that plan, but not that of keeping a fleet there,
+ "because, exclusive of the great expense, it would leave the
+ Spaniards too much at liberty."
+
+ In answer to Pitt's questions Spencer states the force
+ disposable for the Channel and the coast of Ireland as 34, for
+ the Mediterranean 24; 3 more were fitting for sea, and 8 others
+ were nearing completion; but the chief deficiency was in men,
+ 8,000 more being needed. He adds that the Neapolitans have 4
+ sail-of-the-line and 7 frigates: the French have 6 sail at
+ Corfu; but he thinks not more than 10 sail can be equipped at
+ Toulon. He regards the Venetian fleet as valueless.
+
+Clearly Spencer underrated the force at Toulon and in the ports of North
+Italy. But, even so, the position was critical. To send an undermanned
+fleet into the Mediterranean, while France was preparing a blow at
+Ireland, seemed almost foolhardy. Nevertheless, Pitt resolved to do so.
+For, as he stated to Grenville on 7th April, they must encourage Austria
+to play a decisive part in resisting French aggression; and, in view of
+the revival of the old English spirit, he was prepared to brave the
+risks of invasion, deeming even that event preferable to a lingering and
+indecisive war. As usual, Pitt's view prevailed; and a few days later
+orders went forth to St. Vincent to despatch a squadron under Nelson to
+the Mediterranean, Austria being also apprised of this decision, in
+terms which implied the formation of a league against France. While
+Russia and, if possible, Prussia defended Germany, Austria was to expel
+the French from Italy.[504] Here again Pitt's hopeful nature led him to
+antedate the course of events. The new Coalition came about very slowly.
+England and Austria were held apart by disputes respecting the repayment
+of the last loan, on which Pitt and Grenville insisted, perhaps with
+undue rigour. Distrust of Prussia paralysed the Court of Vienna, and
+some time elapsed before it came to terms with Russia. But in the midst
+of the haggling came news which brought new vigour to the old
+monarchies.
+
+On 1st August 1798 Nelson destroyed the French fleet in Aboukir Bay;
+and thus, at one blow, naval supremacy in the Mediterranean passed from
+the tricolour to the Union Jack. This momentous change resulted
+primarily from the bold resolve of Pitt to encounter even a French
+descent on our coasts, provided that he could strike at France in the
+Mediterranean. Thus he exchanged the defensive for the offensive in a
+way no less bewildering to the French than reassuring to friendly
+Powers; and it is noteworthy that he adopted the same course in 1805, in
+sending Craig's expedition into that sea, thereby replacing Addington's
+tame acceptance of events by a vigorous policy which heartened Austria
+and Naples for the struggle against Napoleon. On both occasions he ran
+great risks, but his audacity proved to be the highest prudence. The
+results of the Battle of the Nile were immeasurably great. Bonaparte and
+his 30,000 veterans were cooped up in Egypt. The Maltese rose against
+the French garrison of Valetta two days after the arrival of the glad
+tidings from the Nile. At Naples the news aroused a delirium of joy, and
+filled Queen Maria Carolina with a resolve to drive the French force
+from the Roman States.
+
+To Pitt also the news of Nelson's triumph brought intense relief. The
+disappearance of Bonaparte's armada after the capture of Malta had
+caused much concern. True, Naples, which was thought to be his
+objective, was safe; but Ireland and Portugal were deemed in jeopardy.
+No one at Whitehall anticipated the seizure of Malta and Egypt, still
+less the emergence of plans for a French conquest of India. A tone of
+anxiety pervades Pitt's letter of 22nd August to his mother: "The
+account of Bonaparte's arrival at Alexandria is, I am afraid, true; but
+it gives us no particulars, and leaves us in entire suspense as to
+Nelson."[505] All the greater, then, was the relief on 2nd October, when
+tidings of Aboukir at last arrived.
+
+Further, there were signs of a Russo-French war. The romantic nature of
+the Czar was fired by the hope of acquiring Malta. At Ancona, early in
+1797, Bonaparte had intercepted a Russian envoy bearing offers of
+alliance to the Knights of the Order of St. John; and their expulsion by
+the French at Midsummer 1798 seemed to Paul a personal affront. Some of
+the Knights proceeded to St. Petersburg and claimed his protection. The
+affairs of the Order became his most cherished concern; and on 24th July
+Sir Charles Whitworth, British ambassador at that Court, reported that
+Russia would now become a principal in the war against France, her aim
+being the re-establishment of peace on safe and honourable terms, but
+not the restoration of the French monarchy, on which Catharine had
+insisted. With this declaration the British and Austrian Cabinets were
+in full accord; and thus at last there was a hope of framing a compact
+Coalition. Fortunate was it that Bonaparte's seizure of Malta incensed
+Paul against France; for, early in August, the Swiss thinker, Laharpe,
+tutor of the future Czar Alexander I, brought tempting offers from
+Paris, with a view to the partition of the Turkish Empire.[506] That
+glittering prize was finally to captivate the fancy of Paul; but for the
+present he spurned the offer as degrading.
+
+Nevertheless, the news of Aboukir did not wholly please him. For, while
+rejoicing at the discomfiture of the French atheists, he saw in Nelson's
+victory a sign of England's appropriation of Malta. In truth, that
+island now became the central knot of far-reaching complications.
+Formerly the bulwark of Christendom against the infidels, it now
+sundered European States.[507] So doubtful was the attitude of Paul and
+Francis that Pitt, in October 1798, twice wrote despondingly as to any
+definite decision on their part. All that was clear was their inordinate
+appetite for subsidies. These he of course withheld, knowing full well
+that neither would Paul tolerate for long the presence of the French at
+Malta, nor Francis their occupation of Switzerland. In any case he
+resolved not to give more than £2,000,000 to the two Empires for the
+year 1799.[508] For the time his hope lay only in the exertions of
+England, Europe being meantime "left to its fate." In order to humour
+the Czar, who was about to become Grand Master of the Knights of St.
+John, Grenville, on 23rd November, wrote to assure his Government that
+England renounced all aims of conquest in the Adriatic, or of the
+possession of Malta.
+
+At the close of the year Pitt proudly displayed the inexhaustible
+resources of Great Britain. His Budget speech of 3rd December 1798 marks
+an epoch in economic history, alike for the boldness of the underlying
+conception and the statesmanlike assessment of the national resources.
+Well might Mallet du Pan declare that the speech surpassed all previous
+efforts in its illuminating exposition of a nation's finance. As
+appeared in our survey of the Budget of 1797, Pitt then sought to meet
+the year's expenses within the year. To a generation accustomed to shift
+present burdens on to its successors the proposal seemed Quixotic; and
+Fox blamed him for not adopting this device. Pitt held to his plan, and
+outlined a ten per cent. tax upon income. Having failed to gain the
+requisite tenth by means of the Assessed Taxes, he proposed to raise it
+by methods which even the shirkers could with difficulty circumvent.
+
+In order to lay a first rough actuarial basis for his Income Tax, he
+made a careful study of the nation's resources in the autumn of 1798.
+The results he summarized in an interesting statement. There were
+available at that time only rough estimates, even as to the area of
+cultivated land and its average rental. Relying upon Davenant, King,
+Adam Smith, Arthur Young, and Middleton, he estimated the area at
+40,000,000 acres, and the average rental at 15_s._ an acre. He prudently
+fixed the taxable value at 12_s._ 6_d._ an acre. The yearly produce of
+mines, timber, and canal shares he assessed at £3,000,000. He reckoned
+house rent at double that sum, and the earnings of the legal profession
+at one half of it. Half a million he deemed well within the total of
+doctors' fees. He assessed the incomes derived from the British West
+Indies at £4,000,000, and those from the rest of the world at
+£1,000,000, a highly suggestive estimate. Tithes were reckoned at
+£4,000,000; annuities from the public funds at £12,000,000; the same sum
+for profits derived from foreign commerce; and £28,000,000 for the
+profits of internal trade, whether wholesale or retail. Fixing the
+rental of land at £6,000,000, he computed the total national income as
+£102,000,000, which should therefore yield not less than £10,000,000 a
+year. He proposed to safeguard the collection by imposing an oath at the
+declaration of income, and enjoining absolute secrecy on the Crown
+commissioners. The new tax, beginning from April 1799, would take the
+place of the Assessed Taxes. As will appear in a later chapter, the new
+impost did not yield the amount which Pitt expected; but the failure was
+probably due to defects in the methods of collection. Pitt further
+proposed to set aside £1,200,000 for the Sinking Fund.
+
+His purpose in making this prodigious effort was to inspirit other
+nations to similar patriotic exertions. He pointed out with pride that
+after nearly six years of war British exports and imports exceeded those
+of any year of peace. Thus, far from declining in strength and prowess,
+as croakers averred, England had never shone so transcendently in the
+arts of peace and the exploits of war, a prodigality of power which
+presaged the vindication of her own rights and of the liberties of
+Europe.
+
+What was the new Europe which Pitt sought to call to being? The question
+is of deep interest, not only as a psychological study, but as revealing
+glimpses of British policy in the years 1814-15. The old order having
+been rudely shaken in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy,
+Pitt sought to effect a compromise between the claims of tradition and
+those of expediency. It being of paramount importance to safeguard
+Europe against France, Pitt and Grenville insisted on the limitation of
+that Power within its old boundaries, and the complete independence of
+Switzerland and Holland. That of the Kingdom of Sardinia afterwards
+figured in their stipulations. But one significant change now appears.
+The restoration of Austrian rule at Brussels being impracticable, it was
+suggested that the Belgic Provinces should go to the Prince of Orange
+when restored to his rights at The Hague. In the desperate crisis of
+1805, as we shall see, Pitt sought to allure Prussia by offering Belgium
+to her; but that was a passing thought soon given up. The other solution
+of the Netherlands Question finally prevailed, thanks to the efforts of
+Pitt's pupil, Castlereagh, in 1814. The Foreign Office did not as yet
+aim at the retention of the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon as a set off to
+British efforts for the Dutch and their acquisition of Belgium; but this
+thought was already taking shape. The barrier against French aggressions
+in the south-east was to be found in the reconstituted Kingdom of
+Sardinia, the House of Savoy rendering in that quarter services similar
+to the House of Orange in Flanders and Brabant. In other respects the
+British Cabinet favoured Austria's plans of aggrandisement in Italy as
+enhancing her power in a sphere which could not arouse the jealousy of
+Prussia. The aims of Berlin not being known, except that the restoration
+of the House of Orange was desired, Pitt and Grenville remained silent
+on that topic.[509]
+
+The question whether the peoples concerned would submit to this
+under-girding of the European fabric did not trouble them. They saw only
+the statics of territories; they had no conception of the dynamics of
+nations. A future in which Nationality, triumphant in Italy and Germany,
+would bring about a Balance of Power far more solid than any which their
+flying buttresses could assure, was of course entirely hidden from them.
+But they failed to read the signs of the times. The last despairing
+efforts of the Poles, and the _levée en masse_ of the French people, now
+systematized in the Conscription Law of 5th September 1798, did not open
+their eyes to the future. For they were essentially men of the
+Eighteenth Century; and herein lay the chief cause of their failure
+against Revolutionary France. They dealt with lands as with blocks. She
+infused new energy into peoples.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Meanwhile the return of Nelson to the Neapolitan coast intoxicated that
+Court with joy. Queen Maria Carolina, ever the moving spirit at Naples,
+now laid her plans for the expulsion of the French from Italy. Trusting
+to her influence over her son-in-law, Francis II, and to a defensive
+compact which the Courts of Vienna and Naples had framed on 20th May
+1798, she sought to incite him to take the offensive. Her close
+friendship with Lady Hamilton, wife of the British ambassador at Naples,
+also enabled her to gain complete ascendancy over Nelson, who, with his
+usual hatred of "the French villains," counselled open and immediate
+war. For abetting this design, Sir William Hamilton received a sharp
+rebuke from Downing Street. Francis II and Thugut were even more
+annoyed. They repulsed the Neapolitan emissary who begged for help, and
+roundly accused the Pitt Ministry of inciting Naples to war in order to
+drag in Austria. Their anger was not appeased by the successes of the
+Neapolitans near Rome, which the French evacuated on 29th November. The
+counter-stroke soon fell. The French, rallying in force, pushed the
+Bourbon columns southwards; and the early days of 1799 witnessed in
+swift succession the surrender of Naples, the flight of its Court and
+the Hamiltons to Palermo on Nelson's fleet, the foundation of the
+Parthenopean Republic, and the liquefaction of the blood of St.
+Januarius in sign of divine benediction on the new _régime_.[510]
+
+Nevertheless, Nelson and the royal fugitives had set in motion forces
+which elsewhere made for triumph. Paul, re-assured as to England's
+desire to re-establish the Order of St. John at Malta, entered into an
+alliance with her on 29th December 1798, whereby the two Powers agreed
+to reduce France within her old boundaries, Russia furnishing to England
+an army of 45,000 men, mainly with a view to the support of Prussia, on
+condition of receiving £75,000 per month and three months' subsidies in
+advance. She also promised to send 3,000 men to help in the siege of the
+French garrison at Malta and others to assist England in the defence of
+the Neapolitan lands. Austria, resentful towards Pitt and fearful of
+Prussia's designs, still held back, though the events in Italy,
+especially the dethronement of Charles Emmanuel IV of the House of Savoy
+by the French should have spurred her to action. Probably she waited
+until the needs of England and Russia should enable her to dictate her
+terms. The cupidity of Thugut had been whetted by Pitt's speech as to
+the wealth of England; and the efforts of Cobenzl at St. Petersburg led
+Whitworth to sign a compact on terms so onerous to the British Treasury
+as to draw on him a sharp disclaimer and reprimand from London.[511] So
+matters dragged on far into the year 1799, when plans for the ensuing
+campaign ought to have been matured.
+
+Still more luckless were the dealings of the British Cabinet with
+Prussia. In the hope of winning over Frederick William III, Grenville in
+November 1798 despatched his brother Thomas on a mission to Berlin. His
+journey thither was one of the longest and most eventful on record. At
+Yarmouth he was detained by easterly gales; and when at last the packet
+boat made the mouth of the Elbe it was wrecked. The passengers and crew
+succeeded in making their way to shore over the pack-ice, Grenville
+saving his papers, except the "full-power" needful for signing a treaty.
+He reached Cuxhaven in great exhaustion; and arrived at Berlin on 17th
+March, only to find that the French by daring and intrigue had cowed the
+North German States into subservience. The terrible winter of 1798-9
+largely accounts for the delays which ruined the subsequent campaign.
+Whitworth remained long without news from Downing Street; and at last,
+on 12th February, announced that he had received nine posts at once.
+Meanwhile France, controlling all the coasts from Bremen to Genoa, not
+only excluded British messengers, but carried on her diplomatic
+bargaining in Germany without let or hindrance. For all his trouble,
+Thomas Grenville could get no firm footing amidst the shifting sands of
+Prussian diplomacy. So nervous were the Austrian Ministers as to
+Prussia's future conduct that they seemed about to come to terms with
+France and join in the plunder of the smaller German States. This might
+have been the upshot had not French armies crossed the Rhine (1st March
+1799), and shortly afterwards invaded the Grisons Canton.[512] Goaded to
+action, Francis II declared war eleven days later. On 28th April
+Austrian hussars seized the French envoys withdrawing from Rastatt,
+murdering two of the four and seizing the papers of all.
+
+Thus began the war of the Second Coalition. Bonaparte's seizure of Malta
+and Egypt without a declaration of war, and the unbearable aggressions
+of the French in Switzerland, Italy, and on the Rhine, stirred to action
+States which the diplomatic efforts of Pitt and Grenville had left
+unmoved. For none of the wars of that period was France so largely
+responsible. Even now, when the inroad of the French into Germany
+threatened the ascendancy of Prussia, Frederick William declined to join
+the Allies; and his unstatesmanlike refusal thwarted the plans of Pitt
+for the march of the subsidized Muscovite force through Prussia for the
+recovery of Holland.
+
+Another essential point was Switzerland. Like a bastion frowning over
+converging valleys, that Alpine tract dominates the basins of the Po,
+the Inn, the Upper Rhine, and the Upper Rhone. He who holds it, if
+strong and resolute, can determine the fortunes of North Italy, Eastern
+France, South Germany, and the West of the Hapsburg domains. Further, by
+closing the passes over the Alps he can derange the commerce of Europe;
+and the sturdy mountaineers will either overbear the plain-dwellers, or
+will serve as mercenaries in their forces. Accordingly Switzerland, like
+her Asiatic counterpart, Afghanistan, has either controlled her
+neighbours, or has been fought for by them. As commerce-controller,
+provider of troops, and warden of the passes, she holds a most important
+position. Fortunate it is that the Swiss have loved freedom, or money,
+more than dominion. For so soon as a great State possesses their land,
+the Balance of Power becomes a fiction.
+
+Pitt evinced sure insight in his resolve to free the Switzers from the
+Jacobin yoke. To it the men of the Forest Cantons succumbed only after
+desperate struggles, which inspired Wordsworth with one of the noblest
+of his sonnets. There is no sign that Pitt set much store on winning
+over the public opinion of Europe by siding with the oppressed against
+the oppressor, as his disciple, Canning, did during the Spanish National
+Rising; but help from the Swiss was certainly hoped for. So early as
+August 1798 Pitt proposed to allot £500,000 for assistance to them, and,
+but for the delays at St. Petersburg and Vienna, the Allies might have
+rescued that brave people before it fell beneath the weight of numbers.
+Even in March 1799, when the rising against the French had scarcely
+begun, he set apart £31,000 per month for the purpose of equipping a
+corps of 20,000 Swiss. On 15th March, after hearing of the outbreak of
+war on the Rhine, Grenville urged that the Russian force subsidized by
+England should march towards Switzerland, now that Prussia's doubtful
+behaviour prevented a conquest of Holland by land. He also insisted that
+this addition to the allied forces destined for Switzerland must not be
+allowed to lessen the number of Austrians operating there.[513]
+
+The Court of Vienna at once saw in the subsidized Russian army a tool
+useful for its own plans, and requested that it should serve with the
+Austrians in Swabia. The answer to this singular request can be
+imagined. For a day or two Whitworth was also disturbed by a belated
+effort of the French Directory to restore peace. It offered Poland to
+the Elector of Saxony, and Saxony to Prussia for her friendly services,
+Austria being led to expect Bavaria, if she would keep Russia "within
+her ancient limits." Whitworth mentioned this overture to Cobenzl, and
+saw him blush for the first time on record.[514] Probably, then, the
+scheme had some powerful backing; but now Austria had crossed the
+Rubicon.
+
+At first all went well. The French had played a game of bluff which they
+could not sustain. On all sides they were worsted in a way which
+suggests how decisive the campaign might have been had the Allies
+heartily seconded the salutary plans of Pitt. Unfortunately, despite
+his efforts, no compact came about between Great Britain and Austria.
+Russia and the Hapsburg State were but loosely connected; and, owing to
+a long delay in the arrival of the ratification of the Anglo-Russian
+Treaty, Paul did not until the beginning of May send forward the
+subsidized army under the command of Korsakoff.
+
+On the other hand, the auxiliary Russian force sent forward to the help
+of Austria had by that time helped the white-coats to win notable
+triumphs in North Italy. In the months of April and May, Melas and the
+Imperialists, powerfully backed by Suvóroff's Muscovites, carried all
+before them, and drove the enemy from Milan. Soon afterwards the Allies
+entered Turin; and only by hard fighting and heavy losses did Moreau
+with the chief French army cut his way through to the Genoese coast.
+Meanwhile General Macdonald, retiring with a French corps from Naples,
+left that city to the vengeance of Nelson and Maria Carolina with
+results that are notorious. The French general made a brave stand in
+North Italy, only to fall before the onsets of the Allies at the Trebbia
+(17th-19th June). He, too, barely escaped to Genoa, where the relics of
+the two French armies faced about. These successes aroused the highest
+hopes at Westminster. Canning, who resigned his Under-Secretaryship of
+Foreign Affairs in March 1799, wrote that he cared not whether the
+Austrians were beaten; for their failure would serve as a good example
+to Europe. But in June, after their brilliant successes, he expressed a
+confident hope of the collapse of "the monstrous fabrick of crimes and
+cruelties and abominations" known as French policy; he added that
+Prussia could not be so stupid as to hold aloof from the Coalition; and
+that Pitt, again vigorous in mind and body, would carry through the war
+to the end.
+
+But now in the train of victory there appeared its parasite, discord.
+The re-conquest of Italy was so brilliant and easy as to arouse disputes
+about the spoils; and when the Imperialists began to treat Suvóroff and
+his heroes cavalierly, the feud became acute. His complaints to his
+Sovereign that the Austrians thwarted him at every turn threw the
+irascible Czar into a rage, and he inveighed against the insolence of
+the Court of Vienna and its minions. Finally, in order to end these
+disputes, the British Ministry proposed the departure of Suvóroff to
+Switzerland in order to take command of Korsakoff's subsidized force.
+In the third week of June Grenville urged this plan on the Russian Court
+as securing concentration of force and unity of command, the result in
+all probability being the liberation of Switzerland, whereupon the
+Allies could prepare for an invasion of France on her undefended flank,
+Franche Comté. England (added Grenville) disapproved of the presence of
+"Louis XVIII" at the Russian headquarters; and if Monsieur, his brother,
+issued a declaration, it must be drafted with care. The need of caution
+appears in Monsieur's offer of pardon and clemency to the misguided
+French, provided that they joined his standard.[515]
+
+The Allies, it will be seen, built their hopes on a revolt of the
+royalists of the East of France. In fact, widespread risings were
+expected. Bordeaux had been the centre of a conspiracy for leaguing
+together the malcontents of la Vendée with those of the South, these
+again being in touch with the royalists of the Lyonnais and Franche
+Comté. Wickham, who was sent as British agent to Switzerland in June
+1799, opened up an extensive correspondence which promised to lead to a
+formidable revolt whenever the Allies invaded Franche Comté and Nice.
+The malcontents had as leaders Generals Précy, Pichegru, and Willot. In
+due course the Comte d'Artois ("Monsieur") was to appear and put himself
+at their head. Accordingly, in August 1799, he left Holyrood, came to
+London, and dined at Grenville's house with him and Pitt. The Prime
+Minister afterwards paid him a private visit: but the details of their
+conference are not known. It is certain, however, that the Cabinet
+accorded large sums of money to Wickham for use in the East of France.
+Even after the failure in Switzerland, he pressed for the payment of
+£365,000 in order to maintain the royalist movement.[516]
+
+Pitt, then, was bent on using all possible means for humbling France;
+and, in view of her disasters in the field, the discontent at home, and
+the absence of Bonaparte's army in Egypt, the triumph of the Allies
+seemed to depend solely on their unanimity. Much can be said in favour
+of the British plan of uniting the two Russian armies in Switzerland to
+act with that of the Archduke Charles, in order to strike at Franche
+Comté in overwhelming force, while the Austrians in Italy invaded Nice.
+If all the moves had taken place betimes, formidable forces would have
+been massed for an attack upon the weakest parts of the French frontier.
+The Czar agreed to the plan on 9th July; but the Emperor Francis
+withheld his sanction for a suspiciously long time. Here again, as in
+1794-6, the men of the pen interfered with the men of the sword.
+Immersed in plans for a vast extension of Austria's domains in Italy,
+Thugut turned a deaf ear to the demands of Russia and England for the
+restoration of the House of Savoy to the throne of Turin. He declared
+that, as Austria had recovered the continental domains of that dynasty,
+she could therefore dispose of them. It soon appeared that she sought to
+appropriate Piedmont, as well as Venetia, Lombardy, Parma, Modena, and
+the northern part of the Papal States in place of her troublesome Belgic
+domains, thus liberally fulfilling Pitt's suggestion that her chief
+gains should be on the side of Italy.
+
+On this question Pitt and Grenville differed. The latter, sympathizing
+with Russia, strongly objected to Austria annexing Piedmont. Pitt,
+however, maintained that such an acquisition would not resemble the
+partition of Poland or of Venetia; for Charles Emmanuel had lost his
+lands through his own weakness, and now did nothing towards recovering
+them. Further, it was to the advantage of Europe that the rescuing
+Power, Austria, should hold them as a barrier against France. If the
+Czar Paul could not be induced to take this view we might leave the two
+Empires to settle the matter; but, at present this solution offered the
+best chance of arriving at a compact with Austria so much to be desired.
+Thus, in order to strengthen the Barrier System against France, Pitt was
+prepared to sacrifice legal rights to expediency, while Grenville upheld
+the claims of justice.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Limits of space preclude an investigation of the causes of the
+humiliating failure of the campaign in Switzerland. Suffice it to say
+that, when Korsakoff's army finally entered the north-east of
+Switzerland, the Archduke Charles was compelled by imperious mandates
+from Vienna to withdraw into Swabia. He foresaw disaster; and it soon
+came. While Suvóroff's army was toiling down the northern defiles of the
+St. Gotthard, Masséna, after receiving strong reinforcements,
+overwhelmed Korsakoff at Zurich (25th-26th September). That Pitt
+expected defeat after the withdrawal of the Archduke Charles appears
+from his letter to Windham:
+
+ Downing Street, _30th August 1799_.[517]
+
+ I should gladly accept your proposal to join the water-party
+ today, but I came to town to meet Lord Grenville; and, having
+ seen him, I am preparing to return part of the way to Walmer in
+ the course of the evening. I was brought to town by the
+ vexatious accounts from Vienna, which give too great a chance of
+ our being disappointed in our best hopes by the blind and
+ perverse selfishness of Austria's counsels.
+
+Grenville was equally indignant and accused Austria of treachery.[518]
+Much can be said in support of that charge. Whatever may have been her
+motive, her conduct ruined the campaign. South-east of Zurich, Soult
+routed Hotze's Austrian corps, which might have linked the movements of
+Suvóroff with those of Korsakoff, and Suvóroff on arriving at Altorff
+found no other course practicable than to strike away eastwards over the
+Panixer Pass to Coire in the Grisons. There he arrived after severe
+hardships on 8th October, and swore never again to act with the
+Austrians. Paul, on hearing these dire tidings, registered the same vow,
+and informed the Viennese Court that thenceforth he separated his
+interests entirely from hers. Thus was it that Pitt's plans miscarried.
+Thus was it that British subsidies were flung away into the limbo strewn
+with tokens of Hapsburg fatuity.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Anglo-Russian effort against the Batavian Republic is often referred
+to as if it were the principal event of the year 1799. On the contrary,
+it was little more than a diversion intended to help the chief
+enterprise in Switzerland and Franche Comté. The Czar Paul and Pitt
+probably did not intend to hold the Dutch Provinces unless the Allies
+pressed France hard on the Swiss frontier and the Orange party rose in
+force. If these contingencies held good, then Holland might be held as
+far as the River Waal. If not, then the effort must be temporary. Even
+so, its advantages were great. The seizure of the Dutch fleet at the
+Texel and Helder would end all chance of invasion from that quarter.
+Fears of such an attempt had prompted a counter-stroke dealt by General
+Coote's force in the spring of 1798 at the sluice-gates near Ostend. Its
+surrender under untoward circumstances was, perhaps, nearly
+counterbalanced by the destruction of canal works necessary for the
+assembly of the flat-bottomed boats at Ostend.
+
+For a brief space the doubtful attitude of Prussia led Pitt and
+Grenville to concert a larger scheme. They hoped to form a great array
+of Prussians, Russians, Britons, and Hanoverians which would sweep the
+French out of Holland; but obviously such a plan depended on the support
+of the Berlin Cabinet. If it were hostile, or even unfriendly, no force
+could advance through Hanover for the delivery of Holland; for it would
+be at the mercy of Prussia. In order to bring her into the league, Pitt
+and Grenville held out the promise of gains near the Dutch frontier; but
+she held coyly aloof, doubtless from a conviction that Austria would
+oppose her aggrandisement. So at least Thugut declared to Eden on his
+departure from Vienna. Well might his successor, Lord Minto, remark that
+the Allies spent as much time in watching each other's moves as those of
+the enemy.
+
+Prussia being immovable, England and Russia laid their plans for a naval
+expedition to Holland. By a Convention signed at midsummer 1799 at St
+Petersburg, Russia agreed to send a squadron of 11 ships, convoying an
+expeditionary force of 17,500 men to the Dutch coast, England paying
+£44,000 per month for their services after embarkation. The Czar hoped
+that England would send some 6,000 men. The help of 8,000 Swedes was
+also expected; but the King of Sweden, annoyed at England's seizure of
+Swedish merchantmen, refused all assistance. For a time Pitt desired
+both to attack the Island of Voorn below Rotterdam, and to effect a
+landing in the estuary of the Ems, provided that 25,000 British, 18,000
+Russians, and 8,000 Swedes were available. Here, as so often, Pitt's
+hopes outran the actuality. Windham believed that he wished to conquer
+Flanders. But Windham's moods were so various and perverse that he can
+scarcely be trusted. In his view every effort not directed towards
+Brittany was wasted; and certainly feints against the coasts of Brittany
+and Spain promised to further the Dutch expedition.[519]
+
+Early in August Pitt and his colleagues finally resolved to send the
+expedition to the Dutch coast; but they had not decided as to the length
+or extent of the occupation. So, at least, it appears from a letter of
+Pitt to Sir Charles Grey:
+
+ Downing Street, _Aug. 23, 1799_.[520]
+
+ You will not wonder that the circumstances of the present moment
+ have strongly recalled to Mr. Dundas's mind and mine the
+ conversations which we have at different times had with you
+ respecting the possibility of a successful stroke against Brest.
+ The assemblage of the combined fleets[521] in that port renders
+ such an object more tempting than ever. We have a prospect, if
+ the expedition in Holland should terminate speedily, of having a
+ large army of 30,000 men at least, and a large body of marines,
+ with any number of sail-of-the-line that may be thought
+ necessary, applicable to such a service by the month of October;
+ and if the Allies continue to push their operations on the other
+ side of France, the bulk of the French force will find
+ sufficient occupation at a distance from their coast. In all
+ these respects the time seems as favourable as it can ever be
+ expected to be to such an enterprise; and if it is to be
+ undertaken, we shall derive the greatest confidence of success
+ from seeing the execution of it placed in your hands. Many
+ circumstances may undoubtedly arise in the course of the next
+ six weeks which may oblige us to abandon the idea....
+
+This letter proves that Pitt did not expect a prolonged occupation of
+Holland, at least by British troops; but the notions of Ministers on
+this topic were singularly hazy. All things considered, the expedition
+at first fared well. Sir Ralph Abercromby, the leader of the first
+detachment of some 12,000 British troops, effected a landing near the
+forts at the Helder, and on 27th August speedily captured them. Three
+days later Admiral Mitchell captured a squadron of 10 sail-of-the-line
+and several frigates anchored behind the Texel. Pitt was elated by these
+successes, and wrote from Walmer Castle on 5th September: "We are
+impatiently waiting till this east wind brings our transports in sight
+to carry the remainder of our troops, in order to compleat speedily what
+has been so gloriously begun." He adds that in a short autumn session he
+hopes speedily to pass by acclamation a Bill ensuring the doubling of
+the regular army by another levy from the militia.[522] Other letters
+bespeak his anxiety as to the safety of his brother, the Earl of
+Chatham, who served on the Council of War directing the operations of
+the Duke of York.
+
+Abercromby's first successes were for a time maintained. At dawn of 10th
+September the British force beat off a sharp attack by Vandamme at the
+Zuype Canal on the way southwards to Alkmaar. Three days later the Duke
+of York arrived and took the command, including that of a Russian corps
+under General Hermann. Moving forwards with some 30,000 men, the Duke
+attacked a Franco-Dutch force somewhat inferior in numbers but very
+strongly posted at and around the village of Bergen. The onset failed,
+mainly owing to the fierce but premature and disorderly onset of the
+Russians on the right wing, which ended in a rout. Abercromby's flanking
+movement came too late to restore the fight, which cost the British
+1,000 men and the Russians more than double as many (19th September).
+Hermann was taken prisoner.[523]
+
+On 2nd October the Allies compelled the enemy to retreat from Bergen;
+but the success was of little service. The defenders, now strongly
+reinforced, held several good positions between Alkmaar and Amsterdam.
+Meanwhile the Orange party did not stir. Torrents of rain day after day
+impaired the health of the troops and filled the dykes. An advance being
+impossible in these circumstances, the Duke of York retreated to the
+line of the Zuype (8th to 9th October). There he could have held his
+own; but, in view of the disasters in Switzerland, Ministers decided to
+evacuate Holland (15th October). Accordingly, by the Convention of
+Alkmaar, on the 18th, the Duke of York agreed to evacuate the Dutch
+Netherlands by the end of November, 8,000 of the prisoners of war then
+in England being restored. Most questionable was the decision of
+Ministers to evacuate the Helder and the Texel. Grenville desired to
+hold those posts as bases for a second attempt in 1800; but this was not
+done. The only result, then, was the capture of the Dutch fleet, a prize
+gained without loss by the end of September.
+
+The censures bestowed on this undertaking are very natural. Success was
+scarcely possible in the narrow, marshy strip of land north of
+Amsterdam. In such a district victory must be costly, while defeat spelt
+disaster. The whole enterprise was unwarrantable, unless the Orange
+party was about to rise; but on this subject Ministers were deceived.
+The Prince of Orange and his son assured them that it was necessary even
+to hold back the loyalists until armed help appeared, so eager were they
+to expel the French.[524] Not a sign of this eagerness appeared.
+
+Undaunted by this failure, which Sheridan wittily called nibbling at the
+French rind, Pitt sought to utilize the Russian force withdrawn from
+Holland for the projected blow at Brest. It was therefore taken to the
+Channel Islands, greatly to the hurt of the inhabitants. Pitt and
+Grenville also concerted plans with the Austrian Court, which, chastened
+by the disasters in Switzerland, now displayed less truculence. It
+agreed to repay the loan of May 1797, to restore Piedmont to the House
+of Savoy, and to give back to France any provinces conquered in the war,
+on condition of the re-establishment of monarchy. Thus, a friendly
+understanding was at last arrived at; and on 24th December 1799
+Grenville empowered Minto to prepare a treaty, adding that on the first
+opportunity the French Government should be informed of this engagement.
+
+The occasion occurred at once. Bonaparte, having become master of France
+by the _coup d'état_ of Brumaire (10th November), wrote on Christmas Day
+to Francis II and George III proposing terms of peace. The statesmanlike
+tone of that offer has been deservedly admired; but his motives in
+making it do not concern us here.[525] Suffice it to say that Pitt and
+Thugut saw in it a clever device for sundering the Anglo-Austrian
+compact. As appears from a letter of Canning, Pitt looked on the new
+Consular Government as a make-shift. Writing early in December to
+Canning, Pitt stated that the new French constitution might prove to be
+of a moderate American kind. To this Canning answered on the 7th that it
+might perhaps last long enough to admit of Bonaparte sending off a
+courier to London and receiving the reply if he were kicked back. Or
+more probably, France would fall under a military despotism, "of the
+actual and manifest instability of which you seem to entertain no
+doubt." In answer to Pitt's statement "that we ought not to commit
+ourselves by any declaration that the restoration of royalty is the
+_sine qua non_ condition of peace," Canning advised him to issue a
+declaration "that you would treat with a monarchy; that to the monarchy
+restored to its rightful owner you would give not only peace, but peace
+on the most liberal terms."
+
+Clearly, then, Pitt was less royalist than Canning; but he decided to
+repel all overtures from Paris (so he wrote to Dundas on 31st December),
+because the condition of France did not provide a solid security for a
+peace. He added that he desired "to express strongly the eagerness with
+which we should embrace any opening for general peace whenever such
+solid security should be attainable. This may, I think, be so expressed
+as to convey to the people of France that the shortest road to peace is
+by effecting the restoration of Royalty, and thereby to increase the
+chance of that most desirable of all issues to the war." As Grenville
+and Dundas concurred in this view, the Foreign Office sent off a reply
+stating that the usual diplomatic forms would be observed; that His
+Majesty sought only to maintain the rights of his subjects against a war
+of aggression; and that the present time was unsuitable for negotiations
+with persons recently placed in power by a Revolution, until they should
+disclaim the restless and subversive schemes which threatened the
+framework of society. His Majesty, however, would welcome peace when it
+could be attained with security, the best pledge of which would be the
+restoration of Royalty.
+
+This reply ranks among the greatest mistakes of the time. It made the
+name of the Bourbons odious and that of Bonaparte popular throughout
+France; and the scornful references to the First Consul's insecurity
+must have re-doubled the zeal of Frenchmen for the erection of a truly
+national and monarchical system under his auspices. In truth, it is
+difficult to see why Pitt, who held out the olive-branch to the
+newly-established Directory in the autumn of 1795, should have repelled
+the proffered hand of Bonaparte. The probable explanation is that he
+thought more of the effect of the reply at Vienna than at Paris. On 6th
+January Grenville forwarded a copy to Minto, expressing also the hope
+that it would be regarded as a sign of the fidelity of England to the
+Emperor. Further, Pitt's oration on 3rd February 1800 on this topic was
+marked by extreme acerbity against Bonaparte. He descanted on his
+perfidy and rapacity at the expense of Venice and the Sultan's
+dominions, and deprecated a compact with "this last adventurer in the
+lottery of Revolutions.... As a sincere lover of peace," he added, "I
+will not sacrifice it by grasping at the shadow, when the reality is not
+substantially within my reach. _Cur igitur pacem nolo? Quia infida est,
+quia periculosa, quia esse non potest._"[526] In reply to a verbal
+challenge from Tierney a fortnight later, he fired off an harangue which
+ranks among the ablest and most fervid of improvisations. The Whig
+leader having defied him to state in one sentence without _ifs_ and
+_buts_ the object of the war, Pitt flung back the retort:
+
+ ... I know not whether I can do it in one sentence, but in one
+ word I can tell him that it is security; security against a
+ danger the greatest that ever threatened the world; ... against
+ a danger which has been resisted by all the nations of Europe,
+ and resisted by none with so much success as by this nation,
+ because by none has it been resisted so uniformly and with so
+ much energy.... How or where did the honourable gentleman
+ discover that the Jacobinism of Robespierre, of Barère, of the
+ Triumvirate, of the Five Directors, which he acknowledged to be
+ real, has vanished and disappeared because it has all been
+ centred and condensed into one man, who was reared and nursed in
+ its bosom, whose celebrity was gained under its auspices, who
+ was at once the child and champion of all its atrocities and
+ horrors? Our security in negotiation is to be this Buonaparte,
+ who is now the sole organ of all that was formerly dangerous and
+ pestiferous in the Revolution.... _If_ peace afford no prospect
+ of security; _if_ it threaten all the evils which we have been
+ struggling to avert; _if_ the prosecution of the war afford the
+ prospect of attaining complete security; and _if_ it may be
+ prosecuted with increasing commerce, with increasing means, and
+ with increasing prosperity, except what may result from the
+ visitations of the seasons; then I say it is prudent in us not
+ to negotiate at the present moment. These are my _buts_ and my
+ _ifs_. This is my plea, and on no other do I wish to be tried by
+ God and my country.
+
+One who heard that spirited retort left on record the profound
+impression which it produced on the House.[527]
+
+Seeing that Bonaparte was then known merely as an able _condottiere_,
+not as the re-organizer of French society, Pitt's haughty attitude,
+though deplorable, is intelligible. The prospects of the war were not
+unfavourable. He hoped that Austria, now about to invade Nice and Savoy,
+would be able by her own efforts to reduce France within her old limits,
+England's duty being to offer help on the Riviera, to make a dash at
+Brest, and to seize Belleisle as a base of supplies for the Breton
+royalists, now once more in revolt. It is significant that Dundas wrote
+to Pitt on 4th January expressing his belief that Bonaparte must be
+serious in his desire for peace because he had no other game to
+play.[528]
+
+Many influences conspired to mar these hopes. The enterprises against
+Brest and Belleisle proved to be impracticable, and a landing at
+Quiberon failed because the Breton rising occurred too soon. The
+royalists of Provence did not rise at all. An attempt by Sir James
+Pulteney and a small force upon Ferrol was an utter failure. All the
+operations were paralysed by uncertainty as to the future conduct of
+Russia. The indignation of the Czar against Austria extended to England
+after the failure of the joint expedition to Holland; and his testiness
+increased owing to maritime disputes and the friction caused by the
+outrages of his troops in the Channel Islands. In the Riviera the
+Austrians continued their successes, and finally shut up Masséna in
+Genoa, where the British fleet rendered valuable service. But it is not
+surprising to find Grenville writing on 10th April to Dundas: "For God's
+sake, for your own honour, and for the cause in which we are engaged, do
+not let us, after having by immense exertions collected a fine army,
+leave it unemployed, gaping after messengers from Genoa, Augsburg, and
+Vienna till the moment for acting is irrecoverably passed by."
+
+This, however, was the outcome of events. The French, acting on interior
+lines, and propelled by the will of Bonaparte, utterly crushed these
+sporadic efforts. The Royalists were quelled or pacified, the coasts
+were well guarded, while the First Consul, crossing the Great St.
+Bernard, overthrew the Austrians at Marengo (14th June). Before long
+Naples made peace with the conqueror. Meanwhile the Sea Power, operating
+on diverse coasts, delayed, but did not reverse, the progress of the
+French arms. British forces for a time defended Portugal and held
+Minorca and the citadel of Messina, but without any appreciable effect
+on Spain or Italy. The fleet played an important part in starving out
+the French garrisons of Genoa and Valetta. But elsewhere the action, or
+inaction, of the British forces was discreditable. True, the conditions
+were adverse, but an army numbering more than 80,000 men, and costing
+nearly £10,000,000 sterling, should have accomplished something in
+Europe.
+
+Only at one point did the British arms win a decisive success. The
+French occupation of Egypt had aroused the apprehensions of Dundas for
+India; and throughout the year 1800 he continued to urge an expedition
+to Egypt, though other Ministers inclined to put it off. Finally, when
+Bonaparte's triumph at Marengo shattered all hopes of an Austrian
+invasion of Provence, and the surrender of Valetta, early in September,
+set free the British squadron long blockading that port, Dundas pressed
+the Egyptian project in a letter to Pitt, dated Wimbledon, 19th
+September 1800. The gist of it is as follows:[529]
+
+ On reconsidering the discussion on Egypt at the Cabinet meeting
+ of yesterday, I am impressed by the danger of delaying action.
+ The importance of expelling the French from Egypt is obvious;
+ for it is clear that Bonaparte will subordinate every object to
+ the retention of that colony. The danger to India may not be
+ immediate, but it must be faced. Besides, our sacrifice of
+ Turkish interests to those of Austria [that is, by refusing to
+ ratify the Franco-Turkish Convention of El Arish] may induce the
+ Sultan to bargain with France on terms very unfavourable to us.
+ Or, again, France and Russia may plan a partition of the Ottoman
+ Empire. The objections, that we are pledged to do what we can
+ for Portugal and Austria, are not vital. For Portugal is safe
+ while the Viennese Court opposes France; and by our subsidies
+ and naval help we have borne our fair share in the Coalition.
+ Further efforts in that direction will be fruitless. We must now
+ see to our own interests. By occupying all the posts of Egypt,
+ we can coop up the French and force them to capitulate. Action
+ must not be postponed for any consideration whatever.
+
+The opinion of Dundas soon prevailed; for, on 6th October, Grenville
+wrote that the Egyptian Expedition was decided on. As is well known, the
+joint efforts of forces from England, India, and the Cape of Good Hope
+brought about the surrender of the French garrisons, and the acquisition
+for the British Museum of the treasures designed for the Louvre. This
+brilliant result was in the last instance due to Abercromby, Hutchinson,
+Popham, and their coadjutors. But the enterprise resulted from the
+untiring championship of the interests of India by Dundas. Long
+afterwards at Perthshire dinner-tables he used to tell with pride how
+George III once proposed a toast to the Minister who planned the
+expedition to Egypt and in doing so had the courage to oppose not only
+his colleagues but his King.
+
+As the year 1800 drew to its close, the opposition of the Baltic Powers
+to the British maritime code became most threatening. The questions at
+issue are too technical to be discussed here. Pitt and his colleagues
+believed the maintenance of the rights of search and of the seizure of
+an enemy's goods on neutral ships to be essential to the existence of
+England. For this view of the case much was to be said. In every war
+France used neutral ships in order to get supplies; and the neutrals
+themselves sought to filch trade from British merchants. Now, to hinder
+or destroy the commerce of the enemy, and to prevent neutrals from
+bringing naval stores to his ports, were the only means of bringing
+pressure from the sea upon the dominant Land Power. In a strife for life
+or death Pitt and his colleagues perforce made use of every weapon, even
+to the detriment of non-combatants. This stiff attitude, however,
+contrasted with that of Bonaparte, who, in July 1800 flattered the Czar
+by sending back Russian prisoners and by offering to cede Malta to him.
+Paul, not knowing that the fall of Valetta was imminent, was duped by
+this device; and, a few weeks later, occurred the rupture between Russia
+and England.
+
+Thus, within a year, the Second Coalition against France went to pieces,
+and was succeeded by a league against England. Thanks to the victory of
+Nelson at Copenhagen and the murder of the Czar Paul in the spring of
+1801, that unnatural alliance speedily collapsed. These events, however,
+belong to a time subsequent to Pitt's resignation of office, after the
+completion of the union with Ireland, to which we must now return.
+Enough has been said to show the statesmanlike nature of his plans for
+the vindication of European independence. The intrigues of Thugut, the
+selfish isolation of Prussia, and the mad oscillations of Paul marred
+those plans and left the Continent a prey to the unbridled ambition of
+Bonaparte, from which it was to be saved only after a decade of
+exhausting wars.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[502] "F. O.," Austria, 51; "Dropmore P.," iv, 170. The French took
+nearly 33,000,000 francs from the Swiss cantonal treasuries.
+
+[503] Pitt MSS., 108.
+
+[504] "Dropmore P.," iv, 166, 172; "F. O.," Austria, 51. Grenville to
+Eden, 20th April.
+
+[505] The Earl of Crawford's MSS.
+
+[506] "F. O.," Russia, 40. Whitworth to Grenville, 6th August 1798.
+
+[507] See my Introduction to "The History of Malta, 1798-1815," by the
+late W. Hardman.
+
+[508] "Dropmore P.," iv, 344, 355.
+
+[509] See Rose, "Napoleonic Studies," 54-8, for this despatch of 16th
+November 1798.
+
+[510] For a fuller account see "Camb. Mod. Hist.," viii, ch. xxi, by the
+present writer.
+
+[511] "F. O.," Russia, 42. Despatches of 2nd, 8th and 25th January 1799.
+
+[512] Huffer, "Quellen," i, 23-9.
+
+[513] "Dropmore P.," iv, 297, 338, 505; "F. O.," Russia, 42.
+
+[514] "F. O.," Russia, 42. Whitworth to Grenville, 29th March.
+
+[515] "F. O.," Russia, 43. Grenville to Whitworth, 23rd June.
+
+[516] G. Caudrillier, "L'Association royaliste ... et la Conspiration
+anglaise en France" (Paris, 1908); Wickham, "Corresp.," ii, _passim_.
+
+[517] B.M. Add. MSS., 37844.
+
+[518] "Dropmore P.," v, 400. I propose to examine this campaign in "Pitt
+and Napoleon Miscellanies."
+
+[519] "F. O.," Russia, 43. Whitworth to Grenville, 23rd June 1799;
+"Dropmore P.," v, 133, 259; Windham, "Diary," 411. On 22nd July Windham
+urged Pitt to send a force to help the Bretons rather than to Holland.
+"If we succeed in France, Holland falls of course, but not _vice versa_"
+(Pitt MSS., 190).
+
+[520] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[521] That of Bruix, which after entering the Mediterranean, returned to
+Brest on 13th August along with the Spanish fleet.
+
+[522] The Earl of Crawford's MSS.
+
+[523] Fortescue, iv, 662, 673-6; Bunbury, "Narrative of the War
+(1799-1810)," 50. Hermann wrote to the Emperor blaming the British for
+not supporting his advance ("Dropmore P.," v, 425); but on 10th October
+Paul dismissed him from the Russian service ("F. O.," Russia, 44).
+
+[524] "Dropmore P.," v, 446.
+
+[525] See Rose, "Napoleon I," 240-2.
+
+[526] Cicero, Seventh Philippic, ch. iii.
+
+[527] The father of the present Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.
+See his work, "Ten Great and Good Men," 49.
+
+[528] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[529] Pretyman MSS.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVIII
+
+ THE UNION
+
+ I am determined not to submit to the insertion of any clause
+ that shall make the exclusion of the Catholics a fundamental
+ part of the Union, as I am fully convinced that, until the
+ Catholics are admitted into a general participation of rights
+ (which, when incorporated with the British Government, they
+ cannot abuse) there will be no peace or safety in
+ Ireland.--CORNWALLIS TO ROSS, _30th September 1798_.
+
+
+The fairest method of dealing with the Act of Union of the British and
+Irish Parliaments seems to be, firstly, to trace the development of
+Pitt's thoughts on that subject; secondly, to survey the state of
+affairs in Ireland after the Rebellion of 1798; and thirdly, to trace
+the course of the negotiations whereby the new Lord Lieutenant,
+Cornwallis, succeeded in carrying through the measure itself.
+
+Firstly, it is clear that Pitt had long felt the need of closer
+commercial ties between the two islands. As was shown in Chapter XI of
+the former part of this work, he sought to prepare the way for such a
+measure in the session of 1785. The importance which he attached to the
+freeing of inter-insular trade appears in a phrase of his letter of 6th
+January 1785 to the Duke of Rutland as to Great Britain and Ireland
+becoming "one country in effect, though for local concerns under
+distinct legislatures," This represents his first thoughts on the
+subject. Obviously they were then limited to a commercial union. If the
+two Parliaments and the two nations could have shaken off their
+commercial jealousies, Pitt would probably have been satisfied with
+fostering the prosperity of both islands, while leaving their
+legislative machinery intact. But, being thwarted by the stupidity of
+British traders and the nagging tactics adopted at Dublin, he wrote to
+Rutland that his plan was not discredited by failure and they must
+"await times and seasons for carrying it into effect."
+
+Times and seasons brought, not peace and quiet, but the French
+Revolution. With it there came an increase of racial and religious
+feuds, which, however, did but strengthen his conviction of the need of
+a closer connection between the two islands; witness his letter of 18th
+November 1792 to the Lord Lieutenant, the Earl of Westmorland:
+
+ The idea of the present fermentation gradually bringing both
+ parties to think of an Union with this country has long been in
+ my mind. I hardly dare flatter myself with the hope of its
+ taking place; but I believe it, tho' itself not easy to be
+ accomplished, to be the only solution for other and greater
+ difficulties. The admission of Catholics to a share of suffrage
+ could not then be dangerous. The Protestant interest, in point
+ of power, property and Church Establishment, would be secure
+ because the decided majority of the supreme Legislature would
+ necessarily be Protestant; and the great ground of argument on
+ the part of the Catholics would be done away, as, compared with
+ the rest of the Empire, they would become a minority. You will
+ judge when and to whom this idea can be confided. It must
+ certainly require great delicacy and management; but I am
+ heartily glad that it is at least in your thoughts.[530]
+
+These words show why Pitt allowed proposals so imperfect as the
+Franchise Bill of 1793 to become law. It enfranchised most of the Irish
+peasantry, the great majority of whom were Catholics, though men of
+their creed were excluded from Parliament. But he hoped in the future to
+supplement it by a far greater measure which would render the admission
+of Catholics to Parliament innocuous, namely, by the formation of a
+united Parliament in which they would command only a small minority of
+votes. Pitt's words open up a vista which receded far away amidst the
+smoke of war and the mirage of bigotry, and did not come into sight
+until the second decade of the period of peace, when Canning, Pitt's
+disciple, was the chief champion of the measure here first clearly
+outlined. Pitt, then, desired a Union as the sole means of ending
+commercial disputes, otherwise as insoluble as those between England and
+Scotland previous to the year 1707; but also for an even weightier
+reason, because only so could the religious discords of Irishmen be
+ended; only so could the chafing of the majority against the rule of a
+cramping caste cease. By the formation of an Imperial Parliament, the
+Irish Protestants would have solid guarantees against the subversion of
+all that they held most dear.
+
+The full realization of these aims was impossible. Early in 1793 came
+war with France, with its sequel, the heating of nationalist and
+religious feeling in Ireland; and while the officials of Dublin Castle
+embarked on a policy of repression, the United Irishmen looked for help
+to Paris. The results appeared in the Rebellion of 1798. The
+oft-repeated assertion that Pitt and Camden brought about the revolt in
+order to force on the Union is at variance with all the available
+evidence. They sought by all possible means to prevent a rising, which,
+with a reasonable amount of help from France, must have shaken the
+British Empire to its base. When the rebellion came and developed into a
+bloody religious feud, they saw that the time for a Union had come.
+
+The best means of checking hasty generalizations is to peruse letters
+written at the time, before ingenious theories could be spun. Now, the
+definite proposal of a Union very rarely occurs before the month of June
+1798. One of the first references is in a letter of the Lord Chancellor,
+Loughborough, to Pitt, dated 13th June 1798. After approving the
+appointment of Cornwallis as the best means of quelling the revolt in
+Ireland, he adds: "Every reasonable man in that country must feel that
+their preservation depends on their connection with England, and it
+ought [to] be their first wish to make it more entire. It would be very
+rash to make any such suggestion from hence: but we should be prepared
+to receive it and to impose the idea whenever it begins to appear in
+Ireland."[531]
+
+More important, as showing the impossibility of continuing the present
+chaotic administration at Dublin, is the following letter from the Earl
+of Carlisle, formerly Lord Lieutenant, to Pitt. It is undated, but
+probably belongs to 2nd June 1798:[532]
+
+ ... It may perhaps be but a weak apology for this interruption
+ to own I cannot help looking at that country [Ireland] with a
+ sort of affection, like an old house which one has once
+ inhabited, not disliking the antient arrangement of its
+ interior, and perhaps unreasonably prejudiced against many of
+ its modern innovations. The innovation that has long given me
+ uneasiness, and which now seems most seriously to perplex the
+ Irish Government, was the fatal institution of an Irish Cabinet,
+ which has worked itself into being, considered almost as a
+ component part of that deputed authority. A Government composed
+ of Lords Justices, natives of that country, as a permanent
+ establishment, absurd as such an expedient might be, would not
+ have at least that radical defect of authority disjoined from
+ responsibility. We now feel all the bad effects of a power which
+ should never have been confer'd, and which is strengthen'd from
+ hence by many acting with you, so as to make it impossible for
+ the Lord Lieutenant to manage with it or without it.
+
+ You have, in my poor judgment, an opportunity offer'd to crush
+ at one blow this defective system. Ireland, I scruple not to
+ say, cannot be saved if you permit an hour longer almost the
+ military defence of that country to depend upon the tactical
+ dictates of Chancellors, Speaker of the House of Commons, etc. I
+ mean to speak with no disrespect of Lord Camden; I never heard
+ anything but to his honour; but I maintain under the present
+ circumstances the best soldier would make the best
+ Lord-Lieutenant; one on whom no Junto there would presume to
+ fling their shackles, and one who would cut them short if they
+ presumed to talk of what they did not understand. With this
+ idea, I confess, Ld Cornwallis naturally occurs to me. Next to
+ this, but not so efficacious, would be sending some one equal to
+ the military duties, freed from all control, saving that, for
+ form's sake, good sense would acquiesce under to [_sic_] the
+ King's Deputy. But I cannot doubt but a deeper change would be
+ most advisable. The disaffected to our Government (and I fear it
+ is too general) may perhaps have their degrees and divisions of
+ animosity against it, and some possibly may be changed by a
+ change of men more than by a professed change of measures, which
+ perhaps they think little about. I know they are taught to
+ believe a particular set of men are their enemies; in truth I
+ question if, in tyrannising over and thwarting the Castle, and
+ talking so injudiciously, they ought to be considered as our
+ friends....
+
+Thus the man to whom in 1795 Earl Fitzwilliam poured forth his
+grievances against Pitt, now advised him to end the mischievous dualism
+at Dublin, which enabled Lords Justices and the Speaker of the Irish
+House of Commons to paralyse the Executive. There, as at Berlin,
+advisers who had great influence but no official responsibility, often
+intervened with disastrous results; and not until Stein took the tiller
+after Tilsit did the Prussian ship of State pursue a straight course. At
+Dublin the crisis of 1798 revealed the weakness of the Irish Executive,
+and naturally led to a complete break with the past.[533]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Amidst the mass of Pitt's papers relating to Ireland there is no sign of
+his intention to press on an Act of Union before the middle of the
+month of June 1798, that is, in the midst of the Rebellion. The first
+reference to it occurs in a memorandum endorsed by Pitt "received June
+19, 1798," and obviously drawn up by Camden a few days before he
+resigned the Viceroyalty in favour of Cornwallis. Pitt's letter of
+inquiry is missing. Camden's reply is too long for quotation, but may be
+thus summarized:
+
+ The plan of a Union should be detailed as far as possible before
+ it is attempted. The King's Cabinet should be at once consulted,
+ also leading persons in both islands. If their opinion is
+ favourable, the measure should then be brought forward. If the
+ Catholic claims are to be met, the advice of their leading men,
+ as for instance Lords Fingal and Kenmare, should be sought. The
+ legal attainments of the Irish Chancellor, the Earl of Clare,
+ and the parliamentary and commercial connections of the Speaker,
+ Foster, entitle their opinions to great weight. Foster may
+ perhaps be won over by the offer of an English peerage. The
+ Irish Bar, as also Lords Shannon and Ely, will probably oppose a
+ Union. Some persons will object to the admission of Catholics
+ even to the United Parliament, though that measure cannot do
+ harm. The Scottish Catholics should have the same privileges
+ accorded to them, and a provision should be made for the
+ Dissenting clergy. Parliamentary Reform must be considered, but
+ it will not be dangerous now. The French will never make peace
+ until Great Britain is weakened. The religious difficulty of a
+ Union will not be great, for the Protestants will always form
+ the majority in the United Parliament. Legal expenses in the
+ case of Irish suits will be little more than in Scottish suits.
+ As Dublin will suffer from the removal of the Parliament, the
+ Lord Lieutenant's Court must be kept up in great splendour, the
+ residence of influential persons in Ireland being encouraged in
+ every possible way. The communications between the two islands
+ must be improved, free packet-boats being provided. In a
+ postscript Camden adds that he hopes Cornwallis will continue
+ the present repressive policy, which otherwise must appear
+ unduly harsh by contrast.[534]
+
+The most significant passages are those in which Camden refers to the
+plan of a Union as so unformed as to require preliminary inquiries, and
+in which he presumes that after the Union Dissenters and Catholics will
+have "the same advantages as are bestowed upon the rest of the
+inhabitants of the three kingdoms." Clearly, then, Pitt and Camden had
+come to no decision on the Union; but Camden, from what he knew of
+Pitt's views, believed that he favoured a broad and inclusive policy,
+not a Union framed on a narrowly Protestant basis. Neither of them seems
+to have anticipated serious resistance on the religious question, even
+though the King, at the time of the Fitzwilliam crisis of 1795, had
+declared the admission of Catholics to the Irish Parliament to be a
+matter which concerned his conscience, not his Cabinet.
+
+It is also obvious that the question of the Union was forced to the
+front by the cumbrous dualism of the Irish Executive, which proved to be
+utterly unable to cope with the crisis of the Rebellion. The King, as we
+have seen, shrewdly suggested that Cornwallis ought to make use of the
+fears of Irish loyalists in order to frighten the Dublin Parliament into
+acquiescence in an Act of Union. The same opinion was gaining ground;
+but several of Pitt's supporters doubted the advisability of so
+far-reaching a measure. Thus, on 4th July 1798, Hatsell, Clerk of the
+House of Commons, wrote to Auckland that of all possible plans a Union
+was the worst, "full of difficulties, to be brought about by errant
+jobs; and, when done, not answering the purpose. You must take out the
+teeth, or give the Catholics sops to eat. One or other; but the
+half-measure won't do." Better balanced was the judgement of the Earl of
+Carlisle, as stated to Auckland some time in September. After asking
+whether the recurrence of local risings in Ireland did not prove the
+unwisdom of the policy of lenience pursued by Cornwallis, he added these
+significant words: "In this distress it is not strange that we should
+turn to the expedient of Union; but this is running in a dark night for
+a port we are little acquainted with.... If you did not satisfy Ireland
+by the measure and take off some part of those ill-disposed to England,
+you would only make matters worse. But in truth something must be done,
+or we must fight for Ireland once a week."[535]
+
+That the activity of the rebels varied according to the prospects of aid
+from France was manifest. Thus, on 25th July Beresford wrote to Auckland
+that the people seemed tired of rebellion, which would die out unless
+the French landed. But on 22nd August, after the arrival of Humbert's
+little force in Killala Bay, he described the whole country as in
+revolt. The State prisoners, O'Connor, McNevin, and Addis Emmett, sent
+to the papers a denial of their former pacific assurances;[536] and
+even after the surrender of Humbert's force, Beresford wrote to Auckland
+on 15th September: "... Should the French or the Dutch get out an
+armament and land, there will be a very general rising. I have it from a
+man on whose veracity I can depend, and who was on the spot in Mayo,
+during the French invasion, that the Catholics of the country ran to
+join them with eagerness, and that they had more than they could arm;
+that, as they moved on, they were constantly joined; but he says the
+Irish behaved so ill that the French made use of discipline, which
+thinned their ranks; however, they had 4,000 of them when they were
+attacked by Colonel Vereker, and about 200 of the Limerick militia. By
+our late accounts there are said to be in Mayo and Roscommon 10,000
+rebels up: they are destroying the country."[537] Beresford then blames
+the Viceroy's proclamation, offering pardon to rebels who come in within
+a month, and he says their leaders tell them that 20,000 French will
+soon land. Equally significant is the statement of George Rose in a
+letter of 23rd September. Referring to the fact that two French warships
+had got away from Brest towards the Irish coast, he writes: "If they
+land, the struggle may be more serious. The truth is that it will be
+nearly impossible to keep Ireland as a conquered country. Union is
+become more urgent than ever." This was also the opinion of Lord
+Sheffield. Writing on 29th September from Rottingdean to Auckland, he
+remarks on the disquieting ease with which the French squadrons reach
+Ireland. He has had a long argument with the Irish Judge, Sir William
+Downes, and proved to him the necessity of a Union with Ireland. But (he
+proceeds) it will never take place, if it is set about publicly.
+
+Irish loyalists united in decrying the comparatively lenient methods of
+Cornwallis; but, despite the urgent advice of Camden to Pitt, the change
+of system met with approval at Downing Street. This is the more
+remarkable as letters from Dublin were full of invectives against
+Cornwallis. Buckingham wrote almost daily to his brother, Grenville,
+foretelling ruin from the weakness and vacillation of the Lord
+Lieutenant. Still more furious were Beresford, Cooke, and Lees. Their
+correspondence with Auckland, Postmaster-General at London, was so
+systematic as to imply design. Probably they sought to procure the
+dismissal of Cornwallis and the nomination of Auckland in his place.
+There can be little doubt that Auckland lent himself to the scheme with
+a view to maintaining the Protestant ascendancy unimpaired; for he wrote
+to Beresford that public opinion in England favoured the maintenance of
+the existing order of things in Church and State in both kingdoms. The
+following extracts from the letters which he received from Cooke and
+Lees are typical. On 4th October Lees writes: "I am afraid Lord
+Cornwallis is not devil enough to deal with the devils he has to contend
+with in this country.... The profligacy of the murderous malignant
+disposition of Paddy soars too high for his humane and merciful
+principles at this crisis." Cooke was less flowery but equally emphatic:
+"If," he wrote on 22nd October, "your Union is to be Protestant, we have
+100,000 Protestants who are connected by Orange Lodges, and they might
+be made a great instrument.... Our robberies and murders continue; and
+the depredations of the mountain rebels increase."[538]
+
+Nevertheless Cornwallis held on his way. In the period 22nd August 1798
+to the end of February 1799, he reprieved as many as 41 rebels out of
+131 on whom sentence of death had been passed, and he commuted to
+banishment heavy sentences passed on 78 others. It is clear, then, that,
+despite the efforts of Buckingham and the officials of Dublin Castle,
+Pitt continued to uphold a policy of clemency. But it is equally clear
+that the reliance of Irish malcontents on French aid, the persistent
+efforts of the Brest squadron to send that aid, and the savage reprisals
+demanded, and when possible enforced, by the loyal minority of Irishmen,
+brought about a situation in which Ireland could not stand alone.[539]
+
+Preliminary inquiries respecting the Act of Union were set on foot, and
+the results were summarized in Memoranda of the summer and autumn of
+1798. One of them, comprised among the Pelham manuscripts, is annotated
+by Pitt. The compiler thus referred to the question of Catholic
+Emancipation: "Catholics to be eligible to all offices, civil and
+military, taking the present oath. Such as shall take the Oath of
+Supremacy in the Bill of Rights may sit in Parliament without
+subscribing the Abjuration. Corporation offices to be Protestant." On
+this Pitt wrote the following note: "The first part seems
+unexceptionable, and is exactly what I wish ... but if this oath is
+sufficient for office, why require a different one for Parliament? And
+why are Corporation offices to be exclusively Protestant, when those of
+the State may be Catholic?"[540] Well might Pitt ask these questions,
+for the whole system of exclusion by religious tests was condemned so
+soon as admission to Parliament ceased to depend on them. Other
+Memoranda dealt mainly with the difficult question of compensation to
+the borough-holders and placemen who would suffer by the proposed
+change. But for the present it will be well to deal with the question of
+the abolition of religious tests.
+
+The procedure of Pitt in regard to this difficult subject was eminently
+cautious. As was the case before dealing with the fiscal problem in
+1785, so now he invited over certain leading Irishmen in order to
+discuss details. About the middle of October he had two interviews with
+the Earl of Clare, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. These important
+conferences took place at Holwood, where he was then occupied in marking
+out a new road; for his pastime every autumn was to indulge his
+favourite pursuit of planting trees and otherwise improving his grounds.
+The two ablest men in the sister kingdoms must have regarded one another
+with interest. They were not unlike in figure except that Clare was
+short. His frame was as slight as Pitt's; his features were thin and
+finely chiselled. Neither frame nor features bespoke the haughty spirit
+and dauntless will that enabled him at times to turn the current of
+events and overbear the decisions of Lords Lieutenant. In forcefulness
+and narrowness, in bravery and bigotry, he was a fit spokesman of the
+British garrison, which was resolved to hold every outwork of the
+citadel.
+
+The particulars of their converse are unknown. Probably Clare had the
+advantage which a man of narrow views but expert knowledge enjoys over
+an antagonist who trusts in lofty principles and cherishes generous
+hopes. Clare, knowing his ground thoroughly, must have triumphed. Pitt
+did not confess his defeat. Indeed, on 16th October, he wrote
+reassuringly to Grenville: "I have had two very full conversations with
+Lord Clare. What he says is very encouraging to the great question of
+the Union, in which I do not think we shall have much difficulty; I
+mean, in proportion to the magnitude of the subject. At his desire I
+have written to press the Speaker [Foster] to come over, which he seems
+to think may be of great importance." Here is Clare's version of the
+interviews in a letter of the same day to his fellow countryman,
+Castlereagh: "I have seen Mr. Pitt, the Chancellor, and the Duke of
+Portland, who seem to feel very sensibly the critical situation of our
+damnable country, and that the Union alone can save it. I should have
+hoped that what has passed would have opened the eyes of every man in
+England to the insanity of their past conduct with respect to the
+Papists of Ireland; but I can very plainly perceive that they were as
+full of their popish projects as ever. I trust, and I hope I am not
+deceived, that they are fairly inclined to give them up, and to bring
+the measure forward unencumbered with the doctrine of Emancipation. Lord
+Cornwallis has intimated his acquiescence in this point; Mr. Pitt is
+decided upon it, and I think he will keep his colleagues steady."[541]
+
+The mention of Castlereagh seems to call for a short account of one who,
+after assisting in carrying the Act of Union, was destined to win a
+European reputation as a disciple of Pitt. Robert Stewart, Viscount
+Castlereagh, and second Marquis of Londonderry (1769-1822), was the son
+of Robert Stewart of Ballylawn in County Londonderry by his first
+marriage, that with the daughter of the Earl of Hertford. Educated at
+Armagh and at St. John's College, Cambridge, he soon returned to contest
+the seat of County Down with Lord Downshire, and succeeded by dint of
+hard work and the expenditure of £60,000. He entered the Irish
+Parliament as a representative of the freeholders as against the
+aristocracy; but the second marriage of his father (now Marquis of
+Londonderry) with the eldest daughter of the late Earl Camden brought
+the family into close connection with the second Earl, who, on becoming
+Lord Lieutenant in 1795, soon succeeded in detaching young Stewart from
+the popular party, already, from its many indiscretions, distasteful to
+his cool and cautious nature. Stewart had recently married Lady Emily
+Hobart, the daughter of the late Earl of Buckinghamshire, and became
+Viscount Castlereagh in October 1795. Though continuing to support the
+claims of the Catholics, he upheld Camden's policy of coercion; and his
+firm and resolute character made his support valuable in Parliament.
