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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:32:38 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:32:38 -0700 |
| commit | ef02cfcf9085d99f0a8937ea67d81b47f98e8a66 (patch) | |
| tree | 7140385e2981de8745e15e5e935de1e9de40e83c | |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/26727-8.txt b/26727-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8853a6b --- /dev/null +++ b/26727-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22942 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Political History of England - Vol XI, by +George Brodrick and J.K. Fotheringham + +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: The Political History of England - Vol XI + From Addington's Administration to the close of William + IV.'s Reign (1801-1837) + +Author: George Brodrick + J.K. Fotheringham + +Release Date: September 30, 2008 [EBook #26727] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Murray, Brownfox and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + + + + + + + _THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND_ + + +_Seventy-five years have passed since Lingard completed his_ HISTORY OF +ENGLAND, _which ends with the Revolution of 1688. During that period +historical study has made a great advance. Year after year the mass of +materials for a new History of England has increased; new lights have +been thrown on events and characters, and old errors have been +corrected. Many notable works have been written on various periods of +our history; some of them at such length as to appeal almost exclusively +to professed historical students. It is believed that the time has come +when the advance which has been made in the knowledge of English history +as a whole should be laid before the public in a single work of fairly +adequate size. Such a book should be founded on independent thought and +research, but should at the same time be written with a full knowledge +of the works of the best modern historians and with a desire to take +advantage of their teaching wherever it appears sound._ + +_The vast number of authorities, printed and in manuscript, on which a +History of England should be based, if it is to represent the existing +state of knowledge, renders co-operation almost necessary and certainly +advisable. The History, of which this volume is an instalment, is an +attempt to set forth in a readable form the results at present attained +by research. It will consist of twelve volumes by twelve different +writers, each of them chosen as being specially capable of dealing with +the period which he undertakes, and the editors, while leaving to each +author as free a hand as possible, hope to insure a general similarity +in method of treatment, so that the twelve volumes may in their +contents, as well as in their outward appearance, form one History._ + +_As its title imports, this History will primarily deal with politics, +with the History of England and, after the date of the union with +Scotland, Great Britain, as a state or body politic; but as the life of +a nation is complex, and its condition at any given time cannot be +understood without taking into account the various forces acting upon +it, notices of religious matters and of intellectual, social, and +economic progress will also find place in these volumes. The footnotes +will, so far as is possible, be confined to references to authorities, +and references will not be appended to statements which appear to be +matters of common knowledge and do not call for support. Each volume +will have an Appendix giving some account of the chief authorities, +original and secondary, which the author has used. This account will be +compiled with a view of helping students rather than of making long +lists of books without any notes as to their contents or value. That the +History will have faults both of its own and such as will always in some +measure attend co-operative work, must be expected, but no pains have +been spared to make it, so far as may be, not wholly unworthy of the +greatness of its subject._ + +_Each volume, while forming part of a complete History, will also in +itself be a separate and complete book, will be sold separately, and +will have its own index, and two or more maps._ + +The History is divided as follows:-- + +Vol. I. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST (to 1066). By + Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L., Litt.D., Fellow of University College, + London; Fellow of the British Academy. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. II. FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO THE DEATH OF JOHN (1066-1216). By + George Burton Adams, D.D., Litt.D., Professor of History in Yale + University. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. III. FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY III. TO THE DEATH OF EDWARD III. + (1216-1377). By T. F. Tout, M.A., Bishop Fraser Professor of + Mediæval and Ecclesiastical History in the University of Manchester; + formerly Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. IV. FROM THE ACCESSION OF RICHARD II. TO THE DEATH OF RICHARD III. + (1377-1485). By C. W. C. Oman, M.A., LL.D., M.P., Chichele Professor + of Modern History in the University of Oxford; Fellow of the British + Academy. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. V. FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VII. TO THE DEATH OF HENRY VIII. + (1485-1547). By the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, M.A., M.P., + President of the Board of Education; Fellow of the British Academy. + With 2 Maps. + +Vol. VI. FROM THE ACCESSION OF EDWARD VI. TO THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH + (1547-1603). By A. F. Pollard, M.A., Litt.D., Fellow of All Souls' + College, Oxford, and Professor of English History in the University + of London. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. VII. FROM THE ACCESSION OF JAMES I. TO THE RESTORATION (1603-1660). + By F. C. Montague, M.A., Astor Professor of History in University + College, London; formerly Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. With 3 + Maps. + +Vol. VIII. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE DEATH OF WILLIAM III. + (1660-1702). By Sir Richard Lodge, M.A., LL.D., Litt.D., Professor + of History in the University of Edinburgh; formerly Fellow of + Brasenose College, Oxford. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. IX. FROM THE ACCESSION OF ANNE TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II. + (1702-1760). By I. S. Leadam, M.A., formerly Fellow of Brasenose + College, Oxford. With 8 Maps. + +Vol. X. FROM THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE III. TO THE CLOSE OF PITT'S FIRST + ADMINISTRATION (1760-1801). By the Rev. William Hunt, M.A., D.Litt., + Trinity College, Oxford. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. XI. FROM ADDINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION TO THE CLOSE OF WILLIAM IV.'S + REIGN (1801-1837). By the Hon. George C. Brodrick, D.C.L., late + Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and J. K. Fotheringham, M.A., + D.Litt., Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford; Lecturer in Ancient + History at King's College, London. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. XII. THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA (1837-1901). By Sir Sidney Low, + M.A., Fellow of King's College, London; formerly Scholar of Balliol + College, Oxford, and Lloyd C. Sanders, B.A. With 3 Maps. + + + + + The Political History of England + + IN TWELVE VOLUMES + + EDITED BY WILLIAM HUNT, D.LITT., AND + REGINALD L. POOLE, M.A. + + + + + XI. + + THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND + + FROM ADDINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION TO + + THE CLOSE OF WILLIAM IV.'S REIGN + + 1801-1837 + + + + + BY THE + + HON. GEORGE C. BRODRICK, D.C.L. + + LATE WARDEN OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD + + COMPLETED AND REVISED BY + + J. K. FOTHERINGHAM, M.A., D.LITT. + + FELLOW OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD; LECTURER IN + ANCIENT HISTORY AT KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON + + + _NEW IMPRESSION_ + + + LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. + + 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON + + FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK + + BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS + + 1919 + + + + +_NOTE._ + + +_When the late Warden of Merton undertook the preparation of this volume +he invited the assistance of Dr. Fotheringham in the portions dealing +with foreign affairs. At the time of the late Warden's death in 1903 +three chapters (x., xii. and xviii.) were unwritten, and one (xx.) was +left incomplete. It was also found that the volume had to be recast in +order to meet the plan of the series. The necessary alterations and +additions have been made by Dr. Fotheringham, who has been scrupulous in +retaining the expression of the late Warden's views, and, where +possible, his words._ + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + ADDINGTON. + PAGE + + Mar., 1801. The new ministry 1 + Condition of Ireland 2 + Expedition to Copenhagen 3 + Sept. Egypt evacuated by the French 6 + French diplomatic successes 6 + Bonaparte's concordat with the pope 7 + Peace negotiations with France 8 + Cornwallis at Amiens 10 +25 Mar., 1802. The treaty of Amiens 12 + Parliamentary criticism of the treaty 14 + July. General election 15 + Nov. Colonel Despard's conspiracy 16 + Further aggressions of Napoleon 17 + His colonial policy 18 + Negotiations between Whitworth and the French government 19 + 18 May, 1803. Renewal of the war with France 22 + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE RETURN OF PITT. + +23 July, 1803. Emmet's rebellion 23 + Pitt's discontent with the ministry 24 + Ministerial changes 27 + Jan., 1804. The king's illness 29 + April. Addington's resignation 31 + The exclusion of Fox 32 + 18 May. Napoleon declared emperor 33 + Pitt's ministry 34 + The impeachment of Melville 36 + July. The third coalition 37 + Nelson's pursuit of Villeneuve 39 +21 Oct., 1805. The battle of Trafalgar 40 + Napoleon marches into Germany 41 + Dec. Austerlitz: the peace of Pressburg 42 + Collapse of the coalition 43 +23 Jan., 1806. Death of Pitt 43 + + + CHAPTER III. + + GRENVILLE AND PORTLAND. + + Feb., 1806. Formation of the Grenville ministry 45 + 13 Sept. Death of Fox 46 + 14 Oct. Jena and Auerstädt 47 + General election 48 +25 Mar., 1807. Abolition of the slave trade 48 + Fall of the whig government 49 + The Portland administration 50 + General election 50 + 7 July. The treaty of Tilsit 52 + Seizure of the Danish fleet 54 + The "continental system" and orders in council 55 + Fruitless expeditions 56 + 12 Oct. Conference of Erfurt 59 + Army scandals 60 + The Wagram campaign 63 + July, 1809. The Walcheren expedition 64 + 21 Sept. Duel between Canning and Castlereagh 67 + Oct. Perceval's administration 68 + Capture of the Ionian Isles and Bourbon 69 + 25. Jubilee of George III. 69 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + PERCEVAL AND LIVERPOOL. + + Jan., 1810. Debates on the Walcheren expedition 71 + April. The arrest of Burdett 72 + Appointment of the "Bullion committee" 73 + The king's insanity: regency bill 74 + 11 May, 1812. Assassination of Perceval 76 + 1809-11. Social reforms in his ministry 77 + July, 1810. Deposition of Louis Bonaparte 78 + Opposition in Europe to the continental system 78 + Alliances formed by Russia and France 81 + Conquest of Java and Sumatra 81 + June, 1812. The formation of Liverpool's cabinet 81 + 1811-12. Distress in town and country 83 + Oct., 1812. General election 85 + 1813. Confirmation of the East India Company's charter 86 + + + CHAPTER V. + + THE PENINSULAR WAR. + + 1807, 1808. The origin of the war 87 + Charles IV. and Ferdinand VII. seek the + protection of Napoleon 87 + 1808. Napoleon's plans for the conquest of Spain 88 + 24 July. Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed King of Spain 89 + 13 Aug. Landing of Wellesley 90 + 21. Battle of Vimeiro 91 +Oct., 1808.- Expedition of Sir John Moore 92 + Jan., 1809. + 16 Jan. Battle of Coruña 95 + Wellesley returns to Portugal 97 + 27 July. Battle of Talavera 98 + Sept., 1810. Bussaco: the lines of Torres Vedras 101 + Struggle for the frontier fortresses 103 + 16 May, 1811. Battle of Albuera 103 +Jan.-April, Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz 105 + 1812. + 22 July. Battle of Salamanca 107 + 1812, 1813. Wellington reorganises the Spanish and Portuguese armies 109 +21 June, 1813. Battle of Vitoria 110 + Battle of the Pyrenees 113 + Siege of St. Sebastian 113 + 8 Oct. Wellington crosses the Bidassoa 115 + Battles round Bayonne 115 + Feb., 1814. The investment of Bayonne 117 + 10 April. Battle of Toulouse 119 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON. + + 1812. French treaties with Prussia and Austria 122 + Alliances made by Russia 123 + June. Napoleon's advance into Russia 124 + His retreat 125 + War between England and the United States 126 + Attacks on Canada 129 + American successes at sea 131 + Feb., 1813. Treaty of Kalisch 134 + Austrian diplomacy 135 + 2, 21 May. Lützen and Bautzen 135 + Aug., Oct. Dresden and Leipzig 137 + France loses Saxony, Holland, and Switzerland 138 + American war continued 138 + 1 June. Duel of the _Shannon_ and _Chesapeake_ 142 +Jan.-Mar., Campaign in France 143 + 1814. + April. Napoleon deposed: Louis XVIII. recalled 145 + 24 Dec. Treaty of Ghent 147 + July. Visit of Alexander and Frederick William to England 148 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + VIENNA AND WATERLOO. + +30 May, 1814. The first treaty of Paris 149 + English blockade of Norwegian ports 150 + Union of Sweden and Norway 150 + Restoration of Ferdinand VII. and Pius VII. 150 + Attempts to abolish the slave trade 151 +Sept., 1814- Congress of Vienna 152 + June, 1815. + 3 Jan., 1815. Secret treaty between England, France, and Austria 153 + 1 March. Napoleon's return from Elba 153 + Flight of Louis XVIII.: the _Acte Additionnel_ 155 + Plans of the allies 156 + Defeat and death of Murat 157 + June. Wellington at Brussels: his army 158 + 16. Ligny and Quatre Bras 159 + 18. Waterloo 160 + July. Paris occupied by the allies 163 + 22 June. Second abdication of Napoleon 165 + His surrender to England 165 + Restoration of Louis XVIII.: treaty of Vienna 166 + Resettlement of Europe 166 + 20 Nov. Second treaty of Paris: English gains 167 + 26 Sept. The Holy Alliance 168 + Napoleon at St. Helena 169 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + THE FIRST YEARS OF PEACE. + + 1816. Depression and discontent 171 + Vansittart's financial policy 173 + Union of British and Irish exchequers 174 + 2 Dec., 1816. Spa Fields riot 175 + Prosecution of Hone 177 + 1818. General election 178 +16 Aug., 1819. The "Manchester massacre" 178 + Dec. The six acts 180 + 1817, 1819. Institution of savings banks: currency reform 182 + 6 Nov., 1817. Death of Princess Charlotte 184 + 1818. Royal marriages 184 +29 Jan., 1820. Death of George III. 185 + Royalist reaction in Europe 187 + 1816. Expedition against the Barbary states 187 + 1819. Murder of Kotzebue 189 +30 Sept., Conference of Aix-la-Chapelle 189 + 1818. + Spain asks for assistance from the allies 190 + The European alliance 190 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE LAST YEARS OF LORD LIVERPOOL. + + 1820. The Cato Street conspiracy 192 + Dissolution of parliament 193 + The "queen's trial" 194 + 7 Aug., 1821. Her death 196 + 1822. Changes in the cabinet 199 + 12 Aug. Death of Castlereagh 199 + Sept. Canning foreign secretary 200 + Jan. Peel home secretary 201 + 1823. Reform of the navigation laws 202 + Agricultural discontent 203 + 1825. Speculative frenzy and financial panic 205 + 1823-26. Robinson's finance 206 + General election of 1826 207 + Close of Liverpool's ministry 208 + + + CHAPTER X. + + PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE. + + 1820. Revolution in Spain: policy of non-intervention 210 + July, Aug. Revolutions in the Two Sicilies and Portugal 211 + 20 Oct. Congress of Troppau 211 + Jan., 1821. Congress of Laibach 212 + Mar., April. Revolution in Piedmont: Austrian intervention 213 + Insurrections in the Morea and Central Greece 214 + Aug. "Sanitary cordon" 215 + Ultra-royalist parties in France and Spain 215 + Loss of Spanish colonies in America 215 + 1822. Conference at Vienna 216 + 20 Oct. Congress of Verona 217 + Offer of mediation declined 218 +7 April, 1823. War between France and Spain 220 +12 Oct., 1822. Independence of Brazil 221 + July, 1825. Conference at London 222 + 2 Dec., 1823. The Monroe doctrine 223 + 1824-25. Conference at St. Petersburg 224 + 1 Dec., 1825. Death of the Tsar Alexander I. 225 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + TORY DISSENSION AND CATHOLIC RELIEF. + + April, 1827. Formation of Canning's ministry 227 + Additions to the ministry 228 + 8 Aug. Death of Canning 228 + Sept. Goderich's cabinet 229 + Dissensions: resignation of Goderich 230 + 9 Jan., 1828. Wellington accepts office 230 + The Eastern question 232 +20 Oct., 1827. Navarino 233 + 1828. Repeal of the test and corporation acts 235 + May, June. Changes in the ministry 236 + June, July. The Clare election 237 + 1821. Measures for catholic relief 239 + 1825. Further measures 241 + George IV.'s opposition to catholic relief 244 + 1829. Wellington and Peel adopt catholic relief 245 + Mar., April. Debates on the bill 246 + 13 April. The royal assent 249 + 21 Mar. Duel between Wellington and Winchilsea 250 + Exclusion of O'Connell from Parliament 251 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + PORTUGAL AND GREECE. + +10 Mar., 1826. Death of John VI. of Portugal 253 + 2 May. Peter abdicates in favour of his daughter Maria 254 + 31 July. Miguel proclaimed king by the absolutists 254 + Dec. England sends troops to help the Portuguese government 255 + 3 Mar., 1828. Peter appoints Miguel regent for Maria 258 + Dec., 1827. The sultan defies Russia 260 +26 April, Russia makes war on the Turks 263 + 1828. + Negotiations for settlement of Greek question 264 + Oct., Nov. French troops expel the Turks from the Morea 265 + Terms of settlement agreed on at Poros and London 266 +14 Sept., Peace of Adrianople 267 + 1829. + 3 Feb., 1830. Greece independent: throne offered to Prince Leopold 268 + France conquers Algiers 269 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + PRELUDE OF REFORM. + + 1830. Amalgamation of English and Welsh benches 271 + Motions for reform 271 + 26 June. Death of George IV. 272 + General election 274 + 15 Sept. Death of Huskisson 275 + Wellington's opposition to reform 277 + Fall of his ministry 278 + Nov. Grey accepts office 278 + His cabinet 279 + The regency bill 281 + Feb., 1831. Althorp's first budget 283 + Public demand for reform 285 + Draft of the first reform bill 287 + System of representation in the unreformed house 288 + Popular excitement: second reading of the bill 291 + Dissolution of parliament 292 + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + THE REFORM. + + 1831. General election 293 + 24 June. Second reform bill introduced 294 + 8 Oct. Rejection by the lords 296 + Reform bill riots 296 + Attempts at compromise in the lords 299 + 12 Dec. Final reform bill introduced 300 + Gradual loss of the king's confidence in the ministry 302 + 9 May, 1832. Grey resigns 302 + Wellington unable to form a ministry 303 + The king recalls Grey 304 + 4 June. Third reading of the bill 304 + Scotch and Irish reform bills carried 306 + 26 Oct. The cholera epidemic 309 + 1831. The census 311 + State of Ireland 312 + O'Connell's agitation 312 + The "tithe-war" in Ireland 314 + Legislation for Ireland 316 + The Kildare Place Society 317 + + + CHAPTER XV. + + FRUITS OF THE REFORM. + + 1832. General election 318 + 1833. Irish coercion bill 320 + Irish Church temporalities bill 322 + Ministerial changes 325 + Abolition of colonial slavery 326 + Factory acts 327 + The East India Company act 328 + Bank charter act 330 + Formation of judicial committee of the privy council 332 + Act for the abolition of fines and recoveries 333 +1831, 1832, Althorp's budgets 334 + 1833. + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND POOR LAW REFORM. + + 1833. The Tractarian movement 336 + 1832. First meeting of the British Association 338 + Foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church 339 + 1834. The "new poor law" 340 + Creation of a central poor law board 343 + Ministerial discord 344 + 9 July. Grey's resignation 346 + Formation of Melbourne's ministry 347 + 16 Oct. Destruction of the houses of parliament 349 + 14 Nov. Melbourne's resignation 350 + Wellington's provisional government 351 + Dec. Peel's cabinet 352 + The Tamworth manifesto 353 + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + PEEL AND MELBOURNE. + + Jan., 1835. General election 354 + Feb. Abercromby elected speaker 354 + The "Lichfield House compact" 356 + April. Peel's resignation 356 + Melbourne's second ministry 357 + Exclusion of Brougham 357 + Municipal corporations act 360 + Jan., 1836. Cottenham lord chancellor 363 + Conflict with the lords on Irish bills 365 + Tithe commutation act (English) 365 + Reformed marriage law 366 + Registration system 366 + 1835, 1836. Crusade against Orange lodges 367 + 1836. The paper duties lowered 369 + Committee on agricultural distress 370 + 1836, 1837. Agitation in Ireland 371 + 1837. Irish municipal bill 372 + Church rates 373 + Burdett secedes from the whig party 374 + 20 June. Death of William IV. 375 + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + FOREIGN RELATIONS UNDER WILLIAM IV. + + July, 1830. The revolution of July 376 + Recognition of Louis Philippe by the Powers 377 + Sept. Belgian provinces in revolt 379 + 20 Dec. Protocol of London 381 + June, 1831. Election of Leopold as King of the Belgians 383 + Aug. War between Belgium and Holland 384 + French troops enter Belgium 384 + Nov. British and French fleets blockade the Scheldt 386 + Nov., 1833. Convention between Holland and Belgium 387 + 1830. Insurrections in Switzerland, Poland, Italy, etc. 387 + 1831, 1832. Capture of Warsaw; Polish constitution abolished 388 +7 April, 1831. Peter leaves Brazil for Portugal 388 + Carlist rebellion in Spain 389 +22 April, The quadruple alliance 389 + 1834. + 26 May. Miguel renounces his claims 390 + 9 Oct., 1831. Capodistrias (Greek president) assassinated 392 + 1832. Otto of Bavaria becomes King of Greece 392 + 1831. War between Ibrahim and the Sultan 393 + 1833. Treaties of Kiutayeh and Unkiar Skelessi 394 + 8 Sept. Secret convention at Münchengrätz 395 + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + BRITISH INDIA. + + 1801. Annexation of the Karnátik 397 + 1803. Assaye and Argáum 399 + 1805. Resignation of Lord Wellesley 399 +10 July, 1806. Mutiny at Vellore 400 + Lord Minto's pacific policy 401 + 1801-10. Treaties with Persia 402 + Elphinstone in Afghánistán 403 + 1813. Lord Moira appointed governor-general 404 + The Pindárí war 405 + 1818. Subjugation of the Pindárís 407 + First Burmese war 408 + Abolition of satí 410 + Extirpation of thagí 411 + Defence of Herat 412 + Communication with India 413 + Burnes's mission to Kábul 413 + + + CHAPTER XX. + + LITERATURE AND SOCIAL PROGRESS. + + The "Lake school" 416 + Scott's novels 418 + Minor poets: philosophical works 420 + Newspapers and reviews 422 + Essayists and historians 425 + The arts: painting, sculpture 427 + Scientific discoveries 428 + University reform 429 + Formation of London University 431 + Improvements in agriculture 433 + Steam navigation 434 + The first railways 435 + Geographical discovery 436 + Philanthropy 436 + Canada 437 + South Africa 438 + Convict settlements in Australia 438 + Development of Australia 439 + + +APPENDIX I. On Authorities 443 + II. Administrations, 1801-37 451 + + + MAPS. + + (AT THE END OF THE VOLUME.) + +1. Great Britain, showing the parliamentary representation after the + reform. +2. Spain and Portugal, illustrating the Peninsular war. +3. India. + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + ADDINGTON. + + +When, early in March, 1801, Pitt resigned office, he was succeeded by +Henry Addington, who had been speaker of the house of commons for over +eleven years, and who now received the seals of office as first lord of +the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer on March 14, 1801. He was +able to retain the services of the Duke of Portland as home secretary, +of Lord Chatham as president of the council, and of Lord Westmorland as +lord privy seal. For the rest, his colleagues were, like himself, new to +cabinet rank. Lord Hawkesbury (afterwards the second Earl of Liverpool) +became foreign secretary, and Lord Hobart, son of the Earl of +Buckinghamshire, secretary for war. Loughborough reaped the due reward +of his treachery by being excluded from the ministry altogether; with a +curious obstinacy he persisted in attending cabinet councils, until a +letter from Addington informed him that his presence was not desired. He +received some small consolation, however, in his elevation to the +Earldom of Rosslyn. Lord Eldon was the new chancellor and was destined +to hold the office uninterruptedly, except for the brief ministry of Fox +and Grenville, till 1827. Lord St. Vincent became first lord of the +admiralty, and Lord Lewisham president of the board of control. +Cornwallis had resigned with Pitt, but it was not till June 16 that a +successor was found for him as master general of the ordnance. It was +then arranged that Chatham should take this office. Portland succeeded +Chatham as lord president, and Lord Pelham, whose father had just been +created Earl of Chichester, became home secretary instead of Portland. +An important change was introduced into the distribution of work between +the different secretaries of state, the administration of colonial +affairs being transferred from the home to the war office, so that +Hobart and his successors down to 1854 were known as secretaries of +state for war and the colonies. Soon afterwards Lewisham succeeded his +father as Earl of Dartmouth. + +Though the Addington ministry has, not without justice, been derided for +its weakness as compared with its immediate predecessor, it is +interesting to observe that in it one of the greatest of English judges +as well as a future premier, destined to display an unique power of +holding his party together, first attained to cabinet rank; and in the +following year it was reinforced by Castlereagh, who disputes with +Canning the honour of being regarded as the ablest statesman of what was +then the younger generation. The weakness of the ministry must therefore +be attributed to a lack of experience rather than a lack of talent. It +was unfortunate in succeeding a particularly strong administration, but +is well able to bear comparison with most of the later ministries of +George III. Addington himself was in more thorough sympathy with the +king than any premier before or after. Conversation with Addington was, +according to the king, like "thinking aloud"; and with a king who, like +George III., still regarded himself as responsible for the national +policy, hearty co-operation between king and premier was a matter of no +slight importance. + +In the early days of the new administration Pitt loyally kept his +promise of friendly support, and it is to be deplored that Grenville and +Canning did not adopt the same course. While the issue of peace and war +was pending, domestic legislation inevitably remained in abeyance. In +Ireland serious disappointment had been caused by the abandonment of +catholic emancipation; but the disappointment was borne quietly, and the +Irish Roman catholics doubtless did not foresee to what a distance of +time the removal of their disabilities had been postponed. The just and +mild rule of the new lord lieutenant, Lord Hardwicke, contributed to the +pacification of the country. But in reality the conduct of the movement +for emancipation was only passing into new hands; when it reappeared it +was no longer led by catholic lords and bishops, but was a peasant +movement, headed by the unscrupulous demagogue O'Connell. In these +circumstances it is to be regretted that the new administration +neglected to carry that one of the half-promised concessions to the +catholics which could not offend the king's conscience, namely, the +commutation of tithe. Nothing in the protestant ascendency was so +irritating to the catholic peasantry as the necessity of paying tithe to +a protestant clergy, and its commutation, while benefiting the clergy +themselves, would have removed the occasion of subsequent agitation. The +spirit of disloyalty, however, was believed to be by no means extinct +either in Ireland or in Great Britain, and two stringent acts were +passed to repress it. The first, for the continuance of martial law in +Ireland, was supported by almost all the Irish speakers in the house of +commons, where it was carried without a division, and was adopted in the +house of lords by an overwhelming majority, after an impressive speech +from Lord Clare. The second, for the suspension of the _habeas corpus_ +act in the whole United Kingdom was framed to remain in force "during +the continuance of the war, and for one month after the signing of a +definitive treaty of peace". + +[Pageheading: _THE HORNE TOOKE ACT._] + +The only other measure of permanent interest which became law in this +session was the so-called "Horne Tooke act," occasioned by the return of +Horne Tooke, who was in holy orders, for Old Sarum. Such a return was +contrary to custom, but the precedents collected by a committee of the +house of commons were inconclusive. It was accordingly enacted that in +future clergymen of the established churches should be ineligible for +seats in parliament, while Horne Tooke was deemed to have been validly +elected, and retained his seat. The house of commons found time, +however, for an important and well-sustained debate on India, in which +among others Dundas, now no longer in office, showed a thorough +knowledge of questions affecting Indian finance and trade. + +The naval expedition which had been prepared in the last days of Pitt's +administration sailed for Copenhagen on March 12, 1801, under Sir Hyde +Parker, with Nelson as second in command. The admiral in chief was of a +cautious temper, but was wise enough to allow himself to be guided by +Nelson's judgment when planning an engagement, though not as to the +general course of the expedition. The fleet consisted of sixteen ships +of the line and thirty-four smaller vessels; all these with the +exception of one ship of the line reached the Skaw on the 18th. A +frigate was sent in advance with instructions to Vansittart, the +British envoy at Copenhagen, to present an ultimatum to the Danish +government,[1] demanding a favourable answer to the British demands +within forty-eight hours. For three days Parker waited at anchor +eighteen miles from Elsinore, and it was only when Vansittart brought an +unfavourable reply on the 23rd that he took Nelson into his counsels. He +readily adopted Nelson's plan of ignoring the Danish batteries at +Kronborg and making a circuit so as to attack Copenhagen at the weak +southern end of its defences, but set aside his project of masking +Copenhagen and making straight for a Russian squadron of twelve ships of +the line which was lying icebound at Revel. The fair weather of the 26th +was wasted in irresolution, and it was not till the 30th that the fleet +was able to weigh anchor. It passed Kronborg in safety and anchored five +miles north of Copenhagen. + +Parker placed under Nelson's immediate command twelve ships of the line +and twenty-one smaller vessels, by far the greater part of the British +fleet. With these he was to pass to the east of a shoal called the +Middle Ground and attack the defences of Copenhagen from the south, +while Parker with the remainder of the fleet was to make a demonstration +against the more formidable northern defences. The wind could not of +course favour both attacks simultaneously, and it was agreed that the +attack should be made when the wind favoured Nelson. The nights of the +30th and 31st were spent in reconnoitring and laying buoys. On April 1 a +north wind brought Nelson's squadron past the Middle Ground, and on the +next day a south wind enabled him to attack the Danish fleet, if fleet +it may be called. At the north end of the Danish position stood the only +permanent battery, the Trekroner, with two hulks or blockships; the rest +consisted of seven blockships and eleven floating batteries, drawn up +along the shore. An attack on the south end of the line was also exposed +to batteries on the island of Amager. Nelson's intention was to close +with the whole Danish fleet, but three of his ships of the line were +stranded and he was obliged to leave the assault on the northern end +entirely to lighter vessels. + +[Pageheading: _BATTLE OF THE BALTIC._] + +The Danish batteries proved more powerful than had been anticipated, and +as time went on and the Danish resistance did not appear to lose in +strength, Parker grew doubtful of the result of the battle and gave the +order to cease action. The order was apparently not intended to be +imperative, but it had the effect of inducing Riou, who commanded the +frigate squadron, to sail away to the north. For the rest of the fleet +obedience was out of the question. Nelson acknowledged, but refused to +repeat the order, and, jocularly placing his glass to his blind eye, +declared that he could not see the signal. At length the British +cannonade told. Fischer, the Danish commander, had had to shift his flag +twice, at the second time to the Trekroner, and all the ships south of +that battery had either ceased fire or were practically helpless. The +Trekroner, however, was still unsubdued and rendered it impossible for +Nelson's squadron to retire, in the only direction which the wind would +allow, without severe loss. He accordingly sent a message to the Danish +Prince Regent, declaring that he would be compelled to burn the +batteries he had taken, without saving their crews, unless firing +ceased. If a truce were arranged until he could take his prisoners out +of the prizes, he was prepared to land the wounded Danes, and burn or +remove the prizes. A truce for twenty-four hours was accordingly +arranged, which Nelson employed to remove his own fleet unmolested. + +The destruction of the southern batteries left Copenhagen exposed to +bombardment, and the Danes, unable to resist, yet afraid to offend the +tsar by submission, prolonged the time from day to day till news arrived +which removed all occasion for hostility. Unknown to either of the +combatants, the Tsar Paul, the life and soul of the northern +confederacy, had been murdered on the night of March 23, ten days before +the battle, and with his death the league was practically dissolved. +When Nelson advanced further into the Baltic, he found no hostile fleet +awaiting him, and the new tsar, Alexander, adopting an opposite policy, +entered into a compromise on the subject of maritime rights. The battle +of the Baltic is considered by some to have been Nelson's masterpiece. +It won for him the title of viscount and for his second in command, +Rear-Admiral Graves, the gift of the ribbon of the Bath, but the +admiralty, for official reasons, declined to confer any public reward +or honour on the officers concerned in it. + +At the same time, the French occupation of Egypt was drawing towards its +inevitable close. Kléber, who was left in command by Bonaparte, perished +by the hand of an assassin, and Menou, who succeeded to the command, was +not only a weak general, but was prevented from receiving any +reinforcements by the naval supremacy of Great Britain in the +Mediterranean. On March 21, 1801, the French army was defeated at the +battle of Alexandria by the British force sent out under Sir Ralph +Abercromby, who was himself mortally wounded on the field. His +successor, General Hutchinson, completed his work by taking Cairo, +before the arrival of General Baird, who had led a mixed body of British +soldiers and sepoys from the Red Sea across the desert to the Nile. The +capitulation of Alexandria soon followed. In September the French +evacuated Egypt, the remains of their army were conveyed to France in +English ships, and Bonaparte's long-cherished dreams of eastern conquest +faded away for ever--not from his own imagination, but from the +calculations of practical statesmanship. + +French arms, and French diplomacy supported by armed force, were more +successful elsewhere. The treaty of Lunéville was only the first of a +series of treaties, by which France secured to herself a political +position commensurate with her military glory. By the treaty of Aranjuez +between France and Spain, signed on March 21, Spain ceded Louisiana to +France, reserving the right of pre-emption, and undertook to wage war on +Portugal in order to detach it from the British alliance. Spain and +Portugal were both lukewarm in this war, and on June 6 signed the treaty +of Badajoz, by which Portugal agreed to close her ports to England, to +pay an indemnity to Spain, and to cede the small district of Olivenza, +south of Badajoz. Bonaparte was intensely irritated by this treaty, +which deprived him of the hope of exchanging conquests in Portugal for +British colonial conquests in any future negotiations; he declared that +Spain would have to pay by the sacrifice of her colonies for the +conquered French colonies which he still hoped to recover. A French army +was despatched to Portugal and enabled Bonaparte to dictate the treaty +of Madrid, signed on September 29, whereby Portugal ceded half Guiana to +France and undertook, as at Badajoz, to close her ports against +England. + +[Pageheading: _INFLUENCES MAKING FOR PEACE._] + +This last condition was equally imposed on the King of the Two Sicilies +by the treaty of Florence, concluded on March 28, and before the end of +the year France had established friendly relations with the Sultan of +Turkey and the new Tsar of Russia. More important still, as +consolidating Bonaparte's power at home, was the concordat signed by him +and the pope on July 15 recognising Roman Catholicism as the religion of +the majority of Frenchmen, and of the consuls, guaranteeing stipends, +though on an abjectly mean scale, to the clergy, and placing the entire +patronage of the French Church in the hands of the first consul. Never +since the French revolution had the Church been thus acknowledged as the +auxiliary, or rather as the handmaid, of the state, and probably no one +but the first consul could have brought about the reconciliation. After +such exertions, even he may have sincerely desired an honourable peace, +as the crown of his victories, or at least as a breathing time, to +enable him to mature his vast designs for reorganising France. Perhaps +he did not yet fully recognise that war was a necessity of his political +ascendency, no less than of his own personal character. The French +people still clung to republican institutions; and the consulate was a +nominal republic, with all effective power vested in the first consul. +Time was to show how largely this unique position depended on his unique +capacity of conducting wars glorious to French arms; for the present, +France was satisfied, and longed for peace. + +The English ministry, too, was impelled by strong motives to enter upon +the negotiations which resulted in the peace of Amiens. Not only was +Great Britain crippled by the loss of nearly all her allies, but the +high price of bread had roused grave disaffection,[2] and intensified +among British merchants a desire for an unmolested extension of +commerce; above all, English statesmen now recognised the consulate, +under Bonaparte, as the first stable and non-revolutionary government +since the fall of the French monarchy. Both countries, therefore, were +predisposed to entertain pacific overtures, but the very fact that these +were in contemplation stirred both sides to further endeavours in order +to secure better terms of peace. A French squadron, commanded by Admiral +Linois and containing three ships of the line besides smaller boats, was +making a movement for the Straits of Gibraltar in order to strengthen +the force at Cadiz. Sir James Saumarez with five ships of the line and +two smaller vessels engaged Linois off Algeciras on July 5, but the +French ships were supported by the land batteries, and one of the +British ships, the _Hannibal_ (74), ran aground, and Saumarez was +eventually compelled to leave her in the hands of the enemy. This +victory was hailed with delight throughout France, but it was fully +retrieved a week later. The French squadron had in the meantime been +reinforced by one French and five Spanish ships of the line, and on the +12th it made a fresh attempt to reach Cadiz; it was, however, engaged in +the Straits by Saumarez with five ships of the line. In the ensuing +battle two Spanish ships blew up, and the French _Saint Antoine_ was +captured. The remainder succeeded in reaching Cadiz, but Saumarez was +able to resume the blockade a few weeks later. + +Meanwhile there was no relaxation of French preparations for an invasion +of England, or of naval activity on the part of Great Britain. No sooner +had Nelson returned from the Baltic than he was, on July 24, placed in +command of a "squadron on a particular service," charged with the +defence of the coast from Beachy Head to Orfordness. With this he not +only blockaded the northern French ports, but assumed the aggressive, +and bombarded the vessels therein collected. A more daring attempt to +cut out the flotilla moored at Boulogne by a boat attack was repelled +with some loss on the night of August 15. But couriers under flags of +truce were already passing between London and Paris, and hostilities +ceased in the autumn of the year 1801. + +[Pageheading: _THE QUESTION OF MALTA._] + +The history of the negotiations which ended in the peace of Amiens +derives a special interest from the events which followed it. The +earliest overtures for peace were made by Hawkesbury on March 21, 1801. +At first Bonaparte refused to listen to them, but the destruction of the +northern confederacy inclined him to more pacific counsels. On April 14 +the British government stated its demands. They mark a distinct advance +on those which had been made in vain at Lille in 1797. France was to +evacuate Egypt, and Great Britain Minorca, but Great Britain claimed to +retain Malta, Tobago, Martinique, Trinidad, Essequibo, Demerara, +Berbice, and Ceylon. She was willing to surrender the Cape of Good Hope +on condition that it became a free port, and stipulated that an +indemnity should be provided for the Prince of Orange. At the outset, +Bonaparte opposed all cessions by France and her allies, but the steady +improvement in the fortunes of England in the north and in Egypt at last +determined him to grant some of the British demands, and as the +evacuation of Egypt became inevitable, he was resolved to gain something +in exchange for it before it was too late. The preliminary treaty was +accordingly signed by Bonaparte's agent Otto on behalf of France and +Hawkesbury on behalf of Great Britain on October 1, the day before the +news of the French capitulation in Egypt reached England. Great Britain +had already consented to relinquish Malta, provided that it became +independent. She now consented to relinquish all her conquests from +France, and with the exception of Ceylon and Trinidad all her conquests +from the French allies, requiring, however, that the Cape should be +recognised as a free port. The French were to evacuate not only Egypt, +but the Neapolitan and Roman States. Malta was to be restored to the +knights of St. John under the guarantee of a third power. Prisoners of +war were to be released on payment of their debts, and the question of +the charge for their maintenance was to be settled by the definitive +treaty in accordance with the law of nations and established usage. + +No mention was made of the Prince of Orange, but Otto gave a verbal +assurance that provision would be made to satisfy his claims. He also +gave the British government to understand that France would be willing +to cede Tobago in consideration of the expenses incurred in the +maintenance of French and Dutch prisoners. The omission of all reference +to the continental relations of France is conspicuous. In France it was +interpreted as indicating that Great Britain renounced her interest in +continental politics. The Batavian, Helvetian, Cisalpine, and Ligurian +republics, the kingdom of Etruria, and the whole east bank of the Rhine +were, however, supposed to be already protected against French +encroachment by the treaty of Lunéville, and Great Britain had no wish +to impose terms involving a recognition of these new creations. Again, +no mention was made of commercial relations apart from the Newfoundland +and St. Lawrence fisheries, for Great Britain was too ready to believe +that a separate commercial treaty would be practicable, and was +naturally loth to delay the conclusion of peace by a difficult +negotiation. + +Cornwallis was appointed to negotiate the definitive treaty, and had +some hope that he might arrive at an informal understanding with +Bonaparte at Paris before he proceeded to Amiens. But he was offended by +Bonaparte's manner, and, dreading to be pitted against so subtle a +diplomatist as Talleyrand, he left Paris before anything was +accomplished, and arrived at Amiens on November 30. There France was +represented by Joseph Bonaparte, the first consul's elder brother, and +the negotiator of Lunéville. At Amiens, the position of the British +government was compromised from the first by its renewed insistence on a +point which had been omitted from the preliminary treaty, namely, the +compensation of the Prince of Orange. This demand was accompanied by an +endeavour to obtain compensation for the King of Sardinia. Joseph +Bonaparte, on the other hand, entrenched himself behind the letter of +the treaty, and acknowledged no further obligation. Any additional +concession to Great Britain could only be purchased by British +concessions to France. Other difficulties arose over the question of +Malta, the payment for the maintenance of prisoners, and the inclusion +of allies as parties to the treaty. + +[Pageheading: _CORNWALLIS AT AMIENS._] + +On the first of these questions the French would appear to have aimed +throughout at reducing the knights to as impotent a position as +possible. The British, on the other hand, ostensibly desiring to see the +strength of the order maintained, were chiefly interested in securing +its neutrality. At the time of the signature of the preliminary treaty, +Russia was the power that seemed to Great Britain the fittest guarantor +of the independence of the knights. On the refusal of Russia to accept +this position, Naples appeared to be the next best alternative, but it +was eventually agreed to substitute for the guarantee of a third power +the obviously futile guarantee of all the powers. Neither party foresaw +that the impossibility of obtaining such a guarantee was destined to +leave the whole clause about Malta inoperative. After much dispute over +the future constitution of the order, France proposed to obviate the +chief source of difficulty by the demolition of the forts. This plan +commended itself to Cornwallis, but was rejected by the British +government. By the end of December it was agreed that a Neapolitan +garrison was to occupy the islands provisionally, until the new +organisation should be established. Great Britain proposed that this +garrison should be maintained at the joint expense of Great Britain and +France. It did not occur to the British government to propose any +guarantee for the preservation of the property of the order, and this +omission ultimately proved material. The question of including allies in +the treaty was less complicated. France preferred a number of separate +treaties so as to keep the British interest in Europe at a minimum. +Great Britain, on the other hand, wished to make France a party to the +cessions made by her allies, and successfully insisted on the +negotiation of a single comprehensive treaty. Joseph Bonaparte granted +this point on December 11, but, as he had not full powers to negotiate +with any power except Great Britain, he continued to interpose delays +till the end of the year. + +In the meantime France had failed in her attempts to meet the British +claims on behalf of the Prince of Orange by demands for further +privileges and territory in the oceans and colonies. On the whole, the +first month's negotiations had contributed much to a settlement, without +giving a decided advantage to either side. The lapse of time, however, +turned the balance in favour of the negotiator who was the more +independent of his country's desire for peace. On January 1, 1802, +Hawkesbury wrote to Cornwallis, treating the acquisition of Tobago as +unimportant; on the 2nd Addington expressed his readiness to accept a +separate arrangement with the Batavian republic for the Prince of +Orange. By the 16th Hawkesbury had yielded the claim of Portugal to be a +party to the treaty. The refusal of the French to cede Tobago in lieu of +payment for the French prisoners, and the difficulty of assessing the +payment, opened a way to the evasion of compensation altogether. +Cornwallis, preferring to sacrifice this claim rather than re-open the +war, suggested to Joseph Bonaparte on the 22nd that the treaty should +provide for commissioners to assess the payment, while it should be +secretly provided that they should not be appointed. On the same day, +Joseph Bonaparte communicated his brother's consent to a clause engaging +France to find a suitable territorial possession in Germany for the +Prince of Orange. + +If Hawkesbury and Cornwallis imagined that they had made sure of an +early peace by these extensive concessions, they were greatly mistaken. +Napoleon, flushed with this unexpected success, was encouraged to make +further trial of the pliability of the British diplomatists. Two events +occurred at this stage of the negotiations which tried the temper of +both sides to the uttermost. On January 26, Bonaparte was elected +president of the Cisalpine republic, to be styled henceforth the Italian +republic. This event seems to have taken the British government by +surprise; they thought it a distinct indication that he still +contemplated further aggressions in spite of the series of treaties by +which he appeared to be securing peace, and were therefore much less +inclined than formerly to make concessions. About the same time +Bonaparte was not unreasonably enraged at the outrageous attacks made on +him in the press conducted in London by French exiles, especially by +Jean Peltier, the editor of a paper called _L'Ambigu_, and he blamed the +British government for permitting their publication. He therefore +instructed his brother Joseph to raise further difficulties over the +garrison and permanent organisation of Malta, as well as over the +proposed accession of the sultan to the treaty. Vain attempts were also +made by Joseph to retain Otranto for France till the British should have +evacuated Malta, and to secure the inclusion of the Ligurian republic in +the treaty. + +[Pageheading: _THE TREATY OF AMIENS._] + +At last on March 8 Napoleon agreed that no important difference +remained, and urged his brother to conclude the treaty. A little more +time was wasted in providing for a temporary occupation of Malta by +Neapolitan troops, and a more marked division of opinion arose as to the +compensation for the Prince of Orange. In spite of instructions to the +contrary from Hawkesbury, Cornwallis accepted an engagement on the part +of France to find a compensation, not defined, for the house of Nassau, +instead of charging it on the Dutch government; and the treaty was +finally concluded on March 25. It was signed by Great Britain, France, +Spain, and the Batavian republic, while the Porte was admitted as an +accessory power. It differed from the preliminary convention in no +important respect, except in the illusory safeguards for the claims of +the Prince of Orange, the secret arrangement for evading the cost of the +French prisoners, and the provisions concerning Malta, pregnant with the +seeds of future enmity. These provisions were as follows: Malta was to +be restored to the knights of St. John, from whose order both French and +British were hereafter to be excluded. The evacuation was to take place +within three months of the ratification of the treaty, or sooner if +possible. At that date Malta was to be given up, provided the grand +master or commissaries of the order were present, and provided the +Neapolitan garrison had arrived. Its independence was to be under the +guarantee of France, Great Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, and Prussia. +Two thousand Neapolitan troops were to occupy it for one year, and until +the order should have raised a force sufficient, in the judgment of the +guaranteeing powers, for the defence of the islands.[3] + +On October 29, 1801, parliament was opened with a speech from the throne +briefly announcing the conclusion of a convention with the northern +powers, and of preliminaries of peace with the French republic. General +Lauriston, bearing the ratification of the preliminaries by the first +consul, had reached London on the 10th, when he was received by the +populace with tumultuous demonstrations of joy. Soon afterwards the +"feast of the peace" was celebrated in Paris with equal enthusiasm. +Short-lived as they proved to be, these pacific sentiments were +doubtless genuine on both sides of the channel. The industrial, though +not the military, resources of France were exhausted by her prodigious +efforts during the last eight years; while England, suffering grievously +from distress among the working-classes and financial difficulties, +welcomed the prospect of cheaper provisions and easier times, as well as +of emerging from the political difficulties originating in the French +revolution. + +The preliminary treaty, however, did not escape hostile criticism in +either house of parliament. It was the subject of discussion in the +lords on November 3, and in the commons on the 3rd and 4th. Its most +strenuous assailants were Lord Grenville, who had been foreign secretary +under Pitt, and the whigs who had joined Pitt's ministry in 1794, among +whom Lords Spencer and Fitzwilliam and above all Windham call for +special notice. Windham's powerful and comprehensive speech contained +more than one shrewd forecast of the future. For once, Pitt and Fox +supported the same measure, and Pitt, dwelling on _security_ as our +grand object in the war, specially deprecated any attempt on the part of +Great Britain "to settle the affairs of the continent". Fox, in +advocating peace, fiercely denounced the war against the French +republic, and gloated over the discomfiture of the Bourbons.[4] It was +admitted on all sides that France was stronger than ever in a military +and political sense. She had already made treaties with Austria, Naples, +Spain, and Portugal; other treaties with Russia and Turkey were on the +point of being signed; while the still more important concordat with the +pope was already ratified. On the other hand, Great Britain had largely +increased her colonial possessions, and the chief question now discussed +was whether she would be the weaker for abandoning some of these recent +conquests. The general feeling of the nation was fitly expressed by +Sheridan in the phrase: "This is a peace which all men are glad of, but +no man can be proud of". Malmesbury, the negotiator of Lille, was absent +from the debates; but he has recorded in his diary his disapproval both +of the peace and of the violent opposition to it The king told +Malmesbury on November 26 that he considered it an experimental peace, +but unavoidable.[5] + +[Pageheading: _DEBATES ON TREATY OF AMIENS._] + +The debates on the definitive treaty of Amiens took place on May 13 and +14, 1802, and though vigorously sustained, were to some extent a +repetition of those on the preliminaries of peace. The opposition to it +was headed by Grenville in the lords and in the commons by Windham, who +compared it unfavourably with the preliminaries; and the stipulations +with respect to Malta were justly criticised as one of its weakest +points. Strange to say, Pitt took no effective part in the discussion, +which ended in overwhelming majorities for the government. As in the +previous session, domestic affairs, except in their bearing on foreign +policy, received comparatively little attention from parliament. The +income tax was repealed, almost in silence, as the first fruits of +peace, and Addington, as chancellor of the exchequer, delivered an +emphatic eulogy on the sinking fund by means of which he calculated that +in forty-five years the national debt, then amounting to £500,000,000, +might be entirely paid off. The house of commons showed no want of +economical zeal in scrutinising the claims of the king on the civil +list, and those of the Prince of Wales on the revenues of the duchy of +Cornwall. Nor did it neglect such abuses as the non-residence of the +parochial clergy, and the cruel practice of bull-baiting, though it +rejected a bill for the suppression of this practice, after a +characteristic apology for it from Windham, in which he dwelt upon its +superiority to horse-racing. In this session, too, a grant of £10,000 +was voted to Jenner for his recent invention of vaccination. In +supporting it, Wilberforce stated that the victims of small-pox, in +London alone, numbered 4,000 annually. + +The parliament, which had now lasted six years, was dissolved by the +king in person on June 28, and a general election was held during the +month of July. The new house of commons did not differ materially from +the old, and even in Ireland the recent national opposition to the union +did not lead to the unseating of a single member who had voted for +it.[6] Meanwhile the ministry was strengthened by the admission to +office of Lord Castlereagh, already distinguished for his share in the +negotiations precedent to the union with Ireland. On July 6 he was +appointed president of the board of control in succession to Dartmouth, +and was admitted to a seat in the cabinet in October. The new parliament +did not meet till November 16. During the interval members of both +houses, with vast numbers of their countrymen, flocked to Paris, which +had been almost closed to English travellers since the early days of the +revolution. Fox was presented to Napoleon, as Bonaparte, since the +decree which made him consul for life, preferred to be styled. Napoleon +conceived a great admiration for him, and afterwards persuaded himself +that, had Fox survived, the friendly relations of England and France +would not have been permanently interrupted. On the very day on which +parliament assembled, a conspiracy was discovered, which, however insane +it may now appear, attracted much attention at the time. A certain +Colonel Despard with thirty-six followers, mainly labourers, had plotted +to kill the king and seize all the government-buildings, with a view to +the establishment of what he called the "constitutional independence of +Ireland and Great Britain" and the "equalisation of all civic rights". +The conspiracy had no wide ramifications, and the arrest of its leader +and his companions brought it to an immediate end. Despard was found +guilty of high treason and was executed on February 21, 1803. + +When parliament met, the king's speech referred ominously to fresh +disturbances in the balance of power on the continent; and votes were +passed for large additions to the army and navy, in spite of Fox's +declaration that he saw no reason why Napoleon, satisfied with military +glory, should not henceforth devote himself to internal improvements in +France. Nelson, on the contrary, speaking in the house of lords, while +he professed himself a man of peace, insisted on the danger arising from +"a restless and unjust ambition on the part of our neighbours," and +Sheridan delivered a vigorous speech in a like spirit. On the whole, in +January, 1803, the prospects of assured peace and prosperity were much +gloomier than they had been in January, 1802, before the treaty of +Amiens. The funds were going down, the bank restriction act was renewed, +and Despard's conspiracy still agitated the public mind. In the month of +February a strong anti-Gallican sentiment was roused by Mackintosh's +powerful defence of the royalist Jean Peltier, accused and ultimately +convicted of a gross libel on the first consul. On March 8 came the +royal message calling out the militia, which heralded the rupture of the +peace. + +The renewal of the war, fraught with so much glory and misery to both +nations, can have taken neither by surprise. The ink was scarcely dry on +the treaty of Amiens when fresh causes of discord sprung up between +France and Great Britain. More than one of these, indeed, had arisen +between the signature of the preliminary convention and the actual +conclusion of peace. During the negotiations, the first consul had, as +we have seen, never ceased to protest against the violent attacks upon +himself in the English press, while Cornwallis persistently warned his +own government against the menacing attitude of France in Italy and +elsewhere. The proclamation of the concordat in April, 1802, and the +recognition of Napoleon as first consul for life in August, however they +may have strengthened his position in France, were no legitimate +subjects for resentment in England; but his acceptance of the presidency +of the "Italian" republic in January, followed by his annexation of +Piedmont in September, revived in all its intensity the British mistrust +of his aggressive policy. + +[Pageheading: _FRENCH AGGRESSIONS._] + +The month of October witnessed a renewed aggression on Switzerland. A +French army, commanded by Ney, advanced into the interior of the +country, and forced the Swiss, who were in the midst of a civil war, to +accept the mediation of Napoleon. The new constitution which he framed +attempted, by weakening the federal government, to place the direction +of Helvetian external relations in the hands of the French first consul. +Our government vainly endeavoured to resist this interference by sending +agents with money and promises. In Germany the redistribution of +territory necessitated by the peace of Lunéville was carried out +professedly under the joint mediation of France and Russia, but really +at the dictation of Napoleon. The final project, which destroyed all +except three of the spiritual principalities and all except six of the +free cities, was proposed by France on February 23, 1803, and accepted +by the Emperor Francis on April 27. + +Against these rearrangements, Great Britain could have nothing to say; +their importance is that while the negotiations were pending, Austria, +Prussia, and Russia all had a strong motive for standing well with +France. Bonaparte's attitude towards Switzerland was, in so far as it +was backed by force, an infringement of the treaty of Lunéville, to +which, however, Great Britain was not a party. The neutrality of +Piedmont had not been safeguarded either at Lunéville or at Amiens; it +had already been occupied by France before the treaty was signed, and +Napoleon claimed to have as much right to annex territory in Europe +without the consent of Great Britain as Great Britain had to annex +territory in India without the consent of France. + +Napoleon's schemes of colonial expansion, though equally within the +letter of the treaty, were not less disconcerting. The reconquest of San +Domingo appeared necessary in order to obtain a base for the effective +occupation of the new French possession, Louisiana. The despatch of an +expedition for this purpose in December, 1801, had excited grave +suspicion, and when two-thirds of the army had died of yellow fever and +the remainder had returned home, fresh troops were sent out to take +their place. A new naval expedition was prepared in the Dutch port of +Helvoetsluis, but it was impossible to persuade British public opinion +that its real destination was San Domingo. Finally, on the eve of +hostilities, in the spring of 1803 Napoleon, despairing of advance in +this direction and disregarding the Spanish right of pre-emption, sold +Louisiana to the United States for 80,000,000 francs. Still more +embarrassing was Bonaparte's eastern policy. In September, 1802, Colonel +Sébastiani was sent as "commercial agent" to the Levant. He was +instructed to inspect the condition of ports and arsenals, to assure the +sheykhs of French favour, and to report on the military resources of +Syria, Egypt, and the north African coast. His report, which was +published in the _Moniteur_ of January 30, 1803, set forth the +opportunities that France would possess in the event of an immediate +return to hostilities, and was naturally interpreted as disclosing an +intention to renew the war on the first opportunity. Six thousand French +would, he said, be enough to reconquer Egypt; the country was in favour +of France. In March, 1803, Decaen left France with open instructions to +receive the surrender of the five towns in India restored to France, but +with secret orders to invite the alliance of Indian sovereigns opposed +to Great Britain. On his appearance at Pondicherri, the British +commander prepared to seize him, but he escaped to the Mauritius, which +he put in a state of defence, and made a basis for attacks on British +commerce which lasted from 1803 to 1811. + +[Pageheading: _CAUSES OF MISTRUST AFTER AMIENS._] + +Ireland also was visited by political spies, passing as commercial +agents. It may not be easy to say how far Emmet's rebellion, to be +recorded hereafter, was the result of these visits. At all events a +letter fell into the hands of the British government, addressed by +Talleyrand to a French agent at Dublin, called Fauvelet, directing him +to obtain answers to a series of questions about the military and naval +circumstances of the district, and "to procure a plan of the ports, with +the soundings and moorings, and to state the draught of water, and the +wind best suited for ingress and egress". The British government +naturally complained of these instructions, but Talleyrand persistently +maintained that they were of a purely commercial character.[7] It is, of +course, true that these preparations in view of a possible recurrence of +hostilities, however obvious their intention, were not in themselves +hostile acts. Still, they were just grounds for suspicion, and, with our +retrospective knowledge of Napoleon's later career, we may seek in vain +for the grounds of confidence which had made the conclusion of a treaty +possible. Great Britain was guilty of more direct breaches of the peace +of Amiens. Russia refused her guarantee for the independence of Malta, +and the British government was therefore technically justified in +retaining it. No similar justification could, however, be alleged for +the retention of Alexandria and the French towns in India. These +measures were, as will be seen, defended on broader grounds of public +policy. Not the least of the causes of discontent with the new situation +was the refusal of Napoleon to follow up the treaty of peace with a +commercial treaty. He had even retained French troops in Holland, and +thus shown that he meant to close its ports against British commerce. +The hope of a renewal of trade with France had been a main cause of the +popular desire for peace, and had reconciled the British public to the +sacrifices with which the treaty of Amiens had been purchased. It soon +became clear that further concessions would be made the price of a +commercial treaty, and it was felt in consequence that the sacrifices +already made were made in vain. + +In September, 1802, Lord Whitworth was sent as ambassador extraordinary +to the French Republic. The instructions which he carried with him from +Hawkesbury fully reflect the prevailing spirit of mistrust. He was to +watch for any new leagues which might prejudice England or disturb +Europe; he was to discover any secret designs that might be formed +against the East or West Indies; he was to maintain the closest +surveillance over the internal politics of France, but especially over +the dispositions of influential personages in the confidence of the +first consul, as well as over the financial resources and armaments of +the republic.[8] Two months later, he was expressly warned in a secret +despatch not in any way to commit His Majesty to a restoration of Malta, +even if the provisions made at Amiens for this purpose could be +completely executed; and the principle was laid down, from which the +British government never swerved, that Great Britain was entitled to +compensation for any acquisitions made by France since the treaty was +signed. Accordingly, the retention of Malta was justified as a +counterpoise to French extensions of territory in Italy, the invasion of +Switzerland, and the continued occupation of the Batavian republic.[9] +This resolution was naturally confirmed by the publication of +Sébastiani's report. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON AND WHITWORTH._] + +The long negotiations between Whitworth and the French government, +during the winter of 1802 and the spring of 1803, only bring into +stronger relief the importance of the issues thus raised, and the +hopelessness of a pacific solution. Napoleon firmly took his stand +throughout on the simple letter of the treaty, which pledged Great +Britain, upon certain conditions, to place the knights of St. John in +possession of Malta, but did not contemplate the case of further +accessions of French territory on the continent. Although the conditions +specified were never fully satisfied, it is abundantly clear that the +British ministers, having at last grasped the value of Malta, created +all the difficulties in their power, and determined to cancel this +article of the treaty. They alleged, in self-defence, that the spirit of +the treaty had been constantly violated by Napoleon, in repeated acts of +hostility to British subjects, in the refusal of all redress for such +grievances, and, above all, in that series of aggressions on the +continent which he declared to be outside the treaty and beyond the +province of Great Britain.[10] None of the compromises laboriously +discussed in the winter of 1802 betoken any desire on the part of +either government to retreat from its main position, though it does not +follow that either sought to bring about a renewal of the war. Whitworth +constantly reported that no formidable armaments were being prepared, +and clung for months to a belief that Napoleon, knowing the instability +of his own power and the ruinous state of his finances, would ultimately +give way. On the other hand, Talleyrand and Joseph Bonaparte never +ceased to hope that Great Britain would make concessions which might be +accepted. + +Such hopes were rudely dispelled by the king's message to parliament on +March 8, 1803, complaining of aggressive preparations in the ports of +France and Holland, and recommending immediate measures for the security +of his dominions. This message, with the consequent embodiment of the +militia, startled the whole continent, and was followed five days later +by the famous scene in which the first consul addressed Whitworth in +phrases little short of insult. During a public audience at the +Tuileries on the 13th, Napoleon, after inquiring whether the British +ambassador had received any news from home, broke out with the words: +"And so you are determined to go to war". The altercation which ensued +is best told in Whitworth's own words[11]:-- + +"'No, first consul,' I replied, 'we are too sensible of the advantages +of peace.' 'We have,' said he, 'been fighting these fifteen years.' As +he seemed to wait for an answer, I observed only, 'That is already too +long'. 'But,' said he, 'you desire to fight for fifteen years more, and +you are forcing me to it,' I told him that was very far from his +majesty's intentions. He then proceeded to Count Marcoff and the +Chevalier Azzara, who were standing together at a little distance from +me, and said to them, 'The English are bent on war, but if they are the +first to draw the sword, I shall be the last to put it back into the +scabbard. They do not respect treaties. They must be covered with black +crape.' I suppose he meant the treaties. He then went his round, and was +thought by all those to whom he addressed himself to betray great signs +of irritation. In a few minutes he came back to me, to my great +annoyance, and resumed the conversation, if such it can be called, by +something personally civil to me. He then began again, 'Why these +armaments? Against whom these measures of precaution? I have not a +single ship of the line in the French ports; but if you wish to arm, I +will arm also; if you wish to fight, I will fight also. You may perhaps +kill France, but will never intimidate her.' 'We wish,' said I, 'neither +the one nor the other. We wish to live on good terms with her.' 'You +must respect treaties then,' replied he; 'woe to those who do not +respect treaties; they shall answer for it to all Europe.'" + +Too much stress has been laid upon this incident, so characteristic of +Napoleon's studied impetuosity. Little more than a fortnight later he +received the British ambassador with courtesy. Overtures now succeeded +overtures, and much was expected on both sides from the influence of the +Tsar Alexander, to whom France suggested that Malta might be ceded.[12] +At the last moment, a somewhat more conciliatory disposition was shown +by the French diplomatists; and the British government was blamed by its +opponents, alike for having failed to break off the negotiations earlier +on the broadest grounds, and for breaking them off too abruptly on +grounds of doubtful validity. But we now see that national enmity, +fostered by the press on both sides, rendered friendly relations +impossible, and that, even had Napoleon been willing to refrain from +aggressions, peace was impossible. On May 12, two months after the +king's message, Whitworth, having presented an ultimatum, finally +quitted Paris. A few days later an order was issued for the detention of +all British subjects then resident in France, and justified on the +ground that French seamen (but not passengers) were liable to capture at +sea. On June 10 Talleyrand announced the occupation of Hanover and the +treatment as enemies of Hanoverian soldiers serving under the King of +Great Britain. Meanwhile, on May 16, the rupture of peaceful relations +was announced to both houses of parliament; on May 18 war was declared, +and in June volunteers were already mustering to resist invasion. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] So Vansittart himself, in Pellew, _Life of Sidmouth_, i., 371. +Southey and Captain Mahan have erroneously supposed that Vansittart +accompanied the naval expedition and was sent by Parker in the frigate +from the Skaw. + +[2] _Annual Register_, xliii. (1801), chapter i. The average price of +wheat in 1800 was 112s. 8d. the quarter, whereas the highest annual +average in the half century before the war had been 64s. 6d. On March 5, +1801, the price of the quartern loaf stood as high as 1s. 10½d. On +July 23 it was still 1s. 8d. The harvest of this year was, however, an +excellent one. The price fell rapidly during August, and by November 12 +was as low as 10½d. + +[3] Cornwallis, _Correspondence_, iii., 382-487. + +[4] In a letter to Charles Carey, dated October 22, Fox went the length +of expressing extreme pleasure in the triumph of the French government +over the English (_Memorials of C. J. Fox_, iii., 349). + +[5] Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iv., 60, 62. + +[6] Lecky, _History Of Ireland_, v., 465. + +[7] Lanfrey, _Napoleon I._ (English edition), ii., 202; Pellew, _Life of +Sidmouth_, ii., 164. + +[8] Browning, _England and Napoleon in 1803_, pp. 1-6. + +[9] Browning, _ibid._, pp. 6-10. + +[10] See especially Hawkesbury's despatch in Browning, _ibid._, pp. +65-68, and Whitworth's despatches, _ibid._, pp. 73-75, 78-85. + +[11] Whitworth's despatch of March 14, in Browning, _England and +Napoleon_, p. 116. + +[12] Browning, _England and Napoleon_, p. 218. + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE RETURN OF PITT. + + +The period following the rupture of the peace of Amiens, though crowded +with military events of the highest importance, was inevitably barren in +social and political interest. Disappointed in its hopes of returning +prosperity, the nation girded itself up with rare unanimity for a +renewed contest. In July the income-tax was reinstituted and a bill was +actually carried authorising a levy _en masse_ in case of invasion. +Pending its enforcement, the navy was vigorously recruited by means of +the press-gang; the yeomanry were called out, and a force of infantry +volunteers was enrolled, which reached a total of 300,000 in August, and +of nearly 400,000 at the beginning of the next session. Pitt himself, as +warden of the Cinque Ports, took command of 3,000 volunteers in Kent, +and contrasted in parliament the warlike enthusiasm of the country with +the alleged apathy of the ministry. On July 23 a rebellion broke out in +Ireland, instigated by French agents and headed by a young man named +Robert Emmet. The conspiracy was ill planned and in itself +insignificant, but the recklessness of the conspirators was equalled by +the weakness of the civil and military authorities, who neglected to +take any precautions in spite of the plainest warnings. The rebels had +intended to attack Dublin Castle and seize the person of the lord +lieutenant, who was to be held as a hostage; but they dared not make the +attempt, and after parading the streets for a few hours were dispersed +by the spontaneous action of a few determined officers with a handful of +troops, but not before Lord Kilwarden, the chief justice, and several +other persons, had been cruelly murdered by Emmet's followers. Futile as +the rising was, it sufficed to show that union was not a sovereign +remedy for Irish disaffection. + +Meanwhile the relations between the prime minister and his predecessor +had been growing less and less cordial. Throughout the year 1801 Pitt +was still the friend and informal adviser of the ministry, and it is +difficult to overrate the value of his support as a ground of confidence +in an administration, personally popular, but known to be deficient in +intellectual brilliance. In 1802 he generally stood aloof, and though in +June of that year he corrected the draft of the king's speech, he +absented himself from parliament, for he was dissatisfied with the +measures adopted by government. His dissatisfaction was known to his +friends, and in November a movement was set on foot by Canning to induce +Addington to withdraw in Pitt's favour; but Pitt, though willing to +resume office, refused to allow the ministry to be approached on the +subject. He preferred to wait till a general wish for his return to +power should be manifested. In December he visited Grenville at +Dropmore, and expressed a certain discontent with the government.[13] It +was his intention still to treat the ministers with tenderness, but to +return to parliament and criticise their policy. It is easy to see that +his object at this date was not to drive the government from office, but +to give rise to a desire to re-enlist his own talents in the service of +the country, and thus prepare the way for a peaceable resumption of the +position he had abandoned in the preceding year. + +[Pageheading: _NEGOTIATIONS FOR PITT'S RETURN._] + +No sooner had rumours of Pitt's willingness to resume office reached +Addington in the last days of December, than he opened negotiations with +Pitt with a view to effecting this object. Pitt did not receive his +overtures very warmly. He doubtless wished to be brought back because he +was felt to be indispensable, without any appearance of intrigue. Time +was in his favour, and he allowed the negotiations to proceed slowly. As +the proposals took shape, it became clear that Addington did not wish to +be openly superseded by Pitt, but preferred that they should serve +together as secretaries of state under a third person; and Addington +even suggested Pitt's brother, the Earl of Chatham, then master-general +of the ordnance, as a suitable prime minister. Pitt's reply, +communicated to Addington by Dundas, now Viscount Melville, in a letter +dated March 22, 1803, was to the effect that Pitt would not accept any +position in the government except that of prime minister, with which was +to be coupled the office of chancellor of the exchequer. Addington +readily acceded to Pitt's claim to this position, but Grenville refused +to serve in a ministry where Addington and Hawkesbury held "any +efficient offices of real business," and Addington declined to abandon +ministerial office for a speakership of the house of lords, which Pitt +proposed to create for him. Finally, on April 10, Pitt at a private +conference with Addington proposed as an indispensable condition of his +own return to office that Melville, Spencer, Grenville, and Windham +should become members of his cabinet. This meant a reconstruction of the +whole ministry, and Pitt stipulated that the changes should be made by +the king's desire and on the recommendation of the existing ministry. + +The situation had become an impossible one. Nothing was more reasonable +than that Pitt, the friend and protector of the existing ministry, +should assume the direction of affairs now that the nation appeared to +be on the brink of war. But Pitt could not honourably desert those +former colleagues, who had resigned with him on the catholic question. +Two of these, however, Grenville and Windham, though doubtless men of +the highest capacity, had bitterly attacked the existing ministry; and +it was not to be expected that that ministry, supported as it still was +by overwhelming majorities in both houses of parliament, supported as it +had hitherto been by Pitt himself, should consent to admit its opponents +to a share of office. It is highly improbable that Grenville and Windham +would then have co-operated with Addington and Hawkesbury, and their +admission to office would have ruined the cohesion of the cabinet, +unless it had been accompanied by the retirement of the leading members +of the existing ministry which Pitt's previous attitude, together with +the actual balance of parties in parliament, rendered it impossible to +demand. How difficult it was to induce Grenville and Windham to enter +into any combination future years were to prove. For the present the +ministry took not merely the wisest, but the only course open to it. +Addington, after vainly endeavouring to induce Pitt to modify his terms, +laid them before a cabinet council on April 13; they were immediately +rejected, though the cabinet declared itself ready to admit to office +Pitt himself and those of his colleagues who had hitherto acted with the +Addington ministry. Pitt could hardly have expected any other reply. No +ministry could have granted such terms except on the supposition that +Pitt was indispensable, and Pitt for the present hardly claimed such a +position.[14] + +But if Pitt did not consider himself indispensable, his friends did, and +both he and others came gradually to adopt their view. The rejection of +his terms left him free to adopt the line of policy that he had sketched +to Grenville in the previous December. He had not to wait long for an +opportunity, but in the opinion of Pitt's friends at least the first +provocation came from Addington. Unable to strengthen his ministry by +any accession from Pitt and his followers, he had turned to the "old +opposition," the whigs who, under the leadership of Fox, had +consistently advocated a pacific policy. These had recently supported +the ministry against the "new opposition," as the followers of Grenville +and Windham were called. But since 1797 Fox and the majority of the "old +opposition" had generally absented themselves from parliament, and +George Tierney, member for Southwark, had led what was left of their +party.[15] He now received and accepted the offer of the treasurership +of the navy, one of the most important of the offices below cabinet +rank. As a speaker Tierney was a valuable addition to the government +which was sadly deficient in debating power; he had, however, been +particularly bitter in his attacks on Pitt, with whom he had fought a +duel in 1798, and had provoked the sarcastic wit of Canning, in whose +well-known parody, "The Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder" +(1798), the original illustration by Gillray depicted the friend of +humanity with the features of Tierney and laid the scene in the borough +of Southwark. + +[Pageheading: _CHANGES IN ADDINGTON'S MINISTRY._] + +The appointment, which Pitt himself does not appear to have resented, +was announced on June 1, and Tierney took his place on the treasury +bench on the 3rd. On the same evening Colonel Patten moved a series of +resolutions condemning, in extravagant terms, the conduct of the +ministry in the negotiation with France. Pitt seized the opportunity to +move the orders of the day. In other words, he proposed that the +question should be left undecided. He expressed the opinion that the +ministry was not free from blame, but declared himself unable to concur +in all the charges against it. He considered further that to drive the +existing ministers out of office would only throw the country into +confusion, and that it was therefore inadvisable to pursue the question. +To this the ministerial speakers replied by demanding a direct censure +or a total acquittal, and the consequent division served only to display +the weakness of the opposition. The Addington, Fox, and Grenville +parties combined to oppose Pitt's motion, which was rejected by 333 +votes against 56. Pitt and Fox, and their respective followers then left +the house, leaving the ministerial party and the Grenville party to +decide the fate of Patten's resolutions, which were negatived by 275 +votes against 34. A comparison of the figures of the two divisions, +allowing for tellers, gives as the voting strength of Pitt's party 58, +of Grenville's 36, of Fox's 22, and of Addington's 277. Of these the +Grenville party alone desired to eject the ministers from office, while +Fox's party openly professed a preference for Addington over Pitt. + +During the remainder of the session Pitt seldom took any part in +parliamentary business, and never opposed the ministry on any question +of importance. On August 12 parliament was prorogued after a session +lasting nearly nine months, and the prime minister embraced the +opportunity of making some slight reconstructions in the ministry. +Pelham, who was removed from the home office, resigned his place in the +cabinet, and was shortly afterwards consoled with the chancellorship of +the duchy of Lancaster, an office which was not yet definitely +recognised as political. Charles Philip Yorke, son of the chancellor who +died in 1770 and half-brother of the third Earl of Hardwicke, resigned +the office of secretary at war and succeeded to the home office on the +17th. It was also considered advisable to strengthen the ministry in the +upper house, where Grenville's oratory gave the opposition a decided +advantage in debating power, and Hawkesbury was accordingly summoned to +the lords on November 16 in his father's barony of Hawkesbury. After +this rearrangement the cabinet contained eight peers and three +commoners, no illiberal allowance of commoners according to the ideas of +the age. The recess was further marked by a violent war of pamphlets +between the followers of Addington and Pitt, which began early in +September, and which, although no politician of the first order took any +direct part in it, did much to embitter the relations of their +respective parties.[16] Not less irritating were the _jeux d'esprit_ +with which Canning continued to assail the ministry in the newspaper +press.[17] The most famous of these is the couplet:-- + + Pitt is to Addington + As London is to Paddington. + +A more openly abusive poem, entitled "Good Intentions," described the +prime minister as "Happy Britain's guardian gander". The following +verses refer to the appointment of Addington's brother, John Hiley +Addington, to be paymaster-general of the forces, and of his +brother-in-law, Charles Bragge, afterwards succeeded by Tierney, to be +treasurer of the navy:-- + + How blest, how firm the statesman stands + (Him no low intrigue can move) + Circled by faithful kindred bands + And propped by fond fraternal love. + + When his speeches hobble vilely, + What "Hear him's" burst from Brother Hiley; + When his faltering periods lag, + Hark to the cheers of Brother Bragge. + + Each a gentleman at large, + Lodged and fed at public charge, + Paying (with a grace to charm ye) + This the Fleet, and that the Army.[18] + +[Pageheading: _THE KING'S ILLNESS._] + +When parliament reassembled on November 22 the opposition was still +disunited, and, though Windham severely condemned the inadequacy of the +provision made for national defence, he did not venture to divide +against the government. But during the Christmas recess a distinct step +was made towards the consolidation of the opposition by the reunion of +the two sections of the whig party. Grenville had conceived a chimerical +project of replacing the existing administration by one which should +include all statesmen possessed of real political talent, whatever their +differences in the past might have been. True to this policy, he +persuaded Fox in January, 1804, to join him in attempting to expel the +Addington administration from office as an essential preliminary to any +further action. Sheridan, however, with some of the Prince of Wales's +friends, still refused to enter into any combination which might result +in the return of Pitt to power. The parliamentary session was resumed on +February 1, but the course of events was complicated by a recurrence of +the king's malady. Symptoms of this were observed towards the end of +January; the disease took a turn for the worse about February 12, and on +the 14th it was made known to the public. For a short time the king's +life appeared to be in danger; his reason was affected during a longer +interval, but the attack was in every way milder than in 1789, and on +March 7 Dr. Simmons reported to Addington that "the king was competent +to perform any act of government".[19] It is true that for many months +the king's health did not allow him to give his full attention to public +business, but there was nothing to prevent him from attending to such +routine work as was absolutely necessary. There could, however, be no +question of a change of ministers till there should be a marked +improvement in the king's health. + +The king's illness was made the occasion on February 27 of a motion by +Sir Robert Lawley for the adjournment of the house of commons. This was +parried by Addington with the statement that there was no necessary +suspension of such royal functions as it might be necessary for His +Majesty to discharge at the present moment.[20] The emphasis here +obviously lay on the word "necessary". A still bolder course was adopted +shortly afterwards by the lord chancellor. When on March 9 the king's +assent to several bills was given by commission, Fitzwilliam raised not +unreasonable doubts as to whether the king was capable of resuming the +functions of government. Eldon, however, declared that, as the result of +a private interview with the king, he had come to the conclusion that +the royal commissioners were warranted in assenting to the bills in +question. Whether the chancellor was justified in assuming this +responsibility must remain doubtful; at all events Pitt seems to have +determined that the time was now ripe for a ministerial crisis. He had +on February 27 criticised both the military and naval defences of the +country, but he would not directly attack the government till the king's +health was in a better condition. At last, on March 15, the first attack +was made. Pitt selected the weak point in the administration. St. +Vincent's obstinacy in refusing to believe in the possibility of a +renewal of hostility and his excessive economy had brought about a +marked deterioration in the strength and quality of the fleet. Pitt +accordingly moved for an inquiry into the administration of the navy. +Fox dissociated himself from Pitt's attacks on the first lord of the +admiralty, but supported the motion on the ground that an inquiry would +clear St. Vincent's character. On a division the government had a +majority of 201 against 130. On the 19th, however, Pitt refused to join +the Grenvilles in supporting Fox's motion for the re-committal of the +volunteer consolidation bill. On the following day Eldon made overtures +to Pitt, and on the 23rd Pitt dined _tête-à-tête_ with the chancellor, +but no record has been preserved of the nature of their negotiations. + +On the 29th Pitt, in a letter to Melville, explained his position at +length. He intended, as soon after the Easter recess as the king's +health should permit, to write to the king explaining the dangers which, +in his opinion, threatened the crown and people from the continuance of +the existing government, and representing the urgent necessity of a +speedy change; he would prefer an administration from which no political +party should be excluded, but was unwilling, especially in view of the +king's state of health, to force any minister upon him; if, therefore, +he should be invited by the king to form a ministry from which the +partisans of Fox and Grenville were to be excluded, he was prepared to +form one from his own followers united with the more capable members of +the existing government, excluding Addington himself and St. Vincent; +should this measure fail of success, he would "have no hesitation in +taking such ground in Parliament as would be most likely to attain the +object".[21] As it happened, the parliamentary assault preceded the +correspondence with the king. Immediately after the recess the ministry +laid before parliament military proposals which Pitt felt bound to +resist. On April 16 Pitt, supported by Windham, opposed the third +reading of a bill for augmenting the Irish militia, and expressed a +preference for the army of reserve. He was defeated by the narrow +majority of 128 against 107. On the 23rd Fox proposed to refer the +question of national defence to a committee of the whole house. He was +supported by Pitt and Windham, and defeated by 256 votes only against +204. The division which sealed the fate of the ministry was taken two +days later on a motion that the house should go into committee on a bill +for the suspension of the army of reserve. This was opposed by Pitt, who +expounded a rival plan for the diminution of the militia and increase of +the army of reserve. Fox and Windham demanded for Pitt's scheme a right +to consideration, and on a division the motion was carried by no more +than 240 against 203. The division of April 16 had convinced Addington +that a reconciliation with Pitt was necessary. On Pitt's refusing to +confer with him, he agreed to recommend the king to charge Eldon with +the task of discovering Pitt's views as to the formation of a new +ministry, in case the king wished to learn them. + +[Pageheading: _ADDINGTON'S RESIGNATION._] + +The king, however, expressed no such wish, and on April 22 Pitt sent an +unsealed letter to Eldon to be laid before the king; announcing his +dissatisfaction with the ministry and his intention of declaring this +dissatisfaction in parliament.[22] It was not till the 27th that Eldon +found a suitable opportunity of communicating Pitt's letter to the king. +Before that date Addington, who considered that he could no longer +remain in office with dignity after the divisions of the 23rd and 25th, +had on the 26th informed the king of his intention to resign. The king +reluctantly consented to his resignation, which was announced to the +cabinet on the 29th. On the following day Eldon called on Pitt with a +request from the king for a plan of a new administration. Pitt replied +in a letter, setting forth at great length the arguments in favour of a +combined administration, and requesting permission to confer with Fox +and Grenville about the construction of the ministry.[23] The letter +irritated the king, who demanded a renewed pledge against catholic +emancipation, with which Grenville was specially associated in his mind, +and refused to admit Pitt to office if he persevered in his purpose of +consulting Fox and Grenville. Pitt then declared his adherence to the +pledge given in 1801[24] and requested an interview with the king. The +interview, which took place on May 7, lasted three hours, and ended in a +compromise. The king agreed to admit Grenville and his friends to +office, but, while ready to accept the friends of Fox, he refused, as +much on personal as on political grounds, to give Fox a place in the +cabinet. At the same time he declared himself ready to grant him a +diplomatic appointment. At a later date the king went the length of +declaring that, rather than accept Fox, he would have incurred the risk +of civil war. + +[Pageheading: _PITT'S RETURN TO OFFICE._] + +Fox readily agreed to his own exclusion, which he had fully expected, +and urged his followers to join Pitt, but Grenville and his friends +refused to serve without Fox, while the friends of Fox and the more +immediate followers of Addington refused to serve without their +respective leaders. Addington always considered that Pitt had treated +him ungenerously in driving him from office, when it was open to him to +return to the head of affairs with the full consent of the existing +ministers. More recently it has been the fashion to blame Pitt for +bringing too little pressure to bear upon the king and thus losing the +support of Fox and Grenville. Neither charge appears to be justified. +Through the whole length of the Addington administration Pitt showed +himself fully sensitive of what was due to the king, with whom he had +worked cordially for eighteen years, to Grenville who had resigned in +his cause, and to Addington who had assumed office under his protection. +There was no trace of faction in Pitt's attitude towards the ministry. +He merely opposed what he believed to be dangerous to the country, and +when he was convinced of the necessity of removing Addington from a +share in public business, he endeavoured to effect his purpose in such a +way as to give the minimum of offence. + +On the other hand, Pitt's intended combination in a supreme crisis of +his country's destiny with his life-long antagonist, Fox, was a heroic +experiment, perhaps, but still only an experiment. The failure of the +ministry of "All the Talents" renders it exceedingly doubtful whether +such an alliance would have proved successful, and Fox's lukewarm +patriotism would have been dearly purchased at the expense of the +alienation of the king, perhaps even of his relapse into insanity. Nor +is it certain that the strongest pressure would have induced George III. +to accept Fox at this date. Addington was still undefeated and might +have remained in office if Pitt had refused to assume the reins of +government without Fox. Grenville is undoubtedly more responsible than +any one else for the weakness of Pitt's second administration. It was +from a sense of loyalty to Grenville that Pitt had suffered the +negotiations for his return to office in 1803 to fall through, and now +when the two statesmen could return together, and when, if ever, a +strong government was needed, either a quixotic sense of honour or a +wounded pride induced Grenville not only to stand aloof from the new +administration himself, but to do his utmost to prevent others from +giving it their support.[25] The new cabinet was quickly formed. Pitt +received the seals of office on May 10, and took his seat in parliament +after re-election on the 18th, the very day on which Napoleon was +declared emperor by the French senate. + +This event, long foreseen, was doubtless hastened by the disclosure of +the plot formed by Moreau, Pichegru, and Georges Cadoudal against the +first consul. There was no proof of Moreau's complicity in designs on +Napoleon's life, and the mysterious death of Pichegru in prison left the +extent of his complicity among the insoluble problems of history, but +there can be no doubt that Cadoudal was justly executed for plotting +assassination. Unfortunately some of the under-secretaries in the +Addington administration had not only shared the plans of the +conspirators so far as they aimed at a rising in France, but had +procured for them material assistance. They appear, however, to have +been innocent of any attempt on Napoleon's life. Drake, the British +envoy at Munich, was, however, deeper in the plot. The evidence of +British complicity naturally received the very worst construction in +Paris.[26] Napoleon himself certainly believed in an Anglo-Bourbon +conspiracy, organised by the Count of Artois and other French royalists, +when he caused the Duke of Enghien to be kidnapped in Baden territory +and hurried off to the castle of Vincennes. He was, however, already +aware of his prisoner's innocence when on March 21 he had him shot there +by torch-light after a mock trial before a military commission. All +Europe was shocked by this atrocious assassination, and though Napoleon +sometimes attempted to shift the guilt of it upon Talleyrand, he +justified it at other times as a measure of self-defence, and left on +record his deliberate approval of it, for the consideration of +posterity. Two months later he became Emperor of the French. + +When Pitt resumed office on May 10, 1804, he was no longer the +heaven-born and buoyant young minister of 1783, strong in the confidence +of the king and the anticipated confidence of the nation, with a +minority of followers in the house of commons, but with the brightest +prospects of political success before him. Nor was he the leader of a +devoted majority, as when he resigned in 1801 rather than abandon his +convictions on the catholic question. He had been compelled to waive +these convictions, without fully regaining the confidence of the king, +and, while the adherents of Fox retained their deep-seated hatred of a +war-policy, the adherents of Addington and Grenville were in no mood to +give him a loyal support. Windham and Spencer were no longer at his +side, and his ministry was essentially the same as that of Addington, +with the substitution of Dudley Ryder, now Lord Harrowby, for Hawkesbury +as foreign secretary, Melville for St. Vincent as first lord of the +admiralty, Earl Camden for Hobart as secretary for war and the colonies, +and the Duke of Montrose for Auckland as president of the board of +trade. Hawkesbury was transferred to the home office, vacated by Yorke, +and the new chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Lord Mulgrave, was +given a seat in the cabinet. Of Pitt's eleven colleagues in the cabinet +Castlereagh alone, who remained president of the board of control--a +wretched speaker though an able administrator--had a seat in the lower +house. + +[Pageheading: _PITT'S RECONCILIATION WITH ADDINGTON._] + +Military exigencies now engrossed all thoughts, and the king's speech, +in proroguing parliament on July 31, foreshadowed a new coalition, for +which the murder of the Duke of Enghien had paved the way. The +preparations for an invasion of England had been resumed, and Napoleon +celebrated his birthday in great state at Boulogne, still postponing his +final stroke until he should be crowned, on December 2, at Paris by the +helpless pope, brought from Italy for the purpose.[27] A month later he +personally addressed another pacific letter to the King of England, who +replied in his speech from the throne on January 15, 1805, that he could +not entertain overtures except in concert with Russia and the other +powers. Meanwhile, Pitt, conscious as he was of failing powers, retained +his undaunted courage, and while he was organising a third coalition, +did not shrink from a bold measure which could hardly be justified by +international law. This was the seizure on October 5, 1804, of three +Spanish treasure-ships on the high seas, without a previous declaration +of war against Spain, though not without a previous notice that +hostilities might be opened at any moment unless Spain ceased to give +underhand assistance to France. The excuse was that Spain had long been +the obsequious ally of France, and, as the alliance now became open, +Pitt's act was sanctioned by a large majority in both houses of +parliament in January, 1805. The parliamentary session which opened in +this month found Pitt's ministry apparently stronger than it had been at +the beginning of the recess. Despairing of any help from Grenville, +except in a vigorous prosecution of the war, he had sought a +reconciliation with Addington, who became Viscount Sidmouth on January +12 and president of the council on the 14th. Along with Sidmouth his +former colleague Hobart, now Earl of Buckinghamshire, returned to office +as chancellor of the duchy. To make room for these new allies, Portland +had consented to resign the presidency of the council, though he +remained a member of the cabinet, while Mulgrave was appointed to the +foreign office, in place of Harrowby, who was compelled by ill-health to +retire. + +But this new accession of strength was soon followed by a terrible +mortification which probably contributed to shorten Pitt's life. +Melville, his tried supporter and intimate friend, was charged on the +report of a commission with having misapplied public money as treasurer +of the navy in Pitt's former ministry. It appeared that he had been +culpably careless, and had not prevented the paymaster, Trotter, from +engaging in private speculations with the naval balances. Although +Trotter's speculations involved no loss to the state they were, +nevertheless, a contravention of an act of 1785. Melville had also +supplied other departments of government with naval money, but was +personally innocent of fraud. There was a divergence of feeling in the +cabinet as to the attitude to be adopted towards Melville. Sidmouth, +himself a man of the highest integrity, was a friend of St. Vincent, the +late first lord of the admiralty, and had not forgiven Melville for his +part in the expulsion of himself and St. Vincent from office. He had +therefore both public and private grounds to incline him against +Melville. On April 8, Samuel Whitbread moved a formal censure on +Melville in the house of commons. Pitt, with the approval of Sidmouth +and his friends, moved the previous question on Whitbread's motion, and +declared his intention of introducing a motion of his own for a select +committee to investigate the charges. In spite of the support which Pitt +derived from the followers of Sidmouth the votes were equally divided on +Whitbread's motion, 216 a side. Abbot, the speaker, gave his casting +vote in favour of Whitbread, and the announcement was received by the +whig members with unseemly exultation.[28] + +[Pageheading: _MINISTERIAL CHANGES._] + +The censure was followed by an impeachment before the house of lords, +where Melville was acquitted in the following year. Meanwhile, he had +resigned office on April 9, the day after the vote of censure, and his +place at the admiralty was taken by Sir Charles Middleton, who was +raised to the peerage as Lord Barham. The appointment gave umbrage to +Sidmouth, to whom Pitt had made promises of promotion for his own +followers, and he was with difficulty induced to remain in the cabinet. +Pitt was, however, irritated by the hostile votes of Sidmouth's +followers, Hiley Addington and Bond, on the question of the impeachment, +and regarded this as a reason for delaying their preferment. Sidmouth +now complained of a breach of faith, as Pitt had promised to treat the +question as an open one, and he resigned office on July 4. +Buckinghamshire resigned next day. Camden was appointed to succeed +Sidmouth as lord president, Castlereagh followed Camden as secretary for +war and the colonies, retaining his previous position as president of +the board of control, and Harrowby, whose health had improved since his +resignation in January, took Buckinghamshire's place as chancellor of +the duchy. Thus weakened at home, Pitt could derive little consolation +from the aspect of continental affairs. On May 26, Napoleon was crowned +King of Italy in the cathedral of Milan, and the Ligurian Republic +became part of the French empire in the following month. The ascendency +of France in Europe might well have appeared impregnable, and it might +have been supposed that nothing remained for England but to guard her +own coasts and recapture some of the French colonies given up by the +treaty of Amiens. + +But Pitt's spirit was still unbroken, and by the middle of July he +succeeded in rallying three powers, Russia, Austria, and Sweden, into a +league to withstand the further encroachments of France. Such a league +had been proposed by Gustavus IV. of Sweden, early in 1804, but nothing +definite was done till Pitt's ministry entered upon office. Meanwhile, +the assassination of the Duke of Enghien had led to a rupture of +diplomatic relations between France and Russia, though war was not +declared. Negotiations were presently set on foot for a league, which, +it was hoped, would be joined by Austria and Prussia in addition to +Great Britain, Russia, and Sweden. An interesting feature in the +negotiations was the tsar's scheme of a European polity, where the +states should be independent and enjoy institutions "founded on the +sacred rights of humanity," a foreshadowing, as it would seem, of the +Holy Alliance. The discussion of details between Great Britain and +Russia began towards the end of 1804. Difficulties, however, arose about +the British retention of Malta and the British claim to search neutral +ships for deserters. A treaty between the two powers was signed on April +11, 1805; but the tsar long refused his ratification, and it was only +given in July, after a formal protest against the retention of Malta. + +The object of this alliance was defined to be the expulsion of French +troops from North Germany, the assured independence of the republics of +Holland and Switzerland, and the restoration of the King of Sardinia in +Piedmont; 500,000 men were to be provided for the war by Russia and such +other continental powers as might join the coalition. Great Britain, +instead of furnishing troops, was to supply £1,250,000 a year for every +100,000 men engaged in the war. After the close of the war an European +congress was to define more closely the law of nations and establish an +European federation. At the same time the allies disclaimed the +intention of forcing any system of government on France against her +will. It will be observed that the number of troops specified was far in +excess of what Russia alone could place in the field; such numbers could +only be obtained by the adhesion of Austria and of either Prussia or +some of the smaller German states to the coalition. So far as Austria +was concerned, Napoleon's Italian policy rendered war inevitable. +Already in November, 1804, the Austrian court had entered into a secret +agreement with Russia to make war on France in the event of further +French aggressions in Italy. The coronation of Napoleon as King of Italy +and the annexation of Liguria were, however, more than aggressions; they +were open violations of the treaty of Lunéville which had guaranteed the +independence of the Cisalpine and Ligurian republics. Austria hereupon +determined on war, and secretly joined the coalition on August 9, 1805. +Sweden, which was not a member of it, concluded separate treaties of +alliance both with Great Britain and with Russia. Greater difficulties +had to be surmounted in the case of Prussia. Frederick William III. +cherished no enthusiasm for European liberty, and vacillated under the +influence of Napoleon's offer of Hanover on the one hand and his +numerous petty insults on the other. Prussia in consequence remained +neutral throughout the most decisive period of the ensuing war. + +[Pageheading: _NELSON AND VILLENEUVE._] + +Long before the coalition was ready Napoleon's mind had recurred to his +venturesome project for the invasion of England. An army, the finest +that he ever led to victory, which, even after it had been transferred +to another scene of action, he still saw fit to call the "army of +England," was encamped near Boulogne. It was constantly exercised in the +process of embarking on board flat-bottomed boats or rafts, which were +to be convoyed by Villeneuve, admiral of the Toulon fleet, and +Gantheaume, admiral of the Brest fleet, for whose appearance the French +signalmen vainly scanned the horizon. In the meantime, Nelson had been +engaged for two years, without setting foot on shore, in that patient +and sleepless watch, ranging over the whole Mediterranean, which must +ever rank with the greatest of his matchless exploits. At last, he +learned in the spring of 1805, that Villeneuve, following a plan +concerted by Napoleon himself, had eluded him by sailing from Toulon +towards Cadiz, had there been joined by the Spanish fleet, and was +steering for the West Indies. Nelson followed with a much smaller number +of ships, and might have forced an action in those waters, but he was +misled by false intelligence and missed the enemy, though his dreaded +presence was effectual in saving the British islands from any serious +attack. + +The combined fleets of France and Spain recrossed the Atlantic and in +accordance with Napoleon's plans made for Ferrol on the coast of +Galicia. After being repulsed with some loss off Cape Finisterre by Sir +Robert Calder, who was court-martialled and severely reprimanded for +neglecting to follow up his victory, they put in first at Vigo, and then +with fifteen allied ships at Coruña. But, instead of venturing to carry +out Napoleon's orders by challenging Admiral Cornwallis's fleet off +Brest, and making a desperate effort to command the channel, Villeneuve +now took advantage of his emperors recommendation to return to Cadiz in +event of defeat, and set sail for that port in the middle of August. +Nelson, ignorant of his movements, had vainly sought him off the Straits +of Gibraltar, and came home to report himself at the admiralty. Arriving +at Spithead on August 18, he was in England barely four weeks, most of +which he spent in privacy at Merton. During this brief respite he +received a general tribute of admiration and affection from his +countrymen, which anticipated the verdict of posterity. On September 15 +he sailed from Portsmouth, with a presentiment of his own fate, after +having described to Sidmouth the general design of his crowning sea +fight: he would, he said, break the enemy's line in two places; and he +did so. He joined Admiral Collingwood off Cadiz on the 29th, and on +October 19 he received news that Villeneuve, smarting under the +prospect of being superseded, had put to sea with the combined fleet. +Complicated naval manoeuvres followed, but on the 21st the enemy was +forced to give battle, a few leagues from Cape Trafalgar, and Nelson +caused his immortal signal to be hoisted--"England expects that every +man will do his duty". + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR._] + +The French and Spanish fleet comprised thirty-three ships of the line, +of which eighteen were French and fifteen Spanish; the British had only +twenty-seven, but among these were seven three-deckers as against four +on the side of the allies. It had the additional advantage of superior +discipline and equipment, to say nothing of the genius of its commander. +The British fleet advanced in two divisions, Nelson leading the weather +division of twelve, and Collingwood the lee division of fifteen ships. +According to Nelson's plan Collingwood was to attack the rear of the +enemy's line, while he himself cut off and paralysed the centre and van. +Both divisions advanced without regular formation, the ships bearing +down with all the speed they could command and without waiting for +laggards. Collingwood in the _Royal Sovereign_, steering E. by N., broke +through the allies' line twelve ships from the rear, raking the _Santa +Ana_, Alava's flagship, as he passed her stern, with a broadside which +struck down 400 of her men. For some fifteen minutes the _Royal +Sovereign_ was alone in action; then others of the division came up and +successively penetrated the line of the allies, and engaging ship to +ship completely disposed of the enemy's rear, their twelve rear ships +being all taken or destroyed. + +Meanwhile, Nelson in the _Victory_, who had reserved to himself the more +difficult task of containing twenty-one ships with twelve, held on his +course, advancing so as to keep the allied van stationary and yet to +prevent the centre from venturing to help the rear. He designed to pass +through the end of the line in order to cut the enemy's van off from +Cadiz, but, finding an opportunity, changed his course, passed down the +line and attacked the centre. He passed through the line of the allied +fleet, closely followed by four other ships of his division, and the +five British ships concentrated their attacks on the _Bucentaure_, +Villeneuve's flagship, the gigantic Spanish four-decker, the _Santísima +Trinidad_, which was next ahead of her, and the _Redoutable_, which +supported her. The centre of the allies was crushed and the van cut off +from coming to the help of the rear, which was being destroyed by +Collingwood. + +Before the battle ended, the naval force of France, and with it +Napoleon's projects of invasion, were utterly and hopelessly ruined. +Eighteen prizes were taken, and, though many of these were lost in a +gale, four ships which escaped were afterwards captured, and the +remainder lay for the most part shattered hulks at Cadiz. By this battle +the supremacy of Great Britain at sea was finally established. Nelson, +who, during the ship-to-ship engagement which followed his penetration +of the enemy's line, was mortally wounded by a sharp-shooter from the +mizzen-top of the _Redoutable_, died before the battle was over, though +he was spared to hear that a complete victory was secure. His death is +among the heroic incidents of history, and his last achievement, both in +its conception and its results, was the fitting climax of his fame. The +plan for the battle which he drew up beforehand for the instruction of +his captains, and the changes which he made in it to meet the conditions +of the moment are alike worthy of his supreme genius as a naval +tactician. His arrangements were carried out by men who had learned to +love and trust him, and who were inspired by the fire of his spirit, and +hence it was that the allied fleet of France and Spain perished at the +"Nelson touch".[29] + +Very different were the fortunes of war in central Europe, where +Napoleon himself commanded the "army of England". It was not until the +end of August that Napoleon knew that Villeneuve would be unable to +appear in the Channel, but no sooner did he abandon his project of +invasion in despair than he resolved on a campaign scarcely less +arduous, and gave orders for a grand march into Germany. Pitt, as we +have seen, had successfully negotiated an alliance with Russia and +Austria, whose armies were converging upon the plains of Bavaria and +were to have been reinforced by a large Prussian contingent. Unhappily, +they had not effected a junction when Napoleon crossed the Rhine near +Strassburg and the Danube near Donauwörth, while he detached large +forces to check the advance of the Russians and the approach of +reinforcements expected from Italy. One of these movements involved an +open violation of Prussian territory, but he could rely on the +well-tried servility of Frederick William. The first decisive result of +his strategy was the surrender of Mack at Ulm, with 30,000 men and 60 +pieces of ordnance. This event took place on October 20, the very day +before the battle of Trafalgar, and opened the road to Vienna, which the +French troops entered on November 13, occupying the great bridge by a +ruse more skilful than honourable, during the negotiation of an +armistice. Vienna was spared, while Napoleon pressed on to meet the +remainder of the Austrian army, which had now been joined by a larger +body of Russians near Brünn. The allies numbered about 100,000 men; +Napoleon's army was numerically somewhat less, but possessed the same +kind of superiority as the British navy at Trafalgar. The result was the +crushing victory of Austerlitz on December 2, followed by the peace of +Pressburg, between France and Austria, signed on the 26th. The principal +articles of this treaty provided for the cession of Venetia, Istria, and +Dalmatia to the kingdom of Italy, and the aggrandisement of Bavaria and +Würtemberg, whose electors received the royal title as the price of +their sympathetic alliance with France. Russia withdrew sullenly, having +learned the hollowness of her league with Prussia, which had basely +temporised while the fate of Germany was at stake, and whose minister, +Haugwitz, suppressing the _ultimatum_ which he was charged to deliver, +had openly congratulated the conqueror of Austerlitz. + +Great Britain had had no direct share in the conflict in Southern +Germany and Moravia; she had, however, joined in two expeditions, the +one in Southern, the other in Northern Europe. In spite of a treaty of +neutrality between France and the Two Sicilies, ratified on October 8, +an Anglo-Russian squadron was permitted to land a force of 10,000 +British troops under Sir James Craig, and 14,000 Russians on the shore +of the Bay of Naples. These troops effected nothing, and the violation +of neutrality was, as we shall see, destined to involve the Neapolitan +monarchy in ruin. The expedition to North Germany was planned on a +larger scale. Hanover had been occupied by France since June, 1803. Its +recovery was attempted by an Anglo-Hanoverian force under Cathcart, +which was to have been supported by a Russian and Swedish force acting +from Stralsund. The co-operation of Prussia was also expected. In order +to secure this alliance the British government offered Prussia an +extension of territory so as to include Antwerp, Liège, Luxemburg, and +Cologne, in the event of victory. In November the expedition landed. In +December Prussia had definitely given her protection to the Russian +troops in Hanover and offered it to the Hanoverians. Pitt computed that +at the beginning of the next campaign nearly 300,000 men would be +available in North Germany. But the vacillation of Prussia ruined all. +On December 15 Haugwitz signed the treaty of Schönbrunn, by which +Prussia was to enter into an offensive and defensive alliance with +France and was to receive Hanover in return for Ansbach, Cleves, and +Neuchâtel. Frederick William could not yet stoop to such a degree of +infamy, and therefore, instead of ratifying the treaty, resolved on +January 3, 1806, to propose a compromise, which involved among other +provisions the temporary occupation of Hanover by Prussia. In +consequence of this determination he sent, on January 7, a request for +the withdrawal of the British forces, which were accordingly +recalled.[30] + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF PITT._] + +The collapse of his last coalition was the death-blow of Pitt, cheered +though he was for the moment by the news of Trafalgar. The fatal +consequences of Austerlitz were reported to him at Bath, whence he +returned by easy stages to his villa at Putney in January, 1806. His +noble spirit was broken at last by the defection of Prussia, and after +lingering a while, he died on the 23rd of that month, leaving a name +second to none among the greatest statesmen of his country. His +sagacious mind grasped the advantage to be gained by freeing trade from +unnecessary restrictions, and anticipated catholic emancipation, +parliamentary reform, and the abolition of slavery. He gave the nation, +in the union with Ireland, the one constructive measure of the first +order achieved in his time, and only marred by the weakness of more +pliable successors in a lesser age. His dauntless soul, which bore him +up against the bitterest disappointments, the desertion of friends, and +the depression of mortal disease, inspired the governing classes of +England to endure ten more years of exhausting war, to save Europe (as +he foretold) by their example, and to crown his own work at Waterloo. +His lofty eloquence, which has been described as a gift independent of +statesmanship, was indeed a product of statesmanship, for it consisted +in no mere witchery of words, but in a luminous and convincing +presentation of essential facts. He may have been inferior to his own +father in fiery rhetoric, to Peel in comprehensive grasp of domestic +policy, and to Gladstone in the political experience gained by sixty +years of political life, but in capacity for command he was inferior to +none. If he was not an ideal war minister, he was not a war minister by +his own choice; his lot was cast in times which suppressed the exercise +of his best powers; and he was matched in the organisation of war, +though not in the field, against the greatest organising genius known to +history. He must be judged by what he actually did and meditated as a +peace minister; his conduct of the war must be compared with that of +those able but not gifted men who strove to bend the bow which he left +behind him; and we must assuredly conclude that none of his colleagues +or rivals was his peer either in powers or in public spirit. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[13] Buckingham, _Court and Cabinets_, iii., 242; Lewis, +_Administrations of Great Britain_, p. 225. + +[14] Buckingham, _Court and Cabinets_, iii., 282-90; Pellew, _Life of +Sidmouth_, ii., 113-31; Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., 20-39. + +[15] See vol. x., p. 399. + +[16] Pellew, _Life of Sidmouth_, ii., 145-47; Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, +iv., 88-93. + +[17] For a list of Canning's squibs, belonging to this period, see +Lewis, _Administrations_, p. 249, note. + +[18] It was not fair to hold Addington entirely responsible for the +promotion of his brother, who had been a junior lord of the treasury +under Pitt. The taunt came with a particularly bad grace from Canning, +who had himself been paymaster-general in the last administration. + +[19] Pellew, _Life of Sidmouth_, ii., 250. + +[20] _Annual Register_, xlvi. (1804), p. 34. + +[21] Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., 135-44. + +[22] See the letter in Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., appendix, pp. +i.-iii. + +[23] There is preserved a sketch in Pitt's handwriting of a combined +administration with Melville, Fox, and Fitzwilliam as secretaries of +state, and Grenville as lord president. + +[24] Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., appendix, pp. xi., xii. + +[25] The best account of Pitt's return to power is to be found in +Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., 113-95; appendix, pp. i.-xiii. The story +is told in a very spirited manner by Lord Rosebery, _Pitt_, pp. 238-44. + +[26] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, i., 450-53. + +[27] Napoleon actually crowned himself, although he had originally +intended to be crowned by the pope. + +[28] Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iv., 338. + +[29] Nelson's tactics at Trafalgar are explained in a series of +remarkable articles in _The Times_ of September 16, 19, 22, 26, 28, 30, +and October 19, 1905. For incidents of the battle see Mahan, _Life of +Nelson_, ii., 363 _sqq._ + +[30] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 53-57, 63-65. + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + GRENVILLE AND PORTLAND. + + +The immediate effect of Pitt's death was the dissolution of his +government. The king turned at first to Hawkesbury, afterwards destined +as Earl of Liverpool to hold the office of premier for nearly fifteen +years; but he then felt himself unequal to such a burden. He next sent +for Grenville, who insisted on the co-operation of Fox, to which the +king assented without demur, and the short-lived ministry of "All the +Talents" was formed within a few days. It was essentially a whig +cabinet, but it included two tories, Sidmouth as lord privy seal, and +Lord Ellenborough, the lord chief justice. Grenville himself was first +lord of the treasury, Fox foreign secretary, and Erskine lord +chancellor. Charles Grey, the future Earl Grey, was first lord of the +admiralty. Spencer home secretary, Windham secretary for war and the +colonies, and Lord Henry Petty, the future Marquis of Lansdowne, +chancellor of the exchequer. Fitzwilliam was lord president, and the +Earl of Moira master-general of the ordnance. Ellenborough owed his +place in the cabinet to the influence of Sidmouth. The appointment was a +departure from the established constitutional practice. Since Lord +Mansfield, who had ceased to be an efficient member in 1765, no chief +justice had been a member of the cabinet, and it was argued in +parliament by the opposition that a seat in the cabinet was inconsistent +with the independence which a common law judge ought to maintain. It is +also important to observe that Sidmouth when accepting office gave +express notice to Grenville and Fox that under all circumstances "he +would ever resist the catholic question".[31] + +The friendly relations of the king with Fox were creditable to both of +them, and in the last few months of his life Fox showed himself a +statesman. Besides the abolition of the slave trade, his grand object +was the restoration of peace on a durable basis. There were some grounds +for believing that this was possible. France, under an emperor, seemed +no longer to represent a new principle in European politics, and was not +necessarily a menace to her neighbours; the coalition was fairly beaten +on land, while British supremacy had been reasserted on sea, and +Napoleon might well wish for peace to enable him to consolidate his +position on land and regain the power of using the sea, just as he had +done in 1801. Fox lost no time in renewing a pacific correspondence with +Talleyrand, afterwards carried on through the agency of Lord Yarmouth, +an English traveller detained in France, and Lord Lauderdale, who was +sent over as plenipotentiary. The principle of the negotiation was that +of _uti possidetis_, but it failed, as Whitworth's efforts had failed, +because the pretensions of France were constantly shifting, and +especially because France, anxious to isolate Great Britain, insisted on +negotiating separately with Great Britain and Russia, while Fox very +properly refused to make peace without our ally. Grey himself, now Lord +Howick, afterwards declared that France showed no disposition to grant +any terms which could be accepted by Great Britain. On September 13, Fox +died, and was buried in Westminster Abbey almost side by side with his +great rival. + +While he was earnestly striving for peace, there was no cessation of +warlike movements or political changes either in Central Europe or in +Italy. In June, 1806, Napoleon converted the Batavian Republic into the +kingdom of Holland, over which he set his brother Louis. In July the +discord of Germany, which had long ceased to be a nation, was +consummated by the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, which +separated all the western states from the Holy Roman empire, and united +them under the protection and control of France. On August 6, Francis +II., who had assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in 1804, formally +renounced the title of Roman Emperor, and the Holy Roman Empire became +extinct. The King of Prussia, with singular disregard of good faith and +national interest, finally accepted on February 15 the bribe of Hanover +for adhesion to France, but without the offensive and defensive alliance +offered him in the previous December, and with the additional +humiliation of being compelled to close his ports to English ships. He +vainly strove to conceal this shameful bargain, and was, as will be +seen, punished by the destruction of Prussian commerce. After all, he +found himself overreached by Napoleon in duplicity, and was at last +provoked into risking a single-handed contest with his imperious ally. +He declared war on October 1, and within a fortnight the army of +Prussia, inheriting the system and traditions of the great Frederick, +was all but annihilated in the twin battles of Jena and Auerstädt fought +on October 14. + +[Pageheading: _SMALL EXPEDITIONS._] + +The British government, though not unwilling to forgive the perfidy of +its former confederate, was powerless to strike a blow on his behalf +until it was too late. Indeed, the only warlike operation undertaken by +Great Britain in Europe during the year was in the extreme south of +Italy. Ferdinand, King of the Two Sicilies, had been driven out of his +capital to make way for Joseph Bonaparte, who entered Naples on February +15, and the exiled monarch took refuge in the island of Sicily. In +accordance with the shortsighted policy of small expeditions, a British +force under Sir John Stuart was landed in Calabria to raise the +peasantry, and on July 4, defeated the French at the point of the +bayonet in the battle of Maida. This action shook the confidence of +Europe in the superiority of the French infantry, and saved Sicily from +France, but the French troops remained in possession of the Italian +mainland. The prestige of Great Britain was raised by the conquest of +the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope in January by a naval and +military force sent out by Pitt under the command of Sir Home Popham and +General, now Sir David, Baird, but was damaged by a futile expedition to +South America, undertaken by Popham without orders from the home +government. The city of Buenos Ayres was taken, indeed, in June by +General Beresford, but it was retaken by the Spaniards in August, and +soldiers who could ill be spared from the European conflict now +impending were lavished on a chimerical project on the other side of the +Atlantic. + +The short administration of Grenville, so inactive in its foreign +policy, is memorable only for one redeeming measure of home-policy--the +abolition of the slave trade. Before Fox's death, the attention of +parliament had been divided mainly between Windham's abortive scheme +for a vast standing army, to be raised on the basis of limited service, +and the secret inquiry into the conduct of the Princess of Wales. This +resulted in her being acquitted of the more scandalous charges against +her, but on the advice of the cabinet, she was censured by the king for +unseemly levity of behaviour. On October 24 parliament was dissolved. It +was a foolish dissolution, for ministerial convenience only, and aimed +not merely at strengthening the ministry, but at weakening the tory +section within the ministry. The election was not well managed, and the +king withheld the subscription of £12,000 with which he was accustomed +to assist his ministers for the time being at a general election. Still +the ministry obtained a considerable majority.[32] The new parliament +met on December 15, and on March 25, 1807, the abolition bill, having +passed the house of lords in spite of strong opposition, was carried in +the commons by 283 to 16. Thus ended a philanthropic struggle, which +began in 1783, when the quakers petitioned against the trade. Three +years later Clarkson began his crusade. Two bills in favour of abolition +were carried by the house of commons before the close of the eighteenth +century, but were thrown out in the house of lords. The same fate befell +a bill for a temporary suspension of the slave trade, which passed the +commons in 1804 under the spell of Wilberforce's persuasive eloquence; +but Pitt's government caused a royal proclamation to be issued, which at +least checked the spread of the nefarious traffic in the newly conquered +colonies. A larger measure failed to pass the house of commons in 1805, +but in 1806 Fox and Grenville succeeded in committing both houses to an +open condemnation of the trade. This was followed on March 25, 1807, by +an enactment entirely prohibiting the slave trade from and after January +1, 1808, though it was not made felony to engage in it until a further +act was carried by Brougham in 1811. + +[Pageheading: _FALL OF GRENVILLE'S MINISTRY._] + +In default of important legislative tasks, the parliament which expired +in 1806 devoted much attention to various features of the military +system, as well as to proposed reforms in the public accounts. It +sanctioned the principle of raising a great part of the war-expenses by +special taxes rather than by loan. A property-tax of 10 per cent. was +freely voted, and this was then represented to be its permanent limit. +The assessed taxes were increased at the same time by 10 per cent., but +with an allowance in favour of poorer taxpayers for every child above +the number of two. It is worthy of notice that, while Grenville's +ministry was in office, Whitbread brought forward an elaborate plan not +only for reforming the poor laws but also for establishing a system of +national education. Some changes in the cabinet were necessitated by the +death of Fox. Howick became foreign secretary and was succeeded at the +admiralty by Thomas Grenville, brother of the prime minister, most +famous as a book-collector. Fitzwilliam retired at the same time on the +ground of ill-health. He retained his seat in the cabinet, but was +succeeded as lord president by Sidmouth, while Fox's nephew, Lord +Holland, succeeded Sidmouth as lord privy seal. + +The fall of the whig government in March, 1807, was due to a cause +similar to that which had brought about the retirement of Pitt in 1801. +The Duke of Bedford, who was lord lieutenant of Ireland, had urged the +importance of making some concessions to Roman catholics. An Irish act +of 1793 had opened commissions in the army as high as the rank of +colonel to Roman catholics, and the ministry obtained the reluctant +consent of the king to the extension of this concession to Roman +catholics throughout his dominions. Without having fully ascertained the +king's mind, Howick, on behalf of his colleagues, moved for leave to +bring in a bill opening all commissions in the army and navy to Roman +catholics. The king at once refused his sanction, and the government, +finding that they could not carry their bill, agreed to withdraw it. +This decision was announced to the king in a cabinet minute, drawn up at +a meeting from which Ellenborough, Erskine, and Sidmouth, who +sympathised with the king, were excluded, and from which Fitzwilliam and +Spencer were absent owing to ill-health. The minute went on to record +their adhesion to the policy embodied in the bill, reserving the right +to advise the king on any future occasion in accordance with that +policy. Thereupon, Sidmouth, who had already sent in his resignation, +Eldon, Portland, and Malmesbury, with the concurrence of the Duke of +York and Spencer Perceval, urged the king to make a stand upon his +prerogative. He did so, by requiring the ministers who had signed the +minute, to give him a written pledge that they would never press upon +him further concessions, direct or indirect, to the Roman catholics. +This pledge they properly declined, and accepted the consequence by +resignation. Spencer was present at the meeting which arrived at this +conclusion and concurred in the decision of his colleagues.[33] + +A new administration was formed by Portland, as nominal head, but with +Perceval as its real leader and chancellor of the exchequer, Canning as +foreign secretary, Hawkesbury as home secretary, and Castlereagh as +minister for war and the colonies. Camden, Eldon, Westmorland, and +Chatham resumed the offices they had held before the death of Pitt, +Mulgrave became first lord of the admiralty, and Earl Bathurst president +of the board of trade. In this government, too, Sir Arthur Wellesley, +the future Duke of Wellington, who had returned in 1805 from a brilliant +military career in India, held office outside the cabinet as chief +secretary for Ireland. Spencer Perceval was a half-brother of the Earl +of Egmont and brother of Lord Arden. He enjoyed a large practice at the +bar and had made his mark as a parliamentary debater when filling the +offices, first of solicitor-general, and then of attorney-general under +Addington. He had held the latter office again under Pitt. Not the least +source of his influence was his steady and determined opposition to the +Roman catholic claims. + +[Pageheading: _NON-INTERVENTION._] + +After a short but animated debate on the important constitutional +question raised by the circumstances of the change of ministers, +parliament was again dissolved on April 27. The king's speech in closing +the session was virtually a personal appeal to his people, and a +majority was returned in favour of the new ministry. This result may be +said to mark the last triumph of George III. in maintaining the +principle of personal government. "A just and enlightened toleration" +was announced as the substitute for catholic relief. Still, a certain +revival of independent popular opinion may be traced in the return of +Sir Francis Burdett and Lord Cochrane for Westminster. It was not until +June 22 that parliament assembled, and the engrossing interest of +foreign events left but little room for discussions on home-policy. A +motion by Whitbread, however, bore fruit in a bill for establishing +parochial schools, which Eldon successfully opposed in the house of +lords, mainly on the ground that it would take popular education out of +the hands of the clergy. The same not unnatural apathy about home +affairs prevailed throughout the session of 1808, which began on January +31, and though a large number of acts were placed on the statute book in +this and succeeding years, the mass of them, including many relating to +Ireland, were essentially of a local or occasional character. An +exception must be recognised in the partial success of a motion for the +reform of the criminal law, which was proposed by Sir Samuel Romilly, +famous for his efforts in the cause of humanity, and which resulted in +the abolition of capital punishment for the offence of pocket-picking. + +During this critical period, when Great Britain was gradually drifting +into a position of isolation, the course of parliamentary history +becomes inseparable from the progress of those mighty events on the +continent, which Grenville's government would fain have treated as +outside the sphere of British interests. For, notwithstanding Windham's +schemes for a reconstruction of the army, that government had allowed +the naval and military establishments of Great Britain to fall below +their former standard. The leading idea of their policy was +non-intervention, and at the opening of 1807, there was no longer any +thought of sending a force to cope with Napoleon's veterans on the +continent When in 1805 a British force was operating in North Germany, +it was possible that if Prussia had been faithful to her engagements, +the disaster of Austerlitz might at least have been partially retrieved. +It was otherwise when, after the collapse of Prussia, France and Russia +stood face to face with each other. The drawn battle of Eylau in East +Prussia, marked by fearful carnage, was fought on February 8, 1807. This +check, breaking the spell of Napoleon's victorious career, had a +remarkable effect in raising the spirits of the allies, Russia, Sweden, +and Prussia, some remains of whose army were still in the field. These +powers now drew closer together, but they received a lukewarm support +from Great Britain, which might have done much to save Europe by timely +reinforcements and liberal subsidies. In reply to an urgent appeal from +the tsar for a loan of £6,000,000, the Grenville ministry doled out +£500,000 to Russia, and a still more pitiful gift to Prussia. No troops +were sent to aid Sweden on the Baltic coast, although, when, at +Napoleon's instigation, Turkey declared war against Russia, expeditions +were despatched to Alexandria and the Dardanelles. The notion of making +war on a large scale, in concert with allies, on the continent of +Europe, as in the days of Marlborough, and even of Lord Granby, seems to +have vanished from the minds of English statesmen, except Castlereagh, +who always advocated concentrated action. + +The succession of Portland and Canning to Grenville and Howick brought +no immediate change in our insular policy and the new government had +been in office for above three months before a British force at last +appeared in the Swedish island of Rügen. It arrived too late, Danzig +surrendered in May, and on June 14 Napoleon obtained a decisive victory +over the Russian army and its Prussian contingent at Friedland. Russia +now gave a supreme example of that national selfishness, and contempt +for the rights of independent states which had dominated the counsels of +sovereigns ever since the first partition of Poland. Doubtless the tsar +might plead that Great Britain, too, had been wasting her strength in +selfish attempts to secure her mastery of the seas, and to open new +markets for her trade. He also deeply resented her recent failure to aid +him in the hour of his utmost need, while he still cherished the policy +of the "armed neutrality," and was eager to prosecute his designs +against Turkey. Dazzled and flattered by Napoleon, he welcomed overtures +for peace at the expense of Great Britain, and there is no doubt that +his imaginative nature indulged in the vision of a regenerated Europe, +divided between himself as emperor of the east and Napoleon as emperor +of the west. It is therefore far from surprising that he should have +held a private interview with Napoleon, on a raft in the Niemen, which +led to the treaty of Tilsit on July 7. + +[Pageheading: _THE TREATY OF TILSIT._] + +This treaty, in which the King of Prussia shared as a helpless partner, +contained both public and secret articles, but the distinction was not +very material, for the secret articles almost immediately became known +to Canning. The general effect of the whole agreement was the utter +humiliation of Prussia, the recognition by that country and Russia of +all Napoleon's acquisitions, and their combination with France against +the maritime claims and conquests of Great Britain. The western +provinces of Prussia were to be incorporated with other German +annexations to form the new kingdom of Westphalia; Prussian Poland was +to be converted into the duchy of Warsaw under the crown of Saxony, to +which a right of passage through Silesia was reserved; and Berlin with +other great Prussian fortresses were to remain in the hands of the +French until an exorbitant war indemnity should have been paid.[34] At +one stroke Prussia was thus reduced to a second-rate power, with a +territory little greater than it possessed before the first partition of +Poland. The rule of Joseph Bonaparte at Naples, that of Louis in +Holland, and the confederation of the Rhine, were solemnly confirmed. +Above all, Russia pledged herself to join France in coercing Sweden, +Denmark, and Portugal into an adoption of the organised commercial +exclusion, known as the "continental system," and hostility to Great +Britain in the event of her resistance. If Sweden refused to join this +league, Denmark was to be compelled to declare war on her. + +No sooner did it receive information of this alliance than the British +government despatched a naval armament to Denmark and landed troops, +which were soon reinforced by those withdrawn from Rügen. There had been +no open rupture with Denmark, though much irritation existed between +Denmark and Great Britain with reference to neutral commerce. But there +were the best reasons for believing that the Danish fleet, as well as +that of Portugal, would be demanded by France and Russia, to be employed +against Great Britain, and it was certain that Denmark could not +withstand such pressure. The British envoy, Jackson, was accordingly +instructed to offer Denmark a treaty of alliance, of which one condition +was to be the deposit of her fleet on hire with the British government. +The proposal was accompanied by a threat of force, and the crown prince, +with a spirit worthy of admiration, refused the terms. In consequence a +peremptory summons to deliver up her ships of war and naval stores was +addressed to the governor of Copenhagen by the British commanders, +Admiral Gambier and Lord Cathcart, under whom Sir Arthur Wellesley was +entrusted with the reserve. The surrender, if made peaceably, was to be +in the nature of a deposit, and the fleet was to be restored at the end +of the war. The governor returned a temporising reply, and a bombardment +of Copenhagen followed (September 2); the fleet was brought to England +as prize of war; and Denmark naturally became the enemy of Great +Britain.[35] Sweden declined the proffered alliance of France and +Russia, and actually invaded Norway, then a part of the Danish kingdom. +The result was the loss of Finland and Swedish Pomerania. The king, +Gustavus IV., resembled Charles XII. in quixotic temperament, but not in +ability; and Sir John Moore, sent to his support with an army of 10,000 +men, found it hopeless to co-operate with him. Shortly afterwards, his +subjects formed the same opinion, and he was compelled to make way for +his uncle, who succeeded as Charles XIII. with Marshal Bernadotte as +crown prince. In consequence of this change Sweden became reconciled to +Russia, and estranged from Great Britain. + +The seizure of the Danish fleet, in time of so-called peace, roused +great indignation throughout most of Europe, and, in some degree, +strained the conscience of the British parliament itself. The justice +and wisdom of it were strenuously challenged in both houses, especially +by Grenville, Sidmouth, and Lord Darnley, who moved an address to the +crown embodying an impressive protest against it. It was defended, +however, by the high authority of the Marquis Wellesley, as well as by +Canning and other ministers, on the simple ground of military necessity. +Napoleon himself never ceased to denounce it as an international outrage +of the highest enormity. This did not prevent his doing his best to +justify it and to imitate it by sending Junot's expedition to Portugal, +with instructions to seize the Portuguese fleet at Lisbon. It is strange +that in the debates on this subject, peace with France was still treated +on both sides as a possibility; but Canning declared that neither +Russian nor Austrian mediation could have been accepted as impartial, +or as affording the least hope of pacification. However, on September +25, the king addressed a declaration to Europe, in which, after +justifying himself in regard to Copenhagen, he professed his readiness +to accept conditions of peace "consistent with the maritime rights and +political existence of Great Britain". + +[Pageheading: _COMMERCIAL EXCLUSION._] + +Still more reasonable attacks, supported by strong petitions, were made +by the opposition upon the "orders in council," whereby the British +government retaliated against Napoleon's "continental system". This +system was founded on a firm belief, shared by the French people, that +Great Britain, as mistress of the seas, was the one great obstacle to +his imperial ambition, and the most formidable enemy of French +aggrandisement, only to be crushed by the ruin of her trade. Prussia +had, in conformity with her treaty of February 15, 1806, issued a +proclamation on March 28 of that year, closing her ports, which would +now include those of Hanover, against British trade. The British +government replied by first laying an embargo on Prussian vessels in the +harbours of Great Britain and Ireland, and by proclaiming a blockade of +the coast of Europe from Brest to the Elbe. This was followed on May 14 +by an order in council for seizing all vessels found navigating under +Prussian colours. As yet the policy of commercial exclusion had not been +carried to any great length, but the Berlin decree issued by Napoleon on +November 21 after the battle of Jena proclaimed the whole of the British +Isles to be in a state of blockade, prohibited all commerce with them +from the ports of France and her dependent states, confiscated all +British merchandise in such ports, and declared all British subjects in +countries occupied by French troops to be prisoners of war. Howick +replied by further orders in council in January, 1807, forbidding +neutrals to trade between the ports of France and her allies, or between +the ports of nations which should observe the Berlin decree, on pain of +the confiscation of the ship and cargo. On the 27th another decree, +issued at Warsaw, ordered the seizure in the Hanse Towns of all British +goods and colonial produce. The reply of Great Britain was a stricter +blockade of the North German coast. + +The accession of Russia to Napoleon's commercial policy at Tilsit seemed +to have brought the combination against British trade to its furthest +development, and it was answered by new orders in council, treating any +port from which the British flag was excluded as if actually blockaded, +and further limiting the carriage by neutral vessels of produce from +hostile colonies. The Milan decree issued on December 17, and further +orders in council published during the same winter, carried to greater +extremes, if possible, this intolerable form of commercial warfare, +under which neutral commerce was gradually crushed out of existence. +Great Britain, owing to her command of the sea, was more independent of +this kind of commerce than her rival, and both the decrees and the +orders in council inflicted far more damage on France and her allies +than on Great Britain. But neither party was able to enforce completely +its policy of commercial exclusion. Europe could not dispense with +British goods or colonial produce carried in British vessels. The law +was deliberately set aside by a regular licensing system, and evaded by +wholesale smuggling; neutral ships continued to ply between continental +ports, and Napoleon did not disdain to clothe his troops with 50,000 +British overcoats during the Eylau campaign. Still, Great Britain was +enabled to cripple, if not to destroy, the merchant shipping of all +other countries, and the interests of consumers all over Europe were +enlisted against the author of the continental system. On the other +hand, a heavy blow was dealt to friendly relations between Great Britain +and the United States, the chief victim of these belligerent +pretensions.[36] + +[Pageheading: _FRUITLESS EXPEDITIONS._] + +In the meantime, the prestige of Great Britain had been injured by three +petty and abortive expeditions projected by the Grenville ministry. The +first of these was sent out to complete the conquest of Buenos Ayres, +the recapture of which was unknown in England. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who +commanded it, finding himself too late to occupy that city, attacked and +took Monte Video by storm with much skill and spirit, on February 3, +1807. Shortly afterwards, he was superseded by General Whitelocke, +bringing reinforcements, with orders to recover Buenos Ayres. In this he +signally failed, owing to gross tactical errors. The British troops were +almost passively slaughtered in the streets, and Whitelocke agreed to +withdraw the remains of his force, and give up Monte Video, on condition +of all prisoners being surrendered. On his return home, he was tried by +a court-martial and cashiered, being also declared "totally unfit to +serve his majesty in any military capacity whatever". + +Equally ill-managed was the naval expedition, directed to support +Russia, then in close alliance with Great Britain, by coercing the +sultan into a rupture with France. Collingwood, who was not consulted, +was required to entrust the command of this expedition, which started in +February, 1807, to Sir John Duckworth. Everything depended on +promptitude, and the admiral found little difficulty in forcing the +passage of the Dardanelles, as it was then almost unfortified. Having +reached Constantinople, he allowed himself to waste time in fruitless +negotiations, contrary to Collingwood's earnest advice, and not only +effected nothing but gravely imperilled his return. Instructed by the +French minister Sébastiani, the Turks had armed their coasts, and +erected batteries along the Dardanelles, through which the British fleet +made its way with considerable loss. Instead of being detached from the +French alliance, the Porte was thrown into its arms and became more +embittered than ever against Russia. It was soon involved in a serious +conflict with that country--for the possession of Wallachia and +Moldavia--only to be deserted again by France under the compact made at +Tilsit. The expedition to Egypt, planned in combination with the +expedition to the Dardanelles, ended in a still worse disaster. Though +General Fraser, its commander, was able to surprise Alexandria on March +30, he awaited in vain the expected news of Duckworth's success; he +proceeded to attack Rosetta with as little generalship as Whitelocke had +shown at Buenos Ayres, and encountered a similar repulse. An attempt to +besiege the town met with no better fortune: the British troops +submitted to a capitulation, evacuated Egypt, and sailed for Sicily in +September, 1807. In an imperial manifesto addressed to the French nation +at the end of this year, the British failures at Buenos Ayres, +Constantinople, and Alexandria were paraded, together with our alleged +crime against the rights of nations at Copenhagen. + +In the early months of 1808 the continental system was extended by the +establishment of French administration at Rome, and the annexation of +the eastern ports of the Papal States to the kingdom of Italy. On +February 18 of the same year Austria under French pressure adopted the +system. Sweden and Turkey were now the only continental countries left +outside it, but the retention of Sicily by the Bourbon king rendered it +easy for British commerce to enter Italy through that island. The +irritation of neutrals increased as the area of commercial exclusion +widened, but the United States were now the only neutral power of any +consequence. After April 17 Napoleon took the high-handed step of +confiscating all American shipping in his ports. In spite of this +aggression, the president and congress of the United States continued to +favour France against Great Britain. The story of the commercial warfare +between Great Britain and the United States will be related more fully +hereafter. For the present, it is sufficient to mention that an act, +placing an embargo on foreign vessels in American ports, was passed by +congress on December 22, 1807, and another on March 1, 1809, forbidding +commercial intercourse with Great Britain and France and the colonies +occupied by them. + +Meanwhile Great Britain continued to enforce her maritime rights, +including that of searching American merchantmen for British-born +sailors, and impressing them at the will of British naval officers. +These grievances ultimately led to a war between Great Britain and +America in 1812. The continental system, however, did not long remain so +complete as in the beginning of 1808. Junot's expedition to Portugal had +led to a French occupation of that country before the end of 1807. The +conquest of Portugal was followed, as we shall see later, by a partial +conquest of Spain. This threw the Spaniards back upon the British +alliance and afforded an opportunity for the liberation of Portugal, so +that from May, 1808, Great Britain once more had a large seaboard open +to her commerce. The early success of the Spanish resistance to France, +and other events in the peninsula hereafter to be recorded, encouraged +Austria to arm again; and on the news of the capitulation of the French +army at Baylen in July, she pushed forward her preparations with +redoubled energy. A national movement arose simultaneously in North +Germany, but the Prussian government dared not head it so long as +Russia remained faithful to the French alliance. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON AT ERFURT._] + +Notwithstanding a peremptory declaration from the tsar after the seizure +of the Danish fleet, Russia had nothing to gain by war with Great +Britain. She was bound to France by the prospect held forth to her at +Tilsit of the conquest of Finland and the partition of Turkey, but she +was inwardly desirous of peace with Great Britain. Napoleon, on the +other hand, saw in the partition of Turkey an opportunity of striking at +India, and had actually given orders for naval preparations to be made +in Spain, when all thought of eastern conquest had to be postponed owing +to the success of the Spanish patriots. After a conference between +Napoleon and the tsar at Erfurt a secret convention was signed on +October 12, by which France sanctioned Russian conquests in Finland and +the Danubian provinces, and Russia recognised the Bonaparte dynasty in +Spain and promised to assist France in a defensive war against Austria. +The two powers despatched a joint note to Great Britain inviting her to +make peace, on the principle of _uti possidetis_. Canning replied that +he was prepared to negotiate if his allies, especially Sweden and the +Spanish patriots, who were at that time in actual possession of almost +the entire country, were included in the peace. On November 19 Napoleon +expressed his willingness to treat with the British allies, but not with +the Spanish "rebels," as he styled them. Alexander took up a similar +position, speaking of the Spanish "insurgents," and expressly +recognising Joseph as King of Spain. Thus ended these pacific overtures, +and on November 3 the official _exposé_, annually issued in Paris, +described Great Britain as "the enemy of the world". + +The year 1808 is memorable in English history for the active +intervention of Great Britain in the affairs of Spain which developed +into the "Peninsular war".[37] This intervention was rendered possible +and effective by the organisation of our army system in 1807, which was +due to Castlereagh, though he received little credit for it. Under this +system, the old constitutional force of the militia was made the basis +of the whole military establishment. By the militia balloting bill and +the militia transfer bill, that force, largely composed of substitutes, +and bound only to home-service, was practically converted into a +recruiting-ground for the regular army, and proved sufficient to make +good all the losses incurred during the long campaigns in Portugal and +Spain. The army thus raised contained, no doubt, many soldiers of bad +character, whose misdeeds, after the furious excitement of an escalade, +or under the heart-breaking stress of a retreat, sometimes brought +disgrace upon the British name. But these men, side by side with +steadier comrades, bore themselves like heroes on many a bloodstained +field; they quailed not before the conquering legions of Austerlitz and +Wagram; they could "go anywhere or do anything" under trusted leaders; +and they restored the military reputation of their country before the +eyes of Europe. To have forged such an instrument of war was no mean +administrative exploit. To have maintained its efficiency steadily on +the whole, though sometimes with a faint-hearted parsimony, and to have +loyally supported its commander against the cavils of a factious +opposition superior in parliamentary ability, for a period of seven +years, must be held to redeem the tory government from the charge of +political weakness. + +[Pageheading: _PARLIAMENTARY ZEAL._] + +At the beginning of 1809, however, the interest of parliament was less +concentrated on Sir Arthur Wellesley's first campaign in Portugal, or +even on the convention of Cintra, than on the scandals attaching to the +office of commander-in-chief, held by the Duke of York. Though an +incapable general, the duke had shown himself, on the whole, an +excellent administrator, and in the opinion of the best officers had +done much for the discipline and efficiency of the British army. +Unfortunately, Mrs. Clarke, his former mistress, had received bribes for +using her influence with the duke to procure military appointments. +Colonel Wardle, an obscure member of parliament, to whom Mrs. Clarke had +temporarily transferred herself after being discarded by the duke, +animated by a desire to damage the ministry, came forward with charges +directly implicating him in her corrupt practices, and incidentally +brought similar accusations against Portland and Eldon. The government +foolishly agreed to an inquiry on the Duke of York's behalf, and it was +conducted before a committee of the whole house, which sat from January +26 to March 20. In the course of this inquiry, Sir Arthur Wellesley +bore strong testimony in his favour, and the duke addressed a letter to +the speaker, declaring his innocence of corruption. Though Wardle and +his associates pressed for his dismissal, Perceval ultimately carried a +motion acquitting him not only of corruption but of connivance with +corruption. The majority, however, was small, and the duke thought it +necessary to resign on March 20, whereupon the house of commons decided +to proceed no further. A curious sequel of this case was an action +against Wardle by an upholsterer, who had furnished a house for Mrs. +Clarke by Wardle's orders, in consideration of her services in giving +hostile evidence against her former protector. The plaintiff obtained +£2,000 damages, and the law-suit was the means of producing a reaction +in popular feeling in favour of the duke. + +This scandal in high places quickened the zeal of parliament for general +purity of administration, and led to a disclosure of some grave abuses. +One of these, connected with the disposal of captured Dutch property, +dated as far back as 1795. Others were found to exist in the navy +department and the distribution of Indian patronage; others related to +parliamentary elections. Perceval brought in a bill to check the sale +and brokerage of offices, nor did Castlereagh himself escape the charge +of having procured the election of Lord Clancarty to parliament by the +offer of an Indian writership to a borough-monger. A frank explanation +saved him from censure, especially as it appeared that the offer had +never taken effect. The charge was renewed, in a different form, against +both him and Perceval, and their accusers moved for a trial at bar. But +as it turned out that undue influence rather than corruption was their +alleged offence, and as the avowed object of the resolution was to force +on parliamentary reform, it was negatived by an immense majority. +Nevertheless, the object was not wholly defeated. + +The removal of the Duke of York from the command of the army was +singularly inopportune, for Sir David Dundas had scarcely been appointed +as his successor when a juncture arose specially demanding a combination +of energy and experience. The British government, already engaged in the +Peninsular war, had at last resolved to take a vigorous part in the new +and desperate struggle between France and Austria in Southern Germany. +The latent spirit of German nationality, aroused by Napoleon's ruthless +treatment of Prussia, and quickened into a flame by sympathy with the +uprising in Spain, was embodied in the secret association of the +_Tugendbund_; and Austria, smarting under a sense of her own +humiliation, mustered up courage to assume the leadership of a national +movement. South Germany, governed by old dynasties, which profited by +the French alliance, displayed as yet no symptoms of disaffection to +France; but in North Germany the old dynasties had been either humbled +or deposed, and the general ferment among the people, needed, as the +Austrians believed, only the presence of a regular army to break out +into a national revolt against the foreigner. Prussia, it is true, was +still unwilling to move, because Russia was hostile; but the Austrian +court knew well the lukewarmness of Russia's attachment to France, and +hoped that a national upheaval would carry the Prussian government along +with it. No one, in fact, had played a more active part in rousing +Northern Germany than the Prussian minister, Stein, whom Frederick +William, by Napoleon's advice, had called to his councils after Tilsit, +and who was now compelled to resign his office and take refuge in +Austria. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON IN AUSTRIA._] + +The British government was aware of the situation in Germany when it +received a request in January, 1809, for the despatch of a British force +to the mouth of the Elbe. Austria was, however, still nominally at war +with Great Britain, and George III., perhaps not unreasonably, refused +to give her active military assistance till peace was concluded. +Meanwhile a subsidy of £250,000 in bullion was despatched to Trieste, +and inquiries were set on foot as to the means of supplying such a +military expedition as Austria desired.[38] On March 22, Dundas, who had +only been a few days in office as commander-in-chief, reported that +15,000 men could not be spared from home service, and, in consequence, +no extensive preparations were made until the muster rolls in June +showed that 40,000 troops might safely be employed abroad. This +convinced the government that a large force could be sent without +interfering with home defence, as Castlereagh had long contended; and +throughout June and July the naval and military departments were busy in +preparing for what has since left a sinister memory as the Walcheren +expedition. Meanwhile, as if the passion of frittering away resources +were irresistible, a smaller force was despatched, as a kind of feint, +against the kingdom of Naples. It consisted of 15,000 British troops and +a body of Sicilians. Bailing from Palermo early in June it captured the +islands of Ischia and Procida and the castle of Scylla, and threw Naples +into consternation. But the attack was not pushed, and it was too late +to be of any assistance to the Austrians who had already been expelled +from the Italian peninsula. At last, in July, the treaty of peace with +Austria was signed and the great armament was ready to sail. + +But Napoleon had not awaited the deliberations of British statesmen. +Hurrying back from Spain, he remained in Paris only long enough to +organise a campaign in South Germany, and left the capital to join his +armies on April 13. A week earlier, the Archduke Charles, having +remodelled the Austrian army, issued a proclamation affirming Austria to +be the champion of European liberty. On the 9th Austria declared war +against Bavaria, the ally of France, and her troops crossed the Inn. On +the 17th, when Napoleon arrived at Donauwörth, he found the archduke in +occupation of Ratisbon. His presence turned the tide, and, after three +victories, he was once more on the road to Vienna. The most important of +these victories was that of Eckmühl, and he regarded the manoeuvre by +which it was won as the finest in his military career. On May 13 the +French entered Vienna, but the Archduke Charles with an army of nearly +200,000 men was facing him on the left bank of the Danube. Napoleon's +army crossed and encountered the Austrians on the great plain between +Aspern and Essling. He was repulsed and fell back upon Lobau, between +which and the Vienna side of the Danube the bridge of boats had been +swept away by a rise of the river and by balks of timber floated down by +the Austrians. In this dangerous position he remained shut up for +several weeks. He finally succeeded in throwing across a light bridge by +which his army regained the left bank on the night of July 4. Finding +their position turned the Austrians took up their stand on the tableland +of Wagram. On July 6 another pitched battle was fought, which, in the +number of combatants engaged and in the losses inflicted on both sides, +must rank with the later conflicts of Borodino and Leipzig. A hard won +victory rested with the French, but it was not such a victory as that of +Austerlitz or Jena, though it secured the neutrality, at least, of +Austria for the next four years. Her army retreated into Bohemia, and on +July 12 an armistice was signed at Znaim in Moravia, which formed the +basis of a peace concluded at Vienna on October 14. + +Nothing remained for Great Britain but to abandon the auxiliary +enterprise so long planned, but so often delayed, or to carry it through +independently, with little hope of a decisive issue. The latter +alternative was adopted. The very day on which the news of the armistice +arrived witnessed the departure of the greatest single armament ever +sent out fully equipped from the shores of Great Britain. The deplorable +failure of the Walcheren expedition has obscured both its magnitude and +its probable importance had it only proved successful. The command of +the fleet was given to Sir Richard Strachan, a competent admiral; that +of the army to Chatham, who sat in the cabinet as master-general of the +ordnance, an incompetent general, who owed his nomination to royal +favour. This was the first blunder; the second was the utter neglect of +medical and sanitary precautions against the notoriously unhealthy +climate of Walcheren in the autumn months. The armament sailed from the +Downs on July 28, in the finest weather and with a display of intense +national enthusiasm. It consisted of thirty-five ships of the line, with +a swarm of smaller war-vessels and transports, carrying nearly 40,000 +troops, two battering-trains, and a complete apparatus of military +stores. Its destination, though more than suspected by the enemy, had +been officially kept secret at home. Castlereagh must be held largely +responsible for the delays and for the unwise choice of a general which +marred its success, but he showed true military sagacity in designating +the point of attack. Inspired by him, the British government, +distrusting the national movement in North Germany, had decided to +strike at Antwerp, which Napoleon had supplied with new docks, and +which, now that the mouth of the Scheldt had been reopened, threatened +to become the commercial rival of London. The town was entirely +unprepared, and a blow dealt here seemed the best way of doing as much +harm as possible to France and at the same time gaining a national +advantage for Great Britain. + +[Pageheading: _THE WALCHEREN EXPEDITION._] + +Chatham had received very precise instructions from Castlereagh, the +objects prescribed to him being, (1) the capture or destruction of the +enemy's ships, either building or afloat at Antwerp or Flushing, or +afloat in the Scheldt; (2) the destruction of the arsenals and dockyards +at Antwerp, Terneuze, and Flushing; (3) the reduction of the island of +Walcheren; (4) the rendering of the Scheldt no longer navigable to ships +of war. These objects were named, as far as possible, in the order of +their importance, and Chatham was specially directed to land troops at +Sandvliet and push on straight to Antwerp, with the view of taking it by +a _coup de main_. Napoleon, who clearly foretold the catastrophe +awaiting the British troops in the malarious swamps of Walcheren, +afterwards admitted that Antwerp could have been captured by a sudden +assault. Chatham obeyed his general orders, but, instead of taking them +in the order of importance, gave precedence to the objects which could +most easily be accomplished. By prompt action the French fleet, which +was moored off Flushing, might have been captured, but it was allowed to +escape to Antwerp. By August 2 the British were in complete possession +of the mouth of the Scheldt, and had taken Bath opposite Sandvliet, +while Antwerp was still almost unprotected. But Chatham concentrated his +attention on the siege of Flushing, which surrendered, after three days' +bombardment, on August 16, contrary to Napoleon's expectation. Antwerp +had meanwhile been put in a state of defence, and was now protected by +the enemy's fleet, while French and Dutch troops were pouring down to +the Scheldt. After ten days of inactivity, Chatham advanced his +headquarters to Bath, found that further advance was impossible, and +recommended the government to recall the expedition, leaving 15,000 men +to defend the island of Walcheren. This advice was adopted, but the +garrison left in Walcheren suffered most severely from fever in that +swampy island. Eventually, on December 24, Walcheren was abandoned, the +works and naval basins of Flushing having been previously destroyed. The +destruction of Flushing was the sole result of this expedition. + +The failure of the British to make any serious impression on the French +either in the Low Countries or in Spain induced Austria to consent to +peace with France. By the peace of Vienna, signed on October 14, she +ceded Salzburg and a part of Upper Austria to Bavaria, West Galicia to +the duchy of Warsaw, and a part of Carinthia with Trieste and the +Illyrian provinces to France. A small strip of Galicia was ceded to the +Russian tsar, who had rendered France some very half-hearted assistance +and was further alienated by the extension of the duchy of Warsaw. +Austria was enslaved to the will of Napoleon. She had abandoned the +Tyrolese peasants whose loyal insurrection against the Bavarians was the +most heroic incident in the war, and she now joined the other nations of +the continent in excluding the commerce of Great Britain, which had made +a powerful diversion in Spain and an imposing though futile diversion on +the Scheldt to save her from national annihilation. + +While the Walcheren expedition was preparing, two additions were made to +the cabinet. Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, brother of the Marquis of +Stafford, was admitted in June as secretary at war, and in July +Harrowby, who was created an earl, became president of the board of +control with a seat in the cabinet. After the fate of the expedition +became known, though before its final withdrawal, a serious quarrel took +place between Canning and Castlereagh. Personal jealousies had long +existed between these two statesmen, both half-Irish, half-English, and +of approximately the same age, yet widely different in character. +Canning was the most brilliant orator of his day, and no less persuasive +in private conversation than in public orations, gifted with an agile +brain that leaped readily from one idea or one project to another, but +cursed with a bitter wit which lightly aroused enduring enmities, and +which, coupled with an excessive vanity, rendered him unpopular with his +colleagues, and made it difficult for any one to take him seriously; +while his rival, not less able, and much more steady and trustworthy, a +skilful manager of men, was scarcely able to pronounce a coherent +sentence. Early in April Canning pressed upon the Duke of Portland the +transfer of Castlereagh to another office. Private communications +followed between various members of the cabinet, and it was understood +that Camden, as Castlereagh's friend, should apprise him of the +prevailing view, which the king himself had approved under a threat of +Canning's resignation. The duke, however, begged Camden to postpone the +disclosure, and others of Castlereagh's friends urged Canning not to +insist upon the change pending the completion of the Walcheren +expedition. + +[Pageheading: _DUEL BETWEEN CANNING AND CASTLEREAGH._] + +As the scheme took shape in July Camden was to resign, and thus make +possible a shifting of offices, which was to result in the Marquis +Wellesley succeeding Castlereagh as secretary for war. At last, on +September 6, the duke informed Canning of his own intention to retire on +the ground of ill-health, and at the same time disclosed the fact that +no steps had been taken to prepare Castlereagh for the proposed change +in his position. Thereupon Canning promptly sent in his own resignation, +the duke resigned the same day, and Castlereagh, learning what had +passed, followed his example two days later.[39] Believing that Canning +had been intriguing against him behind his back, under the guise of +friendship, he demanded satisfaction on the 19th, and on the 21st[40] +the duel was fought, in which Canning received a slight wound. Such +events provoked little censure in those days, and it is pleasant to +know that Canning and Castlereagh afterwards acted cordially together as +colleagues. Their enmity broke up the government. The Duke of Portland +did not long survive his withdrawal from office, and died on October 29; +Leveson-Gower insisted on following Canning into retirement. + +Perceval was entrusted with the task of forming an administration, but +the new ministry was not formed without considerable negotiation. +Canning vainly endeavoured to impress first on his colleagues and then +on the king his own pretensions to the highest office, while attempts, +to which the king gave a reluctant assent, had been made to enlist the +co-operation of Grenville and Howick, who succeeded his father as Earl +Grey, in 1807, but they failed as all later attempts were destined to +fail. The most influential motive governing their conduct was, +doubtless, their feeling that they would not as ministers possess the +king's confidence. Sidmouth's following had also been approached. +Sidmouth himself was considered too obnoxious to some of Pitt's +followers to be a safe member of the new cabinet, but Vansittart was +offered the chancellorship of the exchequer and Bragge, who had taken +the additional surname of Bathurst, the office of secretary at war. They +refused, however, to enter the ministry, unless accompanied by Sidmouth +himself. + +Perceval eventually became prime minister, retaining his former offices; +Lord Bathurst, while remaining at the board of trade, presided +temporarily at the foreign office, which was offered to the Marquis +Wellesley, then serving as British ambassador to the Spanish junta at +Seville, and taken over by him in December. Hawkesbury, now Earl of +Liverpool, succeeded Castlereagh as secretary for war and the colonies, +and was followed at the home office by Richard Ryder, a brother of +Harrowby. Harrowby himself gave up the board of control in November to +Melville's son, Robert Dundas, who, however, was not made a member of +the cabinet. Lord Palmerston, who had been a junior lord of the +admiralty under Portland, declined the chancellorship of the exchequer, +and though he accepted Leveson-Gower's post as secretary at war, he was +by his own desire excluded from the cabinet. + +[Pageheading: _NEW BRITISH CONQUESTS._] + +While the close of the year 1809 was darkened by national +disappointment and political anxieties, the honour of British arms had +been amply vindicated in the Spanish peninsula, and the brilliant +exploit of Lord Cochrane in Basque Roads had recalled the glories of the +Nile. Cochrane had already achieved marvels under Collingwood in the +Mediterranean, and notably off the Spanish coast, when he was selected +to conduct an attack by fireships on the French squadron blockaded under +the shelter of the islands of Aix and Oléron. This he carried out on the +night of April 11, with a dash and skill worthy of Nelson, and unless +checked by Gambier, the admiral in command, who had been raised to the +peerage after the seizure of the Danish fleet in 1807, he must have +succeeded in destroying the whole of the enemy's ships. Gambier was +afterwards acquitted by a court martial of negligence, but the verdict +of the public was against him. In the autumn Collingwood reduced the +seven Ionian islands, and gained an important advantage by cutting out a +considerable detachment of the Toulon fleet in the Bay of Genoa. In the +course of the year, too, all the remaining French territory in the West +Indies, as well as the Isle of Bourbon in the Indian Ocean, was captured +by the British navy. But this unchallenged supremacy on the high seas +did not prevent the depredations of French gunboats on British +merchantmen in the channel. Indeed after the battle of Trafalgar, the +French "sea-wasps" infesting the Channel were more active and +destructive than ever. + +On October 25, being the forty-ninth anniversary of his accession, the +jubilee of George III. was celebrated with hearty and sincere +rejoicings. His popularity was not unmerited. He was politically +shortsighted, but within his range of vision few saw facts so clearly; +he was obstinate and prejudiced, but his obstinacy was redeemed by a +moral intrepidity of the highest order, and his prejudices were shared +by the mass of his people. Having lived through the seven years' war, +the war of the American revolution, and the successive wars of Great +Britain against the French monarchy and the French republic, he was now +supporting, with indomitable firmness, a war against the all-conquering +French empire--the most perilous in which this country was ever engaged. +The colonial and Indian dominions of Great Britain, reduced by the loss +of the North American colonies, had been greatly extended during his +reign in other quarters of the globe. His subjects regarded him as an +Englishman to the core; they knew him to be honest, religious, virtuous, +and homely in his life; they justly believed him, in spite of his +failings, to be a power for good in the land; and they rewarded him with +a respect and affection granted to no other British sovereign of modern +times before Queen Victoria. They had good cause to desire the +continuance of his life and reason, knowing the character of his +heir-apparent, and contrasting the domestic habits of Windsor with the +licence of Carlton House. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[31] Colchester, _Diary_ (Feb. 4, 1806), ii., 35, 36. + +[32] Holland, _Memoirs of the Whig Party_, ii., 91-94. + +[33] Holland, _Memoirs of the Whig Party,_ ii., 173-205, 270-320; +Colchester, _Diary_, ii., 92-115; Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iv., 357-72; +Walpole, _Life of Perceval_, i., 223-33; Buckingham, _Courts and +Cabinets_, iv., 117-50. Holland accuses the king of treachery and +duplicity, and Lewis (_Administrations of Great Britain_, p. 294) +repeats this charge in milder terms. But the documents quoted do not +prove any want of straightforwardness, and the king's conduct was the +logical consequence of his action in 1801. + +[34] In the following year Napoleon consented to evacuate all the +Prussian fortresses except three, on condition that the Prussian army +should not exceed a total of 40,000 men. + +[35] _Annual Register_, xlix. (1807), 249-70, 731-38; Rose, in _English +Historical Review_, xi. (1896), 82-92. + +[36] Captain Mahan, _The Influence of Sea Power upon the French +Revolution and Empire_, ii., 272-357, shows that the policy of the +orders in council was essential to British safety. + +[37] The course of this war is related continuously in chap. v. + +[38] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 190, note. + +[39] The best account of the quarrel, especially in its relation to the +composition of the cabinet, is to be found in Walpole's _Life of +Perceval_, vol. i., chap. ix., and vol. ii., chap. i. Lewis, +_Administrations_, pp. 314-15, finds a double ground for Canning's +resignation in his failure to obtain the removal of Castlereagh from the +war office and in the refusal of the king and cabinet to allow him to +succeed Portland as prime minister. It is quite clear, however, that at +the time of Canning's resignation no decision had been come to about a +successor to Portland. Some correspondence had passed between Canning +and Perceval, in which each had refused to serve under the other, but +that this correspondence was unknown to the cabinet as a whole is proved +by Mulgrave's letters to Lord Lonsdale of September 11 and 15 (Phipps, +_Memoir of Ward_, pp. 210-17); in the former of these he discusses +Canning's probable conduct without referring to this correspondence, +while in the latter he only knows of such negotiations as subsequent to +the resignations of September 6 and 8. So, too, Eldon's letter to his +wife of September 11 (Twiss, _Life of Eldon_, ii., 88-90), places the +whole correspondence between Canning and Perceval after Portland's +resignation on September 6. The king was not informed of Canning's views +as to a successor to Portland till September 13, and the cabinet minute +of September 18, advising co-operation with Grenville and Grey, mentions +the selection of Canning as prime minister as a course open to the king. + +[40] This is the date commonly given. The _Annual Register_, li. (1809), +239, gives the 22nd, while Perceval refers to the result of the duel in +a letter dated the 20th (Colchester, _Diary_, ii., 209). It is clear, +however, that Canning did not receive Castlereagh's challenge till the +morning of the 20th (see his letter in _Annual Register_, _loc. cit._, +505, also his detailed statement to Camden, _ibid._, 525), and therefore +the duel cannot have taken place till the 21st. Lord Folkestone in a +letter dated the 21st refers to the duel as having been fought at "7 +o'clock this morning" (_Creevey Papers_, i., 96). + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + PERCEVAL AND LIVERPOOL. + + +The administration of Perceval, covering the period from October, 1809, +to May, 1812, coincided with a lull in the continental war save in the +Peninsula, though it saw no pause in the progress of French annexation. +Nor was it marked by many events of historical interest in domestic +affairs. When parliament was opened on January 23, 1810, it was natural +that attention should chiefly be devoted to the Walcheren expedition, +which the opposition illogically and unscrupulously contrived to use to +disparage the operations of Sir Arthur Wellesley, now Viscount +Wellington, in Spain. Grenville, who argued with some reason that 40,000 +British troops could have been employed to far better purpose in North +Germany, would have been on stronger ground if he had complained that +for want of them the British army had been unable to occupy Madrid. +Castlereagh, indeed, had confessed to Wellesley that he could not spare +the necessary reinforcements, after the reserves had been exhausted in +Walcheren; but it is by no means certain that Wellesley could have +collected provisions enough to feed a much larger force, or specie +enough to pay for them. Liverpool was driven in reply to Grenville to +magnify the value of the capture of Flushing, as the necessary basis of +the naval armaments which Napoleon had intended to launch against +England from the Scheldt. The government was also defended by the young +Robert Peel, lately elected to parliament. As the calamity was +irreparable, a committee of the whole house spent most of its time on a +constitutional question, regarding a private memorandum placed before +the king by Chatham in his own defence. So irregular a proceeding was +properly condemned, and Chatham resigned the mastership of the ordnance, +but the policy of the Walcheren expedition was approved by a vote of the +house of commons. Mulgrave received the office Chatham had vacated, and +was himself succeeded by Yorke at the admiralty. + +Parliament was next occupied by a question of privilege, in which Sir +Francis Burdett, member for Westminster, then a favourite of the +democracy, played a part resembling that of John Wilkes a generation +earlier. Burdett had been for fourteen years a member of parliament, and +had been conspicuous from the first for the vehemence of his opposition +to the government, and more especially to its supposed infringements of +the liberty of the subject. He had more recently taken an active part on +behalf of Wardle's attack on the Duke of York and had supported the +charges of ministerial corruption in the previous session. On the +present occasion one John Gale Jones, president of a debating club, had +published in a notice of debate the terms of a resolution which his club +had passed, condemning in extravagant language the exclusion of +strangers from the house of commons. This was treated as a breach of +privilege, and Jones was sent to Newgate by order of the house itself. +Burdett, in a violent letter to Cobbett's _Register_, challenged the +right of the house to imprison Jones by its own authority, and, after a +fierce debate lasting two nights, was adjudged by the house, on April 5, +to have been guilty of a still more scandalous libel. Accordingly, the +speaker issued a warrant for his committal to the Tower. Burdett +declared his resolution to resist arrest, the populace mustered in his +defence, the riot act was read, and he was conveyed to prison by a +strong military escort, on whose return more serious riots broke out, +and were not quelled without bloodshed. On his release at the end of the +session a repetition of these scenes was prevented by the simple +expedient of bringing him home by water. During his imprisonment he +wrote an offensive letter to the speaker, and his colleague, Lord +Cochrane, presented a violently worded petition from his Westminster +constituents. In the following year he sued the speaker and the +sergeant-at-arms in the court of king's bench, which decided against him +on the ground that a power of commitment was necessary for the +maintenance of the dignity of the house of commons, and its decision +was confirmed, on appeal, by the court of exchequer chamber and the +house of lords. + +[Pageheading: _THE CURRENCY QUESTION._] + +The most important subject of internal policy discussed in the session +of 1810 was the state of the currency. Since 1797 cash payments had been +suspended, the issue of banknotes had been nearly doubled, and the price +of commodities had risen enormously. Whether these results had in their +turn promoted the expansion of foreign commerce and internal industry +was vigorously disputed by two rival schools of economists. The one +thing certain was the increasing scarcity of specie, and the serious +loss incurred in its provision for the service of the army in the +Peninsula. Francis Horner, then rising to eminence, obtained the +appointment of what became known as the "bullion committee" to inquire +into the anomalous conditions thus created, and took a leading part in +the preparation of its celebrated report, published on September 20. The +committee arrived at the conclusion that the high price of gold was +mainly due to excess in the paper-currency, and not, as alleged, to a +drain of gold for the continental war. They attributed that excess to +"the want of a sufficient check and control in the issues of paper from +the Bank of England, and originally to the suspension of cash-payments, +which removed the natural and true control". While allowing that paper +could not be rendered suddenly convertible into specie without +dislocating the entire business of the country, they recommended that an +early provision should be made by parliament for terminating the +suspension of cash-payments at the end of two years. These conclusions +were combated by Castlereagh and Vansittart, who afterwards, in 1811, +succeeded in carrying several counter-resolutions, of which the general +effect was to explain the admitted rise in the price of gold, for the +most part by the exclusion of British trade from the continent, and the +consequent export of the precious metals in lieu of British +manufactures. The last resolution, while it recognised the wisdom of +restoring cash-payments as soon as it could safely be done, affirmed it +to be "highly inexpedient and dangerous to fix a definite period for the +removal of the restriction on cash-payments prior to the conclusion of a +definitive treaty of peace". These counsels prevailed, and the +restriction was not actually removed until Peel's act was passed in +July, 1819. + +The last domestic event in the inglorious annals of 1810 was the final +lapse of the king into mental derangement in the month of November. For +more than six years his sight had been failing, but he had suffered no +return of insanity since 1804. Now he lost both his sight and his +reason. This event, impending for some time, was precipitated by the +illness and death of the Princess Amelia, his favourite daughter, and +was perhaps aggravated by the Walcheren expedition and the disgrace of +the Duke of York. Parliament met on November 1, and was adjourned more +than once before a committee was appointed to examine the royal +physicians. Acting on their report, the ministers proposed and carried +resolutions declaring the king's incapacity, and the right and duty of +the two houses to provide for the emergency. It was also determined to +define by act of parliament the powers to be exercised in the king's +name and behalf. This implied a limitation of the regent's authority, +and was resented by the Prince of Wales and his friends. Perceval, +however, was able to rely on the precedent of 1788, to which Grenville, +for one, had been a party, and, after considerable opposition, the +prince was made regent under several temporary restrictions. With +certain exceptions, he was precluded from granting any peerage or office +tenable for life; the royal property was vested in trustees for the +king's benefit, and the personal care of the king was entrusted to the +queen, with the advice of a council. In this form, the regency bill was +passed on February 4, 1811, after a protest from the other sons of +George III. and violent attacks upon Eldon by Grenville and Grey. On the +5th, the regent took the oaths before the privy council, but, in +accepting the restrictions, he delicately expressed regret that he +should not have been trusted to impose upon himself proper limitations +for the exercise of royal patronage. The interregnum thus established +was to be provisional only, and was to cease on February 1, 1812, but +the queen and her private council, with the concurrence of the privy +council, were empowered to annul it at any time, by announcing the +king's recovery, when he could resume his powers by proclamation. + +[Pageheading: _THE REGENCY BILL._] + +The hopes of the opposition had been greatly excited by the prospect of +a regency, and it was generally expected that a change of ministry would +be its immediate consequence. Private communications had, in fact, +passed between the prince and the whig lords, Grenville and Grey, but +they were rendered nugatory by the dictatorial tone assumed by those +lords and by the unwillingness of the prince to dispense with the advice +of Moira and Sheridan. The two whig lords had by the prince's desire +prepared a reply to the address from the houses of parliament, +preparatory to the regency bill. Grenville had voted in favour of the +restriction on the creation of peers, and it is therefore not surprising +that the reply which he and Grey drafted appeared to the prince too weak +in its protest against the limitations. He therefore adopted in its +stead another reply which Sheridan had composed for him. The two lords +thereupon addressed to the prince a remonstrance, which practically +claimed for themselves the right of responsible ministers to be the sole +advisers of their prince. This remonstrance provoked the ridicule of +Sheridan, and certainly did not please the prince, who since the fall of +the Grenville ministry had refused to be regarded as a "party man". The +regent, accordingly, gave Perceval to understand that he intended to +retain his present ministers, but solely on the ground that he was +unwilling to do anything which might retard his father's recovery, or +distress him when he should come to himself. This reason was probably +genuine. The king appeared to be recovering; he had had several +interviews with Perceval and Eldon, and had made inquiries as to the +prince's intentions. Soon, however, the malady took a turn for the +worse, and the physicians came to the conclusion that it was +permanent.