+
+The sagacity of his advice in committee, and the straightforward
+boldness of his action as an administrator, are in marked contrast to
+his rambling and laboured speeches, in whose incongruous phrases alone
+there lurked signs of Hibernian humour. "The features of the clause";
+"sets of circumstances coming up and circumstances going down"; "men
+turning their backs upon themselves"; "the constitutional principle
+wound up in the bowels of the monarchy"; "the Herculean labour of the
+honourable member, who will find himself quite disappointed when he has
+at last brought forth his Hercules"--such are a few of the rhetorical
+gems which occasionally sparkled in the dull quartz of his plentiful
+output. Nevertheless, so manly was his bearing, so dogged his defence,
+that he always gained a respectful hearing; and supporters of the
+Government plucked up heart when, after a display of dazzling rhetoric
+by Grattan or Plunket, the young aristocrat drew up his tall figure,
+squared his chest, flung open his coat, and plunged into the unequal
+contest. Courage and tenacity win their reward; and in these qualities
+Castlereagh had no superior. It is said that on one occasion he
+determined to end a fight between two mastiffs, and, though badly
+bitten, he effected his purpose. These virile powers marked him out for
+promotion; and during the illness of Pelham, Chief Secretary at Dublin,
+Castlereagh discharged his duties. Cornwallis urged that he should have
+the appointment; and to the King's initial objection that a Briton ought
+to hold it, Cornwallis successfully replied that Castlereagh was "so
+very unlike an Irishman" that the office would be safe in his hands.
+Castlereagh received the appointment early in November 1798. He, the
+first Irishman to hold it, was destined to overthrow the Irish
+Parliament.[542]
+
+We must now revert to the negotiations between Pitt and Clare. It is
+surprising to find Clare convinced that the Prime Minister would keep
+faithful to the Protestant cause its unfaithful champion, Loughborough,
+also that Cornwallis had acquiesced in the shelving of Catholic
+Emancipation. Probably Clare had the faculty, not uncommon in
+strong-willed men, of reading his thoughts into the words of others. For
+Cornwallis, writing to Pitt on 8th October, just after saying farewell
+to Clare at Dublin, describes him as a well-intentioned man, but blind
+to the absolute dependence of Irish Protestants on British support and
+resolutely opposed to the admission of Romanists to the united
+Parliament. As to himself, Cornwallis pens these noble words: "I
+certainly wish that England could now make a Union with the Irish
+nation, instead of making it with a party in Ireland"; and he expresses
+the hope that with fair treatment the Roman Catholics will soon become
+loyal subjects. Writing to the Duke of Portland in the same sense,
+Cornwallis shows a slight diffidence in his ability to judge of the
+chief question at issue.
+
+Probably the solution of the riddle is here to be found. It seems that
+the Lord Lieutenant was politely deferential to Clare; that at Holwood
+Clare represented him as a convert to the ultra-Protestant tenets; and
+that Pitt accepted the statements of the Irish Chancellor. William
+Elliot, Under-Secretary at War at Dublin, who saw Pitt a week later,
+found him disinclined to further the Catholic claims at the present
+juncture, though equally resolved not to bar the way for the future.
+Possibly the King now intervened. It is a significant fact that Clare
+expected to have an interview with him before returning to Ireland. If
+so, he must have strengthened his earlier resolve. Pitt, then, gave way
+on the question of the admission of Dissenters and Catholics to the
+Irish Parliament. But he kept open the more important question of the
+admission of Catholics to the United Parliament. Obviously, the latter
+comprised the former; and it was likely to arouse the fears of the Irish
+Protestants far less. On tactical grounds alone the change of procedure
+was desirable. It is therefore difficult to see why Elliot so deeply
+deplored his surrender to the ultra-Protestants. Pitt had the approval
+of Grenville, who, owing to the religious feuds embittered by the
+Rebellion, deprecated the imposition of the Catholic claims on the
+fiercely Protestant Assembly at Dublin.[543] Yet he warmly supported
+them in the United Parliament, both in 1801 and 1807.
+
+The next of the Protestant champions whom Pitt saw was Foster, Speaker
+of the Irish House of Commons, whose forceful will, narrow but resolute
+religious beliefs, and mercantile connections gave him an influence
+second only to that of Clare. In the course of a long conversation with
+him about 15th November, Pitt found him frank in his opinions,
+decidedly opposed to the Union, but not so fixedly as to preclude all
+hope of arrangement. On this topic Pitt dilated in a "private" letter of
+17th November, to Cornwallis:
+
+ ... I think I may venture to say that he [Foster] will not
+ obstruct the measure; and I rather hope if it can be made
+ palatable to him personally (which I believe it may) that he
+ will give it fair support. It would, as it seems to me, be worth
+ while for this purpose, to hold out to him the prospect of a
+ British peerage, with (if possible) some ostensible situation,
+ and a provision for life to which he would be naturally entitled
+ on quitting the Chair. Beresford and Parnell do not say much on
+ the general measure, but I think both, or at least the former
+ against trying it, but both disposed to concur when they
+ understand it is finally resolved on. They all seem clearly (and
+ I believe sincerely) of opinion that it will not be wise to
+ announce it as a decided measure from authority, till time has
+ been given for communication to all leading individuals and for
+ disposing the public mind. On this account we have omitted all
+ reference to the subject in the King's Speech; and the
+ communication may in all respects be more conveniently made by a
+ separate message when the Irish Parliament is sitting, and it
+ can be announced to them at the same time. In the interval
+ previous to your Session there will, I trust, be full
+ opportunity for communication and arrangement with individuals,
+ on which I am inclined to believe the success of the measure
+ will wholly depend. You will observe that in what relates to the
+ oaths to be taken by members of the United Parliament, the plan
+ which we have sent copies the precedent I mentioned in a former
+ letter of the Scotch Union; and on the grounds I before
+ mentioned, I own I think this leaves the Catholic Question on
+ the only footing on which it can safely be placed. Mr. Elliott
+ when he brought me your letter, stated very strongly all the
+ arguments which he thought ought to induce us to admit the
+ Catholics to Parliament, and office; but I confess he did not
+ satisfy me of the practicability of such a measure at this time,
+ or of the propriety of attempting it. With respect to a
+ provision for the Catholic clergy, and some arrangement
+ respecting tithes, I am happy to find an uniform opinion in
+ favor of the proposal, among all the Irish I have seen; and I am
+ more and more convinced that those measures, with some effectual
+ mode to enforce the residence of _all_ ranks of the Protestant
+ clergy, offer the best chance of gradually putting an end to the
+ evils most felt in Ireland.[544]
+
+The suggestion that Foster's opposition might be obviated by the
+promise of a peerage emanated first from Camden. Its adoption by Pitt
+marks the first step in the by-paths of bribery on which he now entered.
+In this case his action is not indefensible; for the abolition of the
+Speakership at Dublin naturally involved some indemnity. Besides, in
+that Parliament no important measure passed without bribery. That eager
+democrat, Hamilton Rowan, foresaw in the Union "the downfall of one of
+the most corrupt assemblies I believe ever existed." The proprietors of
+the pocket-boroughs were needy and grasping, some of them living by the
+sale of presentation of seats. Government generally managed to control
+them, but only on condition of dispensing favours proportionate to the
+importance of the suitor and the corruptness of the occasion. As
+Beresford remarked with unconscious humour, the borough-mongers "cannot
+be expected to give up their interest for nothing; and those who bought
+their seats cannot be expected to give up their term for nothing." Here
+he expressed the general conviction of that age, which Pitt recognized
+in his Reform Bill of 1785 by seeking to indemnify the borough-holders
+of Great Britain.
+
+A typical specimen of the borough-owner was that "ill-tempered, violent
+fellow," Lord Downshire, who controlled the Crown patronage in the North
+by virtue of his seven borough seats. Lord Ely had six seats; and the
+Duke of Devonshire, and Lords Abercorn, Belmore, Clifden, Granard, and
+Shannon, four apiece. In the counties, Downshire, the Ponsonbys, and the
+Beresfords controlled about twenty seats. Camden, writing to Pitt on
+11th August 1799, thus described Downshire: "He is not personally
+corrupt; but the larger the compensation for the boroughs is to be, the
+more readily will he listen to you or Lord Castlereagh."[545] Lord
+Longueville, a borough-owner of great influence in County Cork, wrote as
+follows to Pitt on 3rd December, 1798:
+
+ ... Long attached to you, and confirmed in that attachment for
+ life by the direction and advice of Lord Westmorland, I have now
+ no object to look up to, to prevent my falling a sacrifice to my
+ political enemies, but to you. When Lord Shannon opposed your
+ measures, I spent £30,000 of my own money to frustrate his
+ intentions and support your measures. I shall now act by your
+ advice and opinion on this great business of a Union with Great
+ Britain. My friends are numerous and firm; they look up to you
+ for decision on every occasion. My interest in Ireland is
+ extensive. I wish to be a British peer before the measure of a
+ Union takes place, or after. I wish the city of Cork to have two
+ members, Bantry one and Mallow one.
+
+Longueville gained his desire and the patronage of the Revenue offices
+in Cork City.[546] From Pitt's letter to Cornwallis it is clear that he
+believed that the promise of Government stipends for the Catholic
+clergy, and a reform in tithes would induce them to support the Union.
+But it seems impossible to reconcile his statement as to Beresford's
+opposition to the Union with the assertion of the latter, that, in an
+interview of 12th November, he pressed Pitt to take immediate steps to
+ensure the success of the measure, which otherwise would have to
+struggle against unfair odds at Dublin. The curious tendency of
+Hibernian affairs towards confusion also appears in Cornwallis's
+statement, on 15th November, that he had urged Pitt not to close the
+door to the Catholics in the United Parliament. Whereas Pitt was
+resolved to admit them at an early opportunity.[547]
+
+On the various interests at stake there is in the Pretyman archives a
+long but undated Memorandum, with notes at the side by Pitt, or perhaps
+by Grenville; for their writing, when cramped, was similar. It
+recommends that the precedent of the Union with the Scottish Parliament
+shall be followed where possible; that few changes shall be made in the
+Irish legal system, appeals being allowed to the Irish Lord Chancellor
+and three chief judges, who may also deal with evidence for
+parliamentary and private Bills affecting Ireland. The general aim
+should be to lessen the expense of resort to the United Parliament for
+private business. Pitt here added at the side--"Particularly in divorces
+and exchange of lands in settlement," also in certain "private" Bills.
+The compiler then refers to the difficulty of assessing or equalizing
+the Revenues, National Debts, and the fiscal systems of the two islands,
+but suggests that on the last topic Pitt's Irish proposals of 1785 shall
+be followed. To this Pitt assents, suggesting also that the proportions
+of Revenue and Debt may soon be arranged provisionally, Commissioners
+being appointed to discuss the future and definitive quotas. Further,
+Pitt expresses the desire to model the election of Irish peers on that
+of Scottish peers. The compiler of the plan advises a delegation of 40
+Irish peers, and not less than 120 Commoners to Westminster; but, as
+electoral changes are highly dangerous to both countries, he drafts a
+scheme by which either 125 or 138 Irish Commoners will sit in the United
+Parliament.[548]
+
+Here Pitt and his colleagues differed from their adviser. Probably they
+heard rumours of the fears aroused by the advent of Irish members. The
+repose of Lord Sheffield was troubled by thoughts of the irruption of
+"100 wild Irishmen"; and he deemed the arrival of 75 quite sufficient,
+if staid country gentlemen were not to be scared away from St.
+Stephen's. By way of compromise the Cabinet fixed the number at 100 on
+or before 25th November 1798.[549] At that date Portland also informed
+Cornwallis that the number of Irish Peers at Westminster must not exceed
+32.
+
+Meanwhile, the tangle at Dublin was becoming hopeless. There, as
+Beresford warned Pitt, the report of the proposed Union was the letting
+out of water. Captain Saurin, an eminent counsel who was commander of a
+corps of lawyers nick-named the Devil's Own, insisted on parading his
+battalion in order to harangue them on the insult to Ireland and the
+injury to their profession. His example was widely followed. On 9th
+December the Dublin Bar, by 168 votes to 32, protested strongly against
+the proposal to extinguish the Irish Parliament. Eloquent speakers like
+Plunket warned that body that suicide was the supreme act of cowardice,
+besides being _ultra vires_. The neighbouring towns and counties joined
+in the clamour. The somnolence of Cornwallis, his neglect to win over
+opponents by tact or material inducements, and the absence of any
+Ministerial declaration on the subject, left all initiative to the
+Opposition. On 24th December Cooke wrote to Auckland in these doleful
+terms:[550]
+
+ ... Our Union politics are not at present very thriving.
+ Pamphlets are in shoals, in general against a Union; a few for
+ it; but I do not yet see anything of superior talent and effect.
+ The tide in Dublin is difficult to stem. In the country
+ hitherto, indifference. We have no account from the North, and
+ that is the quarter I apprehend. The South will not be very
+ hostile. The Bar is most impetuous and active, and I cannot be
+ surprized at it. The Corporation have not sense to see that by
+ an Union alone the Corporation can be preserved. Most of the
+ best merchants are, I know, not averse. The proprietors of
+ Dublin and the county are violent, and shopkeepers, etc. The
+ Catholics hold back. They are on the watch to make the most of
+ the game, and will intrigue with both parties.... In the North
+ they expect the Dutch fleet. If we had a more able active
+ conciliating Chief, we might do; but the _vis inertiae_ is
+ incredible. There is an amazing disgust among the friends of
+ Government. The tone of loyalty is declining, for want of being
+ cherished. Do not be surprized at a dreadful parliamentary
+ opposition and a personal opposition.
+
+Cooke's reference to the mediocrity of the pamphlets for the Union is a
+curious piece of _finesse_; for he was known to be the author of an able
+pamphlet, "Arguments for and against an Union between Great Britain and
+Ireland." In it he dilated on the benefits gained by Wales and Scotland
+from a Union with England. He dwelt on the recent increase of strength
+in France consequent on the concentration of political power at Paris,
+and demonstrated the unreality of the boasted independence of the Dublin
+Parliament, seeing that Irish enactments must be sealed by the Seal of
+Great Britain. After touching on the dangerous divergence of policy at
+Westminster and Dublin during the Regency crisis of 1789, he showed that
+peace and prosperity must increase under a more comprehensive system,
+which would both guarantee the existence of the Established Church, and
+accord civic recognition to Catholics. At present, said he, it would be
+dangerous to admit Catholics to the Irish Parliament; but in the United
+Parliament such a step would be practicable. This semi-official
+pronouncement caused a sensation, and before the end of the year
+twenty-four replies appeared. In one of the counterblasts the anonymous
+author offers "the reflections of a plain and humble mind," by stating
+forthwith that the policy of the British Government had been to foment
+discontent, to excite jealousies, to connive at insurrections, and
+finally to "amnestize" those rebellions, for the purpose of promoting
+its favourite and now avowed object of a Union.[551]
+
+Far abler is the "Reply" to Cooke by Richard Jebb, who afterwards became
+a Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland. He showed that only in regard
+to the Regency had any serious difference arisen between the two
+Parliaments; he scoffed at the notion of Ireland's needs finding
+satisfaction at Westminster. Would Pitt, he asked, who whirled out of
+the Cabinet the gigantic Thurlow, ever attend to Irish affairs? Jebb
+then quoted with effect Clare's assertion that the Irish Parliament
+alone was competent to deal with the business of the island. He admitted
+the directing power of the British Cabinet over Ireland's concerns; but
+he averred that under the new system the Lord Lieutenant would be little
+more than a Great Contractor. As to the satisfaction to be granted to
+Catholics, the Under-Secretary had done well not to be too explicit,
+lest he should offend jealous Protestants. But, asked Jebb, would the
+Catholics have much influence in the United Kingdom, where they would
+be, not three to one as in Ireland, but three to fourteen? Nature
+herself had intended England and Scotland to be one country; she had
+proclaimed the need of some degree of independence in Ireland. Finally,
+he deprecated in the mouth of an official a reference to the success
+attending the policy of annexation pursued by France, which Pitt had
+always reprobated. The effect produced by these replies appears in a
+letter of Lees to Auckland on 29th December. Dublin, he writes, is in a
+frenzy against the Union. As for Cornwallis, he was as apathetic as
+usual: "We are asleep, while the disaffected are working amain."[552]
+
+Not until 21st December did Pitt and his colleagues come to a final
+decision to press on the Act of Union at all costs. On that day he held
+a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street, all being present, as well as the
+Earl of Liverpool and Earl Camden. The following Minute of their
+resolution was taken by Lord Grenville.
+
+ That the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland should be instructed to
+ state without delay to all persons with whom he may have
+ communication on this subject, that His Majesty's Government is
+ decided to press the measure of an Union as essential to the
+ well-being of both countries and particularly to the security
+ and peace of Ireland as dependent on its connection with Great
+ Britain: that this object will now be urged to the utmost, and
+ will even in the case (if it should happen) of any present
+ failure, be renewed on every occasion till it succeed; and that
+ the conduct of individuals on this subject will be considered as
+ the test of their disposition to support the King's
+ Government.[553]
+
+Portland forthwith informed the Lord-Lieutenant, Cornwallis, of the
+purport of this resolution. Drastic proceedings were now inevitable; for
+mischievous rumours were rife at Dublin that nobody would suffer for his
+vote against the Union.
+
+A brief Declaration as to the essentials of the Government plan was
+issued at Dublin on 5th January 1799. It stated that twenty-eight
+temporal peers elected for life would be delegated to Westminster, and
+four Protestant bishops, taken in rotation. Irish peers not elected
+might sit for British counties and boroughs, as before. The Crown
+retained the right of creating Irish peers. As to the delegation of the
+Commons of Ireland, each county or large town now returning two members
+could send only one to Westminster, except Dublin and Cork, each of
+which would return two members. Of the 108 small boroughs, one half
+would return members for one Parliament, the other half for the next
+Parliament. In the sphere of commerce Ireland would enjoy the same
+advantages as Great Britain, the duties between the two islands being
+equalized, the linen manufacturers retaining their special privileges.
+The Exchequer and National Debt of each island were to continue
+separate, the quota paid by Ireland into the Imperial Exchequer being
+reserved for future consideration, it being understood that when the
+Irish Revenue exceeded its expenses, the excess must be applied to local
+purposes, the taxes producing the excess being duly modified.
+
+Apart from the inevitable vagueness as to the proportion of Ireland's
+quota, the Declaration was calculated to reassure Irishmen. The
+borough-mongers lost only one half of their lucrative patronage. True,
+the change bore hard upon the 180 Irish peers, of whom only one in six
+would enter the House of Lords at Westminster. But commerce was certain
+to thrive now that the British Empire unreservedly threw open its
+markets to Irish products; and in the political sphere the Act of Union,
+by shattering the Irish pocket-borough system, assigned an influence to
+the larger towns such as those of Great Britain did not enjoy until the
+time of the Reform Bill. Nothing, it is true, was said to encourage the
+Catholics; but in Cooke's semi-official pamphlet they had been led to
+hope for justice in the United Parliament.
+
+The following letter of Cooke to Castlereagh (6th January) is
+interesting:
+
+ We shall have difficult work; but there is no need to despair. I
+ do not hear of anything formidable from the country. Armagh is
+ stirred by Lord Charlemont; Louth, I suppose, by the Speaker;
+ Lord Enniskillen will move Fermanagh; Queen's County will be
+ against [us]. I hear Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick is [_sic_]
+ with us. Sir Edward O'Brien in Clare is against and is stirring.
+ Derry will be quiet, if not favourable. The North is so in
+ general at present. The sketch of terms thrown out is much
+ relished. I cannot tell you how our numbers will stand on the
+ 22nd. The Catholics will wait upon the question, and will not
+ declare till they think they can act with effect. Many persons
+ are anxious to make them part of the measure. Grattan is come. I
+ know not yet what he is doing. I hope all friends in London will
+ be sent over. The first burst is everything. It would be
+ decisive if the Prince of Wales would declare publicly in favour
+ and hoist his banner for the Union.[554]
+
+Apart from this enigmatical reference, there were few grounds for hope.
+The landlords and traders of Dublin naturally opposed a measure certain
+to lessen the importance of that city. Trinity College, the Corporation
+of Dublin, and the gentry and freeholders of County Dublin all protested
+against Union. Equally hostile were most Irish Protestants. In their
+pride as a dominant Order, they scorned the thought of subordination to
+Great Britain. Sixteen years of almost complete legislative independence
+had quickened their national feelings; and many of them undoubtedly set
+love of country before the promptings of caste. How was it possible,
+they asked, that the claims of Ireland should receive due attention
+amidst the clash of worldwide interests at Westminster?
+
+Doubts like these should have been set at rest. Surely Pitt missed a
+great opportunity in not promising the appointment of a perpetual
+committee at Westminster, elected by the Irish members for the
+consideration of their local affairs. A similar committee for Scottish
+business would also have been a statesmanlike proposal, in view of the
+increase of work certain to result from the Union. Doubtless those
+committees would have interfered with the functions of the Lord
+Lieutenant at Dublin, and the Scottish patronage controlled by Henry
+Dundas. But some such measure would have appeased the discontent rife in
+both kingdoms, and, while easing the strain on the Imperial Parliament,
+would have nurtured the growth of that wider patriotism which has its
+roots in local affections.
+
+A survey of the facts passed under review must, I think, lead to the
+conclusion that the conduct of Pitt in preparing for the Act of Union
+was halting and ineffective. It is true that Camden had advised him to
+make careful preliminary inquiries; but they were not instituted until
+October 1798, and they dragged on to the end of the year, by which time
+the fear of a French invasion had subsided. There were but two
+satisfactory ways of carrying the Act of Union through the hostile
+Parliament at Dublin. In June-October, during the panic caused by the
+Rebellion and the French raids, Pitt might have intimated secretly
+though officially to the leading loyalists that Great Britain could not
+again pour forth her blood and treasure for an unworkable system, and
+that the acceptance of that help must imply acquiescence in a Union.
+Such a compact would of course be termed unchivalrous by the
+rhetoricians at St. Stephen's Green; but it would have prevented the
+unchivalrous conduct of many so-called loyalists, who, after triumphing
+by England's aid, then, relying upon that aid for the future, thwarted
+Pitt's remedial policy. Prudence should have enjoined the adoption of
+some such precaution in the case of men whose behaviour was exacting
+towards England and exasperating towards the majority of Irishmen. In
+neglecting to take it, Pitt evinced a strange lack of foresight. At this
+point George III showed himself the shrewder tactician; for he urged
+that Cornwallis must take steps to frighten the loyal minority into
+accepting an Act of Union.
+
+But there was an alternative course of action. Failing to come to an
+understanding with the ultra-Protestant zealots of Dublin, Pitt might
+have elicited a strong declaration from the many Irishmen who were in
+favour of Union. He seems to have taken no such step. Though aware that
+Cornwallis was in civil affairs a figure-head, he neglected to send
+over a spokesman capable of giving a decided lead. In the ensuing
+debates at Dublin, Castlereagh showed the toughness, energy, and
+resourcefulness which, despite his halting cumbrous style, made him a
+power in Parliament; but his youth and his stiff un-Hibernian ways told
+against him. Beresford was detained by illness in London; and Clare,
+after his return to Dublin, did strangely little for the cause. Thus, at
+this critical time the Unionists were without a lead and without a
+leader. The autumn of 1798 was frittered away in interviews in London,
+the purport of which ought to have clearly appeared two or three months
+earlier. The passive attitude and tardy action of Pitt and Portland in
+these critical weeks offer a strange contrast to the habits of clear
+thinking and forceful action characteristic of Napoleon. It is painful
+to compare their procedure with the action of the First Consul in
+speedily bringing ecclesiastical bigots and fanatical atheists to the
+working compromise summed up in the Concordat. In the case of the Union,
+the initiative, energy, and zeal, which count for much among a Celtic
+people, passed to the side of Pitt's opponents. Thenceforth that measure
+could be carried through the Irish Parliament only by coercion or
+bribery.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[530] Salomon, "Pitt," 599. See, too, the similar letter of Richmond to
+his sister, Lady Conolly, in June 1795 (Lecky, vii, 134).
+
+[531] Pitt MSS., 328.
+
+[532] _Ibid._, 169.
+
+[533] Porritt, ii, ch. iii; Seeley, "Stein," i, 267-82.
+
+[534] Pitt MSS., 326. For the text in full see "Pitt and Napoleon
+Miscellanies."
+
+[535] B.M. Add. MSS., 34454.
+
+[536] See my article in the "Eng. Hist. Rev." for October 1910.
+
+[537] B.M. Add. MSS., 34454.
+
+[538] B.M. Add. MSS., 34455.
+
+[539] _Ibid._; "Cornwallis Corresp.," iii, 13.
+
+[540] Lecky, viii, 328 note.
+
+[541] "Dropmore P.," iv, 344; "Castlereagh Corresp.," i, 393.
+
+[542] "Castlereagh Corresp.," i, 424 _et seq._; "Cornwallis Corresp.,"
+ii, 439-441; Brougham, "Statesmen of George III"; Lecky, viii, 311;
+Wilberforce ("Life," iii, 178) calls Castlereagh "a cold-blooded
+creature."
+
+[543] "Castlereagh Corresp.," ii, 29; "Buckingham P.," ii, 411, 412.
+
+[544] Pitt MSS., 325; "Cornwallis Corresp.," ii, 441-3.
+
+[545] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[546] Pretyman MSS. "Cornwallis Corresp.," iii, 3; Macdonagh, "The
+Viceroy's Post Bag," 19.
+
+[547] "Beresford Corresp.," ii, 189; "Cornwallis Corresp.," ii, 436;
+"Castlereagh Corresp.," i, 404.
+
+[548] For the plan and notes, see "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies."
+
+[549] "Cornwallis Corresp.," ii, 456, 457.
+
+[550] B.M. Add. MSS., 34455. William C. Plunket (1764-1854), born in co.
+Fermanagh, was called to the Irish Bar in 1787, and entered Parliament
+in 1798. He speedily made his mark, and in 1803 was State Prosecutor of
+Emmett. In Pitt's second Administration (1804) he was Solicitor-General:
+he was created Baron Plunket in 1827 and was Lord Chancellor of Ireland
+in 1830-41. William Saurin sat in the Irish Parliament as a nominee of
+Lord Downshire ("Cornwallis Corresp.," iii, 212).
+
+[551] "Strictures on a Pamphlet, etc.," 5 (Dublin, 1798).
+
+[552] B.M. Add. MSS., 34455. The term "Contractor" used above is
+equivalent to "Undertaker," _i.e._, one who undertook to get business
+through the Irish Parliament for certain rewards (Lecky, iv, 353).
+
+[553] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[554] Pretyman MSS.; also in Pitt MSS., 327.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIX
+
+ THE UNION (continued)
+
+ "We must consider it as a measure of great national policy, the
+ object of which is effectually to counteract the restless
+ machinations of an inveterate enemy, who has uniformly and
+ anxiously endeavoured to effect a separation between the two
+ countries."--PITT, Speech on the Union, _21st April, 1800_.
+
+
+On 22nd January 1799 the long talked-of Act of Union was pointedly
+referred to in the King's Speech read out to the Irish Parliament. The
+Speech was adopted by the House of Lords, amendments hostile to the
+proposed measure being rejected by large majorities. But in the House of
+Commons nationalist zeal raged with ever-increasing fury from dusk until
+the dawn of the following day. In vain had Castlereagh made liberal use
+of the sum of £5,000 which he begged Pitt to send over to serve as a
+_primum mobile_ at Dublin. In vain had he "worked like a horse." The
+feeling against the measure was too strong to be allayed by bribery of a
+retail kind.
+
+Owing to ill health Grattan was not present. Sir John Parnell,
+Chancellor of the Exchequer, was among the less violent opponents; but
+the most telling appeal was that of Plunket, an Ulsterman. With an
+eloquence which even won votes he denied either the right of the
+Government to propose such a measure or the competence of that Assembly
+to commit political suicide. If the Act of Union were passed, he said,
+no one in Ireland would obey it. Then, turning to the Speaker, he
+exclaimed: "You are appointed to make laws and not Legislatures. You are
+appointed to exercise the functions of legislators, and not to transfer
+them; and if you do so, your act is a dissolution of the Government." On
+behalf of Government Castlereagh made a well-reasoned reply; but his
+speech was too laboured to commend a cause which offended both the
+sentiments and interests of members; and the Opposition was beaten by
+only one vote--106 to 105. The debate was marked by curious incidents.
+Sir Jonah Barrington, a chronicler of these events, declared that
+Cooke, perturbed by the threatened defection of a member named French,
+whispered to Castlereagh, and then, sidling up to the erring placeman,
+spoke long and earnestly until smiles spread over the features of both.
+A little later French rose to state his regret at the opinions which he
+had previously expressed. The story is not convincing in the case of a
+building provided with committee-rooms; but there can be no doubt that
+bribery went on before the debate. The final voting showed that there
+were limits to that form of influence. Even the canvassing of
+Castlereagh failed to persuade members to pass sentence of political
+death on half of their number and of transportation on the remainder.
+The joy of the men of Dublin found expression in a spontaneous
+illumination, and the mob broke all windows which were not lit up.
+
+On all sides the procedure of the Government met with severe censure. As
+usual, blame was lavished upon Cornwallis, Lord Carysfort warning
+Grenville that the defeat was due to the disgust of "Orangemen and
+exterminators" at his clemency. Buckingham, writing to Pitt on 29th
+January, reported that on the estimate of Archbishop Troy, nine-tenths
+of the Irish Catholics were for the Union: "Remember, however," he
+added, "that this can only be done by the removal of Lord Cornwallis and
+Lord Castlereagh.... I protest I see no salvation but in the immediate
+change. Send us Lord Winchilsea, or rather Lord Euston, or in short send
+us any one. But send us Steele as his Secretary, and with firmness the
+Question (and with it Ireland) will be saved. Excuse this
+earnestness."[555] Pitt took no notice of this advice, but continued to
+support Cornwallis. As for the Irish Executive, it proceeded now to the
+policy of official coercion recommended from Downing Street. Parnell was
+dismissed from the Exchequer; the Prime Serjeant was deposed, and four
+opponents of Union were removed from subordinate posts, among them being
+Foster, son of the Speaker.
+
+So confident was Pitt of victory at Dublin that he introduced the Bill
+of Union at Westminster on 23rd January. The King's Speech referred to
+the designs of enemies and traitors to separate Ireland from Great
+Britain, and counselled the adoption of means for perpetuating the
+connection. Forthwith Sheridan moved a hostile amendment. With his
+wonted zeal and eloquence, he urged the inopportuneness of such a
+measure when 40,000 British troops were holding down Ireland, and he
+denied the competence either of the British or Irish Parliament to
+decide on it. Pitt promptly refuted Sheridan's plea by referring to the
+action of the English and Scottish Parliaments at the time of their
+Union, and he twitted him with seeking to perpetuate at Dublin a system
+whose injustice and cruelty he had always reprobated. Allowing that
+British rule in Ireland had been narrow and intolerant, Pitt foretold
+the advent of a far different state of things after the Union. Then,
+pointing to the divergence of British and Irish policy at the time of
+the Regency crisis he pronounced it a dangerous omen, and declared the
+Union to be necessary to the peace and stability of the Empire. The
+House agreed with him and negatived the amendment without a division.
+
+It is worth noting that of Sheridan's hypothetical colleagues in office
+under the Prince Regent in the Cabinet outlined in February 1789, not
+one now supported him. Fox was not present, being engrossed in Lucretius
+and the "Poetics" of Aristotle. He, however, informed Lord Holland that
+he detested the Union and all centralized Governments, his predilection
+being for Federalism.[556] The remark merits notice in view of the
+concentration of power in France, and in her vassal Republics at Rome,
+Milan, Genoa, and Amsterdam. That eager student of the Classics wished
+to dissolve the British Isles into their component parts at a time when
+the highly organized energy of the French race was threatening every
+neighbouring State. While the tricolour waved at Amsterdam, Mainz,
+Berne, Rome, Valetta, and Cairo, Fox thought it opportune to federalize
+British institutions. The means whereby Pitt sought to solidify them are
+open to question. But which of the two statesmen had the sounder sense?
+
+On 31st January, after the receipt of the disappointing news from
+Dublin, Pitt returned to the charge. Expressing deep regret that the
+Irish House of Commons should have rejected the plan of a Union before
+it knew the details, he proceeded to describe the proposals of the
+Government. Firstly, he insisted that it was the concerted action of
+invaders from without and traitors within that made the measure
+necessary. He then argued that the settlement of 1782, according
+legislative independence to the Irish Parliament, was far from final, as
+appeared in the ministerial declarations of that time. Moreover, Irish
+Bills did not become law unless sanctioned by the King and sealed by the
+Great Seal of Great Britain on the advice of British Ministers, facts
+which implied the dependence of the Irish Parliament. Turning to the
+commercial issues at stake, he effectively quoted the statement of
+Foster to the Irish House of Commons in 1785, that they would be mad to
+reject the commercial proposals then offered, which, if thrown out,
+would not be renewed. But now, said Pitt, they are renewed in the
+projected Union; and Foster has used his influence to reject a measure
+which breaks down the fiscal barriers between the two kingdoms. After
+referring to the Regency Question, he pointed out the danger of France
+attacking the British race at its weakest point. Never would she cease
+to assail it until the Union was indissoluble. Commerce, he said, was
+the source of wealth; and the wealth needed to withstand the predatory
+designs of France would be enhanced by a free interchange of British and
+Irish products. The Union would encourage the flow into the poorer
+island of British capital which it so much needed. Next, adverting to
+the religious feuds in Ireland, he remarked on the danger of granting
+concessions to the Irish Catholics while Ireland remained a distinct
+kingdom. He then uttered these momentous words:
+
+ On the other hand, without anticipating the discussion, or the
+ propriety of agitating the question, or saying how soon or how
+ late it may be fit to discuss it, two propositions are
+ indisputable; first, when the conduct of the Catholics shall be
+ such as to make it safe for the Government to admit them to the
+ participation of the privileges granted to those of the
+ established religion, and when the temper of the times shall be
+ favourable to such a measure--when these events take place, it
+ is obvious that such a question may be agitated in an United
+ Imperial Parliament with much greater safety, than it could be
+ in a separate Legislature. In the second place, I think it
+ certain that, even for whatever period it may be thought
+ necessary after the Union to withhold from the Catholics the
+ enjoyment of those advantages, many of the objections which at
+ present arise out of their situation would be removed, if the
+ Protestant Legislature were no longer separate and local, but
+ general and Imperial: and the Catholics themselves would at once
+ feel a mitigation of the most goading and irritating of their
+ present causes of complaint.
+
+Pitt then deprecated the effort to inflame the insular pride of
+Irishmen. Could Irishmen really object to unite with Britons? For it was
+no subordinate place that they were asked to take, but one of equality
+and honour. Most happily then did he quote the vow of Aeneas for an
+equal and lasting compact between his Trojans and the Italians:
+
+ Non ego nec Teucris Italos parere jubebo,
+ Nec nova regna peto: paribus se legibus ambae
+ Invictae gentes aeterna in foedera mittant.[557]
+
+He ended his speech by moving eight Resolutions on the question; and the
+House approved their introduction by 140 votes to 15. This statesmanlike
+survey lacked the fire and imaginative elevation of his speech on the
+Slave Trade in 1792. But there was little need of rhetoric and
+invective. Pitt's aim was to convince Ireland of the justice of his
+proposals. And his plea, though weak at one point, must rank among the
+ablest expositions of a great and complex question. How different the
+course of events might have been if the Commons of Ireland had first
+heard Pitt's proposals of Union, clearly and authoritatively set forth,
+not in the distorted form which rumour or malice depicted. In this
+respect Gladstone proved himself an abler tactician than Pitt. His Home
+Rule Bill of 1886 remained a secret until it was described in that
+masterly statement which formed a worthy retort to Pitt's oration of
+31st January 1799. Pitt prepared it with great care, so Auckland avers;
+and, as he and Long had secured the presence of the best reporters, the
+text of the speech is among the most accurate that we possess for that
+period. He now resolved to bring forward specific Resolutions, instead
+of, as before, proposing merely to appoint Commissioners to consider the
+details of the Bill of Union. It is unfortunate that he did not take
+this step at first. The mistake probably resulted from his besetting
+sin--excess of confidence. On 26th January he expressed to Cornwallis
+his deep disappointment and grief at the action of the Dublin
+Parliament, which he ascribed to prejudice and cabal. Clearly he had
+underrated the force of the nationalist opposition.
+
+Meanwhile Castlereagh endeavoured to reckon the value of the pecuniary
+interests in Ireland opposed to the Union. In a characteristically
+narrow spirit he assessed the losses to borough-holders at £756,000; to
+controllers of counties at £224,000; to barristers at £200,000; to
+purchasers of parliamentary seats at £75,000; and he estimated the
+probable depreciation of property in Dublin at £200,000. Thus, moneyed
+interests worth £1,433,000 were arrayed against the Union. He proposed
+to whittle down these claims by raising the number of Irish members in
+the United Parliament either to 127 or 141. Both at Dublin and
+Westminster Ministers were intent on appeasing hostile interests on the
+easiest terms. Among Pitt's papers is a curious estimate of the opinion
+of the propertied classes in the counties and chief towns of Ireland.
+"Property" is declared to favour the Union in Antrim, Clare, Cork,
+Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Leitrim, Londonderry, Mayo, Waterford, and
+Wexford. It was hostile in Carlow, Cavan, Dublin, Fermanagh, Kildare,
+and Louth. In the other counties it was divided on the subject. Among
+the towns, Cork, Galway, Lisburne, Londonderry, Waterford, and Wexford
+supported Union. Clonmell, Drogheda, and Dublin opposed it; while
+Belfast, Kilkenny, and Limerick were doubtful. Most of the Grand Juries
+petitioned for Union, only those of Dublin, Louth, Queen's County, and
+Wicklow pronouncing against it.[558] In view of the expected attempt of
+the Brest fleet, the Grand Jury of Cork burst into a patriotic rhapsody
+which must be placed on record:
+
+ _March 26, 1799._[559]
+
+ ... At the present awful moment whilst we await the threatened
+ attempt of the enemies of religion and of man to crush us in
+ their sacrilegious embrace; whilst their diabolical influence
+ cherishes rebellion and promotes assassination in the land, we
+ look back with gratitude to the timely interposition of Great
+ Britain, which has more than once rescued us from that infidel
+ yoke under which so great a portion of distracted Europe at this
+ moment groans. We have still to acknowledge how necessary that
+ interposition is to protect us from the further attempts of an
+ unprincipled foe, ... and to her assistance we are ... indebted
+ for keeping down an unnatural but wide extended rebellion
+ within the bosom of this country. To become a constituent part
+ of that Empire to whose protection we owe our political
+ existence and whose constitution is the admiration of the
+ civilized world; to participate in those resources which are
+ inexhaustible; to become joint proprietors of that navy which is
+ irresistible; and to share in that commerce which knows no
+ bounds, are objects beyond which our most sanguine wishes for
+ the wealth and prosperity of Ireland cannot possibly extend,
+ whilst the prospect which they hold forth of terminating the
+ jarring interests of party and reconciling the jealous
+ distinctions of religion, promises a restoration of that
+ tranquillity to which the country has too long been a stranger.
+
+This exuberant loyalty may have been heightened by the hope that Cork
+would reap from the Union a commercial harvest equal to that which
+raised Glasgow from a city of 12,700 souls before the Anglo-Scottish
+Union, to one of nearly 70,000 in the year 1800. But the men of Cork
+forgot that that marvellous increase was due to the coal, iron, and
+manufactures of Lanarkshire, no less than to free participation in the
+trade of the Empire.
+
+The fact that Cork was then far more Unionist than Belfast is apt to
+perplex the reader until he realizes that Roman Catholics for the most
+part favoured Union, not so much from loyalty to George III, as from the
+conviction that only in the Imperial Parliament could they gain full
+religious equality. On the other hand the Presbyterians of Ulster had
+fewer grievances to be redressed, and were not without hope of gaining
+satisfaction from the Protestant Legislature at Dublin. It is certain
+that the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin and Tuam, besides Bishop Moylan
+of Cork and other prelates, used their influence on behalf of the Union.
+Cornwallis was known to favour the Catholic claims; and Wilberforce,
+writing to Pitt, says: "I have long wished to converse with you a little
+concerning the part proper for you to take when the Catholic Question
+should come before the House. I feel it due to the long friendship which
+has subsisted between us to state to you unreservedly my sentiments on
+this very important occasion, especially as I fear they are different
+from your own."[560] Pitt does not seem to have welcomed the suggestion
+couched in these magisterial terms, and, as the sequel will show, he had
+good grounds for concealing his hand. Only at one point did the Cabinet
+declare its intentions. There being some fear that the Opposition at
+Dublin would seek to win over the Catholics by the offer of
+Emancipation, the Government declared its resolve to oppose any step in
+this direction so long as that Parliament existed.[561]
+
+It is well also to remember that the concession of the franchise to the
+bulk of the Irish peasantry in 1793, with the full approval of Pitt,
+enabled the Catholics to control the elections in the counties and
+"open" boroughs except in Ulster. Therefore, though they could not send
+to Parliament men of their creed, they could in many instances keep out
+Protestants who were inimical to their interests. In the present case,
+then, Catholic influence was certain to tell powerfully, though
+indirectly, in favour of Union. These facts explain the progress of the
+cause early in the year 1799. Opponents of the measure began to tremble
+for their seats owing to the action either of Government or of the
+Catholic vote. Accordingly, despite the frantic efforts of Lord
+Downshire and Foster, Government carried the day by 123 to 103 (15th
+February). Fear worked on behalf of Union. A great fleet was fitting out
+at Brest, the Dutch ports were alive with work, and again Ireland was
+believed to be the aim of the Republicans. As was the case in 1798, they
+encouraged numbers of Irishmen to make pikes, to muster on the hills of
+Cork and Wicklow, dealing murder and havoc in the plains by night.
+Cornwallis therefore proclaimed martial law, armed the yeomen, and
+sought to crush the malcontents, a proceeding which led critics to
+charge Government with inciting the people to outrage in order to coerce
+them. Those who flung out the sneer should also have proved that the
+naval preparations at Brest and the Texel were instigated from Downing
+Street in order to carry the Union.
+
+The real feelings of Dublin officials appear in the letters of
+Beresford, Cooke, and Lees to Auckland. On 15th March 1799 Beresford
+writes: "Our business is going on smoothly in Parliament; from the day
+that Government took the courage [_sic_] of dividing with the
+Opposition, they have grown weaker and weaker every day as I foretold to
+you they would. The Speaker [Foster], as I hear, appears to be much
+softened. I am sure he sees that he has pledged himself too far, and
+that he cannot depend upon those who heretofore supported him: and both
+he and Ponsonby are conscious that the point will be carried and they,
+of course, left in the lurch.... The country is in a wretched way,
+organization going on everywhere; and if the French should land, I much
+fear that there will be very universal risings." On the subject of
+inter-insular trade Beresford informs Auckland on 29th March that
+Ireland depends almost entirely upon Great Britain and her colonies,
+having a balance in her favour in that trade but an adverse balance in
+her dealings with foreign lands. She exports 41,670,000 yards of linen
+to Great Britain and only 4,762,000 yards to other lands. Besides, the
+British trade is increasing fast, as England uses less and less foreign
+linen. On the morrow, Cooke declares that, if the French do not land,
+the Irish malcontents will settle down. Commending the policy of going
+slowly with the Union, he says: "By letting the subject cool, by opening
+its nature, tendencies, and advantages, and seeming not to press it, and
+by insinuating that no other course of safety to property remains, the
+mind begins to think seriously and faints. I think during the Vacation
+pains may be taken with the House of Commons so as to give us a fair
+majority, and if the Catholics act steadily we should be able to carry
+the point. I could wish that Mr. Pitt would suffer some person of
+ability to prepare all the necessary Bills, and to fill up every detail;
+so that the measure might be seen in its complete stage. I despair of
+this being done, tho' obviously right; for Ministers never will act till
+they are forced, and I do not wonder at it."[562]
+
+Again, all the energy was on the side of the Opposition. On 11th April
+Foster passed the whole subject in review in a speech of four hours'
+duration. In order to weaken one of the strongest of Pitt's arguments,
+he proposed that in case of a Regency, the Regent, who was chosen at
+Westminster, should necessarily be Regent at Dublin. This proposal of
+course implied the dependence of the Irish Parliament on that of Great
+Britain; but, as invalidating one of the chief pleas for Union, Foster
+pressed it home. He also charged Pitt with endeavouring to wring a large
+sum of money every year from Ireland. The speech made a deep impression.
+The only way of deadening its influence and stopping the Regency Bill
+was to postpone it until August and summarily to close the session on
+1st June. The meanness of this device is a tribute to the power of
+Foster and the mediocrity of the officials of Dublin Castle.
+
+Meanwhile the naval situation had cleared up, so far as concerns
+Ireland. On 25th April Admiral Bruix, with a powerful fleet, slipped out
+from Brest by night past Lord Bridport's blockading force. For some days
+panic reigned in London, and it is significant that Bridport took
+especial measures to guard the coasts of Ireland, thus enabling the
+French to get clear away to the Mediterranean. With bolder tactics they
+should have been able to reduce the new British possession, Minorca, or
+annihilate the small force blockading Malta. The relief felt at Dublin
+Castle, on hearing of Bruix' southward voyage, appears in Beresford's
+letter of 15th May, in which he refers to the revival of loyalty and the
+terrible number of hangings by courts martial: "We consider ourselves as
+safe from the French for this year; but I am in great anxiety for my
+friend St. Vincent. What steps will be taken against those damned dogs
+in the Mediterranean?... I expect that the French going to the
+Mediterranean, instead of coming to the assistance of their friends
+here, will have a very great effect upon the people of this country,
+who, as soon as they find that they have been made fools of will
+endeavour to get out of the scrape they are in." On 1st June Cooke
+writes "secretly" to Auckland, expressing regret that Pitt ever attacked
+Foster, whose opposition is most weighty. The Cabinet lost the measure
+by want of good management in 1798: and the same is now the case.
+Nothing has been done to win over Lord Downshire with his eight votes,
+or Lords Donegal and De Clifford, who had half as many. He even asks
+whether Pitt will think it worth while to spend three months' work on
+the Union now that the French had gone to the Mediterranean.[563] The
+question reveals the prevalence of the belief that Pitt paid little
+attention to Irish affairs. Probably it arose from his stiffness of
+manner and his execrable habit of leaving letters unanswered. This
+defect had become incurable, witness the complaint of Wilberforce to
+Addington--"You know how difficult, I may say next to impossible, it is
+to extort a line from Pitt."[564]
+
+In July the return of Bruix with the Cadiz fleet into the Atlantic
+renewed the fears of Irish loyalists and the hopes of the malcontents.
+The combined fleet managed to enter Brest on 13th August 1799; and its
+presence there was a continual source of unsettlement to Ireland,
+preparations for revolt being kept up in several parts. A large British
+force was therefore kept in Ireland, not for the purpose of forcing
+through the Union, as Pitt's enemies averred, but in order to guard
+against invasion and rebellion. Though reinforcements arrived,
+Cornwallis complained that he had not enough troops. On 24th July 1799
+he informed the Duke of Portland that he had only 45,000 regular
+infantry, a number sufficient to preserve order but totally inadequate
+to repel an invasion in force. Thus the facts of the case are, that
+French threats to tear Ireland from Great Britain kept up the
+threatening ferment and necessitated the presence of a considerable
+military force; but they also led Pitt to insist on the Union as a means
+of thwarting all separatist efforts whether from without or from within.
+It is clear, however, that Pitt and Earl Spencer trusted to Bridport's
+powerful squadron to intercept any large expedition of the enemy. The
+blow then preparing against the Dutch was in part intended to ensure the
+safety of the British Isles.
+
+Meanwhile at Westminster the cause of the Union met with almost
+universal approval. The debate in the Lords on 11th April elicited
+admirable speeches, from Dr. Watson, the learned Bishop of Llandaff, and
+from Lords Auckland and Minto. Only Lords Holland, King, and Thanet
+protested against the measure. In the Commons, Lord Sheffield, while
+supporting the Union, reproved Ministers for allowing their aim to
+become known in Ireland several weeks before the details of their
+proposals were made public. The measure received warm support from
+Canning, who a month earlier had resigned the Under-Secretaryship for
+Foreign Affairs, and was now for the time merely on the India Board of
+Control, with a sinecure superadded. The sensitive young Irishman had
+found it impossible to work with the cold and austere Grenville; and his
+place was taken for a time by his coadjutor on the "Anti-Jacobin,"
+Hookham Frere, to whom the Grenville yoke proved scarcely less irksome.
+
+Canning flung himself with ardour into the struggle for the Union, and
+proved a match for his brilliant fellow countryman, Sheridan. He
+combated the notion that the Irish Parliament was unalterably opposed to
+the measure, and, arguing from the contemptuous manner in which the
+French had met our overtures for peace, he inferred their resolve to
+sever Ireland from the Empire. In animated style he declared that
+Ireland would not lose but gain in dignity by the Union, which would
+confer on her what she most needed, stronger and steadier government. On
+this occasion Sheridan did not speak, and Fox was absent. After a
+protest by Lord William Russell against infringing the final settlement
+of 1782, Pitt arose merely in order to challenge this statement and to
+read the letters of the Duke of Portland to Lord Shelburne of May-June
+1782; they refuted Russell's contention only in so far as to show that
+Ministers then designed to legislate further on the subject. The Irish
+Parliament certainly regarded the legislative independence then granted
+as complete and final. The House of Commons supported Pitt by a
+unanimous vote.
+
+During the summer the outlook at Dublin became somewhat brighter, as
+appears from the following "secret" letter of Cooke to Lord Camden.
+After congratulating him on receiving the Garter, he continues:
+
+ Dublin, _14 Aug., 1799_.
+
+ ... I think Union gains ground. Lord Cornwallis is in earnest on
+ the subject and feels himself committed. The Catholics have been
+ chiefly courted by him, and he has always been of opinion that,
+ if they would act heartily in support, the Protestants would not
+ resist the efforts of the British Government, assisted by the
+ population of the kingdom. I believe this position to be true.
+ It cannot, however, be fully acted upon, in my mind, unless
+ there be a determination to make further concessions to that
+ body. To such concessions I confess I do not see insuperable,
+ tho' I do strong, objections. I think they vanish in the
+ superior importance of the question of Union. From the present
+ state of the country I conceive the question may be brought
+ forward with safety. If the Catholics were steady, Dublin might
+ be preserved quiet, tho' the Opposition would be clamorous. Our
+ difficulties will be in Parliament. I think the Speaker will not
+ relax. Lord Downshire, I am sorry to say, seems very hostile.
+ Lord de Clifford is also unfriendly. Lord Donegal I hear is
+ coming round. Could Lord Downshire and Lord de Clifford be made
+ cordial, the Parliament would be secure. I see not any great
+ difficulty in settling the terms except as to the representation
+ of the Commons and compensation to the boroughs. Allowing two
+ members for each county--which makes 64--there is no principle
+ which can be exactly applied for classing the boroughs and
+ selecting the great towns, and tho' it would be easy to
+ compensate the close boroughs, it is almost impossible to
+ compensate pot-walloping boroughs.[565] The difficulties here
+ are enhanced by the consideration that in this case private not
+ public interests are concerned. When I thus represent the
+ probability of success, I am aware of the strange volatility of
+ the Irish mind; and I should not be surprised at any sudden turn
+ of the present appearances....
+
+Very interesting is the statement as to the courting of the Catholics by
+Cornwallis. Pitt certainly knew of these advances; for on New Year's Day
+1801 Castlereagh reminded him by letter that Cornwallis did not venture
+to make them until the Cabinet had discussed the matter sometime in the
+autumn of 1799, and had come to a conclusion entirely favourable to the
+Catholic claims, finally assuring him that he "need not hesitate in
+calling forth the Catholic support in whatever degree he found it
+practicable to obtain it." This and other passages in Castlereagh's
+letter prove conclusively that not only Pitt, but the Cabinet as a whole
+was responsible for the procedure of Cornwallis, which ensured the more
+or less declared support of the Irish Catholics.[566]
+
+The chief difficulty was with the Protestant clique which largely
+controlled State patronage. In the autumn Pitt had another interview
+with Downshire, but found him full of complaints, demanding among other
+things that Ireland should send at least 300 Commoners to Westminster.
+He departed for Dublin declaring that he would do his duty. In October
+the Government's cause was furthered by a state progress of Cornwallis
+through the North of Ireland, during which he received numerous
+addresses in favour of Union. At Belfast 150 of the chief citizens
+attended a banquet in his honour; Londonderry was enthusiastic in the
+cause; and it was clear that the opposition of the Protestants of the
+North was slackening. But, as often happened in Ireland, many Catholics
+now began to doubt the utility of a measure commended by their
+opponents. The interest which Pitt felt in this complex problem and in
+Cornwallis's tour appears in the following Memorandum which he wrote
+probably at the end of October 1799:
+
+ The number of placemen in Ireland is 71. Of these such as hold
+ office for life or during good behaviour, 11, and 2 holding
+ places for pleasure, vote against. It is said 63 seats have been
+ vacated by Government by a misuse of the Place Bill. This
+ number is exaggerated; but at least 10 were vacated to serve
+ Opposition. A charge is made against Lord Cornwallis for
+ canvassing for declarations in favour of Union. The fact is that
+ Lord Cornwallis, being commander-in-chief, thought it his duty
+ to make a progress of inspection thro' the kingdom in order to
+ examine the state of the army and to be a judge of the means of
+ defence he could rely on. In this progress he received numerous
+ addresses in favour of Union. A charge is made against
+ Government of intimidation and the exertion of martial law.
+ There was only one attempt to substantiate such a charge which
+ was by Sir L. Parsons, which, instead of terminating in censure,
+ produced a vote of unanimous approbation in favour of
+ Government. There have been general charges of corruption
+ adduced, but no proof attempted. The charge retorted by
+ Government on Opposition for forming the most extensive
+ subscriptions for the purpose of corruption has not been denied
+ by them.
+
+The last sentence refers to a curious incident. Downshire, the most
+influential opponent of the Union, had opened a fund for influencing
+members of Parliament. It reached a large amount, probably £100,000.
+Beresford in a letter to Auckland states that £4,000 was paid to win
+over a supporter of Government. Pitt, as we have seen, believed that
+Downshire's fund necessitated the extensive use of bribery by
+Government. But it is on the whole more likely that Dublin Castle opened
+the game by its request early in 1799, for £5,000 immediately from
+London. Further sums were forwarded, for on 5th April, Cooke, after
+interviews with Pitt and Portland, assured Castlereagh that Portland
+would send "the needful" to Dublin. He adds: "Pitt will contrive to let
+you have from £8,000 to £10,000 for five years," though this was less
+than Castlereagh required. After this, it is absurd to deny that Pitt
+used corrupt means to carry the Union. He used them because only so
+could he carry through that corrupt Parliament a measure entailing
+pecuniary loss on most of its members. Probably he disliked the work as
+much as Cornwallis, who longed to kick the men whom he had to
+conciliate.--"I despise and hate myself every hour," so Cornwallis wrote
+to Ross, "for engaging in such dirty work, and am supported only by the
+reflection that without an Union, the British Empire must be
+dissolved."[567]
+
+The winter of 1799-1800 was marked by fierce discontent; and again,
+after the rise of Bonaparte to power, there were rumours of invasion
+which excited the peasants of South Ireland. The men of Dublin on some
+occasions assaulted Unionist Members of Parliament. Cornwallis, however,
+believed that the country as a whole favoured the cause; and Castlereagh
+received favourable assurances as to the attitude of the great majority
+of Catholics except in County Dublin.[568] Some leading Episcopalians
+were appeased by the insertion of a clause uniting the Protestant
+Churches of England and Ireland in one body. This concession did not
+satisfy the Orangemen, who, despite the prohibition of their Grand
+Lodge, clamoured against the Union, and threatened to oppose it by
+force.
+
+So doubtful were the omens when Cornwallis opened the Irish Parliament
+on 5th February 1800, in a speech commending the present plan of
+unification. Castlereagh then defended the proposals and declared them
+to have the support of three fourths of the property there represented.
+After showing the need of keeping the debts of the two islands distinct,
+he explained that an examination of the Customs and Excise duties
+warranted the inference that the contribution of Ireland towards
+Imperial expenses should be two fifteenths of that of Great Britain. He
+claimed that this plan would press less heavily on Ireland than the
+present duty of contributing £1,000,000 to the British armaments in time
+of war and half that amount in peace. Further, the Union would tend to
+assuage religious jealousies and to consolidate the strength of the
+Empire. Early on the next morning the House divided--158 for and 115
+against Government. This result did not wholly please Dublin Castle.
+Cooke wrote on the morrow to Auckland: "The activity and intimidation of
+Opposition, together with their subscription purse, does sad mischief.
+They scruple not to give from 3,000 to 4,000 guineas for a vote."
+Government therefore had to mourn over seven deserters.[569]
+Nevertheless, this division was decisive. Castlereagh rounded up his
+flock, and by the display of fat pasture called in some of the
+wanderers. Is it possible that the Opposition purse was merely the
+device of a skilful auctioneer, who sends in a friend to raise the bids?
+
+The triumph of Government at Dublin had its effects at Westminster. On
+21st April 1800 Pitt explained the Resolutions as recently accepted by
+the Irish Parliament. He spoke very briefly, probably owing to ill
+health, which beset him through many weeks of that year.[570] He soon
+met a challenger. Thomas Jones dared him to combat by accusing Ministers
+of seeking to disfranchise Ireland by corrupt means. Foiled in argument,
+they now acted on the principle
+
+ Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.
+
+After a further display of classical knowledge, Jones declared that the
+introduction of 100 Irish members into that House must destroy the
+British constitution, which, like Damocles, would for ever be threatened
+with the sword of Dionysius suspended over it by a single hair.
+
+Disregarding rhetoric and classical allusions, Pitt plunged into
+business. In none of his speeches is there a simpler statement of a
+case. He declared the Union to be absolutely necessary as a means of
+thwarting the machinations of an enemy ever intent on separating the two
+kingdoms. It would further allay the religious animosities rife in
+Ireland, and would conduce to her freedom and happiness. He then uttered
+these words: "It may be proper to leave to Parliament an opportunity of
+considering what may be fit to be done for His Majesty's Catholic
+subjects, without seeking at present any rule to govern the Protestant
+Establishment or to make any provision upon that subject." This
+statement is not wholly clear; but it and its context undoubtedly opened
+up a prospect of Catholic Emancipation such as Cornwallis had far more
+clearly outlined. The significance of Pitt's declaration will appear in
+the sequel.
+
+On the subject of commerce Pitt laid down the guiding principle that
+after the Union all Customs barriers between the two islands ought to be
+swept away as completely as between England and Scotland. If at present
+they swerved from this grand object, it was for the sake of reaching it
+the more surely. In compliance with the demand of Ireland, they would
+allow her to maintain a protective duty of 10 per cent. on cottons and
+woollens, in the latter case for not more than twenty years. He then
+added these words: "The manufacturers of this country do not, I believe,
+wish for any protecting duties; all they desire is a free intercourse
+with all the world; and, though the want of protecting duties may
+occasion partial loss, they think that amply compensated by general
+advantage." No more statesmanlike utterance had been heard in the House
+of Commons. Only by degrees had Pitt worked his way to this conviction.
+In his early Budgets, as we saw, he clung to the system of numerous
+duties; but, despite the cramping influence of war, he now relied on the
+effects of a two-shilling Income Tax and aimed at the abolition of
+protective Customs dues. He was fated never to reach this ideal; but
+there can be no doubt that he cherished it as one of the hopes of his
+life.
+
+Turning next to the question of Ireland's contribution to the Imperial
+Exchequer, Pitt set forth his reasons for fixing it at two fifteenths of
+the revenue of Great Britain; but, as this decision might in the future
+unduly burden the smaller island, it would not be final; and he
+suggested that at the end of twenty years the resources of each would so
+far have developed as to admit of a more authoritative assessment. If,
+however, in the meantime the amount paid by Ireland should be in excess
+of what ought to be paid, the surplus should be applied either to the
+extinction of her Debt or to local improvements. He further expressed
+the hope that in course of time the Debts and the produce of taxation
+would be so far assimilated in the two kingdoms as to admit of the
+formation of one National Debt and one system of taxation. Despite the
+favourable nature of these proposals, Pitt encountered a spirited
+opposition. Grey declared the measure to be a gross violation of the
+rights of the Irish people. Sheridan, Dr. Laurence (the friend of
+Burke), and Tierney continued in the same strain; and Grey finally dared
+the Minister to dissolve the Irish Parliament and appeal to the people.
+Throwing off all signs of bodily weakness, Pitt took up the challenge.
+Last year, he said, when the Commons of Ireland rejected the Union,
+certain members applauded them. Now, when they passed it, the same
+members said "appeal to the people." He refused to do so, knowing well
+the scenes of violence and intimidation that would result from
+consulting primary assemblies of Irishmen. The reference to those
+bodies, so notorious during the French Revolution, clinched his reply;
+and the House expressed approval of the Union by 236 votes to 30 (21st
+April 1800).
+
+The further debates on the Bill are of little interest. In the absence
+of Fox, Grey was the protagonist of Opposition. Bankes, once a firm
+supporter of Pitt, opposed the measure. Wilberforce confessed to
+tremulous uncertainty about it, ostensibly because the addition of 100
+Irish members to the House would add to the influence of the Crown, but
+more probably because he foresaw Catholic Emancipation. Peel, already
+known as one of the most successful and patriotic of Lancashire
+manufacturers, spoke up manfully for the Union, though he deeply
+regretted that Ireland would retain certain protective duties against
+Great Britain. Very noteworthy, in view of the son's championship of
+Free Trade in 1845, was the contention of the father that a weak country
+(Ireland) had no need of "protection" against a stronger one. In reality
+it would be as if a poor family shut its doors against assistance from a
+wealthy one. On the trading proposals Pitt's following was thinned down
+to 133; but the main question went through in May by overwhelming
+majorities in both Houses. In the following month it passed through the
+Irish Parliament.
+
+Castlereagh thereupon introduced a Bill to indemnify the holders of
+pocket boroughs who would lose patronage by the proposed changes. The
+Government, having now revised its previous resolve, proposed to
+disfranchise as many as 84 small Irish boroughs, and allotted £15,000
+for each, or £1,260,000 in all. In explanation of this payment it must
+be remembered that the owning of such boroughs was a recognized form of
+property, as appeared in Pitt's proposal of 1785 to compensate British
+owners whom he sought to dispossess. Nothing but the near approach of
+revolution in 1832 availed to shatter the system of pocket boroughs in
+Great Britain; and then their owners were sent empty away. The
+difference in treatment marks the infiltration of new ideas. In England
+and Ireland a vote and a seat had been a form of property. According to
+the Rights of Man the franchise was an inalienable right of citizenship.
+
+The list of Union honours and preferments having been published, we need
+not dwell on that unsavoury topic, except to remark that the promotions
+in the peerage conferred for services in connection with the Union
+numbered forty-six; that the opposition of the Protestant Archbishop of
+Cashel was bought off by the promise of the Archbishopric of Dublin; and
+that the number of ecclesiastical jobs consequent on the Union was
+nearly twenty. The promotions in the legal profession numbered twelve.
+Twelve pensions and four titular honours were also granted. Five
+aspirants refused the posts offered to them because they expected "snug
+sinecures" which "require no attendance at all." In March 1805 Lord
+Hardwicke, successor to Cornwallis, complained that his funds were so
+embarrassed by the various claims that the Irish Civil List had only
+£150 in hand.[571] These sordid bargainings cannot be said to amount to
+wholesale corruption, and did not much exceed those which usually were
+needed to carry an important Bill through that Parliament. On the whole
+Pitt and his colleagues might reflect with satisfaction that the use of
+bribes served to cleanse the political life of Ireland in the future.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Union of the British and Irish Parliaments is generally considered
+from the insular point of view. This is quite natural; for primarily it
+concerned the British Isles. Nevertheless the influences which brought
+it about were more than insular. The formation of the United Kingdom, by
+the Act which came into effect on 1st January 1801, was but one among
+many processes of consolidation then proceeding. France was the first
+State which succeeded in concentrating political power at the capital;
+and the new polity endued her with a strength sufficient to break in
+pieces the chaotic systems of her neighbours. The mania of the French
+for centralization was seen in their dealings with the Batavian
+Republic, and with the Swiss Confederation, which they crushed into the
+mould of an indivisible Republic. Everywhere the new unifying impulse
+undermined or swept away local Parliaments or provincial Estates.
+Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity in practice meant a single,
+democratic, and centralized Government. In self defence the Powers
+threatened by France borrowed her political weapons. In succession Great
+Britain, Prussia, and for a time even Austria, pulled themselves
+together for the struggle. As the binding powers of commerce also tended
+towards union, the Nineteenth Century witnessed the absorption of little
+States, except where they represented a distinct nationality.
+
+Confronted by the new and threatening forces in France, Pitt was
+virtually compelled to abrogate a system under which the Speaker of the
+Irish House of Commons, and Ministers who had no definite
+responsibility, could meddle in military affairs. Under the sway of Mars
+dualism cannot exist. In the crises of a great war Cabals and Juntos go
+by the board. The Irish Ministry was little more than a Junto; and
+Ireland need not mourn its loss.
+
+The loss of her Parliament was far more serious; and if that body had
+represented the Irish people, Pitt's action would be indefensible. But
+Grattan's Parliament represented only a small minority of the Irish
+people; and that minority was resolved not to admit Catholics to full
+civic rights. It would have fought to maintain Protestant Episcopalian
+ascendancy; and under the conditions then existing England must have
+drawn the sword on behalf of her exacting "garrison."
+
+Even in ordinary times such a state of things was unbearable; and the
+French saw it. Their aim was to strike at England through Ireland; and,
+but for Bonaparte's dreams of conquest in the East, this blow would have
+been dealt. Fortunately for Great Britain, his oriental ambitions served
+to divert to the sands of Egypt a thunderbolt which would have been
+fatal at Dublin. Even as it was, the mere presence of Bruix' great fleet
+at Brest prolonged the ferment in Ireland, thus emphasizing the force of
+the arguments in favour of Union. As we have seen, Pitt placed them in
+the forefront of his speeches; and those who charge him with hypocrisy,
+because France did not strike vigorously at Ireland during or after the
+Rebellion of 1798, only expose their ignorance of the facts and
+sentiments of that time. Throughout the years 1799 and 1800 the thought
+of invasion filled the minds of loyalists with dread, of malcontents
+with eager hope.
+
+Nevertheless Pitt saw in the Union, not merely an expedient necessitated
+by war, but a permanent uplift for the whole nation. From the not
+dissimilar case of the Union with Scotland he augured hopefully for
+Ireland, believing that her commerce would thrive not less than that of
+North Britain. Still more did he found his hopes upon the religious
+settlement whereby he sought to crown his work. Ever since the days of
+Queen Elizabeth the strife between the Protestants and Catholics had
+marred the fortunes of that land. Pitt believed that it could be stilled
+in the larger political unity for which he now prepared.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[555] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[556] "Mems. of Fox," iii, 150; "Grattan Mems.," iv, 435.
+
+[557] Virgil, "Aen.," xii, 189-91. "As for me, I will neither bid the
+Italians obey the Trojans, nor do I seek a new sovereignty. Let both
+peoples, unsubdued, submit to an eternal compact with equal laws." The
+correct reading is "Nec mihi regna peto," which Pitt altered to "nova."
+
+[558] Pitt MSS., 196, 320.
+
+[559] Pretyman MSS. See "Cornwallis Corresp.," iii, 125, 210, for
+Unionist sentiment in Cork.
+
+[560] Pitt MSS., 189.
+
+[561] "Cornwallis Corresp.," iii, 52, 54; Hunt, "Pol. Hist. of England,"
+x, 447.
+
+[562] B.M. Add. MSS., 35455.
+
+[563] B.M. Add. MSS., 35455.
+
+[564] "Life of Wilberforce," ii, 227.
+
+[565] These were boroughs in which all holders of tenements where a pot
+could be boiled had votes. See Porritt, ii, 186, 350.
+
+[566] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iv, 8-10.
+
+[567] "Cornwallis Corresp.," iii, 101, 102, 226; "Castlereagh Corresp.,"
+iii, 260; Plowden (ii, 550), without proof, denies the existence of
+Downshire's fund.
+
+[568] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iii, 135, 226. On the proposed changes in
+the Catechism there is a long _précis_ in the Pretyman MSS., being a
+summary of the correspondence of Lords Castlereagh and Hobart with
+Archbishop Troy and Bishop Moylan.
+
+[569] B.M. Add. MSS., 35455; "Dropmore P.," vi, 121.
+
+[570] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iii, 263, 278.
+
+[571] M. Mac Donagh, "The Viceroy's Post-Bag," 43-53; "Cornwallis
+Corresp.," iii, 245, 251-6, 267, 318-21.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XX
+
+ RESIGNATION
+
+ It is well known that no quiet could subsist in a country where
+ there is not a Church Establishment.--GEORGE III TO ADDINGTON,
+ _29th January 1801_.
+
+
+On 25th September 1800 Pitt wrote to the Lord Chancellor, Loughborough,
+then in attendance on the King at Weymouth, requesting his presence at a
+Cabinet meeting in order to discuss the Catholic Question and proposals
+respecting tithes and a provision for the Catholic and Dissenting
+clergy. Five days later he explained to his colleagues the main
+proposal. In place of the Oaths of Supremacy and Abjuration he desired
+to impose on members of Parliament and officials merely the Oath of
+Allegiance, which would be no bar to Romanists. The change won the
+approval of all the Ministers present except Loughborough. He strongly
+objected to the proposal, upheld the present exclusive system, and
+demurred to any change affecting Roman Catholics except a commutation of
+tithes, a measure which he had in preparation. His colleagues,
+astonished at this firm opposition from the erstwhile Presbyterian of
+East Lothian, begged him to elaborate his Tithe Bill, and indulged the
+hope that further inquiry would weaken his resistance to the larger
+Reform. They did not know Loughborough.
+
+There is a curious reference in one of Pitt's letters, of October 1798,
+to Loughborough as the Keeper of the King's conscience.[572] The phrase
+has an ironical ring well suited to the character of him who called it
+forth. Now, in his sixty-seventh year, he had run through the gamut of
+political professions. An adept in the art of changing sides, he, as
+Alexander Wedderburn, had earned the contempt or envy of all rivals. Yet
+such was the grace of his curves and the skill of his explanations that
+a new turn caused less surprise than admiration. Unlike his rival,
+Thurlow, who stormed ahead, Wedderburn trimmed his sails for every
+breeze and showed up best in light airs. Making few friends, he had few
+inveterate enemies; but one of them, Churchill, limned him as
+
+ Adopting arts by which gay villains rise
+ And reach the heights which honest men despise;
+ Mute at the Bar and in the Senate loud,
+ Dull 'mong the dullest, proudest of the proud,
+ A pert prim prater of the northern race,
+ Guilt in his heart, and famine in his face.
+
+This was before Wedderburn had wormed himself into favour with Lord
+North and won the office of Solicitor-General (1778). Two years later he
+became Lord Loughborough, a title which Fox ascribed to his rancorous
+abuse of the American colonists. Figuring next as a member of the
+Fox-North Administration, he did not long share the misfortunes of his
+colleagues, for he alone of his colleagues contrived not to offend
+either the King or Pitt. This sleekness had its reward. The perversities
+of Thurlow having led to his fall in 1792, Loughborough became Lord
+Chancellor. His sage counsels heightened his reputation; and in October
+1794 Pitt assigned to him the delicate task of seeing Earl Fitzwilliam
+and Grattan in order to smooth over the difficulties attending the union
+with the Old Whigs. At his house in Bedford Square, Bloomsbury, occurred
+some of the conferences which ensured Fitzwilliam's acceptance of the
+Irish Viceroyalty. Loughborough urged Pitt to do all in his power to
+prevent a rupture with the Portland Whigs or the Irish people. Counsels
+of conciliation then flowed from his lips and were treasured up. In
+fact, Pitt seems to have felt no suspicion of him despite his
+courtier-like ways and his constant attendance on the King. For
+Loughborough, like Dundas, had outlived the evil reputation of an
+earlier time. The Marquis of Buckingham, writing to Grenville on an
+awkward episode affecting Lord Berkeley, advised him to consult
+Loughborough as a man of discretion and undoubted private honour.[573]
+
+Neither Pitt nor Grenville knew that Loughborough had played them false
+in 1795. The man who urged them to send Fitzwilliam to Dublin with the
+olive-branch soon tendered to George III official advice of an exactly
+opposite tenour, namely, that assent to Catholic Emancipation would
+involve a violation of the Coronation Oath. A day or two later he stated
+to Rose that he had given to the King wholly different counsels, to the
+effect that the Coronation Oath did not apply to the question at issue,
+which referred to a legislative enactment, not to an act of the King in
+his executive capacity.[574] Two other legal authorities unequivocally
+declared for this view of the case.
+
+Whether in the autumn and winter of 1800 Loughborough's secret counsels
+had much effect on the King may be doubted; for George, in his letter of
+6th February 1795 to Pitt, declared Catholic Emancipation to be "beyond
+the decision of any Cabinet of Ministers." As for the Church
+Establishment, it was essential to every State, and must be maintained
+intact. When George had once framed a resolve, it was hopeless to try to
+change it. Moreover, during the debates on the Union, early in 1799, he
+remarked to Dundas at Court that he hoped the Cabinet was not pledged to
+anything in favour of the Romanists. "No," was the wary reply, "that
+will be a matter for future consideration." Thereupon he set forth his
+scruples respecting the Coronation Oath. Dundas sought to allay them by
+observing that the Oath referred, not to his executive actions, but only
+to his assent to an act of the Legislature, a matter even then taken for
+granted. The remark, far from soothing the King, elicited the shrewd
+retort, "None of your Scotch metaphysics, Mr. Dundas! None of your
+Scotch metaphysics!"
+
+The action of Loughborough, then, can only have put an edge on the
+King's resolve; and all speculation as to the exact nature of his
+"intrigues" at Weymouth or at Windsor is futile. In truth a collision
+between the King and Pitt on this topic was inevitable. The marvel is
+that there had been no serious friction during the past eighteen years.
+Probably the knowledge that a Fox Cabinet, dominated by the Prince of
+Wales, was the only alternative to Pitt had exerted a chastening
+influence on the once headstrong monarch; but now even that spectre
+faded away before the more potent wraith of mangled Protestantism. The
+King was a sincerely religious man in his own narrow way; and arguments
+about the Coronation Oath were as useless with him as discussions on
+Modernism are with Pius X.
+
+Pitt therefore kept his plans secret. But we must here digress to notice
+an assertion to the contrary. Malmesbury avers that Loughborough, while
+at Weymouth in the autumn of 1800, informed his cousin, Auckland, and
+the Archbishop of Canterbury of the danger to the Established Church;
+that the latter wrote to the King, who thereupon upbraided Pitt. Now, it
+is highly probable that Auckland knew nothing of the matter until the
+end of January 1801,[575] and the secret almost certainly did not come
+to light until then, when the Archbishop, Auckland's brother-in-law, was
+a prey to nervous anxieties resulting from recent and agitating news.
+Further, no such letter from the King to Pitt is extant either at the
+Public Record Office, Orwell Park, or Chevening; and if the proposals
+were known to George why did he fume at Pitt and Castlereagh on 28th
+January for springing the mine upon him? Finally, if the King, while at
+Weymouth, blamed Pitt for bringing the matter forward, why did
+Malmesbury censure him for keeping it secret? It is well to probe these
+absurdities, for they reveal the untrustworthiness of the Earl on this
+question.
+
+To revert to Pitt's procedure; there were two arguments on which he must
+have relied for convincing the King of the need of granting Catholic
+Emancipation. Firstly, the Irish Catholics had, on the whole, behaved
+with marked loyalty and moderation during the wearisome debates on the
+Union at Dublin, a course of conduct markedly different from the acrid
+and factious tactics of the privileged Protestant Episcopalians.
+Secondly, as the summer of 1800 waned to autumn, the position of Great
+Britain became almost desperate. Her ally, Austria, had lost Lombardy
+and was fighting a losing game in Swabia. Russia had not only left the
+Second Coalition, but was threatening England with a renewal of the
+Armed Neutrality League. At home a bad harvest was sending up corn to
+famine prices; and sedition again raised its head. In such a case would
+not a patriotic ruler waive his objections to a measure essential not
+only to peace and quiet in Ireland, but to the stability of the United
+Kingdom? The latter consideration derived added force from the fact that
+Bonaparte, fresh from his triumphs in Italy, was inaugurating a policy
+of conciliation which promised to end the long ferment in the west of
+France and to make of her a really united nation. While he was allaying
+Jacobinical zeal and royalist bigotry, could Britons afford to keep up
+internal causes of friction, and, disunited among themselves, face a
+hostile world in arms? In such an emergency would not the King waive
+even his conscientious scruples, and at the cost of some qualms pacify
+and consolidate his nominally united realms?
+
+For it was certain that the Irish Catholics would not rest now that the
+boon of Emancipation was well within reach. Pitt and Cornwallis had
+aroused their hopes. While not openly promising that the portals at
+Westminster should be thrown open to Roman Catholics, Ministers had
+allowed hints to go forth definite enough to influence opinion,
+especially in Cork, Tipperary, and Galway. In fact, Castlereagh assured
+Pitt that the help of Catholics had turned the wavering scales in favour
+of Union.[576] The claims of honour therefore required that Pitt should
+do all in his power to requite the services of a great body of men, long
+depressed and maligned, who, when tempted by the foreigner to revolt,
+had on the whole shown remarkable patience and fidelity. The pressure of
+this problem was too much for the scanty strength of Pitt. Worried by
+private financial needs, and distressed at the bewildering change in
+European affairs, he broke down in health in September-October; and a
+period of rest and change at Addington's seat at Woodley, near Reading,
+was all too short for a complete recovery (18th October to 5th
+November). Addington, describing this visit, remarked that Pitt had
+become one of his family. Neither of them knew that a time of feud was
+at hand.
+
+At the close of the year Castlereagh came from Dublin to London to
+confer with Ministers on legal and other details connected with the
+proposal of Catholic Emancipation. By that time Loughborough's sharp
+opposition to the measure was known at Dublin Castle, where Cornwallis
+declared all resistance to the measure to be mere madness. The
+Catholics, he reported, were quiet merely because they were confident of
+success. Cooke, though once opposed to Catholic Emancipation, now
+accepted it as a necessity.[577] Nevertheless in the King's view
+Catholic Emancipation was wholly incompatible with his Coronation Oath
+and with the Church Establishment in England. In the middle of December
+the Chancellor drew up an able and very detailed Memorandum on the legal
+aspects of the case. He even discoursed on the proselytizing zeal of
+Romanists and the material causes of discontent in Ireland which the
+Union would probably dispel. As Cooke remarked, the paper seemed
+designed to close the question for ever.[578]
+
+Pitt was equally determined to set the question at rest. He and
+Castlereagh had confidence in the issue; and Cornwallis declared that if
+Pitt were firm he would meet with no difficulty. Accordingly Pitt
+inserted in the King's Speech for the ensuing session a passage
+expressing confidence that Parliament would seek to improve the benefits
+already secured by the Act of Union. The phrase was smooth enough to
+leave the King's conscience unruffled, and on 23rd January he assented
+to the Speech, requesting that no change be made.[579] But while Pitt
+sapped the approaches to the citadel, Loughborough countermined him. On
+what day and in what manner he informed the King of the proposed measure
+of Catholic Emancipation is not clear. Possibly George scented mischief
+in a short conversation with Spencer and Grenville about the middle of
+January. But his brain was set on fire by something which he heard on
+27th or 28th January. On the latter day (Wednesday), during the _levée_
+at St. James's Palace, his behaviour betrayed unusual excitement, and he
+said warmly to Windham, a friend of the measure, that he regarded all
+supporters of it as "personally indisposed" to him. Waxing hotter in the
+course of the function, he declared in a loud voice to Dundas: "What is
+this that the young Lord [Castlereagh] has brought over, which they are
+going to throw at my head? Lord C. came over with the plan in
+September.... I shall reckon any man my personal enemy who proposes any
+such measure. The most Jacobinical thing I ever heard of."
+
+This extraordinary outburst naturally led Ministers to confer together
+on the morrow; and they requested Grenville to prepare a paper
+explaining the proposed changes in the form of oath for members of
+Parliament and officials. Grenville declined this task, which Pitt
+himself then undertook. This question, I may note, was far more
+difficult than outsiders could understand. Castlereagh's interviews with
+Pitt in September, and now again in January, had only recently brought
+Ministers near to an agreement, a fact which fully accounts for the
+delay in drafting the proposals in a form suitable for the King's
+inspection.[580] On that day George took another step betokening
+irrevocable opposition. He begged Addington to see Pitt and convince him
+of the danger of the measure. The King confessed that he could scarcely
+keep his temper in speaking about it; for it portended the destruction
+of the Established Church and the end of all order in civil life.
+Addington therefore paid a visit to Pitt, who cannot have been well
+pleased to see him acting as a tool of the King. The interview, however,
+seems to have been friendly, and it inspired Addington with the
+complacent hope that he had dissuaded Pitt. Possibly he or Auckland
+alarmed Dr. Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury, and set the bishops in
+motion. Other persons working to this end were the Earl of Clare and the
+Irish Primate. The latter took a prominent part in arousing the fears of
+the King. Cooke wrote: "The Primate was a great card, was much consulted
+by the King, for ever with him, or in correspondence with him.... The
+Archbishop of Canterbury was at first so nervous that for ten or twelve
+nights he could not sleep, and our Primate was daily with him,
+encouraging him."[581]
+
+It is uncertain how far Pitt was aware of the many adverse influences
+playing upon the King; for his papers on this topic are unusually
+scanty. On the 30th he sent a draft of his proposals to Loughborough, a
+sign that he would persevere with them. On the morrow George again
+summoned Addington to the palace, and adjured him to form a Ministry.
+This offer preceded the arrival of any intimation from Pitt of his
+desire to resign if his advice were rejected. Addington for his part
+begged to be excused; whereupon the King exclaimed: "Lay your hand upon
+your heart and ask yourself where I am to turn for support if _you_ do
+not stand by me."[582] Meanwhile Pitt was inditing his famous letter of
+31st January, to the King, of which this summary must suffice:
+
+ Pitt has heard with deep regret of the opposition displayed by
+ His Majesty to the proposals of Catholic Emancipation, which are
+ approved by the majority of the Cabinet and regarded as a
+ natural sequel to the Act of Union. The admission of Catholics
+ and Dissenters to certain offices, and of Catholics to
+ Parliament, now involves little or no danger to the Established
+ Church or to the Protestant interest, as the Catholics disclaim
+ the obnoxious tenets once held by them. A form of oath can be
+ devised to exclude those Dissenters who may have designs against
+ the constitution either in Church or State. The Irish Catholic
+ clergy may be attached to the Government by making their
+ maintenance partly dependent on the State. These changes would
+ adapt the constitution to present needs. Pitt therefore
+ earnestly commends the measure to the consideration of His
+ Majesty. Meanwhile no steps will be taken in the matter; but, if
+ on examination the measure should not be approved, Pitt will beg
+ to be allowed to resign, though in such a way as to occasion the
+ least possible difficulty. Finally he takes the liberty "of most
+ respectfully, but explicitly, submitting to Your Majesty the
+ indispensable necessity of effectually discountenancing, in the
+ whole of the interval, all attempts to make use of Your
+ Majesty's name, or to influence the opinion of any individual on
+ any part of the subject."
+
+In the last sentence Pitt administered a telling and dignified rebuke
+for the outrageous behaviour of the King at the _levée_. A reply came on
+the morrow, couched in pompously ungrammatical terms, which sufficiently
+refute the rumour that it was composed by that polished talker,
+Loughborough. George declared that his Oath bound him to support the
+Established Church; that State officials must be in active communion
+with that Church. He therefore refused to discuss the present proposals,
+which tended to destroy the groundwork of the Constitution. Respecting
+the suggested truce of silence he wrote as follows: "Mr. Pitt once
+acquainted with my sentiments, his assuring me that he will stave off
+the only question whereon I fear from his letter we can never agree--for
+the advantage and comfort of continuing to have his advice and exertions
+in public affairs I will certainly abstain from talking on this subject
+which is the one nearest my heart." The meaning of these words is not
+easy to fix; but apparently the King meant to say that his silence on
+the subject was conditional on Pitt promising never to bring it forward
+again. Now, Pitt had made no such promise. He required that, while the
+King was examining the proposals of his Cabinet, he would abstain from
+setting his counsellors against it. George III evaded this request,
+thereby leaving himself free to talk at large against Catholic
+Emancipation while he was supposed to be examining its details. We may
+be sure that this sentence clinched Pitt's resolve to resign at the
+earliest possible moment.[583]
+
+He said so in his reply of 3rd February to the King. He expressed both
+regret at the King's resolve on this question, and a desire to consult
+his convenience, though continuance in office even for a short time
+became very difficult in view of the King's refusal to undertake to
+discountenance the use of his name during the interval. In every respect
+the accession of another Minister was to be desired. Pitt closed this
+painful correspondence with a letter, also of 3rd February, requesting a
+pension of £1,500 a year for Long, one of the secretaries of the
+Treasury, whose private means were so slender as to leave him in
+discomfort if he should resign. The King briefly assented to Pitt's
+retirement and to Long's pension. To Long's services the King accorded a
+few words of thanks: to those of Pitt not a word. This is the more
+remarkable as Pitt was then suffering from an attack of gout which
+depressed him greatly; but, as we shall see, the King in private
+expressed his deep obligations, and requested him to keep in office
+until all the new appointments were settled.[584] This involved a delay
+of nearly six weeks, which were among the most trying of his career.
+
+On 5th February the King succeeded in persuading Addington to form a
+Ministry. Accordingly on the 10th he resigned the office of Speaker,
+being succeeded by Sir John Mitford, afterwards Lord Redesdale. There is
+no ground for the insinuation that Addington snatched at office. He took
+it without eagerness but from conscientious conviction; and Pitt, with
+the usual generosity of his nature, assured him of his support as a
+private member. Of Pitt's colleagues Grenville, Dundas, Spencer, and
+Windham offered their resignations; so also did Cornwallis and
+Castlereagh at Dublin. Portland retained the Home Secretaryship. Of late
+he had wavered on the subject of Catholic Emancipation, perhaps owing to
+the arguments of Loughborough. Westmorland and Chatham also kept their
+positions of Lord Privy Seal and Lord President. The retention of office
+by the latter aroused some comment; but as the earnest desire of Pitt
+was to disarrange the Ministry as little as possible, he probably
+approved conduct which outsiders condemned as unbrotherly.
+
+The following letter from Chatham, dated Winchester, 6th February, is of
+interest. After expressing his regret at Pitt's resignation, he
+continues: "Upon the measure itself of granting further indulgence to
+the Catholics I have neither time, nor indeed would it be of any use, to
+say anything at present. I will only observe that if, by being on the
+spot, I could in any degree have contributed even to put off the
+extremity to which the agitation of it has led, I should think I had
+done much, and I should be most unhappy in having been absent; otherwise
+I consider myself as fortunate in having avoided a discussion which
+could only have been painful to me in many respects. As things stand, I
+shall certainly think it my duty to come to town in a few days, and I
+will defer, till we meet, any further remarks; I will only add that if
+your part is irrevocably taken, the King could not have acted more
+wisely than in having recourse to the Speaker.... I see all the
+difficulty and delicacy of your situation."[585]
+
+Far less charitable were the sentiments of Dundas in the following
+letter:
+
+ Wimbledon, _7 Feb., 1801_.[586]
+
+ I know not to what stage the Speaker's endeavours to form an
+ Arrangement have proceeded; but it is impossible for me not to
+ whisper into your ear my conviction that no Arrangement can be
+ formed under him as its head that will not crumble to pieces
+ almost as soon as formed. Our friends who, as an act of
+ friendship and attachment to you agree to remain in office, do
+ it with the utmost chagrin and unwillingness; and among the
+ other considerations which operate upon them the feeling that
+ they are embarking in an Administration under a head totally
+ incapable to carry it on and which must of course soon be an
+ object of ridicule is uppermost in their minds. Add to this
+ that, though they will not certainly enter into faction and
+ opposition, all the aristocracy of the country at present
+ cordially connected with Government, and part of it under you,
+ feel a degradation in the first Minister of the Country being
+ selected from [_sic_] a Person of the description of Mr.
+ Addington without the slightest pretensions to justify it, and
+ destitute of abilities to carry it on. Depend upon it I am not
+ exaggerating the state of the case; and a very short experience
+ will prove that I am right; and the Speaker will ere long feel
+ that he has fallen from a most exalted situation and character
+ into one of a very opposite description. Save him from it if not
+ too late. Yourself excluded from it, I am afraid nothing
+ permanent can be formed; but if the Speaker was to advise the
+ King to call upon the Duke of Portland to form an
+ Administration, I am persuaded His Grace at the head of it, with
+ either Steele, Ryder, Lord Hawkesbury, or even Mr. Abbott as his
+ Chancellor of the Exchequer, would fill the public eye
+ infinitely more than anything that can be found upon the plan
+ now in agitation. By the answer I have received from the King to
+ my resignation I must entreat you without delay to send for my
+ correspondence with Lord Westmorland in order that I may be sure
+ of what my recollection suggests, that I refused to give the
+ promise of the Government at home that what was then proposed
+ was the ultimatum of concession.
+
+The last sentence of Chatham's letter refers to the difficulties of
+Pitt's position. These have nearly always been overlooked. Yet his
+decision turned finally on a question of honour. It is true that neither
+Pitt nor Cornwallis gave a distinct pledge to the Irish Catholics that
+the Cabinet would press their claims if they would support the Union.
+But no such pledge could have been given without exasperating the King
+and the privileged phalanx at St. Stephen's Green. Therefore, when the
+critics of Pitt demand to see the proof that he made a promise, they ask
+for what, in the nature of the case, could not be forthcoming.
+Cornwallis and Castlereagh were aware of the need of extreme caution in
+making overtures to the leading Catholics; and they afterwards denied
+that they gave a distinct pledge. Nevertheless, some of their agents
+induced the Catholics of the south and west of Ireland, to act in a
+"highly useful" manner, which averted an otherwise dangerous opposition.
+Castlereagh explained this to Pitt early in January;[587] and the
+scrupulous Minister must have considered these promises as a debt of
+honour. That some of the leading Irish Catholics viewed them in the same
+light appears in an account of a representative meeting held at Ryan's
+house in Marlborough Street, Dublin, on 27th October 1804. Ryan then set
+forth the condition of his co-religionists at the time of the Union, and
+referred to the stipulations made to them by Government. Others,
+including Lord Fingall and a barrister, Scully, followed; and after two
+more meetings, they resolved to petition Pitt, who had by that time
+returned to office, it being known that he was at heart favourable to
+their claims.[588] But in his speech of 14th May 1805 on this topic, he
+said, "I did not make a distinct pledge. On the contrary, I believe the
+line of argument I took was, that if it should be thought right to give
+what the Catholics required, it might be given with more safety to the
+Empire."[589]
+
+What the stipulations were is not clear; for with this exception the
+Irish Records are disappointingly silent. But it is clear that Canning
+finally came to consider them binding on an honourable man. In his great
+speech on Catholic Emancipation in March 1827, while admitting that Pitt
+in 1800 made no definite promise to the Catholics, he added these
+notable words: "The Catholics were made to believe, and that belief was
+a powerful inducement to them to lend their aid towards the
+accomplishment of the measure [the Union] that in the Imperial
+Parliament the question which so nearly concerned them would be more
+favourably entertained.... There is no tribunal, however solemn, before
+which I am not prepared to depose to my firm belief in the sincerity of
+Mr. Pitt's wishes and intentions to carry it." This passage once for all
+refutes the charges of insincerity which certain of Canning's
+biographers have brought against Pitt.
+
+Light is thrown on this topic by notes of Bishop Tomline. Pitt consulted
+his former tutor at this crisis; for on 6th February he wrote warning
+him of his approaching resignation on grounds which he desired to
+explain. He added: "I am in the firm persuasion that an Arrangement can
+be formed to which I can give a cordial general support, and which may
+keep everything safe."[590] The bishop thereupon came to town and saw
+much of Pitt, whose conduct he thus describes: "I never saw Mr. Pitt in
+more uniformly cheerful spirits, although everyone about him was
+dejected and melancholy. He talked of his quitting office with the
+utmost composure, gave the King the highest credit for the notions on
+which he acted, and also fully acquitted those who were supposed to have
+influenced his sentiments and conduct. He felt some dissatisfaction at
+the conduct of one who was _not_ a Cabinet Minister, and was under great
+obligations to Mr. Pitt, who had by intrigues and misrepresentations and
+every unfair means in his power endeavoured to influence people's
+opinion on the question and to excite alarm and prejudice against him."
+The reference here is to Lord Auckland, but nothing definite is known as
+to his conduct. The bishop then states that Pitt's equanimity was
+surprising, inasmuch as his resignation would reduce his income to less
+than that of a country gentleman and necessitate the sale of Holwood.
+Nevertheless, no hasty word fell from him even in the most confidential
+conversation; but he talked cheerfully of living in privacy for the rest
+of his life, and expressed satisfaction that men who were attached to
+the constitution would carry on affairs of State. The safety of the
+country seemed to be his only concern. Tomline then describes the cause
+and the circumstances of Pitt's resignation:[591]
+
+ While the business of the Union was going on, Lord Cornwallis
+ had informed the Ministers in England that the support of the
+ Catholics to the measure would in a great degree depend upon the
+ intention of Ministers to remove those disabilities under which
+ they at present laboured. This produced in the Cabinet a
+ discussion of the question of Catholic Emancipation, as it is
+ called, and Lord Cornwallis was authorized to declare that it
+ was intended by Government, after the Union should have taken
+ place, to grant to the Catholics some further indulgences; but
+ he was not authorized to pledge the Government to any particular
+ measure, nor was any plan of this kind settled by the Cabinet.
+ When the King's Speech was to be drawn up for the opening of the
+ Imperial Parliament, the Catholic Question naturally occurred
+ and gave rise to a good deal of discussion in the Cabinet. Mr.
+ Pitt, Lord Grenville, Lord Spencer, Mr. Dundas, and Mr. Wyndham
+ declared themselves in favour of Catholic Emancipation; and the
+ Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Portland and Lord Westmorland
+ against it. Lord Chatham and Lord Liverpool did not attend the
+ Council, the former being at Winchester as military commander of
+ that district and the latter was confined to his house by
+ illness.
+
+ The King was of course informed of this division in the Cabinet
+ and took a decided part by talking against the question freely
+ and openly to everyone he saw. On Wednesday, the 28th of
+ January, the King said to Mr. D[undas] at the _levée_ in such a
+ voice that those who were near might hear him--"So here is an
+ Irish Secretary come over to propose in Parliament the
+ Emancipation of the Irish Catholics, as they call it"--and then
+ he declared himself in the strongest degree hostile to the
+ question. This was of course reported to Mr. Pitt. On the Friday
+ (the 30th) the King sent for the Speaker to the Queen's House
+ and conversed with him a long time. Upon my mentioning this
+ circumstance to Mr. Pitt, he said he knew what happened at that
+ interview and seemed perfectly satisfied with it. He had before
+ told me (namely, the first night he saw me, Saturday, Feb. 7th)
+ that he knew nine days before that he should be under the
+ necessity of resigning. On the 31st Mr. Pitt wrote his first
+ letter to the King. Two letters only passed on each side, which
+ see. Mr. Pitt did not see the King till at the _levée_ on
+ Wednesday the 11th [February]. The King spoke to him in the most
+ gracious manner--"You have behaved like yourself throughout this
+ business. Nothing could possibly be more honourable. I have a
+ great deal more to say to you."--"Your Majesty has already said
+ much more than the occasion calls for."--"Oh no, I have not; and
+ I do not care who hears me: it was impossible for anyone to
+ behave more honourably." After more conversation of the same
+ kind the King desired to see Mr. Pitt in the closet. The _levée_
+ continued, and, some little time after, Mr. Pitt said to the
+ King: "Your Majesty will pardon me if I take the liberty of
+ saying that I fear I shall not be able to attend Your Majesty in
+ the closet."--"Oh yes: you must; I have just done." The King
+ went to the closet and Mr. Pitt attended him. Nothing could
+ exceed the kindness of the King towards Mr. Pitt: he was
+ affected very much and more than once. The conversation lasted
+ more than half an hour; and in the course of it the King said
+ that, tho' he could no longer retain Mr. Pitt in his service, he
+ hoped to have him as his friend. Mr. Pitt, with strong
+ expressions both of duty and attachment and love to His Majesty,
+ submitted that any intercourse of that kind might be injurious
+ to His Majesty's Government; for that it was very important that
+ his new Ministers should appear to act by themselves and for
+ themselves, and that if he was frequently with His Majesty,
+ unfavourable conclusions might be drawn concerning his
+ interference or influence. This seemed to satisfy the King, and
+ they parted. At the _levée_ the King spoke in the highest terms
+ of Mr. Pitt's conduct throughout the business of his
+ resignation, and said that it was very different from that of
+ his predecessors.
+
+This narrative needs little comment, except on the phrase that the
+Cabinet had promised to grant the Catholics "some further indulgences."
+Probably the schism occurred on the extent of those concessions, Pitt
+and the majority desiring the admission of Catholics to Parliament and
+to offices of trust, while Loughborough and the minority refused to do
+more than grant some measure of support to the Irish priests.[592] The
+King probably opposed both concessions; and Pitt seems to have ascribed
+his strenuous opposition more to the intrigues of Auckland than to those
+of Loughborough. In this he was probably mistaken. The best judge on
+this question, the monarch himself, certainly looked on the Chancellor
+as a traitor. But in truth the crisis could not be avoided. The King
+acknowledged as much in his effusive comments on the extremely
+honourable conduct of Pitt, but he also most firmly declared that he
+could no longer retain him in his service. This was in effect a
+dismissal. On 18th February, George wrote a brief letter expressing his
+sorrow at the close of Pitt's political career and his satisfaction that
+Parliament had passed the Ways and Means without debate. Thus did he
+close his correspondence with a Minister who had devotedly served him
+for more than seventeen years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There is little need to notice the hasty and spiteful comments of Lord
+Malmesbury, that Pitt was playing a selfishly criminal game by
+resigning, with the evident aim of showing his own strength and being
+called back to office on his own terms.[593] The Malmesbury Diaries at
+this point consist chiefly of hearsays, which can readily be refuted.
+But this calumny spread widely, and Fox finally barbed it with the hint
+that the substitution of Addington for Pitt was "a notorious juggle,"
+the former being obviously a dummy to be knocked down when it suited
+Pitt to come back fancy-free about the Catholics. Fortunately, the
+correspondence of statesmen often supplies antidotes to the venomous
+gibes of bystanders; and a case in point is a phrase in Grenville's
+letter of 13th February to Minto: "There was no alternative except that
+of taking this step [resignation] or of agreeing to the disguise or
+dereliction of one's opinion on one of the most important questions in
+the whole range of our domestic policy."[594]
+
+Pitt has been sharply censured for his excessive scrupulousness in
+resigning at so serious a crisis. But the verdict must depend on three
+main issues, the importance of the question at stake, that of the
+services rendered by the Irish Catholics, and the nature of the promises
+made to them. Now, no one will deny that in the days when France was
+striving to effect the independence of Ireland--for Bonaparte was
+thought to be pressing on the war with that aim in view[595]--the
+question of the Union stood paramount. It was the most important problem
+confronting Parliament since the Union with Scotland in 1707; and the
+difficulties encountered were greater than those raised by the Scots.
+The services of the Irish Catholics to the cause of the Union are not
+easy to assess; but Castlereagh, a cool judge, rated them high. In such
+a case a man of sensitive conscience will deem himself bound to those
+who, in reliance on his sense of honour, acted in a way that ensured the
+success of his measure. Above all, in so tangled a situation the final
+decision will depend on the character of the statesman. Walpole would
+have waived aside the debt of honour. Pitt resolved to discharge it.
+
+It is scarcely necessary to notice another slander, that Pitt resigned
+because, in his inability to procure peace from France, he intended to
+put Addington in office merely for that purpose, to be ousted when it
+was fulfilled. No evidence is forthcoming in support of this version,
+which found no small favour with Continental historians of a former
+generation; but it is now clear that the split occurred solely on
+Catholic Emancipation. Those Ministers who approved it resigned; while
+its opponents remained in office, namely, Portland, Chatham, and
+Westmorland. The same is true of the subordinate offices. The new
+Cabinet decided to grant only occasional relief and a "compassionate
+allowance" to the Irish priests.[596] In several other matters its
+policy differed from that of Pitt; and Addington soon made it apparent
+that he was no stop-gap.
+
+But now this clear issue was to be blurred in the blinding glare of the
+King's lunacy. The causes of the malady of February 1801 were partly
+physical, partly mental. While still agitated by the dismissal of his
+trusted Minister, the King, two days later, went to church on the day
+appointed for the National Fast. That day of supplication for delivery
+from the perils of the time was shrouded in gloom and snow. He remained
+a long time in church and took a chill. Nevertheless, with his wonted
+energy he persisted in transacting business with Addington, until the
+stress told on the brain. On the 16th slight feverish symptoms began to
+develop. Yet Addington saw him often about new appointments, until on
+Sunday the 22nd the symptoms caused some concern. Willis, son of the man
+who had so much control over him during the illness of 1788-9, now came
+to the Queen's House, and resumed the old regimen. Dr. Gisborne was also
+in attendance. From the notes of Tomline we glean curious details about
+the illness. The bilious symptoms were very pronounced, and after the
+23rd the King became worse. His manner became nervous and "hurried." He
+went up to Willis and shook him eagerly by the hand. When the Queen and
+princesses rose to leave, he jocosely extended his arms so as to stop
+them; whereupon Willis stepped forward, and, looking at him earnestly,
+told him he was very ill. The King at once said with a deep sigh: "I
+see, I cannot deceive you. I have deceived all the rest. They think me
+well; but I cannot deceive you." He then burst into an agony of weeping,
+threw himself into Willis's arms, and said: "You are right. I am ill
+indeed. But oh! for God's sake, keep your father from me, and keep off a
+Regency."
+
+After weeping for a quarter of an hour, he walked about the room with
+Willis for an hour and a half. In the evening he grew worse. At 2.30
+a.m. he went to bed, while the Duke of Kent and Willis watched by the
+door. As in the previous seizure, intervals of calm and reasonableness
+alternated strangely with fits of delirium or even of violence. Now and
+again he spoke collectedly, and at such times those about him rejoiced
+to hear the familiar "What, what," wherewith he prefaced his
+remarks.[597]
+
+Frequently he declared that he would uphold the Church of England; or
+again his thoughts started away from the loathed spectre of a Regency.
+On 2nd March the illness took so violent a turn that his life seemed in
+danger; but, as was the case twelve years before, long spells of sleep
+supervened and brought his pulse down from 136 to 84. His powers of
+recovery surprised every one about him. By 6th March he was so far well
+as to be allowed to see the Dukes of York, Kent, and Cumberland. Not
+until 9th March did he undergo the more trying ordeal of seeing the
+Prince of Wales. On that same day he requested to see Pitt, who very
+properly declined, suggesting, with all deference, that Addington was
+the proper person for an interview.[598]
+
+Meanwhile, at or just after the crisis of the illness, Pitt gave a very
+important pledge. If we may trust the far from convincing statements of
+Lord Malmesbury, who had the story from Pelham, the King on 7th March
+charged Willis to inform Pitt of the improvement in his health, and to
+add the biting words: "But what has not _he_ to answer for who is the
+cause of my having been ill at all?" Pelham further asserted that Pitt,
+in a "most dutiful, humble and contrite answer," wrote down his resolve
+to give up Catholic Emancipation.[599] Now it is almost certain that
+Pitt sent no such letter, for none exists either at the Public Record
+Office, Orwell Park, or Chevening. Tomline asserts that Pitt sent by
+Willis a verbal assurance that he would not agitate Catholic
+Emancipation again during the King's reign; whereupon George III
+exclaimed: "Now my mind will be at ease." The bishop, however, believed
+that Pitt's assurance was reported in a more emphatic form than was
+warranted; and the statesman does not seem to have considered himself
+absolutely bound by it. Yet the written assurance sent by Rose to the
+King on behalf of Pitt seems binding during that reign.[600]
+
+Thus had the King conquered--by madness. No incident in the life of Pitt
+is more unfortunate than this surrender. The King had made an ungenerous
+use of the privileges of an invalid, and the pressure which he put on
+Pitt passes the bounds even of the immorality of a sick-room. The
+illness began with a chill due to his own imprudence; but he used its
+later developments to extort a promise which otherwise would never have
+been forthcoming. Nothing but the crisis in the King's illness led Pitt
+to waver. For at the end of February he authorized Castlereagh to send
+to Cornwallis at Dublin a declaration intended to reassure the Irish
+Catholics. It pointed out that the majority of the Cabinet had resigned
+owing to the impossibility of carrying Catholic Emancipation at the
+present juncture. He (Pitt) still resolved to do his utmost for the
+success of that cause; and therefore begged them to refrain from any
+conduct which would prejudice it in the future. Cornwallis delivered
+this and another paper to the titular Archbishop of Dublin and Lord
+Fingall for circulation among their friends and found that it produced
+good results.[601] Far different, of course, was the effect produced on
+those few who knew of Pitt's private promise to the King. They
+contrasted it with the contrary promise to the Irish Catholics and drew
+the most unfavourable inferences, forgetting that between 27th February
+and 2nd March the King's illness had taken so dangerous a turn as
+perhaps to justify the use of that political sedative.
+
+While blaming Pitt for weakness in giving this pledge to the King, we
+must remember that the prolongation of the reign of George III was the
+first desire of all responsible statesmen. The intrigues of the Prince
+of Wales and Fox for a Regency were again beginning; and thus there
+loomed ahead an appalling vista of waste and demoralization. In these
+circumstances Dundas and Cornwallis came to the conclusion that the
+King's conscience must not again be troubled. Grenville seems to have
+held firm on the Catholic Question.[602] But his colleagues now took an
+opportunist view. Pitt had two or three interviews with the Prince of
+Wales, late in February and early in March, and made it clear that the
+Prince would be well advised to accept the Regency Bill drafted in 1789.
+On the Prince asking whether this was the opinion of certain of Pitt's
+colleagues, who then opposed that Bill as derogatory to his interests,
+Pitt at once replied in the affirmative; and when the Prince further
+objected to certain restrictions on the power of the Regent, Pitt
+declared that no change would be acceptable. They parted courteously but
+coolly; and we may be sure that the Prince never forgave Pitt for his
+uncompromising assertion of the rights of Parliament.
+
+So dark was the outlook at home and abroad that Pitt was persuaded,
+probably by Dundas, Tomline, Rose, and Canning, to re-consider the whole
+question with a view to continuance in office, provided that some
+suitable position were found for Addington. The bishop penned some notes
+of sharp criticism on the conduct of Addington, affirming that, if he
+had been patriotic and sincere, he would have pressed Pitt to remain in
+office. The following words are remarkable: "Mr. Pitt, Mr. Dundas and
+myself had a long conversation upon this point at Wimbledon; and I am
+satisfied that, if Mr. Addington had entered into the idea cordially,
+Mr. Pitt's resignation might have been prevented." He adds that they
+drew up a tentative scheme of a Cabinet, Pitt remaining as chief, while
+Addington was to be a Secretary of State; but the latter rejected this
+indignantly.[603] Pitt also finally deemed the plan "utterly improper,"
+and threatened to hold aloof from those who would not support the new
+Administration or croaked about its instability. The action of Dundas
+and the bishop was unfortunate; for it gave rise to the report that Pitt
+was intriguing with them for a shuffling of offices in which he would
+again come out at the top; and, as usually happens, the meanest version
+overshadowed the truth.
+
+Fortune willed that the new Ministry, by far the weakest Ministry of
+recent times, should win two brilliant successes and secure a not
+inglorious peace. So bewildering a change seemed impossible in the dark
+days of February-March 1801, when it was the bounden duty of every
+strong man to remain at his post, and of under-studies to stand aside.
+The fates and Addington willed otherwise. Pitt resigned on 14th March,
+nineteen days before Nelson triumphed at Copenhagen.
+
+Meanwhile Pitt had endeavoured to place the nation's finance on a sound
+footing. His Budget speech of 18th February has a ring of confidence and
+pride. True, the expenses were unprecedentedly heavy. Great Britain had
+to provide £12,117,000, and Ireland £3,785,000, for the army alone. The
+navy cost £15,800,000; the Ordnance £1,938,000. The bad seasons or other
+causes having lessened the yield of the Income Tax and the Malt Tax, he
+proposed further imposts upon sugar, raisins, tea, paper, timber, lead,
+and all exports without exception. He increased the Excise duty on
+horses, even those used for agriculture, on stamp duties, and on the
+postage of letters. He also urged that not less than £200,000 (the
+normal amount) should be set apart for the reduction of the British
+National Debt. Over against these depressing proposals he set the
+notable fact that British commerce prospered more than ever, and that
+the revenue showed remarkable buoyancy. From these extraordinary
+symptoms he augured that the strength and spirit of the people were
+equal to all the demands of the crisis; and he declared that the
+attachment of the nation to its revered monarch and beloved constitution
+furnished a moving spectacle to Europe. The House accepted these
+crushing imposts without demur.
+
+He found it more difficult to reconcile his followers to the sway of
+Addington. As we have seen, Dundas had already expressed to Pitt his
+scorn of him and his desire for a Portland Ministry. Rose also refused
+to serve under a man whom he accused (unjustly, as we now know) of
+worming his way to office; and the high-spirited Canning declined to
+give to Pitt any pledge except that he would not laugh at the new Prime
+Minister. It is clear that Canning, like his chief, disliked
+resignation. As the gifted young Irishman wrote, it was not at all good
+fun to move out of the best house in London (Downing Street) and hunt
+about for a little dwelling.[604] Ryder and Steele kept their posts.
+
+Singular to relate, the Mr. Pliable of so many Ministries was soon to be
+turned out. Loughborough, on whose back Addington climbed to power,
+forthwith received a direct intimation to withdraw. The Lord Chancellor
+therefore closed his career, the King bestowing on him for his services
+to religion the title Earl of Rosslyn. To finish with him, we may note
+that his settlement near Windsor and his assiduous courting of the royal
+favour finally secured an epitaph quite as piquant as any which George
+bestowed. On hearing of Rosslyn's sudden death early in 1805, the King
+earnestly asked the messenger whether the news was trustworthy; and, on
+receiving a reassuring reply, he said: "Then, he has not left a greater
+knave behind him in my dominions." The comment of Thurlow on this
+gracious remark is equally notable: "Then I presume that His Majesty is
+quite sane at present."
+
+One of Pitt's friendships was severed by the crisis. As we have seen, he
+deeply resented the part played by Auckland. To his letter of
+remonstrance he replied very briefly that, widely as they differed on
+the topic at issue, they differed quite as much as to the question on
+which side there had been a failure of friendship, confidence, or
+attention. The rupture became complete on 20th March, when Auckland
+declared in the Lords that Pitt's resignation was involved in mystery
+which the eye could not penetrate. The insinuation wounded Pitt deeply;
+and his intercourse with Auckland entirely ceased. Pitt was not exacting
+in his social intercourse; but no man of high feeling can endure secret
+opposition, followed by a veiled insinuation that what he has done from
+high principle resulted from motives that cannot bear the light. This is
+an unpardonable sin that ends friendship.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+With all his outward composure, Pitt must have felt deep distress at his
+failure to complete the Union by the act of grace which he had in
+contemplation. The time was ripe, indeed overripe, for a generous
+experiment, whereby seven tenths of the Irish people would have gained
+religious equality. If the populace of Dublin hailed with joy the St.
+Patrick's cross on the new Union Jack,[605] we may be sure that
+Irishmen, irrespective of creed, would have joined heart and soul in the
+larger national unity which it typified. It is probable that Pitt, when
+granting the franchise to Irish Catholics in 1793, resolved to make the
+other concessions at an early date. But the cause of Catholic
+Emancipation having been prejudiced by the unwise haste of Fitzwilliam
+in 1795, and by raids and revolts soon after, the time of the Union was
+the first which he could seize with any chance of success; and he hoped
+to vitalize that Union by an act which would then have been hailed as a
+boon. Such acts of grace are all too rare in the frigid annals of
+British Parliaments. The Anglo-Saxon race builds its political fabric
+too exclusively on material interests; and the whole structure is the
+uglier and weaker for this calculating hardness. At the time of the
+Union with Scotland, the counsellors of Queen Anne utterly failed to
+touch the hearts of the Scots; and it was left to commerce sluggishly
+and partially to mingle the two peoples. In contrast with this dullness,
+how inspiring are the annals of France in the early and best days of the
+Revolution. Then the separatist Provincial System vanished as a miasma;
+and amidst the eager hopes and class renunciations of that golden day
+the French people found a unity such as legislators alone can neither
+make nor unmake. With the insight of a statesman Pitt now sought to
+clinch legislation by sentiment. He desired to vivify the Union with
+Ireland by a concession which would come with all the more graciousness
+because he had not introduced it into the legal contract of marriage.
+But the outcome of it all was, for himself resignation, for the two
+peoples the continuance of their age-long feud.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[572] "Dropmore P.," iv, 337.
+
+[573] "Dropmore P.," v, 82; "Malmesbury Diaries," ii, 507. Sir John
+Macpherson called Loughborough by far the cleverest man in the country
+("Glenbervie Journals," 54).
+
+[574] Campbell, viii, 172; G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 300.
+
+[575] "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 21; "Auckland Journals," iv, 114-25.
+
+[576] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iv 8-12.
+
+[577] _Ibid._, iii, 418; iv, 13, 17-20.
+
+[578] Pellew, i, _ad fin._ The original is in "H. O.," Ireland
+(Corresp.), 99, together with nine others for or against Catholic
+Emancipation, some with notes by Castlereagh.
+
+[579] The first Imperial Parliament met on 22nd January; but time was
+taken up in swearing in members and choosing a Speaker. Addington was
+chosen. The King's Speech was fixed for 2nd February.
+
+[580] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iv, 17-20; G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 303.
+
+[581] _Ibid._, iv, 81.
+
+[582] G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 309; Pellew, i, 287. Addington afterwards
+destroyed those letters of the King to him which he considered
+unsuitable for publication.
+
+[583] Grenville agreed with Pitt's letter to the King, but doubted the
+possibility of precluding discussion on the question, as it was already
+in the papers. He assured Pitt that he would act closely with him
+(Grenville to Pitt, 1st February 1801; Pretyman MSS.). Pitt afterwards
+declared that his resignation was largely due to the manner in which the
+King opposed him.
+
+[584] "Lord Colchester's Diaries," i, 224.
+
+[585] Pitt MSS., 122.
+
+[586] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[587] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iv, 8-12. Both Grenville and Windham
+declared in Parliament in May 1805 that hopes were held out to the Irish
+Catholics, and that their support of the Union was the result (Hansard,
+iv, 659, 1022).
+
+[588] "H. O.," Ireland (Corresp.), 99.
+
+[589] Hansard, iv, 1015.
+
+[590] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[591] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[592] In "H. O.," Ireland (Corresp.), 99, are long reports of the Irish
+Catholic bishops, dated November 1800, on the state of their dioceses.
+The bishops' incomes did not average more than £300 a year. The
+Archbishops of Dublin and Tuam reckoned the total number of parish
+priests and curates at 1,800, of whom 1,400 were seculars and 400
+regulars. The benefices numbered 1,200; each required the services of
+two priests. The destruction of the seminaries in France and the poverty
+of the Irish made it impossible to supply or support 2,400 clergy. Other
+papers follow for and against Catholic Emancipation. See also
+"Castlereagh Corresp.," iii, _ad fin._
+
+[593] "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 3, 8, 9, 14.
+
+[594] "Dropmore P.," vi, 445. Mulgrave, who knew Pitt well, was
+convinced of his sincerity in resigning. His letter of 9th February 1801
+(quoted by R. Plumer Ward, "Memoirs," i, 44) refutes the insinuations of
+Sorel (vi, 101) that Pitt resigned because he could not make peace with
+France.
+
+[595] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iii, 285.
+
+[596] "Lord Colchester's Diaries," i, 286.
+
+[597] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[598] G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 313, 330; "Lord Colchester's Diaries," i,
+244.
+
+[599] "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 31, 32.
+
+[600] G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 360; Stanhope, iii, 304, 305.
+
+[601] "Cornwallis Corresp.," iii, 343-9.
+
+[602] _Ibid._, iii, 346; "Lord Colchester's Diaries," i, 243. The writer
+in the "Edinburgh Review" for 1858, who censured Pitt, failed to notice
+the entire change in the political situation brought about by the King's
+acute malady.
+
+[603] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[604] Bagot, "Canning and his Friends," i, 180.
+
+[605] "Castlereagh Corresp.," iv, 14.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXI
+
+ PITT AND HIS FRIENDS (1794-1805)
+
+ Nothing could be more playful, and at the same time more
+ instructive, than Pitt's conversation on a variety of topics
+ while sitting in the library at Cirencester. You never would
+ have guessed that the man before you was Prime Minister of the
+ country, and one of the greatest that ever filled that
+ situation. His style and manner were quite those of an
+ accomplished idler.--"Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 34.
+
+
+The conflict of parties and interests is apt to thin the circle of a
+statesman's friends; and in that age of relentless strife the denuding
+forces worked havoc. Only he who possesses truly lovable qualities can
+pass through such a time with comparatively little loss; and such was
+the lot of Pitt. True, his circle was somewhat diminished. The
+opposition of Bankes had been at times so sharp as to lessen their
+intimacy; and the reputation of Steele had suffered seriously from
+financial irregularities.[606] Pitt's affection for Dundas and Grenville
+had also cooled; but on the whole his friendships stood the test of time
+better, perhaps, than those of any statesman of the eighteenth century.
+Certainly in this respect he compares favourably with his awe-inspiring
+father. Not that Pitt possessed the charm of affability. On most persons
+his austere self-concentration produced a repellent effect; and it must
+be confessed that the Grenville strain in his nature dowered him with a
+fund of more than ordinary English coldness. Such was the opinion not
+only of the French _émigrés_, whom he designedly kept at arm's length,
+but even of his followers, to whom his aloofness seemed a violation of
+the rules of the parliamentary game. But it was not in his nature to
+expand except in the heat of debate or in congenial society. In general
+his stiffness was insular, his pre-occupation profound. Lady Hester
+Stanhope, who saw much of him in the closing years, pictures his thin,
+tall, rather ungainly figure, stalking through Hyde Park, oblivious of
+all surroundings, with head uptilted, "as if his ideas were _en air_, so
+that you would have taken him for a poet."[607]
+
+The comparison is as flighty as Lady Hester's remarks usually were,
+though the passage may depict with truth the air that Pitt assumed when
+walking with her. No one else accused him of having affinities to poets.
+In truth, so angular was his nature, so restricted his sympathies, that
+he never came in touch with literary men, artists, or original thinkers.
+His life was the poorer for it. A statesman should know more than a part
+of human life; and Pitt never realized the full extent of his powers
+because he spent his time almost entirely amongst politicians of the
+same school. His mind, though by no means closed against new ideas,
+lacked the eager inquisitiveness of that of Napoleon, who, before the
+process of imperial fossilization set in, welcomed discussions with men
+of all shades of opinion, and encouraged in them that frankness of
+utterance which at once widens and clarifies the views of the
+disputants. It is true that Pitt's private conversations are almost
+unknown. They appear to have ranged within political grooves, with
+frequent excursions into the loved domains of classical and English
+literature; but he seems never to have explored the new realms of
+speculation and poetry then opened up by Bentham and the Lake Poets. A
+letter of the poet Hayley to him will serve to suggest the extent of his
+loss in limiting his intercourse to a comparatively small coterie:
+
+ Felpham, near Chichester, _Sept. 9_[?].[608]
+
+ DEAR PITT,
+
+ Why are you slow in doing the little good in your power? Yes:
+ great as you are, the real good you can do must be little; but
+ that little I once believed you would ever haste to do with a
+ generous eagerness and enthusiasm, and therefore I used to
+ contemplate your character with an enthusiastic affection. That
+ character, high as it was, sunk in my estimation from the
+ calamitous delay concerning the promised pension of Cowper, a
+ delay which allowed that dear and now released sufferer to sink
+ into utter and useless distraction before the neglected promise
+ was fulfilled. Will you make me some amends for the affectionate
+ concern I suffered for the diminution of your glory in that
+ business by expediting now a pension eagerly but ineffectively
+ solicited by many _great people_, as I am told, for a most
+ deserving woman, the widow of Mr. Green, the consul at Nice?...
+ Deserve and receive a kind and constant remembrance in the
+ benedictions of a recluse who has still the ambition to live in
+ your regard by the good which he would excite you to perform. At
+ all events forgive this very unexpected intrusion and
+ importunity from the old and long sequestered admirer of your
+ youth,
+ W. HAYLEY.
+
+Hayley's letter is a trifle too presumptuous in tone even for an old
+friend; but it affords one more proof of Pitt's neglect of literary men,
+though it is but fair to remember that in 1793-4 he was hard pressed by
+the outbreak of war with France and the struggle to keep the Allies
+together. Still, the greatest of statesmen is he who, in the midst of
+world politics, neither neglects old friends, nor forgets the claims of
+literature and art. In this connection it is painful to add that he
+allowed the yearly stipend of the King's Painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds,
+to be reduced from £200 to £50. On Reynolds soliciting the secretaryship
+to the Order of the Bath, he was told that it had been promised to an
+official of the Treasury. Another request, proffered through his patron,
+the Duke of Rutland, also proved fruitless, and he had reason to write
+with some bitterness--"Mr. Pitt, I fear, has not much attention to the
+arts."[609] His neglect of literature and the arts was the more
+unfortunate because George III and his sons did not raise the tone of
+the Court in this respect, witness the remark of the King to Gibbon at a
+State function. "Well, Mr. Gibbon, it's always scribble, scribble, I
+suppose."[610]
+
+Apart from these obvious limitations in Pitt's nature, there was a
+wealth of noble qualities, which ensured life-long devotion from those
+who penetrated the protective crust and came to know, not the
+statesman, but the man. In him the qualities that command respect and
+excite affection were happily balanced. To a manly courage which never
+quailed in the hour of disaster, and a good sense that provided sage
+counsels alike in private and public affairs, he added the tenderer
+gifts. His affection once given was not lightly withdrawn. He looked
+always on the best side of men, and to that noble failing, if failing it
+be, most of his blunders may be ascribed. Even when his confidence was
+abused, he was loth to take revenge, so that Canning expressed regret at
+his reluctance to punish those who betrayed him.[611] Such a man will
+often make mistakes, but he will also inspire the devotion that serves
+to repair them. Moreover, even his opponents were forced to admit the
+conscientiousness of his conduct. On this topic the testimony of his
+friend Wilberforce is of value; for they had differed sharply as to the
+rupture with France in 1793; and, somewhat later, Wilberforce lamented
+the relaxation of Pitt's efforts against the Slave Trade. Yet their
+differences did not end their friendship; on 30th November 1797 the
+philanthropist wrote as follows to Sir Richard Aclom on the subject of
+the reformation of morals:
+
+ ... There is one point only on which I will now declare we
+ perfectly coincide, I mean, that of a general moral reform being
+ the only real restorative of the health of our body politic. But
+ I hesitate not to say that, tho' the Government is in its system
+ and principle too much (indeed ever so little is, as I think,
+ too much) tainted with corruption, yet it is more sound than the
+ people at large. You appear to feel the disposition of the
+ public to yield an implicit assent to Ministers without stopping
+ to investigate the causes of that disposition (which are chiefly
+ to be found in the violence of the Opposition and the
+ established predominance of party). I will frankly avow no man
+ has lamented this more than myself; I may indeed say more than
+ this. I have endeavoured both in public and in private to fight
+ against it. But selfishness has diffused itself thro' the whole
+ mass of our people, and _hinc illae lacrymae_. You mistakenly
+ conceive, as do many others, that I am biassed by personal
+ affection for Mr. Pitt. When we meet, I will rectify your error
+ on that head....[612]
+
+Again, on 20th February 1798, Wilberforce wrote to William Smith, an
+active Abolitionist and now prominent in the Opposition, deploring the
+dilatoriness of Pitt, but maintaining that his patriotism was purer and
+more disinterested than that of anyone not under the direct influence of
+Christian principles. He adds these words:
+
+ I speak not this from the partiality of personal affection. In
+ fact for several years past there has been so little of the
+ _eadem velle et eadem nolle_ that our friendship has starved for
+ want of nutriment. I really love him for his public qualities
+ and his private ones, though there too he is much misunderstood.
+ But how can I expect that he should love me much, who have been
+ so long rendering myself in various ways vexatious to him, and,
+ above all, when, poor fellow, he never schools his mind by a
+ cessation from political ruminations, the most blinding,
+ hardening, and souring of all others?[613]
+
+These passages explain why the personality of Pitt attracted all that
+was purest and most patriotic in the public life of England. Men might
+disagree with particular actions, but they saw in him the saving genius
+of the State; and this was the dominant feeling until the year 1801 when
+events scattered his following and reduced public life almost to a state
+of chaos.
+
+His character, then, was strong in the virtues of steadfastness and
+loyalty, on which the social gifts can root deeply and bear perennial
+fruit. Of these he had rich store. His conversations possessed singular
+charm; for his melodious voice, facile fancy, and retentive memory
+enabled him to adorn all topics. His favourite themes were the Greek and
+Latin Classics. The rooms at Holwood or Walmer were strewn with volumes
+of his favourite authors, on whom he delighted to converse at length.
+Grenville declared to Wellesley that Pitt was the best classical scholar
+he had ever met. Yet, with the delicate tact which bade him enliven, not
+dominate, the social circle, he refrained from obtruding those subjects
+on occasions when they would be neither known nor appreciated. Equally
+good was his knowledge of English literature; so that in the company of
+kindred spirits, the flow of wit and learning, imagination and
+experience, must have rivalled that of the Literary Club over which Dr.
+Johnson held sway.
+
+Unfortunately, only the merest scraps survive; but the testimony of
+Pitt's friends suffices to refute the Whig legend as to his cold and
+calculating selfishness, which filled even the hours of leisure with
+schemes for making himself necessary to the King and country.[614] On
+the contrary, he was fond of society, throwing himself so heartily into
+the conversation that the _savant_ was merged in the wit, the Prime
+Minister in the genial companion. His jests were of that Attic flavour
+which seasons without stinging; and this was the outcome, not of
+calculation, but of a kindly disposition, which delighted to throw off
+political cares amidst the tide of mirth which he helped to carry to the
+full. He also felt increasingly the charms of country life, and at
+Holwood was never more happy than when labouring along with his
+gardeners in the effort to enhance the beauty of his grounds. This
+strenuous work, together with horse exercise and occasional bursts with
+the West Kent or Dover hunt, provided the recreation which enabled his
+naturally weak and gout-ridden frame to withstand the wear and tear of
+official life up to his forty-seventh year.
+
+In town he delighted to visit friends in an informal manner, and was
+never more pleased than when he could have games with children. His romp
+with young Napier and the two Stanhopes when they succeeded in corking
+his face, has been already described; but it appears that even in 1805,
+when beset by manifold cares, he often dropped in at Broom House,
+Parson's Green, the residence of Sir Evan Nepean, and would "take a
+chair in a corner, and, laying aside state and gravity, would gambol and
+play with the boys."[615] At times his repartees were piquant. When his
+friend and admirer, the Duchess of Gordon, who had not seen him for some
+time, met him at the _levée_ and asked whether he talked as much
+nonsense as of yore, he laughingly replied: "I do not know whether I
+talk so much nonsense: certainly I do not _hear_ so much."[616]
+
+Is it surprising that a character so benevolent, and social gifts of so
+much charm, should attract men about him? Of those who came forward to
+fill the gaps of the circle, only two, Wellesley and Canning, were men
+of powers so exceptional as to claim more than passing notice. Though
+descended from families domiciled in Ireland, they differed widely,
+except in versatility and devotion to Pitt. Wellesley's nature was
+Saxon in its inner hardness. Like his younger brother, the future Duke
+of Wellington, he rarely displayed signs of emotion; but his
+temperament, though cold at the heart, thrilled at the approach of great
+and perilous enterprises, amidst which he rivalled his brother in
+activity and resourcefulness. Accordingly, his Viceroyalty of India
+moved Bonaparte to envy, patriotic Britons to rapturous applause, and
+the parsimonious Directors of the Company to carping criticisms. Those
+who deny to Pitt the gift of choosing able and inspiring men, forget
+that he made Wellesley Governor-General of India, and supported him in
+his quarrels with the India House. As Earl of Mornington, Wellesley had
+helped the Irish Administration in various ways, and became closely
+acquainted with the Grenvilles. His first letter to Pitt, dated Dublin,
+January 1785, expresses thanks for assistance and for the offer of
+support in case the annoyances of his situation drove him to England.
+Thus, Mornington was first attracted to Pitt by his loyalty to
+subordinates; and, later, after his return to England, respect for the
+Minister ripened into admiration and love of the man.
+
+They had much in common. Manly in bearing, persistent of purpose, and
+prompt in decision, they were also richly dowered with social gifts.
+Like Pitt, Mornington had classical attainments and literary gifts of no
+mean order; and his high spirits and powers of repartee must have
+brought new energy to the jaded statesman. Entering Parliament as member
+for Windsor, he found his duties far from congenial. On some occasions
+nervousness marred the effect of his speeches; and his constituents
+involved him in so much expense and worry as to prompt a request, in the
+autumn of 1794, for the intervention of Pitt, seeing that his rival,
+Isherwood, had "the means of supplying the rapacity even of the electors
+of Windsor." On 4th October he thanked Pitt for relieving him from
+further obligations to "the worthy electors of that loyal borough"; but
+he continued for a time to sit in Parliament. Meanwhile his fine
+presence and lively converse brought him into favour with the Prince of
+Wales. On 4th August 1793, writing at Brighthelmstone, he heartily
+congratulated Pitt on the surrender of Valenciennes, which sanguine
+persons hoped might hasten the end of the war. But, he added, "I own my
+most sanguine expectations cannot reach the notion of our being able to
+bring down the power of France in one campaign to the level to which I
+think it must be reduced for our safety and for that of the rest of the
+world. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales has been pleased to be most gracious
+to me.... I suppose you have heard of his dinner on the capture of
+Valenciennes. We sat from five till half-past ten, and many were very
+drunk, particularly H.R.H. He really did the honours most admirably...."
+In the next letter, of the early part of August 1796, Mornington sends a
+quatrain of Latin Elegiacs which he had composed at Dundas's house, on
+the exploits of Wurmser in relieving Mantua, of Davidovitch at Roveredo,
+and Quosdanovitch at Brescia (not Verona), which seemed to presage the
+ruin of Bonaparte.
+
+ Mantua Vurmisero gaudet, Rovereda Davido,
+ Et Verona tibi, Quosdanovice, patet.
+ Vae mihi (raptor ait Gallus) ne forte per Alpes
+ Heu! Bona pars in rem cogar abire malam.[617]
+
+For some time Mornington had felt the charm of Indian history; and the
+blend of energy with romance in his being may have prompted Pitt's
+selection of him as Viceroy in 1797. After a most tedious voyage he
+reached the Hooghly in time to foil the blow which Tippoo Sahib,
+Bonaparte's prospective ally, aimed at Madras. In his letter to Pitt,
+written there on 20th April 1799, he expressed a hope of the capture of
+Seringapatam, and continues thus: "I assure you that my nerves are much
+strengthened by all the exertions which I have been obliged to make, and
+in this land of indolence I pass for rather an active, stout, hardy
+fellow and can now fast till four o'clock (save only a bit of biscuit
+and a glass of port). I am happy to hear that you are better than you
+have ever been in your life. There is no comfort in mine but the distant
+hope of seeing you all again safe, well, and quizzing in England. I have
+only one request to make to you if you do not mean to abridge either my
+doleful days or the period of my Government--do not suffer that
+_cantancerous_ [_sic_] fellow, Sir J[ames] Craig, to be made
+commander-in-chief in Bengal. Send me a sober discreet decent man, but
+do not allow the etiquette of throwing inkstands to be revived at the
+Council Board."[618]
+
+On 12th May, after announcing to Pitt the capture of Seringapatam,
+Mornington adds: "If Buonaparte should now chuse to visit Malabar, I
+think he will find supper prepared for him before he has reached
+Calcutta." Reviewing the events of his Viceroyalty he writes on 8th
+August: "I suppose you will either hang me or magnificently honour me
+for my deeds (mine they are, be they good or bad). In either case I
+shall be gratified; for an English gallows is better than an Indian
+throne; but these words must be buried in your own breast; for here I
+pretend to be very happy and humble; although I am as proud as the D.
+and as wretched as his dam. I think you will enjoy 'Le Citoïen Tipou'
+and 'Citoïen Sultan' in the papers found at Seringapatam. I admire your
+conduct with respect to the Union [with Ireland]. I hope you will
+persevere, but I _trust_ you will not _trust_ Ireland to my old friend
+Hobart. He used to be a good humoured fellow; but from what I have heard
+of his reign here, he is utterly unfit to govern anywhere."[619]
+
+Pitt did not receive this letter by 6th November, when he informed
+Wellesley that the King, as a mark of high approbation, conferred on him
+the title the Marquis Wellesley, suitable arrangements being also in
+contemplation for his family. An Irish marquisate was far from the
+magnificent reward which the Viceroy desired; and on 28th April 1800 he
+expressed his anguish of mind at receiving only an Irish and pinchbeck
+reward for exploits neither Irish nor pinchbeck. Nevertheless, while
+requesting a speedy recall so that he might hide his chagrin in
+retirement, he uttered no vindictive word against Pitt. Despite its
+morbid expressions, the letter is that of a friend to a friend. On 27th
+September Pitt wrote in reply one of the longest of his private letters.
+With equal tact and frankness he reviewed the whole question, proving
+that Wellesley's services were not undervalued, that the bestowal of an
+English marquisate would have been an advance of four steps in the
+peerage for what was after all a short Viceroyalty; and that the present
+honour equalled that conferred on Cornwallis at the end of his term. The
+question was whether Wellesley should receive an English earldom or an
+Irish marquisate; and the latter was deemed preferable. Further, if the
+notion prevailed at Calcutta that Wellesley had been slighted, it might
+be due to a suspicion that he himself harboured it. Pitt then begged
+Wellesley to regard this frankness as the best proof of real
+friendship.[620]
+
+Wellesley showed his good sense by acquiescing, and their letters though
+rare, became thoroughly cordial. Writing at Patna on 6th October 1801,
+he gently reproached Pitt for his long silence, especially for not
+explaining the reason of his resignation; he also expressed the hope
+that he approved his remaining at Calcutta until a successor was
+appointed. He added that his state progress up the Ganges to Patna had
+been favoured by an easterly gale of unusual strength which the natives
+ascribed either to his happy star or to an Order in Council. As for his
+health, it was better than in "the reeking House of Commons." Again at
+the beginning of 1804 he expressed regret that Pitt had neither written
+nor vouchsafed any sign of approbation at recent events, including the
+victory of Assaye, which assured British ascendancy in the East.
+
+At last, on 30th August 1804, three months after resuming office, Pitt
+apologized for his neglect on the ground of excess of work in preparing
+to meet a French invasion, in which he had so far succeeded as to hope
+that the attempt might be made. At that time he expected Wellesley to
+come home in order to escape the petty cabals of the Company's
+Directors; but he left the decision entirely to him. Pitt's next letter,
+at Christmastide, breathes a profound hope for Wellesley's speedy
+arrival as a means of lightening the then heavy burden of political
+life. Wellesley, however, on 25th March 1805, announced his chivalrous
+resolve to remain in India another season owing to financial troubles
+and disputes with the Company. To Dundas, in May 1805, he wrote: "I
+imagined myself to be one of the best friends of the Company, but I hear
+that I am a traitor, and a conspirator, and an interloper. Time
+discovers truth, and I must leave the Honourable Courts' opinions to
+that test."[621] In August, after transferring his duties to Cornwallis,
+he set sail for England, and landed in time to have a few last words
+with Pitt. The interview must have been deeply affecting. At its
+conclusion Pitt fainted away. Of all the estimates of Pitt none breathes
+deeper devotion than that of Wellesley. Was it not because he at last
+saw the pettiness of his own pride and petulance when contrasted with
+the self-abnegation of him who was truly the Great Commoner? And did not
+even his meteoric career in the East pale before the full-orbed
+splendour of the quarter of a century of achievement which made up the
+public life of Pitt?
+
+The other enthusiastic friend was typically Irish in temperament. Celtic
+in vivacity and charm, feminine in sensitiveness, Canning was dowered
+with virile persistence and pugnacity. In histrionic and versifying
+power he rivalled his countryman, Sheridan, who never forgave him for
+deserting the Whigs and going over to Pitt. The loss was indeed serious;
+for the young orator was far more than a _frondeur_. As editor of the
+"Anti-Jacobin," conjointly with Hookham Frere, he covered with ridicule
+the detractors of their country, and helped on the revival of national
+spirit which began in 1798. But he also possessed great administrative
+talents, displaying as Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs an insight
+into character in which his chief, Grenville, was signally lacking.