[41] + +Before February, 1812, when the restrictions expired, and a permanent +regency bill was passed, the prince drifted further away from his former +advisers, and had been pacified by the loyal attitude of Perceval and +Eldon. Further overtures were conveyed to the whig lords through a +letter from the prince regent to the Duke of York, in which he declared +that he had "no predilections to indulge or resentments to gratify," but +only a concern for the public good, towards which he desired the +co-operation of some of his old whig friends, indicating Grenville and +Grey. They declined in a letter to the Duke of York, alleging +differences on grounds of policy too deep to admit of a coalition. +Eldon, on his part, expressed a similar conviction, but the regent never +fully forgave what he regarded as their desertion. Wellesley, who was +strongly opposed to Perceval's policy of maintaining the catholic +disabilities, resigned the secretaryship of foreign affairs, protesting +against the feeble support given to his brother in the Peninsula, and +was succeeded by Castlereagh. In April Sidmouth became president of the +council in place of Camden, who remained in the cabinet without office; +and in the next month, on May 11, Perceval was assassinated in the lobby +of the house of commons by a man named Bellingham, who had an imaginary +grievance against the government. + +A very general and sincere tribute of respect was paid by the house to +Perceval's memory, for, though his statesmanship was of the second +order, he was far more than a tory partisan; he was an excellent +debater, and a thoroughly honest politician, and his private character +was above all reproach or suspicion. The cabinet was bewildered by his +death, and a fresh attempt was made to strengthen it by the simple +inclusion of Canning as well as Wellesley. Wellesley stipulated that the +catholic question should be left open, and that the war should be +prosecuted with the entire resources of the country, while Canning +declined co-operation on the ground of the catholic question alone. No +agreement being found possible, the house of commons stepped in and +addressed the regent, begging him to form a strong and efficient +administration, commanding the confidence of all classes. He replied by +sending for Wellesley, offering him the premiership and entrusting him +with the formation of a comprehensive ministry; but Wellesley soon found +that Liverpool and his adherents would not serve under him at all, while +Grenville and Grey, who secretly condemned the Peninsular war, would +only serve on conditions which he could not grant. Once more, the regent +treated directly with these haughty whigs, now including Moira, to whom +he committed the task of forming an administration. Grenville and Grey +raised difficulties about the appointments in the royal household, which +they wished to include in the political changes, and the negotiation was +broken off. The regent at last fell back on Liverpool, a capable and +conciliatory minister, who adopted Perceval's colleagues, and a spell of +tory administration set in which remained unbroken for no less than +fifteen years. Had more tact been shown on all sides, had the whigs been +less peremptory in their demands, and had the trivial household question +never arisen, the course of the war, if not of European history, might, +whether for good or evil, have been profoundly modified. + +[Pageheading: _SOCIAL REFORMS._] + +During the later period of Perceval's administration, from 1811 to 1812, +the strife of politics had been mainly concentrated on the regency +question, the chance of ministerial changes, and the fortunes of the war +in Spain. But it must not be supposed that social questions were +neglected, even in the darkest days of the war, however meagre the +legislative fruits may appear. Session after session, Romilly pressed +forward reforms of the criminal law, the institution of penitential +houses in the nature of reformatories, and the abolition of state +lotteries. Others laboured, and with greater success, to remedy the +delays and reduce the arrears in the court of chancery. Constant efforts +were made to expose defalcations in the revenue, to curtail exorbitant +salaries, and to put down electioneering corruption. In 1809 Erskine +introduced a bill for the prevention of cruelty to animals. In 1810 +there were earnest, if somewhat futile, debates on spiritual +destitution, the non-residence and poverty of the clergy, and the +scarcity of places of worship. Moreover, early in 1811, a premonitory +symptom of the repeal movement caused some anxiety in Ireland. It took +the form of a scheme for a representative assembly to sit in Dublin, and +manage the affairs of the Roman catholic population, under colour of +framing petitions to parliament, and seeking redress of grievances. It +was, of course, to consist of Roman catholics only, and to include Roman +catholic bishops. The Irish government wisely suppressed the scheme, and +Perceval justified their action, on the ground that a representative +assembly in Dublin, with such aims in view, bordered upon an illicit +legislature. + +Except for the war in the Spanish peninsula, and the war between Russia +and the Porte on the Danube, the year 1810 was marked by undisturbed +peace throughout the continent of Europe. France continued to make +annexations, but they were at the expense of her allies, not of her +enemies. Her supremacy was signalised in a striking way by the marriage +of her _parvenu_ emperor, whose divorce the pope still refused to +recognise, with Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. Though +thirteen out of twenty-six cardinals present in Paris declined to attend +it, this marriage was a masterstroke of Talleyrand's diplomacy; it +secured the benevolent neutrality of Austria for the next three years, +and weakened the counsels of the allies during the negotiations of +1814-15. But it went far to estrange the Tsar of Russia, who, though he +had courteously declined Napoleon's overtures for the hand of his own +sister, was greatly offended on discovering that another matrimonial +alliance had been contracted by his would-be brother-in-law before his +reply could be received. + +It was only within the limits of the French empire that Napoleon's +authority had been sufficient to enforce the rigorous exclusion of +British goods. His allies, including Sweden, which closed her ports to +British products in January, 1810, and declared war on Great Britain in +the following November, had adopted the continental system; but +administrative weakness, and the obvious interest that every people had +in its infraction, rendered its operation partial. Napoleon, determined +to enforce the system in spite of every obstacle, met this difficulty by +placing in immediate subjection to the French crown the territories +where British goods were imported. The first ally to suffer was his own +brother, Louis, King of Holland. His refusal to enforce Napoleon's +orders against the admission of British goods was followed at once by a +forced cession of part of Holland to France and the establishment of +French control at the custom houses, and shortly afterwards by the +despatch of French troops into Holland and its annexation to France on +July 9, 1810. In December the French dominion over the North Sea coast +was extended by the annexation of a corner of Germany, including the +coast as far as the Danish frontier, and the town of Lübeck on the +Baltic. As a result of this annexation, the duchy of Oldenburg, held by +a branch of the Russian imperial family, ceased to exist. The act was a +conspicuous breach of the treaty of Tilsit, which Napoleon considered +himself at liberty to disregard, as Russia had shown by her conduct +during the campaign of 1809 that she was no longer more than a nominal +ally of France. At last, on January 12, 1811, Russia asserted her +independence in fiscal matters by an order which declared her ports open +to all vessels sailing under a neutral flag, and imposed a duty on many +French products. Still the course of French annexation crept onwards, +and quietly absorbed the republic of Vallais in Switzerland, which had +been a great centre of smuggling. + +[Pageheading: _THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM._] + +Meanwhile, the restrictions and prohibitions which formed the +continental system were made more and more severe. By the Trianon tariff +of August, 1810, heavy duties were levied on colonial products, and by +the Fontainebleau decree of October 18 all goods of British origin were +to be seized and publicly burned. In November a special tribunal was +created to try offenders against the continental system. Nevertheless, +the fiscal and foreign policy of France at this date alike show how far +the continental system had failed in its object, and to what extreme +lengths it had become necessary to push it in order to give it a chance +of success. The strain of the system on English commerce was immense, +but the burden fell far more heavily on the continental nations. +Colonial produce rose to enormous prices in France, Germany, and Italy, +especially after the introduction of the Trianon tariff, and a subject +or ally of the French emperor had to pay ten times as much for his +morning cup of coffee as his enemy in London. The German opposition to +Napoleon had failed in 1809 mainly through the political apathy of the +German nation. Napoleon's fiscal measures were the surest way of +bringing that apathy to an end, and converting it into hostility. + +The events of December, 1810, and January, 1811, constituted a distinct +breach between France and Russia, which could only end in war, unless +one party or the other should withdraw from its position. A few months +sufficed to show that no such withdrawal would take place; but neither +power was prepared for war, and seventeen months elapsed after the +breach before hostilities began. The intervening period was spent in +negotiation and preparation. Much depended on the alliances that the +rival powers might be able to contract. Although Napoleon had bound +himself not to restore Poland, he had by the creation and subsequent +enlargement of the duchy of Warsaw given it a semblance of national +unity, and had inspired the Poles with the hope of a more complete +independence. The Polish troops were among the most devoted in the +French army, and the position of their country rendered the support of +the Poles a matter of great importance in any war with Russia. It +occurred to the Tsar Alexander that he might win their support for +himself by a restoration of Poland, under the suzerainty of Russia. He +promised Czartoryski the restoration of the eight provinces under a +guarantee of autonomy, and undertook to obtain the cession of Galicia. +On February 13, 1811, he made a secret offer to Austria of a part of +Moldavia in exchange for Galicia. Nothing came of this, but the massing +of Russian troops on the Polish frontier in March was met by the hurried +advance of French troops through Germany, and war seemed imminent until +Russia postponed the struggle by withdrawing her troops. + +Meanwhile, other European powers looked forward to selling their +alliance on the best possible terms. Sweden and Prussia both approached +the stronger power first. Bernadotte, on behalf of Sweden, was prepared +for a French alliance if France would favour the Swedish acquisition of +Norway. Napoleon, on February 25, not only refused these terms, but +ordered Sweden to enforce the continental system under pain of a French +occupation of Swedish Pomerania. This threat Sweden ventured to ignore. +Prussia, lying directly between the two future belligerents, was in a +more dangerous position. Neutrality was impossible, because her +neutrality would not be respected. She first offered her alliance to +Napoleon in return for a reduction of the payments due to France and a +removal of the limit imposed on her army. Napoleon did not reply to this +offer at once. Meanwhile the movement of French troops already mentioned +and the increase of the French garrisons on the Oder, though primarily +intended for the defence of Poland, caused great alarm in Prussia and +resulted in preparations to resist a French attack. In July Napoleon +finally refused to discuss the Prussian terms. Ever since his marriage +he had been inclined more and more to an Austrian alliance. On March 26 +of this year Otto, his ambassador at Vienna, had received information +that France would support Austria if she would protest against the +occupation of Belgrade by the Serbs. Napoleon even assured Otto that he +was prepared to undertake any engagement that Austria desired. Rest +was, however, essential to Austria. The military disasters of 1809 had +been followed by national bankruptcy, and with the government paper at a +discount of 90 per cent. she dared not incur further liabilities. + +Russia had an advantage over France in that she was able to free herself +from her entanglement in Turkey, while Napoleon could not make peace +either with Great Britain or with the Bourbon party in Spain. An +armistice with the Porte was concluded on October 15. By that time all +pretence of friendly intentions had been abandoned by France and Russia. +Prussia, hoping still to save herself from an unconditional alliance +with France, now turned to Russia, and Scharnhorst was despatched to +seek a Russian alliance. Meanwhile Napoleon sent word to the Prussian +court that, if her military preparations were not suspended, he would +order Davoût to march on Berlin, and at the same time disclosed his +offer of an unconditional alliance against Russia. Prussia, hoping for +Russian aid still, put aside the French demands, but the Tsar Alexander +expressed a decided preference for a defensive campaign against France, +and refused any assistance unless the French should commit an unprovoked +aggression on Königsberg. Scharnhorst seems to have seen the wisdom of +this policy. He now turned to Austria, but there again a definite +alliance was refused. Russia was equally unable to move Austria to join +her, so that Russia and Prussia were each isolated in their opposition +to Napoleon. + +In the months of August and September of this year a British force, +commanded by Auchmuty, effected the conquest of Java, the wealthiest of +the East Indian islands. The island had been a Dutch colony, and like +other Dutch colonies had passed into the hands of France. Sumatra fell +into English hands along with Java, so that the supremacy of Great +Britain in the East Indies was fully established. + +[Pageheading: _LIVERPOOL'S MINISTRY._] + +The new ministry which entered on office in June, 1812, differed largely +in composition from that which had preceded it. Ryder and Yorke retired +at the death of Perceval, Harrowby returned to office, and places in the +cabinet were found for Sidmouth's adherents, Buckinghamshire, +Vansittart, and Bragge-Bathurst. Sidmouth himself succeeded Ryder as +home secretary, while Harrowby succeeded Sidmouth as president of the +council. Earl Bathurst took Liverpool's place as secretary for war and +the colonies. Vansittart succeeded Perceval at the exchequer and +Bragge-Bathurst in the duchy of Lancaster. Robert Dundas, now Viscount +Melville, followed Yorke at the admiralty, and Buckinghamshire took +Melville's place at the board of control, which became once more a +cabinet office. Eldon, Castlereagh, Westmorland, and Mulgrave retained +their former offices, while Camden remained in the cabinet without +office. In September Mulgrave was created an earl, and Camden a marquis. +The internal history of England during the first two years of +Liverpool's premiership has been entirely dwarfed by the interest of +external events. For this period comprised not only the Russian +expedition--the greatest military tragedy in modern history--the +marvellous resurrection of Germany, with the campaigns which culminated +in the stupendous battle of Leipzig, and the invasion of France which +ended in the abdication of Napoleon at Fontainebleau, but also the +brilliant conclusion of the Peninsular war, and the earlier stages of +the war between Great Britain and the United States. + +The nation was contented to leave the guidance of home and foreign +policy at that critical time to the existing ministers, all honest, +experienced, and high-minded statesmen, but none gifted with any signal +ability, and inferior both in cleverness and in eloquence to the leaders +of the opposition. Napoleon was not far wrong in regarding the British +aristocracy, which they represented, as his most inveterate and powerful +enemy; but he was grievously deceived in imagining that this +aristocracy, in withstanding his colossal ambition, had not the British +nation at its back. The electoral body, indeed, to which they owed their +parliamentary majority, was but a fraction of the population, and the +public opinion which supported them may seem but the voice of a +privileged class in these days of household suffrage. But there is +little reason to doubt that, if household suffrage had then prevailed, +their foreign policy would have received a democratic sanction; nor is +it at all certain that some features of their home policy, now generally +condemned, were not justified, in the main, by the exigencies of their +time. + +[Pageheading: _INDUSTRIAL DISTRESS._] + +The "condition of England," as it was then loosely termed, was the +first subject which claimed the attention of Liverpool's government. +While Perceval was congratulating parliament on the elasticity of the +revenue, a widespread depression of industry was producing formidable +disturbances in the midland counties. This depression was the +consequence partly of the continental system, crippling the export of +British goods to European countries; partly of the revival, in February, +1811, of the American non-intercourse act, closing the vast market of +the United States; and partly of the improvements in machinery, +especially those in spinning and weaving machines introduced by the +inventions of Cartwright and Arkwright. Unhappily, this last cause, +being the only one visible to artisans, was regarded by them as the sole +cause of their distress. During the autumn and winter of 1811 "Luddite" +riots broke out among the stocking-weavers of Nottingham. Their name was +derived from a half-witted man who had destroyed two stocking frames +many years before. Frame-breaking on a grand scale became the object of +an organised conspiracy, which extended its operations from +Nottinghamshire into Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire, and +Yorkshire. At first frame-breaking was carried on by large bodies of +operatives in broad daylight, and when these open proceedings were put +down by military force, they were succeeded by nightly outrages, +sometimes attended by murder. Early in 1812 a bill was passed making +frame-breaking a capital offence. + +In spite of this riots grew into local insurrections, and a message from +the prince regent on June 27 recommended further action to parliament. +It was natural, in that generation to connect all disorderly movements +with revolutionary designs, and this belief underlies an alarmist report +from a secret committee of the house of lords on the prevailing tumults. +Accordingly, Sidmouth obtained new powers for magistrates to search for +arms, to disperse tumultuous assemblies, and to exercise jurisdiction +beyond their own districts. In November many Luddites were convicted, +and sixteen were executed by sentence of a special commission sitting at +York. These stern measures were effectual for a time, and popular +discontent in the manufacturing districts ceased to assume so acute a +form until after the war was ended. + +The sufferings of the poor in the rural districts, though generally +endured in silence, were at least equally severe with those of the +artisan class, and it is difficult to say whether a good or bad harvest +pressed more heavily on agricultural labourers. When the price of wheat +rose to 130s. per quarter or upwards, as it did in 1812 and other years +of scarcity, the farmers were able to pay comparatively high wages. When +the price fell to 75s., as it did in years of plenty like 1813, wages +were reduced to starvation-point, but supplemented out of the +poor-rates, under the miserable system of indiscriminate out-door relief +graduated according to the size of families. In either case, the entire +income of a labourer was far below the modern standard, and the +prosperity of trade meant to him an increase in the cost of all +necessaries except bread. As for their employers, the golden age of +farming, which is often identified with the age of the great war, had +really ceased long before. Not only did the high price of a farmer's +purchases go far to neutralise the high price of his sales, but the +excessive fluctuations in all prices, due to the opening and closing of +markets according to the fortunes of war, made prudent speculation +almost impossible. The frequently recurring depressions were rendered +all the more disastrous, because in times of high prices "the margin of +cultivation" was unduly extended. + +[Pageheading: _CORN LAWS._] + +With a view to diminish the violence of these fluctuations, a select +committee on the corn-trade was appointed by the house of commons in +1813, and reported in favour of a sliding-scale. When the price of wheat +should fall below 90s. per quarter, its exportation was to be permitted; +but its importation was to be forbidden, until the price should reach +103s., when it might, indeed, be imported, but under "a very +considerable duty". It was assumed, in fact, that the normal price of +wheat was above 100s. per quarter, and the price above which importation +should be permitted was nearly twice as high as that fixed in 1801, +when, moreover, it was to be admitted above 50s. at a duty of 2s. 6d., +and above 54s. at a duty of sixpence. It is remarkable that in the +debates of 1814 upon the report of this committee, William Huskisson, as +well as Sir Henry Parnell, supported its main conclusions, upon the +ground that agriculture must be upheld at all costs, and the home-market +preferred to foreign markets. Canning and others ably advocated the +cause of the consumers, alleging that duties on corn injured them far +more than they could benefit landowners or farmers. Finally, a bill +embodying a modified sliding-scale was introduced by the government, +and, though lost by a narrow majority in 1814, became law in 1815. Under +this act the importation of foreign corn was prohibited, so long as the +price of wheat did not rise above 80s. Above that price it might be +imported free. Corn from British North America might, however, be +imported free so long as the price of wheat exceeded 67s. + +The parliamentary debates of 1812 chiefly turned on Spanish affairs, the +revocation of the orders in council, the subsequent rupture with the +United States which had anticipated this great concession, and the +wearisome cabinet intrigues which preceded the accession of Liverpool as +prime minister. It is noteworthy that so conservative a house of commons +should actually have pledged itself to consider the question of catholic +emancipation in the next session, and should have passed an act +relieving nonconformists from various disabilities. The next session of +this parliament, however, never came, for an unexpected dissolution took +place on September 29. This dissolution was attributed, with some +reason, to a wish on the part of the government to profit by an abundant +harvest, and to the restoration of comparative quiet both in England and +in Ireland. A new parliament assembled at the end of November. The +prince regent's speech in opening it, though it noticed the suppression +of the Luddite disturbances, was inevitably devoted to the great events +in Spain and Russia, the conclusion of a treaty with Russia, and the +American declaration of war. After the Christmas recess, Castlereagh +presented an argumentative message from the prince fully discussing the +points at issue between Great Britain and the United States, upon which +Canning, though out of office, delivered a vigorous speech in defence of +the British position. Eldon, in the house of lords, went further, boldly +justifying the right of search, and denying the American contention that +original allegiance could be cancelled by naturalisation without the +consent of the mother-country. The Princess of Wales, who had long been +separated from the prince, was the cause of more parliamentary time +being wasted by a complaint which she addressed to the speaker against +the proceedings of the privy council. That body had approved +restrictions which her husband had thought fit to place on her +intercourse with her daughter, the Princess Charlotte. Parliament, +however, took no action in the matter. + +Perhaps the most important measure enacted in the session of 1813 was +the so-called East India company's act. By this act the charter of the +company was renewed with a confirmation of its administrative privileges +and its monopoly of the China trade, but subject to material +reservations: the India trade was thrown open from April 10, 1814, and +the charter itself, thus restricted, was made terminable by three years' +notice after April 10, 1831. In this year the naval and military +armaments of Great Britain, considered as a whole, perhaps reached their +maximum strength, and the national expenditure rose to its highest +level, including, as it did, subsidies to foreign powers amounting to +about £10,500,000. Of the aggregate expenditure, about two-thirds, +£74,000,000, were provided by taxation, an enormous sum relatively to +the population and wealth of the country at that period. Patiently as +this burden was borne on the whole by the people of Great Britain, we +cannot wonder that Vansittart, the chancellor of the exchequer, should +have sought to lighten it in some degree by encroaching upon the sinking +fund, as founded and regulated by Pitt. The debates on this complicated +question, in which Huskisson and Tierney stoutly combated Vansittart's +proposal, belong rather to financial history. What strikes a modern +student of politics as strange is that Vansittart, tory as he was, +should have advocated the relief of living and suffering taxpayers, upon +the principle, then undefined, of leaving money "to fructify in the +pockets of the people"; while the whig economists of the day stickled +for the policy of piling up new debts, if need be, rather than break in +upon an empirical scheme for the gradual extinction of old debts. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[41] For the whole crisis see Walpole, _Life of Perceval_, ii., 157-96, +and for Sheridan's share in the transactions, Moore, _Life of Sheridan_, +ii., 382-409. + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + THE PENINSULAR WAR. + + +Reference has already been made to the conflict maintained for six years +by Great Britain against France for the liberation of Spain and +Portugal, which has since been known in history as the Peninsular war. +It had its origin in two events which occurred during the autumn of 1807 +and the spring of 1808. The first was the secret treaty of Fontainebleau +concluded between France and Spain at the end of October, 1807; the +second was the outbreak of revolutionary movements at Madrid, followed +by the intervention of Napoleon in March, April, and May, 1808. The +treaty of Fontainebleau was a sequel of the vast combination against +Great Britain completed by the peace of Tilsit, under which the +continental system was to be enforced over all Europe. Portugal, the +ally of this country and an emporium of British commerce, was to be +partitioned into principalities allotted by Napoleon, the house of +Braganza was to be exiled, and its transmarine possessions were to be +divided between France and Spain, then ruled by the worthless Godoy in +the name of King Charles IV. Whether or not the subjugation of the whole +peninsula was already designed by Napoleon, his troops, ostensibly +despatched for the conquest of Portugal under the provisions of the +treaty, had treacherously occupied commanding positions in Spain, when +the populace of Madrid rose in revolt, and, thronging the little town of +Aranjuez, where the court resided, frightened the king into abdication. +His unprincipled son, Ferdinand, was proclaimed in March, 1808, but +Murat, who now entered Madrid as commander-in-chief of the French troops +in that city, secretly favoured the ex-King Charles. In the end, both he +and Ferdinand were enticed into seeking the protection of Napoleon at +Bayonne. Instead of mediating or deciding between them, Napoleon soon +found means to get rid of both. They were induced or rather compelled to +resign their rights, and retire into private life on large pensions; and +Napoleon conferred the crown of Spain on his brother Joseph, whose +former kingdom of Naples was bestowed on Murat. + +In the meantime, sanguinary riots broke out afresh at Madrid, hundreds +of French were massacred, and the insurrection, as it was called, though +sternly put down by Murat, spread like wildfire into all parts of Spain. +A violent explosion of patriotism, resulting in anarchy, followed +throughout the whole country. Napoleon was taken by surprise, but the +combinations which he matured at Bayonne for the conquest of Spain were +as masterly as those by which he had well-nigh subdued the whole +continent, except Russia. He established a base of operations in the +centre of the country, and organised four campaigns in the north-west, +north-east, south-east, and south. Savary, who had succeeded Murat at +Madrid, was supposed to act as commander-in-chief, but was really little +more than a medium for transmitting orders received from Napoleon at +Bayonne. The campaign of Duhesme in Catalonia was facilitated by the +treacherous seizure of the citadel of Barcelona in the previous +February. It was not long, however, before effective aid was rendered on +the coast by the British fleet under Collingwood, and especially by Lord +Cochrane in the _Impérieuse_ frigate; the undisciplined bands of +Catalonian volunteers were reinforced by regular troops from Majorca and +Minorca; the fortress of Gerona made an obstinate resistance; the siege +of it was twice raised, and Barcelona, almost isolated, was now held +with difficulty. + +[Pageheading: _FRANCE OCCUPIES THE PENINSULA._] + +Marshal Moncey vainly besieged Valencia, while Generals +Lefebvre-Desnoëttes and Verdier were equally unsuccessful before +Zaragoza. In the plains of Leon, Marshal Bessières gained a decisive +victory over a superior force of Spaniards under Cuesta and Blake, at +Medina de Rio Seco, on July 14. Having thus secured the province of +Leon, and the great route from Bayonne to Madrid, he was advancing on +Galicia when his progress was arrested by disaster in another quarter. +General Dupont, commanding the southern army, found himself nearly +surrounded at Baylen, and solicited an armistice, followed by a +convention, under which, "above eighteen thousand French soldiers laid +down their arms before a raw army incapable of resisting half that +number, if the latter had been led by an able man".[42] The convention, +signed on July 20, stipulated for the transport of the French troops to +France, but its stipulations were shamefully violated; some were +massacred, others were sent to sicken in the hulks at Cadiz, and +comparatively few lived to rejoin their colours. Meanwhile a so-called +"assembly of notables," summoned to Bayonne, consisting of ninety-one +persons, all nominees of Napoleon, assumed to act for the whole nation, +had accepted the nomination of Joseph Bonaparte as king, and proceeded +to adopt a constitution. On July 20, the very day of the capitulation of +Baylen, Joseph entered Madrid, and on the 24th was proclaimed King of +Spain and the Indies. But the military prestige of the grand army +received a fatal blow in the catastrophe, of which the immediate effect +was the retirement of Joseph behind the Ebro, and the ultimate effects +were felt in the later history of the war. + +At this moment almost the whole of Portugal was in possession of the +French. In November, 1807, under peremptory orders from Napoleon, Junot +with a French army and an auxiliary force of Spaniards, but without +money or transport, had marched with extraordinary rapidity across the +mountains to Alcantara in the valley of the Tagus. He thence pressed +forward to Lisbon, hoping to anticipate the embarkation of the royal +family for Brazil, which, however, took place just before his arrival +and almost under his eyes. With his army terribly reduced by the +hardships and privations of his forced march, he overawed Lisbon and +issued a proclamation that "the house of Braganza had ceased to reign". +A fortnight later a Spanish division occupied Oporto, and meanwhile +another Spanish division established itself in the south-east of +Portugal, but, as the French stragglers came in and reinforcements +approached, Junot felt himself strong enough to cast off all disguise; +he suppressed the council of regency, took the government into his own +hands, and levied a heavy war contribution. During the early months of +1808 he was employed in reorganising his own forces, and the resources +of Lisbon, where an auxiliary Russian fleet of nine ships was lying +practically blockaded. In a military sense, he was successful, but the +rapacity of the French, the contagion of the Spanish uprising, the +memory of the old alliance with England, and the proximity of English +fleets, stirred the blood of the Portuguese nation into ill-concealed +hostility. The Spanish commander at Oporto withdrew his troops to +Galicia, and the inhabitants declared for independence. Their example +was followed in other parts of Portugal. Junot acted with vigour, +disarmed the Spanish contingent at Lisbon, and sent columns to quell +disturbances on the Spanish frontiers, but he soon realised the +necessity of concentration. He therefore resolved to abandon most of the +Portuguese fortresses, limiting his efforts to holding Lisbon, and +keeping open his line of communication with Spain. + +[Pageheading: _VIMEIRO AND CINTRA._] + +Such was the state of affairs in the Peninsula when Sir Arthur Wellesley +landed his army of some 12,000 men on August 13, 1808. He had been +specially designated for the command of a British army in Portugal by +Castlereagh, then secretary for war and the colonies, who fully +appreciated his singular capacity for so difficult a service. Sir John +Moore, who had just returned from the Baltic, having found it hopeless +to co-operate with Gustavus IV. of Sweden, was sent out soon afterwards +to Portugal with a corps of some 10,000 men. Both these eminent soldiers +were directed to place themselves under the orders not only of Sir Hew +Dalrymple, the governor of Gibraltar, as commander-in-chief, but of Sir +Harry Burrard, when he should arrive, as second in command. Wellesley +had received general instructions to afford "the Spanish and Portuguese +nations every possible aid in throwing off the yoke of France," and was +empowered to disembark at the mouth of the Tagus. Having obtained +trustworthy information at Coruña and Oporto, he decided rather to begin +his campaign from a difficult landing-place south of Oporto at the mouth +of the Mondego, and to march thence upon Lisbon. He was opportunely +joined by General Spencer from the south of Spain, and chose the +coast-road by Torres Vedras. At Roliça he encountered a smaller force +under Delaborde, sent in advance by Junot to delay his progress, and +routed it after a severe combat. Delaborde, however, retreated with +admirable tenacity, and Wellesley, expecting reinforcements from the +coast, pushed forward to Vimeiro, without attempting to check the +concentration of Junot's army. There was fought, on August 21, the first +important battle of the Peninsular war. The British troops, estimated at +16,778 men (besides about 2,000 Portuguese), outnumbered the French +considerably, but the French were much stronger in cavalry, and boldly +assumed the offensive, confident in the prestige derived from so many +victories in Italy and Germany. Wellesley's position was strong, but the +attack on it was skilfully designed and pressed home with resolute +courage. It was repelled at every point of the field, and the French, +retiring in confusion, might have been cut off from Lisbon. But Burrard, +who had just landed and witnessed the battle without interfering, now +absolutely refused to sanction a vigorous pursuit. + +On the following day he was superseded in turn by Dalrymple. The new +commander determined to await the arrival of Moore, whose approach was +reported, but who did not disembark his whole force until the 30th. In +the meantime, overtures for an armistice were received from Junot, and +ultimately resulted in the so-called "convention of Cintra," though it +was first drafted at Torres Vedras and was ratified at Lisbon. Under +this agreement the French army was to surrender Lisbon intact with other +Portuguese fortresses, but was allowed to return to France with its arms +and baggage at the expense of the British government. Having dissented +from the military decision which had enabled Junot to negotiate, instead +of capitulating, Wellesley also dissented from certain terms of the +convention. He was, however, party to it as a whole, and afterwards +justified its main conditions as securing the evacuation of Portugal at +the price of reasonable concessions. This was not the feeling of the +British public, which loudly resented the escape of the French army and +insisted upon a court of inquiry. The verdict of this court saved the +military honour of all three generals, but its members were so divided +in opinion on the policy of the convention that no authoritative +judgment was pronounced. Napoleon felt no such difficulty in condemning +Junot for yielding too much, and the inhabitants of Lisbon were +infuriated not only by the loss of their expected vengeance, but also by +the shameless plunder of their public and private property by the +departing French. Under a separate convention, the Russian fleet, long +blockaded in the Tagus, was surrendered to the British admiral, but +without its officers or crews. + +The capitulation of Baylen paralysed for a time the aggressive movements +of France in Spain. Catalonia remained unconquered, even Bessières +retreated, and Joseph, as we have seen, abandoned Madrid. Happily for +the French, the Spaniards proved quite incapable of following up their +advantages, and though a "supreme junta" was assembled at Aranjuez, it +wasted its time in vain wrangling, and did little or nothing for the +organisation of national defence. Meanwhile, Napoleon was pouring +veteran troops from Germany into the north of Spain, where they repulsed +the Spanish levies in several minor engagements. On October 14 he left +Erfurt, where he had renewed his alliance with the tsar, and reached +Bayonne on November 3. His simple but masterly plan of campaign was +already prepared, and was carried out with the utmost promptitude. On +November 10-11, one of three Spanish armies was crushed at Espinosa; on +the former day another was routed at Gamonal; on the 23rd the third was +utterly dispersed at Tudela. Napoleon himself remained for some days at +Burgos, awaiting the result of these operations; on December 4, after a +feeble resistance, he entered Madrid in triumph, and stayed there +seventeen days, which he employed with marvellous activity in maturing +fresh designs, both civil and military, for securing his power in Spain. + +[Pageheading: _ADVANCE OF SIR JOHN MOORE._] + +Already, on October 7, Sir John Moore had taken over the command of the +British forces. He probably owed his appointment to George III., who +seems on this occasion to have overruled his foreign and war ministers, +Canning and Castlereagh. In spite of his unwillingness to offer the +appointment to Moore, Castlereagh gave him the most loyal and efficient +support during the whole campaign; and this loyalty to Moore was one of +the reasons for Canning's desire to remove Castlereagh from the war +office, which, as we have seen, led to the famous duel between those two +statesmen. It was at first intended that Moore should co-operate with +the Spanish armies which were then facing the French on the line of the +Ebro. For this purpose he was to have the command of 21,000 troops +already in Portugal and of about 12,000 who were being sent by sea to +Coruña under Sir David Baird. Burrard was to remain in Portugal with +another 10,000. Nothing had been done before Moore was appointed to the +command to provide the troops with their necessary equipment or their +commander with the necessary local information. The departure of the +troops was therefore slow. By October 18 the greater part of the British +troops in Portugal were in motion, but the whole army had not left +Lisbon till the 29th. The main body travelled by fairly direct routes to +Salamanca, where Moore arrived on November 13, but he was induced by +information, which proved to be incorrect, to send his cavalry and guns +with a column under Hope, by the more circuitous high road through Elvas +and Talavera. When this route was adopted it was anticipated that the +different divisions of the British army would be able to unite at, or +near, Valladolid. But the advance of the French rendered this +impossible, and Hope ultimately joined Moore at Salamanca on December 4. + +Baird suffered from even more vexatious delays. Though the greater part +of his convoy had arrived at Coruña on October 13, the local junta would +not permit them to land without express orders from the central junta at +Aranjuez. Consequently the disembarkation did not begin till the 26th +and was only finished on November 4. Transport and equipment were +difficult to obtain, and on November 22 Baird was still only at Astorga. +There exaggerated reports of the French advance induced him to halt, but +by Moore's orders he continued his march. On the 28th the news of the +defeat of Castaños at Tudela reached Moore at Salamanca. Co-operation +with a Spanish army now appeared impossible, and even a junction with +Baird seemed too hazardous to attempt. Moore therefore, ordered Baird to +retire on Coruña and to proceed to Lisbon by sea, and, while waiting +himself at Salamanca for Hope, made preparations for a retreat to +Portugal. On December 5, the day after his junction with Hope, Moore +determined to continue his advance. He had received news of the +enthusiastic preparations for the defence of Madrid but did not know of +its fall, and he considered that the Spanish enthusiasm justified some +risk on the part of the British troops. He accordingly recalled Baird, +whose infantry had retired to Villafranca, though his cavalry were still +at Astorga. On the 9th came the news of the fall of Madrid, but Moore +believed that an attack on the French lines of communication might still +prove useful, and on the 11th the advance was renewed. Moore himself +left Salamanca on the 13th. On the 12th he learned for the first time +from some prisoners the true strength of the French army, 250,000 of all +arms, and also discovered that the enemy were in complete ignorance of +the position of his own army. Next day an intercepted despatch showed +him that he might possibly be able to cut off Soult in an isolated +position at Saldaña. Having at last effected a junction with Baird's +corps on the 19th he reached Sahagun on the 21st, and was on the point +of delivering his attack under favourable conditions, though his triumph +must have been short-lived. + +His real success was of another order. He had anticipated that Napoleon +would postpone everything to the opportunity of crushing a British army, +and the ultimate object of his march to Sahagun was to draw the French +away from Lisbon and Andalusia. He was not disappointed. Napoleon at +last divined that Moore was not flying in a south-westerly direction, +but carrying out a bold manoeuvre in a north-easterly direction. He +instantly pushed division after division from various quarters by forced +marches upon Moore's reported track, while he himself followed with +desperate efforts across the snow-clad mountains between Madrid and the +Douro. Apprised of his swift advance, and conscious of his own vast +inferiority in numbers, Moore had no choice but to retreat without a +moment's delay upon Benevente and Astorga. He was now sufficiently far +north to prefer to retire upon Galicia rather than upon Portugal. The +retreat began on the 24th and was executed with such rapidity that on +January 1, 1809, Napoleon gave up the pursuit at Astorga, leaving it to +be continued by Soult. Whether he was influenced by intelligence of +fresh armaments on the Danube, or of dangerous plots in Paris, must +remain uncertain, but it is highly probable that he saw little honour to +be won in a laborious chase of a foe who might prove formidable if +brought to bay. + +Moore's army, disheartened as it was by the loss of a brilliant chance, +and demoralised as it became under the fatigues and hardships of a most +harassing retreat, never failed to repel attacks on its rear, where +Paget handled the cavalry of the rear-guard with signal ability, +especially in a spirited action near Benevente. In spite of some +excesses, tolerable order was maintained until the British force, still +25,000 strong, reached Astorga, and was joined by some 10,000 Spaniards +under Romaña. Thenceforward, all sense of discipline was abandoned by so +many regiments that Moore described the conduct of his whole army as +"infamous beyond belief," though it is certain that some regiments, and +notably those of the reserve, should be excepted from this sweeping +condemnation. Drunkenness, marauding, and other military crimes grew +more and more general as the main body marched "in a drove" through +Villafranca to Lugo, where Moore vainly offered battle, and onwards to +Betanzos on the sea-coast. There a marvellous rally was effected, +stragglers rejoined the ranks in unexpected numbers, the _moral_ of the +soldiery was restored as the fearful strain of physical misery was +relaxed, and by January 12, 1809, all the divisions of Moore's army were +safely posted in or around Coruña. Bad weather had delayed the fleet of +transports ordered round from Vigo, but it ran into the harbour on the +14th, and the sick and invalids were sent on board. + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF CORUÑA._] + +Moore was advised to make terms for the embarkation of his entire +command, but he was too good a soldier to comply. Those who took part in +the battle of Coruña on the 16th, some 15,000 men in all, were no +unworthy representatives of the army which started from Lisbon three +months earlier. Soult, with a larger force, assumed the offensive, and +made a determined attack on the British position in front of the harbour +and town of Coruña. He was repulsed at all points, but Moore was +mortally, and Baird severely, wounded on the field. Hope, who took +command, knowing that Soult would soon be reinforced, wisely persisted +in carrying out Moore's intention, evacuated Coruña, and embarked his +army for England during the night and the following day. His losses were +estimated by Hope at above 700, killed and wounded; those of the enemy +were twice as great. Thus victory crowned a campaign which otherwise +would have done little to satisfy the popular appetite for tangible +success. The original object of supporting the Spanish resistance in the +north had been rendered impossible of fulfilment by Napoleon's victories +when Moore had barely crossed the Spanish frontier, and in this sense +the expedition must be regarded as a failure, though its commander was +in no sense responsible for its ill-success. On the other hand, +considered as a skilful diversion, the expedition was highly successful. +It drew all the best French troops and generals into the north-west +corner of Spain, leaving all the other, and far richer, provinces to +recover their power of resistance.[43] + +The spirit in which Napoleon had entered upon this contest is well +illustrated in two sentences of his address to the citizens of Madrid. +"The Bourbons," he said, "can no longer reign in Europe," and "No power +under the influence of England can exist on the continent". The +counter-proclamations of Spanish juntas were more prolix and equally +arrogant, but one of them reveals the secret of national strength when +it asserts that "a whole people is more powerful than disciplined +armies". The British estimate of Napoleon's Spanish policy was tersely +expressed by the Marquis Wellesley in the house of lords, "To him force +and fraud were alike; force, that would stoop to all the base artifices +of fraud; and fraud, that would come armed with all the fierce violence +of force". + +[Pageheading: _WELLESLEY TAKES COMMAND._] + +For three months after the battle of Coruña, the Peninsular war, as +regards the action of Great Britain, was all but suspended. Two days +before that battle, a formal treaty of peace and alliance between Great +Britain and the Spanish junta, which had withdrawn to Seville, was +signed at London. Sir John Cradock was in command of the British troops +at Lisbon, and took up a defensive position there, with reinforcements +from Cadiz, awaiting the approach of Soult, who had captured Oporto by +storm, and of Victor, who was in the valley of the Tagus. At the request +of the Portuguese, Beresford had been sent out to organise and command +their army. Early in 1809 the Spaniards were defeated with great +slaughter at Ucles, Ciudad Real, and Medellin; Zaragoza was taken after +another siege, and still more obstinate defence; and the national cause +seemed more desperate than ever. On April 2, however, Sir Arthur +Wellesley, who had returned home after the convention of Cintra, was +appointed to the command-in-chief of our forces in the Peninsula. +Before leaving England, he left with the ministers a memorandum on the +conduct of the war which, viewed by the light of later events, must be +accounted a masterpiece of foresight and sagacity. When it was laid +before George III., his natural shrewdness at once discerned its true +value, and he desired its author to be informed of the strong impression +which it had produced on his mind. + +Wellesley, indeed, could not estimate beforehand the vast numerical +superiority of the French while the rest of Europe was at peace, or the +impotent vacillations of Spanish juntas, or the "mulish obstinacy" of +Spanish generals, which so often wrecked his plans and spoiled his +victories. Nor could he foresee the advantages which he would derive +from the resources of guerilla warfare, the mutual jealousies of the +French marshals, and the sudden recall of the best French troops for +service in Germany and Russia. But his prescient and practical mind +firmly grasped the dominant facts of the position--that Portugal, +guarded by the ocean on the west and by mountain ranges on the east, was +far more accessible to the British navy than to the French army; that, +under British officers, its troops might be trained into an effective +force; and that, with it as a basis, Great Britain might ultimately +liberate the whole Peninsula. "I have always been of opinion," Wellesley +said in this memorandum, "that Portugal might be defended, whatever +might be the result of the contest in Spain; and that in the meantime +the measures adopted for the defence of Portugal would be highly useful +to the Spaniards in their contest with the French." On this simple +principle all his detailed recommendations were founded, and he +expressed a deliberate belief that, if 30,000 British troops were +supported by an equal number of Portuguese regulars, and a reserve of +militia was provided, "the French would not be able to overrun Portugal +with less than 100,000 men". This forecast was verified, and upon its +essential wisdom the fate of the Peninsular war, with all its +consequences, may be said to have depended.[44] + +Wellesley landed at Lisbon on April 22, and was received with the utmost +demonstrations of joy and confidence. He found not only the capital but +the whole country in a state of tumult, if not of anarchy, due to a +growing despair of the national cause. His arrival rekindled the embers +of patriotism, and on May 5 he reviewed at Coimbra a body of troops +consisting of 17,000 British and Germans, with about 8,000 Portuguese. +The next day he marched towards the Douro, and on the 14th he effected +the passage of that river in the face of the French army occupying +Oporto, which the British forthwith recaptured. Soult beat a hasty and +disorderly retreat into Galicia. Having driven Soult out of Portugal, +the British general was encouraged to undertake a further advance into +Spain, where Joseph with Victor and Sébastiani had collected a much +larger army to bar the approaches to Madrid than Wellesley, relying on +Spanish intelligence, had been led to expect. During June and the first +days of July, he moved by Abrantes and the Tagus valley as far as +Plasencia, little knowing that Soult was about to sweep round his rear, +with 50,000 men, and intercept his communications with Lisbon. On July +10 he held a conference with the Spanish general Cuesta, who insisted on +making an aggressive movement with his own troops only, and met with a +repulse. + +[Pageheading: _THE TALAVERA CAMPAIGN._] + +On the 27th, the combined armies of Wellesley and Cuesta, numbering +respectively about 20,000 British and 35,000 Spanish, confronted 46,000 +French troops, under Victor, in a strong position behind Talavera.[45] +The Spanish forces occupied the right and the British the left of this +position. Joseph was present, and disregarding the counsels of Jourdan, +his proper military adviser, authorised Victor to assume the offensive. +He failed in two preliminary attacks on the 27th, but renewed them on +the 28th, when a general engagement ensued. The whole brunt of the +battle fell upon the British troops, who gallantly withstood a desperate +onset, first on their left and then on their centre and right, until the +French quitted the field in confusion. The Spaniards, posted in +entrenchments nearer Talavera itself, did and suffered comparatively +little. Some of their regiments fled disgracefully, but the rest held +their ground, and Wellesley in his despatch spoke favourably of their +behaviour.[46] Perhaps the part which they played may be roughly +estimated by their losses, amounting to 1,200, as compared with 6,268 +British and nearly 9,000 French. Wellesley, after further experience of +Spanish co-operation, made up his mind to dispense with it altogether in +future. + +The victory of Talavera won for Wellesley the rank of viscount, to which +he was raised on September 4, with the title of Wellington. Although the +victory revived the respect of foreign nations for the prowess of +British arms, it was otherwise fruitless, and its sequel was fairly open +to criticism. Wellesley found that Soult, with Ney and Mortier, had +circumvented him, and that he must retreat through Esdremadura, on the +south of the Tagus, upon Badajoz. Cuesta, who had advocated bolder +counsels, undertook to guard the rear, and to protect the British +wounded at Talavera. But he soon found it necessary to abandon that +position. Fifteen hundred of the wounded were left behind, and were +humanely treated by the French generals. Wellesley's retreat over the +mountains was attended with great hardship and loss, for want of +supplies either from Spain or from the coast, and his long encampment in +the malarious valley of the Guadiana about Badajoz swelled the number of +his sick to a frightful extent. It was not until December, when it got +into better cantonments on Portuguese soil, that the British army, +triumphant at Talavera, recovered either its health or its _moral_. +Napoleon boasted, in a memorandum to be inserted in the Paris journals, +that Wellington had really been beaten in Spain, and that "if affairs +there had been properly conducted not an Englishman would have escaped". +Without going quite so far as this, the parliamentary opposition in +England made the least of the victory and the most of the retreat, which +unfortunately coincided in time with the wreck of the Walcheren +expedition. Even Wellington's best friends in England began to lose +heart, as did many of his own officers. He remained undaunted, and +having established his headquarters on the high ground between the Tagus +and the Douro, meditated designs which, slowly matured, bore good fruit +in later years. + +It is difficult to understand the inaction of Wellington for so many +months after the Talavera campaign, without taking into account not only +the difficulty of obtaining sufficient recruits and stores from England +after the waste of both at the mouth of the Scheldt, but the greatly +increased strength of the French in Spain during the long interval +between the Wagram campaign and the Russian expedition. At the close of +1809 all the fortresses of Spain had fallen into the enemy's hands, and +all her principal armies had been defeated and dispersed in successive +battles of which the greatest was that of Ocaña in the month of +November. Suchet was master of Aragon and the east of Spain, nor was he +dislodged from it until the end of the war; Andalusia was nearly +conquered; Cadiz was only saved by the self-reliant courage of the Duc +d'Albuquerque, baffling the intrigues and treachery of the supreme junta +there assembled; and Napoleon was preparing a fresh army to overrun +Portugal, under the command of Masséna. The Perceval ministry, in which +Liverpool had taken Castlereagh's post of secretary for war and the +colonies, adopting an optimistic tone at home, practically told +Wellington that he must shift for himself; and he braced himself up to +do so with extraordinary fortitude. + +He remained watching the gathering storm from the heights of Guarda, +south-west of Almeida, and commanding two great roads from Spain into +Portugal, but his thoughts were equally fixed upon the vast and famous +lines of Torres Vedras, which he was constructing for the defence of +Lisbon. His force, including the Portuguese regulars, did not exceed +50,000 men; that of the French under Ney, Reynier, and Junot consisted +of about 70,000, but they were not equally capable of being concentrated +on a single point. The Portuguese militia, too, were being gradually +disciplined, and the Portuguese civil authorities were being gradually +schooled into the new lesson of sweeping their own country bare of all +supplies before the coming French invasion. Wellington did not even +strike a blow to save Ciudad Rodrigo, which Masséna took on July 10, +1810. But it was no part of his plan that Almeida should capitulate, as +it did shortly afterwards, partly owing to the accidental explosion of a +magazine, and partly as was suspected, to an act of treachery. Still, +Masséna delayed until urged by Napoleon, and deceived by false +intelligence, he launched forth, at the beginning of September, on an +enterprise which proved fatal to his reputation. Both he and Wellington +issued appeals to the Portuguese nation, the contrast between which is +significant. The French marshal, echoing the prevailing note of his +master's proclamation, denounced Great Britain as the enemy of all +Europe; Wellington called upon the Portuguese to remember their actual +experience of French rapacity and outrage. + +[Pageheading: _BUSSACO AND TORRES VEDRAS._] + +The object of Masséna was to reach Coimbra before Wellington. His +manoeuvres to outflank Wellington's left were skilfully devised, but +the British army marched steadily down the valley of the Mondego, +carrying with it the population of the district, and took its stand on +the ridge of Bussaco, north of Coimbra, barring Masséna's progress. +There was fought, on September 27, 1810, a battle as deadly as that of +Talavera, and more decisive in its consequences. The French, as usual, +were the assailants; the English and the Portuguese stood at bay. Never, +in any of their brilliant victories, did French troops show more heroic +daring than in this assault under Reynier on the British right, and +under Ney on the British left. Both columns forced their way up bare +heath-clad slopes, and reached the summit, whence they were only driven +back after repeated charges. Their loss in killed and wounded exceeded +4,500, that of the allies was about 1,300. The French generals threw the +blame of defeat upon each other, but, in fact, the skill of Masséna +converted a defeat into an episode in his victorious advance. On the +following day, he again found a way of turning Wellington's left, and, +in an intercepted despatch, he naturally treated this as a compensation +for the repulse at Bussaco, which he did not disguise. Compelled to +retire once more with a vast drove of encumbered, panic-stricken, and +famishing Portuguese fugitives, and conscious that no reserves awaited +him, Wellington knew, nevertheless, that he was drawing Masséna further +and further away from his base, to encounter a terrible surprise. For, +so useless had been the French scouts, and so worthless the information +received from Portuguese sources, that no adequate conception of the +obstacle presented by the lines of Torres Vedras had entered the mind of +that experienced strategist. + +These elaborate works had been constructed in the course of a year by +thousands of Portuguese labourers, directed by Colonel Fletcher of the +royal engineers, upon a plan carefully thought out and laid down by +Wellington himself. The first and principal chain of fortifications +stretched for nearly thirty miles across the whole promontory between +the river Tagus and the sea, about twenty-five miles north of Lisbon. +The summits of hills were crowned with forts, their sides were escarped +and protected with earthworks, their gorges were blocked with redoubts, +a small river at the foot of them was made impassable by dams; in short, +the utmost advantage was taken of the defences provided by nature, and +these were supplemented by artificial entrenchments. Portuguese +garrisons manned the greater part of the batteries, armed with guns from +the arsenals of Lisbon; British troops were to occupy the most +vulnerable points of attack. There was a second and third range of +fortifications behind the first, in case these should be forced, but no +such emergency arose. When Masséna had carefully inspected the +stupendous barrier reared in front of him, his well-trained eye +recognised it as impregnable: he paused for some weeks under semblance +of blockading the British forces, while he was really scouring the +country for the means of feeding his own; but in November he began to +retreat upon Santarem, Almeida, and Ciudad Rodrigo, with a half-starved +and dispirited army, greatly reduced in numbers during the campaign.[47] + +The year 1811 was perhaps the least interesting, yet the most critical +in the history of the Peninsular war. Wellington had not escaped +criticism at home for allowing Masséna to remain so long unmolested near +Santarem. He described himself in a private letter, written in December, +1810, as "safe for the winter at all events". More he could not have +said, knowing, as he did, that Soult was in force before Cadiz, and +might at any moment join Masséna. This, in fact, he did; leaving his +fields of plunder in Andalusia under the positive orders of Napoleon, he +defeated the Spaniards at the Gebora on February 19, and captured +Badajoz, as well as Olivenza. In his absence, Sir Thomas Graham, who +commanded the British troops at Cadiz, sailed thence with La Peña, the +Spanish commander, and a combined force of about 12,000 men, to make a +flank march, and attack the French besiegers, under Victor, in the rear. +A brisk action followed at Barrosa, in which Graham obtained a complete +victory, but the Spanish troops, as usual, remained almost passive; the +beaten army was not pursued, and the siege of Cadiz was not raised. +This city was still the seat of the Spanish national government, but the +feeble junta had been superseded by a national cortes, fairly +representative of the nation, which passed some liberal measures, and +dissolved the so-called regency which assumed to represent Ferdinand. + +[Pageheading: _FUENTES D'ONORO AND ALBUERA._] + +The two great frontier fortresses of Spain, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, +were now in the hands of the French. Masséna had regained the Spanish +frontier in March, after frequent combats with the pursuing enemy, and +with heavy losses in men and horses, though he saved every gun except +one. This retreat involved the evacuation of every place in Portugal +except the fortress of Almeida. Wellington's pursuit would have been +still more vigorous, but that his Portuguese troops were half-starved, +and had lost discipline under intolerable privations. His next design +seems to have been the recapture of the fortresses, but he was not +without ulterior hopes--all too premature--of afterwards pushing on to +Madrid and operating in the eastern provinces of Spain. He first +invested Almeida, and, leaving General Spencer to continue the blockade, +proceeded to Elvas in order to concert measures with Beresford for the +siege of Badajoz. Thence he was suddenly recalled northward to repel a +fresh advance of Masséna, strongly reinforced, for the relief of +Almeida. The battle which followed at Fuentes d'Oñoro, south-east of +Almeida, was among the most hardly contested struggles in the whole +Peninsular war. It began on May 3, and, with a day's interval, concluded +on the 5th. The British remained masters of the field, and claimed a +somewhat doubtful victory, which at least secured the evacuation of +Almeida. The garrison of that fortress blew it up by night, and +succeeded, by masterly tactics, in joining the main French army with +little sacrifice of life. + +Wellington returned to Badajoz, only to meet with disappointment. +General Cole, acting under Beresford, had retaken Olivenza; but Soult, +with a force of 23,000 men, was marching to succour Badajoz, when he was +encountered by Beresford at Albuera. Beresford's force was numerically +stronger than Soult's, but only 7,000 men were English, the rest being +mostly Spanish. Measured by the proportion of losses to men engaged on +both sides, this fight on May 16, 1811, must rank among the bloodiest on +record. In four hours nearly 7,000 of the allies and 8,000 French were +struck down. The decisive charge of the reserve was inspired and led by +Hardinge, afterwards Governor-General of India; the French were routed, +and Soult was checked, but little was gained by the victors.[48] The +siege of Badajoz, indeed, was renewed, but its progress was slow for +want of proper engines and artillery, and it was abandoned, after two +futile attempts, on June 11. By this time, Marmont had succeeded +Masséna, and was carrying out Napoleon's grand plan for a junction with +Soult's army and a fresh irruption into Portugal. With marvellous +audacity, Wellington offered battle to both marshals, who, happily +ignorant of his weakness, declined it more than once. In truth, he was +never more nearly at the end of his resources than when he went into +winter quarters at the close of 1811, having failed to prevent Marmont +from provisioning Ciudad Rodrigo, and having narrowly escaped being +overwhelmed by a much superior force. His army was greatly reduced by +sickness, he was very ill-supplied from England, and he received no +loyal support from the Portuguese government. Moreover, the French had +apparently extended their hold on Spain, both in the eastern and +northern provinces, while it was reported that Napoleon himself, not +content with dictating orders from afar, would return to complete the +conquest of the Peninsula. + +At this juncture, he must have been cheered by the arrival of so able a +lieutenant as Graham from Cadiz, and by the brilliant success of Hill +against a detached body of Marmont's army south of the Tagus. There were +other tendencies also secretly working in favour of the British and +their allies. Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain, openly protested +against the extortions which he was enjoined to practise on his +subjects, and went so far as to resign his crown at Paris, though he was +induced to resume it. Again the broken armies of the Spanish had +reappeared in the form of guerilla bands under leaders such as Mina; +they could not be dispersed, since they had no cohesion, and were more +formidable through their extreme mobility than organised battalions. +Above all, the domination of France over Europe was already undermined +and tottering invisibly to its fall. The Tsar Alexander had, as we have +seen, been deeply offended by the preference of an Austrian to a Russian +princess, as the consort of Napoleon, and still more by his imperious +annexation of Oldenburg. Sweden, following the example of Russia, had +begun to rebel against the continental system. A series of internal +reforms had aroused a national spirit, and stealthily created the basis +of a national army in Prussia, and the intense hostility of all North +Germany to France was thinly disguised by the unwilling servility of the +Prussian court. Napoleon, who seldom laboured under the illusions +propagated by his own manifestoes and bulletins, well knew what he was +doing when, in August, 1811, he allowed himself to burst into a storm of +indignation against the Russian ambassador at the Tuileries. From that +moment he clearly premeditated a rupture with Russia, and soon he +withdrew 60,000 of his best troops from Spain, to be employed in that +fatal enterprise of 1812 which proved to be his doom. + +[Pageheading: _CAPTURE OF CIUDAD RODRIGO AND BADAJOZ._] + +The winter of 1811-12 was spent by Wellington in preparing, with the +utmost secrecy, for the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, as the +first steps in an offensive campaign. In January, 1812, he struck a +sudden blow against the former, and captured it by an assault, attended +with great carnage, on the 19th of that month. In this furious conflict, +lasting but half an hour, Craufurd, the renowned leader of the light +division, fell mortally wounded. Shameful excesses sullied the glory of +a splendid exploit. Marmont immediately drew in his troops towards +Salamanca, leaving Soult in the valley of the Tagus; and Hill, with his +southern army, moved northward. Wellington, who was created an earl in +February, transferred the greater part of his troops to Badajoz, and +began a regular siege, but with very imperfect materials, no organised +corps of sappers and miners, and very few officers skilled in the art of +taking fortified towns. He was greatly delayed on the route by the lack +of transport, and the vexatious obstinacy of the Portuguese authorities, +while time was of the utmost consequence lest any or all of three French +armies should come to raise the siege. Hence the extreme rapidity of his +final operations. + +After the capture of an outlying fort, three breaches were made in the +walls, and on the night of April 6, under the cover of thick darkness, +two divisions of British troops descended into the ditch, many carrying +ladders or sacks of hay, and advanced to the foot of the _glacis_. Here +they were almost overwhelmed with a hurricane of fiery missiles, and in +mounting the breaches they had to face not only hand-grenades, trains of +powder, and bursting shells, but a _chevaux-de-frise_ of sabre-blades +crowning the summit. None of these attacks was successful; but another +division under Picton scaled the castle, and a brigade under Walker +effected an entrance elsewhere. After this, the French abandoned the +breaches; the resistance waxed fainter, and at six in the morning, +Philippon, the governor, with his brave garrison, surrendered +unconditionally. The loss of the British and Portuguese in killed and +wounded was stated at the enormous figure of 4,885, and it was avenged +by atrocities prolonged for two days and nights, worse than had followed +the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo. Wellington ordered the provost marshal +to execute any soldiers found in the act of plunder, but officers vainly +attempted to check their men at the peril of their own lives. + +[Pageheading: _SALAMANCA._] + +It had been the intention of Wellington to operate next against Soult, +and drive him, if possible, from Esdremadura and Andalusia. But, as +appears from one of his despatches to Lord Liverpool, he was ill +satisfied with the conduct of his allies guarding Ciudad Rodrigo, and +returned to resume command in that region. In the same despatch he +complains bitterly of the niggardly policy of his government in regard +to money and supplies. The same timidity on the part of ministers at +home appears in a letter from Liverpool, almost forbidding him to accept +the command-in-chief of the Spanish armies, which, however, was +conferred upon him later in this year.[49] At present, he decided to +march against Marmont in the plains of Leon. This movement was +facilitated by the success of Hill in surprising a body of French +troops, and seizing the important bridge of Almaraz over the Tagus on +May 19, thereby breaking the French lines of communication and isolating +Marmont's army for a time. Soon afterwards, Salamanca and its forts were +captured by Wellington, but Marmont proved a very formidable opponent, +and, having behind him another army under King Joseph, threatened the +British lines of communication. In the series of manoeuvres which +ensued, Wellington's forces met with more than one reverse, but the +French marshal was determined to win a victory on a large scale. +Wellington had no wish to risk a battle, unless Salamanca or his own +rear should be seriously threatened, and he stood on the defensive, a +little south of Salamanca, with Marmont's army encamped in front of him. + +Early on July 22, the French seized one of two hills called the Arapiles +which formed the key of the position and commanded the road to Ciudad +Rodrigo. Marmont then organised complicated evolutions, of which the +ultimate object was to envelop the British right and cut off its +expected retreat. To accomplish this, he extended his own left so far +that it became separated by a gap from his centre. No sooner did +Wellington, with a flash of military insight, perceive the advantage +thus offered than he flung half of his troops upon the French left wing, +and made a vigorous attack with the rest upon the French centre. It was +too late for Marmont, himself wounded, to repair the mistake, the centre +was driven in, and, as was said, 40,000 men were beaten in forty +minutes. General Clausel, who took Marmont's place, showed great ability +in the retreat, but the French army could scarcely have escaped +destruction had not the Spaniards, who were entrusted with a post on the +river Tormes, left the passage open for the flying enemy. Nevertheless, +the battle of Salamanca was the greatest and most decisive yet fought by +the British in the Peninsula; it established the reputation of our army, +and placed Wellington in the first rank of generals. Three weeks later +he entered Madrid in triumph, and was received with the wildest popular +acclamations. Joseph once more abandoned his capital, joined Suchet in +Valencia, and ordered Soult against his will to withdraw from Andalusia +and move in the same direction. This concentration relieved Wellington +from immediate anxieties, but exposed him to a serious danger of being +confronted before long by forces thrice as great as his own. He also +needed reinforcements, and was in still greater want of money. + +To students of military history it may seem a very doubtful question +whether, under such circumstances, it was prudent to advance farther +into Spain from his strongholds on the Portuguese frontier. But +Wellington, who had been created a marquis on August 18, judged it +necessary to crush if possible the remainder of Marmont's army which had +retired northward under Clausel. He therefore left Hill with a +detachment to cover Madrid, and marching through Valladolid occupied the +town of Burgos. The castle of that place remained in the hands of a +French garrison 2,000 strong and had been carefully fortified. Here +again we may be permitted to doubt whether, after the experience gained +at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, Wellington did wisely in resolving to +invest and storm a fortress so formidable, without an adequate +siege-train, and with the knowledge that Clausel might rally his forces +in time to relieve it. Wellington himself afterwards admitted to +Liverpool that he had erred in not taking with him the best of his own +troops, and that he did not possess the means of transporting ordnance +and military stores from Madrid and Santander, where there was abundance +of them. The siege lasted a month, from September 19 to October 18; the +garrison offered a most obstinate resistance, inflicting great loss on +the besiegers by sorties, and in the end the attack failed. Souham, with +Clausel, was closing in upon Wellington from the north, Soult from the +south-east; Hill's position at Madrid was untenable, and another retreat +became inevitable. It was the last and most trying in Wellington's +military career. The army which had behaved nobly at Salamanca broke +down under the strain of suffering and depression, like that of Sir John +Moore before Coruña. The enemy was driven back in various rear-guard +actions, but on the march the sense of discipline vanished and shameful +disorders occurred. A scathing reprimand from Wellington, which might +have been written by a French critic and which ought never to have been +made public, threw all the blame of this disorganisation on the +regimental officers, and denied that any scarcity of provisions could be +pleaded in excuse of it. + +[Pageheading: _MILITARY REFORMS._] + +By the middle of November the campaign ended, and Wellington's +headquarters were at Ciudad Rodrigo. For the present, Spain was still +dominated by the French, but its southern provinces were clear of the +invaders, and elsewhere the tide was already on the turn. The Russian +war cast its shadow beforehand on the Spanish peninsula; the French +army was constantly weakened in numbers and still more in quality, as +conscripts were substituted for veterans, and inferior generals +succeeded to high commands; the Portuguese and Spanish contingents of +the British army were stronger and better disciplined. Wellington +himself, tenacious of his purpose as ever, received heartier support +from home, where Liverpool had become prime minister in June, and had +been succeeded by Bathurst as secretary for war and the colonies; and +though the Marquis Wellesley, no longer in the government, complained +that his brother's operations had been crippled by ministerial apathy, +the Peninsular war, on the eve of its completion, was adopted with pride +and sympathy by the nation. + +The last chapter of the Peninsular war opens with the operations +culminating in the battle of Vitoria, and closes with the battle of +Toulouse. Having accepted the office of generalissimo of the Spanish +armies, Wellington repaired to Cadiz during the winter of 1812-13, and +formed the lowest estimate of the make-shift government there carried on +under the dual control of the cortes and the regency. He failed to +obtain a reform of this system, but succeeded in effecting a +reorganisation of the Spanish army, to be in future under his own +command. He next addressed himself, with the aid of Beresford and the +British minister at Lisbon, to amend the monstrous abuses, civil and +military, of Portuguese administration. By the beginning of May, 1813, a +great improvement was visible in the equipment and _moral_ of the +Spanish and Portuguese troops; a vigorous insurrection against the +French occupation had broken out in the province of Biscay, endangering +the great road into Spain; and an Anglo-Sicilian army of 16,000 men, +under Sir John Murray, had repulsed Suchet, hitherto undefeated, at +Castalla on the Valencian coast, without, however, completing their +victory, or capturing any of the French guns in the narrow defile by +which the enemy fled. The want of unity in the command of the French +army, and of harmony between its generals, was more felt than ever now +that Napoleon's master-mind was engrossed in retrieving the awful ruin +of the Russian expedition. + +Yet Napoleon's instructions to Joseph show that he had fully grasped the +critical nature of the situation. He enjoined Joseph to mass all his +forces round Valladolid, and imperatively directed that at all hazards +the communications with France should be maintained. The Spanish +guerillas had long rendered communications so insecure that couriers +with despatches had to be escorted by bodies of 250 cavalry or 500 +infantry; they were now so effectually intercepted that Napoleon's own +despatch reached Joseph more than two months late, by way of Barcelona +and Valencia. Meanwhile, Joseph was openly accusing Soult, in a letter +to his brother, of criminal ambition--a charge to which he laid himself +open before in Portugal--and did not hesitate to add, "the Duke of +Dalmatia or myself must quit Spain". In England, on the contrary, +parties were at last united in the desire to bring the war to a +triumphant end, and parliament grudged neither men nor money to aid +Wellington's plan of campaign. It was, then, under happier auspices than +in former years that he broke up from his cantonments then stationed on +the Coa, a little to the north-west of Ciudad Rodrigo, and set forward +with 70,000 British and Portuguese troops, besides 20,000 Spaniards, to +drive the French out of Spain. So confident was he of success that, as +Napier relates, he waved his hand in crossing the frontier on May 22, +and exclaimed, "Farewell, Portugal".[50] + +[Pageheading: _VITORIA._] + +He advanced by the valley of the Douro; then, turning to the north-east, +he compelled the French to evacuate Burgos, and passed the Ebro on June +13. Graham in command of his left wing there joined him, after forcing +his way by immense efforts across the mountains of the Portuguese +frontier. Hill, commanding the right wing of his composite but united +army, was already with him. A depot for his commissariat and a military +hospital were established at Santander, where a British fleet was lying, +and whence he could draw his supplies direct from home. The French army, +under Joseph and Marshal Jourdan, fell back before him by a forced night +march on the 19th and took up its position in front of Vitoria, in the +province of Biscay. Here, on the plain of the river Zadorra, was fought +on the 21st the greatest battle of the Peninsular war. Wellington had +encountered serious physical difficulties in his passage from the valley +of the Ebro to that of the Zadorra; but for once his plans had been +executed with admirable precision, and all his troops arrived at the +appointed time on the field of battle. The French, conscious of their +impending expulsion from Spain, were encumbered by enormous +baggage-trains containing the fruits of five years' merciless spoliation +"not of a province but of a kingdom," including treasures of art from +Madrid and all the provincial capitals, with no less than 5,500,000 +dollars in hard cash, besides two years' arrears of pay which Napoleon +had sent to fill the military chest of Joseph's army. A vast number of +vehicles, loaded with the whole imperial and royal treasure, overspread +the plain and choked the great road behind the French position, by which +alone such a mass of waggons could find its way into France. + +The French army consisted of about 60,000 men, with 150 pieces of +cannon, but strong detachments, under Foy and Clausel respectively, had +been sent away to guard the roads to Bilbao and Pamplona. The British +army numbered nearly 80,000, inclusive of Portuguese and Spanish, with +90 guns. The French were posted on strong ground, and held the bridges +across the river. Graham, with the left column of the British, made a +circuit in the direction of Bilbao, working round to cut off the French +rear on the Bayonne road. Hill, with the right column, forced the pass +of Puebla, in the latter direction, carried the ridge above it after +much hard fighting, and made good his position on the left flank of the +French. Wellington himself, in the centre, under the guidance of a +Spanish peasant, pushed a brigade across one of the bridges in his +front, weakly guarded, and thus mastered the others; his force then +expanded itself on the plain and bore down all opposition. Graham had +met with a more obstinate resistance from the French right, under +Reille, but at last got possession of the great Bayonne road. +Thenceforward a retreat of the French army, partly encircled, became +inevitable, but it was conducted at first in good order and with +frequent halts at defensible points. The only outlet left open was the +mountain road to Pamplona, and this was not only impracticable for heavy +traffic but obstructed by an overturned waggon. The orderly retreat was +soon converted into a rout; the flying throng made its way across +country and over mountains towards Pamplona, leaving all the artillery, +military stores, and accumulated spoils as trophies of the British +victory. + +The value of these was prodigious, but the great mass of booty, except +munitions of war, fell into the hands of private soldiers and +camp-followers. Wellington reported to Bathurst that nearly a million +sterling in money had been appropriated by the rank and file of the +army, and, still worse, that so dazzling a triumph had "totally +annihilated all order and discipline".[51] The loss in the battle had +been about 5,000, but Wellington stated that on July 8 "we had 12,500 +men less under arms than we had on the day before the battle". He +supposed the missing 7,500, nearly half of whom were British, to be +mostly concealed in the mountain villages.[52] A large number of +stragglers afterwards rejoined their colours, but too late to aid in an +effectual pursuit of the enemy. The immediate consequence of this great +victory was the evacuation by the French of all Spain south of the Ebro. +Even Suchet abandoned Valencia and distributed his forces between +Tarragona and Tortosa. To his great credit, Wellington addressed to the +cortes an earnest protest against wreaking vengeance on the French party +in Spain, many of whom might have been driven into acceptance of a +foreign yoke "by terror, by distress, or by despair". At the same time, +he vigorously followed up his success by chasing and nearly surrounding +Clausel's division, while Hill invested Pamplona, and Graham drove Foy +across the Bidassoa, in his advance upon the fortress of St. Sebastian. + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF THE PYRENEES._] + +The fortifications of St. Sebastian were in a very imperfect condition, +but the governor, Emmanuel Rey, was nevertheless able to defend the +place with success. Wellington, after laying siege to it, sanctioned a +premature attempt to scale the breaches which cost Graham's force a loss +of more than 500 men. This check was succeeded by another, still more +serious, in the historic pass of Roncesvalles. Napoleon, hearing at +Dresden of the battle of Vitoria, and instantly fathoming its momentous +import, despatched Soult, as "lieutenant of the emperor," to assume +command of all the French armies at Bayonne and on the Spanish frontier, +still amounting nominally to 114,000 men, besides 66,000 under Suchet in +Catalonia. Soult reached Bayonne on July 13, fortified it strongly, and +reorganised his troops with amazing energy, inspiriting them with a +warlike address in the well-known style of Napoleon's proclamations. On +the 25th he set his forces in motion, with the intention of crushing the +British right by a sudden irruption, and relieving Pamplona. He all but +achieved his object, for, by well-concerted and well-concealed +movements, he actually carried the passes of Roncesvalles and Maya, in +spite of a gallant resistance and the French troops were on the point of +pouring down the Pyrenees on the Spanish side, when Wellington arrived +at full speed from his position before St. Sebastian. + +He was opportunely reinforced, and gave battle on the rugged heights in +front of Pamplona to a force numerically superior, but for the most part +charging uphill. Never, even at Bussaco, did the French show greater +ardour and _élan_ in attack, and it was only after a series of bloody +hand-to-hand combats on the summits and sides of the mountains that they +were compelled to recoil and rolled backward down the ridge. Baffled in +his attempt to relieve Pamplona, Soult turned westwards towards St. +Sebastian, but was anticipated by Wellington, and faced by three +divisions of Hill on his right. A second engagement followed, in which +the Portuguese earned the chief honours, and 3,000 prisoners were taken. +At last Soult gave orders for a retreat, and in the course of it was all +but entrapped in a narrow valley where he could not have escaped the +necessity of surrender. It is said that he was warned just in time by +the sudden intrusion of three British marauders in uniform; at all +events, he instantly changed his line of march, and ultimately led his +broken army back to France, but in the utmost confusion, and not without +fresh disasters. One of these befell Reille's division in the gorge of +Yanzi, and another the French rear-guard under Clausel, which defended +itself valiantly, but was driven headlong down the northern side of the +Pyrenees from which this series of battles derives its name. + +The siege of St. Sebastian was immediately renewed with a far more +powerful battering train, but its defences had also been strengthened by +the indefatigable governor. The final assault took place on August 31, +and rivalled the storming of Badajoz in the murderous ferocity of the +_melée_ at the breaches, as well as in the horrors practised on the +inhabitants by the victorious assailants, which Wellington and Graham +vainly endeavoured to check. So desperate was the defence, and so +insuperable appeared the obstacles to an entrance by the breaches, that +Graham adopted the heroic expedient of causing his artillery to fire a +few feet only over the heads of the forlorn hope, until a clear opening +had been made, and deadly piles of combustibles had been exploded behind +the main breach, blowing into the air 300 of the garrison. A hideous +conflagration destroyed the greater part of the town. A few days later +the castle, to which the governor had retired, yielded to an +irresistible cannonade, and he surrendered at discretion with about +1,200 men. Several hundred wounded, including a large number of British +prisoners, were found there in the hospitals. + +On the 30th, the day before St. Sebastian was stormed, Soult attempted a +diversion for its relief by crossing the Bidassoa, and on the following +day he engaged a large body of Spaniards at St. Marcial. On this +occasion Wellington held the British troops in reserve, and the +Spaniards without their aid defeated the French with great slaughter. So +ended a well-planned and well-executed effort to reconquer the Spanish +frontier. Pamplona was still untaken, and Suchet was still in Catalonia, +but no further offensive movement was undertaken by the French against +Spain. Both Soult and Wellington had shown remarkable powers of +generalship, and there was a moment when Soult might have snatched the +prize of victory by raising the siege of Pamplona. But his ultimate +success was hopeless, and his failure was complete. Before the fall of +St. Sebastian and the battle of St. Marcial, Wellington estimated the +French losses at 15,000 men, who could ill be spared in the interval +between Napoleon's last gleam of victory at Dresden and on his signal +defeat at Leipzig. + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON ENTERS FRANCE._] + +But the Peninsular war, in the historical sense, was not yet over. +During the summer of 1813 a mixed force of British, Germans, Spaniards, +and Sicilians had been carrying on an intermittent war against the +French under Suchet in the eastern provinces. Their commander, Sir John +Murray, who had allowed the beaten enemy to escape at Castalla, proved +equally irresolute in an attempt to capture Tarragona, countermanded the +assault, and re-embarked his troops on the approach of Suchet. Soon +afterwards he was superseded by Lord William Bentinck, and Suchet after +the battle of Vitoria was compelled to retire behind the Ebro. Bentinck +renewed the investment of Tarragona, but permitted Suchet without a +battle to relieve it, demolish its fortifications, and withdraw its +garrison at the end of August. An ill-judged advance of the British +general into Catalonia brought about another misfortune, and, upon the +whole, the series of operations conducted against Suchet were by no +means glorious to British arms or generalship, however important their +effect in preventing a large body of French veterans from reinforcing +Soult's army at a critical time in the Western Pyrenees. Wellington +himself inclined to complete the deliverance of Spain by clearing the +province of Catalonia of the invaders, but the British government, +having in view the prospect of crushing Napoleon in Germany, urged him +to undertake an immediate invasion of France. Accordingly he moved +forward on October 7, leaving Pamplona closely blockaded, threw his army +across the Bidassoa on the 8th by a stroke of masterly tactics, forced +the strong French lines on the north side of it, and established himself +on the enemy's soil. Before entering France he issued the most stringent +proclamations against plundering, which he enforced by the sternest +measures, and announced that he would not suffer the peaceful +inhabitants of France to be punished for the ambition of their ruler. On +the 31st the French garrison of Pamplona, despairing of relief, +surrendered as prisoners of war. + +The prolonged defence of Pamplona gave Soult time to strengthen his +position on the Nivelle. The lines which he constructed rivalled those +of Torres Vedras, and the several actions by which they were at last +forced and turned were among the most desperate of the whole war. The +first was fought in the early part of November, and resulted in the +occupation by Wellington's army of the great mountain-barrier south of +Bayonne, with six miles of entrenchments along the Nivelle, and of the +port of St. Jean de Luz. A month later Wellington became anxious to +establish his winter-cantonments between the Nive and the Adour, partly +for strategical reasons, and partly in order to command a larger and +more fertile area for his supplies. On December 9, therefore, Hill with +the right wing forded the Nive and drove back the French left upon their +camp in front of Bayonne. Then followed three most obstinate combats on +the 10th, 11th and 13th, in which Soult took the offensive, with Bayonne +as the centre of his operations, and with the advantage of always moving +upon interior lines resting upon a strong fortress. In the first of +these attacks, he surprised and nearly succeeded in overwhelming the +British left, under Hope, now Sir John, before Wellington could bring +other divisions to its support. In the second, he fell suddenly on the +same troops, exhausted by fatigue, and still more or less isolated, but +they were rallied by Hope and Wellington in person, and remained masters +of the field. In the third he concentrated his whole strength upon the +British right under Hill, aided by a thick mist, and by a flood upon the +Nive, which swept away a bridge of boats, and separated Hill from the +rest of the army. Nevertheless, that able general, emulating the noble +example of Hope in the earlier encounters, succeeded in repelling +assault after assault, until Wellington himself appeared with +reinforcements of imposing strength, and converted a stubborn defence +into a victory. + +The loss of the allies since crossing the Nive had exceeded 5,000; that +of the French was 6,000, besides 2,400 Germans who deserted to the +British during the night of the 9th in obedience to orders from home. +Ever since he assumed the command Soult had shown military ability of a +rare order. Bayonne, the base of all his operations, was indefensible +before he fortified it. A great proportion of his troops were raw +conscripts, or demoralised by defeat, before he inspired them with his +own courage and vigour. He was practically dependent for subsistence in +his own country on the very system of pillage which had roused a +patriotic frenzy of resentment in Spain and other lands ravaged by +French armies. He now stood at bay in the south of France, as Wellington +had so long stood at bay in Portugal, and continued there during the +early part of 1814 a defensive campaign not unworthy of comparison with +the prodigious exploits of Napoleon himself against the invaders of his +eastern provinces. + +[Pageheading: _THE INVESTMENT OF BAYONNE._] + +A respite of two months succeeded the battles on the Nive. During this +interval Wellington's difficulty in paying his troops was great, owing +to the enormous drain of specie from England into Central Europe. He was +further embarrassed by the appearance of the Duke of Angoulême, elder +son of Charles, Count of Artois, afterwards Charles X., at his +headquarters. The British government was by no means committed to a +restoration of the Bourbons, and Wellington deprecated the duke's +appearance as at least premature. He therefore insisted upon his +remaining incognito and as a non-combatant at St. Jean de Luz. Soult +was in great straits, not only because he was compelled to "make war +support war" by exorbitant requisitions upon the French peasantry, but +also because the exigencies of Napoleon were such that large drafts of +the best troops were drawn from the army of the south. When hostilities +were resumed in the middle of February, 1814, the Anglo-Portuguese and +Spanish force combined outnumbered the French by nearly five to three, +but Soult retained the decisive advantage of having a strong _point +d'appui_ in Bayonne at the confluence of the Nive and Adour. Careful +preparations were made by Wellington for throwing a large force across +the Lower Adour below Bayonne, in concert with a British fleet. Contrary +winds and a violent surf delayed the arrival of the British gunboats, +but on February 23 Hope sent over a body of his men on a raft of +pontoons in the face of the enemy's flotilla, with the aid of a brigade +armed with Congreve rockets, which had been first used at Leipzig, and +produced the utmost consternation in the French ranks. The gunboats soon +followed, but with the loss of one wrecked and others stranded in +crossing the bar. By the joint exertions of soldiers and sailors a +bridge was then constructed, by which Hope's entire army with artillery +passed over the river, and, two days afterwards, began the investment of +Bayonne. + +Meanwhile, the centre and right wing, under the command of Wellington, +had forced a passage across the Upper Adour and threatened Bayonne on +the other side. Leaving a garrison of 6,000 men in Bayonne, Soult took +his stand at Orthez, with an army of about 40,000 men, on the summit of +a formidable ridge. Wellington attacked this ridge on the 27th, with a +force of nearly equal strength in three columns so disposed as to +converge from points several miles distant from each other. The veterans +of the French army, admirably handled, fought with tenacity, and all but +succeeded in foiling the attack before Wellington could bring up his +reserves. The conscripts, however, were not equally steady, and when +Hill, advancing from the extreme right, pressed upon the French left, +Soult's orderly retreat became a precipitate flight. The French loss +greatly exceeded the British, and was soon afterwards swelled by +wholesale desertions; the road to Bordeaux was thrown open, and the +royalist reaction against Napoleon, stimulated by the depredation of +the French troops, ripened into a general revolt. + +Meanwhile, Napoleon had lost Germany by the battle of Leipzig; early in +1814 the allied armies of Austria, Prussia, and Russia had entered +France, and a congress was being held at Châtillon-sur-Seine, to +formulate, if possible, terms of peace. The city of Bordeaux was the +first to declare itself openly in favour of the Bourbons. Wellington +sent a large detachment to preserve order, with strict instructions to +Beresford, who commanded it, to remain neutral, in the event of Louis +XVIII. being proclaimed, pending the negotiations with Napoleon at +Châtillon. But the excitement of the people could not be restrained, and +the arrival of the Duke of Angoulême evoked a burst of royalist +enthusiasm which anticipated by a few weeks only the abdication of +Napoleon at Fontainebleau. The defection of Bordeaux forced Soult to +fall back rapidly on a very formidable position in front of Toulouse. +The British army followed in pursuit, encumbered with a great artillery +and pontoon train. After a lively action at Tarbes, it arrived in front +of Toulouse on March 27, to find the Garonne in flood, and the French +army strongly entrenched around the town, with a prospect of being +joined by 20,000 or 30,000 veterans, under Suchet, from Catalonia. + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF TOULOUSE._] + +The dispositions of Wellington, ending in the battle of Toulouse, on +April 10, have not escaped criticism. Hill, with two divisions and a +Spanish contingent, threw a bridge across the Garonne below Toulouse, +but discovered that he could make no progress in that direction, owing +to the impassable state of the roads. Beresford crossed the river with +18,000 men at another point, but a sudden flood broke up the pontoon +bridge in his rear, and he remained isolated for no less than four days, +exposed to an attack from Soult's whole army. Having missed this rare +opportunity, Soult calmly awaited the attack, with a force numerically +inferior, but with every advantage of position. On the 10th Wellington's +troops advanced in two columns, separated from each other by a perilous +interval of two miles. One of these, including Freyre's Spaniards and +Picton's division, was fairly driven back after furious attempts to +storm the ramparts of the fortified ridge held by the French. Beresford, +however, who in this battle combined generalship with brilliant +courage, restored the fortunes of the day by a dashing advance against +the redoubts on the French right. Having carried these he swept along +the ridge, which became untenable, and Soult withdrew his army within +his second line of defences. Two days later, seeing that Hill menaced +Toulouse on the other side, and fearing that if defeated again he would +lose his only line of retreat along the Carcassonne road, he evacuated +Toulouse by that route, leaving his magazines and hospitals in the hands +of the British army. By so doing he left to Wellington the honour and +prize of victory, but few victories have been so dearly bought, and the +loss in killed and wounded was actually greater on the side of the +victors than on that of the vanquished. + +Toulouse received Wellington on the 12th with open arms, and as news +reached him on the same day announcing the proclamation of Louis XVIII. +at Paris, he no longer hesitated to assume the white cockade. Soult +loyally declined to accept the intelligence until it was officially +confirmed, when a military convention was made on the 18th, whereby a +boundary line was established between the two armies. Suchet had already +withdrawn from Spain, and at last recalled the garrisons from those +Spanish fortresses in which Napoleon had so obstinately locked up picked +troops which he sorely needed in his dire extremity. But on the 14th, a +week after Napoleon's abdication, the famous "sortie from Bayonne" took +place, in which each side lost 800 or 900 men, and Hope, wounded in two +places, was made prisoner. For this waste of life the governor of +Bayonne must be held responsible, since he was informed of the events at +Paris by Hope, and instead of awaiting official confirmation, like +Soult, chose to risk the issue of a night combat, which must needs be +deadly and could not be decisive. + +Thus ended the Peninsular war. This war on the British side has seldom +been surpassed in the steady adherence to a settled purpose, through +years of discouragement and failure, maintained by the general whose +name it has made immortal. Neither his strategy nor his tactical skill +was always faultless; and afterwards in comparing himself with Soult, he +is reported to have said, that he often got into scrapes, but was +extricated by the valour of his army, whereas Soult, when he got into a +scrape, had no such men to get him out of it. However this might be, +Wellington's foresight in appreciating the place to be filled by the +Peninsular war in the overthrow of Napoleon's domination, and his truly +heroic constancy in striving to realise his own idea will ever +constitute his best claim to greatness. No other man in England or in +Europe discerned as he did, that with Portugal independent and guarded +by the power of Great Britain on its western coast and its eastern +frontier, the permanent conquest of Spain by the French would become +impossible. No one else saw beforehand, what Napoleon discovered too +late, that a war in Portugal and Spain would drain the life-blood of his +invincible hosts, and at length help towards the invasion of France +itself. No other general would have shown equal statesmanship in +managing Spanish juntas and controlling even Spanish guerillas, or equal +forbearance in sparing the French people the evils which a victorious +army might have inflicted upon them. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[42] Napier, _Peninsular War_ (3rd edition), i., 123. + +[43] For Moore's campaign see Napier, _Peninsular War_, i., pp. +xxi.-xxv., lvii.-lxxvi., 330-44, 431-542, and Oman, _Peninsular War_, +i., 486-602; and compare Moore's _Diary_, edited by Maurice, ii., +272-398. Sir F. Maurice has not completely answered Professor Oman's +criticisms. + +[44] Wellington, _Dispatches_, iv., 261-63 (March 7, 1809). + +[45] For the exact figures see Oman, _Peninsular War_, ii., 645-48. + +[46] Wellington, _Dispatches_, iv., 536 (July 29, 1809). + +[47] For Masséna's lines of march see T. J. Andrews in _English +Historical Review_, xvi. (1901), 474-92. + +[48] The battle is picturesquely described by Napier, _Peninsular War_, +iii., 536-66. See also _ibid._, pp. xxxv.-li. + +[49] Wellington, _Supplementary Dispatches_, vii., 318-19. + +[50] Napier, _Peninsular War_ (first edition), v., 513. + +[51] Wellington, _Dispatches_, x., 473 (June 29, 1813). + +[52] _Ibid._, x., 519 (July 9, 1813). + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON. + + +The war between France and Russia, publicly threatened in August, +1811,[53] was long deferred. On Russia's part the adherence to a +defensive policy delayed action until France was ready. But there was +another reason why the preparations for war were only slowly pushed +forward. Even at the court of St. Petersburg there was a French party +which retarded such preparations as committing Russia too definitely to +an open rupture. On the part of France, also, delay was necessary. +Though deliberately provoked by himself, the war was not altogether +welcome to Napoleon. It suited him best to have a strong but friendly +neighbour in Russia, and victory promised him but the half-hearted +friendship of a power to which he could no longer dare to leave much +strength. Besides it was necessary to make far more extensive +preparations than had been required for any of his previous campaigns. +Russia was too poor and too thinly peopled for it to be possible for war +to support itself, and immense supplies with correspondingly large +transport arrangements were needed for a large army which would have to +fight at so vast a distance from its base. It would have been impossible +to be ready in time for a summer campaign in 1811; the country was not +favourable to transport on a large scale during winter, and the war was +therefore postponed till the summer of 1812. The end of May or beginning +of June was the date originally selected for the beginning of +operations, as it was expected that the difficulty of providing fodder +would be greatly reduced when the grass had grown. But the preparations +were not sufficiently advanced by that date, and hostilities were only +opened on June 24. + +The interval was spent by both powers in securing allies and pacifying +enemies. Early in the year 1812 Prussia had made a last attempt to avert +a French alliance by inviting Russia to join in a peaceful compromise. +After the failure of this negotiation her position was helpless, and +resembled that of Poland before its national extinction. Russia could +not become her active ally without exposing her own army to destruction +at a second Friedland, and Prussia could not fight France alone. +Frederick William, therefore, accepted the terms dictated by Napoleon. +By a treaty concluded on February 24 he agreed to supply the emperor +with 20,000 men to serve as a part of the French army, and was to raise +no levies and give no orders without his consent. The king was also to +afford a free passage and provide food and forage for the French troops, +payment for which was to be arranged afterwards. In return for this a +reduction was made in the war indemnity due to France. This was probably +as much as Napoleon could have obtained without authorising a dangerous +increase in the Prussian army. + +[Pageheading: _RUSSIAN ALLIANCES._] + +Austria was more fortunate, because an Austrian war would have been a +serious diversion, not a step towards the invasion of Russia. She was in +consequence able to impose her own terms on France. These terms, so far +as the nature and extent of the Austrian assistance to France were +concerned, had been sketched by Metternich to the British agent, Nugent, +as far back as November, 1811, and they were accepted by France in a +treaty of March 16, 1812.[54] Austria was to provide an army of 30,000 +men to guard Napoleon's flank in Volhynia. In return France guaranteed +the integrity of Turkey, and secretly promised a restoration of the +Illyrian provinces to Austria in exchange for Galicia, which was to form +a part of a reconstituted Poland. Elsewhere Napoleon's negotiations were +unsuccessful. In January he fulfilled his threat of occupying Swedish +Pomerania, but it had no effect on Swedish policy, and when in March he +offered Finland and a part of Norway as the price of an alliance, his +terms were rejected and Sweden allied herself with Russia. On April 17 +Napoleon made overtures for peace with Great Britain, offering to +evacuate Spain and to recognise the house of Braganza in Portugal and +the Bourbons in Sicily, if the British would recognise the "actual +dynasty" in Spain and Murat in Naples. The offer was certainly illusory. +"Actual dynasty" was an ambiguous phrase, but would naturally mean the +Bonapartes. Castlereagh declined to recognise Joseph, but declared his +readiness to discuss the proposed basis if "actual dynasty" meant a +recognition of Ferdinand VII. in Spain. Napoleon was enabled to say that +his offers of peace had been rejected, and made no answer to +Castlereagh. + +Russia in her turn had to conciliate the Porte, Sweden, Persia, and +Great Britain. The Turkish negotiations were prolonged, and it was only +in May that the treaty of Bucharest was signed, by which Russia gave up +all her conquests except Bessarabia. Sweden had offered Russia her +alliance in February. She was prepared to surrender Finland to Russia on +condition that Russia should assist her in the conquest of Norway. A +joint army was to effect this conquest and then make a descent on North +Germany, threatening the rear of the French army of invasion. The +adhesion of Great Britain was to be invited. On April 5 an alliance +between Russia and Sweden was signed on the terms suggested. This was +followed on August 28 by the treaty of Åbo, which was signed in the +presence of the British representative, Lord Cathcart. By this treaty +Russia was to assist Sweden with 30,000 men and a loan, Sweden undertook +to support Russia's claim, when it should be made, for an extension of +her frontier to the Vistula. Shortly afterwards it was agreed to +postpone the attack on Norway till the following year, and thus at +length the Russian army in Finland was set free. The treaties with the +Porte and Sweden were too late to liberate troops to oppose Napoleon's +advance, but the troops thus liberated greatly endangered his retreat. +With Persia no peace could be made. Great Britain was still nominally at +war both with Russia and with Sweden. Negotiations with Russia in April +came to nothing because the British government refused to take over a +loan of £4,000,000, but on July 18 a treaty of alliance between the +three powers was signed, in which Great Britain promised pecuniary aid +to Russia. A further sign of friendship was given when the tsar handed +over the Cronstadt fleet for safekeeping to the British. The formal +treaty was, however, only the public recognition of a friendship and +mutual confidence which had begun with the breach between Russia and +France. This good understanding was shared by the nominal allies of +France, Prussia and Austria. Russia was fully informed of the military +and political plans of Austria, and knew that her forces would not fight +except under compulsion. + +At last, on June 24, Napoleon's grand army began the passage of the +Niemen, which formed the boundary between the duchy of Warsaw and the +Russian empire. The main body, at least 300,000 strong, was commanded by +Napoleon himself. A northern division, including the Prussian +contingent, was commanded by Macdonald, and, after advancing to Riga, +which it pretended to besiege, remained idle throughout the campaign. +The Austrians, under Schwarzenberg, formed a southern division, but they +merely manoeuvred, and made no serious attempts to impede the +movements of the southern Russian army on its return journey from the +war on the Danube. Napoleon himself drove the main Russian armies before +him in the direction of Moscow. At last Kutuzov, who had taken over the +command of the Russians in the course of the retreat, made a stand at +Borodino, where on September 7 one of the bloodiest battles on record +was fought. The figures are variously given, but the French army +probably lost over 30,000 in killed and wounded out of a force of +125,000; and the Russians lost not less than 40,000 out of an army of +slightly smaller dimensions. This awful carnage ended, after all, in +little more than a trial of strength. The French gained the ground, but +the Russians made good their retreat, and six days later Kutuzov retired +through the streets of Moscow, taking the better part of the population +and all the military stores with him. The French vanguard entered on the +14th, and Napoleon himself next day. A fire, kindled either by accident +or by Russian incendiaries, raged from the 14th to the 20th and +destroyed three-fourths of the city. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON'S RETREAT FROM MOSCOW._] + +The capture of Moscow was far from being the triumph that the French +emperor had anticipated. Deceived by his recollections of Tilsit, he had +fully counted upon receiving pacific overtures from Alexander or at +least upon his eager acceptance of conciliatory assurances from himself. +But as the weeks passed and the vision of negotiation with the Russians +proved illusory, retreat became inevitable. On the night of October 18 +the French army, now about 115,000 strong, evacuated Moscow. Kutuzov, +who was stronger in cavalry, though perhaps still weaker in infantry, +hung upon its rear, and, while avoiding a pitched battle, was able to +prevent Napoleon from retreating by any other route than the now +devastated line of his advance. It has often been questioned whether +Kutuzov did not deliberately refrain from destroying the French army. He +certainly informed Sir Robert Wilson on one occasion that he did not +wish to drive Napoleon to extremities, lest his supremacy should go to +the power that ruled the sea. The remark may have been nothing more than +an outburst of ill-temper, but, whatever the motive, there can be no +doubt as to the policy adopted. The retreating French army suffered +terrible hardships from the cold, for which it was ill prepared. Twice +it seemed on the point of falling into the hands of the Russians; at +Krasnoe 26,000 prisoners are said to have been captured by Kutuzov's +army, while at Borisov the southern army under Chichagov and the army +returning from Finland under Wittgenstein joined hands, and disputed the +French passage of the Berezina on November 26-29. According to +Chambray's calculation, the French army numbered 31,000 combatants +before the passage, of whom but 9,000 remained on December 1. All the +non-combatants had been left in the hands of the enemy. + +This was the last direct attack made by the Russians on the relics of +the grand army. But the worst ravages of the Russian winter had yet to +come. On December 3 the cold became intense. As the survivors of the +expedition dragged themselves homewards through the Polish provinces, +they were met by large bodies of reinforcements pouring in from the +west; these recruits, comparatively fresh, were at first appalled by the +gaunt and famine-stricken aspect of the returning veterans, but soon +perished themselves in nearly equal numbers. It is estimated that +altogether only 60,000 men recrossed the frontier out of a total of +630,000, and in the estimate of 60,000 is included Macdonald's division, +which was exposed to comparatively little hardship. That division with +the Prussian contingent began to fall back on December 19. On the 30th, +however, the Prussians were reduced to neutrality by the convention of +Tauroggen, signed by the Prussian commander, Yorck, with the Russians, +without the sanction of his government. Had Russia been in a condition +to press onwards at once and carry the war into French territory, it is +possible that Europe might have been spared the misery and bloodshed of +the next few years. But, for the moment, her strength and resources were +exhausted, nor was it until months had elapsed that other nations, or +even France herself, became aware of the magnitude of the catastrophe +which had overtaken Napoleon's host. That he was able to rally himself +after it, to carry the French people with him, to enforce a new +conscription, and to assume the aggressive in the campaign of 1813, must +ever remain a supreme proof of his capacity for empire. + +[Pageheading: _DISPUTES WITH THE UNITED STATES._] + +In the year 1812 war broke out between Great Britain and the United +States. For a time the continental warfare had led to a great increase +in American commerce, which was free from the attacks of privateers and +from the restrictions which the opposing parties placed on one another. +Presently, however, both parties attempted to force the United States +into a virtual alliance with themselves. Orders in council on the one +side and imperial decrees on the other had, as we have seen, declared a +blockade of the ports of the continent of Europe and of Great Britain, +and the United States saw their commerce threatened with disabilities +approximating to those suffered by the belligerent powers. President +Jefferson, who was supported by the republican party, adhered to a +policy of strict neutrality, and prepared to suffer any commercial loss +rather than be drawn into an European war. The only action which he took +was the defence of the river mouths with a view to resisting any +offensive movement. The federalist party on the other hand were in +favour of energetic action against France, so as to secure English +favour and the great commercial privileges which the mistress of the +seas could bestow. For a time no hostilities resulted, but constant +irritation was caused by the British claim to a right of search and to +the impressment of sailors of British nationality found on American +ships, while American ships accused of infringing the blockade were +seized by either of the European combatants. To some extent the +differences between Great Britain and the United States depended on +rival views of the law of allegiance. The British maintained the +doctrine _nemo potest exuere patriam_, and regarded all British-born +persons, unless absolved from their allegiance by the act of the +mother-country, as British subjects. The law of the United States, on +the other hand, permitted an alien to become a citizen after fourteen +years' residence, and previously to 1798 had required a residence of +five years only. In this way it often happened that sailors who had +received the American citizenship were impressed for service on British +ships, and sometimes sailors of actual American birth were impressed. +But it was impossible to justify the practice to which the Americans +resorted of receiving deserters of British nationality from British +ships of war, who were induced by offers of higher pay to transfer +themselves to the American service. + +Jefferson at first preferred to coerce the European powers by +retaliatory legislation. As early as April, 1806, a law had been passed +forbidding the importation of certain British wares, but was suspended +six weeks after it came into operation. In June, 1807, irritation was +intensified by the incident of the _Leopard_ and the _Chesapeake_. Five +men, four of whom were British born and one an American by birth, were +known to have deserted from the British sloop _Halifax_, lying in +Hampton roads, and to have taken service on an American frigate, the +_Chesapeake_. After application for their surrender had been made in +vain to the magistrates of the town of Norfolk, where the _Chesapeake's_ +rendezvous was, and to the officer commanding the rendezvous, +Vice-admiral Berkeley sent his flagship, the _Leopard_, carrying fifty +guns, with an order to the British captains on the North American +station to search the _Chesapeake_ for deserters from six ships named, +including the _Halifax_, in case she should be encountered on the high +seas. The _Leopard_ arrived in Chesapeake bay in time to follow the +_Chesapeake_ beyond American waters, and then made a demand to search +for deserters. On the captain of the _Chesapeake_ refusing compliance, +the _Leopard_ opened fire. The _Chesapeake_ was not in a condition to +make any effectual reply, and, after receiving three broadsides, struck +her flag. Only one of the deserters from the _Halifax_, an Englishman, +was found on the _Chesapeake_; but three deserters from the British +warship _Melampus_, which had not been named in Berkeley's order, all +Americans by birth, were removed from the _Chesapeake_, which was now +permitted to return to port.[55] Although the British government offered +reparation for this action, recalled Berkeley, and disavowed the right +to search ships of war for deserters, the incident could not fail to +make a bad impression on American opinion. + +But still Jefferson adhered to a policy of pacific coercion. In +December, 1807, the act of April, 1806, was again put into force, and an +embargo act, passed by the American congress, now cut off all foreign +countries from trade with the United States. But the policy of embargo +was disastrous to its promoters. It ruined the commerce and emptied the +treasury of the United States. On March 1, 1809, a non-intercourse act, +applying only to France, Great Britain, and their dependencies, was +substituted for the embargo act.[56] The new act enabled the president +to remove the embargo against whichever country should cancel its orders +or decrees against American trade. Three days later Jefferson was +succeeded by Madison as President of the United States. The change made +no difference to the policy of the United States government. But the +opposition was now much stronger and more violent than formerly; so much +so that Sir James Craig, the Canadian governor, actually despatched a +spy, John Henry, to sound the willingness of New England, where the +federalist party was the stronger, to secede from the union and join +Great Britain against the United States. This venture becomes the less +surprising when we observe that in the previous year, 1808, John Quincy +Adams, the future president, had predicted such a secession. Nothing, +however, came of the attempt. Madison attempted to obtain concessions +from the British government, but while the Perceval ministry lasted he +met with no success. In May, 1810, the non-intercourse act expired, but +a proviso was enacted that, if before March 3, 1811, either Great +Britain or France should cancel her decrees against American trade the +act should, three months after such revocation, revive against the power +that maintained its decrees. Madison was cajoled into believing that +Napoleon had recalled his decrees on November 1, 1810, and the +non-intercourse act was accordingly revived against Great Britain and +her dependencies in February, 1811. + +[Pageheading: _WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES._] + +Almost the first act of the Liverpool administration was to cancel the +restrictions on American trade. But it was too late. Five days earlier +the United States had declared war against Great Britain on June 18, +1812. The explanation of this step must be sought in the party politics +of the United States. While the federalists courted British alliance, +the younger members of the republican party had conceived a hope of +conquering Canada as a result of a victorious war against Great Britain. +This was the reply of the national party in the United States to the +action of the Canadian governor. Madison knew the impracticability of +such a step, but, finding that he could only carry the presidential +election of 1812 with the support of this section of his party, he +declared war. Great Britain, with her best troops in the Peninsula, was +in no condition to use her full strength in America, but the United +States were entirely unprepared for war. Their treasury was still empty, +and their army and navy were small, while Canada generally was contented +and loyal to the British crown. Upper Canada was full of loyalists, who +had been expelled from the revolted colonies, and who with their +descendants hated the men that had driven them from their homes; lower +Canada was half-French and had nothing in common with the United States, +while the Roman catholic clergy threw the whole weight of their +influence on the British side. General Hull, who commanded the forces +employed against Canada, succeeded in crossing the river Detroit in July +and threatened the British post of Malden. But an alliance with the +Indians enabled the British first to possess themselves of Mackinac, at +the junction of lakes Huron and Michigan, and afterwards to imperil +Hull's communications through the Michigan territory. + +Hull accordingly fell back on Detroit. The British, with 750 men under +Major-General Brock, together with 600 Indians, now prepared to attack +Hull at that place. Hull, who believed his retreat to be cut off by the +Indians, did not await the British attack, but surrendered on August 16 +with 2,500 men and thirty-three guns. The effect of the capitulation was +to place the British in effectual possession, not merely of Detroit, but +of the territory of Michigan, and thus to render any attack on Canada +from that quarter extremely difficult. The advantages gained by the +British through this success were unfortunately neutralised by the +policy pursued by Sir George Prevost, who had succeeded Craig as +governor of Canada. Prevost was of opinion that, when the news of the +withdrawal of the orders in council reached Washington, the United +States government would be ready to abandon hostilities; and he +accordingly concluded a provisional armistice with General Dearborn, the +commander-in-chief of the enemy's forces in the northern states. But +President Madison, having engaged in war, was anxious to try the effect +of another attack on Canada before negotiating for peace, and therefore +declined to ratify the armistice. The interval enabled the United States +to bring up reinforcements, but their new army failed in an attack on a +British post on the Maumee river. + +Meanwhile a second attempt was made to invade Upper Canada, this time +from the side of Niagara. On October 13, Brigadier-General Wadsworth, +acting under the orders of General Van Rensselaer, led an attack on the +British position of Queenstown on the Canadian bank of the Niagara +river. Brock commanded the defence, but was killed early in the fight. +The position was momentarily seized by the enemy, but was presently +recaptured by the British, who had in the meantime been reinforced by +Major-General Sheaffe, the son of a loyalist, with a force from Fort +George, and before the day closed Wadsworth found himself compelled to +surrender with 900 men. The remainder of the enemy's forces, consisting +of militia, rather than exceed their military obligations by crossing +the frontier, chose to leave these men to their fate. In spite of the +ignominious surrenders with which the first two expeditions against +Canada had terminated, a third attempt was made by Brigadier-General +Smyth to force the Canadian frontier; but on November 28 he was repulsed +with loss by the British under Bishopp between Chippewa and Fort Erie, +above the Niagara Falls, and at the end of the year the Canadian +frontier still remained unpierced. + +[Pageheading: _AMERICAN SUCCESSES AT SEA._] + +The glory of the British military successes was unfortunately obscured +in large measure by American successes on the sea. The maritime war +resolved itself into a series of fights between individual frigates. +This was the necessary result of the nature of the British force kept in +American waters. Ever since the renewal of hostilities with France in +1803 a species of blockade had been maintained along the coast of the +United States by British vessels on the watch for deserters or +contraband of war. It was also found necessary to employ ships of war +to guard against pirates in the West Indies and to protect British +commerce in that quarter against French privateers. For all these +purposes speed was of more importance than strength, and the British +force in the west contained a disproportionate number of smaller vessels +as compared with line of battle ships. The actual numbers of British +warships in North American waters at the beginning of 1812 were three +ships of the line, twenty-one cruisers and frigates, and fifty-three +small craft. The United States navy was still weaker, and amounted +merely to seven efficient frigates and nine small craft.[57] There was +no question of a contest between fleets, and though the numbers of the +British warships enabled them to destroy American trade, they were ship +for ship inferior to the American frigates, which were thus enabled to +win an empty glory in single-ship encounters. The American frigates +were, in fact, superior in every respect to the British ships which +nominally belonged to the same class. They were larger and more strongly +built, a frigate being as strong as a British seventy-four. Their crews +were more numerous, and were recruited entirely from seamen, about +one-third of whom would appear to have been of British nationality, +while, as has been seen, many of them had been decoyed from British +war-vessels by offers of higher pay. The British ships on the other hand +were manned largely by landsmen, often impressed from the jails. A false +economy had induced the British admiralty to impose narrow limits on the +use of ammunition for gunnery practice. The Americans on the other hand +were very liberal in this respect, with the result that in the early +years of the war they were greatly superior to their enemies in point of +marksmanship. + +A good example of the disproportion between the British and American +frigates is furnished by the fight between the British frigate +_Guerrière_ and the American frigate _Constitution_, on August 19, one +of the first naval actions in the war. The _Guerrière_ was armed with +twenty-four broadside guns, discharging projectiles with a total weight +of 517 pounds; the _Constitution_ with twenty-eight broadside guns, +discharging a weight of 768 pounds. The crew of the _Guerrière_, +counting men only, numbered 244, that of the _Constitution_ with a +similar limitation 460. Finally the _Guerrière's_ tonnage amounted to +1,092, as against the _Constitution's_ 1,533. The _Guerrière's_ guns +proved very ineffectual from the start, while the marksmanship, not only +of the American gunners but of the riflemen in the _Constitution's_ +tops, was the wonder of the British. It is stated that none of her shot +fell short. After a fight lasting nearly two hours the _Guerrière_ +surrendered. The ship was a complete wreck, and she had lost fifteen men +killed and six mortally wounded as against seven killed and three +mortally wounded on board her opponent. + +The effect of the engagement both on British and on American public +opinion was altogether out of proportion to its intrinsic importance. +The inequality in strength of the opposing frigates was not understood, +and any defeat of the mistress of the seas seemed an event of +considerable significance. The Americans soon met with other similar +successes. On October 18 their sloop _Wasp_, of eighteen guns, reduced +the British sloop _Frolic_, a weaker vessel, though of similar armament, +to a helpless hulk after a ten minutes' cannonade. The moral effect of +this victory was not impaired by the fact that the conqueror and her +prize were compelled to surrender a few hours later to the British +seventy-four _Poictiers_. On the 25th the _United States_, of forty-four +guns, captured the _Macedonian_, of thirty-eight, after three hours' +fighting, and on December 29 the British thirty-eight-gun frigate +_Java_, with a very inexperienced crew, was captured by the +_Constitution_ after a running fight of three hours and a half.[58] + +[Pageheading: _THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN OF 1813._] + +With the retreat of the French army from Russia the main scene of +operations on the continent was shifted from Russia to Germany. Great +Britain took little part in the actual warfare in Germany, and if she +had a larger share in the political negotiations which ultimately +determined the distribution of forces, still Austria and not Great +Britain was the power whose diplomacy had most effect on the course of +events. The upheaval of Europe against Napoleon, however, would have +been much less effective if it had not been supported by English +subsidies, and Austria, in the crippled state of her finances, would +probably have had to remain inactive if she had not been able to rely on +English gold and perhaps still more on English credit. + +The campaign of 1813 falls naturally into three parts. During the first, +from the beginning of January to the latter part of April the victorious +Russians swept over North Germany, and, carrying the Prussian monarchy +with them, strengthened a reaction which had already begun against the +rule of Napoleon. The second part began with the arrival of Napoleon on +the scene of action towards the end of April and lasted to the +conclusion of an armistice on June 4. In this period of seven or eight +weeks the allies were forced to retire at all points and the war was +carried into Prussian territory. The armistice, which terminated on +August 10, preceded the opening of the third part of the campaign in +which Russia and Prussia were joined by Austria and Sweden, and, after +gradually drawing closer round the main French position in Saxony, +finally inflicted a crushing defeat upon Napoleon at Leipzig in the +middle of October. The campaign was virtually over when Napoleon secured +his retreat by the victory of Hanau on October 30; but it is impossible +to sever it from the events outside Germany which were directly +occasioned by the downfall of Napoleon's German domination. These are +the revolt of Holland in November, that of Switzerland in December, and +the Austrian attack on Northern Italy in October and November. + +In the opening months of the campaign the movements were merely a sequel +to those of the previous year. The French retreat was continued from the +Niemen to the Vistula, the Elbe, and finally the Saale. The Russians +entered Prussia proper a few days after Yorck's capitulation, and the +French retired before them. Stein, the Prussian statesman who had +received a commission from Russia to administer the Prussian districts +occupied by her, ordered the provincial governor to convoke an assembly. +Although some indignation was felt at such a step being taken by Russian +orders, the assembly met and voted the formation of the Landwehr. In +this way Prussia actually began to arm against France, while the +Prussian government still professed to maintain the French alliance. A +few days later King Frederick William left Berlin, which was still +occupied by the French, for Breslau. Before the end of February he had +concluded the treaty of Kalisch with Russia, by which the two powers +were to conduct the war against France conjointly, and Russia was not to +lay down her arms till Prussia should be restored to a strength equal to +that which she had possessed in 1806. On March 2 Cathcart arrived at +Kalisch as British ambassador to the Russian court. He actively promoted +Russia's alliance with Prussia, from which Great Britain stood apart for +the present. He was able to obtain from Prussia a renunciation of her +claims on Hanover, but Frederick William was still opposed to any +increase of Hanoverian territory. On the 17th Prussia declared war on +France. By that time the Russians had entered both Berlin and Breslau, +and had freed Hamburg from French dominion, thus reopening Germany to +British commerce. The declaration of war by Prussia was accompanied by a +convention with Russia providing for the deliverance of Germany and the +dissolution of the confederation of the Rhine. This convention embodied +Stein's policy. It relied on popular support and it aimed at an unified +government, at least in the territories occupied at that date by +adherents of France. + +[Pageheading: _THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN OF 1813._] + +But the popular upheaval in Germany was confined to the kingdom of +Prussia, and the attempt to spread it elsewhere only provoked distrust +in Austria and the South German states; it was not until the +conservative elements in Germany were won over by Metternich's policy +that the anti-Napoleonic movement became truly national. For the present +Austria played the part of mediator. Lord Walpole, who had been sent on +a secret errand to Vienna in December, 1812, tried in vain to win +Austria to the side of the allies by promising the restoration of the +Tyrol, Illyria, and Venetia.[59] Her government would probably have +preferred a reconciliation with France, which would have arrested the +growth of Russia and left Germany divided, to a unified Germany such as +Stein desired; but Metternich, who directed her policy, cherished little +hope of the success of his endeavours, though he knew when to employ +agents more optimistic than himself. The Austrian treasury was empty, +and it therefore suited Austria to remain neutral as long as possible, +while in the event of a doubtful struggle this very neutrality would +raise the price of her ultimate alliance. It was in this way that she +came at last to exercise a decisive voice in the resettlement of +Germany, not to say of Europe. True to this policy, the Austrian court +concluded a truce of indefinite duration with Russia at the beginning of +the year, and withdrew its forces within its own borders. This was +followed by an offer of mediation made to France, which was, however, +declined. A renewed offer was declined early in April by both France and +Great Britain. The British still distrusted Austria, while France +desired to buy her active co-operation and made an offer of Silesia in +return for an army of 100,000, should Prussia or Russia open +hostilities. Austria did not, however, abandon her project, but notified +Prussia and Russia that she would proceed with the task of armed +mediation, and steadily busied herself with military preparations. + +The vigour of the Prussians in recruiting had surprised Napoleon, but +his own vigour was the marvel of Europe. In spite of the losses of the +Russian campaign, he was able to take the field at the end of April with +an army which at the lowest estimate was 200,000 strong. But his +soldiers were for the most part mere boys, and he was sadly deficient in +cavalry. The veterans of Austerlitz, of Jena, of Friedland, and of +Wagram had been recklessly sacrificed on the plains of Russia. He was +victorious at Lützen on May 2, was joined by the King of Saxony, entered +Dresden, and thence pushed across the Elbe. On the 21st the victory of +Bautzen enabled him to advance to the Oder and occupy Breslau. A renewed +offer of Austrian mediation drew from him a declaration in favour of an +armistice and a diplomatic congress. On June 4 an armistice was actually +concluded at Poischwitz to last until August 1, and a neutral zone was +provided to separate the combatants. On June 7 the demands of Austria +were presented to Napoleon. They involved the renunciation by France of +all territorial possessions, and even of a protectorate in Germany, and +the restoration to Prussia and Austria of most of their lost provinces. +Napoleon refused these terms, but accepted the mediation of Austria, and +arranged for a congress which met at Prague in the middle of July. The +armistice was prolonged till August 10. Both France and Austria were +merely striving to gain time while they prepared for war, and there can +be no doubt that the allies profited most by the delay. During the +interval the news arrived of Wellington's great victory at Vitoria on +June 21, and Napoleon, recalled to Mainz, occupied himself in arranging +plans for the defence of the Pyrenees. + +During the armistice Prussia and Russia not only greatly reinforced +their troops, but received valuable assistance from Great Britain, +Sweden, and above all Austria. Already, on March 3, Great Britain had by +the treaty of Stockholm given her sanction to the seizure of the whole +of Norway by Sweden, after a vain attempt to induce Denmark to consent +to a peaceable cession of the diocese of Trondhjem. At the same time +Great Britain promised Guadeloupe as a personal gift to Bernadotte, and +a subsidy of £1,000,000 for the Swedish troops fighting against +Napoleon. A new treaty between Russia and Sweden on April 22 guaranteed +the cession of Norway. On June 14 and 15 Cathcart, having at last +obtained Prussia's consent to an increase in the territories of Hanover, +signed treaties at Reichenbach with Prussia and Russia, by which Great +Britain undertook to pay a subsidy of two-thirds of a million pounds to +the former and a million and a third to the latter power. It was also +agreed to issue federative paper notes to an extent not exceeding +£5,000,000 to pay the expenses of the armies of the two powers during +the year 1813, and Great Britain undertook the responsibility for +one-half of these notes. Soon afterwards Austria received a promise of a +loan of £500,000 as soon as she should join the allies. Half of this +last sum was actually paid within a few days of the resumption of +hostilities. + +[Pageheading: _DRESDEN AND LEIPZIG._] + +When the armistice expired, French forces were threatening Austria from +three sides--from Bavaria, Illyria, and Saxony; and Napoleon's intention +seems to have been to amuse the Austrian court with negotiations until +he could defeat the Prussian and Russian armies, after which he counted +upon overwhelming the Austrians with his entire force. The task of +defeating the Prussians was entrusted to his army in Saxony with which +Davoût was expected to co-operate from Hamburg, retaken by the French on +May 30. Austria, however, declared war on France the moment the +armistice had elapsed, August 12, and the main army of the allies, +principally composed of Austrians with large Prussian and Russian +contingents, assembled in Bohemia. Napoleon was opposed in Silesia by an +army of Prussians and Russians, while Bernadotte, in command of a mixed +army, consisting mainly of Swedes, Prussians and Russians, but including +3,000 British troops and 25,000 Hanoverians under Walmoden, operated +against him from the north. These three armies were eventually able to +join hands, while Davoût's army, the French armies in Italy and Illyria, +and 170,000 French troops in various German fortresses were unable to +render effective aid in the struggle. On August 26-27 Napoleon himself +won the last of his great victories at Dresden over the main army of the +allies, while his lieutenants were defeated by the northern army at +Grossbeeren on August 23, and again at Dennewitz on September 6, and by +the Silesian army at the Katzbach on August 26. The capitulation of +Vandamme at Kulm, with some 10,000 men, neutralised Napoleon's victory +at Dresden, and his enemies were increased by Austrian diplomacy. The +treaty of Teplitz, concluded on September 9, and accepted by Great +Britain on October 3, committed the allies to the complete independence +of the several German states. On the 10th Bavaria renounced the French +alliance, and on October 8, by the treaty of Ried, she engaged to join +the allies with 36,000 men, in return for a promise that she should +suffer no diminution of territory. On the 7th the northern and Silesian +armies had united west of the Elbe; Napoleon, who had quitted Dresden on +the 6th and vainly attempted to engage the separate northern army, +arrived at Leipzig on the 14th. But it was now too late. + +On the 16th the allied armies, which had concentrated on Leipzig, +compelled him to stand at bay, and to risk all upon the fortunes of a +single battle. This battle, lasting three days, was not only one of the +greatest but one of the most decisive recorded in modern history, for it +finally crippled the warlike power of Napoleon, and inevitably +determined the issue of the campaigns yet to be fought in 1814 and 1815. +It would appear that Napoleon had under his command about 250,000 men, +and that he lost at least 50,000 in killed and wounded on the field. The +allied forces were much larger numerically, and their losses fully +equalled those of the French. But their victory was crushing. One of its +immediate results was that Napoleon was forced to abandon Saxony, and +with it the French cause in Germany. The French garrisons were reduced +one by one. Of the fortresses east of the Rhine, Hamburg, Kehl, +Magdeburg, and Wesel alone held out until the conclusion of peace in +1814. The general rising of Central Europe against French domination +which followed the battle of Leipzig extended itself to Holland. The +French were expelled in the middle of November, and on December 2 the +Prince of Orange was proclaimed sovereign prince of the Netherlands. On +the 29th the Swiss diet voted the restoration of the old constitution. +The confederation of the Rhine was practically dissolved, but in Italy +Napoleon's viceroy, Eugène Beauharnais, after falling back before the +Austrian army, was able to hold the line of the Adige. On November 9 it +was decided to offer peace to Napoleon on condition of the surrender of +all French conquests beyond the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. These +terms represented the policy of Metternich. The Earl of Aberdeen +consented to them on behalf of Great Britain and Nesselrode on behalf of +Russia, but they were not accepted by Napoleon before the date by which +an answer was required, and the war proceeded. On December 31 the +Prussians under Blücher crossed the Rhine near Coblenz and opened a new +campaign. + +[Pageheading: _AMERICAN SUCCESSES._] + +Meanwhile the war on the American continent was carried on with varying +success, though the balance of fortune was rather on the side of the +United States. The operations were in the main of a desultory character, +no permanent conquests being made. The first engagement in the year 1813 +was at Frenchtown on the Raisin River in Michigan, where Colonel +Proctor, commanding 500 regulars and militia, and 600 Indians, defeated +an American force of 1,000 under Brigadier-General Winchester, and took +500 prisoners, while many of the remaining Americans fell into the hands +of the Indians. The immediate effect of this victory was that General +Harrison, who was leading an American force of 2,000 men against +Detroit, determined to retrace his steps. Three months later Proctor +made a descent upon an American position on the Maumee River in the +north of the State of Ohio. After besieging the enemy for a few days he +was compelled to retire, but, before he left, an engagement took place +on May 5, in which the British forces, with a total loss of less than +100, inflicted severe losses on their opponents and made about 500 +prisoners. A subsequent attempt to capture Fort Sandusky, near the head +of Lake Erie, was repulsed on August 2; ninety out of 350 British troops +were returned as killed, wounded or missing. + +The British had hitherto commanded the lakes, but Commodore Perry now +occupied himself in building a fleet at Presqu'isle in Pennsylvania on +the coast of Lake Erie. Commander Barclay, in command of such ships as +the British possessed, was badly supported and encountered the same +difficulties in obtaining seamen as had been experienced for the +sea-going ships. The ships in the service of the United States were in +consequence again the more powerful and the better manned. On September +10 the two squadrons engaged. The British had six vessels with a +broadside of 459 lb., while the enemy had nine vessels with a broadside +of 928 lb. With such odds the result could not be doubtful, and the +whole British squadron was compelled to surrender. This success enabled +the enemy to strike with effect at the south-western end of Lower +Canada. The British immediately evacuated the whole territory of +Michigan with the exception of Mackinac; and Proctor, now raised to the +rank of major-general, commenced a retreat in the direction of Lake +Ontario. On October 5 he was attacked at Moraviantown on the Thames by +Harrison, and the greater part of his forces were captured in an +engagement which reflected small credit on British generalship. The +remainder of his forces reached Burlington Heights, at the west end of +Lake Ontario, but the whole country to the west of the Grand River had +to be abandoned to the enemy. + +On Lake Ontario the fortune of war was more equally divided. The +Americans had been gradually collecting a naval squadron at Sackett's +Harbour and had gained command of the lake as early as November, 1812. +The command was, however, precarious, since it might be disturbed by the +arrival or construction of new warships. One such was building at York, +now known as Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada, when, on April 27, +1813, the American squadron under Commodore Chauncey attacked the town +and succeeded in landing a detachment of troops under General Dearborn. +The British general, Sheaffe, withdrew his regular forces from the town +without awaiting an assault, but not before he had destroyed the ship of +which the enemy were in quest. The Americans captured some naval stores, +but did not attempt to hold the town; they set an evil precedent, +however, by burning the parliament house and other public buildings +before evacuating the place. On May 27 Chauncey co-operated again with +Dearborn in an attack on Fort George, the capture of which threw the +whole line of the Niagara into American hands. On the same day Prevost, +whose naval strength had been reinforced, availing himself of Chauncey's +absence, made an attack on Sackett's Harbour. The attack, which was +renewed on the 29th, was miserably conducted, and ended in failure, +though the Americans were compelled to burn the naval stores captured at +York. The reinforcements had, however, transferred to the British the +command of the lake, which was not challenged again till the end of +July. Meanwhile their land forces were not idle. On June 6 the Americans +were surprised by Colonel Vincent at Burlington Heights and over 100 +prisoners, including two brigadier-generals, were taken. This defeat, +combined with the approach of the British naval squadron under Sir James +Yeo, induced Dearborn to abandon his other posts on the Canadian side of +the Niagara and to concentrate at Fort George, but on the 24th another +surprise ended in the surrender of a detachment of more than 500 +Americans to a force of fifty British troops and 240 Indians. By the end +of July Chauncey's squadron was once more strong enough to put to sea. +It raided York on the 31st, but did not venture to join battle with Yeo; +though a skirmish on August 10 enabled Yeo to capture two schooners. + +Meanwhile on the frontier of Lower Canada the British were everywhere +successful. On June 3 two American sloops attacked the British garrison +of Isle-aux-noix at the north end of Lake Champlain. Both ships were +compelled to surrender. On August 1 a British force raided Plattsburg +and destroyed the barracks and military stores. A combined movement on +Montreal was now made by the forces of the United States; it was mainly +owing to the loyalty of the French Canadians that they were repulsed. +General Hampton advancing from the south with a force 7,000 strong was +defeated at the river Chateauguay on October 26, by 900 men belonging to +the Canadian militia, commanded by Colonel McDonnell and Colonel de +Salaberry. The defeated general withdrew his troops into winter quarters +at Plattsburg. Not long after, on December 7, the American general +Wilkinson who had sailed down the St. Lawrence to Prescott and was +marching towards Cornwall, was defeated with heavy loss by Colonel +Morrison at Chrystler's Farm, and made no further attempt on Canada. In +the same month General McClure, who commanded at Fort George, retired to +the eastern bank of the Niagara before Colonel Murray's advance. His +retreat was disgraced by the burning of the town of Newark, where women +and children were turned homeless into the cold of a Canadian winter. At +the same time the American forces were withdrawn from south-western +Canada but still retained Amherstburg at the head of Lake Erie, the sole +conquest of the campaign. + +[Pageheading: _NAVAL WARFARE._] + +The naval warfare of 1813 was less rich in individual encounters than +that of 1812. The British captains were better acquainted with the +strength of the American ships and did not rashly engage vessels +stronger than their own. There was also a marked improvement in British +gunnery, and an increase in the strength of the British naval force in +American waters. At first the blockade of the American coast had not +been strictly maintained further south than New York, but as +reinforcements arrived it was made more complete, and after June of this +year it was only occasionally that any warship or privateer contrived to +elude the blockading vessels. Meanwhile the British constantly raided +and harassed the American coast, and had no difficulty in availing +themselves of the Chesapeake and Delaware estuaries as naval bases. A +new feature of this year's warfare was the appearance of American +cruisers, especially privateers, in British waters, and even in the St. +George's Channel. To such ships the French ports were a very serviceable +naval base. The Americans would appear to have captured more of British +commerce than the British captured of theirs, but this was no +compensation for the almost complete cessation of their foreign trade. +Of single ship actions the destruction of the British _Peacock_ by the +American _Hornet_, commanded by Captain Lawrence, on February 24, the +capture of the American _Argus_ by the British _Pelican_ not far from +the Welsh coast on August 14, and the famous duel between the +_Chesapeake_ and the _Shannon_ on June 1 were the most important. + +The British frigate _Shannon_ (38) was commanded by Captain Broke, who +was famous not merely for the attention he paid to gun practice, but for +the care he had bestowed on the laying of his ship's ordnance. Ever +since the beginning of April the frigates _Shannon_ and _Tenedos_ (38) +had been lying off Boston, where they hoped to intercept any American +frigate that dared to leave the harbour. Two succeeded in eluding them. +The _Chesapeake_ frigate (36) commanded by Lawrence, lay in the harbour; +and Broke, having detached the _Tenedos_ in order to tempt her out, sent +a challenge to Lawrence on the morning of June 1, but before it could be +delivered the _Chesapeake_ had sailed. She steered for the _Shannon_, +who waited for her. The fight began at 5.50 P.M. about six leagues out +from Boston; it was brief and bloody. After ten minutes' firing the +_Chesapeake_ fell on board the _Shannon_, and was immediately boarded. +In four minutes more every man on board had surrendered. In this short +fight the _Shannon_ had lost out of a crew of 352 twenty-four killed and +fifty-nine wounded, two of the latter mortally, while the _Chesapeake_, +according to American official figures, had lost out of 386 forty-seven +killed and ninety-nine wounded (fourteen of the latter mortally). No +fewer than thirty-two British deserters were found on board the +_Chesapeake_. The victory made the best possible impression. The two +ships had been of approximately equal strength, the American having a +slight superiority of force, and the _Chesapeake_ had been captured in +the way in which most turns on individual courage, by boarding. Both +captains had distinguished themselves in the fight, and both were +severely wounded, Lawrence, as the event proved, fatally. + +[Pageheading: _CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE._] + +The abandonment of Germany by the French at the close of 1813 left the +outlying provinces and allies of France exposed to invasion. The +Austrian general, Nugent, aided by British naval and military forces, +captured Trieste on October 31. Dalmatia had been invaded by the +Montenegrins as early as September, 1813, and was afterwards attacked by +Austrians and British marines, but the town of Cattaro held out till it +was taken by the British in January, 1814. On the 14th of the same +month Denmark was compelled by the treaty of Kiel to cede Norway to +Sweden in exchange for Swedish Pomerania and Rügen, Sweden undertaking +to assist Denmark in procuring a fuller equivalent for Norway at the +conclusion of a general peace. A treaty signed between Denmark and Great +Britain at the same time and place provided for the restitution to +Denmark of all British conquests, with the exception of Heligoland, +while Denmark undertook to do all in her power for the abolition of the +slave trade. The people of Norway and their governor, Prince Christian +of Denmark, refused to submit to the transference of their allegiance, +and on February 19 the independence of Norway was proclaimed. At first +the Swedish government attempted to obtain the submission of Norway by +negotiation only, but so important a diversion of her interest and +energies was sufficient to prevent Sweden from joining in the new +campaign against France. In Italy on January 11 Napoleon's +brother-in-law, Murat, whom he had made King of Naples in 1808, formed +an alliance with Austria. The treaty was never confirmed by Great +Britain, but the British government subsequently consented to support +Murat, if he should loyally exert himself in Italy against Napoleon's +forces. Although Murat did actually engage in hostilities against the +French, the British were far from satisfied with his operations and +considered that his remissness left them a free hand. Accordingly on +March 9 a British fleet entered the port of Leghorn and landed 8,000 +men, of whom Lord William Bentinck took command. From Leghorn he marched +upon Genoa which surrendered to him on April 18. + +Meanwhile the main forces of the allies were concentrated for a campaign +against Napoleon in Champagne. Of the three armies which had combined at +Leipzig the Austro-Russian army under Schwarzenberg made its way through +Switzerland, Alsace, and Franche-Comté, while Blücher's army of +Prussians and Russians passed through the region which afterwards became +the Rhine province and Lorraine. The two armies united in the +neighbourhood of Brienne in Champagne. Bernadotte's army did not as a +whole take part in the campaign; but a portion of it, consisting of +Russians under Wittgenstein and Prussians under Bülow, was engaged in +the conquest of Belgium and was able to invade France itself later in +the year. Schwarzenberg's army was accompanied by the Emperors of +Russia and Austria, the King of Prussia, and the leading European +diplomatists, including Castlereagh. From the outset there was a marked +difference between the Austrian and Russian policies. Metternich was +content with reducing France to the natural frontiers already offered to +her, and aimed merely at compelling Napoleon to recognise the _fait +accompli_ in Germany, and to evacuate Italy and Spain. He was therefore +in favour of slow advances and of giving Napoleon every opportunity for +coming to terms. The tsar, on the other hand, wished to reduce France to +her ancient limits, and was anxious to enter Paris as a conqueror. He +also excited Austrian jealousy by his scheme of annexing what had been +Prussian Poland, and compensating Prussia with Saxony. Castlereagh and +the Prussian minister, Hardenberg, supported the tsar's policy towards +France, but without sharing his ardour. + +On the first arrival of the allies in Champagne the tsar had only +induced Metternich to advance by threatening to prosecute the war alone. +After they had gained what appeared to be a decisive victory over +Napoleon at La Rothière on February 1, negotiations were commenced at +Châtillon. Napoleon insisted on continuing the war during the +negotiations and interposed every possible delay. The allies first +demanded that France should recede within the limits of 1791 and offered +a partial restoration of French colonies, but refused to specify the +colonies which they were willing to relinquish until France should +accept the first condition. To this the French demurred, and on the 9th +the tsar impetuously withdrew his minister. From the 10th to the 14th +Napoleon inflicted a series of crushing blows upon Blücher's army. +Negotiations were now resumed; they lasted till the middle of March, but +as Napoleon would not surrender his claim to Belgium and the Rhine +provinces they were fruitless, notwithstanding the pacific efforts of +Caulaincourt, the French negotiator. On the 21st Napoleon tried in vain +to detach Austria from the allies by a private letter to the Emperor +Francis, and on March 1 a permanent basis was given to the alliance by +the treaty of Chaumont (definitely signed on the 9th), by which the four +allied powers bound themselves to conclude no separate peace, and not to +lay down their arms till the object of the war should have been obtained +by the restriction of France to her ancient frontiers. Each power was +to maintain 150,000 men regularly in the field, and Great Britain was to +pay the three other powers a subsidy of £5,000,000 for the current year +and a like sum for every subsequent year of warfare. The signatory +powers were to maintain their present concert and armaments for twenty +years if necessary. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON'S FIRST ABDICATION._] + +After this treaty on March 4 Blücher united with Wittgenstein and Bülow +near Soissons. On the 20th Napoleon was repulsed by Schwarzenberg's army +at Arcis-sur-Aube, after which he attempted to cut off its +communications by a movement to its rear. In consequence of this +movement the allied armies advanced on Paris, while the Austrian emperor +fled to Dijon taking Castlereagh and Metternich with him.[60] This left +the war to be concluded under the influence of the most vigorous of the +allied sovereigns, the Tsar of Russia. Paris capitulated on the 30th and +on the next day was occupied by the allies. The tsar now issued "on +behalf of all the allied powers" a proclamation in which he declared +that they would not treat with Napoleon or his family, but were willing +to respect the integrity of France, and to guarantee the constitution +that the French people should adopt. This prepared the way for a +reaction against Napoleon in France. A provisional government was formed +on April 1; on the 3rd the French senate proclaimed the deposition of +Napoleon, and on the 6th it published a constitution, and recalled the +Bourbons in the person of Louis XVIII., the younger brother of Louis +XVI. On the same day Napoleon signed an unconditional abdication at +Fontainebleau. On the 11th a treaty was signed between Napoleon and the +sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, by which he renounced all +claim to the crowns of France and Italy, and was assigned the Isle of +Elba as an independent principality and a place of residence, together +with a liberal revenue charged on the French treasury, which, however, +was never paid. The duchy of Parma was secured to the Empress Maria +Louisa and was to descend to her son. The treaty was afterwards +confirmed by Great Britain, with the exception of the clauses providing +revenues for the fallen emperor and his family. The promise of Elba had +been made by the tsar in the absence of Castlereagh and Metternich. It +was vigorously opposed by Castlereagh's half-brother, Sir Charles +Stewart, but the tsar considered his honour bound to it, and Napoleon +sailed from Fréjus for Elba on the 28th. + +In America the war was conducted with more vigour in 1814 than in +previous years, but with equally small effect on either side. In March +the American general, Wilkinson, advancing from Lake Champlain, was +repulsed by a small British garrison at La Colle Mill. In July an +American army under Brown invaded Upper Canada across the river Niagara. +It was attacked by General Riall, near Chippewa, on the 5th, but it +repelled the attack and occupied that place. Brown was, however, checked +by British regulars and Canadian militia under Sir Gordon Drummond at +Lundy's Lane, near Niagara Falls, on the 25th. Both sides claim the +victory, but on the reinforcement of the British troops Brown abandoned +the invasion. After the close of the Peninsular war some of the best +regiments of the Peninsular army, numbering about 14,000 men, were sent +to America. But they were not commanded by any of the generals who had +made their names illustrious in that war, and did not effect so much as +had been expected. On August 19 and 20 General Ross landed with 5,000 +men at the mouth of the Patuxent in Chesapeake Bay. On the 24th he +defeated a large body of militia under General Winder at Bladensburg, +and occupied Washington, where he burned all the public buildings. +However deplorable such an act may seem, it is well to note that it was +a fair and even merciful reprisal after the action of the Americans at +York and Newark. Ross did not attempt to retain the city, but evacuated +it on the next day and re-embarked on the 30th. On September 12 he +landed near Baltimore, but was immediately killed in an attack on the +town. The attack had to be abandoned because it proved impossible to +obtain adequate support from the fleet, and the troops returned to the +ships on the 15th. + +On September 1 Prevost invaded New York State by Lake Champlain. He +advanced against Plattsburg, which he bombarded on the 11th, but his +flotilla was defeated by an American flotilla during the bombardment, +and he felt himself compelled to retreat into Canada. At the end of the +year Sir Edward Pakenham took command of a force operating against New +Orleans, but on January 8, 1815, he was defeated and killed by the +American forces under the future president, Andrew Jackson. No +expedition was ever worse planned than this; the veterans of the +Peninsula were mowed down by a withering fire, and, losing confidence in +their leaders, forfeited their reputation for invincible courage in +attack. The fighting, however, was desperate while it lasted, and was +compared by one engaged in it with the storm of Badajoz, and the deadly +charges at Waterloo. It was but a small compensation for these failures +that the British were able to annex a strip of territory belonging to +the State of Maine. On the sea no general engagement took place, nor was +there any naval duel so famous as that between the _Shannon_ and the +_Chesapeake_ in the previous year. The Americans lost two of their best +frigates, but, with crews largely composed of British sailors, captured +several British ships of war. + +[Pageheading: _THE TREATY OF GHENT._] + +As early as January, 1814, advances had been made towards negotiations +for peace, but they were not actually begun till August 6. In the course +of a few days a serious difficulty arose, as the British commissioners +demanded the delimitation of an Indian territory which should be exempt +from territorial acquisitions on the part of either power, and also +claimed the military occupation of the lakes for their own government. +The Americans thereupon suspended the negotiations, and Castlereagh +expressed grave discontent with the conduct of the British negotiators +in pressing these points. Late in the year negotiations were resumed, +when the British abandoned these claims. The far more comprehensive +questions about the rights of neutrals, which had occasioned the war, +had ceased to be of practical importance now that peace was restored in +Europe. They were therefore, by tacit consent, suffered to drop, and a +treaty signed at Ghent on December 24, 1814, ended a war of which the +Canadians alone had reason to be proud. + +The most dramatic incident in the domestic annals of England in this +year was the visit of the allied sovereigns to this country, after their +triumphal entry into Paris, and the signature of a convention, to be +described hereafter, for the resettlement of Europe. Louis XVIII. left +his retreat at Hartwell on April 20, and reached his capital on May 3 +to find it occupied by foreign armies, and to discover that his French +escort, composed of Napoleon's old guard, was of doubtful loyalty. On +July 8 the Tsar of Russia and the King of Prussia, having accepted an +invitation from the prince regent, which the Emperor of Austria +declined, landed at Dover, and were afterwards received with the utmost +enthusiasm in London. Their appearance betokened the supposed +termination of the greatest, and almost the longest, war recorded in +European history, but it was also accepted as a tribute of gratitude for +the unique services rendered by Great Britain, the only European power +which had never bowed the knee to the French Republic or the French +Empire. They attended Ascot races, were feasted at the Guildhall, +witnessed a naval review at Portsmouth, and were decorated with honorary +degrees at Oxford, where Blücher was the hero of the day with the +younger members of the university. There were men of calmer minds and +maturer age, who must have remembered the time, but seven years before, +when Alexander swore eternal friendship with Napoleon, on the basis of +enmity to Great Britain, and Frederick William of Prussia shrunk from no +depths of dishonour, first to aggrandise his kingdom and then to save +the remnants of it from destruction. Others foresaw that a restoration +of the Bourbons portended reaction, in its worst sense, throughout all +the continent of Europe. But such memories and forebodings were hushed +in the sincere and general rejoicing over the return of peace, marred by +no suspicion of the new trials and privations which peace itself was +destined to bring with it for the working classes of Great Britain. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[53] See p. 105. + +[54] George, _Napoleon's Invasion of Russia_, p. 33. + +[55] James, _British Naval History_, iv., 470-84. + +[56] See above, p. 58. + +[57] See _Cambridge Modern History_, vii., 336, 338. + +[58] For details of the naval warfare of this year see James, _British +Naval History_, vi., 115-202. + +[59] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 372. + +[60] For the importance of this flight of the Emperor Francis see Rose, +_Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 418, 425. The flight did not take place till +after the advance on Paris was begun. + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + VIENNA AND WATERLOO. + + +After the restoration of Louis XVIII. as a constitutional king, the +treaty of Paris between France and the allied powers was signed on May +30, 1814. The treaty amounted to a settlement in outline of those +territorial questions in Europe in which France was concerned, and aimed +mainly at the construction of a strong barrier to resist further +encroachments by France on her neighbours. The French boundaries were to +coincide generally with the limits of French territory on January 1, +1792, but with certain additions. The principle adopted was that France +should retain certain detached pieces of foreign states within her own +frontier (such as Mühlhausen, Montbéliard, and the Venaissin), while the +line of frontier was extended so as to include certain detached +fragments belonging to France before 1792, such as Landau, Mariembourg, +and Philippeville, as well as Western Savoy with Chambéry for its +capital. She was moreover allowed to regain all her colonies except the +Mauritius, St. Lucia, and Tobago. The Spanish portion of San Domingo was +restored to the Spanish government. Holland was placed under the +sovereignty of the house of Orange, and was to receive an increase of +territory; so much of Italy as was not to be ceded to Austria was to +consist of independent sovereign states; and Germany was to be formed +into a confederation. Finally an European congress was to meet at Vienna +in two months' time "to regulate the arrangements necessary for +completing the dispositions of the treaty". At the same time secret +articles provided that the disposition of territories was to be +controlled at Vienna by Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia; +that Austria, was to receive Venice and Lombardy as far as the Ticino; +and that the former territories of Genoa were to be annexed to +Sardinia, and the late Austrian Netherlands to Holland. + +In the midst of the general restoration of legitimate princes +difficulties were occasioned by the exceptional cases in which +territories were reserved for the new dynasties that had arisen during +the Napoleonic wars. France, Spain, and Sicily objected to the retention +of the kingdom of Naples by Murat, Spain resented the cession of Parma +to the Bonapartes, and Norway was in revolt against the attempt to +subjugate it to the king of Sweden and his heir Marshal Bernadotte. The +Norwegian government under Prince Christian vainly endeavoured to secure +the British recognition of the independence of Norway. The British +government, on the contrary, held itself bound to support the claims of +Sweden, and on April 29 notified a blockade of the Norwegian ports, +which was promptly carried into effect. Meanwhile a new constitution was +promulgated in Norway, and Prince Christian was proclaimed king. While +the British maintained the blockade Sweden attempted to gain its ends by +negotiation. At last, on July 30, the Swedes invaded Norway. After some +Swedish successes a convention was signed at Moss on August 14, which +recognised the new Norwegian constitution, but provided for a personal +union of the crowns of Sweden and Norway. This constitution was accepted +by Charles XIII. of Sweden in the following November, and Norway +retained almost complete independence, though united to Sweden. + +[Pageheading: _THE SLAVE TRADE._] + +Among the last acts of Napoleon's government had been the release and +restoration of Ferdinand VII. of Spain and of Pope Pius VII. Ferdinand, +supported by the vast mass of Spanish opinion, declared against the +rather unpractical constitution established in his absence, and entered +Madrid as an absolute king on May 14. One of his first acts was the +revival of the inquisition. There was some apprehension among British +representatives lest the two restored Bourbon monarchies should renew +the family compact, and also lest they should attempt to assert the +Bourbon claims to Naples and Parma. Sir Henry Wellesley, afterwards Lord +Cowley, was, however, successful in negotiating a treaty of alliance +between Great Britain and Spain, which made provision against any +renewal of the family compact, restored the commercial relations of the +two countries to the footing on which they had been before 1796, and +promised the future consideration of means to be adopted for the +suppression of the slave trade. Spain was in fact too dependent on +British credit to be able to adopt a line of her own in politics. But +the hold which Great Britain had thus gained over Spain was somewhat +weakened by the British attitude towards the slave trade. + +It is remarkable how large a space the abolition of the slave trade +occupied in the foreign policy of Great Britain, when the liberties of +Europe were at stake. During the months preceding the meeting of the +congress of Vienna, which had been postponed till September by the tsar, +British diplomacy had been engaged in a strenuous effort to obtain the +co-operation of such European powers as possessed American colonies in +securing this philanthropic object. Sweden had already consented to it, +and now Holland also gave her consent. Portugal agreed to relinquish the +trade north of the equator, on condition that the other powers consented +to impose a similar restriction on themselves. Strong pressure was +brought to bear upon France to consent to the immediate abolition of the +trade, and Wellington, who had been created a duke in May and who +arrived at Paris in August in the capacity of British ambassador, was +authorised by Liverpool to offer the cession of Trinidad or the payment +of two or three million pounds to obtain this end. By the treaty of +Paris only French subjects were allowed to trade in slaves with the +French colonies, and French subjects were excluded from trading +elsewhere; and the whole trade was to cease within French dominions +after five years. Talleyrand, negotiating with Wellington, refused to +consent to a general abolition, but, on being pressed to surrender the +slave trade north of the equator, consented to abandon it to the north +of Cape Formoso. In the following year Napoleon on his return from Elba +ordered its immediate suppression, and this was not the least +significant act of the Hundred Days. With Spain our diplomatists were +less successful. The British government refused to renew its subsidy to +Spain for the last half of 1814 except on condition that Spain +relinquished the slave trade north of the equator at once, and consented +to relinquish that south of the equator in five years' time; while it +would not issue a loan except on condition that Spain abolished the +whole trade immediately. Even these terms did not prevail with Spain, +and the most that she would grant at the congress was to relinquish the +trade at the conclusion of eight years. + +Meanwhile Talleyrand was endeavouring to induce Great Britain to combine +with France in a joint mediation between Austria and Russia at the +congress, in the event of Russia demanding the duchy of Warsaw. +Wellington, while expressing himself in favour of an understanding, +refused to accept anything which might seem equivalent to a declaration +in favour of mediation by the two powers in every case. At the congress +itself Great Britain was first represented by Castlereagh, who was +succeeded in February, 1815, by Wellington. The two principal +difficulties were the questions of Poland and Saxony. The tsar desired +to erect the duchy of Warsaw, Prussia's share in the two partitions of +Poland in 1793 and 1795, into a constitutional monarchy attached to the +Russian crown, while Prussia, though not unwilling to resign her claims +to Polish dominion, wished to increase her territory by the +incorporation of Saxony in her monarchy. Austria was naturally averse +from any increase of strength in the states on her northern borders, and +she was also opposed to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy +in Poland which might serve as a centre for political discontent in her +own dominions. Even France urged this objection to a constitutional +Poland. Great Britain alone was willing to see an independent Poland, +but preferred to join France, Prussia, and Austria in demanding its +repartition between the two latter powers rather than its annexation to +Russia. All through October Austria, Great Britain, and Prussia +endeavoured to induce the tsar to withdraw his demand. Early in November +he won over the King of Prussia to whom he promised the kingdom of +Saxony, proposing to indemnify the Saxon king with a new state on that +lower Rhine which France was not allowed to have, but which no other +power desired. + +[Pageheading: _THE RETURN OF NAPOLEON._] + +It was no longer possible to resist Russia's claims on Poland, but +Austria was determined not to allow Prussia to receive the proffered +compensation. On December 10 Metternich notified the Prussian minister, +Hardenberg, that he would not allow Prussia to annex more than a fifth +part of Saxony. Great Britain, France, Bavaria, and the minor German +states joined Austria in this action, and thus the attempt to effect a +settlement of Europe by a concert of the four allied powers broke down. +On January 3, 1815, a secret treaty was concluded between Austria, +France, and Great Britain in defence of what their diplomatists called +"the principles of the peace of Paris". Each of these powers was to be +prepared, if necessary, to place an army of 50,000 men in the field. +Bavaria joined them in their preparations for war, and many of the +troops which occupied Paris in 1815 would have been disbanded or +dispersed, but for the prospect of a rupture between the allies +themselves. But a compromise was soon arranged, and on February 8 it was +agreed that Cracow, the Polish fortress which threatened Austria most, +should be an independent republic, and that Prussia should retain enough +of Western Poland to round off her dominions, while the remainder of the +duchy of Warsaw became a constitutional kingdom under the tsar. Prussia +was to be allowed to annex part of Saxony, and was to receive a further +compensation on the left bank of the Rhine and in Westphalia. The most +thorny questions were now settled, and Castlereagh had left Vienna when +the congress was electrified by the news that Napoleon had reappeared in +France. + +The episode of "the Hundred Days" interrupted, but did not break up, the +councils of the congress at Vienna. It cannot be said that Napoleon's +escape from Elba took the negotiators altogether by surprise. They were +already aware of his correspondence with the neighbouring shores of +Italy, and his removal to St Helena or some other distant island had +been proposed by the French government, though never discussed at the +congress. Sir Neil Campbell, the British commissioner at Elba, had gone +so far as to warn his government of Napoleon's suspected "plan," and to +indicate, though erroneously, the place of his probable descent upon the +Italian coast. Owing to an almost incredible want of precaution, he +embarked on February 26 with the least possible disguise, and +accompanied by 400 of his guards, on board his brig the _Inconstant_, +eluded the observation of two French ships, and landed near Cannes on +March 1. Thence he hastened across the mountains to Grenoble, passing +unmolested, and sometimes welcomed, through districts where his life had +been threatened but a few months before. The commandant of Grenoble was +prepared to resist his further progress, but a heart-stirring appeal +from Napoleon induced a regiment detached to oppose him to join his +standard, and the rest of the garrison was brought over by Colonel +Labedoyère, one of the officers who had conspired to bring him back. +Thence he proceeded to Lyons, issuing decrees, scattering proclamations, +and gathering followers at every stage. He was lavish of promises, not +perhaps wholly insincere, that he would adopt constitutional +government--already established by the charter of Louis XVIII.--and +cease to wage aggressive wars. He relied unduly on the discontent +provoked by the blind partisans of the Bourbons, who, it was said, had +learned nothing and forgotten nothing. This was true, if the spirit of +the restoration were to be measured by the parade of expiatory masses +for the execution of royalists under the revolution, the ostentatious +patronage of priests, the preference of returned _émigrés_ to well-tried +servants of the republic and the empire, or the anticipated expulsion of +landowners in possession of "national domains" for the purpose of +dividing them among their old proprietors. All this naturally +exasperated those who had imbibed the principles of the revolution, but +it was more than compensated in the eyes of millions of Frenchmen by the +cessation of conscription and the infinite blessings of peace. + +[Pageheading: _"THE HUNDRED DAYS."_] + +The king was amongst the least infatuated of the royalists. On hearing +of Napoleon's proclamation, he had the sense to appreciate the danger of +such a bid for sovereignty and the magic of such a name, while his +courtiers regarded Napoleon's enterprise as the last effort of a madman. +He addressed the chamber of deputies in confident and dignified +language; the Duke of Angoulême was employed to rouse the royalist party +at Bordeaux; the Duke of Bourbon was sent into Brittany, the Count of +Artois, with the Duke of Orléans and Marshal Macdonald, visited Lyons, +upon the attitude of which everything, for the moment, seemed to depend. +Most of the marshals remained faithful to the restored monarchy, and Ney +was selected to bar the progress of Napoleon in Burgundy, and has been +credited with a vow that he would bring him back in an iron cage. But it +was all in vain. The Count of Artois was loyally received by the +officials and upper classes at Lyons, but he soon found that Napoleon +possessed the hearts of the soldiers and the mass of the people. Ney +yielded to urgent appeals from his old chief, signed and read to his +troops a proclamation drawn up by Napoleon himself, and was followed in +his treason by his whole army. As Napoleon approached Paris, all armed +opposition to him melted away. On March 19, Louis XVIII., seeing that +his cause was hopeless, proclaimed a dissolution of the chambers, and +retired once more into exile, fixing his residence at Ghent. + +Napoleon re-entered the Tuileries on the 20th, after a journey which he +afterwards described as the happiest in his life. But his penetrating +mind was not deceived by the manifestations of popular joy. He well knew +that he was distrusted by the middle classes, as well as by the +aristocracy, and threw himself more and more on the sympathy of the old +revolutionists. When he came to fill up the higher offices, he met with +a strange reluctance to accept them, and was driven to enlist the +services of two regicides, the virtuous republican, Carnot, and the +double-dyed traitor Fouché. Feeling the necessity of resting his power +on a democratic basis, he promulgated a constitution modelled on the +charter of Louis XVIII., and known as the _Acte Additionnel_, which, +however, satisfied no one. The royalists objected to its anti-feudal +spirit, the revolutionists and moderates to its express recognition of +an hereditary peerage, and its tacit recognition of a dictatorial power. +It was by no means with a light heart that Napoleon took leave of Paris +on June 7, having appointed a provisional government, to place himself +at the head of his army. + +Attempts had been made in the southern provinces and La Vendée to +organise armed rebellion against the emperor, and met for a time with +considerable success. But they were soon quelled by the overwhelming +imperialism not only of the regular army, but of vast numbers of +disbanded soldiers and half-pay officers, dispersed throughout France, +and disgusted with their treatment under the restored monarchy. Even +among the _bourgeoisie_ Napoleon had an advantage which he never +possessed before. Disguise it as he might, all his former wars had been +essentially wars of conquest, and, however patiently they might endure +it, the peasantry of France, in thousands upon thousands of humble +cottages, groaned under the exaction of crushing taxes--worst of all, +the blood-tax of conscription--in order to enable one man, in the name +of France, to usurp the empire of the world. Now, however, as in the +early days of the revolution, France was put on its defence, and called +upon to repel an invasion of its frontiers. For the news of Napoleon's +escape, announced by Talleyrand on March 11, instantly stilled the +quarrels and rebuked the jealousies which had so nearly proved fatal to +any settlement at Vienna. For the moment, the designs of Russia in +Poland, the selfish demands of Prussia, and the half-formed coalition +between Great Britain, France, and Austria, were thrust into the +background. Austria thought it necessary to repudiate decisively the +audaciously false assertion of Napoleon that he was returning with the +concurrence of his father-in-law, and would shortly be supported by +Austrian troops. Metternich, therefore, assumed the lead in drawing up a +solemn manifesto, dated March 13, in which Napoleon was virtually +declared an outlaw "abandoned to public justice," and the powers which +had signed the treaty of Paris in the preceding May bound themselves, in +the face of Europe, to carry out all its provisions and defend the king +of France, if need be, against his own rebellious subjects. + +By a further convention made at the end of March, they engaged to +provide forces exceeding 700,000 men in the aggregate, to be +concentrated on the Upper Rhine, the Lower Rhine, and the Low Countries, +with an immense reserve of Russians to be rapidly moved across Germany +from Poland. Wellington having succeeded Castlereagh at Vienna, was +appointed to command the British, Hanoverian, and Belgian contingents on +the north-east frontier of France; Blücher's headquarters were to be on +the Lower Rhine, within easy reach of that frontier; for, whichever side +might take the offensive, it was there that the first shock of war might +be expected. The recent conclusion of peace with America at Ghent on +December 24, 1814, left England free to use her whole military power. +Enormous sums were voted by Parliament, with a rare approach to +unanimity, for the equipment of a British army, and a sum of £5,000,000 +for subsidies to the allied powers. A small section of the opposition +led by Whitbread opposed the renewal of war. On April 7 he moved an +amendment to the address in reply to the prince regent's message +announcing that measures for the security of Europe were being concerted +with the allies, but he was only supported by 32 votes against 220. On +April 28 his motion for an address to the prince regent, deprecating +war with Napoleon, was defeated by 273 votes against 72. This was +Whitbread's last prominent appearance in parliament. On July 6, during a +fit of insanity, he died by his own hand. The subsidies to the allies +were opposed by Bankes, but were carried on May 26 by 160 votes against +17. There can be no doubt that the majorities in the house of commons +correctly expressed the national sentiment. Nobody wished to dictate to +France the form of government which she was to adopt, but it was +generally felt that Napoleon's character rendered peace with him +impossible. + +[Pageheading: _THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815._] + +In the end, about 80,000 men were assembled in Belgium under +Wellington's orders, but of these not half were British soldiers, +including untrained drafts from the militia, who replaced veteran +Peninsular regiments still detained in Canada and the United States. Yet +Napoleon admitted the British contingent to be equal, man for man, to +his own troops, while he estimated these to be worth twice their own +number of Dutchmen, Prussians, or other Germans. The first blow in the +war was struck by Murat. Already in February, dissatisfied with his +ambiguous position, he had levied troops and summoned Louis XVIII. to +declare whether he was at war with him. As soon as he heard of +Napoleon's return, he invaded the Papal States, and summoned the +Italians to rise in the cause of Italian unity and independence. Though +disowned by Napoleon, he persevered in this plan, but he was attacked +and twice defeated by an Austrian army. On May 22 the British and +Austrians took the city of Naples, and Murat fled to France. In October +he made an attempt to recover his kingdom, but was captured and shot. It +is noteworthy that, on hearing of his fate at St. Helena, Napoleon +showed but little sympathy with his brother-in-law. + +On the morning of June 12, Napoleon left Paris, saying as he entered his +carriage that he went to match himself with Wellington. All his troops +were already marshalled on the Belgian frontier, and numbered 124,588 +men, with 344 guns. The Imperial Guard alone was 20,954 strong, and the +whole army was largely composed of seasoned veterans. The Prussian army +consisted of 116,897 men, with 312 guns under Marshal Blücher, whose +headquarters were at Namur. Though the majority of these were veterans, +there was a considerable leaven of inferior troops, hastily raised from +the Westphalian and Rhine militia. Between this town and Quatre Bras lay +the Prussian line of defence, Sombreffe being the centre, with Ligny and +St. Amand in front of it, and rather on the south-west. Wellington's +headquarters were at Brussels, and, having no certain intelligence of +Napoleon's movements, he kept the various divisions of his army within +easy distance of that capital until the very eve of the final conflict. +Of the 93,717 men under his command, 31,253 were British, two-thirds of +whom had never been under fire; 6,387 were of the king's German legion; +15,935 Hanoverians; 29,214 (including 4,300 Nassauers in the service of +the Prince of the Netherlands) Dutch and Belgians; 6,808 Brunswickers; +2,880 Nassauers; the engineers, numbering 1,240, were not classified by +nationality. He fully expected that Napoleon would move upon Brussels +along the route by Mons and Hal, and maintained in later days that such +would have been the best strategical course. Napoleon thought otherwise, +and resolved to strike in between the Prussian and British armies, +crushing the former before the latter could be fully assembled. He very +nearly succeeded, and, if all had gone as he hoped, he could scarcely +have failed to win one of his greatest victories. + +[Pageheading: _LIGNY AND QUATRE BRAS._] + +On the evening of the 15th, Wellington was still at Brussels, with the +great body of his army, and only a weak force of Dutch and Belgians was +at Quatre Bras, some sixteen miles to the south. Blücher, with about +three-fourths of his army, was at Sombreffe, a few miles south-east of +Quatre Bras. Napoleon himself was at or close by Charleroi, ten or +twelve miles south of Quatre Bras; the mass of his army was at Fleurus, +south-west of Sombreffe, with Ligny and St. Amand between it and the +Prussians; and Marshal Ney, with Reille's corps, was at Frasnes, +opposite to and due south of Quatre Bras. On the morning of the 16th, +Napoleon arrived from Charleroi at Fleurus, and carefully inspected his +enemy's position, but delayed his attack upon Ligny and St Amand until +half-past two in the afternoon. The Prussians outnumbered the French, +and a murderous conflict ensued among the streets, gardens, and +enclosures of these little towns, which lasted until eight or nine +o'clock. At last Napoleon ordered his guard to advance, and the plateau +behind Ligny was taken, with a loss to the French of 12,000, and to the +Prussians of over 20,000. Blücher himself was unhorsed and severely +bruised in a furious charge of cavalry, but the Prussians retired in +good order towards Wavre, north of the battlefield. + +Had Ney been in a condition to obey an urgent message from Napoleon, and +to envelop the Prussian right and rear, this defeat would have been +overwhelming in its effect. But while the battle of Ligny was raging, +another battle was going on at Quatre Bras, six miles distant, in which +the French sustained a serious check. Happily for the British, Ney +failed to bring up his divisions for an attack on Quatre Bras until two +o'clock in the afternoon, when the Dutch and Belgians under the Prince +of Orange were still his only opponents. The news for which Wellington +had been waiting did not reach him until just before the memorable ball, +given by the Duchess of Richmond at Brussels on the night of the 15th, +which he nevertheless attended, hurrying off his troops to Quatre Bras. +They arrived just in time to reinforce the Prince of Orange and save the +position; but Ney, too, was receiving fresh reinforcements every hour, +the Duke of Brunswick was killed, and a fearful stress fell on Picton's +division and the Hanoverians, who alone were a match for Ney's splendid +infantry and Kellermann's cuirassiers. + +These made a charge like that which had borne down the Austrians at +Marengo, but the British squares were proof against it, and when a +division of guards came up from Nivelles, the French in turn were put on +the defensive and retreated to Frasnes. The loss on the British side was +4,500 men; that on the French somewhat less. It is not difficult to +imagine what the issue of the battle must have been if D'Erlon's corps +had been brought into action. This corps was occupied in marching and +countermarching, under contradictory orders from Napoleon and Ney, +between the British left and the Prussian right during the whole of this +eventful day. Its appearance in the distance just when Napoleon was +about to launch his guard against the Prussians at Ligny, caused him to +hesitate long, and lose the decisive moment for demolishing his enemy. +Its failure to appear at Quatre Bras, and to roll up the wavering +Dutch-Belgians, before Picton took up the fighting, enabled Wellington +to hold his ground at first, to repulse Ney afterwards, and on hearing +of Blücher's defeat at Ligny, to fall back in good order on Waterloo. +Even then, something was due to good fortune. Had Napoleon joined Ney +and marched direct on Quatre Bras early on the 17th, it is difficult to +see how his advance to Brussels could have been arrested. But whether he +was exhausted by his incessant labours since leaving Paris, or whether +his marvellous intuition was deserting him, certain it is that he +allowed that critical morning to slip by without an effort--and without +a reconnaissance. He assumed that Blücher must retire upon Namur as his +base of operations, and that Wellington, retiring towards Brussels, +would be cut off from his allies. He therefore despatched Marshal +Grouchy, with 33,000 men, to follow up the Prussians eastward by the +Namur road. His assumption was unfounded. Blücher, loyal to his +engagements, retired upon Wavre; Wellington, relying upon Blücher's +loyalty, took his stand on the field of Waterloo; and this error on the +part of Napoleon determined the fortunes of the campaign.[61] + +[Pageheading: _WATERLOO._] + +The British army retreated upon Waterloo almost unmolested. Ney was +probably awaiting orders, and Napoleon, believing the Prussians to be at +Namur, probably thought he might safely rest himself and his army before +crushing Wellington at his leisure. When they realised that Wellington +was deliberately moving his army to a position nearer Brussels, they +both followed in pursuit along different roads converging at Quatre +Bras, and a brisk skirmish took place near Genappe between Ney's cavalry +and that of the British rear-guard. Heavy rain came on, and the two +armies spent a miserable night, half a mile from each other, close to +Mont St. Jean, and south of Waterloo. Napoleon rose before daybreak on +the 18th, reconnoitred the British position, and convinced himself that +Wellington intended to give battle. He expressed to his staff his +satisfaction and confidence of victory, when General Foy, who had +experience of the Peninsular war, replied in significant words: "Sire, +when the British infantry stand at bay, they are the very devil +himself". Why Napoleon did not begin the battle at eight o'clock has +been the subject of much discussion. It is said that he waited for +Grouchy to join him before the close of the action. But neither he nor +Grouchy, though aware that at least a large force of Prussians had gone +to Wavre and not to Namur, suspected that Blücher had promised +Wellington to march with his whole army on the morning of the 18th to +support the British at Waterloo. It is more likely that he waited for +his men to assemble and for the ground to dry and become more +practicable for his powerful artillery.[62] + +Exception has been taken to the conduct of Wellington in detaching +17,000 men to guard the approach to Brussels at Hal, and, still more, in +not recalling them, when he must have ascertained that nothing was to be +feared on that side, and when such a reinforcement of his right wing +must have been all-important. But it must be remembered that in this +force there were only 1,500 English troops, and 2,000 Hanoverian +militia. The rest were Dutch and Belgians. At all events, Napoleon left +his right flank undefended, though he was already somewhat anxious about +the Prussian movements, and Wellington fought the battle of Waterloo +with a force numerically inferior to that under Napoleon's command, +though it might have been rendered superior by the accession of the Hal +contingent. The effective part of this force, numbering in all 67,661 +men, consisted of 24,000 British soldiers, 6,000 soldiers of the king's +German legion, and about 11,000 Hanoverians. Napoleon's force numbered +72,000 men, and it was stronger both in cavalry and in guns. It +represented the flower of the French army; there were few, if any, +recruits as raw as those who swelled the ranks of the British regiments; +there were thousands upon thousands who had formed part of that _Grande +Armée_ which had overawed the continent of Europe. It is fair, however, +to record that, while the British rank and file suffered much for want +of sufficient food, the French had fared still worse, and that very many +of them could have been in no fit condition for the struggle impending +over them. + +Both armies occupied ground extending from west to east, on opposite +ridges, and crossed at right angles by the great highway running north +and south from Charleroi to Brussels. In front of the British right were +the château and enclosures of Hougoumont which were occupied by the +British; nearly in front of the centre were the large farm-house and +buildings of La Haye Sainte. Further to the left were the hamlet of +Smohain and the farms Papelotte and La Haye. Wellington had arranged his +brigades so as to distribute the older troops as much as possible among +the less experienced. Sir Thomas Picton's fifth division formed the left +of the line; to his right was Alten's second division, and beyond him to +the right was the guards division under Cooke. Further to the right and +partly in reserve was Clinton's second division, while Chassé's Dutch +division on the extreme right occupied the village of Braine l'Alleud. +Somerset's brigade of heavy cavalry and Kruse's Dutch cavalry were +posted behind Alten's division, and Ponsonby's "union brigade," +consisting of the royal dragoons, Scots greys, and Inniskillings, was +stationed in Picton's rear. The whole line lay on the inner slopes of +the ridge with the exception of Bylandt's Dutch-Belgian brigade which +was posted on the outer slope in front of Picton's division. D'Erlon's +corps was opposite the British left, Reille's opposite the British +right. Squadrons of cavalry covered the outer flank of either of the two +French corps. The magnificent squadrons of French cavalry, 15,000 +strong, under Milhaud, Kellermann, and other famous leaders, were in the +second line; the imperial guard, as usual, was massed in the rear. + +[Pageheading: _WATERLOO._] + +The battle opened about half-past eleven with a furious attack on +Hougoumont. It was defended with desperate gallantry, mainly by the +British guards, who reopened the old loopholes in the garden-walls, and +closed by sheer muscular force the eastern gate of the yard, which had +been forced open by the French. In the fruitless siege of Hougoumont, as +it may be called, the French left wing thus wasted most of its strength, +and incurred enormous loss. Meanwhile, the French right wing under +D'Erlon, advanced to attack the British left, which had been assailed +for an hour and a half by the fire of a battery with seventy-eight guns. +The Dutch and Belgians, who in their exposed position had suffered +severely from the French artillery fire, soon gave way; but Picton's +division, after a single volley, charged with the bayonet and drove +their assailants reeling backward, though Picton himself fell dead on +the field. Without orders from Wellington, Lord Uxbridge, in command of +the British cavalry, seized the opportunity, and launched the union +brigade with other regiments upon the flying masses. This whirlwind of +British horsemen swept all before it, slaughtering many of the French +cavalry in passing, taking 3,000 prisoners, sabring the gunners of Ney's +battery, and spiking fifteen of the guns. But their ardour carried them +too far. By Napoleon's orders a large force of French cuirassiers and +lancers fell upon their flank before they could take breath again, and +their ranks were frightfully thinned in a disorderly retreat. But their +charge had saved the day. + +At one o'clock, while the fate of D'Erlon's onslaught was still +undecided, Napoleon observed Prussian troops on his right. An +intercepted despatch proved these to be Bülow's corps. He instantly sent +off a despatch to Grouchy, whom he supposed to be within reach, ordering +him to attack Bülow in the rear. Then followed the memorable succession +of charges by the whole of the French cavalry upon the squares of the +British infantry. Not one of these squares was broken; a great part of +the French cavalry was mown down by volleys or cut to pieces by the +British cavalry in their precipitate retreat, and the British line +remained unmoved, though grievously weakened, behind its protecting +ridge. This was the crisis of the fight. Much of the British artillery +was dismounted, and Wellington confessed to one of his staff that he +longed for the advent of night or Blücher. Napoleon next felt himself +compelled to detach Lobau's corps for the purpose of meeting the +advancing Prussians. Soon afterwards Ney carried La Haye Sainte by a +most determined assault, aided by the failure of ammunition within its +defences, and thus captured the key of the British position. But +Napoleon saw that his one chance of victory lay in a final _coup_ before +the Prussians could wrest it from him. He ordered the imperial guard to +the front, leading it himself across the valley, and then handing over +the command to Ney. The guard was but the remnant of its original +strength, for all its cavalry had been wrecked in wild charges against +the British squares, and several battalions of its infantry were kept in +reserve to hold back the Prussians and protect the baggage train. +Nevertheless, the advance of this superb corps, the heroes of a hundred +fights, who had seldom failed to hurl back the tide of battle at the +most perilous junctures, was among the most impressive spectacles in the +annals of war. They swerved a little to the left, thereby exposing +themselves to the fire of the British footguards and of a battery in +excellent condition. The former were lying down for shelter, but when +the imperial guard came within sixty paces of them they started up at +the word of command from Wellington himself. The footguards poured a +deadly fire into the front, and the 52nd regiment into the flank of +their columns; as they wavered under the storm of shot a bayonet charge +followed, and the imperial guard, hitherto almost invincible, was +dissolved into a mob of fugitives scattered over the plain. + +It was now past eight o'clock; Bülow's Prussians had long been engaged +on the British left, and Blücher, with indomitable energy, was pressing +forward with all his other divisions. Wellington first sent Vandeleur's +and Vivian's cavalry, still comparatively fresh, to sweep away what +remained of the French reserves, and then ordered a general advance. The +French retreat speedily became a rout, and a rout to which there is no +parallel except that which succeeded the battle of Leipzig. Wellington +and Blücher met at La Belle Alliance on the high road, just south of the +battlefield, and lately the French headquarters. The British troops were +utterly tired out, but the Prussian cavalry never drew rein until they +had driven the last Frenchman over the river Sambre in their relentless +pursuit. The slaughter had been prodigious, though far short of that at +Borodino. The British army lost 13,000 men, the Prussian 7,000, and the +French 37,000[63] (including prisoners), besides the whole of their +artillery, ammunition, baggage-waggons, and military train. But the +battle was one of the most decisive recorded in history, and was the +real beginning of a peace which lasted over the whole of Europe for +nearly forty years. Grouchy heard the cannonade of Waterloo on his march +from Ligny to Wavre, and was strongly urged by Gérard to hasten across +country, with his whole force, in the direction of the firing. But he +pleaded the letter of Napoleon's instructions, and reached Wavre only to +find Blücher gone. After an encounter with a Prussian corps, which had +been left behind, he received news of Napoleon's defeat, and ultimately +escaped into France. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON'S SECOND ABDICATION._] + +The march of the allies into France after the battle of Waterloo was not +wholly unchecked, but it was far more rapid than in 1814. The French +could not be rallied, and in the first week of July Paris was occupied +by Anglo-Prussian troops. The Austrians and Prussians were moving again +upon the eastern frontiers of France, but were still far behind. The +Prussian general and soldiers were animated by the bitterest spirit of +vengeance, and it needed all the firmness of Wellington to prevent the +bridge of Jena from being blown up, and a ruinous contribution levied on +the citizens of Paris. Napoleon himself was now at Rochefort, having +quitted Paris after a second abdication on June 22, but four days after +the battle. No other course was open to him. When he started for his +last campaign, he was no longer the champion of an united nation, and +consciously staked his all on a single throw. When he returned from it, +discomfited and without an army, he found the chambers actively hostile +to him. Carnot, who had formerly opposed his assumption of the imperial +title, was now the only one of his ministers to deprecate his +abdication, but Napoleon himself saw no hope of retaining his power, or +transmitting it to his son, without a reckless appeal to revolutionary +passions. From this he shrank, and he represented himself at St. Helena +as having sacrificed personal ambition to patriotism. + +The chamber of deputies appointed an executive commission of five, +including the infamous Fouché, and from this body the late emperor +actually received an order to quit Paris. He retired to Malmaison, where +he received a fresh order to set out for Rochefort, which he reached on +July 3. On the next day Paris capitulated to the allies, and the +necessity for his leaving the shores of France became more urgent. Two +frigates were assigned for his escape to America, but a British squadron +was lying ready to intercept them. Some of his bolder companions devised +a scheme for smuggling him on board a swift merchant ship, but it was +foiled by the vigilant watch of the British squadron off the islands of +Oléron and Ré. At last he surrendered himself on board the +_Bellerophon_, relying, as he said, on the honour of the British nation, +and claiming the generous protection of the prince regent. He was, +however, clearly informed that he would be at the disposal of the +government. Under an agreement with the allied powers, the ministers +decided, and were supported by the nation in deciding, that he could not +be detained in England, either as a guest or as a prisoner, with any +regard to public safety or the verdict of Europe at Vienna. The proposal +of banishing him to St. Helena, suggested in the previous year, was +finally adopted, and he sailed thither in the _Northumberland_ on August +8, vehemently protesting against the bad faith of Great Britain. Louis +XVIII. was restored, and the treaty of Vienna, signed on the eve of the +Waterloo campaign, was but slightly modified. + +The action of Murat had solved the difficulties which the congress had +to face in Italy. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies reverted to the +Bourbon, Ferdinand; and the Bourbons also acquired a right of reversion +in Parma, where the protest of Spain against the rule of Maria Louisa +could now be ignored. Genoa was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia; the +pope received back the states of the Church; the Grand Duke of Tuscany +and the Duke of Modena were restored; while Austria had to be content +with Venetia and Lombardy as far as the Ticino. The organisation of +Germany occupied the congress until June, and was the least durable part +of its work. The basis of it was a confederation of thirty-eight states, +represented and in theory controlled by a diet under the presidency of +Austria. This diet naturally resolved itself into a mere permanent +congress of diplomatists for the purpose of settling the mutual +relations of the constituent states. Each state was ordered to adopt a +constitutional form of government, but, as no provision was made for +enforcing this clause, it remained a dead letter. Prussia regained her +provinces on the left bank of the Rhine, with a population exceeding +1,000,000, and was allotted the northern part of Saxony, with a +population of 800,000, besides retaining her original share of Poland, +with the province of Posen, which had formed part of the duchy of +Warsaw. Most of this duchy was annexed by Russia, but Cracow was left a +republic. Prussia also gained Swedish Pomerania. Bavaria, Hanover, and +Denmark profited more or less by the repartition of Germany. Denmark, +however, finally lost Norway, and Sweden paid the price of this +acquisition by resigning Finland to Russia. The neutrality of +Switzerland was proclaimed and her constitution simplified. The Belgian +Netherlands were united to Holland, the two forming together the kingdom +of the Netherlands, to which Austria ceded all her claims in the Low +Countries. + +[Pageheading: _THE SECOND TREATY OF PARIS._] + +The treaty of Vienna left the boundaries of France itself as they had +been defined by the first treaty of Paris in 1814. The second treaty of +Paris, however, signed on November 20, 1815, was less favourable to +France, which had already ceded Western Savoy to Sardinia, and was now +required to abandon Landau and other outlying territories beyond the +frontier of 1792. She was also compelled to restore all the works of art +accumulated during the war. + +Great Britain had failed to obtain from the congress any binding +regulation on the subject of the slave trade. The most that she could +obtain was a solemn denunciation of that trade issued on February 8, +which declared it to be "repugnant to the principles of civilisation and +of universal morality". The moderation of the British demands, as +embodied in these treaties, excited not only the amazement but the +contempt of Napoleon, who discussed the subject at St. Helena with great +freedom. Well knowing that his paramount object throughout all his wars +and negotiations had been to crush Great Britain, and that Great Britain +had been the mainstay of all the combinations against him, he could find +no explanation of our self-denial except our insular simplicity. Perhaps +it might be attributed with greater reason to politic magnanimity; nor, +indeed, could Great Britain, as a member of the European council, +dictate such terms as Napoleon suggested. Still, the gains of Great +Britain were substantial. She retained Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, +the Isle of France (Mauritius), Trinidad, St. Lucia, Tobago, and, above +all, Malta. She also obtained possession of Heligoland and the +protectorate of the Ionian Islands, both of which she has since resigned +of her own accord. If she afterwards lost the commanding position which +she had attained among the allied powers, it was chiefly because the +colossal empire which she had defied was effectually shattered, because +neither her armies nor her subsidies were any longer needed on the +continent of Europe, and perhaps because the energies of her statesmen +were no longer braced up by the stress of a struggle for national life. + +Even before the allied armies entered Paris Wellington considered it +necessary to induce Louis XVIII. to make advances to certain politicians +of the revolution so as to inspire national confidence in him, and to +anticipate the risk of a "White Terror," or a continuance of the war. +Fouché was accordingly summoned to power, and he had sufficient +influence to prevent any national opposition to the Bourbon restoration. +Napoleon remained at large for three weeks after his abdication, that +is, for eight days after the allied troops had entered Paris, and the +fear of a future Bonapartist revolution inclined the British government +under Liverpool to entertain favourably the demand of Prussia for the +cession of Alsace, Lorraine, and the northern fortresses. When, however, +Napoleon had placed himself on board the _Bellerophon_, the situation +changed. A contented France seemed preferable to an impotent France, and +Wellington argued that the Bourbon restoration could not last, if French +opinion connected it with the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. The tsar took +this line from the first, and Wellington won for it the adhesion first +of his own government and then of Austria. Prussia had finally to be +contented with a provision for the cession of the outlying districts, +which the treaty of Paris of 1814 had left to France. The second treaty +of Paris, which embodied this stipulation, also provided for an +indemnity of £40,000,000 to be paid by France to the allies, and for the +temporary occupation of Northern France by the allied armies. On the +same day Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia signed a treaty +pledging themselves to act together in case fresh revolution and +usurpation in France should endanger the repose of other states, and +providing for frequent meetings of congresses to preserve the peace of +Europe. + +In addition to the formal treaties of alliance signed at Chaumont, +Vienna, and Paris, an attempt was made by the Tsar Alexander to bind +together the European sovereigns in an union based on the principles of +Christian brotherhood. A form of treaty was accordingly drawn up which +gave expression to these motives, dealt with all Christians as one +nation, and committed their sovereigns to mutual affection and +reciprocal service. This treaty of the holy alliance was signed on +September 26, by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. All European princes +except the sultan were invited to adhere to it, and all except the pope +and the sultan ultimately either accepted it or expressed their sympathy +with its principles. But in England there was hardly a statesman who +regarded the treaty seriously, Wellington avowed his distrust of it, the +prince regent declined to join it, and its effective value in promoting +the subsequent concert of the powers was less than nothing. Still, +however visionary and extravagantly worded, it remains as an unique +record embodying the deliberate adoption of the principle of +international brotherhood, and the sacrifice of separate national +interests for the sake of European peace. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA._] + +It is remarkable that so little public discussion took place on two +questions which have since been so hotly debated--the legal _status_ of +Napoleon after he surrendered himself, and the moral right of Great +Britain to banish him to St. Helena. One reason for this apparent +indifference to the fate of one who had overawed all Europe may be found +in the fact that parliament was not sitting when the decision of the +government was taken, and that, when it met on February 1, 1816, that +decision was virtually irrevocable. We know, however, that the first +question was fully considered by the allied powers and the British +ministry before his place of exile was fixed, and Great Britain +undertook the custody of his person. The view which prevailed was that, +after his escape from Elba, he could neither be treated as an +independent sovereign nor as a subject of the French king, but must be +regarded as a public enemy who had fallen into the hands of one among +several allied powers. Accordingly, it was by their joint mandate that +he remained the prisoner of Great Britain, and was to be under the joint +inspection of commissioners appointed by the other powers. Still the +minds of Liverpool, Ellenborough, and Sir William Scott, judge of the +court of admiralty, were not altogether easy on the legal aspect of the +case, which Eldon reviewed in an elaborate and exhaustive memorandum. +His conclusion was that Napoleon's position was quite exceptional, that +he could not rightly be made over to France as a French rebel, but was a +prisoner of war at the disposal of the British government, both on the +broad principles of international law, and under the express terms of +his surrender, as reported officially by Captain Maitland of the +_Bellerophon_. + +It was thought expedient, however, to pass an act of parliament in the +session of 1816 for the purpose of setting at rest any objections which +might afterwards be raised. This measure was introduced on March 17 by +Lord Castlereagh, who defended it on grounds of national justice and +national policy. It met with no opposition in the house of commons, but +Lords Holland and Lauderdale criticised it in the house of lords, not +as sanctioning a wrong to Napoleon, but as implicitly admitting the +right of other powers to join in arrangements for his custody. Little +attention was then bestowed by parliament or the public on the moral +aspect of his life-long detention at St. Helena, the restrictions to be +there imposed upon his liberty, or the provision to be made for his +comfort. Yet these subjects have ever since exercised the minds of +myriads both in England and France, and have given birth to a copious +literature for more than three generations. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[61] For the movements of June 15, 16, see Chesney, _Waterloo Lectures_, +pp. 70-137; Ropes, _The Campaign of Waterloo_, pp. 44-196. + +[62] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 494, 495. + +[63] Oman in _English Historical Review_, xix., 693, and xxi., 132. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + THE FIRST YEARS OF PEACE. + + +When Parliament met on February 1, 1816, after a recess of unusual +length, Castlereagh was received with loud acclamations from all parts +of the house as the chief actor in the pacification of Europe. There +was, of course, a full debate upon the treaties, but the opposition +dwelt less upon the arbitrary partition of Europe than upon their +alleged tendency to guarantee sovereigns against the assertion of +popular rights and upon the manifest intention of the government to +"raise the country into a military power". From this moment dates the +whig and radical watchword of "Peace, Retrenchment, and Reform". The +nation was, in fact, entering upon a period of unprecedented depression +and discontent, which lasted through the last four years of George +III.'s reign. At the close of 1815, however, the whole horizon was +apparently bright. Great Britain had saved Europe by her example, and, +however small her army in comparison with those of continental states, +she stood foremost among the powers which had crushed the rule of +Napoleon. Her national debt, it is true, had reached the prodigious +total of £861,039,049, and the interest on it amounted £32,645,618, but +the expansion of our national resources had kept pace with it. In spite +of the continental system, the orders in council, and the American war, +the imports and exports had enormously increased, chiefly by means of an +organised contraband traffic; the carrying trade of the world had passed +into the hands of British shipowners; British manufactures were largely +fostered by warlike expenditure at home and the suspension of many +industries abroad; while population, stimulated by a vicious poor law, +was rapidly on the increase. In this last element, then considered as a +sure sign of prosperity, really consisted one of the chief national +dangers. + +So long as the war lasted, low as the rate of wages might be, there was +generally employment enough in the fields or in the factories for nearly +all the hands willing to labour. When the inflated war prices came to an +end, and wheat fell below 80s. or even 70s. a quarter, until it reached +52s. 6d. early in 1816, labourers were turned off and wages cut down +still further; bread was not proportionately cheapened, and agrarian +outrages sprang up. The continent, impoverished by the war, no longer +required British goods for military purposes, and, as its own domestic +industries revived, ceased to absorb British products, flung in +profusion on its markets. Hence came a reduction of 16 per cent. in the +export trade, and of nearly 20 per cent. in the import trade, which +resulted in bankruptcies and the dismissal of workpeople. If we add to +these causes of distress, the influence of over-speculation, the +accession of disbanded soldiers to the ranks of the unemployed, and the +substitution of the factory system with machinery for domestic +manufactures with hand labour, we can partly understand why Great +Britain, never harried by invading armies, should have suffered more +than France itself from popular misery and disaffection for several +years after the restoration of peace. + +[Pageheading: _VANSITTART'S FINANCE._] + +The history of these years is mainly a history of social unrest, and +attempts to cure social evils by legislation or coercion. Liverpool and +his colleagues, with the possible exception of Eldon, were not bigoted +tories, and it is sometimes forgotten that among them, together with +Sidmouth, Castlereagh, and Vansittart, were Canning, Palmerston, and +Peel. One of the first parliamentary struggles was on the proposal of +the government to reduce the income tax from 10 to 5 per cent., and to +apply this half of it, producing about £7,500,000, towards the expense +of maintaining an army of 150,000 men. Since the income tax has become a +favourite of democratic economists, as pressing specially upon the rich, +we may be surprised to find that its total repeal was successfully +advocated by Henry Brougham, the leading democrat of that day--a man +whose noble services to progress and to humanity in the earlier part of +his career have been obscured by the inordinate vanity and unprincipled +egotism which he displayed in the later phases of his long public life. +He had entered parliament in 1810, and rapidly became the most active of +the opposition speakers. He now employed without scruple all the arts of +agitation, petition-framing, and parliamentary obstruction to achieve +his object, and succeeded, by the aid of bankers and country-gentlemen, +in defeating the government by a majority of thirty-seven. This vote +might be justified, more or less, on the principle laid down by Pitt, +that the income tax should be held in reserve as a war tax only, or on +the ground that it was equally wasteful and mischievous to keep up so +large a peace-establishment, especially if it might be used to bolster +up despotism abroad. It was also unfortunate that Castlereagh, ignoring +the heroic efforts made by the people of England for more than twenty +years, should have deprecated "an ignorant impatience to be relieved +from the pressure of taxation". Still, it is remarkable that friends of +the people and the ultra-liberal corporation of London, as it then was, +should have concentrated their indignant protests against the financial +policy of the government, not on the corn laws, or any other indirect +tax, but on the income tax. + +Public confidence in the economic wisdom of the ministers was further +weakened by the gratuitous abandonment of the malt tax, apparently in a +fit of petulance, on the ground, explicitly stated, that, if another war +tax must be raised, two or three millions more or less would make little +difference. By a temporary suspension of the sinking fund, a deficit +might be converted into a surplus; Vansittart, however, neglected to +take advantage of this simple expedient, and raised £11,500,000 by loan. +His waning reputation was almost shattered by this absurd proceeding. +Finally, the excessive and irregular expenditure upon the civil list +provoked a searching inquiry into its abuses, prefaced by a scathing +attack from Brougham upon the character of the prince regent. His +character was, in fact, indefensible, and had justly forfeited the +respect of the nation. He was a debauchee and gambler, a disobedient +son, a cruel husband, a heartless father, an ungrateful and treacherous +friend, and a burden to the ministries which had to act in his name and +palliate his misdoings. That of Liverpool carried a measure for the +better regulation of the civil list, upon which, swollen as it was by +the wrongful appropriation of other public funds, many official +salaries had been charged hitherto. For these parliament now made a +separate provision. The house of commons, which properly grudged the +prince regent the means of reckless luxury and self-indulgence, was +unanimous in voting £60,000 for outfit and £60,000 a year to the +Princess Charlotte on her marriage, on May 2, to Prince Leopold of +Saxe-Coburg, looking forward to a reign under which virtue and a sense +of public duty would again be the attributes of royalty. In this +session, too, it conferred a boon upon Ireland, which earned little +gratitude, by the consolidation of the British and Irish exchequers. +Ireland was virtually insolvent before this measure was passed. With the +union of the exchequers the union of the countries was completed. The +administration, discredited by its financial policy, was strengthened in +June by the acquisition of Canning, who succeeded Buckinghamshire as +president of the board of control. In September, 1814, Wellesley Pole, a +brother of the Marquis Wellesley and the Duke of Wellington, had been +admitted to the cabinet as master of the mint, so that with Castlereagh, +Vansittart, and Bragge-Bathurst, there were now five members of the +cabinet in the lower house. + +[Pageheading: _INDUSTRIAL RIOTS._] + +The disturbances which broke out again and again during the years +1816-19 were partly the outcome of sheer destitution among the working +classes, and partly of a growing demand for reform, whether +constitutional or revolutionary. The statesmen of the regency must not +be too severely judged if they often confounded these causes of +seditious movements, and failed to distinguish between the moderate and +violent sections of reformers. Those who remembered the bloodthirsty +orgies of the French revolution, ushered in by quixotic visions of +liberty, equality, and fraternity, may perhaps be excused for +distrusting the moderate professions of demagogues who deliberately +inflamed the passions of ignorant mobs. Moreover, the whigs and moderate +reformers, who privately condemned the excesses of their violent +followers, made light of these in their public utterances, and reserved +all their censures for the repressive policy of the government. Bread +riots had begun before the harvest, which proved a total failure. The +price of wheat, which was as low as 52s. 6d. a quarter in January, 1816, +rose to 103s. 1d. in January, 1817, and to 111s. 6d. in June, 1817. And +when rickburning set in as a consequence of agricultural depression, +tumultuary processions as a consequence of enforced idleness in the coal +districts, and a revival of Luddism as a consequence of stagnation in +the various textile industries, itself due to a glut of British goods on +the continent, the reform party, now raising its head, was held +responsible by the government for a great part of these disorders.[64] +The writings of Cobbett, especially his _Weekly Register_, certainly had +a wide influence in stirring up discontent against existing +institutions, but it must be admitted that he condemned the use of +physical force, and pointed to parliamentary reform as the legitimate +cure for all social evils. Reform, however, in Cobbett's meaning +included universal suffrage with annual parliaments, and the Hampden +clubs, all over the country, agitated for the same objects in less +guarded language. Still, looking back at these democratic agencies by +the light of later experience, we can hardly adopt the opinion expressed +by a secret committee of the house of commons that their avowed objects +were "nothing short of a revolution". + +It was on December 2, 1816, that the extreme section of reformers, now +for the first time known as radicals, in alliance with a body of +socialists called Spenceans, first came into open collision with the +forces of the law. A meeting was announced to be held on that day in Spa +Fields, Bermondsey, and was to be addressed by "Orator" Hunt, Major +Cartwright, the two Watsons, and other demagogues. Hunt was a gentleman +of Somerset, and had stood for Bristol in 1812. Though a prominent +speaker, he in no sense directed the movement. Burdett and Cochrane, the +orthodox leaders of London reformers, were not concerned in this +demonstration, which, according to an informer who gave evidence, was to +be the signal for an attack upon the Tower and other acts of atrocity. +As it was, before Hunt chose to appear, the mob, headed by the younger +Watson, broke into gunsmiths' shops, not without bloodshed, and marched +through the Royal Exchange, but were courageously met by the lord mayor, +with a few assistants, and very soon dispersed. The alarm produced in +the whole nation by this riotous fiasco was quite out of proportion to +its real importance, and was reawakened by an insult offered to the +prince regent on his return from opening parliament on January 28, 1817. +Even Canning, a life-long opponent of reform, did not scruple to magnify +these and similar evidences of popular restlessness into proofs of a +deep-laid plot against the constitution, and committees of both houses +urged the necessity of drastic measures to put down a conspiracy against +public order and private property. These measures took the form of bills +for the suppression of seditious meetings, and for the suspension until +July 1 of the _habeas corpus_ act, which had been uninterruptedly in +force since its suspension by Pitt had expired in 1801. This last bill +was passed on March 3, and, before the other became law, the so-called +march of the Blanketeers took place at Manchester. The march was the +ridiculous sequel of a very large meeting got up for the purpose of +carrying a petition to London, and presenting it to the prince regent in +person. The meeting was dispersed by the soldiers and police, after the +riot act had been read, and a straggling crowd of some three hundred who +began their pilgrimage, carrying blankets or overcoats, melted away by +degrees before they had got far southward. + +[Pageheading: _SIDMOUTH'S UNPOPULARITY._] + +A far more serious outbreak at Manchester seems to have been clumsily +planned soon afterwards, but it ended in nothing, and the enemies of the +government freely attributed this and other projects of mob violence to +the instigation of an _agent-provocateur_, well known as "Oliver the +Spy". This man was also credited with the authorship of "the Derbyshire +insurrection," for which three men were executed and many others +transported. Here there can be no doubt that a formidable gang, armed +with pikes, terrorised a large district, pressing operatives to join +them in overt defiance of the law, and killing one who held back. Being +confronted by a Nottinghamshire magistrate named Rolleston, with a small +body of soldiers, they fled across the fields, and the bubble of +rebellion burst at a touch. Whether they were legally guilty of high +treason, for which they were unwisely tried, may perhaps be doubted, but +it would certainly be no palliation of their crime if it could be shown, +as it never was shown, that Oliver had led them to rely on a jacobin +revolution in London. What does appear very clearly is that Sidmouth +was greatly alarmed by the reports of his agents on the disturbed state +of the country, but that he was highly conscientious in his instructions +and in the use of his own powers. The great majority of those imprisoned +for political offences at this time were liberated or acquitted, but the +suspension of the _habeas corpus_ act was renewed at the beginning of +July. + +Moreover, a circular was addressed by Sidmouth to the lords-lieutenant +of counties, for the information of the magistrates, intimating that, in +the opinion of the law officers, persons charged on oath with seditious +libel might be apprehended and held to bail. No act of Sidmouth called +forth such an outburst of reprobation as this; yet it is not +self-evident that instigations to outrage, being criminal offences, +should be treated by magistrates differently from other offences for +which bail may be required, with the alternative of imprisonment. On the +other hand, it is hardly becoming for a home secretary to interpret the +law, and, since the forensic triumphs of Erskine, it had been declared +by an act of parliament that in cases of libel, as distinct from all +other criminal trials, both the law and the fact were within the +province of the jury. At all events, William Cobbett, feeling himself to +be at the mercy of informers and the crown, took refuge in America in +December, 1817. Hone, an antiquarian bookseller, was thrice prosecuted +for blasphemous libels, in which the ministers had been held up to +contempt. All these ill-judged, if not vindictive, prosecutions ended in +signal failure. Ellenborough, the chief justice, before whom the two +last trials were held, strained his judicial authority to procure a +conviction of Hone, but the prisoner, with a spirit worthy of a martyr, +defied the intimidation of the court, and thrice carried the sympathies +of the jury with him. His triple acquittal led to Ellenborough's +resignation, and perceptibly shook the prestige of the government. + +In the year 1818 there was a temporary improvement in the economic +condition of the country. The depression of the preceding year was +followed in this year by a rapid increase of revenue. The importance the +ministry attached to finance was emphasised by the admission to the +cabinet in January of Frederick John Robinson, afterwards prime minister +as Lord Goderich, who had been appointed president of the board of +trade and treasurer of the navy. The chancellor of the exchequer and the +master of the mint were already members of the cabinet. The suspension +of the _habeas corpus_ act having expired, the reform agitation revived, +but assumed a less dangerous character, and no serious outbreak +occurred. A bill of indemnity was passed to cover any excesses of +jurisdiction in arresting suspected persons or in suppressing tumultuous +assemblies. A parliamentary inquiry showed both that the disorders of +the previous year had been exaggerated, and that, after all, the +extraordinary powers of the home office had been used with moderation. +Nevertheless, the early part of the session was largely occupied by +party debates on these questions, the employment of spies, and +apprehensions for libel. Parliament was dissolved in June, and the +general election which followed resulted in a gain of several seats to +the opposition.[65] The ministry was strengthened in January, 1819, by +the appointment of Wellington to be master-general of the ordnance, in +succession to Mulgrave, who remained in the cabinet without office. + +[Pageheading: _THE "MANCHESTER MASSACRE"._] + +Before the end of the year 1818, a strike of Manchester cotton-spinners +was attended by the usual incidents of brutal violence towards workmen +who refused to join in it, but a few shots from the soldiers, one of +which killed a rioter, proved effectual in quelling lawlessness. +Manchester, however, remained the centre of agitation, and during the +summer of 1819 a series of reform meetings held in other great towns +culminated in a monster meeting originally convened for August 9, but +postponed until the 16th. The history of this meeting ending in the +so-called "Manchester" or "Peterloo massacre," has been strongly +coloured by party spirit and sympathy with the victims of reckless +demagogy no less than of blundering officialism. It is certain that +drilling had been going on for some time among the multitudes invited to +attend the meeting of the 9th; that its avowed object was to choose a +"legislatorial representative," as Birmingham had already done, and +that, on its being declared illegal by the municipal authorities, who +declined to summon it on their own initiative, its organisers +deliberately resolved to hold it a week later, whether it were legal or +not. + +The contingents, which poured in by thousands from neighbouring towns, +seem to have carried no arms but sticks, and to have conducted +themselves peaceably when they arrived at St. Peter's Fields, where +Orator Hunt, puffed up with silly vanity, was voted into the chair on a +hustings. Unfortunately, instead of attempting to prevent the meeting, +the county magistrates decided to let the great masses of people +assemble, and then to arrest the leaders in the midst of them. They had +at their disposal several companies of infantry, six troops of the 15th +hussars, and a body of yeomanry, besides special constables. The chief +constable, being ordered to arrest Hunt and his colleagues, declared +that he could not do so without military aid, whereupon a small force of +yeomanry advanced but soon became wedged up and enclosed by the densely +packed crowd. One of the magistrates, fancying the yeomanry to be in +imminent danger, of which there is no proof, called upon Colonel +L'Estrange, who was in command of the soldiers, to rescue them and +disperse the mob. Four troops of the hussars then made a dashing charge, +supported by a few of the yeomanry; the people fled in wild confusion +before them; some were cut down, more were trampled down, and an +eye-witness describes "several mounds of human beings" as lying where +they had fallen. Happily, the actual loss of life did not exceed five or +six, but a much larger number was more or less wounded, the real havoc +and bloodshed were inevitably exaggerated by rumour, and a bitter sense +of resentment was implanted in the breasts of myriads, innocent of the +slightest complicity with sedition, but impatient of oligarchical rule, +and disgusted with so ruthless an interference with the right of public +meeting. + +It would have been wise if Sidmouth and his colleagues had recognised +this widespread feeling, had seen that famine and despair were at the +bottom of popular discontent, and had admitted error of judgment, at +least, on the part of the Lancashire magistrates. On the contrary, they +felt it so necessary to support civil and military authority, at all +hazards, that they induced the prince regent to express unqualified +approbation of the course taken, and afterwards defended it without +reserve in parliament. Even Eldon expressed his opinion privately that +it would be hard to justify it, unless the assembly amounted to an act +of treason, as he regarded it; whereas Hunt and his associates were +prosecuted (and convicted in the next year) not for treason, but only +for a misdemeanour. At all events, the storm of indignation excited by +this sad event, and not confined to the working classes, powerfully +fomented the reform movement. Large meetings were held over all the +manufacturing districts, and a requisition to summon a great Yorkshire +meeting was signed by Fitzwilliam, the lord-lieutenant, who attended it +in person. For these acts he was properly dismissed, but, in spite of +inflammatory speeches, nearly all the meetings passed off quietly and +without interference. Nevertheless, the government thought it necessary +to hold an autumn session, and strengthen the hands of the executive by +fresh measures of repression. These having been passed in December after +strenuous opposition, were afterwards known as the six acts, and +regarded as the climax of Sidmouth's despotic _régime_. + +Two of the six acts, directed against the possession of arms and +military training for unlawful purposes, cannot be considered oppressive +under the circumstances then prevailing. Nor can exception be taken on +the ground of principle to another for "preventing delay in the +administration of justice in cases of misdemeanour," which, indeed, was +amended, by Holland, with Eldon's consent, so as to benefit defendants +in state prosecutions. Two were designed to curb still further the +liberty of the press. One of these made the publication of seditious +libels an offence punishable with banishment, and authorised the seizure +of all unsold copies. When we consider the extreme virulence of +seditious libels in those days, this act does not wear so monstrous an +aspect as its radical opponents alleged, but happily it soon became a +dead letter, and was repealed in 1830. The other, imposing a stamp-duty +on small pamphlets, only placed them on the same footing with +newspapers. The last of the new measures--"to prevent more effectually +seditious meetings and assemblies"--was practically aimed against all +large meetings, unless called by the highest authorities in counties and +corporate towns, or, at least, five justices of the peace. It was, +therefore, a grave encroachment on the right of public meeting, and the +only excuse for it was that it was passed under the fear of a +revolutionary movement, and limited in duration to a period of five +years. + +[Pageheading: _SOCIAL LEGISLATION._] + +Nor can it be denied that, as a whole, this restrictive code was +successful. From a modern point of view it may appear less arbitrary +than the suspension of the _habeas corpus_ act for a whole year +(1817-18), but it was assuredly tainted with a reactionary spirit, and +was capable of being worked in a way inconsistent with civil liberty. +That it was not so worked, on the whole, and caused less hardship than +had been anticipated, was not so much the result of changes in the +government itself, as of economic progress in the nation, aided by a +healthier growth of public opinion. The violence which marked the early +stages of the reform movement has been described as a safety-valve +against anarchy; it was, in reality, the chief obstacle to a sound and +comprehensive reform bill. While it lasted, the middle classes and +liberals of moderate views were estranged from the cause; when it +ceased, the demand for a new representative system became irresistible. + +Whatever allowance may be made for the coercive policy of the government +during the dark period of storm and stress which succeeded the great +war, it is hard to find any excuse for its neglect of social +legislation. Then, if ever, was a time when the work of Pitt's best days +should have been resumed, when real popular grievances should have been +redressed, and when the long arrears of progressive reform should have +been gradually redeemed. Yet very little was done to better the lot of +men, women, and children in Great Britain, and that little was chiefly +initiated by individuals. In 1816, on the motion of a private member, an +inquiry was commenced into the state of the metropolitan police, which +disclosed most scandalous abuses, such as the habitual association of +thieves and thief-takers, encouraged by the grants of blood-money which +had been continued since the days of Jonathan Wild. In 1817 a committee +sanctioned by the ministers recommended a measure for the gradual +abolition of sinecures, which then figured prominently in the domestic +charter of reform. Their recommendations were adopted, and a large +number of sinecure offices were swept away. But inasmuch as sinecures +had been largely given to persons who had held public offices of +business, it was thought necessary to institute pensions to an amount +not exceeding one-half of the reduction. In 1816 a private member, named +Curwen, brought forward a fanciful scheme of his own for the amendment +of the poor laws, which in effect anticipated modern projects of old +age pensions. He obtained the appointment of a select committee, which +reported in 1817, but their proposals were thoroughly inadequate, and no +sensible improvement came of them. + +It was also in 1816 that the cause of national education, the importance +of which had been vainly urged by Whitbread, was taken up in earnest by +Brougham. His motion for the appointment of a select committee was +confined to the schools of the metropolis. It sat at intervals until +1818, when its powers were enlarged, and its labours somewhat diverted +into a searching exposure of mismanagement in endowed charities. The one +direct fruit of the committee was the creation of the charity +commission, but in the opinion of Brougham himself it was of the highest +value in opening the whole education question. The almost universal +prevalence of distress in 1817, and the excessive burden thrown upon +poor rates, induced parliament to authorise an expenditure of £750,000 +in Great Britain and Ireland for the employment of the labouring poor on +public works. A far sounder and more fruitful measure of relief owes its +origin to the same year. It was now that the institution of savings +banks, hitherto promoted only by single philanthropists, emerged from +the experimental stage and claimed the attention of parliament. A bill +for their regulation, introduced by Pitt's friend, George Rose, did not +pass into an act; but the establishment of savings banks was now +directly encouraged by the legislature, and there were thoughtful men +who already dimly foresaw the manifold benefits of their future +development. + +[Pageheading: _THE CURRENCY QUESTION._] + +In the year 1819 was initiated a very important reform in the currency, +which had long been delayed. When the bullion committee reported in +1810, Bank of England notes were at a discount of about 13½ per cent. +There were several reasons why this should be the case. Continental +trade was then compelled to pass through British ports, and a large +supply of gold was needed to serve as the medium of this trade. There +was also a steady drain of gold to the Spanish peninsula to meet war +expenses, while troubles in South America diminished the annual output +of the precious metals. In 1811 Bank of England notes were made legal +tender, but no further action was then taken, and the depreciation +continued until 1814. The magnificent harvest of 1813, together with +other causes, brought about a sudden fall of prices, in consequence of +which no less than 240 country banks stopped payment in the years +1814-16. The decrease and popular distrust of private banknotes produced +an increased demand for Bank of England notes, which in 1817 had nearly +risen in value to a par with gold. In 1819, when they were at a discount +of only 4½ per cent., a committee was appointed by the house of +commons to reconsider the policy of resuming cash payments, and Peel, +young as he was, became its chairman. In this character he abandoned his +preconceived views and induced the house to adopt those which had been +advocated by Horner. It was not thought prudent to fix an earlier date +than 1823 for the actual resumption of cash payments, but the directors +of the Bank of England anticipated this date, and began to exchange +notes for specie on May 1, 1821. The new standard was definitely one of +gold. A considerable fall of prices ensued, and it is still a disputed +question whether the return to a single standard was entirely +beneficial. + +But for what is called the public, the readers of newspapers and the +frequenters of clubs or taverns, the rivalry of party leaders or the +incidents of court life excite a much keener interest than painful +efforts for the good of the humbler classes. During the closing years of +George III.'s reign there were no party conflicts of special intensity. +The whigs acquiesced in their self-imposed exclusion from office, and +contented themselves with damaging criticism; the radicals had not yet +acquired the confidence or respect of the electors. Liverpool remained +prime minister; Castlereagh, foreign secretary; Sidmouth, home +secretary; Vansittart, chancellor of the exchequer. Meanwhile there were +startling vicissitudes in the fortunes of the royal family. The king, +indeed, remained under the cloud of mental derangement which darkened +the last ten years of his life, and the Princess of Wales, who had been +the object of so much scandal, was now out of sight and residing abroad. +The Princess Charlotte, however, the only daughter of the regent, had +centred in herself the loyalty and hopes of the nation in a remarkable +degree, and was credited, not unjustly, with private virtues and public +sympathies contrasting strongly with the disposition of her father. Her +marriage with Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who bore a high character, +had been hailed with national enthusiasm, for it was known that, like +Queen Victoria, she had been carefully trained and had disciplined +herself, physically and morally, for the duties of a throne. It has been +truly said that her death in childbirth, on November 6, was the great +historical event of 1817. The prince regent, with his constitution +weakened by dissipation, was not expected to survive her long, and so +long as his wife lived there was no prospect of other legitimate issue, +unless he could procure a divorce. There was no grandchild of George +III. who could lawfully inherit the crown, and the apprehension of a +collateral succession became more and more generally felt.[66] + +In the following year four royal marriages were announced. The Princess +Elizabeth espoused the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; the Duke of Clarence, +the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen; the Duke of Cambridge, the +Princess Augusta of Hesse; the Duke of Kent, the Princess Victoria Mary +of Saxe-Coburg. The Duke of Sussex was already married, but not with the +necessary consent of the crown, and the Duke of Cumberland was +childless, having married three years earlier a divorced widow whom the +queen, for private reasons, declined to receive. It is a striking proof +of the discredit into which the royal family had fallen, since the old +king virtually ceased to reign, that parliament, in spite of its +anxiety about the succession, displayed an almost niggardly parsimony +when it was moved to increase the allowances of the princes about to +marry. No application was made on behalf of the Princess Elizabeth or +the Duke of Sussex, who was already married morganatically. The +additional grant of £6,000 a year asked on behalf of the Duke of +Cumberland was refused by a small majority, partly, no doubt, because +his anti-liberal opinions and untrustworthy character were no secret to +public men. £10,000 a year was asked for the Duke of Clarence, and +justified by Canning as less than he might fairly have claimed, but it +was reduced to £6,000 and declined by the duke as inadequate; he +afterwards married without a parliamentary grant. The provision of +£6,000 a year for the Dukes of Cambridge and Kent respectively was +stoutly opposed but ultimately carried. Of all George III.'s sons, the +Duke of Kent was perhaps the most respected. It has been truly said that +if the nation could have expressed its dearest wish, in the spirit of +prophecy, after the death of the Princess Charlotte, it would have been +that the issue of the Duke of Kent's marriage with Prince Leopold's +sister might succeed, as Queen Victoria, to the crown of her +grandfather.[67] + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF GEORGE III._] + +On November 17, 1818, Queen Charlotte died, having filled her great and +most difficult position for nearly sixty years with sound judgment, +exemplary moral integrity, and a certain homely dignity. The Duke of +York succeeded her as guardian of the king's person. Little more than a +year later she was followed to the grave by the Duke of Kent, who died +on January 23, 1820, and by the king himself, who died on January 29, in +the eighty-second year of his age. He was not a great sovereign, but, as +a man, he was far superior to his two predecessors, and must ever stand +high, if not highest, in the gallery of our kings. His venerable figure, +though shrouded from view, was a chief mainstay of the monarchy. Narrow +as his views were, and obstinately as he adhered to them, he was not +incapable of changing them, and could show generosity towards enemies, +as he ever showed fidelity to friends. His reception of Franklin after +the American war, and of Fox after the death of Pitt, was that of a +king who understood his kingly office; and his strict devotion to +business, regardless of his own pleasure, could not have been exceeded +by a merchant engrossed in lucrative trade. The many pithy and racy +sayings recorded of him show an insight into men's characters and the +realities of life not unworthy of Dr. Johnson. His simplicity, +kindliness, and charity endeared him to his subjects. His undaunted +courage and readiness to undertake sole responsibility, not only during +the panics of the Gordon riots and of the impending French invasion, but +in many a political crisis, compelled the respect of all his ministers, +and his disappearance from the scenes, to make way for the regency of +his eldest son, was almost as disastrous for English society as the +exchange, in France, of Louis XIV.'s decorous rule for that of the +Regent Orléans. + +The European concert which had been called into existence by the war +against Napoleon, and had effected a continental settlement at Vienna, +continued to act for the maintenance of peace. The treaty of alliance of +1815 only bound the four powers to common action in the event of a fresh +revolution in France which might endanger the tranquillity of other +states. The holy alliance was more comprehensive and wider in its aims, +but was too vague to form the practical basis of a federation. The +settlement of Europe by the treaty of Vienna was, however, the work of +all the powers, and they had therefore an interest in everything that +might be likely to affect that settlement. The habit of concerted +action, once formed, was not lightly abandoned, and the succeeding age +was an age of congresses. But though there was a general sentiment in +favour of concerted action it manifested itself in different ways. The +causes of the recent struggle with France had been political in their +origin, and it was agreed that a recurrence of disorder from France +could be best prevented by the establishment of a government in that +country which should be at once constitutional and legitimist. England +favoured, and Russia, the most autocratic of states, favoured still more +vehemently, the development of constitutions wherever it might be +practicable, while Austria, being composed of territories with no +national cohesion, endeavoured rather to thwart the growth of +constitutions. But Russia was also the most active advocate of joint +interference where a constitutional reform was effected by +unconstitutional means. Great Britain and Austria, on the other hand, +with a juster instinct, considered armed interference an extreme remedy +which might often be worse than the disease of a revolution. + +[Pageheading: _ROYALIST REACTION IN EUROPE._] + +The numerous restorations of 1814 and 1815 were followed by a royalist +and aristocratic reaction in many countries of Europe. In France Louis +XVIII. found himself confronted by an ultra-royalist chamber of deputies +which clamoured for vengeance on the partisans of the republican and +imperial _régimes_ and for the restoration of the privileges and estates +of the Church. Ferdinand VII. of Spain swept away the unwieldy +constitution of 1812 amid the rejoicings of his people, who little +foresaw his future tyranny; and Great Britain did not venture to resist +the action of Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies in abolishing a constitution +which British influence had induced him to grant his island kingdom in +1813. In Prussia the government dealt sternly with the liberal press, +and the provincial estates opposed the institution of a national diet; +while in Würtemberg a parliament assembled under a liberal constitution +demanded the restoration of the ancient privileges of the nobility and +clergy. In the Two Sicilies British influence, supported by that of +Austria, was used to prevent outrages on the defeated party; in Spain +the moderate counsels of Great Britain were less successful. Austria +endeavoured to prevent future disturbance in the Italian peninsula by a +secret treaty, which obtained the sanction of the British government, +requiring the Two Sicilies to adopt no constitutional changes +inconsistent with the principles adopted by Austria in the +Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. Similar treaties were concluded by Austria +with Tuscany, Modena, and Parma, and she thus gained an ascendency in +Italy, from which only Sardinia and the papal states were exempt. +Russian agents meanwhile began to conduct a liberal propaganda in Spain +and Italy, and Russia was even credited with a desire to make a +liberalised Spain a counterpoise to England on the sea. + +For a time, however, there were no European complications of a +formidable nature. In 1816 a British squadron was sent out under Lord +Exmouth lo execute the decree of the congress of Vienna against the +Barbary states. The Dey of Algiers and the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli +were called upon to recognise the Ionian Islands as British, to accept +British mediation between them and the courts of the Two Sicilies and +Sardinia, to restore their Christian captives, and not to authorise +further piracy. These terms were accepted by the Beys of Tunis and +Tripoli, and the two first demands were granted by the Dey of Algiers. +He was allowed a delay of three months in order to obtain the sultan's +permission for granting the remainder, but in the interval a massacre of +Italian fishermen took place at Bona. Lord Exmouth now sailed from +Gibraltar to attack Algiers. On his demands being again ignored, he +bombarded that city on August 27 for more than six hours. The arsenal +and storehouses and all the ships in the port were burned, and on the +next day the dey accepted Exmouth's terms; peace was signed on the 30th, +the principal terms being the abolition of Christian slavery, and the +delivery of all slaves to Exmouth on the following day. + +The treaty of Vienna in placing the Ionian Islands under British +protection had made no mention of the towns of Parga and Butrinto on the +mainland of Epirus which had passed under British rule along with the +islands. These places were now surrendered to Turkey in accordance with +a former treaty, in return for the Turkish recognition of the British +protectorate over the islands. The inhabitants of Parga were, however, +vehemently opposed to such a transference of their allegiance, and they +were conveyed to the Ionian Islands and compensated for the loss of +their property. The Turks entered into occupation of Parga in 1819. In +1817 and 1818 wild rumours of Russian aggression in the direction of the +Mediterranean began to circulate in England. It was reported that Spain +had promised to cede Port Mahon to Russia; and that Russia was preparing +a great military force, to be employed, if necessary, in alliance with +the Bourbon states, France, Spain, and the Two Sicilies, to counteract +British and Austrian influence. This influence, with that of Prussia, +had really been employed to keep the Dardanelles closed against Russian +ships. Meanwhile Austria had won over Prussia to her conservative policy +in Germany. + +The violent language of the liberal party, especially at the +universities, already began to terrify the Prussian government. The +first danger signal was given at the Wartburg festival of delegates from +the German universities in 1817, at which the students indulged in some +boyish manifestations of their sympathies; their proceedings made some +stir in Germany, and Metternich declared that they were revolutionary. +The horror of liberalism was destined to be heightened in 1819 by the +murder of the tsar's agent, the dramatist Kotzebue, by a lunatic member +of a political society at Giessen. Its immediate result was a conference +of German ministers at Carlsbad, where several resolutions for the +suppression of political agitation were passed, and afterwards adopted +by the diet at Frankfort. This policy was embodied in the "final act" of +a similar conference held at Vienna in the following year (1820), which +empowered the greater states of Germany to aid the smaller in checking +revolutionary movements. At the same time it reaffirmed the general +principle of non-intervention, and even laid down the pregnant doctrine +that constitutions could not be legitimately altered except by +constitutional means. The union of Austria and Prussia on the +conservative side had rather the effect of throwing the secondary states +of southern Germany upon the liberal side. In the spring and summer of +1818 Bavaria and Baden framed constitutions, and in 1819 Würtemberg once +more essayed parliamentary government, which the reactionary policy of +her first parliament had compelled her to abandon. The significant fact +in European politics was that Frederick William III. of Prussia, always +accustomed to being led, had passed from the influence of Russia to that +of Austria. + +[Pageheading: _THE CONFERENCE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE._] + +Such were the general tendencies of European politics when the +conference of Aix-la-Chapelle assembled on September 30, 1818. The +primary object of this conference was to consider the request of France +for a reduction in the indemnity demanded of her and for the evacuation +of her territories by the four allied powers. Wellington and +Castlereagh, who represented Great Britain, earned the gratitude of +France by readily agreeing to these requests, which were granted without +any difficulty. This question was obviously one which required such a +conference to settle it; but the conference, having once assembled, was +urged to deal with other difficulties that less directly concerned it. +One of these was a dispute between Denmark and Sweden about the +apportionment of the Danish debt, which, in consideration of the +annexation of Norway to Sweden, under the treaty of Kiel, was to be +partly borne by Sweden. Denmark appealed to the four powers, +representing that treaty as in fact a part of their own settlement of +Europe. Sweden would not admit the right of the powers to intervene, but +finally settled her difficulty with Denmark by a separate negotiation +conducted by the mediation of Great Britain in 1819. + +A still more doubtful question was raised by the request of Spain for +the assistance of the allied powers against her revolted colonies. The +Spanish dependencies in America had declined to acknowledge Joseph +Bonaparte, and had lapsed into a state of chaos; the restoration of +Ferdinand VII. had induced most of them to return to their allegiance, +but the three south-eastern colonies, Banda Oriental (Uruguay), La Plata +(the Argentine), and Paraguay, continued in revolt. In 1817 fortune +turned still further against Spain; Monte Video, the capital of Banda +Oriental, was taken by Portugal, or rather by Brazil, and Chile revolted +against Spain. On February 12, 1818, Chile proclaimed her independence, +and she began at once to procure warships in England and the United +States, of which Lord Cochrane took command. The four allied powers and +France had protested against the seizure of Monte Video, but otherwise +Spain had been left to herself. Great Britain seemed to have more to +gain than to lose by the insurrection. The revolted colonies were open +to her commerce, and by weakening Spain they had strengthened the +maritime supremacy of Great Britain. Nevertheless Great Britain was +willing to mediate, on condition that Spain would make reasonable +concessions. Spain, however, refused to make any concessions at all, and +called on the allied powers to aid her in crushing the insurrection by +force. Great Britain did not regard an unconditional subjection of the +colonies as either expedient or practicable, and opposed this course; +Austria took the same view, and thus placed intervention out of the +question. + +[Pageheading: _THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE._] + +But the principal question before the conference of Aix-la-Chapelle was +not one relating to any particular difficulty, but the permanent form of +the European alliance. The tsar desired a general confederacy of +European powers, such as had signed the treaty of Vienna and the holy +alliance. This confederacy was to guard against two evils--that of +revolutionary agitation and that of arbitrary administration and +sectional alliances. Such a project, though doubtless proposed in good +faith, practically gave Russia an interest in the domestic movements, +both reactionary and constitutional, of every country, while it forbade +any political combination to which Russia was not a party. Castlereagh +agreed with Metternich in thinking that such an extension of Russian +Influence was more to be dreaded than local disorder, and Great Britain +and Austria proposed therefore that the alliance should be based on the +treaty of Chaumont, as renewed at Vienna and Paris, though they were +willing to have friendly discussions from time to time without extending +the scope of the alliance. All parties desired to include France in +their alliance, but the tsar pertinently objected that France could not +be admitted to an alliance aimed solely against France. A compromise was +therefore adopted. The quadruple alliance for war, in case of a +revolution in France, was secretly renewed, and centres for mobilisation +were fixed, while France was publicly invited to join the deliberations +of the allied powers. A secret protocol was then signed providing for +the meeting of congresses from time to time, and giving the minor +European powers a place in these congresses when their affairs should be +under discussion. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[64] For details of the riots see _Annual Register_, lviii. (1816), +60-73. They were particularly numerous in May, 1816, and in the counties +of Cambridge, Essex, and Suffolk. At Littleport in Cambridgeshire, on +May 24, it was found necessary to fire on the rioters. Two men were +killed and five were afterwards executed. + +[65] Greville, _Memoirs_, i., 2; Walpole, _History of England_, i., 392, +393. + +[66] The curious may be interested in the following list of the names +and ages of the persons who stood next in order of succession to the +crown after the death of Princess Charlotte. It will be observed that of +the fourteen who stood nearest the throne, not one was under forty years +of age, and not one had a legitimate child:-- + + Age. Relation to king. + 1. George, Prince Regent 55 Son. + 2. Frederick, Duke of York 54 Son. + 3. William, Duke of Clarence 52 Son. + 4. Edward, Duke of Kent 50 Son. + 5. Ernest, Duke of Cumberland 46 Son. + 6. Augustus, Duke of Sussex 44 Son. + 7. Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge 43 Son. + 8. Charlotte, Queen-Dowager of Würtemberg 51 Daughter. + 9. Princess Augusta 48 Daughter. + 10. Princess Elizabeth 47 Daughter. + 11. Mary, Duchess of Gloucester 41 Daughter, + 12. Princess Sophia 40 Daughter. + 13. William, Duke of Gloucester 41 Nephew. + 14. Princess Sophia of Gloucester 44 Niece. + 15. Charles, Duke of Brunswick 13 Great nephew. + +[67] See, however, the _Creevey Papers_, i., 268-71, 284. + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE LAST YEARS OF LORD LIVERPOOL. + + +The only important events of domestic interest in the year 1820, after +the death of George III., were the Cato Street conspiracy, and the +so-called trial of Queen Caroline. For the accession of the king, who +had so long exercised royal functions as regent, produced no visible +effect either on the personal composition or on the general policy of +the government. Immediately after his proclamation he was attacked by a +dangerous illness, but on his recovery he promptly raised two questions +which nearly involved a change of ministry. One of these was a proposal +to increase his private revenue, which he was induced to abandon for the +present. The other was a demand for a divorce, which the ministers +firmly resisted, though they ultimately agreed to a compromise, under +which the divorce question was to be deferred, so long as the queen +remained quietly abroad, but action was to be taken in case she returned +to assert her rights. + +[Pageheading: _THE CATO STREET CONSPIRACY._] + +In the midst of these difficulties the lives of the ministers were +threatened by a plot somewhat like those of the seventeenth century. +Later writers have represented it as contemptible in its conception, and +as directly provoked by the "Manchester massacre". So it may be said +that Guy Fawkes was an insignificant person, and that his employers were +exasperated by the severe treatment of popish recusants. The facts are +that Arthur Thistlewood, the author of the Cato Street conspiracy, was a +well-known confederate of the Watsons and other members of the extreme +reform party, and that his plan for murdering the assembled cabinet in a +private house would probably have been effectual, had it not been +detected by the aid of an informer. This informer, Edwards, had warned +the authorities in November, 1819, of the impending stroke, and may or +may not have instigated Thistlewood's gang to execute it at a moment and +place well-calculated to secure their arrest. At all events twenty-four +conspirators armed themselves in Cato Street, near the Edgware Road, +London, for the purpose of assassinating the ministers at a cabinet +dinner in Harrowby's house in Grosvenor Square, and some of their +associates were posted near the door of that house to summon them when +the guests should have assembled. Harrowby's dinner was of course put +off, but the watchers were deceived by the arrival of carriages for a +dinner party next door, and failed to apprise the gang in Cato Street. +The police rushed in upon the gang, but a body of soldiers ordered to +support them reached the spot too late, a policeman was stabbed, and +Thistlewood, with twelve or fourteen others, contrived to escape. He was +captured the next morning, and executed with four of his accomplices, +five more were transported for life, and the atrocity of the enterprise +was naturally treated in the king's speech as a justification for the +repressive measures in operation. In the following April a petty +outbreak in Scotland was easily put down by a few troops at a place +called Bonnymuir. It was, however, preceded by a treasonable +proclamation, which spread terror among the citizens of Glasgow for +several hours, and was sufficiently like an attempt at armed rebellion +to confirm the alarm excited by the Cato Street conspiracy. In the face +of such warnings, the energy of the government in stamping out disorder +could hardly be censured. + +The last parliament of George III. was prorogued on February 28, 1820, +and dissolved on the following day. One of its last debates was on Lord +John Russell's proposal to suspend the issue of writs to the boroughs of +Grampound, Penryn, Barnstaple, and Camelford. This was carried in the +house of commons, but lost in the house of lords. The new parliament was +opened by George IV. in person on April 21. Widespread excitement +occasioned by the question of the divorce prevented the business of the +first session from attracting much attention. A deficit in the revenue, +coinciding with growing expenditure, compelled Vansittart to fall back +on a fresh manipulation of the sinking fund. One measure, however, of +the highest importance was introduced by Brougham. The committee of 1814 +on national education had amassed a great body of valuable evidence, +and he now founded upon its report a comprehensive bill extending to the +whole country. It placed the management and teaching of elementary +schools entirely in the hands of Churchmen, and was dropped after the +first reading, but the conscience of the nation was roused by it, and it +bore fruit later. Further slight mitigations of the criminal law were +carried as a result of attacks made by Sir James Mackintosh, upon whom +the mantle of Romilly had fallen, and it is worthy of notice that even +Eldon, the stout opponent of such mitigations, condemned the use of +spring-guns, as a safeguard against poaching. The only ministerial +change in this year was the final retirement in May of Lord Mulgrave, +who had held high office in every ministry except that of Grenville +since 1804, and had voluntarily surrendered his post at the head of the +ordnance in 1818 to make room for Wellington. + +[Pageheading: _QUEEN CAROLINE._] + +The "queen's trial," as it is erroneously called, was the last act but +one in a domestic tragedy which had lasted twenty-five years. The +Princess Caroline of Brunswick was a frivolous and ill-disciplined young +woman when she was selected by George III. as a wife for the +heir-apparent, already united and really attached to Mrs. Fitzherbert. +The princess could not have been married to a man less capable of +drawing out the better side of her character, nor was she one to inspire +his selfish and heartless nature with a sentiment, if not of conjugal +love, yet of conjugal friendship. From the first there was no pretence +of affection between them. A few years after her marriage she was +relegated, not unwillingly, to live independently at Blackheath, where +many eminent men accepted her hospitality. During this period, as we +have seen, a "delicate investigation" into her conduct was instituted in +1806. Though she emerged from it with less stain on her character than +had been expected, she never enjoyed the respect of the royal family or +of the nation, and there was no question of her sharing the home of her +husband. Instead of being a bond of concord between them, the education +of her daughter was the subject of constant discord, requiring the +frequent intervention of the old king until he lost his reason. After +she went abroad in 1814, she travelled widely, but her English +attendants soon retired from her service, and she incurred fresh +suspicion by her flighty and undignified conduct. She had no part in the +rejoicing for the marriage, or in the mourning for the death, of the +Princess Charlotte; and in 1818 a secret commission, afterwards known as +the Milan commission, was sent out by the prince regent to collect +evidence for a divorce suit. Not only Liverpool, but Eldon, who had +formerly stood her friend, concurred in the appointment of this +commission, promoted by Sir John Leach, and its report was the +foundation of the proceedings now taken against her. + +These proceedings were immediately due to her own action in returning to +England in June, 1820, but this action was not wholly unprovoked. She +had long and bitterly resented her official exclusion from foreign +courts, and when, after the king's accession, her name was omitted from +the prayer-book, she protested against it as an intolerable insult. +Contrary to the advice of her wisest partisans, including Brougham, she +persisted in braving the wrath of the king and throwing herself upon the +people. She was received at Dover with acclamations from immense +multitudes; and her journey to and through London was a continued +ovation. Not that her innocence was established even in the popular +mind, but that, innocent or guilty, she was regarded as a persecuted +woman, and persecuted by a worthless husband. The ministry fulfilled its +promise to the king by moving the house of lords to institute an inquiry +into the queen's conduct. Pending this, conferences took place between +Wellington and Castlereagh, on the part of the king, and Brougham and +Denman on that of the queen. It was at once laid down as a preliminary +basis of the negotiation that neither should the king be understood to +retract, nor the queen to admit, any allegation against her. The points +upon which she inflexibly insisted were, the recognition of her royal +status at foreign courts, through an official introduction by the +British ambassador, and the insertion of her name in the prayer-book. + +The house of commons, on the motion of Wilberforce, offered to protect +her honour (whatever that might import) on condition of her waiving this +last point, but she courteously declined its conciliatory proposals on +June 22. On July 4 a secret committee of the house of lords recommended +a solemn investigation, to be carried out "in the course of a +legislative proceeding," and on the 8th Liverpool introduced a bill of +pains and penalties, to deprive her of her title, and to dissolve her +marriage. The second reading of this bill was formally set down for +August 17, and for several weeks afterwards the house of lords was +occupied in hearing evidence in support of the charges against her. The +whole country was deluged with the squalid details of this evidence, the +ministers were insulted, and the sympathy of the populace with her cause +was obtrusively displayed in every part of the kingdom. On October 3, +after an adjournment of the lords, Brougham opened the defence in the +most celebrated of his speeches. On November 2 the lord chancellor, +Eldon, moved the second reading of the bill, and on the 8th it was +carried by a majority of twenty-eight. Four days later, on the third +reading, the majority had dwindled to nine only. Knowing the temper of +the house of commons, Liverpool treated such a victory as almost +equivalent to a defeat, and announced that the government would not +proceed further with the measure. + +Had the queen possessed the virtue of self-respect or dignity, she would +have been satisfied with this legislative, though not morally decisive, +acquittal. But she was intoxicated with popular applause, largely due to +her royal consort's vices, and, after London had been illuminated for +three nights in her honour, she declined overtures from the government, +and appealed for a maintenance to the house of commons, which granted +her an annuity of £50,000 in the next session. But she never lived to +enjoy it After going in procession to St. Paul's, to return thanks for +her deliverance, on the 29th, and vainly attempting, once more, to +procure the mention of her name in the prayer-book, she concentrated her +efforts on a claim of right to be crowned with the king. No government +could have conceded this claim, and, when it had been refused by the +privy council, her solemn protests were inevitably vain. Even her least +prudent counsellors would assuredly have dissuaded her from the attempt +which she made to force an entrance into Westminster Abbey on the +coronation day, July 19, 1821. It was a painful scene when she, who had +so lately been the idol of the fickle populace, was turned away from the +doors amidst conflicting exclamations of derision and pity. A fortnight +later, on August 2, she was officially reported to be seriously ill; on +the 7th she was no more. In accordance with her own direction her body +was buried at Brunswick. Her ill-founded popularity was shown for the +last time, when a riotous multitude succeeded in diverting her funeral +procession, and forcing it to pass through the city on its way to +Harwich. But it did not survive her long; the people were becoming tired +of her, and the king, who had forfeited the respect of the middle and +upper classes, was less hated by the lower classes after her death. + +[Pageheading: _GEORGE IV. IN IRELAND._] + +The personal character and opinions of George IV. seem to have +influenced politics less during the early years of his reign than during +his long regency. His coronation was celebrated with unprecedented +magnificence, and amidst external demonstrations of loyalty, hard to +reconcile with the unbounded enthusiasm which the queen had so lately +inspired. Soon afterwards, he sailed in his yacht from Portsmouth on a +voyage to Ireland, but put into Holyhead and there awaited news of the +queen's expected death. This reached him at last, and probably impressed +him, no less than his ministers, as "the greatest of all possible +deliverances, both to his majesty and the country".[68] He proceeded to +Dublin in one of the earliest steam-packets, and secluded himself until +"the corpse of his wife was supposed to have left England".[69] He then +plunged into a round of festivities, and pleased all classes of Irishmen +by his affable and condescending manners. He was, indeed, the first +sovereign of England who had appeared in Ireland on a mission of peace. +John William Ward, afterwards fourth Viscount Dudley in his letters, +describes him as having behaved like a popular candidate on an +electioneering trip, and surmises that "if the day before he left +Ireland, he had stood for Dublin, he might have turned out Shaw or +Grattan ".[70] Certain it is that his visit to Ireland was regarded as +an important political event. The same kind of success attended his +visit to Scotland in August of the following year, 1822. Thenceforth, he +scarcely figures in political life until the resignation of Lord +Liverpool in 1827, and though he consented with reluctance to Canning's +tenure of the foreign office, he did not attempt to interfere with the +change in foreign policy consequent upon it. He was, in fact, sinking +more and more into an apathetic voluptuary; but he could rouse himself, +and exhibit some proofs of ability, under the impulse of his brothers, +the honest Duke of York and the arch-intriguer, the Duke of Cumberland. + +The cry for retrenchment, now taken up by the country gentlemen, and not +unmingled with suggestions for a partial repudiation of the national +debt, compelled the government to adopt a policy of strict economy. +Accordingly, in 1822, Vansittart introduced a scheme for the conversion +of the so-called "Navy 5 per cents.," which resulted in a saving of +above £1,000,000 annually. He also carried a more questionable scheme +for the payment of military, naval, and civil pensions, which then +amounted to £4,900,000 a year, but were falling in rapidly; the money +required for this purpose was to be borrowed by trustees, and was to be +repaid in the course of forty-five years at the rate of £2,800,000 a +year; in this way an immediate saving of about £2,000,000 annually was +effected at the cost, however, of the next generation. By means of these +expedients, with a considerable reduction of official salaries, the +government was enabled to repeal the additional duty on malt, to +diminish the duties on salt and leather, and, on the whole to remit +about £3,500,000 of taxes. When the entire credit of financial reform is +given to Huskisson, Joseph Hume, and other economists of the new school, +it should not be forgotten that a beginning was made by economists of +the old school, before Huskisson joined the government in 1823, or +Robinson took Vansittart's place as chancellor of the exchequer. + +From the beginning of this reign a more enlightened spirit may be traced +in parliamentary debates. This was aided by the growth of a +constitutional movement in favour of reform in parliament as the first +step towards a redress of grievances. The movement left its first trace +on the statute-book in a measure carried by Lord John Russell in the +session of 1821 for the disfranchisement of Grampound, though the vacant +seats were transferred to the county of York, instead of to the +"village" of Leeds or some other of the great unrepresented cities. This +was the first instance of the actual disfranchisement of a constituency, +though it was not without precedent that the franchise of a corrupt +borough should be extended to the freeholders of the surrounding +district. A notable sign of the progressive change was the +reconstruction of the cabinet in 1822. Liverpool, who always possessed +the gift of working harmoniously with colleagues of different views and +felt the weakness of his present ministry, once more attempted to bring +about a coalition with the Grenville party in the opposition. Grenville +had long been drifting away from his alliance with Grey, and had been a +stout advocate of repressive legislation which the more advanced whigs +opposed. Though he declined office for himself, several of his relatives +and adherents were rewarded with minor appointments, his cousin, Charles +Wynn, became president of the board of control, in succession to +Bragge-Bathurst, who had himself succeeded Canning in the previous year, +and his nephew, the Marquis of Buckingham, obtained a dukedom. Such +recruits added little strength to the Liverpool government, and Holland +well said that "all articles are now to be had at low prices, except +Grenvilles". + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF CASTLEREAGH._] + +But Liverpool gained far more powerful coadjutors in the Marquis +Wellesley, Peel, and Canning. In December, 1821, Wellesley undertook the +lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, which had relapsed into so disturbed a +state that it had been proposed to make Wellington both viceroy and +commander-in-chief. The significance of this selection was increased by +the appointment of Plunket as attorney-general. Sidmouth, while +retaining his seat in the cabinet, retired, by his own wish, from the +office of home secretary, with a sense of having pacified the country, +and was succeeded by Peel. Castlereagh, now Marquis of Londonderry, +remained foreign secretary, but on August 12, 1822, as he was on the +point of setting out for the congress of Verona, he died, like Whitbread +and Romilly, by his own hand. His suicidal act was clearly due to a +morbid fit of depression, under the stress of anxieties protracted over +more than twenty years; and the disordered state of his mind had been +observed, not only by Wellington, but also by the king. His successor +was Canning, who also became leader of the house of commons. + +The characters and political aims of these rival statesmen have often +been contrasted by historians of a later age, who have seldom done +justice to Castlereagh. It is remembered that he was the author of the +Walcheren expedition; it is forgotten that he was the advocate of +sending a powerful force to the Baltic coast at the critical moment +between Jena and Eylau, that he was not altogether responsible for the +delays which rendered the Walcheren expedition abortive or for the +choice of its incompetent commander, that his prime object was to strike +a crushing blow at Napoleon's naval power, and that, if his +instructions had been obeyed, this would have been effected by a rapid +advance upon Antwerp when nearly all the French troops had been +withdrawn from the Netherlands. It is remembered that he was at the war +office when the operations of Wellington in the Peninsula were crippled +for want of supplies; it is forgotten that it was he who selected +Wellington, and that he loyally strained every nerve to keep him +supplied with troops, provisions, and specie, when few but himself +believed in the policy of the Peninsular war, and Sir John Moore had +assured him that if the French dominated Spain, they could not be +resisted in Portugal. It is remembered--or rather it is assumed--that he +was the eager promoter of coercive and reactionary legislation at home; +it is forgotten, or ignored, that he was among the earliest and +staunchest advocates of catholic emancipation, and that a despotic +temper is belied by the whole tone of his speeches. Above all, he is +unjustly credited, in the face of direct evidence to the contrary, with +being the champion of absolutism in the councils of Europe, the fact +being not only that his voice was always on the side of moderation and +conciliation, but that Canning himself, on succeeding him, dissociated +Great Britain from the holy alliance by taking his stand upon an +admirable despatch of Castlereagh and adopting it as his own. When he +met with his tragical end, the brutal shouts of exultation raised by a +portion of the crowd at his funeral were the expression of sheer +ignorance and not of intelligent public opinion. He was a tory, in days +when most patriots were tories, but he was a tory of the best type; and +we of a later generation can see that few statesmen of George III.'s +reign have left a purer reputation or rendered greater services to their +country. + +[Pageheading: _CANNING AND PEEL._] + +George Canning, his successor, has been far more favourably judged by +posterity, and not without reason, if intellectual brilliancy is a +supreme test of political merit. A firm adherent of Pitt, and a somewhat +unscrupulous critic of Addington, he was probably the first +parliamentary orator of the nineteenth century, with the possible +exception of Sheridan. Pitt's eloquence was of a loftier and simpler +type, Fox's was more impetuous and spontaneous; Peel's range of +political knowledge was far wider; Gladstone excelled all, not only in +length of experience but in readiness and dialectical resource. +Canning's rhetoric was of a finer quality and was combined with great +debating power, but he was a man to inspire admiration rather than +confidence, and had not held one of the higher political offices since +his resignation in 1809, after his quarrel with Castlereagh. He accepted +a mission to Portugal, however, and was in Lisbon when Napoleon returned +from Elba. In 1816, as has been seen, he became president of the board +of control, but, having been formerly one of the queen's advisers, he +declined to have anything to do with her trial and remained abroad +during its continuance. In December, 1820, he returned, but persisted in +resigning his place at the board of control on the supposed ground that +further parliamentary discussion of the queen's case was inevitable. On +this occasion he received a special vote of thanks from the directors of +the East India Company for his services on the board. The king objected +to his readmission after the queen's death, and he was a private member +of parliament when he was offered and undertook the governor-generalship +of India in March, 1822. But his departure was delayed until August, and +he was on his way to bid farewell to his constituents at Liverpool when +Castlereagh destroyed himself. It was generally felt that no other man +was so well qualified as Canning to succeed him. But the king declared +his "final and unalterable decision" to sanction no such change. Though +he afterwards relented, on the remonstrances of Wellington, he did so +with a bad grace; but there was no delay on Canning's part in accepting +the foreign secretaryship thus offered. From his acceptance may be dated +the most remarkable part of his career. + +The accession of Peel to the Liverpool ministry, in the capacity of home +secretary; was only less important than that of Canning. Hitherto, Peel +had mostly been known to the British public as chief secretary for +Ireland, and as chairman of the committee which, in 1819, recommended +the early resumption of cash payments. In both these posts he displayed +a certain moderation and independence of mind, combined with a rare +capacity for business, which marked him out as a great administrator. +This promise he amply fulfilled as home secretary. He was the first +minister of the crown who took up the philanthropic work of Romilly and +Mackintosh, largely reducing the number of offences for which capital +punishment could be inflicted. He was also the first to reform the +police system of London, and to substitute for a multitude of decrepit +watchmen, incapable of dealing with gangs of active criminals, a +disciplined body of stalwart constables, which has since been copied in +every county and large town of Great Britain. Above all, while he cannot +be said to have shown a statesmanlike insight or foresight of the +highest order, he could read the signs of the times and the temper of +his countrymen with a sagacity far beyond that of his predecessor, +Sidmouth, or of such politicians as Eldon and Castlereagh. In him was +represented the domestic policy of Pitt in his earlier days, as Pitt's +financial views were represented in Huskisson, who had actually served +under him. + +Though Huskisson was only made president of the board of trade, in +January, 1823, and not chancellor of the exchequer, it is certain that +his mind controlled that of Robinson, who succeeded Vansittart in that +position. Vansittart, who was created Lord Bexley, succeeded +Bragge-Bathurst as chancellor of the duchy. The cabinet changes were +completed in October by the removal of Wellesley Pole, now Lord +Maryborough, from the office of master of the mint. Huskisson, if any +man, was the leading pioneer of free trade, and there can be little +doubt that, had he not died prematurely, its adoption would have been +hastened by ten or fifteen years. In his first year of office he +welcomed petitions for the repeal of the import duties on foreign wool, +but failed to convince the wool manufacturers that it must be +accompanied by the abolition of export duties on British wool. The +proposed reform was, therefore, dropped, and a like fate befell his +attempt in the same year to benefit the silk trade by abolishing certain +vexatious restrictions upon it, including the practice of fixing the +wages of Spitalfields weavers by an order of the magistrates. For the +moment the ignorant outcry of the journeymen themselves prevailed over +their real interests, but in the following year, 1824, Huskisson carried +a much wider measure, providing that foreign silks, hitherto excluded, +should be admitted subject to a duty of 30 per cent. in and after 1826, +and another measure for the joint relief of wool growers and wool +manufacturers which imposed a small duty of equal amount on the +importation and the exportation of wool. + +His great achievement in 1823 was the reform of the navigation laws. +These acts, dating from the commonwealth and the restoration, gave +British shipowners a qualified monopoly of the carrying trade, since +they prohibited the importation of European goods except in British +ships or ships of the producing country, while the importation of goods +from other quarters of the world was confined to British ships only. +America had protested against this exclusive system, and it was +abandoned, as regards the United States, by the treaty of Ghent in 1814. +The mercantile states of Europe soon followed the example of America, +and the reciprocity of duties bill, introduced by Huskisson on June 6, +1823, conceded equal rights to all countries reciprocating the +concession, only retaining the exclusion against such countries as might +reject equality of trade. The change involved some hardship to +shipowners who had built their vessels with timber bought at prices +raised by heavy duties, but they were too shortsighted to accept the +compromise offered by Huskisson. Before long, however, the act was +justified, and the shipowners compensated by a rapid increase in British +shipping. + +[Pageheading: _AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT._] + +For nearly five years after the accession of George IV. the state of the +country was, on the whole, more prosperous, and the industrial classes +were more contented, than in the five years next preceding. Such +restlessness as there was prevailed among farmers and agricultural +labourers rather than among workmen in the manufacturing districts, and +in 1823 every branch of manufactures was reported to be flourishing. It +is difficult for a later generation, accustomed to consider 30s. a +quarter a fair price for wheat, to understand the perennial complaints +and petitions of the agricultural interest when 60s. a quarter was +regarded as a low price for wheat, and the cultivation of wheat extended +over a vastly larger area than it does at present. Nor is the difficulty +lessened, when we remember the miserably low rate of wages then paid by +farmers. A partial explanation may be found in the fact that what they +saved in wages they lost in poor rates, and that most agricultural +products except corn were sold at a very small profit. The high poor +rates were the result of the disastrous system of giving allowances to +labourers. + +But there were other evils caused by the vicious policy pursued by the +government. The encouragement of home production had led to the +enclosure of land not fit for cultivation, so that a slight fall in +prices meant ruin to many farmers. Moreover, the corn laws, though +framed for the purpose of arresting fluctuations in price, actually +increased fluctuations and thus enhanced the risks attending +agricultural enterprise. Nor were landlords who had thriven on war +prices, and raised the scale of their establishments as if these prices +were to be perpetual, willing to reduce their rents on the return of +peace. Rent was said to have risen 70 per cent. since 1792; but the +landlords were often embarrassed, because their lands had too often been +burdened with jointures, settlements, and mortgages during the war. It +was in their interest that the act of 1815, which aimed at maintaining +war prices, had been passed. But the deeper reason for all this clamour +from the rural districts was the stagnation of ideas, and incapacity of +improvement, engendered by an artificial monopoly of the national food +supply. This was not the special lesson impressed upon landlords or +tenants by Cobbett, whose violent and delusive writings had a large +circulation in the country. But his teaching was so far beneficial that +it quickened the demand for parliamentary reform, though the fruits of +that reform were destined to be very different from the expectations +which he excited. + +[Pageheading: _SPECULATIVE FRENZY._] + +The spell of general prosperity which, in spite of some distress in the +rural districts, prevailed in the years 1820-23 was somewhat broken in +1824 by strikes and outrages in the manufacturing districts. Strikes for +higher wages naturally arose out of the increase in mill owners' +profits, and the ferocious spirit displayed by the strikers against +masters and fellow-workmen was attributed by reformers to the one-sided +operation of the combination laws. Accordingly, a committee of the house +of commons reported in favour of repealing these laws, and also part of +the common law which treated coercion either by trade unions or by +masters as conspiracy. A bill founded on this report was hastily passed, +with the natural result that strikes broke out in every quarter of the +country; wholesale and cruel oppression was practised by trade +unionists, and it became necessary for parliament to retrace its steps. +Under a new act, passed in 1825, which continued in force until very +recent times, trade unions were recognised as legal, but their worst +malpractices were once more brought within the control of the criminal +law.[71] So far the commercial policy of Huskisson was justified, as a +whole, by its effects on trade, and the session of 1824 was closed on +June 25 by a cheerful speech from the king, in which the disturbed state +of Ireland was the only topic suggestive of anxiety. Already, however, +the revival of commercial hopefulness at home, with the opening of new +markets in South America, was paving the way for the most ruinous mania +of speculation known in England since the south sea bubble. It was well +that sound and sober-minded economists now guided the action of the +government, and that Liverpool proved himself a worthy successor of Sir +Robert Walpole during the great financial crisis of 1825.[72] + +The speculative frenzy of 1825 differed from the railway mania of the +next generation in that it had no solid basis of remunerative +investment. The development of the railway system, after the application +of locomotive steam engines to iron tramways, offered a legitimate +promise of large profits, and this promise would have been still more +amply realised but for the shameful waste of capital on competition and +law expenses. It was otherwise with the dupes and victims of the rage +for speculation which possessed all classes of society in 1825, and +arose out of an immense accumulation of wealth for which no safe +employment could be found at home except at a modest rate of interest. +The weakening of the hold of Spain on South America left her colonies +open to foreign trade, but the enterprises there and elsewhere which +absorbed the hard-won savings of humble families, by thousands and tens +of thousands, were nearly all chimerical, and some of them grotesque in +their absurdity. Whether or not warming-pans and skates were actually +exported to the tropics, it is certain that Scotch dairy-women emigrated +to Buenos Ayres for the purpose of milking wild cows and churning butter +for people who preferred oil. The incredible multiplication of +bubble-companies was facilitated by a marvellous cheapness of money, +largely due to an inordinate issue of notes by country bankers, and even +by the Bank of England, in spite of the fact that gold and silver were +known to be leaving the country in vast quantities, especially in the +shape of loans to France. The inevitable reaction came when the Bank of +England contracted its issue of notes in order to arrest the drain of +gold; goods recklessly bought up had to be sold at a fearful loss, bills +upon which advances had been made proved to be of no value, and several +great London banking houses stopped payment, bringing down in their fall +a much larger number of country banks dependent on them. + +In the month of December, 1825, the crisis was at its height, and it is +stated that within six or seven weeks after the failure of the banking +firm of Pole & Company on the 5th, sixty or seventy banks had broken. +The king's speech in July had congratulated parliament on increasing +prosperity and had betrayed no misgivings about its stability. When the +crash came, however, the ministers showed no want of firmness or +resource. They could not repair the consequences of national folly, but +they devoted themselves with intelligence to a restoration of credit. +For this purpose they suppressed at once the further issue of small +notes from country banks by a high-handed act of authority, for which +they admitted that an act of indemnity might be needed. At the same time +they rapidly increased the supply of small notes from the Bank of +England, and of coin from the mint. Moreover, they induced the Bank of +England to establish branches in a few provincial towns and to make +advances upon merchants' goods to the amount of three millions. It cost +a greater effort to break down the monopoly of the Bank of England by +legalising joint-stock banks in the provinces, though not within a +distance of sixty-five miles from London. Such practical expedients as +these, seconded by the good sense of the mercantile community, proved +sufficient to avert a catastrophe only less disastrous than national +bankruptcy. With the subsidence of alarm, the causes of alarm also +subsided, the recuperative powers of the country reasserted themselves, +as during the great war, and the heart-breaking anxieties of 1825-26 +were ignored, if not forgotten, in the political excitement of 1827.[73] + +[Pageheading: _ECONOMIC REFORM._] + +The budgets of 1823-26 indeed mark a memorable advance in financial +reform, which the commercial panic of 1825 scarcely interrupted. There +had been a reduction of the national debt by about £25,000,000. "The +poorer householders had been relieved from the pressure both of house +tax and window tax. The manufacturing classes had been encouraged by +the reduction of the duties on silk, wool, and iron. The consuming +classes had been benefited by the reduction of duties on spirits, wines, +coffee, and sugar."[74] Owing to Huskisson's enlightened policy the old +navigation laws had been repealed upon the condition of reciprocity; the +combination laws had been liberally revised; various bounties had been +abandoned on free trade principles, and the monstrous evils of smuggling +had been greatly abated. If the chancellor of the exchequer could show +no surplus in 1826, he could at least boast that after so desperate a +crisis there was no deficit, and he had no reason to be ashamed of +Cobbett's nickname, "Prosperity Robinson," which he owed to his +optimism, largely founded upon facts. Before the close of the year 1826, +however, this optimism received a rude shock. The agitation against the +corn laws assumed an acuter form than ever, and Huskisson prudently +deprecated it on the simple ground that no effective action could be +taken in an expiring parliament. Distress had recurred in the +manufacturing districts; mills and power-looms were again destroyed. The +free trade policy of Huskisson was vigorously attacked in parliament, +but it was successfully defended in powerful speeches by Canning as well +as by himself. Ultimately the government, having obtained limited powers +from parliament to admit foreign corn during the temporary emergency, +had the courage to exceed those powers and seek an indemnity from the +next parliament. + +The dissolution of 1826, closing the life of one of the longest +parliaments in modern times, was the prelude to a very eventful year. +The general election brought into prominence the two burning questions +of catholic relief and the corn laws, and unseated for the moment +Brougham, Cobbett, Hunt, and Lord John Russell, but it produced no +material change in the balance of parties. Little was done in the short +autumn session, but when parliament met again early in February, 1827, +great events had already cast their shadows before. The Duke of York, +heir-presumptive to the crown, had died on January 5. He was known to be +a strong tory in politics, but, in spite of this, and of the scandals +which attached to his name in earlier years, he enjoyed a considerable +share of popular confidence. Compared with his elder brother, he was +respected; he was a true Englishman, like his father, whom he resembled +in character; his administration of the army had survived hostile +criticism, while a declaration which he had recently made against +catholic emancipation had produced a profound impression on public +opinion. Much less was known of the Duke of Clarence, who stood next in +succession. He had already injured himself in public estimation by +declining the increased allowance offered him, and then claiming it with +arrears; nor did he now improve his position in the eyes of his future +subjects by stickling for a larger addition to it than parliament was +disposed to grant. But the Duke of York's death was followed by a far +more important incident. Liverpool was disabled by illness from +attending his funeral, which, occurring in the depth of winter, proved +directly fatal to one of those who were present, and seriously weakened +the constitutions of others, including Canning. On February 8, the first +day of the session, Liverpool was in his place, though in broken health, +and on the 17th he took a feeble part in the debate on the grant to the +Duke of Clarence. On the following morning he was struck down by a +paralytic seizure, and, though his life was prolonged for two years, he +never recovered the use of his faculties. + +[Pageheading: _THE CLOSE OF LIVERPOOL'S MINISTRY._] + +Liverpool's disappearance from the political scenes may be said to mark +an epoch in the later history of England. Though only fifty-six years of +age, he had been continuously in office for twenty years, and prime +minister for fifteen, a tenure of power which none of his predecessors +had exceeded except Walpole and Pitt. His lot was cast in the most +critical period of the great war, and in the long night of adversity and +anxiety which ushered in the "thirty years' peace". As foreign secretary +he conducted the negotiations for the peace of Amiens; as home secretary +he led the house of lords and was responsible for the government of +Ireland; as secretary for war and the colonies he gave Wellington a +steady, if not ardent, support in those apparently barren campaigns +which strained the national patience; as prime minister he guided the +ship of state in all the difficulties of foreign and domestic affairs +which arose between 1812 and 1827. Castlereagh may have been the most +influential minister in the earlier years of his administration, and +Canning in the later, but he was never the mere tool of either; on the +contrary, it Is certain that he was treated with respect and deference +by all his numerous colleagues. In general capacity and debating power +he was inferior to few of them; in temper, judgment, and experience he +was superior to all. + +He may be said to have lived and died without "a policy," in so far as +he forebore to identify himself with any of the great questions then +pressing for solution. His real policy both at home and abroad was one +of moderation and conciliation; he looked at party divisions almost with +the eyes of a permanent official who can work loyally with chiefs of +either party; and he succeeded in keeping together in his cabinet +ambitious rivals who never would have co-operated under any other +leader. This is not the road to fame, neither is it the course which men +of imperious character like Castlereagh, or Canning, or Wellington, in +his place, would have adopted. But Canning and Wellington actually +proved themselves incapable of winning the confidence which Liverpool so +long retained, and the whig government which followed them fell to +pieces in two years. Moderation in statesmanship does not always imply +mediocrity of ability; and if Liverpool failed to see how many +institutions needed radical amendment, he was not so blind as some of +his more celebrated associates. Not only was he more liberal in his +views than Eldon and Castlereagh, but he was less opposed to free trade +than most of his cabinet, to parliamentary reform than Canning, and to +catholic emancipation than Wellington or Peel. His fault was that he did +not act upon his own inward convictions with sufficient promptitude, or +assert his own authority with sufficient energy. Had he done so, the +beneficial measures of the last years of his administration might have +been anticipated, and the country might have been spared much of the +misery which darkened the close of George III.'s reign. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[68] Lord Londonderry in Twiss, _Life of Eldon_, ii., 432. + +[69] Harriet Martineau, _History of England During the Thirty Years' +Peace_, i., 274. + +[70] _Letters to Copleston_, p. 295. + +[71] Cunningham, _Growth of English Industry and Commerce in Modern +Times_ (edit. 1903), pp. 756-59. Compare Dicey, _Law and Opinion in +England_, pp. 190-200. + +[72] The graphic description of this crisis in Harriet Martineau's +_History of the Thirty Years' Peace_, i., 355-66, deserves to be studied +and remembered as a masterpiece of social portraiture by a contemporary. + +[73] Cunningham, _Growth of English Industry and Commerce in Modern +Times_, p. 823. + +[74] Walpole's _History of England_, vol. ii., p. 187. + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE. + + +The events of the year 1820 subjected the European concert to a severe +strain. An insurrection broke out in Spain on January 1, and on March 9 +the king was forced to swear fidelity to the obsolete constitution of +1812. The result was to plunge the country into disorder, as both the +clerical party and the extreme revolutionists refused to accept the +constitution. Meanwhile the assassination by a working man of the Duke +of Berry, who died on February 14, 1820, had occasioned a new royalist +reaction in France, and had increased the general fear of the +revolutionary party. The Bourbon succession had seemed to depend on his +life, for his son, the Count of Chambord, was posthumous. On receiving +the news of the Spanish revolution the tsar, already tiring of his +liberal enthusiasm, fell back on his scheme for exercising paternal +discipline over Europe. He proposed in April that the ambassadors at +Paris should issue a joint remonstrance requiring the Spanish cortes to +disavow the revolution, and to enact severe laws against sedition. +Failing this, he proposed joint intervention, and offered for his own +part to send an army of 15,000 men through North Italy and southern +France to co-operate in the suppression of the revolution. To this +Castlereagh replied that England would never consent to a joint +intervention in Spain. Metternich was too much displeased with the +Russian encouragement of secret societies in Italy to wish to see +Russian troops in that country, and both Castlereagh and Metternich +wished to keep Spain free from French influence. In the face of this +opposition Russia could not, and France would not, do anything, and all +thought of intervention was postponed. It was the last time that +Castlereagh was able to assert the principle of non-intervention +without breaking up the European concert. + +[Pageheading: _REVOLUTIONS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE._] + +July and August saw three new revolutions. A rebellion at Nola on July 2 +ended in King Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies taking the oath on the 13th +to the Spanish constitution, then regarded as a model by the liberals of +Southern Europe. But the grant of a constitution to Naples suggested a +demand for independence at Palermo. On July 17-18 that city rose in +revolt and was only subdued by the Neapolitans in the beginning of +October. Portugal, too, was in a disturbed state. The royal family had +been absent for nearly thirteen years, and the country had for five +years been governed by Lord, afterwards Viscount, Beresford as marshal +and commander of the Portuguese army. In April, 1820, he sailed for +Brazil, intending to induce the king, John VI., to return. During his +absence a revolution took place at Oporto on August 24, a provisional +government was established, and all British officers were dismissed. +This was followed by a similar revolution at Lisbon on September 15. +Beresford on his return was forbidden to land, and retired to England. +On November 11, the Spanish constitution was proclaimed in Portugal, but +six days later another proclamation left the question of determining the +constitution to the cortes which were to be elected on a popular +suffrage. + +The Neapolitan revolution raised at once the question of intervention. +In this case Castlereagh held that Austria had a right to interfere, +because her position as an Italian power was endangered by the +revolution, and because the revolution was a breach of the secret treaty +of 1815 which had received the sanction of the British government. He +still objected to any joint interference and was opposed to the +reference of the question to a congress. Austria could not have +interfered alone without offending the tsar, who clung to the principle +of joint action. The question of intervention was therefore postponed +for the present. France, however, being jealous of Austrian influence in +Italy, demanded the meeting of a congress, and such a meeting was +accordingly held at Troppau on October 20. To this congress Austria, +France, Prussia, and Russia sent plenipotentiaries. Great Britain +carried her opposition to joint interference so far as to refuse to join +in the deliberations, though Sir Charles, now Lord, Stewart was sent to +Troppau to watch the proceedings. Metternich, on finding that he could +not avoid the meeting of a congress, determined to lead its proceedings, +and, before it met, drew up a memorandum defining his own views about +intervention. These views were accepted at the congress by Prussia and +Russia as well as by Austria; and a protocol was issued by the three +powers declaring that a state in which a revolution should occur was +dangerous to other states, and ceased to be a member of the European +alliance, until it could give guarantees for its future stability. If +such a revolution placed other states in immediate danger, the allied +powers were bound to intervene by peaceful means, if possible, or if +need were, by arms. Before parting, the congress invited Ferdinand of +the Two Sicilies to attend an adjourned meeting, to assemble early in +the following year at Laibach.[75] Against these decisions Castlereagh +protested in vigorous terms, and more especially against any possible +application of the principle of intervention to England; France under +the Duke of Richelieu joined in neither the protocol nor the protest. +The liberal tendencies of the tsar had been quenched by recent events, +so that, instead of a concert of Europe, there was left only a concert +of absolute monarchs. + +[Pageheading: _AUSTRIAN INTERVENTION._] + +In January, 1821, the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia met the +King of the Two Sicilies at Laibach. France had vainly attempted to +mediate between the King of the Two Sicilies and his people. But the +Neapolitans were not satisfied with any vague promise of a constitution, +and before allowing their king to depart for Laibach, held him pledged +to the observance of an impossible condition, the maintenance of the +Spanish constitution of 1812. The king's oath to preserve this +particularly objectionable constitution was regarded by Austria as +sufficient to preclude negotiation, and it was resolved that she should +restore him by force as an absolute monarch, and should occupy the +Neapolitan territory. The duration of this occupation was reserved as a +question to be discussed at the next European congress, which it was +intended to hold at Florence in the autumn of the next year. After a +show of resistance at Rieti the Neapolitans submitted, and the Austrian +army entered Naples on March 24. The restoration of absolute government +was accompanied by severities towards the constitutionalists, but +Austria would not allow any repetition of the bloodshed of 1799. + +While the Austrian army was marching southwards, a new revolution broke +out in Piedmont. The Spanish constitution was proclaimed at Alessandria +on March 10, and at Turin on the 12th. On the 13th, Victor Emmanuel I., +King of Sardinia, abdicated, appointing as regent his distant cousin +Prince Charles Albert of Carignano, who had been in communication with +the revolutionary party. The regent immediately accepted the Spanish +constitution on condition of the maintenance of the line of succession +and of the Roman catholic religion. The new king, Charles Felix, was at +Modena when the revolt occurred. He refused to acknowledge the new +constitution, and ordered Charles Albert to betake himself to Novara, +where the royalist troops were collecting. On the night of the 21st, +Charles Albert fled from Turin to Novara, but the constitutional party +did not submit without a struggle. On April 8 the Austrians crossed the +frontier and, uniting with the royalists, defeated the constitutionalists +at Novara. Two days later the royalist army entered Turin. The two +Italian revolutions had thus ended in an Austrian occupation of the two +largest Italian states which were not ruled by members of the imperial +house. The Papal States were now the only Italian principality of any +size which was not dominated by Austria. + +So far Austria had been sufficiently powerful in the congresses of the +powers to be able to prevent interference with other states where it was +not to her interest, and to incline the balance in favour of it where +intervention would strengthen her. The reopening of the Eastern question +made her ascendency more difficult to maintain. The congress of Laibach +had been closed, but the sovereigns had not yet departed, when the news +arrived that a revolt, engineered by Greeks with the pretence of Russian +support, had broken out against the Turks in Moldavia and Wallachia. +Russia at once agreed with Austria that the principle laid down at +Troppau applied to this revolt; the insurrectionary leaders were +disowned by Russia, and by the end of June Turkish authority was +restored in the Danubian principalities. So far the action of Russia had +met with the approval not only of Austria but of Great Britain, and +Castlereagh had written to Alexander urging him not to join the Greek +cause, which appeared to him to be part of an universal revolutionary +movement. + +Early in April, however, a more serious insurrection broke out in the +Morea, and was followed a few weeks later by one in Central Greece. The +war was disgraced from the first by inhuman massacres on both sides. The +Greek patriarch at Constantinople together with three archbishops was +executed by the Turks on Easter Sunday, April 22. A great ferment in +Russia was the result, where the people were anxious to assist their +co-religionists and to avenge the death of the patriarch, whom they +regarded as a martyr. The grievances of the Orthodox religion were +seconded by the proper grievances of Russia. Greek ships, sailing under +the Russian flag, had been seized in the Dardanelles; the principalities +of Moldavia and Wallachia had not been evacuated by the Turkish troops +as was required by treaty, while an ancient treaty rendered it possible +to regard the wrongs of the Greek Church as the political wrongs of +Russia. A Russian ultimatum was despatched on June 28; and, while +awaiting a reply, Russia consulted the other powers as to the course +they would pursue in the event of war breaking out between Russia and +Turkey, and the system with which they would propose to replace the +Turkish domination if it came to be destroyed. The principle of joint +intervention, adopted at Troppau, seemed to require the powers to give +their support to Russia. Great Britain and Austria, however, refused to +treat war with Turkey as a possibility. The Greek revolt seemed to them +to express the principle of revolution, and the tsar himself became +inclined to take this view of the situation when the Greeks established +an advanced republican form of government. They accordingly +distinguished between the treaty rights of Russia, which the four powers +would urge Turkey to respect, and the provision of a more secure state +of order in Turkey, which would be discussed at a European congress. The +Russian ambassador had been withdrawn from Constantinople on August 8, +and the negotiation was conducted mainly by Lord Strangford, the British +ambassador at Constantinople, who was supported by Austria, France, and +Prussia. He succeeded in inducing Turkey to evacuate the principalities +and to open the Dardanelles to ships of all nations, but Turkish +obstinacy deferred the conclusion of a treaty. + +[Pageheading: _THE SPANISH QUESTION._] + +Meanwhile the Spanish question became more critical. As time went on +Spain grew less instead of more settled, while the ultra-royalist party +gained strength in France. To them the position to which the Bourbon +King of Spain had been reduced seemed at once an insult and a menace to +France. The establishment of Austrian supremacy in Italy made them long +for French supremacy in Spain. In August, 1821, the presence of yellow +fever in Spain was made the occasion for establishing a body of troops, +professing to act as a sanitary cordon, upon the frontier. They were +retained there when the fever had disappeared, and their numbers were +gradually raised to 100,000. In December, 1821, an ultra-royalist +ministry entered on office in France under the leadership of Villèle. +Villèle, like King Louis XVIII., was opposed to war, but he might easily +be forced to adopt the war policy which was popular with his party. +Fresh evidence was given of the contagious nature of the Spanish +revolution by the adoption, on the 27th of the preceding June, by the +Portuguese cortes, of a constitution modelled on that of Spain. Six days +later the Portuguese king arrived at Lisbon and was induced to sign the +new constitution. This event was the more significant in the eyes of the +powers, because the proclamation of the constitution had been +accompanied by an insult to the Austrian embassy. + +If Spanish liberalism placed Spain in danger of a war with France, Spain +was in equal danger of a war with Great Britain because she was not +liberal enough. The revolution of 1820, instead of reconciling the +revolted colonies, had served as an example to the loyal colonies to +seek their liberty. By the summer of 1822 Upper Peru was the only part +of the American mainland where Spain held more than isolated posts; she +had been compelled to sell Florida to the United States, and San Domingo +had joined the revolted French colony of Hayti. The Spanish cortes, +however, were even more resolute than the king had been to maintain the +authority of the mother country, and protested against the right which +the British had claimed and exercised of trading with the revolted +colonies. The disorderly state of these colonies encouraged the growth +of piracy, which flourished even in the ports which still acknowledged +the supremacy of Spain. Special irritation was caused in 1822 by the +condemnation of the _Lord Collingwood_ for trading with Buenos Ayres, a +place over which Spain had exercised no authority for twelve years. In +the same year the new navigation acts greatly increased the facilities +for trading with Great Britain enjoyed by such places in America as +admitted British ships. In April, 1822, the United States recognised the +independence of Colombia, but Great Britain refrained as yet from +recognising any of the Spanish-American states, partly because of their +unsettled condition and partly because the threat of recognition was a +valuable diplomatic counter in negotiations with Spain. + +Instead of a congress being held at Florence it was finally determined +that the Italian questions should be referred to a congress which was to +meet at Verona in September, 1822, and was to be preceded by a +conference at Vienna on the Eastern question; there could, however, be +little doubt that the Spanish question would also be raised. +Castlereagh, or as we should now call him Lord Londonderry, would have +preferred that Great Britain should stand aloof from the Spanish and +Italian questions, but he desired that she should participate in the +discussion of the Eastern question; it was accordingly arranged that he +should represent Great Britain at the conference of Vienna, and he had +actually drawn up instructions in favour of non-intervention in Spain +and of accrediting agents to some of the South American republics, when +his departure was prevented by his death on August 12. He was succeeded +by Wellington as plenipotentiary, and by Canning as foreign secretary. +The change was, however, one of persons rather than of policies. Canning +was less conciliatory in manner, and had less sympathy with the +principle of European congresses, but was prepared to carry on +Castlereagh's policy on the questions which for the time being agitated +the world. + +[Pageheading: _THE CONGRESS OF VERONA._] + +The Spanish question was, as a fact, the one question which occupied the +attention of the powers at Vienna and Verona. In consequence of the +efforts of Strangford at Constantinople and his own growing +dissatisfaction with the Greeks, the tsar was willing to allow the Greek +question to drop; at the same time the kings of the Two Sicilies and +Sardinia themselves desired the continuance of Austrian occupation, and +thus postponed the Italian question. As in 1820, Austria held the +balance between two rival policies. She had then thrown her weight on +the side of non-intervention, and, had the Spanish question stood by +itself, she would probably have done so again. But in Metternich's +opinion the Spanish question was of less importance than the Eastern, +and it was important that the tsar should not doubt her loyalty to the +principle on which she had persuaded him to refrain from an attack upon +the Porte. + +On passing through Paris on his way to Vienna, Wellington found Villèle +desirous of avoiding war, but counting on it as a probability. He +arrived at Vienna too late for the actual conference, but in time to +have some conversation with Metternich and the tsar before leaving for +Verona. So far it appeared that Montmorency, the more active of the +French representatives, though professing to desire a peaceful +termination to the dispute between France and Spain, advocated French +intervention, if intervention should be necessary, but was opposed to +the passage of foreign troops through France. Metternich and the tsar +distrusted French troops when brought face to face with revolutionists, +and Metternich was therefore opposed to intervention, while the tsar +still desired to be allowed to march a Russian army on behalf of the +combined powers through Piedmont and southern France into Spain. +Metternich of course did not wish to see any Russian troops to dispute +Austria's supremacy in Italy. But all three desired the suppression of +the Spanish constitution, if they could find a trustworthy instrument. +Wellington adhered to Castlereagh's policy of non-intervention.[76] + +When the congress opened at Verona on October 20, Montmorency proposed +three skilfully drawn questions. Avoiding the direct discussion of +hostilities, he asked whether, if France were compelled to withdraw her +ambassador from Madrid, the other powers would do the same. Then, +assuming their sympathy, he asked what form of moral support they would +give her in event of war. Lastly, he propitiated Russian views of joint +action by asking what form of material support the powers would give +France, if she should require it. Wellington refused to consider +hypothetical cases, but the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia +answered the first question in the affirmative, and assured France of +their moral, and, if necessary, of their material support. So far no +power had abandoned its original attitude, but the promises had been +given in a form which lent itself best to the sole interference of +France, as the representative of the congress. Metternich now advocated +British mediation, but this was refused by Montmorency on the ground of +the differences between the policy adopted by Great Britain and that +adopted by the other powers. It was then agreed that Austria, France, +Prussia, and Russia should address notes of the same tenor to their +ambassadors at Madrid, who should make corresponding representations to +the Spanish government, and a _procès verbal_ was concluded between +these four powers defining the causes which would justify the recall of +their ambassadors. + +As the French king was not present at Verona, the sending of the French +note was made conditional on the approval of the French government. The +occupation of Spain by foreign troops was to be discussed when the King +of Spain should have been restored to liberty. The tenor of the notes +agreed on seemed to Wellington more likely to inflame the Spanish +government than to win concessions, and he lost no time in informing +Villèle through Sir Charles Stuart, the British ambassador at Paris, of +the course of negotiations.[77] Although Wellington had been assured at +Verona that Villèle's decision would not affect the transmission of +notes from the other courts, he hoped and Canning believed that it was +still in the power of Villèle to arrest the machinery that Montmorency, +his representative at Verona, had set in motion. On November 30 +Wellington left Verona, but the emperors remained. On December 5 Villèle +sent a message to Verona proposing to postpone sending the despatches +till an occasion for breaking off diplomatic relations as defined in the +_procès verbal_ should arise, and suggesting that the ambassadors at +Paris should determine when such an occasion had occurred. This proposal +was rejected. It was inconsistent with Russia's desire for war, while +Austria was anxious to please Russia in the west, so long as she +remained pacific in the east. The three eastern powers therefore +resolved that they would only delay sending their notes till the French +note was ready. + +[Pageheading: _THE SPANISH QUESTION._] + +While this negotiation was pending, Wellington arrived at Paris, where, +under strong pressure from Canning,[78] he renewed his offer of +mediation with Spain. It was declined. On the arrival of the reply from +Verona, Wellington was informed that even if the other powers sent their +despatches to Madrid, France would withhold hers. In the end, Villèle +dismissed Montmorency for the independent line he had taken, and sent a +milder note than the three eastern powers, but withdrew his ambassador +from Madrid soon after the other ambassadors had departed. Great Britain +was in consequence the only great power which still continued diplomatic +relations with Spain at the end of January, 1823. In the course of the +negotiations two curious suspicions had occurred to Canning and Villèle +respectively. Canning imagined that France would employ the threats of +her allies as a show of force to compel Spain to join her in an attack +on British commerce in the West Indies, while Villèle suspected that the +British defence of the political independence of Spain was to be +recompensed by the cession of some Spanish colonies in America. + +Meanwhile, the war party before which Villèle had had to bow, was having +its own way in France. On January 28 Louis XVIII. in opening the +chambers announced the withdrawal of his ambassador, and declared that +100,000 Frenchmen were ready to march to preserve the throne of Spain to +a descendant of Henry IV., and to reconcile that country with Europe. +The sole object of any war that might arise would be to render Ferdinand +VII. free to give his people institutions which they could not hold +except from him, and which, by securing their tranquillity, would +dissipate the unrest in France. Canning protested against the apparent +implication that no valid constitution could rest on any other basis +than that of France did, as also against the apparent claim to interfere +in virtue of the family relation of the dynasties of France and Spain; +but he vainly endeavoured to persuade the Spanish government to come to +some agreement with its king. On March 31, when war seemed imminent, +Canning despatched a note to Paris defining the limits of British +neutrality. The independence of Spain and integrity of its dominions +were to be recognised; it was not to be permanently occupied by a +military force, and France was not to attempt to gain either by conquest +or by cession any of the revolted colonies of Spain in America. At the +same time he disclaimed any intention of acquiring any of those colonies +for Great Britain.[79] + +[Pageheading: _PORTUGAL AND BRAZIL._] + +War between France and Spain began with the passage of the frontier by +the Duke of Angoulême on April 7. On May 23 he entered Madrid. On +October 1 the Spanish constitutionalists were compelled to set their +king at liberty to join the French, and on November 1 the war was +terminated by the surrender of Barcelona to the royalists. The +restoration of Ferdinand VII. to absolute power was followed by a +furious and vindictive reaction, which Angoulême strove in vain to +moderate. For the next five years French troops occupied the country, +but Angoulême showed his disapproval of the method of government by +refusing the decorations offered him by Ferdinand. The restoration of +absolutism in Spain led to events in Portugal which forced Great Britain +to intervene and strengthened the difference between her policy and that +of the continental powers. The new Portuguese constitution was +unpopular, especially in the army, and as early as February, 1823, there +was a revolt against the constitution, but order was restored in April. +On May 26 another absolutist revolt broke out, and the rebels were +joined next day by the king's second son, Dom Miguel, then twenty years +of age; on the 29th the revolt spread to Lisbon; on the 31st the king +promised a revised constitution, and on June 2 the cortes ceased to sit. +The government resolved itself into an absolute monarchy, which +continued till the following year, in spite of the appointment of a +junta under the presidency of Palmella to draw up a new constitution. +The ambassadors of Austria, Prussia, and Russia opposed the granting of +a new constitution, and Dom Miguel still maintained a threatening +attitude. Palmella accordingly applied to Great Britain for troops to +support his government. This request created no little difficulty. It +was impossible for Great Britain to allow the government of Portugal to +fall into the hands of a party resting for support on the absolutists +in Spain and the French army, and it was equally impossible to employ +British troops to maintain the cause of the King of Portugal against his +ultra-royalist subjects when Great Britain had protested so vigorously +against the kings of Spain and the Two Sicilies receiving foreign +assistance against their liberal subjects; there were moreover no troops +that could well be spared. + +Canning accordingly contented himself with despatching a naval squadron +to the Tagus to act as a moral support to the king. As the event proved, +this squadron was sufficient to determine the course of events. At the +same time Canning refused to guarantee any constitution, though when +France joined the eastern powers in threatening the proposed +constitution, he intimated his readiness to resist by force of arms any +foreign intervention in Portugal. On April 30, 1824, Dom Miguel +attempted another _coup d'état_, and was for nine days in possession of +Lisbon, where he made wholesale arrests of his political opponents. John +VI. was, however, supported by all the foreign ambassadors, and on March +9, by their advice, he went on board the British ship of war, _Windsor +Castle_, where he summoned his son to appear before him. Dom Miguel +thought it wisest to obey; the king sent him abroad, and the attempt at +a revolution was over for the present. The junta appointed in the +previous year to frame a constitution now reported in favour of a +revival of the ancient cortes, and this proposal was accepted by the +king. The cortes were not, however, actually assembled; still, the mere +fact of Dom Miguel's absence left the government a little stronger. + +Meanwhile, the relations between Portugal and Brazil occasioned +difficulties between the former country and Great Britain. On leaving +Brazil, King John VI. had entrusted the government to his elder son, +Peter, to whom he had given secret instructions to proclaim himself +Emperor of Brazil in case he found it impossible to maintain the union +between Brazil and the mother country. Acting on these instructions, +Peter had proclaimed the independence of Brazil on October 12, 1822, +adopting for himself the style of constitutional emperor. Next month +Lord Cochrane, who had been in the service of Chile, quitted it for that +of Brazil. Neither party in Portugal was prepared for the separation of +Brazil, and it was therefore opposed, but without much effect, by the +home government. By the end of 1823 Cochrane had captured all the +Portuguese posts in Brazil, and in August, 1824, he suppressed a +republican movement in the north of that country. On July 23 of the same +year Great Britain signed a commercial treaty with the new empire. This +irritated the Portuguese government. Meanwhile, Beresford, who had +returned to Portugal in a private capacity, had been requested to resume +the command of the Portuguese army. This he refused to do so long as the +Count of Subsérra, a French partisan, held office at home. There was a +difficulty in forming a ministry without him, and eventually Subsérra +became virtual prime minister, and Beresford was excluded from office. +In order to obtain an excuse for the introduction of French troops into +Portugal, Subsérra sent a request to Great Britain for a force of four +or five thousand, knowing it would be refused. Great Britain's refusal +had not, however, the expected consequence, because the influence of the +other powers at Lisbon was weakened by their anti-constitutional policy. +In July, 1825, the representatives of Austria, Brazil, Great Britain, +and Portugal assembled at London to consider the relations of Portugal +and Brazil. While the conference was sitting it was discovered that +Subsérra was carrying on separate negotiations with Brazil. Canning was +now able to obtain his dismissal, which was followed by the recall of +the French ambassador, De Neuville, who had been the principal opponent +of British influence at Lisbon. As a result of this conference the +Portuguese government on August 29 recognised the independence of +Brazil.[80] + +The restoration of absolute government in Spain revived the question of +Spanish America. Ferdinand VII., on recovering his authority, proposed a +congress at Paris for the consideration of South American affairs. +Canning, however, declined his invitation, and it was thought useless to +hold a congress without the participation of Great Britain. The position +in which Great Britain had been placed by the negotiations of Verona, as +diplomatic champion of Spain, had caused her to suspend her complaints +about the treatment of her merchant vessels trading with the revolted +colonies; but disorder continued, and on one occasion the British +admiral was authorised to land in Cuba to extirpate the pirates using +the Spanish flag. Canning was determined that French force should not be +employed to reduce the revolted colonies, and in October, 1823, he +informed the French ambassador, Polignac, that he would acknowledge the +independence of those colonies if France assisted Spain in her attempts +to reduce them[81]--a somewhat empty threat, as the commercial interests +of Great Britain would have compelled him to acknowledge them in any +case as soon as there should be settled governments in existence with +which he could treat. Diplomatic agents were in fact appointed in most +of the revolted colonies before the end of this year. + +[Pageheading: _THE MONROE DOCTRINE._] + +What, however, rendered French interference hopeless was the attitude of +the United States, as expressed in President Monroe's historic message +to congress on December 2, 1823. In this message occur the words, since +known as the Monroe doctrine: "With the governments who have declared +their independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have, +on great consideration, and on just principles, acknowledged, we could +not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power, in +any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition +towards the United States." After this the recognition of the +independence of the Spanish colonies was only a matter of time.[82] +Great Britain recognised the independence of Buenos Ayres, Colombia, and +Mexico, in 1824, and the rest soon after. In spite of the temporary +successes of Canterac, Peru, the last of the mainland provinces, was +lost to Spain in 1825, and the other European powers did not now delay +their recognition of the American republics. In April of that year +France recognised the virtual independence of her own revolted colony of +Hayti. + +The Eastern question advanced more slowly. On March 25, 1823, Canning +recognised the Greeks as belligerents. After this step Great Britain +enjoyed the advantage of being able to hold the Greek government +responsible for piracy committed by Greek ships; but, coming as it did +after the isolated action of Great Britain at Verona, it created a +suspicion among the eastern powers of a desire to effect a settlement +of the Eastern question without the co-operation of other states. In +October, 1823, the Tsar Alexander and the Emperor Francis had a meeting +at Czernowitz in Bukowina. Here they discussed joint intervention in +Greece as a means of forestalling the isolated intervention of Great +Britain. During the meeting the news arrived of the Turkish concessions +to the Russian demands of 1821. Before the conference broke up, the tsar +informally suggested a conference at St. Petersburg to arrange joint +intervention on the basis of the erection of three principalities under +Turkish suzerainty in Greece and the Ægean. In January, 1824, the same +proposal was made formally in a Russian circular addressed to the great +powers. Metternich and Canning both opposed the scheme, thinking that +the principalities would fall under Russian influence. + +Metternich met it by a counter proposal for the complete independence of +Greece. Canning preferred to adopt neither course, and to watch the +sequence of events. In April, however, he consented that Great Britain +should be represented at the conference at St. Petersburg on condition +that no coercion should be applied to Turkey, and that diplomatic +relations should have been previously restored between Russia and +Turkey; in August the Greek government sent to London its protest +against the Russian proposals, and in November Canning, finding that +neither Greeks nor Turks would accept the decision of the conference, +and being still opposed to violent interference, refused to take part in +it. At the same time he offered British mediation to the Greeks in case +it should be absolutely necessary. Early in 1825 Metternich induced +Charles X., the new King of France, to support his proposal. Russia, +however, would not hear of the independence of Greece, which might mean +the creation of a rival to her influence in the Turkish dominions. The +conference therefore merely resolved that the Porte should grant +satisfaction to its subjects, failing which the powers offered their +mediation. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER I._] + +Turkey refused the offer. She was in fact busily engaged in restoring +order in her own way. In February, 1825, an Egyptian army was landed in +the Morea, and met with rapid successes of such a nature as to arouse a +suspicion that it was the fixed policy of its commander, Ibrahim, the +adopted son of Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, to depopulate the Morea. +His advance upon Nauplia was checked by an order of the British +commodore, Hamilton, and he retired towards Tripolitza and Navarino. The +Turkish successes induced Canning to make proposals to Russia through +Sir Stratford Canning, the British ambassador at St. Petersburg, for a +joint intervention of the powers on condition that there should be no +coercion of Turkey. The tsar refused to accept the condition and made +preparations for war. Canning meanwhile declined an offer of the Greek +government to place itself under British protection, and on August 18 +Alexander declared that he would solve the Eastern question by himself. +He then set out for the south of Russia, where his army had collected. +Canning now dropped his scheme of an united intervention and opened +negotiations for a separate intervention on the part of Great Britain +and Russia alone. Meanwhile he informed the Greek government that he +would allow no power to effect a settlement without British +co-operation, and that if Russia invaded Turkey he would land troops in +Greece. The negotiations with Russia were proceeding favourably when +they were interrupted by the death of Alexander on December 1. + +One event of the year 1825 which attracted little attention at the time +was destined to be a cause of friction at a much later date. In 1824 the +boundary between British America and the United States had been +partially delimited, and this was followed early in the following year +by a treaty, which attempted to settle the boundary between British and +Russian America. Unfortunately the words used in this treaty were +somewhat indefinite, and, although no difficulty was experienced for two +generations, the discovery of gold in the north-west of America +subsequently led to a bitter dispute between Canada on the one side and +the United States, which had acquired the rights of Russia, on the +other. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[75] Metternich, _Memoirs_, § 484, English translation, iii., 446. + +[76] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, i., 343-48. + +[77] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, i., 518-23. For a French account of +the congress see Duvergier de Hauranne, _Gouvernement Parlementaire en +France_, vii., 130-229. + +[78] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, i., 650. Compare pp. 638, 653-57. + +[79] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, ii., 18, 19. + +[80] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, ii., chapters x., xi. + +[81] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, ii., 26-33. + +[82] See J. W. Foster, _A Century of American Diplomacy_, pp. 442-50; +Stapleton, _George Canning and his Times_, p. 375. + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + TORY DISSENSION AND CATHOLIC RELIEF. + + +The sudden illness of Liverpool in February, 1827, disclosed the dualism +and mutual jealousies which had enfeebled his cabinet. One section, +represented by Canning, advocated catholic emancipation, encouraged the +practical application of free trade doctrines, and was prepared to +support the principle of national independence, not only in South +America, but in Greece and Portugal. This section was dominant in the +house of commons. The other section, led by Wellington and Peel, which +was dominant in the house of lords, was strictly conservative on all +these questions, though Peel was beginning to show an open mind on one, +at least, of them. The king's known distrust of Canning, largely shared +by his own party, naturally suggested the hope of rallying it under the +leadership of some politician with the moderate and conciliatory temper +of Lord Liverpool. But no such politician could be found, nor was there +any prospect of Canning accepting a subordinate position in a new +ministry. For nearly six weeks the premiership was in abeyance, while +Liverpool's recovery was treated as a possible event. Canning himself +was in broken health, but, ill as he was, he proposed and carried in the +house of commons a sliding scale of import duties upon corn, variable +with its market price. He also made a fierce attack on Sir John Copley, +then master of the rolls, who had vigorously opposed a motion of Burdett +for catholic relief. At last the king, having consulted others, made up +his mind to send for Canning, who had been suffering from a relapse. It +was in vain that Canning advised him, unless he were prepared for +concession on the catholic question, to summon a body of ministers +sharing his own convictions. There was, in fact, no alternative to +Canning's succession, except that of Wellington or Peel. The former +declared that he would be worse than mad to accept the premiership; the +latter was still young for the office and deprecated as hopeless the +formation of any exclusively "protestant" cabinet. The selection of +Canning became inevitable, and on April 10 the king determined upon it, +irritated by what he regarded as an attempt to force his hand in the +choice of a minister. + +[Pageheading: _CANNING ACCEPTS OFFICE._] + +From that moment, during the short remainder of his life Canning had to +undergo the same bitter experience as Pitt in 1804, and to suffer a +cruel retribution for his aggressive petulance. All his strongest +colleagues, except Huskisson, deserted him. The resignation of Lord +Eldon, since 1821 Earl of Eldon, must have been expected, terminating, +as it did, the longest chancellorship since the Norman conquest. But +Canning seems to have really hoped that he might secure the support of +Wellington by the assurance of his desire to carry out the principles of +Liverpool's government. The duke, however, repelled his overtures with +something less than courtesy, and even retired from the command of the +army. Peel had already intimated privately that a transfer of the +premiership from an opponent to a champion of emancipation would make it +impossible for him to retain office. Three peers, Bathurst, Melville, +and Westmorland, followed his example. Canning had no resource but to +enlist colleagues from the ranks of the whigs. In this he was at first +unsuccessful. Sturges Bourne was appointed to the home office, Viscount +Dudley became foreign secretary, and Robinson, who was raised to the +peerage as Viscount Goderich, became secretary for war and the colonies. +Canning himself united the offices of first lord of the treasury and +chancellor of the exchequer. The Duke of Portland became lord privy +seal. Palmerston, the secretary at war, was given a seat in the cabinet. +Harrowby, Huskisson, Wynn, and Bexley, retained their former posts, and +Sidmouth, hitherto an unofficial member of the cabinet, finally retired. +One important office outside the cabinet, that of chief secretary for +Ireland, was given to a whig, William Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne. +It was a happy idea to make the Duke of Clarence lord high admiral +without a seat in the cabinet, and without any power of acting +independently of his council, while Copley (as Lord Lyndhurst) proved a +good successor to Eldon. + +In May some of the whigs were induced to join the ministry. Tierney +entered the cabinet as master of the mint and the Earl of Carlisle as +first commissioner of woods and forests. The Marquis of Lansdowne, the +former Lord Henry Petty, joined the cabinet without taking office. Other +minor posts were assigned to whigs, and several whig chiefs, such as +Holland and Brougham, while they remained outside the government, +tendered it a friendly support. In July Lansdowne became home secretary, +Bourne was transferred to the woods and forests department, Carlisle +became lord privy seal, and Portland remained in the cabinet without +office. + +The new cabinet was therefore still in an unsettled state when it met +parliament at the beginning of May. It there encountered a storm of +unsparing criticism even in the house of commons, but still more in the +house of lords. Lord Stewart, who had succeeded his brother as Marquis +of Londonderry, and the Duke of Newcastle denounced Canning in the most +intemperate language; and the veteran whig, Lord Grey, who had not been +consulted, delivered an elaborate oration against him not the less +virulent because it was carefully studied and measured. This attack was +so keenly felt by Canning that he was supposed to meditate the +acceptance of a peerage, that he might reply to it in person. The climax +of his vexations was reached when a corn bill, prepared by the late +cabinet, and passed by the house of commons, was finally wrecked in the +house of lords through an amendment introduced by Wellington. There was +some excuse for the duke's action in letters which had passed between +him and Huskisson, but Canning naturally resented his mischievous +interposition, and unwisely declared that he must "have been made an +instrument in the hands of others". So ended the session on July 2, +amidst discords and divisions which boded ill for the future, but threw +a retrospective light on the rare merits of Liverpool. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF CANNING._] + +The days of Canning were already numbered. Before the end of July he was +unable to attend a council, and retired for rest to the Duke of +Devonshire's villa at Chiswick. As in the case of Castlereagh, the king +had noticed the symptoms of serious illness, and on August 5 the public +was informed of his danger. On the 8th he died of internal inflammation +in the room which had witnessed the death of Fox. His loss was deeply +felt, not only by the king who never showed him confidence, but also by +the best part of the nation, and his funeral was attended by a great +concourse of mourners, both whigs and tories. No one doubted that he was +a patriot, and his noble gifts commanded the admiration of his bitterest +opponents. He belonged to an age of transition, and it must ever be +deplored that he missed the opportunity of showing whether his mind was +capable of further growth in the highest office of state; for the +inconsistencies of his opinions, obstinately maintained for years, would +have demanded many changes of conviction or policy. He was as stout an +enemy of reform at home as he was a resolute friend of constitutional +liberty abroad. He detested the system of repression consecrated by the +holy alliance, but he defended the necessity of such measures as the six +acts and arbitrary imprisonment for a limited period. He never swerved +in his advocacy of Roman catholic relief, but he was unmoved by +arguments in favour of repealing the test and corporation acts. +Probably, at the head of a coalition, embracing the ablest of the +moderate tories and reformers, and loyally supported by his colleagues, +he might have proved the foremost British statesman of the nineteenth +century. But it is more than doubtful whether his proud and sensitive +nature would have enabled him so to cancel past memories as to +consolidate such a coalition, or to inspire such loyalty in its members. + +The death of Canning involved for the moment far less political change +than might have been expected. The king at once sent for Sturges Bourne +and Goderich, as the most intimate adherents of Canning. He then +commanded Goderich to form, or rather to continue, a ministry of +compromise, and this was done with little shifting of places. Wellington +resumed the command of the army, thereby revealing his motive in giving +it up so abruptly. But a very unwise choice was made in the appointment +of John Charles Herries, rather than Palmerston, as chancellor of the +exchequer, and it carried with it the seeds of an early disruption. +Palmerston had originally been proposed for the office, but the king +strongly favoured Herries, though he showed good sense in deferring to +public opinion, and desiring Huskisson to take the post himself. +Unfortunately, Huskisson preferred the colonial office, and, as neither +Sturges Bourne nor Tierney would accept the position, royal influence +prevailed, and Herries found himself at the exchequer. Meanwhile +Portland succeeded Harrowby as lord president, Charles Grant succeeded +Huskisson at the board of trade, and Lord Uxbridge, who had been created +Marquis of Anglesey after the battle of Waterloo, and who was now +master-general of the ordnance, was given a seat in the cabinet. + +In the course of November it was decided by Goderich, in concert with +Huskisson and Tierney, that a finance committee should be appointed +early in the next session to consider the state of the revenue. Lord +Althorp, the son of Earl Spencer, was designated as chairman, and +provisionally undertook to act, but the chancellor of the exchequer, +who, contrary to all precedent, had not been taken into counsel, +strongly protested against the nomination, as soon as he was informed of +it. Out of this dispute arose the ignoble fall of the Goderich +administration, though it was preceded by more serious dissensions on +foreign policy. The king, whose activity revived with the increasing +weakness of his ministers, committed himself, without asking their +opinion, to a hearty approval of Codrington's action at Navarino, in +which, as will be recorded hereafter, that admiral had co-operated in +the destruction of the Turkish navy, though the British government +professed to be at peace with the Porte. The king was also adverse to a +proposal for the admission of Holland and Wellesley into the cabinet. +Goderich in consequence resigned, but had withdrawn his resignation when +the quarrel between Huskisson and Herries broke out afresh. Driven to +distraction by difficulties to which he was utterly unequal, Goderich +once more abandoned his post. The king gladly dispensed with his +services, and after some negotiation with Harrowby sent for Wellington +on January 9, 1828, giving him a free hand to invite any co-operation +except that of Grey. It was stipulated, however, "that the Roman +Catholic question was not to be made a cabinet question," and that both +the lord chancellors, as well as the lord lieutenant of Ireland, were to +be "protestants".[83] + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON PRIME MINISTER._] + +It must ever be regretted, for the sake of the country not less than of +his own fame, that Wellington undertook the premiership. He was beyond +all dispute the greatest man in England, and exercised up to the end of +his life a more powerful influence in emergencies than any other +subject. But he had judged himself rightly when he declared that he was +wholly unfit to be prime minister, and his administration was among the +weakest of modern times. The firmness which had sustained him in so many +campaigns, the political sagacity which had enabled him to grapple with +the complications of Spanish affairs, and with the great settlement of +Europe, equally failed him in party management and in the estimation of +public opinion at home. He understood better than any man how to deal +with the king, and overbore not only the king's own prejudices but the +machinations of the Duke of Cumberland with masterly resolution. He set +a good example in declining to regard himself as a mere party leader and +in refusing to study the arts of popularity hunting, but he never +grasped the principle that constitutional government ultimately rests on +the will of the people. Still he was too good a general not to see when +facts were too strong for him. His chief manoeuvres on the field of +politics consisted in somewhat inglorious though not unskilful retreats; +when he afterwards carried boldness to the point of rashness, he +encountered a signal defeat. Nevertheless, while he utterly lost his +political hold on the masses, and even the confidence of shrewd +politicians, he never ceased to retain the profound respect of his +countrymen, not only as the first of English generals, but as the most +honest of public servants. + +Wellington naturally applied first to Peel, and, by his advice, attempted +a reconstruction of the Goderich cabinet, but with the addition of certain +new elements. Five of Canning's followers--Lyndhurst, Dudley, who had been +created an earl, Huskisson, Grant, and Palmerston retained their old +offices, and Palmerston gave an extraordinary proof of patience by +cheerfully remaining secretary at war after eighteen years' service in +that capacity. These cabinet ministers were now joined or rejoined by Peel +as home secretary, Earl Bathurst as lord president, Henry Goulburn as +chancellor of the exchequer, Melville as president of the board of +control, Lord Aberdeen as chancellor of the duchy, and Lord Ellenborough, +son of the former chief justice, as lord privy seal. Herries was +transferred from the exchequer to the mastership of the mint. Outside the +cabinet Anglesey became lord lieutenant of Ireland, where Lamb remained +chief secretary. It was understood that Eldon, now in his seventy-seventh +year, would have willingly accepted the presidency of the council, and +felt hurt that no offer or communication was made to him. On the other +hand, the whigs were by no means satisfied, while the inclusion of +Huskisson equally offended extreme tories and the widow of Canning, who +spoke of him as having become an associate of her husband's murderers. +This association was not destined to be long lived. The formation of the +ministry was not completed until the end of January, and very soon after +parliament met on the 29th of that month a rupture between Huskisson and +Wellington became imminent. For this Huskisson was mainly responsible. +Having to seek re-election at Liverpool, and irritated by the attacks made +upon his consistency, he delivered a very imprudent speech, in which he +implied, if he did not state, that he had obtained from his chief pledges +of adhesion to Canning's policy. Such a declaration from such a man was +inevitably understood as applying at least to free trade and the conduct +of foreign affairs. Both Huskisson and the duke in parliamentary speeches +disclaimed the imputation of any bargain; still the rift was not closed, +and it was speedily widened by events on which harmony between tories and +friends of Canning was impossible. + +For six years the so-called war of Greek independence had been carried +on with the utmost barbarity on both sides. The sympathies of Canning, +as foreign secretary, had been entirely with the Greeks, as they had +been with the South American insurgents, but he was equally on his guard +against the armed "mediation" of Russia and her claim to be the supreme +protector of the Greek Christians. We have seen how at last, in 1825, +hopeless discord between the great continental powers led to overtures +for the peaceful intervention of Great Britain, and how at this juncture +the Tsar Alexander died on December 1, 1825. Wellington, at Canning's +request, undertook a special embassy to St. Petersburg for the +ostensible purpose of congratulating the new tsar, Nicholas, on his +accession, and succeeded, during April, 1826, in concluding an +arrangement for joint action by Russia and Great Britain with a view to +establishing the autonomy of Greece under the sovereignty of Turkey. +Meanwhile the impulsive enthusiasm which has so often seized the English +people on behalf of "oppressed nationalities" had been fanned into a +flame by the cause of Greek independence. Byron had already sacrificed +his life to it in April, 1824; Cochrane now devoted to it an energy and +a naval reputation only second to Nelson's; volunteers joined the Greek +levies, and subscriptions came in freely. In the course of 1826 Canning +succeeded in procuring the adhesion of the French government to the +Anglo-Russian agreement. Early in 1827 the three powers demanded an +armistice from Turkey, and, on the refusal of the Porte, signed the +treaty of London for the settlement of the Greek question. This treaty, +dated July 6, 1827, was almost the last public act of Canning. It was +moderate in its terms, embodying the conditions laid down in the +previous year at St. Petersburg, and making the self-government of +Greece subject to a payment of tribute to the Porte. It provided for a +combination of the British, French, and Russian fleets in the event of a +second refusal from Turkey; but Canning died in the hope that +hostilities might be avoided. + +[Pageheading: _NAVARINO._] + +This hope was not likely, nor was it destined, to be realised. The Porte +remained inflexible, and would grant no armistice; indeed, it had +summoned a contingent of ships from Egypt, and a fleet of twenty-eight +sail under Ibrahim Pasha was lying in the Bay of Navarino awaiting +further reinforcements. Admiral Codrington, who commanded the allied +fleet, now before Navarino, showed much forbearance. In concert with the +French admiral, he warned Ibrahim Pasha not to leave the harbour, and +obtained assurances which were speedily broken. Futile negotiations went +on during the early part of October, ending in a massacre among the +inhabitants of the coast by the direction of Ibrahim. The admirals of +the allied fleet no longer hesitated. On the 20th the fleet entered the +harbour. The first shots were fired by the Turco-Egyptian fleet, which +was skilfully ranged in three lines, and in the form of a horseshoe. An +action ensued, which lasted four hours, and resulted in the almost +complete destruction of the Ottoman armament. Had the allied fleet at +once proceeded to Constantinople, the Greek question might perhaps have +been settled promptly, instead of being left to perplex cabinets for two +years longer. + +The news of Navarino reached England when the ministry of Lord Goderich +was already tottering, and caused its members far more anxiety than +satisfaction. Probably the wisest of them foresaw that, unless +immediate action were taken, Russia would declare war single-handed +against Turkey and enforce her own terms, but nothing in fact was done, +and Wellington, on coming into power, found the question of our +relations with Turkey and Greece still open. In spite of his own share +in bringing about the co-operation of Russia with Great Britain, he was +by no means prepared for a crusade on behalf of Greek independence, or +for a definite rupture with Turkey. Hence the memorable phrases inserted +in the king's speech of January 29, 1828, which described the battle of +Navarino as "a collision wholly unexpected by His Majesty" and as "an +untoward event," which His Majesty hoped would not be followed by +further hostilities. These expressions, however much in accord with the +pacific tone of the treaty of London, provoked an outburst of +indignation from the friends of Greece in both houses. Lords Holland and +Althorp, Lord John Russell, and Brougham recorded earnest protests +against any disparagement of Admiral Codrington's action. The +infatuation of the Porte, and the consequent war with Russia, checked +further agitation on the subject, and Wellington's government was able +to fall back on the policy of non-intervention proposed, though not +always practised, by Canning. But the reactionary tendency of +Wellington's foreign policy betrayed in the king's speech had its effect +in alienating the more liberal of his colleagues. Nor was his position +strengthened by his irresolute home policy. During the session of 1828 +issues were raised which inevitably divided and ultimately broke up the +cabinet. + +[Pageheading: _TEST ACTS REPEALED._] + +The first of these difficulties was caused by the success of Lord John +Russell's motion for the repeal of the test and corporation acts, under +which dissenters were precluded from holding municipal and other +offices. It was, indeed, a grave blot on the consistency of reformers +that, while the claims of Roman catholics, and especially of Irish Roman +catholics, had been vehemently urged for nearly thirty years, those of +protestant nonconformists had been coldly neglected. Their legal +disabilities, it is true, had gradually become almost nominal, and an +indemnity act was passed yearly to cover the constant breaches of the +obnoxious law. Still, the law was maintained, and was stoutly defended +by such tories as Eldon on the principle that it was an important +outwork of the union between Church and State. Even the Canningite +members of the government supported it against Russell's attack, but on +the very opposite ground--that it had become a dead letter. However, the +measure for its repeal was carried in the house of commons by a majority +of forty-four, including some well-known Churchmen. This measure would +assuredly have been rejected in the house of lords had not Peel +judiciously procured the insertion of a clause substituting for the +sacramental test a declaration binding the office-holder to do nothing +hostile to the Church. Thus modified, it passed the house of lords, with +the assent of several bishops, in spite of the implacable opposition of +Lords Eldon and Redesdale, and the Duke of Cumberland. But the +declaration was amended by the addition of the words "upon the true +faith of a Christian," which incidentally continued the statutable +exclusion of Jews. + +The enforced acceptance of this enactment was equivalent to a decisive +reverse, and could not but injure the prestige of the government, but it +did not actually cause a schism in the cabinet. It was otherwise when +the duke proposed a corn bill in lieu of that rejected at his instance +in the previous year. The difference between these measures was not very +material, but the duke insisted upon certain regulations of detail, +which Huskisson persistently opposed. Peel suggested a compromise which, +after long altercation and some threats of resignation, was adopted. But +the effect was to weaken the government still further in the eyes of the +public, inasmuch as the principle of duties on a graduated scale had +prevailed at last against the declared opinions of the duke. The +inevitable rupture was only deferred for a few weeks, and arose out of +motions for disfranchising East Retford and Penryn--a premonitory +symptom of the great reform bill. These were among the most corrupt of +the old "rotten boroughs," and the scandalous practices which flourished +in both of them had more than once shocked even the unreformed +parliament. In 1827 a bill for disfranchising Penryn had actually been +carried by the house of commons in spite of Canning's dissent, and one +for disfranchising East Retford would probably have been carried, but +that it was introduced too late. + +The motions now introduced by Lord John Russell and Charles Tennyson +respectively could scarcely have been thrown out by the same house, but +squabbles arose in the cabinet, partly on the comparative guiltiness of +the two venal constituencies, but chiefly on the disposal of the seats +to be vacated. It was agreed at last that Penryn should be merged in the +adjacent hundred, and the majority of the cabinet, represented by Peel, +were for dealing in like manner with East Retford. The liberal section, +however, represented by Huskisson, was bent on transferring its +representation to Birmingham, and voted against Peel in the house of +commons. Having thus vindicated his independence, Huskisson, somewhat +too hastily, placed his resignation in the hands of the premier on May +20. The duke, having fairly lost patience with his insubordinate +colleagues, was equally prompt in accepting it, and declined to receive +the explanations offered. In the end, Palmerston, Dudley, Grant, and +Lamb, followed the fortunes of Huskisson, and Wellington's government +was completely purged of Canning's old supporters. + +[Pageheading: _THE CLARE ELECTION._] + +Two military officers, without political experience, were now imported +into the ministry. Sir George Murray succeeded Huskisson at the colonial +office, and Sir Henry Hardinge replaced Palmerston as secretary at war, +but was not admitted to the cabinet; Lord Aberdeen became foreign +secretary, and Vesey Fitzgerald president of the board of trade, while +Lord Francis Leveson Gower succeeded Lamb as chief secretary for +Ireland. So purely tory an administration had not been formed since the +days of Perceval. Looking back we can see that, for that very reason, it +was doomed; but to politicians of 1828 Wellington's ascendency seemed +assured, and it was not actually broken for above two years. By far the +most important event of domestic history within that period was the +crisis ending in the catholic emancipation act, and this crisis was +immediately precipitated by the almost casual appointment of Vesey +Fitzgerald. He was a popular Irish landlord, who had always supported +catholic relief, and his re-election for the county of Clare was +regarded as perfectly secure. The landlords were known to be entirely in +his favour, and Irish tenants, miscalled "forty shilling freeholders," +had been used to vote obsequiously for the candidate of their landlords. +Indeed, these counterfeit freeholds had been manufactured recklessly +throughout Ireland for the very purpose of extending landlord influence. +Perhaps the recent defeat of a Beresford at Waterford by a nominee of +Daniel O'Connell, who had made himself the leader of the movement for +Catholic relief, ought to have undeceived the Irish tories, but no one +could have foreseen so daring an act as the candidature of O'Connell +himself, notwithstanding that, as a catholic, he was incapable of +sitting in the house of commons. + +The contest began on June 30 and lasted five days. All the gentry and +electors of the higher class supported Fitzgerald, but all the poorer +electors, headed by their priests, flocked to the poll and voted for +O'Connell, who, on Fitzgerald's retirement, was triumphantly elected. +The violence of O'Connell's language was unmeasured, and as was said by +Sheil, "every altar became a tribune," but perfect order was maintained +throughout. The terrorism which has since disgraced Irish elections and +vitiated the whole representation of Ireland had no place in this +startling victory, and the impression produced by it was thereby +infinitely enhanced. Two conclusions were instantly drawn from it: the +one, that electoral power in Ireland could not safely be left in the +hands of the forty-shilling freeholders; the other, that, whether or not +they were disfranchised, nothing short of political equality of the +catholics of Ireland could avert the risk of civil war. It is seldom +that momentous changes can be so clearly traced to a single cause as in +the case of catholic emancipation. The whole interval between July, +1828, and April, 1829, was occupied by the discussion of this question, +or circumstances arising out of it, and it may truly be said to have +filled the whole horizon of domestic politics. The first and final +recognition by a responsible government of emancipation as a political +necessity dates immediately from the Clare election. + +The question of catholic emancipation had been the only reason for the +resignation of Pitt in 1801, but we have seen that he resumed office in +1804 under a pledge not to re-open it. It is certain that he never +contemplated a complete emancipation of the catholics without safeguards +for the interests of the established church. Such a safeguard (though +ineffective against a future attack through disestablishment) was +provided by the act of union,[84] which inviolably united the Irish and +English churches. The catholic leaders, on their part, were profuse in +their disavowals of hostility to that establishment and to the +protestant government in Ireland. In their first solemn memorial, +presented by Grenville on March 25, 1805, they expressly declared that +"they do not seek or wish, in the remotest degree, to injure or encroach +upon the rights, privileges, immunities, possessions, and revenues +appertaining to the bishops and clergy of the protestant religion, or to +the churches committed to their charge". They further volunteered an +expression of their belief that no evil act could be justified by the +good of the Church, and that papal infallibility was no article of the +catholic faith. Thenceforward, frequent motions in support of the +"catholic claims" were made in both houses of parliament. In 1810 such a +motion was proposed in a very eloquent speech by Grattan, but +Castlereagh, though a staunch friend of the cause, deprecated it as +inopportune, since the catholics had injured themselves by imprudent +conduct, and fresh declarations inconsistent with their former +assurances. The motion was therefore rejected, and a similar fate befell +motions of the same kind in the two following years, especially in the +house of lords, where Eldon inflexibly resisted any concession, and +always commanded a majority. + +[Pageheading: _CATHOLIC RELIEF._] + +When Liverpool replaced Perceval as prime minister in 1812, catholic +emancipation became an open question in the cabinet. In that year +Canning succeeded in carrying triumphantly a resolution pledging the +house of commons to consider the question seriously in the next session, +and a like resolution was only lost by one vote in the house of lords. +Accordingly, in 1813, Grattan's motion for a committee of the whole +house on catholic disabilities was accepted, and a bill for their +removal passed its second reading. But it was loaded with vexatious +securities in committee and wrecked by the vigorous opposition of the +speaker, Abbot, who on May 24 carried by a majority of four an amendment +withholding the right to sit and vote in parliament. After this, the +bill was of course abandoned, but another was unanimously passed +exempting from penalties Roman catholics holding certain military and +civil offices, to which, by a harsh construction of law, they were not +eligible. In 1817 the question was debated at great length in the house +of commons, and several leading men took part in it, but the motion for +catholic relief was again defeated by a majority of twenty-four. It was +revived in 1819 by Grattan, who delivered on this occasion one of his +greatest speeches, and succeeded in reducing the majority to two only. +In 1821 a further advance was made by Plunket's success in obtaining a +committee to consider the claims of the catholics. This was carried by a +majority of six, and followed up by two bills, removing all catholic +disabilities with very slight exceptions, but subject to stringent and +somewhat illusory securities for the loyalty of the priesthood. +Ultimately on April 2 a comprehensive measure of catholic relief passed +the house of commons by a majority of nineteen. All the most influential +members of the lower house now voted in its favour, but the attitude of +the upper house remained unchanged. The spirit of Eldon still ruled the +peers, and his speech against Plunket's relief bill contains a complete +armoury of protestant arguments. But the catholics had a still more +doughty opponent in the Duke of York, who delivered on this occasion the +first of his famous declarations, binding himself to life-long +hostility. As Eldon said, "he did more to quiet this matter than +everything else put together".[85] + +The year 1821 marks a turning point in the history of the catholic +question, since the protestant cause, no longer safe in the house of +commons, was felt by its champions to depend on the crown and the house +of lords. But it would be an error to suppose that catholic relief was +ever a popular cry in this country, like retrenchment and reform. On the +contrary, the feelings of the masses in Great Britain were never roused +in regard to it, and, if roused at all, would probably have been +enlisted on the other side. It would be too much to say that the +controversy was merely academical, for it was keen enough to split up +parties and produce dualism in cabinets. But it was never a hustings +question. It filled a much larger space in the minds of statesmen than +in the minds of the people, and even among statesmen it was so far +secondary that it could be treated as an open question in Liverpool's +ministry for a period of fifteen years. No doubt the disturbed state of +Ireland, which ultimately supplied the motive power for carrying the +emancipation act, contributed at an earlier stage to damp the zeal of +its advocates. Whatever the merits of the union, it had failed to pacify +the country, thereby verifying the warning of Cornwallis, that, although +Ireland could not be saved without the union, "you must not take it for +granted that it will be saved by it". + +In 1800, the very year of the union, the _habeas corpus_ act had been +suspended and another act passed for the suppression of rebellion. +Though repealed in the following year, these coercive measures were +renewed in 1803, after Emmet's abortive rising, and continued in 1804. +In 1805, when they expired, special commissions were appointed for the +repression of crime in the south and west of Ireland. In 1807 the +_habeas corpus_ act was again suspended and a rigorous insurrection act +passed which continued in force until 1810. In that year a Catholic +Committee was formed, anticipating the more notorious Catholic +Association. An essential part of the scheme was the formation of a +representative assembly in Dublin, to discuss and procure redress for +the wrongs of catholics. This project was put down by the Irish +government, which treated it as a breach of the convention act of 1793. +The next ten years seem to have been somewhat quieter in Ireland, and +the disturbances which followed the peace in Great Britain had no +counterpart in that country. Still, it was thought necessary to suppress +another catholic convention in 1814, and to renew the insurrection act, +which remained in force with one interval till 1817. It can well be +imagined that a population so lawless, and so prone to horrible outrages +which shock Englishmen more than a thousand crimes against property, +should have excited little general sympathy by their complaints of +political grievances. These grievances were justly denounced by party +leaders, but in the eyes of ordinary politicians, and still more of +electors, coercion rather than concession was the appropriate remedy for +the ills of Ireland. + +[Pageheading: _CATHOLIC RELIEF._] + +Canning, however, though suspected of lukewarmness, did not let the +question rest in 1822. On April 30, while still out of office, he +introduced a bill which he could scarcely have expected to become law, +for enabling Roman catholic peers to sit and vote in the house of lords. +This bill was passed in the commons by a majority of five, but rejected +in the lords by a majority of forty-four, in spite of somewhat +transparent assertions that it was not intended to prejudice the main +issue. On April 18, 1823, an angry protest from Burdett against the +"annual farce" of motions leading to nothing was followed by a quarrel +between Canning and Brougham, who accused Canning, then foreign +secretary, of "monstrous truckling for the purpose of obtaining office"; +and when Plunket moved, as usual, for the relief of catholics, a +temporary secession of radicals took place, which left him in a +ridiculous minority. In spite of this discomfiture, Lord Nugent +succeeded in carrying through the commons a bill, granting the +parliamentary franchise to Roman catholics in Great Britain. The bill +was lost in the lords, and the question remained dormant in 1824; but in +1825 it received a fresh impulse. This time it was Burdett who, at the +instance of Lansdowne and Brougham, appeared as spokesman of the +catholics. His action was in some respects inopportune, as the "Catholic +Association," founded by O'Connell and Sheil in 1823, was now usurping +the functions of a government, and regularly levying taxes under the +name of "rent". The necessity of suppressing it, though not apparent to +Lord Wellesley, the lord-lieutenant, was strongly felt on both sides of +the house of commons. A bill for this purpose, but applicable to all +similar associations, was rapidly carried by large majorities in both +houses, and the opposition was fain to rely mainly on the declaration +that it would be put in force against catholic associations only, and +not against those of the Orangemen, as the more violent of the Irish +protestants were called. It is needless to say that it was evaded by the +former, but on March 1, while it was still before the house of lords, +Burdett took courage to move another preliminary resolution in favour of +the catholics, and obtained a majority of thirteen. A bill founded on +this resolution was at once introduced. + +The debates on this bill were memorable in several respects and opened +the last stage but one in the long history of catholic relief. In the +first place, more than one opponent publicly avowed his conversion to +it; in the second place, now that its "settlement" was actually within +view, the necessity of providing a counterpoise became admitted. +Accordingly, one independent member proposed a state grant of £250,000 a +year for the endowment of the catholic clergy, who might thus be +indirectly bound over to good behaviour, while another proposed the +disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders. Both of these bills were read +a second time, but held over until the fate of the main relief bill +should be determined. That bill passed the house of commons on May 10, +1825, by a majority of twenty-one, and Peel tendered his resignation to +Lord Liverpool.[86] Two days later, the Duke of York, on presenting a +petition against the bill in the house of lords, delivered another +speech which fell like a thunder-clap on the country, and has been +celebrated ever since as an audacious breach of constitutional usage. In +this speech, he justified the inflexible attitude of his father, whose +mental disorder he expressly attributed to the agitation of the catholic +question. He concluded by declaring that his principles were the same, +imbibed in early youth and confirmed by mature reflection, and that he +would maintain them up to the latest moment of his existence, "whatever +might be his situation in life". It is certain that, in thus pledging +himself, he acted without having consulted the king, who somewhat +resented so direct an allusion to his prospect of succession. Still, the +sensation produced by the duke's utterance was prodigious, and he +remained the favourite champion of the protestant cause until his death. +Brougham attacked him with furious sarcasm in the commons, but the lords +threw out Burdett's relief bill by a majority of forty-eight, and the +No-popery cry influenced the general election of 1826. In that year no +further effort was made by the friends of catholic claims, but O'Connell +showed his growing power in Ireland by exciting a political revolt of +the peasantry at Waterford, and procuring the defeat of Lord George +Beresford. + +[Pageheading: _CATHOLIC RELIEF._] + +In the session of 1827, before Canning succeeded Lord Liverpool, Burdett +renewed his motion of 1825 on the catholic question, but found himself +defeated by four votes. The division had taken place in a full house, +after the fierce encounter, already mentioned, between Copley and +Canning; but it cannot be regarded as a decisive token of contrast +between the old and the new parliament, since relief was now claimed +without any mention of "securities". The subject was in abeyance during +the short administrations of Canning and Goderich, but was raised again +by Burdett in May, 1828, after the repeal of the test and corporation +acts. The number of votes on the catholic side, 272, was the same as in +1827, that on the protestant side, 266, was less by ten, the result +being a majority of six for the motion. A similar resolution was lost in +the house of lords, as a matter of course; but the language held by the +new lord chancellor, Lyndhurst, and by Wellington himself, as prime +minister, prepared observant men for an impending change of policy. Then +followed the Clare election, which revealed nothing which might not have +been foreseen, but which had the same effect in precipitating the +removal of catholic disabilities as the Irish famine afterwards had in +precipitating the repeal of the corn laws. + +We now know that Peel had made up his mind to yield shortly after the +Clare election,[87] partly influenced by the alarming reports of +Anglesey, the Irish lord-lieutenant, on the state of Ireland. We also +know that Wellington himself was more than half convinced of the +necessity of concession, and was preparing to strengthen his government +for the coming struggle, in the event of Peel feeling bound to retire. +Meanwhile a vacancy in the ministry had been created by the Duke of +Clarence's resignation of his office of lord high admiral. In spite of +the limitations imposed on his power, he had insisted on hoisting his +flag, and assumed command. For this he was severely reprehended by the +king and Wellington, and was virtually forced to resign office. Melville +now became once more first lord of the admiralty, and was succeeded by +Ellenborough at the board of control. Ellenborough retained his former +office of lord privy seal, which Wellington was holding in reserve with +a view to strengthening the government. But the public of those days +remained in entire ignorance of their intentions until the meeting of +parliament on February 5, 1829. + +The speech of George Dawson, Peel's brother-in-law, at Derry, on August +12, had greatly startled protestants. As it was never publicly +disavowed, Brunswick clubs were formed to repel the rising tide of +sympathy with the catholics, but the only tangible indication of +Wellington's personal sentiments favoured the belief that nothing would +be done. The circumstances under which this indication was given were +peculiar. The duke had written a letter to the Roman catholic archbishop +of Dublin, an old correspondent, deprecating agitation on the catholic +question, as likely to prejudice its future settlement, of which, +however, the duke saw "no prospect".[88] This letter was improperly +sent by the archbishop to O'Connell as well as to Anglesey. O'Connell +read it to the Catholic Association as a sign of conciliatory +inclinations; Anglesey's reply suggested, at least, that agitation might +continue. He was promptly recalled, and his recall was rendered the more +significant by the appointment of the Duke of Northumberland, a known +"protestant," as his successor. What the public could not then know was +that behind all other difficulties, political or personal, lay the +almost insuperable difficulty of inducing the king to allow the cabinet +to be even consulted. Indolent and unprincipled as George IV. was, he +was still capable of rousing and asserting himself. Probably no one but +Wellington could have prevailed against his anti-catholic prejudices, +shared, as they were, not only by most of the peers, both spiritual and +temporal, but also by the mass of the English people. At this juncture +Peel informed the duke that, rather than risk the success of the +proposed measure, he would remain at his post. His example was followed +by his "protestant" colleagues. + +[Pageheading: _THE INTRODUCTION OF THE RELIEF BILL._] + +During the winter of 1828-29 the strongest pressure was brought to bear +on the king by his ministers to procure his consent to a measure of +relief, accompanied by safeguards. Though he afterwards assured Eldon +that he had never explicitly given such a consent, the old chancellor, +on seeing the documents, felt obliged to express a contrary opinion. It +is certain that he gave way most reluctantly, and probable that his +scruples were as sincere as was consistent with his character; but he +knew well that, if he dismissed his ministers, he would be left +isolated, and he bowed to necessity. Indeed even the "protestant" +members of the cabinet had urged him to yield. His assent was, in fact, +only given by degrees; after each member of the cabinet, who had +previously opposed catholic emancipation, had had a separate interview, +the king consented on January 15 to the consideration of the subject by +the cabinet, but reserved the right to reject its advice. After this no +great difficulty was experienced in obtaining the royal assent to the +introduction of a bill.[89] Accordingly the king's speech, delivered by +commission on February 5, 1829, distinctly recommended parliament to +consider whether the civil disabilities of the catholics could not be +removed "consistently with the full and permanent security of our +establishments in Church and State". This recommendation, however, was +preceded by a severe condemnation of the Catholic Association and the +expression of a resolution to put down the disorders caused by it. The +sensation produced by the king's speech was increased by the +simultaneous resignation by Peel of his seat for the university of +Oxford. Considering that he was originally preferred to Canning mainly +on protestant grounds, he could not have honourably acted otherwise. +Many of his old friends stood by him, in spite of differences on the +catholic question, and Eldon's grandson, who had been proposed as a +candidate, was set aside as too weak an opponent. Ultimately Sir Robert +Inglis was put forward by the "protestants," and was returned by 755 +votes against 609. Peel obtained a seat for the borough of Westbury,[90] +and moved a preliminary bill for suppressing the Catholic Association. +This passed both houses in February, but was already ineffective when it +became law, since the association had been shrewd enough to dissolve +itself upon the advice of its English well-wishers. The catholic relief +bill was therefore introduced under favourable auspices. + +The motives which actuated Wellington and Peel in espousing the cause +which they had so persistently opposed admit of no doubt whatever. In +the memoir which Peel left as embodying his own defence, no less than in +his speech introducing the emancipation bill, he affects no essential +change of conviction. He rests his case entirely on the public danger of +leaving the question "unsettled" after the disclosures of the Clare +election, and argues calmly, as the agitators had been arguing for +nearly thirty years, that no settlement was practicable short of +complete, though not unconditional, surrender. There is no pretence of +consistency. All the constitutional, political, and religious objections +to civil equality between protestants and catholics in Ireland remained +unanswered and unabated. Indeed the increasing power and defiant tone of +the catholic demagogues might well have appeared a crowning reason for +refusing them seats in parliament. Peel, however, had adopted, and +pressed upon Wellington, the delusive opinion of Anglesey that by +"taking them from the Association and placing them in the house of +commons" they might be reduced to comparative impotence. He lamented, it +is true, the premature announcement of a new policy by Dawson, and he +had submitted his own resignation to the duke in the belief, apparently +sincere, that he could render better service in an independent position. +But he seems not to have felt the least scruple in urging the duke to +break all his pledges to his protestant supporters, and conciliate the +followers of O'Connell. Nor did his advice fall on unwilling ears. +Trained in a vocation where private conscience is subordinate to +military duty, where enemies must sometimes be welcomed as allies if it +may further the plan of campaign, and where a masterly retreat is as +honourable as a victory, Wellington did not shrink from undertaking the +part of an opportunist minister. He had always regarded himself as a +servant of the crown and the nation, rather than as a party leader, and +he saw no personal difficulty in adopting any political measure as the +less of two evils. Having once satisfied himself that civil war in +Ireland was the only alternative to emancipation, he abandoned +resistance to it as he would have abandoned a hopeless siege, and called +upon his tory followers to change their front with him. + +Notice had been given of a resolution to be moved by Peel on March 5, +preparing the way for the catholic relief bill, when the king raised +fresh obstacles to its progress. As the day drew near, George, +encouraged by the Duke of Cumberland, grew very excited. He had violent +interviews with his ministers, and finally on March 3 he informed +Wellington, Lyndhurst, and Peel that he could not assent to any +alteration in the oath of supremacy. The three ministers accordingly +tendered their resignations, which were accepted. But the king soon +found that no alternative administration was possible, and on the +following day the existing ministers received permission to proceed with +the bill.[91] + +[Pageheading: _PROVISIONS OF THE RELIEF BILL._] + +Peel's great speech on March 5, in favour of his resolution, contains a +comprehensive review of the Irish question, as well as an elaborate +defence of his own position, resting solely on grounds of expediency. He +advocated the measure itself as the only means of pacifying Ireland, +reducing the undue power of the catholics, and securing the protestant +religion. It was simple in its main outlines, applying to the whole +United Kingdom, and purporting to open all political and civil rights to +catholics, with a very few specified exceptions. It contained, however, +a number of provisions, in the nature of securities against catholic +aggression. By the new oath, to be substituted for the oaths of +allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration, a member of parliament, or holder +of an office, was no longer required to renounce transubstantiation, the +invocation of saints, or the sacrifice of the mass. But he was still +obliged not only to swear allegiance, but to profess himself resolved to +maintain the protestant settlement of the crown, to condemn absolutely +all papal jurisdiction within the realm, and to disclaim solemnly any +intention of subverting the existing Church establishment or weakening +the system of protestant government. Moreover, priests were expressly +denied the privilege of sitting in parliament. Catholics were still +excluded from the high positions of sovereign, regent, lord chancellor +of England or Ireland, and lord-lieutenant of Ireland. They were enabled +to become ministers of the crown, but were debarred from the power of +advising the crown on presentations to ecclesiastical dignities or +benefices, nor were they allowed to exercise such patronage in their +personal capacity. They were still to be disabled from holding offices +in the ecclesiastical courts, or in the universities, and their bishops +were forbidden to assume diocesan titles already appropriated by the +establishment. Other clauses were directed against the use of catholic +vestments except in their chapels and private houses, and against the +importation of Jesuits or members of similar religious orders, with a +saving clause for those already resident and duly registered. Two other +safeguards, often proposed, were deliberately omitted from the bill. +There was no provision for a state endowment of catholic priests, or for +a veto of the crown on the appointment of catholic bishops. These +omissions, whether justifiable or not, were pregnant with serious +consequences. + +The debates in both houses on Peel's bill, as it was rightly considered, +are chiefly interesting as throwing light on contemporary opinion. The +arguments for and against it had been fairly exhausted in previous +years, and would carry no great weight in a later age. The +constitutional objections to it, which seemed vital to Eldon, and +weighty to every statesman of his time, were at a later date put aside, +when they were pleaded against the dissolution of the Irish church, +directly guaranteed by the act of union. The criticisms on the personal +consistency of Wellington and Peel belong to biography rather than to +history. But no one can read the speeches of leading men on either side +without recognising the superior foresight, at least, of those who +opposed the bill, and distrusted the efficacy of the safeguards embodied +in it. Two assumptions underlay the whole discussion, and were treated +as axioms by nearly all the speakers. The one was that catholic +emancipation must be judged by its effect on the future peace of +Ireland; the other, that it could not be justified, unless it would +strengthen, rather than weaken, protestant ascendency, then regarded as +a bulwark of the constitution. Posterity may contemplate it from a +different and perhaps higher point of view; but it is certain that, if +its consequences had been foreseen by those who voted upon it, the bill +would have been rejected. It is no less certain that its adoption was a +victory of the educated classes, represented by nomination-boroughs, +over the unrepresented masses of the people. + +The actual result in the division lists was all that its promoters could +have desired. Though the secret had been so well kept by the government +that few of its supporters knew what to expect, and though piles of +petitions showed the preponderance of protestant sentiment outside +parliament, that sentiment was not reflected in the division lists. The +first reading of the bill in the house of commons was carried by a +majority of 348 to 160; the second reading by a majority of 353 to 180; +the third reading by a majority of 320 to 142. The debates were +enlivened on the protestant side by a brilliant speech from Michael +Sadler, a tory friend of the working classes, returned by the Duke of +Newcastle for Newark, and a violent invective from Sir Charles +Wetherell, the attorney-general, who was thereupon dismissed from +office. Peel, who had borne the brunt of these attacks, replied on March +30, when the bill was sent up to the lords, and on April 2, the second +reading of it in the upper house was moved by Wellington. His candid +admission that he was driven to concession by the fear of civil war has +since become historical, and served as the watchword of many a lawless +agitation in Ireland. It was natural that most of the peers, and +especially of the spiritual peers, who took part in the discussion +should be opponents of the measure, but Lloyd, Bishop of Oxford, severed +himself from the rest of his order, and vigorous speeches were made in +support of it by Anglesey and Grey, neither of whom could be regarded as +friendly to Wellington's government. + +[Pageheading: _ROYAL ASSENT TO THE BILL._] + +Anglesey, who had been recently dismissed from the lord-lieutenancy of +Ireland, went beyond the duke in the use of purely military arguments; +Grey ventured to prophesy not only a future reign of peace in Ireland, +but an extension of protestantism, as the consequence of catholic +emancipation. The hopeless attempt of Lyndhurst to vindicate his own +consistency, and a forensic duel between Eldon and Plunket, who had been +raised to the peerage in 1827, relieved the monotony of the debate, but +probably did not influence a single vote. The old guard of the +anti-catholic party remained firm, but the mass of tory peers followed +their leader in his new policy, as they had followed him in his old, and +the relief bill was read a third time in the house of lords on the 10th, +by a majority of 104. Three days later it received the royal assent. +Lord Eldon had virtually encouraged the king to refuse this, at the last +moment, though he was too honest to accept the assurance of George IV. +that the bill was introduced without his authority. But the son of +George III. had not inherited his father's resolute character. After a +few childish threats of retiring to Hanover and leaving the Duke of +Clarence to make terms with the ministry, he abandoned further +resistance and capitulated to Wellington, as Wellington had capitulated +to O'Connell. + +The disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders and the +substitution of a ten-pound suffrage was the price to be paid for +catholic emancipation, and no time was lost in completing the bargain. +In days when it is assumed that every change in the electoral franchise +must needs be in a downward direction, it may well appear amazing that +so wholesale a destruction of privileges enjoyed for thirty-six years +should have provoked so feeble an opposition. It is still more amazing +that it should have passed without a protest from O'Connell himself, who +had solemnly vowed to perish on the field or on the scaffold rather than +submit to it. Yet so it was. These ignorant voters, it is true, had +never ventured to call their souls their own, and had only ceased to be +the servile creatures of their landlords in order to become the servile +creatures of their priests. Still, it was they who, by their action in +the Waterford and Clare elections, had forced the hand of the +government, and achieved catholic emancipation. It may safely be said +that after the reform act of 1832 it would have been politically +impossible to disfranchise them; and even in the unreformed parliament +it would have been scarcely possible if gratitude were a trustworthy +motive in politics. On the other hand, the government could never have +secured a majority for catholic emancipation, unless it had been +distinctly understood to carry with it the extinction of democracy in +Ireland. This, rather than declarations and restrictions of doubtful +efficacy, was the real "security" on which the legislature relied for +disarming the disloyalty of Irish catholics. For some time it answered +its purpose so far as to keep the representation of that disloyalty +within safe limits in the house of commons. But it naturally produced a +contrary effect in Ireland itself, and was destined to be swept away +before a fresh wave of agitation. + +A few days before the relief bill passed the house of commons an episode +occurred which is chiefly interesting for the light which it throws on +the ideas then prevalent in the highest society. In 1828 Wellington had +presided at a meeting for the establishment of King's College, London, +an institution which was to be entirely under the influence of the +established church, and which was intended as a counterpoise to the +purely secular institution which had been recently founded under the +title of the "London University". The Earl of Winchilsea, a peer of no +personal importance, but a stalwart upholder of Church and State, +published in the _Standard_ newspaper of March 16, 1829, a virulent +letter, describing the whole transaction "as a blind to the protestant +and high church party," and accusing the prime minister of insidious +designs for the introduction of popery in every department of the state. +The duke at once sent Hardinge with a note couched in moderate language, +demanding an apology. Winchilsea made no apology, but offered to express +regret for having mistaken the duke's motives, if the duke would declare +that when he presided at the meeting in question he was not +contemplating any measure of catholic relief. Whereupon the duke +demanded "that satisfaction which a gentleman has a right to require, +and which a gentleman never refuses to give". A hostile meeting took +place on March 21 in Battersea fields. The duke intentionally fired +wide, and Winchilsea, after discharging his weapon in the air, tendered +a written apology, in conformity with the so-called rules of honour. The +duke was conscious that his conduct must have "shocked many good men," +but he always maintained that it was the only way, and proved an +effectual way, of dispelling the atmosphere of calumny in which he was +surrounded. It is probable that he judged rightly of his contemporaries, +and that he gained rather than lost in reputation by an act which, apart +from its moral aspect, risked the success of a great measure largely +depending on the continuance of his own life. It may be noticed that he +afterwards became not only the personal friend of his antagonist, but +the most influential member of the Anti-Duelling Association.[92] + +[Pageheading: _EXCLUSION OF O'CONNELL._] + +Another episode, or rather sequel, of the great contest on catholic +relief had more serious political consequences. Though O'Connell was the +undoubted leader of the movement, and might almost have claimed to be +the father of the act, he was most unwisely but deliberately excluded +from its benefits. His exclusion was effected by a clause which rendered +its operation strictly prospective, for the very purpose of shutting out +the one catholic who had been elected under the old law. It had been +decided by a committee of the house of commons that he was duly +returned, the only question being whether he could take his seat without +subscribing the oath now abolished. This question was brought to a test +by the appearance of O'Connell in person in the house itself. The +speaker, Charles Manners-Sutton, declared that he could not properly be +admitted to be sworn under the new law, upon which O'Connell claimed a +hearing. A long and futile discussion followed as to whether he should +be heard at the table or at the bar. In the end he was heard at the bar, +and produced a very favourable impression upon his opponents as well as +his friends by the ingenuity of his arguments and the studied moderation +of his tone. His case, however, was manifestly untenable from a legal +point of view, and a new writ was ordered to be issued for the county of +Clare. + +Then was shown both the folly of stirring up so needlessly the +inflammable materials of Irish sedition and the futility of imagining +that catholic emancipation, right or wrong, would prove a healing +measure. Having exhibited the better side of his character in his speech +before the house of commons, O'Connell exhibited its worst side without +stint or shame in his addresses to the Irish peasantry. Skilfully +avoiding the language of sheer treason, he set no bounds to his coarse +and outrageous vituperation of the nation which had sacrificed even its +conscience to appease Ireland; nor did he shrink from denouncing +Wellington and Peel as "those men who, false to their own party, can +never be true to us". The note which he struck has never ceased to +vibrate in the hearts of the excitable people which he might have +educated into loyal citizenship, and the spirit which he evoked has been +the evil genius of Ireland from his day to our own. He openly unfurled +the standard of repeal, but the repeal he demanded did not involve the +creation of an Irish republic. Ireland was still to be connected with +Great Britain by "the golden link of the crown," and though agitation +was carried to the verge of rebellion, the great agitator never actually +advised his dupes to rise in arms for a war of independence. Short of +this he did all in his power, and with too much success, to inflame them +with a malignant hatred of the sister country. If the promoters of +catholic emancipation had ever looked for any reward beyond the inward +satisfaction of having done a righteous act, they were speedily and +wofully undeceived. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[83] Wellington to Peel, January 9, 1828, in Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, +ii., 27. + +[84] Lecky, _History of Ireland_, v., 358-60, _n._; Stapleton, _Life of +Canning_, ii., 131-34. + +[85] Eldon to Sir William Scott, Twiss, _Life of Eldon_, ii., 416. For +Eldon's Speech, see Twiss, iii., 498-512. + +[86] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, i., 372-75. + +[87] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 54-60. + +[88] Wellington to Curtis, December 11, 1828, Wellington, _Despatches, +etc._, v., 326. + +[89] For the king's qualified assent see Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +82-85; Peel's _Memoirs_, i., 297, 298, 310. + +[90] See Peel's _Memoirs_, i., 3, for his unpopularity at Westbury. + +[91] Peel's _Memoirs_, i., 343-49; Greville, _Memoirs_, i., 189, 190, +201, 202. + +[92] See Maxwell, _Life of Wellington_, ii., 231-36, for the incident. + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + PORTUGAL AND GREECE. + + +It is now time to turn to the general course of foreign policy during +the closing years of the reign of George IV. The only foreign problems +which gave serious trouble during this period were the Eastern and +Portuguese questions. The influence which the former exercised on +domestic policy has rendered it necessary to trace its course as far as +the battle of Navarino in the last chapter. We must now take up the +other question where we left it, at the recognition of the independence +of Brazil and the expulsion of the Spanish troops from the mainland of +America. + +Peter I., Emperor of Brazil, though an independent sovereign, was still +heir-apparent to the throne of Portugal, and the ultra-royalists hoped +that, in spite of the provisions of the Brazilian constitution, his +succession to his ancestral crown would restore the unity of the +Portuguese dominions. The death of King John VI. on March 10, 1826, +brought the matter to a crisis. Four days before his death he had +appointed a council of regency which was to be presided over by his +daughter, Isabella Maria, but from which the queen and Dom Miguel, then +twenty-three, were both excluded. By this act the absolutist party were +deprived of power until they should be restored to it by the action of +the new king, or by a revolution. The regency wished the new king to +make a speedy choice between the two crowns; and it was anticipated that +he would abdicate the Portuguese crown in favour of his seven-year-old +daughter, Maria da Gloria. The absolutists on the other hand hoped that +the king might by procrastination avoid the separation of the crowns. + +What was their surprise when they discovered that the king had indeed +determined to procrastinate, but in such a way as to displease the +absolutists as much as the friends of constitutional government? No +sooner had the news of his father's death reached Peter at Rio Janeiro, +than he issued a charter of 145 clauses, conferring a constitution on +Portugal. This constitution which was destined to alternate for nearly a +generation with absolute monarchy or with the revolutionary constitution +of 1821, had the advantage of being the voluntary gift of the king. It +was, however, composed in great haste, and, except that it retained the +hereditary nobility as a first chamber in the cortes, was almost +identical with the constitution established in Brazil in the previous +December. Among other provisions it subjected the nobility to taxation +and asserted the principle of religious toleration. A few days later, on +the 2nd of May, King Peter executed an act of abdication in favour of +his daughter Maria, providing, however, that the abdication should not +come into effect until the necessary oaths had been taken to the new +constitution and until the new queen should have been married to her +uncle, Dom Miguel. + +[Pageheading: _CIVIL WAR IN PORTUGAL._] + +This compromise pleased nobody. It is true that it seemed to make +permanent the separation of Brazil from Portugal, since the former state +was destined for Peter's infant son, afterwards Peter II.; but the +Brazilian patriots would have preferred a more definite abandonment of +the Portuguese throne, and Peter's half-measure of abdication was one of +the main causes of the discontent which drove him to resign the +Brazilian crown five years later. The Portuguese liberals were alarmed +at the prospect of a restoration of Dom Miguel to power, while the +absolutists were indignant at the imposition of a constitution. From the +very first it encountered opposition. The new constitution was indeed +proclaimed on July 13, and the necessary oaths were taken on the 31st. +But on the same day a party, consisting mainly of Portuguese deserters +in Spanish territory, proclaimed Miguel as king and the queen-mother as +regent during his absence. Miguel, however, gave no open support to this +party; on October 4 he actually took the oath to the new constitution, +and on the 29th he formally betrothed himself at Vienna to the future +Queen of Portugal. But the Portuguese insurgents were not deterred by +the apparent defection of the prince whose claim to reign they +asserted, and they received a thinly disguised encouragement from the +Spanish government, which certainly did nothing to interfere with their +organisation in Spanish territory. On the 10th the last insurgents had +been expelled from Portuguese territory, but in November they were +openly joined by some Spanish soldiers, and on the 22nd of that month +they invaded the Portuguese province of Traz-os-Montes. Another division +made a simultaneous irruption into the province of Alemtejo. This latter +body was quickly expelled from the kingdom and marched through Spanish +territory to join its more successful comrades in Northern Portugal. The +whole province of Traz-os-Montes had fallen into the hands of the +absolutists in a few days, and its defection was followed by that of the +northern part of Beira, when the arrival of British forces gave the +constitutional party the necessary encouragement to enable them to +arrest the progress of the insurrection. + +As in 1823, the Portuguese government, represented in London by +Palmella, applied for British assistance against the ultra-royalists at +home. But on the present occasion Portugal was able to appeal to +something more than the general friendship of Great Britain. By the +treaties of 1661 and 1703, renewed as recently as 1815, Great Britain +was bound to defend Portugal against invasion, and Portugal now claimed +the fulfilment of these treaties. The formal demand was received by the +British ministry on December 3, but it was not till Friday, the 8th, +that official intelligence was received of the invasion. Not a moment +was lost in despatching 5,000 troops to Portugal. This resolution was +formed by the cabinet on the 9th, approved by the king on the 10th, and +communicated to parliament on the 11th. On the evening of the 12th +Canning was able to inform the house of commons that the troops were +already on the march for embarkation. + +The debate in the house of commons on the address in answer to the royal +message announcing the request of the Portuguese government, was the +occasion of two of the most famous speeches that Canning ever delivered. +After recounting the treaty obligations of this country to Portugal, and +the circumstances of the Portuguese application for assistance, and +disclaiming any desire to meddle with the domestic politics of +Portugal, he referred to a previous anticipation that the next European +war would be one "not so much of armies as of opinions". "Not four +years," he proceeded, "have elapsed, and behold my apprehension +realised! It is, to be sure, within narrow limits that this war of +opinion is at present confined: but it is a war of opinion that Spain +(whether as government or as nation) is now waging against Portugal; it +is a war which has commenced in hatred of the new institutions of +Portugal. How long is it reasonable to expect that Portugal will abstain +from retaliation? If into that war this country shall be compelled to +enter, we shall enter into it with a sincere and anxious desire to +mitigate rather than exasperate, and to mingle only in the conflict of +arms, not in the more fatal conflict of opinions. But I much fear that +this country (however earnestly she may endeavour to avoid it) could +not, in such case, avoid seeing ranked under her banners all the +restless and dissatisfied of any nation with which she might come in +conflict. It is the contemplation of this new power in any future war +which excites my most anxious apprehension. It is one thing to have a +giant's strength, but it would be another to use it like a giant. The +consciousness of such strength is undoubtedly a source of confidence and +security; but in the situation in which this country stands, our +business is not to seek opportunities of displaying it, but to content +ourselves with letting the professors of violent and exaggerated +doctrines on both sides feel that it is not their interests to convert +an umpire into an adversary." + +In his reply at the close of the debate Canning vindicated his +consistency in resisting Spanish aggression upon Portugal, while +offering no resistance to the military occupation of Spain by France, +which had not yet terminated. He pointed out that the Spain of his day +was quite different from "the Spain within the limits of whose empire +the sun never set--the Spain 'with the Indies' that excited the +jealousies and alarmed the imaginations of our ancestors". He admitted +that the entry of the French into Spain was a disparagement to the pride +of England, but he thought it had been possible to obtain compensation +without offering resistance in Spain itself. Then came the famous +passage: "If France occupied Spain, was it necessary, in order to avoid +the consequences of that occupation, that we should blockade Cadiz? No. +I looked another way--I sought materials of compensation in another +hemisphere. Contemplating Spain, such as our ancestors had known her, I +resolved that if France had Spain, it should not be Spain 'with the +Indies'. I called the new world into existence to redress the balance of +the old."[93] + +[Pageheading: _TROOPS SENT TO PORTUGAL._] + +The two speeches were greeted with applause both in parliament and in +the country, but their vanity was excessive. So far from "creating the +new world," Canning had merely recognised the existence of states which +had already won their own independence, and even so he was only +following the example of the United States. It was not only extremely +foolish, but altogether disingenuous, to maintain that the recognition +of the South American republics had been resolved on as a counterpoise +to French influence in Spain. The reasons which prompted this +recognition were commercial, not political, and it had been announced to +the powers as our ultimate policy before any invasion of Spain had taken +place. The king had only consented to the step on condition that it was +not to be represented as a measure of retaliation, and Canning himself +when he delivered these speeches knew that the French had promised to +evacuate Spain in the following April.[94] But however little justified +by facts, the two speeches made a profound impression throughout Europe. +Whatever Canning might desire, it was quite clear that he contemplated +the possibility of a military alliance between this country and the +revolutionary factions on the continent, and the impression gained +ground that he desired to pose as the champion of liberalism against +legitimate government. + +The first detachment of the British army reached Lisbon on Christmas +day. It was not destined, however, to play an active part in the +Portuguese struggle. The insurgent army was as greatly discouraged as +the loyal troops were elated by its arrival, and the government was +moreover enabled to employ a larger force on the scene of hostilities. +The insurgents were in consequence driven out of the province of Beira +and the greater part of Traz-os-Montes. A new invasion from Spanish +territory, supported by some Spanish soldiers and Spanish artillery, +took place during January, 1827. The greater part of the province of the +Minho fell into the hands of the rebels, and on February 2 they captured +the important town of Braga. But the forces of the regency proved too +strong for them, and early in March the insurgents evacuated Portugal +altogether. The Spanish government, now that little could be effected by +further assistance to the Portuguese refugees, determined at length to +perform the duties of a neutral power, and disarmed them. + +The British troops remained in Portugal till March, 1828. By that time +the disturbances had assumed a purely domestic character, and it was +ultimately decided to recall them. But a firmer policy than that +actually followed would have been necessary in order to extricate Great +Britain from the strife of Portuguese factions, in which her recent +action had given a decided advantage to the constitutional party. That +party had been driven into opposition before the British troops were +recalled. On July 3, 1827, King Peter had issued a decree appointing Dom +Miguel his lieutenant, and investing him with all the powers which +belonged to him as king under the charter. Miguel, after visiting +London, arrived at Lisbon on February 22, 1828, and was sworn in as +regent four days later. As he was twenty-five years old, and therefore +of full age according to Portuguese law, he could not with any show of +equity have been kept out of the regency longer. Miguel's installation +as regent was followed by a series of riots as well on the part of the +absolutists, who desired to make him king, as on the part of the +constitutionalists who feared that he would make himself king. It was +not long before he definitely identified himself with the absolutist +party. + +[Pageheading: _MIGUEL'S USURPATION._] + +On March 14 the cortes were dissolved. On May 3 Miguel summoned the +ancient cortes in his own name, and on June 26 they acknowledged him as +king. The immediate result of this act was that all the ambassadors, +except those of Spain and the Holy See, quitted Lisbon, and the lapse of +time did not induce them to change their attitude towards Miguel. A +further complication was introduced by Peter's definite abdication in +favour of his daughter on March 3, executed before he had any suspicion +of Miguel's designs, which placed Miguel in the position of regent for +his infant niece instead of for his brother. After this formal +abdication Peter despatched his daughter to Europe, intending that she +should proceed to Vienna. When, however, she arrived at Gibraltar on +September 2, her conductors, hearing of Miguel's usurpation, determined +to take her to England, and she landed at Falmouth on the 24th. Peter, +on hearing of Miguel's usurpation, naturally considered the regency +terminated, and claimed to act as the guardian of the infant queen; the +Brazilian ministers in Europe acted as his agents, while his partisans +assembled in England and attempted to use this country as a basis for +warlike operations in Portuguese territories. + +The situation of 1826 was thus reversed. Instead of an ultra-royalist +party resting on Spain, a constitutionalist party resting on Brazil and +attempting to rest on England was now threatening the established +government at Lisbon. Wellington was anxious to maintain a strict +neutrality, but he failed to prevent a ship of war and supplies of arms +and ammunition going from Plymouth to Terceira in the Azores, where +Donna Maria was acknowledged as queen. He succeeded, however, in +preventing a larger armament, which had been raised under the name of +the Emperor of Brazil, with Rio Janeiro as its nominal destination, from +landing at Terceira. This action, though the logical consequence of the +British opposition to the conduct of Spain in 1826, was severely +criticised in England as equivalent to an intervention on behalf of +Miguel. + +Meanwhile Canning's attempt to prevent the separate action of Russia in +the Eastern question had been doomed to disappointment. The destruction +of the Turkish navy at Navarino was naturally regarded at Constantinople +as an outrage, and the Porte demanded satisfaction from the ambassadors +of the allied powers. This they refused to grant on the ground that the +Turks had been the aggressors, and they in their turn demanded an +armistice between the Turkish troops and the Greek insurgents. As the +Porte remained obdurate, the ambassadors of France, Great Britain, and +Russia, acting in accordance with their instructions, left +Constantinople on December 8, 1827. But though war seemed imminent, the +tsar still disowned all idea of conquest, and professed to desire +nothing further than the execution of the treaty of London. A protocol +was accordingly signed on the 12th by which the three powers confirmed +a clause in the treaty, providing that, in the event of war, none of +them should derive any exclusive benefit, either commercial or +territorial. + +The British government imagined that the powers might still effect their +object by diplomacy, and that it would not be necessary to abandon the +Turkish alliance. But any such idea must have been rudely shaken by the +hati-sherif of December 20. In that document the sultan enlarged on the +cruelty and perfidy of the Christian powers and summoned the Muslim +nations to arms: he denounced Russia in particular as the prime mover of +the Greek rebellion, the instigator of the other powers, and the +arch-enemy of Islam; and he declared the treaty of Akkerman, by which +the outstanding disputes between Russia and the Porte had been settled +in October, 1826, to have been extorted by force and only signed in +order to save time. This defiance of Russia, if not of all Christendom, +was followed by a levy of Turkish troops and the expulsion of most of +the Christian residents from Constantinople. No course was now open to +Russia but to make war. It remained to be seen whether any other power +would join her. On January 6, 1828, a Russian despatch announced the +tsar's intention of occupying the Danubian principalities, and suggested +that France and Great Britain should force the Dardanelles and thus +compel the Porte to comply with the provisions of the treaty of London. + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON'S EASTERN POLICY._] + +It is possible that if the direction of British foreign policy had +remained in the hands of Goderich and Dudley, our government might have +lent its support to a settlement of the Eastern question which would in +effect have been the work of Russia only. The more daring policy of +Canning, by which Great Britain had attempted to take the lead as +opportunity offered, either in active co-operation with Russia or in +active opposition to her, could only be directed by a more versatile +statesman than the nation now possessed. The accession to office of +Wellington, though it left Dudley at the foreign office, was really +marked by a return to the policy of Castlereagh, a policy which, if not +brilliant, was at least honourable, consistent, and considerate, and +which in the hands of Wellington was managed with a sufficient measure +of firmness, though with less tact and insight than had been shown by +Castlereagh. The first object of this policy was to keep the special +grievances of Russia distinct from the complaints which Europe at large +or, in the present situation, the three allied powers were able to bring +against the Porte. By so doing the British government hoped to prevent +Russia from dragging other powers into a war for her private benefit, +and also to render it impossible for Russia to use her special +grievances as a lever by which she might effect a separate settlement of +the general question. For some years this policy was successful. Russia +did indeed wage a separate war with the Turks, but the Greek question +was settled by the three powers conjointly, and Great Britain rather +than Russia took the lead in the settlement. It was only after +Palmerston had succeeded to the direction of our foreign policy in 1830, +that it was discovered how far the victory of Russia in war had placed +her in a position to dictate the general policy of the Ottoman court. + +Wellington experienced no difficulty in striking out a line of policy +along which he could carry France with him. On February 21 De la +Ferronays, who had been recalled from the French embassy at St. +Petersburg to occupy the post of foreign minister in the new liberal +administration, which had been formed in France in December, 1827, +despatched a note urging the immediate employment of energetic measures +against the Porte. He saw that the hati-sherif gave special occasion of +war to Russia, and he was naturally anxious to anticipate her isolated +action by combined measures of coercion. He had, however, nothing better +to suggest than the execution of the Russian proposals of January 6. +Wellington, in his reply, dated the 26th, rightly minimised the +seriousness of the hati-sherif, and characterised the proposed measures +of coercion as destined to be ineffectual. He also expressed the fear +that if the three powers combined to make war on the Turks there would +be a general insurrection of the subject races in the Turkish dominions +which might last indefinitely. He therefore proposed first to settle the +Greek question by local pressure, after which he anticipated no serious +trouble about events at Constantinople. On the same day he drafted a +memorandum to the cabinet in which he proposed that the allied squadrons +should proceed to the Archipelago, blockade the Morea and Alexandria, +destroy the Greek pirates, stop the warfare in Chios and Crete, and call +upon the Greek government to withdraw the forces which were operating +in western and eastern Greece respectively under the command of two +foreign volunteers, General Church and Colonel Fabvier. In other words, +he proposed to coerce not the Porte but the actual combatants, Greece +and Egypt, and to check each party where it was the aggressor. If the +prime object of the government in the eastern question was the +maintenance of order, these proposals were excellent. The one capital +defect of the whole scheme was that it ignored the Russian desire for +war, which rendered it impossible for the tsar to postpone the +settlement of his own grievances until an arrangement should be come to +on the Greek question; on the other hand, by isolating the Greek +question, it left it possible for the western powers to proceed with its +solution in spite of the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and the +Turks.[95] + +[Pageheading: _WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY._] + +Russia's determination to act singly was, however, already made. On the +same day, February 26, on which Wellington sketched his policy, +Nesselrode issued a despatch declaring that war was inevitable, +including among his reasons the repudiation of recent treaties by the +Porte and the proclamation by it of a holy war. At the same time he +endeavoured to disarm any possible opposition on the part of the powers +by an invitation to them to make use of the coming war to carry out the +treaty of London. In any case Russia would execute the treaty, but if +she were left to herself, the manner of execution would be determined by +her own convenience and interest.[96] So far Russia had done nothing +directly inconsistent with the maintenance of her concert with France +and Great Britain, whose representatives had been sitting in conference +with hers at London since January, 1827. But the reference in this last +note to the possibility of a settlement of the Greek question according +to the convenience and interest of Russia appeared like a threat of +breaking up the alliance in case France and Great Britain refused to +send their fleets to the Mediterranean. At least Wellington so +understood it, and, rather than be a party to the war, he dissolved the +conference of London in the middle of March. But he soon found that by +so doing he lost the co-operation of France, and he was therefore +compelled to accept the assurances of Russia that she intended to keep +within the limits of the treaty of London, and to regard the +Mediterranean as a neutral area. The conference was in consequence +reopened at the beginning of July. Meanwhile hostilities had actually +begun between Russia and the Turks. Russia declared war on April 26. On +May 7 her troops crossed the Pruth. They rapidly overran the Danubian +provinces, and on June 7 crossed the Danube into Bulgaria. They were +destined, however, to spend more than a year between the Danube and the +Balkans before they could force their way into Rumelia. + +During the interval considerable progress was made with the settlement +of the Greek question. The treaty of London in providing for the +autonomy of Greece had specified no boundaries, and the first problem +demanding the attention of the powers that had assumed the task of the +settlement of Greece was to determine the limits within which that +settlement was to be effected. It might be urged that all the Greeks who +had accepted the armistice imposed by the powers in consequence of the +treaty of London had a right to share in the settlement at which that +treaty aimed. But the armistice had been broken by Greek attacks on +Chios and Crete, and Wellington held that the powers were, in +consequence, free from any obligation imposed by the nominal acceptance +of the armistice. He, accordingly, desired to adopt the simple principle +of granting the proposed autonomy to those parts of Greece in which the +insurrection had proved successful, namely, the Morea and the Ægean +Islands, and refusing it in Northern and Central Greece, where the +Turkish forces still held their own. But the British cabinet was far +from being unanimous; many, among whom Palmerston was specially +prominent, urged the concession of a greatly increased territory. The +changes which took place in the British ministry towards the end of May, +1828, deprived Palmerston of his share in its deliberations, and by +substituting Aberdeen for Dudley at the foreign office, placed our +foreign relations under the direction of a man of talent and experience, +who had already exercised an important influence on British policy and +who was more in sympathy with the policy of the prime minister than +Dudley had been, but who was not content, like Dudley, to be a mere +cipher in the department over which he was called to preside. Aberdeen, +though opposed to the narrow boundaries which Wellington wished to +assign to liberated Greece, was no less antagonistic than his chief to +any attempt to make the new Greek state politically important; and he +was even of opinion that the Russian declaration of war had released +Great Britain from any further obligation under the treaty of London. + +Such were the composition and policy of the British government when the +conference of London reassembled in July. The differences between the +powers had prevented any active intervention in Greece, since the battle +of Navarino. The ports in the Morea, still occupied by Ibrahim, had +indeed been blockaded, but it had been found impossible to induce +Austrian vessels to acknowledge a blockade of such questionable +legality, and the allied fleets had even permitted the embarkation of +Ibrahim's sick and wounded together with 5,500 Greek prisoners, who were +sold into slavery on their arrival at Alexandria. The renewal of the +concert of the three powers was followed by a rapid change in the +situation. On the 19th it was decided that France should send an +expedition to expel the Turco-Egyptian troops from the Morea, while +Great Britain should render her any naval assistance that might be +necessary. This step was valued by the British government as definitely +committing France to a share in the settlement of the Greek question, +and therefore interesting that power in opposition to any attempt at a +separate settlement by Russia. It also furnished a safe outlet for +French military ardour, disappointed by the results of the Spanish +expedition. In fact, the evacuation of Spain, which was in progress at +the date when this agreement was concluded, materially reduced the +strain which the new undertaking imposed upon the French government. +France immediately prepared to send out a force amounting to nearly +22,000 men. But before they could arrive, the greater part of their task +had been performed by other hands. + +[Pageheading: _TURKS EXPELLED FROM THE MOREA._] + +Codrington's conduct in permitting the embarkation of the Turkish sick +and wounded with their prisoners had given great dissatisfaction at +home, and the cabinet had resolved on his recall before the ministerial +crisis of the latter part of May. That crisis occasioned a fortnight's +delay, and, in consequence, Codrington was able, before his successor +arrived, to make a naval demonstration before Alexandria and on August 6 +to obtain the consent of Mehemet Ali to the following proposals: an +exchange of prisoners was to take place, involving the liberation of +the recently enslaved Greeks, and the Egyptian army was to be withdrawn +from the Morea, but Ibrahim was to be allowed to leave behind 1,200 +Egyptian troops to help to garrison five fortresses which were held by +the Turks. Before either the new London protocol or the Alexandria +convention could be carried into effect, further differences had arisen. +Russia had proclaimed a blockade of the Dardanelles and ordered her +admiral to carry it out. This proceeding was regarded by the British +government as a breach of faith and a menace to British commerce. It +was, however, impossible to abandon co-operation with Russia for fear +that the Greek question might become involved in the issues at stake +between her and the Porte. Wellington, in consequence, contented himself +with obtaining certain exemptions from the operation of the blockade on +behalf of British subjects trading with Turkey, and with the exclusion +of the Russian fleet from the operations conducted in the Mediterranean +in accordance with the orders of the London conference. The French force +for expelling the Egyptians from the Morea arrived almost simultaneously +with the Egyptian transports for removing them. On October 5 Ibrahim set +sail for Egypt, with 21,000 men, leaving 1,200 behind in the five +fortresses in accordance with the terms settled at Alexandria. The +French began their attack on the remaining fortresses two days later, +and by the end of November had expelled all the Turks from the Morea. By +the terms of their engagements, they ought now to have departed. But it +was hardly to be expected that France would so readily abandon the +advantage that the presence of her troops gave her in the settlement of +the eastern question. + +Meanwhile the negotiations made slow progress. On November 16 a protocol +was issued placing the Morea with the neighbouring islands under the +guarantee of the powers. Wellington had opposed any extension of the +guarantee to Central Greece on the ground that the allies had to provide +both the necessary military force and the cost of maintaining the Greek +government, so that any undertaking beyond the Morea would involve heavy +expense without rendering lighter the task of maintaining order. But the +real decision of the question lay not with the diplomatists at London, +but with the diplomatists on the spot. Representatives of the three +powers had been sent to Poros to make detailed arrangements in +accordance with the terms of the treaty of London. Stratford Canning, +who represented Great Britain, was one of the supporters of an extended +frontier, and in the end the ambassadors at Poros drew up a protocol in +favour of erecting Greece south of a line connecting the Gulfs of Arta +and Volo into a hereditary principality, which was also to include +nearly all the islands. Even Samos and Crete were recommended to the +benevolent consideration of the courts. All Mohammedans were to be +expelled from this territory. The tribute payable to Turkey was to be +fixed at 1,500,000 piastres, but this was to be paid not to the Turkish +government, but to those who might suffer pecuniary loss by the +confiscation of lands hitherto owned by Mohammedans. + +[Pageheading: _PEACE OF ADRIANOPLE._] + +The spring of 1829 was marked by events which went far to cancel the +arguments on which Wellington had based his case for a restricted +frontier. Not only the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth but Acarnania +and Ætolia were liberated by the Greek forces under Sir Richard Church +the castle of Vonitza falling on March 17, Karavasara shortly +afterwards, Lepanto on April 30, and Mesolongi on May 17.[97] Meanwhile +the terms agreed upon at Poros had been adopted and further defined by +the conference at London on March 22. It was now provided that the +future hereditary prince was to be chosen by the three powers and the +sultan conjointly, and that the terms were to be offered to the Porte by +the British and French ambassadors in the name of the three powers; any +Turkish objections were to be weighed.[98] It was not till June that +Robert Gordon and Guilleminot, representing Great Britain and France +respectively, were able to lay these proposals before the Porte, and it +was only after a Russian army under Diebitsch had crossed the Balkans +that the Porte on August 15 accepted them, and even then only with +extensive modifications. These limited the new state to the Morea and +the adjacent islands, and left the tribute assigned to the same purposes +as before the revolt; a limit was to be set to the military and naval +forces of Greece, and Greeks were not to be allowed to migrate from +Turkish dominions to the new state. + +Wellington was of opinion that these concessions were adequate. He +attached great importance to the consent of the Porte, to dispense with +which seemed to him a sure method of encouraging a general revolt in the +Turkish dominions; and he also advocated a limited frontier in the +interests of the Ionian Islands. He doubted whether it would be found +possible to remove Capodistrias, who had been elected president of +Greece for a period of seven years on April 14, 1827, from his office to +make room for a hereditary prince, and he felt sure that if Capodistrias +were once granted Central Greece he would not hesitate to attempt the +conquest of the Ionian Islands. Capodistrias had in fact refused to +accept any of the arrangements proposed by the London conference, and +was still engaged in the vigorous prosecution of the war. Wellington did +not, however, succeed in inducing France and Russia to remain content +with the Turkish concessions. Diebitsch's successful march through +Rumelia encouraged Russia to demand more, and filled the minds of the +French ministers with the wildest schemes of aggression. They actually +proposed to Russia that the northern part of the Balkan peninsula should +be divided between Austria and Russia while the whole peninsula south of +the Balkans, with Bulgaria to the north, was to be formed into a new +state under the sovereignty of the King of the Netherlands, whose +hereditary dominions were in their turn to be divided between France, +Great Britain, and Prussia. + +Such chimerical projects were based on the assumption that +Constantinople lay at the mercy of the army of Diebitsch; and this was +believed to be the case not only by the court of Paris, but by that of +London, and even by that of Constantinople. But no one knew better than +Diebitsch how precarious his situation was, and, if Russia wished to +obtain advantageous terms, it was necessary for her to make the most of +the illusion while it lasted. On September 14 the peace of Adrianople +was signed, which established the virtual independence of the +principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia and secured for all powers at +peace with Turkey a free passage for merchant ships through the +Bosphorus and Dardanelles; Russia received a small addition to her +Asiatic territories, and Turkey accepted both the treaty of London of +July 6, 1827, and the protocol of London of March 22, 1829. The +difficulties raised by Turkey's opposition to the full terms of the +protocol were thus swept aside, and it was now clear that, if that +protocol was to be further modified, it would be modified out of regard +for the interests of Europe not by way of concession to Turkey. France +and Great Britain were naturally averse from a settlement of the +question by Russia alone, even when that settlement was on lines to +which they had given their consent, and they might have been expected to +propose some alteration in the scheme. But the conciliatory action of +Russia rendered such proposals needless. On September 29, only fifteen +days after the treaty, Aberdeen received a formal proposal from Russia +that Turkey should be offered a restriction of the Greek boundary in +return for a recognition of the total independence of Greece.[99] This +proposal removed Wellington's fear that the new principality might be +used as a basis for an attack on the Ionian Islands; while the +maintenance of Turkish suzerainty seemed less important after the +apparent prostration of Turkish military power in the recent war. + +It now remained for the allied powers to select a prince to whom the new +crown should be offered. This subject engaged their attention from +October, 1829, to January, 1830. Finally, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, +widower of the Princess Charlotte, was selected, greatly to the +annoyance of King George IV. On February 3 Prince Leopold was formally +offered the sovereignty of Greece as an independent state, bounded on +the north by a line drawn from the mouth of the Aspropotamo to +Thermopylæ. Before accepting the crown he made an effort to obtain a +stronger position for its future prince. He asked for a complete +guarantee of independence from the three powers, some security for the +Greek inhabitants of Crete and Samos, an extension of the boundary to +the north, and financial and military support. The powers on February 20 +decided to grant the guarantee and a loan of £2,400,000, and to allow +the French troops to remain in Greece for another year, but refused the +extension of territory and would not recognise the right of the Greek +state to interfere in the affairs of Crete and Samos. Leopold accepted +the crown on these conditions on February 24, and they were accepted by +the Porte on April 24. Capodistrias, who had no desire to make way for +another ruler, invited Leopold to the country, but suggested that he +would not be well received and that he would have to change his +religion.[100] These considerations, combined with other causes, induced +him to renounce the crown on May 21. + +[Pageheading: _FRANCE CONQUERS ALGERIA._] + +One other foreign event exercised the minds of Wellington's cabinet +during the last months of George IV.'s reign. This was the French +punitive expedition to Algiers, which resulted In the conquest of that +state. The expedition was originally planned in concert with Mehemet Ali +of Egypt, and appeared to Wellington to be prompted by the idea that the +defeat of the Turks by Russia afforded a convenient opportunity for a +partition of Turkish territory. The British government was able by means +of diplomatic pressure to induce Mehemet Ali to refrain from +co-operating, but it could not deny the justice of the French expedition +or prevent it from sailing. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[93] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, iii., 220-25, 227-35. + +[94] See Lloyd, _Transactions of the Royal Historical Society_, N.S., +xviii. (1904), 77-105. + +[95] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, iv., 270-79. + +[96] _Ibid._, pp. 280-86. + +[97] So S. Lane-Poole, writing from Church's papers, _English Historical +Review_, v., 519. + +[98] Hertslet, _Map of Europe by Treaty_, p. 142. + +[99] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, vi., 184. + +[100] See the letters in the _Annual Register_, lxxii. (1830), 389-401. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + PRELUDE OF REFORM. + + +The year that elapsed between the prorogation of parliament on June 24, +1829, and the death of George IV., on June 26, 1830, was barren in +events of domestic importance. While Ireland was torn by faction, and +the Orangemen of Ulster rivalled in lawlessness the catholics of the +other provinces, England was undergoing another period of agricultural +and commercial depression. The harvest of 1829 was late and bad; the +winter that followed was the severest known for sixteen years; and a +fresh series of outrages was committed by the distressed operatives, +especially by the silk weavers in the east of London and the mill hands +in the midland counties. In the district of Huddersfield, where the +people bore their sufferings with admirable patience, a committee of +masters stated as a fact that "there were 13,000 individuals who had not +more than twopence half-penny a day to live on". When parliament met on +February 4, 1830, the prevailing distress was recognised in the king's +speech, but in guarded terms, and the ministers attributed it in the +main, probably with justice, to unavoidable causes. This gave the +enemies of free trade and currency reform an opportunity of renewing +their protests against Peel's and Huskisson's financial policy. They +failed to effect their object, but Goulburn, the chancellor of the +exchequer, initiated a considerable reduction of expenditure and +remission of taxes. The excise duties on beer, cider, and leather were +now totally remitted, those on spirits being somewhat increased. The +government even deliberated on the proposal of a property tax, and, +stimulated by a motion of Sir James Graham, actually carried out large +savings in official salaries. On the whole, this session was the most +fruitful in economy since the conclusion of the peace. The system of +judicature, too, was subjected to a salutary revision throughout Great +Britain by the amalgamation of the English and Welsh benches, and the +concentration of courts in Scotland. As the charter of the East Indian +Company was about to expire, a strong committee was appointed to +consider the whole subject of its territorial powers and commercial +privileges. This committee was not the least beneficial result of a +session which has left no great mark on the statute-book. + +[Pageheading: _MOVEMENT FOR REFORM._] + +The weakness of Wellington's position had long since become apparent to +all. By his conduct in regard to catholic emancipation he had estranged +a powerful section of his tory followers. By his jealousy and haughty +attitude towards his whig allies, he had forfeited their good-will, +never very heartily given. By his treatment of Huskisson, a small but +able body of politicians was thrown into the ranks of a discordant +opposition. No one else could have induced the king to give way on +catholic emancipation, but the king had not forgiven him, and submitted +to him out of fear rather than out of confidence. Though singularly +deficient in rhetorical power, he still maintained his ascendency in the +house of lords by the aid of more eloquent colleagues, but Peel was his +only efficient lieutenant in the house of commons. The vacancy in the +office of lord privy seal, occasioned by the transference of +Ellenborough to the board of control, had at last been filled in June, +1829, by the appointment of Lord Rosslyn, nephew of the first earl, who, +however, added nothing to the strength of the ministry. In the meantime, +reform had succeeded catholic emancipation as the one burning question +of politics, but with this all-important difference that it roused +enthusiasm in the popular mind. Political unions, like the branches of +the catholic association, were springing up all over the country, and a +series of motions was made in the house of commons which feebly +reflected the feverish agitation in all the active centres of +population. One of these, brought forward by the Marquis of Blandford, +who had made a similar motion in the previous year, was really prompted +by enmity against the author of catholic emancipation. Another, +introduced by Lord Howick, son of Earl Grey, called for some general and +comprehensive measure to remedy the admitted abuses of the electoral +system. A third, and far more practical, attempt was made by Lord John +Russell to obtain the enfranchisement of Manchester, Leeds, and +Birmingham. A fourth, and perfectly futile proposal, was made by +O'Connell, in the shape of a bill for triennial parliaments, universal +suffrage, and vote by ballot, to which Russell moved a statesmanlike +amendment, in favour of transferring members from petty boroughs to +counties and great unrepresented towns. All these motions were defeated +by larger or smaller majorities, but no one doubted that parliamentary +reform was inevitable, and few can have imagined that Wellington was +either willing or competent to grapple with it. + +While domestic affairs were in this state, George IV. died. His +constitution, weakened by many years of self-indulgence, had been +further depressed by a growing sense of loneliness and by the long +struggle with his ministers over catholic emancipation. On April 15 his +illness had been made public, and on May 24 it had been necessary to +bring in a bill, authorising the use of a stamp, to be affixed in his +presence in lieu of the royal sign manual. A month later, the disease of +the heart from which he suffered took a fatal turn, and on June 26 he +passed away, not without dignity, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. +Perhaps no other English king has been so harshly judged by posterity, +nor is it possible to acquit him of moral vices which outweighed all his +merits, considerable as they were. The Duke of Wellington, who knew him +as well as any man, declared that he was a marvellous compound of +virtues and defects, but that, on the whole, the good elements +preponderated. Peel, who had become by his father's death Sir Robert, +testified in Parliament that he "never exercised, or wished to exercise, +a prerogative of the crown, except for the advantage of his people". +These estimates assuredly err on the side of charity, and are quite +inconsistent with other statements of the duke himself. + +George IV., it is true, possessed many royal gifts. He was a man of no +ordinary ability, with a fine presence, courtly manners, various +accomplishments, and clear-sighted intelligence on every subject within +the sphere of his duties. But all these kingly qualities were marred by +a heartlessness which rendered him incapable of true love or friendship, +and a duplicity which made it impossible for him to retain the respect +of his ministers. His private life was not wholly unlike that of the +Regent Orléans and had much the same influence on the society of the +metropolis. He was an undutiful son, a bad husband, a perfidious friend, +with little sense of truth or honour, and destitute of that public +spirit which atoned for the political obstinacy of his father. No one +sincerely regretted his death, except the favourites who had been +enriched by his extravagance, and actually succeeded in carrying off a +large booty out of the valuables that he had amassed. Nevertheless, his +regency is identified with a glorious period in our military history, +and his reign ushered in a new age of reform and national prosperity. In +the great struggle against Napoleon and the pacification of Europe he +gave his ministers a cordial and effective support. To catholic +emancipation he was honestly opposed, but he kept his opposition within +constitutional limits, and his intense selfishness did not exclude a +certain sentiment of philanthropy and even of patriotism. + +[Pageheading: _THE ACCESSION OF WILLIAM IV._] + +His successor, William IV., was greatly inferior to him intellectually, +and infinitely less conversant with the business of state. Most of this +prince's early life was spent at sea, where he saw a fair share of +service, and became the friend of Nelson, but incurred his father's +displeasure by infringing the rules of discipline. Having been created +Duke of Clarence in 1789, he was rapidly promoted in the navy, but +remained on shore without employment for some forty years before his +accession, taking an occasional part in debates of the house of lords, +and generally acting with the whig party. During this long period he was +little regarded by his future subjects, and led a somewhat obscure life, +at first in the company of Mrs. Jordan, by whom he had a numerous +family. After his marriage with the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen +in 1818, he became a more important personage, and, as we have seen, was +made lord high admiral by Canning, but held office for little more than +a year. He was thus entirely destitute of political training, and was +living in privacy when he was called to ascend the throne on the eve of +a singularly momentous crisis. + +The session was prolonged until July 23, when parliament was prorogued +by the new king in person, and on the following day a dissolution was +proclaimed, the writs being made returnable on September 14. During the +month that elapsed between the death of George IV. and the prorogation, +no serious business was done, but the leaders of opposition in both +houses moved to provide for a regency, in view of a possible demise of +the crown before a fresh parliament could be assembled. This course was +clearly dictated by the highest expediency, for, had the king's life +been cut short suddenly, the young Princess Victoria, then eleven years +old, would have become sovereign with full powers, but without +protection against the baleful influence of her uncle, the Duke of +Cumberland, the least trustworthy person in the realm. In advocating it, +however, the whigs showed an evident disposition to win the favour of +William IV., who had never broken away, like his predecessor, from his +whig connexion. These motions were defeated, but the opposition gained +popularity at the expense of the government, by raising debates on +certain state prosecutions for libel, and on the question of colonial +slavery. Their position was further strengthened by a widespread +impression that the king himself was a reformer at heart, and would +seize an early opportunity of declaring his sentiments. His weakness had +not yet disclosed itself, while his kindliness earned him golden +opinions, as he "walked in London streets with his umbrella under his +arm, and gave a frank and sailor-like greeting to all old +acquaintances". + +The election of 1830, following close on the revolution of July in +Paris, was the death-blow of the old tory rule in England. The +widespread sympathy which the original uprising of 1789 had excited +among Englishmen, but which the atrocities of jacobinism had quenched, +was now revived by the comparatively bloodless victory of constitutional +principles and the accession of a citizen-king in France. The growing +enthusiasm for reform, thus stimulated, exercised a decisive effect in +all the constituencies except the pocket-boroughs. Brougham was returned +without opposition for Yorkshire, and Hume by a large majority for +Middlesex, two brothers of Sir Robert Peel lost their seats, and Croker +was defeated for Dublin University. Distrust of the government was +equally shown in the counties and in the great cities, but in some +instances ultra-tories were elected, in revenge for catholic +emancipation or for alleged neglect of agricultural interests. It was +calculated that fifty seats, in all, had changed hands, and the +parliament which assembled in October 26 was very different in +constitution and temper from any of those which supported tory +ministries with unshaken constancy during the great war and the long +period of agitation consequent on the peace. + +The losses of the government in Great Britain, partly due to its Irish +policy, were not compensated by any gain in Ireland, which did not fail +to display the ingratitude so often experienced by its benefactors. +Catholic emancipation was now treated as a vantage ground on which the +battle of repeal might be waged. Association after association was +formed by O'Connell, only to be put down by proclamation and to +re-appear under another name. The worst passions of the people were +effectually roused, assassinations became frequent, and Peel's +correspondence with Hardinge, then chief secretary, shows that he fully +recognised the failure of his experiment, as a cure for Irish +anarchy.[101] In the course of this new agitation, O'Connell used most +offensive expressions for which Hardinge called him to account. The +chief secretary's act may have been unjustifiable, but the shuffling and +faint-hearted conduct of O'Connell in declining this and later +challenges provoked by his foul language was fatal to his reputation for +courage. The most insolent of bullies, he never failed to consult his +own personal safety, by professing conscientious objections to duelling, +as well as by keeping just outside the meshes of the criminal law. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF HUSKISSON._] + +A few weeks before parliament met a tragical accident closed the life of +Huskisson, whose death was rendered all the more impressive by its +circumstances. In 1825 the idea of railways for the rapid conveyance of +goods and passengers bore fruit in an act for the construction of a line +between Liverpool and Manchester. It was not in itself a new idea, for +tramways had long been in use, and so far back as 1814 George Stephenson +had constructed a locomotive engine for a colliery. But it was generally +believed that such engines must always be limited to a speed of a few +miles an hour, and even the great engineer, Telford, giving evidence +before a committee in 1825, did not venture to speak of a higher maximum +speed than fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Few indeed were far-sighted +enough to credit this estimate, and the incredulity of ignorance was +aided by the forces of self-interest, for the profits of canals, +stage-coaches, and carriers' vans were directly threatened by the +innovation of railways. However, George Stephenson quietly persevered, +and from the moment that his pioneer engine, the "Rocket," won the prize +in a great competition of locomotives, "the old modes of transit were +changed throughout the whole civilised world". On September 15, 1830, +the first public trial of this and other engines was made at the opening +of the Liverpool and Manchester railway. Wellington, Peel, and other +eminent personages were present, among whom was Huskisson, just returned +for Liverpool. Two trains proceeded towards Manchester on parallel +lines, and stopped at the Parkgate station. There several passengers got +out, and Huskisson was making his way to shake hands with the duke when +he was struck by a carriage of the other train, already in movement, +fell upon the rails, and was fatally crushed. He bore his sufferings +with great fortitude, but died during the night at a neighbouring +vicarage to which he was carried. He could ill be spared by his party, +for, though he was not the man to ride the storm which raged over the +reform bill, his counsels might have saved the whigs from the just +reproach of financial incapacity and have hastened the advent of free +trade. + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON ON REFORM._] + +The winter session of 1830 opened with an ominous calm. It was believed +that private negotiations were going on between the ministry and the +survivors of Canning's following, which might result in a moderate +scheme of parliamentary reform. These expectations were utterly +discomfited by the king's speech delivered on November 2. It has +unjustly been described as "the most offensive that had been uttered by +any monarch since the revolution". On the contrary, it was tame and +colourless for the most part, recording his majesty's resolution to +uphold treaties and enforce order in the United Kingdom, but welcoming +the new French monarchy in terms which Grey emphatically commended. It +gave offence to liberals by describing the revolutionary movement in +Belgium as a "revolt"; but what called forth an immediate outburst of +popular resentment was its significant reticence on the subject of +reform. This resentment was aggravated tenfold by the Duke of +Wellington's celebrated speech in the lords, declaring against any +reform whatever. The duke always refused to admit that this declaration +was the cause of his subsequent fall, which he attributed, by +preference, to his adoption of catholic emancipation. Speaking +deliberately in reply to Grey, who had indicated reform as the only true +remedy for popular discontent, the duke stated that no measure of reform +yet proposed would, in his opinion, improve the representative system +then existing, which, he said, "answered all the good purposes of +legislation" to a greater degree than "any legislature in any country +whatever". He went further, and avowed his conviction not only that this +system "possessed the full and entire confidence of the country," but +also that no better system could be devised by the wit of man. Its +special virtue, according to him, consisted in the fact of its producing +a representative assembly which "contained a large body of the property +of the country, and in which the landed interests had a preponderating +influence". Finally, he protested that he would never bring forward a +reform measure himself, and that "he should always feel it his duty to +resist such measures when proposed by others". + +There is no reason to suppose that the duke had consulted any of his +colleagues before making this declaration. Indeed, it is known that Peel +had just before received a confidential offer of co-operation in +carrying a moderate reform bill from Palmerston, Edward Stanley, +grandson of the Earl of Derby, Sir James Graham, and the Grants; nor had +these overtures been definitely rejected.[102] Some lame attempts were +made to clear the cabinet, as a whole, from responsibility for their +chief's outspoken opinions, and Peel cautiously limited himself to a +doubt whether any safe measure of reform would satisfy the reformers. +But he would not separate himself from Wellington, and Wellington's +ultimatum remained unretracted. + +Brougham at once gave notice of his intention to bring forward the +question of parliamentary reform in a fortnight. In the meantime the +duke had committed a mistake which irritated the people, and especially +the inhabitants of London. It happened that the king and queen, with the +ministers, were engaged to dine with the lord mayor on November 9. Three +days earlier, the lord mayor-elect warned the prime minister that a riot +was apprehended on that occasion, that an attempt would probably be +made to assassinate him, and that it would be desirable to come attended +by a strong military guard. Upon this intimation, confirmed by others, +the cabinet most unwisely decided not to surround the mansion house with +a large armed force, but to put off the king's visit to the city. A +panic naturally ensued, consols fell three per cent. in an hour and a +half, and the disorderly classes achieved a victory without running the +smallest risk. There were local disturbances in the evening, and the +duke arranged to join Peel at the home office, in case decisive measures +should be required, but the new police were too strong for the mob, and +the whole affair passed off quietly, though not without involving the +government in some ridicule. The Marquis Wellesley, now in opposition to +his brother, declared the postponement of the dinner to be "the boldest +act of cowardice" within his knowledge. + +If Wellington sought to conciliate the ultra-tories by his unfortunate +speech, he was soon undeceived. While Brougham's motion was pending, the +government proposed a revision of the civil list which purported to +effect slight economies for the benefit of the public. It was objected, +however, that a greater reduction of charges should have been +contemplated, and that parliament should have been invited to deal with +the revenues derived from the duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, which, +as Peel explained, formed no part of those placed at the disposal of +parliament. Sir Henry Parnell moved to refer the civil list to a select +committee; the chancellor of the exchequer directly opposed the motion, +and, after a short discussion, a division was taken on November 15. The +result, which had been foreseen, was a majority of twenty-nine against +the government in a house of 437 members. There were many defections +among the discontented tories, and the Wellington ministry preferred to +fall on an issue of minor importance, rather than await a decisive +contest on the reform question. On the following day, therefore, both +the duke and Peel announced the acceptance of their resignations, and it +was known that Grey had received the king's command to form a new +administration. + +[Pageheading: _GREY ACCEPTS OFFICE._] + +Grey was the inevitable head of any cabinet empowered to carry +parliamentary reform. His dignified presence, his stately eloquence, his +unblemished character, and his parliamentary experience, marked him out +for leadership, and disguised his want of practical acquaintance with +the middle and lower classes of his countrymen. His political career, +ranging over forty-four years, though not destitute of errors, had been +perfectly consistent. From the first he was a staunch adherent of Fox; +he was among the managers who conducted the prosecution of Warren +Hastings; his connexion with the Society of the Friends of the People, +and his advocacy of reform during Pitt's first administration are +described in the preceding volume of this history. On Pitt's death he +became closely associated with Grenville; it will be remembered that he +joined his short-lived government, originally as first lord of the +admiralty, and afterwards as Fox's successor at the foreign office. It +was he who carried through the house of commons the bill for the +abolition of the slave trade, and it may truly be said that, in +opposition, he was equally persistent in supporting every measure in +favour of liberty, political or commercial, and in resisting every +measure, necessary or otherwise, which could be interpreted as +restricting it. We have seen how he more than once declined overtures +for a coalition with his opponents, and showed a bitter personal +antipathy to Canning, whom he was more than suspected of despising as a +brilliant plebeian adventurer. This suspicion of aristocratic prejudice, +ill harmonising with democratic principles, had never been quite +dispelled, and was now to be confirmed by the composition of his own +cabinet. + +All the members of this cabinet, with four exceptions, sat in the house +of lords. No cabinet had contained so few commoners since the +reconstruction of Liverpool's ministry in 1822. Of the four who now sat +in the house of commons, Lord Althorp was heir-apparent to an earldom; +Lord Palmerston was an Irish peer; Graham was a baronet of great +territorial influence; Charles Grant was still a commoner, though he was +afterwards raised to the peerage. In the distribution of offices, full +justice was done to Canning's followers. Three of these occupied posts +of the highest importance, Palmerston at the foreign office, Lamb, who +had succeeded his father as Viscount Melbourne in 1828, at the home +office, and Goderich at the colonial office, while Grant became +president of the board of control. The selection of Graham as first lord +of the admiralty did not escape criticism, but was due to his tried +energy in financial reform, and was justified by the result. Lansdowne +was made president of the council, and Holland chancellor of the duchy +of Lancaster. Both of these had been Grey's colleagues in the +administration of "All the Talents". Althorp, who succeeded Goulburn at +the exchequer, and Carlisle, who accepted a seat in the cabinet without +office, were both whigs of tried fidelity. But the Duke of Richmond, the +new postmaster-general, was a deserter from the tory ranks, and Lord +Durham, the premier's son-in-law, the new lord privy seal, was a radical +of the most aggressive type, well qualified, as the event proved, to +disturb the peace of any council to which he might be admitted. Three +occupants of places outside the cabinet remain to be mentioned. One of +these, the Marquis Wellesley, had been a warm supporter of catholic +emancipation when the Duke of Wellington stoutly opposed it, and his +brother's conversion on that question had not affected his own relations +with the whig party, which now welcomed him as lord steward. Lord John +Russell, the new paymaster of the forces, had identified himself as +prominently as Grey himself with the promotion of parliamentary reform, +and Stanley, the new chief secretary for Ireland, was probably selected +for his brilliant powers in debate, as the natural and most worthy +antagonist of the great demagogue, O'Connell. + +[Pageheading: _BROUGHAM BECOMES CHANCELLOR._] + +But the most formidable of all the "radical reformers" still remained to +be conciliated, and provided with a post which might satisfy his +restless ambition. At the end of 1830 Brougham was in the plenitude of +his marvellous powers, and in the zenith of his unique popularity. As +member for the great county of York, returned free of expense on the +shoulders of the people, he already occupied the foremost position among +British commoners, and it was feared that he might use it for his own +purposes in a dictatorial spirit. He had recently declared in Yorkshire +that "nothing on earth should ever tempt him to accept place," and that +he was conscious of the power to compel the execution of measures which, +before that democratic election, he could only "ventilate". So late as +November 16, he assured the house of commons that "no change in the +administration could by any possibility affect him," adding that he +would bring forward his motion for parliamentary reform on the 25th, +whatever might then be the state of affairs, and whatever ministers +should then be in office. The great whig peers were most anxious to +keep him out of the cabinet without losing his support, or, still worse, +provoking his active hostility. With this view, Grey indiscreetly +offered him the attorney-generalship, and we cannot be surprised that +Brougham rejected the offer with some indignation and disdain. It was no +secret that his supreme desire was to become master of the rolls--an +office compatible with a seat in the house of commons--but his future +colleagues well knew that, in that case, they would be at his mercy in +the house. Thereupon it was suggested, probably by the king himself, +that it might be the less of two dangers to entrust him with the great +seal, which Lord Lyndhurst was quite prepared to resume under a fourth +premier. Accordingly, it was known on November 20 that Brougham was to +be the whig lord chancellor, and on the 22nd he actually took his place +on the woolsack. His title was Baron Brougham and Vaux, but, though he +lived to retain it for nearly forty years, he always preferred, with +pardonable vanity, to sign his name as "Henry Brougham". + +Before the close of 1830 the new ministers found time to carry a regency +bill, whereby the Duchess of Kent (unless she married a foreigner) was +to be regent in the event of the Princess Victoria succeeding to the +crown during her minority. Having adopted the watchword of "Peace, +Retrenchment, and Reform," they gave an earnest of their zeal for +retrenchment by instituting a parliamentary inquiry into the possible +reduction of official salaries, including their own. The defeat of +Stanley by "Orator" Hunt at Preston was a warning against undue reliance +on popular confidence, for Preston was already a highly democratic +constituency, largely composed of ignorant "potwallopers". A similar but +more emphatic warning came from Ireland, where O'Connell did his utmost +to insult and defy Anglesey, the new lord-lieutenant, in spite of his +sacrifices for catholic emancipation, and his well-known sympathy with +the cause of reform. In the southern counties of England, too, violent +disturbances had broken out, and were marked by all the ferocity and +terrorism characteristic of luddism in the manufacturing districts. They +spread from Kent, Sussex, and Surrey into Hampshire, Wiltshire, +Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire. In these four counties there was a +wanton and wholesale destruction of agricultural machinery, of +farm-buildings, and especially of ricks, as if the misery of labourers +could possibly be cured by impoverishing their only employers. The +rioters moved about in large organised bodies, and their anarchical +passions were deliberately inflamed by the writings of unscrupulous men +like Cobbett and Carlile. + +Happily, the ministers showed no sign of the weakness upon which the +ringleaders had probably calculated. They promptly issued a proclamation +declaring their resolution to put down lawless outrage, and promised +effective support to the lords-lieutenant of the disturbed counties. +Acting upon this assurance, Wellington himself went down to Hampshire, +and took a leading part in quelling disorder. The government next +appointed a special commission, which tried many hundreds of prisoners +and sentenced the worst to death, though few were executed. This vigour +soon overawed the organised gangs which, in one or two instances, had +only been dispersed by military force. Finally, they prosecuted Carlile +and Cobbett for instigating the poor labourers to crime. The former was +convicted at the Old Bailey, and condemned to a long term of +imprisonment, with a heavy fine. The trial of Cobbett was postponed +until the following July, when the frenzy of reform was at its height. +He defended himself with great audacity in a speech of six hours, +calling the lord chancellor with other leading reformers as witnesses, +and succeeded in escaping conviction by the disagreement and discharge +of the jury. + +[Pageheading: _ALTHORP'S FIRST BUDGET._] + +Two other questions engaged the attention of parliament on the eve of +the great struggle over the reform bill. One of these was the settlement +of the civil list, which the Duke of Wellington's ministry had failed to +effect. William IV. was not an avaricious sovereign, nor did he share +the spendthrift inclination of his brother. But he was disposed to +stickle for the hereditary rights of the crown, both public and private, +and he greatly disliked the details of his expenditure being scrutinised +by a parliamentary committee. Now, Grey and his colleagues stood pledged +to such a committee, and could not avoid promoting its appointment. They +propitiated the king, however, by excluding the revenues of the Duchy of +Lancaster from the inquiry, and ultimately succeeded in persuading the +house of commons to grant a civil list of £510,000 a year. But the +publication of a return containing a complete list of sinecure offices +and pensions was turned to good account by the economists, and produced +an outburst of public indignation, which was by no means unreasonable. +Great results were expected from the report of the select committee on +the civil list, which revised the salaries of officials in the royal +household, as well as the emoluments of pensioners. It was even demanded +that no regard should be paid to vested interests, but Grey firmly +supported the private remonstrances of the king against such an act of +confiscation. In fact, the savings recommended by the committee were so +trifling that it was thought better to waive the question for the time, +and the first economical essay of the new _régime_ ended in failure. + +The budget introduced by Althorp soon after the meeting of parliament on +February 3, 1831, and in anticipation of the reform bill, was equally +unsuccessful as a specimen of whig finance. Finding that, after all, he +could not effect a saving of more than one million on the national +expenditure, as reduced by his capable predecessor, Goulburn, he +nevertheless proposed to repeal the duties on coals, tallow candles, +printed cottons, and glass, as well as to diminish by one half the +duties on newspapers and tobacco. To meet the deficit thus created, he +designed an increase of the wine and timber duties, new taxation of raw +cotton, and, above all, a tax of ten shillings per cent. on all +transfers of real or funded property. This last proposal was at once +denounced by Goulburn, Peel, and Sugden, the late solicitor-general, as +a breach of public faith between the state and its creditors. Their +protests were loudly echoed by the city, and the obnoxious transfer duty +was abandoned. The same fate befell the proposed increase of the timber +duties, and Althorp only carried his budget after submitting to further +modifications. Those who had relied on his promises of economical reform +were signally disappointed, and, had not parliamentary reform +overshadowed all other issues, the credit of the government would have +been rudely shaken in the first session after its formation. But this +great struggle, now to be described, so engrossed the attention of the +country, that little room was left for the consideration of other +interests, until it should be decided. + +It is probable that no great measure was ever preceded by so thorough a +preparation of the public mind as the reform bills of 1831-32. Ever +since the early part of the eighteenth century the abuses of the +representative system had been freely acknowledged, and no one attempted +to defend them in principle. The multitude of close boroughs, the +smallness of the electoral body, the sale of seats in parliament, the +wide prevalence of gross bribery, and the enormous expense of +elections--these were notorious evils which no one denied, though some +palliated them, and few ventured to assail them in earnest by drastic +proposals, lest they should undermine the constitution. So far back as +1770 Chatham had denounced them, and predicted that unless parliament +reformed itself from within before the end of the century, it would be +reformed "with a vengeance" from without. In 1780 the Duke of Richmond +had introduced a bill in favour of universal suffrage, and Pitt had +brought forward bills or motions in favour of parliamentary reform as a +private member in 1782 and 1783, and as prime minister in 1785. But the +French revolution persuaded him that the time was not favourable to +reform, and he successfully opposed Grey's motion for referring a number +of petitions in favour of reform to a committee in 1793. + +After this, a strong reaction set in, and the reform question had little +interest for the governing classes during the continuance of the great +war. It was never allowed to sleep, however, and in 1809, a bill +introduced by Curwen to pave the way for reform by preventing the return +of members upon corrupt agreements, actually passed both houses, though +in so mutilated a form that it was practically a dead letter. Still, the +cause was indefatigably pleaded by Brand, and Burdett, who in 1819 made +himself the spokesman of the violent reform agitation then spreading +over the country. Unfortunately, this violence, and the extravagance of +the demands put forward by the democratic leaders, were themselves fatal +obstacles to a temperate consideration of the question, and threw back +the reform movement for several years. In 1821, when Grampound was +disfranchised, it assumed, as we have seen, a more constitutional form, +and motions in favour of reform were proposed by Russell in 1822, 1823, +and 1826, and by Blandford in 1829. Had Canning placed himself at the +head of the movement the course of domestic history during the reign of +George IV. might have been very different. As it was, the number of +petitions in favour of reform sensibly fell off in the last half of the +reign, and its tory opponents vainly imagined that the movement had +spent itself. We now know that, in the absence of noisy demonstrations, +it was really and constantly gaining strength in the minds of thoughtful +men until it reached its climax at the end of 1830. + +[Pageheading: _PUBLIC OPINION AND REFORM._] + +The first act of the great political drama which occupied the next +eighteen months may be said to have opened with the fall of Wellington, +and the formation of the whig ministry. These events, together with the +success of the Paris revolution, supplied the motive power needed to +combine the great body of the middle classes with the proletariat in a +national crusade against the political privileges long exercised by a +powerful landed aristocracy. It is true that reform, unlike catholic +emancipation, had always appealed to broad popular sympathies, and had +been advocated by men like Grey and Burdett as carrying with it the +redress of all other grievances. But Canning was by no means the only +liberal statesman who heartily dreaded it, and even the advanced +reformers had not fully grasped the comprehensive meaning of the idea +which they embraced, or the far-reaching consequences involved in it. +The palpable anomaly of Old Sarum returning members to parliament, while +Birmingham was unrepresented, was shocking to common sense, and so was +the monopoly of the franchise by a handful of electors in some of the +larger boroughs, especially in Scotland. But few appreciated how +seriously constitutional liberty had been curtailed by the growth of +these abuses (unchecked by the Commonwealth) since the fourteenth and +fifteenth centuries, how effectually home and foreign policy was +controlled by a small circle of noble families dominant in the lower as +well as in the upper chamber, how vast a transfer of sovereignty from +class to class would inevitably be wrought by a thorough reform bill, +and how certainly men newly entrusted with power would use it for their +own advantage, whether or not that should coincide with the advantage of +the nation. Such general aspects of the question are seldom noticed in +the earlier debates upon it, and economical reform sometimes appears to +occupy a larger space than parliamentary reform in the liberal +statesmanship of the Georgian age. + +With Wellington's declaration against any parliamentary reform, this +apathy vanished, and the movement, gathering up into itself all other +popular aspirations thenceforward filled the whole political horizon. +Reform unions sprang up everywhere, and instituted a most active +propaganda. So rapid was its spread and so wild the promises lavished by +radical demagogues, that Grey and his wiser colleagues soon felt +themselves further removed from their own extreme left wing than from +the moderate section of the conservatives. It is abundantly clear that +Grey himself, faithful as he was to reform, never dreamed of +inaugurating a reign of democracy. He often declared in private that +such a bill as he contemplated would prove, in its effect, an +aristocratic measure, and he doubtless believed that it would be +possible to bring the new constituencies and the new electoral bodies +under the same conservative influences which had been dominant for so +many generations. He did not foresee, as Palmerston did thirty years +later, that, even if the political actors remained the same, they "would +play to the gallery" instead of to the pit or boxes. He would, indeed, +have repudiated the maxim: "Everything for the people, and nothing by +the people"; he was fully prepared to place the house of commons in the +hands of the people, or at least of the great middle class, but he +regarded the crown and the house of lords as almost equal powers, and he +never doubted that property and education would practically continue to +rule the government of the country. + +[Pageheading: _DRAFT OF THE FIRST BILL._] + +When the whigs came into office they were singularly fortunate in the +high character and consistency of their chief, no less than in the +divisions of their opponents, whose right wing showed almost as mutinous +a spirit as their own left wing. Even between Wellington and Peel there +was a want of cordial harmony and confidence, yet Peel was the only tory +statesman of eminent capacity in the house of commons. The attitude of +the king, too, was not only strictly constitutional but friendly, though +it afterwards appeared that he relied too implicitly on Grey and Althorp +to protect him against the machinations of the radicals. The letters +written by his orders, though mostly composed by his private secretary, +Sir Herbert Taylor, display marked ability together with a very shrewd +and just conception of the situation. His loyal adoption of a moderate +reform policy was a most important element of strength to his ministers +at the outset of their great enterprise, and, if he afterwards held +back, it was in deference to scruples which several of them shared in +their hearts. Nor was the violence of the ultra-radicals, or the +scurrilous language of O'Connell by any means an unmixed source of +weakness to men engaged in framing and carrying a temperate reform bill. +Their firm resistance to extravagant demands reassured many a waverer +and showed how carefully their comprehensive plan had been matured. On +the other hand, they had to contend against difficulties not yet fully +revealed. One of these was their own want of administrative experience, +contrasting unfavourably with the statesmanlike capacity of Peel. +Another was the intractable character of two at least within their own +innermost councils--Durham and Brougham. A third was the inflexible +conservatism of a great majority in the house of lords, who, unlike the +people at large, clearly understood that the impending conflict was a +life-and-death struggle for political supremacy between themselves and +the commons--the greatest that had been waged since the revolutions of +the seventeenth century. + +It was privately known that a committee had been empowered to draft the +bill awaited with so much impatience. This committee consisted of two +members of the cabinet, Durham and Graham, together with two members of +the administration not of cabinet rank, the Earl of Bessborough's eldest +son, Lord Duncannon, then chief whip of the whig party, and Russell, who +was second to none as a staunch and judicious promoter of parliamentary +reform. In spite of his vanity and petulance, Durham deserves the credit +of having drawn up the report, highly appreciated by the king, upon +which the projected measure was founded. It originally included vote by +ballot, and it is rather strange that on this point Durham was +powerfully supported by Graham, but opposed by Russell. It is still more +strange that Brougham, whose scheme of reform was locked up in his own +breast, was honestly disturbed by the radicalism of his colleagues and +specially objected to so large a disfranchisement of boroughs as they +contemplated. Upon the whole, however, the bill was the product of an +united cabinet, and received the express approval of the king in all its +essential features. The elaborate letter which he addressed to Grey on +February 4, 1831, betrays a sense of relief on finding that universal +suffrage and the ballot were not to be pressed upon him In declaring +that he never could have given his consent to such revolutionary +innovations, he insists strongly on the necessity of maintaining an +"equilibrium" between the crown, the lords, and the commons, as well as +between the "representation of property" and that of numbers. + +The reform bill of 1831, which differed only in detail from the act +passed in 1832, cannot be understood without some knowledge of the +system which that act transformed. This system has been well described +as "combining survivals from the middle ages with abuses of the +prerogative in later times". The counties remained as they had remained +for centuries; Rutland, for instance, returned as many representatives +as Yorkshire, until in 1821 the two seats taken from Grampound were +added to those already possessed by Yorkshire. On the other hand, the +old franchise of the 40s. freeholders was more widely diffused since the +value of money had been greatly depreciated. Still, the influence of the +great county families was almost supreme, and they were firmly +entrenched in the nomination boroughs, where there was scarcely a +pretence of free election. The crown had originally a discretion in +summoning members from boroughs, and used it by issuing writs to all the +wealthiest as better able to bear taxation and more competent to +sanction it. The poorer boroughs, too, were also glad to escape +representation in order to save the expense of their members' wages. The +discretionary power of the crown was afterwards used in creating petty +boroughs such as "the Cornish group," for the purpose of packing the +house of commons with crown nominees. This practice, however, ceased in +the reign of Charles II., and these petty boroughs fell by degrees into +the hands of great landowners, who dictated the choice of +representatives. + +The result has been concisely stated as follows: "The majority of the +house of commons was elected by less than fifteen thousand persons. +Seventy members were returned by thirty-five places with scarcely any +voters at all; ninety members were returned by forty-six places with no +more than fifty voters; thirty-seven members by nineteen places with no +more than one hundred voters; fifty-two members by twenty-six places +with no more than two hundred voters. The local distribution of the +representation was flagrantly unfair.... Cornwall was a corrupt nest of +little boroughs whose vote outweighed that of great and populous +districts. At Old Sarum a deserted site, at Gatton an ancient wall sent +two representatives to the house of commons. Eighty-four men actually +nominated one hundred and fifty-seven members for parliament. In +addition to these, one hundred and fifty members were returned on the +recommendation of seventy patrons, and thus one hundred and fifty-four +patrons returned three hundred and seven members."[103] Household +suffrage prevailed in a few boroughs, and here barefaced corruption was +common. Seats for boroughs, appropriately called "rotten," were +frequently put up to sale; otherwise, they were reserved for young +favourites of the proprietor. Neither yearly tenants, nor leaseholders, +nor even copyholders, had votes for counties. Of Scotland it is enough +to say that free voting had practically ceased to exist both in counties +and in boroughs, as the borough franchise was the monopoly of +self-elected town councils, and the county franchise of persons, often +non-resident, who happened to own "superiorities". + +[Pageheading: _PROVISIONS OF THE FIRST BILL._] + +The reform bill of the whig ministry, drawn on broad and simple lines, +struck at the root of this system. Its twofold basis was a liberal +extension of the suffrage with a very large redistribution of seats. The +elective franchise in counties, hitherto confined to freeholders, was to +be conferred on £10 copyholders and £50 leaseholders; the borough +franchise was to exclude "scot and lot" voters, "potwallopers" and most +other survivals of antiquated electorates, but to include ratepaying £10 +householders. The qualification for this franchise had originally been +fixed at £20, and the king deprecated any reduction, but the omission of +the ballot reconciled him and other timid reformers to an immense +increase in the lower class of borough voters. Sixty boroughs of less +than 2,000 inhabitants, returning 119 members, were to be disfranchised +altogether; forty-seven others, with less than 4,000 inhabitants, were +to be deprived of one member, and Weymouth was to lose two out of the +four members which it returned in combination with the borough of +Melcombe Regis. Fifty-five new seats were allotted to the English +counties, forty-two to the great unrepresented towns, five to Scotland, +three to Ireland, and one to Wales. Altogether the numerical strength of +the house of commons was to be reduced by sixty-two, and this entirely +at the expense of England. Both the county and borough franchises in +Scotland were to be assimilated generally to those established for +England, and the £10 borough franchise was extended to Ireland. The bill +contained many other provisions designed to amend the practice of +registration, the voting power of non-resident electors, and the +cumbrously expensive machinery of elections. It is important to notice +that it also limited the duration of each parliament to five years--a +concession to radicalism afterwards abandoned and never since adopted. + +On February 3 parliament met after the adjournment, and Grey stated that +a measure of reform had been framed, but the nature of it was not +disclosed to the house of commons until March 1, and during the interval +the secret was kept with great fidelity. The task of explaining it was +entrusted to Russell, whose thorough mastery of its letter and spirit +fully justified the choice, partly suggested by his aristocratic +connexions and historical name. His speech was remarkable for clearness +and cogency rather than for rhetorical brilliancy, and he was careful to +rest his case on constitutional equity and political expediency of the +highest order rather than on vague and abstract principles of popular +rights. The debate on the motion for leave to bring in the bill lasted +seven nights, and was vigorously sustained on both sides. The drastic +and sweeping character of the measure took the whole house by surprise, +while its authors justly claimed some credit for moderation in rejecting +the radical demands of universal suffrage, vote by ballot, and +triennial, if not annual, parliaments. Not only inside but outside the +walls of St. Stephen's the statement of the government had been awaited +with the utmost impatience, and it was universally felt that an issue +had now been raised which hardly admitted of compromise. The king +himself, though much engrossed by minor questions affecting the civil +list and the pension list, heartily congratulated Grey on the favourable +reception and prospects of the measure, which he regarded as a safeguard +against more democratic schemes. His great fear was of a collision +between the two houses, and the sequel proved that it was not unfounded. +For the present, however, all promised well. Peel denounced the bill +with less than his usual caution, but declined to give battle upon it, +and it passed the first reading on March 9 without a division. Indeed, +the chief danger to the stability of the government arose from its +defeat on the timber duties. This and other vexatious rebuffs so +irritated Grey that he actually contemplated a dissolution, lest the +reform bill itself should meet with a like fate. But the king would not +hear of it, and the cabinet wisely decided to follow the example of Pitt +and ignore an adverse division on a merely financial proposal, however +significant of parliamentary feeling. + +[Pageheading: _SECOND READING OF THE FIRST BILL._] + +Between the 9th and the 21st, the date fixed for the second reading, +popular excitement rose to a formidable height. Monster meetings were +held in the great centres of population, and the political unions put +forth all their strength. Nevertheless, the efforts of the +"borough-mongers" were all but successful, and after only two nights +debate the bill passed its second reading by a bare majority of one, 302 +voting for it, and 301 against it. After this demonstration of strength +on the part of its opponents, no one could expect that it would survive +the ordeal of discussion in committee, and a letter of Lord Durham, +written in anticipation of the event, sums up with great force the +reasons for an early dissolution. The crisis was precipitated by the +action of General Gascoyne, member for Liverpool, who moved before the +house could go into committee that in no case should the number of +representatives from England and Wales be diminished. In the hope of +conciliating some wavering members, the ministry framed certain +modifications of their original scheme, but they do not seem to have +entertained the idea of accepting Gascoyne's proposal in its entirety. +In the division, which took place on April 19, they were defeated by 299 +votes to 291, and on the following morning advised the king to dissolve. +In spite of his former refusal, more than once repeated, the king +yielded to necessity, feeling that another change of government, in the +midst of European complications, and in prospect of revolutionary +agitation in the country, would be a greater evil than a general +election. + +The opposition, flushed with victory, pressed its advantage to extremes, +and successfully resisted a motion for the grant of supplies. Urged by +Althorp, the cabinet promptly resolved on recommending that the +dissolution should be immediate, and the king, roused to energy by +indignation, eagerly adopted their recommendation. Indeed, on hearing +that Lord Wharncliffe intended to move in the house of lords for an +address to the crown against a dissolution, he strongly resented such an +attempt to interfere with his prerogative, and declared himself ready to +start at once and dissolve parliament in person. Difficulties being +raised about preparing the royal carriages in time, he cut them short by +remarking that he was prepared to go in a hackney-coach--a royal saying +which spread like wildfire over the country. Both houses were scenes of +confusion and uproar when he arrived, preceded by the usual discharges +of artillery, which excited the angry disputants to fury. Lord +Mansfield, who was supporting the motion for an address, continued +speaking as the king entered, until he was forcibly compelled to resume +his seat. Even Peel was only restrained by like means from disregarding +the appearance of the usher of the black rod who came to summon the +commons from the bar of the house. The king preserved his composure, and +announced an immediate prorogation of parliament with a view to its +dissolution, and an appeal to the country on the great question of +reform. Such an appeal could only be made to constituencies under threat +of thorough reconstruction or total extinction, but from this moment the +ultimate issue ceased to be doubtful. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[101] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 160-62. + +[102] Arbuthnot to Peel, Nov. 1, 1830, Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +163-66. + +[103] Goldwin Smith, _United Kingdom_, ii., 320. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + THE REFORM. + + +The general election which took place in the summer of 1831 was perhaps +the most momentous on record. The news of the sudden dissolution, +carrying with it the assurance of the king's hearty assent to reform, +stirred popular enthusiasm to an intensity never equalled before or +since. From John o' Groat's to the Land's End a cry was raised of _The +bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill_. This cry signified more +than appears on the surface, and was not wholly one-sided in its +application. No doubt it was a passionate and defiant warning against +any manipulation or dilution of the bill in a reactionary sense, but it +was also a distinct protest against attempts by the extreme radicals to +amend it in an opposite direction. Now, as ever, the impulse was given +by the middle classes, and they were in no mood to imperil their own +cause by revolutionary claims. They could not always succeed, however, +in checking the fury of the populace, which had been taught to clamour +for reform as the precursor of a good time coming for the suffering and +toiling masses of mankind. The streets of London were illuminated, and +the windows of those who omitted to illuminate or were otherwise +obnoxious were tumultuously demolished by the mob, which did not even +spare Apsley House, the town residence of the Duke of Wellington. But, +except in Scotland, no formidable riots occurred for the present, and +some good resulted from the new experience of popular opinion gained by +candidates even from unreformed constituencies hitherto obedient to +oligarchical influence, but animated for the moment by a certain spirit +of independence. + +Having sanctioned the dissolution, the king addressed an elaborate +letter to Grey, in which he did not disguise his own misgivings about +the perilous experiment of reform. Chiefly dreading a collision between +the two houses, he never ceased to press on his ministers the expediency +of making all possible sacrifices consistent with the spirit of the bill +in order to conciliate opposition in the house of peers. Grey's constant +reply was that no concessions would propitiate men bent on driving the +government from office, and that no measure less efficacious than that +already introduced would satisfy the just expectations of the people. +Both of these arguments were perfectly sound, and the constitutional +triumph ultimately achieved was largely due to the admirable tenacity of +purpose which refused to remodel the original reform bill in any +essential respect to please either the borough-mongers or the radicals. +The elections were conducted on the whole in good order. Seventy-six out +of eighty-two English county members (including the four Yorkshire +members), and the four members for the city of London, were pledged to +vote for the bill. Several notable anti-reformers were among the many +county representatives who failed to obtain re-election; even some of +the doomed boroughs did not venture to return anti-reformers; and the +government found itself supported by an immense nominal majority. The +new bill, introduced on June 24 by Lord John Russell, who had recently +been admitted in company with Stanley to the cabinet, differed little +from the old one. The number of boroughs to be totally disfranchised was +slightly greater, that of boroughs to be partially disfranchised +slightly less, but the net effect of the disfranchising and +enfranchising schedules was the same, and the £10 rental suffrage was +retained. The measure was allowed to pass its first reading after one +night's discussion. The debates on the second reading lasted three +nights, but the bill passed this stage on July 8 by a majority of 136 in +a house of 598 members. + +[Pageheading: _SECOND REFORM BILL._] + +The victory, however, though great, was far indeed from proving +decisive. By adopting obstructive tactics, of a kind to be perfected in +a later age, the opposition succeeded in prolonging the discussion in +committee over forty nights, until September 7. Though Peel separated +himself from the old tories, and steadily declined to cabal with +O'Connell's faction against the government, such an unprofitable waste +of time could not have taken place without his tacit sanction. Only one +important alteration was made in the bill. This was the famous "Chandos +clause," proposed by Lord Chandos, son of the Duke of Buckingham, +whereby the county suffrage was extended to all tenants-at-will of £50 +rental and upwards. A very large proportion of tenant farmers thus +became county voters, and for the most part followed the politics of +their landlords. It may be doubted whether Grey seriously lamented +Chandos's intervention; at all events it went far to verify his own +prediction that aristocratic dominion would not be undermined by +reform.[104] Meanwhile, the country was naturally impatient of the +vexatious delay, and a somewhat menacing conference took place between +the political unions of Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow. Happily +public attention was diverted to some extent by the coronation, which +took place on the 8th. The bill was carried more rapidly through its +later stages, and was finally passed in the house of commons on the +21st, though by a reduced majority of 345 to 236. + +On the following day the bill reached the house of lords and was set +down for its second reading on October 3. Thenceforth all the hopes and +fears of its friends and enemies were concentrated on the proceedings in +that house, whose ascendency in the state was at stake. The question: +"What will the lords do?" was asked all over the country with the +deepest anxiety. The debate lasted five nights, and is admitted to have +been among the finest reported in our parliamentary history. All the +leading peers took part in it, and several of them were roused by the +occasion to unwonted eloquence, but the palm was generally awarded to +the speeches of Grey, Harrowby, Brougham, and Lyndhurst. The first of +these occupied a position which gave increased weight to his counsels, +since he was the veteran advocate of reform and yet known to be a most +loyal member of the nobility which now stood on its trial. In his +opening speech he appealed earnestly to the bench of bishops, as +disinterested parties and as ministers of peace, not to set themselves +against the almost unanimous will of the people. Brougham's great +oration on the last night of the debate contained a masterly review of +the whole question, and, in spite of its theatrical conclusion, when he +sank upon his knees, extorted the admiration of his bitterest critics as +a consummate exhibition of his marvellous powers. + +But very few of the peers were open to persuasion; the votes of +anti-reformers were mainly guided by a shortsighted conception of their +own interests, and Eldon did not shrink from contending that nomination +boroughs were in the nature of property rather than of trusts. A +memorable division ended in the rejection of the second reform bill on +the 8th by 199 votes to 158. Twenty-one bishops voted against it. The +king lost no time in reminding Grey of his own warning against +submitting the bill, without serious modifications, to the judgment of +the house of lords. He also intimated beforehand that he could not +consent to any such creation of peers as would convert the minority into +a majority. Grey at once admitted that he could not ask for so +high-handed an exercise of the royal prerogative, and undertook to +remain at his post, on condition of being allowed to introduce a third +reform bill as comprehensive as its predecessor. Thereupon the king +abandoned his intention of proroguing parliament by commission, and came +down in person to do so on the 20th when he delivered a speech clearly +indicating legislation on reform as the work of the next session. + +[Pageheading: _REFORM BILL RIOTS._] + +During the interval between the 8th and the 20th it became evident that +the reform movement, quickened by the action of the upper house, would +rise to a dangerous height. A vote of confidence in the government, +brought forward by Lord Ebrington, eldest son of Earl Fortescue, was +carried by a majority of 131, and speeches were made in support of it +which encouraged, in the form of prediction, every kind of popular +agitation short of open violence. In the course of this debate Macaulay, +the future historian of the English revolution, delivered one of those +highly wrought orations which adorn the political literature of reform. +The excitement in London was great, but kept for the most part within +reasonable bounds, partly by the firm and sensible attitude of Melbourne +as home secretary. The mob, however, vented its rage in window breaking +and personal assaults on some prominent anti-reformers, one of whom, +Lord Londonderry, was knocked off his horse by a volley of stones. In +the provinces more serious disturbances broke out. At Derby the rioters +actually stormed the city jail, releasing the prisoners, and were only +repelled in their attack on the county jail by the fire of a military +force. At Nottingham they wreaked their vengeance on the Duke of +Newcastle by burning down Nottingham Castle, which belonged to him, and +were proceeding to further outrages when they were overawed by a +regiment of hussars. A great open-air meeting of the political union was +held at Birmingham, while the bill was still before the house of lords, +at which a refusal to pay taxes was openly recommended in the last +resort, and votes of thanks were passed to Althorp and Russell. The +former, in acknowledging it, wisely condemned such lawless proceedings; +the latter unwisely made use of a phrase which gravely displeased the +king: "It is impossible that the whisper of faction should prevail +against the voice of a nation". Both were called to account in the house +of commons for holding correspondence with an illegal association, but +disclaimed any recognition of the Birmingham union as a body, and fully +admitted the responsibility of the government for the maintenance of +order. + +This assurance was about to be tested by the most atrocious outbreak +which disgraced the cause of reform. On Saturday, the 29th, Wetherell, +as recorder of Bristol, entered the city to open the commission on the +following Monday. Of all the anti-reformers, he was perhaps the most +vehement and unpopular, but his visit to Bristol was in discharge of an +official duty, and had been sanctioned expressly by the government. +Nevertheless, the cavalcade which escorted him was assailed by a furious +rabble on its way to the guildhall, and from the guildhall to the +mansion house, where he was to dine. For a while, they were kept back or +driven back by a large force of constables, but, on some of these being +withdrawn, their ferocity increased, and threatened a general assault on +the mansion house. In vain did the mayor address them and read the riot +act; they overpowered the constables, and carried the mansion house by +storm, the mayor and the magistrates escaping by the back premises, +while the recorder prudently left the city. At last the military were +called upon to act, and two troops of cavalry were ordered out. But the +military as well as the civil authorities showed a strange weakness and +vacillation in presence of an emergency only to be compared with the +Lord George Gordon riots of a by-gone generation. After making one +charge and dispersing the populace for the moment, the cavalry were sent +back to their barracks, and when one troop was recalled on the following +(Sunday) morning, the rioters were all but masters of the city. Many of +them, having plundered the cellars of the mansion house, were infuriated +by drink; they broke into the Bridewell, the new city jail, and the +county jail, set free the prisoners, and fired the buildings. They next +proceeded to burn down the mansion house, the bishop's palace, the +custom-house, and the excise-office. The cathedral is said to have been +saved by the resolute stand of a few volunteers hastily rallied by one +of the officials. In the midst of all this havoc, the cavalry were +almost passive, Colonel Brereton, the commanding officer, waiting for +orders from the magistrates, and actually withdrawing a part of his +small force when it was most needed, because it had incurred the special +hatred of the criminals. + +On the morning of Monday, the guardians of law and order seemed to have +recovered their courage; at all events, the cavalry, no longer forbidden +to charge, and headed by Major Mackworth, soon cleared the streets, +fresh troops poured in, and the police made a number of arrests. The +reign of anarchy was at an end, having lasted three days. When a return +of casualties was made up, it showed that only twelve were known to have +lost their lives, besides ninety-four disabled, most of whom were the +victims of excessive drunkenness or of the flames kindled by themselves. +But, though the riot was quelled, it was some proof of its deliberate +promotion, and of the aims which its ringleaders had in view, that +parties of them issuing out from Bristol attempted to propagate sedition +in Somersetshire. A special commission sent down to Bristol condemned to +death several of the worst malefactors; four were hanged and +eighty-eight sentenced either to transportation or to lighter +punishments; and Colonel Brereton destroyed himself rather than face the +verdict of a court-martial. + +On the same Monday, the 31st, Burdett took the chair at a meeting in +Lincoln's Inn Fields, called for the purpose of forming a "National +Political Union" in London. Soon afterwards, however, he retired from +the organisation, on the nominal ground that half of the seats on its +council were allotted to the working classes, but more probably because +he was beginning to be alarmed by the violence of his associates. His +fears were justified by a manifesto summoning a mass meeting of the +working-classes to assemble at White Conduit House on November 7, for +the purpose of ratifying a new and revolutionary bill of rights. This +time the government was on its guard, and Melbourne plainly informed a +working-class deputation that such a meeting would certainly be +seditious, and perhaps treasonable, in law. The plan was therefore +abandoned, and soon afterwards a royal proclamation was issued, +declaring organised political associations, assuming powers independent +of the civil magistrates, to be "unconstitutional and illegal". The +political unions proposed to consider themselves outside the scope of +the proclamation, which had little visible effect, though it was not +without its value as proving that the government was a champion of order +as well as of liberty. + +[Pageheading: _NEGOTIATIONS WITH WAVERERS._] + +During the short recess of less than six weeks political discontent, +constantly growing, was aggravated by industrial distress and gloomy +forebodings of a mysterious pestilence, already known as cholera. A +voluminous correspondence was carried on between the king and Grey on +the means of silencing the political unions and smoothing the passage of +a new reform bill. It was not in the king's nature to conceal his own +conservative leanings, especially on the imaginary danger of increasing +the metropolitan constituencies, and Grey complained more than once of +these sentiments being confided, or at least becoming known, to +opponents of the government. At the same time attempts were being made +not only by the king himself, but also by peers of moderate views to +arrange a compromise which might save the honour of the government, and +yet mitigate the hostility of the tory majority in the upper house. In +these negotiations behind the scenes, Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, +and Carr, Bishop of Worcester, took part, as representing the episcopal +bench, while Lords Harrowby and Wharncliffe, in temporary concert with +Chandos, professed to speak for the "waverers" among peers. As little of +importance resulted from their well-meant efforts, and as nearly all the +supposed "waverers," including the bishops, drifted into open +opposition, it is the less necessary to dwell at length on a very +tedious chapter in the history of parliamentary reform. Suffice it to +say that when parliament reassembled on December 6, 1831, the prospects +of the forthcoming bill were no brighter than in October, except so far +as the danger of rejecting it had become more apparent. + +The final reform bill introduced by Lord John Russell on the 12th was +identical in its principle and its essential features with the former +ones. The chief alteration was the maintenance of the house of commons +at its full strength of 658 members. This enabled its framers not only +to reduce the number of wholly disfranchised boroughs (schedule A) from +sixty to fifty-six, and that of semi-disfranchised boroughs (schedule B) +from forty-six to thirty, but to assign a larger number of members to +the prosperous towns enfranchised. The bill was at once read a first +time and passed its second reading after two nights' debate on the 16th +by a majority of 324 to 162, or exactly two to one. But, after a short +adjournment for the Christmas holidays, a debate of twenty-two nights +took place in committee, and the opposition made skilful use of the many +vulnerable points in the new scheme. Every variation from the original +bill, even by way of concession, was subjected to minute criticism, and +especially the fact that the schedules were now framed, not on a scale +of population only, but on a mixed basis, partly resting on population, +partly on the number of inhabited houses, and partly on the local +contribution to assessed taxes. + +It was easy to pick such a compound scale to pieces, to uphold the +claims of one venal borough against another equally venal, and even to +reproach the government with inconsistency in relying on the census of +1831, instead of on that of 1821--a course which the opposition had +specially urged upon them. But it was not so easy to combat the +irresistible arguments in favour of the bill on its general merits, to +ignore the reasonable concessions on points of detail which it embodied, +or to explain away the patent fact that no measure less stringent would +satisfy the people. There was therefore an air of unreality about this +debate, spirited as it was, nor is it easy to understand what practical +object enlightened men like Peel could have sought in prolonging it. He +well knew, and admitted in private correspondence, that reform was +inevitable; he must have known that a sham reform would be a stimulus to +revolutionary agitation; yet he strove to mutilate the bill so that it +might pass its second reading in the house of lords, and there undergo +such further mutilation as would destroy its efficacy as a settlement of +the question. For the present he yielded. No attempt was made to +obstruct the bill on its third reading, when the division showed 355 +votes to 239, and it passed the commons on March 23 without any +division. + +[Pageheading: _THE THIRD REFORM BILL._] + +Such a result would have been conclusive in any parliament during the +second half of the nineteenth century. A house of commons elected by the +old constituencies, and under the old franchises, had declared in favour +of a well-considered reform bill. The same constituencies voting under +the same franchises had returned an increased majority in support of the +same, or very nearly the same measure; this measure, with slight +variations, had been adopted by an immense preponderance of votes in the +new house of commons: yet its fate in the house of lords was very +doubtful. Ever since the autumn of 1831, the expedient of swamping the +house of lords had been seriously contemplated. It was supremely +distasteful to the king, and Grey himself, in common with a majority of +the cabinet, was strongly averse from it. Then came the intervention of +Harrowby and Wharncliffe, the failure of which strengthened the hands of +the more determined reformers in the cabinet, and induced the king to +give way. Having already created a few peers on the coronation, he +consented to a limited addition in the last resort, but with the +reservation that eldest sons of existing peers should be called up in +the first instance, and upon the assurance that, reform once carried, +all further encroachments of the democracy should be resisted by the +government. He even authorised Grey to inform Harrowby that he had given +the prime minister this power, in the hope that it would never be +needed, and that at least the second reading of the bill would be +carried in the house of lords without it. His objection to a permanent +augmentation of the peerage remained unshaken, and Grey promised to +propose no augmentation at all before the second reading. + +This compact, if it can be so called, was fulfilled in the letter, for +the bill was read a first time without a division, and it passed the +second reading on April 14 by a majority of 184 to 175. To all +appearance a notable process of conversion had been wrought among the +peers, seventeen of whom actually changed sides, while ten opponents of +the former bill absented themselves, and twelve new adherents were +gained. However encouraging these figures might be, the ministers were +under no illusion. They had the best reason for expecting the worst +from the struggle in committee, and they were conscious of gradually +losing the king's confidence. The very demonstrations of popular +enthusiasm for reform which impressed others with a sense of its +necessity impressed him with a sense of its danger; the political unions +and the Bristol riots alarmed him extremely; and the foreign policy of +the government elicited from him so outspoken a protest that Grey +tendered his resignation. The difficulty was overcome for the moment, +but recurred in a more serious form when parliament reassembled on May +7. Lyndhurst at once proposed in committee to postpone the consideration +of schedule A; in other words, to shelve the most vital provisions of +the bill until the rest should have been dissected in a hostile spirit. +This proposal is supposed to have been concerted with Harrowby and +Wharncliffe, if not to have received the sanction of the Duke of +Wellington. It was adopted by 151 votes to 116, and the cabinet, on May +8, courageously determined to make a decisive stand. They firmly advised +the king to confer peerages on "such a number of persons as might ensure +the success of the bill". The principle thus expressed had, as has been +seen, been reluctantly approved by the king himself, but he recoiled +from the application of it when he learned that it would involve at +least fifty new creations. After a day's thought, he closed with the +only alternative, and accepted the resignation of his ministry. He then +sent for Lyndhurst, who of course at once communicated with the duke. + +The king, as we have seen, had never been able to understand the real +force of the reform movement, and his leading idea was that the demand +for reform might be satisfied by a moderate reform bill, which the house +of lords would not reject or reduce to nullity. Wellington shared this +impression, and, though an implacable opponent of reform, was willing to +undertake office for the purpose of carrying, not merely a mild +substitute for the whig reform bill, but the whig reform bill itself +with little modification. Such an act might appear immoral in a +statesman whose integrity was more open to question, but the duke's +political _moral_ appears to have been of a less delicate type than that +which is commonly expected in party politicians. As a general, he +considered, first of all and above all, what manoeuvres would best +advance his plan of campaign. As a political leader, he regarded +himself not as the chief of a party, still less as the exponent of a +creed, but rather as a public servant to whom his followers owed +allegiance, whether in office or in opposition. As a public servant he +felt bound to obey the king's summons, and conduct the administration, +honestly and efficiently, but without much concern for personal +convictions. He was also anxious to preserve the house of lords from +being swamped and so rendered ridiculous by an extensive creation of +peers.[105] + +[Pageheading: _ATTEMPTS TO FORM A TORY MINISTRY._] + +But Wellington knew that he was powerless to manage the house of commons +without the aid of Peel, and Peel, though pliable in the case of +catholic emancipation, was inflexible in the case of reform. He drew a +distinction between these cases, and absolutely rejected the advice of +Croker that he should grasp the helm of state to avert the worse evil of +the whigs being recalled. "I look," he wrote, "beyond the exigency and +the peril of the present moment, and I do believe that one of the +greatest calamities that could befall the country would be the utter +want of confidence in the declarations of public men which must follow +the adoption of the bill of reform by me as a minister of the +crown."[106] This language, repeated under reserve in the house of +commons, after a direct appeal from the king, strongly contrasts with +that of the duke who roundly asserted that he should have been ashamed +to show his face in the streets if he had refused to serve his sovereign +in an emergency. The marked divergence of views and conduct between the +two leaders of the conservative party led to a temporary estrangement +which materially weakened their counsels, and was not finally removed +until a fresh crisis arose two years later. + +While Lyndhurst and the duke were vainly endeavouring to patch up a +government without Peel or his personal adherents, Goulburn and Croker, +the house of commons and the country gave decisive proofs of their +resolution. A vote of confidence in Grey's ministry, proposed by +Ebrington, was carried on May 10 by a majority of eighty. Petitions came +in from the city of London and Manchester, calling upon the commons to +stop the supplies, and the reckless populace clamoured for a run upon +the Bank of England. A mass meeting convened by the Birmingham +political union had already hoisted the standard of revolt against the +legislature, unless it would comply with the will of the people; the +example was spreading rapidly, and events seemed to be hurrying on +towards a fulfilment of Russell's prediction that, in the event of a +political deadlock, the British constitution would perish in the +conflict. The duke was credited, of course unjustly, with the intention +of establishing military rule, and doubts were freely expressed whether +he could rely either on the army or on the police to put down insurgent +mobs. The excitement in the house of commons itself was scarcely less +formidable, and it soon became evident that high tories were almost as +much incensed by the prospect of a tory reform bill as radicals and +whigs by the vote on Lyndhurst's amendment. + +On the 14th Manners Sutton and Alexander Baring, Lyndhurst's trusted +confidants, plainly informed the duke that his self-imposed task was +hopeless, and on the next day the duke advised the king to recall Grey. +The king, who had apparently grasped the position earlier, acquiesced in +this solution of the question. He agreed to recall Grey and his +colleagues, and to use his own personal influence in persuading tory +peers to abstain from voting. He attempted to impose upon his old +ministers the condition of modifying the bill considerably, but they +continued to insist on maintaining its integrity, and on swamping the +upper house, unless its opposition should be withdrawn. It was, happily, +unnecessary to resort to such extreme measures. A letter from the king, +dated the 17th, informed Wellington that all difficulties would be +removed by "a declaration in the house of lords from a sufficient number +of peers that they have come to the resolution of dropping their further +opposition to the reform bill". On that night, after stating what had +passed, the duke retired from the house, followed by about 100 peers, +and absented himself from the discussion of the bill in committee. A +stalwart minority remained, and took issue on a few clauses, but their +numbers constantly dwindled, and when the report was received on June 1 +only eighteen peers recorded their dissent in a protest. Grey himself, +though suffering from illness, moved the third reading on the 4th, when +it was carried by 106 to 22. His last words did not lack the dignity +which had marked his bearing throughout, and expressed the earnest hope +that, in spite of sinister forebodings, "the measure would be found to +be, in the best sense, conservative of the constitution". + +[Pageheading: _ROYAL ASSENT TO THE BILL._] + +The amendments made in the house of lords were slight, and the house of +commons adopted them without any argument on their merits. Peel, who had +made a convincing defence of his recent conduct, and who afterwards took +a statesmanlike course in the reformed parliament, declared, with some +petulance, that he would have nothing to do with the consideration of +provisions or amendments passed under compulsion, and that he was +prepared to accept them, _en bloc_, whatever their nature or +consequences. The bill, therefore, received the royal assent on the 7th, +but the king could not be induced to perform this ceremony in person. +Though his scruples had been respected in framing the scheme of reform, +though he was consulted at every turn and clearly recognised the +necessity to which he bowed, and though he was spared the resort to a +_coup d'état_ which he abhorred, he could not but feel humiliated by the +ill-disguised subjection of the crown and the nobility to a single +chamber of the people. It is greatly to his honour that, with limited +intelligence, and strong prejudices, he should have played a +straightforward and strictly constitutional part in so perilous a +crisis. + +By the great reform bill, as it was still called even after it became an +act, the whole representative system of England and Wales was +reconstructed. Fifty-six nomination boroughs, as we have seen, lost +their members altogether; thirty more were reduced to one member, and +Weymouth which, coupled with Melcombe Regis, had returned four members, +now lost two. Twenty-two large towns, including metropolitan districts, +were allotted two members each; twenty smaller but considerable towns +received one member each; the number of English and Welsh county members +was increased from ninety-four to one hundred and fifty-nine, and the +larger counties were parcelled out into divisions. All the fanciful and +antiquated franchises which had prevailed in the older boroughs were +swept away to make room for a levelling £10 household suffrage, the +privileges of freemen being alone preserved. The rights of 40s. +freeholders were retained in counties, but they found themselves +associated with a large body of copyholders, leaseholders, and +tenants-at-will paying £50 in rent. The general result was to place the +borough representation mainly in the hands of shopkeepers, and the +county representation mainly in those of landlords and farmers. The +former change had a far greater effect on the balance of parties than +the latter. The shopkeepers, of whom many were nonconformists, long +continued to cherish advanced radical traditions, partly derived from +the reform agitation, and constantly rebelled against dictation from +their rich customers. The farmers, dependent on their landlords and +closely allied with them in defending the corn laws, proved more +submissive to influence, and constituted the backbone of the great +agricultural interest. + +The enactment of the English reform bill carried with it as its +necessary sequel the success of similar bills for Scotland and Ireland. +In Scotland electoral abuses were so gross that reform was comparatively +simple, and that proposed, as Jeffrey, the lord advocate, frankly said, +"left not a shred of the former system". The nation, as a whole, gained +eight members, since its total representation was raised from forty-five +to fifty-three seats, thirty for counties and twenty-three for cities +and burghs. Two members were allotted to Edinburgh and Glasgow +respectively; one each to Paisley, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, and +Greenock, as well as to certain groups of boroughs. Both the county and +burgh electorates were entirely transformed. The "old parchment +freeholders" in counties, many of whom owned not a foot of land, were +superseded by a mixed body of freeholders and leaseholders with real +though various qualifications. The electoral monopoly of town councils +was replaced by the enfranchisement of householders with a uniform +qualification of £10. A claim to representation on behalf of the +Scottish universities was negatived in the house of lords. The number of +representatives for Ireland was raised from 100 to 105. The +disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders was maintained against the +strenuous attacks of O'Connell and Sheil, but the introduction of the +£10 borough franchise amply balanced the loss of democratic influence in +counties. On the whole the transfer of power from class to class was +greater in Scotland and Ireland than in England itself, and in Ireland +this signified a corresponding transfer of power from protestants to +catholics. The rule of the priests was almost as absolute as ever until +it was checked for a while by a purely democratic movement, and the +Irish vote in the house of commons was generally cast on the radical +side. + +[Pageheading: _RETROSPECT OF THE REFORM MOVEMENT._] + +A calm retrospect of the reform movement, culminating in the acts of +1832, compels us to see how little the course of politics is guided by +reason, and how much by circumstances. Every argument employed in that +and the preceding year possessed equal force at the end of the +eighteenth century, and the benefits of reform might have been obtained +at a much smaller cost of domestic strife; nor can we doubt that, but +for the French revolution, these arguments would have prevailed. Whether +or not the sanguinary disruption of French society furthered the cause +of progress on the continent, it assuredly threw back that cause in +Great Britain for more than a generation. Not only did its horrors and +enormities produce a reaction which paralysed the efforts of liberals in +this country, but the wars arising out of it engrossed for twenty years +the whole energy of the nation. Had it been possible for Pitt to pass a +reform bill after carrying the Irish union, the current of English +history would have been strangely diverted. The sublime tenacity of that +proud aristocracy which defied the French empire in arms, and nerved all +the rest of Europe by its example and its subsidies, would never have +been exhibited by a democratic or middle class parliament, and it is +more than probable that Great Britain would have stood neutral while the +continent was enslaved or worked out its own salvation. On the other +hand, in such a case, Great Britain might have been spared a great part +of the misery and discontent which, following the peace, but indirectly +caused by the war, actually paved the way for the reform movement. It +remained for a second French revolution, combined with the infatuation +of English tories, to supply the motive power which converted a party +cry into a national demand for justice. The reform act was, in truth, a +completion of the earlier English revolution provoked by the Stuarts. +Considering the condition of the people before its introduction, and the +obstinacy of the resistance to be overborne, we may well marvel that it +was carried, after all, so peacefully, and must ever remember it as a +signal triumph of whig statesmanship. + +It was the crowning merit of the reform act, from a whig point of view, +that it stayed the rising tide of democracy, and raised a barrier +against household suffrage and the ballot which was not broken down for +a generation more. It put an end to an oligarchy of borough-owners and +borough-mongers; it was a charter of political rights for the +manufacturing interest and the great middle class. But it did nothing +for the working classes in town or country; indeed, by the abolition of +potwallopers and scot-and-lot voters in a few boroughs, they forfeited +such fragmentary representation as they had possessed. Hence the seeds +of chartism, already sown, were quickened in 1832; but socialism was not +yet a force in politics, and it was still hoped that, under the new +electoral system, the sufferings of the poor might be mostly remedied by +act of parliament. The effect of the reform act on the balance of the +constitution was not, at first, fully appreciated. The grievance of +nomination-boroughs had been all but completely redressed, and that of +political corruption greatly diminished, but the hereditary peerage +remained, and the right of the lords to override the will of the commons +had ostensibly survived the conflict of 1831-32. But far-sighted men +could not fail to perceive that, in fact, the upper house was no longer +a co-ordinate estate of the realm. The peers retained an indefinite +power of delaying a measure, but it soon came to be a received maxim +that on a measure of primary importance such a power could only be +exercised in order to give the commons an opportunity of reconsideration +or to force an appeal to the country at a general election, and that a +new house of commons, armed with a mandate to carry that measure, though +once rejected by the peers, could not be resisted except at the risk of +revolution. + +The best safeguard against collision, however, was to be found in the +latent conservatism of the house of commons itself. Reformed as it was, +it had not ceased to be mainly a house of country gentlemen, and the +non-payment of members was a security for its being composed, almost +exclusively, of men with independent means and a stake in the country. A +very large proportion of these had been educated at the great public +schools, or the old English universities. They might accept on the +hustings the doctrine, against which Burke so eloquently protested, that +a representative is above all a delegate, and must go to parliament as +the pledged mouthpiece of his constituency. But in the house itself they +could not divest themselves of the sentiments derived from their birth, +their education, and their own personal interests; nor was it found +impossible, without a direct violation of pledges, to act upon their own +opinions in many a critical division. Still, it has been well pointed +out that, with the flowing tide of reform there arose a new and +one-sided conception of statesmanship as consisting in progressive +amendment of the laws rather than in efficient administration, so that +it is now popularly regarded as a mark of weakness on the part of any +government to allow a session to pass without effecting some important +legislative change.[107] + +[Pageheading: _CORONATION OF WILLIAM IV._] + +The supreme interest of the reform bill and its incidents naturally +dwarfed all other political questions, and the legislative annals of +1831-32 are otherwise singularly devoid of historical importance. The +coronation of William IV., which, as has been seen, took place on +September 8, 1831, was hardly more than an interlude in the great +struggle, yet it served for the moment to assuage the animosities of +party warfare. The king himself, who disliked solemn ceremonials, and +the ministers, deeply pledged to economy, were inclined to dispense with +the pageant altogether. It was found, however, that not only peers and +court officials but the public would be grievously disappointed by the +omission of what, after all, is a solemn public celebration of the +compact between the sovereign and the nation. The coronation was, +therefore, carried out with due pomp and all the time-honoured +formalities, but without the profuse extravagance which attended the +enthronement of George IV. There was no public banquet, and the public +celebration ceased with the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. The Duke of +Wellington and other leading members of the opposition had been duly +consulted by the government; there was a welcome respite from +parliamentary warfare; the king's returning popularity was confirmed; +and all classes of the people were satisfied. + +[Pageheading: _THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC._] + +Two months later, the appearance of the cholera at Sunderland added +another grave cause of anxiety to all the difficulties created by the +defeat of the reform bill in the house of lords, and the ominous riots +at Bristol. A similar but distinct and infinitely milder disease had +long been known under the name of _cholera morbus_, or more correctly +_cholera nostras_. Asiatic cholera, as the new disease was called, had +no affinity with any other known disease, and excited all the greater +terror by its novelty, as well as by the suddenness of its fatal effect. +It was first observed by English physicians in 1817, when 10,000 persons +fell victims to it in the district of Jessor in Bengal. About the same +time it attacked and decimated the central division of the army of Lord +Hastings, advancing against Gwalior. Before long it spread over the +whole province of Bengal, and eastward along the coasts of Asia as far +as China and Timur in the East Indies, crossed the great wall, and +penetrated into Mongolia. In 1818 it broke out at Bombay, and during the +next twelve years continued to haunt, at intervals, the cities of Persia +and Asiatic Turkey, with the coasts of the Caspian Sea. It was not until +1829 that it reached the Russian province of Orenburg, by way of the +river Volga, visiting St. Petersburg and Archangel in June, 1830. Thence +it travelled slowly but steadily westward through Northern Europe, as +well as southward into the valleys of the Danube and its tributaries, +until it made its appearance at Berlin and Hamburg in the summer of +1831. Long before this, and while the reform crisis was in its acutest +stage, the probability of its advent was fully realised in England, and +orders in council were issued in June, 1831, placing in quarantine all +ships coming from the Baltic. Notwithstanding the outcry against +meddling with trade, men of war were appointed to enforce these orders, +and when the news came that Marshal Diebitsch had died of the disease in +Poland, the alarm increased and all regulations against plague were made +applicable to cholera. Whether or not these precautions were +ineffective, it swooped upon Sunderland on October 26, and prevailed +there for two months, though its true character was very unwillingly +recognised.[108] + +The conflict between the newly created board of health and the merchants +importing goods caused the government no little perplexity. The protests +of the latter were strengthened by the somewhat remarkable fact that, +once established at Sunderland, the cholera seemed to be arrested in its +course and for a while spread no further. There seemed to be some ground +for the belief that it was partly due to extreme overcrowding and +neglect of all sanitary rules in that town, but this belief was soon +dissipated by its appearance at Newcastle and progress over the +north-eastern counties even during the winter months. Seven cases of it +occurred on the banks of the Thames just below London early in February, +1832, and though its virulence in England was alleged to be less than on +the continent, further experience hardly justified that opinion. The +appalling violence of its first onslaught on some vulnerable districts +may be illustrated by the example of Manchester, where a whole family +just arrived from an infected locality was swept away within twenty-four +hours. The government did its duty by disseminating instructions for its +prevention and treatment among the local authorities, but the prejudices +of the lower orders were against all interference for their benefit, and +scenes of brutality were sometimes enacted such as may still be +witnessed in oriental cities scourged by the plague. After a temporary +decline, the visitation recurred in all its severity, and in July the +deaths of a few persons in the highest circles occasioned a panic in the +west end of London. Still the declared number of deaths in the +metropolitan area was only 5,275, showing a far lower rate of mortality +in London than in Paris at the same time, and much lower than in London +itself during the epidemic of 1849, when statistics were more +trustworthy. None of the cholera epidemics, however, approached in +deadliness the plagues of 1625 and 1665. In the latter year the number +of deaths in London from plague alone represented about one-fifth of the +entire resident population--a proportion equivalent to a mortality of +above 200,000 in the London of 1831-32. This comparative immunity was +partly due to improved sanitation, the vigorous development of which may +be said to date from the first visitation of cholera. + +The census taken in 1831 revealed an increase of population, which, +though not equal to that of the preceding decade, indicated a most +satisfactory growth of wealth and employment. It was found that Great +Britain contained about 16,500,000 inhabitants, but of these, as might +be expected, a smaller percentage was employed in agriculture and a +larger percentage in manufacturing industry than in 1821. It has been +calculated that since the end of the great war the accumulation of +capital had been twice as rapid as the multiplication of the people, +but, in spite of this, pauperism, as measured by poor law expenditure, +had increased almost continuously since 1823, and emigration received a +startling impulse in 1831-32. Rick burning and frame breaking were the +joint result of childish ignorance, miserable wages, mistaken taxes on +the staple of food, and poor laws administered as if for the very +purpose of encouraging improvidence and vice. All these causes were +capable of being removed or mitigated by legislation, for even the rate +of wages was kept down by the ruinous system of out-door relief. But it +was only a few thoughtful persons who then appreciated either the extent +or the real sources of the mischief, and the disputes which soon arose +about the proper remedies to be applied have been handed on to a later +age. + +Next to parliamentary reform the state of Ireland was by far the most +important subject which engaged the attention of the legislature in +1831-32. The population had increased from 6,801,827 in 1821 to +7,767,401 in 1831, and the increase, unlike that in England, had been +almost exclusively in the agricultural districts. While the political +motive for multiplying small freeholds had ceased, the motives for +multiplying small tenancies were as strong as ever, and were felt by +landlords no less than by cottiers. This class, often inhabiting huts +like those of savage tribes and living in a squalor hardly to be seen +elsewhere in western Europe, chiefly depended for their subsistence on +potatoes--the most uncertain and the least nutritious of the crops used +for human food. Many hundred thousands of them had no employment in +their own country and no means of livelihood except the produce of the +scanty patches around their own turf cabins. Tens of thousands flocked +to England annually seeking harvest work, and a small number emigrated +to Canada or the United States, the passage money for an emigrant being +then almost prohibitive. Those who could not pay rent were liable to +eviction, and eviction was a more cruel fate then than now, since there +was no poor law in Ireland. Fever was rife in their miserable abodes, +following in the steps of hunger, and for relief of any kind they could +rely only on the mercy of their landlords or the charity of their +neighbours. Under such conditions of life crime and disaffection could +not but flourish, and the Irish peasant could hardly be blamed if he +listened eagerly to the counsels of O'Connell. For him catholic +emancipation had no meaning except so far as it gave him a hope that +parliament, swayed by the great Irish demagogue, would abolish tithes, +if not rent, and find some means of making Irishmen happy in their own +country. + +[Pageheading: _ANGLESEY LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND._] + +Had O'Connell been a true patriot, or even an honest politician, he +would have devoted his vast powers and influence to practical schemes +for the good of Ireland, and specially to a solution of the agrarian +question. Unhappily, smarting under a not unfounded sense of injustice, +when he was disabled from taking his seat for Clare, he threw his whole +energy into a new campaign for the repeal of the union, which occupied +the rest of his life. So far from acknowledging any gratitude to the +whigs, through whose support emancipation had been carried, he exhausted +all the resources of his scurrilous rhetoric upon them, lavishing the +epithets "base, brutal, and bloody," with something like Homeric +iteration. In December, 1830, Anglesey had returned to succeed the Duke +of Northumberland, and Stanley occupied the post of chief secretary, in +place of Hardinge. The ministers were privately advised to buy O'Connell +at any price, and it was intimated that he would not object to become a +law officer of the crown, or at least would not refuse a judicial +appointment. It may well be doubted whether the offer of such a bargain +to such a man could have been justified by success; it is more than +probable that it would have failed, and it is quite certain that failure +would have brought infinite discredit upon the government. At all events +the attempt was not made, and other catholic aspirants to legal +promotion were passed over with less excuse. + +Lord Anglesey proved a resolute viceroy, and proclaimed the various +associations, meetings, and processions organised by O'Connell, with +little regard for his own popularity. O'Connell's policy, carried out +with the cunning of a skilful lawyer, was to obey the law in the letter, +but to break it almost defiantly in the spirit. At last, however, he +went a step too far by advising the people who had come for a prohibited +meeting to reassemble and hold it elsewhere. He was arrested on January +18, 1831, and pleaded "Not guilty," but on February 17, when his trial +came on, he allowed judgment to go by default against him on those +counts of the indictment which charged him with a statutable offence, +provided that other counts, which charged him with a conspiracy at +common law, should be withdrawn. The attorney-general assented, and the +case was adjourned until the first day in Easter term. Before that day +arrived, however, the reform bill had been introduced, and O'Connell had +made a powerful speech in support of it. In the desperate struggle which +ensued, the ministers shrunk from estranging so formidable an ally, a +further adjournment of the case was allowed, a sudden dissolution of +parliament took place, the act under which O'Connell was to be sentenced +expired with the parliament, and no further action was taken. + +[Pageheading: _"TITHE-WAR" IN IRELAND._] + +During the year 1831, the agitation for repeal which O'Connell had set +on foot, as soon as the emancipation act had been passed, was for a +while thrust into the shade by the fiercer agitation against tithes. +This agitation was connected, in theory, with the demand for the +abolition or reduction of the Irish Church establishment, but was, in +fact, entirely independent of that or any other constitutional movement. +It may seem inexplicable to political students of a later age that Irish +questions of secondary importance, and eminently capable of equitable +treatment, should have convulsed the whole island and disturbed the +whole course of imperial politics, during the reign of William IV. The +rebellion against tithes or "tithe-war," as it was called, had not the +semblance of justification in law or reason. Every tenant who took part +in it had inherited or acquired his farm, subject to payment of tithes, +and might have been charged a higher rent if he could have obtained it +tithe-free. The tithe was the property of the parson as much as the land +was the property of the landlord, and the wilful refusal of it was from +a legal point of view sheer robbery. On the other hand, the mode of +collection was extremely vexatious, perhaps involving the seizure of a +pig, a bag of meal, or a sack of potatoes; and a starving cottier, +paying fees to his own priest, was easily persuaded by demagogues that +it was an arbitrary tribute extorted by clerical tyrants of an alien +faith. + +Thus it came to pass that the history of the Irish "tithe-war" exhibits +the Irish peasantry in their very worst moods, and it is stained with +atrocities never surpassed in later records of Irish agrarian +conspiracy. It is among the strange and sad anomalies of national +character that a people so kindly in their domestic relations, so little +prone to ordinary crime, and so amenable to better influences, should +have shown, in all ages, down to the very latest, a capacity for +dastardly inhumanity, under vindictive and gregarious impulses, only to +be matched by Spanish and Italian brigands among the races of modern +Europe. Yet so it is, and no "coercion" (so-called) ultimately enforced +by legal authority was comparable in severity with the coercion which +bloodthirsty miscreants ruthlessly applied to honest and peaceable +neighbours, only guilty of paying their lawful debts. It is not too much +to say that anarchy prevailed over a great part of Ireland, especially +of Leinster, during the years 1831 and 1832. The collection of tithes +became almost impossible. The tithe-proctors were tortured or murdered; +the few willing tithe-payers were cruelly maltreated or intimidated; the +police, unless mustered in large bodies, were held at bay; cattle were +driven, or, if seized and offered for sale, could find no purchasers; +and the protestant clergy, who had acted on the whole with great +forbearance, were reduced to extremities of privations. Five of the +police were shot dead on one occasion; on another, twelve who were +escorting a tithe-proctor were massacred in cold blood. A large number +of rioters were killed in encounters with the police, which sometimes +assumed the form of pitched battles and closely resembled civil war. +Special commissions were sent down into certain districts, and a few +executions took place, but in most cases Irish juries proved as +regardless of their oaths as they ever have on trials of prisoners for +popular crimes. O'Connell, and even Sheil, tacitly countenanced these +lawless proceedings, and openly palliated them in the house of commons. + +The whig government, engaged in a life-and-death contest with the +English borough-mongers, hesitated to crush the Irish insurgents by +military force, or to initiate a sweeping reform of the Irish Church. +Early in 1832, however, committees of both houses reported in favour of +giving the clergy temporary relief out of public funds, and of +ultimately commuting tithes into a charge upon the land. A preliminary +bill for the former purpose was promptly carried by Stanley, and made +the government responsible for recovering the arrears. The committee, +pursuing their inquiries, produced fuller reports, and again recommended +a complete extinction of tithes in Ireland. But the method proposed and +embodied in three bills introduced by Stanley in the same year, was too +complicated to serve as a permanent settlement, and was denounced as +illusory by the Irish members. The first bill was, in fact, a compulsory +extension of acts already passed in 1822 and 1823, the former of which +had permitted the tithe-owner to lease the tithe to the landlord, while +the latter permitted the tithe-owner and tithe-payers of each parish to +arrange a composition. Unfortunately, the act of 1823 had provided that +the payment in commutation of tithe should be distributed over +grass-lands hitherto tithe-free in Ireland as well as over land hitherto +liable to tithe. The act was in consequence unpopular with a section of +farmers, while at the same time the bishops resented the commutation, as +likely to diminish the value of beneficies. But in spite of this +opposition the act of 1823 had been widely adopted. Stanley's bill to +render such commutations compulsory passed, but his other two bills, +providing a new ecclesiastical machinery for buying up tithes, were +abandoned at the end of the session. Of course the substitution of the +government for the clergyman as creditor in respect of arrears had no +soothing effect on the debtors. The reign of terror continued unabated, +and O'Connell contented himself with pointing out that without repeal +there could be no peace in Ireland. We may so far anticipate the +legislation of 1833 as to notice the inevitable failure of the +experiment which converted the government into a tithe-proctor. It was +then replaced by a new plan, under which the government abandoned all +processes under the existing law, advanced £1,000,000 to clear off all +arrears of tithe, and sought reimbursement by a land tax payable for a +period of five years. + +[Pageheading: _EDUCATION IN IRELAND._] + +It reflects credit on the unreformed house of commons that in its very +last session, harassed by the irreconcilable attitude of the catholic +population in Ireland, it should have found time and patience not only +for the pressing question of Irish tithes, but for the consideration of +a resolution introductory to an Irish poor law, of a bill (which became +law) for checking the abuses of Irish party processions, and of a grant +for a board to superintend the mixed education of Irish catholic and +protestant children. The discussion of Sadler's motion in favour of an +Irish poor law was somewhat academic, and produced a division among the +Irish members, O'Connell, with gross inconsistency, declaring himself +vehemently opposed to any such measure. The ministers professed +sympathy with its principle, but would not pledge themselves to deal +immediately with so difficult and complicated a subject, perhaps +foreseeing the necessity of radical change in the English poor law +system. The processions bill was vigorously resisted on behalf of the +Orangemen, as specially aimed at their annual demonstrations on July 12, +but it was so manifestly wise to remove every wanton aggravation of +party spirit in Ireland, that it was passed just before the prorogation. + +The experiment of mixed education in Ireland had already been made with +partial success, first by individuals, and afterwards by an association +known as the Kildare Place Society. On the appointment of Dr. Whately to +the archbishopric of Dublin, it received a fresh impulse, and Stanley, +as chief secretary, definitely adopted the principle, recommended by two +commissions and two committees, of "a combined moral and literary and +separate religious instruction". A board of national education was +established in Dublin, composed of eminent Roman catholics as well as +protestants, to superintend all state-aided schools in which selections +from the Bible, approved by the board, were to be read on two days in +the week. Though provision was made for unrestricted biblical teaching, +out of school hours, on the other four days, protestant bigotry was +roused against the very idea of compromise. A shrewd observer remarked, +"While the whole system is crumbling to dust under their feet, while the +Church is prostrate, property of all kind threatened, and robbery, +murder, starvation, and agitation rioting over the land, these wise +legislators are debating whether the brats at school shall read the +whole Bible or only parts of it".[109] The opponents of the national +board failed to defeat the scheme in parliament, and it was justly +mentioned with satisfaction by the king in his prorogation speech of +August 16. But its benefits, though lasting, were seriously curtailed by +sectarian jealousy. Most of the protestant clergy frowned upon the +national schools, as the Roman catholic priesthood had frowned upon the +schools of the Kildare Place Society, and a noble opportunity of +mitigating religious strife in Ireland was to a great extent wasted. +Thus ended the eventful session of 1832. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[104] See Professor Dicey's observations on this clause, _Law and +Opinion in England_, p. 54, _n._ + +[105] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, viii., 206; Parker, _Sir Robert +Peel_, ii., 207. + +[106] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 206. + +[107] Goldwin Smith, _United Kingdom_, ii., 354; Dicey, _Law and Opinion +in England_, p. 85. + +[108] C. Creighton, _History of Epidemics in Britain_, ii., 768, 793-97, +860-62. + +[109] Greville, _Memoirs_ (March 9, 1832), ii., 267. + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + FRUITS OF THE REFORM. + + +It was assumed in 1832, and has been held ever since, that a +redistribution act must be speedily followed by a dissolution, so as to +give the new constituencies the power of returning new members. +Accordingly, parliament, having been prorogued until October 16, was +further prorogued until December 3, and then finally dissolved. The +general election which followed, though awaited with much anxiety, was +orderly on the whole, and produced less change than had been expected in +the _personnel_ of the house of commons. The counties, for the most +part, elected men from the landed aristocracy, the great towns elected +men of recognised distinction, and few political leaders were excluded, +though Croker abjured political life and refused to solicit a seat in +the reformed house of commons. The good sense of the country asserted +itself; while Cobbett was returned for Oldham, "Orator" Hunt was +defeated at Preston, and no general preference was shown for violent +demagogues by the more democratic boroughs. The age of members in the +new house was higher, on the average, than in the old; its social +character was somewhat lower, and the high authority of William Ewart +Gladstone, who now entered parliament for the first time, may be quoted +for the opinion that it was inferior, in the main, as a deliberative +assembly. But it was certainly superior as a representative assembly, it +contained more capable men of business, and its legislative productions, +as we shall hereafter see, claim the gratitude of posterity. A certain +want of modesty in the new class of members was observed by hostile +critics, and was to be expected in men who had won their seats by +popular oratory and not through patronage. The house of commons had +already ceased to be "the best club in London," and later reforms have +still further weakened its title to be so regarded, but they have also +shown the wonderful power of assimilation inherent in the atmosphere of +the house itself, and the spirit of freemasonry which springs up among +those who enter it by very different avenues. + +[Pageheading: _THE FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT._] + +The change wrought by the reform act in the strength and distribution of +parties was immediate and conspicuous. The ancient division of whigs and +tories, which had become well-nigh obsolete in the reign of George IV., +had been revived by the great struggle of 1831-32. It was now superseded +to a great extent by the combination of the radicals with O'Connell's +followers into an independent section, and by the growth of a party +under Peel, distinct from the inveterate tories and known by the name of +"conservative," which first came into use in 1831.[110] The +preponderance of liberalism, in its moderate and extreme forms, was +overwhelming. It was roughly computed that nearly half the house were +ministerialists and about 190 members radicals, Irish repealers, or free +lances, while only 150 were classed as "conservatives," apparently +including tories.[111] In such circumstances the attitude to be adopted +by Peel was of the highest constitutional importance. It is some proof +of the respect for statesmanship instinctively felt by the new house of +commons that Peel, as inexorable an opponent of reform as Canning +himself, should at once have assumed a foremost position and soon +obtained an ascendency in an assembly so largely composed of his +opponents. + +But Peel himself was no longer a mere party leader. Unlike Wellington +and Eldon, he saw the necessity of accepting loyally the accomplished +fact and shaping his future course in accordance with the nation's will. +He, therefore, took an early opportunity of declaring that he regarded +the reform act as irrevocable, and that he was prepared to participate +in the dispassionate amendment of any institution that really needed it. +In a private letter to Goulburn he stated that, in his judgment, "the +best position the government could assume would be that of moderation +between opposite extremes of ultra-toryism and radicalism," intimating +further that "we should appear to the greatest advantage in defending +the government" against their own extreme left wing.[112] In this +policy he persevered; his influence did much to quell the confusion and +disorder of the first debate, and his followers swelled the government +majorities in several of the early divisions. When he came to review the +first session of the reformed parliament he remarked in a private letter +that what had been foreseen took place, that "the popular assembly +exercised tacitly supreme power," and, without abolishing the crown or +the house of lords, overawed the convictions of both.[113] + +[Pageheading: _IRISH COERCION BILL._] + +The passion for reform, far from spending itself in remodelling the +house of commons, filled the statute-book with monuments of remedial +legislation. No session was more fruitful in legislative activity than +that of 1833. But the way of legislation was at first blocked against +all projects of improvement by the urgent necessity of passing an Irish +coercion bill. This had been indicated in the king's speech, and on +February 15, 1833 Grey introduced the strongest measure of repression +ever devised for curbing anarchy in Ireland. It combined, as he +explained, the provisions of "the proclamation act, the insurrection +act, the partial application of martial law, and the partial suspension +of the _habeas corpus_ act". But the barbarities and terrorism which it +was designed to put down were beyond precedent and almost beyond belief. +The attempt to collect the arrears of tithe, even with the aid of +military force, had usually failed, and less than an eighth of the sum +due was actually levied. The organised defiance of law was not, however, +confined to refusal of tithes; it embraced the refusal of rent and +extended over the whole field of agrarian relations. The Whiteboys of +the eighteenth century reappeared as "Whitefeet," and other secret +associations, under grotesque names, enforced their decrees by wholesale +murder, burglary, arson, savage assaults, destruction of property, and +mutilation of cattle. In two counties, Kilkenny and Queen's County, +nearly a hundred murders or attempted murders were reported within +twelve months, and the murderous intimidation of witnesses and jurors +secured impunity to perpetrators of crimes. No civilised government +could have tolerated an orgy of lawlessness on so vast a scale, and +nothing but the exigencies of the reform bill can excuse Grey and his +colleagues for not having grappled with it earlier. Nor does it appear +that any remedy less stern would have been effectual. Where unarmed +citizens have not the courage either to protect themselves or to aid the +constabulary employed for their protection, soldiers, accustomed to face +death and inflict it upon others under lawful command, must be called in +to maintain order. Where civil tribunals have become a mockery, summary +justice must be dealt out by military tribunals. Force may be no remedy +for grievances, but it is the one sovereign remedy for organised crime, +and this was soon to be proved in Ireland. + +The viceroy, Anglesey, true to his liberal instincts, would have +postponed coercion to measures of relief, such as a settlement of the +church question. Stanley, on the other hand, insisted on the prompt +introduction of a stringent peace preservation bill, and his energetic +will prevailed. The bill contained provisions enabling the +lord-lieutenant to suppress any meeting, establishing a curfew law in +disturbed districts, and placing offenders in such districts under the +jurisdiction of courts martial with legal assessors. It passed the house +of lords with little discussion on the 22nd, and was laid before the +house of commons a few days later by Althorp, who had already brought in +an Irish Church temporalities bill. The debate on the address had +already given warning of the reception which the Irish members would +accord to any coercion bill, and of their malignant hostility to +Stanley. Efforts were made to delay its introduction, and full advantage +was taken of Althorp's statement that one special commission had been +completely successful. His opening speech, tame and inconclusive, +discouraged his own followers. The fate of the bill appeared doubtful, +but Stanley, who had twice staked the existence of the ministry on its +adoption, reversed the whole tendency of the debate by a speech of +marvellous force and brilliancy, which Russell afterwards described as +"one of the greatest triumphs ever won in a popular assembly by the +powers of oratory".[114] It was in this speech that he proved himself at +least a match for O'Connell, whom he scathed with fierce indignation as +having lately called the house of commons a body of scoundrels. It cost +many nights of debate to carry the bill, with slight amendments, but +Stanley's appeal had a lasting effect, and it became law in April, to +the great benefit of Ireland. + +[Pageheading: _IRISH CHURCH TEMPORALITIES BILL._] + +Meanwhile, the Irish Church temporalities bill was pressed forward as a +counterpoise to coercion. It imposed a graduated tax upon all episcopal, +capitular, and clerical incomes above £200 a year, and placed the +proceeds, estimated at £60,000 or £70,000 a year, in the hands of +commissioners, to be expended in the repairs of churches, the erection +of glebe-houses, and other parochial charges. In this way Irish +ratepayers might be relieved of the obnoxious "vestry cess," a species +of Church rate, at the expense of the clergy. A further saving of +£60,000 a year or upwards was to be effected by a reduction of the Irish +episcopate, aided by a new and less wasteful method of leasing Church +lands attached to episcopal sees. Two out of four Irish archbishoprics +and eight out of eighteen bishoprics were doomed to extinction, as +vacancies should occur. Dioceses and benefices were to be freely +consolidated, clerical sinecures were to cease, and the more scandalous +abuses of the Irish Church were to be redressed. + +As a scheme for ecclesiastical rearrangement within the Church itself, +the bill was sound and liberal, but it was utterly futile to imagine +that it would be welcomed, except as a mere instalment of conciliation, +by Roman catholics who looked upon the protestant Church itself as a +standing national grievance. The only boon secured to them was exemption +from their share of vestry cess, for, though Althorp intimated that the +ultimate surplus to be realised by the union of sees and livings would +be at the disposal of parliament, they well knew how many influences +would operate to prevent its reaching them. Not even O'Connell, still +less the ministry, ventured to propose "concurrent endowment" as it was +afterwards called, and the very idea of diverting revenues from the +protestant establishment to Roman catholic uses was disclaimed with +horror. More than a century earlier, a partition of these revenues +between the great protestant communions had been seriously entertained, +and Pitt had notoriously contemplated a provision for the Roman catholic +priests out of state funds. But no such demand was now made, and the one +feature of the bill which commanded the vigorous support of O'Connell +and his adherents was the 147th section, or "appropriation clause," +which enabled parliament to apply the expected surplus of some £60,000 +in income, or some £3,000,000 in capital, to whatever purposes, secular +or otherwise, it might think fit to approve. The far-reaching importance +of this principle was fully understood on both sides. To radicals and +Roman catholics it was the sole virtue of the bill; to friends of the +Irish Church and tories it was a blot to be erased at any cost. + +The progress of the measure was not rapid. Its nature had been explained +by Althorp on February 12, but it was not in print on March 11 when, +notwithstanding the reasonable protest of Peel, he induced the house to +fix the second reading for the 14th. It was then found that, owing to +its form, it must be preceded by resolutions, in order to satisfy the +rules of the house. These resolutions, containing the essence of the +bill, were proposed on April 1, but were not adopted without a long +debate, and the debate on the second reading did not begin until May 6. +It ended in a majority of 317 to 78 for the government, chiefly due to a +moderate speech from Sir Robert Peel, who, however, denounced the policy +of "appropriation". The discussion in committee was far more vehement, +and radicals like Hume did not shrink from avowing their desire to pull +down the Irish establishment, root and branch. The attack on the +conservative side was mainly concentrated on the appropriation clause. +In vain was it argued that a great part of the expected surplus was not +Church property, inasmuch as it would result from improvements in the +system of episcopal leases to be carried out by the agency of the state. +Every one saw that, however disguised, and whether legitimate or not, +appropriation of the surplus for secular purposes would be an act of +confiscation, and must needs be interpreted as a precedent. + +The cabinet itself was divided on the subject, and despaired of saving +the bill in the house of lords, without sacrificing the disputed clause. +On June 21, therefore, Stanley announced in the house of commons that +the appropriation clause would be withdrawn, and that any profits +arising out of financial reforms within the Church would be allowed to +fall into the hands of the ecclesiastical commissioners. The fury of +O'Connell was unbounded, and not so devoid of excuse as many of his +passionate outbreaks. He treated the Church bill as the stipulated +price to be paid for the coercion bill, and the appropriation clause as +the only part of it, except relief from vestry cess, which could possess +the smallest value for Irish Roman catholics. There was no valid answer +to his argument, except that another collision with the house of lords +must be avoided at any tolerable cost, for, as Russell bluntly said, +"the country could not stand a revolution once a year". Thus lightened, +and slightly modified in the interest of Irish incumbents, the bill +passed through committee and was read a third time by very large +majorities, the minority being mainly composed of its old radical +partisans. Peel's letters show how anxious he was to "make the reform +bill work," by protecting the government against this extreme +faction,[115] and the parliamentary reports show how much he did to +frustrate the attempt to intimidate the lords by a resolution of the +commons. + +The debate in the upper house lasted three nights in July, but is almost +devoid of permanent interest. The appropriation question being dropped, +there was little to discuss except the historical origin of Irish +dioceses, the precedents for their consolidation, and the economical +details of the scheme for equalising, in some degree, the incomes of +Irish clergymen. Two or three peers, headed by the Duke of Cumberland, +took their stand once more on the coronation oath, and Bishop Phillpotts +of Exeter availed himself of this objection in one of the most powerful +speeches delivered against the bill. On the other hand, Bishop Blomfield +of London, and the Duke of Wellington, now acting in concert with Peel, +gave it a grudging support, as the less of two evils. After passing the +second reading by a majority of 157 to 98, it was subjected to minute +criticism in committee, and one amendment was carried against the +government, but Grey wisely declined to relinquish it except on some +vital issue. The majority on the third reading was 135 to 81, and on +August 2 the commons agreed to the lords' amendments, O'Connell +remarking that, after all, the peers had not made the bill much worse +than they found it. More than a generation was to elapse before this +"act to alter and amend the laws relating to the temporalities of the +Church in Ireland" was completed by an act severing that Church from +the state. But the ulterior aims of those who first challenged the +sanctity of Church endowments were not concealed, and the more than +Erastian tendency of the liberal movement was henceforth clearly +perceived by high Churchmen. We know, on the authority of Dr. Newman, +that he and his early associates regarded the Anglican revival of which +they were the pioneers as essentially a reaction against liberalism, and +liberalism as the most formidable enemy of sacerdotal power. + +[Pageheading: _STANLEY COLONIAL SECRETARY._] + +Long before the Irish church bill had passed the house of commons +Stanley exchanged the chief secretaryship of Ireland for the higher +office of colonial secretary, to which he was gazetted on March 28. His +uncompromising advocacy of the coercion bill, and his known hostility to +direct spoliation of the Church, alike provoked the hatred of Irish +Roman catholics, and Brougham had already advised his retirement from +Ireland. His promotion was facilitated by the resignation of Durham, +nominally on grounds of health, but also because he was in constant +antagonism to his own father-in-law, Grey, and his moderate colleagues +in the cabinet. He received an earldom, and was succeeded as lord privy +seal by Goderich, who became Earl of Ripon. This opened the colonial +office to Stanley, who instantly found himself face to face with a +question almost as intractable as the pacification of Ireland. Sir John +Hobhouse became chief secretary for Ireland, but without a seat in the +cabinet. He resigned in May, and was succeeded by Edward John Littleton, +who was married to a natural daughter of the Marquis Wellesley. + +Among the statutes passed in 1833, there are several, besides those +relating to Ireland, of sufficient importance to confer distinction upon +any parliamentary session. One of these is entitled "an act for the +better administration of justice in His Majesty's privy council"; a +second, "an act for the abolition of slavery throughout the British +colonies, for promoting the industry of the manumitted slaves, and for +compensating the persons hitherto entitled to the services of such +slaves"; a third, "an act for the abolition of fines and recoveries, and +for the substitution of more simple methods of assurance"; a fourth, "an +act to regulate the trade to China and India"; a fifth, "an act for +giving to the corporation of the governor and company of the Bank of +England certain privileges, for a limited period, under certain +conditions"; a sixth, "an act to regulate the labour of children and +young persons in the mills and factories of the United Kingdom". Not one +of these salutary measures was forced upon the legislature by popular +clamour, every one of them represents a sincere zeal for what has been +ridiculed as "world-bettering," and the parliament that passed them must +have been thoroughly imbued with the spirit of reform. + +Foremost of these measures, as a monument of philanthropic legislation, +will ever stand the act for the abolition of colonial slavery. No class +in the country was concerned in its promotion; the powerful interests of +the planters were arrayed against it; and humanity, operating through +public opinion, was the only motive which could induce a government to +espouse the anti-slavery cause. Stanley had not occupied his new office +many weeks when on May 14 it became his lot to explain the ministerial +scheme in the house of commons. Its essence consisted in the immediate +extinction of absolute property in slaves, but with somewhat complicated +provisions for an intermediate state of apprenticeship, to last twelve +years. During this period negroes were to be maintained by their former +masters, under an obligation to serve without wages for three-fourths of +their working hours, and were to earn wages during the remaining fourth. +All children under six years of age were to become free at once, and all +born after the passing of the act were to be free at birth. The +proprietors were to receive compensation by way of loan, to the extent +of £15,000,000, and additional grants were promised for the institution +of a stipendiary magistracy and a system of education. + +Several resolutions embodying the scheme were carried, with little +opposition, though some abolitionists, headed by Mr. Fowell Buxton, a +wealthy brewer and eminent philanthropist, who sat for Weymouth, took +strong exception to compulsory apprenticeship, as perpetuating the +principle of slavery, however mitigated by the recognition of personal +liberty and the suppression of corporal punishment. It was found +expedient, however, in deference to a very strong remonstrance from West +Indian proprietors, to convert the proposed loan of £15,000,000 into an +absolute payment of £20,000,000, and this noble donation, for +conscience' sake, was actually ratified by parliament and the country. +The bill founded on the resolutions met with no serious opposition, but +an amendment by Buxton for adopting free labour at once was lost by so +narrow a majority that Stanley consented to reduce the period of +apprenticeship to an average of six years. In this instance the lords +followed the guidance of the commons, and a measure of almost quixotic +liberalism was endorsed by them without hesitation. It must be confessed +that experience has not verified the confident prediction that free +labour would prove more profitable than slave labour, but Great Britain +has never repented of the abolition act, and its example was followed, +thirty years later, by the United States. + +[Pageheading: _FACTORY ACTS._] + +The first of the general factory acts was marked by the same +philanthropic character, but here the manufacturing capitalists, +introduced by the reform act, were induced by self-interest to oppose +it. Ever since the beginning of the century the sufferings and +degradation of children in factories had occasionally engaged the +attention of parliament, but the full enormity of the factory system was +known to few except those who profited by it. It seems incredible, but +it was shown afterwards by irresistible evidence, that children of seven +years old and upwards were often compelled to work twelve or fourteen +hours a day, with two short intervals for meals, in a most unwholesome +atmosphere, exposed not only to ill-treatment but to every form of moral +corruption. A very partial remedy was applied by a law passed in 1802 +which restricted the hours of labour to twelve for mills in which +apprentices were employed. The same limit of hours was extended to +cotton mills generally in 1816, and, but for the resistance of the house +of lords, it would have been reduced to ten, as a select committee had +recommended on the initiative of the first Sir Robert Peel. A few years +later the question was revived by Sir John Hobhouse, but left unsettled. +In 1831 Sadler introduced a ten hours bill for children, and obtained a +select committee, before which disclosures were made well calculated to +shock the country. At the general election of 1832, Sadler was defeated +by Macaulay for the new borough of Leeds, but his mantle fell on Lord +Ashley, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, one of the noblest +philanthropists of modern times. + +Early in the session of 1833 Ashley introduced a ten hours bill, +applicable, like that of Sadler, to all young persons under eighteen +years of age working in factories. It also prohibited the employment of +children under nine, and provided for the appointment of inspectors. It +was strongly opposed by the Lancashire members as interfering with +freedom of labour even for adults, since mills could not be kept running +without the labour of boys under eighteen. They also objected to the +evidence already reported as one-sided, and succeeded in procuring the +appointment of a royal commission. This commission prosecuted its +inquiries with unusual despatch, but its report was not in the hands of +members on July 5, when the bill came on for its second reading. Though +Althorp, unwilling to offend the manufacturing interest, pleaded for +deliberation and urged that a select committee should frame the +regulations to be adopted, the majority of the house was impatient of +delay, and he encountered a defeat. The question now resolved itself +into a choice between a greater or less limitation of hours. On this +question, a compromise proposed by Althorp prevailed, and Ashley +resigned the conduct of the bill into his hands. It was further modified +in committee, but ultimately became law in a form which secured the main +objects of its promoters. No child under nine years of age could be +employed at all in a factory, after two years none under thirteen could +be worked more than eight hours, and no young person under eighteen +could be required to work more than sixty-nine hours a week, while the +provisions for inspection were retained along with others which +contained the germ of education on the half-time system. + +[Pageheading: _THE EAST INDIA COMPANY._] + +The trading monopoly of the East India Company, though confined to China +by the act of 1813, had been regarded ever since with great jealousy by +the mercantile community. As the revised charter was now on the point of +expiring, it was for the government to frame terms of renewal which +might satisfy the growing demand for free trade. Their scheme, which few +were competent to criticise, met with general approval, and the only +determined opposition to it was offered in the house of lords by +Ellenborough, who lived to come into sharp collision with the court of +directors as governor-general. It was embodied in three simple +resolutions, the first of which recommended the legislature to open the +China trade without reserve, the second provided for the assumption by +the crown of all the company's assets and liabilities but with the +obligation of paying the company a fixed subsidy, while the last +affirmed the expediency of entrusting the company with the political +government of India. Grant, who moved these resolutions, as president of +the board of control, had no occasion to defend the policy of setting +free the China trade which no one disputed; but he undertook to show +that it had declined in the hands of the company, and that private +competition had already crept in on a large scale. He also dwelt on the +advantage of bringing the political relations arising out of commercial +intercourse more directly under the control of the government. His +reasoning was sound, and the China trade rapidly developed, nor could he +be expected to foresee the course of events whereby the government +afterwards became embroiled with the Chinese empire, on the importation +of opium, and other economical questions. As compensation for the loss +of its exclusive privileges, the company was to receive an annuity of +£630,000, charged on the territorial revenues of India. + +The policy of continuing the company's rule in India for twenty years +longer would have excited more earnest discussion in a session less +crowded with legislative projects. The way had been paved for the +concession of complete free trade in the eastern seas by the reports of +select committees and parliamentary debates under former governments. +The consumers of tea, numbered by millions, promised themselves a better +quality at a lower price, and a keen spirit of enterprise was kindled by +the idea of breaking into the unknown resources of China. But public +interest in the administration of India was languid. It might well have +appeared that a board sitting in Leadenhall Street was fitter to conduct +shipping and mercantile operations than to govern an imperial dependency +like British India. But the contrary alternative was almost tacitly +accepted. The directors were "to remain princes, but no longer merchant +princes," and Ellenborough complained that whereas "hitherto the court +had appeared in India as beneficent conquerors, henceforth they would be +mortgagees in possession". Perhaps the ministry shrunk from provoking +the storm of obloquy which must have resulted from placing the vast +patronage of the company in the hands of the crown. At all events, it +was agreed, with little dissent, that under the new charter the company +should nominally retain the reins of power, checked, however, by Pitt's +"board of control," the president of which, in reality, shared a +despotic authority with the governor-general of Bengal, who was +hereafter to be in name what he had long been in fact, governor-general +of India. The bill strengthened his council, and enabled him to +legislate for all India. + +At the same time Europeans were permitted to settle and hold land in +India without the necessity of applying for a licence. Lastly, the +principle was laid down, pregnant with future consequences, that all +persons in India, without distinction of race or creed, should be +subject to the same law and eligible for all offices under the +government. Such was the last charter of the great company. It is +interesting to observe that Grant, in admitting that the government of +India under its sway had not been prone "to make any great or rapid +strides in improvement," paid a just tribute to its eminently pacific +character. "It excited vigilance," he said, "against any encroachment of +violence or rapacity; it ensured to the people that which they most +required--repose, security, and tranquillity." The immense annexations +of territory and far-reaching reforms which have created the British +India of the twentieth century were either most reluctantly sanctioned +by the court of directors or have been carried out since its dominion +was transferred to the crown. Irrevocable as they are, and beneficent as +they may be on the whole, they have certainly imposed difficulties of +portentous magnitude upon the rulers of India, nor would it be +surprising if some native survivors of the olden days in far-off +recesses of the country should remember with sad regret the paternal, +though unprogressive, despotism of the sovereign company. + +[Pageheading: _THE BANK CHARTER ACT._] + +The bank charter act of 1833, having been superseded by that of 1844, +fills a less important place than it otherwise would in the history of +legislation on currency. The bill was founded, however, on the report of +a secret committee which embraced Peel as well as Althorp and several +other members of high financial repute or great experience in the city. +Since the subject of it was familiar to a large section of members +engaged in business, and touched the pockets of bankers all over the +country, it was discussed in the house of commons far more earnestly +than the bill renewing the charter of the East India Company. In the end +two provisions were dropped, which directly encouraged the increase of +joint stock banks. The rest were passed, and contained important +modifications of the banking system as it then existed. The main +privileges of the Bank of England were continued, in spite of a strong +opposition and of protests against the one-sided inquiry said to have +been conducted by the secret committee. These privileges embraced the +exclusive possession of the government balances, the monopoly of limited +liability, then refused to other banks, and the right, shared by no +other joint stock bank, of issuing its own notes. Though private London +banks might have legally exercised this power they did not actually do +so, and nearly all of them deposited their reserves with the Bank of +England. + +Another part of the scheme, which even Peel condemned, was thus briefly +stated in a preliminary resolution: "That, provided the Bank of England +continued liable, as at present, to defray in the current coin of the +realm all its existing engagements, it was expedient that its promissory +notes should be constituted a legal tender for sums of £5 and upwards". +In other words, country bankers would no longer be compelled to cash +their own notes, or pay off their deposits in gold, but might use Bank +of England notes instead, above the value of £5. The Bank of England, +however, and all its branches, remained liable to cash payments, as +before, so that, as Baring argued, only one intermediate stage was +interposed between the presentation of a country note and the exchange +of it for specie. Peel's objection, which did not prevail, chiefly +rested on the danger of the Bank of England closing its branches in its +own interests, in order to check the demand for cash. Though his fears +were not literally realised, experience disclosed the danger of country +banks multiplying unduly, and, by their over-issue of notes, causing a +severe drain upon the Bank of England for gold. For the present, +however, the critics of the measure were less concerned in forecasting +such remote consequences than in protesting against the charge to be +made by the bank for managing the public debt. This charge was, in fact, +to be reduced by £120,000 a year, but one-fourth part of the advances +made by the bank to the public (or £3,671,700) was to be paid off, and +the proposed remuneration was denounced as exorbitant. Althorp hardly +denied that it was a good bargain for the bank, though he persuaded the +house of commons to endorse the arrangement, rather than incur the +dislocation of national finance and commercial business certain to ensue +if the bank should withdraw from its connexion with the government and +use its vast influence for its own interest alone. + +[Pageheading: _LEGAL REFORMS._] + +Two great law reforms close the series of important remedial measures +passed in the first session of the reformed parliament--a session, be it +remembered, which embraced all the furious and protracted debates on the +Irish coercion act and the Irish Church temporalities act. The first of +these was Brougham's valuable bill constituting a permanent "judicial +committee of the privy council," and transferring to it the judicial +functions theoretically belonging to "the king in council," but +practically exercised by committees selected _ad hoc_ on each occasion. +Charles Greville, to whose memoirs all historians of this period are +greatly indebted, and who in 1833 was clerk of the council, was inclined +to disparage the proposed change as one of Brougham's fanciful projects, +designed to gratify his own self-importance.[116] Even Greville, +however, saw reason to modify his view, and the new court has ever since +commanded general respect, except from those high Churchmen who resented +its assumption of the appellate jurisdiction in ecclesiastical causes, +formerly vested, along with a similar jurisdiction in admiralty causes, +in the king in chancery, and exercised by a "court of delegates," +usually consisting of three common law judges and three or four +civilians selected _ad hoc_. + +The essential defects of such a court were fully stated in the report of +a very strong commission, including six bishops, appointed in 1830. +Probably the expediency of reforming the jurisdiction of the privy +council for the purpose of hearing these ecclesiastical appeals may have +suggested to Brougham the idea of constructing a standing appellate +tribunal within the privy council, for the purpose of hearing all +appeals that might come before that body. Accordingly, after carrying a +bill in 1832 whereby the privy council, as such, took over the powers of +the "court of delegates," he introduced the general bill whereby the +judicial committee was created, and under which it still acts. It was to +consist of the lord chancellor, with the present and past holders of +certain high judicial offices, and two privy councillors to be +appointed by the sovereign; to whom prelates, being privy councillors, +were to be added for ecclesiastical appeals. The system thus founded, +and since developed, is capable of indefinite expansion, in case still +closer relations should be established between Great Britain and the +colonies. + +The act for the abolition of fines and recoveries, though scarcely +intelligible except to lawyers, was a masterpiece not only of +draughtsmanship, but of honest law amendment. It swept away grotesque +and antiquated forms of conveyance, which had lost their meaning for +centuries, and which nothing but professional self-interest kept alive. +Had it been followed up by legislation in a like spirit on other +departments of law, the profits of lawyers and the needless expenses of +clients might have been reduced to an extent of which the unlearned +public has no conception. As it was, it simplified the process of +selling land in a remarkable degree, though it left untouched the +complications of title and transfer affecting real property, which no +lord chancellor since Brougham has been courageous enough to attack in +earnest, and which remain the distinctive reproach of English law. It is +not without shame that we read in the king's prorogation speech, +delivered on August 29, 1833, the assurance that he will heartily +co-operate with parliament in making justice easily accessible to all +his subjects. He adds that, with this view, a commission has been issued +"for digesting into one body the enactments of the criminal law, and for +inquiring how far, and by what means, a similar process may be extended +to the other branches of jurisprudence". Seventy years have since +elapsed, yet this royal promise of codification is not even in course of +fulfilment. On the other hand, Brougham's scheme for establishing local +courts in certain parts of the kingdom was destined to bear ample fruit +in the next reign. It was described by Eldon as "a most abominable +bill," and, being generally opposed by the law lords, was rejected by a +small majority, but it was the germ of the county courts, which have +since done so much to bring justice within the reach and the means of +poor suitors. + +Notwithstanding its legislative exploits, the whig government was +declining in popularity at the end of 1833, and was beginning to +discover how vain it is to rely on political gratitude. Other reforming +governments have since undergone the same bitter experience, the causes +of which are by no means obscure. No reform can be effected without +"harassing interests," and the sense of resentment in the sections of +the community thus harassed is far stronger and more efficacious than +any appreciation of the benefits reaped by the general public at home, +or by mankind at large. Again, the expectations excited by the agitation +of such a question as parliamentary reform are far beyond the power of +any legislature to satisfy. Grey and his colleagues were too well aware +of this, and Stanley, for one, manfully championed the government +measures on their own merits, disdaining to flatter the radicals, but +his discretion was not equal to his valour, and every debate brought +into stronger relief the more statesmanlike capacity and moderation of +Peel. There was no tory reaction, but a growing distrust of heroic +remedies for national disorders, and a growing faith in the possible +development of a liberal policy in a conservative spirit. Even the Duke +of Wellington found himself restored insensibly to popular favour, and +was again received in the streets with marks of public respect. + +[Pageheading: _ALTHORP'S THIRD BUDGET._] + +Of all the ministers, no one enjoyed a greater share of confidence both +in and out of parliament than Althorp. He was not a great financier, but +he was an honest and prudent chancellor of the exchequer, a free-trader +by conviction, and incapable of those artifices by which a plausible +balance-sheet may be made out at the cost of future liabilities. Yet his +budgets of 1831, 1832, and 1833 undoubtedly helped to shake the credit +of the government. The first had been far too ambitious, and became +almost futile, when the proposed tax on transfers was abandoned, and the +timber duties left undisturbed. The second was modest enough, and was +saved from damaging criticism by the absorbing interest of the reform +bill. Considerable reductions were made in the estimates, the revenue +yielded somewhat more than had been expected, and Althorp was enabled to +present a favourable account in 1833. He anticipated a surplus of about +a million and a half, out of which he was prepared to abolish certain +vexatious duties and to decrease others. But the country gentlemen, +headed by Ingilby, member for Lincolnshire, insisted on a reduction of +the malt duty by one-half, while the borough members, headed by Sir John +Key, clamoured for a repeal of the house tax and window tax. The former +motion was actually carried against the government by a small majority, +but its effect was annulled, and the latter motion was defeated, by a +skilful manoeuvre. This consisted in the proposal by Althorp of a +counter-resolution, declaring that, if half of the malt tax and the +whole tax on windows and houses were to be taken off, it would be +necessary to meet the deficiency by a general income tax. Such a +prospect was equally alarming to the landed interest and the +householders, whose rival demands were mutually destructive, the result +being that Althorp's amendment was carried by a large majority, and the +government escaped humiliation, though not without some loss of +prestige. + +It was perhaps to be expected that private members in the first session +of the reformed parliament should be eager to gain a hearing for their +special projects of improvement. So it was, but two only of these +projects deserved historical mention. One of these was the abortive +attempt of Attwood, the radical member for Birmingham, to reverse the +policy of 1819 by inducing parliament to initiate the return to a paper +currency. Cobbett actually followed up this failure by moving for an +address praying the king to dismiss Sir Robert Peel from his councils, a +motion defeated by a majority of 295 to 4. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[110] _The Croker Papers_, ii., 198. + +[111] Mahon to Peel (Jan, 8, 1833), Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 209. + +[112] Jan. 3, 1833, Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 213. + +[113] Peel to Croker (Sept. 28, 1833), _ibid._, p. 224. + +[114] Russell, _Recollections and Suggestions_, p. 113. + +[115] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 212-16. + +[116] Greville, _Memoirs_, ii., 364, 365. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND POOR LAW REFORM. + + +The year 1833, so fruitful in legislation, may be said to have witnessed +the birth of a religious movement which has profoundly affected the +character of the national Church. The neo-catholic revival, which +afterwards took its popular name from Pusey but drew its chief +inspiration from Newman, was in a great degree the outcome of the reform +act and a reaction against the more than Erastian tendencies of the +reformed parliament. In the early part of the century, as we have seen, +personal and practical religion was mainly represented by the +evangelical or low Church party, which did admirable service in the +cause of philanthropy, as well as in reclaiming the masses from +heathenism. The high Church party was comparatively inactive, but +co-operated with its rival in opposition to catholic emancipation. The +clergy, as a body, were hostile to reform, and the bishops incurred the +fiercest obloquy by voting against the first reform bill, which had +unfortunately been rejected by a majority exactly corresponding with the +number of their votes.[117] The democratic outcry against the Church +became louder and louder, as the evils of nepotism, pluralism, and +sinecurism were exposed to public criticism, and a growing disposition +was shown to deal with Church endowments both in England and in Ireland, +if not as the property of the state, yet as under its paramount control. + +[Pageheading: _THE TRACTARIAN MOVEMENT._] + +The recent infusion of Irish Roman catholics into the house of commons, +following that of Scotch presbyterians a century earlier, rendered it +less and less fit, in the opinion of high Churchmen, to legislate for +the Church of England, and every concession to religious liberty shocked +them as a step towards "National Apostasy". This was, in fact, the +impressive title of a sermon preached by John Keble, in July, 1833, +before the university of Oxford. From this sermon Newman himself dated +the origin of the Oxford or "Tractarian" movement, but its inward source +lay deeper. Having lost all confidence in the state and even in the +Anglican hierarchy as a creature of the state, a section of the clergy +had already been looking about for another basis of authority, and had +found it in theories of apostolical succession and Church organisation. +The university of Oxford was a natural centre for such a reaction, and +it was set on foot with the deliberate purpose of defending the Church +and the Christianity of England against the anti-catholic aggressions of +the dominant liberalism. It was not puritanism but liberal secularism +which Newman always denounced as the arch-enemy of the catholic faith. +For, as Wesley's sympathies were originally with high Church doctrines, +so Newman's sympathies were originally with evangelical doctrines, nor +were they ever entirely stifled by his ultimate secession to the Roman +Church. + +The later development of this movement, which had its cradle in the +common room of Oriel College, belongs rather to ecclesiastical history, +and to the reign of Queen Victoria. But from the first it rallied a +considerable body of support. Many who were not influenced by the +movement, shared its earlier aspirations. Shortly after the formation of +an association, under Newman and Keble's auspices, seven or eight +thousand of the clergy signed an address to the Archbishop of +Canterbury, insisting upon the necessity of restoring Church discipline, +maintaining Church principles, and checking the progress of +latitudinarianism. A large section of the laity ranged themselves on the +side of the revival, and meetings were held throughout England. The king +himself volunteered a declaration of his strong affection for the +national Church now militant, and prepared to assert itself, not merely +as a true branch of the catholic Church, but as a co-ordinate power with +the state. In the autumn of 1833, Newman and one of his colleagues +launched the first of that series of tracts from which his followers +derived the familiar name of Tractarians. From that day he was their +recognised leader, yet he claimed no allegiance and issued no commands. +He felt himself, not the creator of a new party, but a loyal son of the +old Church, at last awakened from her lethargy. The spell which he +exercised over so many young minds was due to a personal influence of +which he was almost unconscious, but which spread from the pulpit of St. +Mary's Church and his college rooms at Oriel over a great part of the +university and the Church. It was broken some years later, when he gave +up the _via media_ which he had so long been advocating, accepted the +logical consequences of his own teaching, and reproached others for not +discovering that Anglicanism was but a pale and deformed counterfeit of +the primitive Christianity represented, in its purity, by the Church of +Rome. + +Looking back at this movement across an interval of seventy years, we +may well feel astonished that it satisfied the aspirations of +inquisitive minds in contact with the ideas of their own times. For this +was the age of Benthamism in social philosophy and "German neology" in +biblical criticism. Though national education was in its infancy, a new +desire for knowledge, and even a free-thinking spirit, was permeating +the middle classes, and had gained a hold among the more intelligent of +the artisans. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, +established by Brougham, circulated a mass of instructive and +stimulating literature at a cheap rate; popular magazines and +cyclopædias were multiplying yearly; and the British Association, which +held its first meeting at Oxford in 1832, brought the results of natural +science within the reach of thousands and tens of thousands incapable of +scientific research. The _Bridgwater Treatises_, which belong to the +reign of William IV., are evidence of a widespread anxiety to reconcile +the claims and conclusions of science with those of the received +theology. Thoughtful and religious laymen in the higher ranks of society +were earnestly seeking a reason for the faith that was in them, and +pondering over fundamental problems like the personality of God, the +divinity of Christ, the reality of supernatural agency, and the awful +mystery of the future life. Yet the tractarians passed lightly over all +these problems, to exercise themselves and others with disputations on +points which to most laymen of their time appeared comparatively +trivial. + +[Pageheading: _THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH._] + +To them Church authority was supreme, and every catholic dogma a +self-evident truth. What engrossed their reason and consciences was the +discussion of questions affecting Church authority, for example, whether +the Anglican Church possessed the true note of catholicity or was in a +state of schism, whether its position in Christendom was not on a par +with that of the monophysite heretics, whether its articles could be +brought into conformity with the Roman catholic doctrines expressly +condemned by them, or whether its alliance with Lutheranism in the +appointment of a bishop for Jerusalem did not amount to ecclesiastical +suicide. Their message, unlike that of the early Christian or methodist +preachers, was for the priestly order, and not for the masses of the +people; their appeals were addressed _ad clerum_ not _ad populum_; still +less were they suited to influence scientific intellects. But their +propaganda was carried on by men of intense earnestness and holy lives, +few in number but strong in well-organised combination, and they carried +with them for a time many to whom any "movement" seemed better than +lifeless "high and dry" conformity. Herein consisted the secret of their +early success. Their subsequent failure was inevitable when they were +fairly confronted with protestant sentiment and with the independent +spirit of the age. How their aims were taken up and partially realised +in a new form by new leaders and through new methods, is an inquiry +which must be reserved for a later chapter in the history of the English +Church. + +The strange religious movement which resulted in the foundation of the +so-called Catholic Apostolic Church was of somewhat earlier date, and +its author had already been disavowed as a minister by the presbyterian +Church before the _Tracts for the Times_ began to startle the religious +world. The most brilliant part of Edward Irving's career falls within +the reign of George IV., when his chapel in London was crowded by the +fashionable world, and even attended occasionally by statesmen like +Canning. According to all contemporary testimony he was among the most +remarkable of modern preachers, and his visionary speculations in the +field of biblical prophecy failed to repel hearers attracted by his +wonderful religious enthusiasm. Compared with the adherents of the +methodist or of the neo-catholic revival, his followers were a mere +handful, and his name would scarcely merit a place in history but for +the impression which he made upon men of high ability and position. What +brought him into discredit with his own communion and with the public +was his introduction into his services of fanatics professing the gift +of speaking with "unknown tongues". These extravagances led to his +deposition in 1832, and probably hastened his early death in 1834. But +his creed did not die with him, and a small body of earnest believers +has carried on into the twentieth century a definite tradition of the +gospel which he taught. + +Far deeper and more lasting in its effects was the change wrought in +current ideas by the almost unseen but steady advance of science in all +its branches. During this epoch perhaps the most formidable enemy of +orthodoxy was the rising study of geology, challenging, as it did, the +traditional theories of creation. The discoveries of astronomy--the law +of gravitation, the rotation of the earth, its place in the solar +system, and, above all, the infinite compass of the universe--were in +themselves of a nature to revolutionise theological beliefs more +radically than any conclusions respecting the antiquity of the earth. +But it may be doubted whether it was so in fact; at all events, +theologians had slowly learned to harmonise their doctrines with the +conception of immeasurable space, when they were suddenly required to +admit the conception of immeasurable time, and staggered under the blow. +The pioneers of English geology were careful to avoid shocking religious +opinion, and Buckland devotes a chapter of his famous _Treatise on +Geology_ to showing "the consistency of geological discoveries with +sacred history". His explanation is that an undefined interval may have +elapsed after the creation of the heaven and the earth "in the +beginning" as recorded in the first verse of Genesis; and he rejects as +opposed to geological evidence "the derivation of existing systems of +organic life, by an eternal succession, from preceding individuals of +the same species, or by gradual transmutation of one species into +another". But speculations of this order were utterly ignored by such +religious leaders as Newman and Irving, whose spiritual fervour, however +apostolical in its influence on the hearts of their disciples, was +confined within the narrowest circle of intellectual interests. + +[Pageheading: _POOR LAW._] + +The great event of parliamentary history in 1834, and the crowning +achievement of the first reformed parliament, was the enactment of the +"new poor law," as it was long called. No measure of modern times so +well represents the triumph of reason over prejudice; none has been so +carefully based on thorough inquiry and the deliberate acceptance of +sound principles; none has so fully stood the conclusive test of +experience. It is not too much to say that it was essentially a product +of the reform period, and could scarcely have been carried either many +years earlier or many years later. In the dark age which followed the +great war, contempt for political economy, coupled with a weak sentiment +of humanity, would have made it impossible for a far-sighted treatment +of national pauperism and distress to obtain a fair hearing. After the +introduction of household suffrage, and the growth of socialism, any +resolute attempt to diminish the charge upon ratepayers for the +immediate relief but ultimate degradation of the struggling masses would +have met with the most desperate resistance from the new democracy. The +philosophical whigs and radicals, trained in the school of Bentham, and +untainted as yet by a false philanthropy, found themselves in possession +of an opportunity which might never have recurred. They deserved the +gratitude of posterity by using it wisely and courageously. + +The irregular development of the poor laws, from the act of Elizabeth +down to that of 1834, belongs to economic rather than to general +history. It is enough to say here that in later years, and especially +since the system of allowances adopted by the Berkshire magistrates at +Speenhamland in 1795 had become general, the original policy of +relieving only the destitute and helpless, and compelling able-bodied +men to earn their own living, had been entirely obscured by the +intrusion of other ideas. The result was admirably described in the +report of a commission, appointed in 1832, with the most comprehensive +powers of investigation and recommendation. The commissioners were the +Bishops of London (Blomfield) and Chester (Sumner), Sturges Bourne, +Edwin Chadwick, and four others less known, but well versed in the +questions to be considered. A summary of the information collected by +them, ranging over the whole field of poor-law management, was published +in February, 1834. It astounded the benighted public of that day, and it +still remains on record as a wonderful revelation of ruinous official +infatuation on the largest possible scale. The evil system was found to +be almost universal, but the worst examples of it were furnished by the +southern counties of England. There, an actual premium was set upon +improvidence, if not on vice, by the wholesale practice of giving +out-door relief in aid of wages, and in proportion to the number of +children in the family, legitimate or illegitimate. The excuse was that +it was better to eke out scanty earnings by doles than to break up +households, and bring all their inmates into the workhouse. The +inevitable effect of such action was that wages fell as doles increased, +that paupers so pensioned were preferred by the farmers to independent +labourers because their labour was cheaper, and that independent +labourers, failing to get work except at wages forced down to a minimum, +were constantly falling into the ranks of pauperism. + +Had some theorists of a later generation witnessed the social order then +prevailing in country districts, they would have found several of their +favourite objects practically attained. There was no competition between +the working people; old and young, skilled and unskilled hands, the +industrious and the idle, were held worthy of equal reward, the actual +allowance to each being measured by his need and not by the value of his +work; while the parochial authorities, figuring as an earthly +providence, exercised a benevolent superintendence over the welfare and +liberty of every day-labourer in the village community. The fruits of +that superintendence were the decline of a race of freemen into a race +of slaves, unconscious of their slavery, and the gradual ruin of the +landlords and farmers upon whom the maintenance of these slaves +depended.