+Canning's letters to Pitt on the negotiation at Lille in 1797 show signs
+of those inductive powers which appear at their zenith in his
+brilliantly correct inference ten years later that the Danish fleet must
+be snatched from the clutch of Napoleon.
+
+The statuesque calm of Pitt's personality charmed and overawed this
+impressionable Irishman from the time of their first interview in the
+summer of 1792. Always versatile and sometimes shifty, he seems
+instinctively to have felt in him the needed counterpart. As the Czar
+Alexander leaned on the rock-like Stein in the crisis of 1812, so
+Canning gained strength and confidence from reliance on Pitt. He on his
+side took a keen interest in his disciple, discerning in him the
+propagator of the Pitt doctrine and tradition. At times the fostering
+care became fatherly. A case in point was Canning's marriage with a
+wealthy Scottish heiress (July 1800). Pitt regarded this event as
+essential to his success as the future leader of the party. Indeed, so
+absorbed was he in his own thoughts during the ride to the church as not
+to notice a pert remark of Canning's friend, Hookham Frere. The
+clergyman, Frere, and he were in a coach driving along Swallow Street
+towards Brook Street when a carter who saw them called out: "What! Billy
+Pitt! and with a parson too!" Thereupon Frere burst out with the daring
+jest, "He thinks you are going to Tyburn to be hanged privately!" But
+Pitt was too pre-occupied to notice the gibe. Again, after the
+ceremony, in the vestry Pitt was so nervous as to be unable to sign as a
+witness, and Canning had to whisper to Frere to sign without waiting for
+him.[622] They ascribed his strange inaction to extreme regard for
+Canning. But surely another explanation is more natural. How could a man
+of keenly affectionate nature share in that ceremony without feeling
+deeply his own lonely lot? Three and a half years ago poverty and debt
+had stepped in to part him and Eleanor Eden. Was it not the wraith of
+his buried love which now hovered before him, blotting out the sight of
+the carter, deafening his ears to the jest, and palsying his hand?
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Pitt's resignation of office sorely tried his friends; for, without
+informing them of the inmost reasons that prompted that step, he pressed
+them to remain in office under his successor, Addington. As we have
+seen, some of them refused. Of those not holding Cabinet appointments,
+Rose and Long, joint Secretaries of the Treasury, Lord Granville
+Leveson-Gower, a Lord of the Treasury, and Canning, joint Paymaster of
+the Forces, decided to resign. Pitt's silence and his urgent requests to
+his friends to remain in office were of course open to misconstruction;
+and several of his supporters echoed the malicious assertion of Frere,
+that his aim was for Addington to take office as a _locum tenens_, and
+sign a discreditable peace, whereupon he (Pitt) would come back to power
+and find his former supporters in their old places. Malmesbury gave
+colour to the story by stating that Addington described himself as
+_locum tenens_, a remark utterly inconsistent with all that is known of
+his complacent pride. Nevertheless the slander gained general currency,
+and, even now, despite convincing refutation, dies hard. That Canning
+and others resented Pitt's silence and his pressure to remain in office
+is undeniable; but, while saying nothing as to the cause of his own
+conduct, he explained clearly to Canning that, as a friend, he was
+gratified by his conduct in resigning, however much he deplored his
+action on public grounds. Of course the _tu quoque_ retort was
+inevitable; but Canning's curiosity was not gratified.[623]
+
+For a time he talked of breaking with Pitt, and sent him a copy of a
+letter to Frere couched in those terms. Pitt replied calmly on 26th
+April 1801 that on reviewing his conduct he found it neither unkind nor
+unfair. While lamenting that Canning should thus have misunderstood his
+conduct, he expressed a resolve to forget the incident and a hope that
+their friendship might endure. Serenity such as this is the best cure to
+Celtic susceptibility. But other grievances were discovered, and on 12th
+July Canning dashed off to Frere a furious missive full of dashes and
+underlinings, charging Pitt with showing to him "confidence just enough
+to mislead and not enough to guide"; on which promising theme he fired
+off clause upon clause of an incoherent sentence which fills thirty-five
+lines of print and then expires in a dash. What it was all about is far
+from clear, except that Canning believed Pitt to have done "scrupulously
+and magnanimously _right_ by everybody but _me_."[624] Before long the
+sensitive youth was moving heaven and earth to bring back Pitt to power.
+But, even in December 1803, when his whole soul was bound up in him, he
+reproached him with lover-like vehemence for having inspired a
+derogatory article in the "Accurate Observer." Apparently the wounded
+friend had no proof whatever that Pitt had sped or barbed the shaft.
+
+Among those who won Pitt's confidence in his closing years was Spencer
+Perceval, an able young barrister, who entered Parliament in 1796 as
+member for Northampton, and showed considerable skill in finance and
+debating powers of no mean order. "He spoke (says Sinclair) without the
+disagreeable cant of the Bar, was never tedious, was peculiarly distinct
+in matters of business, and explained his financial measures with
+clearness and ability. His style was singularly acute, bold, sarcastic,
+and personal." The same authority avers that Pitt, on being asked--"If
+we lose you, where could we find a successor?"--answered at once,
+"Perceval." The reply is remarkable; for Perceval, besides opposing
+Catholic Emancipation, displayed little tact in dealing with men and a
+strangely narrow outlook. Probably it was his power of hard work, his
+grasp of finance, and his resolute disposition which led Pitt to prefer
+him to Canning, who in other respects was far better qualified to act as
+leader.
+
+I must here notice charges which have been brought against Pitt, that
+his creations of peers, or promotions in the peerage, which by the year
+1801 exceeded 140, were fraught with evil to the Upper House, lowering
+the intellectual level of its debates, and impairing the balance of
+parties, with results damaging to the constitution.[625] It has even
+been suggested that the friction between the two Houses in the years
+1830-1911 resulted in no small degree from the reckless conduct of Pitt
+in this respect. Vague and sweeping assertions like these can neither be
+substantiated nor refuted. But the only definite part of them, namely,
+that Pitt's creations degraded the House of Lords, is obviously
+overstrained. At no period was the tone of its debates higher than in
+that of Pitt's supremacy, witness those on Warren Hastings, the disputes
+with Spain and Russia, and the Great War. They have not the brilliance
+of those of the Commons in the days of Burke, Fox, Pitt and Sheridan;
+but they often excel them in statesmanlike qualities; and a perusal of
+them reveals the fact that the ablest of the Lords were, not those of
+the old governing families, which at that period showed signs of
+decadence, but those for whose creation Pitt was mainly responsible.
+Malmesbury, Buckingham, Grenville, Auckland, Carrington, Minto, and at a
+later period, Sidmouth and Castlereagh, excelled in ability and weight
+the representatives of the older nobility. Far from degrading and
+weakening the peerage, Pitt strengthened it by an infusion of new blood
+which was sorely needed at that time of strain and stress. Further, it
+must be remembered that Burke's Economy Bill had abolished many of the
+sinecures which were considered due for steady support in Parliament;
+and, while at Bath in the year 1797, he admitted that his reform was
+accountable for the large increase of peerages, thenceforth the chief
+hope of the faithful.[626] Pitt's correspondence also shows that he
+frequently repulsed the insistent claims of his supporters for titles, a
+theme on which piquant letters might be adduced.
+
+Surely, too, it is unjust to say that Pitt entirely altered the
+political complexion of the Upper House. During the greater part of his
+career the so-called political differences were based mainly on personal
+considerations; and throughout the struggle against France, Whigs and
+Tories, with the exception of a small coterie, were merged in the
+national party which recognized in Pitt the saviour of British
+institutions. The charge that he was largely responsible for the
+friction between the two Houses after 1830 needs little notice; for that
+friction was clearly due to the progress of democratic principles and
+the growth of an enormous industrial community in these islands. Both of
+those developments told strongly against the parity of political
+influence of the two Houses of Parliament. Amidst the torpor of the
+previous age the prerogatives of the Peers had gone unchallenged. After
+the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution a challenge was
+certain to come; and in this, as in many other respects, the conduct of
+Pitt was such as to strengthen our institutions. By adding to the House
+of Lords a considerable number of commoners he enabled it to withstand
+the storms of the Revolutionary age and the inevitable conflicts of the
+future.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+To revert to the year 1801, there occurred early in the autumn an event
+of high import. The struggle of eight years between Great Britain and
+France ended in stalemate. The collapse of the Armed Neutrality League
+together with the capture of Malta and the surrender of the French
+garrisons in Egypt left the Union Jack triumphant at sea and the
+tricolour on the Continent. Each State had need of rest to restore its
+finances and consolidate its conquests. Therefore, though Bonaparte had
+at the end of March 1801 sharply repelled the pacific overtures of the
+Addington Cabinet, yet negotiations were resumed at the close of summer,
+a fact which proves that the First Consul was influenced, not by spite
+to Pitt and goodwill to his successor, but by the constricting grip of
+the Sea Power. Hawkesbury, Grenville's successor at the Foreign Office,
+asserted that shortly before the end of the negotiation Pitt sat up with
+him through part of a night discussing finance, and finally advising the
+cessation of hostilities.
+
+Not that Pitt directed the negotiations; for both Addington and
+Hawkesbury were proud and sensitive men, and Pitt at some points
+criticized the conditions of the Preliminaries of London (1st October
+1801). They were as follows: Great Britain agreed to restore to France,
+Spain, and the Batavian, or Dutch, Republic all their possessions
+recently conquered by her, with the exception of Trinidad and Ceylon,
+ceded to her by Spain and the Dutch respectively. She also retired from
+Elba and restored Malta to the Knights of St. John, under conditions to
+be further specified. The French restored Egypt to the Sultan, and
+evacuated Naples and the Papal States. Portugal was also saved from
+danger of partition. Nothing was said respecting the resumption of
+trade between England and France; and no assurance was forthcoming as to
+the independence of the Republics bordering on France. By his recent
+compact with Austria the First Consul agreed to respect their
+independence; but England had no definite ground for complaint if it
+were violated.
+
+While the London rabble shouted itself hoarse with joy at the advent of
+peace, Grenville, Windham, and Canning saw disgrace and disaster ahead.
+Pitt thought otherwise. At the small house in Park Place which he had
+leased for his visits to London, he wrote to Long on 1st October,
+describing the terms as not all that could be wished but "highly
+creditable, and on the whole very advantageous." Finding that Grenville
+considered them disastrous, he on the 5th expressed concern at their
+disagreement. Though regretting the surrender of the Cape, and the
+uncertainty of the fate of Malta, he considered the acquisition of
+Ceylon and Trinidad most beneficial; and he hailed with satisfaction a
+peace which saved Turkey and Portugal from spoliation. He therefore
+suggested an interview for the sake of reconciling their differences. To
+this Grenville somewhat coolly assented, remarking that the differences
+were fundamental and could not be concealed, and that his confidence in
+the Addington Cabinet was irretrievably destroyed by a treaty which
+ceded to France Martinique, Malta, Minorca, the Cape, Cochin China, and
+all the Dutch settlements. Clearly, then, Grenville looked on the Dutch
+Republic and Spain as dominated by Bonaparte, who would seize Minorca,
+Malta, and the Cape whenever it suited him. He also wrote to the King
+expressing regret that he could no longer support Addington, whose
+conduct towards France and Russia was "marked throughout by a tone of
+unnecessary and degrading concession."[627]
+
+Here, then, the two cousins began sharply to differ. On 3rd November,
+during the debates on the Peace, Pitt rose to rebut the censures of
+Thomas Grenville on a policy which implied the surrender of the
+Mediterranean to France. He deprecated these sweeping criticisms; for he
+had ever been ready to frame a treaty which, though falling short of our
+just pretensions, was not inconsistent with honour and security. The
+present terms did not fulfil all his wishes; but the difference between
+them and the best possible terms was not worth the continuance of war.
+If both Trinidad and Malta could not be retained, he commended Ministers
+for choosing Trinidad; for the sight of the Union Jack at Malta would
+have hurt the pride of France. With regard to the Cape of Good Hope he
+deemed it a far more important possession than Hawkesbury had
+represented, though inferior to Ceylon. He deplored our failure to
+restore the House of Savoy to its capital, Turin; but the chief object
+of the war, the security of Great Britain, had been attained. True, the
+restoration of the French monarchy would have furnished a better
+safeguard for peace; but we had never insisted on it as essential,
+though it might have been assured if the Allies had fulfilled their
+duties. As to the future, if the First Consul aimed at founding a
+military despotism, he probably would not select England as the first
+object of his attack; and we had every prospect of enjoying a long
+peace. Remembering, perhaps, that he made the same prophecy early in
+1792, he uttered this warning: "I am inclined to hope everything that is
+good; but I am bound to act as if I feared otherwise." In none of his
+speeches did Pitt display less foresight. The preference of Trinidad to
+Malta and of Ceylon to the Cape is curious enough; but the prophecy as
+to a long period of peace and the probable immunity of England from
+Bonaparte's attack argues singular blindness to the colonial trend of
+French policy since the year 1798. Despite acrid comments by Fox and
+Windham, the speech carried the day and firmly established Addington in
+power.
+
+The sequel is well known. In the interval of six months, during which
+the aged and gouty Cornwallis sought to reduce the Preliminaries of
+London to the Treaty of Amiens (27th March 1802), Bonaparte remodelled
+the Batavian, Ligurian, and Cisalpine Republics in a way wholly at
+variance with the Treaty of Lunéville. Against these breaches of faith
+the Addington Cabinet made no protest; and the treaty in its final form
+provided a complex and unsatisfactory compromise on the Maltese
+question.[628] Canning and Windham strove to elicit from Pitt a public
+expression of his disapproval of the treaty; but their efforts were in
+vain. On 20th April 1802 Canning, while at his country seat, South Hill,
+Bracknell (Berks), wrote thus to Windham:[629]
+
+ ... Do not suppose that this is because I have the slightest
+ doubt as to the impression which may be made by pointing out the
+ gross faults and omissions, the weakness, and baseness, and
+ shuffling, and stupidity, that mark this Treaty even beyond the
+ Preliminaries that led to it. But I think people do not want to
+ be convinced of this; that they will not take it kindly, but
+ rather otherwise, to have it forced upon their observation;
+ that, if parted to a division, they will vote for the Treaty
+ with all its imperfections upon its head.... Now as to Pitt
+ himself. He cannot and does not think of this as he did of the
+ Preliminary Treaty. But debate it; and he will, he must, debate
+ as warmly for it. He can take no distinction without seeming to
+ abandon Addington; and that he will not do. He cannot object to
+ any part of the Peace in public, without weakening the grounds
+ upon which he contends peace upon the whole to be preferable to
+ war, and _that_ he will not do. ... Leave it possible for Pitt
+ to say six or eight months hence that the Preliminaries promised
+ well, but that the Treaty did not come up to them. I do not
+ promise you that he ever will say this. But I am fairly
+ persuaded that, if you force from him a public approbation of
+ the Treaty, you defer for at least as many months as have passed
+ since the debates of October, the chance of his coming to see
+ things almost as you and I see them....
+
+ _April 27 1802._
+
+ Since I wrote to you, I have seen Lord Grenville, and I think
+ the plan of action, which he tells me had been concerted between
+ you and him, so perfect, that I retract everything in what I
+ wrote to you (if anything there were) which could be construed
+ as making against it. To debate "about it and about it," as much
+ as you will, to move for papers, to move for taking the Treaty
+ into consideration--all this may be done with great and good
+ effect, but a condemnation of the Treaty, such as would force
+ P[itt] into a defence of it, and identify him with the makers of
+ it, is what of all things is to be avoided. I hope you think
+ so.--Whether P[itt] _will_ save us I do not know. But surely he
+ is the only man that _can_.
+
+All was in vain. Pitt, having promised to support Addington, deemed
+himself in honour bound to fulfil that pledge. But, as the events of the
+year 1802 showed more and more the imbecility of the Addington Cabinet,
+torturing doubts preyed upon his mind. His friends, especially Canning,
+now began to discern the pathos of his position, but sought to draw him
+from his seclusion at Walmer. An opportunity occurred in the month of
+May. Pitt's birthday was on the 28th. Would not all who foresaw ruin
+for England in the supremacy of "the Doctor" welcome a demonstration on
+behalf of his predecessor? For more than a year Pitt's friends had been
+puzzled and abashed by his unexplained retirement, witness the
+uncharitable surmise of the usually benevolent Dr. Burgh--"Can I see
+Addington climb upon the stooping neck of Mr. Pitt, and not believe that
+it is done in hostility or in a masked confederacy? If the former, how
+am I to estimate the man who comes in? If the latter, what judgement can
+I form of the man who goes out?"[630] Slander also was busy in the guise
+of that gadfly, Nicholls, who proposed to thank the King for dismissing
+him. By way of retort Pitt's friends triumphantly carried a motion of
+thanks to Pitt for his great services, against a carping minority of
+fifty-two; but members were heard to mutter their preference for
+Addington over all "the d--d men of genius."
+
+Was it not time to arouse the country from sloth? The England of 1802
+seemed to Wordsworth
+
+ a fen of stagnant waters.
+
+While he invoked the memory of Milton, Canning resolved to appeal to
+Pitt. In a day or two he threw off a poem which, though slighted by him,
+gained a wider vogue than any of his effusions, "The Pilot that
+weathered the Storm." The last and best stanza is as follows:
+
+ And O! if again the rude whirlwind should rise,
+ The dawning of peace should fresh darkness deform,
+ The regrets of the good and the fears of the wise
+ Shall turn to the pilot that weathered the storm.
+
+The song was enthusiastically received by the company assembled at the
+Merchant Taylors' Hall; and the reference to the recall of Pitt roused
+the company to a high pitch of excitement. The song, as a whole, is
+laboured and strained. The only stanza which happily weds phrase and
+thought is the last. The others form a lumbering prelude to this almost
+Sibylline cadence.
+
+Despite these efforts to sow discord between Pitt and Addington, they
+remained on excellent terms;[631] and the support given by the former to
+the Peace of Amiens ensured to the Minister an overwhelming victory at
+the polls in the General Election of the summer of 1802. Pitt was of
+course returned by the University of Cambridge, "with every mark of zeal
+and cordiality"--so he wrote to Rose on 10th July. The rest of the
+summer he passed either near London or at Walmer. It is unfortunate that
+he did not visit France, as Fox, Romilly, and many others now did.
+Probably his sharp rebuff to Bonaparte's overture at the end of 1799,
+and his subsequent diatribes against him precluded such a step. But he
+also needed rest and quiet. On 8th June he wrote to Windham: "The sea
+air and the contrast of the scene to that which I left behind me in
+London have, as usual, done me a great deal of good."[632] He set to
+work to improve the grounds adjoining the castle, and invited Addington,
+who was then spending some weeks at Eastbourne, to come over and see the
+changes. Further, he leased a large farm near Walmer, and expressed a
+hope that he might spend the rest of the year in farming. The splendour
+of that summer and the bounteous crops of corn evidently captivated
+Pitt. The supreme need of England was more corn. A man who could not
+serve her at Westminster could serve her by high farming. This was
+Pitt's forecast, unless "the _pacificator_ of Europe takes it into his
+head to send an army from the opposite coast to revenge himself for some
+newspaper paragraph."[633]
+
+At this time, too, he finally succeeded in disposing of Holwood. The
+sale was inevitable; for Pitt's finance had long been a source of deep
+anxiety. So far back as 18th October 1800 Rose informed the Bishop of
+Lincoln that bailiffs threatened the seizure of Pitt's furniture in
+Downing Street for debts of £600 and £400. Then, referring to Pitt's ill
+health, he wrote: "I conceived till this morning [it] was owing to the
+state of public matters; but I am now strongly inclined to think he is
+agitated by the state of his own affairs. Bullock came to me this
+morning and forced upon me such a history of debts and distresses as
+actually sickened me.... Something must be done before Pitt returns to
+town. His expenses in the last years were nearly £26,000. I am quite
+certain Holwood must be parted with."[634]
+
+Pitt's private finance is involved in mystery. His official stipend was
+£6,000 a year; and as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports he drew £3,000
+more. Yet he was now insolvent. Among his papers systematic accounts
+are extant only for the latter half of the years 1794 and 1799. Even
+these are not complete, especially for the household at Walmer Castle.
+Those for the house in Downing Street are the fullest; but, for the last
+six months of 1799, they amount to £3,789 at Downing Street, and £2,382
+at Holwood, the latter sum including a charge of £1,163 for farm
+expenses which cannot much have exceeded the income.[635] The Walmer
+accounts vary according to the duration of Pitt's residence. Those for
+the summer and autumn of 1794 amount only to £458. Evidently, then, Pitt
+benefited by the King's gift of the Wardenship of the Cinque Ports. But
+he gave £1,000 in 1793 to start the Dover Volunteer corps and doubtless
+other sums towards the Fencibles of the other Cinque Ports.
+
+At all times the servants at Downing Street and the farm at Holwood were
+a heavy drain. The amount of the servants' private bills charged to Pitt
+at Downing Street is disgraceful. Pitt kept a good table and a good
+cellar, as the customs of the age required; but neither these expenses
+nor his heavy outlay on his tailor would have brought about a crisis,
+had not his town servants and tradesmen plundered him. Morse, the
+tailor, charged at the rate of £130 to £140 a quarter for Pitt's
+clothes. Now Pitt was neat and punctilious in his attire, but he was no
+dandy. As for the farm at Holwood, accounts for straw and manure were
+charged twice over, as some friendly accountant pointed out. Probably,
+too, his experiments in landscape-gardening were as costly as they had
+been to Chatham; for lavishness was in the nature both of father and
+son. Pitt once confessed to his niece, Hester Stanhope, that he never
+saw a house and grounds without at once planning improvements. In this
+phrase as in the suggestive item on farm expenses we can see why the
+sale of Holwood was necessary; but for various reasons it did not take
+place until the autumn of 1802.
+
+Meanwhile his friends bestirred themselves to prevent the scandal of an
+execution. They succeeded in staving off a crisis until schemes of
+relief were concerted, but here again there was much difficulty; for, on
+hearing of the proposed private subscription on his behalf, he declared
+that he would rather return to practice at the Bar than submit to such a
+humiliation. Fox might allow friends to pay his gambling debts; but the
+pride of Pitt scorned to accept help on behalf of liabilities even if
+due to pre-occupation in public affairs. Rose deemed a sum of £25,000
+necessary to his peace and quietness, seeing that the total liabilities
+were £45,064. The letters which passed between Camden, the Bishop of
+Lincoln, and Rose, evince deep affection for the shy, proud man. The
+following is a _précis_ of a letter of Rose to Tomline which is among
+the Pretyman MSS.:
+
+ Christchurch, _July 21, 1801_.
+
+ I am in great perplexity about Pitt's affairs. Joe Smith has
+ been strangely misled respecting them.[636] The unforeseen
+ demands have been very large. If Holwood fetches a good price,
+ the sum of £24,000 will set the matter at rest. Pitt's diamonds
+ have been sold for £680 to pay pressing claims. The unpaid bills
+ now amount to £9,618. Old debts come to £9,600 more. Mr. Soane
+ and Mr. Coutts might be asked to wait, as neither would suffer
+ from it. The debt due to Banker (£5,800) cannot surely be a
+ separate one of Pitt's; for I think he could give no security on
+ it. Probably it is a debt contracted jointly with Lord Chatham,
+ the whole of which Pitt may have to pay. Of the last sum which
+ in his own deep distress he borrowed on the security of Holwood,
+ he gave (I know) £1,000 to Lord Chatham. These are trifling
+ considerations compared with that of getting him to accept the
+ means of relief. They are as follows: (1) a vote from
+ Parliament; (2) a free gift from the King; (3) a private
+ subscription; (4) an additional office for life. The first and
+ second of these Pitt has peremptorily declined. The third he
+ refused in 1787 when the London merchants offered £100,000. The
+ fourth course would not be wholly creditable, but Pitt thinks it
+ the least objectionable. He dislikes the second and third
+ alternatives because the second (as he thinks) would give the
+ King a hold over him and the third would entitle the subscribers
+ to his favour. The notion of an execution by bailiffs in his
+ house is too painful to contemplate. I consider the first or
+ second alternatives the best.
+
+The reference here to a gift, or loan, from Pitt to his brother prompts
+the inquiry whether similar acts of benevolence may not explain his
+difficulties. We find the second Earl of Chatham in August 1797
+acknowledging a loan of £1,000 from Pitt. The bishop, replying to Rose
+on 24th July 1801, states that the debt of £5,800 was to the best of his
+knowledge a sum advanced through Thomas Coutts, the banker, to Lady
+Chatham upon the Burton Pynsent estate. He adds that she ought to pay
+interest to Pitt upon it, but did not. It seems that Pitt advanced
+£11,750 in all on behalf of the Burton Pynsent estate. Here, then, was a
+grievous family burden. Probably the debt was left by his father, and
+may have been increased by his mother. So far back as November 1793 he
+wrote to her stating his desire to help her at any time of need; and in
+August of the following year, when she believed her end to be near, she
+begged her sons to pay her "just debts," which were due, not to vain
+expenses, but to outlays upon the farm which she at the time believed to
+be for the best.[637] The eldest son could not help her, for he required
+succour from Pitt. If, then, the farming experiments at Burton Pynsent
+failed, the loss fell upon Pitt. We may infer, then, that his debts were
+occasioned partly by rapacious servants and tradesmen in London, partly
+by farming and gardening at Holwood, but also by the needs of his mother
+and brother. The fact that Chatham paid not a shilling towards the
+discharge of Pitt's liabilities proves that he was in low water; and as
+no one, not even Tomline, knew of the source of Pitt's embarrassments,
+they must have been of a peculiarly delicate character.
+
+Tomline's decision, that Pitt could never accept a sinecure from
+Addington, is indisputable. The words in which Pitt declared that he
+could not accept the sum of £30,000 graciously offered by the King
+breathe more independence than those in which he first expressed his
+gratitude for the offer. There remained, then, the plan of a private
+subscription. The Bishop of Lincoln mentioned it to him with admirable
+delicacy on 6th August 1801, and gained his consent. The following were
+the subscribers: Lords Bathurst, Camden, and Carrington, together with
+Tomline, Rose, and Steele, £1,000 each. From Scotland came £4,000,
+probably in equal parts from the Dukes of Buccleugh and Gordon, Dundas,
+and the Chief Baron. Wilberforce, Long, and Joseph Smith each gave £500,
+and another (Lord Alvanley?) £200. Bishop Tomline and Rose showed equal
+activity and tact in raising this sum of £11,700, so that the details
+remained unknown to Pitt.[638] Later on he felt pecuniary
+embarrassments, partly owing to his share in maintaining the Cinque
+Ports Volunteers, and at his death his debts amounted to £40,000.
+
+His relations to his bankers, Messrs. Coutts, continued cordial, though
+on 24th April 1805 Thomas Coutts ventured to state that there was an
+overdraft against him of £1,511, which, however, was redressed by the
+arrival of his quarterly official stipends.[639] Pitt's loyalty to his
+friends appears in his effort during his second Ministry to procure the
+royal assent to his nomination of Bishop Tomline to the Archbishopric of
+Canterbury shortly after the death of Dr. Moore early in 1805. The King,
+however, who did not admire Tomline, and believed the Bishop of Norwich
+to have prior claims, refused his reiterated requests. Pitt's second
+letter to the King on this subject is couched in terms almost of
+remonstrance.[640]
+
+Reverting to Pitt's life at Walmer, we find that in the summer of 1802
+he fell a prey to nausea and lassitude; so that Lady Hester Stanhope,
+who visited him in September, found him very weak. Probably his
+indisposition was due less to the exceptional heat of that season than
+to suppressed gout aggravated by anxiety. As we saw, he invited
+Addington to come over from Eastbourne and discuss public affairs. The
+conference seems to have caused him much concern; for Tomline in July
+1802 jotted down notes of a conversation with Pitt, in which Addington
+is described as "without exception the vainest man he (Pitt) had ever
+met with." Pitt's advice had often been asked before the Preliminaries
+of Peace were signed, but afterwards he was neglected. Cornwallis, too,
+had evidently believed that by the Treaty of Amiens all former treaties
+with France were revived without being named; and probably Ministers
+were under the same delusion. The last King's Speech was also annoying
+to Pitt, who characterized Addington as "a man of little mind, of
+consummate vanity and of very slender abilities." As to resumption of
+office Pitt thought it impossible during the life of the King, except in
+case of some great emergency.[641]
+
+Equally frank were Pitt's confessions to Canning, who stayed at Walmer
+in September-October 1802. He admitted that his resignation was due
+partly to the manner in which the King opposed him on Catholic
+Emancipation. But he quitted office with a clear conscience, leaving
+full means for attacking Egypt and the Armed Neutrals, so that the
+reproaches of desertion of duty were unjust. He pledged himself to
+support Addington; and from this only Addington could release him. He
+admitted that this was a mistake, now that current events showed
+Bonaparte's ambition to be insatiable; but none the less he waved aside
+Canning's reiterated appeals that he would apply to Addington for
+release from the pledge, on the ground that such a step would seem an
+intrigue for a return to power. "My ambition (he proudly said) is
+character, not office."
+
+Was a statesman ever placed in a more embarrassing situation? Pitt had
+resigned office on a point of honour, and yet felt constrained to humour
+the royal invalid by abandoning the very measure which caused his
+resignation. Incautiously he pledged himself to support Addington,
+thereby alienating some of his own supporters. He defended his pacific
+policy until it led to a bad treaty followed by a series of
+humiliations. By October 1802 Bonaparte was master of four Republics
+bordering on France, and had annexed Piedmont and Elba, besides securing
+Parma and Louisiana by profitable exchanges. Such a peace was worse than
+a disastrous war. Yet Addington made no protest except against the
+virtual subjugation of Switzerland. True, the Cabinet now clung to the
+Cape and Malta as for dear life; but elsewhere the eye could see French
+influence creeping resistlessly over Europe, while the German Powers
+were intent only on securing the spoils of the Ecclesiastical States.
+Well might Pitt write to Wilberforce on 31st October: "You know how much
+under all the circumstances I wished for peace, and my wishes remain the
+same, if Bonaparte can be made to feel that he is not to trample in
+succession on every nation in Europe. But of this I fear there is little
+chance, and without it I see no prospect but war." Worst of all, there
+were sure signs that France and the other Powers distrusted and despised
+Addington. Vorontzoff, the Russian ambassador, declared that he would
+work hard to form an alliance with Pitt, but despaired of effecting
+anything with his successor.[642] In truth, Pitt's excessive
+scrupulousness at the time of his resignation had enclosed himself and
+his country in a vicious circle from which the only means of escape was
+war.
+
+A prey to these harassing thoughts, Pitt left Walmer near the close of
+October 1802 to take the waters at Bath. On the way he visited Sir
+Charles Middleton at Teston in Kent, and sought distraction by inquiries
+on farming. Middleton wrote to Wilberforce on 26th October: "His
+inquiries were very minute and judicious; and it is incredible how
+quickly he comprehended things, and how much further he reasons on them
+than I can follow him.... I believe Mr. Pitt has it in his power to
+become the first farmer in England if he thinks the pursuit worth his
+time and attention."[643] The treatment at Bath suited Pitt so well that
+he prolonged his stay. Rose, whom he invited to Bath in the second week
+of November, thus describes to Bishop Tomline his manner of life:
+
+ Bath, _Nov. 21, 1802_.[644]
+
+ Mr. Pitt's health mends every day: it is really better than it
+ has been ever since I knew him. I am quite sure this place
+ agrees with him _entirely_, he eats a small [_illegible_] and a
+ half for breakfast, and more at dinner than I ever saw him at
+ 1/2 past 4: no luncheon: two very small glasses of Madeira at
+ dinner and _less_ than a pint of port after dinner: at night,
+ nothing but a bason of arrowroot: he is positively in the best
+ possible train of management for his health.... He is positively
+ decided to have no responsibility whatever respecting what has
+ been done or is doing on the subject of foreign politics; he not
+ only adheres to his resolution of not going up for the opening
+ [of Parliament]; but will not attend even on the estimates
+ unless a necessity should arise: he writes to day both to Mr.
+ Addington and Lord Hawkesbury in a style that will not only
+ manifest the above, _but will prevent all further attempts to
+ draw him into confidential communication_. He has also made up
+ his mind to take office again whenever the occasion shall arise,
+ when he can come in properly, and has now no reluctance on the
+ subject. I dare not say more by the Post. If my letter is
+ opened, the Ministers will know the first part is true, and I
+ don't care about their learning the latter. Lord Grenville will
+ positively not take a line to render it difficult for Mr. Pitt
+ and him to act together; he will move no amendment to the
+ Address....
+
+Rose, as we have seen, disliked Lord Auckland, who was joint
+Postmaster-General; and if Pitt's letters were opened at the Post
+Office, we can understand the thinness of his correspondence.[645]
+Recently he had advised Addington not to retain Alexandria, Malta,
+Goree, and Cape Town, but to trust rather to defensive preparations,
+which might include a friendly understanding with other aggrieved
+Powers. This surely was the dignified course. Even Malta was not worth
+the risk of immediate war unless we were ready both with armaments and
+alliances. The foregoing letter, however, shows that Pitt believed his
+advice to be useless. Possibly he heard that the Cabinet had decided to
+retain those posts; and finally, as we shall see, Pitt approved their
+action in the case of Malta. Meanwhile matters went from bad to worse.
+Ministers complained of Pitt's aloofness; but his friends agreed that he
+must do nothing to avert from Addington the consequences of his own
+incompetence. Even the cold Grenville declared Pitt to be the only man
+who could save England. But could even he, when under an incompetent
+chief, achieve that feat?
+
+For by this time Addington had hopelessly deranged the nation's finance.
+While giving up Pitt's drastic Income Tax, which had not brought in the
+expected £10,000,000 but a net sum of £6,000,000, he raised the Assessed
+Taxes by one third, increased Import and Export duties with impartial
+rigour, and yet proposed to raise £5,000,000 by Exchequer Bills, which
+were to be funded at the end of the Session or paid off by a loan. This
+signal failure to meet the year's expenses within the year exasperated
+Pitt. At Christmas, which he spent with Rose at his seat in the New
+Forest, he often conversed on this topic; and his host thus summed up
+his own conclusions in a letter to Bishop Tomline:
+
+ Cuffnells, _December 24, 1802_.[646]
+
+ ... There is hardly a part of the Budget that is not too
+ stupidly wrong even for the doctor's dullness and ignorance. I
+ am sure Mr. Pitt must concur with me; and I have all the
+ materials for him.--Wrong about the increase of the revenue;
+ wrong as to the produce of the Consolidated Fund; scandalously
+ wrong as to what is to be expected from it in future by at least
+ £2,800,000 a year; wrong as to the money he will want this year
+ by millions....
+
+During his stay at Cuffnells Pitt received a letter from Addington
+urging the need of an interview. Viewing the request as a sign of
+distress with which he must in honour comply, Pitt agreed to stay a few
+days early in January 1803 at the White Lodge in Richmond Park, which
+the King had for the time assigned to his favoured Minister. Addington
+described him as looking far from well, though his strength had improved
+and his spirits and appetite were good.[647] Apparently Pitt found the
+instruction of his host in finance a subject as dreary as the winter
+landscape. He afterwards told Rose that Addington mooted his entrance to
+the Cabinet awkwardly during their farewell drive to town. But this does
+not tally with another account, which is that Pitt, on the plea of
+winding up the transfer of Holwood, suddenly left the White Lodge on 6th
+January. On the 11th he wrote from Camden's seat, The Wilderness, in
+Kent, that his views on foreign affairs were nearly in accord with those
+of the Cabinet, but that he failed to convince Addington of his
+financial error.
+
+This, then, was still the rock of offence. Nevertheless, Pitt begged
+Rose not to attack the Cabinet on that topic, as it would embarrass him.
+If it were necessary on public grounds to set right the error, he (Pitt)
+would do so himself on some fit occasion. Malmesbury and Canning did
+their utmost to spur him on to a more decided opposition; and the latter
+wrote him a letter of eight pages "too admonitory and too fault-finding
+for even Pitt's very good humoured mind to bear."[648] Pitt replied by
+silence. In vain did friends tell him that Ministers had assured the
+King of his intention to bring forward Catholic Emancipation if he
+returned to office. In vain did Malmesbury declare that Pitt must take
+the helm of State, otherwise Fox would do so. In vain did Rose predict
+the country's ruin from Addington's appalling ignorance of finance. Pitt
+still considered himself in honour bound to support Addington. At the
+close of January he held friendly converse with him, before setting out
+for Walmer for a time of rest and seclusion. Canning's only consolation
+was that Bonaparte would come to their help, and by some new act of
+violence end Pitt's scrupulous balancing between the claims of national
+duty and of private obligations. The First Consul dealt blow upon blow.
+Yet even so, Canning's hopes were long to remain unfulfilled. As we saw
+in the former volume, the relations of Pitt to Addington had for many
+years been of an intimate nature; but occasions arise when a statesman
+ought promptly to act upon the maxim of Mirabeau--"_La petite morale est
+ennemie de la grande._" In subordinating the interests of England to the
+dictates of a deep-rooted but too exacting friendship, Pitt was guilty
+of one of the most fatal blunders of that time.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[606] Wraxall, iii, 458. For Pitt's earlier friendships see my former
+volume.
+
+[607] "Mems. of Lady Hester Stanhope," iii, 187.
+
+[608] From Mr. Broadley's MSS. Hayley's efforts on behalf of Cowper have
+been described by Professor E. Dowden, "Essays: Modern and Elizabethan"
+(1910). Ultimately a pension of £300 a year was assigned to Cowper: the
+authorization, signed by the King and Pitt, and dated 23rd April 1794,
+is now in the Cowper Museum, Olney, Bucks, so the secretary, Mr. Thomas
+Wright (editor of Cowper's Letters), kindly informs me.
+
+[609] "Rutland Papers," iii, 229, 241 (Hist. MSS. Comm.). So, too,
+Tomline said that Pitt had no ear for music, and little taste for
+drawing or painting, though he was fond of architecture, and once drew
+from memory the plan of a mansion in Norfolk, with a view to improving
+it (Lord Rosebery, "Tomline's Estimate of Pitt," 34).
+
+[610] "Glenbervie Journals," 195.
+
+[611] "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 26; G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 4.
+
+[612] Pitt MSS., 189.
+
+[613] "Life of Wilberforce," ii, 270.
+
+[614] The estimate of Pitt by Wellesley, summarized above, refutes the
+ungenerous remark of Lecky (v, 72) that he took little delight in books
+and "was a politician, and nothing more." Lecky was perhaps misled by
+the ignorant libel on Pitt in Wraxall, iii, 223.
+
+[615] "Diary of D. Scully," quoted by Dr. Hunt, "Transactions of Royal
+Hist. Soc." (1908), p. 12.
+
+[616] Lord Rosebery, "Tomline's Estimate of Pitt," 33.
+
+[617] _I.e._, Mantua rejoices in Wurmser, Rovereda in Davidovitch,
+Verona is open to Quosdanovitch. "Woe is me," says the greedy Gaul,
+Bonaparte, "I shall have to be off through the Alps and go to the dogs."
+
+[618] Pitt MSS., 188.
+
+[619] Pitt MSS., 188. Hobart married Pitt's early love, Eleanor Eden,
+and became Minister at War under Addington. For Mornington's comments on
+his factious conduct at Madras, see "Dropmore P.," iv, 384, 476; v, 268;
+vi, 338.
+
+[620] Stanhope, iii, 232; Rosebery, "Pitt," 213-7.
+
+[621] Pitt MSS., 188.
+
+[622] Gabrielle Festing, "J. H. Frere and his Friends," 31.
+
+[623] "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 8; Pellew, i, ch. xi; G. Festing,
+"Hookham Frere," 42-4; R. Bell, "Canning," 176; H. W. V. Temperley,
+"Canning," 62-3.
+
+[624] Stanhope, iii, 315; Festing, 47-51.
+
+[625] May, "Constit. Hist.," i, 232-8; Lecky, v, 27.
+
+[626] Wraxall, ii, 286.
+
+[627] Stanhope, iii, 352; "Dropmore P.," vii, 49-51. For new letters of
+Canning and Grenville, see "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies."
+
+[628] See Rose, "Life of Napoleon," i, ch. xiv, for details.
+
+[629] B.M. Add. MSS., 37844.
+
+[630] "Private Papers of Wilberforce," 110.
+
+[631] For the passing misunderstanding of February 1802, see Pellew, ii,
+489-92, with Pitt's letters.
+
+[632] B.M. Add. MSS., 37844.
+
+[633] Pellew, ii, 75, 76.
+
+[634] Pretyman MSS. Bullock paid the servants and supervised the
+accounts at Downing Street. Pitt was then staying with Addington near
+Reading.
+
+[635] Omitting shillings, the details for Downing Street and Holwood for
+July-December 1799 are respectively: Table, £344, £231; Cellar, £169,
+£126; Housekeeping, £531, £156; Private Account, £357, £--; Servants'
+Wages, £251, £69; Servants' Board Wages, £329, £80; Servants' Bills,
+£353, £15; Liveries, £41, £--; Taxes, etc., £747, £77; Farm, £--, £784;
+Farm Labourers, £--, £379; Garden, £--, £125; Stable, £155, £--; Job
+Horses, £165, £--; Incidentals, £347, £340. (Pitt MSS., 201.)
+
+[636] Joseph Smith (no relative of "Bob Smith," Lord Carrington) became
+Pitt's private secretary in 1787. His letters, published along with "The
+Beaufort Papers" in 1897, throw no light on Pitt's debts.
+
+[637] Ashbourne, 162. See, too, ch. xv of this work.
+
+[638] G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 429; ii, 215.
+
+[639] Pitt MSS., 126. Coutts and five other bankers each subscribed
+£50,000 to the "Loyalty Loan" in 1797 and invested £10,000 on behalf of
+Pitt.
+
+[640] Stanhope, iv, 233, 252; Ashbourne, 351-4.
+
+[641] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[642] "Private Papers of Wilberforce," 34; G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 508.
+
+[643] "Letters of Wilberforce," i, 256.
+
+[644] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[645] Auckland, while ambassador at The Hague, was suspected of too
+great inquisitiveness as to the British despatches which passed through
+that place. On 20th July 1790, Aust, of the Foreign Office, wrote to Sir
+R. M. Keith at Vienna that Keith's new cipher puzzles "our friends at
+the Hague," and that Auckland's curiosity is "insatiable" (B.M. Add.
+MSS., 35543). See, too, a note by Miss Rose in G. Rose "Diaries," ii,
+75.
+
+[646] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[647] Pellew, ii, 113. Lord Holland, writing early in 1803 to his uncle,
+General Fox, then at Malta, says that there are three parties in
+Parliament, besides many subdivisions, "Grenville and Windham against
+peace and nearly avowed enemies of the present Government; the old
+Opposition; and Addington [_sic_]. Pitt, as you know, supports
+Addington, but the degree of intimacy and the nature of his connection
+with Ministers are riddles to every one." (From Mr. Broadley's MSS.)
+
+[648] "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 168; G. Rose, "Diaries," ii, 6-9;
+Pellew, ii, 113.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXII
+
+ ADDINGTON OR PITT?
+
+ Once more doth Pitt deem the land crying loud to him--
+ Frail though and spent, and an hungered for restfulness
+ Once more responds he, dead fervours to energize
+ Aims to concentre, slack efforts to bind.
+ THOMAS HARDY, _The Dynasts_, Act i, sc. 3.
+
+
+On 30th January 1803 there appeared in the "Moniteur" the official
+Report of Colonel Sebastiani, Napoleon's envoy to the Levant. So
+threatening were its terms respecting the situation in Egypt and Corfu,
+that the Addington Ministry at once adopted a stiffer tone, and applied
+to Parliament for 10,000 additional seamen and the embodying of the
+militia. But the House, while readily acceding on 9th March, evidently
+wanted not only more men but a man. The return of Pitt to power was
+anxiously discussed in the lobbies. The Duke of Portland and Lord Pelham
+strongly expressed their desire for it. Yet Pitt remained at Walmer,
+feeling that he could not support financial plans fraught with danger to
+the State. Addington therefore resolved to sound him again with a view
+to his entering the Cabinet as a coadjutor. The envoy whom he chose for
+this delicate mission was Henry Dundas, now Lord Melville. He could
+count on his devotion; for, besides nominating him for the peerage, he
+is said to have opened to his gaze a life of official activity and
+patronage as First Lord of the Admiralty in place of the parsimonious
+and unmannerly St. Vincent.[649] Pitt received his old friend at Walmer
+with a shade of coolness in view of his declaration, on quitting office,
+that he could accept no boon whatever from Addington. To come now as his
+Cabinet-maker argued either overwhelming patriotism or phenomenal
+restlessness.
+
+ [Illustration: HENRY DUNDAS, FIRST VISCOUNT MELVILLE. (From a
+ painting by Sir T. Lawrence)]
+
+Nevertheless, the two friends resumed at Walmer the festive intercourse
+of the Wimbledon days; and in due course, after dinner and wine,
+Melville broached the subject of his visit. It was that Addington, who
+was First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, should
+resign the latter office to Pitt, and take Lord Pelham's place as
+Secretary of State for Home Affairs. We can picture the astonishment and
+wrath of Pitt as this singular proposal came to light. At once he cut
+short the conversation, probably not without expletives. But Melville
+was pertinacious where patriotism and office were at stake; and their
+converse spread over the two days, 21st-22nd March, Melville thereupon
+sending a summary of it to Addington, couched in terms which Pitt deemed
+too favourable. The upshot was that on personal grounds Pitt desired not
+to return to office; and, if affairs were efficiently conducted, would
+prefer to continue his present independent support. If, however, the
+misleading statements of the Treasury were persisted in, he must
+criticize them. Above all, if he returned to office it must be as First
+Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
+
+But Addington, foreseeing that Pitt would claim his two former offices,
+had concocted a sovereign remedy for all these personal sores. Pitt was
+to take office as Chancellor of the Exchequer, serving under his
+brother, the Earl of Chatham, as Prime Minister. Is it surprising that
+he negatived this singular proposal "without reserve or affectation"? By
+way of retort to this family prescription he charged Melville to point
+out the absolute need of the Cabinet being under the control of "the
+First Minister," who must not only have the confidence of the King and
+administer the finances, but also in the last resort impose his will on
+his colleagues. For himself he declared he would never come forward
+unless bound by public duty and with the enjoyment of the fullest
+confidence of the King.[650] There is a discrepancy between Melville's
+letter to Addington and a short account given by Pitt to Wilberforce two
+years later, to the effect that Melville, on cautiously opening his
+proposals at Walmer, saw that it would not do and stopped abruptly.
+"Really," said Pitt with a sly severity, "I had not the curiosity to ask
+what I was to be."
+
+Such was the bomb-shell exploded on Addington's bureau on 23rd March.
+It must have cost him no less concern than Bonaparte's outrageous
+behaviour to our ambassador, Lord Whitworth, ten days before. That scene
+before the diplomatic circle at the Tuileries portended war. How would
+Addington and his colleagues behave in this crisis? Would they sink all
+personal feelings, and, admitting that they could not weather the storm,
+accept the help and guidance of long tried navigators? Or would they
+stand on their dignity and order the pilot-boat to sheer off? Clearly it
+was a case where half measures were useless. The old captain and his
+chosen subalterns must command the ship. Pitt made this clear during
+conversations with Addington at Long's house at Bromley Hill (10th
+April). While declaring that he would not urge any point inconsistent
+with His Majesty's intentions, he demanded that Grenville, Melville,
+Spencer, and Windham should enter the Cabinet with him on the clearly
+expressed desire of the King, and at the request of the present
+Ministry. The last conditions seem severe. But Pitt's pledge to
+Addington made it essential that the Prime Minister should take the
+first step. To these terms two days later Addington made demur, but
+promised to communicate them to his colleagues; whereupon Pitt declared
+that he had said the last word on the matter; and when Ministers
+objected to Grenville and Windham, he was inexorable.[651] That their
+anger waxed hot against him appears from the following letter sent to
+Pitt by Lord Redesdale, formerly Sir John Mitford, and now Lord
+Chancellor of Ireland, who had been with Pitt and Addington at their
+conferences at Bromley:
+
+ Albemarle St., _April 16, 1803_.[652]
+
+ What passed yesterday and the day before at Bromley Hill, has
+ made so strong an impression on my mind that I have been unable
+ to relieve myself from the anxiety which it has occasioned.
+ However you may flatter yourself to the contrary, it seems to me
+ most clear that your return into office, with the impression
+ under which you have appeared to act, must have the effect of
+ driving from their situations every man now in office, and
+ making a greater change than has ever been made on any similar
+ occasion. I think myself as one of those persons individually
+ intitled to call upon your honour not to pursue the line of
+ conduct which you seem determined to adopt. The present
+ Administration, so far from having been formed in hostility to
+ you, was avowedly formed of your friends. When you quitted
+ office, you repeatedly declared that you should consider
+ yourself as obliged to those friends who would continue in
+ office or would accept office under Mr. Addington. You must
+ recollect that I expressed to you my disapprobation of the
+ change and my wish to retire to my situation at the Bar,
+ quitting the office of Attorney-General; and that you used to me
+ these words--"That you _must_ not do, for my sake." The words
+ were too strongly impressed upon my mind at the moment to have
+ escaped my memory. You encouraged me to take the office of
+ Speaker much against my will. If I had not taken that office,
+ nothing should have induced me to take that in which I am now
+ placed, and by which I have been brought into a position of much
+ anxiety, separated from all my old friends. Many many others are
+ in similar situations, and all are to be sacrificed to those men
+ who were said by yourself at the time to be acting in
+ contradiction to your wishes in quitting their offices or those
+ who dragged you out of office with them. You will probably tell
+ me that you have no such intentions, particularly with respect
+ to myself. But, whatever may be your intentions, such must be
+ the unavoidable consequence of the changes which you have
+ determined upon. I thought, when I took a situation under the
+ Administration at the head of which you placed Mr. Addington,
+ that I was doing you service. It was of no small importance to
+ you, whether you looked to a return to office, or to retirement
+ from public life, that the Government should not fall into the
+ hands of those who had been engaged in violent opposition to
+ you; and you yourself stated to me that you apprehended that
+ must be the consequence if Mr. Addington should not be able to
+ form an Administration.... Some of your last words to me induce
+ me to think that you have not yourself abandoned the plan formed
+ for giving to the Roman Catholic Church full establishment in
+ Ireland--for such I consider the plan suggested by Lord
+ Castlereagh, with any modification of which it is capable.
+ Indeed, if all those who went out of office because that measure
+ was not approved then (such being the ostensible cause of their
+ quitting their stations) are to come into office again, there
+ can be no doubt in the mind of the public that it is determined
+ to carry that measure....
+
+That at so critical a juncture a supporter of Addington, not of Cabinet
+rank, should rake up personal reasons why Pitt should let things drift
+to ruin is inconceivable. And did Redesdale really believe Protestantism
+to be endangered by Pitt's return to office, after his assurance at
+Bromley that he would not press any point at variance with the royal
+resolves? The King, who knew Pitt far better than Redesdale did, had no
+fear that he would belie his word by bringing forward Catholic
+Emancipation. But the phrases in the letter quoted above show that some
+of the Ministers were preparing to beat the drum ecclesiastic, and, in
+the teeth of the evidence, to charge Pitt with ingratitude and duplicity
+if he became Prime Minister. Ignoring the national crisis, they
+concentrated attention solely on the personal questions at issue; and it
+is humiliating to have to add that their petty scheming won the day. A
+compromise between Pitt and Addington was exceedingly difficult, but
+their reproaches and innuendoes made it impossible.[653]
+
+The outcome was disastrous. The failure to form a strong and truly
+national Administration ended all hope of peace. Over against Addington
+set Bonaparte; with Hawkesbury compare Talleyrand; with Hobart,
+Berthier.[654] The weighing need go no further. The British Ministry
+kicks the beam; and in that signal inequality is one of the chief causes
+of the war of 1803. The first Consul, like the Czar Alexander I,
+despised the Addington Cabinet. He could not believe that men who were
+laughed at by their own supporters would dare to face him in arms. Twice
+he made the mistake of judging a nation by its Ministers--England by
+Addington in 1803, Spain by Godoy in 1808. Both blunders were natural,
+and both were irreparable; but those peoples had to pour forth their
+life blood to recover the position from which weakness and folly allowed
+them to slide. Politics, like meteorology, teaches that any sharp
+difference of pressure, whether mental or atmospheric, draws in a strong
+current to redress the balance. Never were the conditions more cyclonic
+than in 1803. A decade of strife scarcely made good the inequality
+between the organized might of France and the administrative chaos of
+her neighbours; between the Titanic Corsican and the mediocrities or
+knaves who held the reins at London, Vienna, Berlin, and Madrid.
+
+War having been declared on 18th May 1803, Pitt sought the first
+opportunity of inspiriting Parliament and the nation. On the 23rd a
+great concourse crowded the House in the hope of hearing him speak; and
+cries of "Pitt, Pitt" arose as he strode to his seat on the third row
+behind Ministers, beside one of the pillars. The position gave point to
+a remark of Canning to Lord Malmesbury, that Pitt would fire over the
+heads of Ministers, neither praising nor blaming them, but merely
+supporting the policy of the war. Such was the case. Replying to a few
+criticisms of Erskine, he defended the Cabinet and powerfully described
+the unbearable aggressions of the First Consul.
+
+The speech aroused a patriotic fervour which cannot be fully realized
+from the meagre and dreary summary of it which survives. Romilly
+pronounced it among the finest, if not the very finest, which he had
+ever made;[655] and Sheridan, in a vinous effusion to Lady Bessborough,
+called it "one of the most magnificent pieces of declamation that ever
+fell from that rascal Pitt's lips. Detesting the dog, as I do, I cannot
+withhold this just tribute to the scoundrel's talents." There follows a
+lament over Pitt's want of honesty, which betokens the maudlin mood
+preceding complete intoxication.[656] On the morrow Fox vehemently
+blamed the Cabinet in a speech which, for width of survey, acuteness of
+dialectic, wealth of illustration and abhorrence of war, stands
+unrivalled. Addington's reply exhibited his hopeless mediocrity; but,
+thanks to Pitt, Ministers triumphed by 398 votes to 67. As they resented
+the absence of definite praise in his speech, he withdrew to Walmer,
+there to serve his country and embarrass his finances by raising the
+Cinque Ports Volunteers.
+
+Before recounting Pitt's services in East Kent, I must mention a
+bereavement which he had sustained. His mother died, after a very short
+seizure, at Burton Pynsent on 3rd April 1803. Thus was snapped a link
+connecting England with a mighty past. A quarter of a century had
+elapsed since her consort was laid to rest in the family vault in
+Westminster Abbey; she followed him while the storm-fiends were
+shrouding in strife the two hereditary foes; and the Napoleonic War was
+destined to bring her gifted son thither in less than three years. The
+father had linked the name of Pitt with military triumphs; the son, with
+futile efforts for peace and goodwill; but the lives both of the
+war-lord and of the would-be peacemaker were to be ended by tidings of
+national disaster.
+
+ No parleying now. In Britain is one breath;
+ We all are with you now from shore to shore;
+ Ye men of Kent, 'tis victory or death!
+
+We all know these lines of Wordsworth. Do we know equally well that on
+Pitt, as Lord Warden, fell the chief burden of organization on the most
+easily accessible coast, that which stretches from Ramsgate to Rye?[657]
+It was defenceless but for the antiquated works at Sandown, Deal,
+Walmer, Dover, and a few small redoubts further west. Evidently men must
+be the ramparts, and Pitt sought to stimulate the Volunteer Movement,
+which now again made headway. He strove to make it a National Movement.
+At the close of July he sent an official offer to raise 3,000 Volunteers
+in Walmer and its neighbourhood; and he urged Ministers to have recourse
+to a _levée en masse_, whereupon Yorke, Under Secretary at War, proposed
+a scheme somewhat on those lines. Probably the encouragement offered to
+Volunteers was too great; for, while they were required to do less than
+was necessary to ensure efficiency, they were freed from all risk of
+compulsory enrolment in the Militia. This force and the Army
+consequently suffered, while the Volunteer Associations grew apace. On
+27th October 1803 the King reviewed in Hyde Park as many as 27,000 of
+the London Volunteers and showed his caustic wit by giving the nickname
+of "the Devil's Own" to the Inns of Court Volunteers.
+
+Pitt was not present on this occasion, he and his neighbour, Lord
+Carrington, on whom in 1802 he bestowed the command of Deal Castle,
+being busy in organizing the local Volunteers. As Constable of Dover
+Castle, Pitt summoned the delegates of the Cinque Ports to meet him
+there to discuss the raising of local corps; and he gave the sum of
+£1,000 towards their expenses. Dover contributed £885; Sandwich, £887;
+Margate, £538, and so on. As Lord Warden, he also took steps to secure
+a large number of recruits for the new Army of Reserve, and he further
+instructed local authorities to send in returns of all men of military
+age, besides carts, horses, and stock, with a view to the "driving" of
+the district in case of a landing.[658] At Walmer he kept open house for
+officers and guests who visited that coast. By the end of the year 1803
+more than 10,000 Kentishmen had enrolled as Volunteers, and 1,040 in the
+Army of Reserve, exclusive of Sea Fencibles serving on gunboats. For the
+whole of Great Britain the totals were 379,000 and 31,000
+respectively.[659] Pitt's joke at the expense of a battalion which laid
+more stress on privileges than drills, has become historic. Its
+organizers sent up a plan containing several stipulations as to their
+duties, with exceptions "in case of actual invasion." Pitt lost patience
+at this Falstaff-like conduct, and opposite the clause that they were on
+no account to be sent out of the country he wrote the stinging
+comment--"except in case of invasion."
+
+The pen of Lady Hester Stanhope gives life-like glimpses of him during
+the endless drills between Deal and Dover. She had fled from the
+levelling vagaries of Earl Stanhope at Chevening to Lady Chatham at
+Burton Pynsent; but that home being now broken up, Pitt offered to
+install her at Walmer Castle. He did so with some misgiving; for her
+queenly airs and sprightly sallies, however pleasing as a tonic,
+promised little for comfort and repose. But the experiment succeeded
+beyond all hope. She soon learnt to admire his serenity, while his home
+was the livelier for the coming of this meteoric being. Her complexion
+was dazzlingly bright. Her eyes, usually blue, would flash black, as did
+those of Chatham in moments of excitement. Her features, too, had a
+magical play of expression, lighting up at a pleasing fancy, or again
+darting forth scorn, with the April-like alternations that irradiated
+and overclouded the brow of her grandsire. Kinglake, who saw her half a
+century later in her Syrian fastness, was struck by the likeness to the
+Chatham of Copley's famous picture.
+
+Certainly she had more in common with him than with the younger Pitt.
+During the time when she brought storm and sunshine to Walmer, Park
+Place, and Bowling Green House, she often rallied her uncle on showing
+undue complaisance to the King or to stupid colleagues whom the Great
+Commoner would have overawed. Pitt laughingly took the second place, and
+at times vowed that when her voice rang with excitement, he caught an
+echo of the tones of his father.[660] Perhaps it was this which
+reconciled him to her vagaries. For her whims and moods even then showed
+the extravagance which made her the dreaded Sultana of that lonely
+Syrian castle where she ended her days amidst thirty quarrelsome but
+awe-struck servants, and an equal number of cats, over whom an
+apprehensive doctor held doubtful sway.
+
+But that bitter, repining, spirit-haunted exile was far different from
+the joyous creature who shed light on Pitt. Her spasmodic nature needed
+his strength; her waywardness, his affectionate control. As for her tart
+retorts, terrifying to bores and toadies, they only amused him. In truth
+she brought into his life a beam of the sunshine which might have
+flooded it had he married Eleanor Eden. Hester soon found that, far from
+being indifferent to the charms of women, he was an exacting judge of
+beauty, even of dress. In fact, she pronounced him to be perfect in
+household life. His abilities in gardening astonished her; and we may
+doubt the correctness of the local legend which ascribes to her the
+landscape-gardening undertaken in the grounds of Walmer Castle in 1803.
+The dell at the top of the grounds was Hester's favourite haunt.
+
+The varied excitements of the time are mirrored in her sprightly
+letters. Thus, on 15th November 1803, she wrote at Walmer:
+
+ We took one of their gunboats the other day: and, as soon as she
+ came in, Mr. Pitt, Charles,[661] Lord Camden and myself took a
+ Deal boat and rowed alongside of her. She had two large guns on
+ board, 30 soldiers and 4 sailors. She is about 30 feet long, and
+ only draws about 4 feet of water; an ill-contrived thing, and so
+ little above the water that, had she as many men on board as she
+ could really carry, a moderate storm would wash them
+ overboard.... Mr. Pitt's 1st battalion of his newly-raised
+ regiment was reviewed the other day by General Dundas, who
+ expressed himself equally surprised and pleased by the state of
+ discipline he found them in.... I like all this sort of thing,
+ and I admire my uncle most particularly when surrounded with a
+ tribe of military attendants. But what is all this pageantry
+ compared with the unaffected simplicity of real greatness!
+
+
+
+ Walmer Castle, _Nov. 19, 1803_.
+
+ To F. R. Jackson, Esq.
+
+ To express the kindness with which Mr. Pitt welcomed my return
+ and proposed my living with him would be impossible; one would
+ really suppose that all obligation was on his side. Here then am
+ I, happy to a degree; exactly in the sort of society I most
+ like. There are generally three or four men staying in the
+ house, and we dine eight or ten almost every other day. Military
+ and naval characters are constantly welcome here; women are not,
+ I suppose, because they do not form any part of our society. You
+ may guess, then, what a pretty fuss they make with me. Pitt
+ absolutely goes through the fatigue of a drill sergeant. It is
+ parade after parade at 15 or 20 minutes' distance from each
+ other. I often attend him; and it is quite as much as I am equal
+ to, although I am remarkably well just now. The hard riding I do
+ not mind, but to remain almost _still_ so many hours on
+ horseback is an incomprehensible bore, and requires more
+ patience than you can easily imagine. However, I suppose few
+ regiments for the time were ever so forward; therefore the
+ trouble is nothing. If Mr. Pitt does not overdo and injure his
+ health every other consideration becomes trifling. [She then
+ states her anxiety on this score. She rarely speaks to him on
+ it, as he particularly dislikes it. She adds:] I am happy to
+ tell you, sincerely, I see nothing at all alarming about him. He
+ had a cough when I first came to England, but it has nearly or
+ quite left him. He is thin, but certainly strong, and his
+ spirits are excellent.... Mr. Pitt is determined to remain
+ acting colonel when his regiment is called into the field.
+
+On this topic Pitt met with a rebuff from General (afterwards Sir John)
+Moore, commander of the newly formed camp at Shorncliffe, near
+Folkestone. Pitt rode over from Walmer to ask his advice, and his
+question as to the position he and his Volunteers should take brought
+the following reply: "Do you see that hill? You and yours shall be drawn
+up on it, where you will make a most formidable appearance to the enemy,
+while I with the soldiers will be fighting on the beach." Pitt was
+highly amused at this professional retort; but at the close of 1804 his
+regiment was pronounced by General David Dundas fit to take the field
+with regulars. Life in the open and regular exercise on horseback served
+to strengthen Pitt's frame; for Hester, writing in the middle of January
+1804, when her uncle was away in London for a few days, says: "His most
+intimate friends say they do not remember him so well since the year
+'97.... Oh! such miserable things as these French gunboats. We took a
+vessel the other day, laden with gin--to keep their spirits up, I
+suppose." Bonaparte was believed to be at Boulogne; and there was much
+alarm about a landing; but she was resolved "not to be driven up country
+like a sheep."
+
+This phrase refers to the arrangements for "driving" the country, that
+is, sweeping it bare of everything in front of the invaders. The plans
+for "driving" were thorough, but were finally pronounced unworkable. His
+efforts to meet the Boulogne flotilla were also most vigorous. On 18th
+October 1803 he informs Rose that he had 170 gunboats ready between
+Hastings and Margate to give the enemy a good reception whenever they
+appeared. He adds: "Our Volunteers are, I think, likely to be called
+upon to undertake permanent duty, which, I hope, they will readily
+consent to. I suppose the same measure will be recommended in your part
+of the coast [West Hants]. I wish the arrangements for defence were as
+forward everywhere else as they are in Hythe Bay under General Moore. We
+begin now to have no other fear in that quarter than that the enemy will
+not give us an opportunity of putting our preparations to the proof, and
+will select some other point which we should not be in reach of in the
+first instance." On 10th November he expresses a hope of repelling any
+force that attempted to land in East Kent, but fears that elsewhere the
+French cannot be stopped until they arrive disagreeably near to
+London.[662]
+
+It is clear, then, that Pitt was not dismayed by the startling disparity
+of forces. On the coast of Flanders and Picardy were ranged regular
+troops amounting to 114,554 men seemingly ready for embarkation on an
+immense flotilla of small craft, part of which was heavily armed. It is
+now known that these imposing forces were rarely, if ever, up to their
+nominal strength; that part of the flotilla was unseaworthy; that the
+difficulties of getting under way were never overcome; and that the
+unwieldy mass would probably have been routed, if not destroyed, by the
+cruisers and gunboats stationed on the Kentish coast. Still, even if
+part of it made land, the crisis would be serious in view of the
+paucity and want of organization of the British forces. As bearing on
+this subject, a letter of Lord Melville to a relative deserves
+quotation:
+
+ "Dunira, _16 Dec., 1803_.[663]
+
+ "DEAR ALEXANDER,
+
+ "I received your letter from Walmer and was extreamly happy to
+ learn from it that Mr. Pitt was in such excellent health. Long,
+ I pray, may it continue. He has been very usefully and
+ creditably employed, but not exactly in the way his country
+ could have wished; but that is a subject on which I never now
+ allow myself to think.... If Mr. Pitt, from what he feels within
+ himself or from the enthusiasm he may have inspired in those he
+ commands, conceives that the defence of the country could at any
+ time be safely entrusted with the Volunteers alone, as the
+ newspapers seem to convey as his sentiments, he is by much too
+ sanguine. On the other hand it is talking wildly, or like old
+ women, to contend, as Mr. Windham and Mr. Fox do, that great
+ bodies of Britains [_sic_], with arms in their hands and trained
+ to the use of them, are not a most important bulwark of security
+ to the Empire. My opinion, however, lays perhaps in the middle,
+ and I would have greatly preferred a much smaller number to have
+ secured more effectually their uniform efficiency. I would much
+ rather have had 200,000 on the footing of Lord Hobart's first
+ letter in June than double that number selected and formed in
+ the loose and desultory manner they have more recently been
+ under the variety of contradictory orders they have since
+ received and by which Government have annoyed every corner of
+ the country." Melville adds that they would be useful if
+ thoroughly trained and not allowed to leave their corps; but
+ exemptions from the Militia and Army of Reserve ballots granted
+ to the recent Volunteer Corps are mischievous, and interfere
+ with the recruiting. The Militia is unnecessarily large and
+ interferes with recruiting for the regular army. He would have
+ enough trained troops at home to be able to send abroad "50,000
+ infantry for offensive operations either by ourselves or in
+ co-operation with such European Powers as may recover their
+ senses, as sooner or later they must and will do."
+
+Pitt did not leave his post for long, except when high winds made an
+invasion impossible. At such times he would make a trip to London. A
+short sojourn in town in the early spring elicits from Lady Hester the
+words: "I cannot but be happy anywhere in Mr. Pitt's society"; and she
+hoped that she helped to amuse and entertain him. Certainly Pitt did his
+utmost to enliven her stay at the little residence at Park Place. In
+the Memoirs of the Comtesse de Boigne, who claims to have known her
+well, we catch a glimpse of Pitt acting as _chaperon_ at balls which
+obviously bored him. Yet he would patiently wait there until, perhaps,
+four a.m., when Lady Hester returned to end his _ennui_. Is it
+surprising that after his death she called him that adored angel?
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Early in the year 1804 a ministerial crisis seemed at hand. The personal
+insignificance of Ministers, the hatred felt for St. Vincent at the
+Admiralty, the distrust of Hobart at the War Office, and the deep
+depression caused by the laboured infelicities of Addington's speeches
+presaged a breakdown. So threatening was the outlook that Grenville
+urged Pitt to combine with him for the overthrow of an Administration
+which palsied national energy. For reasons which are far from clear,
+Pitt refused to take decisive action. During his stay in London in
+mid-January he saw Grenville, but declined to pledge himself to a
+definite opposition. Grenville and his coadjutors, among them Lord
+Carysfort, were puzzled by this wavering conduct, which they ascribed to
+_finesse_, pettiness, or even to insincerity.[664] But it is clear that
+Pitt objected only to their proposed methods, which he termed a teasing,
+harassing opposition. In vain did the Bishop of Lincoln, who came to
+town at Pitt's request, seek to reconcile their differences. The most to
+be hoped for was that Pitt would be compelled by force of circumstances
+to concert a plan with the Grenvilles for Addington's overthrow. The
+following letter of Carysfort to the bishop is of interest:
+
+ _Jany. 18, 1804_.[665]
+
+ Lord Grenville and Mr. Pitt being agreed upon so material a
+ point as the necessity of removing Mr. A[ddington] from his
+ present situation, it must be a matter not only of regret but of
+ surprise, that they should not be able to reconcile any
+ difference of opinion between them as to the sort of opposition
+ to be carried on in Parliament; and I cannot help thinking that
+ Mr. Pitt's avowal that he intends opposition would in itself be
+ sufficient to incline (not merely Lord Grenville and his
+ friends, who have made it a principal object to be united with
+ Mr. Pitt and place him again at the head of affairs) but all the
+ parties who may mean to oppose, to leave the mode pretty much
+ at his option!... [Your letter] leads me to think that Mr. Pitt
+ and he may not have understood each other. Lord Grenville's
+ attachment to Mr. Pitt has been so conspicuous, and I am
+ persuaded his communications have been so frank and so explicit,
+ that I cannot account for Mr. Pitt using any reserve with him,
+ and must be of opinion that greater openness, where there is
+ such solid ground of confidence, would lead to more satisfactory
+ results. [Lord Carysfort then says that Pitt should not keep
+ public opinion so long in suspense; for] the public danger from
+ a Ministry confessedly incapable is already great and urgent and
+ will be continually increasing.
+
+Failing to get help from Pitt, Grenville, at the end of January, sought
+the help of Fox! Through his brother, Thomas Grenville, as go-between he
+offered the Whig leader his alliance for the overthrow of Addington and
+the formation of a Ministry of the talented men of all parties. Here,
+then, is the origin of the broad-bottomed or All the Talents
+Administrations which produced so singular a muddle after the death of
+Pitt. The Fox-Grenville bargain cannot be styled immoral like that of
+Fox and North in 1782; for it expressly excluded all compromise on
+matters of conviction. Nevertheless it was a tactical mistake, for which
+Pitt's exasperating aloofness was largely responsible. Few occurrences
+in this time of folly and blundering were more untoward. Pitt's letter
+of 4th February to Grenville shows that he discerned the magnitude of
+the error, little though he saw his own share in it. The result of the
+union of Fox and Grenville was likely to be the fall of Addington, an
+appeal of the King to him (Pitt) to form a Cabinet, which would be
+narrowed and weakened by the present effort of Grenville to form a
+strong and comprehensive Administration.[666]
+
+Presumably the national crisis was not yet acute enough to satisfy Pitt
+that he might conscientiously oppose Addington. But that he was drifting
+to this conviction appears in the following letter from Rose to the
+Bishop of Lincoln.
+
+ _Feb. 11, 1804._[667]
+
+ I showed Mr. Pitt your letter because it expressed so entirely
+ my own view of the interesting subject: he appeared at first
+ against anything like hostility, but I think is now disposed to
+ point out pretty strongly the neglect of proper measures of
+ defence in the naval and military departments and to suggest
+ the necessary ones; so [as] to throw on the Government the just
+ responsibility and odium of rejecting them if they shall
+ determine to do so.
+
+Rose then states that the Bishop of St. Asaph calls the new Volunteer
+Bill "the most wishy-washy thing that ever was produced." He also adds
+that the King is ill, probably of dropsy. The fact was even worse. A
+chill caught in drenching rain developed into the former mental malady.
+Thus the nation was for a time kingless, leaderless, and open to a
+deadly thrust from Boulogne. For a short time his life was in danger,
+and all the troubles of a Regency loomed ahead. The Prince of Wales
+having ventured on the compromising prophecy that the illness "_must_
+last several months," Pitt quoted to his informant, Malmesbury, the
+damning line
+
+ Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.
+
+In truth, there now began a series of intrigues, in which the Prince,
+Fox, and the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire played the leading parts,
+for assuring a Regency and the formation of a Fox Administration. While
+England needed to keep her gaze on Boulogne, the intriguers thought only
+of the death or lunacy of the King, the accession of the Prince and the
+apportionment of the spoils of office. Sheridan on this occasion played
+his own game and for this was heartily cursed by the expectant
+Creevey.[668]
+
+In view of these last complications and the prospect of an invasion,
+Pitt revised his former judgement, and informed Malmesbury that, while
+declining the offers of the Grenvilles to help to overthrow Addington,
+he would not refuse to take office if for any reason Ministers resigned.
+On that day (19th February) Melville wrote to him from Melville Castle
+that the outlook was full of horror, and everything depended on the
+formation of a steady and permanent Government with which foreign
+nations could treat. For this reason he (Melville) urged that the King
+should be relieved of his executive duties, which it was sheer cruelty
+to exact from him.[669] Pitt's answer to this daring proposal is not
+known; but later, on 29th March, in answer to further overtures from
+Melville, he stated that the King's illness was less serious than was
+reported by the Earl of Moira, the _confidante_ of the Prince of Wales;
+and that while it lasted he doubted the propriety of taking any steps
+to overturn the Ministry.[670] To this scrupulousness Melville was a
+stranger, and on 4th April again urged him to form a compact opposition
+for the overthrow of Addington, and promised him the votes of at least
+twenty-six Scottish members (out of forty-five) for any such
+effort.[671]
+
+Meanwhile the King recovered but slowly. The nervous, excited, irritable
+symptoms showed little abatement; and in the third week in March he fell
+into a fit of anger of such violence that he had to be strapped to his
+bed. Even more threatening was the military situation. Yorke, early in
+March, proposed a Volunteer Consolidation Bill, which met with general
+derision. As the state of the Navy was also unsatisfactory, Pitt freely
+criticized Ministers, especially St. Vincent; and, on one occasion, when
+Addington showed boyish petulance, he met with a serene and courteous
+answer. Tierney, Treasurer of the Navy, attacked Pitt coarsely;
+Sheridan, with his usual wit and brilliance; but neither coarseness nor
+eloquence could rehabilitate that Ministry. The urgency of the crisis
+appears in the following letter written by Pitt at Walmer Castle to some
+person unknown:
+
+ _April 11, 1804._
+
+ ... The experience of the last summer and the discussions of
+ this session confirm me in the opinion that while the Government
+ remains in its present shape and under its present leader,
+ nothing efficient can be expected either to originate with them
+ or to be fairly adopted and effectually executed. With this
+ persuasion, and thinking that a system of more energy and
+ decision is indispensable with a view to the immediate crisis
+ and the many difficulties he may have to encounter in the course
+ of the present contest, I mean to take an early opportunity of
+ avowing and acting on these sentiments more explicitly and
+ decidedly than I have hitherto done; and I shall endeavour to
+ give effect to my opinion by the support of all the friends whom
+ I can collect. My object will be to press to the utmost those
+ points which I think essential to the public defence, and at the
+ same time in doing so to make it, if I can, impossible for the
+ present Government to maintain itself. In this object I have
+ every reason to believe that I shall have the fullest
+ concurrence of all those with whom I have the most differed on
+ former occasions and with whom possibly I may as little agree in
+ future. With their number added to my own more immediate
+ friends, and to the few who have acted with Ld Grenville and
+ Windham, I am persuaded that our division on any favourable
+ question will probably be such as would be sufficient to shake a
+ much stronger Government than the present....[672]
+
+On the same day he promised Melville to return to town in the middle of
+April, and to make the "principal push" against Addington on 23rd April,
+on the subject of Yorke's Bill for suspending the completion of the Army
+Reserve. If they failed, he would return to Walmer for another kind of
+contest. The joint assault by Fox and Pitt against the Ministry on 23rd
+April produced a great sensation, the speech of Pitt being remarkable
+for its suppressed sarcasm and thinly veiled charges of inefficiency. As
+a call to arms, it stands without a rival. Ministers were utterly beaten
+in argument, and escaped defeat only by thirty-seven votes. Addington
+became alarmed, and advised the King, who was now convalescent, to
+instruct the Lord Chancellor, Eldon, to confer with Pitt, a fact which
+refutes the charges of Brougham and Dean Pellew against Eldon.
+
+Finally the King allowed Pitt to make proposals concerning a new
+Ministry. Pitt did so fully and courteously in a paper which George III
+forthwith described to Eldon as containing "many empty words and little
+information." To Pitt himself the King, on 5th May, expressed his deep
+regret that he had taken such a dislike to Mr. Addington, after the
+praiseworthy services of the latter to our glorious Constitution in
+Church and State. He could never forget the wound which Pitt proposed to
+deal it, and "the indelicacy (not to call it worse) of wanting His
+Majesty to forego his solemn Coronation Oath." He therefore required
+Pitt to give a solemn pledge not to propose the least alteration in the
+Test Act. As to a proposal to admit Fox to the Cabinet, the King
+expressed "his astonishment that Mr. Pitt should one moment harbour the
+thought of bringing such a man before his Royal notice." References to
+the "wild ideas" of Burke, and to Grenville being guided by obstinacy,
+"his usual director," filled up the interstices of this strange
+composition.[673] Evidently the enfeebled brain of George could form no
+notion of the national danger. While Pitt thought only of the safety of
+England, the King's thoughts continued to gyrate angrily around the Test
+Act, the Coronation Oath, and the iniquities of Fox.
+
+It was therefore with grave apprehension that on 7th May Pitt went to
+Buckingham House for attendance upon the King, the first for nearly
+three and a quarter years. He expected an outburst of rage when he
+mentioned the chief subject at issue, namely the inclusion of Fox and
+the Grenvilles in the future Administration. The King, however, kept
+surprising control over his feelings, behaved graciously to Pitt,
+tactfully waived aside smaller questions that he disliked, even
+consented to admit the Grenvilles, but for ever barred the way to the
+return of Fox. The utmost that he would hear was the employment of Fox
+as an ambassador. Once again, then, the royal convalescent outwitted
+Pitt. "Never," said Pitt to Eldon, "in any conversation I have had with
+him in my life has he so baffled me." Fox being excluded by the King,
+there was scant hope of bringing in his new allies, the Grenvilles and
+Windham. Pitt broached the matter to Lord Grenville on 7th May, and
+received on the morrow a friendly but firm refusal. The following
+sentences are noteworthy: "We rest our determination solely on our
+strong sense of the impropriety of our becoming parties to a system of
+Government which is to be formed at such a moment as the present on a
+principle of exclusion.... We see no hope of any effectual remedy for
+those mischiefs but by uniting in the public service as large a
+proportion as possible of the weight, talents, and character to be found
+in public men of all descriptions and without any exception."
+
+The refusal of Grenville to join Pitt has often been ascribed to
+jealousy of Pitt, and the latter is reported to have said that he would
+teach that proud man that he could do without him. The sentiment is
+alien to the tolerant nature of Pitt,[674] who must have respected his
+cousin's decision, based as it was on a determination to break down the
+bigoted resolve of the King. But Grenville's conduct punished Pitt far
+more severely than the King. For while George in his feeble, irritable
+condition thought only about the Test Act and Fox, Pitt was intent on
+forming a truly national Administration, including Fox, Fitzwilliam, and
+Melville as Secretaries of State, with Spencer at the Admiralty,
+Grenville as Lord President, and Windham as Chancellor of the Duchy of
+Lancaster.[675]
+
+The actual result was far inferior. Fox, Fitzwilliam, Spencer,
+Grenville, and Windham being ruled out by the King's action and
+Grenville's resolve, the Cabinet was formed as follows: Pitt, First Lord
+of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer; Harrowby, Foreign
+Secretary; Hawkesbury, Home Secretary; Camden, Secretary at War and for
+the Colonies; Portland, Lord President; Eldon, Lord Chancellor;
+Westmorland, Privy Seal; Melville, Admiralty; Chatham, Master of
+Ordnance; Mulgrave, Duchy of Lancaster; Castlereagh, President of the
+India Board; the Duke of Montrose, President of the Board of Trade. Of
+these twelve Ministers, six had been with Addington, namely, Hawkesbury
+(though at the Foreign Office, which he unwillingly vacated), Portland,
+Eldon, Westmorland, Chatham, and Castlereagh.[676] Pitt dispensed with
+the services of Addington, St. Vincent, and Pelham. Of non-Cabinet
+appointments, the chief were those of the Earl of Hardwicke as Lord
+Lieutenant of Ireland; Sir Evan Nepean, Irish Secretary; William Dundas,
+War Office; Canning, Treasury of the Navy, in place of Tierney, who
+declined to serve with Pitt; Lord Charles Somerset and George Rose,
+Joint Paymasters of the Forces; and Perceval, Attorney-General. Canning
+and Rose were dissatisfied with their appointments, the latter writing
+to Bishop Tomline in deep chagrin at Pitt's neglect of his faithful
+services.
+
+The new Cabinet, besides being too large, was half Addingtonian and half
+Pittite, a source of weakness which soon led to further changes. It was
+also weighted with inefficient members--Chatham, Hawkesbury, and
+Portland. The King disliked Hawkesbury, and said he had no head for
+business, no method, and no punctuality. Harrowby, though a man of
+brilliant parts in private life, and an excellent speaker, was oppressed
+by a delicate frame, precarious health, and a peevish temper. During no
+small part of his tenure of office he had to take the waters at Bath,
+and was therefore a poor substitute for the experienced and hard-working
+Grenville. Pitt, for some unexplained reason, disliked placing Melville
+at the Admiralty, a strangely prophetic instinct. Camden and Mulgrave
+were also misfits. Hawkesbury did better work at the Home Office than
+the Foreign Office; but on the whole, the new arrangement aroused
+widespread grumbling and distrust. The result of it all was the
+dissolution of the great national party formed in the year 1794 and the
+formation of three groups, following Pitt, Addington, and Grenville,
+the Addingtonians showing much bitterness at the treatment of their
+chief, while the Grenvilles and Windham inveighed against the new
+Ministry, as formed on the principle of excluding Fox.[677] The charge
+was unfair; for at that crisis Pitt could not stand by and see the
+national resources frittered away by Addington. The King's Government
+had to be carried on; and, like Wellington a generation later, Pitt
+consented to do so in the only way which was practicable.
+
+The limitations of his power were soon obvious. The two unfriendly
+groups eagerly criticized him at all times and accorded grudging and
+doubtful support even on measures which they approved. This was
+especially the case with regard to the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
+Thanks to the untiring exertions of Wilberforce, Clarkson, and others,
+that movement had made considerable progress during the interval of
+peace. The outbreak of war in May 1803 darkened the outlook; for once
+again the cry was raised that England must not cut off a trade which was
+essential to the welfare of the West Indies, highly lucrative to British
+shipowners, and a necessary adjunct to the mercantile marine.
+Nevertheless, the accession of Pitt to power and the goodwill of the
+majority of the Irish members inspired Wilberforce with hope. True,
+Addington always strenuously opposed him; and among the younger members
+of the Cabinet Castlereagh had declared his hostility; but at first all
+went well. At the close of May 1804 Pitt and Fox united in expressing
+approval of Wilberforce's proposals. Addington, in remarks which lasted
+exactly forty seconds, scouted the measure, but carried with him only 49
+members as against 124. The majorities were nearly as great at the
+second and third readings.
+
+In the Lords the omens were inauspicious. Some bishops were away in
+their dioceses: the supporters of the West India and shipping interests
+were at hand, using their utmost endeavours to delay, if not to defeat,
+the measure. Pitt despaired of thwarting these dilatory tactics, backed
+by wealth and influence from all quarters. Wilberforce wrote indignantly
+to Lord Muncaster: "It was truly humiliating to see four of the Royal
+Family come down to vote against the poor, helpless, friendless slaves."
+A wild speech by Stanhope told against the cause which he meant to
+further, and the motion was adjourned to avoid defeat.
+
+Pitt's subsequent conduct in 1805 disappointed Wilberforce. Certainly it
+was half-hearted and procrastinating. But, seeing that he had to rely
+more on Addington and finally to bring him into the Cabinet, his
+difficulties were great. The Irish members also showed signs of
+defection; and it was certain that the Bill would fail in the Lords.
+Accordingly, Pitt begged Wilberforce to wait for a more propitious time.
+A sense of religious duty impelled him to persevere, with the inevitable
+result, a crushing defeat (19th February 1805).[678] On a smaller
+question, connected with the prohibition of the supply of slaves to
+Guiana, then recently conquered from the Dutch, he finally brought Pitt
+to acquiesce. But here again the conduct of the Minister was tardy.
+Wilberforce urged Pitt to abolish the Guiana Slave Trade by an Order in
+Council, and early in May wrote: "One very powerful and important reason
+for your abolishing the Guiana Slave Trade by an act of Government, not
+by, or in consequence of a vote of Parliament, is that it would tend to
+confirm the disposition so strongly manifested by the Dutch to abolish
+the Slave Trade, and give them the sort of compensation they demand."
+The British Order in Council did not appear until 13th September
+1805.[679]
+
+Nevertheless, their friendship remained firm to the end. "Had much talk
+with him [Pitt] on political topics, finding him very open and kind."
+Such is Wilberforce's account of his last interviews with Pitt; and he
+certainly could not have remained on friendly terms with one who was
+deliberately untrue to the cause. He knew better than recent critics the
+difficulties resulting from the compromise with Addington and from the
+ceaseless friction with the followers of Fox and Grenville.
+
+The case of the Slave Trade serves to illustrate the peculiar
+difficulties of Pitt's position, which were to appear on even more
+important questions. The King, Addington, Grenville, and Pitt had all
+contributed to the tangle. Limiting our survey to the conduct of
+Addington and Pitt, we must pronounce both of them culpable. Addington
+should have seen that Pitt's promise of support, given at the time of
+the King's lunacy in February-March 1801, was not morally binding three
+years later when the existence of the nation was at stake in the
+Napoleonic War. At such a time an enlightened patriot does not stand
+upon punctilio, but gladly takes a second place if he can thereby place
+in authority an abler man. Addington alone could release Pitt from the
+debt of honour incurred in February 1801, and faithfully discharged for
+three weary years, at the cost of the alienation of friends and the
+derision of opponents. He never spoke or wrote that word of release, but
+held Pitt to the bargain with an insistence which would be contemptible
+were it not in large measure the outcome of a narrow complacent nature
+blind to its own shortcomings.
+
+Pitt, also, behaved weakly. The original promise, to support an untried
+man, was a piece of astounding trustfulness; and when the weakness of
+Addington's Administration involved the nation in war and brought it to
+the brink of disaster, he should openly have claimed release from a
+pledge too hastily given, leaving the world to judge between them. As it
+was, for nearly a year he wavered to and fro between the claims of
+national duty and private honour, thereby exasperating his friends and
+finally driving the Grenvilles, Windham, and Spencer to a union with Fox
+which in its turn blighted the hope of forming a national
+Administration. Finally, he made only one effort to induce the King to
+accept Fox. True, the situation was a delicate one; for pressure brought
+to bear on George on that topic would have brought back the mental
+malady. But the Grenvilles, viewing the situation with pedantic
+narrowness, considered the attempt so half-hearted as to warrant their
+opposition to the new Cabinet. On the whole, then, Pitt's
+punctiliousness must be pronounced a secondary but vital cause of the
+lamentable _dénouement_, which left him exposed at forty five years of
+age, enfeebled by worry and gout, to a contest with Napoleon at the
+climax of his powers.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[649] Addington desired the retirement of St. Vincent. See "Dropmore
+P.," vii, 121; Stanhope, iv, 21.
+
+[650] Pellew, ii, 114-6.
+
+[651] "Lord Colchester's Diaries," i, 415; Pellew, ii, 121-4.
+
+[652] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[653] G. Rose, "Diaries," ii, 156; "Lord Colchester's Diaries," i, 416,
+417; Pellew, ii, 119-28.
+
+[654] Hawkesbury's remissness (so Vorontzoff told Rose) then lost an
+opportunity of gaining the friendly mediation of the Czar (G. Rose,
+"Diaries," ii, 43, 157). Romilly ("Mems.," i, 427) calls the Ministry a
+thing of no account in comparison with Pitt, and says it was universally
+despised.
+
+[655] Romilly Memoirs, i, 427.
+
+[656] Sichel, "Sheridan," i, 440. Spencer Stanhope declared Pitt's
+speech the finest he ever heard. His wife wrote to their son: "He (Pitt)
+spoke for two hours, but unless he can be prevailed upon to give it
+himself, as the shorthand-writers were excluded, the speech will be lost
+for ever. Your father thinks it will be made out by some of his friends
+and submitted to his inspection; therefore, tho' we may lose much, we
+shall not lose the whole" (A. M. W. Stirling, "Annals of a Yorkshire
+House," ii, 282).
+
+[657] "Dumouriez and the Defence of England against Napoleon," by J. H.
+Rose and A. M. Broadley.
+
+[658] Lyon, "Hist. of Dover," p. xxxiii.
+
+[659] Hansard, i, 1899-1902.
+
+[660] "Mems. of Lady Hester Stanhope," i, 174.
+
+[661] Lady Hester's second brother.
+
+[662] G. Rose, "Diaries," ii, 70-2; Desbrière, "Projets de
+Débarquement," iii, 98-105; Wheeler and Broadley, "Napoleon and the
+Invasion of England," ii, ch. 14; Cornwallis ("Corresp.," iii, 500)
+thought ill of our chances if the French landed, but he doubted if they
+could. (_Ibid._, iii, 503.)
+
+[663] Pitt MSS., 157.
+
+[664] "Dropmore P.," vii, 193, 196.
+
+[665] Pretyman MSS. It is in answer to the one referred to in "Dropmore
+P.," vii, 209.
+
+[666] "Dropmore P.," vii, 211-14.
+
+[667] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[668] "Creevey Papers," i, 25-7.
+
+[669] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[670] Stanhope, iv, 139-44.
+
+[671] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[672] From Mr. A. M. Broadley's MSS.
+
+[673] Stanhope, iv, App. viii-ix.
+
+[674] G. Rose, "Diaries," i, 4.
+
+[675] Stanhope, iv, 177.
+
+[676] Pitt thoroughly approved of Castlereagh taking the India Board
+under Addington in July 1802; in October he entered the Cabinet
+("Private Papers of Wilberforce," 131).
+
+[677] Wraxall (iii, 281) with his usual bias says that Pitt "affected"
+to desire the inclusion of Fox.
+
+[678] "Life of Wilberforce," iii, 168, 182, 184, 211, 212.
+
+[679] _Ibid._, iii, 230-4; Pitt MSS., 189.
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXIII
+
+ PITT AND NAPOLEON
+
+ I made a mistake about England, in trying to conquer it. The
+ English are a brave nation. I have always said that there are
+ only two nations, the English and the French; and I made the
+ French.--NAPOLEON TO MACNAMARA (1814), _Lord Broughton's
+ Recollections_, i, 180.
+
+
+The two protagonists now stood face to face--Napoleon, Emperor of the
+French, President of the Italian Republic, Mediator of the Swiss
+Republic, controller of Holland, absolute ruler of a great military
+Empire; Pitt, the Prime Minister of an obstinate and at times half-crazy
+King, dependent on a weak Cabinet, a disordered Exchequer, a Navy
+weakened by ill-timed economies, and land forces whose martial ardour
+ill made up for lack of organization, equipment, and training. Before
+the outbreak of war in May 1803, Napoleon had summed up the situation in
+the words--"Forty-five millions of people must prevail over sixteen
+millions." And now after a year of hostilities his position was far
+stronger. In Hanover the French troops were profitably installed on the
+Elector's domains. Soult's corps occupied the Neapolitan realm, thus
+threatening Malta, the Ionian Isles, the Morea, and Egypt. The recent
+restitution of several colonial conquests by England not only damaged
+her trade, but enabled her enemy to stir up trouble in India. There,
+thanks to Wellesley's dramatic victory at Assaye, the Union Jack waved
+in triumph; but at other points Napoleon might hope to gain the long
+contested race for Empire.
+
+So convinced was Pitt of the need of fighting out the quarrel thrust
+upon us by Napoleon's aggressions, that he waved aside an offer of
+Livingston, American envoy at Paris, to effect a reconciliation. During
+a brief visit to London, Livingston sent proposals to this effect
+through Whitworth, who declined to meet a man hitherto remarkable for a
+strong anti-British bias; and Pitt approved this repulse.[680]
+Nevertheless, on 5th June Livingston, accompanied by Fox and Grey,
+called on Pitt at Downing Street; but his proposals proved to be merely
+the outcome of informal conversations with Joseph Bonaparte, who was
+known to be far more peacefully inclined than his brother. Joseph's
+notions were that Malta should perhaps be garrisoned by Russians, and
+must in any case be relinquished by England; that France should withdraw
+her troops from the Dutch and Swiss Republics, the status of which was
+not defined.[681] Pitt set little store by these shadowy proposals,
+doubtless seeing in them a way of discovering whether England was
+concerting a league against France.
+
+Already, in spite of many obstacles, he was taking the first steps in
+that direction. An initial difficulty lay in the mental aberrations of
+the King, whose conduct still caused intense anxiety or annoyance.[682]
+Scarcely a day passed without a lapse into incoherence or violence.
+Moreover, his conversation often showed a lack of discrimination, being
+the same to the Queen, the physicians, or the servants. He made the most
+capricious changes, turning off the Queen's favourite coachman, and
+making grooms footmen, and footmen grooms, to the distraction of the
+household. On assuming office, Pitt consulted the royal physicians and
+received a reply, dated Queen's Palace, 16th May 1804, stating that the
+King was equal to the discharge of important business, but must avoid
+long conferences or any deviation from his usual habits, quiet being
+essential. Thereupon Pitt and Lord Eldon wrote to the King urging this
+prudent course. They frequently visited Buckingham House, where five
+physicians were in almost constant attendance, a state of things viewed
+with alarm by patriots and with eager hope by the Foxites and their
+hangers on.[683]
+
+Unfortunately George could not compose himself to rest. Such is the
+tenor of hasty notes sent to Pitt by Villiers, now high in favour at Kew
+and Windsor. They describe the King's fussy intervention in household
+affairs, his orders for sudden and expensive changes in the palaces, his
+substitution of German for English servants, his frequent visits to the
+stables unaccompanied by the equerry, his irritability on the most
+trifling occasions, and, alternating with this undignified bustle, fits
+of somnolence which at times overtook him even on horseback. Then, too,
+there were quarrels with the Queen, whose conduct, said Villiers, was
+such as to aggravate these troubles and check the course of recovery.
+Indeed, the King's violent headaches seemed to Dr. Milman to presage an
+attack of apoplexy. At all times he showed a marked preference for the
+company of servants and workmen, declaring the higher officials to be
+"Court nuisances." Villiers therefore begged Pitt to request an
+interview with the King, now at Kew, for he took no notice of letters.
+On Midsummer day Villiers suggested means for assuring the veto of the
+physicians on the projected visit to Weymouth, in view of the
+extravagance and inconvenience of the plans to which it gave rise.
+
+Among them was the collection of a large military force in Dorset,
+George being convinced that the French would land there rather than in
+Kent or Essex. Fortunately, the Duke of York dissuaded him from a step
+so eminently favourable to Napoleon; for about this time the King wrote
+to the Duke: "As I am no friend to obstinacy, I will agree to lessen the
+demand from other districts" (_i.e._, for an "Army of Reserve" in
+Dorset). The visit to Weymouth was also postponed; and Camden, Secretary
+at War, countermanded the construction of huge barracks at that town,
+which the King had ordered without consulting the Cabinet or the Duke of
+York. On 1st August Villiers reported the refusal of the King to see the
+Prince of Wales, with whom no complete reconciliation was possible.
+George wished Villiers to come and reside near Windsor and manage all
+his private affairs, and would take no refusal. But how, asked Villiers,
+was he to do this on £330 a year? He therefore requested the advice and
+help of Pitt.[684]
+
+At Weymouth, late in the summer, the quarrels between the King and Queen
+again became acute, as appears from confidential letters which Lord
+Hawkesbury wrote to Pitt. The latter sided with the Queen and Princes on
+some points; and indeed through these months the conduct of George seems
+to have been so exasperating that the Princesses almost sank under the
+ceaseless strain, for Queen Charlotte, too, was "ill and cross." In vain
+did Pitt seek to effect a reconciliation between the King and the
+Prince of Wales. The only result of his efforts was a formal and
+fruitless interview. Last but not least of Pitt's Court worries was the
+conduct of the Princess of Wales. Her wayward and extravagant habits
+increased the aversion of the Prince, and produced scandals so serious
+that Pitt urgently but ineffectually remonstrated with her at her
+residence in Blackheath. Such were the diversions of a Minister on whom
+almost singly rested the burden of defending his country at this crisis.
+
+The eccentricities of the King seriously hampered British diplomacy. For
+how could Russia and Austria bind themselves to an Administration which
+might at any time be succeeded by one which was under the domination of
+the Prince of Wales, Fox, and Sheridan? True, offers of a defensive
+alliance were mooted at St. Petersburg to our ambassador, Admiral
+Warren. But it was obvious even to that misplaced sailor, whom Pitt soon
+recalled, that Russia merely aimed at securing English subsidies and
+help for her garrison at Corfu, now threatened by Soult. The timid
+conduct of Francis II, who, as if in imitation of Napoleon, assumed the
+title of Hereditary Emperor of the Austrian Empire, further prescribed
+caution; and only by slow degrees did the Czar Alexander feel his way
+towards an understanding with England. His jealousy respecting Malta,
+and the uncertainties at London and Windsor, held these natural allies
+apart for many months. Pitt did not hurry matters, doubtless from a
+conviction that the conduct of Napoleon must before long bring both
+Russia and Austria into the field. Meanwhile, he withheld subsidies
+which would have helped them to arm for an almost inevitable
+struggle.[685] We need not therefore trace the course of these coy
+advances until they led to definite overtures. Here as always Pitt
+showed a dignified reserve and a cautious regard for British finances,
+which refute the stories officially circulated at Paris as to his
+lavishly bribing the Continental States to attack France. As usually
+happens, the prosaic truth long remained hidden in British despatches,
+while the piquant slander gained all but universal acceptance.
+
+Pitt's first thought was to enhance the value of England's friendship by
+strengthening her navy and enabling her to take the offensive if an
+occasion offered. The French royalist refugee, General Dumouriez, in a
+long Memoir which he drew up for the Cabinet, pointed out that nothing
+was more perilous than a perpetual defensive, as it allowed the enemy
+quietly to perfect his plans for attack at any point over the whole
+field.[686] Pitt was well aware of this danger. In fact, his policy of
+military pinpricks, while apparently wasteful and inconclusive, had
+prevented that concentration of the enemy's force which alone could
+ensure the capture of London. Once more, then, he aimed at strengthening
+the regular army, reducing the Militia to its usual quota, and raising a
+large force of Volunteers. On 5th June 1804 he brought forward his
+proposal for repairing the defects of Yorke's Army of Reserve Act. They
+arose from the following provisions. A man, when drawn to serve in that
+force, must either come forward, find a substitute, or pay a fine of £20
+for each year of default. A penalty also fell on every parish failing to
+supply its quota. The consequence was that parishes and individuals
+offered high bounties in order to escape the fine--sometimes as much as
+£40 or £60 per man.[687] These bounties naturally drew the best recruits
+to the Army of Reserve, to the detriment both of the army and navy.
+Another source of loss to the line regiments was the addition to the
+strength of the Militia, the net result being that 9,000 more recruits
+were required annually for the regular forces. These therefore suffered
+from the competition of the second and third lines of defence; and in
+this competition (then unusually severe) has always lain the crux of the
+British military problem.
+
+Pitt sought to solve the problem by reducing the Militia (now 74,000
+strong) to the old standard of 52,000 men, transferring the surplus to
+the Army of Reserve. He also suggested various inducements to men in the
+latter force to enter the line regiments. Further, he proposed to lessen
+the penalties levied on defaulters. While maintaining the principle of
+compulsory service, at least for a considerable part of the population,
+he lessened the inducements which told in favour of the Army of Reserve
+and against the Line. Further, in place of the irritating plan of
+recruiting by the compulsion of the ballot, Pitt made the parish
+authorities responsible for the supply of their quota. If, even so, the
+parishes could not find the men, the commander of the district was
+empowered to raise them by the ordinary means of recruiting. He further
+proposed to associate in each district the battalions of the Army of
+Reserve with those of the Line, in the well-grounded hope of increasing
+_esprit de corps_ and stimulating the flow of men into the first line of
+defence.
+
+The chief critic of these proposals was Sheridan who, on 18th June
+brilliantly declaimed against the formation of a great Regular Army, as
+alien to the spirit of our people, and by all the arts of rhetorical
+necromancy sought to raise the spectre of a Standing Army. When others
+bemoaned the threatened increase of taxation and Windham and Craufurd
+("Craufurd of the Light Division") criticized the measure severely, the
+Opposition cherished the hope of defeating the Ministry. The debate
+dragged on till 4 a.m. when 265 members supported Pitt against 223 Noes.
+The Bill became law on 29th June. Undoubtedly it failed to answer his
+hopes. Recruits did not come in, probably because most parishes were
+thenceforth content to pay the smaller fines now imposed. Grenville even
+ventured to assert that the Regular Army was smaller at the beginning of
+1805 than a year earlier. Certainly the numbers were deficient; and Pitt
+accordingly on 31st March 1805 brought in a Bill to attract men from the
+Supplementary Militia into the Regular Army by a bounty of ten guineas
+per man. This brought forward 11,000 men, but at the expense of the
+Militia.[688] Thus Pitt did not solve the military problem. Who indeed
+has solved it?
+
+Most fortunately for England, the Emperor had made serious
+miscalculations respecting the flotilla now preparing at the ports
+between Ostend and Etaples. First he armed his gun-boats heavily so that
+they might fight their way across against a fleet. On finding this to be
+impossible, he had to face the delay and expense of reconstruction. Next
+the harbours at and near Boulogne proved to be too shallow and too small
+for the enlarged flotilla. The strengthening of the French fleet was
+also a work of time. England therefore gained a year's respite. Indeed
+not a few experienced naval officers scouted an invasion by the flotilla
+as impossible. General Moore also believed that Napoleon would never be
+so mad as to make the attempt, which must end in our glory and his
+disgrace. Only by continuing to threaten us could he do harm.[689]
+Another sceptic was Lord Melville, First Lord of the Admiralty, who, in
+a letter of 14th October, urged Pitt during his stay at Weymouth to
+represent to the King the importance of attacking the flotilla at
+Boulogne, if only in order to show the impracticability of Napoleon's
+scheme. Experienced officers, said Melville, reported that the flotilla
+must embark the troops in the outer road; yet the work of getting that
+vast concourse of boats out of the inner harbour could not be
+accomplished in less than four, five, or perhaps even six tides. We must
+therefore attack them during this tedious operation. "Our officers and
+seamen," he continues, "have a perfect confidence that they can attack
+them under their own batteries, and put them into immediate
+confusion.... Their confidence is founded on the experiment they have
+already made of entering in the night the Bay of Boulogne and sustaining
+for many hours the whole fire of the enemy's batteries without a single
+man being hurt." Moreover, the British fire-ships, being like ordinary
+ships, will take the enemy by surprise and cause irremediable
+confusion.[690] Apparently the King and Pitt thought an attack not only
+too risky, in view of the failures at Boulogne in 1801 and on 3rd
+October 1804, but also needless, if the flotilla were no more formidable
+than Melville pronounced. While inspecting the "Royal Sovereign" at
+Portsmouth on 6th October the King wrote to Pitt enjoining great
+caution, as a failure would be very discreditable.[691]
+
+I do not propose to discuss here the much debated question whether
+Napoleon intended to invade England, or to wear us out by threats of
+invasion.[692] Suffice it to say that no responsible Minister could
+ignore those formidable preparations. Pitt therefore strove might and
+main to raise martial enthusiasm by attending drills and reviews of
+Volunteers. A cynical phrase in Grenville's letter of 25th August 1804
+dwells on the ridiculous figure which he cut, riding from Downing Street
+to Wimbledon Common and thence to Cox Heath in Kent "to inspect military
+carriages, impregnable batteries, and Lord Chatham's reviews. Can he
+possibly be serious in expecting Bonaparte now?" The sneer is a sign of
+the strained relations between the cousins. Assuredly, if Bonaparte had
+come, Grenville and his Foxite allies would have impeached a Minister
+who left his country defenceless. Pitt showed a good example to country
+gentlemen by drilling his corps of Volunteers at Walmer, so that it
+became a model of efficiency. There was the greatest need at that point,
+for the coast between Ramsgate and Dungeness presented exceptional
+facilities for a landing except under the guns of Sandown, Deal, Walmer,
+and Dover. Pitt's attention was specially directed to the open shelving
+beach between Folkestone and Dungeness.
+
+In truth, the district of Romney Marsh, which is not normally marshy,
+offered the maximum of attractions to an invader, who, after beaching
+his boats and entrenching himself behind a fosse, would find few, if
+any, physical obstacles to his advance into the level tract between
+Ashford and Tonbridge. As this route was undefended, Pitt and Camden, by
+the month of October 1804, decided on the construction of the Hythe
+Military Canal. On 24th October Pitt attended a meeting of the
+"surveyors, lords, bailiffs and jurats" of Romney Marsh held at
+Dymchurch, Generals Sir David Dundas and Moore, and Colonel Brown being
+also present. It was agreed that the proposed canal from Sandgate to Rye
+would be beneficial to Romney Marsh, and landlords were urged forthwith
+to put their property at the disposal of Government, trusting to receive
+compensation assessed by a duly qualified local jury. On Pitt's
+recommendation the matter was passed at once, and he returned to Walmer
+Castle.[693] By the end of 1804 the work was well in hand, the expense
+of cutting the fosse of ten feet deep being estimated at £150,000.
+Batteries and martello towers were designed for its protection
+especially around Hythe and Dymchurch. At the latter place were sluices
+for flooding the marsh. Criticisms have fallen freely upon Pitt's canal,
+the report gaining currency that it was intended for the conveyance of
+military stores. Its true purpose was to isolate the most vulnerable
+part of the coast and to form a barrier which would at least delay an
+invader until reinforcements arrived. In its original condition it was
+an excellent first line of defence of South Kent; and, unless the French
+flotilla brought over pontoons, it formed a barrier not easily
+penetrable, which fully justified its comparatively small cost.
+
+The same remarks apply to the martello towers. The responsibility for
+them rests mainly with Colonel Twiss and Captain Ford, who in the summer
+of 1803 recommended their construction at exposed points of the shore,
+at a cost of about £3,000 apiece. The experience of our troops in
+Corsica showed that such towers, even when held by small garrisons,
+could hold at bay a greatly superior force.[694] The towers were begun
+soon afterwards; but those in Pevensey Bay were not undertaken till
+1805-6. The first points to be defended were those nearest to France.
+
+In the winter of 1804-5 there was need to strengthen the coast defences;
+for the declaration of war by Spain placed the whole of the coast line
+from the Texel to Toulon at Napoleon's disposal for shipbuilding. There
+seemed therefore every prospect of our being finally overwhelmed at sea,
+a consummation which the French Emperor might have ensured had he
+refrained from irritating the monarchs of Russia and Austria.
+Fortunately for England, his nature was too restless and domineering to
+admit of the necessary concentration of effort on the naval problem; and
+that besetting sin, megalomania, marred prospects which then seemed
+easily realizable. Playing with coolness and patience, he had the game
+in his hands in 1804, when as yet there was little prospect of an
+Anglo-Russian alliance.
+
+An offensive alliance of Spain with France was the natural result of the
+treaty of 1796 between the two Powers. In vain did the luxurious
+Charles IV and his pampered minion, Godoy, Prince of the Peace, seek to
+evade their obligations. Under threat of a French invasion they gave way
+and agreed to pay 72,000,000 francs a year into the French exchequer,
+and to force the hand of Portugal. That little Power purchased immunity
+for a time by paying an annual subsidy of 12,000,000 francs to France.
+Spain also repaired French warships which took refuge at Ferrol in July
+1804, and allowed reinforcements to their crews to travel thither
+overland. When Pitt and Harrowby remonstrated on this conduct, Spain
+armed as if for war; and in answer to inquiries from London, Godoy
+alleged certain disputes with the United States as the cause of his
+alarm. The arrival in London of Frere, our ambassador at Madrid, on 17th
+September 1804 revealed the unreality of this excuse; for he reported
+that Spain had previously decided to yield on that question. As the
+Spanish fleet was evidently preparing to cooperate with that of
+Napoleon, Pitt resolved to deal the blow which Chatham was not allowed
+to deliver in 1761. The weak point of Spain was her treasure fleet;
+there was an inner fitness in wrenching from her the gold which was soon
+to go into Napoleon's coffers.
+
+On Tuesday, 18th September, the Cabinet assembled, Eldon, Camden,
+Hawkesbury, Melville, Mulgrave, and Pitt being present. In view of the
+news brought by Frere, and other tidings from Rear-Admiral Cochrane off
+Ferrol, Ministers decided to order Cochrane closely to blockade that
+port, preventing both French and Spanish ships from sailing out. Admiral
+Cornwallis, then blockading Brest, was to reinforce Cochrane, thereby
+assuring the capture of the Spanish treasure ships bound from South
+America to Cadiz.[695] Pitt at once reported this decision to Harrowby,
+then in attendance on the King at Weymouth, and urged a speedy
+ratification of it.[696] Hence without delay the order went forth which
+enlarged the area of strife. The four frigates despatched for the
+seizure of the treasure-ships were not so superior in force to the
+convoying corvettes as to avert a conflict. One of the Spanish ships
+blew up: the others surrendered (5th October 1804). Resenting this
+outrage, Spain declared war on 12th December.[697] Pitt did not consider
+the capture of the treasure-ships as necessarily involving war, but
+rather as a sharp warning, called for by the hostile conduct of Spain;
+for on 23rd September he wrote to Harrowby stating that they must wait
+for the Spanish answer to our ultimatum, and in the meantime Spanish
+merchantmen might leave British ports unmolested.[698]
+
+The seizure of the Spanish treasure-ships caused resentment at St.
+Petersburg until the causes of Britain's action were more fully known.
+But the event did not long delay a good understanding. The prospect of
+Sicily falling a prey to the French army of occupation in South Italy
+alarmed both the Czar Alexander and Pitt. The former was bound by a
+Convention signed in 1798 to befriend the Neapolitan Court; and it was
+also to his interest to prevent France dominating the Mediterranean and
+expelling the Russians from Corfu. He therefore demanded from Napoleon
+the evacuation of Italy and North Germany, a suitable compensation for
+the King of Sardinia for the loss of his mainland possessions, and the
+recognition of the complete neutrality of the Germanic Empire. Far from
+complying with these demands, Napoleon kept his troops in South Italy
+and Hanover, and early in November seized Sir Horace Rumbold, British
+ambassador at Hamburg. At once Pitt and Harrowby made effective use of
+this incident to prove the impossibility of peace with Napoleon. The
+Russian and Prussian Courts sent sharp remonstrances to Paris; and, to
+humour Frederick William, Napoleon ordered the release of the envoy,
+though in the most grudging way possible. This violation of
+international law served to counterbalance our irregular action against
+Spain.
+
+In short, Napoleon's evident resolve everywhere to carry matters with a
+high hand convinced the Czar that war was inevitable; and he prepared to
+espouse the cause of Britain, not so much from sympathy with her as from
+detestation of her restless adversary.[699] On 20th November Pitt wrote
+from Downing Street to Harrowby, who was then taking the waters at Bath,
+expressing joy that the views of Russia coincided entirely with ours,
+especially as to the reduction of the French Power within its ancient
+limits. He added these noteworthy words: "The restoration of the
+[French] monarchy may become in the course of events an object to be
+distinctly aimed at, but it certainly cannot be made a substantive
+object in the first instance; and it is very satisfactory to see that in
+this important point there is no apparent difference in our
+sentiments."[700] The hope of ending Prussia's subservience to Napoleon,
+and of inspiring Francis of Austria with a manly resolve, proved futile.
+Frederick William and Haugwitz hoped to creep into Hanover, under the
+French Emperor's cloak, and Austria had not yet suffered enough
+humiliation to lead her to fling down the gauntlet. True, she signed a
+compact with Russia on 6th November 1804; but it was timidly defensive
+in tone. Alexander therefore held back in the hope that events would
+compel her to take sides against Napoleon.
+
+Far less calculating was Gustavus IV of Sweden. With the chivalrous zeal
+of his race he stood forth the first among the European monarchs as the
+declared ally of England. After the execution of the Duc d'Enghien by
+the French Emperor, he informed "Monsieur" Napoleon Bonaparte of the
+rupture of all relations between them; and now, on 3rd December 1804, an
+Anglo-Swedish Convention was signed, placing at our disposal the Isle of
+Rügen and the fortress of Stralsund in Swedish Pomerania, in return for
+a subsidy of £80,000. This sum served but to whet his appetite for
+subsidies, his demands almost equalling in extravagance his Quixotic
+summons to a royalist crusade.
+
+Pitt therefore based his hopes on the statesmanlike policy of the Czar,
+who in that month despatched to London one of his confidants, a clever
+but viewy young man, of frank and engaging manners, Count Novossiltzoff.
+Ostensibly the mission was for scientific purposes; but French agents
+discovered that he took with him a plan of a Coalition against
+Napoleon.[701] This seems to have led the Emperor to take a step similar
+to that of Christmastide 1799. On 2nd January 1805 he wrote a letter
+direct to George III, proposing terms of peace. The King at once
+expressed to Pitt his astonishment that "the French usurper" had
+addressed him in this objectionable manner, and highly approved the
+draft of an answer which Pitt had thoughtfully forwarded to Windsor. In
+it Pitt declared that His Majesty could not enter upon the proposed
+overtures for peace until he had communicated them to the Powers with
+which he had confidential ties, especially to the Emperor of Russia. At
+the King's command, he sent a copy of this answer to St. Petersburg. At
+London, then, as also at Paris, Napoleon's offer was deemed a diplomatic
+device for getting news, though it also enabled him to represent himself
+as the friend of peace and Pitt as its worst enemy.
+
+While the French Emperor played his game with the advantages conferred
+by a daring initiative, superior force, and unquestioned authority at
+home, Pitt had to employ all possible means to conciliate allies abroad
+and half-hearted friends at Westminster. His position was far from
+secure. True, the King had now recovered almost his usual health; but in
+Parliament the Ministry with difficulty repelled the bitter attacks of
+Fox, Sheridan, Grenville, and Windham. The speech of Grenville on the
+seizure of the Spanish treasure ships was of singular bitterness. Though
+aware of the provocations of the Spanish Court, he chose to represent
+that affair as a cowardly, and almost piratical attack on an unprepared
+Power. Pitt had expected some such misrepresentations. He knew that the
+Opposition would strain every nerve to overthrow him; and in the
+Christmas Vacation he made timely overtures through Hawkesbury for the
+support of Addington. The two old friends met on 23rd December 1804, at
+Hawkesbury's residence, Coombe Wood, near Richmond Park. The host
+contrived to be absent when Pitt entered the room, and he advanced with
+the cordial greeting: "I rejoice to take you by the hand again."
+
+Converse of three hours ensued between them alone. Addington demurred to
+Pitt's request that he should retire to the Upper House. Finally,
+however, he agreed to do so, accepting the title of Viscount Sidmouth,
+taking also the Presidency of the Council, which the Duke of Portland,
+for reasons of health, wished to relinquish, though he finally agreed to
+remain in the Cabinet without office. Lord Hobart, now Earl of
+Buckinghamshire, also entered the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of
+Lancaster in place of Lord Mulgrave, who now succeeded Lord Harrowby at
+the Foreign Office. Pitt further promised to promote some of Addington's
+supporters, including his brother-in-law, Bragge Bathurst.
+
+These changes were resented by several of Pitt's supporters, especially
+by Rose. We have already noticed his contempt for Addington's financial
+shifts; and he now, on 8th January 1805, wrote to Bishop Tomline
+deploring Pitt's junction with "a man whose imbecility and falsehood,
+under Mr. Pitt's own sanction," had weakened the country. Pitt would now
+gain a few votes, no additional talents, and an increase of rancour in
+the Opposition. "We shall," adds Rose, "drag on a wretched existence and
+expire not creditably. What next will happen God only knows."[702]
+Canning was equally annoyed at the new Coalition.[703] His sharp tongue
+and still sharper pen had deeply annoyed Addington. Who, indeed, would
+not have resented this reference in the "Apothecary's Hall (First of
+April)":
+
+ When his speeches hobble vilely
+ How "Hear him" bursts from brother Hiley!
+ When his faltering periods lag
+ Hark to the cheers of brother Bragge!
+
+Sarcasms on Hawkesbury had also annoyed that susceptible Minister; so
+that in June 1804 Canning offered to resign his Treasurership of the
+Navy. The matter was patched up, only to be opened once more in the
+winter. Pitt sought to mediate between the bard and his victim, but
+failed to elicit from Canning an apology as complete as Hawkesbury
+demanded. Finally, on 18th January, Canning informed Pitt that, as
+Hawkesbury had left his letter unanswered for three days, he declined to
+take the further steps which Pitt recommended.[704] Is it surprising
+that the health of the Prime Minister began to suffer? Friends noted
+with concern his thinness and a hacking cough. Nevertheless, he rode out
+successfully the squalls of the session of 1805, beating off the onset
+of Sheridan against his Defence Bill, and defeating an inopportune
+motion of Fox for Catholic Emancipation.
+
+On this subject Pitt secretly sympathized with Fox, but his hands were
+tied both by his promise of March 1801 to the King not to bring up the
+subject during his reign, and recently by his union with Addington. The
+Irish Catholics knew of these difficulties; and at meetings held by
+their leading men at the house of James Ryan, a wealthy Dublin merchant,
+in the autumn of 1804, both Lord Fingall and Counsellor Scully
+deprecated a petition to Parliament as alike useless and embarrassing.
+Scully urged that they must conciliate one whose "opinions had literally
+proved of great weight in the Catholic cause.... The Catholics owe him
+[Pitt] respect for his enlarged and manly conceptions of the necessity
+of relieving them, and the dignified energy with which he publicly
+expressed those conceptions." A Committee was chosen to consider the
+matter and communicate with Pitt. It included Fingall, Sir Thomas
+French, Scully, and others. At the third meeting at Ryan's house, on
+17th November, Keogh sharply blamed Fingall for opposing the petition,
+and commented adversely on the silence of Pitt. Scully inferred from it
+"that he is favourably disposed, but in some way, to them unknown, not
+in a situation in which he can freely act," or even explain his
+reticence; but no Catholic wished to embarrass him.[705] Nevertheless,
+the petition was resolved on; and it is clear that Fox encouraged the
+petitioners rather from the hope of embarrassing Pitt than of carrying
+Catholic Emancipation.[706]
+
+In March 1805 Scully came to London, and saw Fox, Nepean, and Grey. Pitt
+received him and others of the Irish deputation at Downing Street on the
+12th. Scully noted in his diary: "He [Pitt] wore dirty boots and
+odd-fashioned, lank leather breeches, but otherwise well dressed and
+cleanly, his hair powdered, etc. He was very courteous and cordial in
+words and looks, but his carriage was stiff and strait, perhaps
+naturally so. His face cold and harsh, rather selfish, but acute and
+sensible. We took our seats after much reciprocal ceremony." Pitt
+declined Fingall's request that he should present the Catholic petition,
+though he admitted that the measure would be most salutary whenever the
+proper time would arrive; but he added with a smile that he could not
+tell when that would be. The deputation failed to move him from this
+position, and thereafter committed its cause to the Opposition.[707]
+Despite excellent speeches by Fox and Grey, and by Grenville and Holland
+in the Lords, the motions for Catholic Emancipation were rejected by
+large majorities. The speech of Pitt on 14th May, to which reference has
+already been made, naturally lacked energy and fire; he opposed Fox's
+motion solely on the ground of present expediency.[708]
+
+The worst trial of the session was the impeachment of his old friend,
+Lord Melville. As Treasurer of the Navy in Pitt's former Administration,
+he had been guilty of a serious irregularity in not preventing Deputy
+Treasurer Trotter from using the sum of £10,000 for private speculation.
+Suspicions having been aroused on this and other grounds, a Commission
+was appointed to sift the matter to the bottom. The tenth Report dealing
+with these charges came out on 17th or 18th March; and Wilberforce, who
+then chanced to be with Pitt, noted how eagerly, without waiting to cut
+open the pages, he sought to tear out the secret. It proved to be highly
+unfavourable to Melville. In vain did Wilberforce and Bankes seek to
+persuade Pitt to adopt a judicial attitude on this question. Though his
+friendship with Melville had cooled, yet it was still strong, and he
+finally agreed with Lord Sidmouth to press for a committee of inquiry.
+Only so could he count on the support of the Addingtonians. On 8th
+April, then, he resolutely defended Melville against the aspersions of
+Whitbread, maintaining that the evidence before the Commission was far
+from conclusive, and moving that a select Committee of the House should
+make further investigations.
+
+The debate was long and stormy. Petty, Tierney, George Ponsonby, and Fox
+censured Melville severely. Canning with his wonted brilliance,
+Castlereagh with the usual laboured infelicity, sought to strengthen the
+defence; but it had almost collapsed when, about 4 a.m. of 9th April,
+Wilberforce arose. At once Pitt bent forward and sent an eager glance
+down the Treasury bench at his old friend; for the verdict of a
+conscientious and independent member at such a time is decisive.
+Speaking with the calm of deep conviction, the member for Yorkshire
+declared against Melville, whereupon Pitt sank back with signs of deep
+pain. The division showed 216 for and 216 against the motion of censure.
+The Speaker, Abbott, turned deathly white, and after a long and trying
+pause gave the casting vote against the Government. Then the pent up
+feelings burst forth. The groups of the Opposition united in yells of
+triumph; one member gave the "view holloa," and others shouted to Pitt
+to resign. He meanwhile pressed forward his hat to hide the tears which
+stole down his cheeks. Fitzharris, son of Lord Malmesbury, and a few
+devoted friends formed a phalanx to screen him from the insolent stare
+of Colonel Wardle and others who were crowding round the exit to see
+"how Billy Pitt looked after it"; and he was helped out of the House in
+a half unconscious state. The blow told severely on a frame already
+enfeebled by overwork and worry.[709]
+
+Whitbread's further motion for impeachment was rejected (11th June), but
+a similar motion succeeded a fortnight later. Public opinion, however,
+soon began to veer round and pronounce the conduct of the Opposition
+rancorous. Melville's relative, Sir Charles Middleton, in a letter to
+Wilberforce, denounced it as sheer persecution, seeing that the nation
+had suffered no loss, and Melville had served it many years with
+indefatigable zeal. As for Melville, he retired to his Highland seat,
+"Dunira," and in the last letter which he wrote to Pitt, dated 11th
+November 1805, expressed gratitude for Pitt's recent message that his
+energy at the Admiralty had largely contributed to the triumph at
+Trafalgar. Melville's feelings further appeared in the postscript, that
+Nelson's death was "enviable beyond expression," as placing "his fair
+fame beyond the reach of caprice, envy, or malevolence."[710] Pitt did
+not live on to see the vindication of his old friend. On 12th June 1806,
+after a trial of twelve days in Westminster Hall, the Peers acquitted
+Melville on all the ten counts, the prosecution failing to prove that he
+had benefited by Trotter's irregular use of the sum of £10,000. It is
+worth noting that Whitbread in his final attack declared his belief that
+Pitt in similar circumstances would have died rather than connive at
+such an irregularity.[711] This statement may be set against the Bacchic
+outburst of Creevey, after the hostile vote in Parliament, that Pitt had
+betrayed Melville in order to save himself from ruin.[712]
+
+Pitt, seconded in this by Grenville, urged the appointment of Middleton,
+whose sagacity and long experience at the Admiralty had of late
+furnished the First Lord with invaluable counsel. True, he was eighty
+years of age, but neither had his frame lost vigour nor his mind
+alertness. Seeing that his reputation as a naval expert was unequalled,
+Pitt little expected to encounter the stiff opposition of Lords Sidmouth
+and Buckinghamshire to the appointment, which they designed for
+Buckinghamshire, Hawkesbury, or Charles Yorke. The King, too, probably
+influenced by Sidmouth, expressed his disapproval of Middleton,
+preferring those just named, or Castlereagh, or even Chatham. In a
+matter which concerned the safety of the nation Pitt was inexorable,
+facing for several days the threats of resignation of his two colleagues
+and the disapproval of the King. Finally he carried his point, the two
+lords being pacified by the assurance that Middleton's appointment would
+be temporary. The King also consented to raise him to the peerage as
+Lord Barham, adding, however, the proviso that he should attend the
+Cabinet only during the discussion of naval affairs. In this grudging
+way did the Monarch and Sidmouth permit Middleton to reap the reward of
+life-long service and the nation to benefit by his unique experience.
+Only of late has the work done by Barham during the Trafalgar campaign
+been duly set forth; and it is therefore possible now to estimate the
+service rendered by Pitt in insisting on his appointment even at the
+risk of the secession of the Addingtonian group.[713]
+
+Before referring to naval affairs, we must glance at the efforts of Pitt
+to frame a Coalition of the Powers against France. In the middle of
+January 1805 he had important interviews with Novossiltzoff, the envoy
+whom the Czar Alexander had despatched to London on an important
+mission. For this ardent young reformer Alexander had drawn up secret
+instructions which the curious may read in the Memoirs of his Minister,
+Czartoryski.[714] They illustrate the mingling of sentimentality and
+statecraft, of viewiness and ambition, which accounts for the strange
+oscillations of Muscovite policy between altruistic philosophy and
+brutal self-seeking. At present the Russian Janus turned his modern face
+westwards. Alexander insisted on the need of tearing from France the
+mask of liberty which she had so long and so profitably worn. Against
+the naturalism of Rousseau, which supplied Napoleon with excellent
+reasons for every annexation, Alexander resolved to appeal to historical
+rights and the Balance of Power. Yet he also resolved to uphold the
+rights of all the peoples concerned. They must be reconciled to their
+rulers so as to harmonize the claims of legitimacy and liberty. Thus,
+the King of Sardinia, when restored to his throne at Turin, was to be
+induced to grant a Constitution. The Germanic System was to be rescued
+from chaos by the grant of free federal institutions. The independence
+of the Italian, Helvetic, and Dutch Republics was a matter of urgency,
+those States being also strengthened against French aggressions.
+Finally, Russia and England were, if possible, to secure the friendship
+of Turkey.
+
+With these aims Pitt declared his entire concurrence, a just and
+lasting peace being the first of British interests. He developed these
+notions in a remarkable document of date 19th January 1805. We may be
+sure that it is his; for, an accident having befallen the Earl of
+Harrowby at the close of 1804, Lord Mulgrave took his place at the
+Foreign Office, and a new comer would not have ventured to impose his
+own views as to the future of Europe. Pitt now recurred to his plans of
+the year 1798 for assuring the repose of the Continent. In brief, they
+were the aggrandisement of Austria in Northern Italy and of Prussia in
+the Low Countries so as to form barriers against France. The Italian
+Republic must therefore be divided between the Hapsburgs and the King of
+Sardinia, the latter also absorbing the Genoese Republic, which had
+forfeited all claim to consideration. Pitt did not enter into details
+respecting Belgium; but probably he intended to offer it to Prussia, in
+order to still her cravings for Hanover. Such was his proposal to the
+Court of Berlin in October 1805.[715] Conscious, perhaps, that the
+present plans were not consonant with the benevolent idealism of Russian
+policy, which, however, stole sidelong glances at Constantinople, Pitt
+declared that only by these arrangements could the peace of Europe be
+secured. They were therefore "not repugnant to the most sacred
+principles of justice and public morality." In order further to curb the
+aggressions of Napoleon, the Great Powers were mutually to guarantee
+their possessions, thus laying the foundation of a system of public
+right.[716]
+
+This scheme clearly foreshadows the system of alliances and compromises
+carried out by Castlereagh in the Treaty of Chaumont nine years later.
+Pitt also assented to the Czar's proposal that the final settlement
+should be guaranteed by international agreements forming a basis for the
+new European polity, a suggestion in which lies the germ of the Holy
+Alliance. It would be absurd to hold Pitt responsible for the strange
+and unforeseen developments of the years 1815-25. But it is to be
+regretted that fear of Napoleon should have obliterated his earlier aim
+of forming a defensive league of the weaker States. His cure for the
+evils of French domination was scarcely better than the evils
+themselves. The installation of the Hapsburgs at Venice and Milan, of
+Victor Emmanuel I at Genoa, of Frederick William of Prussia at
+Brussels, could not permanently improve the lot of the Italian and
+Belgian peoples. So soon as we formulate the question we see that, as in
+1798, Pitt left their welfare out of count. He aimed merely at piling up
+barriers against France, and trusted to some vague arrangement with the
+Czar for safeguarding the political rights of the bartered peoples.
+
+Pitt's reliance on the statics of statecraft rather than on the dynamics
+of nationality tells against the credibility of the oft-repeated story
+that he prophesied the liberation of Europe by the enthusiasm and
+efforts of the Spaniards. Wellington afterwards told the Spanish
+general, Alava, that Pitt, on hearing of the disaster of Ulm, made this
+prophecy at a dinner party at which he (then Sir Arthur Wellesley) was
+present. Difficulties of time and place militate against the anecdote,
+which, moreover, is out of harmony with the sentiments expressed in
+Pitt's speeches, letters, and despatches.[717] Further, his experience
+of Spain was such as to inspire him with deep distrust; and, finally,
+the cast of his mind was so far objective as to forbid the indulgence of
+speculations on the little-known topic of nationality. Distrusting novel
+theories, he sought to utilize forces of tried potency. He worked by
+diplomatic methods through Governments, not through the tumultuary
+efforts of peoples. Dependence on a nation so backward as the Spaniards
+would have seemed to him madness. Even if he could have seen the
+surprising events of May-June 1808, he would probably have distrusted
+the spirit which prompted them. In truth, he lacked the sympathetic
+instinct which led Canning at that crisis to side with the Spanish
+patriots and thus open a new chapter in the history of Europe.
+
+Yet it is but just to remember that Pitt the diplomatic bargainer of
+1805 differed from Pitt the upholder of weak States in 1790, only
+because the times had completely changed. Against the destructive
+schemes of Joseph II, Catharine II, and Hertzberg he worked on the whole
+successfully. But now Poland was gone; Sweden and Turkey were safe; the
+German tangle had been cut by the Secularizations of Church domains in
+1803. Now the danger was from the West. France had swallowed up her
+weaker neighbours. Napoleon dominated Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the
+Rhenish States, and the Netherlands. Russian policy, subversive under
+Catharine, was in a European sense conservative under Alexander. Then
+the most damaging thrusts to the European fabric came from Vienna and
+St. Petersburg. Now they came from Paris. Pitt therefore sought to
+construct a rampart out of the weak States bordering on France. As the
+Barrier Treaties of a century earlier were directed against Louis XIV,
+so now Pitt sought to inaugurate an enlarged Barrier policy as a
+safeguard against Napoleon. The efforts of at least half a million of
+trained troops being available, the time had apparently come for a final
+effort to preserve the Balance of Power before it was irretrievably
+impaired.
+
+For a time the Russian and British Governments seemed in complete
+accord. Novossiltzoff, on his return to St. Petersburg, wrote to Pitt on
+20th March 1805 (N.S.), describing the entire concurrence of his master
+with the principles on which they had agreed at London. In about eight
+days he would leave for Berlin to put forth his utmost endeavours to
+gain the alliance of that Court. He would then proceed to Paris to
+present the Czar's ultimatum. A refusal was expected; but his master
+believed it more dignified to take all reasonable means of ensuring
+peace. The orders for mobilizing the Russian troops would go forth at
+the time of his departure for Berlin. Before his arrival at Paris, he
+hoped to receive from London full powers authorizing him to speak for
+Great Britain as well as for Russia.[718]
+
+All this implied the closest union and sympathy. But now Alexander
+showed the other side of his nature. He sought to drive a hard bargain
+with Pitt. Firstly, he strove to obtain the promise of a larger British
+force to form an integral part of a Russian expedition for the
+deliverance of the Kingdom of Naples. In view of the paucity of our
+disposable forces, Pitt had sought to limit the sphere of action to
+Sicily and the neighbouring parts of Calabria, the defence of Sicily,
+the key of the Mediterranean and the outwork of Egypt, being now and
+throughout the war one of the cardinal aims of British policy. An
+expedition under General Sir James Craig was about to set sail for Malta
+and Messina; and the Czar required that, when strengthened, it should
+act in any part of South Italy, under a Russian general. After wearisome
+correspondence, a compromise was arrived at; and on 19th April 1805
+Craig set sail from Portsmouth on his perilous voyage over seas now and
+again swept by French and Spanish warships. By good fortune he escaped
+these many dangers, and reached Malta, there setting free seasoned
+troops for operations in South Italy. The hardihood of Pitt in sending
+forth this expedition has often provoked criticism. But it was worth
+while to run serious risks to save Sicily from the grip of Napoleon, and
+to wrest from him the initiative which he had hitherto enjoyed
+unchallenged. Besides, the Czar insisted on that effort, and made it
+almost a _sine quâ non_ of his alliance. In a military sense the results
+were contemptible; in the diplomatic sphere they were very great.[719]
+
+Twelve days before Craig set sail, Czartoryski worried or coaxed the
+British ambassador at St. Petersburg, Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, into
+signing a provisional treaty of alliance. The Czar now promised to set
+in motion half a million of men (half of them being Austrians, and only
+115,000 Russians) so as to drive the French from Italy, Switzerland,
+Germany, and the Low Countries, England subsidizing the allied forces at
+the rate of £1,250,000 a year for every 100,000 men actually employed.
+The liberated lands were to have the right of building their own
+fortresses and choosing their own constitutions. But firstly, Alexander
+would seek to restore peace to Europe; and to this end he would consent
+to Napoleon placing his brother Joseph on the throne of North Italy,
+either in Piedmont or in the Italian Republic, shadowy realms being
+outlined in the Peninsula for the consolation of the dispossessed King
+of Sardinia. But the sting of the proposal was in its tail. Alexander
+suggested that, to secure the boon of peace, England should restore her
+maritime conquests in the war, and also Malta if Napoleon insisted on
+this last, the island being then garrisoned by Russians. In its blend of
+hazy theorizings on general topics with astute egotism in Russian
+affairs, the scheme is highly characteristic, peace being assured by
+means which would substitute Muscovite for British rule at Malta; while
+in the event of war, Great Britain was to pay at the rate of £6,250,000
+a year for campaigns that would aggrandise the continental States at
+the expense of France.[720]
+
+What must have been the feelings of Pitt when he perused this Byzantine
+offer? While prepared to give way on some parts of the January
+proposals, he was determined to hold fast to Malta. The island had not
+been named by him and Novossiltzoff, its present destiny being assumed
+as irrevocably fixed. But now Alexander swung back to the aims of his
+father, the domination of the Central Mediterranean from the impregnable
+fortress of Valetta. Probably some of the Knights of the Order of St.
+John who had sought refuge in Russia gained the ear of Alexander in the
+spring of 1805, and produced the startling change in his policy just
+described. Whatever the cause, Pitt's answer could be none other than a
+firm refusal. In Count Simon Vorontzoff, Russian ambassador at London,
+he found a secret sympathizer, who entered heartily into his plans for
+the salvation of Europe, foreseeing that only by the retention of Malta
+for the Union Jack could the Mediterranean be saved from becoming a
+French lake; and that if either Gower or Pitt wavered on this question,
+the country would disown them.[721] Official etiquette, of course,
+compelled him to proffer Alexander's demand, and to declare that, unless
+Pitt gave way about Malta, there was an end of all hope of the alliance.
+Here Pitt intervened with the statesmanlike remark: "It will not save
+Europe. The Mediterranean, the Levant and Egypt, will be in the power of
+France the moment a British squadron ceases to have for base a good port
+protected by formidable fortifications.... So, whatever pain it causes
+us (and it is indeed great) we must give up the hope of seeing the
+alliance ratified, since its express condition is our renunciation of
+Malta. We will continue the war alone. It will be maritime."
+
+Thus Malta, the final cause of the Great War, now promised to limit that
+war. Vorontzoff prevailed on Pitt to defer reporting his refusal to St.
+Petersburg. But on 27th May he stated that the last ray of hope had
+disappeared, as neither Court would give way. On 5th June, then,
+Mulgrave penned for Gower a despatch summarizing Pitt's reasons why
+England must retain Malta. She was ready to restore her valuable
+conquests in the East and West Indies, but the key of the Mediterranean
+she must not and would not surrender. Neither would she relax her
+maritime code as the Emperor of Russia now insisted; for experience had
+shown it to be necessary for the equipment of the British fleets and the
+crippling of the enemy's naval construction. In the maintenance of these
+fleets lay the only hope of assuring the salvation of Europe. A more
+convincing exposition of the importance of Sea Power has never gone
+forth from a Government office.[722]
+
+The deadlock was therefore complete. But now, as happened more than once
+in the development of the Coalitions, Napoleon himself came to the
+rescue. Whether he was aware of the breakdown of the Anglo-Russian
+negotiation is uncertain; but his remark to Fouché--"I shall be able to
+strike the blow before the old Coalition machines are ready"--and his
+conduct in Italy in the months of May and June 1805 bear the imprint of
+a boundless confidence, which, on any other supposition, savours of
+madness. He well knew that no continental ruler but Gustavus of Sweden
+desired war with him. Austria maintained her timid reserve. Alexander
+was ready to negotiate with him through the medium of Novossiltzoff, who
+was now at Berlin awaiting permission to proceed to Paris. The
+predilections of Frederick William of Prussia for France were notorious;
+for Hanover was his goal; and he and his counsellors saw far more hope
+of securing it from Napoleon than from King George.[723]
+
+Prudence and patience were therefore peculiarly necessary for Napoleon
+at this juncture. He had the game in his hands if he would but
+concentrate all his energies against England and leave severely alone
+the land which then most interested Russia and Austria, namely, Italy.