[118] + +[Pageheading: _NEW POOR LAW._] + +The evidence laid before the commissioners not only showed how +intolerable the evil had become in many counties, but also how purely +artificial it was. While the aggregate amount of the poor rate had risen +to more than eight millions and a half, while some parishes were going +out of cultivation and in others the rates exceeded the rental, there +were certain oases in the desert of agricultural distress where +comparative prosperity still reigned. These were villages in which an +enlightened squire or parson had set himself to strike at the root of +pauperism, and to initiate local reforms in the poor-law system. It was +clearly found that, where out-door relief was abolished or rigorously +limited, where no allowances were made in aid of wages, and where a +manly self-reliance was encouraged instead of a servile mendicity, wages +rose, honest industry revived, and the whole character of the village +population was improved. Fortified by these successful experiments, the +commissioners took a firm stand on the vital distinction, previously +ignored, between poverty and pauperism. They did not shrink from +recommending that, after a certain date, "the workhouse test" should be +enforced against all able-bodied applicants for relief, except in the +form of medical attendance, and even that women should be compelled to +support their illegitimate children. They also advised a liberal change +in the complicated and oppressive system of "parish settlement," whereby +the free circulation of labour was constricted. They further proposed a +very large reform in the administrative machinery of the poor laws, by +the formation of parishes into unions, the concentration of workhouses, +the separation of the sexes in workhouses, and, above all, the creation +of a central poor-law board, to consist of three commissioners, and to +control the whole system about to be transformed. + +A bill framed upon these lines, and remedying some minor abuses, was +introduced by Althorp on April 17, having been foreshadowed in the +speech from the throne, and carefully matured by the cabinet. So wide +and deep was the conviction of the necessity for some radical treatment +of an intolerable evil that party spirit was quelled for a while, and +the bill met with a very favourable reception, especially as its +operation was limited to five years. It passed the second reading by a +majority of 299 to 20 on May 9, notwithstanding a violent protest from +De Lacy Evans, an ultra-radical, who had displaced Hobhouse at +Westminster. The keynote of the radical agitation which followed was +given by his declaration that "the cessation of out-door relief would +lead to a revolution in the country," and by Cobbett's denunciation of +the "poor man robbery bill". The _Times_ newspaper, already a great +political force, took up the same cry, and had not Peel, with admirable +public spirit, thrown his weight into the scale of sound economy, a +formidable coalition between extremists on both sides might have been +organised. He stood firm, however; radicals like Grote declined to +barter principle for popularity, and the bill emerged almost unscathed +from committee in the house of commons. It passed its third reading on +July 2 by a majority of 157 to 50. Peel's example was followed by +Wellington in the house of lords, and Brougham delivered one of his most +powerful speeches in support of the measure. With some modification of +the bastardy clauses and other slighter amendments it was carried by a +large majority, and received the royal assent on August 4. + +No other piece of legislation, except the repeal of the corn laws, has +done so much to rescue the working classes of Great Britain from the +misery entailed by twenty years of war. Its effect in reducing the rates +was immediate; its effect in raising the character of the agricultural +poor was not very long deferred. Happily for them, though not for the +farmers, bread was cheap for two years after it came into force. Still, +the sudden cessation of doles and pensions in aid of wages could not but +work great hardship to individuals in thousands of rural parishes, and +there was perhaps too little disposition on the part of the +commissioners to allow any temporary relaxation of the system. The +rigorous enforcement of the workhouse test, and the harsh management of +workhouses, continued for years to shock the charitable sensibilities of +the public, and actually produced some local riots. When the price of +bread rose the clamour naturally increased, and petitions multiplied +until a committee was appointed in 1837 to review the operation of the +act. In the end the committee found, as might have been expected, that, +however painful the state of transition, the change had permanently +improved the condition of the poor in England. + +[Pageheading: _QUESTION OF APPROPRIATION._] + +While the bill was still in the house of commons the ministry which +framed it was torn by dissensions; before it came on for its second +reading in the lords Grey had ceased to be premier. The disruption of +his government had been foreseen for months, but it was directly caused +by hopeless discord on Irish policy. Anglesey had been forced by +ill-health to resign the vice-royalty, and the Marquis Wellesley, who +succeeded him, was more acceptable to Irish nationalists. But the king's +speech at the opening of the session contained a stern condemnation of +the repeal movement. O'Connell at once declared war, and the angry +feelings of his followers were inflamed by a personal and public quarrel +between Althorp and Sheil. Another incident, in itself trivial, +disclosed the discord prevailing in the cabinet on Irish affairs, and, +though O'Connell was defeated on a motion against the union by a +crushing majority of 523 to 38, the disturbed state of Ireland continued +to distract the ministerial councils. The ingenious devices of Stanley +and Littleton for solving the insoluble Irish tithe question had proved +almost abortive; the government officials employed to collect tithe were +almost as powerless to do so as the old tithe-proctors, and a new +proposal to convert tithe into a land tax was naturally ridiculed by +O'Connell as delusive. He made a speech so conciliatory in its tone as +to startle the house, but no words, however smooth, could now conjure +away the irreconcilable difference of purpose between those who regarded +Church property as sacred and those who regarded it not only as at the +disposal of the state, but as hitherto unjustly monopolised by a single +religious communion. It was reserved for Lord John Russell to "upset the +coach" by openly declaring his adhesion to "appropriation," in the sense +of diverting to other objects, secular or otherwise, such revenues of +the established Church as were not strictly required for the benefit of +its own members. After this act of mutiny against the collective +authority of the cabinet Grey's ministry was doomed. + +Its ruin was consummated by a motion of Henry Ward, member for St. +Albans, which expressly affirmed the right of the state to regulate the +distribution of Church property and the expediency of reducing the Irish +establishment. This motion was supposed to have been instigated by +Durham, who had never been loyal to his colleagues. The government was +notoriously divided upon it; Brougham suggested a commission of inquiry, +by way of compromise; other ministerialists were in favour of meeting +the difficulty by moving the previous question. Peel was prepared to +support the conservative section of the government, and deprecated in +strong terms "all manoeuvring, all coquetting with radicals" in order +to snatch a temporary party triumph.[119] + +Ward's resolution was introduced on May 27, 1834, and seconded by Grote, +but Althorp, instead of replying, announced the receipt of sudden news +so important that he induced the house to adjourn the debate. This news +was the resignation of Stanley, Graham, Richmond, and Ripon, whose views +on appropriation, as afterwards appeared, were shared by Lansdowne and +Spring Rice. The ministry was reconstructed by the accession of Lord +Conyngham as postmaster-general, without a seat in the cabinet, and of +Lord Auckland, son of Sidmouth's colleague, as first lord of the +admiralty, by the appointment of Carlisle (already in the cabinet) to be +lord privy seal, and the substitution of Spring Rice for Stanley at the +colonial office. Edward Ellice, the secretary at war, was included in +the cabinet, and James Abercromby, afterwards Lord Dunfermline, a son of +the famous general, Sir Ralph Abercromby, became master of the mint with +a seat in the cabinet. Poulett Thomson became president of the board of +trade, and minor offices were assigned to Francis Baring, and other whig +recruits. Grey himself, sick of nominal power, was dissuaded with +difficulty from retiring; Althorp, conscious of failing authority, was +retained in his post only by a high sense of duty. Unfortunately, he was +very soon entangled by his colleague Littleton in something like an +intrigue with O'Connell, which precipitated the final resignation of +Grey together with his own temporary secession. + +The details of this affair may be passed over in a few words. What is +clear is that Brougham and Littleton, without the knowledge of Grey, had +persuaded Lord Wellesley, as viceroy of Ireland, not to insist on a +renewal of the coercion act in its full severity, and especially to +sanction an abandonment of clauses suppressing public meetings. Having +obtained Wellesley's consent behind the backs of Grey and the rest of +the cabinet, Littleton with the cognisance of Althorp, proceeded to +bargain with O'Connell for an abatement, at least, of his opposition to +all coercion. The cabinet as a body declined to ratify any such +agreement, O'Connell denounced Littleton as having played a trick upon +him, and Althorp, disdaining to advocate provisions which he was almost +pledged in honour to drop, resigned his office and the leadership of the +commons. Grey, who could not have remained in office without the support +of Althorp's great popularity in the commons, at once resolved to follow +his example, and on July 9 took leave of political life in a dignified +and pathetic speech. As for Ward's motion, the original cause of Grey's +desertion by Stanley and his subsequent fall, it had been rejected by an +enormous majority in favour of "the previous question" before Althorp's +disappearance from his old position. Meanwhile Stanley availed himself +of his liberty to make one of his most dashing but least prudent +speeches, and permanently compromised his reputation for +statesmanship.[120] + +[Pageheading: _MELBOURNE PRIME MINISTER._] + +No other whig possessed the prestige derived by Grey from nearly fifty +years of consistent public service. Althorp commanded an extraordinary +degree of confidence in the house of commons and the country, but his +intellectual capacity was not of the highest order, and many expected +that Peel might receive a summons from the king, whose sympathy with the +whigs, never very deep, had given place to mistrust. His choice, +however, fell upon Melbourne, whom he desired, if possible, to form a +coalition with Peel, Wellington, and Stanley against the radicals. But +neither Melbourne nor Peel would accept such a coalition, and they both +showed their wisdom in declining it. The king then empowered Melbourne +to patch up the whig ministry. In deference to a requisition signed by +liberals of all sections, Althorp was induced to withdraw his +resignation, and resumed his leadership in the commons with no apparent +diminution of popularity. Duncannon, who was created a peer, succeeded +Melbourne at the home office; Lord Mulgrave, son of the first earl, +became lord privy seal in place of Carlisle; and Hobhouse entered the +cabinet as first commissioner of woods and forests. The rest of the +session was mainly spent in discussing the budget and the two Irish +questions which for so many years were the curse of English politics. A +surplus of two millions enabled Althorp to propitiate an importunate +class of taxpayers by repealing the house tax. + +It would have been more statesmanlike to repeal the window tax or reduce +indirect taxation, but relief was given, as usual, to those who raised +the loudest clamour, and the vindication of sound finance was reserved +for a conservative administration. A second and milder Irish coercion +bill was carried by a large majority, with the fatal proviso, which has +marred the effect of so many later measures, that it should continue in +operation for a year only. A far more serious conflict arose on the new +Irish tithe bill. A complicated plan had been proposed whereby +four-fifths of the tithe would have been ostensibly secured to the +church by conversion into a rent-charge, the remaining fifth being +sacrificed for the sake of peace and security. O'Connell succeeded in +inducing the house of commons to adopt a counter-plan, of a very +sweeping nature, whereby two-fifths of the existing tithe would have +been abandoned, and the tithe owner partly compensated out of the +revenues of suppressed bishoprics, aided by a state grant. The bill thus +amended was rejected by a majority of 189 to 122 in the house of lords. +Peel still cherished the idea of settling the question by a system of +voluntary commutation, but, after the peremptory action of the lords, no +compromise was likely to be acceptable, and there is some ground for the +opinion that in that division the Irish Church establishment received +its death-blow. + +On August 15 parliament was prorogued, and the belief of Peel in the +stability of the government may be inferred from the fact that he left +England for Italy on October 14. During the vacation, however, two +incidents occurred, trivial in themselves, but pregnant with important +consequences. One of these was Brougham's triumphant progress through +Scotland, where he was enthusiastically received as the saviour of his +country, and assumed the air of one who not only kept the king's +conscience but controlled the royal will. The story of this famous tour +exhibits alike the greatness of his powers and the littleness of his +character.[121] The homage paid to him was not undeserved, for he was +assuredly the foremost gladiator of the whig party, and had given proofs +of more varied ability than any living politician or lawyer. But the +dignified eloquence of which he was capable on rare occasions was here +submerged in a flood of egotistical rhetoric, which carried him away so +far that he assumed a political independence which his colleagues deeply +resented, and even spoke of the king in a tone of patronage. Having +lowered himself in public opinion by these speeches, especially at +Inverness and Aberdeen, he attended a banquet in honour of Grey at +Edinburgh, where he provoked a passage at arms with Durham. The press, +and especially the _Times_ newspaper, which had formerly loaded him with +extravagant praises, now turned against him, and ridiculed him as a +political mountebank. But his worst enemy was the king. William IV.'s +ill-concealed impatience of whig dictation had at last been quickened +into disgust by this and other sources of irritation, when the sudden +death of Althorp's father, Earl Spencer, on November 10, gave him an +opportunity which he eagerly seized. + +[Pageheading: _DESTRUCTION OF HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT._] + +By a strange fatality, this event almost coincided with the destruction +by fire of the houses of parliament on October 16. This calamity was the +result of a carelessness, which it is easy to condemn after the event on +the part of some subordinate officials and the workmen employed by them. +Down to 1826, accounts had been kept at the exchequer by means of wooden +tallies, which were stored in what was called the tally-room of the +exchequer. This room was required in order to provide temporary +accommodation for the court of bankruptcy, and an order was given to +destroy the tallies. The officials charged with the task decided to burn +them in the stoves of the house of lords, and the work of burning began +at half-past six in the morning of October 16. The work, hazardous in +any case, was conducted by the workmen with a rapidity that their orders +did not justify; the flues used for warming the house were overheated, +and though the burning of the tallies was completed between four and +five, the woodwork near the flues must have smouldered till it burst +into flame about half-past six in the evening. In less than half an hour +the house of lords was a mass of fire. About eight a change in the wind +threw the flames upon the house of commons. That house was almost +completely destroyed. The walls of the house of lords and of the painted +chamber remained standing, while the house of lords library, the +parliament offices, and Westminster Hall escaped. The king offered the +parliament the use of Buckingham Palace, but it was found possible to +fit up the house of lords for the commons and the painted chamber for +the lords. When the legislature reassembled on February 9, 1835, a +conservative ministry was in office, though not, indeed, in power. + +It is difficult for a later age to understand why the accession of +Althorp to a peerage should have afforded even a plausible reason for a +change of ministry. The position which Althorp held in the house of +commons is puzzling to a later generation.[122] It is well known that +Gladstone recorded the very highest estimate of his public services. Yet +he was not only no orator but scarcely in the second order of speakers, +he made no pretence of far-sighted statesmanship, he was not a +successful financier, and he made several blunders which must have +damaged the authority of any other man. The influence which he obtained +in leading the unreformed as well as the reformed house of commons was +entirely due to his character for straightforward honesty, perhaps +enhanced by his social rank, and his reputation for possessing all the +virtues of a country gentleman. The national preference for amateurs +over professionals in politics, no less than in other fields of energy, +found an admirable representative in him, and he was all the more +popular as a political leader because it was believed that he had no +desire to be a political leader at all. At all events, he inspired +confidence in all, and it was no mere whim of the king which treated his +removal from the commons to the lords as an irreparable loss to +Melbourne's administration. + +[Pageheading: _MELBOURNE'S RESIGNATION._] + +It is often stated that "without a word of preparation" the king got rid +of his whig ministers on November 14, 1834, and it must be admitted that +he afterwards took credit to himself for their dismissal as his own +personal act. But this view is not altogether borne out by contemporary +evidence. A published letter, of the 12th, from Melbourne to the king +shows that, as premier, he took the initiative in representing that, +whereas "the government in its present form was mainly founded upon the +personal weight and influence possessed by Earl Spencer in the house of +commons," it was for the king to consider whether, as "that foundation +is now withdrawn," a change of ministry was expedient.[123] It also +appears from a letter placed by the king in Melbourne's hands that a +"very confidential conversation" took place between them at Brighton, in +consequence of which the king resolved to send for Wellington.[124] In +the course of this conversation Melbourne informed the king that, in the +opinion of the cabinet, Lord John Russell should be selected for the +leadership of the house of commons. The king, incensed by Lord John's +action on the Irish Church question, would not hear of this arrangement, +especially as he thought Lord John "otherwise unequal to the task," and +disparaged the claims of other possible candidates.[125] He also +strongly resented the recent conduct of Brougham. In the end, he parted +kindly and courteously from Melbourne, who actually undertook to convey +the king's summons to Wellington. Another memorandum by the king, of the +same date, proves that a fear of further encroachments on the church was +really uppermost in his mind, and that he anticipated, not without +reason, "a schism in the cabinet" on this very subject.[126] + +Wellington acted with his customary promptitude, and with his customary +obedience to what he regarded as a call of public duty. A certain degree +of mistrust had existed between him and Peel, arising, in part, out of +circumstances preceding the duke's election to the chancellorship of +Oxford University. This suspension of cordiality had now passed away, +and Wellington strongly urged the king to entrust Peel, then at Rome, +with the formation of a new government. Hudson, afterwards known as Sir +James Hudson, delivered the despatch recalling him on the night of the +25th. Peel started from Rome on the 26th and, travelling with a speed +then considered marvellous, reached Dover within twelve days on the +night of December 8. He was in London on the 9th, and, without +consulting any one else, immediately placed his services at the king's +disposal. In the meantime, Wellington had stepped into the gap, and +actually held all the secretaryships of state in his own hands, pending +the arrival of Peel. + +The king had been encouraged to hustle his ministers unceremoniously out +of office by a paragraph which appeared in the _Times_ of November 15. +On the previous evening Brougham had been informed by Melbourne in +confidence that the king had accepted his suggestion of resignation, and +he carried the news to the _Times_, which, without giving Brougham's +name, published his message in his own words. It stated that the king +had turned out the ministry, and ended with the words: "The queen has +done it all". After this the king was determined to be done with his +ministers as quickly as possible. It is certain that neither Wellington +nor Peel wished to be thought responsible for their dismissal, the +propriety of which they both secretly doubted. The king, however, had +acted within his strict rights, and the outgoing ministers, as a whole, +were not ill pleased to be relieved from the burdens of office. + +Peel, though by no means hopeful of ultimate success, endeavoured to +construct a cabinet on a comprehensive basis. He first obtained the +king's "ready assent" to his inviting the co-operation of Stanley, who +had succeeded to the courtesy title of Lord Stanley, and Sir James +Graham. These overtures were declined in friendly terms, and both +promised independent support. But Stanley explicitly declared that, in +his judgment, "the sudden conversion of long political opposition into +the most intimate alliance would shock public opinion, would be ruinous +to his own character," and would rather injure than strengthen the new +government.[127] After this failure, Peel felt his task well-nigh +hopeless, and though he spared no effort to procure an infusion of fresh +blood, he complained that after all "it would be only the duke's old +cabinet".[128] There was, in fact, no man of known ability in it, except +himself, the Duke of Wellington (as secretary for foreign affairs), and +Lyndhurst, the chancellor; for the capacity of Aberdeen, who had been +foreign secretary under Wellington, and who now became secretary for war +and the colonies, and Ellenborough, who returned to the board of +control, had not yet been generally recognised. Peel himself became +first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer; Goulburn was +home secretary, Rosslyn lord president, and Wharncliffe lord privy seal. +Earl de Grey, elder brother of the Earl of Ripon, was made first lord of +the admiralty, Murray became master-general of the ordnance, Alexander +Baring president of the board of trade and master of the mint, Herries +secretary at war, and Sir Edward Knatchbull paymaster of the forces. It +was fully understood that a conservative government, even purged of +ultra-tory elements, could not face the first reformed house of commons, +and the dissolution which took place at the end of the year had been +regarded by all as inevitable. + +[Pageheading: _THE TAMWORTH MANIFESTO._] + +In anticipation of this event, Peel issued an address to his +constituents which became celebrated as the "Tamworth manifesto". It is +somewhat cumbrous in style, but it embodies with sufficient clearness +the new conservative policy of which Peel was the real author and +henceforth the leading exponent. It opens with an appeal to his own +previous conduct in parliament, as showing that, while he was no +apostate from old constitutional principles, neither was he "a defender +of abuses," nor the enemy of "judicious reforms". In proof of this, he +cites his action in regard to the currency and various amendments of the +law; to which he might have added his adoption of catholic emancipation. +He then declares, absolutely and without reserve, that he accepts the +reform act as "a final and irrevocable settlement of a great +constitutional question," which no friend to peace and the welfare of +the country would seek, either directly or indirectly, to disturb. He +approves of making "a careful review of institutions, civil and +ecclesiastical, undertaken in a friendly temper," with a view to "the +correction of proved abuses, and the redress of real grievances," and +that "without mere superstitious reverence for ancient usages". He lays +stress on his recorded assent to the principle of corporation reform, +the substitution of a treasury grant for Church rates, the relief of +dissenters from various civil disabilities (but not from university +tests), the restriction of pensions (saving vested interests), the +redistribution of Church revenues and the commutation of tithes, but so +that no ecclesiastical property be diverted to secular uses. After these +specific pledges, the Tamworth manifesto concludes with more general +professions of a progressive conservatism equally removed from what are +now called "advanced radicalism" and "tory democracy".[129] It was, of +course, too liberal for the followers of Eldon, and was ridiculed as +colourless by extreme reformers, but its effect on the country was +great, and it did much to win popular confidence for the new ministry. +If such a policy must be called opportunism, it was opportunism in its +best form; and opportunism in its best form, under the conditions of +party government, is not far removed from political wisdom. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[117] If all the bishops present had not merely abstained, but actually +voted in favour of the measure, it would have been carried by one vote. + +[118] Sir George Nicholls, _History of the English Poor Law_, vol. ii., +see especially pp. 242, 243. + +[119] Peel to Goulburn (May 25, 1834), Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +244. + +[120] Hatherton, _Memoir_; Creevey, _Memoirs_, ii., 285-88. + +[121] See Campbell's _Lives of the Chancellors_, viii., 446-57. + +[122] Compare Walpole, _History of England_, iii., 478. + +[123] _Lord Melbourne's Papers_, p. 220. + +[124] _Ibid._, pp. 222, 223. + +[125] Stockmar, _Memoirs_ (English translation), i., 330. + +[126] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 235. + +[127] Stanley to Peel (Dec. 11, 1834), Peel's _Memoirs_, ii., 39, 40. + +[128] Croker to Mrs. Croker, _Croker Papers_, ii., 219. + +[129] Peel, _Memoirs_, ii., 58-67. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + PEEL AND MELBOURNE. + + +The general election which took place in January, 1835, was hotly +contested, and in the second reformed parliament the conservatives +mustered far stronger than in the first. The party now consisted of some +270 members, chiefly returned by the counties. But they were still +outnumbered by the whigs, radicals, and Irish repealers combined, and it +was certain that an occasion for such a combination would soon arise. It +was found at once in the election of a speaker, when the house of +commons met on February 9, 1835. Sutton, now Sir Charles Manners Sutton, +was proposed for re-election by the government; the opposition candidate +was Abercromby. The number of members who took part in the division was +the largest ever assembled, being 622, and Abercromby was elected by a +majority of ten. It would have been larger, had not the government been +supported by some waverers, but its significance was appreciated by the +ministers, and still more by the king. He expressed his displeasure in a +very outspoken letter to Peel, declaring that, if the leaders "of the +present factious opposition" should be forced upon him by a refusal of +the supplies, he might, indeed, tolerate them, but could never give them +his confidence or friendship. Two days later, the 24th, the king's +speech was delivered, reflecting the spirit of the Tamworth +manifesto.[130] + +[Pageheading: _PEEL'S POLICY._] + +The government was again defeated by seven on an amendment to the +address, notwithstanding the loyal aid of Graham and Stanley, whose +attitude during the general election had excited Peel's mistrust. In the +course of this debate, the prime minister, abandoning his usual reserve, +definitely pledged himself not only "to advance, soberly and cautiously, +in the path of progressive improvement," but to bring forward specific +measures. "I offer you," he said, "reduced estimates, improvements in +civil jurisprudence, reform of ecclesiastical law, the settlement of the +tithe question in Ireland, the commutation of tithe in England, the +removal of any real abuse in the Church, the redress of those grievances +of which the dissenters have any just ground to complain." Nor were +these offers illusory or barren. On March 17, he brought in a bill to +relieve dissenters from disabilities in respect of marriage, which met +with general approval. It was founded on the simple principle, since +adopted, of giving legal validity to civil marriages duly solemnised +before a registrar, and leaving each communion to superadd a religious +sanction in its own way. The marriages of Churchmen in a church were to +be left on their old footing, but Churchmen were of course to be granted +the same liberty as other citizens of contracting a purely civil +marriage. + +Still more important, as examples of conservative reform, were Peel's +efforts to purge the established Church of abuses, and to introduce a +voluntary commutation of tithes. His correspondence amply shows how +large a space these remedial measures occupied in his mind, and one of +his first acts was to appoint an ecclesiastical commission, with +instructions to institute a most comprehensive inquiry into every +subject affecting the distribution of church revenues. Compared with the +petty squabbles over the appropriation of an imaginary surplus to be +derived from Irish tithes which it was impossible to collect, the +schemes of Peel for purifying and strengthening the Church of England +assume heroic proportions. The report of the ecclesiastical commission +originated by him, with its startling disclosures of pluralism and +non-residence, became the basis of legislation which has wrought a +veritable revolution in the financial and disciplinary administration of +the church. His tithe bill, abortive as it was in 1835, was reproduced, +with little alteration, in the tithe commutation act of 1836. + +But the whig-radical allies of 1835 had not the smallest intention of +giving Peel a fair trial; nor indeed had they any other object beyond +the recovery of power. His appeals to his opponents, though by no means +without effect in the country, fell upon deaf ears in the house of +commons, and further humiliations followed rapidly. One of these was the +successful outcry against the appointment of Londonderry, who had +excited much hostility as an uncompromising enemy to reform, to the +embassy at St. Petersburg, in consequence of which he, very honourably, +relieved the government from obloquy by declining the post. A motion to +repeal the malt tax was decisively defeated, and soon afterwards a +motion in favour of granting a charter to the University of London was +carried against the government by a large majority. Then came a defeat +on a motion for adjournment, and the arts of obstruction were +obstinately practised in debates on the estimates. At last the +inevitable crisis arrived, and, as might be expected, the final issue +was taken upon an Irish question. + +The influence of O'Connell and his "tail," as his followers were called, +had been neutralised, since the reform act, by the overwhelming strength +of the whigs, and the public-spirited action of Peel, who, as leader of +the conservative opposition, actually supported the whig government in +sixteen out of twenty most important contests on domestic policy. A very +different spirit was now shown by the whig opposition, and an evil +precedent, pregnant with disastrous consequences, was set by the famous +"Lichfield House compact". This was a close alliance between O'Connell +and those whom he had so fiercely denounced as "the base, brutal, and +bloody whigs". It bore immediate fruit in a motion of Russell for a +committee of the whole house to consider the temporalities of the Irish +Church. After a debate of four nights, the resolution was carried, on +March 30, by a majority of thirty-three. On April 5, a further +resolution was carried by a majority of twenty-five for applying any +surplus-funds "to the general education of all classes of the people +without religious distinction," and was more emphatically affirmed two +days later by a majority of twenty-seven. + +Peel had long been conscious of the hopelessness of his position and +impatient of maintaining the struggle. He felt the constitutional danger +of allowing the executive government to become a helpless instrument in +the hands of a hostile majority in the house of commons. Nothing but the +earnest remonstrances of the king and his tory friends, including +Wellington, had induced him to retain office so long, and, after the +division of the 7th, he firmly resolved to resign. On doing so, he +received from the whole conservative party, of which he was the +creator, a most cordial address of thanks and confidence. Though his +short administration had consolidated the whig forces for the moment, +and given them a new lease of power, it showed him to be the foremost +statesman in the country, and paved the way for his triumphant return to +office. As Guizot said, he had proved himself "the most liberal of +conservatives, the most conservative of liberals, and the most capable +man of all in both parties". + +[Pageheading: _MELBOURNE'S SECOND MINISTRY._] + +The king now discovered the fatal mistake which he had made in +"dismissing" his whig cabinet, as he boasted, instead of waiting for it +to break down under the stress of internal dissensions. His first idea +was to fall back on Grey, who had already betrayed his growing mistrust +of radicalism, but Grey declined to enter the lists again. There was no +resource but to recall Melbourne, whom the king personally liked, and to +put up with the elevation of Russell to a position which all admitted +him to have fairly earned. He became home secretary, as well as leader +of the house of commons, and the new whig cabinet differed little from +the old. Palmerston, Lansdowne, Auckland, Thompson, and Holland returned +to their former offices. Grant was made secretary for war and the +colonies, Duncannon became lord privy seal, Spring Rice chancellor of +the exchequer, Hobhouse president of the board of control, and Viscount +Howick, son of Earl Grey, was appointed secretary at war. Outside the +cabinet, Viscount Morpeth, son of the Earl of Carlisle, became Irish +secretary. The most significant difference between the two cabinets lay +in the omission of Brougham, which was effected by the expedient of +placing the great seal in commission. This negative act was, in reality, +the boldest and most perilous in Melbourne's political life. A +correspondence between Brougham and Melbourne in February must have made +clear to the ex-chancellor that he would be excluded from office, and he +reluctantly acquiesced in Melbourne's decision, hoping that it would be +merely temporary, and that he would soon resume his place on the +woolsack as the dominant member of the cabinet, but his exclusion was +destined to be final, and the close of a career to which English history +in the nineteenth century presents no parallel.[131] + +[Pageheading: _BROUGHAM._] + +Brougham was called to the Scottish bar at the age of twenty-one, having +already given proof of brilliant ability and rare versatility at the +University of Edinburgh. He was the youngest and most prolific of the +original writers in the _Edinburgh Review_, then a very powerful organ +of whig opinion, and his contributions to it ranged over some thirty +years after its first appearance in 1802. He was already twenty-nine +when he joined the English bar in 1808, and though he never rivalled +Eldon as a lawyer or Scarlett as a persuasive advocate, he soon became +an acknowledged master of the highest forensic eloquence. His fame was +already established by his argument before parliament against the orders +in council when he entered the house of commons in 1810. There his +passionate oratory and power of invective made him the most formidable +of party speakers, and it was said that Canning alone could face him on +equal terms in debate. Except during four years, 1812-16, when he was +out of parliament, his prodigious energy and versatility were the +greatest intellectual force on the liberal side throughout all the +political conflicts under the regency and the reign of George IV. His +speeches embraced every question of foreign, colonial, or domestic +policy, and it may truly be said that no salutary reform was carried +during that period of which he was not either the author or the active +promoter. The suppression of the slave-trade which had revived after the +great war, the liberty of the press, the cause of popular +education--these were among the almost innumerable objects, outside the +common run of politics, and largely philanthropic, to which he devoted +his restless mind, before it was engrossed for a while by parliamentary +reform. There, as we have seen, he showed a moderation which had not +been expected of him, nor is it too much to say that, both as a leader +of the bar and as chancellor, he made good his claim to be the greatest +of law reformers. + +His famous speech of February 7, 1828, had quickened the germs of many +legal improvements carried out in a later age, and the four years of his +chancellorship actually produced great constructive amendments of the +law, such as the institution of the central criminal court and the +judicial committee of the privy council. Other reforms, in bankruptcy, +criminal law, and equity, were mainly due to his initiative, and it was +he who originated the county courts, though his bill was recklessly +thrown out by the house of lords on party grounds. His public life, up +to the year 1835, was perhaps the most brilliant and the most useful of +the century, yet it was hopelessly marred in the end by a certain +eccentric vanity, and want of loyalty to colleagues, not inconsistent +with the higher ambition of leaving the world better than he found it. +For some years after his fall he retained his astounding energy, and +even his ascendency in the house of lords, where Lyndhurst, his only +possible rival, was astute enough to court his co-operation. Never was +his fertility in debate more conspicuously shown than in the session of +1835, while he was still nominally a supporter of the whig government. +The last stage of his life, extending over more than thirty years, +belongs to another chapter of English history; it is enough here to +notice that, whatever his political aberrations, he continued in his +isolation and old age to work zealously for those social reforms which +he sincerely had at heart. The popularity which had been to him as the +breath of life never, indeed, returned to him, and his figure no longer +occupies a foremost place in the gallery of our statesmen, but the +results of his noble services to humanity remain, and the memory of them +ought not to be obscured by the sad record of his failings. + +The new Melbourne administration came in with unfavourable omens. +Russell failed to secure his re-election in South Devon, but a seat was +found for him at Stroud, and though the premier emphatically denied that +he had made any bargain with O'Connell, the Irish people believed it. +Accordingly, they received the whig lord-lieutenant, Mulgrave, with a +tumultuous procession, as if his advent portended the repeal of the +union and extinction of tithes. An attempt to solve the insoluble tithe +question was, in fact, among the earliest efforts of the government, and +Morpeth, as chief secretary, introduced a very reasonable measure, +differing little, except in details, from that of his predecessor. Like +other proposals for agrarian settlements in Ireland, it involved a +certain sacrifice on the part of the tithe-owner for the sake of +security, and a subsidy from the state to relieve of arrears the +defaulting and rebellious tithe-payers. Peel stated his intention of +supporting these provisions for commutation, if they could be separated +from other provisions for "appropriation," coupled with them under the +influence of political necessity rather than of sound policy. The +proposals for appropriation were so moderate that little would have been +lost by dropping or gained by carrying them, but, moderate as they were, +they embodied a principle on which either party was resolved to stand or +fall. The consequence might have been foreseen. The bill, as a whole, +was passed in the house of commons, and even read a second time in the +house of lords, after which the appropriation clauses were rejected in +that assembly by a large majority. Thereupon Melbourne withdrew the +scheme altogether. Thus a question of third-rate importance, having been +the chronic difficulty of four Irish secretaries, was left to stand over +for three years longer, and ultimately to be settled on the very basis +which Stanley and Peel had accepted from the first. A greater waste of +parliamentary time has perhaps never been recorded. + +[Pageheading: _MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS BILL._] + +The session of 1835, however, was rendered memorable by the enactment of +one beneficent measure of the first magnitude. This measure--the +municipal corporations act--was preceded, like the new poor law, by a +thorough and exhaustive inquiry. A committee of the house of commons, +followed by a commission, had been appointed in 1833. The commission +prosecuted careful researches into the local conditions of each +municipality, and did not conclude its labours until 1835. Its report +laid bare not merely grotesque anomalies, but the grossest abuses of +election and administration in boroughs ruled by small, corrupt, and +irresponsible oligarchies which then abounded in England, and, still +more, in Scotland.[132] The reform act had paved the way for the +purification of such urban communities, by disfranchising the smallest +and most venal of them, by extending the boundaries of many others, by +enfranchising great towns which had remained outside the pale of +representation, and by conferring the suffrage, theretofore monopolised +by freemen and other privileged classes, on the unprivileged mass of +ten-pound householders. + +The municipal corporations bill, in its ultimate form, rested on the +same broad lines of policy. It imposed upon all boroughs, with the +exception of the city of London and a few of minor importance, one +constitutional form of government, identical in all its essential +features with those which a few model boroughs already possessed. The +governing body was to consist of a mayor, aldermen, and councillors, +together forming a town council. The councillors were to be elected +directly by ratepaying occupiers, with a saving for the prescriptive +rights of existing freemen. They were to hold office for three years; +the aldermen were to be elected by the councillors for six years, with a +provision for retirement by rotation. The mayor was to be elected +annually by the town council. The elementary powers of local government, +such as the control of lighting and the constabulary force, were to be +transferred (subject to certain exceptions) from the hands of committees +into those of the one recognised and supreme municipal authority. Other +clauses provided for a division of the larger boroughs into wards, for +the abolition of exclusive trading privileges, for the public management +of charity estates, and for the appointment, at the option of each +borough, of a recorder, for the purposes of jurisdiction. + +Such were the main outlines of the great measure introduced by Russell, +to which Peel heartily gave his adhesion. It was a natural, and almost +necessary, sequel of the reform act, which had already broken up many +nests of jobbery, curtailed the lucrative exercise of the elective +franchise by freemen, and undermined the influence of those self-elected +rulers who, in the worst boroughs, had become gangs of public thieves. +Supported by Peel, the bill was read a second time in the house of +commons, on June 15, without a division. Several conservative amendments +were defeated in committee by small majorities, and the bill was sent up +to the lords on July 21. There its fate was far different. Though +Wellington himself was not disposed to obstruct it, he entirely failed +to check the obstructive tactics of Lyndhurst who, on this occasion, +outdid himself in the deliberate mutilation of a bill approved by the +late conservative premier. Lord Campbell, no partial judge of Brougham, +has left on record his belief that, but for his faithful and vigorous +support, the scheme of municipal reform must have been utterly +wrecked.[133] It was allowed to be read a second time, but with the +full concurrence of Eldon and all the ultra-tory peers, Lyndhurst +succeeded in pulling it to pieces in committee. For instance, one of the +amendments imported into it perpetuated proprietary rights which it was +a chief object of the bill to abolish; another gave aldermen a +life-tenure of their offices; a third retained a part of the old town +councillors on the new town councils. Proud as he was of his destructive +exploits, as a triumph of toryism over conservatism, Lyndhurst soon +found that he could not so lightly override the wiser counsels of Peel. +When the lords' amendments came to be considered in the commons, Russell +prudently advised the acceptance of the less important, and the +disallowance of those inconsistent with the principle of the bill. He +was followed by Peel who, professing to uphold the independence of the +upper house, declared against the more obnoxious amendments, and +stickled only for points which the ministry was not unwilling to +concede. His action proved decisive. The commons stood firm on the main +issues, and the hostile party in the lords, who had vowed to mar this +reform, flinched at the last moment. Many of them abstained from +attendance. Wellington and even Lyndhurst recommended concession; +conferences took place between the houses, at which Russell played the +part of moderator, and on September 9 the corporation bill became law, +not in its entirety, but in all its essential features. + +In spite of this pacific compromise, popular feeling ran higher than +ever against the house of lords which, under the evil influence of +Lyndhurst, seemed bent on thwarting every liberal measure. John Roebuck, +member for Bath, a prominent radical, who acted independently of party +connexions, took a lead in denouncing their conduct, and went so far as +to propose giving them a merely suspensory, instead of an absolute, veto +on legislation. A sweeping reform in their constitution was loudly +advocated in the press. O'Connell, exasperated by their wanton rejection +of a Dublin police bill, spent a part of the parliamentary recess in a +tour over the north of England and Scotland, exhausting the stores of +his scurrilous invective in pouring contempt on the 170 tyrants who +could dare to withstand the will of the people. But O'Connell's +eloquence, marvellous as it was, never stirred British audiences as it +stirred the Irish masses, and it happened that at this moment he was +somewhat discredited by accusations of corruption afterwards proved to +be false. The house of lords not only survived his attacks, but was +instigated by Lyndhurst to further acts of obstruction in the following +year. + +[Pageheading: _COTTENHAM, LORD CHANCELLOR._] + +His most powerful opponent was about to disappear from the political +scenes for the present, and in the future to be converted into an ally. +When the great seal was entrusted to commissioners, Brougham had +affected to regard the arrangement as a temporary makeshift to +propitiate William IV., and hoped that he would inherit the reversion of +the chancellorship. With this expectation he not only patronised but +warmly supported the whig ministry in 1835. But his wayward and petulant +egotism had set all his old colleagues against him, and Melbourne had +made up his mind that "it was impossible to act with him". The +interruption of legal business caused by the constant withdrawal of +three judges from their proper duties, to act as commissioners, was +severely criticised by the press, and Sir Edward Sugden, who had been +lord chancellor of Ireland under Peel, published an effective pamphlet +entitled, "What has become of the great seal?" It was thought necessary +to appoint a new chancellor, and in January, 1836, Sir Charles Pepys, +then master of the rolls, was raised to that dignity as Lord Cottenham. +Foreseeing the implacable indignation of Brougham, the ministry decided +to confer a peerage on Henry Bickersteth, the new master of the rolls, +who became Lord Langdale, and who was supposed capable of confronting +the ex-chancellor in debate. No expectation could have been more +unfounded or delusive, but the sense of disappointment and desertion so +preyed on the health and nerves of Brougham that he forsook the house of +lords for a whole session. Campbell does not shrink from saying that he +was "atrociously ill-used" on this occasion,[134] and assuredly he +should not have been left to learn from a newspaper that he was thrust +aside in favour of a man of vastly inferior gifts and services. + +One other change was made in the cabinet during the recess. The Earl of +Minto became first lord of the admiralty in succession to Auckland who +had been appointed governor-general of India. When parliament met on +February 4, 1836, the prospects of the whig government were more +favourable than on their first accession to office. The factious +conduct of the house of lords in the last session had disgusted the +country, while the statesmanlike moderation of Peel secured them +fair-play in the house of commons, though it was gradually building up a +strong conservative party. Ireland again blocked the way for a while +against useful legislation for Great Britain, and the first encounter of +parties was on an amendment to the address condemning the anticipated +reform of Irish corporations on the principles already adopted for +England. This amendment, unwillingly moved by Peel, was defeated by a +majority of forty-one, and the Irish municipal bill was introduced on +the 16th. Like its English prototype, it was founded on the report of a +commission which had disclosed the grossest possible abuses in Irish +municipalities, chiefly dominated by protestant oligarchies. A similar +measure substituting elective councils for these corrupt bodies had +actually passed its third reading in the commons before the end of the +last session, but the attempt to carry it further was then abandoned. +The debates on the bill of 1836 for the same purpose inevitably turned +on broad issues which continued to disturb Irish politics and to perplex +English statesmen for the rest of the century. On the one hand, no one +could justify "government by ascendency" in Ireland, or the shameful +malpractices incident to an exercise of power under no sense of +responsibility. On the other hand, no one acquainted with Irish history +and Irish character could honestly regard the people as yet qualified +for local self-government. In the social and some of the moral virtues +they might be favourably compared with Englishmen and Scotchmen; in the +political virtues, upon which civil institutions must rest, they were +several generations behind their fellow-subjects in Great Britain. + +[Pageheading: _IRISH BILLS._] + +All were agreed on the necessity of sweeping away or expurgating the +existing Irish corporations, but the whole strength of the conservative +party in both houses was enlisted against the experiment of elective +town councils, especially after the evidence lately taken before the +so-called "intimidation committee" in the house of commons. Peel's +scheme was to vest the executive powers and property of Irish +corporations, at least for the present, in officers appointed by the +crown. An amendment framed in this sense was defeated by a large +majority, and the bill passed the commons with little further +opposition. When it reached the lords it was stoutly contested by +Lyndhurst, now fortified by Peel's concurrence, on the not unreasonable +ground that it would make the radicals and repealers predominant in +every Irish municipality, and create "seats of agitation" for +revolutionary purposes in the new town councils. Being converted into a +bill "for the abolition of municipal corporations" in Ireland, it was +returned in that form to the house of commons. Russell vainly attempted +to meet the lords half-way by another compromise, and the measure was +abandoned only to be adopted, in a very modified shape, after the lapse +of four years. A like course was pursued by the upper house when a new +Irish tithe bill, with an appropriation clause, was sent up to them. Had +the whig government been well advised they would scarcely have +challenged a needless collision between the two houses by reviving this +burning question so early. It would have been possible to settle the +Irish tithe system on equitable lines, without prejudicing the future +application of superfluous Church revenues, and it was a somewhat +perverse obstinacy which persisted in coupling the two objects year +after year. The ingenuity of Lyndhurst in wrecking sound reforms should +have been left without excuse; whereas, in this case, the peers could +not have accepted what they regarded as a confiscation bill without a +sacrifice of conviction and self-respect. + +Happily the commutation of tithes in England presented no political +difficulties of the same nature. The payment of tithes in kind, though +founded on immemorial usage, had, indeed, produced constant discord +between the parish clergyman and his flock, while landlords and farmers +justly complained that it impeded the improvement of agriculture. In +many localities the pressure of these evils had led to voluntary +compositions between tithe-owners and tithe-payers, which, being +temporary, lacked the force of law. The permissive tithe bills of +Althorp and Peel were designed to render general a practice which +already prevailed in a thousand parishes, and that now introduced by +Russell was little more than an extension of the same principle. Its +mainspring was the appointment of commissioners with compulsory powers +in the last resort, and the provision of a self-acting machinery for +assessing the reduced annual rent charge payable in lieu of tithes, so +as to vary with the average price of wheat, barley, and oats in the +seven preceding years. This practical solution of the question was +adopted cheerfully by the wearied legislature, and the commissioners +succeeded before long in effecting universal commutation. Amendments in +detail have of course been found necessary, but the system established +by 6 and 7 William IV., cap. 61, has stood the test of long experience, +and although tithe-owners have been impoverished by the fall of prices, +the payment of tithes in England has ceased to be a grievance, except +with those who absolutely condemn the endowment of a Church. + +[Pageheading: _REGISTRATION ACTS._] + +An equally valuable and permanent legacy of this session is contained in +two cognate acts regulating marriages and registration in England. By +the first of these acts two new modes of celebrating marriage were +provided, without interfering with the old privileges of the established +Church in regard to marriage by licence or banns. While the essential +conditions of notice and publicity were carefully secured, the +superintendent registrar of each district was empowered either to +authorise the celebration of marriage in a duly registered place of +worship, but in presence of a district registrar, or to solemnise the +ceremony himself, without any religious service, in his own office. +Clergymen of the Church of England were constituted registrars for +marriages celebrated by themselves, and were bound to furnish the +superintendent registrars with certified entries of such marriages. The +act was complicated by a variety of safeguards, enforced by heavy +penalties, against fraud and evasion, but its leading features were +simple and have proved effectual for their purpose. It marked an advance +on the earlier marriage bill of Russell, since it not only allowed +dissenters to marry in their own chapels, but to marry without having +their banns published in the parish church. It went beyond the marriage +bill of Peel, since it not only recognised marriage as a civil contract, +but utilised the new poor law organisation, and posted in each district +a civil official before whom that contract could legally be solemnised. + +The rules laid down by the first act for the registration of marriages +were an integral part of a general registration system established by +the second act, and embracing births and deaths as well as marriages. +This system, rendered possible by the division of the country into +unions, brought under effective control the old parochial registers +which had been loosely kept for three centuries. The statistical value +of the returns thus checked and digested in a central department is now +fully recognised, but can only be appreciated by students of social +history, which, indeed, is now largely founded on reports of the +registrar-general. The special provisions for the registration of deaths +are also of the utmost service in the prevention of disease and crime. +Not until after this act of 1836 was it realised by the mass of the +people, not only that a sudden death would properly be followed by a +coroner's inquest, but that every death, with its circumstances, must be +treated as a matter of public concern and duly notified. Still more +important in its results has been the requirement of a medical statement +on the cause of death--a requirement which has brought about the +discovery of numerous murders and greatly checked the commission of +others. If the marriage act relieved a large class of the community from +vexatious disabilities, the whole community assuredly owes the second +reformed parliament a debt of gratitude for the registration act which, +like so many of the best acts in the statute book, provoked but little +discussion. + +A far keener party interest was excited by the crusade against the +Orange lodges in Great Britain and Ireland which Hume and Finn, an Irish +member, carried on with great energy in the sessions of 1835 and 1836. +These societies then had an importance which they no longer possess, and +were the more open to radical attacks because the Duke of Cumberland was +grand master of the order. It was said, with some justice, that while +the catholic association was nominally put down, the Orange lodges in +Ireland were openly spreading, with the connivance at least of the Irish +authorities. Their officials included noblemen of high position; +Goulburn, when chief secretary, was an Orangeman, and special efforts +had been made to enrol members in the army. Their principles were +strictly loyal, but their demonstrations were naturally resented by the +Roman catholics, and were not far removed from preparations for civil +war. They hailed the accession of Peel's short ministry with tumultuous +enthusiasm, but when the legality of their organisation and proceedings +was challenged in the house of commons, during the session of 1835, +their advocates felt compelled to support a committee of inquiry. The +evidence taken before this committee, and the debate raised by Hume on +the formation of Orange lodges in the army, damaged their cause in the +eyes of the public, and seriously compromised the Duke of Cumberland. It +was shown that his brother, the Duke of York, had resigned the grand +mastership, and on being convinced of their illegality had forbidden +Orange lodges in the army, whereas the Duke of Cumberland had accepted +the grand mastership and directly promoted military lodges. + +An address condemning them was carried; the king undertook to discourage +them, and the commander-in-chief issued a stringent order for their +suppression. The struggle, however, was continued by the pertinacity of +the radicals in demanding a more extended inquiry, and the obstinacy of +the Orangemen in defying both the house of commons and the horse guards. +Early in the session of 1836 Finn and Hume renewed their assaults, and +the latter moved for an address, to be framed in the most sweeping +terms, and calling upon the crown to dismiss all persons in public +employment, from the highest to the lowest, who should belong to Orange +societies. Russell, who had been gradually rising in public estimation, +showed the qualities of a true statesman on this occasion by a firm yet +conciliatory speech which commanded assent on both sides. He exposed the +extravagant and impracticable nature of Hume's demand, but condemned the +Orange societies, and proposed an address urging the crown to use its +influence for "the effectual discouragement of Orange lodges, and +generally all political societies, excluding persons of different faith, +using signs and symbols, and acting by associated branches". This +resolution was adopted without opposition, the king heartily endorsed +it, even the Duke of Cumberland acquiesced in it, and the Orange +societies quietly dissolved themselves, for a while, throughout the +United Kingdom. + +If the session of 1836 had produced no other legislative fruits it could +not be regarded as wasted. But several minor reforms of great social +benefit also date from this year, and prove that, however checked by +political blunders, the energy kindled by the reform act had not yet +exhausted itself. After repeated efforts of legal philanthropists, a +bill was now passed for the first time allowing prisoners on trial for +felony to be defended by counsel. It was brought in by William Ewart, a +private member, who sat for Liverpool, but was supported by the highest +legal authorities in the house of lords, including Lyndhurst himself, +who openly recanted his former opinions, and declared the old law to be +a barbarous survival, inconsistent with the practice of other civilised +nations. In the same house an interesting debate took place on the +management of jails, which had been placed under a system of inspection +by an act of the previous year. The reports of the inspectors disclosed +gross abuses, not only in the smaller county jails but in Newgate +itself. Lansdowne, in pledging the government to deal with the larger +question, intimated that Russell, as home secretary, was considering the +means of separating juvenile offenders from hardened criminals by +establishing places of detention in the nature of what have since been +known as reformatories. + +[Pageheading: _DUTY ON NEWSPAPERS LOWERED._] + +A still more notable contribution to social improvement was made by +Spring Rice, the chancellor of the exchequer, in consolidating the paper +duties on a reduced scale, and lowering the stamp duty on newspapers +from fourpence to one penny. These were the only controversial elements +in a budget otherwise modest and acceptable. The battle over paper +duties and "taxes upon knowledge" raised in the debates of 1836 was +destined to rage many years longer, but the relief granted by Spring +Rice gave a powerful impulse to journalism and periodical literature. It +was opposed by all the familiar arguments against a cheap press, but +that which most endangered its success was a rival proposal to apply any +surplus revenue to cheapening soap. Soap, it was plausibly contended, +was a necessary, reading newspapers or periodicals was only a luxury, +and a luxury, too, far move capable of being abused than expenditure on +soap. When the penny stamp on newspapers was at last preferred to +reduced soap duties it was said that, "so far as financial arrangements +were concerned, everything went to supply the essential elements of low +political clubs, _viz._, cheap gin, cheap newspapers, filthy hands, and +unwashed faces".[135] + +The legislative record of 1836 was creditable to the government, nor was +the action of the upper house in amending certain of their bills so +purely mischievous as it has been described. For instance, a strange +clause had found its way into the newspaper stamp bill, requiring all +the proprietors of newspapers, however numerous, to be registered at the +stamp office. This clause was struck out in the house of lords, at the +instance of Lyndhurst, though Melbourne declared it to be a vital part +of the measure, which, however, passed without it, and was the better +for the loss of it. But the same cannot be said of Lyndhurst's conduct +at the "open conference" between the two houses on a supplementary bill +for remedying defects in the operation of the municipal corporations +act. There no question of principle was involved, and the only motive +for resisting every attempt to improve the new machinery already +established by law was one unworthy of a statesman. At the close of the +session, Lyndhurst delivered a masterly vindication of his own +proceedings, but he was answered by Melbourne in a speech of great +ability, and the position now occupied by the whigs appeared stronger +than when they came into office in 1835. + +In this year complaints of agricultural distress once more became +urgent, and a committee was appointed by the house of commons, as in +1833, to inquire into its cause. Strange to say, the immediate occasion +for the second inquiry was the occurrence of three magnificent harvests +in succession, which brought down the average price of wheat from 58s. +8d. in 1832 to 53s. in 1833, 46s. 2d. in 1834, and 39s. 4d. in 1835, +whence it rose to 48s. 6d. after the harvest of 1836. The average +gazette price of 1835 was the lowest touched in the nineteenth century +until 1884, and was simply due to excess of production. It was stated +before the committee of 1836, by the comptroller of corn returns, that +in the period between 1814 and 1834 the quantity of home-grown wheat +only fell short of the consumption, on the average, by about 1,000,000 +quarters a year, of which at least half was contributed by Ireland. The +committee published its evidence without making a report, but this fact +is highly significant as marking the later revolution in British +agriculture. If the area then devoted to wheat crops almost sufficed to +feed an estimated population of 14,500,000, when the yield per acre was +relatively small, we may safely infer, in the absence of trustworthy +statistics, that it must have been very much greater than at present. + +[Pageheading: _AGITATION IN IRELAND._] + +At the opening of 1837 there was a marked stagnation in home politics, +mainly due to an equipoise of parties and serious divisions in the ranks +of the ministerialists as well as of the opposition. Not only was there +a very strong conservative majority in the house of lords, with a +sufficient though dwindling liberal majority in the house of commons, +but neither majority was amenable to party discipline. The aggressive +policy and vexatious tactics of Lyndhurst were distasteful to his +nominal leader, the Duke of Wellington, and still more so to Peel, the +only possible conservative premier, who eschewed the very name of tory. +There was greater unity of counsels between Melbourne and Russell, but +Russell, who had learned moderation, was dependent on the support of his +extreme left, composed of violent radicals and Irish repealers. The +king, though he did not carry his repugnance to his ministers so far as +he once threatened, yet almost excluded them from social invitations, +and made no secret of his preference for the opposite party. During the +winter of 1836-37 O'Connell and his satellites were busy in organising +monster meetings to demand the abolition of tithes and municipal reform. +A national association was formed on this basis, and a certain number of +protestants were induced to join it. The government dared not show +vigour in checking it lest they should estrange their Irish allies, and +Mulgrave, the lord-lieutenant, was openly accused of favouring sedition +and discouraging loyalty by his exercise of patronage and the royal +prerogative of pardon. At last, a very large and influential meeting was +held in Dublin, at which the discontent of loyalists and patriots was +expressed with truly Irish vehemence. Still, Ireland was less disturbed +than in several previous years. About the same time, Peel, having been +elected lord rector of Glasgow University, was entertained there at +dinner by a company including many old reformers, and made one of his +greatest speeches. Its spirit was that of his Tamworth manifesto, but he +was far more outspoken in his declaration of unswerving adhesion to the +protestant cause and to the independence of the upper house. + +Such were the political conditions when parliament met on January 31. +The king's speech, delivered by commission, though singularly +colourless, indicated the importance of legislating on Irish tithes, +Irish corporations, and Irish poor relief. The debate on the address was +enlivened by a furious attack of Roebuck on the whigs, but was +otherwise devoid of importance. On February 7, however, Russell +introduced a new Irish corporations bill, invoking the authority of Fox +for the doctrine that "Irish government should be regulated by Irish +notions and Irish prejudices," and avowing a faith in the efficacy of +unlimited concession which has not been justified by later experience. +He further intimated the resolution of the government to stand or fall +by this measure. No serious resistance was offered by the opposition to +its first or second reading, but Peel took occasion to protest against a +transparent inconsistency which seems to beset the advocacy of Irish +claims. It is generally assumed, and with too much justice, that Ireland +is so backward and helpless a country as to require exceptional +treatment; in short, that it must be governed by Irish ideas, with +little regard to English principles of sound policy or economy. Such +was, in effect, Fox's contention, adopted by Russell; and yet, like +future supporters of "Ireland for the Irish," he argued in the same +breath that every liberal institution suitable to Englishmen, with their +long training in self-government and instinctive reverence for law, must +needs be extended to Irishmen, with their long training in anarchy and +instinctive propensity to lawlessness. He prevailed, however, in the +house of commons, where a hostile amendment was decisively rejected, and +the bill, having passed rapidly through committee, was read a third time +by a large though reduced majority. + +Had it been possible to isolate the Irish municipal bill, and to compel +the house of lords to deal with it singly, the peers might possibly have +shrunk from another collision with the commons. But it had been coupled +in the king's speech with two other projects of Irish legislation, a new +tithe bill, and an Irish poor law. Both of these were, in fact, +introduced, the former by Russell in February, the latter by Morpeth +early in May. The course to be taken by the conservative party was the +subject of anxious consultation between Peel and Wellington, and that +ultimately adopted had the full sanction of both. They regarded the +separate presentation of the municipal bill as a "manoeuvre," and, +while they overruled the wish of Lyndhurst to defeat it by an adverse +vote on the second reading, they resolved to meet it by a +counter-manoeuvre. Accordingly Wellington induced the house of lords +to postpone the committee on the municipal bill until they should have +the other two bills before them, and Peel not only approved of his +action but stated reasons for regarding them as essentially connected +with each other. June 9 was originally fixed as the date for going into +committee, but this stage was afterwards deferred until July 3, before +which unforeseen events arrested all further progress. + +[Pageheading: _CHURCH RATES._] + +In the meantime, the prestige of the government had been weakened by the +failure of their scheme for abolishing Church rates. The dissenters, no +longer content with religious liberty, were beginning to demand +religious equality. In the forefront of their grievances was that of +paying rates for the repair of parish churches which they did not +attend, except as members of the annual "vestry," where they could +object to a rate but might be out-voted by a majority of their +fellow-parishioners. Althorp had proposed a scheme for the removal of +this grievance in 1834, involving a parliamentary grant of £250,000. +Setting aside this alternative, as well as that of a special +contribution, voluntary or otherwise, from members of the Church, Spring +Rice now proposed a solution of his own. It consisted in vesting the +property of bishops and chapters in a commission which, by improved +management, might raise the necessary sum for church repairs, without +impairing the incomes of these ecclesiastical dignitaries. Before the +government plan was discussed in the house of commons, Howley, +archbishop of Canterbury, entered a strong protest against it in the +house of lords on the ground that it would reduce the bishops and +chapters from the position of landowners to that of "mere annuitants". +Melbourne complained of his protest somewhat angrily as premature, and +provoked a vehement reply from Blomfield, bishop of London, who, though +a member of the ecclesiastical commission, denounced any such diversion +of revenues as "a sacrilegious act of spoliation". In the elaborate +debates on the resolutions moved by Spring Rice in the house of commons +Peel took his stand partly on financial objections and partly on the +injustice of taking away from the Church a fund belonging to it by +immemorial usage, and in the main willingly contributed. Amendment after +amendment was proposed by members of the opposition, and, though each +was defeated, the government resolutions were ultimately carried by so +narrow a majority in May that no further action was taken. + +The conservative reaction, now in visible progress, was typified by the +open secession of Burdett from the ranks of the reformers. This sincere +but indiscreet radical, who had once enjoyed a popularity similar to +that of Wilkes as a political martyr, became estranged from his party +when it accepted O'Connell as an auxiliary, if not as an ally. Having +failed in procuring the exclusion of the great Irish demagogue from +Brooks's club, in 1835, he withdrew his own name. Soon afterwards he +became irregular in his parliamentary attendance, and more than lukewarm +in his allegiance. Early in 1837 he was, like Stanley and Graham, so +much suspected of gravitating towards conservatism, that some of his +Westminster constituents publicly called upon him to resign. He took up +the challenge, and was re-elected against a radical opponent by a +substantial majority. It was his last re-election for a borough which he +had represented for thirty years. In the Church-rate debate he rose from +the opposition side of the house, and lamenting his separation from his +old associates, did not spare them either reproaches or hostile +criticism. + +Another desertion from the whig camp took place during this session, but +in an opposite direction. Roebuck, originally one of the philosophical +radicals, had become more and more violent in his attacks on his own +leaders, whom he accused of having deceived the people. According to +him, they were "aristocratic in principle, democratic in pretence," and +all the resources of his incisive rhetoric were exhausted in exposing +their incapacity, in a motion for a committee to consider the state of +the nation. This motion, so advocated, met with no support, and gave +Russell the opportunity of once more vindicating the wisdom of +moderation in statesmanship. But there were many besides Roebuck who +were eager to complete the work of the reform act by further organic +changes, and the notice book of the house of commons in 1837 embodied +several proposals of this kind. One was Grote's annual motion for the +ballot, on which an interesting debate took place. Among the others were +two motions of Sir William Molesworth for a reform of the upper house +and for the abolition of a property qualification for the lower house, a +motion of Tennyson, who had taken the additional name of D'Eyncourt, for +the repeal of the septennial act, and another of Hume for household +suffrage, overshadowing that of Duncombe for repealing the rate-paying +clauses of the reform act itself. Nearly all of these contained the +germs of future legislation, but they formed no part of the whig +programme, nor could any whig government have carried them against so +powerful an opposition, with an invincible reserve in the house of +lords, during the last session of William IV. Only seventeen public acts +were actually passed in this session. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF WILLIAM IV._] + +There were, indeed, other reasons for declining to provoke a grave +contest at this juncture. The king's health was known to be failing, his +death under the law then in force would involve a general election, and +no one could desire his successor, a girl of eighteen, to begin her +reign in the midst of a political crisis. In May his illness assumed an +alarming aspect, early in June the medical reports satisfied the country +that his case was hopeless, on June 19 he received the last sacrament, +and on the 20th he died at Windsor Castle. Something more than justice +was done to his character by the leaders of both parties in parliament, +but something less than justice has been done to it by later historians. +He was inferior in strength of will to his father, in ability to his +eldest brother, and in the higher virtues of a constitutional sovereign +to his niece, who succeeded him. But he was not only a kindly and +well-meaning man, a good husband to Queen Adelaide and a good father to +his natural children, faithful to his old friends, and bountiful in his +charities; he was also a loyal servant of the state, with a genuine +sense of public duty, a natural love of justice, an independent +judgment, and a noble indifference to personal or selfish objects. His +lot was cast in almost revolutionary times, and he was called upon to +reign at an age when few men are capable of shaking off old prejudices, +yet he deserved well of his people in supporting the ministry of Grey +through all the stages of the reform movement, in spite of his own +declared sympathies, but in deference to his own conviction of paramount +obligation under the laws of the land. He was quite as liberal in +opinions as Peel, whose hearty interest in the poorer classes he fully +shared, and far more liberal than the tory majority in the house of +lords. Great he certainly was not, and he never affected the royal +dignity which partially concealed the littleness of his predecessor. But +in honesty and simplicity he was no unworthy son of George III., and the +greater pliability of his nature contributed, at least, to make the +seven years of his reign more fruitful in reforms than all the sixty +years during which the old king occupied the throne of England. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[130] The king to Peel (Feb. 22, 1835), Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +287-89. + +[131] See Melbourne's letters to Brougham, _Melbourne Papers_, pp. +257-64. + +[132] The abuses in the Scottish municipalities had, however, been +already removed by an act conferring the municipal franchise on £10 +householders. Not the least important result of this act was the +increased strength which it gave to the "evangelical" party in the +general assembly of the Church of Scotland, which was partly elected by +the municipalities. + +[133] Campbell, _Lives of the Chancellors_, viii., 470. + +[134] Campbell, _Lives of the Chancellors_, viii., 476. + +[135] _Annual Register_, lxxviii. (1836), p. 244 + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + FOREIGN RELATIONS UNDER WILLIAM IV. + + +In 1830 the closing months of Wellington's administration were disturbed +by the French and Belgian revolutions. The former of these was +occasioned by the publication on July 25 of three ordinances, +restricting the liberty of the press, dissolving the chambers, and +amending the law of elections. The Parisian populace rose against this +infringement of the constitution. In the course of a three days' +street-fight (the 27th to the 29th) the troops were driven out of Paris. +On the 30th a few members of the chambers, who had continued in session, +invited Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, to assume the office of +lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and he was proclaimed on the +following day. On August 7 the chamber of deputies offered him the +crown, which he accepted, and on the 9th he was proclaimed "King of the +French". On the 2nd Charles X. and the dauphin had renounced their +rights in favour of the young Duke of Bordeaux, and on the 16th they +sailed from Cherbourg to England. The change of dynasty was accompanied +by a transference to the _bourgeoisie_ of such political influence as +had hitherto belonged to the clergy and _noblesse_. It remained to be +seen whether it would also be accompanied by a change of foreign policy. + +[Pageheading: _RECOGNITION OF LOUIS PHILIPPE._] + +The new French revolution occasioned no slight perturbation in the +European courts. To say nothing of the fear of the precedent being +followed in other lands, there was no longer any guarantee that France +would respect the arrangements effected by the treaties of Vienna and +Paris. Austria, Prussia, and Russia agreed not to recognise Louis +Philippe, and entered into a convention for mutual aid in the event of +French aggression. Aberdeen, the British foreign secretary, declared +that the time had come for applying the treaty of Chaumont, which, as +extended at Paris, pledged Great Britain and the three eastern powers to +act together in case fresh revolution and usurpation in France should +endanger the repose of other states. Wellington, however, saw that the +cause of the elder Bourbon line was hopeless, and held now, as in 1815, +that if France was not to menace the peace of Europe, her political +position must be one with which she could be contented. He considered +that the arguments which justified the admission of France to the +councils of the powers at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 applied with no less +cogency to the government of Louis Philippe than to that of Louis XVIII. +He therefore determined to acknowledge the new French government at an +early date after the notification of its assumption of power. Nor were +the other powers slow in taking the same course. It is true that +Metternich suggested a closer bond between Austria, Prussia, and Russia, +partly to restore amicable relations between Austria and Russia, partly +to oppose any possible designs of France on Italy. Prussia, fearing war, +resisted the proposal, and preferred to draw France into a guarantee of +the _status quo_ by recognising Louis Philippe. Russia was last of the +great powers to acknowledge the new _régime_ in France, and she only did +so on condition that the powers should hold the French king responsible +for the execution of the international engagements of the fallen +dynasty. Louis Philippe was certainly not the man wilfully to embroil +France in a war with her neighbours, and, had he been independent of +French public opinion, there would have been no reason to fear French +aggression. + +The state which had most to fear from an aggressive France was the new +kingdom of the Netherlands. Trusting for protection to the great powers +rather than to its own forces, the Netherlands government had adopted a +system which left it almost entirely without troops except during the +military exercises of September and October. Wellington, who knew the +pacific character of the new French government, advised the garrisoning +of certain isolated points on the frontier, but thought no further +preparation necessary. A few weeks were however to prove that the new +French revolution had aroused a more implacable enemy, against whom the +house of Orange would have needed all the troops it could summon to its +aid. The union of Holland and Belgium had been resolved on by the +powers at Paris in 1814, mainly for military reasons. Austria had been +unwilling to resume the heavy burden of guarding the Belgian Netherlands +and southern Germany against French aggression, and the powers had +consequently resolved on strengthening those smaller states on whom the +duty of resistance would fall. In these days, accustomed as we are to +the distinction between the Teutonic and Latin races, it might seem +reasonable that two countries in which the prevailing languages are low +German should be subject to the same government. But it was not yet +customary to turn the principles of comparative philology into arguments +for the rearrangement of political boundaries. The French language and +culture had moreover made considerable progress among the upper and +middle classes of Belgium, while religious differences alienated the +clergy from the house of Orange. In the states-general of the +Netherlands the Dutch had half the votes, and, as the Orange party was +strong in Antwerp and Ghent, commanded a majority. The fiscal system +adopted by the government favoured the Dutch rather than the Belgian +population. Dutchmen were generally preferred for state offices, and an +attempt to control the education of the clergy was deeply resented as an +attack on the Roman catholic religion. Belgium in consequence presented +the curious spectacle of the liberal and clerical parties working on the +same side, united against the Dutch government. + +[Pageheading: _BELGIAN REVOLUTION._] + +The example afforded by France turned a discontent which might have led +to local riots into a national conflagration. On August 25 there was a +rising of the populace at Brussels, which the troops proved unable to +quell. On the 27th it was suppressed by a body of burgher guards, a +volunteer force drawn from the _bourgeoisie_ of the town. The +_bourgeoisie_ finding themselves in possession of the Belgian capital, +at first presented a series of minor demands to the king, but on +September 3 they went the length of demanding a separate administration +for Belgium. The king undertook to lay this proposal before the states, +which assembled on the 13th. But before the states could come to any +conclusion the question had assumed a new aspect. All the leading towns +of Belgium had followed the example of Brussels by forming burgher +guards and had thus joined in the revolution; and on the 20th a fresh +rising of the populace of Brussels had overthrown the burgher guard and +instituted a provisional government. This was followed by an attempt on +the part of Prince Frederick of Orange, a younger son of the King of the +Netherlands, to occupy Brussels with a military force. After five days' +fighting he was compelled to retire, and when on the 30th the +states-general gave their consent to the proposal for a separate +administration, their decision fell upon deaf ears. All the Belgian +provinces were in revolt. + +It was now clear to everybody that the national party in Belgium would +not consent even to a personal union with Holland. As the union of the +two countries formed a part of the treaty of Vienna, every European +power had a legal right to employ force to prevent its disruption, and +Russia and Prussia both desired active intervention. In France, on the +other hand, there was a loud popular demand for the reannexation of +Belgium to France, of which it had formed a part from 1794 to 1814. +Louis Philippe saw that he could not resist this demand if the Belgian +insurgents were coerced on the side of Prussia, and therefore announced +that Prussian aggression would be met by a French expedition to Belgium +to keep the balance even, until the question should be settled by a +congress of the powers. On September 25 Talleyrand had arrived in +England. He quickly obtained the adhesion of Wellington to the principle +of non-intervention. The duke had been among the first to grasp the fact +that reconciliation of Dutch and Belgians was impossible, and that the +intervention of the powers would necessitate a European war, to avoid +which the union of the two countries had originally been designed. He +agreed therefore to a separation of the countries on condition that +France should bind herself to observe the arrangements of the congress +of Vienna in 1815 and should take no separate action in Belgium. + +On Talleyrand's suggestion it was decided to refer the question to the +conference already sitting in London for the purpose of settling the +Greek question, which would of course have to be reinforced by +representatives of Austria and Prussia for the present purpose. Molé, +the French foreign minister, would have preferred Paris as the seat of +the congress, but the King of the Netherlands absolutely refused to +entrust his cause to a conference meeting in a city where opinion ran so +strongly against him. On October 5 he made a formal appeal to the +powers for the aid guaranteed him by treaty, but the demand came too +late to induce Wellington to swerve from the policy of non-intervention, +and on November 4 the conference of London began its labours by +proposing an armistice in Belgium, which was accepted by both parties. +This left Maastricht and the citadel of Antwerp in the hands of Dutch +garrisons, and Luxemburg in the hands of a garrison supplied by the +German confederation. Every other place in Belgium was in the hands of +the insurgents. But the further solution of the question was reserved +for other hands. On the 3rd Louis Philippe was compelled to accept a +revolutionary ministry, and on the 22nd Wellington and Aberdeen had to +make way for a whig ministry with Grey as premier, and Palmerston as +foreign secretary. + +The new foreign secretary had served a long political apprenticeship as +secretary at war in the successive administrations of Perceval, +Liverpool, Canning, Goderich, and Wellington, and under the three +last-mentioned premiers he had enjoyed a seat in the cabinet. It will be +remembered that he had been a warm champion of Greece, and had resigned +office along with Huskisson, Dudley, and Grant. He now returned in +company with Grant as a member of a whig cabinet. Although this change +of party involved the adoption of a domestic policy far removed from +Canning's, Palmerston's foreign policy remained rather Canningite than +whig. The interest and the honour of England ranked with Palmerston as +with Canning before all questions which concerned the maintenance of +European peace. But instead of Canning's versatile diplomacy he +displayed too often a reckless disregard of the susceptibilities of +foreign governments, and, if, like Canning, he lent the moral support of +Great Britain to the liberal party in every continental country, it was +not, as it had professedly been with Canning, because their success +would promote the interests of Great Britain, but because he had a +genuine sympathy with their cause. It is impossible to deny that in his +earlier years at least Palmerston's policy met with a success such as +Castlereagh and Wellington had not attempted to gain; real or imaginary +dangers at home left the foreign governments too weak to oppose the will +of the one strong man of the moment. Yet it is doubtful whether any +resultant benefits were not more than counterbalanced by the distrust +and ill-will with which the greater nations of Europe have learned to +regard the British government and people. + +[Pageheading: _PROPOSED DIVISION OF THE NETHERLANDS._] + +During the first few weeks of the new administration, the Belgian +question advanced far towards a settlement. On November 10 a Belgian +national congress assembled at Brussels; on the 18th it voted the +independence of Belgium; on the 22nd it resolved that the new state +should be a constitutional monarchy, and on the 24th it proclaimed the +total exclusion of the house of Nassau. Finally the outbreak of a Polish +insurrection at Warsaw made it clear that Prussia and Russia would be +too busily occupied in the east to be able to interfere effectively in +the Belgian question. On December 20 a protocol was signed at London by +the representatives of the five powers, providing for the separation of +Belgium from Holland. When however the protocol was sent to the tsar for +ratification, he would only ratify it subject to the condition that its +execution should depend on the consent of the King of the Netherlands. +Meanwhile the London conference was engaged in settling the boundary of +the new kingdom. For the most part it went on the principle of leaving +to Holland the districts that had belonged to the United Provinces +before the wars of the French revolution. The remainder of the kingdom +of the Netherlands, consisting chiefly of the former Austrian +Netherlands, but including also territories which had belonged to +France, Prussia, the Palatinate, the bishopric of Liège, and some minor +ecclesiastical states, was assigned to Belgium. An exception was, +however, made in the case of the grand duchy of Luxemburg. Luxemburg was +reputed to be, next to Gibraltar, the strongest fortress in Europe. It +was regarded as the key to the lower Rhine; it formed a part of the +German confederation, and was garrisoned by German troops. Although +Holland had no historical claim to its possession, the treaty of Vienna +granted it to the Dutch branch of the house of Nassau, as compensation +for its former possessions, merged in the duchy of Nassau; and it was +now felt that a place so important to the safety of Germany could not +safely be handed over to a state which seemed likely to fall under +French influence. The powers therefore determined that this duchy should +continue to belong to the king of the Netherlands. + +There was also some difficulty over the apportionment of the debt. +Belgium was the more populous and the richer of the two countries, but +the greater part of the debt had been contracted by Holland before the +union. Belgium was, however, already responsible for its share of the +whole debt, and the powers can hardly be accused of injustice when they +determined to divide the debt in the proportion in which the +debt-charges had been borne in the three previous years, assigning +sixteen thirty-firsts to Belgium, and fifteen thirty-firsts to Holland. +Belgium was moreover to possess the right of trading with the Dutch +colonies and to contribute towards their defence. These provisions were +embodied in two protocols which were issued at London on January 20 and +27, 1831. As compared with the _status quo_ the Dutch were slightly the +gainers. The protocol permitted them to keep Maastricht and Luxemburg, +but required them to abandon the citadel of Antwerp; while the Belgians +were required to surrender those less important places which they had +occupied in Dutch Limburg and in the grand duchy of Luxemburg. +Talleyrand considered the present a favourable opportunity for claiming +for France the cession of Mariembourg and Philippeville which she had +been compelled to surrender to the kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. +Palmerston, however, absolutely refused to hear of any extension of +French territory, for fear of imperilling the security of Europe. The +two protocols were accepted by Holland on February 13 but rejected by +Belgium. Though Talleyrand had signed the protocol of January 20, it was +repudiated by Sébastiani, the French foreign minister, on the ground +that the object of the conference was to effect a mediation, not to +dictate a settlement. + +[Pageheading: _BELGIUM CHOOSES A KING._] + +Meanwhile the national congress at Brussels had attempted to elect a +king. At first the most favoured candidate was Auguste Beauharnais, Duke +of Leuchtenberg, the grandson of Napoleon's first consort. Louis +Philippe naturally objected to the establishment on his frontier of a +prince so closely connected with the house of Bonaparte. The pliant +Belgians accordingly transferred their preference to the Duke of +Nemours, the second son of Louis Philippe. It was in vain that +Sébastiani declared that France could not allow such a selection, as it +would be interpreted by the powers as evidence of a French design to +reincorporate Belgium in France. On February 3, 1831, the Duke of +Nemours was actually elected king by the Belgian national congress. But +the conference of London had, two days earlier, adopted a resolution, +excluding from the Belgian throne all members of the reigning dynasties +of the five powers. Still there was a strong party in France, including +Laffitte, the revolutionary premier, who advocated the claims of +Nemours. Louis Philippe, however, stood firm on the side of European +peace, and on the 17th definitively declined the crown offered to his +son. The French now recommended the Prince of Naples, but the Belgians +declined to accept him, and on the 25th the national congress appointed +a regent to hold office till a king should be elected. On March 13 the +accession to office of an anti-revolutionary ministry in France rendered +the complete co-operation of the powers easier. + +On April 17 France declared her adhesion to the protocol of January 20, +and by a new protocol the other four powers consented to the demolition +of some of the Belgian fortresses on the French frontier. Another +protocol of the same date ordered the Belgians to evacuate the grand +duchy of Luxemburg. On May 10 a further protocol even threatened Belgium +with the rupture of diplomatic relations in case she did not by June I +accept the protocol of January 20. But the powers soon adopted a more +conciliatory attitude. France and Great Britain desired that Prince +Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who in the previous year had resigned the crown +of Greece, should now be offered that of Belgium. Prince Leopold would +not accept the crown so long as Belgium continued to defy the powers, +and on the other hand there was no chance of securing his election by +the Belgian congress unless he undertook to maintain the Belgian claim +to the possession of Luxemburg. Lord Ponsonby, the British minister at +Brussels, succeeded in inducing the London conference to sign a new +protocol, undertaking to negotiate with Holland for the cession of +Luxemburg to Belgium, in return for an indemnity elsewhere, provided +that Belgium should first accept the protocol of January 20. The Belgian +congress gathered that the acceptance of Prince Leopold was regarded by +the powers as more important than the maintenance of the terms of that +protocol, and they accordingly elected him as their king on June 4 +without accepting the protocol. In answer to Dutch complaints Ponsonby +and General Belliard, the French minister, were recalled from Brussels +as the protocol of May 10 required. Leopold refused to accept the crown +until the conference should have offered better terms, and on the 26th +the conference signed another protocol, which differed from that of +January 20 in that it left the Luxemburg question open for future +negotiation, and rendered Holland liable for the whole of the debt that +it had incurred before the union of the two countries. On the same day +Leopold accepted the Belgian crown. The Belgian congress accepted this +last protocol on July 7, and on the 21st Leopold was proclaimed king, +and immediately recognised by Great Britain and France. The other great +powers were not long in following their example. + +It was now Holland's turn to feel aggrieved. She refused to recognise +the changes proposed by the powers in the terms which she had already +accepted. On May 21 she had declared that if the protocol of January 20 +were not accepted by June 1 she would consider herself free to act on +her own account, and on July 12 that the acceptance in Belgium of a king +who had not agreed to that protocol would be an act of hostility. +Feeling herself betrayed by the conference she gave notice on August 1 +that the armistice which had existed since the previous November would +terminate on the 4th. It was soon seen how much Holland had lost in the +preceding year by being found in a state of military unpreparedness. +When hostilities began the Dutch carried everything before them. On the +8th the Belgians were routed at Hasselt, and on the 13th Leopold in +person was compelled to surrender Louvain. But Holland was now arrested +in the full tide of her success. The opportunity that French patriots +had long desired had presented itself, and Louis Philippe would only +have endangered his own throne if he had failed to come to the +assistance of Belgium against Holland. On the 4th he received Leopold's +appeal for assistance; on the 12th the first French division reached +Brussels, and on the following day the Prince of Orange, who led the +main Dutch army, received orders from the Hague to retire within the +Dutch frontier. + +[Pageheading: _COERCION OF HOLLAND._] + +The conference had in fact found it necessary to join in measures of +coercion. On the first news of the outbreak of hostilities it severely +reproached Holland for the breach of the armistice, and ordered the +Dutch forces to retire. By a protocol of the 6th it accepted and +justified the French expedition, which, it knew, could not safely be +recalled, and tried to minimise the danger by forbidding the French to +cross the Dutch frontier and requiring them to return to France as soon +as the Dutch should return to Holland. At the same time a semblance of +joint action was created by the despatch of a British fleet to the +Downs. If the Dutch invasion of Belgium created excitement in France, +the French expedition had a similar effect in England, and Palmerston +found it necessary to insist sternly on the immediate evacuation of +Belgium upon the withdrawal of the Dutch troops. The French government +naturally desired to point to some tangible triumph of French arms, and +requested that the troops should be allowed to remain till the frontier +fortresses should have been demolished in accordance with the protocol +of April 17. In a somewhat insulting message Palmerston threatened a +general war sooner than allow the French troops to remain. The most that +France could obtain was that 12,000 men might remain a fortnight longer +than the rest and that a number of French officers might enlist in the +Belgian service. + +The conference now returned to the task of effecting a settlement in +accordance with the terms of the protocol of June 26. On October 15 it +provided for the partition of the grand duchy of Luxemburg between +Holland and Belgium and for the indemnification of Holland with a larger +portion of Limburg than had belonged to her in 1790. At the same time +provision was made for the freedom of the Scheldt, and the debt was +reassessed, 8,400,000 florins of _rentes_[136] being assigned to Belgium +and 19,300,000 to Holland. Along with this protocol a letter was sent to +the Belgian plenipotentiary, promising that if Belgium accepted it, the +powers would undertake to obtain the consent of Holland. The protocol +was converted into a treaty by the adhesion of Belgium on November 15. +Meanwhile the King of the Netherlands had appealed to the tsar against +the action of the western powers and of the Russian plenipotentiaries at +London, and the tsar had in consequence refused to ratify the treaty +till the King of the Netherlands should have given his consent. That +consent was slow in coming. It was only on June 30, 1832, that Holland +agreed to the exchange of territories and the reduction of Belgium's +share of the debt, and even then questions remained as to the dues on +the Scheldt and the transit of goods through Dutch Limburg. The Belgians +refused to negotiate further until the citadel of Antwerp should be +surrendered; the Dutch on the other hand refused to surrender it till a +definite treaty should be signed and ratified. On October 1 France, with +the approval of the British government, proposed to suspend the payment +of the Belgian share of the interest on the debt until the citadel of +Antwerp should be surrendered, and to deduct from the share of the +principal payable by Belgium, 500,000 florins of _rentes_ for each week +that should elapse before the surrender. The three eastern powers +refused to agree to any coercion of Holland, and, in consequence, Great +Britain and France determined to act alone. + +On the 22nd they signed a convention providing for the coercion of +Holland by an embargo and by the despatch of a squadron to the Dutch +coast. If any Dutch troops should be still in Belgium on November 15, a +French force was empowered, subject to the consent of the Belgian +government, to advance into Belgium and expel the Dutch troops from the +country. The French were, however, to retire as soon as the Dutch +evacuation was complete. The first result of this convention was the +suspension of the conference. On the 29th the two powers made their +demand. As the Dutch refused compliance, a joint French and British +fleet sailed on November 4 to blockade the Scheldt, and the embargo was +proclaimed on the 6th. On the 15th a French army of 56,000 men, +commanded by Gérard, entered Belgium. On December 4 it opened fire on +the citadel of Antwerp, which surrendered after a nineteen days' +bombardment on the 23rd. The French army returned to its own country +before the end of the year, leaving the Dutch in possession of two small +forts on the Belgian side of the frontier, which were more than +compensated by the positions held by the Belgians in Dutch Limburg. Even +the fall of the citadel of Antwerp did not induce Holland to accept the +settlement proposed by the powers, and Great Britain and France now +attempted to effect a working agreement pending negotiations on the +details of the treaty. It was in vain that Holland asked that Belgium +should evacuate the Dutch provinces of Limburg and Luxemburg and pay +her share of the interest on the Dutch debt. Palmerston and Talleyrand +refused to include these provisions in a preliminary convention. Finally +on March 21, 1833, a convention was signed between Great Britain, +France, and Holland, which terminated the embargo and provided for the +free navigation of the Scheldt and Maas. A similar convention was signed +between Holland and Belgium on November 18. Six years, however, were to +elapse before the Dutch government would consent to the conditions drawn +up by the powers in 1831. Meanwhile the Belgians were free from their +share of debt, held the greater part of Limburg and Luxemburg, and +enjoyed the free navigation of the Maas and the Scheldt, over and above +the terms granted them in 1831. + +[Pageheading: _POLISH REBELLION._] + +It is inconceivable that the Belgian question should have been left so +entirely in the hands of the two western powers, and that the settlement +should have taken the form of a foreign coercion of a legitimate king +for his unreadiness to make concessions to his revolted subjects, had +not the attention of the three absolutist powers of eastern and central +Europe been directed to another quarter. Just as the revolution of 1820 +had spread through southern Europe in spite of Castlereagh's attempt to +maintain that it was not of a contagious order, so that of 1830 awakened +similar outbursts not only at Brussels but in various German states, in +Switzerland, in Poland, and in Italy. The Polish insurrection was, like +the Belgian, a national revolt, and the consequent military operations +were of the nature of a war between Poland and Russia. The revolt broke +out at Warsaw on November 29, 1830, and on January 25, 1831, the Polish +diet proclaimed the independence of Poland. On February 5 a Russian army +crossed the Polish frontier. In France there was a loud popular demand +for intervention. But even the Laffitte ministry would not move without +the co-operation of Great Britain, though the French ambassador at +Constantinople tried to stir up the Porte to hostilities. The ministry +of Casimir-Perier, which came into office in March, proposed a joint +mediation of France and Great Britain, but to this Palmerston would not +assent. He remonstrated with Russia on her violations of the Polish +constitution, which Great Britain, along with the other powers, had +guaranteed at the congress of Vienna, but he could not support the +Polish claim to independence, since Great Britain had made herself a +party to the union of the two countries. As it happened, the +remonstrance was simply a cause of annoyance, which subsequent events +were destined to intensify. It was only on September 8, 1831, that the +Russians under Paskievitch captured Warsaw, an event which was followed +on February 26, 1832, by the abolition of the Polish constitution. +Palmerston protested again but with no more success than in the previous +year. + +[Pageheading: _DOM MIGUEL AND DON CARLOS._] + +In the Portuguese, as in the Belgian question, Palmerston drifted from +the position of a neutral into that of a partisan. Ever since the year +1828, British subjects accused of political offences had been brutally +ill-treated in Portugal, and as time went on the excesses increased. By +despatching six British warships to the Tagus Palmerston succeeded in +obtaining a pecuniary indemnity and a public apology on May 2, 1831. +Similar insults to France were not so readily redressed. A threat of +force on the part of the French government was followed by an appeal +from Dom Miguel for British assistance. This Palmerston refused to +grant, and in July a French squadron under Admiral Roussin forced the +passage of the Tagus, and carried off the best ships of the Portuguese +navy. Meanwhile much irritation had been caused in Brazil by Peter's +advocacy of his daughter's claim to Portugal, which was considered +inconsistent with his professed adherence to the separation of the two +countries. On April 6, Peter abdicated the crown of Brazil in favour of +his infant son, Peter II., and on the following day sailed for Europe in +order to assert his daughter's right to the Portuguese throne. He +arrived in Europe towards the end of May, and visited both England and +France. + +Though neither government assisted him directly, he was permitted to +raise troops and even to secure the services of naval officers, and in +December a force of 300 men sailed from Liverpool to Belleisle, which he +had appointed as the rendezvous. Palmerston had thus, unlike Wellington, +adopted the same attitude towards the Portuguese liberals that Ferdinand +VII. had adopted towards the absolutists. Peter's expedition gathered +further strength at the Azores and sailed for Portugal on June 27, 1832. +On July 8, the fleet, commanded by Admiral Sartorius, a British officer, +appeared off Oporto, which submitted on the following day. The town was, +however, blockaded by Miguel's forces and Peter's cause made no headway +until in June, 1833, the command of the fleet was transferred to Captain +(afterwards Admiral Sir Charles) Napier. On the night of June 24, he +landed at Villa Real a force of 2,500 men who conquered the province of +Algarve in a week, and on July 5 he annihilated Miguel's navy in an +engagement off Cape St. Vincent. After a further battle near Lisbon, +Peter's forces entered the capital on the 24th, and subsequently +repulsed a Miguelite attack upon the city. Miguel still held out in +northern Portugal, when another train of events caused the western +powers to substitute direct for indirect interference. + +Ferdinand VII. of Spain had fallen so entirely under the influence of +his fourth and last queen, Maria Christina of Naples, as to repeal by a +pragmatic sanction the Salic law which the treaty of Utrecht had +established as the rule of succession in Spain. The result of this edict +was to leave the succession to his infant daughter Isabella instead of +his brother Don Carlos, the leader of the Spanish absolutists. When +Ferdinand died on September 29, 1833, Don Carlos was absent from the +kingdom, supporting the cause of his fellow-pretender Dom Miguel. +Isabella received the hearty support of the constitutional party and was +almost universally acknowledged as queen. It was only in Biscay, where +the centralising tendency of the Spanish constitution, published on +April 10, 1834, seemed to entrench upon local liberty, that Don Carlos +met with much active support. His cause, like that of Miguel in +Portugal, was the more popular, but his adherents were as yet almost +entirely devoid of organisation. Peter's partisans had already made +substantial progress towards a complete victory, and Santha Martha, the +Miguelite commander-in-chief, had surrendered in the beginning of April, +when on April 22 a triple alliance, already signed between Great +Britain, Maria Christina, Queen-regent of Spain, and Peter, as regent of +Portugal, was converted into a quadruple alliance by the adhesion of +France. This treaty provided for the co-operation of Spain and Portugal +to expel Dom Miguel and Don Carlos from the Portuguese dominions. Great +Britain was to assist by the employment of a naval force, and France was +to render assistance, if required, in such manner as should be settled +afterwards by common consent of the four contracting powers. The Spanish +general, Rodil, immediately crossed the frontier. He met with no +resistance, and on May 26 Miguel signed a convention at Evora, by which +he accepted a pension, renounced his rights to the Portuguese throne, +and agreed to quit the country. + +[Pageheading: _THE CARLIST WAR._] + +Don Carlos, however, refused to renounce his rights to the Spanish +throne, and all that the British navy could do was to convey the two +pretenders, Carlos to England and Miguel to Genoa. Although Miguel, on +June 20, repudiated his abdication, the Portuguese question was really +at an end. The Spanish question was, however, merely entering on its +critical stage. Don Carlos secretly left London on July 1, and nine days +later appeared at the Carlist headquarters in Spain. Here he had the +assistance of the ablest general of this war, Zumalacarregui. +Melbourne's succession to the premiership in July left Palmerston at the +foreign office, and was followed by no change in foreign policy. On +August 18 an additional article to the quadruple alliance provided that +France was to prevent reinforcements or warlike stores from reaching Don +Carlos from the French side of the frontier, while Great Britain was to +supply arms and stores to the Spanish royalists and, if necessary, +intervene with a naval force. The short interlude of conservative +government, with Peel as premier and Wellington as foreign secretary, +was not marked by any change of policy nor yet by any new aggressions. +Wellington's only interference with the course of hostilities was the +mission of Lord Eliot to Navarre, which induced the combatants to +abandon for the time being those cruelties to prisoners which had been +the disgrace of the Spanish civil wars. + +Shortly after the return of Melbourne and Palmerston to power, +Zumalacarregui won a victory in the valley of Amascoas on April 21 and +22, 1835, which opened to him the road to Madrid. The Madrid government +now appealed to France to send 12,000 men to occupy the Basque +provinces. By the terms of the quadruple alliance the assent of Great +Britain and Portugal was necessary in order to determine the manner in +which France was to render assistance. Thiers, on behalf of Louis +Philippe, suggested a separate French expedition on the lines of that of +1823. Palmerston, like Canning before him, refused to sanction such an +expedition, though he was prepared to allow France to make the +expedition on her own responsibility. He suggested in return that Great +Britain should intervene. But Louis Philippe was equally opposed to the +separate action of his own country and of Great Britain, and the result +was that neither government sent any troops. The Spanish government was, +however, permitted to enlist volunteers, and actually received the +assistance of an English legion, a French legion, and 6,000 Portuguese. +The immediate danger was averted by the obstinacy of Don Carlos, who +refused to permit Zumalacarregui to march on Madrid till the conquest of +Biscay was complete. The Carlist general turned aside in consequence to +the siege of Bilbao, in which a few weeks later he met his death. + +In February, 1836, some changes in the French ministry increased the +power of Thiers, who had so recently advocated the policy of +intervention. Palmerston now proposed a French expedition to the Basque +provinces, while the British were to occupy St. Sebastian and Pasages. +Thiers did not, however, feel strong enough to accept this offer, and +Palmerston determined to act alone. A British squadron under Lord John +Hay was despatched to the Spanish coast with instructions to assist the +royalist forces. This squadron is probably entitled to the principal +share in the credit for the successful resistance of Bilbao to the +Carlist armies. In May, however, a conservative government entered upon +office in Spain, and France became more ready to grant assistance. +Isturiz, the new Spanish premier, persuaded Louis Philippe to send some +troops to Spain; but by leaning on foreign support Isturiz had +overreached himself. Spanish indignation found vent in a revolutionary +movement, accompanied by bloodshed; one town after another declared for +the constitution of 1812, which the queen-regent was forced to sign on +August 13, and on the following day a progressist ministry was installed +in office. Austria, Prussia, and Russia withdrew their ambassadors from +Madrid after the riots of the 13th, and Louis Philippe recalled the +forces he had sent to the assistance of the Spanish government. Had Don +Carlos listened to the advice of the eastern powers and given such +assurances as might have won over the more moderate of Isabella's +supporters, he would probably have proved successful. As it was the war +dragged on, but De Lacy Evans, who was in command of the British legion, +left Spain on June 10, 1837, and most of his men followed soon after. +The question of intervention had, however, put an end to that cordial +co-operation of Great Britain and France which had existed ever since +the July revolution, and left Great Britain as isolated in the counsels +of Europe as she had been when Canning and Wellington dissociated +themselves from the other powers at Verona. + +The settlement of the Greek question proceeded very slowly. While the +powers were seeking a possible king, Capodistrias exercised an +autocratic sway as president. However, in the spring of 1831, the +Mainots of southern Laconia and the Hydriots revolted against him, and +got possession of the Greek fleet. Capodistrias appealed to Russia for +assistance, and a Russian squadron was sent to blockade the Greek fleet +at Poros. But Miaoulis, the Greek admiral, sank his ships in order to +save them from the Russians. The situation was simplified by the +assassination of Capodistrias on October 9, which left two rival +national assemblies struggling for the mastery. The French troops failed +to maintain order, and the way was clear for a king who would have the +prestige of an international treaty and an independent revenue to +support his position. This was the situation when on February 13, 1832, +a protocol was signed at London, offering the Greek crown to Otto, the +second son of King Lewis of Bavaria, a boy of seventeen. The boundary +was to be fixed where Palmerston, while still a member of the Wellington +administration, had wished to fix it, along a line running from the Gulf +of Arta to that of Volo. King Lewis would not, however, agree to accept +the crown for his son unless he should be granted the title of king, +instead of prince, and should be guaranteed a loan to enable him to meet +the expenses of his position. On May 7, 1832, the London protocol was +embodied in a treaty of London; the crown was definitely conferred on +Otto, who was given the title of king, guaranteed a loan, not exceeding +£2,400,000, and allowed to take out 3,500 Bavarian troops with him. The +Turkish consent to the proposed boundary was given on July 21; Greece +accepted the treaty in August, and the new king left for his kingdom in +December.[137] + +[Pageheading: _VICTORIES OF IBRAHIM._] + +Greece now disappears from the eastern question. But Ibrahim Pasha, +whose successes in Greece had induced Canning to interfere, had already +disclosed a new phase of that question by successes gained in another +quarter. Mehemet Ali had quickly repaired the losses which his fleet and +army had sustained in the Peloponnese. Meanwhile he demanded from +Sultan Mahmud that Ibrahim should be compensated with a part of Syria +for the loss of the Morea, which had been promised him as a reward for +his services in Greece. The sultan refused to grant this insolent +demand, and Mehemet Ali determined to conquer the province for himself. +Abdallah, Pasha of Acre, had taken under his protection some fugitive +peasants, and Mehemet Ali, in spite of the sultan's prohibition, sent +Ibrahim with an army of 30,000 men against him. He laid siege to Acre on +December 9, 1831, and took it on May 27, 1832. On July 8 he routed a +Turkish army at Homs; on the 29th he routed a larger army at the pass of +Beilan, and on the 31st he entered Antioch. In November he was at +Konieh. The Tsar Nicholas had, with Palmerston's approval, already sent +Lieutenant-General Muraviov on a mission to Constantinople, offering +military and naval support; but the sultan preferred to seek British +assistance first. + +Unfortunately the message came at a time when the British fleet was +preparing to blockade the coasts of the Netherlands, and could not be +spared for service In the Mediterranean. An appeal to France was equally +unsuccessful. She had by this time formed the siege of the citadel of +Antwerp, and was moreover naturally averse from a struggle with Ibrahim, +whose army had been organised and trained by French officers. The sultan +therefore decided to avail himself of the offers made by Russia. Indeed +he had no choice, for the news now came that on December 21 Ibrahim had +completely defeated the Turkish general, Reshid, at Konieh and that +there was no army between him and Constantinople. Muraviov was sent on a +vain mission to Alexandria with authority to cede Acre to Mehemet Ali if +he would surrender his fleet to the sultan. Ibrahim advanced to Kiutayeh +and his advance-guard came as far as Broussa. The sultan on February 2, +1833, requested the assistance of the Russian navy, and on the 20th a +Russian squadron appeared at Constantinople. + +The powers that had refused to move to save Turkey from Ibrahim were +quick enough to interfere when the danger was from Russia and not from +an oriental. Ibrahim might have been expected to make a stronger ruler +than the sultan, whose fall seemed imminent. A Russian protectorate was +a different matter. Roussin, the French ambassador at Constantinople, +protested against the Russian alliance and threatened to leave +Constantinople. A French envoy was, at his suggestion, permitted to +offer Mehemet the governorship of the Syrian pashaliks of Tripoli and +Acre. On March 8 Mehemet rejected these terms, and declared that if his +own terms were not accepted within six weeks his troops would march upon +Constantinople. The sultan then turned to Russia again and asked for +troops. Fifteen thousand Russians were in consequence landed on the +shores of the Bosphorus, and in the beginning of April an army of +24,000, which had remained in Moldavia ever since the war of 1828-29, +prepared to march southwards. Constantinople at least was thus rendered +safe from Ibrahim, and there was therefore more hope that Mehemet would +come to terms. The British, French, and Austrian ambassadors spared no +effort to induce the Porte to offer terms that might be accepted, and +their representations were probably rendered the more persuasive by the +appearance of British and French fleets in the Ægean. Roussin especially +urged that it was better to surrender Syria than to reconquer it by +Russian troops. At last the sultan yielded, and on April 10 a peace was +signed at Kiutayeh, though not ratified by the sultan till May 15. This +treaty granted to Mehemet Ali Syria and Cilicia, but restored the bulk +of Asia Minor to the Porte. + +[Pageheading: _CONFERENCE OF MÜNCHENGRÄTZ._] + +Turkey had been saved by the western powers, but only because they +dreaded the possibility of her being saved by Russia. A few weeks later +their worst fears seemed on the point of realisation. The Russian troops +on the Bosphorus were a sure guarantee of the predominance of Russian +influence at Constantinople, and this was illustrated in a marked degree +by the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, signed on July 8, which provided for a +defensive alliance for eight years between Russia and the Porte. Russia +was, when required, to provide the sultan with both military and naval +forces, to be provisioned by him, but otherwise maintained by Russia. A +secret article, soon made known, provided that Russia would not ask for +material aid if at war, but that in that event the Porte would close the +Dardanelles to the warships of other nations. Great Britain had already +obtained the rights of the most favoured nation, so far as the passage +of the Dardanelles was concerned, and therefore maintained that the +treaty did not affect her right to pass those straits; and France +joined her in presenting identical notes declaring their intention of +ignoring the treaty in event of war. British public opinion, already +wounded by the conquest of Poland, was even more vehemently affected +than British policy. The treaty was regarded as the establishment in +Turkey of a Russian protectorate, which it was necessary for Great +Britain to destroy, and the antagonism thus produced has lasted to our +own day. Matters were not improved when the tsar asked for the cession +of the Danubian principalities, which were still occupied by Russia, in +return for a remission of the war indemnity owing since 1829. Austria, +France, and Great Britain protested against this proposal, and in +consequence nothing came of it. + +Austria then assumed the _rôle_ of mediator. A friendly request for +explanation elicited a declaration from Russia, disclaiming all +intention of self-aggrandisement, and promising to accept the mediation +of Austria in any case where the treaty could be invoked. Austria in +consequence endeavoured to persuade the western powers that there was no +immediate danger, and that she would use her mediation to remove any +danger that might arise. Meanwhile she endeavoured to allay distrust of +Russia by inducing that power to evacuate the Danubian principalities. +But before this result could be accomplished the negotiations between +Austria and Russia had taken a turn which gave Austria, in English eyes, +the appearance of an accomplice rather than of a mediator. The +revolutionary movements of 1830 and following years had produced grave +apprehensions in the minds of the rulers of the three eastern powers, +Austria, Prussia, and Russia; and the coercion of Holland and Portugal +caused them to feel a deep distrust of the policy of Great Britain and +France, and to grasp the necessity of united action against the +revolutionary forces at work in Europe. For this purpose it was +considered necessary to revive Metternich's policy of 1820 as defined at +Troppau. The three powers had for some time been drawing together, and +in September, 1833, the Emperors Francis and Nicholas and the Crown +Prince of Prussia met at Münchengrätz in Bohemia, where a secret +convention was signed on the 18th. They refused to recognise Isabella as +Queen of Spain in the event of Ferdinand's death; they arranged for +mutual assistance against the Poles; and agreed to combine to resist +any change of dynasty in Turkey and any extension of Arab rule into +Europe. In the event of a collapse of the Ottoman empire, Austria and +Russia were to act together in settling the reversion. On October 15 the +three powers signed a further convention at Berlin, containing one +public and two secret articles. The latter recognised the right, already +asserted at Troppau, of intervention in the internal affairs of a +country whose sovereign expressed a desire for foreign assistance. There +can be little doubt that Austria and Russia were in earnest in their +professed desire to maintain the integrity of the Turkish dominions, but +an opinion gained ground in England that they had already agreed to +partition them between themselves. + +On January 29, 1834, Austrian mediation bore fruit in a definite treaty +for the evacuation of the Danubian principalities. Russia merely +reserved to herself the appointment of the first hospodar of each +principality. The first act, however, of Alexander Ghika, the new +hospodar of Wallachia, was to forbid any change of statute without the +consent of Russia. Silistria alone remained in Russian hands till a +third part of the indemnity should be paid. The remaining two-thirds +Russia consented to abandon. A revolt among the Syrian mountaineers gave +Russia an opportunity of demonstrating her pacific intentions. The +sultan supported the revolt and also sent troops to conquer Urfa which +Ibrahim had neglected to surrender. Russia, however, refused to support +the sultan in an aggressive war, and the powers negotiated a peace. The +Syrian revolt was quelled, and Urfa surrendered to the sultan. In 1835 +the Tsar Nicholas and the new Austrian emperor, Ferdinand, met at +Teplitz where they renewed the agreements concluded at Münchengrätz. +Metternich proposed a conference at Vienna to settle the eastern +question, but the tsar, who really possessed the decisive voice so long +as the question remained open, refused to hear of this. Finally in +September, 1836, the Russian evacuation of Silistria was obtained by a +payment of 30,000,000 piastres, borrowed, for the most part, in England. +The Eastern question now seemed to have entered upon a quieter phase, +and the military reforms which European officers, including Moltke, +afterwards famous in a different region, were carrying out in Turkey, +gave promise that she might be able to hold her own in future against +domestic foes. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[136] The debt was, according to the French practice, expressed in terms +of the interest payable annually (_rentes_), not in terms of a nominal +principal as in this country. + +[137] Finlay, _History of Greece_, vol. vii., chapters ii., iii. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + BRITISH INDIA. + + +When Pitt resigned office in 1801, the Marquis Wellesley had already +reached the climax, though by no means the close, of his brilliant +proconsulate. This remarkable man, whose fame has been unduly eclipsed +by that of his younger brother, may justly be considered the second +founder of our Indian Empire. This empire, recognised at last, in the +vote of thanks passed by the house of commons on the fall of +Seringapatam, was soon to be aggrandised by three important accessions +of dominion. The first of these was the annexation of the Karnátik on +the well-founded plea that its nabob was too weak even for the semblance +of independence, that he was incapable of governing tolerably, and that +he had been in correspondence with Tipú. The effect of this and two +minor annexations was to place the entire south-western and +south-eastern coasts of the Indian peninsula under the British rule. The +next step was the system of subsidiary treaties, whereby the British +government assumed a protectorate over native states, providing a fixed +number of troops for their defence and receiving an equivalent in +subsidies. The Nizám of Haidarábád was already in a condition little +removed from vassalage, and now surrendered considerable districts in +lieu of a pecuniary tribute. + +A similar course was taken with the Nawáb Wazír of Oudh whose territory +was threatened on one side by the Afghán king, Zemán Sháh, and on +another by the Maráthá lord, Daulat Ráo Sindhia, who had gained +possession of Delhi. By forcible negotiations Wellesley obtained from +him the cession of all his frontier provinces, including Rohilkhand, and +consolidated the power of the Indian government along the whole line of +the Jumna and Ganges. The last and greatest object of the +governor-general's ambition was the conquest of the confederate Maráthá +states, and for this a pretext was not long wanting. His forward policy, +it is true, had already excited alarm and criticism at home, while the +peace of Amiens had ostensibly removed the chief justification of +it--the necessity of combating the aggressive designs of France. But, in +the case of India, far more than of the American colonies, "months +passed and seas rolled between the order and the execution"; for in +those days ships conveying despatches occupied at least four or five +months on their voyage, and decisions taken in Leadenhall Street might +be utterly stultified by accomplished facts before they could be read in +Calcutta. + +[Pageheading: _WELLESLEY AND LAKE._] + +The Peshwá, at Poona, still maintained a show of independent authority +over the other great Maráthá chieftains, Sindhia, Holkar, and the Rájá +of Nágpur or Berár. But the real military power of the Maráthás rested +with these leaders, and their predatory troops of horsemen terrorised +all Central India. Happily for Wellesley's purpose, they were often at +feud with each other, and the Peshwá, though aided by Sindhia, was +utterly defeated by Jaswant Ráo Holkar. He fled to Bassein near Bombay, +where, on December 31, 1802, a treaty was signed by which not only the +Peshwá but the Nizám of Haidarábád was placed under British protection. +The Peshwá was conducted back to Poona by a British force under Arthur +Wellesley in May, 1803, but the other Maráthá chiefs naturally resented +this fresh encroachment on their independence, and a league was shortly +formed between the Rájá of Nágpur and Sindhia, which it was hoped that +Holkar would ultimately join. By this time, a rupture of the peace with +France was known to be impending, and Lord Wellesley eagerly seized the +opportunity to crush Sindhia, while he urged the home government to +seize the Cape of Good Hope and the Mauritius. Two expeditions were +directed against Sindhia's territory, the one under Arthur Wellesley, +moving from Poona in the west towards the Nizám's frontier; the other, +under General Lake, operating on the north-west against the highly +trained forces, under French officers, assembled before Delhi. Both +campaigns were eminently successful. Wellesley captured Ahmadnagar on +August 11, encountered the combined armies of Sindhia and the Rájá of +Nágpur at Assaye on September 23, and, after a desperate conflict, +obtained a decisive victory. Twelve hundred of the Maráthás were left +dead on the field and 102 guns were captured. He then advanced into +Berár and completely defeated the army of the Nágpur Rájá at Argáum. +Lake marched from Cawnpur, took Delhi and Agra, assuming custody of the +Mughal emperor, and inflicted a final defeat on a powerful Maráthá army, +no longer under French officers, at Laswári. Large cessions of territory +followed. The treaty of Bassein was recognised by Sindhia and the Rájá +of Nágpur. Gujrát, Cuttack, and the districts along the Jumna passed +into British possession, and the East India Company became the visible +successor, though nominally the guardian, of the Mughal emperor. + +Meanwhile, Holkar remained a passive spectator of the contest. Jealous +as he was of Sindhia, he was by no means prepared to acquiesce in the +subjection of the great Maráthá power. Having taken up a threatening +position in Rájputána, and defied Lake's summons to retire, he was +treated as an enemy, and proved a very formidable enemy. Instead of +relying, like Sindhia, on disciplined battalions, he fell back on the +old Maráthá tactics, and swept the country with hordes of irregular +cavalry who lived by pillage. In 1804 a British force of 1,200 troops +under Colonel Monson was lured away from its base of supplies by a +feigned retreat and incurred a very serious reverse; scarcely a tenth of +them, utterly broken, "straggled, a mere rabble, into Agra". This +disaster was soon afterwards retrieved by other divisions of Lake's +army, but three attempts to storm the strong fortress of Bhartpur were +repulsed by the rájá, Ranjít Singh, an ally of Holkar. Though Holkar's +bands were at last dispersed, a new dispute arose with Sindhia about the +ownership of Gwalior and Gohad, which remained unsettled when Lord +Wellesley resigned early in 1805, not so much because his policy was +disapproved by the court of directors, for whom he always professed a +sovereign contempt, as because he was no longer cordially supported by +the home government. + +In his despatch to the secret committee of the East India Company after +the conclusion of the war with Sindhia, Wellesley describes the +consolidation of the British empire and the pacification of all India, +as the supreme result of his beneficent rule.[138] That rule was +followed by ten years of comparative repose, if not of reaction, but two +events, occurring within this period, threw a significant light on the +inherent danger of relying too much on a native army under British +officers. Sepoy regiments had been raised and had served loyally on both +sides in the struggles between the French and English during the +eighteenth century. The Bengal sepoys were mostly Rájputs and showed the +highest military qualities in many a wearisome march and hard fought +field, from the days of Clive to those of Lake and Arthur Wellesley. But +outbreaks bordering upon mutiny had occasionally taken place in the +native armies of all the presidencies, and on July 10, 1806, a most +formidable mutiny, ending in a massacre at Vellore, west of Madras, +produced a sense of insecurity throughout all India. It was instigated +by the family of Tipú who had been quartered in that fortress, and its +immediate origin was the issue of certain vexatious regulations about +uniform which offended native prejudices of caste. The European force, +numbering some 370, was surprised and surrounded by a much larger body +of sepoys, half of them were killed or wounded, and Tipú's standard was +hoisted. Within a few hours, however, cavalry and artillery arrived from +Arcot, the mutineers were slaughtered by hundreds, and the disaffected +regiments were broken up. Three years later, a serious mutiny broke out +among the company's own officers at Madras, caused by a petty grievance +affecting their profits on tent-contracts. It was appeased rather than +suppressed, and, notwithstanding these discouraging symptoms of +insecurity, the Company's army retained its separate organisation for +half a century longer. + +[Pageheading: _MINTO'S PACIFIC POLICY._] + +Lord Cornwallis, the successor of Lord Wellesley, was opposed by +conviction to a progressive expansion of British territory, and +represented not only the cautious views of the home government, but the +financial anxieties of the East India Company, which always valued a +steady revenue more highly than imperial supremacy. Wellesley had +virtually reconstructed the map of India on lines destined to endure +until a fresh period of annexation set in some forty years later. These +lines were not disturbed by Cornwallis, who died on October 5, 1805, +three months after his arrival, but he clearly indicated his desire to +let the system of protectorates and subsidiary treaties fall gradually +into abeyance. His correspondence with Lake, whose victories had won him +the rank of baron, contains a somewhat peremptory warning against fresh +engagements contemplated by that enterprising officer, whose vigorous +remonstrance he did not live to receive.[139] Sir George Barlow, who +became acting governor-general for two years, adopted the same passive +attitude, and forebore to carry out a projected alliance with Sindhia, +though he would not allow any interference with our paramount influence +at Poona and Haidarábád. Lord Minto, father of the Earl of Minto who +presided at the admiralty under Melbourne, arrived as governor-general +in 1807. He was imbued with similar ideas, and was fortunate in finding +the Maráthás too much weakened to be dangerous neighbours. His rule was, +therefore, essentially pacific, but he did good service in maintaining +internal order, and especially in putting down the organised brigandage, +known as "dakáiti," which had been the curse of rural districts. The +distinctive feature of his career, however, was a permanent enlargement +of the horizon of Indian statesmanship to a sphere beyond the confines +of India and even of Asia, a change due to new movements in the vast +international conflict then engrossing the energies of Europe. + +However chimerical the designs of Napoleon against British India may now +appear, there is no doubt that such designs were seriously entertained +by him, nor is it self-evident that what Alexander the Great found +possible would have proved impossible to one who combined with +Alexander's superhuman audacity the command of resources beyond anything +known in the ancient world. At all events, after the battle of Friedland +and the peace of Tilsit, an expedition to be launched from Russian +territory upon the north-west frontier of India, with the support of +Persia on the flank, became a contingency which an Indian +governor-general could not afford to neglect. It is, indeed, strange +that a march across Europe and half of Asia should have appeared to +Napoleon more practicable than a voyage across the English Channel, and +it is highly improbable that he would have cherished the idea of it, if +he could have foreseen the perils of the Russian expedition. But his +conversations at St. Helena prove that it was not a mere vision but a +half-formed design, and, even after it had been discouraged by Russia, +he sent a preliminary mission to Persia. Minto lost no time in sending +counter-missions, not only to Tihran, but to Lahore, Afghánistán, and +Sind. + +The Persian court was already in diplomatic relations with the Indian +government. Colonel Malcolm, afterwards Sir John Malcolm, had been sent +by Wellesley as envoy to the sháh at the end of 1800, and in January, +1801, a treaty had been signed, establishing free trade between India +and Persia, and binding the sháh to exclude the French from his +dominions, while the company undertook to provide ships, troops, and +stores, in case of French invasion. This treaty, however, neither was +nor could have been actively carried out on either side. Early in 1806 +the sháh, who had become embroiled with Russia, appealed to Calcutta for +aid, regardless of the fact that hostilities with Russia were not a +_casus foederis_. Failing to obtain it, he appealed to France. +Napoleon despatched General Gardane, who arrived in December, 1807. He +obtained a treaty under which the sháh engaged to banish all Englishmen +on demand of the French emperor. Thereupon Malcolm was entrusted by +Minto with a fresh mission, but never reached the Persian capital, where +French influence was still paramount, and the peremptory tone of +Malcolm's letters was resented. Meanwhile, Sir Harford Jones had been +sent out by the British foreign office, and was received at Tihran in +February, 1809, the peace of Tilsit having destroyed the Persian hope of +French support against Russia. For a while, the right of negotiating +with the sháh was in dispute between the Indian government and the +foreign office, and Sir John Malcolm reappeared at Tihran in the spring +of 1810, as the representative of the former. In the end, however, he +co-operated loyally with Jones, and a fresh treaty was signed, though +both these rival emissaries were soon afterwards superseded by Sir Gore +Ouseley as permanent ambassador. + +[Pageheading: _ELPHINSTONE IN AFGHÁNISTÁN._] + +Two other envoys selected by Minto left names which are famous in +Anglo-Indian history, and one achieved an important success. Charles +Metcalfe, Minto's envoy to Lahore, succeeded with the advantage of an +armed force within easy reach of the Sikh frontier, in converting into +an ally the redoubtable Ranjít Singh (not to be confounded with Ranjít +Singh of Bhartpur), who had gathered into his own hands the Sikh +confederacy and acquired sovereignty over the whole Punjab. He was now +induced not only to accept the Sutlej river as the boundary line of his +dominion, but to conclude a treaty of perpetual amity with the British +government. This treaty remained unbroken until his death, and stood us +in good stead during the perilous crisis of the first Afghán war. The +embassy of Mountstuart Elphinstone to Afghánistán was comparatively +fruitless, chiefly owing to the unsettled state of that mysterious +country. Sháh Shujá, its titular amír, so far from being in a condition +to resist French invasion, had lost possession of Kábul and Kandahár, +and was only anxious to obtain British aid against his elder brother +Mahmúd. Elphinstone, of course, had no authority to entangle the Company +in a civil war far beyond the Indian frontier and was obliged to content +himself with a worthless treaty empowering Great Britain to defend +Afghánistán against France. This treaty had scarcely been ratified when +Sháh Shujá himself was driven into exile, to play an ignoble part thirty +years later in the great tragedy of the first Afghán war. + +However pacific Minto's policy was, he did not shut his eyes to the +necessity of guarding the coasts and commerce of India against the enemy +who still dominated Europe, and had not wholly abandoned his visions of +eastern conquest. We have seen already that the "half way" naval station +at the Cape of Good Hope had been retaken from the Dutch in 1806, the +year in which the Berlin decree was issued. In 1810 the French were +expelled from Java by an expedition despatched under Minto's orders, +though it was soon to be restored to Holland. In the same year the +islands of Mauritius and Bourbon were captured from the French and the +sea route to India was finally secured. Lord Minto, who was recalled in +1813 and raised to the dignity of an earl, left India after six years of +peaceful government in a state of tranquillity such as it had never +before enjoyed, and the settlement of the country under British +suzerainty appeared to have been assured. Yet the seeds of fresh trouble +were already working, and his successor was to prove himself a second +Wellesley, and add new territories of great extent to British India. + +Lord Moira, better known by his later title as Marquis of Hastings, +displayed qualities as governor-general of which his previous career had +given no indication. He had already proved himself a good soldier, but +he was a court favourite as well as a somewhat impracticable politician, +and owed his appointment to other influences than his own merit. His +arrival in India nearly coincided with the charter of 1813, which threw +open the India trade, and virtually ushered in a new social era. He was +at once confronted with an empty treasury, on the one hand, and, on the +other, with alarming reports both from the northern frontier and from +the central provinces, still under independent princes of doubtful +fidelity. The earlier part of his nine years' residence in India was +engrossed by most harassing operations against the Nepálís and the +Pindárís, but these operations resulted in perfect success, and Hastings +was able to show before he left India that he was eminent alike in civil +and in military administration. + +The mountainous region of Nepál, lying on the slopes of the Himálayas +north of Bengal and Oudh, had been occupied by the warlike nation, still +known as the Gúrkhas, whose capital was at Khátmándu. Like the Maráthás, +they had been in the habit of pillaging British territory as well as +Oudh, and when part of Oudh was annexed by Wellesley, frontier disputes +were added to former grounds of hostility. Minto remonstrated with them +sharply but in vain, and Moira lost no time in declaring war against +them. The first campaign of 1814, which followed, though skilfully +conceived by Moira, who held the office of commander-in-chief, was +carried out with little generalship, and was marked by disasters highly +damaging to British prestige. Three out of four armies launched against +the hill-tribes met with serious reverses, chiefly due to a contempt for +the enemy, and a persistence in making frontal assaults on strong +positions without practicable breaches, which have proved so fatal in +many a later conflict between British troops and undisciplined foes. +During the cold season, however, on the extreme north-west, the cautious +but irresistible advance of General Ochterlony penetrated the hill +ranges which had baffled all the other commanders, and retrieved the +fortunes of the war. The Gúrkhas were far, indeed, from being subdued, +but Ochterlony's success among their strongest fastnesses, aided by +that of Colonels Gardner and Nicholls in the district of Kumáun, +induced them to sue for peace, and offer territorial cessions. The loss +of the Tarái, or belt of forest interspersed with pastures at the foot +of the Himálayas, was the most onerous of the conditions imposed upon +them by the treaty of Almora, signed in 1815. Rather than submit to it, +the Gúrkha chiefs refused to ratify the treaty, and resumed their arms. +After two defeats, however, in February, 1816, they abandoned further +resistance, and Moira afterwards wisely consented to a modification of +the frontier-line. Retaining but a remnant of their dominions in the +lowlands, the Gúrkhas have ever since preserved their independence with +their military training in the highlands, and have contributed some of +the best fighting material to the British army in India. + +[Pageheading: _THE PINDÁRÍS._] + +While the war in Nepál was still undecided, fresh troubles broke out in +Central India, where Wellesley's settlement had left no permanent +security for peace. The very submission of the great Maráthá powers had +set free large bands of irregular troops, with no livelihood but +pillage, and ever ready, like the Italian _condottieri_ of the later +middle ages, to enlist in the service of any aggressive state. These +mounted freebooters, now called the Pindárís, were secretly encouraged +by the Maráthá chiefs, who looked upon them as useful auxiliaries in the +future, either against the government of India or against other native +princes. Several of these still remained in a more or less dependent but +restless condition, and the great leaders of the Maráthá confederacy, +Sindhia, Malhár Ráo Holkar, son and successor of Jaswant Ráo, the +Peshwá, and the Rájá of Nágpur, retained a large share of their former +sovereignty. Of these subject-allies, the one most directly under +British guidance and protection was the Peshwá, but even he took +advantage of hostile movements among his neighbours to join in a +combination against British rule, supported by the predatory raids of +the Pindárís. He had long been discontented with the subordinate +position which he had occupied since the treaty of Bassein. The +assassination in 1815 of an envoy of the Gáekwár of Baroda, who had been +sent to Poona on a special mission under British guarantees, nearly +provoked hostilities. But in June, 1817, a treaty was concluded, by +which the Peshwá accepted an increased subsidiary force, ceded part of +his territory, renounced his suzerainty over the Gáekwár and undertook +to submit all further disputes to the decision of the British +government. In November, however, chafing under the restrictions imposed +by this treaty, he broke out into hostility, burnt the British +residency, and after vainly attacking the British troops, fled from +Poona. Almost simultaneously Holkar and the Rájá of Nágpur rose. Holkar +was defeated in a pitched battle at Mehidpur in Málwá, while the sepoys +successfully held their own against the Rájá's troops at Nágpur. The +fugitive Peshwá was energetically pursued, and captured, and was +stripped of his dominions. The greater part of these was annexed by the +East India Company, but a portion was reserved for the heir of the old +Maráthá kings who was established at Sátára. The Rájá of Nágpur was also +compelled to cede a large portion of his dominions, and at the same time +the Company acquired the overlordship of Rájputána. Henceforth, the +British government claimed a control over all the foreign relations of +native Indian states, whose internal government was to be carefully +watched by a British resident, and whose military forces were to be +practically under the supreme command of the paramount power. + +[Pageheading: _THE END OF THE PINDÁRÍS._] + +Lord Moira, created Marquis of Hastings in 1816, was at last free to +hunt down the Pindárís, with the sullen acquiescence of the Maráthá +governments, and he executed his task with extraordinary vigour. He +would have undertaken it, at the instigation of Metcalfe, then resident +at Delhi, a year earlier, but for the peremptory orders of Canning, at +that time president of the board of control, who positively forbade him +to embark on a new war. These orders were greatly relaxed after the +bloodthirsty raid of Chítu, the famous Pindárí leader, who in 1816 +desolated vast tracts of Central India. Still no effective action +against the Pindárís was possible until the Maráthá lords who harboured +and encouraged them had been crippled and overawed. With their +connivance, a second Pindárí raid, accompanied by shocking cruelties, +was made in the same year, but in 1817, when Holkar's followers were +severely defeated at Mehidpur, the secret coalition between these +bandits and our nominal allies was thoroughly broken up. Even then it +proved a most difficult enterprise to root out the Pindárís, who were +not a race, or a tribe, or a sect, but bands of lawless men of all +faiths; for they met and vanished like birds of the air, outstripping +regular cavalry by the length and rapidity of their marches, and +carrying off their booty almost under the eyes of their pursuers. But +the resolute tactics of Hastings prevailed in the end. Amír Khán, their +most powerful leader, disbanded his troops; and hemmed in on all sides, +cut off from every place of shelter, and chased by successive +detachments of horsemen almost as fleet as his own, Chítu became a +hopeless fugitive, with a handful of faithful adherents, who shared his +desperate efforts to escape, but advised him to surrender. He could not +bring himself to do so, possessed, it is said, with an unspeakable +horror of being transported across "the black sea," and he actually +remained at large or in hiding for a year after his lair was discovered. +Nor was he ever captured, for, by a strange fate, this ruthless scourge +of the Deccan, after baffling human vengeance, found his last refuge in +a jungle and died, a tiger's prey. By this time, all the wild bands +which sprung into existence out of the Maráthá war had been extirpated +or dispersed, and after the year 1818 the dreaded name of Pindárí was +heard no more in history. + +The suppression of civil war and anarchy in Central India, which +completed the work of Wellesley, was the greatest achievement of +Hastings. One remarkable incident of it was a portentous outbreak of +cholera in 1817, during a campaign in Gwalior conducted by Hastings in +person. There had been several minor visitations of this disease in +India. But it now first established itself as an endemic disease, and it +has ever since infested the valley of the Ganges. So virulent was its +onslaught, and so fearful the mortality in Hastings' army, that it was +only saved by shifting its quarters, and the governor-general himself +made preparations for his own secret burial, in case he should be among +the victims. As we have seen already,[140] it was propagated from this +centre through other regions of Asia, until it spread to Western Europe, +and the "Asiatic cholera" of 1831-32 may be lineally traced back to the +last Maráthá war. + +The position of Hastings in Indian history closely resembles that of +Wellesley. Disregarding the instructions of the board of control, as +well as of the board of directors, he forced upon them, like Wellesley, +a large extension of their empire. But it cannot be doubted that his +policy, dictated by exigencies beyond the ken of authorities sitting in +London, was eminently successful and beneficent in its results. It went +far to establish a "Pax Britannica" in the Indian Peninsula, and, if it +took little account of dynastic rights, it broke the rod of oppression, +and relieved millions upon millions from tyranny and intimidation which +overshadowed their whole lives. He retired in 1823, after seven years' +tenure of office, and died in 1826 as governor of Malta. Canning had +been designated as his successor, and, having accepted the post, was on +the eve of starting for Calcutta, when the tragical death of Castlereagh +recalled him to the foreign office, and opened to him the most brilliant +stage in his career. Thereupon Lord Amherst was appointed +governor-general, with every prospect of a pacific vice-royalty, whereas +it is now chiefly remembered for the annexation of new provinces on the +south-east of Bengal, and the capture of Bhartpur. + +[Pageheading: _THE FIRST BURMESE WAR._] + +The first Burmese war arose out of persistent aggressions by the new +kingdom of Ava or Burma on what is now the British province of Assam, +but was then an independent, though feeble, state. There had been +earlier frontier disputes between the Indian government and Burma about +the districts lying eastward of Chittagong along the Bay of Bengal, but +it was not until Burma conquered Arakan, invaded Assam, and occupied +passes on the north-east overlooking the plains of Bengal, that serious +action was felt to be necessary. Indeed, while Hastings was engaged with +the war in Nepál and the suppression of the Pindárís, even he was in no +mood to embark on a fresh campaign beyond the borders of India. The +incursions of the Burmese, however, became more and more threatening +both on the coast line and on the mountains above the Brahmaputra river, +and in February, 1824, Amherst resolved to check the extension of their +dominion. Notwithstanding the experience recently gained in Nepál, the +first operations of the Anglo-Indian troops were conducted with little +knowledge of the country, and met with very doubtful success. Rangoon +was easily captured, but the expedition was disabled from advancing up +the river Irawadi by the want of adequate supplies and the deadliness of +the climate. Part of the Tenasserim coast was subdued, but a British +force was defeated in Arakan. These reverses were retrieved in the +following year, 1825, when one army under Sir Archibald Campbell made +its way up the river to Prome, while another army conquered Arakan, and +a third, moving along the valley of the Brahmaputra, established itself +in Assam. The Burmese now abandoned further resistance. Assam, Arakan, +and the Tenasserim provinces were ceded to the company, whose +protectorate was also recognised over other territories upon the course +of the Brahmaputra. It was not until February, 1826, that the King of +Ava could be induced to sign the treaty embodying these cessions, and +many years were to elapse before the port of Rangoon was opened to +British commerce. + +The strong fortress of Bhartpur, in the east of Rájputána, and near to +Agra, had acquired an unique importance, in the eyes of all India by its +successful resistance to Lake's assaults during the Maráthá war of 1805. +It was still held until 1825 by its own petty rájá, the son of Ranjít +Singh, who remained on terms of respectful amity with the Indian +government, though his little principality was a notorious focus of +native disaffection. In that year he died, and his child, after being +acknowledged by the Indian government as his successor, was forcibly +ousted by a usurper. Sir David Ochterlony, the hero of the Nepálese war, +then resident in Málwá and Rájputána, undertook to support the +legitimate heir, but was overruled by orders from Amherst. On his +resignation he was succeeded by Metcalfe, who had become Sir Charles +Metcalfe by his brother's death in 1822, and who now obtained authority +to carry out Ochterlony's policy, if necessary, by armed intervention. +As negotiation failed, Lord Combermere, as commander-in-chief, proceeded +to reduce the virgin fortress, not by the slow process of siege, but by +a well-organised assault. Having cut off the water supply, and mined the +mud walls, he poured in a storming party and overpowered the garrison. +The feat was probably not so great, from a military point of view, as +many that have left no record, but its effect on the superstitious +native mind was prodigious, especially as it nearly coincided with the +victorious issue of the Burmese war. Nevertheless, Amherst was shortly +afterwards recalled, and left India in 1828. His annexation of Burmese +territory and the increase of expenditure under his rule displeased both +the Company and the home government, so often foiled in the attempt to +enforce a pacific and economical policy. His successor was Lord William +Bentinck, who had been compelled to retire from the governorship of +Madras after the mutiny of Vellore. + +Like Hastings, Bentinck showed a firmness and wisdom in his Indian +administration strongly contrasting with the restless self-assertion of +his earlier career. His lot was cast in an interval of tranquillity +after a long period of warfare, and his name is associated with internal +reforms and social progress in India, not unconnected with a like +movement in England. The measure upon which his fame chiefly rests was +the abolition of "satí," that is, the practice of Hindoo widows +sacrificing themselves by being burned alive on the funeral pile of +their husbands. This practice, which specially prevailed in Bengal, has +been explained by a false interpretation of certain texts in sacred +books of the Hindus, by the selfish eagerness of the husband's family to +monopolise all his property, and by the utterly desolate condition of a +childless widow in native communities. At all events, it was deeply +rooted in Hindu traditions, and no previous governor had dared to go +beyond issuing regulations to secure that the widow should be a willing +victim. Bentinck had the courage to act on the conviction that +inhumanity, however consecrated by superstition and priestcraft, has no +permanent basis in popular sentiment. With the consent of his council, +he prohibited "satí" absolutely, declaring that all who took any part in +it should be held guilty of culpable homicide; and the native population +acquiesced in its suppression. + +But this was only one of Bentinck's reforms. Armed with peremptory +instructions from the home government, he effected large retrenchments +in the growing expenditure of the Indian services, both civil and +military, and a considerable increase in the Indian revenue. It may be +doubted whether one of these retrenchments, involving a strict revision +of officers' allowances known as "batta," was considerable enough to be +worth the almost mutinous discontent which it provoked. Another, +affecting the salaries of civilians, was aggravated, in their eyes, by +the admission of natives to "primary jurisdiction," in other words, by +enabling native judges to sit in courts of first instance. This +important change had been gradually introduced before the arrival of +Bentinck, but it was he who most boldly adopted the idea of governing +India in the interest and by the agency of the natives. On the other +hand, it was he who, supported by Macaulay's famous minute, but contrary +to official opinion in Leadenhall Street, issued the ordinance +constituting English the official language of India. In a like spirit, +he promoted the work of native education, partly for the purpose of +developing the political and judicial capacity of the higher orders +among the Hindus, but partly also for the purpose of making the English +language and literature the instrument of their elevation. He earnestly +desired to raise the standard of Indian civilisation, but he equally +desired to fashion it in an English mould. + +[Pageheading: _THE EXTIRPATION OF "THAGÍ"._] + +Under the rule of Bentinck, the revenue was largely augmented by a +reassessment of land in the north-western provinces, where an increasing +number of zamíndárs had fraudulently evaded the payment of rent, and by +the imposition of licence-duties on the growers of opium in Málwá, who +had carried on a profitable but illicit trade through foreign ports. But +the social benefit of the people was ever his first concern, and not the +least of his claims to their gratitude was the final extirpation of +"thagí". This institution was a secret association of highway robbers +and murderers who had plagued Central India almost as widely as the +roving troops of Pindárís. Their victims were travellers whom they +decoyed into their haunts, plundered, strangled, and buried on the spot. +For years they carried on their infamous trade with impunity, and no +member of the conspiracy had turned informer. At last, however, a clue +was found by a skilful and resolute agent of the government, and the +spell of mutual dread which held together the murderous confederacy was +effectually broken in India. Meanwhile, the same period of peaceful +development witnessed the execution of important public works, the +relaxation of restrictions on the liberty of the press, and a general +advance towards a more paternal despotism, coincident with the progress +of liberal ideas at home. These benign influences were favoured by the +continuance of peace and the maintenance of non-intervention, disturbed +only by the minor annexations of Cachar and Coorg, to which may be added +the assumption of direct control over Mysore. + +When the charter of 1833 transformed the "company of British merchants +trading to the east" into the "East India Company," with administrative +powers only, Bentinck was in failing health, and he soon afterwards +returned home. On his resignation in 1835, Metcalfe became provisional +governor-general, but his liberal policy displeased the court of +directors, and Lord Heytesbury was selected by the short-lived +government of Peel as Bentinck's successor. Palmerston, however, on +resuming the foreign office, was believed to have used his influence to +set aside this nomination, and to procure the appointment of Lord +Auckland, then first lord of the admiralty. The supposed objection to +Heytesbury was his known sympathy with Russia, at a moment when distrust +of Russia's designs on the north-west frontier was about to become the +keynote of Anglo-Indian statesmanship. During the interregnum between +Bentinck's retirement and Auckland's accession, three more remedial +measures were carried into effect, the wisdom of which is not even yet +beyond dispute. These were the complete liberation of the Indian press, +the abolition of the exclusive privilege whereby British residents could +appeal in civil suits to the supreme court at Calcutta, and the definite +introduction of English text-books into schools for the people. For all +these reforms Macaulay was largely responsible, but the impulse had been +given by Bentinck, and was accelerated by Metcalfe. + +During the years 1835-37 domestic affairs occupied much less space in +the counsels of Indian statesmen than schemes for counteracting the +growth of Russian influence at Tihran, and securing the predominance of +British influence in Afghánistán. For a time their anxiety was +concentrated on Herat, which the Sháh of Persia was besieging, with the +intention of penetrating into the heart of Afghán territory, while the +Afghán rulers themselves were suspected of secretly conspiring with +Persia against our ally, Ranjít Singh. Since Persia, having again lost +faith in British support, was drifting more and more into reliance on +Russia, this forward movement was regarded as the first step of the +Russian advance-guard towards India. The fate of India was felt to +depend on the defence of Herat under Pottinger, a young British officer, +who volunteered his services without instructions from home. The siege, +conducted under Russian officers, lasted ten months, and its ultimate +failure was hailed as a triumph of British policy, for Herat was +recognised, since the days of Alexander the Great, as the western gate +of India. + +[Pageheading: _COMMUNICATION WITH INDIA._] + +About the same time the question of a shorter route to India attracted +much attention both in Russia and in England. The first project was +that, ultimately adopted, of a sea passage by Malta to Alexandria, a +land transit across Egypt to Suez, and a second voyage by the Red Sea to +Indian ports. The alternative line was more properly described as an +"overland route," since it was proposed to make the journey from some +port in the eastern Levant across Syria and by the Euphrates to the +Persian Gulf. Colonel Chesney was sent out in 1835 as the pioneer of an +expedition by this route, and parliament twice voted money for its +development, but it was vigorously opposed by Russia, and abandoned as +impracticable owing to physical difficulties in navigating the +Euphrates, then considered as a necessary channel of communication with +the sea. The scheme has since been revived on a much grander scale in +the form of a projected railway traversing Asia Minor to Baghdad, and +running down the valley of the Tigris. In the meantime, the Red Sea +route, at first discredited, has far more than justified the hopes of +its promoters. With the aid of steam-vessels, since 1845, and of the +Suez Canal, since 1869, it has reduced the journey to India from a +period of four months to one of three weeks, and profoundly affected its +relations with Great Britain. + +It would be well if the premature, but not unfounded, fear of Russian +invasion had produced no further effects on Anglo-Indian policy. +Unhappily, those who justly perceived the importance of Afghánistán, as +lying between Persia and the Punjab, were possessed with the delusion +that it would prove a more solid buffer as a British dependency than as +an independent state. In their ignorance of its internal condition and +the sentiments of its unruly tribes, the Indian government despatched +Sir Alexander Burnes to Kábul, nominally as a commercial emissary, but +not without ulterior objects. They could not have chosen a more capable +agent, for he added to a knowledge of several languages a minute +geographical acquaintance with Central Asia and an insight into the +character of its inhabitants which probably no other Englishman +possessed. He was to proceed by way of Sind to Pesháwar, and in passing +through Sind he received news of the siege of Herat, the significance +of which he was not slow to appreciate. Thenceforward his mission +inevitably assumed a political complexion, since the future of +Afghánistán became a practical question. His rash negotiations with Dost +Muhammad, the Amír of Kábul, and his brother at Kandahár, his return to +India, his second mission to Afghánistán in support of a policy which he +had deprecated, and his tragical death in the Kábul insurrection,--these +are events which belong to a later chapter of history. But, though +Burnes cannot be held responsible for the first Afghán war, there can be +no doubt that his travels in disguise through Central Asia, and +confidential reports on the border countries between the Russian and +British spheres of influence, were the immediate prelude to a campaign +the most ill-advised and the most disastrous ever organised by the +Indian government and sanctioned by that of Great Britain. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[138] Despatch of July 13, 1804, _Selection from Wellesley's +Despatches_, ed. Owen, pp. 436-41. See Sir A. Lyall, _British Dominion +in India_, p. 260. + +[139] Cornwallis to Lake, Sept. 19, 1805, _Cornwallis Correspondence_, +iii., 547-55. + +[140] See p. 310 above. + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + LITERATURE AND SOCIAL PROGRESS. + + +The period which elapsed between the resignation of Pitt and the battle +of Waterloo was hardly less eventful in the history of British +civilisation than in the history of British empire. To some, the +boundary line between the society of the eighteenth and that of the +nineteenth century appears to be marked by the outbreak of the French +revolution, and the far-reaching effects of that catastrophe upon ideas, +manners, and politics in Great Britain, as well as upon the continent, +are too evident to be denied. But it is equally certain that, before the +French revolution, an intellectual and industrial movement was in +progress which must have given a most powerful impulse to civilisation, +even if the French revolution had never taken place. In this country, +especially, the great writers, philanthropists, scientific leaders, +inventors, engineers, and reformers of various types, who adorned the +latter part of George III.'s reign, largely drew their inspiration from +an age, just preceding the French revolution, which is sometimes +regarded as barren in originality. + +When the nineteenth century opened, the classical authors of that +pre-revolutionary age had mostly passed away. Hume died in 1776, Johnson +in 1784, Adam Smith in 1790, Gibbon in 1794, Burns in 1796, Burke in +1797, Cowper in 1800. John Howard, the great pioneer of prison reform, +became a martyr to philanthropy in 1790. The most remarkable of those +manufacturing improvements and mechanical inventions upon which the +commercial supremacy of England is founded date from the same period, +and have been described in a previous volume. Steam navigation was still +untried, but preliminary experiments had already been made on both sides +of the Atlantic before 1789. The application of steam to locomotion by +land had scarcely been conceived, but the facilities of traffic and +travelling had been vastly developed in the first forty years of George +III.'s reign. + +It may truly be said, however, that English literature in the early +party of the nineteenth century bears clear traces of the influence +exercised on receptive minds by the French revolution. Three of the +leading poets, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Southey, were deeply infected +by its spirit, and indulged in their youth fantastic dreams of a social +millennium; Wordsworth, especially, who in his maturer years could be +justly described as the priest of nature-worship and the poet of rural +life, had imbibed violent republican ideas during a residence of more +than a year in France. These were passing off in 1798, when he +published, jointly with Coleridge, the volume of _Lyrical Ballads_ +containing the latter's immortal tale of the _Ancient Mariner_. In the +following year he settled in the English lake-country, where Coleridge +established himself for a while, and Southey for life. Hence the popular +but very inaccurate title of the "Lake School," applied to a trio of +poets who, except as friends, had little in common with each other. +Indeed, after Wordsworth had developed his theory of poetical realism in +the preface to a volume published in 1800, Coleridge rejected and +criticised it as wholly untenable. All three, however, may be considered +as comrades in a revolt against the conventional diction of eighteenth +century poetry, from which Coleridge's "dreamy tenderness" and mystical +flights of fancy were as remote as Wordsworth's rusticity and almost +prosaic studies of humble life. + +[Pageheading: _COLERIDGE AND SCOTT._] + +Although Coleridge survived to 1834 and Wordsworth to 1850, both seem to +have lost at an early date that power of imagination, whether displayed +in sympathy or in creation, in which their greatness consisted. +Wordsworth wrote assiduously during the whole of this period; in 1807 he +published a volume of poems, including the famous _Ode on the +Intimations of Immortality_ and several of his finest sonnets; but of +his later work only an occasional lyric deserves to be ranked beside the +poems published in 1800 and 1807. Coleridge, indeed, published two of +his finest poems, _Christabel_ and _Kubla Khan_, in 1816, but they were +written long before, _Christabel_, partly in 1797 and partly in 1801, +and _Kubla Khan_ in 1798. Even the new metre of _Christabel_, which is +not the least of Coleridge's contributions to English poetry, had, as +early as 1805, been borrowed in the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_ by Scott, +to whom Coleridge had recited the poem. Nevertheless, Coleridge +continued to exercise a great influence, partly through the charm of his +conversation and partly through his prose works, in which he introduced +to a British public, as yet unused to German literature, a vision of +that mystical German thought which finds its father in Kant, and was +represented at that day by Hegel in philosophy and Goethe in poetry. It +is uncertain how far the general ignorance of German literature in +England was responsible for the influence exercised in their own day by +the few English or Scottish thinkers, such as Coleridge, Hamilton, and +Carlyle, who had either fallen under the spell or learned the secret of +the German mystics. The most important of Coleridge's prose works was +_Aids to Reflection_, which appeared in 1828, and whatever be its +literary value, it deserves the notice of the historian, as the least +unsystematic treatise of an author who gave the principal philosophical +impetus to the Oxford movement. + +Two other poets, eminently the product of their age, though not the +offspring of the French revolution, Scott and Byron, were equally in +revolt against conventional diction. Scott elevated ballad-poetry to a +level which it had never before attained, and composed some of the most +beautiful songs in the English language. If it be remembered that he was +cramped by the drudgery of legal offices during the best years of his +life, that he was nearly thirty when he made his first literary venture, +that he was crippled by financial ruin and broken health during his +later years, that his anonymous contributions to periodicals would fill +volumes, and that he died at the age of sixty-one, his fertility of +production must ever be ranked as unique in the history of English +literature. Already known as the author of various lyrical pieces, and +the _Border Minstrelsy_, he published the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_ in +1805, _Marmion_ (with its fine stanzas on Pitt and Fox) in 1808, the +_Lady of the Lake_ in 1809, _Don Roderick_ in 1811, and _Rokeby_ in +1813, as well as minor poems of high merit. He is said to have abandoned +poetry in deference to Byron's rising star, and it is certain that he +now fills a higher place in the roll of English classics as a prose +writer than as a poet. His first novel, _Waverley_, appeared in 1814, +and was followed In the next four years by six of the greatest "Waverley +Novels," as the series came to be called--_Guy Mannering_, the +_Antiquary_, the _Black Dwarf_, _Old Mortality_, _Rob Roy_, and the +_Heart of Midlothian_. It is not too much to say that by these works, +both in poetry and in prose, he created the historical romance in Great +Britain. The legends of chivalry and the folk-lore of his native land +had deeply stirred his soul, and fired his imagination from childhood, +and though later "research" has far outstripped the range of his +antiquarian knowledge, no modern writer has ever done so much to awaken +a reverence for olden times in the hearts of his countrymen. The easy +flow of his style, the vivid energy of his thought, the graphic power of +his descriptions, his shrewd and robust sympathy with human nature, and +the evident simplicity of his own character, not unmingled with flashes +of true poetical insight, justly rendered him the most popular writer of +his time. + +Byron was born in 1788, and first sprang into notice as the author of +_English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_, a fierce and bitter reply to +critics who had disparaged his first essay in poetry. This satire +appeared in 1809, when he was just of age, after which he travelled with +Hobhouse, and it was not until 1812 that he "woke to find himself +famous," on publishing the first two cantos of _Childe Harold_. During +the next three years, he poured forth a succession of characteristic +poems, including the _Giaour_, the _Bride of Abydos_, the _Corsair_, +_Lara_, and the _Siege of Corinth_. His later work was of a more +finished order, including the remaining cantos of _Childe Harold_, +_Manfred_, _Cain_, and _Mazeppa_, and when he died at Mesolongi in 1824, +he left unfinished what is, in some ways, the most remarkable of his +works, _Don Juan_. Long before his death he had become the prophet and +hero of a pseudo-romantic school, composed of young Englishmen dazzled +by his intellectual brilliancy, and attracted rather than repelled by a +certain Satanic taint in his moral sentiments. But he also won the +admiration of Goethe, and the reaction against his fame in a later +generation is as exaggerated as the idolatry of which he was the object +under the regency. His morbid egotism, his stormy rhetoric, and his +meretricious exaltation of passion, have lost their magical effect, but +his poetical gifts would have commanded homage in any age. The message +which he professed to deliver was a false message, but few poets have +surpassed him in daring vigour of imagination, in descriptive force, in +wit, or in pathos. His style was eminently such as to invite imitation, +yet no one has successfully imitated him. Had he been a better man, and +had his life been prolonged, he might perhaps have towered above his +literary contemporaries as Napoleon did among the generals and rulers of +Europe. + +[Pageheading: _KEATS, SHELLEY, TENNYSON._] + +Yet among these contemporaries were Keats and Shelley, whom some critics +of a younger generation would place above him in poetical originality. +Their chief merit lay neither in thought nor in strength, but in an +exquisite sweetness of expression, which in the case of Shelley at least +was quite independent of the subject-matter. Keats, though junior to +Shelley, has been described as his poetical father, but his chief poem, +_Endymion_, did not appear until several years after Shelley had formed +his own distinctive style. He died in 1821 at the age of twenty-six, +leaving a poetical inheritance of the highest quality, which, though +limited in quantity and unequal in workmanship, has gained an enduring +reputation. Nevertheless his work lent itself readily to imitation, and +he exercised a marked influence on the style of later poets, not only in +this period, but in the Victorian age as well. The rebellious spirit of +Shelley had already shown itself at an early age in his poetry, and +especially in _Queen Mab_, printed in 1812. His ethereal fancy, his +dreamy obscurity, and his witchery of language, designated him from the +first as a master of lyrical poetry; though he wrote longer pieces, his +fame rests on the numerous short poems which continued to appear till +his death in 1822. + +Perhaps the greatest master of melody was one who was only coming to the +front at the close of this period, Alfred Tennyson, born in 1809, +contributed with two of his brothers to a collection of verses, +misleadingly entitled _Poems by Two Brothers_, which appeared in 1826. +At Cambridge his _Timbuctoo_ won the chancellor's prize, but the first +proof of his powers was given by a volume of short poems published in +1830, followed by a similar volume two years later. By far the greater +part of his work lies in the next period, but the volume of 1833 already +included some of his best known poems. + +Among minor poets of this period the highest rank must perhaps be +assigned to Thomas Campbell and Thomas Moore as authors of some of the +most stirring and graceful lyrics in the English language. The former +had attained celebrity by the _Pleasures of Hope_, published before the +end of the eighteenth century, but his choicest poems, such as _Ye +Mariners of England_, the fine verses on Hohenlinden and Copenhagen, and +_Gertrude of Wyoming_, appeared between 1802 and 1809. The series of +Moore's Irish melodies, on which his poetical fame largely rests, was +begun in 1807, though not completed until long afterwards. They were +followed by other lyrical pieces of great merit, and by a series of +witty and malicious lampoons, collected in 1813 into a volume called the +_Twopenny Post Bag_. _Lalla Rookh_, his most ambitious effort, was not +published until 1817. + +Two prose writers of the same epoch, Southey and Bentham, claim special +notice, though Southey may also be numbered among the poets. Having +established himself close to Keswick in 1804, he prosecuted a literary +career with the most untiring industry until his mental faculties at +last failed him some thirty-six years later. During this period he +produced above a hundred volumes in poetry and prose, besides numerous +scattered articles and other papers. Most of these were of merely +ephemeral interest, but the _Life of Nelson_, published in 1813, may be +said to have set a standard of simplicity, purity, and dignity in +English prose which has been of permanent value. Bentham's style, on the +contrary, was so wanting in beauty and perspicuity that one at least of +his chief works is best known to English readers in the admirable French +paraphrase of his friend Dumont. This is his famous _Introduction to the +Principles of Morals and Legislation_, in which the doctrines of the +utilitarian philosophy are rigorously applied to jurisprudence and the +regulation of human conduct. Several of his numerous treatises had been +planned, and others actually composed, before the end of the eighteenth +century, but his practical influence, ultimately so great, first made +itself felt in the early part of the nineteenth century. This influence +may be compared within the sphere of social reform to that of Adam Smith +within the sphere of economy. Many amendments of the law, an improved +system of prison discipline, and even the reform of the poor law, may +be directly traced to his counsels, and it was he who inspired the +leading radicals when radicalism was not so much a destructive creed as +a protest against real and gross abuses. + +[Pageheading: _MALTHUS._] + +Perhaps, next to Bentham, no writer of this period influenced educated +opinion so powerfully as Malthus, whose _Essay on Population_, first +published anonymously in 1798, attracted comparatively little attention +until 1803, when it was republished in a maturer form. No work has ever +been more persistently misrepresented. While he shows that population, +if unchecked, will surely increase in a ratio far outstripping any +possible increase in the means of subsistence, he also shows, by +elaborate proofs, that it will inevitably be checked by vice and misery, +whether or not they are aided by moral restraint. Later experience has +done little to weaken his reasoning, but it has proved that "moral +restraint" (in the most general sense) operates more widely than he +ventured to expect, and that larger tracts of the earth's surface than +he recognised could be brought under profitable cultivation. With these +modifications, his theory holds the field, and the people of Great +Britain only escape starvation by ever-growing importations of grain +from countries whose production--for the present--exceeds their +consumption. + +Several other writers of eminence, such as Sheridan and Paley, who lived +in the latter days of George III. are more properly to be regarded as +survivors of eighteenth century literature. Horne Tooke was returned for +Old Sarum in 1801, and enjoyed a reputation in society until his death +in 1812, but his old-fashioned radicalism had long since been superseded +by a newer creed. Dugald Stewart continued to lecture on moral +philosophy until 1809, and was fortunate in numbering among his pupils +Palmerston, Lansdowne, and Russell. A younger student of philosophy was +Richard Whately, who was born in 1787, and elected to a fellowship at +Oriel College, Oxford, in 1811. He soon began to play an active part in +university life, and, after being principal of St. Alban Hall, was +removed to the archbishopric of Dublin in 1831. Though not a great +philosopher, he was an acute logician, and his _Logic_, published in +1826, entitled him to a high place among the thinkers of his generation. +But it was not merely as a teacher and writer that Whately promoted the +cause of philosophy in Oxford. He was one of the leaders in that +organisation of studies which made philosophy one of the principal +studies, if not the principal study, of the abler students in that +university, and gave elementary logic a place in the ordinary +"pass-man's" curriculum. + +The best work of Maria Edgeworth and Jane Austen appeared in the early +part of the nineteenth century. Maria Edgeworth's novel, _Castle +Rackrent_, was published in 1800, and rapidly followed by other tales +descriptive of Irish life; four of Jane Austen's novels, _Sense and +Sensibility_, _Pride and Prejudice_, _Mansfield Park_, and _Emma_, were +published between 1811 and 1816, while _Northanger Abbey_ and +_Persuasion_ appeared after her death in 1817. All her work displays a +power of minute analysis of character shared by few, if any, of our +other novelists. Both authors deserve gratitude not only for having +inspired Scott with a new idea of novel-writing, but for having +exercised a purifying influence on the moral tone of English romance. + +The most typical feature of English literature in the earlier years of +the nineteenth century was the extraordinary development of the +periodical and newspaper press. The eighteenth century was the golden +age of pamphlets. When the "governing classes" represented but a +fraction of the population, mostly concentrated in London, the practical +effect of such political appeals as those issued by Swift or Burke was +incredibly great, and not to be measured by their limited circulation. +The rise of journalism as a power in politics may be roughly dated from +the notoriety of Wilkes' _North Briton_, and of the letters of "Junius" +in the _Public Advertiser_. Thenceforward, newspapers, at first mere +chronicles of passing events, inevitably grew to be organs of political +opinion, and had now almost superseded pamphlets, as addressed to a far +larger circle of readers. Notwithstanding the heavy stamp duties, as +well as duties on paper and advertisements, six daily journals were +published in London, of which the _Times_ was already the greatest. +Cobbett's _Weekly Political Register_, commenced in 1802, was diffusing +new ideas among the middle classes, but it was not yet committed to +radicalism, and did not win its way into cottages until its price was +greatly reduced in 1816. After Cobbett's death in 1835, it ceased to +appear. Still the ice was broken, and, as the educated public recovered +from the panic caused by the French revolution, the newspaper press +became a potent and independent rival of parliament and the platform. + +[Pageheading: _EDINBURGH AND QUARTERLY REVIEWS._] + +But the influence of the _Edinburgh_ and _Quarterly Reviews_ was perhaps +even greater among readers of the highest intelligence. The first of +these was founded in 1802 by Jeffrey, Brougham, Horner, and Sydney +Smith, but was supported at first by Scott and other able contributors. +So remarkable a body of writers must have commanded attention in any +age, but at a time when the only periodicals were annuals and +miscellanies, the literary vigour and range of knowledge displayed by +the new review carried all before it. For several years it had an unique +success, but, as it identified itself more and more with the whig party, +Canning, with the aid of Scott, determined to challenge its supremacy by +establishing a new review to be called the _Quarterly_. Scott was +finally estranged from the _Edinburgh_ by an article against the war of +independence in Spain, and the first number of the _Quarterly_ appeared +in February, 1809, with three articles by him. It was published by John +Murray, and edited by Gifford, on much the same lines as the +_Edinburgh_, but with a strong tory bias, and with somewhat less of +literary brilliancy. _Blackwood's Magazine_ followed a few years later, +and the almost classical dualism of the _Quarterly_ and _Edinburgh_ has +long since been invaded by a multitude of younger serials. + +After the loss of its early monopoly of talent, the _Edinburgh Review_ +still retained Jeffrey and Sydney Smith, and it was abundantly +compensated for the loss of Scott by the acquisition in 1825 of the +fluent pen of Macaulay. Born in 1800, the son of Zachary Macaulay, who +like many other philanthropists was on the tory side, he was early +converted to the whig party. He was well fitted to be a popular writer. +His thought, never deep, is always clear and vivid. None knew better how +to seize a dramatic incident or a picturesque simile, or to strike the +weak points in his adversary's armour. It has been said of him that he +always chose to storm a position by a cavalry charge, certainly the most +imposing if not the most effective method. Many of his contributions to +the _Edinburgh Review_ were afterwards republished as _Essays_, and +already in those earlier essays which appeared before 1837, we can see +him assuming the _rôle_ of the historical champion of the whigs. Widely +read and with a marvellous memory, he was generally accurate in his +facts, but his criticism of Gladstone applies with even greater force to +himself: "There is no want of light, but a great want of what Bacon +would have called dry light. Whatever Mr. Gladstone sees is refracted +and distorted by a false medium of passions and prejudices." The critic +is sunk in the advocate, and even a good cause is spoiled by a too +obvious reluctance to admit anything that comes from the other side. +Perhaps his happiest, though far from his greatest, work is to be found +in the stirring ballads of _Ivry_ and the _Armada_, the precursors of +the _Lays of Ancient Rome_. Deservedly popular and full of patriotic +fire, the class of literature to which they belong renders questions of +fairness or unfairness beside the point. + +Another contributor to the _Edinburgh Review_, also famous as a +historian, was Thomas Carlyle. He was born in 1795 at Ecclefechan in +Dumfriesshire, and wrote for Brewster's _Encyclopædia_ and the _London +Magazine_ as well as the _Edinburgh_. In 1826 he married Jane Welsh, and +in 1828 he retired from journalism to live humbly on her means. It was +now that he began to produce his best work. _Sartor Resartus_ appeared +in 1833-34, and the _History of the French Revolution_ in 1837. Even in +the latter of these works he is as much a preacher as a historian. +Perhaps no other writer of the age exercised a greater direct influence, +and in his own country, which seems specially amenable to the preacher's +powers, his message has been as effective in favour of broader views as +the disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843 was in favour of the +old orthodoxy. His teaching has its roots in a German soil, but it bears +the mark of his own strong personality. His style, with a wilful +ruggedness, displays the German taste for the humour of an incongruous +homeliness, where the subject seems to call for a more dignified +treatment. Perhaps this obvious falseness of expression only relieves +the weight of his stern earnestness of purpose and makes us the more +ready to join in his constant denunciation of everything hollow and +pretentious. + +[Pageheading: _LAMB._] + +Two new magazines appeared in or about 1817, _Blackwood's_ and the +_London_. Brilliant as the leading contributors to the former were, none +of them perhaps can claim a place in the front rank of English +literature. Of the contributors to the _London_ Lamb is doubtless +entitled to the first place. Born in 1775, he was employed as a clerk in +the East India House from 1792 to 1825. He was a schoolfellow of +Coleridge and contributed to his earlier volume of poems It is, however, +to the _Essays of Elia_ that he owes his fame. These appeared in the +_London Magazine_ and were published in a collected form after his death +in 1834. Few authors that have been so much admired have exercised so +little influence. The reason for this is not far to seek. His style +defies imitation, and he would have been the last man to endeavour to +win disciples to his opinions. Another essayist who belongs to the same +group of writers as Coleridge and Lamb is Thomas de Quincey. He wrote +both for _Blackwood's_ and for the _London Magazine_, in the latter of +which appeared in 1821 his best known work, the _Confessions of an +English Opium Eater_. He excelled in what was the dominant +characteristic of English prose of this period, in imagery, a quality +which is conspicuous in the light fancy of Coleridge's most famous +poems, and which gives life to an author so uniformly in dead earnest as +Macaulay. Viewed historically, this taste for imagery is the English +side of the romantic movement, which in Germany reacted against the +conventional, not only in works of the imagination, but in the heavier +form of new philosophical systems. But these systems, in spite of +Coleridge, never became native in England. The growth of the scientific +spirit has made such thought and such language seem unreal in serious +literature, and prevents a later generation from imitating, though not +from admiring, the brilliance of the early essayists. + +Hazlitt's genius was of a heavier type. As an essayist his work breathes +the spirit of an earlier age; but as a literary critic he is a leader, +and displays an inwardness in his appreciation that makes him in a sense +the model of the new age in which criticism has so largely supplanted +creation. It may be doubted, however, whether the abnormal growth of +criticism, as a distinct branch of English letters, has been a benefit +on the whole to our literature. Certainly it has tended to substitute +the elaborate study of other men's thoughts for original production, +and, after all, the greatest critics have been those who, being more +than critics, have shown themselves capable of constructive efforts. + +Two statesmen-novelists, Bulwer and Disraeli, are among the most +interesting literary characters of the end of this period. The former of +these, like his French contemporary Victor Hugo, had a remarkable gift +for expressing each successive phase of popular taste. He resembled +Disraeli in acquiring a pre-eminent position in letters in early youth, +which was followed by political success at a later age. Though neither +rose to cabinet rank before a time of life which must with literary men +rank as "middle age," Bulwer had, in the midst of an active +parliamentary career, been an active novelist, in fact the most popular +novelist of his day. Disraeli, on the other hand, only entered +parliament after the close of the period dealt with in this volume, and +it is to this period, while he was still unknown to politics, that the +greater part of his literary work belongs. One other resemblance between +these writers is perhaps not less interesting to the historian than to +the critic. Both made use of literature to establish for themselves a +reputation as "men of the world," an ambition which Bulwer's social +position might easily justify, and without which it would be impossible +to understand the career of Disraeli. Born in 1803 and 1804 +respectively, both made their mark with their first novels in 1827, +Bulwer with _Falkland_, Disraeli with a work in which his own career has +been supposed to be foreshadowed--_Vivian Grey_. One other great +novelist had appeared before the close of the reign of William IV. In +1836 Charles Dickens produced _Sketches by Boz_ and began the _Pickwick +Papers_, but he belongs properly to the next reign. + +Among the historians of this period the first place undoubtedly belongs +to Henry Hallam. Born in 1788, he produced his _View of the State of +Europe during the Middle Ages_ in 1818, and his _Constitutional History +of England_ in 1827, while his _Introduction to the Literature of +Europe_ began to appear in 1837. Like Macaulay he represents the whig +attitude towards politics, but does so less consciously and less +emphatically than his younger contemporary. There is a sense in which no +constitutional historian has adopted so strictly legal an attitude. It +is not merely that his interest centres on the legal side of the +constitution, but, lawyer-like, he judges every constitutional issue of +the past in the light of the legal system which the law of his own day +presupposes for the date in question. No one can deny the validity of +this principle in a court of justice, but no one gifted either with +historical imagination or with historical sympathy could wish to +introduce it into a historical work. Yet the very narrowness of his +outlook made it easier for him to adopt the impartiality of a judge; his +criterion of justice is too definite to allow him to indulge in special +pleading or to twist facts to suit his theories; and the student still +turns to Hallam with a sense of security which he does not feel in +reading Macaulay or Carlyle. + +[Pageheading: _FINE ART._] + +The fine arts cannot be said to have flourished in England during the +period of the great war, and architecture was certainly at a low ebb, +but several eminent names belong to this period. Sir Thomas Lawrence was +by far the foremost English portrait painter, and fitly represents the +elegance of the regency, while Raeburn enjoyed an equal reputation in +Scotland. Turner, however, was painting in his earlier manner and +showing originality even in his imitations of old masters. Constable, +too, was producing some of those quiet English landscapes which, though +little appreciated at the time, have since made him famous. Two other +English landscape painters, Callcott and the elder Crome, were also in +their prime, and Wilkie executed several of his best known masterpieces +at this time. David Cox and Prout did not earn celebrity till a little +later. The Water-Colour Society was founded in 1804. Soon afterwards +Flaxman was in the zenith of his fame, being elected professor of +sculpture by the Royal Academy in 1810, and Chantrey was beginning to +desert portrait painting for statuary. + +Science, especially in its practical applications, made greater strides +than art in the early years of the nineteenth century. It was now that +Jenner's memorable discovery of vaccination, dating from 1796, was +generally adopted by the medical profession. In 1802 his claim to +priority was recognised by a parliamentary committee, with the result +that £10,000 were then voted to him, and a further grant of £20,000 was +made in 1807, when vaccination was established at the Small-pox +Hospital. In 1814, George Stephenson, after many preliminary +experiments, made a successful trial of his first locomotive engine. In +1812, Bell's steamboat, the _Comet_ made its first voyage on the Clyde, +and the development of steam navigation proceeded more rapidly than that +of steam locomotion by land. Sir Humphry Davy began his researches in +1800, and took part in that year, with Count Rumford and Sir Joseph +Banks, in founding the Royal Institution. His invention of the safety +lamp was not matured until 1815. + +But if the principal contributions of England to physical science in the +early years of the century were mainly in the direction of practical +application, her contributions to pure theory under the regency and in +the reign of William IV. were no less distinguished. Sir John Herschel, +following in the footsteps of his father, began in 1824 his observations +on double stars and his researches upon the parallax of fixed stars, +while Sir George Airy published in 1826 his mathematical treatises on +lunar and planetary theory. In Michael Faraday England possessed at once +an eminent chemist and the greatest electrician of the age. The +discovery of benzine and the liquefaction of numerous gases were +followed by an investigation of electric currents, and in 1831 by the +crowning discovery of induction. Not less valuable perhaps than these +discoveries of his own were the fertile suggestions which he left to +others. William Smith, sometimes called the father of modern English +geology, vigorously followed up the work of James Hutton by publishing +in 1815 his great map of English _strata_ as identified by fossils. +Charles Lyell's _Principles of Geology_ marks a great advance in +geological science. In this book, which appeared in 1833, the author +advanced the view, now universally accepted, that the great geological +changes of the past are not to be explained as catastrophes, followed by +successive creations, but as the product of the continuous play of +forces still at work. This theory contained all that was vital in the +doctrine of evolution; but it was only at a later date, when the +doctrine had become the property of zoologists as well as geologists and +had been popularised by Darwin, that it came to exercise an influence +over non-scientific thought. + +[Pageheading: _UNIVERSITY REFORM._] + +A review of the literary and scientific progress of this period would be +incomplete without some notice of progress in higher education. The +universities of Oxford and Cambridge with their numerous colleges had in +the eighteenth century lapsed into that lethargic condition which seemed +to be the common fate of all corporations. They had to a certain extent +ceased to be seats of learning. At Oxford the limitations imposed upon +colleges by statute or custom in elections to fellowships and +scholarships ensured the mediocrity of the teachers and gave the +preference to mediocrities among the students. Where emoluments were not +so restricted they were generally awarded by interest rather than by +merit; and it was even the case that a scholarship at Winchester, +carrying with it the right to a fellowship at New College, was often +promised to an infant only a few days old. The Oxford examination system +had not been reformed since the time of Laud, and the degree +examinations had degenerated into mere formalities until the university +in 1800 adopted a new examination statute, mainly under the influence of +Dr. Eveleigh, provost of Oriel. The new statute, which came into +operation in 1802, granted honours to the better students of each year. +The number of candidates to whom honours were granted, at first very +small, rapidly increased till in 1837 about 130 received honours in a +single year. The attention which the examination system received from +the hebdomadal board, so often accused of sluggishness, is proved by the +frequent changes in the regulations, which among other things +differentiated between honours in "Literæ Humaniores" and in mathematics +in 1807, and separated the honours and pass examinations in 1830. The +same desire to encourage meritorious students showed itself in the +institution of competitive examinations for fellowships, in which Oriel +led the way. It was followed in 1817 by Balliol, which in 1827 threw +open its scholarships as well. It was not, however, till the reign of +Queen Victoria that the college statutes as a whole were so modified as +to make open competition possible in more than a very few instances. + +Cambridge suffered less than Oxford from restrictions as to the choice +of fellows. In fact the majority of the fellowships, more especially of +those which carried with them a vote in the government of the colleges, +were, so far as the statutes went, open to all comers. Though the course +of study was still nominally regulated by statutes dating from the Tudor +period, which it would often have been ludicrous to enforce, an +effective stimulus was given to mathematical studies by the mathematical +tripos, which had existed from the middle of the eighteenth century, +and to which in 1824 a classical tripos was added. The ground covered by +these honour examinations was certainly narrower than that which lay +within the scope of the corresponding examinations at Oxford, but at +both places the studies of most undergraduates were still directed more +by the judgment of their tutors than by the regulations of the +university. + +These two universities were, however, subject to two limitations, which +prevented them from providing a higher education for all aspiring +students. The expense of living at Oxford and Cambridge, and the close +connexion of both universities with the Church of England, rendered them +difficult of access to many. These limitations were emphasised by the +fact that Scotland possessed five universities which were the opposite +of the English in both respects, and not a few English students could +always be found at the Scottish seats of learning. The reform ministry +made a serious effort to remove or alleviate the grievances of +dissenters. Among other reforms mooted was the abolition of theological +tests for matriculation and graduation. In 1834 a bill, which proposed +to effect this change, but which left intact such tests as existed for +fellowships and professorships, passed its second reading in the commons +by a majority of 321 against 174, and its third reading by 164 against +75. It was, however, thrown out on the second reading in the lords by +187 votes against 85. Though in this particular case the demands of the +dissenters were moderate, they were themselves opposed to other measures +introduced for their benefit, and the question of tests at Oxford and +Cambridge was not unnaturally allowed to rest for another twenty years. + +[Pageheading: _UNIVERSITY OF LONDON._] + +It was only in the reign of George IV. that anything was done to provide +a university education for those who were unable to proceed to the +ancient seats of learning. But the movement, once started, progressed +rapidly. The oldest of the university colleges, as they are now called, +is St. David's College, Lampeter, which was founded in 1822, mainly +through the exertions of Dr. Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St. David's, who +was supported by many others among the Welsh clergy. The college was +opened in 1827, but at first it had no power of conferring degrees, and +contented itself with the education of candidates for holy orders. A +more important movement was initiated in 1825. In a public letter +written by the poet Campbell to Brougham, the project of founding a +university of London, which should be free from denominational +restrictions, was advocated. The scheme was warmly embraced by many +whose names are found associated with other movements of the times. +Among them were Hume, Grote, Zachary Macaulay, Dudley, and Russell. A +large proportion of the promoters of the new university had been +educated at Scottish universities, and had therefore a clear idea of the +type of university which they might establish, and the movement, +although started primarily in the interests of dissenters, received the +support of many who still valued the connexion of the universities with +the Church. The "London University," as it was called, was opened in +1828, when classes were formed in arts, law, and medicine, but not in +divinity. It was technically a joint-stock company, and the attempt of +the shareholders to obtain a charter of incorporation was successfully +resisted by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. + +Meanwhile some of the original supporters of the movement, regarding the +non-religious character of the new university with suspicion, had +decided to transfer their support to a new college, where the doctrine +and worship of the Church of England should be recognised. The Duke of +Wellington took a lively interest in this movement, and King George +IV.'s patronage gave the new institution the name of "King's College". +There seemed every reason to expect that the foundation would be on a +munificent scale, when Wellington's acceptance of catholic emancipation +offended many of the subscribers so deeply that they immediately +withdrew from the undertaking, and the college was in consequence left +almost entirely without endowment. State recognition, however, was given +it from the first. It was incorporated in 1829, and opened in 1831. In +1835 the demand of "London University" for a charter received the +support of the house of commons, and Lord Melbourne's government decided +to propose a compromise, by which the so-called "London University" was +to be converted into University College, and an examining body was to be +created under the title of the University of London, while the work of +teaching was to be performed by University College, King's College, and +other colleges, which might from time to time be named by the crown. +These terms were accepted by the existing "university," and charters +were given to the new university and to University College, London, in +1836. It was thus left open to students or their parents to select +either a denominational or an undenominational college, according to +their preference. + +Meanwhile another university had been founded in the north of England. +The dean and chapter of Durham had determined to set aside a part of +their emoluments for the foundation of a university, and the bishop had +undertaken to assist them by attaching prebendal stalls in the cathedral +to some of the professorships. An act of parliament was obtained in +1832, authorising the establishment of the new university, which was +opened in October, 1833, and was incorporated by a royal charter on June +1, 1837. As an ecclesiastical foundation, the university of Durham was +of course in the closest connexion with the established Church. + +None of these new foundations could compare in respect of endowments +with the old universities of Oxford and Cambridge, yet it was not +altogether without reason that the founders of University College, +London, hoped to give as good an education at a greatly reduced cost. It +must be remembered that only a small fraction of the endowments of the +old universities and their colleges was at this time applied to strictly +educational purposes, and, until they should either be reformed or +become more sensible of their opportunities, there was a fair field for +an energetic rival. + +The beginning of the nineteenth century witnessed a marvellous expansion +of manufacturing industry, not so much caused by new discoveries as by +the energetic application of those made at the end of the last century, +by the growth of the factory-system, and, above all, by the monopoly of +English-made goods during the great war. The innovation of +machine-spinning and weaving by power-looms had an instant effect in +stimulating and cheapening the production of cottons, but that of +woollens, cramped by heavy duties on the raw material, languished for +some time longer under traditional methods of handspinning. When +stocking-frames and other forms of machinery penetrated at last into its +strongholds in the West Riding of Yorkshire and in the midland counties, +the demand for "hands" was inevitably reduced, and "frame-breaking" +riots ensued, which lasted for several years. From this period dates the +industrial revolution which gradually abolished domestic industries, +separated mill-owners and mill-hands into almost hostile classes, +undermined the system of apprenticeship, and brought about a large +migration of manufactures from centres with abundant water-power to +centres in close proximity to coal-fields. + +[Pageheading: _PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE._] + +The progress of British agriculture during the period under review was +almost as marked as that of British manufactures. Under the impulse of +war prices, and of the improvements adopted at the end of the eighteenth +century, the home-production of corn almost kept pace with the growing +consumption, and between 1801 and 1815 little more than 500,000 quarters +of imported corn were required annually to feed the population. No +doubt, when the price of bread might rise to famine-point, the +consumption of it fell to a minimum per head; still, the rural +population continued to multiply, though not so rapidly as the urban +population, and neither could have been maintained without a constant +increase in the production of the soil. This result was due to a +progressive extension of enclosure and drainage, as well as to wise +innovations in the practice of agriculture. Not the least important of +such innovations was the destruction of useless fences and straggling +hedge-rows, the multitude and irregular outlines of which had long been +a picturesque but wasteful feature of old-fashioned English farming. +This was the age, too, in which many a small farm vanished by +consolidation, and many an ancient pasture was recklessly broken up, +some of which, though once more covered with green sward, have never +recovered their original fertility. Happily, the use of crushed bones +for manure was introduced in 1800, and the efforts of the national board +of agriculture, aided by the discoveries of Sir Humphry Davy, brought +about a far more general application of chemical science to agriculture, +partly compensating for the exhaustion of the soil under successive +wheat crops. Not less remarkable was the effect of mechanical science in +the development of new agricultural implements, which, however, retained +a comparatively rude form of construction. The Highland Society of +Scotland took a leading part in encouraging these gradual experiments in +tillage, as well as in the breeding of sheep and cattle, with a special +regard to early maturity. Had the farmers of Great Britain during the +great war possessed no more skill than their grandfathers, it would have +been impossible for the soil of this island to have so nearly supported +its inhabitants before the ports were freely thrown open. + +The great triumphs of engineering in the fifteen years before the battle +of Waterloo were mainly achieved in facilitating locomotion, and are +specially associated with the name of Telford. It was he who, following +in the footsteps of Brindley and Smeaton, constructed the Ellesmere and +Caledonian Canals; he far eclipsed the fame of General Wade by opening +out roads and bridges in the highlands, and first adopted sound +principles of road-making both in England and Wales, afterwards to be +applied with marvellous success by Macadam. It is some proof of the +impulse given to land-travelling by such improvements that 1,355 public +stage-coaches were assessed in 1812, and that a rate of speed little +short of ten miles an hour was attained by the lighter vehicles. But +Telford's labours were not confined to roads or bridges; they extended +also to harbours and to canals, which continued to be the great arteries +of heavy traffic until the development of railways. The new power +destined to supersede both coaches and barges was first recognised +practically when Bell's little steam vessel the _Comet_ was navigated +down the Clyde in 1812, to be followed not many years later by a +steamship capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In a few years steam +packets were numerous, but it was not till well into the reign of +Victoria that steam navigation was used in the royal navy. + +[Pageheading: _RAILWAYS._] + +The most conspicuous improvement in the social and economic condition of +the country between 1815 and 1837 is undoubtedly the invention of the +steam locomotive engine. A few steam locomotives had been invented +before the former date, but they had met with little success and were as +yet more costly than horse traction. It was only in or about the year +1815 that George Stephenson, enginewright in Killingworth colliery, +succeeded in inventing a locomotive engine which was cheaper than +horse-power. The value of railways was by this time better understood. +Short railways worked by horses were common in the neighbourhood of +collieries, and a few existed elsewhere. In 1821 Edward Pease obtained +parliamentary powers to construct a railway between Stockton and +Darlington. A visit to Killingworth persuaded him to make use of +steam-power. In 1823 an act authorising the use of steam on the proposed +railway was carried, and in 1825 the railway was opened. In 1826 an act +was passed for the construction of a railway between Liverpool and +Manchester. Stephenson was employed as engineer to make the line, and +his success as a road-making engineer proved equal to his brilliance as +a mechanical inventor. + +In 1829 the line was completed. The directors were at first strongly +opposed to the use of steam-locomotion, but were induced by Stephenson, +before finally rejecting the idea, to offer a reward of £500 for the +best locomotive that could be made. Of four engines which were entered +for the competition, Stephenson's _Rocket_ was the only one that would +move, and it proved able to travel at the rate of thirty-five miles an +hour. The opening of the railway in 1830, and the fatal accident to Mr. +Huskisson which attended it, have been noticed already. The accident did +more to attract attention to the power of the locomotive than to +discredit it. The opposition to railways was not, however, at an end. A +proposal for a railway between London and Birmingham was carried through +parliament, only after a struggle of some years' duration, but the +construction of the line was at length authorised in 1833. The English +railway system now developed with great rapidity, and by the end of the +reign of William IV. lines had been authorised which would when complete +form a system, joining London with Dover, Southampton, and Bristol, and +both London and Bristol with Birmingham, whence lines were to run to the +most important places in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and on to Darlington. +Numerous small lines served other portions of the country, partly in +connexion with these, but more often independently. + +Among the more conspicuous metropolitan improvements of this age may be +mentioned the introduction of gas and the incipient construction of new +bridges over the Thames, in which the engineer Rennie took a leading +part. Before the end of the eighteenth century the workshops of Boulton +and Watt had been lit by gas, and Soho was illuminated by it to +celebrate the peace of Amiens. By 1807 it was used in Golden Lane, and +by 1809, if not earlier, it had reached Pall Mall, but it scarcely +became general in London until somewhat later. At the beginning of the +century the metropolis possessed but three bridges, old London bridge +and the old bridges at Blackfriars and Westminster. The first stone of +the Strand Bridge (afterwards to be called Waterloo Bridge) was laid on +October 11, 1811, and Southwark Bridge was commenced in 1814, but these +bridges were not completed till 1817 and 1819 respectively. The existing +London Bridge, designed by Rennie, but built after his death, was +completed in 1831. In 1812, the architect Nash was employed in laying +out the Regent's Park, and in 1813 an act was passed for the +construction of Regent Street, as a grand line of communication between +it and Carlton House, the residence of the regent. + +The work of geographical discovery had been well commenced before the +end of the eighteenth century, and was inevitably checked during the +great war. The wonderful voyages of Cook had revealed Australia and New +Zealand; Flinders had carried on the survey of the Australian coast; +Vancouver had explored the great island which bears his name with the +adjacent shores; Rennell had produced his great map of India; Bruce had +published his celebrated travels in Abyssinia; and an association had +been formed to dispel the darkness that hung over the whole interior of +Africa. Among its first emissaries was Mungo Park, who afterwards was +employed by the British government, and died in the course of his second +expedition in 1805-6. The idea of Arctic discovery was revived early in +the nineteenth century, and was no longer confined to commercial aims, +such as the opening of a north-east or north-west passage, but was +rather directed to scientific objects, not without the hope of reaching +the North Pole itself. Meanwhile, the ordnance survey of Great Britain +itself was in full progress, and that of British India was commenced in +1802, while the hydrographical department of the admiralty, established +in 1795, was organising the system of marine-surveying which has since +yielded such valuable fruits. + +The progress of philanthropy, based on religious sentiment was very +marked during the later years of the war. The institution of Sunday +schools between 1780 and 1790 had awakened a new sense of duty towards +children in the community, and the growing use of child-labour, keeping +pace with the constant increase of machinery, forced upon the public +the necessity of legislative restrictions, which have been noticed in an +earlier chapter. Banks of savings, the forerunners of savings banks +under parliamentary regulation, had been suggested by Jeremy Bentham, +and one at least was instituted in 1802. The idea of penitentiaries, for +the reformation as well as for the punishment of criminals, had +originated with the great philanthropist, John Howard. It was adopted +and popularised by Jeremy Bentham, and might have been further developed +but for the introduction of transportation, which promised the +well-conducted convict the prospect of a new life in a new country. +Meanwhile, prison reform became a favourite study of benevolent +theorists in an age when the criminal law was still a relic of +barbarism, when highway robbery was rife in the neighbourhood of London, +when sanitation was hardly in its infancy, when pauperism was fostered +by the poor law, and when the working classes in towns were huddled +together, without legal check or moral scruple, in undrained courts and +underground cellars. So capricious and shortsighted is the public +conscience in its treatment of social evils. + +[Pageheading: _CANADA._] + +At the opening of the nineteenth century the colonial empire of Great +Britain was in a transitional state. The secession of thirteen American +colonies had not only robbed the mother country of its proudest +inheritance, but had also shattered the old colonial system of +commercial monopoly for the supposed benefit of British interests. Its +immediate effect was to annul the navigation act as affecting American +trade, which became free to all the world, and by which Great Britain +itself profited largely. Canada at once gained a new importance, and a +new sense of nationality, which Pitt recognised by dividing it into two +provinces, and giving each a considerable measure of independence, both +political and commercial. It was troubled by the presence of a conquered +race of white colonists side by side with new colonists of English +blood, who were, however, united in their resistance to the revolted +colonies in the war of 1812-14. After the war a steady stream of +immigration poured into Canada. In 1816 the population was estimated at +450,000; between 1819 and 1829 Canada received 126,000 immigrants from +England, and during the next ten years 320,000. The result was that the +French element ceased to be preponderant, except in Lower Canada. The +French Canadians felt that they did not enjoy their share of the +confidence of government; the home government, ready enough to grant any +favour that home opinion would permit, was trammelled by a public +opinion, which suspected all who were of a French origin of a desire to +restore the supremacy of the Roman Catholic religion and to assert +political independence. A vacillating policy was the result, which only +increased suspicions, and led in the first year of the reign of Victoria +to a civil war. + +In the Mauritius and the West Indies the one event of importance in this +period is the abolition of slavery. It was found impossible to obtain +from free negroes as much work as had been obtained from slaves, and +their place had to be supplied by Indian coolies in the Mauritius, and +by Chinese in Jamaica. At the same time the West Indies had begun to +suffer from the competition of the United States. + +The colony of the Cape of Good Hope was still peopled almost entirely by +blacks or by the descendants of Dutch settlers, known as _boers_, or +peasants. Four thousand British colonists went out in 1820 to Algoa Bay, +but these were a mere handful compared with the Dutch. Unfortunately the +government adopted a line of policy which produced great irritation in +the Dutch population. They were granted no self-government, and in 1826 +English judicial forms were introduced, and English was declared the +sole official language. The reform administration made matters worse by +defending the blacks against the boers. In 1834 it set free the slaves, +offering £1,200,000, payable in London, very little of which ever +reached the boers, as compensation for slaves valued at £3,000,000. A +Kaffir war in 1834 had led to the conquest of Kaffraria, but in 1835 the +home government restored the independence of the Kaffirs, and appointed +a lieutenant-governor to defend their rights. After this the boers +considered their position intolerable, and in 1835 began their first +"trek" into the country now known as Natal. + +[Pageheading: _AUSTRALIA._] + +Meanwhile, the great discoveries of Captain Cook, and the first +settlement of New South Wales, brought within view a possible extension +of our colonial dominion, which might go far to compensate for its +losses on the North American continent. Governor Phillip had been sent +out by Pitt to Botany Bay in 1787-88, but it was many years before the +earliest of Australian colonies outgrew the character of a penal refuge +for English convicts. The first convict establishments were at Sydney +and Norfolk Island, but another settlement was founded on Van Diemen's +Land in 1805, and in 1807, after this island had been circumnavigated by +Flinders and Bass, it became the headquarters of that convict system, +whose horrors are not yet forgotten. Between 1810 and 1822 the resources +of New South Wales were vastly developed by the energetic policy of +Governor Macquarie. While his efforts to utilise convict labour, and to +educate convicts into free men, may have retarded the influx of genuine +colonists, he prepared the way for settlement by constructing roads, +promoting exploration, and raising public buildings, so that when he +returned home the population of New South Wales had increased fourfold, +and its settled territory in a much greater proportion. This territory +comprised all English settlements on the east coast, and included large +tracts of what is now known as Queensland, which did not become a +separate colony until 1859. + +The early history of Australia, it has been said, is chiefly a tale of +convict settlements, bush-ranging, and expeditions of discovery. There +is much truth in this saying, but the real basis of Australian +prosperity was the introduction of sheep-farming on a large scale, after +the merino-breed had been imported and acclimatised by Macarthur at the +beginning of the century. Long before the region stretching northward +from the later Port Phillip grew into the colony of Victoria, +sheep-owners were spreading over the vast pastures of the interior, +though many years elapsed before the explorer Sturt opened out the great +provinces further westward. + +The development of Australia made rapid progress during the generation +following the great war. Though Australia itself and Van Diemen's Land, +now called Tasmania, were still in the main convict settlements, free +settlers had been arriving at Sydney for some time, and in 1817 they +began to arrive in moderate numbers in Van Diemen's Land. In 1825 that +island had sufficiently progressed to be recognised as a separate +colony. The attempt to found a colony in western Australia in 1829 was, +on the other hand, an almost complete failure. But in 1824 a new centre +of colonisation in New South Wales had been established at Port +Phillip. Meanwhile a sharp cleavage of parties had arisen. The convicts +and poorer colonists were opposed to the large sheep-owners, who were +endeavouring to form an aristocracy. Governor Macquarie favoured the +convicts, and Governor Darling (1825-31) the sheep-owners. In 1823 a +legislative council, consisting of seven officials, had been instituted; +in 1828 it was developed into one of fifteen members, chosen entirely +from among the wealthiest colonists. + +Gibbon Wakefield's _Letter from Sydney_, published in 1829, marks an +epoch in the history of Australian colonisation. In this work he +proposed that the land should be sold in small lots at a fairly high +price to settlers, and that the proceeds of the sales should be used to +pay the passage of emigrants going out as labourers. This idea had +hardly been published when it was adopted by the home government, and +five shillings an acre was fixed as the minimum price of land. The +number of emigrants increased rapidly, but the new system threatened +ruin to the owners of sheep-runs. Unable to pay the stipulated price, +they only moved further into the interior and occupied fresh land +without seeking government permission, an unlicensed occupation which +has left its mark upon the language in the word "squatter". At last in +1837 a compromise was arranged, by which the squatters were to pay a +small rent for their runs, the crown retaining the freehold with the +right to sell it to others at some future date. In 1834 the British +government sanctioned the formation of a new colony, that of South +Australia. It was to be settled from the outset on the Wakefield system, +and no convicts were ever sent to it. The first lots were sold as high +as twelve shillings an acre, and in 1836 a company of emigrants went out +and founded Adelaide. + + + + + APPENDICES. + + I. ON AUTHORITIES. + + II. ADMINISTRATIONS, 1801-1837. + + + + + APPENDIX I. + + ON AUTHORITIES.[141] + + +(1) General histories of England for the period 1801-1837: MASSEY, +_History of England during the Reign of George the Third_ (4 vols., 2nd +ed., 1865), closes with the treaty of Amiens in 1802, and therefore +barely touches this period. There is still room for a general history of +England on an adequate scale between 1802 and 1815. After that date we +have HARRIET MARTINEAU, _History of England during the Thirty Years' +Peace_ (1816-1846, 2 vols., 1849, 1850). This was begun by Charles +Knight, the publisher, who brought it down to 1819. From 1820 onwards it +is Miss Martineau's own work. It is too nearly contemporary to depend on +any authorities except such as were published at the time, and it +represents in the main the popular view of public events and public men +held by liberals at the time. Sir SPENCER WALPOLE'S _History of England +from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815_ (6 vols., revised ed., +1890), a work of high quality and thoroughly trustworthy, full of +references to the best published authorities, sympathises with the whigs +and more liberal tories. Reference is sometimes made in this volume to +GOLDWIN SMITH, _The United Kingdom, a Political History_ (2 vols., +1899), but the work is too slight to be regarded as an authority. Sir T. +E. MAY'S (Lord Farnborough) _Constitutional History of England from 1760 +to 1860_ (3 vols., 10th ed., 1891) is also useful. + +(2) The _Annual Register_ is probably the most useful authority for this +period. In addition to more general information, it contains a very full +report of the more important parliamentary debates and the text of the +principal public treaties and of numerous other state papers. The +narrative is not often coloured by the political partisanship of the +writer, but allowance must be made for the strong tory bias of the +volumes dealing with the reign of William IV. The _Parliamentary +History_ closes in 1803, at which date Cobbett's _Parliamentary +Debates_ had begun to appear. After 1812 Cobbett ceased to superintend +the work and his name was dropped, and in 1813 and afterwards the +title-page acknowledged that the work was "published under the +superintendence of T. C. Hansard," who had also been the publisher of +Cobbett's series and of the _Parliamentary History_. + +[Pageheading: _MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE._] + +(3) Political and other memoirs and printed correspondence. The +following have been noticed among the authorities for volume x.: PELLEW, +_Life and Correspondence of H. Addington, Viscount Sidmouth_ (3 vols., +1847), very full wherever Sidmouth was directly concerned, written with +a strong bias in favour of the subject of the biography. Lord STANHOPE, +_Life of Pitt_ (4 vols., 3rd ed., 1867). The appendix to the last volume +contains Pitt's correspondence with the king in the years 1804-1806. +Lord ROSEBERY, _Pitt_ (Twelve English Statesmen Series, 1891), brilliant +but not always sound. Lord JOHN (Earl) RUSSELL, _Memorials and +Correspondence of C. J. Fox_ (4 vols., 1853-1854), and _Life and Times +of C. J. Fox, 1859-1866_. _Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of George +III._ (4 vols., 1853-1855; 1801 falls in vol. iii.), continued in +_Memoirs of the Court of England during the Regency_ (2 vols., 1856), +_Memoirs of the Court of George IV._ (2 vols., 1859), and _Memoirs of +the Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and Victoria_ (2 vols., 1861; +1837 is reached in vol. i.); these volumes, edited by the Duke of +Buckingham, contain the correspondence of the Grenville family. The +first series alone, which contains many important letters of Lord +Grenville, is of first-rate importance. The editing is often inaccurate. +_Diaries and Correspondence of the First Earl of Malmesbury_ (4 vols., +1844), edited by the third earl (vol. iv. extends from February, 1801, +to July, 1809), authoritative and useful, especially for the crisis of +1807. _Correspondence of Marquis Cornwallis_ (3 vols., 1859), edited by +C. Ross, valuable for the negotiations at Amiens and for Cornwallis's +brief second governor-generalship of India. The notes are full of useful +biographical material concerning the persons mentioned in the +correspondence. _Diaries and Correspondence of George Rose_ (2 vols., +1860), edited by L. V. Harcourt. _The Diary and Correspondence of +Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester_, edited by his son (3 vols., 1861, +extending from 1795 to 1829), with interesting notices of Perceval, and +generally useful from 1802-1817, when Abbot was Speaker. Lord HOLLAND, +_Memoirs of the Whig Party_ (2 vols., 1852), edited by his son, Lord +Holland. These memoirs do not extend beyond the year 1807. Volume ii., +which covers the period during which Holland was a member of the +Grenville cabinet, is of special importance. His memory is not always +accurate, and he writes with a whig bias which makes him a harsh judge +of George III. Holland's _Further Memoirs of the Whig Party, 1807-1821_, +edited by Lord Stavordale, the present Lord Ilchester (1905), +interesting, and, like the earlier volumes, full of personal detail, but +of less value, since Holland was not in office again till 1830. + +Similar in character to the above, but only of importance after 1801 are +the following: _Life of Perceval_ (2 vols., 1874), by his grandson, Sir +Spencer Walpole, written largely from the Perceval papers, especially +valuable for the ministerial crisis of 1809. The _Memoirs and +Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh_ (12 vols., 1850-1853), edited by +his brother the third Marquis of Londonderry, consisting mainly of +military and diplomatic correspondence. Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON, _Lives of +Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, the Second and Third +Marquesses of Londonderry_ (3 vols., 1861), much more political than +biographical; valuable and appreciative, but not rich in documents. _The +Dispatches of the Duke of Wellington during his various Campaigns in +India, Denmark [etc.], from 1799 to 1818_ (12 vols., 1834-1838), +compiled by Lieut.-Colonel GURWOOD (really extending to 1815 only); +_Supplementary Despatches and Memoranda of the Duke of Wellington_ (15 +vols., 1858-1872), edited by his son, the second Duke of Wellington, +extending from 1797 to 1818; _Despatches, Correspondence, and Memoranda +of the Duke of Wellington_ (8 vols., 1867-1880), by the same editor, +extending from 1819 to 1832. The second and third of these series +contain not only the duke's despatches, but the vast mass of political +correspondence which passed through his hands. In spite of the great +size of the collection, very little that can be considered trivial is +included. It is our most important authority for all foreign relations +between 1815 and 1827, and between 1828 and 1830. Sir HERBERT MAXWELL, +_The Life of Wellington_ (2 vols., 1899). HORACE TWISS, _Life of Eldon_ +(3 vols., 1844). C. PHIPPS, _Memoir of R. Plumer Ward_ (2 vols., 1850), +containing important political correspondence from 1801 onward, and +Ward's diary from 1809 to 1820. Ward held numerous minor offices in the +government and was on terms of intimacy with Perceval and Mulgrave. +MOORE, _Life of Sheridan_ (2 vols., 1826), valuable for the crisis of +1811. _The Greville Memoirs; a Journal of the Reigns of King George IV. +and King William IV._ (3 vols.), edited by Henry Reeve. References are +to the first edition, 1874. New edition, also including 1837-1860 in 8 +vols. (1888). Greville was clerk to the privy council from 1821 to 1859, +and as such possessed exceptional opportunities for making himself +acquainted with secret political transactions and with the personal +qualities of successive statesmen. _The Creevey Papers_ (2 vols., 1903), +edited by Sir Herbert Maxwell, not of first-rate historical importance, +full of gossip and scandal. Creevey was a whig member of parliament, +1802-1818, 1820-1828 and 1831-1832, and treasurer of the ordnance, +1830-1834. STAPLETON, _The Political Life of George Canning (from +September 1822 to August 1827)_ (3 vols., 1831), very full and valuable, +especially for foreign relations; strikingly deficient in documents and +dates. _George Canning and His Times_ (1859), by the same author, +largely written from memory and therefore untrustworthy. YONGE, _Life +and Administration of Lord Liverpool_ (3 vols., 1868). _Memoirs of Sir +Robert Peel_ (2 vols., 1856-1857), prepared by Peel himself, and dealing +with the Roman Catholic question, the administration of 1834-1835, and +the repeal of the corn laws. The memoirs, which are of the highest +importance, consist mainly of correspondence and are studiously fair. +PARKER, _Sir Robert Peel_ (3 vols., 1891-1899), a large collection of +Peel's correspondence with a brief connecting narrative by the editor, +of great value even for the periods covered by the _Memoirs_. _The +Correspondence of King William IV. and Earl Grey, from November 1830 to +June 1832_ (2 vols., 1867), edited by Henry, Earl Grey, valuable for the +history of the reform. _The Melbourne Papers_ (1889), edited by Sanders, +throw light on Melbourne's relations with William IV. and with Brougham. +TORRENS, _Memoirs of Melbourne_ (2 vols., 1878), polemical, and sadly +deficient in documents. Lord HATHERTON, _Memoir and Correspondence +relating to June and July, 1834_ (published 1872), edited by H. Reeve, +on events connected with the fall of Grey's ministry. _The Croker +Papers_ (3 vols., 1884), edited by L. J. Jennings. Croker was secretary +to the admiralty from 1809 to 1830. The papers, which are very full from +1809 onwards, consist of correspondence and selections from Croker's +journals and correspondence. L. HORNER, _Memoir of Francis Horner_ +(1843). E. HERRIES, _Public Life of J. C. Herries_ (1880), a defence of +Herries against the sneers of whig writers. Lord DUDLEY, _Letters to the +Bishop of Llandaff_ (Copleston), (1840), and _Letters to Ivy_ (1905, +edited by Romilly), interesting and often vivacious, but not of +first-rate importance. Sir HENRY BULWER (Lord Dalling), _Life of +Palmerston_ (2 vols., 1870), extending to 1840. The first chapter of a +third volume, edited by Evelyn Ashley (1874) makes good a few omissions +belonging to this period. The work consists mainly of correspondence and +extracts from Palmerston's journal. _Memoirs of Baron Stockmar_ (2 +vols., 1872-1873), by his son Baron E. von Stockmar, edited by F. Max +Müller. Stockmar was a confidential agent of Leopold, King of the +Belgians. The memoirs contain a narrative by William IV. of the +political history of his reign to 1835, including the circumstances of +Melbourne's resignation in 1834. CAMPBELL, _Lives of the Chancellors_ (8 +vols., 1848-1869). The last volume contains excellent sketches of +Lyndhurst and Brougham, based largely on personal knowledge. +_Correspondence of Princess Lieven and Earl Grey, 1824-1834_, edited by +G. le Strange (1890). _Letters of Dorothea, Princess Lieven during Her +Residence in London, 1812-1834_, edited by L. G. Robinson (1902). +_Letters of Harriet, Countess Granville, 1810-1845_ (2 vols., 1894). + +(4) Miscellaneous books. Sir G. C. LEWIS, _Administrations of Great +Britain (1783-1830)_, edited by Sir E. Head, 1864, has been mentioned +among the authorities for volume x. It is a valuable history of the +inner political life of England, but suffers from a strong whig bias. +LECKY, _History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century_ (5 vols., 1892), +though nominally closing at the union, throws light on Irish history at +the beginning of the nineteenth century. A. V. DICEY, _Lectures on the +Relation between Law and Public Opinion in England during the Nineteenth +Century_ (1905), is very suggestive. HALÉVY, _La formation du +radicalisme philosophique_ (3 vols., 1901-1904), and Sir L. STEPHEN, +_The English Utilitarians_, vols. i., ii. (1900), are valuable for the +history of the radical party. C. CREIGHTON, _History of Epidemics in +Britain_ (2 vols., 1894), contains an excellent account of the cholera +epidemic. + +[Pageheading: _ON THE GREAT WAR._] + +(5) Books dealing with the great war are numerous. The following have +been already noticed among the authorities for volume x.: Dr. HOLLAND +ROSE, _Life of Napoleon I._ (2 vols., 1904), our most trustworthy guide +for the career of the French emperor. The book has gained not a little +from its author's independent researches at the British Foreign Office. +Captain MAHAN, _Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and +Empire_ (2 vols., 1893), and _Life of Nelson_ (2 vols., 1897), valuable +for their general view of the naval warfare and commercial policy of the +period. JAMES, _Naval History of Great Britain, 1793-1820_ (6 vols., ed. +1826; vols. iii.-vi. extend from 1801-1820), very full and accurate, +largely used in this volume for the American war. Sir JOHN LAUGHTON, +_Nelson_ (English Men of Action Series, 1895), and articles in the +_Dictionary of National Biography_. + +To these must be added ALISON'S _History of Europe from the Commencement +of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in +1815_ (20 vols., 1847, 1848), an uncritical but still a standard work. +The reaction against Alison is probably due in large measure to +political causes. In addition to the European history which gives its +title to the book, it contains a narrative of the American war of +1812-1814. The classical though far from trustworthy narrative on the +French side is THIERS, _Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire_ (21 vols., +1845-1869), translated into English by Campbell and Stebbing (12 vols., +1893-1894). See also LANFREY'S incomplete _History of Napoleon I._, +English translation (4 vols., 1871-1879), bitterly anti-Napoleonic. The +negotiations precedent to the outbreak of war in 1803 are to be found in +Mr. O. BROWNING'S _England and Napoleon in 1803_, containing despatches +of Whitworth and others, published in 1887, and in P. COQUELLE, +_Napoleon and England, 1803-1813_, translated by G. D. KNOX (1904), +based on the reports of Andréossy, the French ambassador at London. Sir +H. BUNBURY'S _Narrative of Certain Passages, etc._ (1853) is of the +highest value for the war in the Mediterranean. The _Times_ of September +16, 19, 22, 26, 28, 30, and October 19, 1905, contains an excellent +series of articles on Nelson's tactics at Trafalgar. For the Moscow +campaign, the Marquis DE CHAMBRAY'S _Histoire de l'Expédition de Russie_ +(3 vols., 1839) is perhaps the most reliable of contemporary narratives. +There is a good account of the campaign in the Rev. H. B. GEORGE'S +_Napoleon's Invasion of Russia_ (1899). For the Peninsular war, W. +NAPIER'S _History of the War in the Peninsula and in the South of +France_ (6 vols.; vols. i.-iii., ed. 1835-1840; iv.-vi., 1834-1840) is +of the highest literary as well as historical value. C. OMAN'S _History +of the Peninsular War_ (in progress, vols. i., ii., 1902-1903, extending +at present to September, 1809) makes good use of Spanish sources of +information. The _Wellington Dispatches_ have been noticed already in +section 3. The _Diary of Sir John Moore_, edited by Sir J. F. Maurice (2 +vols., 1904), is of value for the campaign of 1808-1809. For Waterloo, +in addition to Maxwell's _Life of Wellington_, and Rose's _Life of +Napoleon I._, Chesney's _Waterloo Lectures_, 1868; W. O'CONNOR MORRIS, +_The Campaign of 1815_ (1900), and J. C. ROPES, _The Campaign of +Waterloo_, may be studied with profit. Morris's work must, however, be +discounted for his extravagant admiration of Napoleon's genius and his +faith in the Grouchy legend. For the disputes with the United States and +war of 1812-1814, see chapters in the _Cambridge Modern History_ (vol. +vii., 1903); BOURINOT, _Canada_ (Story of the Nations), (1897); J. +SCHOULER, _History of the United States of America under the +Constitution_ (6 vols., 1880-1889); and MAHAN, _Sea Power in Its +Relations to the War of 1812_ (2 vols., 1905). + +[Pageheading: _ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS._] + +(6) For European politics and foreign relations generally, in addition +to some of the books mentioned in the last section, we have C. A. +FYFFE'S _History of Modern Europe, 1792-1878_ (ed. 1895), a very +readable book, which includes the results of some original study, and +SEIGNOBOS, _Political History of Contemporary Europe_, English +translation (2 vols., 1901), an useful but not always accurate book. The +great French work, _Histoire générale du IVe Siècle à nos jours_ (vols. +ix., x., 1897-1898), by numerous authors, edited by MM. Lavisse and +Rambaud, is naturally of varying merit; the chapters on France and +Russia are the best, and there is a very full bibliography at the close +of each chapter. The _Cambridge Modern History_, vol. ix., _Napoleon_ +(1906), is a similar compilation by English writers. ALFRED STERN'S +_Geschichte Europas seit den Verträgen von 1815_ (3 vols., 1894-1901, to +be continued to 1871) is perhaps the best general history of the period +following the great war. _The Memoirs of Prince Metternich_ (5 vols., +English translation, 1881-1882, edited by Prince Richard Metternich, +extending to 1835) contain much that is valuable for diplomatic history. +For French history see DUVERGIER DE HAURANNE, _Histoire du gouvernement +parlementaire en France_ (1814-1848, 10 vols., 1857-1872), which, in +spite of the title, does not extend beyond 1830. For the Greek revolt, +vols. vi. and vii. of G. FINLAY'S _History of Greece_ (7 vols., ed. +1877) are important. American policy is treated by J. W. FOSTER, _A +Century of American Diplomacy_ (1901). Sir EDWARD HERTSLET'S _Map of +Europe by Treaty_ (4 vols., 1875-1891), while professedly confined to +the treaties dealing with boundaries, contains the majority of those of +general historical interest. It covers the period 1815-1891. LE COMTE DE +GARDEN, _Histoire générale des traités de paix_ (14 vols., 1848-1888, +vols. vi.-xv., extending to 1814), and F. DE MARTENS, _Recueil des +traités et conventions, conclus par la Russie_ (tomes xi., xii. +(Angleterre), 1895-1898), contain the principal treaties belonging to +the period. The _Castlereagh_ and _Wellington_ _Despatches_ have been +noticed under section 3. + +(7) For Indian history: JAMES MILL and WILSON, _History of British +India_ (10 vols., 1858), vols. vi.-ix., noticed as an authority for +volume x., ends in 1835; Sir ALFRED C. LYALL'S _Rise and Expansion of +the British Dominion in India_ (1894) contains a brief and masterly +sketch of the subject. See also _A Selection from the Despatches, +Treaties and Other Papers of the Marquess Wellesley_ (1877), well edited +by S. J. Owen; the first two series of the _Wellington Dispatches_, +noticed under section 3; and the vast mass of information collected in +Sir W. W. HUNTER'S _Imperial Gazetteer of India_ (14 vols., 1885-1887). + +(8) For social and economic history: Dr. W. CUNNINGHAM'S _The Growth of +English Industry and Commerce in Modern Times_, vol. iii., _Laissez +Faire_ (1903), extending from 1776 to 1850, is now the standard work. +Reference has also been made to G. R. PORTER, _Progress of the Nation_ +(1847), a work abounding more in statistics than in narrative, and to +Sir GEORGE NICHOLLS, _History of the English Poor Law_ (2 vols., 1854). +Nicholls took an active interest in social and economic questions from +1816 till his death in 1857. He probably understood the working of the +poor-law better than any other man of that date, and the poor-law +legislation of 1834 and 1838 was largely founded on his suggestions. He +was one of the poor-law commissioners of 1834, and was permanent +secretary to the poor-law board from 1847 to 1851. Sir G. C. LEWIS, _The +Government of Dependencies_ (1891), edited by C. P. Lucas, and LUCAS, +_Historical Geography of the British Colonies_, vols. i.-v. (1888-1901), +are of value. For literary history, SAINTSBURY'S _History of Nineteenth +Century Literature, 1780-1895_, (1896), is an excellent guide. For +educational progress at Oxford University reference may be made to the +_Report of H.M.'s Commissioners appointed to inquire into the State, +etc., of the University and Colleges of Oxford_ (1852), which contains a +good historical summary. The report of the similar commission appointed +for Cambridge hardly touches the progress of studies, and is therefore +of less value to the historical student. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[141] The dates given are, as far as possible, those of the editions +used by the authors of this volume. + + + + + APPENDIX II. + + ADMINISTRATIONS, 1801-1837. + + + 1. ADDINGTON, MARCH, 1801. + +_First lord of treasury } H. Addington. + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ Duke of Portland. + { Lord Pelham, _succeeded_ July, 1801. +_Secretaries of { C. P. Yorke, _succeeded_ Aug., 1803. + state_ { _foreign_ Lord Hawkesbury. + { _war and } Lord Hobart. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl of Chatham. + Duke of Portland, _succeeded_ July, 1801. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Admiralty_ Earl St. Vincent. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham, _appointed_ June, 1801. +_Board of trade_ Lord Auckland. +_Board of control_ Viscount Lewisham (July, 1801, Earl of + Dartmouth), _in cabinet_. + Viscount Castlereagh, _succeeded_ July, + 1802, _admitted to cabinet_ Oct., 1802. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Hardwicke, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ C. P. Yorke, _not in cabinet_. + C. Bragge, _succeeded_ Aug., 1803, _not in + cabinet_. + + + 2. PITT, MAY, 1804. + +_First lord of treasury } W. Pitt + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ Lord Hawkesbury. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Lord Harrowby. + state_ { Lord Mulgrave, _succeeded_ Jan., 1805. + { _war and } Earl Camden. + { colonies_ } Viscount Castlereagh, _succeeded_ July, + 1805. +_Lord president_ Duke of Portland (after Jan., 1805, + _without office in cabinet_). + Viscount Sidmouth (_before_ H. Addington), + _succeeded_ Jan., 1805. + Earl Camden, _succeeded_ July, 1805. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Admiralty_ Viscount Melville (_before_ H. Dundas). + Lord Barham, _succeeded_ May, 1805. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham. +_Board of trade_ Duke of Montrose. +_Board of control_ Viscount Castlereagh. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Mulgrave, _in cabinet_. + Earl of Buckinghamshire (_before_ Lord + Hobart), _succeeded_ Jan., 1805, _in + cabinet_. + Lord Harrowby, _succeeded_ July, 1805, _in + cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Hardwicke, _not in cabinet_. + Earl Powis, _succeeded_ Nov., 1805, _not + in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ W. Dundas, _not in cabinet_. + + + 3. GRENVILLE, FEBRUARY, 1806. + +_First lord of treasury_ Lord Grenville. + { _home_ Earl Spencer. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ C. J. Fox. + state_ { Viscount Howick, _succeeded_ Sept. + { _war and } W. Windham + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl Fitzwilliam (after Oct., _without + office in cabinet_). + Viscount Sidmouth, _succeeded_ Oct. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Erskine. +_Lord privy seal_ Viscount Sidmouth. + Lord Holland, _succeeded_ Oct. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Lord H. Petty. +_Admiralty_ C. Grey (April, Viscount Howick). + T. Grenville, _succeeded_ Sept. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Moira. +_Chief justice, King's bench_ Lord Ellenborough, _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Bedford, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ R. Fitzpatrick, _not in cabinet_. + + + 4. PORTLAND, MARCH, 1807. + +_First lord of treasury_ Duke of Portland. + { _home_ Lord Hawkesbury (1808 Earl of Liverpool). +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ G. Canning. + state_ { _war and } Viscount Castlereagh. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl Camden. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Chanc. exchequer and } S. Perceval. + duchy of Lancaster_ } +_Admiralty_ Lord Mulgrave. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham. +_Board of trade_ Earl Bathurst, _in cabinet_. +_Board of control_ R. S. Dundas, _not in cabinet_. + Earl of (_before_ Lord) Harrowby, + _succeeded_ July, 1809, _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Richmond, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Sir J. Pulteney, _not in cabinet_. + Lord G. Leveson Gower, _succeeded_ June, + 1809, _in cabinet_. + + + 5. PERCEVAL, OCTOBER, 1809. + +_First lord of treasury, } + chanc. exchequer and } S. Perceval. + duchy of Lancaster_[142] } + { _home_ R. Ryder. + { _foreign_ Earl Bathurst. +_Secretaries of { Marquis Wellesley, _succeeded_ Dec., 1809. + state_ { Viscount Castlereagh, _succeeded_ March, + { 1812. + { _war and } Earl of Liverpool. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl Camden (after April, 1812, _without + office in cabinet_). + Viscount Sidmouth, _succeeded_ April, + 1812. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Admiralty_ Lord Mulgrave. + C. P. Yorke, _succeeded_ May, 1810. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham. + Lord Mulgrave, _succeeded_ May, 1810. +_Board of trade_ Earl Bathurst. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Richmond, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _not in cabinet_. + + + 6. LIVERPOOL, JUNE, 1812 + +_First lord of treasury_ Earl of Liverpool. + { _home_ Viscount Sidmouth (after Jan., 1822, + { _without office in cabinet_). + { R. Peel, _succeeded_ Jan., 1822. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Castlereagh (1821 Marquis of. + state_ { Londonderry). + { G. Canning, _succeeded_ Sept., 1822. + { _war and } Earl Bathurst. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl of Harrowby. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon (1821 Earl of Eldon). +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ N. Vansittart. + F. J. Robinson, _succeeded_ Jan., 1823. +_Admiralty_ Viscount Melville (_before_ R. S. Dundas). +_Ordnance_ Lord Mulgrave (Sept., 1812, Earl of + Mulgrave), (from 1818-May, 1820, + _without office in cabinet_). + Duke of Wellington, _succeeded_ Jan., + 1819. +_Board of trade_ Earl of Clancarty, _not in cabinet_. + F. J. Robinson,[143] _succeeded_ Jan., + 1818, _in cabinet_. + W. Huskisson,[143] _succeeded_ Jan., 1823, + _in cabinet_. +_Board of control_ Earl of Buckinghamshire, _in cabinet_. + G. Canning, _succeeded_ June, 1816, _in + cabinet_. + C. B. Bathurst, _succeeded_ Jan., 1821, + _in cabinet_. + C. W. Wynn, _succeeded_ Feb., 1822, _in + cabinet_. +_Master of the mint_ Earl of Clancarty, _not in cabinet_. + W. W. Pole (1821 Lord Maryborough), + _succeeded_ Sept., 1814, _in cabinet_. + T. Wallace, _succeeded_ Oct., 1823, _not + in cabinet_. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ C. B. Bathurst (_before_ C. Bragge). + N. Vansittart (March, 1823, Lord Bexley), + _succeeded_ Feb., 1823. +_Without office_ Earl Camden (Sept., 1812, Marquis Camden), + _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Richmond, _not in cabinet_. + Viscount Whitworth (1815 Earl Whitworth), + _succeeded_ Aug., 1813, _not in + cabinet_. + Earl Talbot, _succeeded_ Oct., 1817, _not + in cabinet_. + Marquis Wellesley, _succeeded_ Dec., 1821, + _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _not in cabinet_. + + + 7. CANNING, APRIL, 1827. + +_First lord of treasury } G. Canning. + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ W. S. Bourne. + { Marquis of Lansdowne (_before_ Lord H. +_Secretaries of { Petty), _succeeded_ July. + state_ { _foreign_ Viscount Dudley. + { _war and } Viscount Goderich (_before_ F. J. + { colonies_ } Robinson). +_Lord president_ Earl of Harrowby. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Duke of Portland (_after_ July, _without + office in cabinet_). + Earl of Carlisle, _succeeded_ July. +_Lord high admiral_ Duke of Clarence, _not in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } W. Huskisson. + treasurer of navy_ } +_Board of control_ C. W. Wynn. +_Master of the mint_ T. Wallace, _not in cabinet_. + G. Tierney, _succeeded_ May, _in cabinet_. + { C. Arbuthnot, _not in cabinet_. +_First commissioner of { Earl of Carlisle _succeeded_ May, _in + woods and forests_ { cabinet_. + { W. S. Bourne, _succeeded_ July, _in + { cabinet_. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Bexley. +_Without office_ Marquis of Lansdowne, May-July, _in + cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis Wellesley, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _in cabinet_. + + + 8. GODERICH, SEPTEMBER, 1827. + +_First lord of treasury_ Viscount Goderich. + { _home_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Earl (_before_ Viscount) Dudley. + state_ { _war and } W. Huskisson. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Duke of Portland. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Carlisle. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ J. C. Herries. +_Lord high admiral_ Duke of Clarence, _not in cabinet_. +_Ordnance_ Marquis of Anglesey, _in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } C. Grant. + treasurer of navy_ } +_Board of control_ C. W. Wynn. +_Master of the mint_ G. Tierney. +_First commissioner of } W. S. Bourne. + woods and forests_ } +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Bexley. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis Wellesley, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston. + + +9. WELLINGTON, JANUARY, 1828. + +_First lord of treasury_ Duke of Wellington. + { _home_ R. (May, 1830, Sir R.) Peel. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Earl Dudley. + state_ { Earl of Aberdeen, _succeeded_ June, 1828. + { _war and } W. Huskisson. + { colonies_ } Sir G. Murray, _succeeded_ May, 1828. +_Lord president_ Earl Bathurst. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Lord Ellenborough. + Earl of Rosslyn, _succeeded_ June, 1829. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ H. Goulburn. +_Admiralty_ Duke of Clarence (_lord high admiral_), + _not in cabinet_. + Viscount Melville, _succeeded_ Sept., + 1828, _in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } C. Grant. + treasurer of navy_ } W. V. Fitzgerald, _succeeded_ June, 1828. +_Board of control_ Viscount Melville. + Lord Ellenborough, _succeeded_ Sept., + 1828. +_Master of the mint_ J. C. Herries. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Earl of Aberdeen, _in cabinet_. + C. Arbuthnot, _succeeded_ June, 1828, _not + in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis of Anglesey, Feb., 1828, _not in + cabinet_. + Duke of Northumberland, _succeeded_ Feb., + 1829, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _in cabinet_. + Sir H. Hardinge, _succeeded_ May, 1828, + _not in cabinet_. + + + 10. GREY, NOVEMBER, 1830. + +_First lord of treasury_ Earl Grey (_before_ Viscount Howick). + { _home_ Viscount Melbourne. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Palmerston. + state_ { _war and { Viscount Goderich. + { colonies_ { E. G. Stanley, _succeeded_ March, 1833. + { { T. S. Rice, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Lord president_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Brougham. +_Lord privy seal_ Lord Durham. + Earl of Ripon (_before_ Viscount Goderich) + _succeeded_ April, 1833. + Earl of Carlisle, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Viscount Althorp. +_Admiralty_ Sir J. R. Graham. + Lord Auckland, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Board of trade_ Lord Auckland, _not in cabinet_. + C. P. Thomson, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Board of control_ C. Grant. +_Master of mint_ Lord Auckland, _not in cabinet_. + J. Abercromby, _succeeded_ June, 1834, _in + cabinet_. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Holland, _in cabinet_. +_Postmaster-general_ Duke of Richmond, _in cabinet_. + Marquis of Conyngham, _succeeded_ June, + 1834, _not in cabinet_. +_Paymaster of forces_ Lord J. Russell, _admitted to cabinet_ + June, 1831. +_Without office_ Earl of Carlisle (to June, 1834). +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis of Anglesey, _not in cabinet_. + Marquis Wellesley, _succeeded_ Sept., + 1833, _not in cabinet_. +_Chief secretary for Ireland_ E. G. Stanley, _admitted to cabinet_ June, + 1831. + Sir J. C. Hobhouse, _succeeded_ March, + 1833, _not in cabinet_. + E. J. Littleton, _succeeded_ May, 1833, + _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ C. W. Wynn, _not in cabinet_. + Sir H. Parnell, _succeeded_ April, 1831, + _not in cabinet_. + Sir J. Hobhouse, _succeeded_ Feb., 1832, + _not in cabinet_. + E. Ellice, _succeeded_ April, 1833, + _admitted to cabinet_ June, 1834. + + + 11. MELBOURNE, JULY, 1834. + +_First lord of treasury_ Viscount Melbourne. + { _home_ Viscount Duncannon. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Palmerston. + state_ { _war and } T. S. Rice. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Brougham. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Mulgrave. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Viscount Althorp. +_Admiralty_ Lord Auckland. +_Board of trade and } C. P. Thompson. + treasurer of navy_ } +_Board of control_ C. Grant. +_Master of mint_ J. Abercromby. +_First commissioner of } Sir J. C. Hobhouse, _in cabinet_. + woods and forests_ } +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Holland. +_Paymaster of forces_ Lord J. Russell. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis Wellesley, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ E. Ellice. + + + PROVISIONAL ADMINISTRATION, NOVEMBER, 1834. + +_First lord of treasury_ Duke of Wellington. + { _home_ Duke of Wellington. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Duke of Wellington. + state_ { _war and } Duke of Wellington. + { colonies_ } +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Lord Denman. + + + 12. PEEL, DECEMBER, 1834. + +_First lord of treasury } Sir R. Peel. + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ H. Goulburn. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Duke of Wellington. + state_ { _war and } Earl of Aberdeen. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl of Rosslyn. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Lord Wharncliffe. +_Admiralty_ Earl de Grey. +_Ordnance_ Sir G. Murray, _in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } A. Baring. + master of the mint_ } +_Board of control_ Lord Ellenborough. +_Paymaster of forces_ Sir E. Knatchbull. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Haddington, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ J. C. Herries. + + + 13. MELBOURNE, APRIL, 1835. + +_First lord of treasury_ Viscount Melbourne. + { _home_ Lord J. Russell. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Palmerston. + state_ { _war and } C. Grant (May, 1835, Lord Glenelg). + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Lord chancellor_ Great seal in commission. + Lord Cottenham, _appointed_ Jan., 1836. +_Lord privy seal_ Viscount Duncannon. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ T. S. Rice. +_Admiralty_ Lord Auckland. + Earl of Minto, _succeeded_ Sept., 1835. +_Board of trade_ C. P. Thompson. +_Board of control_ Sir J. C. Hobhouse. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Holland, _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Mulgrave, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Howick. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[142] On May 23, 1812, after Perceval's death, the Earl of +Buckinghamshire was appointed chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. + +[143] Also treasurer of the navy. + + + + +INDEX. + +Abbot, Charles (afterwards Lord Colchester), speaker, 36, 61, 72, 85, 238. + +Abdallah, Pasha of Acre, 393. + +Abercromby, James (afterwards Lord Dunfermline), master of the mint, 346; + speaker, 354. + +Abercromby, Sir Ralph, general, 6, 346. + +Aberdeen, 306, 348. + +Aberdeen, Earl of (Gordon), 138; + chancellor of the duchy, 231; + foreign secretary, 236, 263, 264, 268, 352, 376, 380; + secretary for war and colonies, 352. + +Åbo, treaty of, 123. + +Abolition of slavery, acts for the, 46-48, 325-327, 438. + +Abolition of slave trade, 48, 143, 151, 152, 167, 188, 274, 279, 358, 438. + +Abrantes, 98. + +Abyssinia, 436. + +Academy, Royal. See London. + +Acarnania, 266. + +Acre, 393, 394. + +_Acte Additionnel_, the, 155. + +Adams, John Quincy, 128. + +Addington, Henry (afterwards Viscount Sidmouth), 25, 39, 50, 54, 68, 200, + 202, 346; + first lord of treasury and chancellor of exchequer, 1, 2, 11, 15, 16, 27, + 34; + relations with Pitt, 2, 24-29; + attacked by Pitt, 30, 31; + resignation, 31, 32; + his adherents, 34, 36, 68, 81; + becomes Viscount Sidmouth and lord president of the council, 35; + resignation, 37; + lord privy seal, 45; + lord president of the council, 49; + resignation, 49; + lord president of the council, 76, 82; + home secretary, 81, 83, 172, 177, 179, 180, 183; + in cabinet without office, 199; + retirement, 227. + +Addington, John Hiley, M.P., 28, 36. + +Adelaide, 440. + +Adelaide, Princess of Saxe-Meiningen (afterwards queen of William IV.), + 184, 273, 277, 351, 375. + +Adige, river, 138. + +Adour, river, 115, 117. + +Adrianople, peace of, 267, 268. + +Ægean islands, the, 263; + sea, 224, 394. + +Ætolia, 266. + +Afghánistán, 397, 402, 403, 412-414; + treaty with East India Company, 403; + first Afghán war, 403, 414. + +Africa, interior of, 436. + +Agra, 399, 409. + +Agriculture, condition of, 84, 433, 434. + +Ahmadnagar, 398. + +Airy, Sir George, 428. + +Aix, island, 69. + +Aix-la-Chapelle, conference of, 189-191, 377. + +Akkerman, treaty of, 260. + +Alava, Spanish admiral, 40. + +Albuera, battle, 103, 104. + +Albuquerque, Duke of, 100. + +Alcantara, 99. + +Alemtejo, province, 255. + +Alessandria, 213. + +Alexander the Great, 401, 413. + +Alexander I., Tsar of Russia, 5, 7, 23, 37, 52, 59, 66, 78, 80, 81, 92, + 104, 105, 124, 144-148, 151-153, 168, 189-191, 210-212, 214, 216-218, + 224, 225, 232. + +Alexandria, 261, 264, 265, 393, 413; + battle and capitulation of, 6; + retention by England, 19; + expeditions to, 52, 57, 264; + convention of, 264, 265. + +Algarve, province, 389. + +Algeciras, 8. + +Algiers, Dey of, 187, 188; + bombardment of, 188; + conquest of, 269. + +Algoa bay, 438. + +Alliance, La Belle, 164. + +"All the Talents" ministry. See ministries, Grenville's. + +Almaraz, 106. + +Almeida, 100, 102, 103. + +Almora, treaty of, 405. + +Alps, the, 138. + +Alsace, 143, 168. + +Alten, Count, 162. + +Althorp, Viscount (afterwards third Earl Spencer), 230, 234; + chancellor of the exchequer, 279, 280, 283, 286, 291, 297, 321-323, 328, + 330, 334, 335, 343-345; + resignation, 346; + chancellor of the exchequer, 347, 349, 350, 373. + +Amager, island, 4. + +Amascoas, battle, 390. + +_Ambigu, L'_, newspaper, 12. + +Amelia, Princess (daughter of George III.), 74. + +America, British North, 85, 225. + See also Canada. + +America, South, 205, 226. + See also Spain and Portugal. + +Amherst, Earl, governor-general of Bengal, 408, 409. + +Amherstburg, 141. + +Amiens, 10; + treaty of, 16, 17, 19, 20, 208, 398; + negotiations, 7-12; + preliminary treaty, 9, 13, 14; + definitive treaty, 12, 13, 435. + +Amír Khán, Pindárí leader, 407. + +Andalusia, 94, 100, 102, 106, 107. + +Anglesey, Marquis of. See Paget, Lord. + +Angoulême, Duke of. See Louis Antoine, dauphin. + +Ansbach, 43. + +Anti-Duelling Association, 251. + +Antioch, 393. + +Antwerp, 43, 64, 65, 200, 378, 380, 382, 386. + +Apsley House. See London. + +Aragon, 100. + +Arakan, 408, 409. + +Aranjuez, 87, 92, 93; + treaty of, 6. + +Arapiles hills, the, 107. + +Archangel, 310. + +Archipelago, the, 261. + +Arcis-sur-Aube, battle, 145. + +Arcot, 400. + +Arden, Lord (Perceval), 50. + +Argáum, battle, 399. + +Argentine, the (La Plata), 190. + +_Argus_, the, American ship, 141. + +Arkwright, Sir Richard, 83. + +Arta, gulf of, 266, 392. + +Artois, Count of. See Charles X. of France. + +Ascot races, 148. + +Ashley, Lord (Ashley-Cooper), afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, 327, 328. + +Asia Minor, 394, 413. + +Aspern, 63. + +Aspropotamo, river, 268. + +Assam, 408, 409. + +Assaye, battle, 399. + +Astorga, 93-95. + +Attwood, Thomas, M.P., 335. + +Auchmuty, Sir Samuel, 56, 81. + +Auckland, first Lord (Eden), president of the board of trade, 34, 346. + +Auckland, second Lord (Eden), afterwards Earl of, first lord of the + admiralty, 346, 357; + governor-general of India, 363, 412. + +Auerstädt, battle, 47. + +Augusta, Princess of Hesse, 184. + +Augusta, Princess (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Austen, Jane, 422. + +Austerlitz, battle, 42, 43, 51, 60. + +Australia, 436, 438-440; + New South Wales, 438, 439; + Queensland, 439; + South Australia, 440; + Victoria, 439; + West Australia, 439. + +Austria, 17, 54, 58, 59, 62, 78, 80, 124, 214, 215, 220, 264, 267, 391; + guarantees independence of Malta, 13; + treaty with France, 14; + third coalition, 37, 38, 41; + Ulm and peace of Pressburg, 42; + struggle with France, 61-64; + treaty with England, 63; + war with Bavaria, 63; + piece of Vienna, 64, 66; + national bankruptcy, 81; + treaty with France, 122; + attacks North Italy, 133; + diplomacy, 132, 134-137, 144, 187-189, 217; + truce with Russia, 135; + treaty of Ried, 137; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + war with France, 137, 142; + alliance with Murat, 143; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 166, 167, 186, 188-190, 376, 379, 381, + 388; + secret treaty of Vienna, 153; + acquires Venetia and Lombardy, 166; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + holy alliance, 168; + treaties with the Two Sicilies, Tuscany, Modena and Parma, 187; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + congress of Laibach, 212, 223; + army in Italy, 212, 213, 216; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference at London, 222; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + joins conference of London, 379-386, 392; + secret convention at Münchengrätz, 395, 396; + convention at Berlin, 396. + +Ava. See Burma. + +Azores, islands, 259, 388. + +Azzara, Chevalier, 21. + + +Bacon, Lord, 424. + +Badajoz, 99, 102-106, 108, 113, 147; + treaty of, 6. + +Baden, 34, 189. + +Baghdad, 413. + +Bailey, Old. See London. + +Baird, David (afterwards Sir David), general, 6, 47, 93-95. + +Balkans, the, 263, 266, 267. + +Baltic, the, 52, 78, 90, 199, 310. + +Baltic, battle of the, 4, 5, 420. + +Baltimore, 146. + +Banda Oriental. See Uruguay. + +Bank charter acts, 325, 326, 330, 331. + +Bank of England, 183, 205, 206, 303; + notes made legal tender, 182. + +Bank restriction act, 16. + +Bankes, Henry, M.P., 157. + +Banks, Sir Joseph, 428. + +Barcelona, 88, 110, 220. + +Barclay, Commander, 139. + +Barham, Lord (Sir Charles Middleton), first lord of the admiralty, 36. + +Baring, Alexander (afterwards Lord Ashburton), 304; + president of board of trade and master of the mint, 352. + +Baring, Francis (afterwards Lord Northbrook), 346. + +Barlow, Sir George, governor-general of Bengal, 401. + +Barnstaple, 193. + +Baroda, Gáekwár of, 405, 406. + +Barrosa, 102. + +Basque provinces, 390, 391. + +Basque roads, 69. + +Bass, George, 439. + +Bassein, treaty of, 398, 399, 405. + +Batavian republic. See Holland. + +Bath, 43, 362. + +Bath (Holland), 65. + +Bathurst, Charles Bragge-. See Bragge, Charles. + +Bathurst, Earl, president of the board of trade, 50, 68; + secretary for war and colonies, 82, 109, 112; + resignation, 227; + lord president of the council, 231. + +Battersea Fields. See London. + +Bautzen, battle, 135. + +Bavaria, 41, 42, 66, 136, 152, 153, 166, 189, 392; + war with Austria, 63; + treaty of Ried, 137. + +Baylen, 58, 88, 89, 92. + +Bayonne, 88, 89, 92, 112, 115-117, 119; + road to, 111. + +Beachy Head, 8. + +Beauharnais, Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, 382. + +Beauharnais, Eugène, viceroy of Italy, 138. + +Bedford, Duke of (Russell), lord lieutenant of Ireland, 49. + +Beilan, pass, 393. + +Beira, province, 255, 257. + +Belgium, 143, 144, 150, 158, 159, 161, 162, 200, 377; + Prince of Orange proclaimed, 138; + troops, 156; + Waterloo campaign, 157-164; + united to Holland, 166; + revolution, 276, 376-382; + elects Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg king, 383; + war with Holland, 384-386, 393; + convention with Holland, 387. + +Belgrade, 80. + +Bell, Henry, 427, 434. + +Belleisle, 388. + +_Bellerophon_, the, British ship, 165, 168, 169. + +Belliard, French general, 383, 384. + +Bellingham, John, 76. + +Benevente, 94, 95. + +Bengal, 310, 330, 400, 404, 408, 410. + +Bentham, Jeremy, 338, 341, 420, 421, 437. + +Bentinck, Lord William, 114, 143; + governor-general of India, 410-412. + +Berár, 399. + See Nágpur. + +Berbice, 9. + +Beresford, Lord George, 242. + +Beresford, William (afterwards Lord and later Viscount), 47, 96, 103, 109, + 118, 119, 211, 222. + +Berezina, river, 125. + +Berkeley, Vice-admiral, 127. + +Berkshire, 281, 341. + +Berlin, 53, 81, 134, 310; + convention at, 396. + +Berlin decree, the, 55, 403. + +Bernadotte, Marshal (afterwards Charles XIV. of Sweden), 54, 80, 136, 137, + 143, 150. + +Berry, Duke of, 210. + +Bessarabia, 123. + +Bessborough, Earl of (Ponsonby), 287. + +Bessières, Marshal, 88, 92. + +Betanzos, 95. + +Bexley, Lord. See Vansittart, Nicholas. + +Bhartpur, 399, 403, 408, 409. + +Bickersteth, Henry (afterwards Lord Langdale), 363. + +Bidassoa, river, 112, 114, 115. + +Bilbao, 111, 391. + +Birmingham, 178, 236, 272, 285, 295, 297, 304, 335, 435. + +Biscay, province, 109, 389, 391. + +Bishopp, British officer, 130. + +Blackburn, Francis, attorney-general for Ireland, 313, 314. + +Blackfriars. See London. + +Blackheath. See London. + +_Blackwood's Magazine_, 423-425. + +Bladensburg, battle, 146. + +Blake, Spanish general, 88. + +Blandford, Marquis of (Churchill), afterwards Duke of Marlborough, 271, + 284. + +Blanketeers, the, 176. + +Blomfield, bishop of London, 324, 341, 373. + +Blücher, Marshal, 138, 143-145, 148; + Waterloo campaign, 156-161, 163-164. + +Bohemia, 64, 137. + +Bombay, 310, 398. + +Bona, 188. + +Bonaparte, Joseph, 10-12, 21; + King of Naples, 47, 53; + King of Spain, 59, 88, 89, 92, 98, 104, 106, 107, 109-111, 122, 123, 190. + +Bonaparte, Josephine (wife of Napoleon), 382. + +Bonaparte, Louis, King of Holland, 46, 53, 78. + +Bonaparte, Napoleon, 6, 19, 39, 41, 42, 51, 53-56, 58, 62, 64-66, 78, + 80-82, 87-89, 91, 92, 95, 96, 99-102, 104, 105, 109-112, 114, 115, + 117, 119, 120-126, 128, 143, 145, 148, 150, 168, 171, 186, 199, 382; + concordat with the pope, 7; + refuses overtures of peace, 8; + meets Cornwallis, 10; + elected president of the Italian republic, 12, 17; + plans for the invasion of England, 8, 35, 38, 41, 71; + attacked by French exiles in London, 12, 17; + consul for life, 15, 17; + Fox presented to him, 15, 16; + annexes Piedmont, 17; + mediates in Switzerland and Germany, 17; + schemes of colonial expansion, 18; + Whitworth, 20-22; + declared emperor, 33, 34; + plots against his life, 33, 34; + coronations, 35, 37, 38; + Ulm and Austerlitz, 42, 64; + Jena and Auerstädt, 47, 55, 64; + Eylau, 51, 56; + Friedland, 52, 122, 401; + meets Alexander, 52; + "continental system," 53, 55-58, 78-80, 83, 87, 105, 171, 403; + manifesto, 57; + at Erfurt, 59; + Eckmühl and Wagram, 60, 63; + Borodino, 63, 124; + Leipzig, 63, 114, 118, 133, 137, 138; + marriage with Maria Louisa, 78; + fiscal policy, 79; + first abdication, 82, 118, 145; + in Spain, 92, 94; + war with Russia, 121-126, 402; + campaign of 1813, 132-138; + Lützen and Bautzen, 135; + Dresden, 137; + campaign of 1814, 143-145; + La Rothière, 144; + Arcis-sur-Aube, 145; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + Elba, 145, 146, 153, 201; + "The Hundred Days," 151, 153-165; + Ligny, 158, 159; + Quatre Bras, 159; + Waterloo, 160-165; + second abdication, 165; + St. Helena, 166, 167, 169, 170, 402; + designs on India, 401-403. + +Bond, Nathaniel, M.P., 36. + +Bonnymuir, 193. + +Bordeaux, 118, 154; + road to, 117. + +Bordeaux, Henry, Duke of. See Chambord, Count of. + +Borisov, battle, 125. + +Borodino, battle, 63, 124, 164. + +Bosphorus, the, 267, 394. + +Boston (United States), 142. + +Botany Bay, 438. + +Boulogne, 8, 35, 38. + +Boulton, Matthew, 435. + +Bourbon, island, 69, 403. + +Bourbon, Duke of, 154. + +Bourne, W. Sturges, 341; + home secretary, 227; + first commissioner of woods and forests, 228, 229. + +Braga, 258. + +Bragge, Charles (afterwards Bragge-Bathurst), 28, 68, 202; + chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 81, 82, 174; + president of the board of control, 199. + +Brahmaputra, the, 408, 409. + +Braine l'Alleud, Belgian village, 162. + +Brand, M.P., 284. + +Brazil, 89, 190, 211, 221, 222, 253, 254, 259, 388; + commercial treaty with England, 222. + +Brereton, Colonel, 298. + +Breslau, 134, 135. + +Brest, 39, 55. + +Brewster's _Encyclopædia_, 424. + +_Bridgwater Treatises_, the, 338. + +Brienne, 143. + +Brighton, 350. + +Brindley, James, 434. + +Bristol, 175, 297, 298, 302, 309, 435. + +British Association, the, 338. + +Brittany, 154. + +Brock, Major-general, 129, 130. + +Broke, Captain, 142. + +Brooks's club. See London. + +Brougham, Henry (afterwards Lord Brougham and Vaux), 48, 172, 173, 182, + 193-196, 207, 228, 234, 241, 242, 274, 277, 278, 280, 357-359, 363, + 423, 431; + lord chancellor, 281, 282, 287, 295, 325, 338, 343, 345, 346, 348, 351; + legal reforms, 332, 333, 358, 359, 361. + +Broussa, 393. + +Brown, American commander, 146. + +Bruce, Michael, 436. + +Brünn, 42. + +Brunswick, 196. + +Brunswick (Charles), Duke of, 184 n. + +Brunswick (Frederick William), Duke of, 159. + +Brunswick, troops, 158. + +Brunswick clubs, 243. + +Brussels, 158-161, 378, 379, 381, 383, 384, 387. + +_Bucentaure_, the, French ship, 40. + +Bucharest, treaty of, 123. + +Buckingham, Marquis of (Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville), + afterwards Duke of, 199, 295. + +Buckingham palace. See London. + +Buckinghamshire, 281. + +Buckinghamshire, third Earl of (Hobart), 1. + +Buckinghamshire, fourth Earl of. See Hobart, Lord. + +Buckland, William, Dean of Westminster, 340. + +Buenos Ayres, 47, 56, 57, 205, 216, 223. + +Bukowina, 224. + +Bulgaria, 263, 267. + +Bull-baiting, 15. + +"Bullion committee," the, 73. + +Bülow, Frederick William von, General, afterwards Count, 143, 145, 163, + 164. + +Bulwer, Edward Lytton (afterwards Lord Lytton), 426. + +Burdett, Sir Francis, M.P., 51, 72, 175, 226, 240-242, 284, 285, 298, 374. + +Burgess, Thomas, bishop of St. Davids, 430. + +Burgos, 92, 108, 110. + +Burgundy, 154. + +Burke, Edmund, 308, 415, 422. + +Burlington Heights, 139, 140. + +Burma, first Burmese war, 408, 409; + treaty with East India Company, 409. + +Burnes, Sir Alexander, 413, 414. + +Burns, Robert, 415. + +Burrard, Sir Harry, general, 90, 91, 93. + +Bussaco, 101, 113. + +Butrinto, 188. + +Buxton, Thomas Fowell, M.P., 326, 327. + +Bylandt, Dutch general, 162. + +Byron, Lord, 233, 417-419. + + +Cachar, 411. + +Cadiz, 8, 39-41, 89, 96, 100, 102-104, 109, 256. + +Cadoudal, Georges, 33. + +Cairo, capture of, 6. + +Calabria, 47. + +Calcott, Sir Augustus, 427. + +Calcutta, 398, 402, 408, 412. + +Calder, Sir Robert, 39. + +Caledonian canal, 434. + +Cambridge. See Universities. + +Cambridge (Adolphus), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185. + +Cambridgeshire, 175 n. + +Camden, Earl (Pratt), afterwards Marquis Camden, secretary for war and + colonies, 34, 37; + lord president of the council, 37, 50, 66, 67; + in cabinet without office, 76, 82. + +Camelford, 193. + +Campbell, Lord, 361, 363. + +Campbell, Sir Archibald, 409. + +Campbell, Sir Neil, 153. + +Campbell, Thomas, 420, 431. + +Canada, 128, 147, 157, 225, 312, 437, 438; + attacked by the United States, 129, 130, 139-141, 146. + +Candia. See Crete. + +Cannes, 153. + +Canning, George, 2, 24, 68, 76, 84, 85, 172, 209, 231, 232, 238, 240, 245, + 279, 284, 285, 319, 339, 358, 423; + _jeux d'esprit_, 26, 28; + foreign secretary, 50, 52-54, 59, 66, 92; + resignation, 67; + president of the board of control, 174, 176, 185, 199, 201, 406; + foreign secretary, 197, 199-201, 207, 208, 216, 218-226, 232-235, 241, + 242, 255-257, 259, 260, 390, 392, 408; + first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, 227, 228, + 273, 380; + death, 228, 229. + +Canning, Sir Stratford (afterwards Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe), 225, + 266. + +Canterac, Spanish general, 223. + +Canterbury, archbishop of (Howley), 299, 337, 373. + +Cape Finisterre, 39. + +Cape Formoso, 151. + +Cape of Good Hope, 9, 47, 167, 398, 403, 438. + +Cape St. Vincent, battle, 389. + +Cape Trafalgar, battle, 40, 43, 69. + +Capodistrias, Greek president, 267, 268, 392. + +Carcassonne, road to, 119. + +Carinthia, 66. + +Carlile, agitator, 282. + +Carlisle, sixth Earl of (Howard), first commissioner of woods and forests, + 228, 357; + lord privy seal, 228; + in cabinet without office, 280; + lord privy seal, 346, 347. + +Carlos, Don. 389-391. + +Carlsbad, 189. + +Carlton House. See London. + +Carlyle, Jane Welsh, 424. + +Carlyle, Thomas, 417, 434, 427. + +Carnot, French statesman, 155, 165. + +Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (afterwards queen of George IV.), + 48, 85, 86, 183, 184, 192-197, 200. + +Carr, R. J., bishop of Worcester, 299. + +Cartwright, Edmund, 83. + +Cartwright, Major, 175. + +Casimir-Perier, French premier, 387. + +Caspian Sea, 310. + +Castalla, 109, 114. + +Castaños, Francisco Xavier de, 93. + +Castlereagh, Viscount (Stewart), afterwards second Marquis of Londonderry, + 2, 68, 71, 73, 100, 201, 202, 208, 209, 228, 238; + president of the board of control, 15, 34; + secretary for war and colonies, 37, 50, 52, 59, 61, 62, 64, 65-67, 90, + 92, 200; + resignation, 67; + foreign secretary, 76, 82, 85, 123, 144-147, 153, 156, 169, 171-173, 183, + 189, 191, 195, 199, 210-212, 214, 217, 260, 387; + death, 199-201, 216, 408. + +Catalonia, 88, 92, 112, 114, 115, 118. + +Cathcart, Lord (afterwards Viscount, later Earl of), 43, 54, 123, 134, 136. + +Catholic Apostolic Church, 339. + +Catholic Association, 240, 241, 244-246. + +Catholic emancipation, 49, 76, 200, 207, 226, 230, 236-249, 431; + abandoned, 2, 34; + opposition to, 32, 34, 45, 50, 208, 227; + carried, 249. + +Cato Street conspiracy, 192, 193. + +Cattaro, 142. + +Caulaincourt, French diplomatist, 144. + +Cawnpur, 399. + +Census, 300, 311, 312. + +Ceylon, 9, 167. + +Chadwick, Edwin, 341. + +Chambéry, 149. + +Chambord, Count de, 210, 376. + +Chambray, Marquis de, 125. + +Champagne, 143, 144. + +Champlain, lake, 140, 146. + +Chandos, Marquis of (Brydges-Chandos-Temple-Grenville), afterwards second + Duke of Buckingham, 295, 299; + "Chandos clause," 295. + +Chantrey, Sir Francis Legatt, 427. + +Charity Commission, 182. + +Charleroi, 158, 161. + +Charles, Count of Artois (afterwards Charles X. of France), 34, 116, 154, + 224, 376. + +Charles IV., King of Spain, 87, 88. + +Charles XII., King of Sweden, 54. + +Charles XIII., King of Sweden and Norway, 54, 150. + +Charles, Archduke, 63. + +Charles Albert, Prince, of Carignano (afterwards King of Sardinia), 213. + +Charles Emmanuel II., King of Sardinia, 10. + +Charles Felix, King of Sardinia, 213. + +Charlotte, Princess (daughter of the Prince Regent), 86, 174, 183-185, 194, + 195, 268. + +Charlotte, Queen-dowager of Würtemburg (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Charlotte, queen of George III., 74, 184, 185. + +Charlotte, queen of John VI. of Portugal, 253, 254. + +Chartism, 308. + +Chassé, D. H., Dutch general, 162. + +Chateauguay, battle of river, 141. + +Chatham, Earl of (John Pitt), lord president of the council, 1; + master-general of the ordnance, 1, 24, 50, 64, 65, 71; + resignation, 72. + +Châtillon-sur-Seine, congress at, 118, 144. + +Chaumont, treaty of, 144, 145; + extended at Paris, 168, 186, 191, 377. + +Chauncey, Commodore, 140. + +Cherbourg, 376. + +Chesapeake Bay, 146; + estuary, 141. + +_Chesapeake_, the, American frigate, 127, 142, 147. + +Chesney, Francis Rawdon, colonel, 413. + +Chester, bishop of (Sumner), 341. + +Chichagov, Russian general, 125. + +Chichester, first Earl of (Pelham), 1. + +Chile, 190, 221. + +China, 86, 310, 325, 328, 329; + coolies, 438. + +Chios, island, 261, 263. + +Chippewa, 130, 146. + +Chiswick, 228. + +Chittagong, 408. + +Chítu, Pindárí leader, 406, 407. + +Cholera, 299, 309, 311, 407. + +Christian, Prince (afterwards Christian VIII. of Denmark), 143, 150. + +Chrystler's Farm, battle, 141. + +Church, Sir Richard, general, 262, 266. + +Church, Irish, temporalities act, 321-325. + +Church rates, 373, 374. + +Church, Scottish, 360 n., 424. + +Church, states of the. See Papal states. + +Cilicia, 394. + +Cinque Ports, 23. + +Cintra, convention of, 60, 91. + +Cisalpine republic (Italian republic), 9, 12, 17, 38. + +Ciudad Real, 96. + +Ciudad Rodrigo, 100, 102-108. + +Civil list, 15, 173, 174, 192, 278, 282, 283, 290. + +Clancarty, Earl of (Le Poer-Trench), 61, 68. + +Clare election, 236, 237, 243, 245, 250, 251, 313. + +Clare, Earl of (Fitzgibbon), 3. + +Clarence (William), Duke of. See William IV. + +Clarke, Mrs., 60, 61. + +Clarkson, Thomas, philanthropist, 48. + +Clausel, General, 107, 108, 111-113. + +Cleves, 43. + +Clinton, Sir Henry, general, 162. + +Clive, Lord, 396. + +Clyde, the, 428, 434. + +Coa, river, 110. + +Cobbett, William, 177, 207, 282, 318, 335, 343, 423; + _Weekly Register_, 72, 175, 204, 422, 423. + +Coblenz, 138. + +Cochrane, Lord (afterwards Earl of Dundonald), 51, 69, 72, 88, 175, 190, + 221, 222, 233. + +Codrington, Admiral, 230, 233, 234, 264. + +Coercion acts (Irish), 330-322, 324, 325, 346, 347. + +Coimbra, 98, 101. + +Colchester, Lord. See Abbot, Charles. + +Cole, General (afterwards Sir) G. L. 103. + +Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 416, 417, 425. + +Colle, La, Mill, 146. + +Collingwood, Admiral, 39, 40, 41, 57, 69, 88. + +_Collingwood, the Lord_, British ship, 216. + +Cologne, 43. + +Colombia, 216, 223. + +Combermere, Lord (Cotton), afterwards Viscount, 409. + +Combination laws, 204, 207. + +_Comet_, the, steamboat, 427, 434. + +Concordat, the, 7. + +Congreve rockets, 117. + +"Conservative," origin of name, 319. + +Constable, John, 427. + +Constantinople, 57, 214, 216, 233, 259, 261, 267, 387, 393, 394. + +_Constitution_, the, American frigate, 131, 132. + +Continental system, the, 33, 55-58, 66, 78-80, 83, 87, 105, 126, 128, 171, + 403. + +Convention act (Irish), 240. + +Conyngham, Marquis of, 346. + +Cook, Captain, 436, 438. + +Cooke, General, 162. + +Coorg, 411. + +Copenhagen, 3-5, 54, 55, 57. + See Baltic, battle of the. + +Copley, Sir John (afterwards Lord Lyndhurst), 226, 242, 281, 295, 302-304, + 359, 361-363, 365, 369-372; + lord chancellor, 227, 231, 243, 246, 249, 352. + +Corn, price of, 7 n., 84, 85, 172, 174, 203, 370. + +Corn laws, 85, 173, 204, 207, 243, 306. + +Cornwall, 288. + +Cornwall (Canada), 141. + +Cornwall, revenues of duchy of, 15, 278. + +Cornwallis, Admiral, 39. + +Cornwallis, Marquis, 239; + master-general of ordnance, 1; + negotiates treaty of Amiens, 10-12; + warns England, 17; + governor-general of Bengal, 400, 401. + +Corporation act, 229, 334, 235, 242. + +Corporation act (Irish), 372. + +Coruña, 39, 90, 92, 93; + battle, 95, 96, 108. + +Cottenham, Lord. See Pepys, Sir Charles. + +Countries, the Low. See Belgium and Holland. + +Cowper, William, 415. + +Cox, David, 427. + +Cracow, 153, 166. + +Cradock, Sir John, 96. + +Craig, Sir James, 42; + governor of Canada, 128, 129. + +Craufurd, Robert, general, 105. + +Crete, 261, 263, 266, 268. + +Criminal law, reform of, 51, 77, 194, 201, 369. + +Croker, John Wilson, 274, 303, 318. + +Crome, John, the elder, 427. + +Cronstadt fleet, 123. + +Cuba, 222. + +Cuesta, Spanish general, 88, 98, 99. + +Cumberland (Ernest), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185, 197, 231, 235, + 246, 274, 324, 367, 368. + +Curtis, Roman Catholic archbishop of Dublin, 243, 244. + +Curwen, John Christian, M.P., 181, 182, 284. + +Cuttack, 399. + +Czartoryski, Prince Adam, 80. + +Czernowitz, 224. + + +Dakáiti, 401. + +Dalmatia, 42, 142; + Duke of. See Soult, Marshal. + +Dalrymple, Sir Hew, general, 90, 91. + +Danube, the, 41, 63, 77, 94, 124, 263, 310. + +Danubian principalities. See Moldavia and Wallachia. + +Danzig, surrender of, 52. + +Dardanelles, the, 55, 57, 188, 214, 215, 260, 265, 267, 394, 395. + +Darling, Governor, 440. + +Darlington, 435. + +Darnley, Earl of (Bligh), 54. + +Dartmouth, Earl of. See Lewisham, Viscount. + +Darwin, Charles, 428. + +Daulat Ráo Sindhia. See Sindhia. + +Davoût, Marshal, 81, 136, 137. + +Davy, Sir Humphry, 428, 433. + +Dawson, George, M.P., 243, 246. + +"Days, the Hundred." See Bonaparte, Napoleon. + +Dearborn, American general, 130, 140. + +Decaen, French general, 18. + +Deccan, the, 407. + +Delaborde, French officer, 90. + +Delaware, estuary, 141. + +Delhi, 397-399, 406. + +Demerara, 9. + +Denman, Thomas (afterwards Lord Denman), 195. + +Denmark, 3-5, 53-55, 59, 69, 136, 190; + treaties of Kiel, 143, 189; + loses Norway, 166. + +Dennewitz, battle, 137. + +De Quincey, Thomas, 425. + +Derby, 296. + +Derby, twelfth Earl of (Smith-Stanley), 277. + +Derbyshire, 83. + +Derry, 243. + +Desnoëttes, General Lefebvre-, 88. + +Despard, Edward Marcus, colonel, 16. + +Detroit, 129, 138. + +Devonshire, 359. + +Devonshire, Duke of (Cavendish), 228. + +D'Eyncourt. See Tennyson, Charles. + +Dickens, Charles, 426. + +Diebitsch, Russian general, 266, 267, 310. + +Dijon, 145. + +Disraeli, Benjamin (afterwards Earl of Beaconsfield), 426. + +Dissenters, 306; + disabilities of, 85, 234, 235, 353, 355, 430. + +Donauwörth, 41, 63. + +Dost Muhammad, Amír of Kábul, 414. + +Douro, the, 94, 98, 99, 110. + +Dover, 148, 195, 351, 435. + +Downs, the, 64. + +Drake, British envoy, 33. + +Dresden, 112, 114, 135; + battle, 137. + +Dropmore, seat of Lord Grenville, 24. + +Drummond, Sir Gordon, 146. + +Dublin, 19, 77, 197, 240, 317, 371; + castle, 23; + police bill, 362; + archbishop of (Whately), 317, 421, 422; + Roman Catholic archbishop of (Curtis), 243, 244. + +Duckworth, Sir John, admiral, 57. + +Dudley, Viscount and Earl of. See Ward, J. W. + +Duhesme, French general, 88. + +Dumont, Pierre Étienne Louis, 420. + +Duncannon, Viscount (Ponsonby), afterwards Earl of Bessborough, 287; + home secretary, 347; + lord privy seal, 357. + +Duncombe, Thomas S., M.P., 374. + +Dundas, Sir David, commander-in-chief, 61, 62. + +Dundas, Henry (afterwards first Viscount Melville), 3, 24, 25, 30, 32, 68; + first lord of the admiralty, 34; + impeachment, 36. + +Dundas, Robert S. (afterwards second Viscount Melville), president of board + of control, 68; + first lord of the admiralty, 82; + resignation, 227; + president of board of control, 231; + first lord of the admiralty, 243. + +Dundee, 306. + +Dupont, General, 88. + +Durham. See Universities. + +Durham, Lord (Lambton), afterwards Earl of, 345, 348; + lord privy seal, 280, 287, 291; + resignation, 325. + + +East India Company. See India. + +East Retford, 235, 236. + +Ebrington, Viscount (Fortescue), afterwards second Earl Fortescue, 206, + 303. + +Ebro, the, 89, 92, 110, 114. + +Ecclefechan, 424. + +Ecclesiastical commission, 355, 373. + +Eckmühl, battle, 63. + +Edgeworth, Maria, 422. + +Edgware Road. See London. + +Edinburgh, 306, 348. + +_Edinburgh Review_, the, 358, 423, 424. + +Education, national, 49, 51, 182, 193, 194, 358; + Irish, 316, 317. + +Edwards, George, informer, 192. + +Egmont, Earl of (Perceval), 50. + +Egypt, 6, 9, 18, 57, 224, 225, 233, 262, 264, 265, 269, 396, 413; + convention of Alexandria, 264, 265; + peace of Kiutayeh, 394. + +Elba, island, 145, 146, 151, 153, 169, 201. + +Elbe, the, 55, 62, 133, 135, 137. + +Eldon, Lord (Scott), afterwards Earl of Eldon, 232, 234, 235, 238, 239, + 244, 248, 249, 296, 319, 333, 353, 358, 362; + lord chancellor, 1, 29, 30, 31, 49, 50, 51, 60, 67 n., 74-76, 82, 85, + 169, 172, 179, 180, 194-196, 202, 209; + resignation, 227. + +Elections, general. See Parliament. + +Eliot, Lord (afterwards Earl of St. Germans), 390. + +Elizabeth, Princess (daughter of George III.), 184 n., 185. + +Ellenborough, first Lord (Law), lord chief justice, 45, 49, 169, 177. + +Ellenborough, second Lord, afterwards Earl (Law), 328, 329; + lord privy seal, 231; + president of the board of control, 243, 271, 352. + +Ellesmere canal, 434. + +Ellice, Edward, secretary at war, 346. + +Elphinstone, Mountstuart, 403. + +Elsinore, 4. + +Elvas, 93, 103. + +Embargo act (United States), 128. + +Emmet, Robert, 18, 23, 240. + +Empire, Holy Roman, dissolved, 46; + treaty of Lunéville, 6, 17. + +Enghien, Duke of, murder of, 34, 35, 37. + +England, negotiates with France, 7-12; + conquests, 9, 14, 47, 69, 81, 398, 403; + signs treaty of Amiens, 12, 13, 398; + industrial and agricultural depression, 13, 83, 171, 172, 174-180, + 205-207, 270, 299, 312, 370; + fresh discord with France, 16, 17; + war declared against France, 22; + preparations for invasion, 23; + third coalition, 35, 37, 38, 41, 52; + treaty with Russia, 37: + treaty with Sweden, 38; + expeditions to Naples, 42, 47, 63; + Anglo-Hanoverian expedition to North Germany, 42, 43, 51; + negotiations with France, 46; + state of army in 1806, 51; + in 1807, 59, 60; + in 1813, 86; + troops in Sweden, 52; + troops in Denmark, 53, 54; + orders in council, 55, 56, 126, 130, 171; + commercial warfare, 58; + Peninsular war, 59-63, 65, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120, 129, 182; + treaty with Spanish junta, 96; + Walcheren expedition, 62-66, 99: + treaty with Austria, 63; + Sweden declares war on, 78; + treaties with Russia and Sweden, 85, 123, 136; + war with United States, 58, 82, 126-132, 138-142, 146, 147, 156, 171; + treaty of Stockholm, 136; + treaties of Reichenbach, 136; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + treaty of Ried, 137; + treaty of Kiel, 143; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + treaty of Ghent, 147, 156, 203; + visit of the allied sovereigns, 147, 148; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + treaty with Spain, 150; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 168, 186-188, 190, 376, 379, + 381, 388; + Waterloo campaign, 156-165; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + union of Irish and English exchequers, 174; + expedition against the Barbary States, 187, 188; + conferences of Vienna, 189, 216, 217; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191, 377; + congress of Troppau, 211-215, 395, 396; + the Eastern question, 213, 216, 232-234, 259-269, 392; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + assists Portugal, 220, 221, 255-258; + commercial treaty with Brazil, 322; + conferences of London, 222, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + treaty with United States, 225; + treaty of London, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266, 267; + treaties with Portugal, 255; + convention of Alexandria, 264, 265; + convention with France and Holland, 387; + triple and quadruple alliances, 389-391; + treaties with Indian states, 398, 399; + treaty with Persia, 402. + +Epirus, 188. + +Erfurt, 59, 92. + +Erie, lake, 139, 141. + +Erlon, d', French general, 159, 162, 163. + +Erskine, Lord, 77, 177; + lord chancellor, 49. + +Esdremadura, 99, 106. + +Espinosa, battle, 92. + +Essequibo, 9. + +Essex, 175 n. + +Essling, 63. + +Etruria, kingdom of, 9. + +Euphrates, the, 413. + +Evans, De Lacy (afterwards Sir de Lacy), 343, 391. + +Eveleigh, Dr., 429. + +Evora, convention at, 390. + +Ewart, William, M.P., 369. + +Exchange, Royal. See London. + +Exeter, bishop of (Phillpotts), 324. + +Exmouth, Lord (Pellew), afterwards Viscount, 187, 188. + +Eylau, battle, 51, 199; + campaign, 56. + + +Fabvier, Colonel, 262. + +Factory acts, 326-328. + +Falmouth, 259. + +Faraday, Michael, 428. + +Fath Ali, Sháh of Persia, 402. + +Fauvelet, French agent, 19. + +Fawkes, Guy, 192. + +Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria, 396. + +Ferdinand III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, 166. + +Ferdinand IV., King of the Two Sicilies, 7, 47, 58, 166, 187, 211, 212, + 216, 221. + +Ferdinand VII., King of Spain, 87, 88, 103, 123, 150, 187, 190, 210, 215, + 218, 222, 388, 389, 395. + +Ferrol, 39. + +Ferronays, De la, French foreign minister, 261. + +Finance, 15, 48, 49, 86, 172, 173, 198, 201-204, 206, 207, 226, 238, 235, + 270, 283, 291, 334, 335, 347, 356, 369; + income and property tax, 15, 23, 48, 49, 172, 173; + currency reform, 74, 182, 183. + +Fines, act for abolition of, 325, 333. + +Finland, 54, 59, 122, 123, 125, 166. + +Finn, W. F., M.P., 367, 368. + +Fischer, Danish commander, 5. + +Fitzgerald, Vesey, M.P., 236, 237. + +Fitzherbert, Mrs., 194. + +Fitzwilliam, Earl, 14, 29, 32, 180; + lord president of the council, 45; + in cabinet without office, 49. + +Flaxman, John, 427. + +Fletcher, Colonel, 101. + +Fleurus, 158. + +Flinders, Matthew, 436, 439. + +Florence, 212, 216; + treaty of, 7. + +Florida, 215. + +Flushing, 65, 71. + +Fontainebleau, 82, 118, 145; + decree 79; + treaties of, 87, 145, 146. + +Fort Erie, 130. + +Fortescue, first Earl, 296. + +Fort George, 130, 140, 141. + +Fort Sandusky, 139. + +Fouché, French politician, 155, 165, 168. + +Fox, Charles James, 14-16, 26, 27, 29-34, 200, 279, 372, 417; + relations with George III., 32, 33, 45, 46, 185; + foreign secretary, 45, 46; + abolition of slave trade, 46, 48; + death, 46, 47, 49, 228. + +Foy, French general, 111, 112, 160. + +France, 13, 14, 17, 21, 39-41, 47, 54, 58, 64, 65, 69, 79, 88, 105, 119, + 128, 130, 145, 150-153, 186, 187, 189-191, 205, 210, 212, 221, 223, + 377, 398; + treaties of Lunéville and Aranjuez, 6, 17; + treaty of Florence, 7; + negotiations resulting in treaty of Amiens, 7, 13; + proposed invasion of England, 8; + war declared against England, 22; + alliance with Spain, 35; + encroachments in Europe, 37; + war with Austria, 38, 41, 42; + war with Russia, 38, 41, 42, 51; + "army of England," 38, 42; + peace of Pressburg, 42; + treaty with the Two Sicilies, 42; + treaty of Schönbrunn, 43; + treaty with Prussia, 46, 55; + war with Prussia, 47, 52; + treaty of Tilsit, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 78, 87, 401, 402; + secret treaty of Fontainebleau, 87; + Milan decree, 56; + Peninsular war, 59-63, 65, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120; + war with Austria, 61-64; + peace of Vienna, 64, 66; + loss of foreign possessions, 69, 81, 215, 223, 403; + annexations, 77-79; + breach with Russia, 79-81, 105, 108; + treaty with Prussia, 122; + war with Russia, 82, 97, 100, 121-126, 402; + campaign of 1813, 132-138; + war with Prussia, 134; + war with Austria, 137, 142, 143; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + the allies enter, 118, 143; + congress at Châtillon-sur-Seine, 118, 144; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 167, 186, 188, 190, 379, 381, + 388; + Waterloo campaign, 156-165; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + dispute with Spain, 215, 217-221, 256, 257, 264; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + treaty of London, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266, 267; + the Eastern question, 259-269, 392-395; + conference of London, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + conquest of Algiers, 269; + revolution of July, 274, 276, 285, 376, 378; + assists Belgium, 384-386; + convention with England and Holland, 387; + attacks Portugal, 388; + quadruple alliance, 389-391; + officers in India, 398; + treaty with Persia, 402. + +France, Isle of. See Mauritius, the. + +Franche-Comté, 143. + +Francis II., Holy Roman Emperor (afterwards Francis I., Emperor of + Austria), 17, 46, 78, 144, 145, 148, 218, 224, 395. + +Francis IV., Duke of Modena, 166. + +Frankfort, 189. + +Franklin, Benjamin, 185. + +Fraser, General, 57. + +Frasnes, 158, 159. + +Frederick, Prince Regent of Denmark (afterwards Frederick VI.), 5, 53. + +Frederick, Prince, of Orange, 379. + +Frederick II., the Great, King of Prussia, 47. + +Frederick Augustus, King of Saxony, 135. + +Frederick Joseph, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, 184. + +Frederick William III., King of Prussia, 38, 42, 43, 46, 47, 52, 62, 122, + 134, 144, 147, 148, 152, 189. + +Frederick William, Crown Prince of Prussia (afterwards Frederick William + IV.), 395. + +Fréjus, 146. + +Frenchtown, 138. + +Freyre, English officer, 118. + +Friedland, battle, 52, 122, 401. + +_Frolic_, the, British sloop, 132. + +Fuentes d'Oñoro, battle, 103. + + +Gáekwár. See Baroda, Gáekwár of. + +Galicia, 39, 66, 80, 88, 90, 94, 98, 122. + +Gambier, Admiral (afterwards Lord), 54, 69. + +Gamonal, battle, 92. + +Ganges, the, 398, 407. + +Gantheaume, French admiral, 39. + +Gardane, French general, 402. + +Gardner, Colonel, 405. + +Garonne, the, 118. + +Gascoyne, General, M.P., 291. + +Gatton, 289. + +Gebora, river, 102. + +Genappe, 160. + +Genoa, 143, 149, 166, 390; + bay of, 69. + +George III., 2, 14, 22, 31, 32, 34, 48-50, 55, 62, 66-68, 71, 92, 96, 171, + 194, 208, 242, 375; + insanity, 29, 74, 83; + relations with Fox, 32, 33, 45, 46; + jubilee, 69; + family, 184; + death, 185, 192; + character, 185, 186, 249, 273. + +George, Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.), his friends, 29; + regent for George III., 74-76, 83, 85, 148, 156, 157, 165, 168, 176, 179, + 186; + marriage relations, 85, 86, 183, 184, 192-197; + character, 173, 174, 183, 184, 194, 197, 208, 244, 282, 375; + king, 192, 199, 201, 226-231, 242-244, 246, 249, 268, 271; + coronation, 196, 197, 309; + death, 272, 273. + +Gérard, General (afterwards Marshal), 164, 386. + +Germany, 38, 41-43, 46, 47, 55, 58, 59, 61-64, 71, 79, 80, 82, 92, 97, 105, + 115, 118, 123, 132-138, 142, 144, 149, 152, 156, 188, 189, 381, 387, + 424, 425; + redistribution of territory, 17, 53, 78, 153; + forces in the Peninsula, 98, 114, 116; + organisation of, 166. + See also Austria, Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, etc. + +Gerona, 88. + +Ghent, 155, 378; + treaty of, 147, 156, 203. + +Ghika, Alexander, Hospodar of Wallachia, 396. + +Gibbon, Edward, 415. + +Gibraltar, 188, 259, 381; + governor of, 90; + straits of, 8, 39. + +Giessen, 189. + +Gifford, William, 423. + +Gillray, James, 26. + +Gladstone, William Ewart, 44, 200, 318, 350, 424. + +Glasgow, 193, 295, 306, 371. + +Glenelg, Lord. See Grant, Charles. + +Gloucester (William), Duke of (nephew of George III.), 184 n. + +Goderich, Viscount. See Robinson, F. J. + +Godoy, Spanish statesman, 87. + +Goethe, Wolfgang von, 417, 418. + +Gohad, 399. + +Golden Lane. See London. + +Gordon, Robert, diplomatist, 266. + +Goulburn, Henry, 284, 303, 319; + chancellor of the exchequer, 231, 270, 278, 280; + home secretary, 352, 367. + +Gower, Lord Francis Leveson (afterwards Earl of Ellesmere), 236. + +Gower, Lord Granville Leveson- (afterwards Earl Granville), secretary at + war, 66; + retirement, 68. + +Graham, Sir James, 270, 277, 352, 354, 374; + first lord of the admiralty, 279, 287; + resignation, 345. + +Graham, Sir Thomas (afterwards Lord Lynedoch), 102, 104, 110-113. + +Grampound, 193, 198, 284, 288. + +Granby, Marquis of (Manners), 52. + +Grand, river, 139. + +Grant, Charles (afterwards Lord Glenelg), 277; + board of trade, 230, 231; + resignation, 236, 380; + president of the board of control, 279, 329, 330, 380; + secretary for war and colonies, 357. + +Grattan, Henry, M.P., 197, 238. + +Graves, Rear-admiral, 5. + +Greece, 379, 380, 383; + revolts against Turkey, 213, 214, 216, 217, 223-226, 232-234, 253, + 259-267, 393; + independent, 268; + boundary fixed, 392. + +Greenock, 306. + +Grenoble, 153. + +Grenville, Thomas, first lord of the admiralty, 49. + +Grenville, Lord, 2, 14, 24-26, 29, 33, 35, 54, 56, 67 n., 68, 74-76, 109, + 238, 279; + his followers, 26, 27, 30, 32, 34; + first lord of the treasury, 45, 47-49, 51, 52; + resignation, 49, 50; + opposition to Peninsular war, 71, 76. + +Greville, Charles, 332. + +Grey, Charles (afterwards Viscount Howick and later second Earl Grey), 46, + 67 n., 68, 74-76, 199, 228, 230, 249, 271, 276, 277, 348, 357; + first lord of the admiralty, 45; + foreign secretary, 49, 52, 55; + opposition to Peninsular war, 76; + first lord of the treasury, 278-283, 285-287, 290, 291, 293-296, 299, + 301-304, 320, 321, 324, 325, 334, 375, 380; + resignation, 344-347. + +Grey, Earl de, first lord of the admiralty, 352. + +Grossbeeren, battle, 137. + +Grosvenor Square. See London. + +Grote, George, 341, 345, 374, 431. + +Grouchy, Marshal, 160, 163, 164. + +Guadeloupe, 136. + +Guadiana, the, 99. + +Guarda, 100. + +_Guerrière_, the, British frigate, 131, 132. + +Guildhall. See London. + +Guilleminot, French diplomatist, 266. + +Guizot, French statesman, 357. + +Gujrát, 399. + +Gúrkhas, the, 404, 405. + +Gustavus IV., King of Sweden, 37, 54, 90. + +Gwalior, 310, 399, 407. + See Sindhia. + + +_Habeas corpus act_, suspension of, 3, 176-178, 181, 240, 320. + +Hague, the, 384. + +Haidarábád, 40; + Nizám of, 397, 398; + treaty of Bassein, 398, 399. + +Hal, 158, 161. + +_Halifax_, the, British sloop, 127. + +Hallam, Henry, 426, 427. + +Hamburg, 134, 136, 138, 310. + +Hamilton, English commodore, 225. + +Hamilton, Sir William, philosopher, 417. + +Hampden clubs, 175. + +Hampshire, 281, 282. + +Hampton, General, 140, 141. + +Hampton roads, 127. + +Hanau, battle, 133. + +_Hannibal_, the, British ship, 8. + +Hanover, 22, 38, 42, 43, 46, 55, 134, 136, 166, 249. + +Hanoverian troops, 137, 158, 159, 161. + +Hanse Towns, the, 55. + +Hardenberg, Prussian minister, 144, 152. + +Hardinge, Henry (afterwards Sir Henry and later Viscount Hardinge), 104; + secretary at war, 236, 250, 275, 313. + +Hardwicke, Earl of (Yorke), lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 2, 23, 27. + +Harrison, American general, 138, 139. + +Harrowby, Lord (Dudley Ryder), afterwards Earl of Harrowby, 68, 193, 295, + 299, 301, 302; + foreign secretary, 34; + retirement, 35; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 37; + president of the board of control, 66; + lord president of the council, 81, 82, 227, 230. + +Hartwell, Bucks, 147. + +Harwich, 197. + +Hasselt, 384. + +Hastings, Marquis of. See Moira, Earl of. + +Hastings, Warren, 279. + +Haugwitz, Prussian minister, 42, 43. + +Hawkesbury, Lord (Jenkinson), afterwards Earl of Liverpool, foreign + secretary, 1, 8, 9, 11, 12, 19, 20, 25, 34, 228; + called to the house of lords, 27; + home secretary, 34; + declines office as first lord of the treasury, 45; + home secretary, 50; + secretary for war and colonies, 68, 71, 82, 100, 106; + first lord of the treasury, 77, 82, 83, 85, 108, 109, 151, 168, 169, 172, + 173, 183, 195-199, 205, 238, 239, 242, 279, 380; + resignation, 208, 209, 226. + +Hay, Lord John, 391. + +Haye, La, farm, 162. + +Haye Sainte, La, farm, 162, 163. + +Hayti, 215, 223. + +Hazlitt, William, 425. + +Health, board of, 310. + +Hegel, Georg, 417. + +Heligoland, 143, 167. + +Helvetian republic. See Switzerland. + +Helvoetsluis, 18. + +Henry IV., King of France, 219. + +Henry, John, 128. + +Herat, 412-414. + +Herries, J. C., chancellor of the exchequer, 229, 230; + master of the mint, 231; + secretary at war, 352. + +Herschel, Sir John, 428. + +Hesse, Princess' Augusta of (Duchess of Cambridge), 184. + +Heytesbury, Lord, 412. + +Hill, Rowland (afterwards Sir Rowland and later Viscount Hill), 104-106, + 108, 110-113, 115-117, 119. + +Himálayas, the, 404, 405. + +Hobart, Lord (afterwards fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire), secretary for war + and colonies, 1, 2, 34; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 35; + resignation, 37; + president of the board of control, 81, 82, 174. + +Hobhouse, Sir John Cam (afterwards Lord Broughton), 325, 327, 343, 418; + first commissioner of woods and forests, 347; + president of the board of control, 357. + +Hohenlinden, battle, 420. + +Holkar, Jaswant Ráo Holkar, 398, 399, 405; + Malhár Ráo Holkar, 405, 406. + +Holland (Batavian republic), 9, 11, 18 19, 21, 38, 53, 61, 81, 149-151, + 156, 158, 159, 161, 162, 166, 199, 377; + treaty of Amiens, 13; + Louis Bonaparte, king of, 46; + loss of Cape of Good Hope, 47, 403; + Walcheren expedition, 65; + annexed by France, 78; + revolts, 133, 138; + Prince of Orange proclaimed King of the Netherlands, 138; + Dutch at Waterloo, 158, 161, 162; + united to Belgium, 166; + separation from Belgium, 376-386, 393; + convention with Great Britain and France, 387; + convention with Belgium, 387; + settlers in South Africa, 438. + +Holland, Lord (Vassall-Fox), 170, 180, 199, 228, 230, 234; + lord privy seal, 49; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 280, 357. + +Holy Alliance, 37, 168, 169, 186, 200, 229. + +Holyhead, 197. + +Homs, 393. + +Hone, William, 177. + +Hope, John (afterwards Sir John, later Lord Niddry and Earl of Hopetoun), + 93, 95, 116, 117, 119. + +Horner, Francis, M.P., 73, 183, 423. + +_Hornet_, the, American ship, 141. + +Hougoumont, 161, 162. + +Howard, John, 415, 437. + +Howick, Viscount. See Grey, Charles. + +Howick, Viscount (afterwards third Earl Grey), 271; + secretary at war, 357. + +Howley, archbishop of Canterbury, 299, 337, 373. + +Huddersfield, 270. + +Hudson, James (afterwards Sir James Hudson), 351. + +Hugo, Victor, 426. + +Hull, American general, 129. + +Hume, David, 415. + +Hume, Joseph, 198, 274, 323, 367, 368, 374, 431. + +Hunt, "Orator," 175, 179, 207, 281, 318. + +Huron, lake, 129. + +Huskisson, William, 84, 86; + president of the board of trade, 198, 202, 203, 205, 207, 227, 228; + secretary for war and colonies, 229-232, 235, 270, 271; + resignation, 236, 380; + death, 275, 276, 435. + +Hutchinson, General, 6. + +Hutton, James, 428. + +Hydriots, the, 392. + + +Ibrahim, Pasha, 224, 225, 233, 264, 265, 392-394, 396. + +Illyrian provinces, 66, 122, 134, 137. + +_Impérieuse_, the, British frigate, 88. + +_Inconstant_, the, Napoleon's brig, 153. + +Indemnity acts, 234. + +India, 3, 18, 50, 59, 61, 104, 329, 330, 397-414, 436; + French towns in India, 18, 19; + East India Company, 201, 271, 399, 400, 406, 409; + acts and charters relating to East India Company, 86, 325, 328-330, 404, + 411, 412; + treaties, 398, 399, 402, 403-406, 409, 412; + coolies, 438. + +Indians (America), 129, 138, 147. + +Indies, East, 20, 81, 310. + +Indies, West, 20, 39, 69, 131, 219, 326, 438. + +Indore. See Holkar. + +Ingilby, Sir W. A., M.P., 334. + +Inglis, Sir Robert, M.P., 245. + +Inn, river, 63. + +Insurrection act, 240, 320. + +Inverness, 348. + +Ionian islands, 69, 167, 187, 188, 267, 268. + +Irawadi, the, 408. + +Ireland, 16, 51, 55, 85, 197, 208, 242, 246, 247, 281, 289, 290, 312, 316, + 317, 359, 360, 367, 368, 370-373; + condition of, in 1801, 2, 3; + in 1821, 199, 239; + in 1824, 205; + in 1828, 243; + in 1829, 270; + in 1830, 275; + in 1831-32, 312-317; + in 1833, 320, 321; + in 1834, 345; + in 1837, 371; + French spies, 18, 19, 23; + Emmet's rebellion, 18, 23, 240; + scheme for representative assembly, 77; + union of Irish and English exchequers, 174; + Clare election, 236, 237, 243, 245, 250, 251, 313; + disfranchisement of forty shilling freeholders, 241, 249; + famine, 243; + reform bill, 306, 307; + agitation against tithe, 313-316, 320; + church, 315-317, 322; + processions act, 316, 317; + education, 316, 317; + coercion act, 320-322, 324, 325, 332; + church temporalities act, 321-325, 332; + second coercion act, 347; + municipal corporations bill, 364, 365. + +Irving, Edward, 339, 340. + +Isabella II., Queen of Spain, 389, 395. + +Isabella Maria, Regent of Portugal, 253. + +Ischia, island, 63. + +Isle-aux-noix, 140. + +Istria, 42. + +Isturiz, Spanish premier, 391. + +Italy, 42, 58, 63, 79, 133, 137, 138, 143-145, 149, 153, 157, 166, 187, + 210, 211, 213, 215-217, 348, 377, 387; + Napoleon crowned King of Italy, 37, 38. + +Italian republic. See Cisalpine republic. + + +Jackson, Andrew (afterwards President of the United States), 147. + +Jackson, Francis J., British envoy, 53. + +Jails, 369, 437. + +Jaswant Ráo Holkar. See Holkar. + +Java, 81, 403. + +_Java_, the, British frigate, 132. + +Jefferson, Thomas, President of the United States, 58, 127, 128. + +Jeffrey, Francis (afterwards Lord), 423. + +Jena, battle, 47, 199. + +Jenner, Dr. Edward, 15, 427. + +Jessor, 310. + +Jesuits, 247. + +Jews, disabilities of, 235. + +John VI., King of Portugal, 211, 215, 220, 221, 253, 254. + +Johnson, Samuel, 186, 415. + +Jones, Sir Harford (afterwards Brydges), 402. + +Jones, John Gale, 72. + +Jordan, Mrs., 273. + +Jourdan, Marshal, 98, 110. + +Jumna, river, 398, 399. + +Junot, Duke of Abrantes, 54, 58, 89-91, 100. + + +Kábul, 403, 413, 414. + +Kaffraria, 438. + +Kalisch, treaty of, 134. + +Kandahár, 403, 414. + +Kant, Immanuel, 417. + +Karavasara, 266. + +Karnátik, the, 397. + +Katzbach, the, battle, 137. + +Keats, John, 419. + +Keble, John, 337. + +Kehl, 138. + +Kellermann, French general, 159, 162. + +Kent, 23, 281. + +Kent (Edward), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185. + +Kent (Victoria Mary), Duchess of 184, 185, 281. + +Keswick, 420. + +Key, Sir John, M.P., 334. + +Khátmándu, 404. + +Kiel, treaty of, 142, 143, 189. + +Kilkenny, murders in, 320. + +Killingworth colliery, 434, 435. + +Kilwarden, Viscount (Wolfe), 23. + +King's College. See London. + +Kiutayeh, 393; + peace of, 394. + +Kléber, French general, 6. + +Knatchbull, Sir Edward, paymaster of forces, 352. + +Knights of St. John, 9, 10, 13; + property of the order, 11. + +Konieh, 393. + +Königsberg, 81. + +Kotzebue, murder of, 189. + +Krasnoe, battle, 125. + +Kronborg, 4. + +Kruse, Dutch officer, 162. + +Kulm, 137. + +Kumáun, district of, 405. + +Kutuzov, Russian general, 124. + + +Labedoyère, Colonel, 154. + +Laconia, 392. + +Laffitte, French premier, 383, 387. + +Lahore, 402. + +Laibach, treaty of, 212, 213. + +Lake, General (afterwards Lord and later Viscount Lake), 398-401, 409. + +Lamb, Charles, 425. + +Lamb, William (afterwards Viscount Melbourne), 227, 231, 236; + home secretary, 279, 296, 299; + first lord of the treasury, 347, 350; + resignation, 351; + first lord of the treasury, 357, 359, 360, 363, 370, 371, 373, 390, 401, + 431. + +Lampeter, St. David's College, 430. + +Lancashire, 83, 179, 435. + +Lancaster, revenues of duchy of, 278, 282. + +Landau, 149, 167. + +Langdale, Lord. See Bickersteth, Henry. + +Lansdowne, Marquis of. See Petty, Lord Henry. + +Laswári, battle, 399. + +Laud, William, 429. + +Lauderdale, Earl of (Maitland), 46, 170. + +Lauriston, General (afterwards Marshal), 13. + +Lawley, Sir Robert, M.P., 29. + +Lawrence, Captain, 141, 142. + +Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 427. + +Leach, Sir John, 195. + +Leadenhall Street. See London. + +Leeds, 198, 272, 327. + +Leghorn, 143. + +Leicestershire, 83. + +Leinster, 315. + +Leipzig, battle, 63, 82, 114, 117, 118, 133, 137, 138, 143, 164. + +Leon, plains of, 88, 106. + +_Leopard_, the, British flagship, 127. + +Leopold, Prince, of Saxe-Coburg (afterwards King of the Belgians), 174, + 183, 185, 268, 269, 383, 384. + +Lepanto, 266. + +L'Estrange, Colonel, 179. + +Levant, the, 18, 413. + +Lewis I., King of Bavaria, 392. + +Lewisham, Viscount (Legge), afterwards Earl of Dartmouth, president of the + board of control, 1, 15. + +"Lichfield House Compact," 356. + +Liège, 43, 381. + +Ligny, 158, 164; + battle, 158-160. + +Ligurian republic, 9, 12, 37, 38. + +Lille, negotiations at, 9, 14. + +Limburg, province, 382, 385-387. + +Lincolnshire, 334. + +Lincoln's Inn Fields. See London. + +Linois, French admiral, 8. + +Lisbon, 54, 89-91, 93-98, 100, 102, 109, 201, 211, 215, 220-222, 257-259, + 389. + +Littleport, 175 n. + +Littleton, Edward John (afterwards Lord Hatherton), 325, 345, 346. + +Liverpool, 201, 232, 275, 276, 291, 369, 388, 435. + +Liverpool, Earl of. See Hawkesbury, Lord. + +Lloyd, Charles, bishop of Oxford, 249. + +Lobau, island, 63. + +Lobau, Prince of, 163. + +Lombardy, 149, 166, 187. + See also Cisalpine republic. + +London, 195, 196, 201, 202, 206, 270, 277, 278, 296, 303, 311, 435, 437; + bishop of (Blomfield), 324, 341, 373. + +London:-- + Apsley House, 293. + Battersea Fields, 251. + Blackheath, 194. + Bridges: Blackfriars, London, Southwark, Strand (Waterloo), Westminster, + 436. + Brooks's Club, 374. + Buckingham Palace, 349. + Carlton House, 70, 436. + Cato Street, 193. + Corporation of, 173. + Edgware Road, 193. + Golden Lane, 435. + Guildhall, 148. + Grosvenor Square, 193. + King's College, 250, 431. + Leadenhall Street, 329, 398, 411. + Lincoln's Inn Fields, 298. + "London University," 250, 356, 431; + university of London, 431, 432. + Newgate, 72, 369. + Old Bailey, 282. + Pall Mall, 435. + Regent Street and Park, 436. + Royal Academy, 427. + Royal Exchange, 175. + St. Paul's, 196. + Small-pox Hospital, 427. + Southwark, 26. + Spa Fields, Bermondsey, 175. + Spitalfields, 202. + Tower, 72, 175. + University College, 431, 432. + Westminster, 51, 72, 343. + Westminster Abbey, 46, 196, 309. + Westminster Hall, 349. + White Conduit House, 298. + +London, conferences of, 222, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + protocols of, 265, 267, 381-385, 392; + treaties of, 96, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266-268, 385, 392. + +_London Magazine_, the, 424, 425. + +Londonderry, second Marquis of. See Castlereagh, Viscount. + +Londonderry, third Marquis of. See Stewart, Sir Charles. + +Lonsdale, Earl of (Lowther), 67 n. + +Lorraine, 143, 168. + +Loughborough, Lord (Wedderburn), afterwards first Earl of Rosslyn, 1, 271. + +Louis XIV., King of France, 186. + +Louis XVI., King of France, 145. + +Louis XVIII., King of France, 118, 119, 145, 147, 149, 154-157, 166, 167, + 169, 187, 215, 218, 219, 377. + +Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (afterwards dauphin), 116, 118, 154, 220, + 376. + +Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans (afterwards King of France), 154, 274, 376, + 377, 379, 380, 382-384, 390, 391. + +Louisiana, 6, 18. + +Louvain, 384. + +Low Countries. See Belgium and Holland. + +Lübeck, 78. + +Luddite riots. See Riots. + +Lugo, 95. + +Lundy's Lane, battle, 146. + +Lunéville, treaty of, 6, 10, 13, 17, 38. + +Lützen, battle, 135. + +Luxemburg, grand duchy of, 43, 380-387. + +Lyell, Charles (afterwards Sir C.), 428. + +Lyndhurst, Lord. See Copley, Sir John. + +Lyons, 154. + + +Maas, river, 387. + +Maastricht, 380, 382. + +Macadam, John Loudon, roadmaker, 434. + +Macarthur, John, 439. + +Macaulay, Thomas Babington (afterwards Lord Macaulay), 296, 327, 411, 412, + 423-427. + +Macaulay, Zachary, 423, 431. + +Macdonald, Marshal, 124, 125, 154. + +_Macedonian_, the, British ship, 132. + +Mack, Austrian general, 42. + +Mackinac, 129, 139. + +Mackintosh, Sir James, 16, 194, 201. + +Mackworth, Major, 298. + +Macquarie, Governor, 439, 440. + +Madison, James, President of the United States, 128-130. + +Madras, 400, 410. + +Madrid, 71, 87-89, 92-94, 96, 98, 103, 107, 108, 111, 150, 217-220, 390, + 391; + treaty of, 6. + +Magdeburg, 138. + +Mahmúd, Amír of Afghánistán, 403. + +Mahmud II., Sultan of Turkey, 57, 168, 188, 266, 393, 394, 396. + +Maida, battle, 47. + +Maine, state, 147. + +Mainots, the, 392. + +Mainz, 136. + +Maitland, Captain, 169. + +Majorca, 88. + +Malcolm, Sir John, colonel, 402. + +Malden, 129. + +Malhár, Ráo Holkar. See Holkar. + +Malmaison, 165. + +Malmesbury, Earl of (Harris), 14, 49. + +Malta, possession of, 9-13, 20, 22, 37, 408, 413; + independence guaranteed, 13; + parliamentary debate on, 14; + retention by England, 19, 20, 167. + +Malthus, Thomas Robert, 421. + +Málwá, 406, 409, 411. + +Manchester, 176, 178, 179, 272, 275, 276, 295, 303, 311, 435. + +Mansfield, first Earl of (Murray), 45. + +Mansfield, third Earl of (Murray), 292. + +Maráthá wars, 398, 399, 406, 407. + +Marcoff, Count, 21. + +Marengo, battle, 159. + +Maria II., da Gloria, Queen of Portugal, 253, 254, 258, 259, 388. + +Maria Christina, Queen-regent of Spain, 389, 391. + +Maria Louisa, empress of Napoleon I., 78, 145, 150, 166. + +Mariembourg, 149, 382. + +Marlborough, Duke of (Churchill), 52. + +Marmont, Marshal, 104-108. + +Marriage reform bills, 355; + act, 366, 367. + +Martinique, 9. + +Mary, Duchess of Gloucester (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Masséna, Marshal, 100-104. + +Maumee, river, 130, 138. + +Mauritius, the (Isle of France), 18, 149, 167, 398, 403, 438. + +Maya, pass, 113. + +McClure, General, 141. + +McDonnell, Colonel, 141. + +Medellin, 96. + +Medina de Rio Seco, 88. + +Mediterranean, the, 39, 69, 188, 262, 265, 393. + +Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, 224, 225, 264, 269, 392-394. + +Mehidpur, battle, 406. + +_Melampus_, the, British warship, 127. + +Melbourne, Viscount. See Lamb, William. + +Melcombe Regis, 289, 305. + +Melville, first Viscount. See Dundas, Henry. + +Melville, second Viscount. See Dundas, Robert S. + +Menou, 6. + +Merton, Surrey, 39. + +Mesolongi, 266, 418. + +Metcalfe, Charles (afterwards Sir Charles and later Lord Metcalfe), 402, + 403, 406, 409, 411, 412. + +Methodist revival, the, 339. + +Metternich, Prince, 122, 134, 138, 144-146, 152, 156, 189, 191, 210, 217, + 218, 224, 377, 395, 396. + +Mexico, 223. + +Miaoulis, Greek admiral, 393. + +Michigan, lake, 129; + state, 138, 139. + +Middle Ground shoal, 4. + +Middleton, Sir Charles. See Barham, Lord. + +Miguel, Dom (afterwards King of Portugal), 220, 221, 253-255, 258, 259, + 388-390; + convention at Evora, 390. + +Milan, 37; + decree, 56; + commission, 195. + +Milhaud, French officer, 162. + +Militia, the, 16, 21, 31. + +Militia balloting bill, 59. + +Militia transfer bill, 60. + +Mina, guerilla leader, 104. + +Minho, province, 258. + +Ministries: Addington's, 1-31; + Pitt's, 33-44; + Grenville's (All the Talents), 45-50; + Portland's, 50-67, 87-99; + Perceval's, 68-76, 99-106; + Liverpool's, 77-86, 107-226, 253-258; + Canning's, 227, 228, 258; + Goderich's, 229, 230, 259, 260; + Wellington's, 230-252, 260-278, 376-380; + Grey's, 278-347, 380-390, 392-396; + Melbourne's, 347-351; + provisional administration, 351; + Peel's, 352; + Melbourne's, 357-375, 390-392. + +Minorca, 9, 88. + +Minto, second Earl of (Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound), first lord of the + admiralty, 363, 401. + +Minto, Lord (Elliot), afterwards first Earl of Minto, governor-general of + Bengal, 401-404. + +Modena, 213; + treaty with Austria, 187. + +Moira, Earl of (Rawdon-Hastings), afterwards Marquis of Hastings, 75, 76, + 310; + master-general of the ordnance, 45; + governor-general of Bengal, 404-408. + +Moldavia, 57, 59, 80, 213-215, 260, 263, 267, 394-396. + +Molé, French foreign minister, 379. + +Molesworth, Sir William, M.P., 374. + +Moltke, 396. + +Moncey, Marshal, 88. + +Mondego, river, 90, 101. + +Mongolia, 310. + +_Moniteur_, newspaper, 18. + +Monroe, James, President of the United States, 223; + Monroe doctrine, 223. + +Mons, 158. + +Monson, Colonel, 399. + +Montbéliard, 149. + +Montenegrins, the, 142. + +Monte Video, 56, 57, 190. + +Montmorency, French diplomatist, 217, 218. + +Montreal, 140. + +Montrose, Duke of (Graham), president of the board of trade, 34. + +Mont St. Jean, 160. + +Moore, Sir John, general, 54, 90-95, 108, 200. + +Moore, Thomas, 420. + +Moravia, 42, 64. + +Moraviantown, 139. + +Morea, the, 214, 224, 225, 261, 263-266, 393. + +Moreau, General, 33. + +Morpeth, Lord (afterwards seventh Earl of Carlisle), 357, 359, 372. + +Morrison, Colonel, 141. + +Mortier, Marshal, 99. + +Moscow, 124. + +Moss, convention of, 150. + +Mughal emperor, 399. + +Muhammad, Sháh of Persia, 412. + +Mühlhausen, 149. + +Mulgrave, Lord (Phipps) (afterwards first Earl of Mulgrave), 347; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 34; + foreign secretary, 35; + first lord of the admiralty, 50, 67 n.; + master-general of the ordnance, 72, 82; + in cabinet without office, 178; + retirement of, 194. + +Mulgrave, second Earl of (Phipps), lord privy seal, 347; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 359, 371. + +Münchengrätz, secret convention at, 395, 396. + +Munich, 33. + +Municipal corporations act, 360-362, 370; + bill (Ireland), 364, 365. + +Murat, Joachim, 87; + King of Naples, 88, 123, 143, 150, 157, 168; + death, 157. + +Muraviov, Russian general, 393. + +Murray, Colonel, 141. + +Murray, Sir George, secretary for war and colonies, 236; + master-general of the ordnance, 352. + +Murray, John, 423. + +Murray, Sir John, general, 109, 114. + +Mysore, 411. + + +Nágpur, 406; + Rájá of, 398, 390, 405, 406. + +Namur, 157, 160, 161. + +Napier, Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir Charles Napier), 389. + +Napier, General Sir W., 110. + +Naples, 47, 63, 157, 213; + bay of, 42. + +Naples, kingdom of, 47, 53, 63, 88, 123, 143, 150, 157. + See also Sicilies, the Two. + +Naples, Prince of, 383. + +Napoleon, King of Rome, son of Napoleon I., 145, 165. + +Nash, John, architect, 436. + +Nassau, troops, 158. + +National debt, the, 204, 206; + in 1802, 15; + in 1815, 171. + +"National Political Union," 298. + +Nauplia, 225. + +Navarino, 225; + battle, 230, 233, 234, 253, 259, 264. + +Navarre, province, 300. + +Navigation laws, reform of the, 202, 203, 207, 216, 437. + +Neapolitan States. See Sicilies, the Two. + +Nelson, Lord (afterwards Viscount), 8, 16, 39, 69, 233, 273; + expedition to Copenhagen, 3-5, 8; + Trafalgar, 40, 41. + +Nemours, Louis, Duke of, 382, 383. + +Nepál, 404, 405, 408, 409; + treaty of Almora, 405. + +Nesselrode, Russian diplomatist, 138, 262. + +Netherlands, the. See Belgium and Holland. + +Neuchâtel, 43. + +Neuville, De, French ambassador, 222. + +Newark (Canada), 141, 146. + +Newark (England), 248. + +Newcastle, 311. + +Newcastle, Duke of (Fiennes-Pelham-Clinton), 228, 248, 296, 297. + +New England, 128. + +Newfoundland, fishery, 10. + +Newgate. See London. + +Newman, John Henry, 325, 336-338, 340. + +New Orleans, 147. + +"New poor law," 340-344. + +New South Wales. See Australia. + +Newspaper stamp act, 369, 370. + +New York, 146; + state, 146. + +New Zealand, 436. + +Ney, Marshal, 17, 99-101, 154, 155, 158-160, 163. + +Niagara, river, 130, 140, 141, 146; + falls, 130, 146. + +Nicholas I., Tsar of Russia, 232, 259, 260, 262, 361, 385, 393, 395, 396. + +Nicholls, Colonel, 405. + +Niemen, the, 52, 124, 133. + +Nile, the, 6; + battle of the, 69. + +Nive, river, 115-117. + +Nivelle, river, 115. + +Nivelles, 159. + +Nonconformists. See Dissenters. + +Non-intercourse act (United States), 83, 128. + +Norfolk (United States), 127. + +Norfolk Island, 439. + +_North Briton_, the, journal, 422. + +Northern confederacy, the, 5, 8. + +Northumberland, Duke of (Percy), lord lieutenant of Ireland, 244, 313. + +_Northumberland_, the, British ship, 166. + +Norway, 54, 80, 122, 123, 189; + ceded to Sweden, 136, 142, 143, 150, 166; + convention at Moss, 150. + +Nottingham, 296; + castle, 297. + +Nottinghamshire, 83, 176. + +Novara, battle, 213. + +Nugent, John, 122, 142. + +Nugent, Lord (Grenville-Nugent-Temple), 241. + + +Ocaña, battle, 100. + +Ochterlony, General (afterwards Sir David), 404, 405, 409. + +O'Connell, Daniel, 2, 237, 241, 242, 244, 246, 249, 251, 252, 272, 275, + 280, 281, 287, 294, 306, 312-316, 319, 321-324, 344-346, 348, 356, + 359, 362, 363, 371, 374. + +Oder, the, 80, 135. + +Ohio, state, 138. + +Old Bailey. See London. + +Oldenburg, duchy of, 78, 105. + +Oldham, 318. + +Old Sarum, 3, 285, 289. + +Oléron, island, 69, 165. + +Olivenza, 6, 102, 123. + +Oliver, the spy, 176. + +Ontario, lake, 139. + +Oporto, 89, 90, 96, 98, 211, 388. + +Orange lodges, 367, 368; + Orangemen, 241, 270, 317, 367, 368. + +Orenburg, 310. + +Orfordness, 8. + +Orléans, Duke of. See Louis Philippe. + +Orléans, Philip, Duke of, 186, 272. + +Orthez, battle, 117. + +Otranto, 12. + +Otto, French diplomatist, 80. + +Otto, Prince of Bavaria (afterwards King of Greece), 392. + +Oudh, 404; + Nawáb Wazír of, 397. + +Ouseley, Sir Gore, 402. + +Oxford, 148, 337, 338; + bishop of (Lloyd), 249; + movement, 337-340, 417; + university. See Universities. + + +Paget, Lord (afterwards Earl of Uxbridge and later Marquis of Anglesey), + 94, 162, 245, 249; + master-general of the ordnance, 230; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 231, 243; + recalled, 244; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 281, 313, 321; + resignation, 344. + +Paisley, 306. + +Pakenham, Sir Edward, general, 147. + +Palatinate, the, 381. + +Palermo, 63, 211. + +Paley, William, 421. + +Pall Mall. See London. + +Palmella, Portuguese statesman, 220, 255. + +Palmerston, Viscount (Temple), 277, 286, 421; + secretary at war, 68, 172, 227, 229, 231, 263, 392; + resignation, 236; + foreign secretary, 261, 279, 357, 380, 382, 387, 388, 390, 391, 393, 412. + +Pamplona, 111-113, 115. + +Papal States, 9, 58, 157, 166, 187, 213, 258. + +Papelotte, farm, 162. + +Paraguay, 190. + +Parga, 188. + +Paris: the Tuileries, 31, 105, 155; + first capitulation, 145; + first treaty of, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + second capitulation, 165; + second treaty of, 167, 168, 376; + treaty of Chaumont extended at, 168, 186, 191, 377; + revolution of July, 274, 285, 376; + cholera at, 311. + +Park, Mungo, 436. + +Parker, Sir Hyde, admiral, 3-5. + +Parliament: general election of 1802, 15; + of 1806, 48; + of 1807, 50; + of 1812, 85; + of 1818, 178; + of 1820, 193; + of 1826, 207, 242; + of 1830, 274; + of 1831, 293, 294; + of 1832, 318; + of 1835, 354; + reform, 61; + liberals and conservatives, 319; + houses destroyed by fire, 349. + +Parma, duchy of, 145, 150, 166; + treaty with Austria, 187. + +Parnell, Sir Henry, M.P., 84, 278. + +Pasages, 391. + +Paskievitch, Russian general, 388. + +Patten, Colonel, M.P., 26, 27. + +Patuxent, river, 146. + +Paul, Tsar of Russia, 5. + +_Peacock_, the, British ship, 141. + +Pease, Edward, 434, 435. + +Peel, Sir Robert (first baronet), 327. + +Peel, Robert (afterwards Sir Robert), 44, 71, 172, 183, 200, 227, 283, 286, + 287, 290, 292, 294, 300, 303, 305, 319, 323, 324, 330, 331, 334, 335, + 343, 345, 347, 348, 351, 359-362, 364, 365, 371-373, 375; + home secretary, 199, 201, 202, 209, 226, 231, 235, 236, 242-248, 252, + 270-272, 274-278; + first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, 352-355, 363, + 366, 367, 390, 412; + resignation, 356, 357. + +Pelham, Lord (afterwards second Earl of Chichester), home secretary, 1; + resigns office, 27; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 27. + +_Pelican_, the, British ship, 142. + +Peloponnese, the, 393. + See Morea, the. + +Peltier, Jean, editor, 12, 16. + +Peña, La, Spanish commander, 102. + +Peninsular war, 59-61, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87, 120, 129, 146, 182, + 200, 423. + +Pennsylvania, 139. + +Penryn, 193, 235, 236. + +Pepys, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord and later Earl Cottenham), lord + chancellor, 363. + +Perceval, Spencer, 49; + chancellor of the exchequer, 50, 61, 67 n., 82, 83; + first lord of the treasury, etc., 68, 71, 74-76, 77, 236, 238, 380; + assassination, 76, 81. + +Perry, Commodore, 139. + +Persia, 123, 310, 401, 402, 412, 413; + treaties with East India Company and Great Britain, 402. + +Perth, 306. + +Peru, 215, 223. + +Pesháwar, 413. + +Peshwá, the, of Poona, 398, 405, 406; + treaty of Bassein, 398, 399, 405. + +Peter (afterwards Peter I., Emperor of Brazil, and Peter IV., King of + Portugal), 221, 253, 254, 258, 259, 388, 389. + +Peter II., Emperor of Brazil, 254, 388. + +Peterloo, massacre of. See Riots. + +Petty, Lord Henry (afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne), 241, 345, 421; + chancellor of the exchequer, 45; + home secretary, 228; + president of the council, 279, 280, 357, 369. + +Philippeville, 149, 382. + +Philippon, governor of Badajoz, 106. + +Phillip, Governor, 438. + +Phillpotts, bishop of Exeter, 324. + +Pichegru, French general, 33. + +Picton, Thomas (afterwards Sir Thomas), 106, 118, 159, 162. + +Piedmont, 17, 38, 213, 217. + +Pindárís, the, 404-408, 411. + +Pitt, William, the elder (first Earl of Chatham), 44, 284. + +Pitt, William, the younger, 2, 14, 15, 23, 47-50, 86, 173, 176, 181, 182, + 185, 202, 208, 227, 237, 279, 284, 291, 307, 322, 330, 417, 437, 438; + his resignation in 1801, 1, 397, 415; + alienation from Addington's ministry, 24; + negotiations with Addington, 24-26; + attacks Addington, 30, 31; + overtures from Eldon, 30; + interview with the king, 32; + first lord of the treasury, 33-37; + organises third coalition, 35, 37, 38, 41; + loss of Melville, 36; + collapse of the third coalition, 43, 46; + death, 43; + his adherents, 68, 200. + +Pius VII., Pope, 7, 35, 78, 150, 166, 163. + +Plasencia, 98. + +Plata, La. See Argentine, the. + +Plattsburg (United States), 140, 141, 146. + +Plunket, William (afterwards Lord Plunket), 239; + attorney-general of Ireland, 199, 241, 249. + +Plymouth, 259. + +_Poictiers_, the British ship, 132. + +Poischwitz, 135. + +Poland, 52, 53, 79, 80, 122, 144, 152, 153, 156, 166, 310, 381, 387, 388, + 395. + +Pole & Co., 206. + +Pole, W. Wellesley (afterwards Lord Maryborough), master of the mint, 174, + 178, 202. + +Polignac, French statesman, 223. + +Pomerania, Swedish, 54, 80, 122, 143, 166. + +Pondicherri, 18; + French towns in India, 18, 19. + +Ponsonby, Sir William, 162. + +Ponsonby, Lord (afterwards Viscount Ponsonby), 383. + +Poona, 398, 405, 406. + See Peshwá. + +Poor law, 171, 181, 311, 312, 420, 437; + poor rates, 182, 203; + "new poor law," 340-344, 366; + poor law board, 343; + Ireland, 312, 316, 317, 372, 373. + +Popham, Sir Home, 47. + +Poros, 266, 392. + +Porte, the. See Turkey. + +Portland, third Duke of (Cavendish-Bentinck), 49, 66; + home secretary, 1; + lord president of the council, 1; + in cabinet without office, 35; + first lord of the treasury, 50, 52, 60; + minor reforms, 51, 61; + changes in his ministry, 66; + resignation, 67; + death, 68. + +Portland, fourth Duke of (Cavendish Scott Bentinck), lord privy seal, 227; + in cabinet without office, 228; + lord president of the council, 230. + +Port Mahon, 188. + +Port Phillip, 439, 440. + +Portsmouth, 39, 148, 197. + +Portugal, 11, 53, 60, 122, 151, 190, 200, 201, 226, 395; + treaties of Badajoz and Madrid, 6; + Junot's expedition to, 54, 58, 89-91; + Peninsular war, 59-61, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120; + revolutions, 211, 220, 221, 254, 255-258; + cortes, 211, 215, 220, 221, 254, 258; + junta, 220, 221; + relations with Brazil, 221, 222, 253, 254, 388-390; + conference at London, 222; + triple and quadruple alliances, 389, 390; + convention of Evora, 390. + +Posen, 166. + +Pottinger, British officer, 412. + +Potwallopers, 281, 289, 308. + +Prague, 135. + +Prescott, 141. + +Presqu'isle (Pennsylvania), 139. + +Press, liberty of the, 180, 358; + Indian press, 411, 412. + +Pressburg, peace of, 42. + +Press-gang, 23. + +Preston, 281, 318. + +Prevost, Sir George, governor of Canada, 129, 130, 140, 146. + +Privy Council, acts relating to the, 325, 332. + +Processions act (Ireland), 316, 317. + +Procida, island, 63. + +Proclamation act, 320. + +Proctor, English colonel, 138, 139. + +Prome, 409. + +Prout, Samuel, 427. + +Prussia, 17, 51-53, 59, 80, 81, 105, 124, 136, 144, 187-189, 220, 267, 391; + guarantees independence of Malta, 13; + vacillation, 38, 41-43, 51; + treaty of Schönbrunn, 43; + treaty with France, 46, 55; + treaty of Tilsit, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 62, 78, 87, 124, 401, 402; + treaty with France, 122; + convention of Tauroggen, 125; + campaign of 1813, 133-138; + convention with Russia, 134; + treaty of Kalisch, 134; + treaty of Reichenbach, 136; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + treaty of Ried, 137; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 168, 186, 188-190, 378, 381, + 388; + campaign of 1815, 156-165; + gains Swedish Pomerania, 166; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + Holy Alliance, 168; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191, 377; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + congress of Laibach, 212, 313; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + conference of London, 379-386, 392; + secret convention at Münchengrätz, 395, 396; + convention at Berlin, 396. + +Pruth, river, 263. + +_Public Advertiser_, the, newspaper, 422. + +Puebla, pass, 111. + +Punjab, 403, 413. + +Pusey, Edward Bouverie, 336. + +Putney, 43. + +Pyrenees, the, 110, 115, 136, 138; + battle, 113. + + +Quadruple alliance, 389, 391. + +Quakers, the, 48. + +_Quarterly Review_, the, 423. + +Quatre Bras, 158-160; + battle, 159. + +Queen's County, murders in, 320. + +Queensland. See Australia. + +Queenstown (Canada), 130. + + +Raeburn, Sir Henry, 427. + +Railways, 275, 276, 427, 428, 434, 435. + +Raisin, river, 138. + +Rájputána, 399, 400, 406, 409. + +Rangoon, 408, 409. + +Ranjít Singh, Rájá of Bhartpur, 309, 403, 409. + +Ranjít Singh, Sikh ruler, 403, 412; + treaty with East India Company, 403. + +Ratisbon, 63. + +Ré, island, 165. + +Reciprocity of duties act, 203, 207. + +Redesdale, Lord (Mitford), 235. + +_Redoutable_, the, French ship, 41. + +Red Sea, the, 6, 413. + +Reform, movement for, 61, 77, 174, 175, 178, 181, 198, 204, 271, 272, 277, + 278, 280-308; + partial reforms, 198, 235; + first bill of 1831, 287-291; + second bill, 294-296; + third bill, 300-306; + Scotch and Irish bills, 306, 307. + +Regency act (1811), 74, 75. + +Regency act (1830), 281. + +Regent Street and Park. See London. + +_Register, Weekly_. See Cobbett. + +Registration bill, 355; + acts, 366, 367. + +Reichenbach, treaties of, 136. + +Reille, French general, 111, 113, 158, 162. + +Religious movements, 336-340, 417. + +Rennell, James, 436. + +Rennie, John, 435, 436. + +Rensselaer, Van, American general, 130. + +Reshid, Turkish general, 393. + +Revel, 4. + +Rey, Emmanuel, governor of St. Sebastian, 112-114. + +Reynier, French general, 100, 101. + +Rhine, the, 9, 41, 138, 143, 152, 153, 158, 166, 381; + confederation of the, 46, 53, 134, 138. + +Riall, General, 146. + +Rice, Thomas Spring (afterwards Lord Monteagle), 345; + secretary for war and colonies, 346; + chancellor of the exchequer, 357, 369, 373. + +Richelieu, Duke of, 212. + +Richmond, Charlotte, Duchess of, 159. + +Richmond, third Duke of (Lennox), 284. + +Richmond, fifth Duke of (Lennox), postmaster-general, 280; + resignation, 345. + +Ried, treaty of, 137. + +Rieti, battle, 212. + +Riga, 124. + +Rio Janeiro, 254, 259. + +Riot act, 72, 176, 297. + +Riots, 344; + Luddite, 83, 85, 175, 432, 433; + bread, 174; + agricultural, 174, 281, 282; + Spa Fields, 175; + Derbyshire insurrection, 176; + "Peterloo" or "Manchester massacre," 178-180, 192; + reform bill, 293, 296-298, 302, 309. + +Riou, Edward, 5. + +Ripon, Earl of. See Robinson, F. J. + +Robinson, Frederick John (afterwards Viscount Goderich, later Earl of + Ripon), president of the board of trade, etc., 177, 178, 198; + chancellor of the exchequer, 202, 207; + secretary for war and colonies, 227; + first lord of the treasury, 229, 230, 233, 242, 260, 380; + secretary for war and colonies, 279; + lord privy seal, 325; + resignation, 345. + +Rochefort, 165. + +Rodil, Spanish general, 389. + +Roebuck, John, M.P., 362, 372, 374. + +Rohilkhand, 397. + +Roliça, 90. + +Rolleston, magistrate, 176. + +Romaña, Spanish general, 95. + +Roman Empire, Holy. See Empire, Holy Roman. + +Roman States. See Papal States. + +Rome, 58, 351. + +Romilly, Sir Samuel, M.P., 51, 77, 194, 199, 201. + +Roncesvalles, pass, 112, 113. + +Rose, George, M.P., 182. + +Rosetta, 57. + +Ross, General, 146. + +Rosslyn, first Earl of. See Loughborough, Lord. + +Rosslyn, second Earl of (St. Clair Erskine), president of the board of + control, 271; + lord president of the council, 352. + +Rothière, La, battle, 144. + +Roussin, French admiral, 388, 393, 394. + +Royal Institution, the, 428. + +_Royal Sovereign_, the, British ship, 40. + +Rügen, island, 52, 53, 143. + +Rumelia, 263, 267. + +Rumford, Count, 428. + +Russell, Lord John (afterwards Earl Russell), 193, 198, 207, 234, 235, 272, + 284, 356, 421, 431; + paymaster of the forces, 280, 287, 290, 294, 297, 300, 304, 321, 324, + 345, 350, 351; + home secretary, 357, 361, 362, 365, 366, 368, 369, 371, 372, 374. + +Russia, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 35, 38, 41-43, 51, 52, 62, 66, 88, 90, 92, 187, + 188, 210, 220, 225, 232, 391, 392, 402, 412; + holy alliance, 37, 168, 169, 186, 199, 229; + war of third coalition, 37, 38, 41, 42, 51; + treaty with England, 37; + treaty with Sweden, 38; + treaty of Tilsit, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 62, 78, 87, 124, 401, 402; + war with Turkey, 52, 57, 77; + secret convention at Erfurt, 59, 92; + breach with France, 79-81, 105; + armistice with Turkey, 81; + war with France, 82, 97, 100, 121-126, 132-138; + treaty with England, 85; + fleet, 90, 92; + alliance with Sweden, 54, 122, 123; + treaty of Åbo, 123; + treaty of Bucharest, 123; + treaties with England and Sweden, 123, 136; + convention of Tauroggen, 125; + convention with Prussia, 134; + treaty of Kalisch, 134; + treaty of Reichenbach, 136; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + treaty of Ried, 137; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 168, 186, 188-190, 376, 379, + 381, 388; + gains Finland, 166; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191, 377; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + congress of Laibach, 212, 213; + breach with Turkey, 213-215; + congress of Verona, 217-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference of St. Petersburg, 224; + treaty of Akherman, 260; + conference of London, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + treaty of London, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266, 267; + war with Turkey, 234, 260-267; + peace of Adrianople, 267, 268; + war with Poland, 387, 388; + assists Turkey, 393-395; + treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, 394, 395; + secret convention at Münchengrätz, 395, 396; + convention at Berlin, 396; + treaty with Turkey, 396; + influence in the east, 412-414. + +Rutlandshire, 288. + +Ryder, Dudley. See Harrowby, Earl of. + +Ryder, Richard, home secretary, 68; + retirement, 81. + + +Saale, river, 133. + +Sackett's Harbour, 139, 140. + +Sadler, Michael, M.P., 248, 316, 327. + +Sahagun, 94. + +St. Albans, 345. + +St. Amand, 158. + +_St. Antoine_, the, French ship, 8. + +St. David's, bishop of (Burgess), 430. + +St. George's Channel, American privateers in, 141. + +St. Helena, 153, 157, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170. + +St. Jean de Luz, 115, 117. + +St. Lawrence, river, 141; + fishery, 10. + +St. Lucia, 149, 167. + +St. Marcial, battle, 114. + +St. Paul's cathedral. See London. + +St. Petersburg, 121, 225, 232, 233, 261, 310, 356; + conference at, 224. + +St. Sebastian, 112-114, 391. + +St. Vincent, Earl of (Jervis), first lord of the admiralty, 1, 30, 34, 36. + +Salaberry, Colonel de, 141. + +Salamanca, 93, 94, 105-108; + battle, 107. + +Saldaña, 94. + +Salzburg, 66. + +Sambre, river, 164. + +Samos, 266, 268. + +San Domingo, 18, 49, 215. + +Sandvliet, 65. + +_Santa Ana_, the, Spanish ship, 40. + +Santander, 108, 110. + +Santarem, 102. + +Santha Martha, Miguelite general, 389. + +_Santísima Trinidad_, the, Spanish ship, 40. + +Sardinia, kingdom of, 150, 166, 167, 187. + +Sartorius, Admiral, 388. + +Sarum, Old, 421. + +Sátára, 406. + +"Satí," 410. + +Saumarez, Sir James (afterwards Baron), admiral, 8. + +Savary, French minister, 88. + +Savings-banks, 182, 437. + +Savoy, 149, 167. + +Saxony, 53, 133, 136, 138, 144, 152, 153, 166. + +Scarlett, James (afterwards Lord Abinger), 358. + +Scharnhorst, Prussian statesman, 81. + +Scheldt, the, 64-66, 71, 99, 385-387. + +Schönbrunn, treaty of, 43. + +Schwarzenberg, Austrian general, 124, 143-145. + +Scientific discoveries, 340, 427-436. + +Scotland, 193, 197, 271, 285, 289, 290, 293, 348, 360, 362, 433; + reform bill, 306; + church of, 360 n., 424. + +Scott, Sir Walter, 417, 418, 422, 423. + +Scott, Sir William (afterwards Lord Stowell), 169. + +Scylla, castle, 63. + +Sébastiani, French officer (afterwards foreign minister), 18, 20, 57, 98, + 382. + +Secretaries of state, division of departments of, 1, 2. + +Selim III., Sultan of Turkey, 7. + +Sepoys, 6, 400, 406. + +Septennial act, 374. + +Seringapatam, 397. + +Servia, 80. + +Seville, 68, 96. + +Shaftesbury, Earl of. See Ashley, Lord. + +Sháh Shujá, Amír of Afghánistán, 403. + +_Shannon_, the, British frigate, 142, 147. + +Shaw, Sir Robert, M.P., 197. + +Sheaffe, Major-general, 130, 140. + +Sheil, Richard Lalor, M.P., 237, 241, 306, 315, 344. + +Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 419. + +Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 14, 16, 29, 75, 200, 421. + +Sicilies, the Two, 9-14, 47, 166, 187, 188, 211-213; + treaty of Florence, 7; + treaty of neutrality with France, 42. + +Sicily, island and kingdom of, 47, 57, 58, 150; + army in Spain, 109, 114. + +Sidmouth, Viscount. See Addington, Henry. + +Sikhs, the, 403. + See Ranjít Singh, Sikh ruler. + +Silesia, 53, 135, 137. + +Silistria, 396. + +Simmons, Dr. Samuel Foart, 29. + +Sind, 402, 413, 414. + +Sindhia, Daulat Ráo Sindhia, 397-399, 401, 405. + +Six acts, the, 180, 229. + +Skaw, the, 3. + +Small-pox, 15; + hospital, see London. + +Smeaton, John, 434. + +Smohain, hamlet, 162. + +Smith, Adam, 415, 420. + +Smith, Sydney, 423. + +Smith, William, 428. + +Smyth, American general, 130. + +Socialists, 175. + +Society for diffusion of useful knowledge, 338. + +Society, Highland, 433. + +Society, Kildare Place, 317. + +Society of friends of the people, 279. + +Society, Water-colour, 427. + +Soissons, 145. + +Sombreffe, French general, 158. + +Somerset, Lord Robert, 162. + +Somersetshire, 175, 298. + +Sophia, Princess (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Sophia, Princess, of Gloucester (niece of George III.), 184 n. + +Souham, French general, 108. + +Soult (Duke of Dalmatia), French general, 94-96, 98, 99, 102-108, 110, + 112-119. + +South Australia. See Australia. + +Southey, Robert, 416, 420. + +Southwark. See London. + +Spa Fields, Bermondsey. See London and Riots. + +Spain, 13, 35, 39-41, 47, 58, 59, 81, 85, 123, 144, 149-151, 166, 187, 188, + 190, 200, 205, 231, 254, 259; + treaties of Aranjuez, Badajoz and Madrid, 6; + treaty of Amiens, 13; + alliance with France, 35; + Peninsular war, 59-61, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120, 423; + juntas, 68, 92, 93, 96, 97, 103, 120; + secret treaty of Fontainebleau, 87; + abdication of Charles IV., 87; + Joseph Bonaparte, king of, 59, 88, 89, 104, 122, 123; + treaties with England, 96, 150, 151; + cortes, 103, 109, 112, 210, 215; + insurrection, 210, 215-217; + loss of colonies in America, 190, 205, 215, 216, 219, 220, 222, 223, 253, + 257; + dispute with France, 215, 217-221, 256, 257, 264; + aggressions in Portugal, 254-256, 258; + triple and quadruple alliances, 389, 390; + Carlist war, 389-391. + +Speculation, 205, 206. + +Speenhamland, 341. + +Spenceans, the, 175. + +Spencer, second Earl, 14, 25, 34, 230, 349; + home secretary, 45, 49; + resignation, 50. + +Spencer, General, 90, 103. + +Spitalfields. See London. + +Spithead, 39. + +Stafford, Marquis of, afterwards Duke of Sutherland (Gower), 66. + +_Standard_, the, newspaper, 250. + +Stanley, Edward Geoffrey Smith- (afterwards Lord Stanley, later fourteenth + Earl of Derby), 277, 347, 352, 354, 360, 374; + chief secretary for Ireland, 280, 281, 294, 313, 315-317, 321; + secretary for war and colonies, 322, 323, 325-327, 334; + resignation, 345, 346. + +Steamboats, 427, 428, 434. + +Stephenson, George, 275, 276, 427, 434, 435. + +Stewart, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord Stewart, later third Marquis of + Londonderry), 146, 212, 228, 296, 356. + +Stewart, Dugald, 421. + +Stockholm, treaty of, 136. + +Stockton on Tees, 435. + +Strachan, Sir Richard, admiral, 64. + +Stralsund, 43. + +Strand Bridge. See London. + +Strangford, Viscount (Smythe), 214-216. + +Strassburg, 41. + +Strikes, 178, 204. + +Stroud, 359. + +Stuart, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord Stuart de Rothesay), 218. + +Stuart, Sir John, 47. + +Sturt, Charles, 439. + +Subsérra, Count of, 222. + +Suchet, Marshal, 100, 107, 109, 112, 114, 115, 118, 119. + +Suez, 413; + canal, 413. + +Suffolk, 175 n. + +Sugden, Sir Edward (afterwards Lord St. Leonards), 283. + +Sumatra, 81. + +Sumner, John B., bishop of Chester, 341. + +Sunderland, 309, 310. + +Surrey, 281. + +Sussex, 281. + +Sussex (Augustus), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185. + +Sutlej, river, 403. + +Sutton, Charles Manners- (afterwards Sir C. Manners-Sutton, later Viscount + Canterbury), speaker, 251, 304, 354. + +Sweden, 43, 51-54, 58, 59, 78, 80, 105, 151, 166, 190; + third coalition, 37, 38; + treaties with Russia and England, 38, 123, 136; + declares war on England, 78; + ally of Russia, 122, 123, 133, 136; + treaty of Åbo, 123; + treaty of Stockholm, 136; + war with France, 136, 137; + treaty of Kiel, 142, 143, 189; + acquires Norway (convention of Moss), 150. + +Swift, Jonathan, 422. + +Switzerland (Helvetian republic), 9, 38, 79, 138, 143, 166, 387; + civil war, 17; + invasion of, 17, 20; + revolts, 133. + +Sydney, 439. + +Syria, 18, 393, 394, 396, 413. + + +Tagus, the, 89, 90, 92, 96, 98, 99, 102, 104-106, 221, 388. + +Talavera, 93; + battle, 98, 99, 101. + +Talleyrand, French statesman, 10, 19, 21, 22, 34, 46, 78, 151, 152, 156, + 379, 382, 387. + +"Tamworth manifesto," the, 332, 354, 371. + +Tarái, the, 405. + +Tarbes, 118. + +Tarragona, 112, 114. + +Tasmania. See Van Diemen's Land. + +Tauroggen, convention of, 125. + +Taylor, Sir Herbert, 286. + +Telford, Thomas, 275, 434. + +Temporalities, Irish Church, act, 321-325. + +Tenasserim, 408, 409. + +_Tenedos_, the, British frigate, 142. + +Tennyson, Alfred (afterwards Lord), 419. + +Tennyson, Charles (afterwards Tennyson D'Eyncourt), M.P., 235, 374. + +Teplitz, treaty of, 137; + conference at, 396. + +Terceira, island, 259. + +Terneuze, 65. + +Test act, 229, 234, 235, 242. + +Thagí, 411. + +Thames, the, 435. + +Thames, river (Canada), 139. + +Thermopylæ, 268. + +Thiers, French statesman, 390, 391. + +Thistlewood, Arthur, 192, 193. + +Thompson, Charles Poulett (afterwards Lord Sydenham), president of the + board of trade, 346, 357. + +Ticino, river, 149, 166. + +Tierney, George, 26, 28, 86; + master of the mint, 228-230. + +Tigris, the, 413. + +Tihran, 402, 412. + +Tilsit, treaty of, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 62, 78, 87, 124, 401, 402. + +_Times_, the, newspaper, 343, 348, 351, 422. + +Timur, 310. + +Tipú, 397, 400. + +Tithe, agitation against (Ireland), 313-316, 320. + +Tithe commutation act, 355, 365, 366. + +Tithe commutation bills (Ireland), 347, 348, 365, 372. + +Tobago, 9, 11, 149, 167. + +Tooke, Horne, 3, 421; + act, 3. + +Tormes, river, 107. + +Toronto, 139. + +Torres Vedras, 90, 91, 100-102, 115. + +Tortosa, 112. + +Toulon, 39. + +Toulouse, battle, 109, 118, 119. + +Tower of London. See London. + +Tractarians. See Oxford movement. + +_Tracts for the Times_, 339. + +Trades Unions, 204. + +Trafalgar, battle, 40, 41. + +Traz-os-Montes, province, 255, 257. + +Trekroner, the, battery, 4, 5. + +Trianon tariff, the, 79. + +Trieste, 62, 66, 142. + +Trinidad, 9, 151, 167. + +Triple alliance, 389. + +Tripoli, 394; + Bey of, 187, 188. + +Tripolitza, 225. + +Trondhjem, diocese of, 136. + +Troppau, congress of, 211-214, 395, 396. + +Trotter, paymaster, 36. + +Tudela, battle, 92, 93. + +_Tugendbund_, the, 62. + +Tuileries, the. See Paris. + +Tunis, Dey of, 187, 188. + +Turin, 213. + +Turkey, 7, 57-59, 122, 188, 269, 387; + treaty of Amiens, 13; + treaty with France, 14; + war with Russia, 52, 57, 77; + armistice, 81; + treaty of Bucharest, 123; + Greek revolt, 213, 214, 216, 217, 223-225, 232-234, 259-267, 392; + rupture with Russia, 214, 217, 225; + war with Russia, 234, 260-267; + treaty of Akherman, 260; + peace of Adrianople, 267, 268; + treaty and protocol of London, 267; + Egyptian revolt, 393, 394; + assisted by Russia, 393-396; + treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, 394, 395; + treaty of Kiutayeh, 394; + Austrian mediation, 395, 396; + treaty with Russia, 396; + Asiatic Turkey, 310. + +Turner, J. M. W., 427. + +Tuscany, treaty with Austria, 187. + +Tyrol, the, 66, 134. + + +Ucles, 96. + +Ulm, 42. + +Ulster, 270. + +Union, act of, 237, 239, 240, 248; + movement for repeal, 252, 275, 313, 314, 316, 344. + +United States, 56, 58, 83, 131, 157, 190, 216, 223, 257, 312, 337, 438; + sale to them of Louisiana, 18; + war with England, 82, 85, 126-132, 138, 146, 147; + non-intercourse act, 83, 128; + treaty of Ghent, 147, 156, 203; + buys Florida, 215; + treaty with England, 225. + +_United States_, the, American ship, 132. + +Universities, 247, 306, 308, 430;-- + Cambridge, 419, 428-432. + Dublin, 274. + Durham, 432. + Edinburgh, 358. + Glasgow, 371. + London, 250, 356, 431, 432; + King's College, 250, 431; + University College, 431, 432. + Oxford, 148, 245, 337, 351, 421, 422, 428, 432; + Balliol College, 429; + New College, 429; + Oriel College, 337, 338, 421, 429; + St. Alban Hall, 421. + +Unkiar Skelessi, treaty of, 394, 395. + +Urfa, 396. + +Uruguay (Banda Oriental), 190. + +Utrecht, treaty of, 389. + +Uxbridge, Earl of. See Paget, Lord. + + +Valencia, 88, 107, 109, 110, 112. + +Valladolid, 93, 108, 109. + +Vallais, republic of, 79. + +Vancouver, Captain, 436. + +Vandamme, French general, 137. + +Vandeleur, Sir John Ormesby, 164. + +Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), 439. + +Vansittart, Nicholas (afterwards Lord Bexley), 68, 73; + envoy at Copenhagen, 3, 4; + chancellor of the exchequer, 81, 82, 86, 173-174, 183, 193, 198; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 202, 227. + +Vellore, 400, 410. + +Venaissin, 149. + +Vendée, La, 155. + +Venetia, 42, 134, 149, 166, 187. + +Verdier, General, 88. + +Verona, congress of, 199, 216-219, 222, 223, 392. + +Victor, Marshal, 96, 98, 102. + +Victor Emmanuel I., King of Sardinia, 38, 213, 216. + +Victoria. See Australia. + +Victoria, Princess (afterwards Queen), 70, 185, 274, 281, 375. + +_Victory_, the, British ship, 40. + +Vienna, 42, 63, 80, 134, 189, 191, 254, 259; + peace of, 64, 66; + congress of, 149, 151-153, 156, 166; + secret treaty, 153; + treaty of, 166, 168, 186-188, 190, 379-381, 388; + final act, 189; + conference at, 216, 217; + proposed conference, 396. + +Vigo, 39, 95. + +Villafranca, 93, 95. + +Villa Real, 389. + +Villèle, French statesman, 215, 217-219. + +Villeneuve, French admiral, 39-41. + +Vimeiro, battle, 91. + +Vincennes, castle, 34. + +Vincent, Colonel, 140. + +Vistula, the, 123, 133. + +Vitoria, battle, 109-112, 114, 136. + +Vivian, Sir Richard H. (afterwards Lord), 164. + +Volga, the, 310. + +Volhynia, 122. + +Volo, gulf of, 266, 392. + +Volunteer consolidation bill, 30. + +Vonitza, 266. + + +Wade, General, 434. + +Wadsworth, American general, 130. + +Wagram, battle, 63, 100. + +Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 440. + +Walcheren expedition, the, 62-67, 71, 72, 74, 99, 199. + +Wales, 289, 291, 305, 434; + amalgamation of English and Welsh benches, 271. + +Wales, Caroline, Princess of. See Caroline, queen of George IV. + +Wales (George), Prince of. See George IV. + +Walker, George T. (afterwards Sir G. T.), 106. + +Wallachia, 57, 59, 213-215, 260, 263, 267, 395, 396. + +Walmoden, Hanoverian general, 137. + +Walpole, Sir Robert (afterwards Earl of Orford), 205-208. + +Walpole, Lord (afterwards Earl of Orford), 134. + +Ward, Henry, M.P., 345, 346. + +Ward, John William (afterwards Viscount, later Earl of Dudley), 197, 431; + foreign secretary, 227, 231, 260; + resignation, 236, 263, 380. + +Wardle, Colonel, M.P., 60, 61, 72. + +Warsaw, 55, 381, 387, 388; + duchy of, 53, 66, 79, 124, 152, 153, 166. + +Wartburg festival, 188. + +Washington, 130, 146. + +_Wasp_, the, American sloop, 132. + +Waterford, 237, 242, 250. + +Waterloo, battle, 44, 147, 160-166, 230, 415. + +Waterloo Bridge. See London. + +Watsons, the, father and son, 175, 192. + +Watt, James, 435. + +Wavre, 159-161, 164. + +_Weekly Political Register_, the. See Cobbett. + +Wellesley, Sir Arthur (afterwards Duke of Wellington), 61, 151, 152, 156, + 167, 168, 174, 189, 195, 199, 201, 208, 209, 216-219, 226, 227-229, + 259, 280, 282, 285, 286, 293, 302-304, 309, 319, 324, 334, 343, 347, + 350, 361, 362, 371, 372, 392, 397, 431; + chief secretary for Ireland, 50; + bombardment of Copenhagen, 54; + Peninsular war, 60, 71, 76, 90-120, 200; + viscount, 71, 99; + Vimeiro, 91; + commander-in-chief in the Peninsula, 96, 97; + Talavera, 98, 99; + Bussaco, 101; + lines of Torres Vedras, 101, 102; + Fuentes d'Oñoro, 103; + earl, 105; + sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, 105, 106; + Salamanca, 107; + marquis, 108; + Vitoria, 110, 111, 136; + the Pyrenees, 113; + siege of St. Sebastian, 113, 114; + Bayonne, 115-117; + Toulouse, 118, 119; + duke, 151; + Waterloo campaign, 156-165; + Waterloo, 160-165; + master-general of the ordnance, 178, 194; + first lord of the treasury, 230-232, 234, 236, 243-246, 248-252, 260-263, + 265-269, 271, 272, 276-278, 376, 377, 379, 380, 388; + duel with Winchilsea, 250, 251; + provisional administration, 351; + foreign secretary, 352, 356, 390; + Indian campaign, 398-400; + Assaye and Argáum, 399. + +Wellesley, Sir Henry (afterwards Lord Cowley), 150. + +Wellesley, Richard, marquis, 54, 67, 76, 96, 109, 174, 230, 278, 280, 325; + foreign secretary, 68, 76; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 199, 241, 344, 346; + governor-general of Bengal, 397-400, 402-405, 407, 408. + +Wellington, Duke of. See Wellesley, Sir Arthur. + +Wesel, 138. + +Wesley, John, 337. + +Westbury, 245. + +West Australia. See Australia. + +Westminster abbey and hall. See London. + +Westmorland, Earl of (Fane), lord privy seal, 1, 50, 82; + resignation, 237. + +Westphalia, 53, 153; + troops, 158. + +Wetherell, Sir Charles, 248, 297. + +Weymouth, 289, 305, 326. + +Wharncliffe, Lord (Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie), 291, 292, 299, 301, 302; + lord privy seal, 352. + +Whately, Dr., archbishop of Dublin, 317, 421, 422. + +Whitbread, Samuel, M.P., 36, 49, 51, 156, 157, 182, 199. + +Whiteboys, 320. + +White Conduit House. See London. + +Whitefeet, 320. + +Whitelocke, General, 56, 57. + +Whitworth, Lord (afterwards Earl), ambassador extraordinary to France, 19; + negotiates with French government, 20-22, 46. + +Wilberforce, William, M.P., 15, 48, 195. + +Wild, Jonathan, 181. + +Wilkes, John, 72, 374, 422. + +Wilkie, Sir David, 427. + +Wilkinson, American general, 141, 146. + +William, Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.), 208, 249; + marriage, 184, 185; + lord high admiral, 227; + resignation, 243; + king, 273, 274, 277, 278, 281-283, 286, 287, 289-294, 296, 297, 299, + 301-305, 337, 347-352, 354, 356, 357, 363, 368, 371; + coronation, 295, 301, 309; + death, 375. + +William, Prince of Orange, 9-13. + +William Frederick, Prince of Orange (afterwards William I., King of the + Netherlands), 138, 158, 267, 378, 381, 385. + +William, Prince of Orange (afterwards William II., King of the + Netherlands), 159, 384. + +Wilson, Sir Robert, 125. + +Wiltshire, 281. + +Winchester, school, 429. + +Winchilsea, Earl of (Finch-Hatton), 250, 251. + +Winder, American general, 146. + +Windham, William, 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 31, 34, 47, 51; + secretary for war and colonies, 45. + +Windsor Castle, 70, 375. + +_Windsor Castle_, the, British ship, 221. + +Wittgenstein, Russian general, 125, 143, 145. + +Worcester, bishop of (Carr), 299. + +Wordsworth, William, 416. + +Würtemburg, 42, 187, 189. + +Wynn, Charles Williams, president of the board of control, 199, 227. + + +Yanzi, gorge, 113. + +Yarmouth, Viscount (Ingram-Seymour-Conway), afterwards third Marquis of + Hertford, 46. + +Yeo, Sir James, captain, 140. + +Yorck, Count, 125, 133. + +York, 83. + +York (Toronto), 139, 140, 146. + +York (Frederick), Duke of (son of George III.), 49, 60, 61, 72, 74-76, + 184 n., 185, 197, 207, 208, 239, 242, 268. + +Yorke, Charles Philip, home secretary, 27, 34; + first lord of the admiralty, 72, 82; + retirement, 81. + +Yorkshire, 38, 180, 198, 274, 280, 288, 294, 432, 435. + + +Zadorra, river, 110. + +Zaragoza, 88, 96. + +Zemán Sháh, King of Afghánistán, 397. + +Znaim, 64. + +Zumalacarregui, Carlist general, 390, 391. + + + PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT + THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, ABERDEEN + +[Illustration: GREAT BRITAIN +showing +PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION +according to the +REFORM ACT OF 1832.] + +[Illustration: MAP OF +SPAIN AND PORTUGAL +illustrating +THE PENINSULAR WAR.] + +[Illustration: INDIA] + ++-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +| TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES | +| | +| General: Changes to punctuation have not been individually documented. | +| | +| Page 11: reopen standardised to re-open | +| | +| Page 13: Shortlived standardised to Short-lived | +| | +| Pages 42, 187, 189, 466, 486, footnote 66: Spelling of Würtemberg, | +| Würtemburg as in original | +| | +| Pages 47, 296: short-sighted standardised to shortsighted | +| | +| Page 60: heartbreaking standardised to heart-breaking | +| | +| Page 66: Lord Granville Leveson Gower standardised to Leveson-Gower | +| (note that Francis Leveson Gower never has a hyphen in the original | +| version so that is maintained here) | +| | +| Page 85: non-conformists standardised to nonconformists | +| | +| Page 94: shortlived standardised to short-lived | +| | +| Pages 108, 113: rearguard standardised to rear-guard | +| | +| Page 109, 363: Spelling of make-shift, makeshift not standardised as | +| usage differs. | +| | +| Page 127: flag-ship standardised to flagship | +| | +| Page 176: lifelong standardised to life-long | +| | +| Page 182: it corrected to its after "measure of relief owes" | +| | +| Page 183: bank-notes standardised to banknotes | +| | +| Page 201: But replaced by but at start of page as it is a continuation | +| of the sentence from the previous page. | +| | +| Page 252: wofully as in original | +| | +| Pages 260, 481, 484: Spelling of Akkerman, Akherman as in original | +| | +| Page 274: deathblow standardised to death-blow | +| | +| Pages 289, 361 and 374: Spelling of rate-paying and ratepaying not | +| standardised as it is used in two different contexts | +| | +| Page 298: ring-leaders standardised to ringleaders | +| | +| Page 316: tithe proctor standardised to tithe-proctor | +| beneficies as in original | +| | +| Page 335: house-holders standardised to householders | +| | +| Page 341: outdoor standardised to out-door | +| | +| Page 345: tithe proctors standardised to tithe-proctors | +| | +| Page 349: re-assembled standardised to reassembled | +| | +| Page 362: over-ride standardised to override | +| | +| Pages 393, 403, 475: Spelling of Mahmud and Mahmúd not standardised as | +| it is used in two different contexts | +| | +| Page 394: MUNCHENGRATZ standardised to MÜNCHENGRÄTZ | +| | +| Pages 407, 416, 462: Spelling of Khan and Khán not standardised as it | +| is used in two different contexts | +| | +| Pages 427, 465: Spelling of Callcott, Calcott as in original | +| | +| Page 443: Italicisation of "Constitutional History of England from 1760 | +| to 1860" corrected | +| | +| Page 461: Aetolia standardised to Ætolia | +| Aegean standardised to Ægean | +| | +| Page 463: In entry Beauharnais, Eugene standardised to Eugène | +| | +| Page 464: Bridgewater standardised to Bridgwater | +| | +| Page 475: Malhar standardised to Malhár | +| In entry Louis Antoine, Angouléme standardised to Angoulême | +| In entry Louis Philippe, Orleans standardised to Orléans | +| | +| Page 479: Pressgang standardised to Press-gang | +| | +| Page 483: ) added to entry for Stewart, Sir Charles, after Londonderry | +| ) added to entry for Switzerland, after republic | +| Thermopylae standardised to Thermopylæ | +| | +| Page 484: Volgo standardised to Volga | +| | +| Page 486: Ingram-Seymour Conway corrected to Ingram-Seymour-Conway | ++-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Political History of England - Vol +XI, by George Brodrick and J.K. 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George C. Brodrick. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-collapse: collapse;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + text-indent:0em; + } /* page numbers */ + + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:50%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanzasmall {margin: 1em 0em 1em -6em;} + .poem .stanzalarge {margin: 1em 0em 1em -10em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + .hangindent {padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;} + .gap2 {margin-top: 2em;} + .gap4 {margin-top: 4em;} + .ralign {text-align: right; padding-right: 0.5em;} + li {margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom:0; + line-height: 1.2em; /* a bit closer than p's */ + } + ol.ru { list-style-type: upper-roman; } + .bottom {border-bottom: 1px solid gray;} + .xbottom {border-bottom: 1px solid white;} + .right {border-right: 1px solid gray;} + .top {border-top: 1px solid gray;} + .indnewlet {margin-top: 2em; text-align: left; margin-bottom:0em; padding-left:4em; + text-indent:-4em;} + .indmain {margin-top: 1em; text-align: left; margin-bottom:0em; padding-left:4em; + text-indent:-4em;} + .indsub {margin-top: 0em; text-align: left; margin-bottom:0em; padding-left:4em; + text-indent:-4em; margin-left:2em;} + .indsub2 {margin-top: 0em; text-align: left; margin-bottom:0em; padding-left:4em; + text-indent:-4em; margin-left:4em;} + .txnotes {border: solid 1px;} + + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Political History of England - Vol XI, by +George Brodrick and J.K. Fotherington + +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: The Political History of England - Vol XI + From Addington's Administration to the close of William + IV.'s Reign (1801-1837) + +Author: George Brodrick + J.K. Fotherington + +Release Date: September 30, 2008 [EBook #26727] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Murray, Brownfox and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h3><i>THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND</i></h3> + + +<p><i>Seventy-five years have passed since Lingard completed his</i> <span class="smcap">History of +England</span>, <i>which ends with the Revolution of 1688. During that period +historical study has made a great advance. Year after year the mass of +materials for a new History of England has increased; new lights have been +thrown on events and characters, and old errors have been corrected. Many +notable works have been written on various periods of our history; some of +them at such length as to appeal almost exclusively to professed +historical students. It is believed that the time has come when the +advance which has been made in the knowledge of English history as a whole +should be laid before the public in a single work of fairly adequate size. +Such a book should be founded on independent thought and research, but +should at the same time be written with a full knowledge of the works of +the best modern historians and with a desire to take advantage of their +teaching wherever it appears sound.</i></p> + +<p><i>The vast number of authorities, printed and in manuscript, on which a +History of England should be based, if it is to represent the existing +state of knowledge, renders co-operation almost necessary and certainly +advisable. The History, of which this volume is an instalment, is an +attempt to set forth in a readable form the results at present attained by +research. It will consist of twelve volumes by twelve different writers, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span>each of them chosen as being specially capable of dealing with the period +which he undertakes, and the editors, while leaving to each author as free +a hand as possible, hope to insure a general similarity in method of +treatment, so that the twelve volumes may in their contents, as well as in +their outward appearance, form one History.</i></p> + +<p><i>As its title imports, this History will primarily deal with politics, +with the History of England and, after the date of the union with +Scotland, Great Britain, as a state or body politic; but as the life of a +nation is complex, and its condition at any given time cannot be +understood without taking into account the various forces acting upon it, +notices of religious matters and of intellectual, social, and economic +progress will also find place in these volumes. The footnotes will, so far +as is possible, be confined to references to authorities, and references +will not be appended to statements which appear to be matters of common +knowledge and do not call for support. Each volume will have an Appendix +giving some account of the chief authorities, original and secondary, +which the author has used. This account will be compiled with a view of +helping students rather than of making long lists of books without any +notes as to their contents or value. That the History will have faults +both of its own and such as will always in some measure attend +co-operative work, must be expected, but no pains have been spared to make +it, so far as may be, not wholly unworthy of the greatness of its +subject.</i></p> + +<p><i>Each volume, while forming part of a complete History, will also in +itself be a separate and complete book, will be sold separately, and will +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span>have its own index, and two or more maps.</i></p> + +<p class="center">The History is divided as follows:—</p> + +<div class="hangindent gap2"><p>Vol. I. <span class="smcap">From the Earliest Times to the Norman Conquest</span> (to 1066). +By Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L., Litt.D., Fellow of University College, +London; Fellow of the British Academy. With 2 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. II. <span class="smcap">From the Norman Conquest to the Death of John</span> (1066-1216). +By George Burton Adams, D.D., Litt.D., Professor of History in Yale +University. With 2 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. III. <span class="smcap">From the Accession of Henry III. to the Death of Edward +III.</span> (1216-1377). By T. F. Tout, M.A., Bishop Fraser Professor of +Mediæval and Ecclesiastical History in the University of +Manchester; formerly Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. With 3 +Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. IV. <span class="smcap">From the Accession of Richard II. to the Death of Richard +III.</span> (1377-1485). By C. W. C. Oman, M.A., LL.D., M.P., Chichele +Professor of Modern History in the University of Oxford; Fellow of +the British Academy. With 3 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. V. <span class="smcap">From the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of Henry VIII.</span> +(1485-1547). By the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, M.A., M.P., +President of the Board of Education; Fellow of the British Academy. +With 2 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. VI. <span class="smcap">From the Accession of Edward VI. to the Death of Elizabeth</span> +(1547-1603). By A. F. Pollard, M.A., Litt.D., Fellow of All Souls' +College, Oxford, and Professor of English History in the University +of London. With 2 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. VII. <span class="smcap">From the Accession of James I. to the Restoration</span> +(1603-1660). By F. C. Montague, M.A., Astor Professor of History in +University College, London; formerly Fellow of Oriel College, +Oxford. With 3 Maps.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p> + +<p>Vol. VIII. <span class="smcap">From the Restoration to the Death of William III.</span> +(1660-1702). By Sir Richard Lodge, M.A., LL.D., Litt.D., Professor +of History in the University of Edinburgh; formerly Fellow of +Brasenose College, Oxford. With 2 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. IX. <span class="smcap">From the Accession of Anne to the Death of George II.</span> +(1702-1760). By I. S. Leadam, M.A., formerly Fellow of Brasenose +College, Oxford. With 8 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. X. <span class="smcap">From the Accession of George III. to the Close of Pitt's +First Administration</span> (1760-1801). By the Rev. William Hunt, M.A., +D.Litt., Trinity College, Oxford. With 3 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. XI. <span class="smcap">From Addington's Administration to the Close of William +IV.'s Reign</span> (1801-1837). By the Hon. George C. Brodrick, D.C.L., +late Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and J. K. Fotheringham, +M.A., D.Litt., Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford; Lecturer in +Ancient History at King's College, London. With 3 Maps.</p> + +<p>Vol. XII. <span class="smcap">The Reign of Queen Victoria</span> (1837-1901). By Sir Sidney +Low, M.A., Fellow of King's College, London; formerly Scholar of +Balliol College, Oxford, and Lloyd C. Sanders, B.A. With 3 Maps. </p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h1 class="gap4">The Political History of England</h1> + +<p class="center">IN TWELVE VOLUMES</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Edited by</span> WILLIAM HUNT, <span class="smcap">D.Litt., and</span> +REGINALD L. POOLE, M.A.</p> + + + + +<h3 class="gap4">XI.</h3> + +<h2 class="gap2">THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND</h2> + +<h4>FROM ADDINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION TO</h4> + +<h4>THE CLOSE OF WILLIAM IV.'S REIGN</h4> + +<h4>1801-1837</h4> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p> + + + +<h4 class="gap4">BY THE</h4> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Hon.</span> GEORGE C. BRODRICK, D.C.L.</h2> + +<h4>LATE WARDEN OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD</h4> + +<h4>COMPLETED AND REVISED BY</h4> + +<h2>J. K. FOTHERINGHAM, M.A., <span class="smcap">D.Litt.</span></h2> + +<h4>FELLOW OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD; LECTURER IN +ANCIENT HISTORY AT KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON</h4> + + +<p class="center gap4"><i>NEW IMPRESSION</i></p> + + +<p class="center gap2">LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.</p> + +<p class="center">39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON</p> + +<p class="center" style="font-size:smaller;">FOURTH AVENUE & 30<span class="smcap">th</span> STREET, NEW YORK</p> + +<p class="center" style="font-size:smaller;">BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS</p> + +<p class="center">1919</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p> + + + +<p class="center gap4"><i>NOTE.</i></p> + + +<p><i>When the late Warden of Merton undertook the preparation of this volume +he invited the assistance of Dr. Fotheringham in the portions dealing with +foreign affairs. At the time of the late Warden's death in 1903 three +chapters (x., xii. and xviii.) were unwritten, and one (xx.) was left +incomplete. It was also found that the volume had to be recast in order to +meet the plan of the series. The necessary alterations and additions have +been made by Dr. Fotheringham, who has been scrupulous in retaining the +expression of the late Warden's views, and, where possible, his words.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Addington.</span></p> +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter I."> + <tr> + <th style="width:25%"></th> + <th style="width:65%"></th> + <th style="text-align:right; font-size:smaller; width:10%">PAGE</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Mar., 1801.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_1">The new ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_2">Condition of Ireland</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_3">Expedition to Copenhagend</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_4">Egypt evacuated by the French</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_5">French diplomatic successes</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_6">Bonaparte's concordat with the pope</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_7">Peace negotiations with France</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_8">Cornwallis at Amiens</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">25 Mar., 1802.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_9">The treaty of Amiens</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_10">Parliamentary criticism of the treaty</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_11">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Nov.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_12">Colonel Despard's conspiracy</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_13">Further aggressions of Napoleon</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_14">His colonial policy</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_15">Negotiations between Whitworth and the French government</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">18 May, 1803.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_16">Renewal of the war with France</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Return of Pitt.</span></p> +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter II."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">23 July, 1803.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_17">Emmet's rebellion</a></td> + <td style="width:10%" class="ralign"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_18">Pitt's discontent with the ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_19">Ministerial changes</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Jan., 1804.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_20">The king's illness</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_21">Addington's resignation</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_22">The exclusion of Fox</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">18 May.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_23">Napoleon declared emperor</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_24">Pitt's ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_25">The impeachment of Melville</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_26">The third coalition</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_27">Nelson's pursuit of Villeneuve</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">21 Oct., 1805.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_28">The battle of Trafalgar</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_29">Napoleon marches into Germany</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Dec.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_30">Austerlitz: the peace of Pressburg</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_31">Collapse of the coalition</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span>23 Jan., 1806.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_32">Death of Pitt</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Grenville and Portland.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter III."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">Feb., 1806.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_33">Formation of the Grenville ministry</a></td> + <td style="width:10%" class="ralign"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">13 Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_34">Death of Fox</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">14 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_35">Jena and Auerstädt</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_36">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">25 Mar., 1807.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_37">Abolition of the slave trade</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_38">Fall of the whig government</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_39">The Portland administration</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_40">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">7 July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_41">The treaty of Tilsit</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_42">Seizure of the Danish fleet</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_43">The "continental system" and orders in council</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_44">Fruitless expeditions</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">12 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_45">Conference of Erfurt</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_46">Army scandals</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_47">The Wagram campaign</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July, 1809.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_48">The Walcheren expedition</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">21 Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_49">Duel between Canning and Castlereagh</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_50">Perceval's administration</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_51">Capture of the Ionian Isles and Bourbon</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">25.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_52">Jubilee of George III.</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Perceval and Liverpool.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter IV."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">Jan., 1810.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_53">Debates on the Walcheren expedition</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_54">The arrest of Burdett</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_55">Appointment of the "Bullion committee"</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_56">The king's insanity: regency bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">11 May, 1812.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_57">Assassination of Perceval</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1809-11.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_58">Social reforms in his ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July, 1810.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_59">Deposition of Louis Bonaparte</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_60">Opposition in Europe to the continental system</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_61">Alliances formed by Russia and France</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_62">Conquest of Java and Sumatra</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">June, 1812.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_63">The formation of Liverpool's cabinet</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1811-12.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_64">Distress in town and country</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Oct., 1812.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_65">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1813.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_66">Confirmation of the East India Company's charter</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Peninsular War.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter V."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1807, 1808.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_67">The origin of the war</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_68">Charles IV. and Ferdinand VII. seek the protection of Napoleon</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1808.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_69">Napoleon's plans for the conquest of Spain</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span>24 July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_70">Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed King of Spain</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">13 Aug.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_71">Landing of Wellesley</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">21.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_72">Battle of Vimeiro</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Oct., 1808.-Jan., 1809.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_73">Expedition of Sir John Moore</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">16 Jan.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_74">Battle of Coruña</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_75">Wellesley returns to Portugal</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">27 July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_76">Battle of Talavera</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Sept., 1810.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_77">Bussaco: the lines of Torres Vedras</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_78">Struggle for the frontier fortresses</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">16 May, 1811.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_79">Battle of Albuera</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Jan.-April, 1812.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_80">Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">22 July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_81">Battle of Salamanca</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1812, 1813.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_82">Wellington reorganises the Spanish and Portuguese armies</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">21 June, 1813.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_83">Battle of Vitoria</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_84">Battle of the Pyrenees</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_85">Siege of St. Sebastian</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">8 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_86">Wellington crosses the Bidassoa</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_87">Battles round Bayonne</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Feb., 1814.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_88">The investment of Bayonne</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">10 April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_89">Battle of Toulouse</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Downfall of Napoleon.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter VI."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1812.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_90">French treaties with Prussia and Austria</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_91">Alliances made by Russia</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_92">Napoleon's advance into Russia</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_93">His retreat</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_94">War between England and the United States</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_95">Attacks on Canada</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_96">American successes at sea</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Feb., 1813.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_97">Treaty of Kalisch</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_98">Austrian diplomacy</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">2, 21 May.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_99">Lützen and Bautzen</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Aug., Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_100">Dresden and Leipzig</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_101">France loses Saxony, Holland, and Switzerland</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_102">American war continued</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1 June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_103">Duel of the <i>Shannon</i> and <i>Chesapeake</i></a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Jan.-Mar., 1814.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_104">Campaign in France</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_105">Napoleon deposed: Louis XVIII. recalled</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">24 Dec.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_106">Treaty of Ghent</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_107">Visit of Alexander and Frederick William to England</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Vienna and Waterloo.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter VII."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">30 May, 1814.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_108">The first treaty of Paris</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_109">English blockade of Norwegian ports</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_110">Union of Sweden and Norway</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_111">Restoration of Ferdinand VII. and Pius VII.</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_112">Attempts to abolish the slave trade</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Sept., 1814-June, 1815.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_113">Congress of Vienna</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">3 Jan., 1815.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_114">Secret treaty between England, France, and Austria</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1 March.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_115">Napoleon's return from Elba</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_116">Flight of Louis XVIII.: the <i>Acte Additionnel</i></a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_117">Plans of the allies</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_118">Defeat and death of Murat</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_119">Wellington at Brussels: his army</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">16.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_120">Ligny and Quatre Bras</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_159">159</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">18.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_121">Waterloo</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_122">Paris occupied by the allies</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">22 June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_123">Second abdication of Napoleon</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_124">His surrender to England</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_125">Restoration of Louis XVIII.: treaty of Vienna</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_126">Resettlement of Europe</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">20 Nov.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_127">Second treaty of Paris: English gains</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">26 Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_128">The Holy Alliance</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_129">Napoleon at St. Helena</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The First Years of Peace.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter VIII."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1816.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_130">Depression and discontent</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_131">Vansittart's financial policy</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_132">Union of British and Irish exchequers</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">2 Dec., 1816.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_133">Spa Fields riot</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_134">Prosecution of Hone</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1818.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_135">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">16 Aug., 1819.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_136">The "Manchester massacre"</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Dec.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_137">The six acts</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1817, 1819.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_138">Institution of savings banks: currency reform</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">6 Nov., 1817.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_139">Death of Princess Charlotte</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1818.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_140">Royal marriages</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">29 Jan., 1820.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_141">Death of George III.</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_142">Royalist reaction in Europe</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1816.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_143">Expedition against the Barbary states</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1819.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_144">Murder of Kotzebue</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">30 Sept., 1818.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_145">Conference of Aix-la-Chapelle</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_146">Spain asks for assistance from the allies</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_147">The European alliance</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Last Years of Lord Liverpool.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter IX."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1820.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_148">The Cato Street conspiracy</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_149">Dissolution of parliament</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_150">The "queen's trial"</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">7 Aug., 1821.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_151">Her death</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1822.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_152">Changes in the cabinet</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span>12 Aug.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_153">Death of Castlereagh</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_154">Canning foreign secretary</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Jan.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_155">Peel home secretary</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1823.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_156">Reform of the navigation laws</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_157">Agricultural discontent</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1825.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_158">Speculative frenzy and financial panic</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1823-26.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_159">Robinson's finance</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_160">General election of 1826</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_161">Close of Liverpool's ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Problems in Southern Europe.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter X."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1820.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_162">Revolution in Spain: policy of non-intervention</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July, Aug.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_163">Revolutions in the Two Sicilies and Portugal</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">20 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_164">Congress of Troppau</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Jan., 1821.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_165">Congress of Laibach</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Mar., April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_166">Revolution in Piedmont: Austrian intervention</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_167">Insurrections in the Morea and Central Greece</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Aug.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_168">"Sanitary cordon"</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_169">Ultra-royalist parties in France and Spain</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_170">Loss of Spanish colonies in America</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1822.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_171">Conference at Vienna</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">20 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_172">Congress of Verona</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_173">Offer of mediation declined</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_218">218</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">7 April, 1823.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_174">War between France and Spain</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">12 Oct., 1822.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_175">Independence of Brazil</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">July, 1825.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_176">Conference at London</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">2 Dec., 1823.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_177">The Monroe doctrine</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1824-25.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_178">Conference at St. Petersburg</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1 Dec., 1825.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_179">Death of the Tsar Alexander I.</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Tory Dissension and Catholic Relief.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XI."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">April, 1827.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_180">Formation of Canning's ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_181">Additions to the ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">8 Aug.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_182">Death of Canning</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_183">Goderich's cabinet</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_184">Dissensions: resignation of Goderich</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_230">230</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">9 Jan., 1828.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_185">Wellington accepts office</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_230">230</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_186">The Eastern question</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">20 Oct., 1827.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_187">Navarino</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_233">233</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1828.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_188">Repeal of the test and corporation acts</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">May, June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_189">Changes in the ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">June, July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_190">The Clare election</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1821.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_191">Measures for catholic relief</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1825.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_192">Further measures</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_193">George IV.'s opposition to catholic relief</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span>1829.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_194">Wellington and Peel adopt catholic relief</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Mar., April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_195">Debates on the bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">13 April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_196">The royal assent</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">21 Mar.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_197">Duel between Wellington and Winchilsea</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_198">Exclusion of O'Connell from Parliament</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Portugal and Greece.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XII."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">10 Mar., 1826.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_199">Death of John VI. of Portugal</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">2 May.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_200">Peter abdicates in favour of his daughter Maria</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_254">254</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">31 July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_201">Miguel proclaimed king by the absolutists</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_254">254</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Dec.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_202">England sends troops to help the Portuguese government</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">3 Mar., 1828.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_203">Peter appoints Miguel regent for Maria</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Dec., 1827.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_204">The sultan defies Russia</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_260">260</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">26 April, 1828.