+But, either from the ingrained restlessness of his nature, which chafed
+at the stalemate at Boulogne, or from contempt of "the old Coalition
+machines," or from an innate conviction that Italy was his own political
+preserve, he now took two steps which aroused the anger of the Russian
+and Austrian Emperors. On 26th May 1805 he crowned himself King of Italy
+in the cathedral of Milan, thereby welding that populous realm
+indissolubly to his Empire. On 4th June he annexed outright the Genoese
+or Ligurian Republic. Both acts were flagrant infractions of his Treaty
+of Lunéville with Austria of four years before; and they contemptuously
+overturned the Balance of Power which Alexander was striving to
+re-establish. The results were soon apparent. "This man is insatiable,"
+exclaimed Alexander; "his ambition knows no bounds; he is a scourge of
+the world: he wants war; well, he shall have it, and the sooner the
+better."
+
+Novossiltzoff left Berlin for St. Petersburg; and his despatches of 10th
+July to Vorontzoff and to Hardenberg, Foreign Minister at Berlin, prove
+conclusively that it was Napoleon's annexation of Genoa which ended all
+hope of peace on the Continent.[724] The French Emperor himself admitted
+as much a few years later when he visited Genoa. Looking down on that
+beautiful city, he exclaimed: "Ah! It was worth a war." In order to work
+French patriotism up to the necessary pitch he on 30th May 1805 ordered
+Fouché to have caricatures made at Paris depicting John Bull, purse in
+hand, entreating the Powers to take his money and fight France. Insults
+to Russia and England make up the rest of that angry and almost
+illegible scrawl.[725] In his heart he knew that the war sprang from his
+resolve to make the Mediterranean a French lake and Italy an annexe of
+his imperial fabric.
+
+The sequel may be told very briefly. On 28th July the Court of St.
+Petersburg agreed to Pitt's version of the Anglo-Russian compact; and on
+9th August the British ambassador at St. Petersburg pledged his country
+to join the two Empires if Napoleon rejected the conditions of peace
+still left open to him. In that case Gower promised to assure the
+advance of five months' subsidy at the rate mentioned above.[726] It is
+needless to say that Napoleon rejected all thought of compromise; and
+Austria began to hurry her troops up the banks of the Danube for the
+Bavarian campaign.[727] Thus Pitt won the diplomatic game. Or rather,
+his opponent gave it to him by the last reckless move at Genoa. The
+wrath of Alexander at this affront obliterated his annoyance at the
+retention of Malta by Great Britain; and both he and the Emperor
+Francis now prepared to enter the lists against Napoleon.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Meanwhile, Pitt sought to strengthen his Ministry in view of the
+desertion of the Addingtonians. Two of them, Hiley Addington and Bond,
+spoke bitterly against Melville during the debates of June, which led
+Gillray to represent them as jackasses about to kick a wounded lion. So
+annoyed was Pitt as to refuse them promotions which they expected,
+whereupon Sidmouth and Buckinghamshire tendered their resignations. The
+old friends parted sorrowfully after a final interview at Pitt's house
+on Putney Heath (7th July). Camden now became President of the Council,
+and Castlereagh Minister at War, Harrowby re-entering the Cabinet as
+Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
+
+As the prospect of further taxation was calculated to depress Pitt's
+supporters and inspirit the Opposition, he proceeded to Weymouth in the
+middle of September to lay before the King an important proposal. The
+formation of a truly national Administration being more than ever
+essential, he besought George to admit certain members of the parties of
+Fox and Grenville, especially in order to facilitate the passing of the
+next Budget. The Monarch, however, was obdurate, asserting that Pitt had
+done well in the past session and would probably fare better still in
+the next. On 22nd September he repeated these statements to Rose, whom
+he called to him on the esplanade, and was quite unconvinced by his
+arguments that in the present state of parties the Budget could scarcely
+be passed, and that, if Pitt chanced to be laid up with a fit of gout
+for two or three weeks, there would be an end of the Administration. The
+King would not hear of any change, and proved more intractable on this
+topic than in the year before, during his stay at Cuffnells.[728] In
+fact, in Rose's manuscript is a statement, prudently omitted from the
+published Diaries, that George, on returning to his residence at
+Weymouth, declared his resolve rather to risk a civil war than to admit
+Fox into his councils.[729] Thus ended Pitt's last effort to form a
+national Administration fitted to cope with the gigantic power of
+Napoleon.
+
+It is difficult to realize the multiplicity of the cares which pressed
+upon Pitt. Rose feared that he would soon succumb to the burden; for,
+apart from the defence of a weak Government against a strong Opposition,
+Pitt transacted very much of the business of the War Office and Foreign
+Office, besides assisting the Admiralty and the Commander-in-Chief. No
+one in Europe, with the exception of Napoleon, worked so hard; and Pitt,
+besides being ten years older than the Emperor, had far less physical
+strength. We may judge, then, of the effect produced by a life such as
+Lady Hester Stanhope described in a passage of more than usual
+credibility: "Ah doctor," she said in her Lebanon days, "what a life was
+his! Roused from sleep (for he was a good sleeper) with a despatch from
+Lord Melville; then down to Windsor; then, if he had half an hour to
+spare, trying to swallow something; Mr. Adams with a paper, Mr. Long
+with another; then Mr. Rose: then, with a little bottle of cordial
+confection in his pocket, off to the House until three or four in the
+morning; then home to a hot supper for two or three hours more, to talk
+over what was to be done next day:--and wine, and wine. Scarcely up next
+morning, when 'tat-tat-tat,' twenty or thirty people one after another,
+and the horses walking before the door from two till sunset, waiting for
+him. It was enough to kill a man--it was murder."[730]
+
+One who knew Pitt well gave wise advice to his secretary, William Dacre
+Adams. "Attend to your meals regularly even if you sit up or rise the
+earlier for it to get through the business. I have often been told that
+half Mr. Pitt's complaints were originally brought on by fasting too
+long and indeed only eating when he found it convenient, which ruined
+the tone of his stomach."[731] These statements explain the reason for
+the collapse of Pitt's strength late in the year. Hester's concluding
+remark is somewhat hysterical, but it is nearer the truth than the
+charge that Pitt was greedy of power. He killed himself by persistent
+overwork on behalf of a nation which did not understand him, and in the
+service of a Monarch who refused to allow him to strengthen his
+Administration.
+
+It is impossible now to feel one's way along all the threads which Pitt
+held in his hands. But occasionally a chance reference reveals his
+connection with designs of vast moment. The following is a case in
+point. Castlereagh wrote to him, probably on 20th August 1805, in terms
+which show that Pitt took a leading part in one of the decisions bearing
+on the fate of the naval campaign which culminated at Trafalgar. The
+daring and wisdom of his naval policy in 1805 has lately been fully
+vindicated.[732] But the following letter throws new light on the
+complex problem which arose after the indecisive success gained by
+Admiral Calder over Villeneuve's French and Spanish fleets off Cape
+Finisterre on 22nd July, and while the subsequent movements of those
+fleets were not yet definitely known. Baird's expedition at Cork was
+destined for the reduction of the Cape (ever Pitt's pre-occupation) so
+soon as the way was fairly safe.
+
+ Downing St _Tuesday_ 3 P.M.[733]
+
+ MY DEAR SIR,
+
+ I have just seen Lord Hawkesbury and Lord Barham, Adml
+ Cornwallis having anticipated your intentions by detaching 20
+ sail of the line off Ferrol, and the wind being now favourable,
+ it appears to us that no time should be lost in ordering Sir D.
+ Baird to sail. As Ld H. and Ld B. seem to entertain no doubt
+ of your approving of this step, I shall send the orders without
+ delay. I shall remain in town tonight and be at your disposal as
+ best suits your engagements.
+
+ Ever yours,
+ CASTLEREAGH.
+
+The most interesting words in this letter are "your intentions." They
+seem to imply that the plan of detaching part of Admiral Cornwallis's
+fleet off Brest to the assistance of Calder off the North West of Spain
+was originally Pitt's own, not Lord Barham's, as has been hitherto
+supposed. They must not be pressed too much; for the advice of Barham,
+First Lord of the Admiralty, must have been paramount. Nevertheless the
+proposal was evidently Pitt's as well as Barham's. The fact that
+Cornwallis anticipated it bespeaks the resolve alike of Ministers and
+the admiral at all costs to stop Villeneuve off Finisterre and prevent
+the naval concentration in French waters on which Napoleon laid so much
+stress. The success of the British counter-stroke is well known.
+Villeneuve, having been roughly handled by Calder, put into Ferrol, and
+finally, a prey to discouragement, made off for Cadiz, thus upsetting
+Napoleon's scheme for the invasion of England. In due course Nelson
+returned to England for a brief time of rest at "dear, dear Merton," and
+then set off on his last cruise. Before his departure he had an
+interview with Pitt at Downing Street--the only occasion, I believe, on
+which they met--and found in the ante-room Sir Arthur Wellesley, just
+returned from India. At the end of the interview Pitt flattered the
+great seaman by an act of attention which he thus described: "Mr. Pitt
+paid me a compliment, which, I believe, he would not have paid to a
+Prince of the Blood. When I rose to go, he left the room with me and
+attended me to the carriage." By attentions such as these Chatham was
+wont to stimulate the patriotism of our warriors; and on this occasion
+his son played an equally inspiriting part. Imagination strives to
+picture the scene, especially when England's greatest statesman and
+greatest seaman passed through the ante-room where stood the future
+victor of Waterloo.[734]
+
+Never again were those three heroes to meet. Nelson departed for
+Trafalgar. Pitt resumed the work which was wearing him to death, nerved,
+however, by the consciousness that the despatch of Nelson to the
+Mediterranean would foil Napoleon's project of making that sea a French
+lake, "the principal aim of my policy" as he declared it to be. In that
+quarter, then, Pitt won a decisive victory which was destined to save
+not only that sea, but the Continent from the domination of France.
+Whether a glimpse of the future course of events opened out to the
+wearied gaze of the statesman we know not. All we know is that in
+mid-December, when the "Victory" lay jury-masted and wind-bound for
+three days off Walmer Castle, the Lord Warden was at Bath, in hope of
+gaining health and strength for a struggle which concerned him even more
+nearly than that in the Mediterranean, namely, the liberation of North
+Germany and the Dutch Netherlands from the Napoleonic yoke.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[680] Pitt MSS., 102. Pitt to Whitworth, 28th May 1804; G. Rose,
+"Diaries," ii, 136. See, too, Rose, "Despatches relating to the ...
+Third Coalition," 27.
+
+[681] Stanhope, iv, 199-201.
+
+[682] Czartoryski, "Memoirs," ii, 35.
+
+[683] "Creevey Papers," i, 28.
+
+[684] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[685] Rose, "Despatches relating to the ... Third Coalition" (Royal
+Hist. Soc., 1904), 14-19; also Rose, "Napoleonic Studies," 364-6, for
+the tentative Russian overture of November 1803.
+
+[686] Rose and Broadley, "Dumouriez and the Defence of England against
+Napoleon," 260.
+
+[687] Fortescue, v, 204-13. Half of the fine went to the overseers of
+the parish, who were bound under penalties to provide a parochial
+substitute.
+
+[688] Fortescue, v, 239, 240.
+
+[689] "Creevey Papers," i, 29.
+
+[690] Pitt MSS., 157.
+
+[691] Pretyman MSS. See "Ann. Reg." (1805) for the failure at Boulogne
+on 3rd October 1804.
+
+[692] See Desbrière, "Projets ... de Débarquement, etc.," vol. v; J.
+Corbett, "The Campaign of Trafalgar," chs. ii, iii, ix.
+
+[693] "Kentish Gazette," 26th October 1804. Apparently Moore agreed to
+the scheme, despite his opinion quoted above. For information on this
+topic I am indebted to Lieutenant-Colonel Fynmore of Sandgate. In the
+manoeuvres of 1910 regiments were told off to extemporize means of
+crossing the canal in the quickest and most effective way.
+
+[694] "W. O.," 76; "Diary of Sir J. Moore," ii, 71-4.
+
+[695] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[696] Harrowby MSS.
+
+[697] Mahan, ii, ch. xv, _ad fin._; "Ann. Reg." (1804), 555; "Mems. of
+R. P. Ward," i, ch. vii. For the subsequent plan of Ministers to attack
+Ferrol, from which Moore dissuaded them, see "Diary of Sir J. Moore,"
+ii, ch. xxi.
+
+[698] Harrowby MSS.
+
+[699] Rose, "Third Coalition," 32, 53, 61, 65, 67, 71, 75.
+
+[700] Harrowby MSS.
+
+[701] Lefebvre, "Cabinets de l'Europe," ii, 33.
+
+[702] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[703] Stanhope, iv, 244-8.
+
+[704] See the letter in "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies."
+
+[705] "H. O." Ireland (Corresp.), 99.
+
+[706] "Mems. of Fox," iv, 45, 68, 72, 75.
+
+[707] See an interesting account by Dr. Hunt, "Transactions of the Royal
+Hist. Soc." (1908), pp. 7-16.
+
+[708] Hansard, iv, 1013-22, 1060.
+
+[709] Hansard, iv, 255-325; "Life of Wilberforce," iii, 219-23;
+"Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 338, 347; "Lord Colchester's Diaries," i,
+544-9.
+
+[710] Chevening MSS.
+
+[711] "Trial of Lord Melville" (1806), 256-9, 370, 378.
+
+[712] "Creevey Papers," i, 34.
+
+[713] "Barham Papers" (Navy Records Society), iii; Corbett, "Trafalgar
+Campaign," 70-2; Stanhope, iv, 287; Pellew, ii 356-64.
+
+[714] Czartoryski, "Mems.," ii, ch. vii.
+
+[715] "F. O.," Prussia, 70; Rose, "Napoleonic Studies," 54-8; Rose,
+"Napoleon," ii, 54.
+
+[716] Garden, "Traités," viii, 317-23; Alison, App. to ch. xxxix.
+
+[717] Toreno ("War of Independence in Spain," vol. i, _ad fin._) had the
+story from Alava, who connected it with the arrival of the news of Ulm,
+on 2nd November. Pitt said: "All is not lost if I can succeed in raising
+up a national war in Europe, and this must have its commencement in
+Spain." But Malmesbury ("Diaries," iv, 340), who was present, does not
+name the incident, and states that Pitt disbelieved the news (see ch.
+xxiv).
+
+[718] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[719] Rose, "Third Coalition," 25, 32, 44, 61, 66, 73, 76, 87, 97, etc.;
+Mr. Julian Corbett, "The Trafalgar Campaign," chs. i, ii. For a critique
+on Pitt's Mediterranean plans, see Bunbury's "Great War with France,"
+183-95.
+
+[720] Rose, "Third Coalition," 127-30.
+
+[721] Czartoryski, "Mems.," ii, 74-6.
+
+[722] Czartoryski, "Mems.," ii, 78; Rose, "Third Coalition," 155-64.
+
+[723] _Ibid._, 232; Ulmann, "Russisch-preussische Politik"; Hansing,
+"Hardenberg und die dritte Coalition."
+
+[724] "Paget Papers," ii, 186; Sir G. Jackson, "Diaries," i, 304,
+458-60; Rose, "Third Coalition," 180.
+
+[725] "Lettres inédites de Napoléon," i, 50.
+
+[726] Rose, "Third Coalition," 279-82. On 9th August Austria allied
+herself to Russia.
+
+[727] For a time her action was unknown at London; and Pitt and Mulgrave
+outlined a plan of campaign turning largely on the liberation of South
+and Central Italy. See Mr. Corbett, "Trafalgar Campaign," App. B.
+
+[728] G. Rose, "Diaries," ii, 198-200.
+
+[729] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[730] "Lady Hester Stanhope's Mems.," ii, 63.
+
+[731] Chevening MSS. See, too, G. Rose, "Diaries," ii, 235, as to Pitt's
+reliance on "cordial medicines."
+
+[732] By Mr. Julian Corbett, "The Campaign of Trafalgar." Mr. Corbett
+has kindly helped me to fix the probable date of Castlereagh's letter.
+
+[733] Pitt MSS., 121. In Pitt MSS., 111, is a hasty and undated note of
+Pitt to Middleton (probably of February 1805) asking him to consider
+"whether it might not be expedient to direct Sir John Warren to proceed
+to Cape de Verde, and if he there found that Sir James Duckworth was
+gone to the West Indies, but not upon certain information of the enemy
+having preceded him, that Sir J. Warren should be ordered on to the
+Cape, unless he received intelligence that the enemy had taken another
+course." He adds that this suggestion arises out of the news received
+from the Cape, where French troops were expected. In that case the
+operations would be protracted. Pitt hoped that Warren would be back in
+five months, that is by 1st June, before which time the French
+preparations for the invasion of England would not be far advanced.
+Evidently, then, Pitt sought Middleton's advice direct on the complex
+problem of defending England and guarding the overland and the sea
+routes to India at the same time. On this see Corbett, "Trafalgar
+Campaign," 236-8.
+
+[734] Wellington in 1834 told Croker that they met in the anteroom of
+the Secretary of State, Castlereagh (Croker, "Diaries," ii, 234).
+
+
+
+
+ CHAPTER XXIV
+
+ THE LAST STRUGGLE
+
+ Heavens! What has Prussia to answer for! For nothing less, in my
+ mind, than every calamity which has befallen Europe for more
+ than ten years.--GENERAL PAGET TO SIR ARTHUR PAGET, _24th
+ January 1806_.
+
+
+The opening moves in the great game between Pitt and Napoleon were
+divided with a curious evenness. As we have seen, the French Emperor's
+defiant annexation of Genoa obliterated the anger of the Czar at Pitt's
+insistence on the retention of Malta; and if Pitt's high-handed conduct
+forced Spain to declare against England, yet, on the other hand,
+Napoleon wantonly challenged Austria and Russia to a conflict. The first
+events of the war showed a similar balance. On 20th October the French
+Emperor compelled the Austrian commander, General Mack, to surrender at
+or near Ulm in Swabia with almost the whole of an army of some 70,000
+men. On the next day Nelson destroyed the French and Spanish fleets at
+Trafalgar. So quickly did the forcefulness or ineptitude of four
+commanders determine the course of events. By the end of October the
+tricolour waved triumphant over Central Europe; but the Union Jack was
+thenceforth scarcely challenged by sea; and Britain began to exert that
+unseen but resistless pressure upon her enemy which gradually edged him
+to his ruin. Consequently the appalling failures of the Third Coalition
+on land only delayed the final triumph on which the serene genius of
+Pitt surely counted.
+
+At first everything seemed to favour his designs. Part of Napoleon's
+army in its hurried march from North Germany towards Ulm violated the
+neutrality of the Prussian principality of Anspach, apparently by
+command of the Emperor. This short cut to success nearly entailed
+disaster; for it earned the sharp resentment of Prussia at a time when
+he especially valued her friendship. Indeed, so soon as he resolved to
+turn the "Army of England" against Austria, he despatched his most
+trusted aide-de-camp, Duroc, to Berlin, to tempt that Court with that
+alluring bait, Hanover. Russia and England were, however, making equal
+efforts in the hope of gaining the help of the magnificent army of
+Frederick William III. For a time Pitt also hoped to add the South
+German States, and in all to set in motion a mass of 650,000 men against
+France, Austria contributing 250,000, Russia 180,000, Prussia 100,000
+(later on he bargained for 180,000), Sardinia 25,000, Naples 20,000,
+Sweden 16,000, and the small German States the remainder. Napoleon, on
+the other hand, strove to paralyse the efforts of the Coalition by
+securing the alliance or the friendly neutrality of Prussia. With
+200,000 hostile or doubtful troops on her frontier, Austria could do
+little, and Russia still less. Further, as he still had French troops in
+one or two fortresses of Hanover, he could utter the words so often on
+the lips of Bismarck--_Beati possidentes_. Hanover belonged of right to
+George III; but Napoleon could will it away to Prussia.
+
+Thus the fortunes of Europe depended largely on Frederick William.
+Unfortunately he was incapable of rising to the height of the situation;
+for he utterly lacked the virile qualities which raised the House of
+Hohenzollern above petty compeers in Swabia to fame and prosperity.
+Essentially mediocre, and conscious of his slender endowments, he, like
+Louis XVI, nearly always hesitated, and therefore generally lost. His
+character was a dull compound of negations. Prone neither to vice nor to
+passion, he was equally devoid of charm and graciousness. Freezing men
+by his coldness, he failed to overawe them by superiority; and, with a
+weak man's dislike of genius and strength, he avoided great men,
+preferring trimmers like Haugwitz and Lombard, who played upon his
+foibles, and saved him from disagreeable decisions. The commanding
+personality of Stein inspired in him nervous dislike which deepened into
+peevish dread. Only in the depths of disaster, into which his own
+weakness was to plunge him, did he have recourse to that saviour of
+Prussia.
+
+By the side of Frederick William was that radiant figure, Queen Louisa,
+who recalls the contrast between Marie Antoinette and her uninteresting,
+hapless spouse. For Louisa, too, had ambition and the power of inspiring
+devotion, though etiquette and jealousy forbade her intervention in
+affairs of State;[735] otherwise the Prussian Government would have
+shaken off that paralysing indecision which left its people friendless
+and spiritless on the bursting of the storm a year later. For the
+present, the King's chief adviser, Hardenberg, sought to impart to
+Prussian policy a trend more favourable to England and Russia. Conscious
+of the need of a better frontier on the west and of the longing of his
+master for the greater part of Hanover, he sought to attain this end by
+means not wholly opposed to the feelings of George III and the policy of
+Pitt. Above all, he strove to end the humiliating subservience of his
+Court to France, which galled the spirit of all patriotic Prussians.
+Their great desire was to join the new Coalition even though such a step
+entailed war with Napoleon. They rejoiced at the news of Admiral
+Calder's victory off Finisterre, and hailed every sign of war at St.
+Petersburg and Vienna.[736] On the other hand, the French party was
+strong at Court. Haugwitz, its head, was still nominally Minister for
+Foreign Affairs, and, though often absent for long periods on his
+Silesian domain, resumed the control of them when he returned to Berlin.
+This singular arrangement enabled the King to keep up the game of
+political see-saw which brought relief to him, disgust to his would-be
+allies, and ruin to his country.
+
+To tilt the balance in favour of the Coalition was now the chief aim of
+Pitt. And who shall say that, if Prussia, with strength still
+unimpaired, had played the part which her enfeebled people insisted on
+taking up in 1813, the doom of Napoleon might not have been assured in
+the autumn and winter which we associate with the names of Ulm and
+Austerlitz? All this was possible, nay, probable, had Frederick William
+surveyed the situation with the sound judgement of Pitt. But the British
+statesman laboured under one great disadvantage. He could not offer to
+Prussia what she most wanted. He could do no more than promise to extend
+her western confines to Antwerp and Ostend; and she far preferred
+Hanover, as solidifying her straggling western lands, without bringing
+her near to France. Here was an almost insuperable obstacle; and we can
+imagine that, like his father, he cursed Britain's connection with
+Hanover. His chief hope was, that Prussia would discern her true
+interest in acquiring less by honourable means than very much from
+Napoleon, whose gifts were often perilous. Russia, too, at that time
+seemed to adopt the British view of the Hanoverian question; and in the
+early autumn that Power mustered her second army on the borders of
+Prussia in a highly threatening manner. Finally, the Czar declared that
+if his troops were refused a passage through Silesia, he would make his
+way by force, the Pitt Cabinet informing him that, in that case, the
+liberal subsidies intended for Prussia, would be added to those already
+on their way to St. Petersburg. But even threats failed to bring
+Frederick William to a decision; and Hardenberg announced that a
+forcible entry of the Russians would involve war with Prussia.[737]
+
+While Frederick William fumed at the Muscovite threats, came news of the
+violation of his Anspach domain on 3rd October. At once he declared his
+intention to avenge the insult and to expel Duroc from Prussian
+territory. He also raised high the hopes of the Allies by allowing the
+Russians to enter Silesia, and by favouring Pitt's plan of a joint
+expedition of the Allies to Hanover with a view to the liberation of
+Holland; and when he ordered the mobilization of the whole Prussian
+army, there appeared good grounds for expecting the speedy accession of
+at least 150,000 troops trained in the school of Frederick the Great.
+Even Haugwitz now suggested that if war came England must give Prussia a
+subsidy.[738] The Anglophil party at Berlin raised its head in triumph
+at the approach of the Russian Emperor; and when on 28th October he
+entered Berlin with enthusiastic greetings from the populace, Europe
+seemed about to be leagued against Napoleon. Chivalry and prudence alike
+counselled such a union, for on the morrow arrived news of the
+annihilation of Mack's army. Nothing but prompt action could save
+Germany from the Napoleonic deluge.
+
+The first rumours of the disaster at Ulm did not reach London until 2nd
+November. Lord Malmesbury was dining with Pitt and mentioned the report
+to him, whereupon the Prime Minister exclaimed in loud and angry tones,
+"Don't believe a word of it: it is all a fiction."[739] But on the
+morrow a Dutch newspaper was brought, and Malmesbury translated the
+account, which was so clear and detailed as to leave little room for
+doubt. Pitt's countenance changed. There came over him that look which
+his friends saw imprinted more deeply with every week of deepening
+gloom. For a brief space it passed away. On 6th November London heard
+the joyful yet painful news of Trafalgar. It reached Downing Street at 3
+a.m. Pitt was so moved by conflicting emotions that he, the soundest of
+sleepers, could not find repose, but roused himself for work. The Stock
+Exchange registered the swift oscillations from confidence to doubt, for
+though all fear of the French and Spanish fleet was at an end, yet, as
+Nelson perished, national security seemed imperilled, and Consols sank.
+
+The contrast between the victorious constancy of Britain and the
+wavering and hapless counsels of the Germanic States inspired Pitt with
+one of the most magnanimous utterances of that age. At the Lord Mayor's
+banquet on 9th November, that dignitary proposed his health as the
+Saviour of Europe. Pitt concentrated his reply into these two memorable
+sentences: "I return you many thanks for the honour you have done me;
+but Europe is not to be saved by any single man. England has saved
+herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her
+example." In its terseness and strength, its truth and modesty, its
+patriotism and hopefulness, this utterance stands unrivalled. The effect
+must have been all the greater because Pitt then bore on his countenance
+signs of that anxious forethought in which now lay the chief hope of
+European independence.
+
+Six days before the arrival of news of the Austrian disaster, Pitt had
+sought to expedite a union with Prussia. In view of the urgency of the
+case, he decided to send his trusted friend, the Earl of Harrowby, the
+Dudley Ryder of former days. Harrowby's great abilities have never met
+with due recognition, probably owing to the persistent ill health which
+impaired alike his equanimity and his power of work; but Wilberforce had
+good cause for commending Pitt's choice; and he added in a letter of
+25th October that the capacity of Harrowby was rated far higher by
+foreigners than by Englishmen.[740] The instructions to the Earl,
+drafted by Lord Mulgrave on 27th October, reveal Pitt's resolve to go
+very far in order to buy the support of Prussia. They empowered Harrowby
+to offer her the Belgic provinces and such German lands as would
+connect them with the Westphalian domains of Prussia. The need of money
+for the immediate equipment of her army being also urgent, Harrowby was
+to offer a yearly subsidy of £12 10_s._ for each Prussian soldier
+actually serving against France, the hope being expressed that from
+150,000 to 200,000 men would be forthcoming. At the same time Pitt
+explained that at the general peace Great Britain would restore all her
+acquisitions oversea, Malta and the Cape of Good Hope alone excepted.
+Harrowby was also charged to do all in his power to effect the
+liberation of North Germany and Holland by the Russo-Swedish force then
+mustering at Stralsund. Such were the plans of Pitt. Even in this brief
+outline, their magnanimity is apparent. In order to assure the freedom
+of the Continent, he was ready to pour forth the wealth of Britain, and
+to sacrifice all her conquests, except those two bulwarks of Empire,
+Malta and the Cape.[741] Already even before Nelson gained the mastery
+of the seas at Trafalgar, Baird's force had set sail for the reduction
+of the Cape. It achieved its purpose in the month in which Pitt died. It
+is not generally known that the foundation of our South African Empire
+was due primarily to his foresight. The war having originated in
+Napoleon's aggressions and his threats respecting Egypt and the Orient
+generally, Pitt resolved that England should thenceforth dominate both
+the sea route and the overland route to the East Indies.
+
+Unfortunately, owing to the fogs on the River Elbe and other delays at
+Hamburg, Harrowby did not reach Berlin until the middle of
+November;[742] and a fortnight earlier (3rd November) the sovereigns of
+Russia and Prussia had framed the Treaty of Potsdam. Ostensibly, it
+bound Prussia to side with the Allies unless within four weeks Napoleon
+accepted her armed mediation, which she proposed to offer forthwith. She
+required from the French Emperor a full recognition of the independence
+of Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and Naples, which of course implied
+the withdrawal of French troops from those lands. Napoleon was also to
+grant to the dispossessed King of Sardinia the following
+indemnities--Genoa, Parma, and Piacenza; while Austria was to recover
+Central Venetia as far as the River Mincio. The Allies flattered
+themselves that Napoleon would at once reject these terms and throw
+Prussia into their arms. Such, too, was the conviction of Pitt. While
+regretting that France should keep Piedmont and find no barrier opposed
+to her in Holland,[743] he felt so convinced of Napoleon's refusal and
+of Prussia's good faith that he prepared to satisfy her demand for a
+British subsidy. Prussian troops were marching into Hanover, as if with
+the aim of ousting the French and restoring the authority of George III;
+and Hardenberg assured Harrowby in their first interview, on 16th
+November, that that force would protect the flank of the Anglo-Russian
+expedition then about to enter the Electorate.
+
+On the surface, then, everything seemed to augur a brilliant success for
+Pitt's policy. As had happened before, the recklessness of Napoleon
+favoured the British cause; and it is probable that, if Frederick
+William had sent to the French headquarters any one but Count Haugwitz,
+Prussia would have drawn the sword. Napoleon was in great danger. True,
+he met with little opposition in his advance to Vienna and thence into
+Moravia. But the deeper he plunged into that province, the worse would
+be his position if 180,000 Prussians were launched at his flank and
+rear. The Court of Berlin was well aware that the destinies of Europe
+lay in its hands; and for once a fatal confidence possessed Frederick
+William. He and his advisers used the crisis, not in the magnanimous
+spirit which impelled Pitt to sacrifice nearly the whole of Britain's
+naval conquests, but in order to assure Prussia's gain even at the
+expense of the solidarity of the European League. The Coalition's
+extremity was Prussia's opportunity. Hanover was her price for joining
+it. Such was the purport of a secret article of the Treaty of Potsdam,
+to which the Czar had most reluctantly given his consent.
+
+In order to bring the utmost possible pressure to bear upon the British
+Government, a special Russian envoy, Count d'Oubril, set out from Berlin
+to London, crossing Harrowby on the way. Oubril arrived in London on or
+about 16th November; and after a short delay Vorontzoff and he
+communicated to Pitt the document containing the ominous demand. The
+Russian ambassador noted that Pitt, despite long training in the
+concealment of his feelings, displayed some emotion on reading the
+fateful words. In truth, they dealt the second of the strokes which
+struck him to the heart. But, collecting himself with an effort, he
+informed Vorontzoff that, so great was the King's attachment to Hanover,
+the patrimony of his family for upwards of a thousand years, that no
+Minister would venture ever to name the proposal, as it might either
+kill him or drive him mad. All the arguments of Vorontzoff and Oubril on
+behalf of the Prusso-Russian demand utterly failed. Pitt expressed a
+desire to meet Prussia's wishes for a better western frontier, but never
+at the expense of Hanover.[744] Thus he deliberately faced a terrible
+diplomatic reverse rather than expose the King to a recurrence of his
+mental malady. A little later he recovered his equanimity; for on 19th
+November he informed Harrowby that, though Hanover was out of the
+question, yet he hoped to find an equivalent which would satisfy
+Prussia. The two Emperors could not in their present plight object to
+her gaining a large accession of territory. Moreover it would be an
+infinite disgrace to them now to make a separate peace with Napoleon.
+
+ Still [he added] even if this should happen, we have a strong
+ interest that a separate peace should provide all the security
+ that can be obtained for the Continent. If decent terms are
+ obtained, particularly if France is obliged _really_ to evacuate
+ Holland and leave it in a state of independence, and if the
+ three great Continental Powers after extorting concessions from
+ France in the moment of victory, unite cordially in an
+ obligation to resist all future encroachments, not only Europe
+ will have gained much, but we shall have gained for the separate
+ objects of this country more than enough to compensate for all
+ the expense of subsidies in this year; and we may return to a
+ state of separate war with little to guard against but the
+ single point of Boulogne and with increased means of
+ concentrating both our naval and land defence. The first object
+ therefore of my wishes is, the immediate rejection of the
+ mediation[745] and the _embarking Prussia at any rate in active
+ and decisive operations_ towards Germany and Holland, leaving
+ it to be considered afterwards what territorial arrangements can
+ be agreed upon to secure her permanent co-operation. The next
+ would be, in the event of negotiation, our being included in it,
+ on the terms of restoring all our conquests except Malta and the
+ Cape--and the third (and tho' the worst not a bad one) as good a
+ separate peace as possible for our perfidious Allies, leaving us
+ to fight our battle for ourselves....[746]
+
+Pitt's indignation against Prussia did not lead him to fling a refusal
+at her. On the contrary, he sought to postpone that announcement until
+the expiration of the four weeks, within which she must make her
+decision to side with or against Napoleon. Such was the purport of his
+letter of 23rd November to Harrowby. He also announced an increase in
+the numbers of the British force destined to serve in Hanover. This
+expedition under General Don was now being pushed on with great zeal. It
+met with disapproval from Canning, who with much sagacity pointed out,
+on 29th November, that if the war were continued the gain of a month or
+two was a trifling object; whereas, if the Allies ended the war, France
+would certainly offer Hanover to Prussia.[747] The dash of pessimism in
+Canning's nature enabled him to discern difficulties and dangers which
+were hidden from Pitt's ever hopeful vision. Mulgrave seems to have
+shared Pitt's view; for he signed all the despatches relating to the
+Hanoverian expedition. On 23rd November he informed Harrowby that, early
+in the year 1806, as many as 70,000 British and Hanoverian troops would
+be ready for service, either in Hanover or wherever they could be
+employed to most effect. He therefore expected that by that time the
+Allies would have nearly 300,000 men in North Germany; and, as the
+resources of Austria were not depleted by the disaster at Ulm, she and
+Russia ought then to have nearly half a million of men on foot.[748]
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Pitt's eagerness to receive news from Harrowby appears in the closing
+phrases of his letter of 29th November to that envoy: "We are counting
+moments till we hear in what state you found things on your arrival [at
+Berlin], and what has been Haugwitz's reception at the French
+headquarters." Again, on 5th December, he sent off to him a letter,
+which as being the last of any importance written by him at Downing
+Street, must be given in full:
+
+ Downing St. _Dec. 5th, 1805_.
+
+ DEAR HARROWBY,
+
+ I am grieved to hear by your letter of the 24th that you had
+ been so much persecuted by headaches, and that you had allowed
+ the secret article of Potsdam [_sic_] to give you so much
+ uneasiness. You must I am sure be satisfied that the way in
+ which you have treated it is _the best possible_, because it
+ gives no hopes of the thing being consented to, and at the same
+ time avoids the necessity of any formal and official negative.
+ The great object I think is that Prussia should if possible,
+ decide on the result of Ct Haugwitz's mission, without giving
+ to the evil councillors of the King of Prussia the advantage of
+ stating to him that this object is precluded for ever. At the
+ same time we cannot in good faith give the least assurance that
+ it is likely to be ever attainable. Woronzow [Vorontzoff] who
+ has been in town for ten days but is gone again, writes to
+ Alopeus that he has received from him the _mémoire raisonné_ on
+ the exchange of Hanover, but cannot present it to us till he has
+ orders to do so from his own Court. We are therefore supposed to
+ know nothing more of the matter.
+
+ On the whole state of things, you will perhaps be angry with me
+ for saying that my hopes are still sanguine. I think I see great
+ chance of Prussia agreeing to co-operate either for a definite
+ object or a limited time, in return for subsidies and for our
+ assurance (which you know to be a very sincere one) of wishing
+ to procure for them important acquisitions. The question of
+ Hanover may I think be left aloof. As to plans of operations, it
+ is almost idle to say anything. But you will have seen that we
+ think the first and _essential_ point is to act (as Prussia
+ seems to intend) with a force sure of success in the rear of the
+ French Army in Germany. Still I cannot conceive what can be the
+ military reasons why an attack on Holland should not take place
+ at the same time, or at least should not be prepared so as to be
+ put into execution whenever the effect of any great success of
+ the Allies, or a frost, or an appearance of good disposition in
+ the country, should afford a favourable opening for such an
+ enterprise, the advantages of which in its impression and
+ consequences I need not state to you. We have finally decided
+ with a view to this chance and for the sake of shewing at any
+ rate our readiness to co-operate, to send the 12,000 men which
+ have been prepared, to Embden [_sic_], and if this wind
+ continues, I hope they will sail within three days. Endeavour to
+ make Prussia send under General Kalkreuth (or whoever may be the
+ general they destine for that quarter) not merely 10,000 men,
+ but enough to make such an army as can scarce be resisted. Our
+ force with the Russians (exclusive of the Swedes and after
+ allowing for something to watch Hameln[749]) will be near
+ 40,000 men. It surely cannot be difficult for Prussia to add
+ 30,000 to that number within a very few weeks on increased
+ subsidies beyond the number they now propose, and that without
+ at all impairing the effort against Bonaparte's army. As to your
+ stay at Berlin I can only say that if your health will permit,
+ _everything that we value most_ may depend on your remaining
+ till you have seen the leading points of the negociation fairly
+ through. As to details with Saxony and Hesse, they cannot be
+ worth your waiting for, if they require any time, which,
+ however, supposing you once to settle with Prussia, they cannot.
+ The important moment seems to be that when the issue of
+ Haugwitz's negociation shall have been known in Berlin and time
+ given to communicate with Austria and Russia on the result.
+ Under these circumstances it will I am afraid hardly be as
+ pleasant to you as it is to me to know that Parliament will not
+ meet till the 21st of Jany [1806] and that you have not on that
+ account any reason for your immediate return. If, however, (as I
+ most earnestly hope will not be the case) you should really find
+ the fatigue and anxiety too much for you, it is certainly among
+ _the things that we value most_, that you should return, having
+ suffered as little as possible. A frigate will be sent to wait
+ your orders at the Elbe, but I hope you will have no occasion to
+ use it, till after you have signed a provisional treaty, and
+ seen the Prussians on their march against the enemy.
+
+ Ever most sincerely yours,
+ W. P.
+
+Three days before Pitt poured forth this sanguine forecast, Napoleon
+struck the Coalition to the heart. As "the sun of Austerlitz" set, the
+two Emperors were in flight eastwards, while their armies streamed after
+them in hopeless rout, or struggled through the funnel of death between
+the two lakes (2nd December). Marbot's story of thousands of Russians
+sinking majestically under the ice is a piece of melodrama. But the
+reality was such as to stun the survivors. In his dazed condition the
+Emperor Francis forthwith sent proposals for a truce. It proved to be
+the precursor of the armistice of 6th December, which involved the
+departure of the Russian army and the exclusion of that of Prussia from
+Austrian territories. In the calculating balance maintained at Berlin,
+this diplomatic surrender proved to be a greater calamity than the
+military disaster. True, the news of the battle caused consternation;
+but for the present Frederick William held firm and on 8th December
+ordered part of the Prussian army (now 192,000 strong) to enter Bohemia
+for the succour of the Allies.[750] Not until after the 13th, after the
+arrival of news of the armistice, did he seek to evade his obligations
+to Russia; and, obviously, a new situation arose when Alexander gave up
+the campaign, and Francis promised to bar out the Prussians. Hardenberg
+sought to hide from Harrowby this change of front, hinting, however,
+that Prussia might have to consult her own interests. In the light of
+the events of 1795, that phrase was clear enough; and Harrowby forthwith
+sent orders to General Don to countermand the advance of his troops
+towards Hanover.[751]
+
+To complete this chapter of misfortunes, Harrowby's health broke down.
+On discovering the truth about Prussia's secret demand for Hanover, he
+fell into the depths of despair and nervous prostration, as appears from
+the postscript of his letter of 24th November to Pitt:
+
+ This horrible secret article has finished me. It stood with its
+ mouth open, and from mere cowardice I have run into it, and it
+ will devour me. I am persuaded, however, that it would equally
+ have caught me if I had run away. There is something, however,
+ in every view of it which agonises me. I am anxious beyond
+ imagination to know what passes in England upon it and conclude
+ I shall by the next newspaper. Would it be impossible to prevail
+ upon the King to listen to the idea of a sort of Barrier-treaty
+ for Hanover, which would give Prussia a military frontier but
+ not the territorial possession?[752]
+
+On 8th December, after hearing the first news of Austerlitz, he writes
+in equally dolorous strains, concluding with a request that Pitt would
+send a frigate to the mouth of the Elbe to bring away his coffin. Again
+he writes in these pathetic terms:
+
+ _Most secret._
+ Berlin, _12 Dec. 1805_.[753]
+
+ DEAR PITT,
+
+ The current of events has been so rapid, and the embarrassments
+ they produce from every quarter is [_sic_] so intolerable, that,
+ weakened as my brain has been by nervous spasms of giddiness, I
+ hardly keep my senses. Cool judgment is required; and I can only
+ take steps in a state of agitation--repent; and there is
+ something more to be repented of. I shall not long stand it;
+ but, in the meantime, what mischief may not have happened! The
+ sacrifice of myself is nothing. All is over with me even if I
+ survive. I am tolerably at intervals, but every fresh occurrence
+ brings with it distraction. I tremble at the consequences. You
+ can conceive no state of mind, or rather of mind and body
+ operating upon each other; you cannot even pity it; you can only
+ despise it. Good God. If it be possible, do not betray me. I may
+ recover. I try to disguise my feelings. I write to my wife with
+ affected cheerfulness. She would not survive. For heaven's sake,
+ keep this to yourself.
+
+ Yours ever,
+ HARROWBY.
+
+To what mistake Harrowby here alludes is a mystery. But George Jackson
+states that he had three fits at Berlin, besides spasms every day.
+Indeed his state was so pitiable that his selection for this difficult
+post was matter of general comment. The physicians strongly urged him to
+return to England at once.[754] Pitt cannot have received Harrowby's
+pathetic confession when he replied as follows, probably to the letter
+of the 8th:
+
+ Bath, _Dec. 21st, 1805_.[755]
+
+ DEAR HARROWBY,
+
+ I was prevented from writing a few lines as I intended by the
+ messenger we sent from hence yesterday. We are sending orders
+ for another today to pass through Berlin on his way to the
+ Emperor's head-quarters, to remind them of sending the
+ ratification which we have never yet received. We have nothing
+ very authentic from the armies later than your despatch of the
+ 9th by estafette, but there are accounts thro' Hamburg from
+ Berlin of the 10th, corroborated by reports from various
+ quarters, which lead us to hope that the sequel of the battle at
+ length terminated in great success on the part of Russia. If
+ this proves true, I flatter myself your subsidiary treaty will
+ have been soon brought to a prosperous issue, and you will be
+ delivered from all your fatigue and anxiety. I am quite grieved
+ to think how much you have suffered, tho' I trust your complaint
+ is only temporary, and that a good battle and a good treaty will
+ send you back to us in better health than you went. I see no
+ danger of your exceeding our limit in the amount of subsidy, as
+ we looked if necessary to an actual annual payment of
+ £3,000,000, and the number proposed in the treaty, of 180,000
+ Prussians and 40,000 Allies, will not require more than
+ £2,750,000, which still leaves room for 25,000 men more if they
+ are wanted and can be had. I have been here for ten days and
+ have already felt the effect of the waters in a pretty smart fit
+ of the gout from which I am just recovering, and of which I
+ expect soon to perceive the benefit.
+
+ Ever yours,
+ W. PITT.
+
+ I need hardly tell you that every step you have taken has been
+ exactly what we should have desired.
+
+He who wrote these cheering words was in worse health than Harrowby. The
+latter lived on till the year 1847; Pitt had now taken his last journey
+but one. Sharp attacks of gout had reduced him to so weak and tremulous
+a state that he could scarcely lift a glass to his lips. So wrote Mrs.
+Jackson on 9th December, long before the news of Austerlitz reached
+these shores.[756] So far back as 27th November, Canning, in prophetic
+strains, begged him not to defer a projected visit to Bath until it was
+too late for the waters to do him good. But "the pilot that weathered
+the storm" refused to leave the tiller in case decisive news came from
+Harrowby. He also prepared to strengthen his Cabinet against the attacks
+certain to be made in the ensuing session, by including in it two
+excellent speakers, Canning and Charles Yorke, the latter taking the
+Board of Control. Why he did not complete these changes, as Canning
+begged him to do, is far from clear. Possibly the sharp though friendly
+criticism which Canning levelled against the Anglo-Russian expedition to
+Hanover made him apprehensive of divisions in the Cabinet on a question
+which was very near his heart. Certainly much could be said in favour of
+an expedition to Walcheren, which Canning urged should be entrusted to
+General M[oore?]. Pitt preferred the Hanoverian enterprise, doubtless
+because it would lay Russia and Prussia under a debt of honour to
+co-operate to the utmost of their power.
+
+At last the strain became too great, and on 7th December Pitt set out
+for Bath, arriving there on the 11th. He resided at Harrowby's house,
+11, Laura Place. His stay in Bath aroused interest so intense that he
+found it necessary to vary the time of his visits to the Pump Room in
+order to escape the crowd which would otherwise have incommoded
+him.[757] As has just appeared, he expected a speedy recovery; for, as
+was the case with his father, if the attack of gout ran a normal course,
+the system felt relief. Freedom from worry was the first condition of
+amendment. After his retirement from office in 1768 Chatham recovered so
+quickly that his opponents gibed at the illness as a political
+device.[758] Ten years later he succumbed to excitement and strain.
+
+During the first part of his stay at Bath, Pitt was in good spirits and
+wrote cheerfully about his health. The following letter to his London
+physician, Sir Walter Farquhar, is not that of a man who feels death
+approaching:
+
+ Bath, _Dec. 15. 1805_.[759]
+
+ The gout continues pretty smartly in my foot; and I find from
+ Mr. Crooks that it is attended with a feverish pulse and some
+ other symptoms of the same nature. I have communicated to Mr.
+ Crooks your directions, and he is to send me the saline draughts
+ with some little addition, which he will explain to you. I
+ thought he would detail symptoms more precisely than I could,
+ and have therefore desired him to write to you. On the whole, I
+ have no doubt the plan you have laid down will answer, and I do
+ not at present see the smallest occasion to accept your kind and
+ friendly offer of coming here.
+
+ P.S. 4.30 P.M. I enclose Mr. Crooks' letter to you. His account
+ to me of the pulse was that it was not strong, but quick and
+ beating near an hundred. One of the saline draughts which I have
+ taken since I wrote the foregoing letter, seems, as far as I can
+ judge from feeling, already to have had a very good effect.
+
+Not until ten days later do we find signs of alarm in the letters of his
+friends; for it is characteristic of his buoyant nature that he never
+wrote despondingly about himself. There is a well-known story to the
+effect that, on hearing the news of Austerlitz, he called for a map of
+Europe, to see where the place was, and then said with a sigh: "Roll up
+that map: it will not be wanted these ten years." One version assigns
+the incident to Shockerwick House, near Bath. Pitt is looking over the
+picture gallery, and is gazing at Gainsborough's portrait of the actor
+Quin. His retentive memory calls up the lines in Churchill's
+"Characters":
+
+ Nature, in spite of all his skill, crept in--
+ Horatio, Dorax, Falstaff--still 'twas Quin.
+
+At that moment he hears the beat of a horse's hoofs. A courier dashes
+up. He comes in, splashed with mud, hands the despatches. Pitt tears
+them open and hurriedly reads them. His countenance changes, he calls
+for brandy, then for a map, and is finally helped to his carriage,
+uttering the historic phrase.[760] In another version he mournfully
+rolls out the words to Lady Hester Stanhope, as she welcomes him in the
+hall of Bowling Green House, after his last journey to his home on
+Putney Heath.[761] The words probably fell from him on some occasion.
+But at the risk of incurring the charge of pedantry, I must point out
+that the news of Austerlitz did not come on him as one overwhelming
+shock: it filtered through by degrees. As we have seen, he wrote to
+Harrowby on 21st December, stating that reports from Berlin and other
+quarters represented the sequel to the battle as a great success for the
+Russians. It appears that Thornton, our envoy at Hamburg, wrote as
+follows on 13th December to Mulgrave: "From everything I can learn (for
+the details are even yet far from being circumstantial and decisive) the
+tide of success had completely turned in favour of the Russian and
+Austrian armies, tho', as the conflict still continued to the 4th and
+perhaps to the 5th, it could not be positively said on which side the
+victory had been declared. The certain intelligence cannot now be long
+delayed."[762]
+
+Castlereagh also, writing to Pitt on 19th December, assured him that he
+had heard similar news through various channels, and therefore cherished
+high hopes that something good had happened.[763] Mulgrave, who was then
+also at Bath along with Bathurst, Hawkesbury, and Canning, shared these
+hopes. Despite the first reports of Austerlitz, which were promptly
+contradicted, the Ministerial circle at Bath had no want of diversion.
+On 12th December Mulgrave sent to Pitt a short poem on Trafalgar for his
+correction, and Pitt touched up a few lines. On 21st December Mulgrave
+wrote to him: "I send you Woronzow [Vorontzoff] and Ward, _faute de
+mieux_. I was rejoiced to find you were gone out in your carriage when I
+called at your home after church. As Bathurst, Canning, and the gout
+have left you, I hope you will be able to return to the mess to-morrow."
+This does not imply that Pitt was living the life of an invalid, or was
+kept to so strict a diet as during his sojourn at Bath three years
+before.
+
+Equally hopeful was the estimate of Canning. He spent a week with Pitt
+at Bath, and, after leaving him shortly before Christmas, informed a
+friend that Pitt was "recovering from a fit of the gout, which has done
+him abundance of good, and puts off the time of his driving after old
+Frere--I trust to an incalculable distance.... There wants only an
+official confirmation of all the good news (that has reached us through
+every possible channel except those of Office) to complete it."[764]
+
+Canning, we may note here, had discussed with Pitt his projected
+poem--"Ulm and Trafalgar" (which bore the motto "Look here, upon this
+picture, and on that"). It began:
+
+ While Austria's yielded armies, vainly brave,
+ Moved, in sad pomp, by Danube's blood-stained wave
+
+and ended with a noble acclaim to Nelson:
+
+ Thou, bravest, gentlest Spirit, fare thee well.
+
+On the first line Canning plumed himself until he remembered the warning
+of an old tutor at Magdalen, that when anything in your verses pleased
+you very much, it was best to strike it out. Canning referred the phrase
+"yielded armies" to Pitt, who probably found relief from his cares in
+touching up the poem.[765] That Christmastide, then, was a time of
+anxiety, but not of settled gloom. There is no sign that Pitt or his
+colleagues felt the position to be desperate until the end of the year.
+On Christmas Day Castlereagh wrote from Downing Street to Pitt: "I am
+sorry to add to your materials for criticism and speculation. I send you
+Cooke's 'Courant,' There is intelligence in the City from Amsterdam of
+the 21st. Nothing official known here of an _armistice_. You have
+received from Lord B[arham?] every information from that quarter."[766]
+
+Indeed, the hopefulness of Ministers now involved them in greater
+difficulties. Building on Prussia's promises, they decided early in
+December to order the despatch of strong reinforcements to the British
+corps then on the point of entering Hanover.[767] In all, as many as
+65,000 British and King's Germans were to be sent--the largest force
+that had ever set sail from these shores, a fact which testifies to the
+ardour of Pitt's desires for the liberation of Hanover and Holland. Even
+the immediate results of this decision were disastrous. Sixty-seven
+transports, forthwith setting sail, encountered a terrible storm, which
+flung three of them on the enemy's coast, while one sank with all hands
+on the Goodwins. Such was the purport of the news sent by Castlereagh to
+Pitt at Bath on 19th December. He added that, in spite of these losses,
+"the little Cabinet of five" (with Lord Barham in attendance) decided to
+order all the remaining transports to sail, so that Prussia might be
+encouraged to "throw her strength to the southward. We have acted for
+the best, and I hope you and your companions will approve."[768] Pitt,
+of course, did approve, not knowing that while England was encountering
+heavy risks in order to effect the liberation of North Germany, her
+Allies had come to terms with Napoleon.
+
+At last, on 29th December, definite news concerning the armistice of 4th
+December reached London. It must have chilled the hearts of the boldest.
+For, trusting in the continued exertions of the Allies, England had sent
+to North Germany as many as 257 transports, and of these 8 were now
+known to be lost, involving the death of 664 men, and the capture of
+about 1,000 on the enemies' coasts. All this effort and loss of life now
+appeared to be useless, in view of the vacillating conduct of Prussia.
+Only with her good will could the British troops, with the Russian and
+Swedish contingents, hope to conquer Holland. If she declared against
+us, the whole force would be in jeopardy. Such were the tidings which
+Castlereagh bore with him to Pitt at the end of the year.[769] Not a
+line survives respecting that mournful interview; but we can picture the
+deathly look coming over Pitt's emaciated features as he now for the
+first time faced the prospect of the dissolution of the mighty league
+which he had toiled to construct. Probably it was this shock to the
+system which brought on a second attack of the gout, accompanied with
+great weakness and distaste for food.[770]
+
+Nevertheless he clung to the hope that Prussia would stand firm. On 3rd
+January 1806 further news reached him from the Austrian and Prussian
+Governments. The Austrian despatches represented Austerlitz as a
+repulse, but not a disaster, and the armistice as a device for enabling
+Prussia to prepare her blow at Napoleon's flank or rear. On 5th January
+Mulgrave found in the despatches from Berlin grounds for believing that
+that Court might under certain conditions assist the two Emperors in
+Moravia and the British force in Hanover. On the morrow he wrote to Pitt
+in emphatic terms, urging him to offer to Prussia the Dutch Republic.
+That little State (he urged) could not again be independent, save in
+circumstances now scarcely imaginable, much less realizable. Further,
+the Stadholder having very tamely accepted the domain of Fulda as an
+indemnity, we need feel no qualms for the House of Nassau; and, as
+Prussia was influenced solely by territorial greed, and Hanover was out
+of the question, she might well acquire the Dutch Netherlands, which
+would link her to British interests.[771] Again we have to admit
+ignorance of Pitt's opinion on this degrading proposal. Certainly it
+never took definite shape.[772] Though willing to assign to Prussia the
+Belgic Netherlands, he laid great stress on the independence of the
+Dutch Netherlands, which indeed was the corner-stone of his foreign
+policy. Moreover, to barter away an unoffending little State was to
+repeat the international crimes of the partitions of Poland and Venetia.
+We may be sure that that proud and just spirit would rather have
+perished than stoop to such ignominy.
+
+In effect, he fell a victim to his resolve never to barter away the
+patrimony of George III. We now know that Prussia's policy at this
+crisis turned mainly on the acquisition of Hanover. Her envoy, Haugwitz,
+whom she sent to Napoleon's headquarters charged with the offer of
+Prussia's armed mediation on behalf of Europe, had on 15th December
+signed with him the humiliating Convention of Schönbrunn, whereby
+Prussia agreed to make certain cessions of territory on condition of
+acquiring Hanover. About Christmastide Frederick William decided to
+close with this offer, which involved the expulsion of the Anglo-Russian
+force from the Electorate. Premonitory signs of this change of front
+were soon visible at Berlin. Indeed, the trend of Prussian policy during
+the last decade prepared the British Ministry for the ruin of their
+hopes. Pitt must have been racked with anxiety lest Prussia should doff
+the lion's skin and don that of the jackal; for he alone knew of the
+nervous breakdown of Harrowby.
+
+Perhaps it was the hope of helping on that negotiation from Downing
+Street, added to the verdict of Sir Walter Farquhar that the Bath waters
+were now of no avail, which induced him on 9th January to set out on his
+homeward journey. He was believed to be in better health than at the
+time of his arrival; such at least was the announcement of the "Bath
+Herald" on the 11th; and his hopeful outlook appears in a curious detail
+which afterwards came to light. In order to beguile the tedium of the
+journey he had taken out from a circulating library in Bath the
+following works, each in two volumes, "The Secret History of the Court
+of Petersburg," and Schiller's "History of the Thirty Years' War."[773]
+A man who believes death to be near does not undertake a study of the
+manifold intrigues of Catharine II, or of the Thirty Years' War. He also
+had the prospect of seeing the liveliest and most devoted of friends,
+Canning, at his country home, South Hill, Bracknell, in Windsor Forest.
+Canning sent the invitation on the 5th, and it was accepted on the 8th
+in terms which implied a sojourn of some days. He offered to accompany
+him from Bath, if he felt strong enough to converse on the way; but Pitt
+declined this offer, and it is doubtful whether he stayed at South Hill;
+for Malmesbury declares that he had to remain a long time in bed at
+Reading. On the other hand the Bishop of Lincoln declared that the
+journey took only two days, and that at its close Pitt showed no very
+marked signs of fatigue. Lady Hester Stanhope, however, was shocked by
+his wasted appearance on reaching his home, Bowling Green House, on
+Putney Heath.
+
+Some eighteen months earlier he had leased that residence. It stands on
+the (old) Portsmouth Road, and had earlier been an inn frequented by
+lovers of that game and patrons of cockfighting. After enlargement it
+had been converted into a gentleman's abode which well suited the modest
+requirements of Pitt and of his niece, Lady Hester Stanhope.[774] There,
+not far from the scenes of his youthful frolics with Wilberforce, and
+only a quarter of a mile from the dell where he fought the duel with
+Tierney, he found solace from the ever-increasing cares of state. In
+those last months Hester felt for him feelings akin to adoration.
+
+ [Illustration: BOWLING GREEN HOUSE, PUTNEY HEATH. (From a pencil
+ sketch by Elsie H. Rose)]
+
+On the morrow, Sunday, their circle was enlarged by the arrival of his
+old friend and counsellor, Bishop Tomline, who was shocked at the change
+which had taken place in him since he left for Bath. The physicians,
+Farquhar, Reynolds, and Baillie, however, saw no cause for alarm, the
+only disquieting symptoms being intense weakness and dislike of animal
+food. There is a forcibly significant phrase in a recent letter of
+George Rose to Tomline, that he dreaded the effect on the invalid of an
+excessive use of medicines.[775] Evidently Rose believed the digestive
+organs to be impaired by this habit. Pitt's daily potations of port wine
+for many years past must further have told against recovery. Whether
+Farquhar and his colleagues cut off medicine and sought to build up that
+emaciated frame is uncertain. All that we know is that they prescribed
+complete quiet, and therefore requested the bishop to open all Pitt's
+letters so as to preclude all chance of excitement.
+
+On 12th January, Pitt wrote an affectionate letter to the Marquis
+Wellesley, welcoming him on his return from his memorable Vice-royalty
+in India. He begged him to come to Bowling Green House at the earliest
+opportunity. The letter closes with these remarkable words: "I am
+recovering rather slowly from a series of stomach complaints, followed
+by severe attacks of gout, but I believe I am now in the way of real
+amendment."[776] The Bishop also describes him as gaining ground until
+Monday the 13th. On that day he went out in his coach in the morning,
+but in the evening Lords Castlereagh and Hawkesbury, having obtained
+permission from the physicians to interview their chief, communicated
+news which had a most agitating effect. Pitt afterwards assured the
+Bishop "that he felt during that conversation some sensation in his
+stomach which he feared it might be difficult to remove."[777] It is
+surprising that the physicians allowed an interview of an agitating
+nature; but the ministerial pressure brought to bear on them may have
+overborne their better judgement. In matters of Cabinet discipline Pitt
+was an autocrat, insisting that no important action should be taken
+without his cognizance. Probably, then, it was his own sense of
+responsibility which exposed him to the death blow.
+
+Certainly the question at issue was of the gravest kind. Should
+Ministers order the return of the British reinforcements last sent to
+Hanover? That expedition was the work of Pitt. He it was who had reared
+the fabric of a European Coalition; and, even after the withdrawal of
+Austria, he clung to the hope that Prussia would take her place, and,
+with the help of British, Prussian, Russian, and Swedish troops, drive
+the French from North Germany and the Dutch Republic. How could his
+colleagues order back a large part of the British force, thereby
+justifying the vacillations of Prussia and ensuring a parliamentary
+triumph to Fox and Grenville? And yet Ministers knew, better than Pitt
+could know, the danger of relying on the Court of Berlin. Though not yet
+fully aware of its resolve to take Napoleon's side, they had strong
+reasons for expecting this course of action; and in that case the
+British expedition would be in grave danger between the Prussians on the
+east, the Franco-Dutch forces on the south-west and the ice-floes which
+were forming on the River Weser. Prudence counselled the timely return
+of our troops who were yet on board ship at or near Bremen.[778]
+Patriotic pride prompted a bold offensive. But the King and Pitt alone
+could utter the decisive words. The King approved the return of the
+last reinforcements, and Pitt, it seems, must have conceded the point.
+But the concession struck him to the heart. It was the last of the
+deadly stabs which fate dealt him thick and fast in his time of
+weakness.
+
+Nevertheless, on the morrow he drove out in his carriage, but was
+visibly weaker than before the interview. For a few minutes he saw his
+brother and then Lord Wellesley. The latter found his mind as clear as
+ever; and he uttered these remarkable words about Sir Arthur Wellesley:
+"He states every difficulty before he undertakes any service, but none
+after he has undertaken it." What a prophecy of Vittoria and Waterloo
+there is in these words--the swan-song of Pitt. It was too much for him.
+He fainted before Wellesley left the room. On the 18th he rallied for a
+time, and the doctors saw a gleam of hope.[779]
+
+In reality there was only one faint chance of recovery, that good news
+might arrive. The chief cause of physical collapse was the torture of
+the brain; and it was possible that the whole system might even now
+rally under the vitalizing thrills of hope. But as day by day passed by
+and brought nearer that dreaded occasion, the opening of Parliament on
+22nd January, this last chance vanished. The news which reached the
+Foreign Office became more and more gloomy. On 10th January Mulgrave
+decided, when recalling Harrowby, to entrust his mission at Berlin to
+the Earl of Harrington, in the hope that that Court would keep
+troth.[780] But all negotiation was useless. By the 19th the conduct of
+Prussia respecting Hanover appeared so threatening that Ministers
+ordered the immediate recall of the whole British force.[781] Thus,
+England had sent forth some 60,000 troops in order to bring them back
+again. She had paid a million sterling to Austria, and the results were
+Ulm and Austerlitz. Nearly as much had gone to Russia, and the outcome
+was the armistice. A British subsidy had been claimed by Prussia, and in
+return she was about to take Hanover as a gift from Napoleon. It is to
+be hoped that Ministers kept the last bitter truth from Pitt; but from
+their silence he must have augured the worst. Surely death itself was
+better than to be driven from power by the combined attacks of Fox,
+Grenville, and Windham, the success of which was now assured.
+
+A touching instance of Pitt's thoughtfulness during these days of waning
+strength is recorded by Robert Plumer Ward. He had accepted office as
+Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs; but, in the event of the overthrow
+of the Ministry, he would be in a far worse position than before. Pitt
+remembered this fact, and whispered to Farquhar the words "Robert Ward."
+He also made signs for paper and ink and sought to pen a request for a
+pension; but he succeeded only in tracing strokes which could not be
+deciphered.[782] His thoughts were also with his nieces, especially Lady
+Hester Stanhope. Farquhar sought to prevent a parting interview with
+her; but during his temporary absence she slipped into the bedroom,
+there to receive the blessing of her uncle and an affectionate farewell.
+To her brother James, who then came in, he said; "Dear soul, I know she
+loves me. Where is Hester? Is Hester gone?" Early on the 22nd he
+dictated these words to the bishop: "I wish £1,000 or £1,500 a year to
+be given to my nieces if the public should think my long services
+deserving it; but I do not presume to think I have earned it."[783] He
+then named those to whom since 1801 he owed sums of money: Long, Steele,
+Lords Camden and Carrington, the Bishop of Lincoln and Joseph Smith; he
+also entrusted his papers to the bishop and to Lord Chatham.
+
+Already Bishop Tomline had warned him of his approaching change and
+besought him to prepare his mind for the Sacrament. This he declined,
+alleging his unworthiness to receive it. Thereupon the bishop prayed
+with him. He calmly murmured the responses and humbly confessed that he
+had too much neglected prayer. Nevertheless, he affirmed the steadiness
+of his religious faith and principles, and declared that he had ever
+sought to fulfil his duty to God and to mankind, though with many errors
+and failures. While the bishop was overcome with emotion, the dying man
+thanked him earnestly for all his kindness throughout life. Once his
+thoughts recurred to his own conduct; he expressed heartfelt
+satisfaction at the innocency of his life, and declared that he died in
+perfect charity with all mankind.[784]
+
+He lingered on to the early hours of 23rd January, the twenty-fifth
+anniversary of his entry into Parliament. During that night the cares of
+state once more pressed upon him. He spoke often about a private letter
+from Lord Harrowby, probably the pathetic effusion quoted above. At
+times he asked his nephew the direction of the wind, and on hearing it
+was in the east he murmured: "East--ah that will do: that will bring him
+quick."[785] Then he fell into conversation with a messenger, or, again,
+he murmured "Hear, hear," until sleep enfolded him. The last thoughts of
+Napoleon are said to have centred in his early love and his
+army--"Joséphine:--Tête d'armée" he gasped as he neared his end. In
+Pitt's being there was but one master passion; and to it his wandering
+fancies returned during a last brief spell of consciousness. As James
+Stanhope listened to the breathing, there fell on his ears with a
+strange clearness the words: "My country! How I leave my country!" Then
+the sufferer fell once more into a deep sleep; and so he lay, until,
+some three hours before the dawn, his spirit passed away in a long-drawn
+sigh.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[735] G. Jackson ("Diaries," i, 270) gives a supposed instance of her
+interference in favour of Haugwitz.
+
+[736] _Ibid._, i, 301, 305, 314-9.
+
+[737] Metternich, "Mems.," i, 57 (Eng. ed.); Hardenberg, "Mems.," ii,
+220-4.
+
+[738] Hardenberg, "Mems.," ii, 292-300.
+
+[739] "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 340.
+
+[740] Pretyman MSS.; "Life of Wilberforce," iii, 412.
+
+[741] Rose, "Third Coalition," 208-20. In "F. O.," Russia, 59, is a
+ciphered despatch of 25th October 1805 that, if circumstances favoured,
+a second British expedition (_i.e._, besides that destined for Hanover)
+would be made ready to seize Walcheren.
+
+[742] Pitt MSS., 142.
+
+[743] See Hansing, "Hardenberg und die dritte Coalition" (Appendix), for
+a comparison of these terms with those of the Anglo-Russian treaty of
+11th April 1805.
+
+[744] Czartoryski, "Mems.," ii, ch. ix. The editor wrongly gives the
+date of Vorontzoff's letter as 17/29 September 1805, though it contains
+references to Ulm and Trafalgar. It is of 18th-21st November. "F. O.,"
+Prussia, 70. Mulgrave to Harrowby, 23rd November.
+
+[745] _I.e._, the Prussian mediation by Napoleon.
+
+[746] Harrowby MSS.
+
+[747] See "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies" for the letter in full.
+
+[748] Rose, "Third Coalition," 230-5.
+
+[749] The French held the fortress of Hameln.
+
+[750] Rose, "Third Coalition," 259.
+
+[751] _Ibid._, 260, 261.
+
+[752] Pitt MSS., 142.
+
+[753] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[754] G. Jackson, "Diaries," i, 377, 381, 384. Harrowby left Berlin on
+7th or 8th January 1806 (_ibid._, 390).
+
+[755] Harrowby MSS.
+
+[756] G. Jackson, "Diaries," i, 381.
+
+[757] Peach, "Historic Houses of Bath." The "Bath Herald" of 11th
+January 1806 has an ode containing the lines:
+
+ Oh prepare, prepare
+ The renovating draught! He comes by stealth
+ (For so unconscious worth is ever seen)
+ With thoughts uplifted but retiring mien.
+
+[758] Ruville, "Chatham," iii, 246.
+
+[759] Chevening MSS.
+
+[760] Thomas Hardy ("The Dynasts," i, Act vi, sc. 7) places the incident
+in the week after Austerlitz. The date is impossible.
+
+[761] Stanhope, iv, 369.
+
+[762] Pitt MSS., 337.
+
+[763] _Ibid._, 121. See, too, in his letter of 23rd December
+("Castlereagh Corresp.," vi, 92).
+
+[764] J. Bagot, "Canning and his Friends," i, 227. The statement about
+the gout corrects Malmesbury ("Diaries," iv, 343) that the attack of
+gout left Pitt far weaker and with digestion impaired. Malmesbury was
+not at Bath. Frere's father had lately died.
+
+[765] Bagot, "Canning, etc.," 415-9; H. Newbolt, "Year of Trafalgar,"
+190-3.
+
+[766] Pitt MSS., 121.
+
+[767] "Castlereagh Corresp.," vi, 70-85.
+
+[768] Pitt MSS., 121.
+
+[769] "Castlereagh Corresp.," vi, 100; "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 344.
+
+[770] Gifford, "Life of Pitt," vi, 802; Lord Rosebery, "Tomline's
+Estimate of Pitt" (1903), p. 16.
+
+[771] Pitt MSS., 142.
+
+[772] In the "Hardenberg Memoirs" (ii, 353) it is stated that Harrowby
+offered Holland to Prussia. Every despatch that I have read runs counter
+to this assertion. If Harrowby made the offer, it was in sheer
+desperation and on his own authority; but he nowhere mentions it.
+
+[773] Chevening MSS.; "Notes and Queries," 12th November 1864. Mr. John
+Upham of Bath on 10th March 1806 sent these particulars to Lord Chatham.
+Gifford ("Life of Pitt," vi, 803) wrongly states that the journey took
+four days.
+
+[774] The house has been very little altered since 1806, and not at all
+on the side shown in the accompanying sketch, which, by kind permission
+of Mr. and Mrs. Doulton, was done by my daughter. The room over the
+veranda is that in which Pitt died.
+
+[775] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[776] Stanhope, iv, 374.
+
+[777] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[778] "Castlereagh Corresp.," vi, 103-112, 119.
+
+[779] Stanhope, iv, 375; "Malmesbury Diaries," iv, 346; "Dropmore P.,"
+vii, 327
+
+[780] "F. O.," Austria, 77. Mulgrave to Harrington, 10th January 1806.
+
+[781] "Castlereagh Corresp.," vi, 126.
+
+[782] R. P. Ward, "Memoirs," i, 176.
+
+[783] Pretyman MSS.
+
+[784] Lord Rosebery, "Tomline's Estimate of Pitt," 18; "Dropmore P.,"
+vii, 330.
+
+[785] Stanhope, iv, 381.
+
+
+
+
+ EPILOGUE
+
+ Now is the stately column broke
+ The beacon-light is quench'd in smoke,
+ The trumpet's silver sound is still
+ The warder silent on the hill.
+ SCOTT, _Marmion_.
+
+
+This noble epitaph to the memory of Pitt conveys an impression alike of
+heroic endeavour and of irretrievable failure. It is the Funeral March
+of Chopin, not of Handel, and it echoes the feeling of the time. An
+impenetrable darkness hung over England. Ulm, Austerlitz, the armistice,
+and the desertion of the Allies by Prussia were successive waves of
+calamity, which obliterated all landmarks and all means of safety. The
+dying words of Pitt found response in every breast, with this
+difference, that, while he was proudly conscious of the correctness of
+his aims, the many, who judge solely by tangible results, imputed to him
+the disasters of the war and the collapse of the Coalition. Even
+Auckland exclaimed that the continental alliances had been wretchedly
+mismanaged, a remark which Malmesbury treated with quiet contempt.
+Grenville, who was about to move a vote of censure on the Ministry,
+burst into an agony of tears on hearing that Pitt was at death's door.
+His distress of mind probably arose from a belated perception of the
+factiousness of his own conduct and from grief at the unrelieved gloom
+of the end of a career whose meridian splendour had shed lustre upon
+him.
+
+The House of Commons did not whole-heartedly accord to the deceased
+statesman a burial in Westminster Abbey in the tomb of Chatham. A motion
+to that effect, moved by Lascelles and seconded by the Marquis of
+Titchfield, was strongly opposed by Fox, George Ponsonby, Windham, and
+three other speakers. It passed by 258 votes to 59. Still more painful
+was the discussion in the Common Council of the City of London, where a
+proposal to erect a monument to Pitt was carried only by 77 votes to 71.
+It is safe to say that, if the fortune of war had gone against France at
+Ulm and Austerlitz, Pitt would have been ecstatically hailed as the
+saviour of Europe, as indeed he was at the Guildhall after Trafalgar.
+How long was it before it dawned on Auckland, Windham, and the
+seventy-one councillors of the City of London, that the censures cast on
+the memory of Pitt ought to have been levelled at the defender of Ulm,
+the Czar Alexander and his equally presumptuous advisers at Austerlitz,
+and most of all at the cringing politicians of Berlin?
+
+It is now abundantly clear that Pitt fell a victim to his confidence in
+the rulers of three great monarchies, whose means were vast, whose
+promises were lofty, and whose surrender after the first reverses
+baffled all forecasts. The descendants of Maria Theresa and Catharine
+tamely retired from the fray after a single adverse blow; and the
+successor of the great Frederick sheathed his sword after the
+unpardonable insult at Anspach.
+
+In truth, the career of Pitt came to a climax at a time of unexampled
+decadence of the ancient dynasties. The destinies of the allied Houses
+of Bourbon rested upon Louis XVI of France and Charles IV of Spain. To
+the ineptitude of the former the French Revolution was in large measure
+due. To the weakness and falsity of the latter we may ascribe the
+desertion of the royalist cause by Spain in 1795-6, with the train of
+disastrous results in the Mediterranean and the West Indies. In Central
+Europe Francis of Austria was scarcely more than a tool in the hands of
+those subtle schemers, Thugut and Cobenzl. The boundless resources of
+Russia were at the disposal of Paul and Alexander, who, with all their
+generous impulses, were incapable of steadily applying them to one
+definite end. Only after weary years of subservience to Napoleon did
+Alexander develop that firmness of character which finally brought
+salvation to the Continent. From Frederick William even deeper
+humiliations failed to evoke any heroic resolve. Among the statesmen of
+those three monarchies at the time of Pitt there is but one who was a
+fit compeer to him; and the fates willed that Stein should not control
+affairs until the year 1807. The age of Pitt was the age of Godoy,
+Thugut, and Haugwitz--weavers of old-world schemes of partition or
+barter, and blind to the storm gathering in the West.
+
+The importance of his achievements in curbing their ambitions and
+saving the smaller States has not received due recognition. He did much
+to rescue the Dutch Netherlands from anarchy, and Sweden and Turkey from
+the clutches of powerful neighbours. He failed, indeed, in his
+diplomatic contest with Catharine; but the duplicity of the Court of
+Berlin, and the factious opposition of the Whigs, made success
+impossible; and he had thereafter to look on helplessly at the final
+Partitions of Poland. Only those who have probed the policy of Russia,
+Austria, and Prussia in the years 1787-92 can fully realize the
+difficulties which attended his efforts to frame a solid league against
+Revolutionary France. As well might one attempt out of rubble to build a
+cannon-proof rampart.
+
+At home Pitt had to deal with George III. Now, even under a limited
+monarchy the fortunes of a statesman depend largely on the character of
+his Sovereign. While possessing the initiative which proffers timely
+advice, it should be under the control of unfailing tact. Dowered with
+insight into character and foresight as to the trend of events, the
+Monarch must, for the most part, subordinate energy to self-repression
+and the prophetic instinct to the warnings of courtly sagacity. Yet the
+ideal British ruler must at times assert his will, albeit indirectly,
+and with the personal charm which ensures the smooth working of this
+delicately poised machine. He should therefore be the embodiment of all
+the political virtues. Will even the admirers of George claim that he
+realized that ideal? However excellent as Elector of Hanover, he was a
+doubtful blessing as King of Great Britain and Ireland.
+
+In truth, the Hanoverian strain in his nature had not been toned to the
+degree of fineness needful for the kingly office in these islands. In a
+time of peculiar difficulty he sought to govern almost absolutely by
+means which ensured the temporary subservience of Parliament, and in a
+spirit which brought disruption upon the Empire. The former half of
+Pitt's career was largely occupied in repairing the financial waste
+consequent on the American War, or in making good long arrears of
+legislation. Here, indeed, is his most abiding contribution to the
+national welfare. But his indebtedness to the King on questions of
+foreign and domestic policy is rarely apparent. Reform, whether
+Economical or Parliamentary, encountered the more or less declared
+opposition of the Sovereign. On the other hand, George showed marked
+ability in the support of corporate interests and the management of
+men; so that his relations to Pitt were not unlike those of the Duke of
+Newcastle to Chatham. The Pitts supplied the brain power while the
+Monarch or the Duke by the award of favours ensured the needful degree
+of subservience at the polls or in the lobbies of St. Stephens.
+
+After the "surrender" at the close of the American War, the attitude of
+George towards his British subjects was one of scarcely concealed scorn.
+Now and again his feelings burst forth uncontrollably. Shortly before
+his second attack of lunacy, which occurred near the end of the fortieth
+year of his reign, he astonished the congregation in church by repeating
+in loud and emphatic tones the response: "Forty years long was I grieved
+with this generation and said: 'It is a people that do err in their
+hearts, for they have not known My ways.'" The tones of the voice
+betokened the approach of lunacy, but the conviction of the mind was
+always the same. For the most part, however, scorn was tempered by
+calculation. His letters to Pitt are full of commendation of the House
+of Commons when it unquestioningly passed Government Bills or the
+Supplies; whereas he looked on Fox and Burke as baneful and wearisome
+talkers, consumers of time, and foes to healthful slumber. Similarly, in
+his political catechism, the whole duty of Parliament was to help
+Ministers to govern; while their proper function was to raise the
+maximum of revenue with the minimum of fuss and change. In short, to
+maintain the existing social order; to allow no change in a constitution
+which aroused the wonder or envy of other nations; to use peerages and
+bishoprics, pocket boroughs and sinecures, as a means of buttressing
+that fabric, such were the aims of the third George.
+
+Failing materially to weaken the force of this mighty engine of
+patronage, Pitt was fain to make the best of things as they were. The
+defeat of his Reform Bill in 1785 was the chief crisis in his early
+career; for it involved the failure of the Abolition Bill, perhaps also
+of the schemes for the relief of the poor which he outlined in 1797. In
+fact, after the year 1785, and still more so after 1790, he had to
+govern mainly as King's Minister, not as the people's Minister. Worst of
+all, the centre of political gravity remained dangerously high
+throughout the storms of the Revolutionary Era. How much of the nation's
+energy then went forth in justifiable discontent and futile efforts at
+repression has already appeared. Up to the year 1798 the struggle
+against France was largely one of the governing class against a nation;
+and for this the King and the British oligarchy, not Pitt, were
+responsible. Personal charm and the magnetic gift of evoking enthusiasm
+have in some monarchs counterbalanced defects of narrowness and
+intolerance. George was not deficient in courtly grace and tact--witness
+his remark to Pitt at their first interview after the long separation of
+the years 1801-1804. When Pitt ventured to compliment the King on his
+looking better than after the illness of 1801, the latter at once
+replied: "That is not to be wondered at: I was then on the point of
+parting with an old friend. Now I am about to regain one." But these
+gracious remarks came rarely in his closing years, which were marked by
+increasing harshness to his family, petulance on the most trivial
+affairs, and an outlook more narrowly personal than ever.
+
+Such a nature chafes its surroundings. It arouses no enthusiasm; it
+merely begets heat by friction. Pitt has been blamed for spending too
+much time and energy in speeches about the war. But there was no other
+way of kindling the nation's zeal. The Princes very rarely spoke in the
+House of Lords, except under an overmastering fear of the abolition of
+the Slave Trade. None of the Ministers, except Windham, had the gift of
+oratory. On Pitt alone devolved the task of arousing a national spirit;
+and a cruel destiny cut short his life at the very time when his
+inspiring presence was most needed. How much England then lost can never
+be known. Vorontzoff, Russian ambassador at London, who had earlier been
+a bitter enemy of Pitt, now expressed the fervent desire that death had
+carried off his weary old frame, rather than that of the potential
+Saviour of Europe. The words are instinct with prescience. The
+personality and the actions of Pitt were alike a summons to a life of
+dignity and manly independence. His successors had perforce to take a
+course not unlike that which they were about to censure in him; and the
+distrust which the Czar Alexander felt for them in part accounts for the
+collapse at Tilsit and the ensuing years of bondage to Napoleon.
+
+The disintegrating effects of the party system, or rather of its
+factious use by the Whig leaders, have been explained in these pages.
+Its first result was seen in the divergence of the careers of Pitt and
+Fox. The cause of Reform ought to have received their undivided support;
+but little by little they were edged apart, and their hostility was
+perhaps the most lasting of the many evils wrought by the unnatural
+Coalition of Fox and North. For a time Pitt gathered around him a
+national party, which became avowedly so on the junction of the Old
+Whigs in 1794. But in the last years of his life the denuding influences
+of partisan and personal feuds disastrously thinned his following. From
+the refusal of George to grant Catholic Emancipation, and the consequent
+resignation of Pitt in the spring of 1801, we may trace three sinister
+results. The Union with Ireland was bereft of its natural sequel,
+Catholic Emancipation; the Ministerial ranks were cleft in twain; and
+the crisis brought to the front Addington, a man utterly incapable of
+confronting Napoleon. Had Pitt remained in power, the Peace of Amiens
+would have been less one-sided, its maintenance more dignified; and the
+First Consul, who respected the strong but bullied the weak, would
+probably have acquiesced in a settlement consonant with the reviving
+prestige of England. But though the Union Jack won notable triumphs in
+the spring of 1801, yet at London everything went awry. Moved by
+consideration for the King, then recovering from lunacy, Pitt weakly
+promised not to bring forward Catholic Emancipation during his life, an
+act which annoyed the Grenville-Windham group. His rash promise to
+support Addington tied his hands in the following years; and even after
+the renewal of war he too scrupulously refrained from overthrowing a
+Ministry whose weakness had invited foreign aggressions and was
+powerless to avenge them. Finally, the Grenvilles joined Fox; and thus
+the King's perversity nullified the efforts of Pitt to form an
+Administration worthy to cope with Napoleon.
+
+Nevertheless, the challenge flung down to England by the French
+regicides in 1793 was such as to enhance the person of the Monarch in
+these islands; and the Revolutionary War, which was fatal to several
+dynasties on the Continent, served to consolidate the power of the House
+of Brunswick. For, though Pitt sought to keep the war from becoming a
+royalist crusade, it almost inevitably assumed that character. During
+hostilities there can be but two sharply defined parties. Accordingly,
+Pitt, who opened his career with a bold attack upon the prerogatives of
+George III, ended it as his champion, even consenting to surrender a
+cherished conviction in order that the Monarch's peace of mind might not
+be troubled. Was ever a Minister beset by more baffling problems, by
+more hampering restrictions? Peace might have solved and shattered
+them. But peace he could not secure in the years 1796, 1797; and when
+finally it came it proved to be no peace, merely a pause before a still
+greater cycle of war.
+
+The grandeur of Pitt's efforts for ensuring the independence of Europe
+has somewhat obscured his services as Empire builder. Yet, with the
+possible exception of Chatham, no statesman has exercised a greater
+influence on the destinies of the British race. On two occasions he
+sternly set his face against the cession of Gibraltar; he took keen
+interest in the settlement of New South Wales; his arrangements for the
+government of Canada deserve far higher praise than they have usually
+secured; and his firmness in repelling the archaic claims of Spain to
+the shores of the Northern Pacific gained for his people the future
+colony of British Columbia. Cherishing a belief in the pacific nature of
+Bonaparte's policy at the time of the Treaty of Amiens, he condoned the
+retrocession of the Cape of Good Hope and of Malta, on condition of the
+gain of Ceylon and Trinidad; but after the revival of French schemes of
+aggression in the East he saw the imperative need of planting or
+maintaining the Union Jack at those commanding points. He, who has been
+accused of excessive trust in allies, prepared to forego the alliance of
+Russia rather than give up Malta; and, even before Nelson gained the
+mastery at sea, Pitt sent forth an expedition to conquer the Cape. In
+his magnanimous desire of securing to Europe the blessings of a lasting
+peace he was ready to surrender maritime conquests of greater pecuniary
+value so long as England held the keys of the overland and sea routes to
+India. To that empire his just and statesmanlike policy brought a new
+sense of confidence and therefore a time of comparative rest, until the
+threatening orientation of Bonaparte's plans once more placed everything
+at hazard. Thanks to the exertions of Dundas and the Wellesleys, the
+crisis was averted; but the policy which assured British supremacy in
+the East was essentially that of Pitt.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It is far easier to assess the importance of the life work of Pitt than
+to set forth his character in living traits. Those who knew him well
+agree as the charm of his personality; but they supply few illuminating
+details, perhaps out of respect for the reserve which was his usual
+panoply. Like Chatham he rarely revealed his inmost self. The beauties
+of his conversation, informed with learning, sparkling with wit, always
+vivacious yet never spiteful, never appeared in their full glow except
+in the circle of his dearest friends; but by singular ill fortune they
+who could have handed on those treasures, were satisfied with entries
+such as: "Pitt talked a great deal among his friends"; or, "In society he
+was remarkably cheerful and pleasant, full of wit and playfulness";[786]
+or again, "His great delight was society. There he shone with a degree
+of calm and steady lustre which often astonished me more than his most
+splendid efforts in Parliament; ... he seemed utterly unconscious of his
+own superiority and much more disposed to listen than to talk; ... his
+appearance dispelled all care, his brow was never clouded even in the
+severest public trials."[787] These are only the _hors d'oeuvres_ of
+what must have been a feast of delight; but even they suffice to refute
+the Whig slanders as to Pitt's austerity and selfishness. Under happier
+auspices he would have been known as the most lovable of English
+statesmen; and his exceptional fondness for children would alone suffice
+to expose the falsity of his alleged reply to a manufacturer who
+complained that he could not get enough men--"Then you must take the
+children."[788] Cynicism at the expense of the weak was a trait utterly
+alien to him. It is also incorrect to assert, with Macaulay, that "pride
+pervaded the whole man, was written in the harsh rigid lines of his
+face, was marked by the way in which he walked, in which he sat, in
+which he stood, and, above all, in which he bowed." The Whig historian,
+here following the Whig tradition, formed his estimate of the whole man
+from what was merely a parliamentary mannerism. Pitt, as we have seen,
+was a prey to shyness and _gaucherie_; and the rigid attitude which he
+adopted for the House was not so much the outcome of a sense of
+superiority (though he had an able man's consciousness of worth) as a
+screen to hide those defects. A curiously stilted manner has been the
+bane of many gifted orators and actors; but the real test is whether
+they could throw it off in private. That Pitt threw it off in the circle
+of his friends they all agree. The only defects which Wilberforce saw in
+him were an inadequate knowledge of human nature, a too sanguine
+estimate of men and of the course of events, and, in later years,
+occasional displays of petulance in face of opposition.[789] The first
+are the defects of a noble nature, the last those of a man whose
+strength has long been overtaxed.
+
+In fact, Pitt's constitution was unequal to the prolonged strain. In
+childhood his astonishingly precocious powers needed judicious
+repression. Instead, they were unduly forced by the paternal pride of
+Chatham. At Cambridge, at Lincoln's Inn, and in Parliament the
+intellectual pressure was maintained, with the result that his weakly
+frame was constantly overwrought and attenuated by a too active mind.
+Further, the pressure at Westminster was so continuous as to preclude
+all chance of widening his nature by foreign travel. He caught but a
+glimpse of the life of France in 1783; and his knowledge of other
+peoples and politics was therefore perforce derived from books. It is
+therefore surprising that the young Prime Minister displayed the
+sagacity and tolerance which marked his career.
+
+But his faculties, though not transcendently great, were singularly well
+balanced, besides being controlled by an indomitable will and tact that
+rarely was at fault. In oratory he did not equal Sheridan in wit and
+brilliance, Burke in richness of thought and majesty of diction, or Fox
+in massive strength and debating facility; but, while falling little
+short of Fox in debate, he excelled him in elegance and conciseness,
+Burke in point and common sense, Sheridan in dignity and argumentative
+power, and all of them in the felicitous wedding of elevated thought or
+vigorous argument to noble diction. By the side of his serried yet
+persuasive periods the efforts of Fox seemed ragged, those of Burke
+philosophic essays, those of Sheridan rhetorical tinsel. And this
+harmony was not the effect of long and painful training. His maiden
+speech of 26th February 1781 displayed the grace and forcefulness which
+marked his classic utterance at the Lord Mayor's banquet ten weeks
+before his death.
+
+Precocious maturity also characterized his financial plans, which
+displayed alike the shrewd common sense of those of Walpole and the
+wider aims of Adam Smith. Before his twenty-sixth year Pitt laid the
+basis of a system which, whatever its defects, ensured the speedy
+recovery of national credit and belied the spiteful croakings of foreign
+rivals. Four days after his death, Fox freely admitted that the
+establishment of the Sinking Fund had been most beneficial; and this
+belief, though we now see it to be ill-founded, certainly endowed the
+nation with courage to continue the struggle against the overgrown power
+of France. Scarcely less remarkable is his record of legislative
+achievement. His India Bill of 1784, his attempt to free Anglo-Irish
+trade from antiquated shackles, his effort to present to Parliament a
+palatable yet not ineffective scheme of Reform, raise him above the
+other law-givers of the eighteenth century in the grandeur of his aims
+if not in his actual achievements. By the India Bill of 1784 he
+reconciled the almost incompatible claims of eastern autocracy and
+western democracy. If he failed to carry fiscal and Parliamentary
+Reform, it was due less to tactical defects on his part than to
+prejudice and selfishness among those whom he sought to benefit.
+
+On the other hand, his intense hopefulness often led him to overlook
+obstacles and to credit all men with his own high standard of
+intelligence and probity, a noble defect which not seldom marred his
+diplomatic and military arrangements during the Great War. At no point
+have I slurred over his mistakes, his diffusion of effort over too large
+an area of conflict, and his perhaps undue trust in doubtful allies.
+But, even so, as I have shown, a careful examination of all the
+available evidence generally reveals the reasons for his confidence; and
+failures due to this cause are far less disastrous, because less
+dispiriting to the nation, than those which are the outcome of
+sluggishness or cowardice. Of those unpardonable sins Pitt has never
+been accused even by his severest critics. After the repulse of his
+pacific overtures by the French Directory in September 1797 his attitude
+was one almost of defiance, witness his curt rejection of similar offers
+by Bonaparte early in 1800, which may be pronounced the gravest defect
+of his diplomatic career.
+
+In that age the action of statesmen was often dilatory; and we must
+admit that in regard to the Act of Union with Ireland Pitt's procedure
+was halting and ineffective, so that finally he was driven to use
+corrupt means to force through the corrupt Irish Parliament a measure
+which in the autumn of 1798 would have been accepted thankfully by the
+dominant caste. His Bill of 1797 for the relief of the poor and his Land
+Tax Commutation Act of 1798 are examples of improvident legislation. But
+from a leader overburdened with the details of war and diplomacy we
+should not expect the keen foresight, the minute care as to details,
+which distinguished Gladstone. To compare the achievements of a
+statesman hard pressed by the problems of the Revolutionary Era with
+those of a peaceful age when the standard of legislative effort had been
+greatly raised is unfair; and the criticism of Pitt by a distinguished
+historian evinces partiality towards the Victorian statesman rather than
+an adequate appreciation of the difficulties besetting a Minister of
+George III in those times of turmoil.[790] It is true that Pitt did not
+inaugurate Factory legislation; that was the work of the Addington
+Cabinet in 1802; he did not link his name with the efforts of Romilly
+and others for the reform of the brutal Penal Code; and he did little
+for art and literature; but neither the personality of George nor the
+state of the national finances favoured the rise of a Maecenas.
+
+Concentration of effort on political and diplomatic questions was the
+alpha and omega of Pitt's creed. The terrible pressure of events forbade
+his looking far ahead or far afield; he marched straight onward, hoping
+by his untiring efforts first to restore national prosperity and
+thereafter to secure a peace which would inaugurate a brighter future.
+His overtaxed strength collapsed when the strain was most tense; and his
+life therefore figures as a torso, which should not be criticized as if
+it were the perfect statue. Yet, as moral grandeur is always inspiring,
+Pitt's efforts were finally to be crowned with success by the statesmen
+who had found wisdom in his teaching, inspiration in his quenchless
+hope, enthusiasm in his all-absorbing love of country. An egoist never
+founds a school of the prophets. But Pitt, who
+
+ Spurn'd at the sordid lust of pelf
+ And served his Albion for herself,
+
+trained and inspired a band of devoted disciples such as no other leader
+of the eighteenth century left behind him. Some were unimaginative
+plodders, as Perceval; others were capable administrators and shrewd
+diplomatists, as Castlereagh; to one alone was vouchsafed the fire of
+genius, the sympathetic insight, the soaring ambition held in check by
+overmastering patriotism, which were commingled in the personality of
+the master; and Canning afterwards declared that he buried his political
+allegiance in the grave of Pitt. It was granted to these men to labour
+on in the cause for which he gave his life, and finally, in the years
+1814-15, to bring back France to her old frontiers by arrangements which
+he clearly outlined in the years 1798 and 1805. Of the numerous
+annexations and changes of boundaries effected by Napoleon, only one,
+the Valtelline, was destined to survive. But Europe after Waterloo
+testified alike to the sagacity and the limitations of the mind of
+William Pitt.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[786] "Life of Wilberforce," v, 260; "Private Papers of Wilberforce,"
+68.
+
+[787] Marquis Wellesley, "Quarterly Rev." (1836).
+
+[788] Michelet, "La Femme," Introd., ch. ii, quoted by Stanhope, iv,
+405.
+
+[789] "Private Papers of Wilberforce," 67-72.
+
+[790] Lord Acton, "Letters to Mary Gladstone," 45, 46, 56.
+
+
+
+
+STATISTICS OF THE YEARS 1792-1801
+
+_N.B._--The figures under the heading "money borrowed" are taken from
+the official statistics presented by the Rt. Hon. George Rose, "Brief
+Examination into the Increase of the Revenue, Commerce and Navigation of
+Great Britain" (London, 1806), p. 16. The total statistics are given in
+round numbers.
+
+
+ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ YEAR.| PERMANENT | | | | | MONEY
+ | TAXES. | IMPORTS. | EXPORTS. | NAVY. | ARMY. | BORROWED.
+ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 1792 | 14,284,000| 19,659,000| 24,465,000| 1,985,000| 1,819,000| ----
+ 1793 | 13,941,000| 19,256,000| 19,676,000| 3,971,000| 3,993,000| 4,500,000
+ 1794 | 13,858,000| 22,288,000| 25,111,000| 5,525,000| 6,641,000| 12,907,000
+ 1795 | 13,557,000| 22,736,000| 25,036,000| 6,315,000| 11,610,000| 19,490,000
+ 1796 | 14,292,000| 23,187,000| 28,025,000| 11,883,000| 14,911,000| 29,726,000
+ 1797 | 13,332,000| 21,013,000| 26,315,000| 13,033,000| 15,488,000| 44,029,000
+ 1798 | 14,275,000| 27,857,000| 30,289,000| 13,449,000| 12,852,000| 15,000,000
+ 1799 | 15,727,000| 26,837,000| 33,640,000| 13,642,000| 11,840,000| 15,500,000
+ 1800 | 14,238,000| 30,570,000| 38,119,000| 13,619,000| 11,941,000| 18,500,000
+ 1801 | 14,641,000| 32,795,000| 37,786,000| 15,857,000| 12,117,000| 25,500,000
+ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abbot, Charles (afterwards Lord Colchester), 298, 306 _n._, 330 _n._, 346;
+ Speaker, 520.
+
+Abercorn, Lord, 402.
+
+Abercromby, Sir Ralph, 216;
+ Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies, 226, 239, 240, 241, 246;
+ in Ireland, 352-354;
+ resigns, 354, 363;
+ campaign in Holland, 381, 382;
+ in Egypt, 387;
+ his death, 240.
+
+Aboukir Bay, 367-369.
+
+"Accurate Observer," the, 466.
+
+Acton, General, 150 _n._
+
+Acton, Lord, on Pitt and the execution of Louis XVI, refuted, 94 _n._, 569.
+
+Adair, Robert, 337 _n._
+
+Adams, W. D., Pitt's secretary, 531.
+
+Addington, Henry (afterwards Viscount Sidmouth), Speaker, 180, 255, 302,
+ 368, 436 _n._;
+ suggests the Patriotic Contribution, 331;
+ at the duel between Pitt and Tierney, 334, 335;
+ Pitt at his house, 435;
+ tries to dissuade Pitt from Catholic Emancipation, 437;
+ urged by the King to form a Ministry, 437;
+ Prime Minister, 439, 445-448, 450, 451, 468, 469, 487, 488;
+ Pitt supports him, 471, 472, 478, 479, 488, 496, 503, 504;
+ visits Pitt at Walmer, 473, 477;
+ his finance, 480-482;
+ failure of his negotiations with Pitt, 483-487;
+ plans for his overthrow, 495-499;
+ resigns, 499;
+ opposes abolition of the Slave Trade, 502;
+ union with Pitt, 517;
+ created Viscount Sidmouth, 517;
+ Lord President, 517, 520-522;
+ resigns, 530.
+
+Addington, Hiley, 530.
+
+Agriculture, Board of, instituted, 165, 293.
+
+Agriculture, flourishing state of, 291;
+ influence of enclosures on, 291, 292.
+
+Alava, General, 524.
+
+Alcudia, Duke of. _See_ Godoy.
+
+Alexander I, Czar, 487, 508, 515;
+ his instructions to Novossiltzoff, 522, 525;
+ his terms of alliance, 525-527;
+ his designs on Malta, 527;
+ at Berlin, 537;
+ treaty of Potsdam, 539;
+ battle of Austerlitz, 544, 560.
+
+Aliens' Bill (1792), 94;
+ its withdrawal demanded by France, 101, 103;
+ renewal of (1798), 333.
+
+Alkmaar, Convention of, 382.
+
+All the Talents, Administration of, 496.
+
+Alsace, 46, 53, 122, 129, 142, 197, 199, 200.
+
+Alvanley, Lord. _See_ Arden, Richard Pepper.
+
+Amherst, Lord, Commander-in-Chief, 270.
+
+Amiens, Treaty of, 248, 470, 472, 477, 564, 565.
+
+Anckarström, Johann Jakob, assassinates Gustavus III, 46.
+
+Anspach, Principality of, overrun by Napoleon, 534, 537, 560.
+
+"Anti-Jacobin," the, 327, 336, 337, 464.
+
+"Anti-Levelling Society," the, 68.
+
+Antwerp, trade of, strangled by the Dutch, 72;
+ reduction of the citadel, 76;
+ proposed fortification of, 83;
+ conference at (1793), 132.
+
+Aranda, Count of, Spanish Minister, 46.
+
+Arcola, battle of, 321.
+
+Arden, Sir Richard Pepper (Lord Alvanley), Master of the Rolls, 34, 476;
+ on Irish affairs, 341.
+
+"Argus," the, 66;
+ in the pay of the French Embassy, 66 _n._
+
+Armed Neutrality League, 290;
+ collapse of, 468, 478.
+
+Army, the, debate on the Estimates, 29, 30;
+ state of 1793, 124, 266, 267;
+ Pitt's measures for increasing, 278-280, 305;
+ disaffection in, 318, 319.
+
+Army of Reserve Act, 499, 509, 510.
+
+Artois, Comte d' (afterwards Charles X), 2, 3, 5, 6;
+ and the Quiberon Expedition, 259, 261-263, 287;
+ retires to Holyrood, 263;
+ dines with Pitt and Grenville, 377.
+
+Assaye, battle of, 463, 505.
+
+_Assignats_, royalist, manufacture of, 261.
+
+"Associated Friends of the Constitution," the, at Glasgow, 173, 174.
+
+Auckland, Lord (William Eden), Ambassador at The Hague, 38, 51, 68, 69,
+ 71 _n._, 72-74, 76, 82, 97, 99, 107, 109, 111, 126, 189;
+ Pitt's intimacy with his daughter, 299-303;
+ Postmaster-General, 303, 330, 331, 342, 355, 356, 394-396, 415, 421, 434;
+ his reported intrigues, 443, 445;
+ rupture with Pitt, 452;
+ his "inquisitiveness," 479, 480 _n._;
+ 559, 560.
+
+Augereau, P. F. C., Duc de Castiglione, 324.
+
+Austerlitz, battle of, 536, 544, 560;
+ reception of the news of in England, 548, 549.
+
+Austria, alliance with Prussia (1791), 5, 43;
+ war with France, 23, 46;
+ her share in the partition of Poland, 53, 122;
+ evacuates Brussels, 74;
+ end of estrangement with England, 84;
+ her aims in the war, 122, 123, 129;
+ alliance with England (1793), 123, 143, 147;
+ fails to send reinforcements to Toulon, 152, 153, 157, 158, 161, 268;
+ disputes with Prussia, 200-202;
+ evacuation of the Netherlands, 209, 211, 212;
+ treaty with Russia and England (1795), 235;
+ receives financial aid from England, 304;
+ her struggle with Napoleon, 304, 321, 322;
+ treaty of Campo Formio (1797), 327, 365;
+ appeals to England, 366;
+ schemes for expansion in Italy, 371, 378;
+ declares War against France (1799), 374;
+ negotiations with England (1799), 383;
+ her defeats at Marengo, 386, 387,
+ Ulm, 534, 542,
+ and Austerlitz, 544, 552, 560.
+ _See_ Francis II.
+
+Avignon, annexed by France, 220, 276.
+
+Aylesbury, county meeting at, 188.
+
+
+Baillie, Dr., 554.
+
+Baird, Sir David, his expedition to the Cape, 532, 539.
+
+Bank of England, crisis in 1797, 304, 308, 309.
+
+Bankes, Sir Henry, 290, 428, 454, 520.
+
+Bantry Bay, expedition to, 277, 308, 346.
+
+Barère de Vieuzac, Bertrand, 83, 167.
+
+Barham, Lord (Sir Charles Middleton), Pitt visits him at Teston, 479;
+ appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, 521, 522, 532, 550, 551;
+ created Lord Barham, 522.
+
+Baring, Sir Francis, on the Cape, 251.
+
+Barlow, Joel, 66, 70, 115, 172.
+
+Barnard, Lady Anne, her "South Africa a Century Ago," 254.
+
+Barras, Paul François Nicolas, Comte de, 263, 325, 328;
+ promises help to Ireland, 348, 363.
+
+Barrington, Sir Jonah, 411, 412.
+
+Barthélemy, François, Marquis de, French envoy in Switzerland, 105, 217,
+ 233, 236, 346.
+
+Basle, Treaties of (1795), 217, 233, 236, 237.
+
+Bassano, Duc de. _See_ Maret.
+
+Bath, French refugees in, 165;
+ Pitt's stay at, 479, 547-553.
+
+Bathurst, Bragge, 517, 518.
+
+Bathurst, Lord, 476, 549, 550.
+
+Bavaria, Electorate of, proposal for exchange, 122, 123, 129, 210.
+
+Beaufoy, Henry, M.P., 10, 11.
+
+Bedford, Duke of, 312.
+
+Belfast, French sympathies in, 71, 78;
+ sedition in, 181.
+
+Belgic Provinces, French designs on, 47, 48;
+ French conquest of, 69, 79;
+ demand independence, 83;
+ annexed by France, 111, 121;
+ Austrian proposal for exchange, 122, 129, 210;
+ reconquered, 126;
+ Austrian evacuation of, 208-212;
+ plans for, 371.
+
+Belmore, Lord, 402.
+
+Benoît, Pierre Victor, 60.
+
+Beresford, John, Irish Chief Commissioner of the Revenue, 340, 346, 355,
+ 356, 418, 419, 420, 424;
+ Lord Fitzwilliam and, 341, 342;
+ on the Irish Rebellion, 394, 395;
+ on the Union, 401-404, 410.
+
+Berg, Duchy of, 46.
+
+Bergen-op-Zoom, 126, 213;
+ failure of attack on, 382.
+
+Bethencourt, battle of, 208.
+
+Binns, John, 283, 286, 349, 350.
+
+Birmingham, riots in (1791), 10, 17-19;
+ malcontents in, 186;
+ the "Loyal True Blues," 188, 189;
+ riots in (1795), 287, 288.
+
+Biron, Duc de, his mission to London, 42, 43;
+ arrested for debt, 43.
+
+Bischoffswerder, Baron von, Prussian Minister, 2, 5, 203.
+
+Blankett, Commodore, expedition to the Cape, 251.
+
+Boissy d'Anglas, François Antoine de, 233.
+
+Bolton, Lord. _See_ Orde, Thomas.
+
+Bonaparte, Joseph, 506, 526.
+
+Bonaparte, Napoleon. _See_ Napoleon.
+
+Bond, 530.
+
+Bone, John, 318.
+
+Bonham, arrested, 350.
+
+Bonney, arrested, 190;
+ discharged, 193.
+
+Booth, his evidence against Thomas Walker, 185.
+
+Boyd, Sir R., 158.
+
+Boyd, Walter, 325, 326.
+
+Brabant. _See_ Belgic Provinces.
+
+Breda, captured by Dumouriez, 126.
+
+Brest, naval preparations at, 349, 418, 420, 421;
+ proposed attack on, 383, 386.
+
+Bridport, Lord (Alexander Hood), 261;
+ and the mutiny at the Nore, 311-313;
+ blockades Brest, 420, 421.
+
+Brissot, Jacques Pierre, 107, 223 _n._, 248.
+
+British Columbia, 565.
+
+British Convention, meets at Edinburgh, 181, 182, 184.
+
+Brook, John, attorney and Mayor of Birmingham, 18, 186.
+
+Brooks's Club, 20.
+
+Brown, Matthew C., of Sheffield, 181, 182.
+
+Brown, Colonel, 512.
+
+Bruix, Admiral, 381 _n._, 420, 430.
+
+Brunswick, Charles, Duke of, 46;
+ his manifesto, 52, 57;
+ his retreat through the Argonne, 62;
+ campaign on the Rhine, 142, 200, 201;
+ superseded, 201;
+ opposed to continuation of the war, 207;
+ refuses to take command in Holland, 214-216, 274.
+
+Brunswick, Duchess of, 214, 215, 216.
+
+Brunswick-Oels, Frederick, Duke of, 121.
+
+Brussels, evacuated by the Austrians, 74.
+
+Buccleugh, Duke of, 476.
+
+Buckingham, Marquis of (George Grenville, Earl Temple), 19, 62, 158,
+ 240, 336;
+ on the state of Ireland, 395, 396, 412;
+ on Lord Loughborough, 432.
+
+Buckinghamshire, Earl of (Lord Hobart), 462, 487, 494, 495;
+ Chancellor of the Duchy, 517, 521;
+ resigns, 530.
+
+Buckner, Vice-Admiral, 314.
+
+Burdett, Sir Francis, 332.
+
+Burges, Bland, 51, 64, 86, 259.
+
+Burgh, Dr., 472.
+
+Burgoing, special envoy to Madrid, 233, 235.
+
+Burgoyne, General, 30.
+
+Burke, Edmund, interview with Pitt and Grenville, 7, 8;
+ fears the spread of French principles, 9, 10, 61;
+ on Reform, 12, 24;
+ Paine's reply to his "Reflections," 15, 16;
+ other replies, 16;
+ his "Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs," 16;
+ his "Reflections," 19, 20, 70 _n._;
+ letter to Grenville after the September massacres, 60, 61;
+ on the Treasury Bench, 89;
+ declares the death of Louis inevitable, 91, 92;
+ his speech on the Aliens Bill, 64, 94;
+ his view of the war, 119, 120, 136, 137, 259, 275, 321;
+ on the Traitorous Correspondence Bill, 164;
+ proposes Coalition Ministry (1794), 191;
+ his Economy Bill, 467;
+ as an orator, compared with Pitt, 567;
+ his death, 326.
+
+Burke, Richard, at Coblentz, 7.
+
+Burney, Fanny, 64.
+
+Burton Pynsent, expenses of, 476.
+
+Butler, Simon, 180, 181.
+
+Bute, Earl of, sent to Madrid, 233, 235-237, 242-244.
+
+Buzot, F. L. Nicolas, 62.
+
+
+Cadusey, de, 220.
+
+Calder, Admiral, 532, 536.
+
+Caldiero, battle of, 321.
+
+Calonne, Charles Alexandre de, his mission to England, 3, 5.
+
+Calvi, capture of, 256.
+
+Camage, W., of Sheffield, arrested, 186, 191.
+
+Cambacérès, J. J. Régis de, 233.
+
+Camden, Charles Pratt, 1st Earl, 33, 44.
+
+Camden, John Jeffreys Pratt, 2nd Earl (afterwards Marquis), Lord Lieutenant
+ of Ireland, 342-348, 352-364, 391, 392, 393, 395, 402, 406, 409, 422;
+ his friendship with Pitt, 475, 476, 481, 491;
+ Secretary at War, etc., 501, 507, 514;
+ President of the Council, 530, 557.
+
+Camelford, Lord (Thomas Pitt), 37;
+ on Pitt's duel with Tierney, 336.
+
+Campbell, Thomas, at the trial of Gerrald, 183.
+
+Camperdown, battle of, 328, 347.
+
+Campo Formio, Treaty of, 327, 328, 365.
+
+Canada, Upper, establishment of Government of, 31.
+
+Canning, George, 39;
+ his interview with Pitt, 40, 41;
+ the "Anti-Jacobin," 327, 336, 337, 464;
+ on conditions of peace with France, 383, 384;
+ resigns the Under-Secretaryship, 376, 421;
+ strongly supports the Union, 421, 422;
+ on Catholic Emancipation, 442;
+ resigns office (1801), 451, 465;
+ on Pitt's generosity, 457;
+ his relations with Pitt, 459, 464-466, 567;
+ his marriage, 464;
+ opposed to peace (1801), 469, 470;
+ on Pitt's position, 471;
+ his poems, 474, 518;
+ urges Pitt to action, 481, 482;
+ Treasurer of the Navy, 501;
+ falls out with Hawkesbury, 518;
+ defends Melville, 520;
+ his sympathy with Spanish patriots, 524;
+ disapproves of the expedition to Hanover, 542, 547;
+ anxious for Pitt's health, 547;
+ with Pitt at Bath, 549, 550, 553;
+ mentioned, 286, 325, 375, 390, 450, 488.
+
+Canterbury, Archbishop of. _See_ Moore, John, and Sutton, Charles Manners.
+
+Cape of Good Hope, the, 216, 250;
+ British conquest of, 251-255, 274, 276, 323, 325, 371, 469, 470, 478,
+ 480, 565;
+ Baird's expedition to, 532, 539.
+
+Cape Town, capture of, 252-254;
+ population of, 253.
+
+Carew, 294.
+
+Carles, John, of Birmingham, 18, 186.
+
+Carlisle, Earl of, 322, 350;
+ on Irish affairs, 391, 392, 394.
+
+Carlyle, Thomas, on the September massacres, 61.
+
+Carmarthen, Marquis of. _See_ Leeds, Duke of.
+
+Carnot, L. N. M., French general and Minister of War, 125, 135, 138, 141,
+ 208, 212, 217, 266, 272, 279, 280.
+
+Caroline, Princess, of Brunswick, 214, 216;
+ as Princess of Wales, 508.
+
+Carrington, Lord, 330, 476, 489, 557.
+
+Carteaux, Jean François, 145.
+
+Cartwright, Major John, 23;
+ his "Commonwealth in Danger," 280.
+
+Carver, Edward, of Birmingham, 189.
+
+Carysfort, Lord, 412, 495.
+
+Castiglione, battle of, 243.
+
+"Castlebar Races," the, 362.
+
+Castlereagh, Viscount, 370, 569;
+ account of, 398, 399;
+ Irish Chief Secretary, 399, 402, 408, 410-412, 416, 423-425, 435-437,
+ 441, 446, 449, 486;
+ resigns, 440;
+ President of the India Board, 501;
+ defends Melville, 520;
+ Minister at War, 530;
+ letters to Pitt, 531, 532, 549-551;
+ interview with Pitt at Bath, 551, 552;
+ at Putney, 555.
+
+Catalonia, French invasion of, 197;
+ Republican rising in, 231, 233, 234.
+
+Catharine II, Czarina, 4, 6, 7, 231;
+ her designs on Poland, 9, 46, 122;
+ encourages Polish malcontents, 52;
+ invades Poland, 53, 54;
+ her success, 55;
+ offers alliance to England, 99;
+ treaty with England and Austria (1795), 235;
+ her death, 258, 321.
+
+Cathelineau, Jacques, 136.
+
+Catholic Emancipation, question of, 396-401, 414, 418, 426, 428, 431, 433,
+ 452, 486, 487;
+ opposed by the King, 433-439, 564;
+ division in the Cabinet on, 443-445;
+ motion for, rejected, 518, 519.
+
+Catholics, the, in Ireland, 390, 395-401;
+ in favour of the Union, 412, 417-419;
+ courted by Cornwallis, 422, 423;
+ question of promises made to them, 441-446.
+
+Cazalès, Jacques Antoine Marie de, 43.
+
+Ceylon, 323, 325, 371, 468-470, 565.
+
+Chalk Farm, mass meeting at, 188, 193.
+
+Chandermagore, 198.
+
+Charette, François, 261-263.
+
+Charlemont, Lord, 408.
+
+Charleroi, surrender of, 209, 210.
+
+Charles, Archduke of Austria, 126, 205, 206, 377, 378.
+
+Charles IV, of Spain, appeals to France on behalf of Louis, 93;
+ his weakness and extravagance, 197, 230, 231, 513, 560;
+ his policy, 231, 233.
+
+Charles X, 2.
+
+Charles Emmanuel IV, King of Sardinia (1796-8), his abdication, 373, 378.
+
+Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, 122, 123.
+
+Charlotte, Queen, her relations with the King, 506, 507.
+
+Charmilly, de, delegate from Hayti, 220, 227, 229, 239.
+
+Chatham, John Pitt, Earl of, First Lord of the Admiralty, 68, 125,
+ 145, 268;
+ his incompetence, 137, 140, 215;
+ made Lord Privy Seal, 216, 273, 299;
+ borrows money of Pitt, 302, 303, 476;
+ engaged in Holland, 382;
+ Lord President, 440, 446;
+ letter to Pitt on his resignation, 440;
+ Master of the Ordnance, 501, 557.
+
+Chatham, William Pitt, 1st Lord, and Pitt compared, 320, 474, 490,
+ 562, 565.
+
+Chatham, Lady, 68.
+
+Chatham, Dowager Lady, Pitt's mother, 299, 302, 476;
+ her death, 488, 490.
+
+Chaumont, Treaty of (1814), 523.
+
+Chauvelin, Marquis de, French Ambassador in London, 48, 84;
+ his cold reception, 49, 50;
+ account of, 59, 60;
+ tries to stir up discontent, 69;
+ interview with Grenville, 78, 79;
+ piqued at Pitt's interview with Maret, 80, 82, 116, 117;
+ refused official recognition, 84, 98, 101, 115;
+ conversation with Sheridan, 87;
+ Lebrun's instructions to, 96;
+ note to Grenville, 97, 98;
+ protests against the Aliens Bill, 101, 103;
+ interview with Grenville, 104, 105;
+ ordered to leave England, 108-111, 117;
+ his responsibility for the war, 115-117.
+
+China, British embassy to, 32.
+
+Chouans, the, 260-264, 284, 326.
+
+Christie, William, his "Catechism of the French Constitution," 22;
+ 175.
+
+"Church and King Club," 13, 185.
+
+Churchill, Charles, on Lord Loughborough, 432.
+
+Cinque Ports Volunteers, Pitt and the, 474, 477, 488-490.
+
+Cisalpine Republic, the, 470.
+
+Clare, Earl of (Baron Fitzgibbon), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 340, 342,
+ 393, 406, 410;
+ interviews with Pitt, 397-400;
+ opposes Catholic Emancipation, 437.
+
+Clarence, Duke of, 31.
+
+Clarke, Major-General Alured, his expedition to the Cape, 251, 253.
+
+Clarke, General, agrees to send a French expedition to Ireland, 345, 346.
+
+Clarkson, Thomas, 502.
+
+Clavière, Etienne, French Minister of Finance, 45, 58.
+
+Clerfait, Field Marshal, 209, 213-215.
+
+Clifden, Lord, 346, 402.
+
+Clubs, political, growth of, 12, 13, 16, 21-23;
+ their aims, 25, 26;
+ accused of foreign connections, 51;
+ their rejoicings at the Revolution, 61;
+ addresses to French National Convention, 65-67, 70, 71, 73, 76, 77, 86,
+ 114, 115, 164, 172;
+ growth of, in 1793, 167;
+ their organization, 168, 169.
+ _See_ Chap. VII.
+
+Coalition, the First, 123, 125, 132;
+ weakness of, 195, 196, 278;
+ the Second, _see_ Chap. XVII;
+ the Third, 529, 534 _et seq._
+
+Cobenzl, Count Ludwig, 373, 375.
+
+Cobenzl, Count Philip, Austrian Chancellor, 75, 120 _n._, 560;
+ his fall, 129.
+
+Coblentz, Royalist leaders at, 2, 3, 20.
+
+Coburg, Duke of, his campaign in Flanders, 121, 126, 127, 130-133, 138-141,
+ 205, 206, 209, 210, 267.
+
+Cochrane, Admiral, 514.
+
+Cockburn, Lord, on the Scots, 173.
+
+Coke of Norfolk, 188, 294.
+
+Colchester, Lord. _See_ Abbot, Charles.
+
+Colpoys, Vice-Admiral, 311, 312.
+
+Condé, captured by the Allies, 134, 136;
+ surrendered, 210.
+
+Conolly, Captain, 159.
+
+Conscription, in France, 266.
+
+Consols, great rise in (1783-1792), 31;
+ rise in (1796), 305;
+ fall after the Nore mutiny, 315.
+
+Constitutional Information, London Society for, 12 _n._, 21, 22, 65, 66,
+ 70, 167, 181, 184, 190.
+
+Cooke, Edward, his letters to Auckland and Castlereagh on the Irish
+ question, 355, 356, 362 _n._, 395, 396, 404, 405, 418-420, 422,
+ 424, 425, 435-437;
+ his pamphlet on the Union, 405, 408;
+ his conduct during the debate on the Union, 412.
+
+Coote, General, 379.
+
+Copenhagen, battle of, 388, 450.
+
+Cork, despatch of troops from, 146, 152 _n._, 153;
+ sentiments of the Grand Jury on the Union, 416, 417.
+
+Corn Laws, 288, 289.
+
+Cornwall, representation of, 173.
+
+Cornwallis, Admiral, 514, 532.
+
+Cornwallis, Marquis, suggested as Commander-in-Chief in Flanders, 205,
+ 214, 272;
+ Master-General of the Ordnance, 273;
+ Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, 359, 362, 363, 389, 391-412, 417, 418,
+ 421-426, 435, 436, 441, 443, 449;
+ resigns, 440;
+ Viceroy of India, 463;
+ negotiates the Treaty of Amiens, 470, 477.
+
+Corporation Act, the, efforts to repeal, 10, 11.
+
+Corresponding Society for Reform of Parliamentary Representation, 21, 26,
+ 65, 66, 167, 168, 184, 186-190, 193;
+ monster meeting at Islington, 283, 286;
+ supposed connection with the mutiny at the Nore, 316-318;
+ becomes a revolutionary body, 349, 350;
+ its papers seized, 351.
+
+Corsica, 143, 144, 150 _n._, 155, 156, 158, 210, 228, 232, 233, 235,
+ 244, 267;
+ British occupation of, 255-257, 269;
+ evacuated, 258, 275.
+
+County Reform Associations, the, 23.
+
+"Courier," the, 67.
+
+Courtenay, John, M.P., 238.
+
+Couthon, Georges, 134, 135.
+
+Coutts, Thomas, 306 _n._, 308 _n._, 475-477.
+
+Cowper, W., his pension, 455 _n._, 456.
+
+Craig, Major-General Sir James, in command at the Cape, 251-254;
+ his expedition to Malta, 368, 524, 525;
+ Mornington's opinion of, 461.
+
+Crancé, Dubois, 266.
+
+Craufurd, Major-General Robert, 510.
+
+Creevey, Thomas, 497, 521.
+
+Crossfield, Secretary of the London Corresponding Society, 349.
+
+Cumberland, Duke of, 448.
+
+Curragh, affair on the, 357, 358.
+
+Curt, delegate from Guadeloupe, 221.
+
+Custine, General, Comte de, 73, 85, 121, 133.
+
+Czartoryski, Prince, 522, 526.
+
+
+Daer, Lord, 174.
+
+Dalrymple, Colonel William, 173, 174.
+
+Daly, Denis, 341.
+
+Danton, George Jacques, Minister of Justice, 58;
+ his alleged offer to save Louis, 94 _n._;
+ his decree annexing Belgium, 111, 112, 116, 121.
+
+D'Arçon, 135.
+
+Davison, Richard, of Sheffield, 189, 191, 193.
+
+De Clifford, Lord, 420, 422.
+
+Delacroix, Jacques Vincent, French Foreign Minister, 322.
+
+Del Campo, Marquis, 233.
+
+Delessart, A. de Valdec, French Foreign Minister, 43, 44;
+ arrested, 45.
+
+Demerara, Dutch, 241.
+
+Democracy, new birth of, 23;
+ progress of, 62-68;
+ opposition to, 68.
+
+Derby, Society for Constitutional Information at, 70.
+
+Despard, Colonel, arrested, 350.
+
+"Devil's Own," the, 489.
+
+Devonshire, Duke of, 402, 497.
+
+Devonshire, Duchess of, 497.
+
+Dibdin, Charles, 337.
+
+Dillon, General Theobald, murdered by his troops, 49.
+
+Dissenters. _See_ Nonconformists.
+
+Dominica, revolt in, 239.
+
+Don, General, 542, 545.
+
+Donegal, Lord, 420, 422.
+
+Dover Loyal Association, address to Pitt, 86.
+
+Downes, Sir William, 395.
+
+Downshire, Lord, 398;
+ his opposition to the Union, 402, 418, 420, 422-424.
+
+Doyle, General, expedition to la Vendée, 237, 262, 263.
+
+Drake, Francis, British agent at Genoa, 155.
+
+Drane, Mr., Mayor of Reading, 180.
+
+Duckworth, Sir James, 532 _n._
+
+Duff, General, 357, 358.
+
+Dumouriez, General, French Foreign Minister, 45, 46, 72;
+ his "Reflections on Negotiations with England," 47, 48;
+ appeals to England to prevent war with Prussia, 51;
+ his resignation, 59;
+ Campaign in the Low Countries, 69, 73, 74, 76, 80, 82, 83, 85, 106,
+ 107, 267;
+ his proposed mission to London, 109-111, 118;
+ his self-confidence, 117;
+ correspondence with Pache, 121;
+ failure of his campaign in Belgium, 121, 126;
+ his treason, 126, 131-132;
+ Memoir on the defence of England, 509.
+
+Duncan, Admiral Lord, 315, 328, 336, 347.
+
+Duncombe, C. S., M.P., 12.
+
+Dundas, Major-General Sir David, at Toulon, 157, 159, 160;
+ in Corsica, 256, 257;
+ his scheme of coast defence, 277, 287;
+ and the Volunteers, 491, 492, 512.
+
+Dundas, Henry (afterwards Lord Melville), Home Secretary, 34, 35, 63, 64,
+ 89, 186, 190;
+ opposes repeal of the Test Act in Scotland, 14;
+ puts down the Birmingham riots, 18, 79;
+ on the proclamation against seditious writings, 25;
+ anxious for union with the Old Whigs, 36, 38;
+ friendly to France, 44;
+ on sedition in Scotland, 77;
+ his scheme for rearranging the Cabinet, 124, 125;
+ his many offices, 124, 125, 270, 271;
+ his conduct of the war, 125, 137, 140, 147, 157, 158;
+ ignorant of military affairs, 128;
+ his influence in Scotland, 173, 409;
+ and the Scottish prosecutions, 176, 178-180, 182, 184;
+ burnt in effigy at Dundee, 177;
+ Secretary of State for War, 191, 205, 210, 213, 216, 221, 224, 225,
+ 238-240, 241, 243, 245-248, 257, 260, 267, 268, 325, 326, 331, 362,
+ 363, 381, 384, 386;
+ President of the India Board, 251, 254;
+ letter to Pitt on the idea of a War Minister, 271, 272;
+ his friendship with Pitt, 299, 454, 476;
+ urges the Egyptian expedition, 387, 388;
+ his conversations with the King on Catholic Emancipation, 433, 436,
+ 444, 449;
+ resigns, 440;
+ on Pitt's resignation, 440, 441, 450;
+ created Lord Melville, 483;
+ his mission to Pitt at Walmer, 483, 484;
+ on the Volunteers, 494;
+ on the King's illness, 497;
+ First Lord of the Admiralty, 501, 511, 514;
+ his impeachment, 519-521;
+ acquitted, 521;
+ on India, 565.
+
+Dundas, General Ralph, 357, 358, 361.
+
+Dundas, Robert, Lord Advocate for Scotland, 14, 174, 176, 178, 179,
+ 182-184.
+
+Dundas, William, Secretary at War, 501.
+
+Dundee, political agitation in, 77, 173, 174, 177, 178.
+
+Dungannon, Ulster Volunteers in, 78.
+
+Dunkirk, siege of, 127, 130, 131, 138-141, 147, 267;
+ Napoleon at, 349.
+
+Dunlop, John, Lord Provost of Glasgow, 175 _n._, 178.
+
+Duroc, General, Duc de Frioul, his mission to Berlin, 535, 537.
+
+Dutch, the, their rights over the Scheldt, 71, 72;
+ their apathy, 213, 216, 274;
+ at the Cape, 250-255;
+ defeated at battle of Camperdown, 328, 347.
+
+Dutch East India Company, 250, 252.
+
+Dutch Republic, the, 47;
+ treaty with England (1788), 72;
+ threatened by France, 73-76, 80, 82, 84, 107;
+ English assurances to, 74, 114;
+ plots of the "Patriots," 74, 75;
+ appeals to England for help, 77;
+ unprepared for war, 98, 107;
+ France declares war on, 112;
+ French conquest of, 213-216, 250;
+ peace with Spain, 236;
+ alliance with France (1795), 251, 261, 274;
+ Anglo-Russian expedition to, 379-383;
+ remodelled by Bonaparte, 470;
+ proposal to offer it to Prussia, 552.
+
+
+East India Company, renewal of Charter, 165.
+
+Eaton, Daniel Isaac, prosecution of, 184.
+
+Eden, Eleanor, Pitt's relations with, 300-303, 465, 491;
+ her marriage, 462 _n._
+
+Eden, Morton, Ambassador at Vienna, 129, 161, 199, 200, 202-204, 235,
+ 331, 380.
+
+Edge, Captain, 160.
+
+Edinburgh, Conventions of Friends of the People at, 174, 179, 180;
+ Radical club at, 178;
+ British Convention at, 181, 182.
+
+Egypt, Napoleon's expedition to, 255, 277 _n._, 278, 327, 328, 368, 377;
+ English expedition to, 387, 388;
+ surrender of French garrisons in, 468;
+ to be restored to the Sultan, 468.
+
+Ehrenthal, Swedish envoy at Madrid, 242.
+
+El Arish, Convention of, 387.
+
+Elba, evacuation of, 258, 275.
+
+Eldon, Lord (Sir John Scott), 34, 35, 499, 501, 506, 514.
+
+Eliot, Edward J., his death, 325.
+
+Elliot, Sir Gilbert. _See_ Minto, Earl of.
+
+Elliot, William, Irish Under-Secretary at War, 400.
+
+Elphinstone, Rear-Admiral Sir Keith, his expedition to the Cape, 251,
+ 252, 254.
+
+Ely, Lord, 393, 402.
+
+Emmett, Addis, 394.
+
+Enclosures, 166, 288, 291-298.
+
+Enghien, Duc d', execution of, 516.
+
+England, discontent in (1793), 165-167;
+ (1795), _see_ Chap. XIII;
+ (1798), 333;
+ fears of invasion, 277;
+ national defence, 278-281;
+ shortage of corn, 288-291;
+ state of agriculture, 291;
+ policy of enclosures, 291-298;
+ financial crisis (1797), 304, 308, 309;
+ increasing prosperity, 330;
+ public opinion in (1798), 338.
+
+"English Chronicle," the, 66, 67.
+
+Enniskillen, Lord, 408.
+
+Epsom, county meeting at, 188.
+
+Erskine, Thomas, Baron, 23, 24, 89, 172, 176, 192, 488.
+
+Euston, Lord, 412.
+
+Evans, Thomas, Secretary of the London Corresponding Society, 349, 350;
+ arrested, 350.
+
+
+Famars, evacuated by the French, 133, 134.
+
+Farquhar, Sir Walter, 548, 553, 554, 557.
+
+Federalism, advocated by Fox, 413.
+
+Fellows, Henry, 318.
+
+Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, 199, 231, 365, 366.
+
+Ferrol, expedition to (1800), 386.
+
+Fersen, Count, 4, 49.
+
+Fingall, Lord, 393, 442, 449, 518, 519.
+
+Finisterre, Cape, battle off, 532, 536.
+
+Fitzgerald, Lord Edward, 23, 345, 346;
+ his capture and death, 354, 355.
+
+Fitzgerald, Pamela, 79, 345.
+
+Fitzgibbon, Baron. _See_ Clare, Earl of.
+
+Fitzharris, Lord, 520.
+
+Fitzwilliam, Earl, Viceroy of Ireland, 213, 339-342, 392, 432, 433,
+ 452, 500.
+
+Fleurus, battle of, 209, 210, 267, 270.
+
+Flood, Henry, M.P., his motion for Reform, 11, 12.
+
+Floridablanca, Count, his fall, 46.
+
+Forbes, Major-General, Commander-in-Chief in Hayti, 240, 245.
+
+Ford, Captain, 513.
+
+Fortiquerri, Marshal, 150 _n._
+
+Foster, John (afterwards Baron Oriel), Irish Speaker, 393, 398;
+ interview with Pitt, 400, 401;
+ his opposition to the Union, 414, 418-420.
+
+Foster, son of the Speaker, 412.
+
+Fouché, Joseph, Duke of Otranto, 528, 529.
+
+Fox, Charles James, gains ground with Nonconformists, 11, 12;
+ on the Army Estimates (1792), 30;
+ his Libel Bill, 33;
+ opposes proclamations against seditious writings, 36;
+ suggested coalition with Pitt, 36, 37;
+ unpatriotic speeches, 87-89, 91, 278, 333;
+ intimate with the French embassy, 89;
+ opposes the Aliens Bill, 94;
+ disapproves of the Radical Clubs, 168;
+ opposes erection of barracks, 169;
+ on the Scottish prosecutions, 179;
+ in favour of peace, 198, 276, 277;
+ on slaves in Jamaica, 238;
+ on the massacre of royalists at Quiberon, 262;
+ on the Treasonable Practices Bill, 285, 286;
+ on the Bank crisis (1797), 308, 309;
+ and the mutinies in the fleet, 312, 313, 316;
+ his "secession," 316, 330;
+ on the Finance Bills of 1797-8, 330, 370;
+ his name removed from the Privy Council, 333;
+ and Arthur O'Connor, 350;
+ his views on the Union and Federalism, 413;
+ on Pitt's resignation, 445;
+ intrigues with the Prince of Wales, 449, 497;
+ on the peace proposals, 470;
+ on the war (1803), 488;
+ on the Volunteers, 494;
+ alliance with Grenville, 496;
+ attack on Addington, 499;
+ the King objects to his inclusion in Pitt's ministry, 499, 500;
+ supports abolition of the Slave Trade, 502;
+ his motion of Catholic Emancipation, 518, 519;
+ opposes Pitt's burial in the Abbey, 559;
+ as an orator, compared with Pitt, 567;
+ mentioned, 24, 156, 165, 188, 191, 283, 293, 506, 517, 518, 555, 557,
+ 562, 563.
+
+France, the flight to Varennes, 1, 2, 4, 40;
+ change of ministry, 45;
+ declares war against Austria, 23, 46;
+ first signs of friction with England, 50;
+ the September massacres, 57, 59-62;
+ addresses of English clubs to the Convention, 65, _et seq._;
+ trial of the King decreed, 74, 85;
+ conquest of Belgium, 66, 69, 75, 83;
+ the November decrees, 71, 72, 75, 76, 114;
+ annexes Savoy, 72;
+ her designs on Holland, 73-76, 80, 82;
+ negotiations with England, 84, 95-99, 103-107;
+ decree of 15th December, 90, 91;
+ annexes Belgium, 111, 121;
+ declares war on England and Holland, 112;
+ evacuates the Netherlands, 126;
+ the Convention declares Pitt the enemy of the human race, 134;
+ revolts in the South and in Brittany, 143, 144;
+ destruction of her navy at Toulon, 160, 161;
+ the miracle of revolutionary finance, 196;
+ passion for unity in, 197;
+ successes in Belgium, 208-212;
+ conquest of Holland, 213-216;
+ treaty of Basle, 217, 223;
+ action in the West Indies, _see_ Chaps. IX and X;
+ peace with Spain, 236, 237, 244, 257;
+ alliance with Holland, 251, 274;
+ supposed connection with the mutiny at the Nore, 316;
+ negotiations at Lille, 323-325;
+ _coup d'état_ of Fructidor 18, 1797, 324;
+ the Directory rejects Pitt's overtures for peace, 324-327, 336, 338;
+ intrigues with Irish rebels, 345-351, 391;
+ preparations for the eastern expedition, 356, 357;
+ makes offers of peace to Russia, 375;
+ expeditions to Ireland, 362-364, 394-396;
+ her supremacy in Europe, 365;
+ destruction of her fleet at Aboukir, 367, 368;
+ conquest of Naples, 372;
+ Austria declares war on (1799), 374;
+ her responsibility for the war, 374;
+ defeats in Italy, 376;
+ Peace of Amiens, 470;
+ declares war on England (1803), 487;
+ alliance with Spain, 513, 514.
+
+Francis II, Emperor, his accession, 45;
+ war with France, 46;
+ his French policy, 120 _n._;
+ dismisses Cobenzl, 129;
+ his character, 189-199, 231, 560;
+ takes command of the army in Flanders, 206;
+ returns to Vienna, 209;
+ appeals to England, 366;
+ refuses to interfere in Naples, 372;
+ declares war against France, 374;
+ his timid conduct, 508, 515;
+ his truce proposals after Austerlitz, 544, 545.
+
+Francis, Sir Philip, 23, 238, 290.
+
+Free Trade, demand for (in corn), 289;
+ Pitt's ideal, 427, 428.
+
+Frederick William II, of Prussia, alliance with Austria, 5, 43;
+ signs the Declaration of Pilnitz, 5;
+ encourages Francis II to war, 46;
+ his conduct of the war, 121, 129, 142, 200-204, 207, 215;
+ difficulties of his position, 201;
+ affects indignation with Pitt, 213;
+ makes treaty of Basle with France, 217;
+ his character, 231.
+
+Frederick William III, of Prussia, refuses to join the Allies, 373, 374;
+ his policy, 515, 523, 528, 535-537;
+ his character, 535, 560;
+ signs the Treaty of Potsdam, 539;
+ his demand for Hanover, 540, 541, 552;
+ agrees to the Convention of Schönbrunn, 553;
+ deserts the Allies, 553, 556.
+
+French _émigrés_, 1-3, 6, 7, 155;
+ Pitt and, 3, 6, 259, 287, 454;
+ in England, 63, 64, 165;
+ and the Quiberon expedition, 259-261;
+ hated by George III, 261.
+
+French, Sir Thomas, 518.
+
+Frere, Hookham, 327;
+ Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 421;
+ at Canning's wedding, 464, 465;
+ Ambassador at Madrid, 514.
+
+"Friends of the People," the, 23, 24, 40, 167, 168, 171.
+
+Frost, John, 66, 70, 115, 172;
+ his conviction, 172, 173.
+
+
+Gales, of Sheffield, arrested, 186.
+
+Game Laws, Bill for Reform of, 295.
+
+Garat, Dominique Joseph, 111.
+
+Garcia, Don, Spanish Governor of San Domingo, 228, 229, 235.
+
+Gardiner, Colonel, British envoy at Warsaw, 54.
+
+Gardner, Vice-Admiral Sir Allan, 311.
+
+Garnier, moves that it shall be lawful to murder Pitt, 134.
+
+General Convention of the People, proposal for, 186-189, 192, 193, 284.
+
+Genlis, Mme. de, 79.
+
+Genoa (the Ligurian Republic), 150 _n._, 386, 470;
+ annexed by Napoleon, 528, 529.