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_205">Russia makes war on the Turks</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_206">Negotiations for settlement of Greek question</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Oct., Nov.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_207">French troops expel the Turks from the Morea</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_265">265</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_208">Terms of settlement agreed on at Poros and London</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_266">266</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">14 Sept. 1829.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_209">Peace of Adrianople</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_267">267</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">3 Feb., 1830.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_210">Greece independent: throne offered to Prince Leopold</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_211">France conquers Algiers</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Prelude of Reform.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XIII."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1830.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_212">Amalgamation of English and Welsh benches</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_213">Motions for reform</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">26 June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_214">Death of George IV.</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_215">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_274">274</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">15 Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_216">Death of Huskisson</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_217">Wellington's opposition to reform</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_218">Fall of his ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Nov.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_219">Grey accepts office</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_220">His cabinet</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_221">The regency bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Feb., 1831.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_222">Althorp's first budget</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_223">Public demand for reform</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_224">Draft of the first reform bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_225">System of representation in the unreformed house</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_288">288</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_226">Popular excitement: second reading of the bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_291">291</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_227">Dissolution of parliament</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Reform.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XIV."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1831.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_228">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">24 June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_229">Second reform bill introduced</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span>8 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_230">Rejection by the lords</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_231">Reform bill riots</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_232">Attempts at compromise in the lords</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">12 Dec.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_233">Final reform bill introduced</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_234">Gradual loss of the king's confidence in the ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_302">302</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">9 May, 1832.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_235">Grey resigns</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_302">302</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_236">Wellington unable to form a ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_237">The king recalls Grey</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_304">304</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">4 June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_238">Third reading of the bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_304">304</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_239">Scotch and Irish reform bills carried</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">26 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_240">The cholera epidemic</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1831.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_241">The census</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_242">State of Ireland</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_312">312</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_243">O'Connell's agitation</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_312">312</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_244">The "tithe-war" in Ireland</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_245">Legislation for Ireland</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_316">316</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_246">The Kildare Place Society</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_317">317</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Fruits of the Reform.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XV."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1832.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_247">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_318">318</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1833.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_248">Irish coercion bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_320">320</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_249">Irish Church temporalities bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_250">Ministerial changes</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_251">Abolition of colonial slavery</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_326">326</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_252">Factory acts</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_327">327</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_253">The East India Company act</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_328">328</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_254">Bank charter act</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_255">Formation of judicial committee of the privy council</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_332">332</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_256">Act for the abolition of fines and recoveries</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_333">333</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1831, 1832, 1833.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_257">Althorp's budgets</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_334">334</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Religious Movements and Poor Law Reform.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XVI."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1833.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_258">The Tractarian movement</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1832.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_259">First meeting of the British Association</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_260">Foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_339">339</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1834.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_261">The "new poor law"</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_340">340</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_262">Creation of a central poor law board</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_263">Ministerial discord</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_344">344</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">9 July.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_264">Grey's resignation</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_346">346</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_265">Formation of Melbourne's ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_347">347</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">16 Oct.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_266">Destruction of the houses of parliament</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_349">349</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">14 Nov.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_267">Melbourne's resignation</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_350">350</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_268">Wellington's provisional government</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_351">351</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Dec.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_269">Peel's cabinet</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_352">352</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_270">The Tamworth manifesto</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_353">353</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Peel and Melbourne.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XVII."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">Jan., 1835.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_271">General election</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_354">354</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Feb.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_272">Abercromby elected speaker</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_354">354</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_273">The "Lichfield House compact"</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_356">356</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">April.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_274">Peel's resignation</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_356">356</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_275">Melbourne's second ministry</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_276">Exclusion of Brougham</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_277">Municipal corporations act</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_360">360</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Jan., 1836.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_278">Cottenham lord chancellor</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_363">363</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_279">Conflict with the lords on Irish bills</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_365">365</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_280">Tithe commutation act (English)</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_365">365</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_281">Reformed marriage law</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_282">Registration system</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1835, 1836.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_283">Crusade against Orange lodges</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_367">367</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1836.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_284">The paper duties lowered</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_369">369</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_285">Committee on agricultural distress</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_370">370</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1836, 1837.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_286">Agitation in Ireland</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_371">371</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1837.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_287">Irish municipal bill</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_372">372</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_288">Church rates</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_373">373</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_289">Burdett secedes from the whig party</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_374">374</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">20 June.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_290">Death of William IV.</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_375">375</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Foreign Relations under William IV.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XVIII."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">July, 1830.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_291">The revolution of July</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_376">376</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_292">Recognition of Louis Philippe by the Powers</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_377">377</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_293">Belgian provinces in revolt</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_379">379</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">20 Dec.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_294">Protocol of London</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_381">381</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">June, 1831.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_295">Election of Leopold as King of the Belgians</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_383">383</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Aug.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_296">War between Belgium and Holland</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_384">384</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_297">French troops enter Belgium</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_384">384</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Nov.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_298">British and French fleets blockade the Scheldt</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_386">386</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">Nov., 1833.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_299">Convention between Holland and Belgium</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_387">387</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1830.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_300">Insurrections in Switzerland, Poland, Italy, etc.</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_387">387</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1831, 1832.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_301">Capture of Warsaw; Polish constitution abolished</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_388">388</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">7 April, 1831.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_302">Peter leaves Brazil for Portugal</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_388">388</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_303">Carlist rebellion in Spain</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_389">389</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">22 April, 1834.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_304">The quadruple alliance</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_389">389</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">26 May.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_305">Miguel renounces his claims</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_390">390</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">9 Oct., 1831.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_306">Capodistrias (Greek president) assassinated</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_392">392</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1832.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_307">Otto of Bavaria becomes King of Greece</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_392">392</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1831.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_308">War between Ibrahim and the Sultan</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_393">393</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1833.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_309">Treaties of Kiutayeh and Unkiar Skelessi</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_394">394</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">8 Sept.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_310">Secret convention at Münchengrätz</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_395">395</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">British India.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XIX."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%">1801.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_311">Annexation of the Karnátik</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_397">397</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[Pg xix]</a></span>1803.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_312">Assaye and Argáum</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_399">399</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1805.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_313">Resignation of Lord Wellesley</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_399">399</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">10 July, 1806.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_314">Mutiny at Vellore</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_400">400</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_315">Lord Minto's pacific policy</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_401">401</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1801-10.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_316">Treaties with Persia</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_402">402</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_317">Elphinstone in Afghánistán</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_403">403</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1813.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_318">Lord Moira appointed governor-general</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_404">404</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_319">The Pindárí war</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_405">405</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1818.</td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_320">Subjugation of the Pindárís</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_407">407</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_321">First Burmese war</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_408">408</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_322">Abolition of satí</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_410">410</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_323">Extirpation of thagí</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_411">411</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_324">Defence of Herat</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_412">412</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_325">Communication with India</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_413">413</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_326">Burnes's mission to Kábul</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_413">413</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Literature and Social Progress.</span></p> + +<table style="width:75%" summary="Contents Chapter XIX."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%"></td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#TOPIC_327">The "Lake school"</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_416">416</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_328">Scott's novels</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_418">418</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_329">Minor poets: philosophical works</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_420">420</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_330">Newspapers and reviews</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_422">422</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_331">Essayists and historians</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_425">425</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_332">The arts: painting, sculpture</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_427">427</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_333">Scientific discoveries</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_428">428</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_334">University reform</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_429">429</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_335">Formation of London University</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_431">431</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_336">Improvements in agriculture</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_433">433</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_337">Steam navigation</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_434">434</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_338">The first railways</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_435">435</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_339">Geographical discovery</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_436">436</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_340">Philanthropy</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_436">436</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_341">Canada</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_437">437</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_342">South Africa</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_438">438</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_343">Convict settlements in Australia</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_438">438</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign"></td> + <td><a href="#TOPIC_344">Development of Australia</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_439">439</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<table class="gap2" style="width:75%" summary="Contents Appendices."> + <tr> + <td class="ralign" style="width:25%"><span class="smcap">Appendix</span> I.</td> + <td style="width:65%"><a href="#APPENDIX_I">On Authorities</a></td> + <td class="ralign" style="width:10%"><a href="#Page_443">443</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">II.</td> + <td><a href="#APPENDIX_II">Administrations, 1801-37</a></td> + <td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center">MAPS.</p> + +<p class="center">(<span class="smcap">At the End of the Volume.</span>)</p> + +<ol style="margin-left:6em;"><li><a href="#MAP_I">Great Britain, showing the parliamentary representation after the reform.</a></li> +<li><a href="#MAP_II">Spain and Portugal, illustrating the Peninsular war.</a></li> +<li><a href="#MAP_III">India.</a></li></ol> + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h3>ADDINGTON.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_1" id="TOPIC_1"></a>When, early in March, 1801, Pitt resigned office, he was succeeded by +Henry Addington, who had been speaker of the house of commons for over +eleven years, and who now received the seals of office as first lord of +the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer on March 14, 1801. He was +able to retain the services of the Duke of Portland as home secretary, of +Lord Chatham as president of the council, and of Lord Westmorland as lord +privy seal. For the rest, his colleagues were, like himself, new to +cabinet rank. Lord Hawkesbury (afterwards the second Earl of Liverpool) +became foreign secretary, and Lord Hobart, son of the Earl of +Buckinghamshire, secretary for war. Loughborough reaped the due reward of +his treachery by being excluded from the ministry altogether; with a +curious obstinacy he persisted in attending cabinet councils, until a +letter from Addington informed him that his presence was not desired. He +received some small consolation, however, in his elevation to the Earldom +of Rosslyn. Lord Eldon was the new chancellor and was destined to hold the +office uninterruptedly, except for the brief ministry of Fox and +Grenville, till 1827. Lord St. Vincent became first lord of the admiralty, +and Lord Lewisham president of the board of control. Cornwallis had +resigned with Pitt, but it was not till June 16 that a successor was found +for him as master general of the ordnance. It was then arranged that +Chatham should take this office. Portland succeeded Chatham as lord +president, and Lord Pelham, whose father had just been created Earl of +Chichester, became home secretary instead of Portland. An important change +was introduced into the distribution of work between the different +secretaries of state, the administration of colonial affairs being +transferred from the home to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> war office, so that Hobart and his +successors down to 1854 were known as secretaries of state for war and the +colonies. Soon afterwards Lewisham succeeded his father as Earl of +Dartmouth.</p> + +<p>Though the Addington ministry has, not without justice, been derided for +its weakness as compared with its immediate predecessor, it is interesting +to observe that in it one of the greatest of English judges as well as a +future premier, destined to display an unique power of holding his party +together, first attained to cabinet rank; and in the following year it was +reinforced by Castlereagh, who disputes with Canning the honour of being +regarded as the ablest statesman of what was then the younger generation. +The weakness of the ministry must therefore be attributed to a lack of +experience rather than a lack of talent. It was unfortunate in succeeding +a particularly strong administration, but is well able to bear comparison +with most of the later ministries of George III. Addington himself was in +more thorough sympathy with the king than any premier before or after. +Conversation with Addington was, according to the king, like "thinking +aloud"; and with a king who, like George III., still regarded himself as +responsible for the national policy, hearty co-operation between king and +premier was a matter of no slight importance.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_2" id="TOPIC_2"></a>In the early days of the new administration Pitt loyally kept his promise +of friendly support, and it is to be deplored that Grenville and Canning +did not adopt the same course. While the issue of peace and war was +pending, domestic legislation inevitably remained in abeyance. In Ireland +serious disappointment had been caused by the abandonment of catholic +emancipation; but the disappointment was borne quietly, and the Irish +Roman catholics doubtless did not foresee to what a distance of time the +removal of their disabilities had been postponed. The just and mild rule +of the new lord lieutenant, Lord Hardwicke, contributed to the +pacification of the country. But in reality the conduct of the movement +for emancipation was only passing into new hands; when it reappeared it +was no longer led by catholic lords and bishops, but was a peasant +movement, headed by the unscrupulous demagogue O'Connell. In these +circumstances it is to be regretted that the new administration neglected +to carry that one of the half-promised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> concessions to the catholics which +could not offend the king's conscience, namely, the commutation of tithe. +Nothing in the protestant ascendency was so irritating to the catholic +peasantry as the necessity of paying tithe to a protestant clergy, and its +commutation, while benefiting the clergy themselves, would have removed +the occasion of subsequent agitation. The spirit of disloyalty, however, +was believed to be by no means extinct either in Ireland or in Great +Britain, and two stringent acts were passed to repress it. The first, for +the continuance of martial law in Ireland, was supported by almost all the +Irish speakers in the house of commons, where it was carried without a +division, and was adopted in the house of lords by an overwhelming +majority, after an impressive speech from Lord Clare. The second, for the +suspension of the <i>habeas corpus</i> act in the whole United Kingdom was +framed to remain in force "during the continuance of the war, and for one +month after the signing of a definitive treaty of peace".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE HORNE TOOKE ACT.</i></div> + +<p>The only other measure of permanent interest which became law in this +session was the so-called "Horne Tooke act," occasioned by the return of +Horne Tooke, who was in holy orders, for Old Sarum. Such a return was +contrary to custom, but the precedents collected by a committee of the +house of commons were inconclusive. It was accordingly enacted that in +future clergymen of the established churches should be ineligible for +seats in parliament, while Horne Tooke was deemed to have been validly +elected, and retained his seat. The house of commons found time, however, +for an important and well-sustained debate on India, in which among others +Dundas, now no longer in office, showed a thorough knowledge of questions +affecting Indian finance and trade.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_3" id="TOPIC_3"></a>The naval expedition which had been prepared in the last days of Pitt's +administration sailed for Copenhagen on March 12, 1801, under Sir Hyde +Parker, with Nelson as second in command. The admiral in chief was of a +cautious temper, but was wise enough to allow himself to be guided by +Nelson's judgment when planning an engagement, though not as to the +general course of the expedition. The fleet consisted of sixteen ships of +the line and thirty-four smaller vessels; all these with the exception of +one ship of the line reached the Skaw on the 18th. A frigate was sent in +advance with instructions to Vansittart,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> the British envoy at Copenhagen, +to present an ultimatum to the Danish government,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> demanding a +favourable answer to the British demands within forty-eight hours. For +three days Parker waited at anchor eighteen miles from Elsinore, and it +was only when Vansittart brought an unfavourable reply on the 23rd that he +took Nelson into his counsels. He readily adopted Nelson's plan of +ignoring the Danish batteries at Kronborg and making a circuit so as to +attack Copenhagen at the weak southern end of its defences, but set aside +his project of masking Copenhagen and making straight for a Russian +squadron of twelve ships of the line which was lying icebound at Revel. +The fair weather of the 26th was wasted in irresolution, and it was not +till the 30th that the fleet was able to weigh anchor. It passed Kronborg +in safety and anchored five miles north of Copenhagen.</p> + +<p>Parker placed under Nelson's immediate command twelve ships of the line +and twenty-one smaller vessels, by far the greater part of the British +fleet. With these he was to pass to the east of a shoal called the Middle +Ground and attack the defences of Copenhagen from the south, while Parker +with the remainder of the fleet was to make a demonstration against the +more formidable northern defences. The wind could not of course favour +both attacks simultaneously, and it was agreed that the attack should be +made when the wind favoured Nelson. The nights of the 30th and 31st were +spent in reconnoitring and laying buoys. On April 1 a north wind brought +Nelson's squadron past the Middle Ground, and on the next day a south wind +enabled him to attack the Danish fleet, if fleet it may be called. At the +north end of the Danish position stood the only permanent battery, the +Trekroner, with two hulks or blockships; the rest consisted of seven +blockships and eleven floating batteries, drawn up along the shore. An +attack on the south end of the line was also exposed to batteries on the +island of Amager. Nelson's intention was to close with the whole Danish +fleet, but three of his ships of the line were stranded and he was obliged +to leave the assault on the northern end entirely to lighter vessels.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>BATTLE OF THE BALTIC.</i></div> + +<p>The Danish batteries proved more powerful than had been anticipated, and +as time went on and the Danish resistance did not appear to lose in +strength, Parker grew doubtful of the result of the battle and gave the +order to cease action. The order was apparently not intended to be +imperative, but it had the effect of inducing Riou, who commanded the +frigate squadron, to sail away to the north. For the rest of the fleet +obedience was out of the question. Nelson acknowledged, but refused to +repeat the order, and, jocularly placing his glass to his blind eye, +declared that he could not see the signal. At length the British cannonade +told. Fischer, the Danish commander, had had to shift his flag twice, at +the second time to the Trekroner, and all the ships south of that battery +had either ceased fire or were practically helpless. The Trekroner, +however, was still unsubdued and rendered it impossible for Nelson's +squadron to retire, in the only direction which the wind would allow, +without severe loss. He accordingly sent a message to the Danish Prince +Regent, declaring that he would be compelled to burn the batteries he had +taken, without saving their crews, unless firing ceased. If a truce were +arranged until he could take his prisoners out of the prizes, he was +prepared to land the wounded Danes, and burn or remove the prizes. A truce +for twenty-four hours was accordingly arranged, which Nelson employed to +remove his own fleet unmolested.</p> + +<p>The destruction of the southern batteries left Copenhagen exposed to +bombardment, and the Danes, unable to resist, yet afraid to offend the +tsar by submission, prolonged the time from day to day till news arrived +which removed all occasion for hostility. Unknown to either of the +combatants, the Tsar Paul, the life and soul of the northern confederacy, +had been murdered on the night of March 23, ten days before the battle, +and with his death the league was practically dissolved. When Nelson +advanced further into the Baltic, he found no hostile fleet awaiting him, +and the new tsar, Alexander, adopting an opposite policy, entered into a +compromise on the subject of maritime rights. The battle of the Baltic is +considered by some to have been Nelson's masterpiece. It won for him the +title of viscount and for his second in command, Rear-Admiral Graves, the +gift of the ribbon of the Bath, but the admiralty,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> for official reasons, +declined to confer any public reward or honour on the officers concerned +in it</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_4" id="TOPIC_4"></a>At the same time, the French occupation of Egypt was drawing towards its +inevitable close. Kléber, who was left in command by Bonaparte, perished +by the hand of an assassin, and Menou, who succeeded to the command, was +not only a weak general, but was prevented from receiving any +reinforcements by the naval supremacy of Great Britain in the +Mediterranean. On March 21, 1801, the French army was defeated at the +battle of Alexandria by the British force sent out under Sir Ralph +Abercromby, who was himself mortally wounded on the field. His successor, +General Hutchinson, completed his work by taking Cairo, before the arrival +of General Baird, who had led a mixed body of British soldiers and sepoys +from the Red Sea across the desert to the Nile. The capitulation of +Alexandria soon followed. In September the French evacuated Egypt, the +remains of their army were conveyed to France in English ships, and +Bonaparte's long-cherished dreams of eastern conquest faded away for +ever—not from his own imagination, but from the calculations of practical +statesmanship.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_5" id="TOPIC_5"></a>French arms, and French diplomacy supported by armed force, were more +successful elsewhere. The treaty of Lunéville was only the first of a +series of treaties, by which France secured to herself a political +position commensurate with her military glory. By the treaty of Aranjuez +between France and Spain, signed on March 21, Spain ceded Louisiana to +France, reserving the right of pre-emption, and undertook to wage war on +Portugal in order to detach it from the British alliance. Spain and +Portugal were both lukewarm in this war, and on June 6 signed the treaty +of Badajoz, by which Portugal agreed to close her ports to England, to pay +an indemnity to Spain, and to cede the small district of Olivenza, south +of Badajoz. Bonaparte was intensely irritated by this treaty, which +deprived him of the hope of exchanging conquests in Portugal for British +colonial conquests in any future negotiations; he declared that Spain +would have to pay by the sacrifice of her colonies for the conquered +French colonies which he still hoped to recover. A French army was +despatched to Portugal and enabled Bonaparte to dictate the treaty of +Madrid, signed on September 29, whereby Portugal ceded half Guiana to +France and undertook, as at Badajoz, to close her ports against England.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>INFLUENCES MAKING FOR PEACE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_6" id="TOPIC_6"></a>This last condition was equally imposed on the King of the Two Sicilies by +the treaty of Florence, concluded on March 28, and before the end of the +year France had established friendly relations with the Sultan of Turkey +and the new Tsar of Russia. More important still, as consolidating +Bonaparte's power at home, was the concordat signed by him and the pope on +July 15 recognising Roman Catholicism as the religion of the majority of +Frenchmen, and of the consuls, guaranteeing stipends, though on an +abjectly mean scale, to the clergy, and placing the entire patronage of +the French Church in the hands of the first consul. Never since the French +revolution had the Church been thus acknowledged as the auxiliary, or +rather as the handmaid, of the state, and probably no one but the first +consul could have brought about the reconciliation. After such exertions, +even he may have sincerely desired an honourable peace, as the crown of +his victories, or at least as a breathing time, to enable him to mature +his vast designs for reorganising France. Perhaps he did not yet fully +recognise that war was a necessity of his political ascendency, no less +than of his own personal character. The French people still clung to +republican institutions; and the consulate was a nominal republic, with +all effective power vested in the first consul. Time was to show how +largely this unique position depended on his unique capacity of conducting +wars glorious to French arms; for the present, France was satisfied, and +longed for peace.</p> + +<p>The English ministry, too, was impelled by strong motives to enter upon +the negotiations which resulted in the peace of Amiens. Not only was Great +Britain crippled by the loss of nearly all her allies, but the high price +of bread had roused grave disaffection,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and intensified among British +merchants a desire for an unmolested extension of commerce; above all, +English statesmen now recognised the consulate, under Bonaparte, as the +first stable and non-revolutionary government since the fall of the French +monarchy. Both countries, therefore,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> were predisposed to entertain +pacific overtures, but the very fact that these were in contemplation +stirred both sides to further endeavours in order to secure better terms +of peace. A French squadron, commanded by Admiral Linois and containing +three ships of the line besides smaller boats, was making a movement for +the Straits of Gibraltar in order to strengthen the force at Cadiz. Sir +James Saumarez with five ships of the line and two smaller vessels engaged +Linois off Algeciras on July 5, but the French ships were supported by the +land batteries, and one of the British ships, the <i>Hannibal</i> (74), ran +aground, and Saumarez was eventually compelled to leave her in the hands +of the enemy. This victory was hailed with delight throughout France, but +it was fully retrieved a week later. The French squadron had in the +meantime been reinforced by one French and five Spanish ships of the line, +and on the 12th it made a fresh attempt to reach Cadiz; it was, however, +engaged in the Straits by Saumarez with five ships of the line. In the +ensuing battle two Spanish ships blew up, and the French <i>Saint Antoine</i> +was captured. The remainder succeeded in reaching Cadiz, but Saumarez was +able to resume the blockade a few weeks later.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile there was no relaxation of French preparations for an invasion +of England, or of naval activity on the part of Great Britain. No sooner +had Nelson returned from the Baltic than he was, on July 24, placed in +command of a "squadron on a particular service," charged with the defence +of the coast from Beachy Head to Orfordness. With this he not only +blockaded the northern French ports, but assumed the aggressive, and +bombarded the vessels therein collected. A more daring attempt to cut out +the flotilla moored at Boulogne by a boat attack was repelled with some +loss on the night of August 15. But couriers under flags of truce were +already passing between London and Paris, and hostilities ceased in the +autumn of the year 1801.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE QUESTION OF MALTA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_7" id="TOPIC_7"></a>The history of the negotiations which ended in the peace of Amiens derives +a special interest from the events which followed it. The earliest +overtures for peace were made by Hawkesbury on March 21, 1801. At first +Bonaparte refused to listen to them, but the destruction of the northern +confederacy inclined him to more pacific counsels. On April 14 the +British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> government stated its demands. They mark a distinct advance on +those which had been made in vain at Lille in 1797. France was to evacuate +Egypt, and Great Britain Minorca, but Great Britain claimed to retain +Malta, Tobago, Martinique, Trinidad, Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice, and +Ceylon. She was willing to surrender the Cape of Good Hope on condition +that it became a free port, and stipulated that an indemnity should be +provided for the Prince of Orange. At the outset, Bonaparte opposed all +cessions by France and her allies, but the steady improvement in the +fortunes of England in the north and in Egypt at last determined him to +grant some of the British demands, and as the evacuation of Egypt became +inevitable, he was resolved to gain something in exchange for it before it +was too late. The preliminary treaty was accordingly signed by Bonaparte's +agent Otto on behalf of France and Hawkesbury on behalf of Great Britain +on October 1, the day before the news of the French capitulation in Egypt +reached England. Great Britain had already consented to relinquish Malta, +provided that it became independent. She now consented to relinquish all +her conquests from France, and with the exception of Ceylon and Trinidad +all her conquests from the French allies, requiring, however, that the +Cape should be recognised as a free port. The French were to evacuate not +only Egypt, but the Neapolitan and Roman States. Malta was to be restored +to the knights of St. John under the guarantee of a third power. Prisoners +of war were to be released on payment of their debts, and the question of +the charge for their maintenance was to be settled by the definitive +treaty in accordance with the law of nations and established usage.</p> + +<p>No mention was made of the Prince of Orange, but Otto gave a verbal +assurance that provision would be made to satisfy his claims. He also gave +the British government to understand that France would be willing to cede +Tobago in consideration of the expenses incurred in the maintenance of +French and Dutch prisoners. The omission of all reference to the +continental relations of France is conspicuous. In France it was +interpreted as indicating that Great Britain renounced her interest in +continental politics. The Batavian, Helvetian, Cisalpine, and Ligurian +republics, the kingdom of Etruria, and the whole east bank of the Rhine +were, however, supposed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> to be already protected against French +encroachment by the treaty of Lunéville, and Great Britain had no wish to +impose terms involving a recognition of these new creations. Again, no +mention was made of commercial relations apart from the Newfoundland and +St. Lawrence fisheries, for Great Britain was too ready to believe that a +separate commercial treaty would be practicable, and was naturally loth to +delay the conclusion of peace by a difficult negotiation.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CORNWALLIS AT AMIENS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_8" id="TOPIC_8"></a>Cornwallis was appointed to negotiate the definitive treaty, and had some +hope that he might arrive at an informal understanding with Bonaparte at +Paris before he proceeded to Amiens. But he was offended by Bonaparte's +manner, and, dreading to be pitted against so subtle a diplomatist as +Talleyrand, he left Paris before anything was accomplished, and arrived at +Amiens on November 30. There France was represented by Joseph Bonaparte, +the first consul's elder brother, and the negotiator of Lunéville. At +Amiens, the position of the British government was compromised from the +first by its renewed insistence on a point which had been omitted from the +preliminary treaty, namely, the compensation of the Prince of Orange. This +demand was accompanied by an endeavour to obtain compensation for the King +of Sardinia. Joseph Bonaparte, on the other hand, entrenched himself +behind the letter of the treaty, and acknowledged no further obligation. +Any additional concession to Great Britain could only be purchased by +British concessions to France. Other difficulties arose over the question +of Malta, the payment for the maintenance of prisoners, and the inclusion +of allies as parties to the treaty.</p> + +<p>On the first of these questions the French would appear to have aimed +throughout at reducing the knights to as impotent a position as possible. +The British, on the other hand, ostensibly desiring to see the strength of +the order maintained, were chiefly interested in securing its neutrality. +At the time of the signature of the preliminary treaty, Russia was the +power that seemed to Great Britain the fittest guarantor of the +independence of the knights. On the refusal of Russia to accept this +position, Naples appeared to be the next best alternative, but it was +eventually agreed to substitute for the guarantee of a third power the +obviously futile guarantee of all the powers. Neither party foresaw that +the impossibility of obtaining such a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> guarantee was destined to leave the +whole clause about Malta inoperative. After much dispute over the future +constitution of the order, France proposed to obviate the chief source of +difficulty by the demolition of the forts. This plan commended itself to +Cornwallis, but was rejected by the British government. By the end of +December it was agreed that a Neapolitan garrison was to occupy the +islands provisionally, until the new organisation should be established. +Great Britain proposed that this garrison should be maintained at the +joint expense of Great Britain and France. It did not occur to the British +government to propose any guarantee for the preservation of the property +of the order, and this omission ultimately proved material. The question +of including allies in the treaty was less complicated. France preferred a +number of separate treaties so as to keep the British interest in Europe +at a minimum. Great Britain, on the other hand, wished to make France a +party to the cessions made by her allies, and successfully insisted on the +negotiation of a single comprehensive treaty. Joseph Bonaparte granted +this point on December 11, but, as he had not full powers to negotiate +with any power except Great Britain, he continued to interpose delays till +the end of the year.</p> + +<p>In the meantime France had failed in her attempts to meet the British +claims on behalf of the Prince of Orange by demands for further privileges +and territory in the oceans and colonies. On the whole, the first month's +negotiations had contributed much to a settlement, without giving a +decided advantage to either side. The lapse of time, however, turned the +balance in favour of the negotiator who was the more independent of his +country's desire for peace. On January 1, 1802, Hawkesbury wrote to +Cornwallis, treating the acquisition of Tobago as unimportant; on the 2nd +Addington expressed his readiness to accept a separate arrangement with +the Batavian republic for the Prince of Orange. By the 16th Hawkesbury had +yielded the claim of Portugal to be a party to the treaty. The refusal of +the French to cede Tobago in lieu of payment for the French prisoners, and +the difficulty of assessing the payment, opened a way to the evasion of +compensation altogether. Cornwallis, preferring to sacrifice this claim +rather than re-open the war, suggested to Joseph Bonaparte on the 22nd +that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> treaty should provide for commissioners to assess the payment, +while it should be secretly provided that they should not be appointed. On +the same day, Joseph Bonaparte communicated his brother's consent to a +clause engaging France to find a suitable territorial possession in +Germany for the Prince of Orange.</p> + +<p>If Hawkesbury and Cornwallis imagined that they had made sure of an early +peace by these extensive concessions, they were greatly mistaken. +Napoleon, flushed with this unexpected success, was encouraged to make +further trial of the pliability of the British diplomatists. Two events +occurred at this stage of the negotiations which tried the temper of both +sides to the uttermost. On January 26, Bonaparte was elected president of +the Cisalpine republic, to be styled henceforth the Italian republic. This +event seems to have taken the British government by surprise; they thought +it a distinct indication that he still contemplated further aggressions in +spite of the series of treaties by which he appeared to be securing peace, +and were therefore much less inclined than formerly to make concessions. +About the same time Bonaparte was not unreasonably enraged at the +outrageous attacks made on him in the press conducted in London by French +exiles, especially by Jean Peltier, the editor of a paper called +<i>L'Ambigu</i>, and he blamed the British government for permitting their +publication. He therefore instructed his brother Joseph to raise further +difficulties over the garrison and permanent organisation of Malta, as +well as over the proposed accession of the sultan to the treaty. Vain +attempts were also made by Joseph to retain Otranto for France till the +British should have evacuated Malta, and to secure the inclusion of the +Ligurian republic in the treaty.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE TREATY OF AMIENS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_9" id="TOPIC_9"></a>At last on March 8 Napoleon agreed that no important difference remained, +and urged his brother to conclude the treaty. A little more time was +wasted in providing for a temporary occupation of Malta by Neapolitan +troops, and a more marked division of opinion arose as to the compensation +for the Prince of Orange. In spite of instructions to the contrary from +Hawkesbury, Cornwallis accepted an engagement on the part of France to +find a compensation, not defined, for the house of Nassau, instead of +charging it on the Dutch government; and the treaty was finally concluded +on March 25.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> It was signed by Great Britain, France, Spain, and the +Batavian republic, while the Porte was admitted as an accessory power. It +differed from the preliminary convention in no important respect, except +in the illusory safeguards for the claims of the Prince of Orange, the +secret arrangement for evading the cost of the French prisoners, and the +provisions concerning Malta, pregnant with the seeds of future enmity. +These provisions were as follows: Malta was to be restored to the knights +of St. John, from whose order both French and British were hereafter to be +excluded. The evacuation was to take place within three months of the +ratification of the treaty, or sooner if possible. At that date Malta was +to be given up, provided the grand master or commissaries of the order +were present, and provided the Neapolitan garrison had arrived. Its +independence was to be under the guarantee of France, Great Britain, +Austria, Spain, Russia, and Prussia. Two thousand Neapolitan troops were +to occupy it for one year, and until the order should have raised a force +sufficient, in the judgment of the guaranteeing powers, for the defence of +the islands.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<p>On October 29, 1801, parliament was opened with a speech from the throne +briefly announcing the conclusion of a convention with the northern +powers, and of preliminaries of peace with the French republic. General +Lauriston, bearing the ratification of the preliminaries by the first +consul, had reached London on the 10th, when he was received by the +populace with tumultuous demonstrations of joy. Soon afterwards the "feast +of the peace" was celebrated in Paris with equal enthusiasm. Short-lived +as they proved to be, these pacific sentiments were doubtless genuine on +both sides of the channel. The industrial, though not the military, +resources of France were exhausted by her prodigious efforts during the +last eight years; while England, suffering grievously from distress among +the working-classes and financial difficulties, welcomed the prospect of +cheaper provisions and easier times, as well as of emerging from the +political difficulties originating in the French revolution.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_10" id="TOPIC_10"></a>The preliminary treaty, however, did not escape hostile criticism in +either house of parliament. It was the subject<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> of discussion in the lords +on November 3, and in the commons on the 3rd and 4th. Its most strenuous +assailants were Lord Grenville, who had been foreign secretary under Pitt, +and the whigs who had joined Pitt's ministry in 1794, among whom Lords +Spencer and Fitzwilliam and above all Windham call for special notice. +Windham's powerful and comprehensive speech contained more than one shrewd +forecast of the future. For once, Pitt and Fox supported the same measure, +and Pitt, dwelling on <i>security</i> as our grand object in the war, specially +deprecated any attempt on the part of Great Britain "to settle the affairs +of the continent". Fox, in advocating peace, fiercely denounced the war +against the French republic, and gloated over the discomfiture of the +Bourbons.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> It was admitted on all sides that France was stronger than +ever in a military and political sense. She had already made treaties with +Austria, Naples, Spain, and Portugal; other treaties with Russia and +Turkey were on the point of being signed; while the still more important +concordat with the pope was already ratified. On the other hand, Great +Britain had largely increased her colonial possessions, and the chief +question now discussed was whether she would be the weaker for abandoning +some of these recent conquests. The general feeling of the nation was +fitly expressed by Sheridan in the phrase: "This is a peace which all men +are glad of, but no man can be proud of". Malmesbury, the negotiator of +Lille, was absent from the debates; but he has recorded in his diary his +disapproval both of the peace and of the violent opposition to it The king +told Malmesbury on November 26 that he considered it an experimental +peace, but unavoidable.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DEBATES ON TREATY OF AMIENS.</i></div> + +<p>The debates on the definitive treaty of Amiens took place on May 13 and +14, 1802, and though vigorously sustained, were to some extent a +repetition of those on the preliminaries of peace. The opposition to it +was headed by Grenville in the lords and in the commons by Windham, who +compared it unfavourably with the preliminaries; and the stipulations with +respect to Malta were justly criticised as one of its weakest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> points. +Strange to say, Pitt took no effective part in the discussion, which ended +in overwhelming majorities for the government. As in the previous session, +domestic affairs, except in their bearing on foreign policy, received +comparatively little attention from parliament. The income tax was +repealed, almost in silence, as the first fruits of peace, and Addington, +as chancellor of the exchequer, delivered an emphatic eulogy on the +sinking fund by means of which he calculated that in forty-five years the +national debt, then amounting to £500,000,000, might be entirely paid off. +The house of commons showed no want of economical zeal in scrutinising the +claims of the king on the civil list, and those of the Prince of Wales on +the revenues of the duchy of Cornwall. Nor did it neglect such abuses as +the non-residence of the parochial clergy, and the cruel practice of +bull-baiting, though it rejected a bill for the suppression of this +practice, after a characteristic apology for it from Windham, in which he +dwelt upon its superiority to horse-racing. In this session, too, a grant +of £10,000 was voted to Jenner for his recent invention of vaccination. In +supporting it, Wilberforce stated that the victims of small-pox, in London +alone, numbered 4,000 annually.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_11" id="TOPIC_11"></a>The parliament, which had now lasted six years, was dissolved by the king +in person on June 28, and a general election was held during the month of +July. The new house of commons did not differ materially from the old, and +even in Ireland the recent national opposition to the union did not lead +to the unseating of a single member who had voted for it.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Meanwhile the +ministry was strengthened by the admission to office of Lord Castlereagh, +already distinguished for his share in the negotiations precedent to the +union with Ireland. On July 6 he was appointed president of the board of +control in succession to Dartmouth, and was admitted to a seat in the +cabinet in October. The new parliament did not meet till November 16. +During the interval members of both houses, with vast numbers of their +countrymen, flocked to Paris, which had been almost closed to English +travellers since the early days of the revolution. Fox was presented to +Napoleon, as Bonaparte, since the decree which made him consul for life, +preferred to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> styled. Napoleon conceived a great admiration for him, +and afterwards persuaded himself that, had Fox survived, the friendly +relations of England and France would not have been permanently +interrupted. <a name="TOPIC_12" id="TOPIC_12"></a>On the very day on which parliament assembled, a conspiracy +was discovered, which, however insane it may now appear, attracted much +attention at the time. A certain Colonel Despard with thirty-six +followers, mainly labourers, had plotted to kill the king and seize all +the government-buildings, with a view to the establishment of what he +called the "constitutional independence of Ireland and Great Britain" and +the "equalisation of all civic rights". The conspiracy had no wide +ramifications, and the arrest of its leader and his companions brought it +to an immediate end. Despard was found guilty of high treason and was +executed on February 21, 1803.</p> + +<p>When parliament met, the king's speech referred ominously to fresh +disturbances in the balance of power on the continent; and votes were +passed for large additions to the army and navy, in spite of Fox's +declaration that he saw no reason why Napoleon, satisfied with military +glory, should not henceforth devote himself to internal improvements in +France. Nelson, on the contrary, speaking in the house of lords, while he +professed himself a man of peace, insisted on the danger arising from "a +restless and unjust ambition on the part of our neighbours," and Sheridan +delivered a vigorous speech in a like spirit. On the whole, in January, +1803, the prospects of assured peace and prosperity were much gloomier +than they had been in January, 1802, before the treaty of Amiens. The +funds were going down, the bank restriction act was renewed, and Despard's +conspiracy still agitated the public mind. In the month of February a +strong anti-Gallican sentiment was roused by Mackintosh's powerful defence +of the royalist Jean Peltier, accused and ultimately convicted of a gross +libel on the first consul. On March 8 came the royal message calling out +the militia, which heralded the rupture of the peace.</p> + +<p>The renewal of the war, fraught with so much glory and misery to both +nations, can have taken neither by surprise. The ink was scarcely dry on +the treaty of Amiens when fresh causes of discord sprung up between France +and Great Britain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> More than one of these, indeed, had arisen between the +signature of the preliminary convention and the actual conclusion of +peace. During the negotiations, the first consul had, as we have seen, +never ceased to protest against the violent attacks upon himself in the +English press, while Cornwallis persistently warned his own government +against the menacing attitude of France in Italy and elsewhere. The +proclamation of the concordat in April, 1802, and the recognition of +Napoleon as first consul for life in August, however they may have +strengthened his position in France, were no legitimate subjects for +resentment in England; but his acceptance of the presidency of the +"Italian" republic in January, followed by his annexation of Piedmont in +September, revived in all its intensity the British mistrust of his +aggressive policy.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FRENCH AGGRESSIONS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_13" id="TOPIC_13"></a>The month of October witnessed a renewed aggression on Switzerland. A +French army, commanded by Ney, advanced into the interior of the country, +and forced the Swiss, who were in the midst of a civil war, to accept the +mediation of Napoleon. The new constitution which he framed attempted, by +weakening the federal government, to place the direction of Helvetian +external relations in the hands of the French first consul. Our government +vainly endeavoured to resist this interference by sending agents with +money and promises. In Germany the redistribution of territory +necessitated by the peace of Lunéville was carried out professedly under +the joint mediation of France and Russia, but really at the dictation of +Napoleon. The final project, which destroyed all except three of the +spiritual principalities and all except six of the free cities, was +proposed by France on February 23, 1803, and accepted by the Emperor +Francis on April 27.</p> + +<p>Against these rearrangements, Great Britain could have nothing to say; +their importance is that while the negotiations were pending, Austria, +Prussia, and Russia all had a strong motive for standing well with France. +Bonaparte's attitude towards Switzerland was, in so far as it was backed +by force, an infringement of the treaty of Lunéville, to which, however, +Great Britain was not a party. The neutrality of Piedmont had not been +safeguarded either at Lunéville or at Amiens; it had already been occupied +by France before the treaty was signed, and Napoleon claimed to have as +much right to annex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> territory in Europe without the consent of Great +Britain as Great Britain had to annex territory in India without the +consent of France.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_14" id="TOPIC_14"></a>Napoleon's schemes of colonial expansion, though equally within the letter +of the treaty, were not less disconcerting. The reconquest of San Domingo +appeared necessary in order to obtain a base for the effective occupation +of the new French possession, Louisiana. The despatch of an expedition for +this purpose in December, 1801, had excited grave suspicion, and when +two-thirds of the army had died of yellow fever and the remainder had +returned home, fresh troops were sent out to take their place. A new naval +expedition was prepared in the Dutch port of Helvoetsluis, but it was +impossible to persuade British public opinion that its real destination +was San Domingo. Finally, on the eve of hostilities, in the spring of 1803 +Napoleon, despairing of advance in this direction and disregarding the +Spanish right of pre-emption, sold Louisiana to the United States for +80,000,000 francs. Still more embarrassing was Bonaparte's eastern policy. +In September, 1802, Colonel Sébastiani was sent as "commercial agent" to +the Levant. He was instructed to inspect the condition of ports and +arsenals, to assure the sheykhs of French favour, and to report on the +military resources of Syria, Egypt, and the north African coast. His +report, which was published in the <i>Moniteur</i> of January 30, 1803, set +forth the opportunities that France would possess in the event of an +immediate return to hostilities, and was naturally interpreted as +disclosing an intention to renew the war on the first opportunity. Six +thousand French would, he said, be enough to reconquer Egypt; the country +was in favour of France. In March, 1803, Decaen left France with open +instructions to receive the surrender of the five towns in India restored +to France, but with secret orders to invite the alliance of Indian +sovereigns opposed to Great Britain. On his appearance at Pondicherri, the +British commander prepared to seize him, but he escaped to the Mauritius, +which he put in a state of defence, and made a basis for attacks on +British commerce which lasted from 1803 to 1811.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CAUSES OF MISTRUST AFTER AMIENS.</i></div> + +<p>Ireland also was visited by political spies, passing as commercial agents. +It may not be easy to say how far Emmet's rebellion, to be recorded +hereafter, was the result of these visits.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> At all events a letter fell +into the hands of the British government, addressed by Talleyrand to a +French agent at Dublin, called Fauvelet, directing him to obtain answers +to a series of questions about the military and naval circumstances of the +district, and "to procure a plan of the ports, with the soundings and +moorings, and to state the draught of water, and the wind best suited for +ingress and egress". The British government naturally complained of these +instructions, but Talleyrand persistently maintained that they were of a +purely commercial character.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> It is, of course, true that these +preparations in view of a possible recurrence of hostilities, however +obvious their intention, were not in themselves hostile acts. Still, they +were just grounds for suspicion, and, with our retrospective knowledge of +Napoleon's later career, we may seek in vain for the grounds of confidence +which had made the conclusion of a treaty possible. Great Britain was +guilty of more direct breaches of the peace of Amiens. Russia refused her +guarantee for the independence of Malta, and the British government was +therefore technically justified in retaining it. No similar justification +could, however, be alleged for the retention of Alexandria and the French +towns in India. These measures were, as will be seen, defended on broader +grounds of public policy. Not the least of the causes of discontent with +the new situation was the refusal of Napoleon to follow up the treaty of +peace with a commercial treaty. He had even retained French troops in +Holland, and thus shown that he meant to close its ports against British +commerce. The hope of a renewal of trade with France had been a main cause +of the popular desire for peace, and had reconciled the British public to +the sacrifices with which the treaty of Amiens had been purchased. It soon +became clear that further concessions would be made the price of a +commercial treaty, and it was felt in consequence that the sacrifices +already made were made in vain.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_15" id="TOPIC_15"></a>In September, 1802, Lord Whitworth was sent as ambassador extraordinary to +the French Republic. The instructions which he carried with him from +Hawkesbury fully reflect the prevailing spirit of mistrust. He was to +watch for any new leagues which might prejudice England or disturb +Europe;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> he was to discover any secret designs that might be formed +against the East or West Indies; he was to maintain the closest +surveillance over the internal politics of France, but especially over the +dispositions of influential personages in the confidence of the first +consul, as well as over the financial resources and armaments of the +republic.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> Two months later, he was expressly warned in a secret +despatch not in any way to commit His Majesty to a restoration of Malta, +even if the provisions made at Amiens for this purpose could be completely +executed; and the principle was laid down, from which the British +government never swerved, that Great Britain was entitled to compensation +for any acquisitions made by France since the treaty was signed. +Accordingly, the retention of Malta was justified as a counterpoise to +French extensions of territory in Italy, the invasion of Switzerland, and +the continued occupation of the Batavian republic.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> This resolution was +naturally confirmed by the publication of Sébastiani's report.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAPOLEON AND WHITWORTH.</i></div> + +<p>The long negotiations between Whitworth and the French government, during +the winter of 1802 and the spring of 1803, only bring into stronger relief +the importance of the issues thus raised, and the hopelessness of a +pacific solution. Napoleon firmly took his stand throughout on the simple +letter of the treaty, which pledged Great Britain, upon certain +conditions, to place the knights of St. John in possession of Malta, but +did not contemplate the case of further accessions of French territory on +the continent. Although the conditions specified were never fully +satisfied, it is abundantly clear that the British ministers, having at +last grasped the value of Malta, created all the difficulties in their +power, and determined to cancel this article of the treaty. They alleged, +in self-defence, that the spirit of the treaty had been constantly +violated by Napoleon, in repeated acts of hostility to British subjects, +in the refusal of all redress for such grievances, and, above all, in that +series of aggressions on the continent which he declared to be outside the +treaty and beyond the province of Great Britain.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> None of the +compromises laboriously discussed in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> the winter of 1802 betoken any +desire on the part of either government to retreat from its main position, +though it does not follow that either sought to bring about a renewal of +the war. Whitworth constantly reported that no formidable armaments were +being prepared, and clung for months to a belief that Napoleon, knowing +the instability of his own power and the ruinous state of his finances, +would ultimately give way. On the other hand, Talleyrand and Joseph +Bonaparte never ceased to hope that Great Britain would make concessions +which might be accepted.</p> + +<p>Such hopes were rudely dispelled by the king's message to parliament on +March 8, 1803, complaining of aggressive preparations in the ports of +France and Holland, and recommending immediate measures for the security +of his dominions. This message, with the consequent embodiment of the +militia, startled the whole continent, and was followed five days later by +the famous scene in which the first consul addressed Whitworth in phrases +little short of insult. During a public audience at the Tuileries on the +13th, Napoleon, after inquiring whether the British ambassador had +received any news from home, broke out with the words: "And so you are +determined to go to war". The altercation which ensued is best told in +Whitworth's own words<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>:—</p> + +<p>"'No, first consul,' I replied, 'we are too sensible of the advantages of +peace.' 'We have,' said he, 'been fighting these fifteen years.' As he +seemed to wait for an answer, I observed only, 'That is already too long'. +'But,' said he, 'you desire to fight for fifteen years more, and you are +forcing me to it,' I told him that was very far from his majesty's +intentions. He then proceeded to Count Marcoff and the Chevalier Azzara, +who were standing together at a little distance from me, and said to them, +'The English are bent on war, but if they are the first to draw the sword, +I shall be the last to put it back into the scabbard. They do not respect +treaties. They must be covered with black crape.' I suppose he meant the +treaties. He then went his round, and was thought by all those to whom he +addressed himself to betray great signs of irritation. In a few minutes he +came back to me, to my great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> annoyance, and resumed the conversation, if +such it can be called, by something personally civil to me. He then began +again, 'Why these armaments? Against whom these measures of precaution? I +have not a single ship of the line in the French ports; but if you wish to +arm, I will arm also; if you wish to fight, I will fight also. You may +perhaps kill France, but will never intimidate her.' 'We wish,' said I, +'neither the one nor the other. We wish to live on good terms with her.' +'You must respect treaties then,' replied he; 'woe to those who do not +respect treaties; they shall answer for it to all Europe.'"</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_16" id="TOPIC_16"></a>Too much stress has been laid upon this incident, so characteristic of +Napoleon's studied impetuosity. Little more than a fortnight later he +received the British ambassador with courtesy. Overtures now succeeded +overtures, and much was expected on both sides from the influence of the +Tsar Alexander, to whom France suggested that Malta might be ceded.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> At +the last moment, a somewhat more conciliatory disposition was shown by the +French diplomatists; and the British government was blamed by its +opponents, alike for having failed to break off the negotiations earlier +on the broadest grounds, and for breaking them off too abruptly on grounds +of doubtful validity. But we now see that national enmity, fostered by the +press on both sides, rendered friendly relations impossible, and that, +even had Napoleon been willing to refrain from aggressions, peace was +impossible. On May 12, two months after the king's message, Whitworth, +having presented an ultimatum, finally quitted Paris. A few days later an +order was issued for the detention of all British subjects then resident +in France, and justified on the ground that French seamen (but not +passengers) were liable to capture at sea. On June 10 Talleyrand announced +the occupation of Hanover and the treatment as enemies of Hanoverian +soldiers serving under the King of Great Britain. Meanwhile, on May 16, +the rupture of peaceful relations was announced to both houses of +parliament; on May 18 war was declared, and in June volunteers were +already mustering to resist invasion.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> So Vansittart himself, in Pellew, <i>Life of Sidmouth</i>, i., +371. Southey and Captain Mahan have erroneously supposed that Vansittart +accompanied the naval expedition and was sent by Parker in the frigate +from the Skaw.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Annual Register</i>, xliii. (1801), chapter i. The average +price of wheat in 1800 was 112s. 8d. the quarter, whereas the highest +annual average in the half century before the war had been 64s. 6d. On +March 5, 1801, the price of the quartern loaf stood as high as 1s. +10½d. On July 23 it was still 1s. 8d. The harvest of this year was, +however, an excellent one. The price fell rapidly during August, and by +November 12 was as low as 10½d.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Cornwallis, <i>Correspondence</i>, iii., 382-487.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> In a letter to Charles Carey, dated October 22, Fox went the +length of expressing extreme pleasure in the triumph of the French +government over the English (<i>Memorials of C. J. Fox</i>, iii., 349).</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Malmesbury, <i>Diaries</i>, iv., 60, 62.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Lecky, <i>History Of Ireland</i>, v., 465.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Lanfrey, <i>Napoleon I.</i> (English edition), ii., 202; Pellew, +<i>Life of Sidmouth</i>, ii., 164.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Browning, <i>England and Napoleon in 1803</i>, pp. 1-6.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Browning, <i>ibid.</i>, pp. 6-10.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> See especially Hawkesbury's despatch in Browning, <i>ibid.</i>, +pp. 65-68, and Whitworth's despatches, <i>ibid.</i>, pp. 73-75, 78-85.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Whitworth's despatch of March 14, in Browning, <i>England and +Napoleon</i>, p. 116.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Browning, <i>England and Napoleon</i>, p. 218.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<h3>THE RETURN OF PITT.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_17" id="TOPIC_17"></a>The period following the rupture of the peace of Amiens, though crowded +with military events of the highest importance, was inevitably barren in +social and political interest. Disappointed in its hopes of returning +prosperity, the nation girded itself up with rare unanimity for a renewed +contest. In July the income-tax was reinstituted and a bill was actually +carried authorising a levy <i>en masse</i> in case of invasion. Pending its +enforcement, the navy was vigorously recruited by means of the press-gang; +the yeomanry were called out, and a force of infantry volunteers was +enrolled, which reached a total of 300,000 in August, and of nearly +400,000 at the beginning of the next session. Pitt himself, as warden of +the Cinque Ports, took command of 3,000 volunteers in Kent, and contrasted +in parliament the warlike enthusiasm of the country with the alleged +apathy of the ministry. On July 23 a rebellion broke out in Ireland, +instigated by French agents and headed by a young man named Robert Emmet. +The conspiracy was ill planned and in itself insignificant, but the +recklessness of the conspirators was equalled by the weakness of the civil +and military authorities, who neglected to take any precautions in spite +of the plainest warnings. The rebels had intended to attack Dublin Castle +and seize the person of the lord lieutenant, who was to be held as a +hostage; but they dared not make the attempt, and after parading the +streets for a few hours were dispersed by the spontaneous action of a few +determined officers with a handful of troops, but not before Lord +Kilwarden, the chief justice, and several other persons, had been cruelly +murdered by Emmet's followers. Futile as the rising was, it sufficed to +show that union was not a sovereign remedy for Irish disaffection<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_18" id="TOPIC_18"></a>Meanwhile the relations between the prime minister and his predecessor had +been growing less and less cordial. Throughout the year 1801 Pitt was +still the friend and informal adviser of the ministry, and it is difficult +to overrate the value of his support as a ground of confidence in an +administration, personally popular, but known to be deficient in +intellectual brilliance. In 1802 he generally stood aloof, and though in +June of that year he corrected the draft of the king's speech, he absented +himself from parliament, for he was dissatisfied with the measures adopted +by government. His dissatisfaction was known to his friends, and in +November a movement was set on foot by Canning to induce Addington to +withdraw in Pitt's favour; but Pitt, though willing to resume office, +refused to allow the ministry to be approached on the subject. He +preferred to wait till a general wish for his return to power should be +manifested. In December he visited Grenville at Dropmore, and expressed a +certain discontent with the government.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> It was his intention still to +treat the ministers with tenderness, but to return to parliament and +criticise their policy. It is easy to see that his object at this date was +not to drive the government from office, but to give rise to a desire to +re-enlist his own talents in the service of the country, and thus prepare +the way for a peaceable resumption of the position he had abandoned in the +preceding year.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NEGOTIATIONS FOR PITT'S RETURN.</i></div> + +<p>No sooner had rumours of Pitt's willingness to resume office reached +Addington in the last days of December, than he opened negotiations with +Pitt with a view to effecting this object. Pitt did not receive his +overtures very warmly. He doubtless wished to be brought back because he +was felt to be indispensable, without any appearance of intrigue. Time was +in his favour, and he allowed the negotiations to proceed slowly. As the +proposals took shape, it became clear that Addington did not wish to be +openly superseded by Pitt, but preferred that they should serve together +as secretaries of state under a third person; and Addington even suggested +Pitt's brother, the Earl of Chatham, then master-general of the ordnance, +as a suitable prime minister. Pitt's reply, communicated to Addington by +Dundas, now Viscount Melville, in a letter dated March<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> 22, 1803, was to +the effect that Pitt would not accept any position in the government +except that of prime minister, with which was to be coupled the office of +chancellor of the exchequer. Addington readily acceded to Pitt's claim to +this position, but Grenville refused to serve in a ministry where +Addington and Hawkesbury held "any efficient offices of real business," +and Addington declined to abandon ministerial office for a speakership of +the house of lords, which Pitt proposed to create for him. Finally, on +April 10, Pitt at a private conference with Addington proposed as an +indispensable condition of his own return to office that Melville, +Spencer, Grenville, and Windham should become members of his cabinet. This +meant a reconstruction of the whole ministry, and Pitt stipulated that the +changes should be made by the king's desire and on the recommendation of +the existing ministry.</p> + +<p>The situation had become an impossible one. Nothing was more reasonable +than that Pitt, the friend and protector of the existing ministry, should +assume the direction of affairs now that the nation appeared to be on the +brink of war. But Pitt could not honourably desert those former +colleagues, who had resigned with him on the catholic question. Two of +these, however, Grenville and Windham, though doubtless men of the highest +capacity, had bitterly attacked the existing ministry; and it was not to +be expected that that ministry, supported as it still was by overwhelming +majorities in both houses of parliament, supported as it had hitherto been +by Pitt himself, should consent to admit its opponents to a share of +office. It is highly improbable that Grenville and Windham would then have +co-operated with Addington and Hawkesbury, and their admission to office +would have ruined the cohesion of the cabinet, unless it had been +accompanied by the retirement of the leading members of the existing +ministry which Pitt's previous attitude, together with the actual balance +of parties in parliament, rendered it impossible to demand. How difficult +it was to induce Grenville and Windham to enter into any combination +future years were to prove. For the present the ministry took not merely +the wisest, but the only course open to it. Addington, after vainly +endeavouring to induce Pitt to modify his terms, laid them before a +cabinet council on April 13; they were immediately rejected, though the +cabinet declared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> itself ready to admit to office Pitt himself and those +of his colleagues who had hitherto acted with the Addington ministry. Pitt +could hardly have expected any other reply. No ministry could have granted +such terms except on the supposition that Pitt was indispensable, and Pitt +for the present hardly claimed such a position.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> + +<p>But if Pitt did not consider himself indispensable, his friends did, and +both he and others came gradually to adopt their view. The rejection of +his terms left him free to adopt the line of policy that he had sketched +to Grenville in the previous December. He had not to wait long for an +opportunity, but in the opinion of Pitt's friends at least the first +provocation came from Addington. Unable to strengthen his ministry by any +accession from Pitt and his followers, he had turned to the "old +opposition," the whigs who, under the leadership of Fox, had consistently +advocated a pacific policy. These had recently supported the ministry +against the "new opposition," as the followers of Grenville and Windham +were called. But since 1797 Fox and the majority of the "old opposition" +had generally absented themselves from parliament, and George Tierney, +member for Southwark, had led what was left of their party.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> He now +received and accepted the offer of the treasurership of the navy, one of +the most important of the offices below cabinet rank. As a speaker Tierney +was a valuable addition to the government which was sadly deficient in +debating power; he had, however, been particularly bitter in his attacks +on Pitt, with whom he had fought a duel in 1798, and had provoked the +sarcastic wit of Canning, in whose well-known parody, "The Friend of +Humanity and the Knife-grinder" (1798), the original illustration by +Gillray depicted the friend of humanity with the features of Tierney and +laid the scene in the borough of Southwark.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CHANGES IN ADDINGTON'S MINISTRY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_19" id="TOPIC_19"></a>The appointment, which Pitt himself does not appear to have resented, was +announced on June 1, and Tierney took his place on the treasury bench on +the 3rd. On the same evening Colonel Patten moved a series of resolutions +condemning, in extravagant terms, the conduct of the ministry in the +negotia<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>tion with France. Pitt seized the opportunity to move the orders +of the day. In other words, he proposed that the question should be left +undecided. He expressed the opinion that the ministry was not free from +blame, but declared himself unable to concur in all the charges against +it. He considered further that to drive the existing ministers out of +office would only throw the country into confusion, and that it was +therefore inadvisable to pursue the question. To this the ministerial +speakers replied by demanding a direct censure or a total acquittal, and +the consequent division served only to display the weakness of the +opposition. The Addington, Fox, and Grenville parties combined to oppose +Pitt's motion, which was rejected by 333 votes against 56. Pitt and Fox, +and their respective followers then left the house, leaving the +ministerial party and the Grenville party to decide the fate of Patten's +resolutions, which were negatived by 275 votes against 34. A comparison of +the figures of the two divisions, allowing for tellers, gives as the +voting strength of Pitt's party 58, of Grenville's 36, of Fox's 22, and of +Addington's 277. Of these the Grenville party alone desired to eject the +ministers from office, while Fox's party openly professed a preference for +Addington over Pitt.</p> + +<p>During the remainder of the session Pitt seldom took any part in +parliamentary business, and never opposed the ministry on any question of +importance. On August 12 parliament was prorogued after a session lasting +nearly nine months, and the prime minister embraced the opportunity of +making some slight reconstructions in the ministry. Pelham, who was +removed from the home office, resigned his place in the cabinet, and was +shortly afterwards consoled with the chancellorship of the duchy of +Lancaster, an office which was not yet definitely recognised as political. +Charles Philip Yorke, son of the chancellor who died in 1770 and +half-brother of the third Earl of Hardwicke, resigned the office of +secretary at war and succeeded to the home office on the 17th. It was also +considered advisable to strengthen the ministry in the upper house, where +Grenville's oratory gave the opposition a decided advantage in debating +power, and Hawkesbury was accordingly summoned to the lords on November 16 +in his father's barony of Hawkesbury. After this rearrangement the cabinet +contained eight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> peers and three commoners, no illiberal allowance of +commoners according to the ideas of the age. The recess was further marked +by a violent war of pamphlets between the followers of Addington and Pitt, +which began early in September, and which, although no politician of the +first order took any direct part in it, did much to embitter the relations +of their respective parties.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> Not less irritating were the <i>jeux +d'esprit</i> with which Canning continued to assail the ministry in the +newspaper press.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> The most famous of these is the couplet:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanzasmall"> +<span class="i0">Pitt is to Addington<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As London is to Paddington.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>A more openly abusive poem, entitled "Good Intentions," described the +prime minister as "Happy Britain's guardian gander". The following verses +refer to the appointment of Addington's brother, John Hiley Addington, to +be paymaster-general of the forces, and of his brother-in-law, Charles +Bragge, afterwards succeeded by Tierney, to be treasurer of the navy:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanzalarge"> +<span class="i0">How blest, how firm the statesman stands<br /></span> +<span class="i2">(Him no low intrigue can move)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Circled by faithful kindred bands<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And propped by fond fraternal love.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanzalarge"> +<span class="i2">When his speeches hobble vilely,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">What "Hear him's" burst from Brother Hiley;<br /></span> +<span class="i2">When his faltering periods lag,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Hark to the cheers of Brother Bragge.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanzalarge"> +<span class="i2">Each a gentleman at large,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Lodged and fed at public charge,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Paying (with a grace to charm ye)<br /></span> +<span class="i2">This the Fleet, and that the Army.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE KING'S ILLNESS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_20" id="TOPIC_20"></a>When parliament reassembled on November 22 the opposition was still +disunited, and, though Windham severely condemned the inadequacy of the +provision made for national defence, he did not venture to divide against +the government. But during the Christmas recess a distinct step was made +towards the consolidation of the opposition by the reunion of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> the two +sections of the whig party. Grenville had conceived a chimerical project +of replacing the existing administration by one which should include all +statesmen possessed of real political talent, whatever their differences +in the past might have been. True to this policy, he persuaded Fox in +January, 1804, to join him in attempting to expel the Addington +administration from office as an essential preliminary to any further +action. Sheridan, however, with some of the Prince of Wales's friends, +still refused to enter into any combination which might result in the +return of Pitt to power. The parliamentary session was resumed on February +1, but the course of events was complicated by a recurrence of the king's +malady. Symptoms of this were observed towards the end of January; the +disease took a turn for the worse about February 12, and on the 14th it +was made known to the public. For a short time the king's life appeared to +be in danger; his reason was affected during a longer interval, but the +attack was in every way milder than in 1789, and on March 7 Dr. Simmons +reported to Addington that "the king was competent to perform any act of +government".<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> It is true that for many months the king's health did not +allow him to give his full attention to public business, but there was +nothing to prevent him from attending to such routine work as was +absolutely necessary. There could, however, be no question of a change of +ministers till there should be a marked improvement in the king's health.</p> + +<p>The king's illness was made the occasion on February 27 of a motion by Sir +Robert Lawley for the adjournment of the house of commons. This was +parried by Addington with the statement that there was no necessary +suspension of such royal functions as it might be necessary for His +Majesty to discharge at the present moment.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> The emphasis here +obviously lay on the word "necessary". A still bolder course was adopted +shortly afterwards by the lord chancellor. When on March 9 the king's +assent to several bills was given by commission, Fitzwilliam raised not +unreasonable doubts as to whether the king was capable of resuming the +functions of government. Eldon, however, declared that, as the result of a +private interview with the king, he had come to the conclusion that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +royal commissioners were warranted in assenting to the bills in question. +Whether the chancellor was justified in assuming this responsibility must +remain doubtful; at all events Pitt seems to have determined that the time +was now ripe for a ministerial crisis. He had on February 27 criticised +both the military and naval defences of the country, but he would not +directly attack the government till the king's health was in a better +condition. At last, on March 15, the first attack was made. Pitt selected +the weak point in the administration. St. Vincent's obstinacy in refusing +to believe in the possibility of a renewal of hostility and his excessive +economy had brought about a marked deterioration in the strength and +quality of the fleet. Pitt accordingly moved for an inquiry into the +administration of the navy. Fox dissociated himself from Pitt's attacks on +the first lord of the admiralty, but supported the motion on the ground +that an inquiry would clear St. Vincent's character. On a division the +government had a majority of 201 against 130. On the 19th, however, Pitt +refused to join the Grenvilles in supporting Fox's motion for the +re-committal of the volunteer consolidation bill. On the following day +Eldon made overtures to Pitt, and on the 23rd Pitt dined <i>tête-à-tête</i> +with the chancellor, but no record has been preserved of the nature of +their negotiations.</p> + +<p>On the 29th Pitt, in a letter to Melville, explained his position at +length. He intended, as soon after the Easter recess as the king's health +should permit, to write to the king explaining the dangers which, in his +opinion, threatened the crown and people from the continuance of the +existing government, and representing the urgent necessity of a speedy +change; he would prefer an administration from which no political party +should be excluded, but was unwilling, especially in view of the king's +state of health, to force any minister upon him; if, therefore, he should +be invited by the king to form a ministry from which the partisans of Fox +and Grenville were to be excluded, he was prepared to form one from his +own followers united with the more capable members of the existing +government, excluding Addington himself and St. Vincent; should this +measure fail of success, he would "have no hesitation in taking such +ground in Parliament as would be most likely to attain the object".<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +As it happened, the parliamentary assault preceded the correspondence with +the king. Immediately after the recess the ministry laid before parliament +military proposals which Pitt felt bound to resist. On April 16 Pitt, +supported by Windham, opposed the third reading of a bill for augmenting +the Irish militia, and expressed a preference for the army of reserve. He +was defeated by the narrow majority of 128 against 107. On the 23rd Fox +proposed to refer the question of national defence to a committee of the +whole house. He was supported by Pitt and Windham, and defeated by 256 +votes only against 204. The division which sealed the fate of the ministry +was taken two days later on a motion that the house should go into +committee on a bill for the suspension of the army of reserve. This was +opposed by Pitt, who expounded a rival plan for the diminution of the +militia and increase of the army of reserve. Fox and Windham demanded for +Pitt's scheme a right to consideration, and on a division the motion was +carried by no more than 240 against 203. The division of April 16 had +convinced Addington that a reconciliation with Pitt was necessary. On +Pitt's refusing to confer with him, he agreed to recommend the king to +charge Eldon with the task of discovering Pitt's views as to the formation +of a new ministry, in case the king wished to learn them.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ADDINGTON'S RESIGNATION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_21" id="TOPIC_21"></a>The king, however, expressed no such wish, and on April 22 Pitt sent an +unsealed letter to Eldon to be laid before the king; announcing his +dissatisfaction with the ministry and his intention of declaring this +dissatisfaction in parliament.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> It was not till the 27th that Eldon +found a suitable opportunity of communicating Pitt's letter to the king. +Before that date Addington, who considered that he could no longer remain +in office with dignity after the divisions of the 23rd and 25th, had on +the 26th informed the king of his intention to resign. The king +reluctantly consented to his resignation, which was announced to the +cabinet on the 29th. On the following day Eldon called on Pitt with a +request from the king for a plan of a new administration. Pitt replied in +a letter, setting forth at great length the arguments in favour of a +combined administration, and requesting permission to confer with Fox and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +Grenville about the construction of the ministry.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> The letter irritated +the king, who demanded a renewed pledge against catholic emancipation, +with which Grenville was specially associated in his mind, and refused to +admit Pitt to office if he persevered in his purpose of consulting Fox and +Grenville. Pitt then declared his adherence to the pledge given in +1801<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> and requested an interview with the king. The interview, which +took place on May 7, lasted three hours, and ended in a compromise. The +king agreed to admit Grenville and his friends to office, but, while ready +to accept the friends of Fox, he refused, as much on personal as on +political grounds, to give Fox a place in the cabinet. At the same time he +declared himself ready to grant him a diplomatic appointment. At a later +date the king went the length of declaring that, rather than accept Fox, +he would have incurred the risk of civil war.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PITT'S RETURN TO OFFICE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_22" id="TOPIC_22"></a>Fox readily agreed to his own exclusion, which he had fully expected, and +urged his followers to join Pitt, but Grenville and his friends refused to +serve without Fox, while the friends of Fox and the more immediate +followers of Addington refused to serve without their respective leaders. +Addington always considered that Pitt had treated him ungenerously in +driving him from office, when it was open to him to return to the head of +affairs with the full consent of the existing ministers. More recently it +has been the fashion to blame Pitt for bringing too little pressure to +bear upon the king and thus losing the support of Fox and Grenville. +Neither charge appears to be justified. Through the whole length of the +Addington administration Pitt showed himself fully sensitive of what was +due to the king, with whom he had worked cordially for eighteen years, to +Grenville who had resigned in his cause, and to Addington who had assumed +office under his protection. There was no trace of faction in Pitt's +attitude towards the ministry. He merely opposed what he believed to be +dangerous to the country, and when he was convinced of the necessity of +removing Addington from a share in public business, he endeavoured to +effect his purpose in such a way as to give the minimum of offence.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_23" id="TOPIC_23"></a>On the other hand, Pitt's intended combination in a supreme crisis of his +country's destiny with his life-long antagonist, Fox, was a heroic +experiment, perhaps, but still only an experiment. The failure of the +ministry of "All the Talents" renders it exceedingly doubtful whether such +an alliance would have proved successful, and Fox's lukewarm patriotism +would have been dearly purchased at the expense of the alienation of the +king, perhaps even of his relapse into insanity. Nor is it certain that +the strongest pressure would have induced George III. to accept Fox at +this date. Addington was still undefeated and might have remained in +office if Pitt had refused to assume the reins of government without Fox. +Grenville is undoubtedly more responsible than any one else for the +weakness of Pitt's second administration. It was from a sense of loyalty +to Grenville that Pitt had suffered the negotiations for his return to +office in 1803 to fall through, and now when the two statesmen could +return together, and when, if ever, a strong government was needed, either +a quixotic sense of honour or a wounded pride induced Grenville not only +to stand aloof from the new administration himself, but to do his utmost +to prevent others from giving it their support.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> The new cabinet was +quickly formed. Pitt received the seals of office on May 10, and took his +seat in parliament after re-election on the 18th, the very day on which +Napoleon was declared emperor by the French senate.</p> + +<p>This event, long foreseen, was doubtless hastened by the disclosure of the +plot formed by Moreau, Pichegru, and Georges Cadoudal against the first +consul. There was no proof of Moreau's complicity in designs on Napoleon's +life, and the mysterious death of Pichegru in prison left the extent of +his complicity among the insoluble problems of history, but there can be +no doubt that Cadoudal was justly executed for plotting assassination. +Unfortunately some of the under-secretaries in the Addington +administration had not only shared the plans of the conspirators so far as +they aimed at a rising in France, but had procured for them material +assistance. They appear, however, to have been innocent of any attempt on +Napoleon's life. Drake, the British envoy at Munich, was, however, deeper +in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> the plot. The evidence of British complicity naturally received the +very worst construction in Paris.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> Napoleon himself certainly believed +in an Anglo-Bourbon conspiracy, organised by the Count of Artois and other +French royalists, when he caused the Duke of Enghien to be kidnapped in +Baden territory and hurried off to the castle of Vincennes. He was, +however, already aware of his prisoner's innocence when on March 21 he had +him shot there by torch-light after a mock trial before a military +commission. All Europe was shocked by this atrocious assassination, and +though Napoleon sometimes attempted to shift the guilt of it upon +Talleyrand, he justified it at other times as a measure of self-defence, +and left on record his deliberate approval of it, for the consideration of +posterity. Two months later he became Emperor of the French.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_24" id="TOPIC_24"></a>When Pitt resumed office on May 10, 1804, he was no longer the heaven-born +and buoyant young minister of 1783, strong in the confidence of the king +and the anticipated confidence of the nation, with a minority of followers +in the house of commons, but with the brightest prospects of political +success before him. Nor was he the leader of a devoted majority, as when +he resigned in 1801 rather than abandon his convictions on the catholic +question. He had been compelled to waive these convictions, without fully +regaining the confidence of the king, and, while the adherents of Fox +retained their deep-seated hatred of a war-policy, the adherents of +Addington and Grenville were in no mood to give him a loyal support. +Windham and Spencer were no longer at his side, and his ministry was +essentially the same as that of Addington, with the substitution of Dudley +Ryder, now Lord Harrowby, for Hawkesbury as foreign secretary, Melville +for St. Vincent as first lord of the admiralty, Earl Camden for Hobart as +secretary for war and the colonies, and the Duke of Montrose for Auckland +as president of the board of trade. Hawkesbury was transferred to the home +office, vacated by Yorke, and the new chancellor of the duchy of +Lancaster, Lord Mulgrave, was given a seat in the cabinet. Of Pitt's +eleven colleagues in the cabinet Castlereagh alone, who remained president +of the board of control—a wretched speaker though an able +administrator—had a seat in the lower house.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PITT'S RECONCILIATION WITH ADDINGTON.</i></div> + +<p>Military exigencies now engrossed all thoughts, and the king's speech, in +proroguing parliament on July 31, foreshadowed a new coalition, for which +the murder of the Duke of Enghien had paved the way. The preparations for +an invasion of England had been resumed, and Napoleon celebrated his +birthday in great state at Boulogne, still postponing his final stroke +until he should be crowned, on December 2, at Paris by the helpless pope, +brought from Italy for the purpose.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> A month later he personally +addressed another pacific letter to the King of England, who replied in +his speech from the throne on January 15, 1805, that he could not +entertain overtures except in concert with Russia and the other powers. +Meanwhile, Pitt, conscious as he was of failing powers, retained his +undaunted courage, and while he was organising a third coalition, did not +shrink from a bold measure which could hardly be justified by +international law. This was the seizure on October 5, 1804, of three +Spanish treasure-ships on the high seas, without a previous declaration of +war against Spain, though not without a previous notice that hostilities +might be opened at any moment unless Spain ceased to give underhand +assistance to France. The excuse was that Spain had long been the +obsequious ally of France, and, as the alliance now became open, Pitt's +act was sanctioned by a large majority in both houses of parliament in +January, 1805. The parliamentary session which opened in this month found +Pitt's ministry apparently stronger than it had been at the beginning of +the recess. Despairing of any help from Grenville, except in a vigorous +prosecution of the war, he had sought a reconciliation with Addington, who +became Viscount Sidmouth on January 12 and president of the council on the +14th. Along with Sidmouth his former colleague Hobart, now Earl of +Buckinghamshire, returned to office as chancellor of the duchy. To make +room for these new allies, Portland had consented to resign the presidency +of the council, though he remained a member of the cabinet, while Mulgrave +was appointed to the foreign office, in place of Harrowby, who was +compelled by ill-health to retire.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_25" id="TOPIC_25"></a>But this new accession of strength was soon followed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> a terrible +mortification which probably contributed to shorten Pitt's life. Melville, +his tried supporter and intimate friend, was charged on the report of a +commission with having misapplied public money as treasurer of the navy in +Pitt's former ministry. It appeared that he had been culpably careless, +and had not prevented the paymaster, Trotter, from engaging in private +speculations with the naval balances. Although Trotter's speculations +involved no loss to the state they were, nevertheless, a contravention of +an act of 1785. Melville had also supplied other departments of government +with naval money, but was personally innocent of fraud. There was a +divergence of feeling in the cabinet as to the attitude to be adopted +towards Melville. Sidmouth, himself a man of the highest integrity, was a +friend of St. Vincent, the late first lord of the admiralty, and had not +forgiven Melville for his part in the expulsion of himself and St. Vincent +from office. He had therefore both public and private grounds to incline +him against Melville. On April 8, Samuel Whitbread moved a formal censure +on Melville in the house of commons. Pitt, with the approval of Sidmouth +and his friends, moved the previous question on Whitbread's motion, and +declared his intention of introducing a motion of his own for a select +committee to investigate the charges. In spite of the support which Pitt +derived from the followers of Sidmouth the votes were equally divided on +Whitbread's motion, 216 a side. Abbot, the speaker, gave his casting vote +in favour of Whitbread, and the announcement was received by the whig +members with unseemly exultation.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MINISTERIAL CHANGES.</i></div> + +<p>The censure was followed by an impeachment before the house of lords, +where Melville was acquitted in the following year. Meanwhile, he had +resigned office on April 9, the day after the vote of censure, and his +place at the admiralty was taken by Sir Charles Middleton, who was raised +to the peerage as Lord Barham. The appointment gave umbrage to Sidmouth, +to whom Pitt had made promises of promotion for his own followers, and he +was with difficulty induced to remain in the cabinet. Pitt was, however, +irritated by the hostile votes of Sidmouth's followers, Hiley Addington +and Bond, on the question of the impeachment, and regarded this as a +reason<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> for delaying their preferment. Sidmouth now complained of a breach +of faith, as Pitt had promised to treat the question as an open one, and +he resigned office on July 4. Buckinghamshire resigned next day. Camden +was appointed to succeed Sidmouth as lord president, Castlereagh followed +Camden as secretary for war and the colonies, retaining his previous +position as president of the board of control, and Harrowby, whose health +had improved since his resignation in January, took Buckinghamshire's +place as chancellor of the duchy. Thus weakened at home, Pitt could derive +little consolation from the aspect of continental affairs. On May 26, +Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in the cathedral of Milan, and the +Ligurian Republic became part of the French empire in the following month. +The ascendency of France in Europe might well have appeared impregnable, +and it might have been supposed that nothing remained for England but to +guard her own coasts and recapture some of the French colonies given up by +the treaty of Amiens.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_26" id="TOPIC_26"></a>But Pitt's spirit was still unbroken, and by the middle of July he +succeeded in rallying three powers, Russia, Austria, and Sweden, into a +league to withstand the further encroachments of France. Such a league had +been proposed by Gustavus IV. of Sweden, early in 1804, but nothing +definite was done till Pitt's ministry entered upon office. Meanwhile, the +assassination of the Duke of Enghien had led to a rupture of diplomatic +relations between France and Russia, though war was not declared. +Negotiations were presently set on foot for a league, which, it was hoped, +would be joined by Austria and Prussia in addition to Great Britain, +Russia, and Sweden. An interesting feature in the negotiations was the +tsar's scheme of a European polity, where the states should be independent +and enjoy institutions "founded on the sacred rights of humanity," a +foreshadowing, as it would seem, of the Holy Alliance. The discussion of +details between Great Britain and Russia began towards the end of 1804. +Difficulties, however, arose about the British retention of Malta and the +British claim to search neutral ships for deserters. A treaty between the +two powers was signed on April 11, 1805; but the tsar long refused his +ratification, and it was only given in July, after a formal protest +against the retention of Malta.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> + +<p>The object of this alliance was defined to be the expulsion of French +troops from North Germany, the assured independence of the republics of +Holland and Switzerland, and the restoration of the King of Sardinia in +Piedmont; 500,000 men were to be provided for the war by Russia and such +other continental powers as might join the coalition. Great Britain, +instead of furnishing troops, was to supply £1,250,000 a year for every +100,000 men engaged in the war. After the close of the war an European +congress was to define more closely the law of nations and establish an +European federation. At the same time the allies disclaimed the intention +of forcing any system of government on France against her will. It will be +observed that the number of troops specified was far in excess of what +Russia alone could place in the field; such numbers could only be obtained +by the adhesion of Austria and of either Prussia or some of the smaller +German states to the coalition. So far as Austria was concerned, +Napoleon's Italian policy rendered war inevitable. Already in November, +1804, the Austrian court had entered into a secret agreement with Russia +to make war on France in the event of further French aggressions in Italy. +The coronation of Napoleon as King of Italy and the annexation of Liguria +were, however, more than aggressions; they were open violations of the +treaty of Lunéville which had guaranteed the independence of the Cisalpine +and Ligurian republics. Austria hereupon determined on war, and secretly +joined the coalition on August 9, 1805. Sweden, which was not a member of +it, concluded separate treaties of alliance both with Great Britain and +with Russia. Greater difficulties had to be surmounted in the case of +Prussia. Frederick William III. cherished no enthusiasm for European +liberty, and vacillated under the influence of Napoleon's offer of Hanover +on the one hand and his numerous petty insults on the other. Prussia in +consequence remained neutral throughout the most decisive period of the +ensuing war.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NELSON AND VILLENEUVE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_27" id="TOPIC_27"></a>Long before the coalition was ready Napoleon's mind had recurred to his +venturesome project for the invasion of England. An army, the finest that +he ever led to victory, which, even after it had been transferred to +another scene of action, he still saw fit to call the "army of England," +was encamped near Boulogne. It was constantly exercised in the process of +em<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>barking on board flat-bottomed boats or rafts, which were to be +convoyed by Villeneuve, admiral of the Toulon fleet, and Gantheaume, +admiral of the Brest fleet, for whose appearance the French signalmen +vainly scanned the horizon. In the meantime, Nelson had been engaged for +two years, without setting foot on shore, in that patient and sleepless +watch, ranging over the whole Mediterranean, which must ever rank with the +greatest of his matchless exploits. At last, he learned in the spring of +1805, that Villeneuve, following a plan concerted by Napoleon himself, had +eluded him by sailing from Toulon towards Cadiz, had there been joined by +the Spanish fleet, and was steering for the West Indies. Nelson followed +with a much smaller number of ships, and might have forced an action in +those waters, but he was misled by false intelligence and missed the +enemy, though his dreaded presence was effectual in saving the British +islands from any serious attack.</p> + +<p>The combined fleets of France and Spain recrossed the Atlantic and in +accordance with Napoleon's plans made for Ferrol on the coast of Galicia. +After being repulsed with some loss off Cape Finisterre by Sir Robert +Calder, who was court-martialled and severely reprimanded for neglecting +to follow up his victory, they put in first at Vigo, and then with fifteen +allied ships at Coruña. But, instead of venturing to carry out Napoleon's +orders by challenging Admiral Cornwallis's fleet off Brest, and making a +desperate effort to command the channel, Villeneuve now took advantage of +his emperors recommendation to return to Cadiz in event of defeat, and set +sail for that port in the middle of August. Nelson, ignorant of his +movements, had vainly sought him off the Straits of Gibraltar, and came +home to report himself at the admiralty. Arriving at Spithead on August +18, he was in England barely four weeks, most of which he spent in privacy +at Merton. During this brief respite he received a general tribute of +admiration and affection from his countrymen, which anticipated the +verdict of posterity. On September 15 he sailed from Portsmouth, with a +presentiment of his own fate, after having described to Sidmouth the +general design of his crowning sea fight: he would, he said, break the +enemy's line in two places; and he did so. He joined Admiral Collingwood +off Cadiz on the 29th, and on October 19 he received news that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +Villeneuve, smarting under the prospect of being superseded, had put to +sea with the combined fleet. Complicated naval manœuvres followed, but +on the 21st the enemy was forced to give battle, a few leagues from Cape +Trafalgar, and Nelson caused his immortal signal to be hoisted—"England +expects that every man will do his duty".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_28" id="TOPIC_28"></a>The French and Spanish fleet comprised thirty-three ships of the line, of +which eighteen were French and fifteen Spanish; the British had only +twenty-seven, but among these were seven three-deckers as against four on +the side of the allies. It had the additional advantage of superior +discipline and equipment, to say nothing of the genius of its commander. +The British fleet advanced in two divisions, Nelson leading the weather +division of twelve, and Collingwood the lee division of fifteen ships. +According to Nelson's plan Collingwood was to attack the rear of the +enemy's line, while he himself cut off and paralysed the centre and van. +Both divisions advanced without regular formation, the ships bearing down +with all the speed they could command and without waiting for laggards. +Collingwood in the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, steering E. by N., broke through the +allies' line twelve ships from the rear, raking the <i>Santa Ana</i>, Alava's +flagship, as he passed her stern, with a broadside which struck down 400 +of her men. For some fifteen minutes the <i>Royal Sovereign</i> was alone in +action; then others of the division came up and successively penetrated +the line of the allies, and engaging ship to ship completely disposed of +the enemy's rear, their twelve rear ships being all taken or destroyed.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Nelson in the <i>Victory</i>, who had reserved to himself the more +difficult task of containing twenty-one ships with twelve, held on his +course, advancing so as to keep the allied van stationary and yet to +prevent the centre from venturing to help the rear. He designed to pass +through the end of the line in order to cut the enemy's van off from +Cadiz, but, finding an opportunity, changed his course, passed down the +line and attacked the centre. He passed through the line of the allied +fleet, closely followed by four other ships of his division, and the five +British ships concentrated their attacks on the <i>Bucentaure</i>, Villeneuve's +flagship, the gigantic Spanish four-decker, the <i>Santísima Trinidad</i>, +which was next ahead of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> her, and the <i>Redoutable</i>, which supported her. +The centre of the allies was crushed and the van cut off from coming to +the help of the rear, which was being destroyed by Collingwood.</p> + +<p>Before the battle ended, the naval force of France, and with it Napoleon's +projects of invasion, were utterly and hopelessly ruined. Eighteen prizes +were taken, and, though many of these were lost in a gale, four ships +which escaped were afterwards captured, and the remainder lay for the most +part shattered hulks at Cadiz. By this battle the supremacy of Great +Britain at sea was finally established. Nelson, who, during the +ship-to-ship engagement which followed his penetration of the enemy's +line, was mortally wounded by a sharp-shooter from the mizzen-top of the +<i>Redoutable</i>, died before the battle was over, though he was spared to +hear that a complete victory was secure. His death is among the heroic +incidents of history, and his last achievement, both in its conception and +its results, was the fitting climax of his fame. The plan for the battle +which he drew up beforehand for the instruction of his captains, and the +changes which he made in it to meet the conditions of the moment are alike +worthy of his supreme genius as a naval tactician. His arrangements were +carried out by men who had learned to love and trust him, and who were +inspired by the fire of his spirit, and hence it was that the allied fleet +of France and Spain perished at the "Nelson touch".<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_29" id="TOPIC_29"></a>Very different were the fortunes of war in central Europe, where Napoleon +himself commanded the "army of England". It was not until the end of +August that Napoleon knew that Villeneuve would be unable to appear in the +Channel, but no sooner did he abandon his project of invasion in despair +than he resolved on a campaign scarcely less arduous, and gave orders for +a grand march into Germany. Pitt, as we have seen, had successfully +negotiated an alliance with Russia and Austria, whose armies were +converging upon the plains of Bavaria and were to have been reinforced by +a large Prussian contingent. Unhappily, they had not effected a junction +when Napoleon crossed the Rhine near Strassburg and the Danube near +Donauwörth, while he detached large forces to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> check the advance of the +Russians and the approach of reinforcements expected from Italy. One of +these movements involved an open violation of Prussian territory, but he +could rely on the well-tried servility of Frederick William. The first +decisive result of his strategy was the surrender of Mack at Ulm, with +30,000 men and 60 pieces of ordnance. This event took place on October 20, +the very day before the battle of Trafalgar, and opened the road to +Vienna, which the French troops entered on November 13, occupying the +great bridge by a ruse more skilful than honourable, during the +negotiation of an armistice. Vienna was spared, while Napoleon pressed on +to meet the remainder of the Austrian army, which had now been joined by a +larger body of Russians near Brünn. The allies numbered about 100,000 men; +Napoleon's army was numerically somewhat less, but possessed the same kind +of superiority as the British navy at Trafalgar. <a name="TOPIC_30" id="TOPIC_30"></a>The result was the +crushing victory of Austerlitz on December 2, followed by the peace of +Pressburg, between France and Austria, signed on the 26th. The principal +articles of this treaty provided for the cession of Venetia, Istria, and +Dalmatia to the kingdom of Italy, and the aggrandisement of Bavaria and +Würtemberg, whose electors received the royal title as the price of their +sympathetic alliance with France. Russia withdrew sullenly, having learned +the hollowness of her league with Prussia, which had basely temporised +while the fate of Germany was at stake, and whose minister, Haugwitz, +suppressing the <i>ultimatum</i> which he was charged to deliver, had openly +congratulated the conqueror of Austerlitz.</p> + +<p>Great Britain had had no direct share in the conflict in Southern Germany +and Moravia; she had, however, joined in two expeditions, the one in +Southern, the other in Northern Europe. In spite of a treaty of neutrality +between France and the Two Sicilies, ratified on October 8, an +Anglo-Russian squadron was permitted to land a force of 10,000 British +troops under Sir James Craig, and 14,000 Russians on the shore of the Bay +of Naples. These troops effected nothing, and the violation of neutrality +was, as we shall see, destined to involve the Neapolitan monarchy in ruin. +The expedition to North Germany was planned on a larger scale. Hanover had +been occupied by France since June, 1803. Its recovery was at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>tempted by +an Anglo-Hanoverian force under Cathcart, which was to have been supported +by a Russian and Swedish force acting from Stralsund. The co-operation of +Prussia was also expected. In order to secure this alliance the British +government offered Prussia an extension of territory so as to include +Antwerp, Liège, Luxemburg, and Cologne, in the event of victory. In +November the expedition landed. In December Prussia had definitely given +her protection to the Russian troops in Hanover and offered it to the +Hanoverians. Pitt computed that at the beginning of the next campaign +nearly 300,000 men would be available in North Germany. <a name="TOPIC_31" id="TOPIC_31"></a>But the +vacillation of Prussia ruined all. On December 15 Haugwitz signed the +treaty of Schönbrunn, by which Prussia was to enter into an offensive and +defensive alliance with France and was to receive Hanover in return for +Ansbach, Cleves, and Neuchâtel. Frederick William could not yet stoop to +such a degree of infamy, and therefore, instead of ratifying the treaty, +resolved on January 3, 1806, to propose a compromise, which involved among +other provisions the temporary occupation of Hanover by Prussia. In +consequence of this determination he sent, on January 7, a request for the +withdrawal of the British forces, which were accordingly recalled.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE DEATH OF PITT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_32" id="TOPIC_32"></a>The collapse of his last coalition was the death-blow of Pitt, cheered +though he was for the moment by the news of Trafalgar. The fatal +consequences of Austerlitz were reported to him at Bath, whence he +returned by easy stages to his villa at Putney in January, 1806. His noble +spirit was broken at last by the defection of Prussia, and after lingering +a while, he died on the 23rd of that month, leaving a name second to none +among the greatest statesmen of his country. His sagacious mind grasped +the advantage to be gained by freeing trade from unnecessary restrictions, +and anticipated catholic emancipation, parliamentary reform, and the +abolition of slavery. He gave the nation, in the union with Ireland, the +one constructive measure of the first order achieved in his time, and only +marred by the weakness of more pliable successors in a lesser age. His +dauntless soul, which bore him up against the bitterest disappointments, +the desertion of friends, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> depression of mortal disease, inspired +the governing classes of England to endure ten more years of exhausting +war, to save Europe (as he foretold) by their example, and to crown his +own work at Waterloo. His lofty eloquence, which has been described as a +gift independent of statesmanship, was indeed a product of statesmanship, +for it consisted in no mere witchery of words, but in a luminous and +convincing presentation of essential facts. He may have been inferior to +his own father in fiery rhetoric, to Peel in comprehensive grasp of +domestic policy, and to Gladstone in the political experience gained by +sixty years of political life, but in capacity for command he was inferior +to none. If he was not an ideal war minister, he was not a war minister by +his own choice; his lot was cast in times which suppressed the exercise of +his best powers; and he was matched in the organisation of war, though not +in the field, against the greatest organising genius known to history. He +must be judged by what he actually did and meditated as a peace minister; +his conduct of the war must be compared with that of those able but not +gifted men who strove to bend the bow which he left behind him; and we +must assuredly conclude that none of his colleagues or rivals was his peer +either in powers or in public spirit.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Buckingham, <i>Court and Cabinets</i>, iii., 242; Lewis, +<i>Administrations of Great Britain</i>, p. 225.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Buckingham, <i>Court and Cabinets</i>, iii., 282-90; Pellew, +<i>Life of Sidmouth</i>, ii., 113-31; Stanhope, <i>Life of Pitt</i>, iv., 20-39.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> See vol. x., p. 399.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Pellew, <i>Life of Sidmouth</i>, ii., 145-47; Stanhope, <i>Life of +Pitt</i>, iv., 88-93.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> For a list of Canning's squibs, belonging to this period, +see Lewis, <i>Administrations</i>, p. 249, note.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> It was not fair to hold Addington entirely responsible for +the promotion of his brother, who had been a junior lord of the treasury +under Pitt. The taunt came with a particularly bad grace from Canning, who +had himself been paymaster-general in the last administration.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Pellew, <i>Life of Sidmouth</i>, ii., 250.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> <i>Annual Register</i>, xlvi. (1804), p. 34.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Stanhope, <i>Life of Pitt</i>, iv., 135-44.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> See the letter in Stanhope, <i>Life of Pitt</i>, iv., appendix, +pp. i.-iii.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> There is preserved a sketch in Pitt's handwriting of a +combined administration with Melville, Fox, and Fitzwilliam as secretaries +of state, and Grenville as lord president.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Stanhope, <i>Life of Pitt</i>, iv., appendix, pp. xi., xii.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> The best account of Pitt's return to power is to be found in +Stanhope, <i>Life of Pitt</i>, iv., 113-95; appendix, pp. i.-xiii. The story is +told in a very spirited manner by Lord Rosebery, <i>Pitt</i>, pp. 238-44.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Rose, <i>Life of Napoleon I.</i>, i., 450-53.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Napoleon actually crowned himself, although he had +originally intended to be crowned by the pope.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Malmesbury, <i>Diaries</i>, iv., 338.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Nelson's tactics at Trafalgar are explained in a series of +remarkable articles in <i>The Times</i> of September 16, 19, 22, 26, 28, 30, +and October 19, 1905. For incidents of the battle see Mahan, <i>Life of +Nelson</i>, ii., 363 <i>sqq.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Rose, <i>Life of Napoleon I.</i>, ii., 53-57, 63-65.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<h3>GRENVILLE AND PORTLAND.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_33" id="TOPIC_33"></a>The immediate effect of Pitt's death was the dissolution of his +government. The king turned at first to Hawkesbury, afterwards destined as +Earl of Liverpool to hold the office of premier for nearly fifteen years; +but he then felt himself unequal to such a burden. He next sent for +Grenville, who insisted on the co-operation of Fox, to which the king +assented without demur, and the short-lived ministry of "All the Talents" +was formed within a few days. It was essentially a whig cabinet, but it +included two tories, Sidmouth as lord privy seal, and Lord Ellenborough, +the lord chief justice. Grenville himself was first lord of the treasury, +Fox foreign secretary, and Erskine lord chancellor. Charles Grey, the +future Earl Grey, was first lord of the admiralty. Spencer home secretary, +Windham secretary for war and the colonies, and Lord Henry Petty, the +future Marquis of Lansdowne, chancellor of the exchequer. Fitzwilliam was +lord president, and the Earl of Moira master-general of the ordnance. +Ellenborough owed his place in the cabinet to the influence of Sidmouth. +The appointment was a departure from the established constitutional +practice. Since Lord Mansfield, who had ceased to be an efficient member +in 1765, no chief justice had been a member of the cabinet, and it was +argued in parliament by the opposition that a seat in the cabinet was +inconsistent with the independence which a common law judge ought to +maintain. It is also important to observe that Sidmouth when accepting +office gave express notice to Grenville and Fox that under all +circumstances "he would ever resist the catholic question".<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_34" id="TOPIC_34"></a>The friendly relations of the king with Fox were creditable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> to both of +them, and in the last few months of his life Fox showed himself a +statesman. Besides the abolition of the slave trade, his grand object was +the restoration of peace on a durable basis. There were some grounds for +believing that this was possible. France, under an emperor, seemed no +longer to represent a new principle in European politics, and was not +necessarily a menace to her neighbours; the coalition was fairly beaten on +land, while British supremacy had been reasserted on sea, and Napoleon +might well wish for peace to enable him to consolidate his position on +land and regain the power of using the sea, just as he had done in 1801. +Fox lost no time in renewing a pacific correspondence with Talleyrand, +afterwards carried on through the agency of Lord Yarmouth, an English +traveller detained in France, and Lord Lauderdale, who was sent over as +plenipotentiary. The principle of the negotiation was that of <i>uti +possidetis</i>, but it failed, as Whitworth's efforts had failed, because the +pretensions of France were constantly shifting, and especially because +France, anxious to isolate Great Britain, insisted on negotiating +separately with Great Britain and Russia, while Fox very properly refused +to make peace without our ally. Grey himself, now Lord Howick, afterwards +declared that France showed no disposition to grant any terms which could +be accepted by Great Britain. On September 13, Fox died, and was buried in +Westminster Abbey almost side by side with his great rival.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_35" id="TOPIC_35"></a>While he was earnestly striving for peace, there was no cessation of +warlike movements or political changes either in Central Europe or in +Italy. In June, 1806, Napoleon converted the Batavian Republic into the +kingdom of Holland, over which he set his brother Louis. In July the +discord of Germany, which had long ceased to be a nation, was consummated +by the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, which separated all +the western states from the Holy Roman empire, and united them under the +protection and control of France. On August 6, Francis II., who had +assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in 1804, formally renounced the +title of Roman Emperor, and the Holy Roman Empire became extinct. The King +of Prussia, with singular disregard of good faith and national interest, +finally accepted on February 15 the bribe of Hanover for adhesion to +France, but without the offensive and defensive alliance offered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> him in +the previous December, and with the additional humiliation of being +compelled to close his ports to English ships. He vainly strove to conceal +this shameful bargain, and was, as will be seen, punished by the +destruction of Prussian commerce. After all, he found himself overreached +by Napoleon in duplicity, and was at last provoked into risking a +single-handed contest with his imperious ally. He declared war on October +1, and within a fortnight the army of Prussia, inheriting the system and +traditions of the great Frederick, was all but annihilated in the twin +battles of Jena and Auerstädt fought on October 14.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SMALL EXPEDITIONS.</i></div> + +<p>The British government, though not unwilling to forgive the perfidy of its +former confederate, was powerless to strike a blow on his behalf until it +was too late. Indeed, the only warlike operation undertaken by Great +Britain in Europe during the year was in the extreme south of Italy. +Ferdinand, King of the Two Sicilies, had been driven out of his capital to +make way for Joseph Bonaparte, who entered Naples on February 15, and the +exiled monarch took refuge in the island of Sicily. In accordance with the +shortsighted policy of small expeditions, a British force under Sir John +Stuart was landed in Calabria to raise the peasantry, and on July 4, +defeated the French at the point of the bayonet in the battle of Maida. +This action shook the confidence of Europe in the superiority of the +French infantry, and saved Sicily from France, but the French troops +remained in possession of the Italian mainland. The prestige of Great +Britain was raised by the conquest of the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good +Hope in January by a naval and military force sent out by Pitt under the +command of Sir Home Popham and General, now Sir David, Baird, but was +damaged by a futile expedition to South America, undertaken by Popham +without orders from the home government. The city of Buenos Ayres was +taken, indeed, in June by General Beresford, but it was retaken by the +Spaniards in August, and soldiers who could ill be spared from the +European conflict now impending were lavished on a chimerical project on +the other side of the Atlantic.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_36" id="TOPIC_36"></a>The short administration of Grenville, so inactive in its foreign policy, +is memorable only for one redeeming measure of home-policy—the abolition +of the slave trade. Before Fox's death, the attention of parliament had +been divided mainly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> between Windham's abortive scheme for a vast standing +army, to be raised on the basis of limited service, and the secret inquiry +into the conduct of the Princess of Wales. This resulted in her being +acquitted of the more scandalous charges against her, but on the advice of +the cabinet, she was censured by the king for unseemly levity of +behaviour. On October 24 parliament was dissolved. It was a foolish +dissolution, for ministerial convenience only, and aimed not merely at +strengthening the ministry, but at weakening the tory section within the +ministry. The election was not well managed, and the king withheld the +subscription of £12,000 with which he was accustomed to assist his +ministers for the time being at a general election. <a name="TOPIC_37" id="TOPIC_37"></a>Still the ministry +obtained a considerable majority.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> The new parliament met on December +15, and on March 25, 1807, the abolition bill, having passed the house of +lords in spite of strong opposition, was carried in the commons by 283 to +16. Thus ended a philanthropic struggle, which began in 1783, when the +quakers petitioned against the trade. Three years later Clarkson began his +crusade. Two bills in favour of abolition were carried by the house of +commons before the close of the eighteenth century, but were thrown out in +the house of lords. The same fate befell a bill for a temporary suspension +of the slave trade, which passed the commons in 1804 under the spell of +Wilberforce's persuasive eloquence; but Pitt's government caused a royal +proclamation to be issued, which at least checked the spread of the +nefarious traffic in the newly conquered colonies. A larger measure failed +to pass the house of commons in 1805, but in 1806 Fox and Grenville +succeeded in committing both houses to an open condemnation of the trade. +This was followed on March 25, 1807, by an enactment entirely prohibiting +the slave trade from and after January 1, 1808, though it was not made +felony to engage in it until a further act was carried by Brougham in +1811.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FALL OF GRENVILLE'S MINISTRY.</i></div> + +<p>In default of important legislative tasks, the parliament which expired in +1806 devoted much attention to various features of the military system, as +well as to proposed reforms in the public accounts. It sanctioned the +principle of raising a great part of the war-expenses by special taxes +rather than by loan. A property-tax of 10 per cent. was freely voted, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +this was then represented to be its permanent limit. The assessed taxes +were increased at the same time by 10 per cent., but with an allowance in +favour of poorer taxpayers for every child above the number of two. It is +worthy of notice that, while Grenville's ministry was in office, Whitbread +brought forward an elaborate plan not only for reforming the poor laws but +also for establishing a system of national education. Some changes in the +cabinet were necessitated by the death of Fox. Howick became foreign +secretary and was succeeded at the admiralty by Thomas Grenville, brother +of the prime minister, most famous as a book-collector. Fitzwilliam +retired at the same time on the ground of ill-health. He retained his seat +in the cabinet, but was succeeded as lord president by Sidmouth, while +Fox's nephew, Lord Holland, succeeded Sidmouth as lord privy seal.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_38" id="TOPIC_38"></a>The fall of the whig government in March, 1807, was due to a cause similar +to that which had brought about the retirement of Pitt in 1801. The Duke +of Bedford, who was lord lieutenant of Ireland, had urged the importance +of making some concessions to Roman catholics. An Irish act of 1793 had +opened commissions in the army as high as the rank of colonel to Roman +catholics, and the ministry obtained the reluctant consent of the king to +the extension of this concession to Roman catholics throughout his +dominions. Without having fully ascertained the king's mind, Howick, on +behalf of his colleagues, moved for leave to bring in a bill opening all +commissions in the army and navy to Roman catholics. The king at once +refused his sanction, and the government, finding that they could not +carry their bill, agreed to withdraw it. This decision was announced to +the king in a cabinet minute, drawn up at a meeting from which +Ellenborough, Erskine, and Sidmouth, who sympathised with the king, were +excluded, and from which Fitzwilliam and Spencer were absent owing to +ill-health. The minute went on to record their adhesion to the policy +embodied in the bill, reserving the right to advise the king on any future +occasion in accordance with that policy. Thereupon, Sidmouth, who had +already sent in his resignation, Eldon, Portland, and Malmesbury, with the +concurrence of the Duke of York and Spencer Perceval, urged the king to +make a stand upon his prerogative. He did so, by requiring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> the ministers +who had signed the minute, to give him a written pledge that they would +never press upon him further concessions, direct or indirect, to the Roman +catholics. This pledge they properly declined, and accepted the +consequence by resignation. Spencer was present at the meeting which +arrived at this conclusion and concurred in the decision of his +colleagues.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_39" id="TOPIC_39"></a>A new administration was formed by Portland, as nominal head, but with +Perceval as its real leader and chancellor of the exchequer, Canning as +foreign secretary, Hawkesbury as home secretary, and Castlereagh as +minister for war and the colonies. Camden, Eldon, Westmorland, and Chatham +resumed the offices they had held before the death of Pitt, Mulgrave +became first lord of the admiralty, and Earl Bathurst president of the +board of trade. In this government, too, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future +Duke of Wellington, who had returned in 1805 from a brilliant military +career in India, held office outside the cabinet as chief secretary for +Ireland. Spencer Perceval was a half-brother of the Earl of Egmont and +brother of Lord Arden. He enjoyed a large practice at the bar and had made +his mark as a parliamentary debater when filling the offices, first of +solicitor-general, and then of attorney-general under Addington. He had +held the latter office again under Pitt. Not the least source of his +influence was his steady and determined opposition to the Roman catholic +claims.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NON-INTERVENTION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_40" id="TOPIC_40"></a>After a short but animated debate on the important constitutional question +raised by the circumstances of the change of ministers, parliament was +again dissolved on April 27. The king's speech in closing the session was +virtually a personal appeal to his people, and a majority was returned in +favour of the new ministry. This result may be said to mark the last +triumph of George III. in maintaining the principle of personal +government. "A just and enlightened toleration" was announced as the +substitute for catholic relief. Still, a certain revival of independent +popular opinion may be traced in the return of Sir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> Francis Burdett and +Lord Cochrane for Westminster. It was not until June 22 that parliament +assembled, and the engrossing interest of foreign events left but little +room for discussions on home-policy. A motion by Whitbread, however, bore +fruit in a bill for establishing parochial schools, which Eldon +successfully opposed in the house of lords, mainly on the ground that it +would take popular education out of the hands of the clergy. The same not +unnatural apathy about home affairs prevailed throughout the session of +1808, which began on January 31, and though a large number of acts were +placed on the statute book in this and succeeding years, the mass of them, +including many relating to Ireland, were essentially of a local or +occasional character. An exception must be recognised in the partial +success of a motion for the reform of the criminal law, which was proposed +by Sir Samuel Romilly, famous for his efforts in the cause of humanity, +and which resulted in the abolition of capital punishment for the offence +of pocket-picking.</p> + +<p>During this critical period, when Great Britain was gradually drifting +into a position of isolation, the course of parliamentary history becomes +inseparable from the progress of those mighty events on the continent, +which Grenville's government would fain have treated as outside the sphere +of British interests. For, notwithstanding Windham's schemes for a +reconstruction of the army, that government had allowed the naval and +military establishments of Great Britain to fall below their former +standard. The leading idea of their policy was non-intervention, and at +the opening of 1807, there was no longer any thought of sending a force to +cope with Napoleon's veterans on the continent When in 1805 a British +force was operating in North Germany, it was possible that if Prussia had +been faithful to her engagements, the disaster of Austerlitz might at +least have been partially retrieved. It was otherwise when, after the +collapse of Prussia, France and Russia stood face to face with each other. +The drawn battle of Eylau in East Prussia, marked by fearful carnage, was +fought on February 8, 1807. This check, breaking the spell of Napoleon's +victorious career, had a remarkable effect in raising the spirits of the +allies, Russia, Sweden, and Prussia, some remains of whose army were still +in the field. These powers now drew closer together, but they received a +lukewarm support from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> Great Britain, which might have done much to save +Europe by timely reinforcements and liberal subsidies. In reply to an +urgent appeal from the tsar for a loan of £6,000,000, the Grenville +ministry doled out £500,000 to Russia, and a still more pitiful gift to +Prussia. No troops were sent to aid Sweden on the Baltic coast, although, +when, at Napoleon's instigation, Turkey declared war against Russia, +expeditions were despatched to Alexandria and the Dardanelles. The notion +of making war on a large scale, in concert with allies, on the continent +of Europe, as in the days of Marlborough, and even of Lord Granby, seems +to have vanished from the minds of English statesmen, except Castlereagh, +who always advocated concentrated action.</p> + +<p>The succession of Portland and Canning to Grenville and Howick brought no +immediate change in our insular policy and the new government had been in +office for above three months before a British force at last appeared in +the Swedish island of Rügen. It arrived too late, Danzig surrendered in +May, and on June 14 Napoleon obtained a decisive victory over the Russian +army and its Prussian contingent at Friedland. Russia now gave a supreme +example of that national selfishness, and contempt for the rights of +independent states which had dominated the counsels of sovereigns ever +since the first partition of Poland. Doubtless the tsar might plead that +Great Britain, too, had been wasting her strength in selfish attempts to +secure her mastery of the seas, and to open new markets for her trade. He +also deeply resented her recent failure to aid him in the hour of his +utmost need, while he still cherished the policy of the "armed +neutrality," and was eager to prosecute his designs against Turkey. +Dazzled and flattered by Napoleon, he welcomed overtures for peace at the +expense of Great Britain, and there is no doubt that his imaginative +nature indulged in the vision of a regenerated Europe, divided between +himself as emperor of the east and Napoleon as emperor of the west. It is +therefore far from surprising that he should have held a private interview +with Napoleon, on a raft in the Niemen, which led to the treaty of Tilsit +on July 7.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE TREATY OF TILSIT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_41" id="TOPIC_41"></a>This treaty, in which the King of Prussia shared as a helpless partner, +contained both public and secret articles, but the distinction was not +very material, for the secret articles almost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> immediately became known to +Canning. The general effect of the whole agreement was the utter +humiliation of Prussia, the recognition by that country and Russia of all +Napoleon's acquisitions, and their combination with France against the +maritime claims and conquests of Great Britain. The western provinces of +Prussia were to be incorporated with other German annexations to form the +new kingdom of Westphalia; Prussian Poland was to be converted into the +duchy of Warsaw under the crown of Saxony, to which a right of passage +through Silesia was reserved; and Berlin with other great Prussian +fortresses were to remain in the hands of the French until an exorbitant +war indemnity should have been paid.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> At one stroke Prussia was thus +reduced to a second-rate power, with a territory little greater than it +possessed before the first partition of Poland. The rule of Joseph +Bonaparte at Naples, that of Louis in Holland, and the confederation of +the Rhine, were solemnly confirmed. Above all, Russia pledged herself to +join France in coercing Sweden, Denmark, and Portugal into an adoption of +the organised commercial exclusion, known as the "continental system," and +hostility to Great Britain in the event of her resistance. If Sweden +refused to join this league, Denmark was to be compelled to declare war on +her.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_42" id="TOPIC_42"></a>No sooner did it receive information of this alliance than the British +government despatched a naval armament to Denmark and landed troops, which +were soon reinforced by those withdrawn from Rügen. There had been no open +rupture with Denmark, though much irritation existed between Denmark and +Great Britain with reference to neutral commerce. But there were the best +reasons for believing that the Danish fleet, as well as that of Portugal, +would be demanded by France and Russia, to be employed against Great +Britain, and it was certain that Denmark could not withstand such +pressure. The British envoy, Jackson, was accordingly instructed to offer +Denmark a treaty of alliance, of which one condition was to be the deposit +of her fleet on hire with the British government. The proposal was +accompanied by a threat of force, and the crown prince, with a spirit +worthy of admiration, refused the terms. In consequence a peremptory<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +summons to deliver up her ships of war and naval stores was addressed to +the governor of Copenhagen by the British commanders, Admiral Gambier and +Lord Cathcart, under whom Sir Arthur Wellesley was entrusted with the +reserve. The surrender, if made peaceably, was to be in the nature of a +deposit, and the fleet was to be restored at the end of the war. The +governor returned a temporising reply, and a bombardment of Copenhagen +followed (September 2); the fleet was brought to England as prize of war; +and Denmark naturally became the enemy of Great Britain.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> Sweden +declined the proffered alliance of France and Russia, and actually invaded +Norway, then a part of the Danish kingdom. The result was the loss of +Finland and Swedish Pomerania. The king, Gustavus IV., resembled Charles +XII. in quixotic temperament, but not in ability; and Sir John Moore, sent +to his support with an army of 10,000 men, found it hopeless to co-operate +with him. Shortly afterwards, his subjects formed the same opinion, and he +was compelled to make way for his uncle, who succeeded as Charles XIII. +with Marshal Bernadotte as crown prince. In consequence of this change +Sweden became reconciled to Russia, and estranged from Great Britain.</p> + +<p>The seizure of the Danish fleet, in time of so-called peace, roused great +indignation throughout most of Europe, and, in some degree, strained the +conscience of the British parliament itself. The justice and wisdom of it +were strenuously challenged in both houses, especially by Grenville, +Sidmouth, and Lord Darnley, who moved an address to the crown embodying an +impressive protest against it. It was defended, however, by the high +authority of the Marquis Wellesley, as well as by Canning and other +ministers, on the simple ground of military necessity. Napoleon himself +never ceased to denounce it as an international outrage of the highest +enormity. This did not prevent his doing his best to justify it and to +imitate it by sending Junot's expedition to Portugal, with instructions to +seize the Portuguese fleet at Lisbon. It is strange that in the debates on +this subject, peace with France was still treated on both sides as a +possibility; but Canning declared that neither Russian nor Austrian +mediation could have been accepted as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> impartial, or as affording the +least hope of pacification. However, on September 25, the king addressed a +declaration to Europe, in which, after justifying himself in regard to +Copenhagen, he professed his readiness to accept conditions of peace +"consistent with the maritime rights and political existence of Great +Britain".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>COMMERCIAL EXCLUSION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_43" id="TOPIC_43"></a>Still more reasonable attacks, supported by strong petitions, were made by +the opposition upon the "orders in council," whereby the British +government retaliated against Napoleon's "continental system". This system +was founded on a firm belief, shared by the French people, that Great +Britain, as mistress of the seas, was the one great obstacle to his +imperial ambition, and the most formidable enemy of French aggrandisement, +only to be crushed by the ruin of her trade. Prussia had, in conformity +with her treaty of February 15, 1806, issued a proclamation on March 28 of +that year, closing her ports, which would now include those of Hanover, +against British trade. The British government replied by first laying an +embargo on Prussian vessels in the harbours of Great Britain and Ireland, +and by proclaiming a blockade of the coast of Europe from Brest to the +Elbe. This was followed on May 14 by an order in council for seizing all +vessels found navigating under Prussian colours. As yet the policy of +commercial exclusion had not been carried to any great length, but the +Berlin decree issued by Napoleon on November 21 after the battle of Jena +proclaimed the whole of the British Isles to be in a state of blockade, +prohibited all commerce with them from the ports of France and her +dependent states, confiscated all British merchandise in such ports, and +declared all British subjects in countries occupied by French troops to be +prisoners of war. Howick replied by further orders in council in January, +1807, forbidding neutrals to trade between the ports of France and her +allies, or between the ports of nations which should observe the Berlin +decree, on pain of the confiscation of the ship and cargo. On the 27th +another decree, issued at Warsaw, ordered the seizure in the Hanse Towns +of all British goods and colonial produce. The reply of Great Britain was +a stricter blockade of the North German coast.</p> + +<p>The accession of Russia to Napoleon's commercial policy at Tilsit seemed +to have brought the combination against British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> trade to its furthest +development, and it was answered by new orders in council, treating any +port from which the British flag was excluded as if actually blockaded, +and further limiting the carriage by neutral vessels of produce from +hostile colonies. The Milan decree issued on December 17, and further +orders in council published during the same winter, carried to greater +extremes, if possible, this intolerable form of commercial warfare, under +which neutral commerce was gradually crushed out of existence. Great +Britain, owing to her command of the sea, was more independent of this +kind of commerce than her rival, and both the decrees and the orders in +council inflicted far more damage on France and her allies than on Great +Britain. But neither party was able to enforce completely its policy of +commercial exclusion. Europe could not dispense with British goods or +colonial produce carried in British vessels. The law was deliberately set +aside by a regular licensing system, and evaded by wholesale smuggling; +neutral ships continued to ply between continental ports, and Napoleon did +not disdain to clothe his troops with 50,000 British overcoats during the +Eylau campaign. Still, Great Britain was enabled to cripple, if not to +destroy, the merchant shipping of all other countries, and the interests +of consumers all over Europe were enlisted against the author of the +continental system. On the other hand, a heavy blow was dealt to friendly +relations between Great Britain and the United States, the chief victim of +these belligerent pretensions.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FRUITLESS EXPEDITIONS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_44" id="TOPIC_44"></a>In the meantime, the prestige of Great Britain had been injured by three +petty and abortive expeditions projected by the Grenville ministry. The +first of these was sent out to complete the conquest of Buenos Ayres, the +recapture of which was unknown in England. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who +commanded it, finding himself too late to occupy that city, attacked and +took Monte Video by storm with much skill and spirit, on February 3, 1807. +Shortly afterwards, he was superseded by General Whitelocke, bringing +reinforcements, with orders to recover Buenos Ayres. In this he signally +failed, owing to gross tactical errors. The British troops were almost +passively<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> slaughtered in the streets, and Whitelocke agreed to withdraw +the remains of his force, and give up Monte Video, on condition of all +prisoners being surrendered. On his return home, he was tried by a +court-martial and cashiered, being also declared "totally unfit to serve +his majesty in any military capacity whatever".</p> + +<p>Equally ill-managed was the naval expedition, directed to support Russia, +then in close alliance with Great Britain, by coercing the sultan into a +rupture with France. Collingwood, who was not consulted, was required to +entrust the command of this expedition, which started in February, 1807, +to Sir John Duckworth. Everything depended on promptitude, and the admiral +found little difficulty in forcing the passage of the Dardanelles, as it +was then almost unfortified. Having reached Constantinople, he allowed +himself to waste time in fruitless negotiations, contrary to Collingwood's +earnest advice, and not only effected nothing but gravely imperilled his +return. Instructed by the French minister Sébastiani, the Turks had armed +their coasts, and erected batteries along the Dardanelles, through which +the British fleet made its way with considerable loss. Instead of being +detached from the French alliance, the Porte was thrown into its arms and +became more embittered than ever against Russia. It was soon involved in a +serious conflict with that country—for the possession of Wallachia and +Moldavia—only to be deserted again by France under the compact made at +Tilsit. The expedition to Egypt, planned in combination with the +expedition to the Dardanelles, ended in a still worse disaster. Though +General Fraser, its commander, was able to surprise Alexandria on March +30, he awaited in vain the expected news of Duckworth's success; he +proceeded to attack Rosetta with as little generalship as Whitelocke had +shown at Buenos Ayres, and encountered a similar repulse. An attempt to +besiege the town met with no better fortune: the British troops submitted +to a capitulation, evacuated Egypt, and sailed for Sicily in September, +1807. In an imperial manifesto addressed to the French nation at the end +of this year, the British failures at Buenos Ayres, Constantinople, and +Alexandria were paraded, together with our alleged crime against the +rights of nations at Copenhagen.</p> + +<p>In the early months of 1808 the continental system was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> extended by the +establishment of French administration at Rome, and the annexation of the +eastern ports of the Papal States to the kingdom of Italy. On February 18 +of the same year Austria under French pressure adopted the system. Sweden +and Turkey were now the only continental countries left outside it, but +the retention of Sicily by the Bourbon king rendered it easy for British +commerce to enter Italy through that island. The irritation of neutrals +increased as the area of commercial exclusion widened, but the United +States were now the only neutral power of any consequence. After April 17 +Napoleon took the high-handed step of confiscating all American shipping +in his ports. In spite of this aggression, the president and congress of +the United States continued to favour France against Great Britain. The +story of the commercial warfare between Great Britain and the United +States will be related more fully hereafter. For the present, it is +sufficient to mention that an act, placing an embargo on foreign vessels +in American ports, was passed by congress on December 22, 1807, and +another on March 1, 1809, forbidding commercial intercourse with Great +Britain and France and the colonies occupied by them.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Great Britain continued to enforce her maritime rights, +including that of searching American merchantmen for British-born sailors, +and impressing them at the will of British naval officers. These +grievances ultimately led to a war between Great Britain and America in +1812. The continental system, however, did not long remain so complete as +in the beginning of 1808. Junot's expedition to Portugal had led to a +French occupation of that country before the end of 1807. The conquest of +Portugal was followed, as we shall see later, by a partial conquest of +Spain. This threw the Spaniards back upon the British alliance and +afforded an opportunity for the liberation of Portugal, so that from May, +1808, Great Britain once more had a large seaboard open to her commerce. +The early success of the Spanish resistance to France, and other events in +the peninsula hereafter to be recorded, encouraged Austria to arm again; +and on the news of the capitulation of the French army at Baylen in July, +she pushed forward her preparations with redoubled energy. A national +movement arose simultaneously in North Germany,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> but the Prussian +government dared not head it so long as Russia remained faithful to the +French alliance.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAPOLEON AT ERFURT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_45" id="TOPIC_45"></a>Notwithstanding a peremptory declaration from the tsar after the seizure +of the Danish fleet, Russia had nothing to gain by war with Great Britain. +She was bound to France by the prospect held forth to her at Tilsit of the +conquest of Finland and the partition of Turkey, but she was inwardly +desirous of peace with Great Britain. Napoleon, on the other hand, saw in +the partition of Turkey an opportunity of striking at India, and had +actually given orders for naval preparations to be made in Spain, when all +thought of eastern conquest had to be postponed owing to the success of +the Spanish patriots. After a conference between Napoleon and the tsar at +Erfurt a secret convention was signed on October 12, by which France +sanctioned Russian conquests in Finland and the Danubian provinces, and +Russia recognised the Bonaparte dynasty in Spain and promised to assist +France in a defensive war against Austria. The two powers despatched a +joint note to Great Britain inviting her to make peace, on the principle +of <i>uti possidetis</i>. Canning replied that he was prepared to negotiate if +his allies, especially Sweden and the Spanish patriots, who were at that +time in actual possession of almost the entire country, were included in +the peace. On November 19 Napoleon expressed his willingness to treat with +the British allies, but not with the Spanish "rebels," as he styled them. +Alexander took up a similar position, speaking of the Spanish +"insurgents," and expressly recognising Joseph as King of Spain. Thus +ended these pacific overtures, and on November 3 the official <i>exposé</i>, +annually issued in Paris, described Great Britain as "the enemy of the +world".</p> + +<p>The year 1808 is memorable in English history for the active intervention +of Great Britain in the affairs of Spain which developed into the +"Peninsular war".<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> This intervention was rendered possible and +effective by the organisation of our army system in 1807, which was due to +Castlereagh, though he received little credit for it. Under this system, +the old constitutional force of the militia was made the basis of the +whole military establishment. By the militia balloting bill and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> the +militia transfer bill, that force, largely composed of substitutes, and +bound only to home-service, was practically converted into a +recruiting-ground for the regular army, and proved sufficient to make good +all the losses incurred during the long campaigns in Portugal and Spain. +The army thus raised contained, no doubt, many soldiers of bad character, +whose misdeeds, after the furious excitement of an escalade, or under the +heart-breaking stress of a retreat, sometimes brought disgrace upon the +British name. But these men, side by side with steadier comrades, bore +themselves like heroes on many a bloodstained field; they quailed not +before the conquering legions of Austerlitz and Wagram; they could "go +anywhere or do anything" under trusted leaders; and they restored the +military reputation of their country before the eyes of Europe. To have +forged such an instrument of war was no mean administrative exploit. To +have maintained its efficiency steadily on the whole, though sometimes +with a faint-hearted parsimony, and to have loyally supported its +commander against the cavils of a factious opposition superior in +parliamentary ability, for a period of seven years, must be held to redeem +the tory government from the charge of political weakness.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PARLIAMENTARY ZEAL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_46" id="TOPIC_46"></a>At the beginning of 1809, however, the interest of parliament was less +concentrated on Sir Arthur Wellesley's first campaign in Portugal, or even +on the convention of Cintra, than on the scandals attaching to the office +of commander-in-chief, held by the Duke of York. Though an incapable +general, the duke had shown himself, on the whole, an excellent +administrator, and in the opinion of the best officers had done much for +the discipline and efficiency of the British army. Unfortunately, Mrs. +Clarke, his former mistress, had received bribes for using her influence +with the duke to procure military appointments. Colonel Wardle, an obscure +member of parliament, to whom Mrs. Clarke had temporarily transferred +herself after being discarded by the duke, animated by a desire to damage +the ministry, came forward with charges directly implicating him in her +corrupt practices, and incidentally brought similar accusations against +Portland and Eldon. The government foolishly agreed to an inquiry on the +Duke of York's behalf, and it was conducted before a committee of the +whole house, which sat from January 26 to March 20. In the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> course of this +inquiry, Sir Arthur Wellesley bore strong testimony in his favour, and the +duke addressed a letter to the speaker, declaring his innocence of +corruption. Though Wardle and his associates pressed for his dismissal, +Perceval ultimately carried a motion acquitting him not only of corruption +but of connivance with corruption. The majority, however, was small, and +the duke thought it necessary to resign on March 20, whereupon the house +of commons decided to proceed no further. A curious sequel of this case +was an action against Wardle by an upholsterer, who had furnished a house +for Mrs. Clarke by Wardle's orders, in consideration of her services in +giving hostile evidence against her former protector. The plaintiff +obtained £2,000 damages, and the law-suit was the means of producing a +reaction in popular feeling in favour of the duke.</p> + +<p>This scandal in high places quickened the zeal of parliament for general +purity of administration, and led to a disclosure of some grave abuses. +One of these, connected with the disposal of captured Dutch property, +dated as far back as 1795. Others were found to exist in the navy +department and the distribution of Indian patronage; others related to +parliamentary elections. Perceval brought in a bill to check the sale and +brokerage of offices, nor did Castlereagh himself escape the charge of +having procured the election of Lord Clancarty to parliament by the offer +of an Indian writership to a borough-monger. A frank explanation saved him +from censure, especially as it appeared that the offer had never taken +effect. The charge was renewed, in a different form, against both him and +Perceval, and their accusers moved for a trial at bar. But as it turned +out that undue influence rather than corruption was their alleged offence, +and as the avowed object of the resolution was to force on parliamentary +reform, it was negatived by an immense majority. Nevertheless, the object +was not wholly defeated.</p> + +<p>The removal of the Duke of York from the command of the army was +singularly inopportune, for Sir David Dundas had scarcely been appointed +as his successor when a juncture arose specially demanding a combination +of energy and experience. The British government, already engaged in the +Peninsular war, had at last resolved to take a vigorous part in the new +and desperate struggle between France and Austria in Southern Germany. The +latent spirit of German nationality,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> aroused by Napoleon's ruthless +treatment of Prussia, and quickened into a flame by sympathy with the +uprising in Spain, was embodied in the secret association of the +<i>Tugendbund</i>; and Austria, smarting under a sense of her own humiliation, +mustered up courage to assume the leadership of a national movement. South +Germany, governed by old dynasties, which profited by the French alliance, +displayed as yet no symptoms of disaffection to France; but in North +Germany the old dynasties had been either humbled or deposed, and the +general ferment among the people, needed, as the Austrians believed, only +the presence of a regular army to break out into a national revolt against +the foreigner. Prussia, it is true, was still unwilling to move, because +Russia was hostile; but the Austrian court knew well the lukewarmness of +Russia's attachment to France, and hoped that a national upheaval would +carry the Prussian government along with it. No one, in fact, had played a +more active part in rousing Northern Germany than the Prussian minister, +Stein, whom Frederick William, by Napoleon's advice, had called to his +councils after Tilsit, and who was now compelled to resign his office and +take refuge in Austria.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAPOLEON IN AUSTRIA.</i></div> + +<p>The British government was aware of the situation in Germany when it +received a request in January, 1809, for the despatch of a British force +to the mouth of the Elbe. Austria was, however, still nominally at war +with Great Britain, and George III., perhaps not unreasonably, refused to +give her active military assistance till peace was concluded. Meanwhile a +subsidy of £250,000 in bullion was despatched to Trieste, and inquiries +were set on foot as to the means of supplying such a military expedition +as Austria desired.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> On March 22, Dundas, who had only been a few days +in office as commander-in-chief, reported that 15,000 men could not be +spared from home service, and, in consequence, no extensive preparations +were made until the muster rolls in June showed that 40,000 troops might +safely be employed abroad. This convinced the government that a large +force could be sent without interfering with home defence, as Castlereagh +had long contended; and throughout June and July the naval and military +departments were busy in preparing for what has since left a sinister +memory as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> the Walcheren expedition. Meanwhile, as if the passion of +frittering away resources were irresistible, a smaller force was +despatched, as a kind of feint, against the kingdom of Naples. It +consisted of 15,000 British troops and a body of Sicilians. Bailing from +Palermo early in June it captured the islands of Ischia and Procida and +the castle of Scylla, and threw Naples into consternation. But the attack +was not pushed, and it was too late to be of any assistance to the +Austrians who had already been expelled from the Italian peninsula. At +last, in July, the treaty of peace with Austria was signed and the great +armament was ready to sail.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_47" id="TOPIC_47"></a>But Napoleon had not awaited the deliberations of British statesmen. +Hurrying back from Spain, he remained in Paris only long enough to +organise a campaign in South Germany, and left the capital to join his +armies on April 13. A week earlier, the Archduke Charles, having +remodelled the Austrian army, issued a proclamation affirming Austria to +be the champion of European liberty. On the 9th Austria declared war +against Bavaria, the ally of France, and her troops crossed the Inn. On +the 17th, when Napoleon arrived at Donauwörth, he found the archduke in +occupation of Ratisbon. His presence turned the tide, and, after three +victories, he was once more on the road to Vienna. The most important of +these victories was that of Eckmühl, and he regarded the manœuvre by +which it was won as the finest in his military career. On May 13 the +French entered Vienna, but the Archduke Charles with an army of nearly +200,000 men was facing him on the left bank of the Danube. Napoleon's army +crossed and encountered the Austrians on the great plain between Aspern +and Essling. He was repulsed and fell back upon Lobau, between which and +the Vienna side of the Danube the bridge of boats had been swept away by a +rise of the river and by balks of timber floated down by the Austrians. In +this dangerous position he remained shut up for several weeks. He finally +succeeded in throwing across a light bridge by which his army regained the +left bank on the night of July 4. Finding their position turned the +Austrians took up their stand on the tableland of Wagram. On July 6 +another pitched battle was fought, which, in the number of combatants +engaged and in the losses inflicted on both sides, must rank with the +later conflicts of Borodino and Leipzig. A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> hard won victory rested with +the French, but it was not such a victory as that of Austerlitz or Jena, +though it secured the neutrality, at least, of Austria for the next four +years. Her army retreated into Bohemia, and on July 12 an armistice was +signed at Znaim in Moravia, which formed the basis of a peace concluded at +Vienna on October 14.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE WALCHEREN EXPEDITION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_48" id="TOPIC_48"></a>Nothing remained for Great Britain but to abandon the auxiliary enterprise +so long planned, but so often delayed, or to carry it through +independently, with little hope of a decisive issue. The latter +alternative was adopted. The very day on which the news of the armistice +arrived witnessed the departure of the greatest single armament ever sent +out fully equipped from the shores of Great Britain. The deplorable +failure of the Walcheren expedition has obscured both its magnitude and +its probable importance had it only proved successful. The command of the +fleet was given to Sir Richard Strachan, a competent admiral; that of the +army to Chatham, who sat in the cabinet as master-general of the ordnance, +an incompetent general, who owed his nomination to royal favour. This was +the first blunder; the second was the utter neglect of medical and +sanitary precautions against the notoriously unhealthy climate of +Walcheren in the autumn months. The armament sailed from the Downs on July +28, in the finest weather and with a display of intense national +enthusiasm. It consisted of thirty-five ships of the line, with a swarm of +smaller war-vessels and transports, carrying nearly 40,000 troops, two +battering-trains, and a complete apparatus of military stores. Its +destination, though more than suspected by the enemy, had been officially +kept secret at home. Castlereagh must be held largely responsible for the +delays and for the unwise choice of a general which marred its success, +but he showed true military sagacity in designating the point of attack. +Inspired by him, the British government, distrusting the national movement +in North Germany, had decided to strike at Antwerp, which Napoleon had +supplied with new docks, and which, now that the mouth of the Scheldt had +been reopened, threatened to become the commercial rival of London. The +town was entirely unprepared, and a blow dealt here seemed the best way of +doing as much harm as possible to France and at the same time gaining a +national advantage for Great Britain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p> + +<p>Chatham had received very precise instructions from Castlereagh, the +objects prescribed to him being, (1) the capture or destruction of the +enemy's ships, either building or afloat at Antwerp or Flushing, or afloat +in the Scheldt; (2) the destruction of the arsenals and dockyards at +Antwerp, Terneuze, and Flushing; (3) the reduction of the island of +Walcheren; (4) the rendering of the Scheldt no longer navigable to ships +of war. These objects were named, as far as possible, in the order of +their importance, and Chatham was specially directed to land troops at +Sandvliet and push on straight to Antwerp, with the view of taking it by a +<i>coup de main</i>. Napoleon, who clearly foretold the catastrophe awaiting +the British troops in the malarious swamps of Walcheren, afterwards +admitted that Antwerp could have been captured by a sudden assault. +Chatham obeyed his general orders, but, instead of taking them in the +order of importance, gave precedence to the objects which could most +easily be accomplished. By prompt action the French fleet, which was +moored off Flushing, might have been captured, but it was allowed to +escape to Antwerp. By August 2 the British were in complete possession of +the mouth of the Scheldt, and had taken Bath opposite Sandvliet, while +Antwerp was still almost unprotected. But Chatham concentrated his +attention on the siege of Flushing, which surrendered, after three days' +bombardment, on August 16, contrary to Napoleon's expectation. Antwerp had +meanwhile been put in a state of defence, and was now protected by the +enemy's fleet, while French and Dutch troops were pouring down to the +Scheldt. After ten days of inactivity, Chatham advanced his headquarters +to Bath, found that further advance was impossible, and recommended the +government to recall the expedition, leaving 15,000 men to defend the +island of Walcheren. This advice was adopted, but the garrison left in +Walcheren suffered most severely from fever in that swampy island. +Eventually, on December 24, Walcheren was abandoned, the works and naval +basins of Flushing having been previously destroyed. The destruction of +Flushing was the sole result of this expedition.</p> + +<p>The failure of the British to make any serious impression on the French +either in the Low Countries or in Spain induced Austria to consent to +peace with France. By the peace<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> of Vienna, signed on October 14, she +ceded Salzburg and a part of Upper Austria to Bavaria, West Galicia to the +duchy of Warsaw, and a part of Carinthia with Trieste and the Illyrian +provinces to France. A small strip of Galicia was ceded to the Russian +tsar, who had rendered France some very half-hearted assistance and was +further alienated by the extension of the duchy of Warsaw. Austria was +enslaved to the will of Napoleon. She had abandoned the Tyrolese peasants +whose loyal insurrection against the Bavarians was the most heroic +incident in the war, and she now joined the other nations of the continent +in excluding the commerce of Great Britain, which had made a powerful +diversion in Spain and an imposing though futile diversion on the Scheldt +to save her from national annihilation.</p> + +<p>While the Walcheren expedition was preparing, two additions were made to +the cabinet. Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, brother of the Marquis of +Stafford, was admitted in June as secretary at war, and in July Harrowby, +who was created an earl, became president of the board of control with a +seat in the cabinet. After the fate of the expedition became known, though +before its final withdrawal, a serious quarrel took place between Canning +and Castlereagh. Personal jealousies had long existed between these two +statesmen, both half-Irish, half-English, and of approximately the same +age, yet widely different in character. Canning was the most brilliant +orator of his day, and no less persuasive in private conversation than in +public orations, gifted with an agile brain that leaped readily from one +idea or one project to another, but cursed with a bitter wit which lightly +aroused enduring enmities, and which, coupled with an excessive vanity, +rendered him unpopular with his colleagues, and made it difficult for any +one to take him seriously; while his rival, not less able, and much more +steady and trustworthy, a skilful manager of men, was scarcely able to +pronounce a coherent sentence. Early in April Canning pressed upon the +Duke of Portland the transfer of Castlereagh to another office. Private +communications followed between various members of the cabinet, and it was +understood that Camden, as Castlereagh's friend, should apprise him of the +prevailing view, which the king himself had approved under a threat of +Canning's resignation. The duke, however, begged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> Camden to postpone the +disclosure, and others of Castlereagh's friends urged Canning not to +insist upon the change pending the completion of the Walcheren expedition.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DUEL BETWEEN CANNING AND CASTLEREAGH.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_49" id="TOPIC_49"></a>As the scheme took shape in July Camden was to resign, and thus make +possible a shifting of offices, which was to result in the Marquis +Wellesley succeeding Castlereagh as secretary for war. At last, on +September 6, the duke informed Canning of his own intention to retire on +the ground of ill-health, and at the same time disclosed the fact that no +steps had been taken to prepare Castlereagh for the proposed change in his +position. Thereupon Canning promptly sent in his own resignation, the duke +resigned the same day, and Castlereagh, learning what had passed, followed +his example two days later.<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> Believing that Canning had been intriguing +against him behind his back, under the guise of friendship, he demanded +satisfaction on the 19th, and on the 21st<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> the duel was fought, in +which Canning received a slight wound. Such events provoked little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +censure in those days, and it is pleasant to know that Canning and +Castlereagh afterwards acted cordially together as colleagues. Their +enmity broke up the government. The Duke of Portland did not long survive +his withdrawal from office, and died on October 29; Leveson-Gower insisted +on following Canning into retirement.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_50" id="TOPIC_50"></a>Perceval was entrusted with the task of forming an administration, but the +new ministry was not formed without considerable negotiation. Canning +vainly endeavoured to impress first on his colleagues and then on the king +his own pretensions to the highest office, while attempts, to which the +king gave a reluctant assent, had been made to enlist the co-operation of +Grenville and Howick, who succeeded his father as Earl Grey, in 1807, but +they failed as all later attempts were destined to fail. The most +influential motive governing their conduct was, doubtless, their feeling +that they would not as ministers possess the king's confidence. Sidmouth's +following had also been approached. Sidmouth himself was considered too +obnoxious to some of Pitt's followers to be a safe member of the new +cabinet, but Vansittart was offered the chancellorship of the exchequer +and Bragge, who had taken the additional surname of Bathurst, the office +of secretary at war. They refused, however, to enter the ministry, unless +accompanied by Sidmouth himself.</p> + +<p>Perceval eventually became prime minister, retaining his former offices; +Lord Bathurst, while remaining at the board of trade, presided temporarily +at the foreign office, which was offered to the Marquis Wellesley, then +serving as British ambassador to the Spanish junta at Seville, and taken +over by him in December. Hawkesbury, now Earl of Liverpool, succeeded +Castlereagh as secretary for war and the colonies, and was followed at the +home office by Richard Ryder, a brother of Harrowby. Harrowby himself gave +up the board of control in November to Melville's son, Robert Dundas, who, +however, was not made a member of the cabinet. Lord Palmerston, who had +been a junior lord of the admiralty under Portland, declined the +chancellorship of the exchequer, and though he accepted Leveson-Gower's +post as secretary at war, he was by his own desire excluded from the +cabinet.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NEW BRITISH CONQUESTS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_51" id="TOPIC_51"></a>While the close of the year 1809 was darkened by national<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> disappointment +and political anxieties, the honour of British arms had been amply +vindicated in the Spanish peninsula, and the brilliant exploit of Lord +Cochrane in Basque Roads had recalled the glories of the Nile. Cochrane +had already achieved marvels under Collingwood in the Mediterranean, and +notably off the Spanish coast, when he was selected to conduct an attack +by fireships on the French squadron blockaded under the shelter of the +islands of Aix and Oléron. This he carried out on the night of April 11, +with a dash and skill worthy of Nelson, and unless checked by Gambier, the +admiral in command, who had been raised to the peerage after the seizure +of the Danish fleet in 1807, he must have succeeded in destroying the +whole of the enemy's ships. Gambier was afterwards acquitted by a court +martial of negligence, but the verdict of the public was against him. In +the autumn Collingwood reduced the seven Ionian islands, and gained an +important advantage by cutting out a considerable detachment of the Toulon +fleet in the Bay of Genoa. In the course of the year, too, all the +remaining French territory in the West Indies, as well as the Isle of +Bourbon in the Indian Ocean, was captured by the British navy. But this +unchallenged supremacy on the high seas did not prevent the depredations +of French gunboats on British merchantmen in the channel. Indeed after the +battle of Trafalgar, the French "sea-wasps" infesting the Channel were +more active and destructive than ever.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_52" id="TOPIC_52"></a>On October 25, being the forty-ninth anniversary of his accession, the +jubilee of George III. was celebrated with hearty and sincere rejoicings. +His popularity was not unmerited. He was politically shortsighted, but +within his range of vision few saw facts so clearly; he was obstinate and +prejudiced, but his obstinacy was redeemed by a moral intrepidity of the +highest order, and his prejudices were shared by the mass of his people. +Having lived through the seven years' war, the war of the American +revolution, and the successive wars of Great Britain against the French +monarchy and the French republic, he was now supporting, with indomitable +firmness, a war against the all-conquering French empire—the most +perilous in which this country was ever engaged. The colonial and Indian +dominions of Great Britain, reduced by the loss of the North American +colonies, had been greatly extended during<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> his reign in other quarters of +the globe. His subjects regarded him as an Englishman to the core; they +knew him to be honest, religious, virtuous, and homely in his life; they +justly believed him, in spite of his failings, to be a power for good in +the land; and they rewarded him with a respect and affection granted to no +other British sovereign of modern times before Queen Victoria. They had +good cause to desire the continuance of his life and reason, knowing the +character of his heir-apparent, and contrasting the domestic habits of +Windsor with the licence of Carlton House.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Colchester, <i>Diary</i> (Feb. 4, 1806), ii., 35, 36.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Holland, <i>Memoirs of the Whig Party</i>, ii., 91-94.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Holland, <i>Memoirs of the Whig Party,</i> ii., 173-205, 270-320; +Colchester, <i>Diary</i>, ii., 92-115; Malmesbury, <i>Diaries</i>, iv., 357-72; +Walpole, <i>Life of Perceval</i>, i., 223-33; Buckingham, <i>Courts and +Cabinets</i>, iv., 117-50. Holland accuses the king of treachery and +duplicity, and Lewis (<i>Administrations of Great Britain</i>, p. 294) repeats +this charge in milder terms. But the documents quoted do not prove any +want of straightforwardness, and the king's conduct was the logical +consequence of his action in 1801.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> In the following year Napoleon consented to evacuate all the +Prussian fortresses except three, on condition that the Prussian army +should not exceed a total of 40,000 men.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> <i>Annual Register</i>, xlix. (1807), 249-70, 731-38; Rose, in +<i>English Historical Review</i>, xi. (1896), 82-92.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Captain Mahan, <i>The Influence of Sea Power upon the French +Revolution and Empire</i>, ii., 272-357, shows that the policy of the orders +in council was essential to British safety.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> The course of this war is related continuously in <a href="#CHAPTER_V">chap. v.</a></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Rose, <i>Life of Napoleon I.</i>, ii., 190, note.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> The best account of the quarrel, especially in its relation +to the composition of the cabinet, is to be found in Walpole's <i>Life of +Perceval</i>, vol. i., chap. ix., and vol. ii., chap. i. Lewis, +<i>Administrations</i>, pp. 314-15, finds a double ground for Canning's +resignation in his failure to obtain the removal of Castlereagh from the +war office and in the refusal of the king and cabinet to allow him to +succeed Portland as prime minister. It is quite clear, however, that at +the time of Canning's resignation no decision had been come to about a +successor to Portland. Some correspondence had passed between Canning and +Perceval, in which each had refused to serve under the other, but that +this correspondence was unknown to the cabinet as a whole is proved by +Mulgrave's letters to Lord Lonsdale of September 11 and 15 (Phipps, +<i>Memoir of Ward</i>, pp. 210-17); in the former of these he discusses +Canning's probable conduct without referring to this correspondence, while +in the latter he only knows of such negotiations as subsequent to the +resignations of September 6 and 8. So, too, Eldon's letter to his wife of +September 11 (Twiss, <i>Life of Eldon</i>, ii., 88-90), places the whole +correspondence between Canning and Perceval after Portland's resignation +on September 6. The king was not informed of Canning's views as to a +successor to Portland till September 13, and the cabinet minute of +September 18, advising co-operation with Grenville and Grey, mentions the +selection of Canning as prime minister as a course open to the king.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> This is the date commonly given. The <i>Annual Register</i>, li. +(1809), 239, gives the 22nd, while Perceval refers to the result of the +duel in a letter dated the 20th (Colchester, <i>Diary</i>, ii., 209). It is +clear, however, that Canning did not receive Castlereagh's challenge till +the morning of the 20th (see his letter in <i>Annual Register</i>, <i>loc. cit.</i>, +505, also his detailed statement to Camden, <i>ibid.</i>, 525), and therefore +the duel cannot have taken place till the 21st. Lord Folkestone in a +letter dated the 21st refers to the duel as having been fought at "7 +o'clock this morning" (<i>Creevey Papers</i>, i., 96).<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<h3>PERCEVAL AND LIVERPOOL.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_53" id="TOPIC_53"></a>The administration of Perceval, covering the period from October, 1809, to +May, 1812, coincided with a lull in the continental war save in the +Peninsula, though it saw no pause in the progress of French annexation. +Nor was it marked by many events of historical interest in domestic +affairs. When parliament was opened on January 23, 1810, it was natural +that attention should chiefly be devoted to the Walcheren expedition, +which the opposition illogically and unscrupulously contrived to use to +disparage the operations of Sir Arthur Wellesley, now Viscount Wellington, +in Spain. Grenville, who argued with some reason that 40,000 British +troops could have been employed to far better purpose in North Germany, +would have been on stronger ground if he had complained that for want of +them the British army had been unable to occupy Madrid. Castlereagh, +indeed, had confessed to Wellesley that he could not spare the necessary +reinforcements, after the reserves had been exhausted in Walcheren; but it +is by no means certain that Wellesley could have collected provisions +enough to feed a much larger force, or specie enough to pay for them. +Liverpool was driven in reply to Grenville to magnify the value of the +capture of Flushing, as the necessary basis of the naval armaments which +Napoleon had intended to launch against England from the Scheldt. The +government was also defended by the young Robert Peel, lately elected to +parliament. As the calamity was irreparable, a committee of the whole +house spent most of its time on a constitutional question, regarding a +private memorandum placed before the king by Chatham in his own defence. +So irregular a proceeding was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> properly condemned, and Chatham resigned +the mastership of the ordnance, but the policy of the Walcheren expedition +was approved by a vote of the house of commons. Mulgrave received the +office Chatham had vacated, and was himself succeeded by Yorke at the +admiralty.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_54" id="TOPIC_54"></a>Parliament was next occupied by a question of privilege, in which Sir +Francis Burdett, member for Westminster, then a favourite of the +democracy, played a part resembling that of John Wilkes a generation +earlier. Burdett had been for fourteen years a member of parliament, and +had been conspicuous from the first for the vehemence of his opposition to +the government, and more especially to its supposed infringements of the +liberty of the subject. He had more recently taken an active part on +behalf of Wardle's attack on the Duke of York and had supported the +charges of ministerial corruption in the previous session. On the present +occasion one John Gale Jones, president of a debating club, had published +in a notice of debate the terms of a resolution which his club had passed, +condemning in extravagant language the exclusion of strangers from the +house of commons. This was treated as a breach of privilege, and Jones was +sent to Newgate by order of the house itself. Burdett, in a violent letter +to Cobbett's <i>Register</i>, challenged the right of the house to imprison +Jones by its own authority, and, after a fierce debate lasting two nights, +was adjudged by the house, on April 5, to have been guilty of a still more +scandalous libel. Accordingly, the speaker issued a warrant for his +committal to the Tower. Burdett declared his resolution to resist arrest, +the populace mustered in his defence, the riot act was read, and he was +conveyed to prison by a strong military escort, on whose return more +serious riots broke out, and were not quelled without bloodshed. On his +release at the end of the session a repetition of these scenes was +prevented by the simple expedient of bringing him home by water. During +his imprisonment he wrote an offensive letter to the speaker, and his +colleague, Lord Cochrane, presented a violently worded petition from his +Westminster constituents. In the following year he sued the speaker and +the sergeant-at-arms in the court of king's bench, which decided against +him on the ground that a power of commitment was necessary for the +maintenance of the dignity of the house of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> commons, and its decision was +confirmed, on appeal, by the court of exchequer chamber and the house of +lords.