+
+George III, his replies to Leopold II and Gustavus III on intervention
+ in France, 3, 4;
+ dismisses Thurlow, 34;
+ his attitude to proposed coalition of Pitt and the Old Whigs, 36-38;
+ his reception of Talleyrand, 43;
+ his hostility to France, 44, 51, 115;
+ increasing loyalty to, 86;
+ sympathy with Louis XVI, 91;
+ orders Chauvelin to leave the country, 108, 109 _n._;
+ his view of the war, 119;
+ advocates the siege of Dunkirk, 127, 130;
+ his influence in military affairs, 128, 205, 207, 208, 214, 215, 217;
+ opposed to peace, 243, 276, 321-323;
+ offered the crown of Corsica, 256;
+ insists on keeping troops in Hanover, 261, 273, 274;
+ his dislike of the _émigrés_, 261;
+ outrage on, in the Mall, 277 _n._, 282, 283, 286;
+ his patronage of agriculture, 291;
+ on the peace negotiations, 324, 325;
+ disapproves of Pitt's duel with Tierney, 336;
+ Irish policy, 342, 358, 359, 394, 409;
+ story of Dundas and, 388;
+ his opposition to Catholic Emancipation, 433-439;
+ accepts Pitt's resignation, 439, 444, 445;
+ his madness, 447, 448, 497-499, 506, 507;
+ extracts a pledge from Pitt, 448, 449;
+ his neglect of literature and art, 456;
+ objects to Fox's inclusion in the Ministry, 499, 500, 530;
+ rejects Napoleon's peace overtures, 516;
+ his character and relations with Pitt, 561-564.
+
+Gerrald, Joseph, 177, 180, 181;
+ his trial and transportation, 182, 183.
+
+Gibbon, Edward, remark of George III to, 456.
+
+Gibraltar, proposed cession to Spain, 277;
+ demanded by Spain, 323, 565.
+
+Gillray, James, 530.
+
+Gisborne, Dr., 447.
+
+Gladstone, W. E., his Home Rule Bill (1886), 415.
+
+Glasgow, political agitation in, 173, 178.
+
+Godoy, Manuel de (afterwards Duke of Alcudia and Prince of the Peace),
+ Spanish Minister, 154, 157;
+ his story concerning Pitt refuted, 92, 93;
+ his relations with the Queen, 230;
+ his character, 230, 231;
+ Anti-British intrigues, 232, 235, 237, 242, 243, 275;
+ makes peace with France, 233, 234, 236;
+ protests against British action in Hayti, 234, 235;
+ made Prince of the Peace, 237;
+ declares war against England, 244;
+ gives aid to France, 513, 514, 560.
+
+Gordon, Duke of, 476.
+
+Gordon, Duchess of, 300 _n._;
+ Pitt and, 459.
+
+Gower, Earl, Ambassador at Paris, 42, 45, 47, 58;
+ recalled, 58.
+
+Gower, Lord Granville Leveson-, 465;
+ Ambassador at St. Petersburg, 526, 527, 529.
+
+Graaf-Reinet, settlement of, 252, 254.
+
+Graham, A., and D. Williams, their report on the mutiny at the
+ Nore, 316-318.
+
+Granard, Lord, 402.
+
+Grattan, Henry, 339-341, 343, 344, 398, 408, 411.
+
+Gravina, Rear-Admiral, 148, 150, 153.
+
+Grégoire, Henri, 72, 83, 114.
+
+Grenada, revolt in, 239;
+ capture of, 241.
+
+Grenville, Thomas, special envoy at Vienna, 199, 211;
+ his mission to Berlin (1798), 373, 374;
+ on the peace proposals (1801), 469;
+ negotiates the Grenville-Fox alliance, 496.
+
+Grenville, William Wyndham, Lord, Foreign Secretary, 3, 6-9, 37, 68,
+ 312, 421;
+ opposes Flood's motion for Reform, 12;
+ on the Birmingham riots, 19;
+ his marriage, 37;
+ his assurances to Talleyrand, 43-45;
+ his policy regarding the Belgic Provinces, 47, 48;
+ his treatment of Chauvelin, 50, 79, 98, 99, 104, 105, 115;
+ assertion of neutrality, 51, 52, 61, 69, 98;
+ policy towards Poland, 54;
+ ignorant of events in France, 58;
+ his concern at the November decrees, 72-74;
+ regards war as unavoidable, 76, 77, 82;
+ makes overtures to Austria, 84;
+ his fears of Spanish weakness, 92;
+ negotiations with France, 97-101, 103-108;
+ his despatch to Whitworth on British aims, 99, 100;
+ declines to treat with Maret, 109-112;
+ his belief in neutrality, 113;
+ forms the first coalition, 123;
+ ignorant of military affairs, 128;
+ his war policy, 129, 132, 142, 143, 150, 153 _n._, 154-156, 161, 196,
+ 202, 204-213, 256, 263, 266, 369, 371, 375, 377-380, 382-384;
+ offers to resign, 213, 217, 323;
+ West Indian policy, 224, 225, 228;
+ negotiations with Spain, 233, 234, 243;
+ opposed to negotiations for peace, 276, 322-326;
+ introduces the Treasonable Practices Bill, 285;
+ supports the Finance Bill (1797), 330;
+ on Irish policy, 341, 342, 400, 403, 406;
+ and the Catholic question, 432, 436, 437, 439 _n._, 449, 519;
+ resigns, 440;
+ on Pitt's resignation, 445, 446;
+ his relations with Pitt, 454, 469, 479, 480, 510, 511;
+ on Pitt's scholarship, 458;
+ opposed to peace (1801), 469;
+ his plans for overthrowing Addington, 495, 496;
+ alliance with Fox, 496;
+ refuses to join Pitt's new ministry, 500-502;
+ opposes Pitt, 502-504, 510, 517, 55, 557, 559.
+
+Grey, General Sir Charles (afterwards 1st Earl Grey), 225;
+ letter from Pitt to, 381.
+
+Grey, Charles (afterwards 2nd Earl Grey), 23, 188, 191, 276, 516, 519;
+ motions for Reform, 24, 316;
+ opposes proclamation against seditious writings, 25;
+ supports Fox, 89;
+ on the Scottish prosecutions, 179;
+ opposes the Act of Union, 427, 428.
+
+Griffith, Rev. John, of Manchester, 185.
+
+Guadeloupe, planters appeal to England for protection, 221;
+ captured and again recovered, 225, 237, 240, 249.
+
+Guiana, abolition of Slave Trade in, 503.
+
+Guipuzcoa, province of, 233, 235.
+
+Gustavus III of Sweden, 2-4, 7;
+ assassinated, 46.
+
+Gustavus IV of Sweden, refuses aid against Holland, 380;
+ makes a convention with England, 516;
+ his hostility to Napoleon, 528.
+
+
+Habeas Corpus Act, suspension of (1794), 191, 193, 285;
+ (1798), 333, 351;
+ in Ireland, 345.
+
+Hague Convention (1794), 207.
+
+Hailes, Daniel, British envoy at Warsaw, 53-55.
+
+Hair-powder, disuse of, 290;
+ tax on, 307.
+
+Hameln, held by the French, 544.
+
+Hamilton, Sir William, 150 _n._, 372.
+
+Hamilton, Lady, 372.
+
+Hammond, George, envoy to the United States, 291.
+
+Hanover, British troops kept in, 261, 273, 274;
+ coveted by Prussia, 535-537, 540, 541, 552;
+ British expedition to, 542, 551, 555, 556.
+
+Hanoverian troops, landed in England, 181, 188.
+
+Hanriot, François, 59.
+
+Hardenberg, Karl August, Prince von, 212;
+ signs the Treaty of Basle, 217;
+ Prussian Foreign Minister, 529, 536, 540, 545.
+
+Hardwicke, Earl of, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, 429, 501.
+
+Hardy, Thomas, his "Corresponding Society," 21, 23, 68, 167;
+ letter to Dr. Adams, 65, 66;
+ sends address from combined patriotic societies to French
+ Convention, 67, 68;
+ circular on a General Convention, 187, 188;
+ arrested, 190;
+ acquitted, 192;
+ letter from Thelwall to, 352 _n._
+
+Hare, Captain, 160.
+
+Harington, Mr., Mayor of Bath, 165.
+
+Harrington, Earl of, commander of the forces in London, 319;
+ his mission to Berlin, 556.
+
+Harris, Sir James. _See_ Malmesbury, Lord.
+
+Harrowby, Earl of (Dudley Ryder), 290, 294, 451;
+ acts as Pitt's second, 334, 335;
+ Foreign Secretary, 501, 514, 515, 517, 523;
+ Chancellor of the Duchy, 530;
+ his mission to Berlin, 538-547, 552 _n._;
+ breakdown of his health, 545, 546, 553, 558;
+ recalled, 556.
+
+Haugwitz, Count von, Prussian Foreign Minister, 202, 206, 207, 212, 515,
+ 536, 537, 540, 543, 553, 560.
+
+Hawkesbury, Lord, 81, 221;
+ Foreign Secretary, 468, 479, 487;
+ Home Secretary, 501, 507, 514, 517, 518, 521, 532, 549, 555.
+
+Hayley, W., letter to Pitt, 455, 456.
+
+Hayti, proposed transfer to England, 131;
+ rising of negroes in, 220, 223;
+ requests British protection, 220;
+ its wealth and prosperity, 222, 223;
+ British successes in, 223, 225-227, 232, 233;
+ Spanish action in, 224, 227-229, 239;
+ increasing difficulties in, 245, 246;
+ English evacuation of, 247;
+ 267, 274, 275.
+
+Hébert, Jacques René, 180.
+
+Helvoetsluys, 127, 216, 267.
+
+Henry, Prince, of Prussia, 207.
+
+Hermann, General, 382.
+
+Hervilly, Comte d', 261, 274.
+
+Hesse-Cassel, compact with England, 123.
+
+Hessian troops, landed in England, 188.
+
+Hobhouse, Sir Benjamin, on the Finance Bill of 1797, 329.
+
+Hoche, General Lazare, 162, 200, 261, 262, 277, 304, 308, 346.
+
+Hohenlohe-Kirchberg, Prince of, 121.
+
+Holcroft, Thomas, 167, 193,
+
+Holwood House, sale of, 473.
+
+Holland. _See_ Dutch Republic.
+
+Holland, Lord, 330, 413, 481 _n._, 519;
+ opposes the Act of Union, 421.
+
+Hondschoote, battle of, 140.
+
+Hood, Alexander. _See_ Bridport, Lord.
+
+Hood, Samuel Lord, occupies Toulon, 134, 144, 145;
+ his difficulties and quarrels, 150-160, 232, 267;
+ occupies Corsica, 256, 257.
+
+Hotham, Admiral (afterwards Lord), 232.
+
+Horsley, Samuel, Bishop of Rochester, and afterwards of St. Asaph,
+ 286, 497.
+
+Houchard, General, 140.
+
+Howe, Admiral Lord, his victory of the 1st of June, 192, 225, 269;
+ quells the mutiny at Spithead, 310-314.
+
+Hugues, Victor, Republican leader in the West Indies, 239, 240, 248.
+
+Humbert, General, his expedition to Ireland, 362, 394, 395.
+
+Hutchinson, John Hely, General (afterwards Earl of Donoughmore), at the
+ "Castlebar Races," 362;
+ in Egypt, 387.
+
+Hythe military canal, 512.
+
+
+Illuminati, the, 26.
+
+Income Tax, graduated, suggested, 20, 22, 307;
+ imposed by Pitt, 329, 370, 427, 450;
+ abandoned by Addington, 480.
+
+India, 387, 388, 460-464, 565.
+
+India Bill, Pitt's (1784), 568.
+
+Ireland, Parliament refuses franchise to Catholics, 77;
+ grave situation in, 278, 321, 333, 336;
+ Hoche's expedition to, 304, 308;
+ English loan to, 308, 347;
+ the Rebellion of 1798, 330, _and see_ Chaps. XVI, XVIII;
+ Earl Fitzwilliam's Viceroyalty, 339-342;
+ Maynooth founded, 343;
+ feuds and disturbances, 344, 345;
+ Camden's policy of coercion, 345-348, 352, 355, 391;
+ financial straits, 347;
+ Franco-Irish plots, 349-351, 354;
+ resignation of Abercromby, 354;
+ progress of the Rebellion, 355-364;
+ French invasions, 362-364, 394, 395;
+ the Union, _see_ Chaps. XVIII, XIX;
+ policy of Cornwallis, 395, 396;
+ corruption in Parliament, 402, 424, 425;
+ debates on the Act of Union, 411-415, 425-428;
+ continued danger from France, 420, 421, 425, 430;
+ financial relations with England, 425, 427, 568;
+ Act of Union passed, 428;
+ pocket boroughs disfranchised, 428;
+ Union honours, 428, 429.
+
+Isherwood, Mr., 460.
+
+
+Jackson, George, his "Diaries," 546.
+
+Jackson, Mrs., 547.
+
+Jackson, F. L., _chargé-d'affaires_ at Madrid, 92, 229;
+ recalled, 230.
+
+Jacobi, Baron, Prussian Ambassador in London, 212, 213.
+
+Jacobins Club, the, in Paris, 25, 26, 42, 168, 169.
+
+Jamaica, sends help to Hayti, 220, 223;
+ coffee-planting in, 222;
+ atrocities of Maroons in, 237, 238.
+
+Jassy, Treaty of, 29, 52.
+
+Jay, John, American envoy to London, 291.
+
+Jean François, negro leader, 239.
+
+Jebb, Richard, his pamphlet against Union, 406.
+
+Jekyll, Joseph, M.P., on the new taxes (1797), 330.
+
+Jemappes, battle of, 57, 69, 113, 114.
+
+Jenkinson, Charles. _See_ Liverpool, Earl of.
+
+Jermagnan, Colonel de, 160.
+
+Jervis, Sir John. _See_ St. Vincent, Earl of.
+
+Johnstone, General, 361.
+
+Jones, Thomas, M.P., 426.
+
+Jourdan, Marshal, 140, 141.
+
+Joyce, Rev. Jeremiah, letter to Horne Tooke, 190;
+ arrested, 190;
+ discharged, 193.
+
+Jülich, Duchy of, 46.
+
+June 1st, 1794, battle of, 192, 225, 269.
+
+
+Kaiserslautern, battle of, 208.
+
+Kalkreuth, General, 543.
+
+Kaunitz, Prince, Austrian Chancellor, 5-9, 45, 50, 53, 199, 218.
+
+Keir, Dr., of Birmingham, 17.
+
+Keith, Sir Robert Murray, Ambassador at Vienna, 42, 46;
+ begs for recall, 50.
+
+Kenmare, Lord, 393.
+
+Kent, Duke of, 447, 448.
+
+Kenyon, Lord, 331.
+
+Kersaint, Captain, his speech against England, 102, 103, 106.
+
+Killala, French landing at, 362, 363.
+
+King, Lord, opposes the Act of Union, 421.
+
+Kinglake, A. W., 490.
+
+Korsakoff, General, 375, 378, 379.
+
+Kosciusko, Thaddeus, 53, 206.
+
+Kyd, Stewart, arrested, 190;
+ discharged, 193.
+
+
+Lageard, de, witty remark of, 276.
+
+Laharpe, F. C. de, 369.
+
+Lake, General, 348, 357, 361, 362.
+
+Lally-Tollendal, Comte de, 43, 93.
+
+Lambton, John, 23.
+
+Landrecies, surrendered, 210.
+
+Land Tax, 30, 31;
+ Pitt's Commutation Act, 331-333, 568.
+
+Langara, Admiral, 144, 146, 153, 154, 157, 159, 232.
+
+Lansdowne, Marquis of, Gillray's cartoon of, 35;
+ intimate with Talleyrand, 51, 77 _n._;
+ opposes Government policy, 87;
+ opposes the Aliens Bill, 94;
+ on the insult to the King, 283.
+
+Larochejaquelein, Marquis de, 136.
+
+Las Casas, Spanish Ambassador in London, 243.
+
+Lascelles, Mr., M.P., 559.
+
+Lauderdale, Earl of, 23, 179, 286;
+ opposes the Aliens Bill, 94.
+
+Laurence, Dr. French, 427.
+
+Lebrun, P. M. Henri, French Foreign Minister, 58, 60, 69;
+ account of his career, 59;
+ his instructions to Dumouriez, 73, 74;
+ and Maret, 79-81;
+ negotiations with England, 84, 87, 89-91, 97, 104-108, 116;
+ his report on the negotiations, 95, 96, 101, 113, 117.
+
+Leeds, Duke of (Marquis of Carmarthen), 35 _n._;
+ suggested as First Lord of the Treasury in Coalition Ministry, 36-38;
+ interview with the King, 37;
+ opposes the taxes of 1797, 329.
+
+Lees, John, 355, 395, 396, 406, 418.
+
+Leopold II, correspondence with George III on intervention in France, 2, 3;
+ signs the Declaration of Pilnitz, 5, 6;
+ distrusted by Pitt and Grenville, 8;
+ anxious to avoid war with France, 42;
+ his death, 45.
+
+Lescure, Marquis de, 136.
+
+Letourneur, C. L. F. Honoré, 323.
+
+Lewins, Edward John, delegate of the United Irishmen in Paris, 346, 348.
+
+Liancourt, Duc de, story of his flight, 63, 64.
+
+Ligurian Republic. _See_ Genoa.
+
+Lille, 122, 123, 127, 129;
+ peace negotiations at (1797), 247, 323-325.
+
+Lincoln, Bishop of. _See_ Tomline, George Pretyman.
+
+Liverpool, Earl of (Charles Jenkinson), 39, 290, 322, 330, 406.
+
+Liverpool, dock strike at, 62;
+ press-gang at, 166, 167.
+
+Livingston, Mr., American Envoy at Paris, 505, 506.
+
+Lloyd, George, 169.
+
+London, Preliminaries of, 468-470.
+
+Long, Charles (afterwards Lord Farnborough), 415, 439, 465, 476, 557.
+
+Longueville, Lord, letter to Pitt on the Union, 402, 403.
+
+Lorraine, 46, 122, 142, 197, 199, 200.
+
+Loughborough, Lord (Alexander Wedderburn), Lord Chancellor, 34, 35, 296,
+ 297, 312, 331;
+ his efforts to bring about a union between Pitt and the Old Whigs,
+ 36-38, 39 _n._;
+ on the Scottish prosecutions, 179;
+ interviews with Grattan, 340;
+ on union with Ireland, 391, 399;
+ opposes Catholic Emancipation, 431-437, 440, 443, 445;
+ his record, 431, 432;
+ dismissed and created Earl of Rosslyn, 451;
+ the King's comment on his death, 451.
+
+Louis XVI, the flight to Varennes, 1, 4, 10;
+ accepts new constitution, 7;
+ letter to George III, 49;
+ his trial decreed, 74, 85, 96;
+ English sympathy for, 86;
+ proposed appeal from England for his life, 91, 92;
+ stories of Spanish and other efforts on his behalf, 92-94;
+ his execution, 108, 117;
+ his responsibility for the Revolution, 560.
+
+Louis, Dauphin (Louis XVII), 145, 146, 156;
+ his death, 259.
+
+Louis XVIII. _See_ Provence, Comte de.
+
+Louisa, Queen, of Prussia, 535, 536.
+
+Loyal Associations, growth of, 86.
+
+Loyalty Loan, 305, 306.
+
+Lucchesini, Marquis di, Prussian Ambassador at Vienna, 203, 207.
+
+Lunéville, Treaty of, 470, 529.
+
+Lyons, fall of, 147, 151.
+
+
+Macartney, Earl, his embassy to Pekin, 32;
+ Governor of the Cape, 254, 255.
+
+MacBride, Admiral, 269 _n._
+
+McCullum, of Manchester, trial of, 185.
+
+Macdonald, General, 376.
+
+Macdonald, Sir Archibald, Attorney-General, 172.
+
+Mack, General, 204;
+ his plan of campaign (1794), 205;
+ declines to serve under Coburg, 206;
+ surrenders at Ulm, 534, 537.
+
+Mackenzie, Sir Kenneth, 174.
+
+Mackintosh, Sir James, his "Vindiciae Gallicae," 16, 23.
+
+Macleod, General, M.P., 238.
+
+McNevin, William James, delegate of the United Irishmen in Paris, 346, 348;
+ arrested, 354, 394.
+
+Macqueen of Braxfield, Lord Justice Clerk, his trial of Muir, 176,
+ 178, 179;
+ trial of Margarot and Gerrald, 183, 184.
+
+MacRitchie, W., his "Diary of a Tour through Great Britain in 1795," 265.
+
+Maestricht, the French demand a passage through, 82.
+
+Mainz, siege of, 130, 134, 136, 138, 200.
+
+Maitland, General, evacuates Hayti, 247, 248.
+
+Mallet du Pan, 6, 135, 338, 370.
+
+Malmesbury, Lord (Sir James Harris), furthers proposed union between Pitt
+ and the Old Whigs, 36, 38;
+ on the opening of the Scheldt, 75;
+ his mission to Berlin, 200-202, 204;
+ makes treaty with Prussia, 206-208;
+ agreement with Hardenberg, 212;
+ goes to Brunswick, 214, 215;
+ his mission to Paris, 321;
+ negotiations at Lille, 323-326;
+ his statements controverted, 434, 445, 448, 465, 550 _n._;
+ urges Pitt to action, 481;
+ mentioned, 90, 286, 497, 524 _n._, 537, 553, 559.
+
+Malouet, Baron Pierre Victor, his "Mémoires," 92, 93;
+ envoy from Hayti to England, 131, 221, 222, 239, 247 _n._
+
+Malt, tax on, 30, 31, 450.
+
+Malta, Pitt's policy with regard to, 255, 277 _n._, 327, 468-470, 478,
+ 480, 565;
+ the French in, 368, 369, 373, 387, 388;
+ Craig's expedition to, 525, 526;
+ Russian aims in, 526-527;
+ its value to England, 539.
+
+Manchester, Nonconformists in, 11;
+ political clubs founded, 12, 13, 17;
+ disorder in, 62.
+
+"Manchester Constitutional Society," 12, 168, 169, 185.
+
+Mann, Admiral, 243.
+
+Mansfield, Lord, death of, 303.
+
+Marengo, battle of, 386, 387.
+
+Maret, Hugues Bernard (afterwards Duc de Bassano), in London, 79, 83,
+ 94 _n._, 101;
+ interviews with Pitt, 79-82, 84;
+ his letter to Miles, 105-107;
+ his alleged mission to London, 108-112, 117;
+ ordered to leave, 112;
+ on Chauvelin, 115 _n._;
+ one of the plenipotentiaries at Lille, 323.
+
+Margarot, Maurice, 177, 181;
+ his trial and transportation, 182-184.
+
+Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, 365, 368, 372, 376.
+
+Maria Luisa, of Parma, Queen of Spain, 230, 231, 237.
+
+Maria Theresa, 2nd wife of the Emperor Francis II, 199.
+
+Marie Antoinette, the flight to Varennes, 1, 4, 10;
+ her anger, 7;
+ her schemes, 7, 49, 85;
+ her execution, 141.
+
+Maritime Code, British, opposed by the Baltic powers, 388.
+
+Markoff, Russian minister, 122.
+
+Maroons, their atrocities in Jamaica, 237, 238.
+
+Marseilles, the Royalists in, 144-146.
+
+Martello towers, 512, 513.
+
+Martinique, failure of English attack on, 221;
+ capture of, 225;
+ to be ceded to France, 469.
+
+Masséna, André (Duc de Rivoli), 378, 386.
+
+Maubeuge, siege of, 141.
+
+Maulde, French envoy at The Hague, 76, 82, 83.
+
+Maxwell, Colonel, 360.
+
+Maxwell, Dr., of York, his order for daggers, 64, 65.
+
+Maxwell, James, of York, 64, 65.
+
+Maynooth College, founded, 343, 344.
+
+Mealmaker, author of "An address to the People," 178.
+
+Melas, Field-Marshal, 376.
+
+Melvill, 324-326.
+
+Melville, Lord. _See_ Dundas, Henry.
+
+Mercy d'Argenteau, Count, 4, 7, 8 _n._, 205.
+
+Merry, Antony, Secretary of legation at Madrid, 242.
+
+Merveldt, General Count, 205.
+
+Middleton, Sir Charles. _See_ Barham, Lord.
+
+Miles, William Augustus, British agent at Paris, 59, 60, 79, 84, 85, 93,
+ 94, 99, 105, 106, 109-111.
+
+Militia, the, 509, 510.
+
+Militia Acts, 279.
+
+Milman, Dr., the King's physician, 506.
+
+Mingay of Norfolk, 188.
+
+Minto, Earl of (Sir Gilbert Elliot), his motion to repeal the Test Act
+ in Scotland, 13, 14;
+ on Fox's conduct, 90;
+ commissioner at Dunkirk, 138-140;
+ commissioner at Toulon, 154, 156, 162;
+ Viceroy of Corsica, 244, 256-258;
+ Ambassador at Vienna, 380, 383, 384;
+ speech on the Union, 421.
+
+Mirabeau, Count, 2, 11, 42, 171.
+
+Miranda, General Francesco, 103, 106, 109;
+ ordered to prepare for invasion of Holland, 107;
+ defeated by Coburg, 126.
+
+Missouri River, British mercantile ports on, 244.
+
+Mitchell, Admiral, his successes against the Dutch, 381.
+
+Mitford, Sir John (afterwards Lord Redesdale), made Speaker, 439;
+ letter to Pitt, 485, 486.
+
+Moira, Earl of, 137, 158, 165, 209, 262, 268, 355, 497.
+
+Möllendorf, Marshal, 201, 207, 208, 212, 217.
+
+Monge, Gaspard, French Minister for the Navy, 58;
+ his circular letter, 101-103, 106.
+
+Montrose, Duke of, President of the Board of Trade, 501.
+
+Moore, John, Archbishop of Canterbury, 294, 302;
+ and Catholic Emancipation, 434, 437;
+ death of, 477.
+
+Moore, Sir John, on Abercromby, 240;
+ in the West Indies, 241;
+ in Corsica, 257, 274;
+ in Ireland, 361;
+ and the Volunteers, 492, 493, 510, 512, 547.
+
+More, Hannah, 335, 337.
+
+Moreau, General, 276, 376.
+
+"Morning Chronicle," the, 66, 178;
+ in the pay of the French Embassy, 66 _n._;
+ prosecution of, 173.
+
+"Morning Post," the, 66.
+
+Mornington, Earl of. _See_ Wellesley, Marquis.
+
+Morris, Gouverneur, 96 _n._;
+ on the state of France in 1795, 259.
+
+Moylan, Bishop, 417, 425 _n._
+
+Muir, Thomas, 174, 175;
+ goes to Paris, 175;
+ his trial and sentence, 176, 179, 180;
+ at Sydney, 177;
+ his death, 177.
+
+Mulgrave, 1st Lord, 148.
+
+Mulgrave, Henry, 2nd Lord (afterwards Earl of Mulgrave), Chancellor of
+ the Duchy, 501, 514;
+ Foreign Secretary, 517, 523, 527, 538, 542, 549, 550, 552, 556.
+
+Munro, British _chargé-d'affaires_ in Paris, 64 _n._, 68.
+
+Münster, Treaty of (1648), 71, 76.
+
+Murphy, Father John, his barbarities in Wexford, 360-362;
+ hanged, 362.
+
+Murphy, Father Michael, 360;
+ killed, 361.
+
+Murray, Sir James, envoy at Frankfurt, 108, 122 _n._, 126 _n._;
+ Chief of Staff to the Duke of York, 140, 220.
+
+
+Nagel, Dutch envoy in London, appeals for help, 77.
+
+Nantes, assault of, 136.
+
+Naples, compact with England, 123, 143, 150, 267, 268;
+ French conquest of, 372;
+ Nelson's vengeance on, 376;
+ makes peace with Bonaparte, 386;
+ 468.
+
+Napoleon Bonaparte, 119, 120, 570;
+ his "Souper de Beaucaire," 146;
+ at Toulon, 147, 148, 151, 159;
+ his Italian campaign, 243, 257, 258, 276, 304, 308, 321, 365;
+ his Eastern expedition, 244, 245, 255, 258, 276, 278, 328, 350, 356,
+ 357, 363, 364, 430;
+ disperses the royalist rising in Paris (1795), 263;
+ peace of Campo Formio, 327;
+ at Dunkirk, 349;
+ First Consul, 383, 468-470, 478;
+ proposes terms of peace to Austria and England, 383, 568;
+ battle of Marengo, 386, 387;
+ dupes the Czar, 388;
+ renews peace negotiations, 468;
+ his conquests (1802), 478;
+ his behaviour to Whitworth, 485;
+ declares war on England, 487;
+ threatened invasion of England, 493, 510, 511;
+ his position in 1804, 505;
+ seizes Sir H. Rumbold, 515;
+ again proposes terms of peace, 516;
+ crowned King of Italy, 528;
+ annexes Genoa, 528, 529;
+ battle of Austerlitz, 544.
+
+National Debt, the (1792), 31;
+ (1801), 451.
+
+National Defence, 278-281.
+
+Navy, state of the (1793), 124;
+ causes of discontent in, 310;
+ mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, 310-320.
+
+Needham, General, 361.
+
+Neerwinden, battle of, 126, 127, 267.
+
+Nelson, Lord, in Corsica, 256;
+ on the position of Italy, 277;
+ at Cape St. Vincent, 276, 309;
+ battle of the Nile, 367-369;
+ at Naples, 372, 376;
+ battle of Copenhagen, 388, 450;
+ interview with Pitt, 533;
+ battle of Trafalgar, 534, 538, 565;
+ death of, 521, 538.
+
+Nepean, Sir Evan, on the Scottish prosecutions, 178;
+ Pitt at his house, 459;
+ Irish Secretary, 501, 519.
+
+Netherlands, Austrian, ceded to France, 327.
+
+Netherlands, Dutch. _See_ Dutch Republic.
+
+New Ross, fight at, 360, 361.
+
+New South Wales, 565.
+
+Nicholls, Mr., 330, 472.
+
+Nicols, General, 241.
+
+Nile, battle of the, 368, 369.
+
+Noël, French agent in London, 60, 69, 82, 89 _n._, 93, 94, 96.
+
+Nonconformists, position of, 10, 11;
+ no longer support Pitt, 12;
+ riots in Birmingham, 18.
+
+Nootka Sound dispute, the, 92, 154, 197, 235;
+ Convention, 232.
+
+Nore, the, mutiny at, 314-320.
+
+Norfolk, Duke of, his seditious speech, 333;
+ and Arthur O'Connor, 350.
+
+Norwich, Bishop of. _See_ Sutton, Charles Manners, 477.
+
+Norwich, Radical Clubs at, 168, 181, 186, 284.
+
+Novossiltzoff, Count, his mission to London, 516, 522, 525;
+ in Berlin, 528, 529.
+
+
+O'Brien, Sir Edward, 408.
+
+O'Coigly. _See_ Quigley.
+
+O'Connor, Arthur, 346, 350, 351, 394.
+
+O'Drusse, 325, 326.
+
+O'Finn, the brothers, 351.
+
+O'Hara, General, at Toulon, 153, 154, 156;
+ captured, 157.
+
+Orange, Prince of. _See_ William V.
+
+Orange, Wilhelmina, Princess of, 250.
+
+Orangemen, 344, 359;
+ oppose the Union, 425.
+
+Orde, Thomas (afterwards Lord Bolton), 39.
+
+Orleans, Duke of (Philippe Egalité), 59, 79.
+
+Otto, General, 208.
+
+Oubril, Count d', 540, 541.
+
+
+Pache, Jean Nicolas, French Minister of War, 83, 121.
+
+Paine, Thomas, his "Rights of Man," 14-16, 19-23, 25, 26, 50, 167;
+ intimate with Talleyrand, 51;
+ elected as deputy for Calais, 61;
+ circulation of his works, 167, 168, 175;
+ prosecution of, 172;
+ story of, 180.
+
+Palmer, T. F., transported for sedition, 178, 179.
+
+Paoli, Pascal, 150 _n._, 227, 256, 257.
+
+Paris, deputation of British residents to the National Convention, 71;
+ activity of Britons in, 175;
+ royalist rising in, 263.
+
+Parker, Vice-Admiral, 311.
+
+Parker, Richard, and the Mutiny at the Nore, 314, 315.
+
+Parker, Theresa, on the taxes of 1797, 329.
+
+Parliament, movement for Reform, 11, 12, 21, 23-28, 164, 171, 180, 181;
+ evolution of the Cabinet, 34;
+ growing power of the Prime Minister, 34;
+ election of 1796, 295.
+
+Parnell, Sir John, Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer, 341, 401, 411.
+
+Parsons, Sir L., 424.
+
+Parthenopean Republic, the, 372.
+
+Paterson, Chairman of the British Convention, 182.
+
+Patriotic Contribution, the (1797), 330, 331.
+
+Paul I, Czar, 258;
+ his indignation with France, 365, 366, 368, 369;
+ alliance with England, 373, 376;
+ breaks with Austria, 379;
+ joins England in the expedition against Holland, 380;
+ duped by Bonaparte, 388;
+ murdered, 388.
+
+Pays Bas. _See_ Belgic Provinces.
+
+Peel, Robert (senior), and the Patriotic Contribution, 331;
+ on the Union, 428.
+
+Peep o' Day Boys, 344.
+
+Pelham, Thomas (afterwards Earl of Chichester), Secretary to Earl
+ Camden, 343;
+ Irish Chief Secretary, 359 _n._, 399;
+ on Pitt's pledge to the King, 448;
+ Home Secretary, 483, 484;
+ omitted from Pitt's ministry, 501.
+
+Perceval, Spencer, 466;
+ Attorney-General 501, 569.
+
+Perth, sedition in, 77, 174.
+
+Pétion, Jérôme, 58.
+
+Petty, Lord Henry, 520.
+
+Pichegru, General Charles, 162, 200, 215, 216, 377.
+
+Pilnitz, Declaration of, 5, 6.
+
+Pinckard, Dr., his account of the West India expedition, 226.
+
+Pitt, Lady Ann, marries Lord Grenville, 37.
+
+Pitt, Thomas, of Boccanoc. _See_ Camelford, Lord.
+
+Pitt, William, his neutrality towards the French Revolution, 3-5, 6, 8;
+ first private meeting with Burke, 7, 8;
+ distrusts Leopold II, 8;
+ opposes Nonconformist claims, 10-12, 24;
+ his opposition to Reform, 12, 23, 24, 26-28;
+ his finance, 30-32, 265, 304-309, 328-333, 369-371, 427, 450, 451;
+ sends Lord Macartney to China, 32;
+ insists on dismissal of Thurlow, 34;
+ rumour of his impending fall, 35;
+ negotiates for union with the Old Whigs, 35-39, 270;
+ made Warden of the Cinque Ports, 39, 89;
+ interview with Canning, 39-41;
+ his reception of Talleyrand, 43;
+ discussion of his policy, 46-48;
+ assertion of neutrality, 48, 50, 52, 61, 98;
+ cautious Polish policy, 55;
+ ignorant of events in France, 58;
+ life at Holwood and Walmer, 68;
+ foresees no danger, 69;
+ his concern at the November decrees, 72-74, 76;
+ his assurances to Holland, 74, 114;
+ considers war unavoidable, 76, 77;
+ interviews with Maret, 79-80, 84;
+ support of his policy not unanimous, 89, 90;
+ his firm attitude, 91;
+ Godoy's story of, 92, 93;
+ Lebrun's charges against, 95, 113, 117;
+ stiff reply to Chauvelin, 98, 99;
+ declaration of policy, 100;
+ his anger with Miles, 106;
+ difficulties of neutrality, 112-113;
+ faults of his policy, 114-116;
+ harsh treatment of Radical Clubs, 114-115;
+ his view of the war, 118-120, 219, 220;
+ his war policy (1793), 123, 129, 131, 132, 137, 139, 144, 145, 147;
+ his care for the navy, 124, 266;
+ ignorant of military affairs, 128;
+ his optimism, 131, 144, 151, 152;
+ demands removal of Coburg, 142;
+ Mediterranean policy, 143, 258;
+ his intentions at Toulon, 152, 154-156;
+ effect of Toulon on his policy, 162, 163;
+ his Traitorous Correspondence Bill, 164, 165;
+ altered attitude to Reform, 164, 171, 180;
+ policy of repression, 171, 183, 184, 190-194, 333;
+ speech on the Scottish prosecutions, 179, 180;
+ suspends the Habeas Corpus Act, 191;
+ mistaken as to affairs in France, 196, 197;
+ deprecates peace, 198;
+ war policy in 1794, 202, 204-217;
+ dilatoriness in ratifying Prussian Alliance, 208, 210, 269;
+ remonstrance to Prussian Ambassador, 212, 270;
+ insists on recall of the Duke of York, 215;
+ policy in the West Indies, 220 _et seq._;
+ negotiations with Spain, 233;
+ makes treaty with Russia and Austria, 235;
+ speech on abolition of slavery, 238;
+ inclines towards peace, 242, 243, 257, 276, 287;
+ tries to avert war with Spain, 243, 244;
+ policy at the Cape, 254, 255;
+ attitude towards Corsica, 256-258;
+ relations with the _émigrés_, 259, 287;
+ the Quiberon expedition, 259-262;
+ policy as War Minister, _see_ Chap. XII;
+ changes in the Cabinet, 270-272;
+ national defence policy, 278-281;
+ agitation against him, 282-284, 288;
+ caricatures of, 282, 301, 335 _n._, 337;
+ his Sedition Bills, 285-287;
+ action with regard to shortage of corn, 289, 290;
+ institutes a Board of Agriculture, 293;
+ treatment of the Enclosures question, 295-297;
+ his Poor Bill (1797), 297, 298;
+ his relations with Miss Eden, 300-303;
+ his financial embarrassments, 302, 303, 473-477;
+ issues a "Loyalty Loan," 305, 306;
+ and the mutinies in the fleet, 312-320;
+ compared with Chatham, 320;
+ further efforts for peace, 321-326;
+ hostility to his new taxes (1797), 329, 330;
+ the "Patriotic Contribution," 330, 331;
+ his Land Tax proposals, 331-333;
+ his duel with Tierney, 334-336;
+ verses in the "Anti-Jacobin," 337;
+ Irish policy, _see_ Chaps. XVI, XVIII, XIX, 566;
+ sends a squadron to the Mediterranean, 366, 367;
+ his Income Tax, 370, 427;
+ his aims in Europe (1798), 371;
+ his policy towards Switzerland, 375;
+ the expedition to Holland, 379-383;
+ rejects Bonaparte's offers of peace, 383-385, 473;
+ on commercial union with Ireland, 389, 390;
+ his first reference to the Union, 393;
+ preparations for the Union, 396-410;
+ speeches on the Act of Union, 413-415, 426, 427;
+ his use of bribery in Ireland, 424, 429;
+ his proposal for Catholic Emancipation, 431;
+ opposition of the King, 433-439;
+ breaks down in health, 435;
+ his resignation, 439-446, 450;
+ his promises to the Catholics, 441, 442, 446;
+ gives a pledge to the King during his illness, 448, 449, 518;
+ breach with Auckland, 452;
+ personal characteristics, 454-459, 491;
+ his neglect of literature and art, 456;
+ his scholarship, 458;
+ his friendship with Wellesley and Canning, 459-466;
+ his creations of peers, 466-468;
+ supports Addington and the peace proposals (1801), 468-472, 478;
+ vote of thanks to him carried, 472;
+ at Walmer, 471, 473, 474, 477;
+ his interest in farming and gardening, 473, 474, 479, 491;
+ his private expenses, 474;
+ subscription for, 476, 477;
+ relations with Addington, 473, 477, 478, 480-482, 503, 504;
+ at Bath, 479;
+ negotiations with Dundas, 483, 484;
+ his terms for return to office, 485;
+ speech on the war with France (1803), 487, 488;
+ death of his mother, 488;
+ organizes the East Kent Volunteers, 489-494, 511, 512;
+ Lady Hester Stanhope at Walmer, 490-493;
+ refuses to join Grenville, 495, 496;
+ agrees to accept office, 497;
+ attack on Addington, 499;
+ forms a ministry, 500-502;
+ and the Slave Trade, 502, 503;
+ difficulties of his position, 503, 504;
+ declines Livingston's peace proposals, 505, 506;
+ remonstrates with the Princess of Wales, 508;
+ his measures for strengthening the army, 509, 511;
+ constructs the Hythe Military Canal, 512;
+ seizes Spanish treasure-ships, 514;
+ on the restoration of the French monarchy, 515;
+ rejects Napoleon's overtures, 516, 566;
+ forms a junction with Addington, 517;
+ opposes Fox's motion for Catholic Emancipation, 518, 519;
+ on the impeachment of Lord Melville, 519-521;
+ his foreign policy (1805), 523-525;
+ negotiations with Russia, 525-529;
+ final parting with Addington, 530;
+ fails to form a national administration, 530;
+ multiplicity of his cares, 530, 531;
+ interview with Nelson, 533;
+ receives the news of Ulm, 537, 538;
+ his speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet (1805), 538;
+ his magnanimous offers to Prussia, 538, 539;
+ his foresight in South Africa, 539;
+ rejects Prussia's demand for Hanover, 541, 542;
+ correspondence with Harrowby, 541-547;
+ goes back to Bath, 547;
+ story of his reception of the news of Austerlitz, 548, 549;
+ returns home, 553, 554;
+ last days and death, 554-558;
+ opposition to his burial in the Abbey, 559;
+ summary of his career and character, 560-570.
+
+Place, Francis, 283, 284, 286, 349, 350.
+
+Pléville, Admiral, 323.
+
+Plunket, William C. (afterwards Baron), 399, 404, 411.
+
+Plymouth, fortification of, 124.
+
+Pocket Boroughs, in Ireland, disfranchised, 428.
+
+Poland, new Constitution in, 7, 52;
+ Russian designs on, 9, 46, 52;
+ scheme of partition of, 53, 129;
+ Russian invasion of, 53-56;
+ Prussian invasion of, 122;
+ rising in, 206;
+ third Partition of, 218.
+
+Polastron, Mme., 263.
+
+Pondicherry, 198.
+
+Ponsonby, George, 521, 559.
+
+Ponsonby, George, and William (afterwards Baron), Fitzwilliam's overtures
+ to, 339-342;
+ 402.
+
+Poor Bill, Pitt's (1797), withdrawn, 298, 568.
+
+Portland, Duke of, proposed coalitions with Pitt, 35-38, 191, 208, 270;
+ Canning and, 39;
+ refuses to break with Fox, 89, 90;
+ Home Secretary, 191, 244-247, 257, 258, 271, 285, 316, 322, 339, 341,
+ 342, 359, 398, 404, 407, 421, 440, 446, 483;
+ censures Abercromby, 353, 354;
+ his letters to Shelburne on the Irish settlement of 1782, 422;
+ Lord President, 501.
+
+Porto Rico, failure of attack on, 246.
+
+Portsmouth, fortification of, 124.
+
+Portugal, Spanish designs on, 233, 234, 244;
+ loan to, 309;
+ defended by England, 386, 387, 468, 469;
+ pays an annual subsidy to France, 513.
+
+Potsdam, Treaty of (1805), 539, 540.
+
+Press-gang, the, 166.
+
+Pretyman, Dr. _See_ Tomline, Bishop.
+
+Price, Dr., his sermon in the Old Jewry, 12 _n._;
+ his death, 17.
+
+Priestley, Dr., 10, 12, 16 _n._;
+ his sermon on the death of Dr. Price, 17;
+ his chapel and house wrecked, 18.
+
+Pringle, Admiral, his opinion of Cape Town, 254.
+
+Prosperous, affair at, 357, 358.
+
+Protestants, the, in Ireland, 394, 396, 397, 400, 430;
+ their hostility to the Union, 408, 417, 423.
+
+Provence, Comte de (afterwards Louis XVIII), 2, 129, 259;
+ refused permission to go to Toulon, 155;
+ at the Russian headquarters, 377.
+
+Prussia, alliance with Austria, 5;
+ renounces alliance with Turkey, 5 _n._;
+ declares war against France, 52;
+ her betrayal of Poland, 52, 53, 129;
+ invades Poland, 122, 123;
+ compact with England (1793), 123;
+ her disputes with Austria, 200-202;
+ state of her finances, 201;
+ English proposals to, 202, 203;
+ treaty with England (1794), 207, 269;
+ her breach of faith, 212;
+ treaty with France (1795), 217, 218, 233;
+ attitude of, in 1799, 374, 380;
+ her conduct with regard to Hanover, 535-537, 540, 541, 552, 553,
+ 556, 560.
+ _See_ Frederick William II _and_ Frederick William III.
+
+Puisaye, Comte de, Breton leader, 260-263, 274.
+
+Pulteney, Sir James, failure of his attack on Ferrol, 386.
+
+Pulteney, Sir William, 174;
+ opposes the taxes of 1797, 329.
+
+Putney, Bowling Green House, 554-557.
+
+
+Quesnoy, siege of, 138, 141;
+ surrendered, 210.
+
+Quiberon Expedition, the, 227, 239, 259-262, 274;
+ failure of landing at (1800), 385.
+
+Quigley (O'Coigly), hanged for treason, 350, 354.
+
+
+Radical, use of the term, 1 _n._, 10, 23.
+
+Rastatt, Congress of, 365, 374.
+
+Redesdale, Lord. _See_ Mitford, Sir John.
+
+Reeves, John, founder of the "Anti-Levelling Society," 68.
+
+Reform, influence of the French Revolution on, in England, 11;
+ Flood's motion for, 11, 12;
+ Hardy's efforts for, 21;
+ Pitt's opposition to, 23-28, 164, 171, 180;
+ change of aims, 171, 180.
+
+Regency, threatened, 497.
+
+Reichenbach, Conference of, 3;
+ Convention of, 48.
+
+Reinhard, 108, 346.
+
+Reuss, Prince, Austrian envoy at Berlin, 43.
+
+Rewbell, Jean François, 325.
+
+Reynolds, Dr., 554.
+
+Reynolds, Sir Joshua, Pitt's neglect of, 456.
+
+Richmond, Duke of, his charge against Paine, 50;
+ Master-General of the Ordnance, 124, 130, 131;
+ his incompetence, 137, 140;
+ his Reform plan, 168, 179, 192;
+ resigns, 273.
+
+Richter, arrested, 190.
+
+Rivoli, battle of, 308.
+
+Robespierre, François Maximilien Joseph Isidore, 42, 116, 180;
+ his fall, 192, 212.
+
+Rochester, Bishop of. _See_ Horsley, Samuel.
+
+Roer, River, 126, 213.
+
+Roland, J. Marie, French Minister of Home Affairs, 45, 58, 167.
+
+Roland, Mme., 59, 86.
+
+Rolle, Baron, French royalist agent, 5.
+
+Rom, General, goes to San Domingo, 241.
+
+Romilly, Sir Samuel, 61, 487 _n._, 488, 569.
+
+Romney, Lord, 331.
+
+Romney, George, 167.
+
+Rose, George, Secretary to the Treasury, 6, 38, 119 _n._, 395, 448, 450;
+ resigns, 451, 465;
+ 473, 475, 476, 479-482, 496, 530, 554;
+ Paymaster of the Forces, 501, 517.
+
+Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 72, 114, 197.
+
+Roussillon, Spanish campaign in, 197.
+
+Rowan, Hamilton, 180, 402.
+
+Rumbold, Sir Horace, Ambassador at Hamburg, seized by Napoleon, 515.
+
+Russell, Lord William, 294, 422.
+
+Russia, her designs on Poland, 9, 46, 122, 123, 129;
+ peace with Turkey, 29, 52;
+ treaties with England, 123, 235, 373, 376, 529;
+ successes in Italy, 376;
+ failure of campaign in Switzerland, 378, 379;
+ Dutch campaign, 379-383;
+ rupture with England, 388;
+ understanding with England, 508, 515;
+ compact with Austria (1804), 516;
+ treaty of Potsdam, 539.
+ _See_ Catharine II, Paul I, _and_ Alexander I.
+
+Rutland, Duke of, 456.
+
+Ryan, James, 442, 518, 519.
+
+Ryder, Dudley. See Harrowby, Earl of.
+
+
+St. André, André Jeanbon, 167.
+
+St. Asaph, Bishop of. _See_ Horsley, Samuel.
+
+St. Helen's, Lord, Ambassador at Madrid, 150, 154, 156, 228, 230.
+
+St. Januarius, 372.
+
+St. John, Lord, 246.
+
+St. John, Order of, 368, 369, 373, 468, 527.
+
+St. Lucia, 225, 237, 240, 241.
+
+St. Vincent, Sir John Jervis, Earl of, expedition to the West Indies, 137,
+ 225, 243;
+ battle of St. Vincent, 244, 277, 309, 310, 336;
+ in the Mediterranean, 366, 367, 420;
+ First Lord of the Admiralty, 483, 495, 498, 501.
+
+St. Vincent, revolt in, 239;
+ relief of, 241.
+
+St. Vincent, Cape, battle of, 244, 277, 309, 310.
+
+Saldanha Bay, defeat of the Dutch in, 254.
+
+San Domingo, 220, 223 _n._, 225, 233, 235;
+ ceded to France, 236, 237, 241, 275, 321.
+ _See also_ Hayti.
+
+Santerre, Claude, 58.
+
+"Sant' Iago," the, seizure of, 232, 233.
+
+Sardinia, compact with England, 123, 143, 147, 150, 151, 267, 268;
+ growth of Jacobinism in, 197;
+ independence of, stipulated by Pitt, 371.
+
+Saumur, capture of, 136.
+
+Saurin, Capt. William, 404, 405 _n._
+
+Savoy, annexed by France, 68, 72, 113, 276.
+
+Saxony, Elector of, King-elect of Poland, 54.
+
+Scheldt, the, opening of, 47, 71, 72, 75, 79, 80, 82, 84, 86, 91, 97, 105,
+ 114, 117, 119;
+ French gunboats in, 76, 107.
+
+Schönbrunn, Convention of, 553.
+
+Scotland, waking of political life in, 13, 22, 173;
+ failure of motion to repeal the Test Act in, 13, 14;
+ Radical movement in, 77, 173 _et seq._
+
+Scott, Sir John. _See_ Eldon, Lord.
+
+Scully, Denys, 442, 518, 519.
+
+Sebastiani, Colonel, 483.
+
+Secrecy, Parliamentary committee of, 167, 191, 316, 351.
+
+"Secret Committee of England," the, 349.
+
+Seditious Meetings Bill, 285-287.
+
+Seditious writings, proclamation against, 24, 25, 50.
+
+Ségur, Comte de, his mission to Berlin, 42-44.
+
+September Massacres, the, 57, 59-62.
+
+Seringapatam, capture of, 461, 462.
+
+Servan, Joseph, 58.
+
+Shannon, Lord, 341, 393, 402.
+
+Sheares, Henry and John, United Irishmen, 354;
+ arrested, 355, 356.
+
+Sheffield, disorder in, 62;
+ victory of Jermappes celebrated in, 70;
+ riots at, 166;
+ arrests at, 185, 186;
+ mass meeting at, 189, 193.
+
+Sheffield Association, the, 21, 22, 25, 181.
+
+Sheffield, Earl of, on French emissaries, 69, 70;
+ on the Corn Trade, 290;
+ on Pitt's redemption of Land Tax, 290, 332;
+ on Irish affairs, 395, 404, 421.
+
+Shepherd, John, of Faversham, his report on shortage of corn, 289.
+
+Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, his breach with Canning, 39, 41;
+ warns Chauvelin of Whig patriotism, 87;
+ suggests an appeal to France to spare Louis, 91, 92, 94 _n._;
+ on the massacre of royalists at Quiberon, 262;
+ and the mutinies in the fleet, 312, 313, 316, 318;
+ on the new taxes (1797), 329;
+ and Arthur O'Connor, 350;
+ opposes the Act of Union, 412, 413, 421, 422, 427;
+ on Pitt's speech on the war (1803), 488;
+ on the danger of a standing army, 510;
+ as an orator, compared with Pitt, 567;
+ mentioned, 23, 24, 165, 179, 188, 191, 238, 241, 286, 290, 293, 309,
+ 352 _n._, 383, 497, 498, 517, 518.
+
+Sicily, policy of defence of, 525, 526.
+
+Sidmouth, Viscount. _See_ Addington, Henry.
+
+Sieyès, Abbé, 233.
+
+Silesia, rising of the weavers in, 201.
+
+Simcoe, Major-General, Governor of Hayti, 245, 246.
+
+Sinclair, Charles, delegate to the British Convention, 181, 182;
+ turns informer, 182.
+
+Sinclair, Sir John, President of the Board of Agriculture, 293-295;
+ loses his seat, 295;
+ his correspondence with Pitt, 296;
+ his General Enclosure Bill, 297;
+ his financial suggestions, 305, 308 _n._, 309, 332;
+ withdraws amendment hostile to Pitt, 328;
+ on Spencer Perceval, 466.
+
+Sinking Fund, the, 31, 32, 568.
+
+Sistova, Congress of, 3.
+
+Skirving, William, 177;
+ his trial and transportation, 182-184.
+
+Slavery question, in the West Indies, 238, 239.
+
+Slave Trade, Wilberforce's proposals for abolition of, defeated, 502-503;
+ abolished in Guiana, 503.
+
+Sluysken, Governor of the Cape, 251-253.
+
+Smith, Adam, his "Wealth of Nations," 30, 567.
+
+Smith, James, 175.
+
+Smith, Joseph, Pitt's private secretary, 475, 476, 557.
+
+Smith, Captain (afterwards Sir Sidney), at Toulon, 160.
+
+Smith, General, M.P., 68;
+ opposes erection of barracks, 169, 170.
+
+Smith, William, M.P., 79, 457.
+
+Smugglers, their intercourse with France, 165.
+
+Snettisham, result of enclosures at, 292.
+
+"Soldiers' Friend," the, 169.
+
+Sombreuil, de, surrenders at Quiberon, 262.
+
+Somerset, Lord Charles, Paymaster of the Forces, 501.
+
+Somerville, Lord, President of the Board of Agriculture, 296.
+
+Sorel, Albert, mis-statements by, refuted, 277 _n._
+
+Soult, Marshal, 379, 505, 508.
+
+Spain, compact with England, 123;
+ her co-operation at Toulon, 144, 145, 150, 151, 153, 160;
+ disputes with the English, 153, 154, 156, 157, 197;
+ her action in Hayti, 224, 227-229, 239, 241, 245;
+ state of under Charles IV, 230, 231;
+ hostility to England, 232, 233;
+ peace with France, 236, 237, 244, 257;
+ declares war against England, 241, 244, 275 (1804), 513, 514;
+ Pitt and, 524, 560.
+
+Spanish treasure-ships, seizure of, 514.
+
+Spencer, Rev. Dr., of Birmingham, 18, 186.
+
+Spencer, Earl, special envoy to Vienna, 211;
+ First Lord of the Admiralty, 273, 341, 342, 366, 367, 421, 436;
+ and the mutinies in the fleet, 311, 312, 314, 316;
+ opposes negotiations for peace, 322;
+ resigns, 440, 500.
+
+Spitalfields weavers, their grievances, 166.
+
+Spithead, mutiny at, 310-314.
+
+Stadion, Johann Philipp Karl Joseph, Austrian Ambassador in London, 84.
+
+Staël, Mme. de, at Juniper Hall, 64.
+
+Stahremberg, Count, 205;
+ Austrian Ambassador in London, 366.
+
+Stanhope, Earl, 87, 179, 188, 490, 502.
+
+Stanhope, Lady Hester, on Pitt and women, 299, 300, 303, 454, 455,
+ 477, 531;
+ at Walmer, 490-495;
+ at Putney, 549, 554;
+ her parting with Pitt, 557.
+
+Stanhope, Lord Charles, 491.
+
+Stanhope, Lord James, 557, 558.
+
+Stanislaus, King, of Poland, 54.
+
+"Star," the, 66.
+
+Steele, Robert, Secretary to the Treasury, 412, 451, 454, 476, 557.
+
+Stein, Baron vom, 392, 535, 560.
+
+Stockport, "Friends of Universal Peace" at, 65.
+
+Stofflet, Nicolas, 136.
+
+Stralsund, Russians and Swedes at, 539.
+
+Stratton, Mr., British _chargé d'affaires_ at Vienna, 75.
+
+Stuart, General Sir Charles, in Corsica, 256, 257.
+
+Sutton, Charles Manners, Bishop of Norwich, made Archbishop of
+ Canterbury, 477.
+
+Sweden, refuses to aid the expedition to Holland, 380;
+ convention with England (1804), 516.
+
+Swellendam, settlement of, 252.
+
+Switzerland, 371;
+ importance of her position, 374;
+ Pitt's policy with regard to, 375, 377;
+ failure of campaign in, 378, 379.
+
+"Sun," the, 67.
+
+Suvóroff, Prince, 376, 378, 379.
+
+Sydney, Muir at, 177.
+
+
+Tainville, French envoy at The Hague, 82.
+
+Talleyrand, Périgord Charles Maurice de, 11;
+ his mission to London, 41-44;
+ second mission, 47-51;
+ intimacy with the Opposition, 51;
+ again in London, 60;
+ at Juniper Hall, 64;
+ his "Mémoire" on a Franco-British understanding, 83;
+ doubts of his loyalty, 83;
+ expelled from England, 103;
+ and the peace negotiations, 325, 326.
+
+Tallien, Jean Lambert, 262.
+
+Talon, M., 93, 94.
+
+Tara Hill, fight at, 357.
+
+Targowicz, Confederation of, 53.
+
+Tarleton, Mr., Mayor of Liverpool, 167.
+
+Tate, Colonel, 309.
+
+Teschen, Treaty of (1779), 365.
+
+Test Act, the, efforts to repeal, 10, 11;
+ in Scotland, 13, 14.
+
+Thanet, Lord, opposes the Act of Union, 421.
+
+Thatched House Tavern, 25.
+
+Thelwall, John, 167, 184, 285;
+ his trial, 193;
+ letter to Hardy, 352 _n._
+
+Thornton, Edward, British envoy at Hamburg, 549.
+
+Thornton, Henry, opposes the taxes of 1797, 329.
+
+Thugut, Baron Franz von, Austrian diplomatic agent at Brussels, 46;
+ Chancellor, 129, 143, 148, 153 _n._, 197 _n._, 203, 204, 206, 209, 211,
+ 212, 366, 372, 373, 378, 380, 383, 560;
+ his character and aims, 199, 200.
+
+Thurlow, Lord, Lord Chancellor, his character, 33;
+ dismissed, 34, 35;
+ hostile to France, 44;
+ on Lord Loughborough's death, 451, 452.
+
+Tierney, George, 316, 328, 352 _n._, 385, 427, 520;
+ his duel with Pitt, 334-336;
+ satirized by Canning, 337;
+ Treasurer of the Navy, 498;
+ refuses to serve under Pitt, 501.
+
+"Times," the, 67.
+
+Tippoo Sahib, 44, 250, 336, 461.
+
+Titchfield, Marquis of, 559.
+
+Tobago, 49;
+ captured by Great Britain, 198, 221.
+
+Tomline, George Pretyman, Bishop of Lincoln, 300, 456 _n._, 473, 475-477,
+ 495, 496;
+ on Pitt's resignation, 442-444, 450, 480;
+ on the King's illness, 447, 448;
+ at Putney, 554-557.
+
+Tone, Wolfe, 78, 177, 340, 344;
+ goes to Paris, 345, 346;
+ his capture and death, 363.
+
+Tooke, Horne, intimate with Talleyrand, 51, 167;
+ his speech, 190;
+ arrested, 190;
+ acquitted, 192, 193.
+
+Tortuga, island of, 246.
+
+Toulon, _see_ Chap. VI;
+ occupied by Hood, 134, 145, 267;
+ British aims at, 154-156;
+ evacuated, 160;
+ destruction of French navy at, 160, 161, 198;
+ Napoleon's preparations at, 336, 349.
+
+Toussaint l'Ouverture, 221, 224, 239, 241, 247, 248.
+
+Trafalgar, battle of, 521, 533, 534.
+
+Traitorous Correspondence Bill, 164, 165.
+
+Treasonable Practices Bill, 285-287.
+
+Trevor, J. H. (afterwards Viscount Hampden), British Minister at
+ Turin, 153 _n._
+
+Trincomalee, capture of, 254.
+
+Trinidad, capture of, 246, 248;
+ valued highly by Pitt, 323, 325, 468-470.
+
+Trotter, Deputy-Treasurer of the Navy, 519, 521.
+
+Troy, Archbishop, 412, 417, 425 _n._
+
+"True Briton," the, 67.
+
+Turcoing, battle of, 208, 270.
+
+Turin, captured by the allies, 376;
+ 470.
+
+Turkey, makes peace with Russia, 29, 52.
+
+Tuscany, attitude of, 150 _n._
+
+Twiss, Colonel, 513.
+
+
+Ulm, battle of, 524, 534, 536, 537, 556.
+
+Union, the, with Ireland, _see_ Chs. XVIII, XIX;
+ 568.
+
+Unitarians, Pitt opposes removal of disabilities of, 24.
+
+United Britons, 349.
+
+United Constitutional Societies, meeting at Norwich (1792), 26.
+
+United Englishmen, 349, 350.
+
+United Irishmen, Society of, 78, 174, 175, 316, 327, 340, 344;
+ turn to France, 345, 346, 349, 351, 357, 391.
+
+United Provinces. _See_ Dutch Republic.
+
+United Scotsmen, 349.
+
+United States, treaty with England (1794), 291.
+
+Utrecht, Treaty of (1713), 48, 72.
+
+
+Valdez, Don, Spanish Minister of Marine, 232.
+
+Valenciennes, 122, 123, 127, 129;
+ siege and fall of, 133, 134, 136;
+ surrendered, 210, 212, 460, 461.
+
+Valmy, battle of, 56, 57, 61, 66, 114, 200.
+
+Vancouver, Captain, 92;
+ ill-treated in California, 232.
+
+Vandamme, General, 382.
+
+Varennes, the flight to, 1, 2, 4;
+ receipt of the news in London, 10.
+
+Vauban, Count, 262, 263.
+
+Vendée, la, insurrection in, 135, 136;
+ expedition to, 237, 240, 262, 263.
+
+Venice, suggested partition of, 129 _n._, 200.
+
+Vereker, Colonel, 395.
+
+Victor Amadeus, King of Sardinia, 231.
+
+Victor Emmanuel I, King of Sardinia, 522, 523, 539.
+
+Villeneuve, Admiral, 532, 533.
+
+Villiers, George, 506, 507.
+
+Vinegar Hill, fight at, 360, 361.
+
+Volunteer Bill (1804), 497, 498.
+
+Volunteers, the, 124, 188, 278, 279, 337, 363;
+ Pitt's encouragement of, 474, 477, 488-494.
+
+Volunteers, the Ulster, 78.
+
+Vorontzoff, Count, Russian Ambassador in London, 9, 99, 123, 315, 478,
+ 487 _n._, 527, 529, 541, 543, 550, 563.
+
+
+Walcheren, Isle of, 547.
+
+Wales, George, Prince of (afterwards George IV), his first speech at
+ Westminster, 51;
+ and the Princess Caroline, 214;
+ and the King's illness, 448, 449, 497;
+ interviews with Pitt, 449;
+ Lord Mornington and, 460, 461;
+ his relations with the King, 507, 508;
+ and with the Princess, 508.
+
+Wales, Princess of, her extravagant conduct, 508.
+
+Walker, Thomas, his "Review of Political Events in Manchester," 11;
+ founds the Manchester Constitutional Society, 11, 12, 17;
+ prosecution of, 185.
+
+Walpole, General, acts as Tierney's second, 335.
+
+Walpole, Horace, and the French refugees, 64.
+
+Walter, John, of "The Times," 67.
+
+Ward, Robert Plumer, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 550;
+ Pitt's care for, 557.
+
+Wardle, Colonel, 520.
+
+Warren, Admiral Sir John, 262, 363, 532 _n._;
+ Ambassador at St. Petersburg, 508.
+
+Washington, George, 291.
+
+Watson, Dr., Bishop of Llandaff, his speech on the Union, 421.
+
+Watt, convicted at Edinburgh, 192, 193.
+
+Wattignies, battle of, 141, 200.
+
+Weishaupt, Adam, 26.
+
+Wellesley, Marquis (Earl of Mornington), 68, 313 _n._;
+ on Pitt's duel with Tierney, 336;
+ his friendship with Pitt, 459-464, 554, 556, 566.
+
+Wellesley, Sir Arthur (afterwards Duke of Wellington), in Flanders,
+ 209, 210;
+ battle of Assaye, 463, 505;
+ anecdote of Pitt told by, refuted, 524;
+ meeting with Nelson, 533;
+ Pitt's last words on, 556.
+
+West Indies, _see_ Chaps. IX, X;
+ British designs on, 129, 137, 155, 156, 268, 275;
+ risings of negroes, 220, 237, 238;
+ slavery in, 238, 239;
+ incomes derived from, 370.
+
+Westminster programme of 1780, 168, 171.
+
+Westmorland, Earl of, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 35, 73, 78, 151 _n._,
+ 152 _n._, 282, 389, 402;
+ Master of the Horse, 339;
+ Lord Privy Seal, 440, 446, 501.
+
+Wheat, shortage of (1795-6), 288-291;
+ regulation of export and import of, 289.
+
+Whitbread, Samuel, 18, 19, 23, 89, 291, 294;
+ moves a vote of censure on Pitt, 312, 313;
+ his attack on Lord Melville, 518, 519.
+
+Whitworth, Lord, Ambassador at St. Petersburg, 99, 100, 115, 122, 369, 373;
+ ambassador in Paris, 485, 505.
+
+Whyte, Major-General, in the West Indies, 225, 241.
+
+Wickham, William, envoy in Switzerland, 276, 377.
+
+Wigan, strike of colliers at, 62.
+
+Wigglesworth, Colonel, Commissary-General in Hayti, 245.
+
+Wilberforce, William, opposes Flood's motion for reform, 12;
+ his relations with Pitt, 299, 457, 458, 503;
+ and "wicked" Williams, 318, 319;
+ pained by Pitt's duel with Tierney, 335, 336;
+ on the Catholic question, 417, 428;
+ and the Slave Trade, 502, 503;
+ and the impeachment of Melville, 520;
+ on Lord Harrowby, 538;
+ mentioned, 119, 238, 248, 276, 286, 420, 476, 566.
+
+Wilkinson, James, of Sheffield, 186.
+
+William V, Prince of Orange, 47, 74, 77 _n._, 107, 205, 216, 250, 383;
+ his letter to the Governor of the Cape, 250-252.
+
+Williams, "wicked," stirs up disaffection in the army, 318, 319.
+
+Williamson, Major-General, Governor of Jamaica, 223;
+ Governor of Hayti, 239;
+ recalled, 239.
+
+Willis, Dr. (jun.), 447, 448.
+
+Wilson, Rev. Edward, 287.
+
+Winchester, French prisoners at, 165;
+ soldiers quartered at, 169.
+
+Winchilsea, Lord, 412.
+
+Windham, William, on reform, 11, 12, 24;
+ on the war in la Vendée, 136, 137;
+ on the erection of barracks, 170;
+ Secretary at War, 192, 259-261, 271-273, 275, 341, 342, 379, 380, 436;
+ opposes negotiations for peace, 322, 326;
+ resigns, 440;
+ opposed to peace (1801), 469, 470;
+ on the Volunteers, 494;
+ joins Fox and Grenville, 500, 502, 504, 510, 517, 557;
+ opposes motion to bury Pitt in the Abbey, 559, 560;
+ mentioned, 89, 188, 191, 498.
+
+"World," the, 67.
+
+Wurmser, General, 121, 142 _n._, 200, 243, 461.
+
+
+Yarmouth, Lord, 142.
+
+Yeu, expedition to, 263, 272, 273.
+
+Yonge, Sir Charles, Secretary at War, 29, 128, 270.
+
+York, Duke of, his marriage, 31;
+ Commander-in-Chief in Flanders, 126, 127, 130, 133, 138-142, 147, 200,
+ 201, 204, 208, 210, 213-215, 267, 269;
+ effort to shelve him foiled, 205, 206;
+ recalled, 215, 273;
+ Commander-in-Chief, 273, 285, 310, 362-363, 382, 448, 507.
+
+York, delegate to the British Convention, 181.
+
+Yorke, Charles, Under-Secretary at War, 489, 498, 499, 509, 521, 547.
+
+Yorke, Henry (alias Redhead), of Sheffield, 186, 189.
+
+Young, Arthur, 291, 292;
+ Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, 293;
+ superintends draining works at Holwood, 296;
+ on the new taxes (1797), 329.
+
+Young, Admiral, 311.
+
+Yriarte, Don Domingo d', signs the peace of Basle, 236.
+
+
+Zurich, battle of, 378.
+
+Zuype Canal, the, 382.
+
+
+
+
+CHISWICK PRESS: PRINTED BY CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
+TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of William Pitt and the Great War, by
+John Holland Rose
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