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CURRENCY QUESTION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_55" id="TOPIC_55"></a>The most important subject of internal policy discussed in the session of +1810 was the state of the currency. Since 1797 cash payments had been +suspended, the issue of banknotes had been nearly doubled, and the price +of commodities had risen enormously. Whether these results had in their +turn promoted the expansion of foreign commerce and internal industry was +vigorously disputed by two rival schools of economists. The one thing +certain was the increasing scarcity of specie, and the serious loss +incurred in its provision for the service of the army in the Peninsula. +Francis Horner, then rising to eminence, obtained the appointment of what +became known as the "bullion committee" to inquire into the anomalous +conditions thus created, and took a leading part in the preparation of its +celebrated report, published on September 20. The committee arrived at the +conclusion that the high price of gold was mainly due to excess in the +paper-currency, and not, as alleged, to a drain of gold for the +continental war. They attributed that excess to "the want of a sufficient +check and control in the issues of paper from the Bank of England, and +originally to the suspension of cash-payments, which removed the natural +and true control". While allowing that paper could not be rendered +suddenly convertible into specie without dislocating the entire business +of the country, they recommended that an early provision should be made by +parliament for terminating the suspension of cash-payments at the end of +two years. These conclusions were combated by Castlereagh and Vansittart, +who afterwards, in 1811, succeeded in carrying several +counter-resolutions, of which the general effect was to explain the +admitted rise in the price of gold, for the most part by the exclusion of +British trade from the continent, and the consequent export of the +precious metals in lieu of British manufactures. The last resolution, +while it recognised the wisdom of restoring cash-payments as soon as it +could safely be done, affirmed it to be "highly inexpedient and dangerous +to fix a definite period for the removal of the restriction on +cash-payments prior to the conclusion of a definitive treaty of peace". +These counsels prevailed, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> the restriction was not actually removed +until Peel's act was passed in July, 1819.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_56" id="TOPIC_56"></a>The last domestic event in the inglorious annals of 1810 was the final +lapse of the king into mental derangement in the month of November. For +more than six years his sight had been failing, but he had suffered no +return of insanity since 1804. Now he lost both his sight and his reason. +This event, impending for some time, was precipitated by the illness and +death of the Princess Amelia, his favourite daughter, and was perhaps +aggravated by the Walcheren expedition and the disgrace of the Duke of +York. Parliament met on November 1, and was adjourned more than once +before a committee was appointed to examine the royal physicians. Acting +on their report, the ministers proposed and carried resolutions declaring +the king's incapacity, and the right and duty of the two houses to provide +for the emergency. It was also determined to define by act of parliament +the powers to be exercised in the king's name and behalf. This implied a +limitation of the regent's authority, and was resented by the Prince of +Wales and his friends. Perceval, however, was able to rely on the +precedent of 1788, to which Grenville, for one, had been a party, and, +after considerable opposition, the prince was made regent under several +temporary restrictions. With certain exceptions, he was precluded from +granting any peerage or office tenable for life; the royal property was +vested in trustees for the king's benefit, and the personal care of the +king was entrusted to the queen, with the advice of a council. In this +form, the regency bill was passed on February 4, 1811, after a protest +from the other sons of George III. and violent attacks upon Eldon by +Grenville and Grey. On the 5th, the regent took the oaths before the privy +council, but, in accepting the restrictions, he delicately expressed +regret that he should not have been trusted to impose upon himself proper +limitations for the exercise of royal patronage. The interregnum thus +established was to be provisional only, and was to cease on February 1, +1812, but the queen and her private council, with the concurrence of the +privy council, were empowered to annul it at any time, by announcing the +king's recovery, when he could resume his powers by proclamation.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE REGENCY BILL.</i></div> + +<p>The hopes of the opposition had been greatly excited by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> the prospect of a +regency, and it was generally expected that a change of ministry would be +its immediate consequence. Private communications had, in fact, passed +between the prince and the whig lords, Grenville and Grey, but they were +rendered nugatory by the dictatorial tone assumed by those lords and by +the unwillingness of the prince to dispense with the advice of Moira and +Sheridan. The two whig lords had by the prince's desire prepared a reply +to the address from the houses of parliament, preparatory to the regency +bill. Grenville had voted in favour of the restriction on the creation of +peers, and it is therefore not surprising that the reply which he and Grey +drafted appeared to the prince too weak in its protest against the +limitations. He therefore adopted in its stead another reply which +Sheridan had composed for him. The two lords thereupon addressed to the +prince a remonstrance, which practically claimed for themselves the right +of responsible ministers to be the sole advisers of their prince. This +remonstrance provoked the ridicule of Sheridan, and certainly did not +please the prince, who since the fall of the Grenville ministry had +refused to be regarded as a "party man". The regent, accordingly, gave +Perceval to understand that he intended to retain his present ministers, +but solely on the ground that he was unwilling to do anything which might +retard his father's recovery, or distress him when he should come to +himself. This reason was probably genuine. The king appeared to be +recovering; he had had several interviews with Perceval and Eldon, and had +made inquiries as to the prince's intentions. Soon, however, the malady +took a turn for the worse, and the physicians came to the conclusion that +it was permanent.<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_57" id="TOPIC_57"></a>Before February, 1812, when the restrictions expired, and a permanent +regency bill was passed, the prince drifted further away from his former +advisers, and had been pacified by the loyal attitude of Perceval and +Eldon. Further overtures were conveyed to the whig lords through a letter +from the prince regent to the Duke of York, in which he declared that he +had "no predilections to indulge or resentments to gratify," but only a +concern for the public good, towards which he desired the co-operation of +some of his old whig friends, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>dicating Grenville and Grey. They +declined in a letter to the Duke of York, alleging differences on grounds +of policy too deep to admit of a coalition. Eldon, on his part, expressed +a similar conviction, but the regent never fully forgave what he regarded +as their desertion. Wellesley, who was strongly opposed to Perceval's +policy of maintaining the catholic disabilities, resigned the +secretaryship of foreign affairs, protesting against the feeble support +given to his brother in the Peninsula, and was succeeded by Castlereagh. +In April Sidmouth became president of the council in place of Camden, who +remained in the cabinet without office; and in the next month, on May 11, +Perceval was assassinated in the lobby of the house of commons by a man +named Bellingham, who had an imaginary grievance against the government.</p> + +<p>A very general and sincere tribute of respect was paid by the house to +Perceval's memory, for, though his statesmanship was of the second order, +he was far more than a tory partisan; he was an excellent debater, and a +thoroughly honest politician, and his private character was above all +reproach or suspicion. The cabinet was bewildered by his death, and a +fresh attempt was made to strengthen it by the simple inclusion of Canning +as well as Wellesley. Wellesley stipulated that the catholic question +should be left open, and that the war should be prosecuted with the entire +resources of the country, while Canning declined co-operation on the +ground of the catholic question alone. No agreement being found possible, +the house of commons stepped in and addressed the regent, begging him to +form a strong and efficient administration, commanding the confidence of +all classes. He replied by sending for Wellesley, offering him the +premiership and entrusting him with the formation of a comprehensive +ministry; but Wellesley soon found that Liverpool and his adherents would +not serve under him at all, while Grenville and Grey, who secretly +condemned the Peninsular war, would only serve on conditions which he +could not grant. Once more, the regent treated directly with these haughty +whigs, now including Moira, to whom he committed the task of forming an +administration. Grenville and Grey raised difficulties about the +appointments in the royal household, which they wished to include in the +political changes, and the negotiation was broken off. The regent at last +fell<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> back on Liverpool, a capable and conciliatory minister, who adopted +Perceval's colleagues, and a spell of tory administration set in which +remained unbroken for no less than fifteen years. Had more tact been shown +on all sides, had the whigs been less peremptory in their demands, and had +the trivial household question never arisen, the course of the war, if not +of European history, might, whether for good or evil, have been profoundly +modified.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SOCIAL REFORMS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_58" id="TOPIC_58"></a>During the later period of Perceval's administration, from 1811 to 1812, +the strife of politics had been mainly concentrated on the regency +question, the chance of ministerial changes, and the fortunes of the war +in Spain. But it must not be supposed that social questions were +neglected, even in the darkest days of the war, however meagre the +legislative fruits may appear. Session after session, Romilly pressed +forward reforms of the criminal law, the institution of penitential houses +in the nature of reformatories, and the abolition of state lotteries. +Others laboured, and with greater success, to remedy the delays and reduce +the arrears in the court of chancery. Constant efforts were made to expose +defalcations in the revenue, to curtail exorbitant salaries, and to put +down electioneering corruption. In 1809 Erskine introduced a bill for the +prevention of cruelty to animals. In 1810 there were earnest, if somewhat +futile, debates on spiritual destitution, the non-residence and poverty of +the clergy, and the scarcity of places of worship. Moreover, early in +1811, a premonitory symptom of the repeal movement caused some anxiety in +Ireland. It took the form of a scheme for a representative assembly to sit +in Dublin, and manage the affairs of the Roman catholic population, under +colour of framing petitions to parliament, and seeking redress of +grievances. It was, of course, to consist of Roman catholics only, and to +include Roman catholic bishops. The Irish government wisely suppressed the +scheme, and Perceval justified their action, on the ground that a +representative assembly in Dublin, with such aims in view, bordered upon +an illicit legislature.</p> + +<p>Except for the war in the Spanish peninsula, and the war between Russia +and the Porte on the Danube, the year 1810 was marked by undisturbed peace +throughout the continent of Europe. France continued to make annexations, +but they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> were at the expense of her allies, not of her enemies. Her +supremacy was signalised in a striking way by the marriage of her +<i>parvenu</i> emperor, whose divorce the pope still refused to recognise, with +Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. Though thirteen out of +twenty-six cardinals present in Paris declined to attend it, this marriage +was a masterstroke of Talleyrand's diplomacy; it secured the benevolent +neutrality of Austria for the next three years, and weakened the counsels +of the allies during the negotiations of 1814-15. But it went far to +estrange the Tsar of Russia, who, though he had courteously declined +Napoleon's overtures for the hand of his own sister, was greatly offended +on discovering that another matrimonial alliance had been contracted by +his would-be brother-in-law before his reply could be received.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_59" id="TOPIC_59"></a>It was only within the limits of the French empire that Napoleon's +authority had been sufficient to enforce the rigorous exclusion of British +goods. His allies, including Sweden, which closed her ports to British +products in January, 1810, and declared war on Great Britain in the +following November, had adopted the continental system; but administrative +weakness, and the obvious interest that every people had in its +infraction, rendered its operation partial. Napoleon, determined to +enforce the system in spite of every obstacle, met this difficulty by +placing in immediate subjection to the French crown the territories where +British goods were imported. The first ally to suffer was his own brother, +Louis, King of Holland. His refusal to enforce Napoleon's orders against +the admission of British goods was followed at once by a forced cession of +part of Holland to France and the establishment of French control at the +custom houses, and shortly afterwards by the despatch of French troops +into Holland and its annexation to France on July 9, 1810. In December the +French dominion over the North Sea coast was extended by the annexation of +a corner of Germany, including the coast as far as the Danish frontier, +and the town of Lübeck on the Baltic. As a result of this annexation, the +duchy of Oldenburg, held by a branch of the Russian imperial family, +ceased to exist. The act was a conspicuous breach of the treaty of Tilsit, +which Napoleon considered himself at liberty to disregard, as Russia had +shown by her conduct during the campaign of 1809 that she was no longer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +more than a nominal ally of France. At last, on January 12, 1811, Russia +asserted her independence in fiscal matters by an order which declared her +ports open to all vessels sailing under a neutral flag, and imposed a duty +on many French products. Still the course of French annexation crept +onwards, and quietly absorbed the republic of Vallais in Switzerland, +which had been a great centre of smuggling.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_60" id="TOPIC_60"></a>Meanwhile, the restrictions and prohibitions which formed the continental +system were made more and more severe. By the Trianon tariff of August, +1810, heavy duties were levied on colonial products, and by the +Fontainebleau decree of October 18 all goods of British origin were to be +seized and publicly burned. In November a special tribunal was created to +try offenders against the continental system. Nevertheless, the fiscal and +foreign policy of France at this date alike show how far the continental +system had failed in its object, and to what extreme lengths it had become +necessary to push it in order to give it a chance of success. The strain +of the system on English commerce was immense, but the burden fell far +more heavily on the continental nations. Colonial produce rose to enormous +prices in France, Germany, and Italy, especially after the introduction of +the Trianon tariff, and a subject or ally of the French emperor had to pay +ten times as much for his morning cup of coffee as his enemy in London. +The German opposition to Napoleon had failed in 1809 mainly through the +political apathy of the German nation. Napoleon's fiscal measures were the +surest way of bringing that apathy to an end, and converting it into +hostility.</p> + +<p>The events of December, 1810, and January, 1811, constituted a distinct +breach between France and Russia, which could only end in war, unless one +party or the other should withdraw from its position. A few months +sufficed to show that no such withdrawal would take place; but neither +power was prepared for war, and seventeen months elapsed after the breach +before hostilities began. The intervening period was spent in negotiation +and preparation. Much depended on the alliances that the rival powers +might be able to contract. Although Napoleon had bound himself not to +restore Poland, he had by the creation and subsequent enlargement of the +duchy of Warsaw given it a semblance of national unity, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> had inspired +the Poles with the hope of a more complete independence. The Polish troops +were among the most devoted in the French army, and the position of their +country rendered the support of the Poles a matter of great importance in +any war with Russia. It occurred to the Tsar Alexander that he might win +their support for himself by a restoration of Poland, under the suzerainty +of Russia. He promised Czartoryski the restoration of the eight provinces +under a guarantee of autonomy, and undertook to obtain the cession of +Galicia. On February 13, 1811, he made a secret offer to Austria of a part +of Moldavia in exchange for Galicia. Nothing came of this, but the massing +of Russian troops on the Polish frontier in March was met by the hurried +advance of French troops through Germany, and war seemed imminent until +Russia postponed the struggle by withdrawing her troops.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, other European powers looked forward to selling their alliance +on the best possible terms. Sweden and Prussia both approached the +stronger power first. Bernadotte, on behalf of Sweden, was prepared for a +French alliance if France would favour the Swedish acquisition of Norway. +Napoleon, on February 25, not only refused these terms, but ordered Sweden +to enforce the continental system under pain of a French occupation of +Swedish Pomerania. This threat Sweden ventured to ignore. Prussia, lying +directly between the two future belligerents, was in a more dangerous +position. Neutrality was impossible, because her neutrality would not be +respected. She first offered her alliance to Napoleon in return for a +reduction of the payments due to France and a removal of the limit imposed +on her army. Napoleon did not reply to this offer at once. Meanwhile the +movement of French troops already mentioned and the increase of the French +garrisons on the Oder, though primarily intended for the defence of +Poland, caused great alarm in Prussia and resulted in preparations to +resist a French attack. In July Napoleon finally refused to discuss the +Prussian terms. Ever since his marriage he had been inclined more and more +to an Austrian alliance. On March 26 of this year Otto, his ambassador at +Vienna, had received information that France would support Austria if she +would protest against the occupation of Belgrade by the Serbs. Napoleon +even assured Otto that he was prepared to undertake<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> any engagement that +Austria desired. Rest was, however, essential to Austria. The military +disasters of 1809 had been followed by national bankruptcy, and with the +government paper at a discount of 90 per cent. she dared not incur further +liabilities.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_61" id="TOPIC_61"></a>Russia had an advantage over France in that she was able to free herself +from her entanglement in Turkey, while Napoleon could not make peace +either with Great Britain or with the Bourbon party in Spain. An armistice +with the Porte was concluded on October 15. By that time all pretence of +friendly intentions had been abandoned by France and Russia. Prussia, +hoping still to save herself from an unconditional alliance with France, +now turned to Russia, and Scharnhorst was despatched to seek a Russian +alliance. Meanwhile Napoleon sent word to the Prussian court that, if her +military preparations were not suspended, he would order Davoût to march +on Berlin, and at the same time disclosed his offer of an unconditional +alliance against Russia. Prussia, hoping for Russian aid still, put aside +the French demands, but the Tsar Alexander expressed a decided preference +for a defensive campaign against France, and refused any assistance unless +the French should commit an unprovoked aggression on Königsberg. +Scharnhorst seems to have seen the wisdom of this policy. He now turned to +Austria, but there again a definite alliance was refused. Russia was +equally unable to move Austria to join her, so that Russia and Prussia +were each isolated in their opposition to Napoleon.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_62" id="TOPIC_62"></a>In the months of August and September of this year a British force, +commanded by Auchmuty, effected the conquest of Java, the wealthiest of +the East Indian islands. The island had been a Dutch colony, and like +other Dutch colonies had passed into the hands of France. Sumatra fell +into English hands along with Java, so that the supremacy of Great Britain +in the East Indies was fully established.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>LIVERPOOL'S MINISTRY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_63" id="TOPIC_63"></a>The new ministry which entered on office in June, 1812, differed largely +in composition from that which had preceded it. Ryder and Yorke retired at +the death of Perceval, Harrowby returned to office, and places in the +cabinet were found for Sidmouth's adherents, Buckinghamshire, Vansittart, +and Bragge-Bathurst. Sidmouth himself succeeded Ryder as home<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> secretary, +while Harrowby succeeded Sidmouth as president of the council. Earl +Bathurst took Liverpool's place as secretary for war and the colonies. +Vansittart succeeded Perceval at the exchequer and Bragge-Bathurst in the +duchy of Lancaster. Robert Dundas, now Viscount Melville, followed Yorke +at the admiralty, and Buckinghamshire took Melville's place at the board +of control, which became once more a cabinet office. Eldon, Castlereagh, +Westmorland, and Mulgrave retained their former offices, while Camden +remained in the cabinet without office. In September Mulgrave was created +an earl, and Camden a marquis. The internal history of England during the +first two years of Liverpool's premiership has been entirely dwarfed by +the interest of external events. For this period comprised not only the +Russian expedition—the greatest military tragedy in modern history—the +marvellous resurrection of Germany, with the campaigns which culminated in +the stupendous battle of Leipzig, and the invasion of France which ended +in the abdication of Napoleon at Fontainebleau, but also the brilliant +conclusion of the Peninsular war, and the earlier stages of the war +between Great Britain and the United States.</p> + +<p>The nation was contented to leave the guidance of home and foreign policy +at that critical time to the existing ministers, all honest, experienced, +and high-minded statesmen, but none gifted with any signal ability, and +inferior both in cleverness and in eloquence to the leaders of the +opposition. Napoleon was not far wrong in regarding the British +aristocracy, which they represented, as his most inveterate and powerful +enemy; but he was grievously deceived in imagining that this aristocracy, +in withstanding his colossal ambition, had not the British nation at its +back. The electoral body, indeed, to which they owed their parliamentary +majority, was but a fraction of the population, and the public opinion +which supported them may seem but the voice of a privileged class in these +days of household suffrage. But there is little reason to doubt that, if +household suffrage had then prevailed, their foreign policy would have +received a democratic sanction; nor is it at all certain that some +features of their home policy, now generally condemned, were not +justified, in the main, by the exigencies of their time.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>INDUSTRIAL DISTRESS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_64" id="TOPIC_64"></a>The "condition of England," as it was then loosely termed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> was the first +subject which claimed the attention of Liverpool's government. While +Perceval was congratulating parliament on the elasticity of the revenue, a +widespread depression of industry was producing formidable disturbances in +the midland counties. This depression was the consequence partly of the +continental system, crippling the export of British goods to European +countries; partly of the revival, in February, 1811, of the American +non-intercourse act, closing the vast market of the United States; and +partly of the improvements in machinery, especially those in spinning and +weaving machines introduced by the inventions of Cartwright and Arkwright. +Unhappily, this last cause, being the only one visible to artisans, was +regarded by them as the sole cause of their distress. During the autumn +and winter of 1811 "Luddite" riots broke out among the stocking-weavers of +Nottingham. Their name was derived from a half-witted man who had +destroyed two stocking frames many years before. Frame-breaking on a grand +scale became the object of an organised conspiracy, which extended its +operations from Nottinghamshire into Derbyshire, Leicestershire, +Lancashire, and Yorkshire. At first frame-breaking was carried on by large +bodies of operatives in broad daylight, and when these open proceedings +were put down by military force, they were succeeded by nightly outrages, +sometimes attended by murder. Early in 1812 a bill was passed making +frame-breaking a capital offence.</p> + +<p>In spite of this riots grew into local insurrections, and a message from +the prince regent on June 27 recommended further action to parliament. It +was natural, in that generation to connect all disorderly movements with +revolutionary designs, and this belief underlies an alarmist report from a +secret committee of the house of lords on the prevailing tumults. +Accordingly, Sidmouth obtained new powers for magistrates to search for +arms, to disperse tumultuous assemblies, and to exercise jurisdiction +beyond their own districts. In November many Luddites were convicted, and +sixteen were executed by sentence of a special commission sitting at York. +These stern measures were effectual for a time, and popular discontent in +the manufacturing districts ceased to assume so acute a form until after +the war was ended.</p> + +<p>The sufferings of the poor in the rural districts, though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> generally +endured in silence, were at least equally severe with those of the artisan +class, and it is difficult to say whether a good or bad harvest pressed +more heavily on agricultural labourers. When the price of wheat rose to +130s. per quarter or upwards, as it did in 1812 and other years of +scarcity, the farmers were able to pay comparatively high wages. When the +price fell to 75s., as it did in years of plenty like 1813, wages were +reduced to starvation-point, but supplemented out of the poor-rates, under +the miserable system of indiscriminate out-door relief graduated according +to the size of families. In either case, the entire income of a labourer +was far below the modern standard, and the prosperity of trade meant to +him an increase in the cost of all necessaries except bread. As for their +employers, the golden age of farming, which is often identified with the +age of the great war, had really ceased long before. Not only did the high +price of a farmer's purchases go far to neutralise the high price of his +sales, but the excessive fluctuations in all prices, due to the opening +and closing of markets according to the fortunes of war, made prudent +speculation almost impossible. The frequently recurring depressions were +rendered all the more disastrous, because in times of high prices "the +margin of cultivation" was unduly extended.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CORN LAWS.</i></div> + +<p>With a view to diminish the violence of these fluctuations, a select +committee on the corn-trade was appointed by the house of commons in 1813, +and reported in favour of a sliding-scale. When the price of wheat should +fall below 90s. per quarter, its exportation was to be permitted; but its +importation was to be forbidden, until the price should reach 103s., when +it might, indeed, be imported, but under "a very considerable duty". It +was assumed, in fact, that the normal price of wheat was above 100s. per +quarter, and the price above which importation should be permitted was +nearly twice as high as that fixed in 1801, when, moreover, it was to be +admitted above 50s. at a duty of 2s. 6d., and above 54s. at a duty of +sixpence. It is remarkable that in the debates of 1814 upon the report of +this committee, William Huskisson, as well as Sir Henry Parnell, supported +its main conclusions, upon the ground that agriculture must be upheld at +all costs, and the home-market preferred to foreign markets. Canning and +others ably advocated the cause of the consumers, alleging that duties on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +corn injured them far more than they could benefit landowners or farmers. +Finally, a bill embodying a modified sliding-scale was introduced by the +government, and, though lost by a narrow majority in 1814, became law in +1815. Under this act the importation of foreign corn was prohibited, so +long as the price of wheat did not rise above 80s. Above that price it +might be imported free. Corn from British North America might, however, be +imported free so long as the price of wheat exceeded 67s.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_65" id="TOPIC_65"></a>The parliamentary debates of 1812 chiefly turned on Spanish affairs, the +revocation of the orders in council, the subsequent rupture with the +United States which had anticipated this great concession, and the +wearisome cabinet intrigues which preceded the accession of Liverpool as +prime minister. It is noteworthy that so conservative a house of commons +should actually have pledged itself to consider the question of catholic +emancipation in the next session, and should have passed an act relieving +nonconformists from various disabilities. The next session of this +parliament, however, never came, for an unexpected dissolution took place +on September 29. This dissolution was attributed, with some reason, to a +wish on the part of the government to profit by an abundant harvest, and +to the restoration of comparative quiet both in England and in Ireland. A +new parliament assembled at the end of November. The prince regent's +speech in opening it, though it noticed the suppression of the Luddite +disturbances, was inevitably devoted to the great events in Spain and +Russia, the conclusion of a treaty with Russia, and the American +declaration of war. After the Christmas recess, Castlereagh presented an +argumentative message from the prince fully discussing the points at issue +between Great Britain and the United States, upon which Canning, though +out of office, delivered a vigorous speech in defence of the British +position. Eldon, in the house of lords, went further, boldly justifying +the right of search, and denying the American contention that original +allegiance could be cancelled by naturalisation without the consent of the +mother-country. The Princess of Wales, who had long been separated from +the prince, was the cause of more parliamentary time being wasted by a +complaint which she addressed to the speaker against the proceedings of +the privy council. That body had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> approved restrictions which her husband +had thought fit to place on her intercourse with her daughter, the +Princess Charlotte. Parliament, however, took no action in the matter.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_66" id="TOPIC_66"></a>Perhaps the most important measure enacted in the session of 1813 was the +so-called East India company's act. By this act the charter of the company +was renewed with a confirmation of its administrative privileges and its +monopoly of the China trade, but subject to material reservations: the +India trade was thrown open from April 10, 1814, and the charter itself, +thus restricted, was made terminable by three years' notice after April +10, 1831. In this year the naval and military armaments of Great Britain, +considered as a whole, perhaps reached their maximum strength, and the +national expenditure rose to its highest level, including, as it did, +subsidies to foreign powers amounting to about £10,500,000. Of the +aggregate expenditure, about two-thirds, £74,000,000, were provided by +taxation, an enormous sum relatively to the population and wealth of the +country at that period. Patiently as this burden was borne on the whole by +the people of Great Britain, we cannot wonder that Vansittart, the +chancellor of the exchequer, should have sought to lighten it in some +degree by encroaching upon the sinking fund, as founded and regulated by +Pitt. The debates on this complicated question, in which Huskisson and +Tierney stoutly combated Vansittart's proposal, belong rather to financial +history. What strikes a modern student of politics as strange is that +Vansittart, tory as he was, should have advocated the relief of living and +suffering taxpayers, upon the principle, then undefined, of leaving money +"to fructify in the pockets of the people"; while the whig economists of +the day stickled for the policy of piling up new debts, if need be, rather +than break in upon an empirical scheme for the gradual extinction of old +debts.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> For the whole crisis see Walpole, <i>Life of Perceval</i>, ii., +157-96, and for Sheridan's share in the transactions, Moore, <i>Life of +Sheridan</i>, ii., 382-409.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<h3>THE PENINSULAR WAR.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_67" id="TOPIC_67"></a>Reference has already been made to the conflict maintained for six years +by Great Britain against France for the liberation of Spain and Portugal, +which has since been known in history as the Peninsular war. It had its +origin in two events which occurred during the autumn of 1807 and the +spring of 1808. The first was the secret treaty of Fontainebleau concluded +between France and Spain at the end of October, 1807; the second was the +outbreak of revolutionary movements at Madrid, followed by the +intervention of Napoleon in March, April, and May, 1808. The treaty of +Fontainebleau was a sequel of the vast combination against Great Britain +completed by the peace of Tilsit, under which the continental system was +to be enforced over all Europe. Portugal, the ally of this country and an +emporium of British commerce, was to be partitioned into principalities +allotted by Napoleon, the house of Braganza was to be exiled, and its +transmarine possessions were to be divided between France and Spain, then +ruled by the worthless Godoy in the name of King Charles IV. <a name="TOPIC_68" id="TOPIC_68"></a>Whether or +not the subjugation of the whole peninsula was already designed by +Napoleon, his troops, ostensibly despatched for the conquest of Portugal +under the provisions of the treaty, had treacherously occupied commanding +positions in Spain, when the populace of Madrid rose in revolt, and, +thronging the little town of Aranjuez, where the court resided, frightened +the king into abdication. His unprincipled son, Ferdinand, was proclaimed +in March, 1808, but Murat, who now entered Madrid as commander-in-chief of +the French troops in that city, secretly favoured the ex-King Charles. In +the end, both he and Ferdinand were enticed into seeking the protection +of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> Napoleon at Bayonne. Instead of mediating or deciding between them, +Napoleon soon found means to get rid of both. They were induced or rather +compelled to resign their rights, and retire into private life on large +pensions; and Napoleon conferred the crown of Spain on his brother Joseph, +whose former kingdom of Naples was bestowed on Murat.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_69" id="TOPIC_69"></a>In the meantime, sanguinary riots broke out afresh at Madrid, hundreds of +French were massacred, and the insurrection, as it was called, though +sternly put down by Murat, spread like wildfire into all parts of Spain. A +violent explosion of patriotism, resulting in anarchy, followed throughout +the whole country. Napoleon was taken by surprise, but the combinations +which he matured at Bayonne for the conquest of Spain were as masterly as +those by which he had well-nigh subdued the whole continent, except +Russia. He established a base of operations in the centre of the country, +and organised four campaigns in the north-west, north-east, south-east, +and south. Savary, who had succeeded Murat at Madrid, was supposed to act +as commander-in-chief, but was really little more than a medium for +transmitting orders received from Napoleon at Bayonne. The campaign of +Duhesme in Catalonia was facilitated by the treacherous seizure of the +citadel of Barcelona in the previous February. It was not long, however, +before effective aid was rendered on the coast by the British fleet under +Collingwood, and especially by Lord Cochrane in the <i>Impérieuse</i> frigate; +the undisciplined bands of Catalonian volunteers were reinforced by +regular troops from Majorca and Minorca; the fortress of Gerona made an +obstinate resistance; the siege of it was twice raised, and Barcelona, +almost isolated, was now held with difficulty.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FRANCE OCCUPIES THE PENINSULA.</i></div> + +<p>Marshal Moncey vainly besieged Valencia, while Generals +Lefebvre-Desnoëttes and Verdier were equally unsuccessful before Zaragoza. +In the plains of Leon, Marshal Bessières gained a decisive victory over a +superior force of Spaniards under Cuesta and Blake, at Medina de Rio Seco, +on July 14. Having thus secured the province of Leon, and the great route +from Bayonne to Madrid, he was advancing on Galicia when his progress was +arrested by disaster in another quarter. General Dupont, commanding the +southern army, found himself nearly surrounded at Baylen, and solicited an +armistice,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> followed by a convention, under which, "above eighteen +thousand French soldiers laid down their arms before a raw army incapable +of resisting half that number, if the latter had been led by an able +man".<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> The convention, signed on July 20, stipulated for the transport +of the French troops to France, but its stipulations were shamefully +violated; some were massacred, others were sent to sicken in the hulks at +Cadiz, and comparatively few lived to rejoin their colours. <a name="TOPIC_70" id="TOPIC_70"></a>Meanwhile a +so-called "assembly of notables," summoned to Bayonne, consisting of +ninety-one persons, all nominees of Napoleon, assumed to act for the whole +nation, had accepted the nomination of Joseph Bonaparte as king, and +proceeded to adopt a constitution. On July 20, the very day of the +capitulation of Baylen, Joseph entered Madrid, and on the 24th was +proclaimed King of Spain and the Indies. But the military prestige of the +grand army received a fatal blow in the catastrophe, of which the +immediate effect was the retirement of Joseph behind the Ebro, and the +ultimate effects were felt in the later history of the war.</p> + +<p>At this moment almost the whole of Portugal was in possession of the +French. In November, 1807, under peremptory orders from Napoleon, Junot +with a French army and an auxiliary force of Spaniards, but without money +or transport, had marched with extraordinary rapidity across the mountains +to Alcantara in the valley of the Tagus. He thence pressed forward to +Lisbon, hoping to anticipate the embarkation of the royal family for +Brazil, which, however, took place just before his arrival and almost +under his eyes. With his army terribly reduced by the hardships and +privations of his forced march, he overawed Lisbon and issued a +proclamation that "the house of Braganza had ceased to reign". A fortnight +later a Spanish division occupied Oporto, and meanwhile another Spanish +division established itself in the south-east of Portugal, but, as the +French stragglers came in and reinforcements approached, Junot felt +himself strong enough to cast off all disguise; he suppressed the council +of regency, took the government into his own hands, and levied a heavy war +contribution. During the early months of 1808 he was employed in +reorganising his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> own forces, and the resources of Lisbon, where an +auxiliary Russian fleet of nine ships was lying practically blockaded. In +a military sense, he was successful, but the rapacity of the French, the +contagion of the Spanish uprising, the memory of the old alliance with +England, and the proximity of English fleets, stirred the blood of the +Portuguese nation into ill-concealed hostility. The Spanish commander at +Oporto withdrew his troops to Galicia, and the inhabitants declared for +independence. Their example was followed in other parts of Portugal. Junot +acted with vigour, disarmed the Spanish contingent at Lisbon, and sent +columns to quell disturbances on the Spanish frontiers, but he soon +realised the necessity of concentration. He therefore resolved to abandon +most of the Portuguese fortresses, limiting his efforts to holding Lisbon, +and keeping open his line of communication with Spain.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>VIMEIRO AND CINTRA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_71" id="TOPIC_71"></a>Such was the state of affairs in the Peninsula when Sir Arthur Wellesley +landed his army of some 12,000 men on August 13, 1808. He had been +specially designated for the command of a British army in Portugal by +Castlereagh, then secretary for war and the colonies, who fully +appreciated his singular capacity for so difficult a service. Sir John +Moore, who had just returned from the Baltic, having found it hopeless to +co-operate with Gustavus IV. of Sweden, was sent out soon afterwards to +Portugal with a corps of some 10,000 men. Both these eminent soldiers were +directed to place themselves under the orders not only of Sir Hew +Dalrymple, the governor of Gibraltar, as commander-in-chief, but of Sir +Harry Burrard, when he should arrive, as second in command. Wellesley had +received general instructions to afford "the Spanish and Portuguese +nations every possible aid in throwing off the yoke of France," and was +empowered to disembark at the mouth of the Tagus. Having obtained +trustworthy information at Coruña and Oporto, he decided rather to begin +his campaign from a difficult landing-place south of Oporto at the mouth +of the Mondego, and to march thence upon Lisbon. He was opportunely joined +by General Spencer from the south of Spain, and chose the coast-road by +Torres Vedras. At Roliça he encountered a smaller force under Delaborde, +sent in advance by Junot to delay his progress, and routed it after a +severe combat. Delaborde, however, retreated with admirable tenacity, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +Wellesley, expecting reinforcements from the coast, pushed forward to +Vimeiro, without attempting to check the concentration of Junot's army. +<a name="TOPIC_72" id="TOPIC_72"></a>There was fought, on August 21, the first important battle of the +Peninsular war. The British troops, estimated at 16,778 men (besides about +2,000 Portuguese), outnumbered the French considerably, but the French +were much stronger in cavalry, and boldly assumed the offensive, confident +in the prestige derived from so many victories in Italy and Germany. +Wellesley's position was strong, but the attack on it was skilfully +designed and pressed home with resolute courage. It was repelled at every +point of the field, and the French, retiring in confusion, might have been +cut off from Lisbon. But Burrard, who had just landed and witnessed the +battle without interfering, now absolutely refused to sanction a vigorous +pursuit.</p> + +<p>On the following day he was superseded in turn by Dalrymple. The new +commander determined to await the arrival of Moore, whose approach was +reported, but who did not disembark his whole force until the 30th. In the +meantime, overtures for an armistice were received from Junot, and +ultimately resulted in the so-called "convention of Cintra," though it was +first drafted at Torres Vedras and was ratified at Lisbon. Under this +agreement the French army was to surrender Lisbon intact with other +Portuguese fortresses, but was allowed to return to France with its arms +and baggage at the expense of the British government. Having dissented +from the military decision which had enabled Junot to negotiate, instead +of capitulating, Wellesley also dissented from certain terms of the +convention. He was, however, party to it as a whole, and afterwards +justified its main conditions as securing the evacuation of Portugal at +the price of reasonable concessions. This was not the feeling of the +British public, which loudly resented the escape of the French army and +insisted upon a court of inquiry. The verdict of this court saved the +military honour of all three generals, but its members were so divided in +opinion on the policy of the convention that no authoritative judgment was +pronounced. Napoleon felt no such difficulty in condemning Junot for +yielding too much, and the inhabitants of Lisbon were infuriated not only +by the loss of their expected vengeance, but also by the shameless plunder +of their public and private<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> property by the departing French. Under a +separate convention, the Russian fleet, long blockaded in the Tagus, was +surrendered to the British admiral, but without its officers or crews.</p> + +<p>The capitulation of Baylen paralysed for a time the aggressive movements +of France in Spain. Catalonia remained unconquered, even Bessières +retreated, and Joseph, as we have seen, abandoned Madrid. Happily for the +French, the Spaniards proved quite incapable of following up their +advantages, and though a "supreme junta" was assembled at Aranjuez, it +wasted its time in vain wrangling, and did little or nothing for the +organisation of national defence. Meanwhile, Napoleon was pouring veteran +troops from Germany into the north of Spain, where they repulsed the +Spanish levies in several minor engagements. On October 14 he left Erfurt, +where he had renewed his alliance with the tsar, and reached Bayonne on +November 3. His simple but masterly plan of campaign was already prepared, +and was carried out with the utmost promptitude. On November 10-11, one of +three Spanish armies was crushed at Espinosa; on the former day another +was routed at Gamonal; on the 23rd the third was utterly dispersed at +Tudela. Napoleon himself remained for some days at Burgos, awaiting the +result of these operations; on December 4, after a feeble resistance, he +entered Madrid in triumph, and stayed there seventeen days, which he +employed with marvellous activity in maturing fresh designs, both civil +and military, for securing his power in Spain.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ADVANCE OF SIR JOHN MOORE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_73" id="TOPIC_73"></a>Already, on October 7, Sir John Moore had taken over the command of the +British forces. He probably owed his appointment to George III., who seems +on this occasion to have overruled his foreign and war ministers, Canning +and Castlereagh. In spite of his unwillingness to offer the appointment to +Moore, Castlereagh gave him the most loyal and efficient support during +the whole campaign; and this loyalty to Moore was one of the reasons for +Canning's desire to remove Castlereagh from the war office, which, as we +have seen, led to the famous duel between those two statesmen. It was at +first intended that Moore should co-operate with the Spanish armies which +were then facing the French on the line of the Ebro. For this purpose he +was to have the command of 21,000 troops already in Portugal and of about +12,000 who were being sent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> by sea to Coruña under Sir David Baird. +Burrard was to remain in Portugal with another 10,000. Nothing had been +done before Moore was appointed to the command to provide the troops with +their necessary equipment or their commander with the necessary local +information. The departure of the troops was therefore slow. By October 18 +the greater part of the British troops in Portugal were in motion, but the +whole army had not left Lisbon till the 29th. The main body travelled by +fairly direct routes to Salamanca, where Moore arrived on November 13, but +he was induced by information, which proved to be incorrect, to send his +cavalry and guns with a column under Hope, by the more circuitous high +road through Elvas and Talavera. When this route was adopted it was +anticipated that the different divisions of the British army would be able +to unite at, or near, Valladolid. But the advance of the French rendered +this impossible, and Hope ultimately joined Moore at Salamanca on December +4.</p> + +<p>Baird suffered from even more vexatious delays. Though the greater part of +his convoy had arrived at Coruña on October 13, the local junta would not +permit them to land without express orders from the central junta at +Aranjuez. Consequently the disembarkation did not begin till the 26th and +was only finished on November 4. Transport and equipment were difficult to +obtain, and on November 22 Baird was still only at Astorga. There +exaggerated reports of the French advance induced him to halt, but by +Moore's orders he continued his march. On the 28th the news of the defeat +of Castaños at Tudela reached Moore at Salamanca. Co-operation with a +Spanish army now appeared impossible, and even a junction with Baird +seemed too hazardous to attempt. Moore therefore, ordered Baird to retire +on Coruña and to proceed to Lisbon by sea, and, while waiting himself at +Salamanca for Hope, made preparations for a retreat to Portugal. On +December 5, the day after his junction with Hope, Moore determined to +continue his advance. He had received news of the enthusiastic +preparations for the defence of Madrid but did not know of its fall, and +he considered that the Spanish enthusiasm justified some risk on the part +of the British troops. He accordingly recalled Baird, whose infantry had +retired to Villafranca, though his cavalry were still at Astorga. On the +9th came the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> news of the fall of Madrid, but Moore believed that an +attack on the French lines of communication might still prove useful, and +on the 11th the advance was renewed. Moore himself left Salamanca on the +13th. On the 12th he learned for the first time from some prisoners the +true strength of the French army, 250,000 of all arms, and also discovered +that the enemy were in complete ignorance of the position of his own army. +Next day an intercepted despatch showed him that he might possibly be able +to cut off Soult in an isolated position at Saldaña. Having at last +effected a junction with Baird's corps on the 19th he reached Sahagun on +the 21st, and was on the point of delivering his attack under favourable +conditions, though his triumph must have been short-lived.</p> + +<p>His real success was of another order. He had anticipated that Napoleon +would postpone everything to the opportunity of crushing a British army, +and the ultimate object of his march to Sahagun was to draw the French +away from Lisbon and Andalusia. He was not disappointed. Napoleon at last +divined that Moore was not flying in a south-westerly direction, but +carrying out a bold manœuvre in a north-easterly direction. He +instantly pushed division after division from various quarters by forced +marches upon Moore's reported track, while he himself followed with +desperate efforts across the snow-clad mountains between Madrid and the +Douro. Apprised of his swift advance, and conscious of his own vast +inferiority in numbers, Moore had no choice but to retreat without a +moment's delay upon Benevente and Astorga. He was now sufficiently far +north to prefer to retire upon Galicia rather than upon Portugal. The +retreat began on the 24th and was executed with such rapidity that on +January 1, 1809, Napoleon gave up the pursuit at Astorga, leaving it to be +continued by Soult. Whether he was influenced by intelligence of fresh +armaments on the Danube, or of dangerous plots in Paris, must remain +uncertain, but it is highly probable that he saw little honour to be won +in a laborious chase of a foe who might prove formidable if brought to +bay.</p> + +<p>Moore's army, disheartened as it was by the loss of a brilliant chance, +and demoralised as it became under the fatigues and hardships of a most +harassing retreat, never failed to repel attacks on its rear, where Paget +handled the cavalry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> of the rear-guard with signal ability, especially in +a spirited action near Benevente. In spite of some excesses, tolerable +order was maintained until the British force, still 25,000 strong, reached +Astorga, and was joined by some 10,000 Spaniards under Romaña. +Thenceforward, all sense of discipline was abandoned by so many regiments +that Moore described the conduct of his whole army as "infamous beyond +belief," though it is certain that some regiments, and notably those of +the reserve, should be excepted from this sweeping condemnation. +Drunkenness, marauding, and other military crimes grew more and more +general as the main body marched "in a drove" through Villafranca to Lugo, +where Moore vainly offered battle, and onwards to Betanzos on the +sea-coast. There a marvellous rally was effected, stragglers rejoined the +ranks in unexpected numbers, the <i>moral</i> of the soldiery was restored as +the fearful strain of physical misery was relaxed, and by January 12, +1809, all the divisions of Moore's army were safely posted in or around +Coruña. Bad weather had delayed the fleet of transports ordered round from +Vigo, but it ran into the harbour on the 14th, and the sick and invalids +were sent on board.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE BATTLE OF CORUÑA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_74" id="TOPIC_74"></a>Moore was advised to make terms for the embarkation of his entire command, +but he was too good a soldier to comply. Those who took part in the battle +of Coruña on the 16th, some 15,000 men in all, were no unworthy +representatives of the army which started from Lisbon three months +earlier. Soult, with a larger force, assumed the offensive, and made a +determined attack on the British position in front of the harbour and town +of Coruña. He was repulsed at all points, but Moore was mortally, and +Baird severely, wounded on the field. Hope, who took command, knowing that +Soult would soon be reinforced, wisely persisted in carrying out Moore's +intention, evacuated Coruña, and embarked his army for England during the +night and the following day. His losses were estimated by Hope at above +700, killed and wounded; those of the enemy were twice as great. Thus +victory crowned a campaign which otherwise would have done little to +satisfy the popular appetite for tangible success. The original object of +supporting the Spanish resistance in the north had been rendered +impossible of fulfilment by Napoleon's victories when Moore had barely +crossed the Spanish frontier, and in this sense the expedi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>tion must be +regarded as a failure, though its commander was in no sense responsible +for its ill-success. On the other hand, considered as a skilful diversion, +the expedition was highly successful. It drew all the best French troops +and generals into the north-west corner of Spain, leaving all the other, +and far richer, provinces to recover their power of resistance.<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a></p> + +<p>The spirit in which Napoleon had entered upon this contest is well +illustrated in two sentences of his address to the citizens of Madrid. +"The Bourbons," he said, "can no longer reign in Europe," and "No power +under the influence of England can exist on the continent". The +counter-proclamations of Spanish juntas were more prolix and equally +arrogant, but one of them reveals the secret of national strength when it +asserts that "a whole people is more powerful than disciplined armies". +The British estimate of Napoleon's Spanish policy was tersely expressed by +the Marquis Wellesley in the house of lords, "To him force and fraud were +alike; force, that would stoop to all the base artifices of fraud; and +fraud, that would come armed with all the fierce violence of force".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WELLESLEY TAKES COMMAND.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_75" id="TOPIC_75"></a>For three months after the battle of Coruña, the Peninsular war, as +regards the action of Great Britain, was all but suspended. Two days +before that battle, a formal treaty of peace and alliance between Great +Britain and the Spanish junta, which had withdrawn to Seville, was signed +at London. Sir John Cradock was in command of the British troops at +Lisbon, and took up a defensive position there, with reinforcements from +Cadiz, awaiting the approach of Soult, who had captured Oporto by storm, +and of Victor, who was in the valley of the Tagus. At the request of the +Portuguese, Beresford had been sent out to organise and command their +army. Early in 1809 the Spaniards were defeated with great slaughter at +Ucles, Ciudad Real, and Medellin; Zaragoza was taken after another siege, +and still more obstinate defence; and the national cause seemed more +desperate than ever. On April 2, however, Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had +returned home after the convention of Cintra, was appointed to the +command-in-chief of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> our forces in the Peninsula. Before leaving England, +he left with the ministers a memorandum on the conduct of the war which, +viewed by the light of later events, must be accounted a masterpiece of +foresight and sagacity. When it was laid before George III., his natural +shrewdness at once discerned its true value, and he desired its author to +be informed of the strong impression which it had produced on his mind.</p> + +<p>Wellesley, indeed, could not estimate beforehand the vast numerical +superiority of the French while the rest of Europe was at peace, or the +impotent vacillations of Spanish juntas, or the "mulish obstinacy" of +Spanish generals, which so often wrecked his plans and spoiled his +victories. Nor could he foresee the advantages which he would derive from +the resources of guerilla warfare, the mutual jealousies of the French +marshals, and the sudden recall of the best French troops for service in +Germany and Russia. But his prescient and practical mind firmly grasped +the dominant facts of the position—that Portugal, guarded by the ocean on +the west and by mountain ranges on the east, was far more accessible to +the British navy than to the French army; that, under British officers, +its troops might be trained into an effective force; and that, with it as +a basis, Great Britain might ultimately liberate the whole Peninsula. "I +have always been of opinion," Wellesley said in this memorandum, "that +Portugal might be defended, whatever might be the result of the contest in +Spain; and that in the meantime the measures adopted for the defence of +Portugal would be highly useful to the Spaniards in their contest with the +French." On this simple principle all his detailed recommendations were +founded, and he expressed a deliberate belief that, if 30,000 British +troops were supported by an equal number of Portuguese regulars, and a +reserve of militia was provided, "the French would not be able to overrun +Portugal with less than 100,000 men". This forecast was verified, and upon +its essential wisdom the fate of the Peninsular war, with all its +consequences, may be said to have depended.<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a></p> + +<p>Wellesley landed at Lisbon on April 22, and was received with the utmost +demonstrations of joy and confidence. He found not only the capital but +the whole country in a state of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> tumult, if not of anarchy, due to a +growing despair of the national cause. His arrival rekindled the embers of +patriotism, and on May 5 he reviewed at Coimbra a body of troops +consisting of 17,000 British and Germans, with about 8,000 Portuguese. The +next day he marched towards the Douro, and on the 14th he effected the +passage of that river in the face of the French army occupying Oporto, +which the British forthwith recaptured. Soult beat a hasty and disorderly +retreat into Galicia. Having driven Soult out of Portugal, the British +general was encouraged to undertake a further advance into Spain, where +Joseph with Victor and Sébastiani had collected a much larger army to bar +the approaches to Madrid than Wellesley, relying on Spanish intelligence, +had been led to expect. During June and the first days of July, he moved +by Abrantes and the Tagus valley as far as Plasencia, little knowing that +Soult was about to sweep round his rear, with 50,000 men, and intercept +his communications with Lisbon. On July 10 he held a conference with the +Spanish general Cuesta, who insisted on making an aggressive movement with +his own troops only, and met with a repulse.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE TALAVERA CAMPAIGN.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_76" id="TOPIC_76"></a>On the 27th, the combined armies of Wellesley and Cuesta, numbering +respectively about 20,000 British and 35,000 Spanish, confronted 46,000 +French troops, under Victor, in a strong position behind Talavera.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> The +Spanish forces occupied the right and the British the left of this +position. Joseph was present, and disregarding the counsels of Jourdan, +his proper military adviser, authorised Victor to assume the offensive. He +failed in two preliminary attacks on the 27th, but renewed them on the +28th, when a general engagement ensued. The whole brunt of the battle fell +upon the British troops, who gallantly withstood a desperate onset, first +on their left and then on their centre and right, until the French quitted +the field in confusion. The Spaniards, posted in entrenchments nearer +Talavera itself, did and suffered comparatively little. Some of their +regiments fled disgracefully, but the rest held their ground, and +Wellesley in his despatch spoke favourably of their behaviour.<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> Perhaps +the part which they played may be roughly estimated by their losses, +amounting to 1,200, as compared with 6,268 British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> and nearly 9,000 +French. Wellesley, after further experience of Spanish co-operation, made +up his mind to dispense with it altogether in future.</p> + +<p>The victory of Talavera won for Wellesley the rank of viscount, to which +he was raised on September 4, with the title of Wellington. Although the +victory revived the respect of foreign nations for the prowess of British +arms, it was otherwise fruitless, and its sequel was fairly open to +criticism. Wellesley found that Soult, with Ney and Mortier, had +circumvented him, and that he must retreat through Esdremadura, on the +south of the Tagus, upon Badajoz. Cuesta, who had advocated bolder +counsels, undertook to guard the rear, and to protect the British wounded +at Talavera. But he soon found it necessary to abandon that position. +Fifteen hundred of the wounded were left behind, and were humanely treated +by the French generals. Wellesley's retreat over the mountains was +attended with great hardship and loss, for want of supplies either from +Spain or from the coast, and his long encampment in the malarious valley +of the Guadiana about Badajoz swelled the number of his sick to a +frightful extent. It was not until December, when it got into better +cantonments on Portuguese soil, that the British army, triumphant at +Talavera, recovered either its health or its <i>moral</i>. Napoleon boasted, in +a memorandum to be inserted in the Paris journals, that Wellington had +really been beaten in Spain, and that "if affairs there had been properly +conducted not an Englishman would have escaped". Without going quite so +far as this, the parliamentary opposition in England made the least of the +victory and the most of the retreat, which unfortunately coincided in time +with the wreck of the Walcheren expedition. Even Wellington's best friends +in England began to lose heart, as did many of his own officers. He +remained undaunted, and having established his headquarters on the high +ground between the Tagus and the Douro, meditated designs which, slowly +matured, bore good fruit in later years.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to understand the inaction of Wellington for so many +months after the Talavera campaign, without taking into account not only +the difficulty of obtaining sufficient recruits and stores from England +after the waste of both at the mouth of the Scheldt, but the greatly +increased strength of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> French in Spain during the long interval +between the Wagram campaign and the Russian expedition. At the close of +1809 all the fortresses of Spain had fallen into the enemy's hands, and +all her principal armies had been defeated and dispersed in successive +battles of which the greatest was that of Ocaña in the month of November. +Suchet was master of Aragon and the east of Spain, nor was he dislodged +from it until the end of the war; Andalusia was nearly conquered; Cadiz +was only saved by the self-reliant courage of the Duc d'Albuquerque, +baffling the intrigues and treachery of the supreme junta there assembled; +and Napoleon was preparing a fresh army to overrun Portugal, under the +command of Masséna. The Perceval ministry, in which Liverpool had taken +Castlereagh's post of secretary for war and the colonies, adopting an +optimistic tone at home, practically told Wellington that he must shift +for himself; and he braced himself up to do so with extraordinary +fortitude.</p> + +<p>He remained watching the gathering storm from the heights of Guarda, +south-west of Almeida, and commanding two great roads from Spain into +Portugal, but his thoughts were equally fixed upon the vast and famous +lines of Torres Vedras, which he was constructing for the defence of +Lisbon. His force, including the Portuguese regulars, did not exceed +50,000 men; that of the French under Ney, Reynier, and Junot consisted of +about 70,000, but they were not equally capable of being concentrated on a +single point. The Portuguese militia, too, were being gradually +disciplined, and the Portuguese civil authorities were being gradually +schooled into the new lesson of sweeping their own country bare of all +supplies before the coming French invasion. Wellington did not even strike +a blow to save Ciudad Rodrigo, which Masséna took on July 10, 1810. But it +was no part of his plan that Almeida should capitulate, as it did shortly +afterwards, partly owing to the accidental explosion of a magazine, and +partly as was suspected, to an act of treachery. Still, Masséna delayed +until urged by Napoleon, and deceived by false intelligence, he launched +forth, at the beginning of September, on an enterprise which proved fatal +to his reputation. Both he and Wellington issued appeals to the Portuguese +nation, the contrast between which is significant. The French marshal, +echoing the prevail<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>ing note of his master's proclamation, denounced Great +Britain as the enemy of all Europe; Wellington called upon the Portuguese +to remember their actual experience of French rapacity and outrage.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>BUSSACO AND TORRES VEDRAS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_77" id="TOPIC_77"></a>The object of Masséna was to reach Coimbra before Wellington. His +manœuvres to outflank Wellington's left were skilfully devised, but the +British army marched steadily down the valley of the Mondego, carrying +with it the population of the district, and took its stand on the ridge of +Bussaco, north of Coimbra, barring Masséna's progress. There was fought, +on September 27, 1810, a battle as deadly as that of Talavera, and more +decisive in its consequences. The French, as usual, were the assailants; +the English and the Portuguese stood at bay. Never, in any of their +brilliant victories, did French troops show more heroic daring than in +this assault under Reynier on the British right, and under Ney on the +British left. Both columns forced their way up bare heath-clad slopes, and +reached the summit, whence they were only driven back after repeated +charges. Their loss in killed and wounded exceeded 4,500, that of the +allies was about 1,300. The French generals threw the blame of defeat upon +each other, but, in fact, the skill of Masséna converted a defeat into an +episode in his victorious advance. On the following day, he again found a +way of turning Wellington's left, and, in an intercepted despatch, he +naturally treated this as a compensation for the repulse at Bussaco, which +he did not disguise. Compelled to retire once more with a vast drove of +encumbered, panic-stricken, and famishing Portuguese fugitives, and +conscious that no reserves awaited him, Wellington knew, nevertheless, +that he was drawing Masséna further and further away from his base, to +encounter a terrible surprise. For, so useless had been the French scouts, +and so worthless the information received from Portuguese sources, that no +adequate conception of the obstacle presented by the lines of Torres +Vedras had entered the mind of that experienced strategist.</p> + +<p>These elaborate works had been constructed in the course of a year by +thousands of Portuguese labourers, directed by Colonel Fletcher of the +royal engineers, upon a plan carefully thought out and laid down by +Wellington himself. The first and principal chain of fortifications +stretched for nearly thirty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> miles across the whole promontory between the +river Tagus and the sea, about twenty-five miles north of Lisbon. The +summits of hills were crowned with forts, their sides were escarped and +protected with earthworks, their gorges were blocked with redoubts, a +small river at the foot of them was made impassable by dams; in short, the +utmost advantage was taken of the defences provided by nature, and these +were supplemented by artificial entrenchments. Portuguese garrisons manned +the greater part of the batteries, armed with guns from the arsenals of +Lisbon; British troops were to occupy the most vulnerable points of +attack. There was a second and third range of fortifications behind the +first, in case these should be forced, but no such emergency arose. When +Masséna had carefully inspected the stupendous barrier reared in front of +him, his well-trained eye recognised it as impregnable: he paused for some +weeks under semblance of blockading the British forces, while he was +really scouring the country for the means of feeding his own; but in +November he began to retreat upon Santarem, Almeida, and Ciudad Rodrigo, +with a half-starved and dispirited army, greatly reduced in numbers during +the campaign.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a></p> + +<p>The year 1811 was perhaps the least interesting, yet the most critical in +the history of the Peninsular war. Wellington had not escaped criticism at +home for allowing Masséna to remain so long unmolested near Santarem. He +described himself in a private letter, written in December, 1810, as "safe +for the winter at all events". More he could not have said, knowing, as he +did, that Soult was in force before Cadiz, and might at any moment join +Masséna. This, in fact, he did; leaving his fields of plunder in Andalusia +under the positive orders of Napoleon, he defeated the Spaniards at the +Gebora on February 19, and captured Badajoz, as well as Olivenza. In his +absence, Sir Thomas Graham, who commanded the British troops at Cadiz, +sailed thence with La Peña, the Spanish commander, and a combined force of +about 12,000 men, to make a flank march, and attack the French besiegers, +under Victor, in the rear. A brisk action followed at Barrosa, in which +Graham obtained a complete victory, but the Spanish troops, as usual, +remained almost passive; the beaten army was not pursued,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> and the siege +of Cadiz was not raised. This city was still the seat of the Spanish +national government, but the feeble junta had been superseded by a +national cortes, fairly representative of the nation, which passed some +liberal measures, and dissolved the so-called regency which assumed to +represent Ferdinand.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FUENTES D'ONORO AND ALBUERA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_78" id="TOPIC_78"></a>The two great frontier fortresses of Spain, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, +were now in the hands of the French. Masséna had regained the Spanish +frontier in March, after frequent combats with the pursuing enemy, and +with heavy losses in men and horses, though he saved every gun except one. +This retreat involved the evacuation of every place in Portugal except the +fortress of Almeida. Wellington's pursuit would have been still more +vigorous, but that his Portuguese troops were half-starved, and had lost +discipline under intolerable privations. His next design seems to have +been the recapture of the fortresses, but he was not without ulterior +hopes—all too premature—of afterwards pushing on to Madrid and operating +in the eastern provinces of Spain. He first invested Almeida, and, leaving +General Spencer to continue the blockade, proceeded to Elvas in order to +concert measures with Beresford for the siege of Badajoz. Thence he was +suddenly recalled northward to repel a fresh advance of Masséna, strongly +reinforced, for the relief of Almeida. The battle which followed at +Fuentes d'Oñoro, south-east of Almeida, was among the most hardly +contested struggles in the whole Peninsular war. It began on May 3, and, +with a day's interval, concluded on the 5th. The British remained masters +of the field, and claimed a somewhat doubtful victory, which at least +secured the evacuation of Almeida. The garrison of that fortress blew it +up by night, and succeeded, by masterly tactics, in joining the main +French army with little sacrifice of life.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_79" id="TOPIC_79"></a>Wellington returned to Badajoz, only to meet with disappointment. General +Cole, acting under Beresford, had retaken Olivenza; but Soult, with a +force of 23,000 men, was marching to succour Badajoz, when he was +encountered by Beresford at Albuera. Beresford's force was numerically +stronger than Soult's, but only 7,000 men were English, the rest being +mostly Spanish. Measured by the proportion of losses to men engaged on +both sides, this fight on May 16, 1811, must rank among the bloodiest on +record. In four hours<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> nearly 7,000 of the allies and 8,000 French were +struck down. The decisive charge of the reserve was inspired and led by +Hardinge, afterwards Governor-General of India; the French were routed, +and Soult was checked, but little was gained by the victors.<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> The siege +of Badajoz, indeed, was renewed, but its progress was slow for want of +proper engines and artillery, and it was abandoned, after two futile +attempts, on June 11. By this time, Marmont had succeeded Masséna, and was +carrying out Napoleon's grand plan for a junction with Soult's army and a +fresh irruption into Portugal. With marvellous audacity, Wellington +offered battle to both marshals, who, happily ignorant of his weakness, +declined it more than once. In truth, he was never more nearly at the end +of his resources than when he went into winter quarters at the close of +1811, having failed to prevent Marmont from provisioning Ciudad Rodrigo, +and having narrowly escaped being overwhelmed by a much superior force. +His army was greatly reduced by sickness, he was very ill-supplied from +England, and he received no loyal support from the Portuguese government. +Moreover, the French had apparently extended their hold on Spain, both in +the eastern and northern provinces, while it was reported that Napoleon +himself, not content with dictating orders from afar, would return to +complete the conquest of the Peninsula.</p> + +<p>At this juncture, he must have been cheered by the arrival of so able a +lieutenant as Graham from Cadiz, and by the brilliant success of Hill +against a detached body of Marmont's army south of the Tagus. There were +other tendencies also secretly working in favour of the British and their +allies. Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain, openly protested against the +extortions which he was enjoined to practise on his subjects, and went so +far as to resign his crown at Paris, though he was induced to resume it. +Again the broken armies of the Spanish had reappeared in the form of +guerilla bands under leaders such as Mina; they could not be dispersed, +since they had no cohesion, and were more formidable through their extreme +mobility than organised battalions. Above all, the domination of France +over Europe was already undermined and tottering invisibly to its fall. +The Tsar Alexander had, as we have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> seen, been deeply offended by the +preference of an Austrian to a Russian princess, as the consort of +Napoleon, and still more by his imperious annexation of Oldenburg. Sweden, +following the example of Russia, had begun to rebel against the +continental system. A series of internal reforms had aroused a national +spirit, and stealthily created the basis of a national army in Prussia, +and the intense hostility of all North Germany to France was thinly +disguised by the unwilling servility of the Prussian court. Napoleon, who +seldom laboured under the illusions propagated by his own manifestoes and +bulletins, well knew what he was doing when, in August, 1811, he allowed +himself to burst into a storm of indignation against the Russian +ambassador at the Tuileries. From that moment he clearly premeditated a +rupture with Russia, and soon he withdrew 60,000 of his best troops from +Spain, to be employed in that fatal enterprise of 1812 which proved to be +his doom.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CAPTURE OF CIUDAD RODRIGO AND BADAJOZ.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_80" id="TOPIC_80"></a>The winter of 1811-12 was spent by Wellington in preparing, with the +utmost secrecy, for the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, as the first +steps in an offensive campaign. In January, 1812, he struck a sudden blow +against the former, and captured it by an assault, attended with great +carnage, on the 19th of that month. In this furious conflict, lasting but +half an hour, Craufurd, the renowned leader of the light division, fell +mortally wounded. Shameful excesses sullied the glory of a splendid +exploit. Marmont immediately drew in his troops towards Salamanca, leaving +Soult in the valley of the Tagus; and Hill, with his southern army, moved +northward. Wellington, who was created an earl in February, transferred +the greater part of his troops to Badajoz, and began a regular siege, but +with very imperfect materials, no organised corps of sappers and miners, +and very few officers skilled in the art of taking fortified towns. He was +greatly delayed on the route by the lack of transport, and the vexatious +obstinacy of the Portuguese authorities, while time was of the utmost +consequence lest any or all of three French armies should come to raise +the siege. Hence the extreme rapidity of his final operations.</p> + +<p>After the capture of an outlying fort, three breaches were made in the +walls, and on the night of April 6, under the cover of thick darkness, two +divisions of British troops descended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> into the ditch, many carrying +ladders or sacks of hay, and advanced to the foot of the <i>glacis</i>. Here +they were almost overwhelmed with a hurricane of fiery missiles, and in +mounting the breaches they had to face not only hand-grenades, trains of +powder, and bursting shells, but a <i>chevaux-de-frise</i> of sabre-blades +crowning the summit. None of these attacks was successful; but another +division under Picton scaled the castle, and a brigade under Walker +effected an entrance elsewhere. After this, the French abandoned the +breaches; the resistance waxed fainter, and at six in the morning, +Philippon, the governor, with his brave garrison, surrendered +unconditionally. The loss of the British and Portuguese in killed and +wounded was stated at the enormous figure of 4,885, and it was avenged by +atrocities prolonged for two days and nights, worse than had followed the +storming of Ciudad Rodrigo. Wellington ordered the provost marshal to +execute any soldiers found in the act of plunder, but officers vainly +attempted to check their men at the peril of their own lives.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SALAMANCA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_81" id="TOPIC_81"></a>It had been the intention of Wellington to operate next against Soult, and +drive him, if possible, from Esdremadura and Andalusia. But, as appears +from one of his despatches to Lord Liverpool, he was ill satisfied with +the conduct of his allies guarding Ciudad Rodrigo, and returned to resume +command in that region. In the same despatch he complains bitterly of the +niggardly policy of his government in regard to money and supplies. The +same timidity on the part of ministers at home appears in a letter from +Liverpool, almost forbidding him to accept the command-in-chief of the +Spanish armies, which, however, was conferred upon him later in this +year.<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> At present, he decided to march against Marmont in the plains of +Leon. This movement was facilitated by the success of Hill in surprising a +body of French troops, and seizing the important bridge of Almaraz over +the Tagus on May 19, thereby breaking the French lines of communication +and isolating Marmont's army for a time. Soon afterwards, Salamanca and +its forts were captured by Wellington, but Marmont proved a very +formidable opponent, and, having behind him another army under King +Joseph, threatened the British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> lines of communication. In the series of +manœuvres which ensued, Wellington's forces met with more than one +reverse, but the French marshal was determined to win a victory on a large +scale. Wellington had no wish to risk a battle, unless Salamanca or his +own rear should be seriously threatened, and he stood on the defensive, a +little south of Salamanca, with Marmont's army encamped in front of him.</p> + +<p>Early on July 22, the French seized one of two hills called the Arapiles +which formed the key of the position and commanded the road to Ciudad +Rodrigo. Marmont then organised complicated evolutions, of which the +ultimate object was to envelop the British right and cut off its expected +retreat. To accomplish this, he extended his own left so far that it +became separated by a gap from his centre. No sooner did Wellington, with +a flash of military insight, perceive the advantage thus offered than he +flung half of his troops upon the French left wing, and made a vigorous +attack with the rest upon the French centre. It was too late for Marmont, +himself wounded, to repair the mistake, the centre was driven in, and, as +was said, 40,000 men were beaten in forty minutes. General Clausel, who +took Marmont's place, showed great ability in the retreat, but the French +army could scarcely have escaped destruction had not the Spaniards, who +were entrusted with a post on the river Tormes, left the passage open for +the flying enemy. Nevertheless, the battle of Salamanca was the greatest +and most decisive yet fought by the British in the Peninsula; it +established the reputation of our army, and placed Wellington in the first +rank of generals. Three weeks later he entered Madrid in triumph, and was +received with the wildest popular acclamations. Joseph once more abandoned +his capital, joined Suchet in Valencia, and ordered Soult against his will +to withdraw from Andalusia and move in the same direction. This +concentration relieved Wellington from immediate anxieties, but exposed +him to a serious danger of being confronted before long by forces thrice +as great as his own. He also needed reinforcements, and was in still +greater want of money.</p> + +<p>To students of military history it may seem a very doubtful question +whether, under such circumstances, it was prudent to advance farther into +Spain from his strongholds on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> Portuguese frontier. But Wellington, +who had been created a marquis on August 18, judged it necessary to crush +if possible the remainder of Marmont's army which had retired northward +under Clausel. He therefore left Hill with a detachment to cover Madrid, +and marching through Valladolid occupied the town of Burgos. The castle of +that place remained in the hands of a French garrison 2,000 strong and had +been carefully fortified. Here again we may be permitted to doubt whether, +after the experience gained at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, Wellington did +wisely in resolving to invest and storm a fortress so formidable, without +an adequate siege-train, and with the knowledge that Clausel might rally +his forces in time to relieve it. Wellington himself afterwards admitted +to Liverpool that he had erred in not taking with him the best of his own +troops, and that he did not possess the means of transporting ordnance and +military stores from Madrid and Santander, where there was abundance of +them. The siege lasted a month, from September 19 to October 18; the +garrison offered a most obstinate resistance, inflicting great loss on the +besiegers by sorties, and in the end the attack failed. Souham, with +Clausel, was closing in upon Wellington from the north, Soult from the +south-east; Hill's position at Madrid was untenable, and another retreat +became inevitable. It was the last and most trying in Wellington's +military career. The army which had behaved nobly at Salamanca broke down +under the strain of suffering and depression, like that of Sir John Moore +before Coruña. The enemy was driven back in various rear-guard actions, +but on the march the sense of discipline vanished and shameful disorders +occurred. A scathing reprimand from Wellington, which might have been +written by a French critic and which ought never to have been made public, +threw all the blame of this disorganisation on the regimental officers, +and denied that any scarcity of provisions could be pleaded in excuse of +it.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MILITARY REFORMS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_82" id="TOPIC_82"></a>By the middle of November the campaign ended, and Wellington's +headquarters were at Ciudad Rodrigo. For the present, Spain was still +dominated by the French, but its southern provinces were clear of the +invaders, and elsewhere the tide was already on the turn. The Russian war +cast its shadow beforehand on the Spanish peninsula; the French<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> army was +constantly weakened in numbers and still more in quality, as conscripts +were substituted for veterans, and inferior generals succeeded to high +commands; the Portuguese and Spanish contingents of the British army were +stronger and better disciplined. Wellington himself, tenacious of his +purpose as ever, received heartier support from home, where Liverpool had +become prime minister in June, and had been succeeded by Bathurst as +secretary for war and the colonies; and though the Marquis Wellesley, no +longer in the government, complained that his brother's operations had +been crippled by ministerial apathy, the Peninsular war, on the eve of its +completion, was adopted with pride and sympathy by the nation.</p> + +<p>The last chapter of the Peninsular war opens with the operations +culminating in the battle of Vitoria, and closes with the battle of +Toulouse. Having accepted the office of generalissimo of the Spanish +armies, Wellington repaired to Cadiz during the winter of 1812-13, and +formed the lowest estimate of the make-shift government there carried on +under the dual control of the cortes and the regency. He failed to obtain +a reform of this system, but succeeded in effecting a reorganisation of +the Spanish army, to be in future under his own command. He next addressed +himself, with the aid of Beresford and the British minister at Lisbon, to +amend the monstrous abuses, civil and military, of Portuguese +administration. By the beginning of May, 1813, a great improvement was +visible in the equipment and <i>moral</i> of the Spanish and Portuguese troops; +a vigorous insurrection against the French occupation had broken out in +the province of Biscay, endangering the great road into Spain; and an +Anglo-Sicilian army of 16,000 men, under Sir John Murray, had repulsed +Suchet, hitherto undefeated, at Castalla on the Valencian coast, without, +however, completing their victory, or capturing any of the French guns in +the narrow defile by which the enemy fled. The want of unity in the +command of the French army, and of harmony between its generals, was more +felt than ever now that Napoleon's master-mind was engrossed in retrieving +the awful ruin of the Russian expedition.</p> + +<p>Yet Napoleon's instructions to Joseph show that he had fully grasped the +critical nature of the situation. He enjoined Joseph to mass all his +forces round Valladolid, and imperatively directed that at all hazards the +communications with France should be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> maintained. The Spanish guerillas +had long rendered communications so insecure that couriers with despatches +had to be escorted by bodies of 250 cavalry or 500 infantry; they were now +so effectually intercepted that Napoleon's own despatch reached Joseph +more than two months late, by way of Barcelona and Valencia. Meanwhile, +Joseph was openly accusing Soult, in a letter to his brother, of criminal +ambition—a charge to which he laid himself open before in Portugal—and +did not hesitate to add, "the Duke of Dalmatia or myself must quit Spain". +In England, on the contrary, parties were at last united in the desire to +bring the war to a triumphant end, and parliament grudged neither men nor +money to aid Wellington's plan of campaign. It was, then, under happier +auspices than in former years that he broke up from his cantonments then +stationed on the Coa, a little to the north-west of Ciudad Rodrigo, and +set forward with 70,000 British and Portuguese troops, besides 20,000 +Spaniards, to drive the French out of Spain. So confident was he of +success that, as Napier relates, he waved his hand in crossing the +frontier on May 22, and exclaimed, "Farewell, Portugal".<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>VITORIA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_83" id="TOPIC_83"></a>He advanced by the valley of the Douro; then, turning to the north-east, +he compelled the French to evacuate Burgos, and passed the Ebro on June +13. Graham in command of his left wing there joined him, after forcing his +way by immense efforts across the mountains of the Portuguese frontier. +Hill, commanding the right wing of his composite but united army, was +already with him. A depot for his commissariat and a military hospital +were established at Santander, where a British fleet was lying, and whence +he could draw his supplies direct from home. The French army, under Joseph +and Marshal Jourdan, fell back before him by a forced night march on the +19th and took up its position in front of Vitoria, in the province of +Biscay. Here, on the plain of the river Zadorra, was fought on the 21st +the greatest battle of the Peninsular war. Wellington had encountered +serious physical difficulties in his passage from the valley of the Ebro +to that of the Zadorra; but for once his plans had been executed with +admirable precision, and all his troops arrived at the appointed time on +the field of battle. The French, conscious of their impending expulsion +from Spain, were encumbered by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> enormous baggage-trains containing the +fruits of five years' merciless spoliation "not of a province but of a +kingdom," including treasures of art from Madrid and all the provincial +capitals, with no less than 5,500,000 dollars in hard cash, besides two +years' arrears of pay which Napoleon had sent to fill the military chest +of Joseph's army. A vast number of vehicles, loaded with the whole +imperial and royal treasure, overspread the plain and choked the great +road behind the French position, by which alone such a mass of waggons +could find its way into France.</p> + +<p>The French army consisted of about 60,000 men, with 150 pieces of cannon, +but strong detachments, under Foy and Clausel respectively, had been sent +away to guard the roads to Bilbao and Pamplona. The British army numbered +nearly 80,000, inclusive of Portuguese and Spanish, with 90 guns. The +French were posted on strong ground, and held the bridges across the +river. Graham, with the left column of the British, made a circuit in the +direction of Bilbao, working round to cut off the French rear on the +Bayonne road. Hill, with the right column, forced the pass of Puebla, in +the latter direction, carried the ridge above it after much hard fighting, +and made good his position on the left flank of the French. Wellington +himself, in the centre, under the guidance of a Spanish peasant, pushed a +brigade across one of the bridges in his front, weakly guarded, and thus +mastered the others; his force then expanded itself on the plain and bore +down all opposition. Graham had met with a more obstinate resistance from +the French right, under Reille, but at last got possession of the great +Bayonne road. Thenceforward a retreat of the French army, partly +encircled, became inevitable, but it was conducted at first in good order +and with frequent halts at defensible points. The only outlet left open +was the mountain road to Pamplona, and this was not only impracticable for +heavy traffic but obstructed by an overturned waggon. The orderly retreat +was soon converted into a rout; the flying throng made its way across +country and over mountains towards Pamplona, leaving all the artillery, +military stores, and accumulated spoils as trophies of the British +victory.</p> + +<p>The value of these was prodigious, but the great mass of booty, except +munitions of war, fell into the hands of private<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> soldiers and +camp-followers. Wellington reported to Bathurst that nearly a million +sterling in money had been appropriated by the rank and file of the army, +and, still worse, that so dazzling a triumph had "totally annihilated all +order and discipline".<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> The loss in the battle had been about 5,000, +but Wellington stated that on July 8 "we had 12,500 men less under arms +than we had on the day before the battle". He supposed the missing 7,500, +nearly half of whom were British, to be mostly concealed in the mountain +villages.<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> A large number of stragglers afterwards rejoined their +colours, but too late to aid in an effectual pursuit of the enemy. The +immediate consequence of this great victory was the evacuation by the +French of all Spain south of the Ebro. Even Suchet abandoned Valencia and +distributed his forces between Tarragona and Tortosa. To his great credit, +Wellington addressed to the cortes an earnest protest against wreaking +vengeance on the French party in Spain, many of whom might have been +driven into acceptance of a foreign yoke "by terror, by distress, or by +despair". At the same time, he vigorously followed up his success by +chasing and nearly surrounding Clausel's division, while Hill invested +Pamplona, and Graham drove Foy across the Bidassoa, in his advance upon +the fortress of St. Sebastian.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE BATTLE OF THE PYRENEES.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_84" id="TOPIC_84"></a>The fortifications of St. Sebastian were in a very imperfect condition, +but the governor, Emmanuel Rey, was nevertheless able to defend the place +with success. Wellington, after laying siege to it, sanctioned a premature +attempt to scale the breaches which cost Graham's force a loss of more +than 500 men. This check was succeeded by another, still more serious, in +the historic pass of Roncesvalles. Napoleon, hearing at Dresden of the +battle of Vitoria, and instantly fathoming its momentous import, +despatched Soult, as "lieutenant of the emperor," to assume command of all +the French armies at Bayonne and on the Spanish frontier, still amounting +nominally to 114,000 men, besides 66,000 under Suchet in Catalonia. Soult +reached Bayonne on July 13, fortified it strongly, and reorganised his +troops with amazing energy, inspiriting them with a warlike address in the +well-known style of Napoleon's proclamations. On the 25th he set his +forces in motion, with the intention of crushing the British right by a +sudden irruption, and relieving Pamplona.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> He all but achieved his object, +for, by well-concerted and well-concealed movements, he actually carried +the passes of Roncesvalles and Maya, in spite of a gallant resistance and +the French troops were on the point of pouring down the Pyrenees on the +Spanish side, when Wellington arrived at full speed from his position +before St. Sebastian.</p> + +<p>He was opportunely reinforced, and gave battle on the rugged heights in +front of Pamplona to a force numerically superior, but for the most part +charging uphill. Never, even at Bussaco, did the French show greater +ardour and <i>élan</i> in attack, and it was only after a series of bloody +hand-to-hand combats on the summits and sides of the mountains that they +were compelled to recoil and rolled backward down the ridge. Baffled in +his attempt to relieve Pamplona, Soult turned westwards towards St. +Sebastian, but was anticipated by Wellington, and faced by three divisions +of Hill on his right. A second engagement followed, in which the +Portuguese earned the chief honours, and 3,000 prisoners were taken. At +last Soult gave orders for a retreat, and in the course of it was all but +entrapped in a narrow valley where he could not have escaped the necessity +of surrender. It is said that he was warned just in time by the sudden +intrusion of three British marauders in uniform; at all events, he +instantly changed his line of march, and ultimately led his broken army +back to France, but in the utmost confusion, and not without fresh +disasters. One of these befell Reille's division in the gorge of Yanzi, +and another the French rear-guard under Clausel, which defended itself +valiantly, but was driven headlong down the northern side of the Pyrenees +from which this series of battles derives its name.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_85" id="TOPIC_85"></a>The siege of St. Sebastian was immediately renewed with a far more +powerful battering train, but its defences had also been strengthened by +the indefatigable governor. The final assault took place on August 31, and +rivalled the storming of Badajoz in the murderous ferocity of the <i>melée</i> +at the breaches, as well as in the horrors practised on the inhabitants by +the victorious assailants, which Wellington and Graham vainly endeavoured +to check. So desperate was the defence, and so insuperable appeared the +obstacles to an entrance by the breaches, that Graham adopted the heroic +expedient of causing his artillery to fire a few feet only over the heads +of the forlorn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> hope, until a clear opening had been made, and deadly +piles of combustibles had been exploded behind the main breach, blowing +into the air 300 of the garrison. A hideous conflagration destroyed the +greater part of the town. A few days later the castle, to which the +governor had retired, yielded to an irresistible cannonade, and he +surrendered at discretion with about 1,200 men. Several hundred wounded, +including a large number of British prisoners, were found there in the +hospitals.</p> + +<p>On the 30th, the day before St. Sebastian was stormed, Soult attempted a +diversion for its relief by crossing the Bidassoa, and on the following +day he engaged a large body of Spaniards at St. Marcial. On this occasion +Wellington held the British troops in reserve, and the Spaniards without +their aid defeated the French with great slaughter. So ended a +well-planned and well-executed effort to reconquer the Spanish frontier. +Pamplona was still untaken, and Suchet was still in Catalonia, but no +further offensive movement was undertaken by the French against Spain. +Both Soult and Wellington had shown remarkable powers of generalship, and +there was a moment when Soult might have snatched the prize of victory by +raising the siege of Pamplona. But his ultimate success was hopeless, and +his failure was complete. Before the fall of St. Sebastian and the battle +of St. Marcial, Wellington estimated the French losses at 15,000 men, who +could ill be spared in the interval between Napoleon's last gleam of +victory at Dresden and on his signal defeat at Leipzig.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WELLINGTON ENTERS FRANCE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_86" id="TOPIC_86"></a>But the Peninsular war, in the historical sense, was not yet over. During +the summer of 1813 a mixed force of British, Germans, Spaniards, and +Sicilians had been carrying on an intermittent war against the French +under Suchet in the eastern provinces. Their commander, Sir John Murray, +who had allowed the beaten enemy to escape at Castalla, proved equally +irresolute in an attempt to capture Tarragona, countermanded the assault, +and re-embarked his troops on the approach of Suchet. Soon afterwards he +was superseded by Lord William Bentinck, and Suchet after the battle of +Vitoria was compelled to retire behind the Ebro. Bentinck renewed the +investment of Tarragona, but permitted Suchet without a battle to relieve +it, demolish its fortifications, and withdraw its garrison at the end of +August. An ill-judged advance of the British general<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> into Catalonia +brought about another misfortune, and, upon the whole, the series of +operations conducted against Suchet were by no means glorious to British +arms or generalship, however important their effect in preventing a large +body of French veterans from reinforcing Soult's army at a critical time +in the Western Pyrenees. Wellington himself inclined to complete the +deliverance of Spain by clearing the province of Catalonia of the +invaders, but the British government, having in view the prospect of +crushing Napoleon in Germany, urged him to undertake an immediate invasion +of France. Accordingly he moved forward on October 7, leaving Pamplona +closely blockaded, threw his army across the Bidassoa on the 8th by a +stroke of masterly tactics, forced the strong French lines on the north +side of it, and established himself on the enemy's soil. Before entering +France he issued the most stringent proclamations against plundering, +which he enforced by the sternest measures, and announced that he would +not suffer the peaceful inhabitants of France to be punished for the +ambition of their ruler. On the 31st the French garrison of Pamplona, +despairing of relief, surrendered as prisoners of war.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_87" id="TOPIC_87"></a>The prolonged defence of Pamplona gave Soult time to strengthen his +position on the Nivelle. The lines which he constructed rivalled those of +Torres Vedras, and the several actions by which they were at last forced +and turned were among the most desperate of the whole war. The first was +fought in the early part of November, and resulted in the occupation by +Wellington's army of the great mountain-barrier south of Bayonne, with six +miles of entrenchments along the Nivelle, and of the port of St. Jean de +Luz. A month later Wellington became anxious to establish his +winter-cantonments between the Nive and the Adour, partly for strategical +reasons, and partly in order to command a larger and more fertile area for +his supplies. On December 9, therefore, Hill with the right wing forded +the Nive and drove back the French left upon their camp in front of +Bayonne. Then followed three most obstinate combats on the 10th, 11th and +13th, in which Soult took the offensive, with Bayonne as the centre of his +operations, and with the advantage of always moving upon interior lines +resting upon a strong fortress. In the first of these attacks, he +surprised and nearly succeeded in overwhelm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>ing the British left, under +Hope, now Sir John, before Wellington could bring other divisions to its +support. In the second, he fell suddenly on the same troops, exhausted by +fatigue, and still more or less isolated, but they were rallied by Hope +and Wellington in person, and remained masters of the field. In the third +he concentrated his whole strength upon the British right under Hill, +aided by a thick mist, and by a flood upon the Nive, which swept away a +bridge of boats, and separated Hill from the rest of the army. +Nevertheless, that able general, emulating the noble example of Hope in +the earlier encounters, succeeded in repelling assault after assault, +until Wellington himself appeared with reinforcements of imposing +strength, and converted a stubborn defence into a victory.</p> + +<p>The loss of the allies since crossing the Nive had exceeded 5,000; that of +the French was 6,000, besides 2,400 Germans who deserted to the British +during the night of the 9th in obedience to orders from home. Ever since +he assumed the command Soult had shown military ability of a rare order. +Bayonne, the base of all his operations, was indefensible before he +fortified it. A great proportion of his troops were raw conscripts, or +demoralised by defeat, before he inspired them with his own courage and +vigour. He was practically dependent for subsistence in his own country on +the very system of pillage which had roused a patriotic frenzy of +resentment in Spain and other lands ravaged by French armies. He now stood +at bay in the south of France, as Wellington had so long stood at bay in +Portugal, and continued there during the early part of 1814 a defensive +campaign not unworthy of comparison with the prodigious exploits of +Napoleon himself against the invaders of his eastern provinces.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE INVESTMENT OF BAYONNE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_88" id="TOPIC_88"></a>A respite of two months succeeded the battles on the Nive. During this +interval Wellington's difficulty in paying his troops was great, owing to +the enormous drain of specie from England into Central Europe. He was +further embarrassed by the appearance of the Duke of Angoulême, elder son +of Charles, Count of Artois, afterwards Charles X., at his headquarters. +The British government was by no means committed to a restoration of the +Bourbons, and Wellington deprecated the duke's appearance as at least +premature. He therefore insisted upon his remaining incognito and as a +non-combatant at St.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> Jean de Luz. Soult was in great straits, not only +because he was compelled to "make war support war" by exorbitant +requisitions upon the French peasantry, but also because the exigencies of +Napoleon were such that large drafts of the best troops were drawn from +the army of the south. When hostilities were resumed in the middle of +February, 1814, the Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish force combined +outnumbered the French by nearly five to three, but Soult retained the +decisive advantage of having a strong <i>point d'appui</i> in Bayonne at the +confluence of the Nive and Adour. Careful preparations were made by +Wellington for throwing a large force across the Lower Adour below +Bayonne, in concert with a British fleet. Contrary winds and a violent +surf delayed the arrival of the British gunboats, but on February 23 Hope +sent over a body of his men on a raft of pontoons in the face of the +enemy's flotilla, with the aid of a brigade armed with Congreve rockets, +which had been first used at Leipzig, and produced the utmost +consternation in the French ranks. The gunboats soon followed, but with +the loss of one wrecked and others stranded in crossing the bar. By the +joint exertions of soldiers and sailors a bridge was then constructed, by +which Hope's entire army with artillery passed over the river, and, two +days afterwards, began the investment of Bayonne.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the centre and right wing, under the command of Wellington, had +forced a passage across the Upper Adour and threatened Bayonne on the +other side. Leaving a garrison of 6,000 men in Bayonne, Soult took his +stand at Orthez, with an army of about 40,000 men, on the summit of a +formidable ridge. Wellington attacked this ridge on the 27th, with a force +of nearly equal strength in three columns so disposed as to converge from +points several miles distant from each other. The veterans of the French +army, admirably handled, fought with tenacity, and all but succeeded in +foiling the attack before Wellington could bring up his reserves. The +conscripts, however, were not equally steady, and when Hill, advancing +from the extreme right, pressed upon the French left, Soult's orderly +retreat became a precipitate flight. The French loss greatly exceeded the +British, and was soon afterwards swelled by wholesale desertions; the road +to Bordeaux was thrown open, and the royalist reaction against Napoleon, +stimulated by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> the depredation of the French troops, ripened into a +general revolt.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Napoleon had lost Germany by the battle of Leipzig; early in +1814 the allied armies of Austria, Prussia, and Russia had entered France, +and a congress was being held at Châtillon-sur-Seine, to formulate, if +possible, terms of peace. The city of Bordeaux was the first to declare +itself openly in favour of the Bourbons. Wellington sent a large +detachment to preserve order, with strict instructions to Beresford, who +commanded it, to remain neutral, in the event of Louis XVIII. being +proclaimed, pending the negotiations with Napoleon at Châtillon. But the +excitement of the people could not be restrained, and the arrival of the +Duke of Angoulême evoked a burst of royalist enthusiasm which anticipated +by a few weeks only the abdication of Napoleon at Fontainebleau. The +defection of Bordeaux forced Soult to fall back rapidly on a very +formidable position in front of Toulouse. The British army followed in +pursuit, encumbered with a great artillery and pontoon train. After a +lively action at Tarbes, it arrived in front of Toulouse on March 27, to +find the Garonne in flood, and the French army strongly entrenched around +the town, with a prospect of being joined by 20,000 or 30,000 veterans, +under Suchet, from Catalonia.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE BATTLE OF TOULOUSE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_89" id="TOPIC_89"></a>The dispositions of Wellington, ending in the battle of Toulouse, on April +10, have not escaped criticism. Hill, with two divisions and a Spanish +contingent, threw a bridge across the Garonne below Toulouse, but +discovered that he could make no progress in that direction, owing to the +impassable state of the roads. Beresford crossed the river with 18,000 men +at another point, but a sudden flood broke up the pontoon bridge in his +rear, and he remained isolated for no less than four days, exposed to an +attack from Soult's whole army. Having missed this rare opportunity, Soult +calmly awaited the attack, with a force numerically inferior, but with +every advantage of position. On the 10th Wellington's troops advanced in +two columns, separated from each other by a perilous interval of two +miles. One of these, including Freyre's Spaniards and Picton's division, +was fairly driven back after furious attempts to storm the ramparts of the +fortified ridge held by the French. Beresford, however, who in this battle +combined generalship<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> with brilliant courage, restored the fortunes of the +day by a dashing advance against the redoubts on the French right. Having +carried these he swept along the ridge, which became untenable, and Soult +withdrew his army within his second line of defences. Two days later, +seeing that Hill menaced Toulouse on the other side, and fearing that if +defeated again he would lose his only line of retreat along the +Carcassonne road, he evacuated Toulouse by that route, leaving his +magazines and hospitals in the hands of the British army. By so doing he +left to Wellington the honour and prize of victory, but few victories have +been so dearly bought, and the loss in killed and wounded was actually +greater on the side of the victors than on that of the vanquished.</p> + +<p>Toulouse received Wellington on the 12th with open arms, and as news +reached him on the same day announcing the proclamation of Louis XVIII. at +Paris, he no longer hesitated to assume the white cockade. Soult loyally +declined to accept the intelligence until it was officially confirmed, +when a military convention was made on the 18th, whereby a boundary line +was established between the two armies. Suchet had already withdrawn from +Spain, and at last recalled the garrisons from those Spanish fortresses in +which Napoleon had so obstinately locked up picked troops which he sorely +needed in his dire extremity. But on the 14th, a week after Napoleon's +abdication, the famous "sortie from Bayonne" took place, in which each +side lost 800 or 900 men, and Hope, wounded in two places, was made +prisoner. For this waste of life the governor of Bayonne must be held +responsible, since he was informed of the events at Paris by Hope, and +instead of awaiting official confirmation, like Soult, chose to risk the +issue of a night combat, which must needs be deadly and could not be +decisive.</p> + +<p>Thus ended the Peninsular war. This war on the British side has seldom +been surpassed in the steady adherence to a settled purpose, through years +of discouragement and failure, maintained by the general whose name it has +made immortal. Neither his strategy nor his tactical skill was always +faultless; and afterwards in comparing himself with Soult, he is reported +to have said, that he often got into scrapes, but was extricated by the +valour of his army, whereas Soult, when he got into a scrape, had no such +men to get him out of it. However this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> might be, Wellington's foresight +in appreciating the place to be filled by the Peninsular war in the +overthrow of Napoleon's domination, and his truly heroic constancy in +striving to realise his own idea will ever constitute his best claim to +greatness. No other man in England or in Europe discerned as he did, that +with Portugal independent and guarded by the power of Great Britain on its +western coast and its eastern frontier, the permanent conquest of Spain by +the French would become impossible. No one else saw beforehand, what +Napoleon discovered too late, that a war in Portugal and Spain would drain +the life-blood of his invincible hosts, and at length help towards the +invasion of France itself. No other general would have shown equal +statesmanship in managing Spanish juntas and controlling even Spanish +guerillas, or equal forbearance in sparing the French people the evils +which a victorious army might have inflicted upon them.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Napier, <i>Peninsular War</i> (3rd edition), i., 123.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> For Moore's campaign see Napier, <i>Peninsular War</i>, i., pp. +xxi.-xxv., lvii.-lxxvi., 330-44, 431-542, and Oman, <i>Peninsular War</i>, i., +486-602; and compare Moore's <i>Diary</i>, edited by Maurice, ii., 272-398. Sir +F. Maurice has not completely answered Professor Oman's criticisms.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Dispatches</i>, iv., 261-63 (March 7, 1809).</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> For the exact figures see Oman, <i>Peninsular War</i>, ii., +645-48.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Dispatches</i>, iv., 536 (July 29, 1809).</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> For Masséna's lines of march see T. J. Andrews in <i>English +Historical Review</i>, xvi. (1901), 474-92.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> The battle is picturesquely described by Napier, <i>Peninsular +War</i>, iii., 536-66. See also <i>ibid.</i>, pp. xxxv.-li.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Supplementary Dispatches</i>, vii., 318-19.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Napier, <i>Peninsular War</i> (first edition), v., 513.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Dispatches</i>, x., 473 (June 29, 1813).</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, x., 519 (July 9, 1813).<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<h3>THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON.</h3> + + +<p>The war between France and Russia, publicly threatened in August, +1811,<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> was long deferred. On Russia's part the adherence to a defensive +policy delayed action until France was ready. But there was another reason +why the preparations for war were only slowly pushed forward. Even at the +court of St. Petersburg there was a French party which retarded such +preparations as committing Russia too definitely to an open rupture. On +the part of France, also, delay was necessary. Though deliberately +provoked by himself, the war was not altogether welcome to Napoleon. It +suited him best to have a strong but friendly neighbour in Russia, and +victory promised him but the half-hearted friendship of a power to which +he could no longer dare to leave much strength. Besides it was necessary +to make far more extensive preparations than had been required for any of +his previous campaigns. Russia was too poor and too thinly peopled for it +to be possible for war to support itself, and immense supplies with +correspondingly large transport arrangements were needed for a large army +which would have to fight at so vast a distance from its base. It would +have been impossible to be ready in time for a summer campaign in 1811; +the country was not favourable to transport on a large scale during +winter, and the war was therefore postponed till the summer of 1812. The +end of May or beginning of June was the date originally selected for the +beginning of operations, as it was expected that the difficulty of +providing fodder would be greatly reduced when the grass had grown. But +the preparations were not sufficiently advanced by that date, and +hostilities were only opened on June 24.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_90" id="TOPIC_90"></a>The interval was spent by both powers in securing allies and pacifying +enemies. Early in the year 1812 Prussia had made a last attempt to avert a +French alliance by inviting Russia to join in a peaceful compromise. After +the failure of this negotiation her position was helpless, and resembled +that of Poland before its national extinction. Russia could not become her +active ally without exposing her own army to destruction at a second +Friedland, and Prussia could not fight France alone. Frederick William, +therefore, accepted the terms dictated by Napoleon. By a treaty concluded +on February 24 he agreed to supply the emperor with 20,000 men to serve as +a part of the French army, and was to raise no levies and give no orders +without his consent. The king was also to afford a free passage and +provide food and forage for the French troops, payment for which was to be +arranged afterwards. In return for this a reduction was made in the war +indemnity due to France. This was probably as much as Napoleon could have +obtained without authorising a dangerous increase in the Prussian army.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>RUSSIAN ALLIANCES.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_91" id="TOPIC_91"></a>Austria was more fortunate, because an Austrian war would have been a +serious diversion, not a step towards the invasion of Russia. She was in +consequence able to impose her own terms on France. These terms, so far as +the nature and extent of the Austrian assistance to France were concerned, +had been sketched by Metternich to the British agent, Nugent, as far back +as November, 1811, and they were accepted by France in a treaty of March +16, 1812.<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> Austria was to provide an army of 30,000 men to guard +Napoleon's flank in Volhynia. In return France guaranteed the integrity of +Turkey, and secretly promised a restoration of the Illyrian provinces to +Austria in exchange for Galicia, which was to form a part of a +reconstituted Poland. Elsewhere Napoleon's negotiations were unsuccessful. +In January he fulfilled his threat of occupying Swedish Pomerania, but it +had no effect on Swedish policy, and when in March he offered Finland and +a part of Norway as the price of an alliance, his terms were rejected and +Sweden allied herself with Russia. On April 17 Napoleon made overtures for +peace with Great Britain, offering to evacuate Spain and to recognise the +house of Braganza in Portugal and the Bourbons in Sicily, if the British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +would recognise the "actual dynasty" in Spain and Murat in Naples. The +offer was certainly illusory. "Actual dynasty" was an ambiguous phrase, +but would naturally mean the Bonapartes. Castlereagh declined to recognise +Joseph, but declared his readiness to discuss the proposed basis if +"actual dynasty" meant a recognition of Ferdinand VII. in Spain. Napoleon +was enabled to say that his offers of peace had been rejected, and made no +answer to Castlereagh.</p> + +<p>Russia in her turn had to conciliate the Porte, Sweden, Persia, and Great +Britain. The Turkish negotiations were prolonged, and it was only in May +that the treaty of Bucharest was signed, by which Russia gave up all her +conquests except Bessarabia. Sweden had offered Russia her alliance in +February. She was prepared to surrender Finland to Russia on condition +that Russia should assist her in the conquest of Norway. A joint army was +to effect this conquest and then make a descent on North Germany, +threatening the rear of the French army of invasion. The adhesion of Great +Britain was to be invited. On April 5 an alliance between Russia and +Sweden was signed on the terms suggested. This was followed on August 28 +by the treaty of Åbo, which was signed in the presence of the British +representative, Lord Cathcart. By this treaty Russia was to assist Sweden +with 30,000 men and a loan, Sweden undertook to support Russia's claim, +when it should be made, for an extension of her frontier to the Vistula. +Shortly afterwards it was agreed to postpone the attack on Norway till the +following year, and thus at length the Russian army in Finland was set +free. The treaties with the Porte and Sweden were too late to liberate +troops to oppose Napoleon's advance, but the troops thus liberated greatly +endangered his retreat. With Persia no peace could be made. Great Britain +was still nominally at war both with Russia and with Sweden. Negotiations +with Russia in April came to nothing because the British government +refused to take over a loan of £4,000,000, but on July 18 a treaty of +alliance between the three powers was signed, in which Great Britain +promised pecuniary aid to Russia. A further sign of friendship was given +when the tsar handed over the Cronstadt fleet for safekeeping to the +British. The formal treaty was, however, only the public recognition of a +friendship and mutual confidence which had begun with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> breach between +Russia and France. This good understanding was shared by the nominal +allies of France, Prussia and Austria. Russia was fully informed of the +military and political plans of Austria, and knew that her forces would +not fight except under compulsion.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_92" id="TOPIC_92"></a>At last, on June 24, Napoleon's grand army began the passage of the +Niemen, which formed the boundary between the duchy of Warsaw and the +Russian empire. The main body, at least 300,000 strong, was commanded by +Napoleon himself. A northern division, including the Prussian contingent, +was commanded by Macdonald, and, after advancing to Riga, which it +pretended to besiege, remained idle throughout the campaign. The +Austrians, under Schwarzenberg, formed a southern division, but they +merely manœuvred, and made no serious attempts to impede the movements +of the southern Russian army on its return journey from the war on the +Danube. Napoleon himself drove the main Russian armies before him in the +direction of Moscow. At last Kutuzov, who had taken over the command of +the Russians in the course of the retreat, made a stand at Borodino, where +on September 7 one of the bloodiest battles on record was fought. The +figures are variously given, but the French army probably lost over 30,000 +in killed and wounded out of a force of 125,000; and the Russians lost not +less than 40,000 out of an army of slightly smaller dimensions. This awful +carnage ended, after all, in little more than a trial of strength. The +French gained the ground, but the Russians made good their retreat, and +six days later Kutuzov retired through the streets of Moscow, taking the +better part of the population and all the military stores with him. The +French vanguard entered on the 14th, and Napoleon himself next day. A +fire, kindled either by accident or by Russian incendiaries, raged from +the 14th to the 20th and destroyed three-fourths of the city.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAPOLEON'S RETREAT FROM MOSCOW.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_93" id="TOPIC_93"></a>The capture of Moscow was far from being the triumph that the French +emperor had anticipated. Deceived by his recollections of Tilsit, he had +fully counted upon receiving pacific overtures from Alexander or at least +upon his eager acceptance of conciliatory assurances from himself. But as +the weeks passed and the vision of negotiation with the Russians proved +illusory, retreat became inevitable. On the night of October 18 the French +army, now about 115,000 strong, evacuated Moscow.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> Kutuzov, who was +stronger in cavalry, though perhaps still weaker in infantry, hung upon +its rear, and, while avoiding a pitched battle, was able to prevent +Napoleon from retreating by any other route than the now devastated line +of his advance. It has often been questioned whether Kutuzov did not +deliberately refrain from destroying the French army. He certainly +informed Sir Robert Wilson on one occasion that he did not wish to drive +Napoleon to extremities, lest his supremacy should go to the power that +ruled the sea. The remark may have been nothing more than an outburst of +ill-temper, but, whatever the motive, there can be no doubt as to the +policy adopted. The retreating French army suffered terrible hardships +from the cold, for which it was ill prepared. Twice it seemed on the point +of falling into the hands of the Russians; at Krasnoe 26,000 prisoners are +said to have been captured by Kutuzov's army, while at Borisov the +southern army under Chichagov and the army returning from Finland under +Wittgenstein joined hands, and disputed the French passage of the Berezina +on November 26-29. According to Chambray's calculation, the French army +numbered 31,000 combatants before the passage, of whom but 9,000 remained +on December 1. All the non-combatants had been left in the hands of the +enemy.</p> + +<p>This was the last direct attack made by the Russians on the relics of the +grand army. But the worst ravages of the Russian winter had yet to come. +On December 3 the cold became intense. As the survivors of the expedition +dragged themselves homewards through the Polish provinces, they were met +by large bodies of reinforcements pouring in from the west; these +recruits, comparatively fresh, were at first appalled by the gaunt and +famine-stricken aspect of the returning veterans, but soon perished +themselves in nearly equal numbers. It is estimated that altogether only +60,000 men recrossed the frontier out of a total of 630,000, and in the +estimate of 60,000 is included Macdonald's division, which was exposed to +comparatively little hardship. That division with the Prussian contingent +began to fall back on December 19. On the 30th, however, the Prussians +were reduced to neutrality by the convention of Tauroggen, signed by the +Prussian commander, Yorck, with the Russians, without the sanction of his +government. Had Russia been in a condition to press onwards at once and +carry the war into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> French territory, it is possible that Europe might +have been spared the misery and bloodshed of the next few years. But, for +the moment, her strength and resources were exhausted, nor was it until +months had elapsed that other nations, or even France herself, became +aware of the magnitude of the catastrophe which had overtaken Napoleon's +host. That he was able to rally himself after it, to carry the French +people with him, to enforce a new conscription, and to assume the +aggressive in the campaign of 1813, must ever remain a supreme proof of +his capacity for empire.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DISPUTES WITH THE UNITED STATES.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_94" id="TOPIC_94"></a>In the year 1812 war broke out between Great Britain and the United +States. For a time the continental warfare had led to a great increase in +American commerce, which was free from the attacks of privateers and from +the restrictions which the opposing parties placed on one another. +Presently, however, both parties attempted to force the United States into +a virtual alliance with themselves. Orders in council on the one side and +imperial decrees on the other had, as we have seen, declared a blockade of +the ports of the continent of Europe and of Great Britain, and the United +States saw their commerce threatened with disabilities approximating to +those suffered by the belligerent powers. President Jefferson, who was +supported by the republican party, adhered to a policy of strict +neutrality, and prepared to suffer any commercial loss rather than be +drawn into an European war. The only action which he took was the defence +of the river mouths with a view to resisting any offensive movement. The +federalist party on the other hand were in favour of energetic action +against France, so as to secure English favour and the great commercial +privileges which the mistress of the seas could bestow. For a time no +hostilities resulted, but constant irritation was caused by the British +claim to a right of search and to the impressment of sailors of British +nationality found on American ships, while American ships accused of +infringing the blockade were seized by either of the European combatants. +To some extent the differences between Great Britain and the United States +depended on rival views of the law of allegiance. The British maintained +the doctrine <i>nemo potest exuere patriam</i>, and regarded all British-born +persons, unless absolved from their allegiance by the act of the +mother-country, as British subjects. The law of the United States, on the +other hand, per<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>mitted an alien to become a citizen after fourteen years' +residence, and previously to 1798 had required a residence of five years +only. In this way it often happened that sailors who had received the +American citizenship were impressed for service on British ships, and +sometimes sailors of actual American birth were impressed. But it was +impossible to justify the practice to which the Americans resorted of +receiving deserters of British nationality from British ships of war, who +were induced by offers of higher pay to transfer themselves to the +American service.</p> + +<p>Jefferson at first preferred to coerce the European powers by retaliatory +legislation. As early as April, 1806, a law had been passed forbidding the +importation of certain British wares, but was suspended six weeks after it +came into operation. In June, 1807, irritation was intensified by the +incident of the <i>Leopard</i> and the <i>Chesapeake</i>. Five men, four of whom +were British born and one an American by birth, were known to have +deserted from the British sloop <i>Halifax</i>, lying in Hampton roads, and to +have taken service on an American frigate, the <i>Chesapeake</i>. After +application for their surrender had been made in vain to the magistrates +of the town of Norfolk, where the <i>Chesapeake's</i> rendezvous was, and to +the officer commanding the rendezvous, Vice-admiral Berkeley sent his +flagship, the <i>Leopard</i>, carrying fifty guns, with an order to the British +captains on the North American station to search the <i>Chesapeake</i> for +deserters from six ships named, including the <i>Halifax</i>, in case she +should be encountered on the high seas. The <i>Leopard</i> arrived in +Chesapeake bay in time to follow the <i>Chesapeake</i> beyond American waters, +and then made a demand to search for deserters. On the captain of the +<i>Chesapeake</i> refusing compliance, the <i>Leopard</i> opened fire. The +<i>Chesapeake</i> was not in a condition to make any effectual reply, and, +after receiving three broadsides, struck her flag. Only one of the +deserters from the <i>Halifax</i>, an Englishman, was found on the +<i>Chesapeake</i>; but three deserters from the British warship <i>Melampus</i>, +which had not been named in Berkeley's order, all Americans by birth, were +removed from the <i>Chesapeake</i>, which was now permitted to return to +port.<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> Although the British government offered reparation for this +action, recalled Berkeley, and dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>avowed the right to search ships of war +for deserters, the incident could not fail to make a bad impression on +American opinion.</p> + +<p>But still Jefferson adhered to a policy of pacific coercion. In December, +1807, the act of April, 1806, was again put into force, and an embargo +act, passed by the American congress, now cut off all foreign countries +from trade with the United States. But the policy of embargo was +disastrous to its promoters. It ruined the commerce and emptied the +treasury of the United States. On March 1, 1809, a non-intercourse act, +applying only to France, Great Britain, and their dependencies, was +substituted for the embargo act.<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> The new act enabled the president to +remove the embargo against whichever country should cancel its orders or +decrees against American trade. Three days later Jefferson was succeeded +by Madison as President of the United States. The change made no +difference to the policy of the United States government. But the +opposition was now much stronger and more violent than formerly; so much +so that Sir James Craig, the Canadian governor, actually despatched a spy, +John Henry, to sound the willingness of New England, where the federalist +party was the stronger, to secede from the union and join Great Britain +against the United States. This venture becomes the less surprising when +we observe that in the previous year, 1808, John Quincy Adams, the future +president, had predicted such a secession. Nothing, however, came of the +attempt. Madison attempted to obtain concessions from the British +government, but while the Perceval ministry lasted he met with no success. +In May, 1810, the non-intercourse act expired, but a proviso was enacted +that, if before March 3, 1811, either Great Britain or France should +cancel her decrees against American trade the act should, three months +after such revocation, revive against the power that maintained its +decrees. Madison was cajoled into believing that Napoleon had recalled his +decrees on November 1, 1810, and the non-intercourse act was accordingly +revived against Great Britain and her dependencies in February, 1811.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_95" id="TOPIC_95"></a>Almost the first act of the Liverpool administration was to cancel the +restrictions on American trade. But it was too<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> late. Five days earlier +the United States had declared war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812. +The explanation of this step must be sought in the party politics of the +United States. While the federalists courted British alliance, the younger +members of the republican party had conceived a hope of conquering Canada +as a result of a victorious war against Great Britain. This was the reply +of the national party in the United States to the action of the Canadian +governor. Madison knew the impracticability of such a step, but, finding +that he could only carry the presidential election of 1812 with the +support of this section of his party, he declared war. Great Britain, with +her best troops in the Peninsula, was in no condition to use her full +strength in America, but the United States were entirely unprepared for +war. Their treasury was still empty, and their army and navy were small, +while Canada generally was contented and loyal to the British crown. Upper +Canada was full of loyalists, who had been expelled from the revolted +colonies, and who with their descendants hated the men that had driven +them from their homes; lower Canada was half-French and had nothing in +common with the United States, while the Roman catholic clergy threw the +whole weight of their influence on the British side. General Hull, who +commanded the forces employed against Canada, succeeded in crossing the +river Detroit in July and threatened the British post of Malden. But an +alliance with the Indians enabled the British first to possess themselves +of Mackinac, at the junction of lakes Huron and Michigan, and afterwards +to imperil Hull's communications through the Michigan territory.</p> + +<p>Hull accordingly fell back on Detroit. The British, with 750 men under +Major-General Brock, together with 600 Indians, now prepared to attack +Hull at that place. Hull, who believed his retreat to be cut off by the +Indians, did not await the British attack, but surrendered on August 16 +with 2,500 men and thirty-three guns. The effect of the capitulation was +to place the British in effectual possession, not merely of Detroit, but +of the territory of Michigan, and thus to render any attack on Canada from +that quarter extremely difficult. The advantages gained by the British +through this success were unfortunately neutralised by the policy pursued +by Sir George Prevost, who had succeeded Craig as governor of Canada. +Prevost was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> of opinion that, when the news of the withdrawal of the +orders in council reached Washington, the United States government would +be ready to abandon hostilities; and he accordingly concluded a +provisional armistice with General Dearborn, the commander-in-chief of the +enemy's forces in the northern states. But President Madison, having +engaged in war, was anxious to try the effect of another attack on Canada +before negotiating for peace, and therefore declined to ratify the +armistice. The interval enabled the United States to bring up +reinforcements, but their new army failed in an attack on a British post +on the Maumee river.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile a second attempt was made to invade Upper Canada, this time from +the side of Niagara. On October 13, Brigadier-General Wadsworth, acting +under the orders of General Van Rensselaer, led an attack on the British +position of Queenstown on the Canadian bank of the Niagara river. Brock +commanded the defence, but was killed early in the fight. The position was +momentarily seized by the enemy, but was presently recaptured by the +British, who had in the meantime been reinforced by Major-General Sheaffe, +the son of a loyalist, with a force from Fort George, and before the day +closed Wadsworth found himself compelled to surrender with 900 men. The +remainder of the enemy's forces, consisting of militia, rather than exceed +their military obligations by crossing the frontier, chose to leave these +men to their fate. In spite of the ignominious surrenders with which the +first two expeditions against Canada had terminated, a third attempt was +made by Brigadier-General Smyth to force the Canadian frontier; but on +November 28 he was repulsed with loss by the British under Bishopp between +Chippewa and Fort Erie, above the Niagara Falls, and at the end of the +year the Canadian frontier still remained unpierced.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>AMERICAN SUCCESSES AT SEA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_96" id="TOPIC_96"></a>The glory of the British military successes was unfortunately obscured in +large measure by American successes on the sea. The maritime war resolved +itself into a series of fights between individual frigates. This was the +necessary result of the nature of the British force kept in American +waters. Ever since the renewal of hostilities with France in 1803 a +species of blockade had been maintained along the coast of the United +States by British vessels on the watch for deserters or contra<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>band of +war. It was also found necessary to employ ships of war to guard against +pirates in the West Indies and to protect British commerce in that quarter +against French privateers. For all these purposes speed was of more +importance than strength, and the British force in the west contained a +disproportionate number of smaller vessels as compared with line of battle +ships. The actual numbers of British warships in North American waters at +the beginning of 1812 were three ships of the line, twenty-one cruisers +and frigates, and fifty-three small craft. The United States navy was +still weaker, and amounted merely to seven efficient frigates and nine +small craft.<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> There was no question of a contest between fleets, and +though the numbers of the British warships enabled them to destroy +American trade, they were ship for ship inferior to the American frigates, +which were thus enabled to win an empty glory in single-ship encounters. +The American frigates were, in fact, superior in every respect to the +British ships which nominally belonged to the same class. They were larger +and more strongly built, a frigate being as strong as a British +seventy-four. Their crews were more numerous, and were recruited entirely +from seamen, about one-third of whom would appear to have been of British +nationality, while, as has been seen, many of them had been decoyed from +British war-vessels by offers of higher pay. The British ships on the +other hand were manned largely by landsmen, often impressed from the +jails. A false economy had induced the British admiralty to impose narrow +limits on the use of ammunition for gunnery practice. The Americans on the +other hand were very liberal in this respect, with the result that in the +early years of the war they were greatly superior to their enemies in +point of marksmanship.</p> + +<p>A good example of the disproportion between the British and American +frigates is furnished by the fight between the British frigate <i>Guerrière</i> +and the American frigate <i>Constitution</i>, on August 19, one of the first +naval actions in the war. The <i>Guerrière</i> was armed with twenty-four +broadside guns, discharging projectiles with a total weight of 517 pounds; +the <i>Constitution</i> with twenty-eight broadside guns, discharging a weight +of 768 pounds. The crew of the <i>Guerrière</i>, counting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> men only, numbered +244, that of the <i>Constitution</i> with a similar limitation 460. Finally the +<i>Guerrière's</i> tonnage amounted to 1,092, as against the <i>Constitution's</i> +1,533. The <i>Guerrière's</i> guns proved very ineffectual from the start, +while the marksmanship, not only of the American gunners but of the +riflemen in the <i>Constitution's</i> tops, was the wonder of the British. It +is stated that none of her shot fell short. After a fight lasting nearly +two hours the <i>Guerrière</i> surrendered. The ship was a complete wreck, and +she had lost fifteen men killed and six mortally wounded as against seven +killed and three mortally wounded on board her opponent.</p> + +<p>The effect of the engagement both on British and on American public +opinion was altogether out of proportion to its intrinsic importance. The +inequality in strength of the opposing frigates was not understood, and +any defeat of the mistress of the seas seemed an event of considerable +significance. The Americans soon met with other similar successes. On +October 18 their sloop <i>Wasp</i>, of eighteen guns, reduced the British sloop +<i>Frolic</i>, a weaker vessel, though of similar armament, to a helpless hulk +after a ten minutes' cannonade. The moral effect of this victory was not +impaired by the fact that the conqueror and her prize were compelled to +surrender a few hours later to the British seventy-four <i>Poictiers</i>. On +the 25th the <i>United States</i>, of forty-four guns, captured the +<i>Macedonian</i>, of thirty-eight, after three hours' fighting, and on +December 29 the British thirty-eight-gun frigate <i>Java</i>, with a very +inexperienced crew, was captured by the <i>Constitution</i> after a running +fight of three hours and a half.<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN OF 1813.</i></div> + +<p>With the retreat of the French army from Russia the main scene of +operations on the continent was shifted from Russia to Germany. Great +Britain took little part in the actual warfare in Germany, and if she had +a larger share in the political negotiations which ultimately determined +the distribution of forces, still Austria and not Great Britain was the +power whose diplomacy had most effect on the course of events. The +upheaval of Europe against Napoleon, however, would have been much less +effective if it had not been supported by English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> subsidies, and Austria, +in the crippled state of her finances, would probably have had to remain +inactive if she had not been able to rely on English gold and perhaps +still more on English credit.</p> + +<p>The campaign of 1813 falls naturally into three parts. During the first, +from the beginning of January to the latter part of April the victorious +Russians swept over North Germany, and, carrying the Prussian monarchy +with them, strengthened a reaction which had already begun against the +rule of Napoleon. The second part began with the arrival of Napoleon on +the scene of action towards the end of April and lasted to the conclusion +of an armistice on June 4. In this period of seven or eight weeks the +allies were forced to retire at all points and the war was carried into +Prussian territory. The armistice, which terminated on August 10, preceded +the opening of the third part of the campaign in which Russia and Prussia +were joined by Austria and Sweden, and, after gradually drawing closer +round the main French position in Saxony, finally inflicted a crushing +defeat upon Napoleon at Leipzig in the middle of October. The campaign was +virtually over when Napoleon secured his retreat by the victory of Hanau +on October 30; but it is impossible to sever it from the events outside +Germany which were directly occasioned by the downfall of Napoleon's +German domination. These are the revolt of Holland in November, that of +Switzerland in December, and the Austrian attack on Northern Italy in +October and November.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_97" id="TOPIC_97"></a>In the opening months of the campaign the movements were merely a sequel +to those of the previous year. The French retreat was continued from the +Niemen to the Vistula, the Elbe, and finally the Saale. The Russians +entered Prussia proper a few days after Yorck's capitulation, and the +French retired before them. Stein, the Prussian statesman who had received +a commission from Russia to administer the Prussian districts occupied by +her, ordered the provincial governor to convoke an assembly. Although some +indignation was felt at such a step being taken by Russian orders, the +assembly met and voted the formation of the Landwehr. In this way Prussia +actually began to arm against France, while the Prussian government still +professed to maintain the French alliance. A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> few days later King +Frederick William left Berlin, which was still occupied by the French, for +Breslau. Before the end of February he had concluded the treaty of Kalisch +with Russia, by which the two powers were to conduct the war against +France conjointly, and Russia was not to lay down her arms till Prussia +should be restored to a strength equal to that which she had possessed in +1806. On March 2 Cathcart arrived at Kalisch as British ambassador to the +Russian court. He actively promoted Russia's alliance with Prussia, from +which Great Britain stood apart for the present. He was able to obtain +from Prussia a renunciation of her claims on Hanover, but Frederick +William was still opposed to any increase of Hanoverian territory. On the +17th Prussia declared war on France. By that time the Russians had entered +both Berlin and Breslau, and had freed Hamburg from French dominion, thus +reopening Germany to British commerce. The declaration of war by Prussia +was accompanied by a convention with Russia providing for the deliverance +of Germany and the dissolution of the confederation of the Rhine. This +convention embodied Stein's policy. It relied on popular support and it +aimed at an unified government, at least in the territories occupied at +that date by adherents of France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN OF 1813.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_98" id="TOPIC_98"></a>But the popular upheaval in Germany was confined to the kingdom of +Prussia, and the attempt to spread it elsewhere only provoked distrust in +Austria and the South German states; it was not until the conservative +elements in Germany were won over by Metternich's policy that the +anti-Napoleonic movement became truly national. For the present Austria +played the part of mediator. Lord Walpole, who had been sent on a secret +errand to Vienna in December, 1812, tried in vain to win Austria to the +side of the allies by promising the restoration of the Tyrol, Illyria, and +Venetia.<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> Her government would probably have preferred a reconciliation +with France, which would have arrested the growth of Russia and left +Germany divided, to a unified Germany such as Stein desired; but +Metternich, who directed her policy, cherished little hope of the success +of his endeavours, though he knew when to employ agents more optimistic +than himself. The Austrian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> treasury was empty, and it therefore suited +Austria to remain neutral as long as possible, while in the event of a +doubtful struggle this very neutrality would raise the price of her +ultimate alliance. It was in this way that she came at last to exercise a +decisive voice in the resettlement of Germany, not to say of Europe. True +to this policy, the Austrian court concluded a truce of indefinite +duration with Russia at the beginning of the year, and withdrew its forces +within its own borders. This was followed by an offer of mediation made to +France, which was, however, declined. A renewed offer was declined early +in April by both France and Great Britain. The British still distrusted +Austria, while France desired to buy her active co-operation and made an +offer of Silesia in return for an army of 100,000, should Prussia or +Russia open hostilities. Austria did not, however, abandon her project, +but notified Prussia and Russia that she would proceed with the task of +armed mediation, and steadily busied herself with military preparations.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_99" id="TOPIC_99"></a>The vigour of the Prussians in recruiting had surprised Napoleon, but his +own vigour was the marvel of Europe. In spite of the losses of the Russian +campaign, he was able to take the field at the end of April with an army +which at the lowest estimate was 200,000 strong. But his soldiers were for +the most part mere boys, and he was sadly deficient in cavalry. The +veterans of Austerlitz, of Jena, of Friedland, and of Wagram had been +recklessly sacrificed on the plains of Russia. He was victorious at Lützen +on May 2, was joined by the King of Saxony, entered Dresden, and thence +pushed across the Elbe. On the 21st the victory of Bautzen enabled him to +advance to the Oder and occupy Breslau. A renewed offer of Austrian +mediation drew from him a declaration in favour of an armistice and a +diplomatic congress. On June 4 an armistice was actually concluded at +Poischwitz to last until August 1, and a neutral zone was provided to +separate the combatants. On June 7 the demands of Austria were presented +to Napoleon. They involved the renunciation by France of all territorial +possessions, and even of a protectorate in Germany, and the restoration to +Prussia and Austria of most of their lost provinces. Napoleon refused +these terms, but accepted the mediation of Austria, and arranged for a +congress which met at Prague in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> the middle of July. The armistice was +prolonged till August 10. Both France and Austria were merely striving to +gain time while they prepared for war, and there can be no doubt that the +allies profited most by the delay. During the interval the news arrived of +Wellington's great victory at Vitoria on June 21, and Napoleon, recalled +to Mainz, occupied himself in arranging plans for the defence of the +Pyrenees.</p> + +<p>During the armistice Prussia and Russia not only greatly reinforced their +troops, but received valuable assistance from Great Britain, Sweden, and +above all Austria. Already, on March 3, Great Britain had by the treaty of +Stockholm given her sanction to the seizure of the whole of Norway by +Sweden, after a vain attempt to induce Denmark to consent to a peaceable +cession of the diocese of Trondhjem. At the same time Great Britain +promised Guadeloupe as a personal gift to Bernadotte, and a subsidy of +£1,000,000 for the Swedish troops fighting against Napoleon. A new treaty +between Russia and Sweden on April 22 guaranteed the cession of Norway. On +June 14 and 15 Cathcart, having at last obtained Prussia's consent to an +increase in the territories of Hanover, signed treaties at Reichenbach +with Prussia and Russia, by which Great Britain undertook to pay a subsidy +of two-thirds of a million pounds to the former and a million and a third +to the latter power. It was also agreed to issue federative paper notes to +an extent not exceeding £5,000,000 to pay the expenses of the armies of +the two powers during the year 1813, and Great Britain undertook the +responsibility for one-half of these notes. Soon afterwards Austria +received a promise of a loan of £500,000 as soon as she should join the +allies. Half of this last sum was actually paid within a few days of the +resumption of hostilities.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DRESDEN AND LEIPZIG.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_100" id="TOPIC_100"></a>When the armistice expired, French forces were threatening Austria from +three sides—from Bavaria, Illyria, and Saxony; and Napoleon's intention +seems to have been to amuse the Austrian court with negotiations until he +could defeat the Prussian and Russian armies, after which he counted upon +overwhelming the Austrians with his entire force. The task of defeating +the Prussians was entrusted to his army in Saxony with which Davoût was +expected to co-operate from Hamburg, retaken by the French on May 30. +Austria, however, declared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> war on France the moment the armistice had +elapsed, August 12, and the main army of the allies, principally composed +of Austrians with large Prussian and Russian contingents, assembled in +Bohemia. Napoleon was opposed in Silesia by an army of Prussians and +Russians, while Bernadotte, in command of a mixed army, consisting mainly +of Swedes, Prussians and Russians, but including 3,000 British troops and +25,000 Hanoverians under Walmoden, operated against him from the north. +These three armies were eventually able to join hands, while Davoût's +army, the French armies in Italy and Illyria, and 170,000 French troops in +various German fortresses were unable to render effective aid in the +struggle. On August 26-27 Napoleon himself won the last of his great +victories at Dresden over the main army of the allies, while his +lieutenants were defeated by the northern army at Grossbeeren on August +23, and again at Dennewitz on September 6, and by the Silesian army at the +Katzbach on August 26. The capitulation of Vandamme at Kulm, with some +10,000 men, neutralised Napoleon's victory at Dresden, and his enemies +were increased by Austrian diplomacy. The treaty of Teplitz, concluded on +September 9, and accepted by Great Britain on October 3, committed the +allies to the complete independence of the several German states. On the +10th Bavaria renounced the French alliance, and on October 8, by the +treaty of Ried, she engaged to join the allies with 36,000 men, in return +for a promise that she should suffer no diminution of territory. On the +7th the northern and Silesian armies had united west of the Elbe; +Napoleon, who had quitted Dresden on the 6th and vainly attempted to +engage the separate northern army, arrived at Leipzig on the 14th. But it +was now too late.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_101" id="TOPIC_101"></a>On the 16th the allied armies, which had concentrated on Leipzig, +compelled him to stand at bay, and to risk all upon the fortunes of a +single battle. This battle, lasting three days, was not only one of the +greatest but one of the most decisive recorded in modern history, for it +finally crippled the warlike power of Napoleon, and inevitably determined +the issue of the campaigns yet to be fought in 1814 and 1815. It would +appear that Napoleon had under his command about 250,000 men, and that he +lost at least 50,000 in killed and wounded on the field. The allied forces +were much larger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> numerically, and their losses fully equalled those of +the French. But their victory was crushing. One of its immediate results +was that Napoleon was forced to abandon Saxony, and with it the French +cause in Germany. The French garrisons were reduced one by one. Of the +fortresses east of the Rhine, Hamburg, Kehl, Magdeburg, and Wesel alone +held out until the conclusion of peace in 1814. The general rising of +Central Europe against French domination which followed the battle of +Leipzig extended itself to Holland. The French were expelled in the middle +of November, and on December 2 the Prince of Orange was proclaimed +sovereign prince of the Netherlands. On the 29th the Swiss diet voted the +restoration of the old constitution. The confederation of the Rhine was +practically dissolved, but in Italy Napoleon's viceroy, Eugène +Beauharnais, after falling back before the Austrian army, was able to hold +the line of the Adige. On November 9 it was decided to offer peace to +Napoleon on condition of the surrender of all French conquests beyond the +Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. These terms represented the policy of +Metternich. The Earl of Aberdeen consented to them on behalf of Great +Britain and Nesselrode on behalf of Russia, but they were not accepted by +Napoleon before the date by which an answer was required, and the war +proceeded. On December 31 the Prussians under Blücher crossed the Rhine +near Coblenz and opened a new campaign.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>AMERICAN SUCCESSES.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_102" id="TOPIC_102"></a>Meanwhile the war on the American continent was carried on with varying +success, though the balance of fortune was rather on the side of the +United States. The operations were in the main of a desultory character, +no permanent conquests being made. The first engagement in the year 1813 +was at Frenchtown on the Raisin River in Michigan, where Colonel Proctor, +commanding 500 regulars and militia, and 600 Indians, defeated an American +force of 1,000 under Brigadier-General Winchester, and took 500 prisoners, +while many of the remaining Americans fell into the hands of the Indians. +The immediate effect of this victory was that General Harrison, who was +leading an American force of 2,000 men against Detroit, determined to +retrace his steps. Three months later Proctor made a descent upon an +American position on the Maumee River in the north of the State of Ohio. +After besieg<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>ing the enemy for a few days he was compelled to retire, but, +before he left, an engagement took place on May 5, in which the British +forces, with a total loss of less than 100, inflicted severe losses on +their opponents and made about 500 prisoners. A subsequent attempt to +capture Fort Sandusky, near the head of Lake Erie, was repulsed on August +2; ninety out of 350 British troops were returned as killed, wounded or +missing.</p> + +<p>The British had hitherto commanded the lakes, but Commodore Perry now +occupied himself in building a fleet at Presqu'isle in Pennsylvania on the +coast of Lake Erie. Commander Barclay, in command of such ships as the +British possessed, was badly supported and encountered the same +difficulties in obtaining seamen as had been experienced for the sea-going +ships. The ships in the service of the United States were in consequence +again the more powerful and the better manned. On September 10 the two +squadrons engaged. The British had six vessels with a broadside of 459 +lb., while the enemy had nine vessels with a broadside of 928 lb. With +such odds the result could not be doubtful, and the whole British squadron +was compelled to surrender. This success enabled the enemy to strike with +effect at the south-western end of Lower Canada. The British immediately +evacuated the whole territory of Michigan with the exception of Mackinac; +and Proctor, now raised to the rank of major-general, commenced a retreat +in the direction of Lake Ontario. On October 5 he was attacked at +Moraviantown on the Thames by Harrison, and the greater part of his forces +were captured in an engagement which reflected small credit on British +generalship. The remainder of his forces reached Burlington Heights, at +the west end of Lake Ontario, but the whole country to the west of the +Grand River had to be abandoned to the enemy.</p> + +<p>On Lake Ontario the fortune of war was more equally divided. The Americans +had been gradually collecting a naval squadron at Sackett's Harbour and +had gained command of the lake as early as November, 1812. The command +was, however, precarious, since it might be disturbed by the arrival or +construction of new warships. One such was building at York, now known as +Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada, when, on April 27, 1813, the +American squadron under Commodore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> Chauncey attacked the town and +succeeded in landing a detachment of troops under General Dearborn. The +British general, Sheaffe, withdrew his regular forces from the town +without awaiting an assault, but not before he had destroyed the ship of +which the enemy were in quest. The Americans captured some naval stores, +but did not attempt to hold the town; they set an evil precedent, however, +by burning the parliament house and other public buildings before +evacuating the place. On May 27 Chauncey co-operated again with Dearborn +in an attack on Fort George, the capture of which threw the whole line of +the Niagara into American hands. On the same day Prevost, whose naval +strength had been reinforced, availing himself of Chauncey's absence, made +an attack on Sackett's Harbour. The attack, which was renewed on the 29th, +was miserably conducted, and ended in failure, though the Americans were +compelled to burn the naval stores captured at York. The reinforcements +had, however, transferred to the British the command of the lake, which +was not challenged again till the end of July. Meanwhile their land forces +were not idle. On June 6 the Americans were surprised by Colonel Vincent +at Burlington Heights and over 100 prisoners, including two +brigadier-generals, were taken. This defeat, combined with the approach of +the British naval squadron under Sir James Yeo, induced Dearborn to +abandon his other posts on the Canadian side of the Niagara and to +concentrate at Fort George, but on the 24th another surprise ended in the +surrender of a detachment of more than 500 Americans to a force of fifty +British troops and 240 Indians. By the end of July Chauncey's squadron was +once more strong enough to put to sea. It raided York on the 31st, but did +not venture to join battle with Yeo; though a skirmish on August 10 +enabled Yeo to capture two schooners.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile on the frontier of Lower Canada the British were everywhere +successful. On June 3 two American sloops attacked the British garrison of +Isle-aux-noix at the north end of Lake Champlain. Both ships were +compelled to surrender. On August 1 a British force raided Plattsburg and +destroyed the barracks and military stores. A combined movement on +Montreal was now made by the forces of the United States; it was mainly +owing to the loyalty of the French Canadians that they were repulsed. +General Hampton advancing from the south<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> with a force 7,000 strong was +defeated at the river Chateauguay on October 26, by 900 men belonging to +the Canadian militia, commanded by Colonel McDonnell and Colonel de +Salaberry. The defeated general withdrew his troops into winter quarters +at Plattsburg. Not long after, on December 7, the American general +Wilkinson who had sailed down the St. Lawrence to Prescott and was +marching towards Cornwall, was defeated with heavy loss by Colonel +Morrison at Chrystler's Farm, and made no further attempt on Canada. In +the same month General McClure, who commanded at Fort George, retired to +the eastern bank of the Niagara before Colonel Murray's advance. His +retreat was disgraced by the burning of the town of Newark, where women +and children were turned homeless into the cold of a Canadian winter. At +the same time the American forces were withdrawn from south-western Canada +but still retained Amherstburg at the head of Lake Erie, the sole conquest +of the campaign.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAVAL WARFARE.</i></div> + +<p>The naval warfare of 1813 was less rich in individual encounters than that +of 1812. The British captains were better acquainted with the strength of +the American ships and did not rashly engage vessels stronger than their +own. There was also a marked improvement in British gunnery, and an +increase in the strength of the British naval force in American waters. At +first the blockade of the American coast had not been strictly maintained +further south than New York, but as reinforcements arrived it was made +more complete, and after June of this year it was only occasionally that +any warship or privateer contrived to elude the blockading vessels. +Meanwhile the British constantly raided and harassed the American coast, +and had no difficulty in availing themselves of the Chesapeake and +Delaware estuaries as naval bases. A new feature of this year's warfare +was the appearance of American cruisers, especially privateers, in British +waters, and even in the St. George's Channel. To such ships the French +ports were a very serviceable naval base. The Americans would appear to +have captured more of British commerce than the British captured of +theirs, but this was no compensation for the almost complete cessation of +their foreign trade. Of single ship actions the destruction of the British +<i>Peacock</i> by the American <i>Hornet</i>, commanded by Captain Lawrence, on +February 24, the capture of the American <i>Argus</i> by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> the British <i>Pelican</i> +not far from the Welsh coast on August 14, and the famous duel between the +<i>Chesapeake</i> and the <i>Shannon</i> on June 1 were the most important.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_103" id="TOPIC_103"></a>The British frigate <i>Shannon</i> (38) was commanded by Captain Broke, who was +famous not merely for the attention he paid to gun practice, but for the +care he had bestowed on the laying of his ship's ordnance. Ever since the +beginning of April the frigates <i>Shannon</i> and <i>Tenedos</i> (38) had been +lying off Boston, where they hoped to intercept any American frigate that +dared to leave the harbour. Two succeeded in eluding them. The +<i>Chesapeake</i> frigate (36) commanded by Lawrence, lay in the harbour; and +Broke, having detached the <i>Tenedos</i> in order to tempt her out, sent a +challenge to Lawrence on the morning of June 1, but before it could be +delivered the <i>Chesapeake</i> had sailed. She steered for the <i>Shannon</i>, who +waited for her. The fight began at 5.50 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> about six leagues out from +Boston; it was brief and bloody. After ten minutes' firing the +<i>Chesapeake</i> fell on board the <i>Shannon</i>, and was immediately boarded. In +four minutes more every man on board had surrendered. In this short fight +the <i>Shannon</i> had lost out of a crew of 352 twenty-four killed and +fifty-nine wounded, two of the latter mortally, while the <i>Chesapeake</i>, +according to American official figures, had lost out of 386 forty-seven +killed and ninety-nine wounded (fourteen of the latter mortally). No fewer +than thirty-two British deserters were found on board the <i>Chesapeake</i>. +The victory made the best possible impression. The two ships had been of +approximately equal strength, the American having a slight superiority of +force, and the <i>Chesapeake</i> had been captured in the way in which most +turns on individual courage, by boarding. Both captains had distinguished +themselves in the fight, and both were severely wounded, Lawrence, as the +event proved, fatally.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_104" id="TOPIC_104"></a>The abandonment of Germany by the French at the close of 1813 left the +outlying provinces and allies of France exposed to invasion. The Austrian +general, Nugent, aided by British naval and military forces, captured +Trieste on October 31. Dalmatia had been invaded by the Montenegrins as +early as September, 1813, and was afterwards attacked by Austrians and +British marines, but the town of Cattaro held out till it was taken by the +British in January, 1814. On<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> the 14th of the same month Denmark was +compelled by the treaty of Kiel to cede Norway to Sweden in exchange for +Swedish Pomerania and Rügen, Sweden undertaking to assist Denmark in +procuring a fuller equivalent for Norway at the conclusion of a general +peace. A treaty signed between Denmark and Great Britain at the same time +and place provided for the restitution to Denmark of all British +conquests, with the exception of Heligoland, while Denmark undertook to do +all in her power for the abolition of the slave trade. The people of +Norway and their governor, Prince Christian of Denmark, refused to submit +to the transference of their allegiance, and on February 19 the +independence of Norway was proclaimed. At first the Swedish government +attempted to obtain the submission of Norway by negotiation only, but so +important a diversion of her interest and energies was sufficient to +prevent Sweden from joining in the new campaign against France. In Italy +on January 11 Napoleon's brother-in-law, Murat, whom he had made King of +Naples in 1808, formed an alliance with Austria. The treaty was never +confirmed by Great Britain, but the British government subsequently +consented to support Murat, if he should loyally exert himself in Italy +against Napoleon's forces. Although Murat did actually engage in +hostilities against the French, the British were far from satisfied with +his operations and considered that his remissness left them a free hand. +Accordingly on March 9 a British fleet entered the port of Leghorn and +landed 8,000 men, of whom Lord William Bentinck took command. From Leghorn +he marched upon Genoa which surrendered to him on April 18.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the main forces of the allies were concentrated for a campaign +against Napoleon in Champagne. Of the three armies which had combined at +Leipzig the Austro-Russian army under Schwarzenberg made its way through +Switzerland, Alsace, and Franche-Comté, while Blücher's army of Prussians +and Russians passed through the region which afterwards became the Rhine +province and Lorraine. The two armies united in the neighbourhood of +Brienne in Champagne. Bernadotte's army did not as a whole take part in +the campaign; but a portion of it, consisting of Russians under +Wittgenstein and Prussians under Bülow, was engaged in the conquest of +Belgium and was able to invade France itself later in the year.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +Schwarzenberg's army was accompanied by the Emperors of Russia and +Austria, the King of Prussia, and the leading European diplomatists, +including Castlereagh. From the outset there was a marked difference +between the Austrian and Russian policies. Metternich was content with +reducing France to the natural frontiers already offered to her, and aimed +merely at compelling Napoleon to recognise the <i>fait accompli</i> in Germany, +and to evacuate Italy and Spain. He was therefore in favour of slow +advances and of giving Napoleon every opportunity for coming to terms. The +tsar, on the other hand, wished to reduce France to her ancient limits, +and was anxious to enter Paris as a conqueror. He also excited Austrian +jealousy by his scheme of annexing what had been Prussian Poland, and +compensating Prussia with Saxony. Castlereagh and the Prussian minister, +Hardenberg, supported the tsar's policy towards France, but without +sharing his ardour.</p> + +<p>On the first arrival of the allies in Champagne the tsar had only induced +Metternich to advance by threatening to prosecute the war alone. After +they had gained what appeared to be a decisive victory over Napoleon at La +Rothière on February 1, negotiations were commenced at Châtillon. Napoleon +insisted on continuing the war during the negotiations and interposed +every possible delay. The allies first demanded that France should recede +within the limits of 1791 and offered a partial restoration of French +colonies, but refused to specify the colonies which they were willing to +relinquish until France should accept the first condition. To this the +French demurred, and on the 9th the tsar impetuously withdrew his +minister. From the 10th to the 14th Napoleon inflicted a series of +crushing blows upon Blücher's army. Negotiations were now resumed; they +lasted till the middle of March, but as Napoleon would not surrender his +claim to Belgium and the Rhine provinces they were fruitless, +notwithstanding the pacific efforts of Caulaincourt, the French +negotiator. On the 21st Napoleon tried in vain to detach Austria from the +allies by a private letter to the Emperor Francis, and on March 1 a +permanent basis was given to the alliance by the treaty of Chaumont +(definitely signed on the 9th), by which the four allied powers bound +themselves to conclude no separate peace, and not to lay down their arms +till the object of the war should have been obtained by the restriction<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +of France to her ancient frontiers. Each power was to maintain 150,000 men +regularly in the field, and Great Britain was to pay the three other +powers a subsidy of £5,000,000 for the current year and a like sum for +every subsequent year of warfare. The signatory powers were to maintain +their present concert and armaments for twenty years if necessary.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAPOLEON'S FIRST ABDICATION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_105" id="TOPIC_105"></a>After this treaty on March 4 Blücher united with Wittgenstein and Bülow +near Soissons. On the 20th Napoleon was repulsed by Schwarzenberg's army +at Arcis-sur-Aube, after which he attempted to cut off its communications +by a movement to its rear. In consequence of this movement the allied +armies advanced on Paris, while the Austrian emperor fled to Dijon taking +Castlereagh and Metternich with him.<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> This left the war to be concluded +under the influence of the most vigorous of the allied sovereigns, the +Tsar of Russia. Paris capitulated on the 30th and on the next day was +occupied by the allies. The tsar now issued "on behalf of all the allied +powers" a proclamation in which he declared that they would not treat with +Napoleon or his family, but were willing to respect the integrity of +France, and to guarantee the constitution that the French people should +adopt. This prepared the way for a reaction against Napoleon in France. A +provisional government was formed on April 1; on the 3rd the French senate +proclaimed the deposition of Napoleon, and on the 6th it published a +constitution, and recalled the Bourbons in the person of Louis XVIII., the +younger brother of Louis XVI. On the same day Napoleon signed an +unconditional abdication at Fontainebleau. On the 11th a treaty was signed +between Napoleon and the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, by +which he renounced all claim to the crowns of France and Italy, and was +assigned the Isle of Elba as an independent principality and a place of +residence, together with a liberal revenue charged on the French treasury, +which, however, was never paid. The duchy of Parma was secured to the +Empress Maria Louisa and was to descend to her son. The treaty was +afterwards confirmed by Great Britain, with the exception of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> clauses +providing revenues for the fallen emperor and his family. The promise of +Elba had been made by the tsar in the absence of Castlereagh and +Metternich. It was vigorously opposed by Castlereagh's half-brother, Sir +Charles Stewart, but the tsar considered his honour bound to it, and +Napoleon sailed from Fréjus for Elba on the 28th.</p> + +<p>In America the war was conducted with more vigour in 1814 than in previous +years, but with equally small effect on either side. In March the American +general, Wilkinson, advancing from Lake Champlain, was repulsed by a small +British garrison at La Colle Mill. In July an American army under Brown +invaded Upper Canada across the river Niagara. It was attacked by General +Riall, near Chippewa, on the 5th, but it repelled the attack and occupied +that place. Brown was, however, checked by British regulars and Canadian +militia under Sir Gordon Drummond at Lundy's Lane, near Niagara Falls, on +the 25th. Both sides claim the victory, but on the reinforcement of the +British troops Brown abandoned the invasion. After the close of the +Peninsular war some of the best regiments of the Peninsular army, +numbering about 14,000 men, were sent to America. But they were not +commanded by any of the generals who had made their names illustrious in +that war, and did not effect so much as had been expected. On August 19 +and 20 General Ross landed with 5,000 men at the mouth of the Patuxent in +Chesapeake Bay. On the 24th he defeated a large body of militia under +General Winder at Bladensburg, and occupied Washington, where he burned +all the public buildings. However deplorable such an act may seem, it is +well to note that it was a fair and even merciful reprisal after the +action of the Americans at York and Newark. Ross did not attempt to retain +the city, but evacuated it on the next day and re-embarked on the 30th. On +September 12 he landed near Baltimore, but was immediately killed in an +attack on the town. The attack had to be abandoned because it proved +impossible to obtain adequate support from the fleet, and the troops +returned to the ships on the 15th.</p> + +<p>On September 1 Prevost invaded New York State by Lake Champlain. He +advanced against Plattsburg, which he bombarded on the 11th, but his +flotilla was defeated by an American flotilla during the bombardment, and +he felt him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>self compelled to retreat into Canada. At the end of the year +Sir Edward Pakenham took command of a force operating against New Orleans, +but on January 8, 1815, he was defeated and killed by the American forces +under the future president, Andrew Jackson. No expedition was ever worse +planned than this; the veterans of the Peninsula were mowed down by a +withering fire, and, losing confidence in their leaders, forfeited their +reputation for invincible courage in attack. The fighting, however, was +desperate while it lasted, and was compared by one engaged in it with the +storm of Badajoz, and the deadly charges at Waterloo. It was but a small +compensation for these failures that the British were able to annex a +strip of territory belonging to the State of Maine. On the sea no general +engagement took place, nor was there any naval duel so famous as that +between the <i>Shannon</i> and the <i>Chesapeake</i> in the previous year. The +Americans lost two of their best frigates, but, with crews largely +composed of British sailors, captured several British ships of war.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE TREATY OF GHENT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_106" id="TOPIC_106"></a>As early as January, 1814, advances had been made towards negotiations for +peace, but they were not actually begun till August 6. In the course of a +few days a serious difficulty arose, as the British commissioners demanded +the delimitation of an Indian territory which should be exempt from +territorial acquisitions on the part of either power, and also claimed the +military occupation of the lakes for their own government. The Americans +thereupon suspended the negotiations, and Castlereagh expressed grave +discontent with the conduct of the British negotiators in pressing these +points. Late in the year negotiations were resumed, when the British +abandoned these claims. The far more comprehensive questions about the +rights of neutrals, which had occasioned the war, had ceased to be of +practical importance now that peace was restored in Europe. They were +therefore, by tacit consent, suffered to drop, and a treaty signed at +Ghent on December 24, 1814, ended a war of which the Canadians alone had +reason to be proud.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_107" id="TOPIC_107"></a>The most dramatic incident in the domestic annals of England in this year +was the visit of the allied sovereigns to this country, after their +triumphal entry into Paris, and the signature of a convention, to be +described hereafter, for the resettlement of Europe. Louis XVIII. left his +retreat at Hartwell on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> April 20, and reached his capital on May 3 to find +it occupied by foreign armies, and to discover that his French escort, +composed of Napoleon's old guard, was of doubtful loyalty. On July 8 the +Tsar of Russia and the King of Prussia, having accepted an invitation from +the prince regent, which the Emperor of Austria declined, landed at Dover, +and were afterwards received with the utmost enthusiasm in London. Their +appearance betokened the supposed termination of the greatest, and almost +the longest, war recorded in European history, but it was also accepted as +a tribute of gratitude for the unique services rendered by Great Britain, +the only European power which had never bowed the knee to the French +Republic or the French Empire. They attended Ascot races, were feasted at +the Guildhall, witnessed a naval review at Portsmouth, and were decorated +with honorary degrees at Oxford, where Blücher was the hero of the day +with the younger members of the university. There were men of calmer minds +and maturer age, who must have remembered the time, but seven years +before, when Alexander swore eternal friendship with Napoleon, on the +basis of enmity to Great Britain, and Frederick William of Prussia shrunk +from no depths of dishonour, first to aggrandise his kingdom and then to +save the remnants of it from destruction. Others foresaw that a +restoration of the Bourbons portended reaction, in its worst sense, +throughout all the continent of Europe. But such memories and forebodings +were hushed in the sincere and general rejoicing over the return of peace, +marred by no suspicion of the new trials and privations which peace itself +was destined to bring with it for the working classes of Great Britain.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> See p. <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> George, <i>Napoleon's Invasion of Russia</i>, p. 33.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> James, <i>British Naval History</i>, iv., 470-84.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> See above, p. <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> See <i>Cambridge Modern History</i>, vii., 336, 338.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> For details of the naval warfare of this year see James, +<i>British Naval History</i>, vi., 115-202.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> Rose, <i>Life of Napoleon I.</i>, ii., 372.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> For the importance of this flight of the Emperor Francis see +Rose, <i>Life of Napoleon I.</i>, ii., 418, 425. The flight did not take place +till after the advance on Paris was begun.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<h3>VIENNA AND WATERLOO.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_108" id="TOPIC_108"></a>After the restoration of Louis XVIII. as a constitutional king, the treaty +of Paris between France and the allied powers was signed on May 30, 1814. +The treaty amounted to a settlement in outline of those territorial +questions in Europe in which France was concerned, and aimed mainly at the +construction of a strong barrier to resist further encroachments by France +on her neighbours. The French boundaries were to coincide generally with +the limits of French territory on January 1, 1792, but with certain +additions. The principle adopted was that France should retain certain +detached pieces of foreign states within her own frontier (such as +Mühlhausen, Montbéliard, and the Venaissin), while the line of frontier +was extended so as to include certain detached fragments belonging to +France before 1792, such as Landau, Mariembourg, and Philippeville, as +well as Western Savoy with Chambéry for its capital. She was moreover +allowed to regain all her colonies except the Mauritius, St. Lucia, and +Tobago. The Spanish portion of San Domingo was restored to the Spanish +government. Holland was placed under the sovereignty of the house of +Orange, and was to receive an increase of territory; so much of Italy as +was not to be ceded to Austria was to consist of independent sovereign +states; and Germany was to be formed into a confederation. Finally an +European congress was to meet at Vienna in two months' time "to regulate +the arrangements necessary for completing the dispositions of the treaty". +At the same time secret articles provided that the disposition of +territories was to be controlled at Vienna by Austria, Great Britain, +Prussia, and Russia; that Austria, was to receive Venice and Lombardy as +far as the Ticino; and that the former territories of Genoa were to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> be +annexed to Sardinia, and the late Austrian Netherlands to Holland.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_109" id="TOPIC_109"></a>In the midst of the general restoration of legitimate princes difficulties +were occasioned by the exceptional cases in which territories were +reserved for the new dynasties that had arisen during the Napoleonic wars. +France, Spain, and Sicily objected to the retention of the kingdom of +Naples by Murat, Spain resented the cession of Parma to the Bonapartes, +and Norway was in revolt against the attempt to subjugate it to the king +of Sweden and his heir Marshal Bernadotte. The Norwegian government under +Prince Christian vainly endeavoured to secure the British recognition of +the independence of Norway. The British government, on the contrary, held +itself bound to support the claims of Sweden, and on April 29 notified a +blockade of the Norwegian ports, which was promptly carried into effect. +Meanwhile a new constitution was promulgated in Norway, and Prince +Christian was proclaimed king. While the British maintained the blockade +Sweden attempted to gain its ends by negotiation. <a name="TOPIC_110" id="TOPIC_110"></a>At last, on July 30, the +Swedes invaded Norway. After some Swedish successes a convention was +signed at Moss on August 14, which recognised the new Norwegian +constitution, but provided for a personal union of the crowns of Sweden +and Norway. This constitution was accepted by Charles XIII. of Sweden in +the following November, and Norway retained almost complete independence, +though united to Sweden.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE SLAVE TRADE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_111" id="TOPIC_111"></a>Among the last acts of Napoleon's government had been the release and +restoration of Ferdinand VII. of Spain and of Pope Pius VII. Ferdinand, +supported by the vast mass of Spanish opinion, declared against the rather +unpractical constitution established in his absence, and entered Madrid as +an absolute king on May 14. One of his first acts was the revival of the +inquisition. There was some apprehension among British representatives +lest the two restored Bourbon monarchies should renew the family compact, +and also lest they should attempt to assert the Bourbon claims to Naples +and Parma. Sir Henry Wellesley, afterwards Lord Cowley, was, however, +successful in negotiating a treaty of alliance between Great Britain and +Spain, which made provision against any renewal of the family compact, +restored the commercial relations of the two countries to the footing on +which they had been before 1796, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> promised the future consideration of +means to be adopted for the suppression of the slave trade. Spain was in +fact too dependent on British credit to be able to adopt a line of her own +in politics. But the hold which Great Britain had thus gained over Spain +was somewhat weakened by the British attitude towards the slave trade.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_112" id="TOPIC_112"></a>It is remarkable how large a space the abolition of the slave trade +occupied in the foreign policy of Great Britain, when the liberties of +Europe were at stake. During the months preceding the meeting of the +congress of Vienna, which had been postponed till September by the tsar, +British diplomacy had been engaged in a strenuous effort to obtain the +co-operation of such European powers as possessed American colonies in +securing this philanthropic object. Sweden had already consented to it, +and now Holland also gave her consent. Portugal agreed to relinquish the +trade north of the equator, on condition that the other powers consented +to impose a similar restriction on themselves. Strong pressure was brought +to bear upon France to consent to the immediate abolition of the trade, +and Wellington, who had been created a duke in May and who arrived at +Paris in August in the capacity of British ambassador, was authorised by +Liverpool to offer the cession of Trinidad or the payment of two or three +million pounds to obtain this end. By the treaty of Paris only French +subjects were allowed to trade in slaves with the French colonies, and +French subjects were excluded from trading elsewhere; and the whole trade +was to cease within French dominions after five years. Talleyrand, +negotiating with Wellington, refused to consent to a general abolition, +but, on being pressed to surrender the slave trade north of the equator, +consented to abandon it to the north of Cape Formoso. In the following +year Napoleon on his return from Elba ordered its immediate suppression, +and this was not the least significant act of the Hundred Days. With Spain +our diplomatists were less successful. The British government refused to +renew its subsidy to Spain for the last half of 1814 except on condition +that Spain relinquished the slave trade north of the equator at once, and +consented to relinquish that south of the equator in five years' time; +while it would not issue a loan except on condition that Spain abolished +the whole trade immediately. Even these terms did not prevail with Spain, +and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> most that she would grant at the congress was to relinquish the +trade at the conclusion of eight years.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_113" id="TOPIC_113"></a>Meanwhile Talleyrand was endeavouring to induce Great Britain to combine +with France in a joint mediation between Austria and Russia at the +congress, in the event of Russia demanding the duchy of Warsaw. +Wellington, while expressing himself in favour of an understanding, +refused to accept anything which might seem equivalent to a declaration in +favour of mediation by the two powers in every case. At the congress +itself Great Britain was first represented by Castlereagh, who was +succeeded in February, 1815, by Wellington. The two principal difficulties +were the questions of Poland and Saxony. The tsar desired to erect the +duchy of Warsaw, Prussia's share in the two partitions of Poland in 1793 +and 1795, into a constitutional monarchy attached to the Russian crown, +while Prussia, though not unwilling to resign her claims to Polish +dominion, wished to increase her territory by the incorporation of Saxony +in her monarchy. Austria was naturally averse from any increase of +strength in the states on her northern borders, and she was also opposed +to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Poland which might +serve as a centre for political discontent in her own dominions. Even +France urged this objection to a constitutional Poland. Great Britain +alone was willing to see an independent Poland, but preferred to join +France, Prussia, and Austria in demanding its repartition between the two +latter powers rather than its annexation to Russia. All through October +Austria, Great Britain, and Prussia endeavoured to induce the tsar to +withdraw his demand. Early in November he won over the King of Prussia to +whom he promised the kingdom of Saxony, proposing to indemnify the Saxon +king with a new state on that lower Rhine which France was not allowed to +have, but which no other power desired.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE RETURN OF NAPOLEON.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_114" id="TOPIC_114"></a>It was no longer possible to resist Russia's claims on Poland, but Austria +was determined not to allow Prussia to receive the proffered compensation. +On December 10 Metternich notified the Prussian minister, Hardenberg, that +he would not allow Prussia to annex more than a fifth part of Saxony. +Great Britain, France, Bavaria, and the minor German states joined Austria +in this action, and thus the attempt to effect a settle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>ment of Europe by +a concert of the four allied powers broke down. On January 3, 1815, a +secret treaty was concluded between Austria, France, and Great Britain in +defence of what their diplomatists called "the principles of the peace of +Paris". Each of these powers was to be prepared, if necessary, to place an +army of 50,000 men in the field. Bavaria joined them in their preparations +for war, and many of the troops which occupied Paris in 1815 would have +been disbanded or dispersed, but for the prospect of a rupture between the +allies themselves. But a compromise was soon arranged, and on February 8 +it was agreed that Cracow, the Polish fortress which threatened Austria +most, should be an independent republic, and that Prussia should retain +enough of Western Poland to round off her dominions, while the remainder +of the duchy of Warsaw became a constitutional kingdom under the tsar. +Prussia was to be allowed to annex part of Saxony, and was to receive a +further compensation on the left bank of the Rhine and in Westphalia. The +most thorny questions were now settled, and Castlereagh had left Vienna +when the congress was electrified by the news that Napoleon had reappeared +in France.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_115" id="TOPIC_115"></a>The episode of "the Hundred Days" interrupted, but did not break up, the +councils of the congress at Vienna. It cannot be said that Napoleon's +escape from Elba took the negotiators altogether by surprise. They were +already aware of his correspondence with the neighbouring shores of Italy, +and his removal to St Helena or some other distant island had been +proposed by the French government, though never discussed at the congress. +Sir Neil Campbell, the British commissioner at Elba, had gone so far as to +warn his government of Napoleon's suspected "plan," and to indicate, +though erroneously, the place of his probable descent upon the Italian +coast. Owing to an almost incredible want of precaution, he embarked on +February 26 with the least possible disguise, and accompanied by 400 of +his guards, on board his brig the <i>Inconstant</i>, eluded the observation of +two French ships, and landed near Cannes on March 1. Thence he hastened +across the mountains to Grenoble, passing unmolested, and sometimes +welcomed, through districts where his life had been threatened but a few +months before. The commandant of Grenoble was prepared to resist his +further progress, but a heart-stirring appeal from Napoleon induced a +regi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>ment detached to oppose him to join his standard, and the rest of the +garrison was brought over by Colonel Labedoyère, one of the officers who +had conspired to bring him back. Thence he proceeded to Lyons, issuing +decrees, scattering proclamations, and gathering followers at every stage. +He was lavish of promises, not perhaps wholly insincere, that he would +adopt constitutional government—already established by the charter of +Louis XVIII.—and cease to wage aggressive wars. He relied unduly on the +discontent provoked by the blind partisans of the Bourbons, who, it was +said, had learned nothing and forgotten nothing. This was true, if the +spirit of the restoration were to be measured by the parade of expiatory +masses for the execution of royalists under the revolution, the +ostentatious patronage of priests, the preference of returned <i>émigrés</i> to +well-tried servants of the republic and the empire, or the anticipated +expulsion of landowners in possession of "national domains" for the +purpose of dividing them among their old proprietors. All this naturally +exasperated those who had imbibed the principles of the revolution, but it +was more than compensated in the eyes of millions of Frenchmen by the +cessation of conscription and the infinite blessings of peace.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>"THE HUNDRED DAYS."</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_116" id="TOPIC_116"></a>The king was amongst the least infatuated of the royalists. On hearing of +Napoleon's proclamation, he had the sense to appreciate the danger of such +a bid for sovereignty and the magic of such a name, while his courtiers +regarded Napoleon's enterprise as the last effort of a madman. He +addressed the chamber of deputies in confident and dignified language; the +Duke of Angoulême was employed to rouse the royalist party at Bordeaux; +the Duke of Bourbon was sent into Brittany, the Count of Artois, with the +Duke of Orléans and Marshal Macdonald, visited Lyons, upon the attitude of +which everything, for the moment, seemed to depend. Most of the marshals +remained faithful to the restored monarchy, and Ney was selected to bar +the progress of Napoleon in Burgundy, and has been credited with a vow +that he would bring him back in an iron cage. But it was all in vain. The +Count of Artois was loyally received by the officials and upper classes at +Lyons, but he soon found that Napoleon possessed the hearts of the +soldiers and the mass of the people. Ney yielded to urgent appeals from +his old chief, signed and read to his troops a pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>clamation drawn up by +Napoleon himself, and was followed in his treason by his whole army. As +Napoleon approached Paris, all armed opposition to him melted away. On +March 19, Louis XVIII., seeing that his cause was hopeless, proclaimed a +dissolution of the chambers, and retired once more into exile, fixing his +residence at Ghent.</p> + +<p>Napoleon re-entered the Tuileries on the 20th, after a journey which he +afterwards described as the happiest in his life. But his penetrating mind +was not deceived by the manifestations of popular joy. He well knew that +he was distrusted by the middle classes, as well as by the aristocracy, +and threw himself more and more on the sympathy of the old revolutionists. +When he came to fill up the higher offices, he met with a strange +reluctance to accept them, and was driven to enlist the services of two +regicides, the virtuous republican, Carnot, and the double-dyed traitor +Fouché. Feeling the necessity of resting his power on a democratic basis, +he promulgated a constitution modelled on the charter of Louis XVIII., and +known as the <i>Acte Additionnel</i>, which, however, satisfied no one. The +royalists objected to its anti-feudal spirit, the revolutionists and +moderates to its express recognition of an hereditary peerage, and its +tacit recognition of a dictatorial power. It was by no means with a light +heart that Napoleon took leave of Paris on June 7, having appointed a +provisional government, to place himself at the head of his army.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_117" id="TOPIC_117"></a>Attempts had been made in the southern provinces and La Vendée to organise +armed rebellion against the emperor, and met for a time with considerable +success. But they were soon quelled by the overwhelming imperialism not +only of the regular army, but of vast numbers of disbanded soldiers and +half-pay officers, dispersed throughout France, and disgusted with their +treatment under the restored monarchy. Even among the <i>bourgeoisie</i> +Napoleon had an advantage which he never possessed before. Disguise it as +he might, all his former wars had been essentially wars of conquest, and, +however patiently they might endure it, the peasantry of France, in +thousands upon thousands of humble cottages, groaned under the exaction of +crushing taxes—worst of all, the blood-tax of conscription—in order to +enable one man, in the name of France, to usurp the empire of the world. +Now, however, as in the early days of the revolu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>tion, France was put on +its defence, and called upon to repel an invasion of its frontiers. For +the news of Napoleon's escape, announced by Talleyrand on March 11, +instantly stilled the quarrels and rebuked the jealousies which had so +nearly proved fatal to any settlement at Vienna. For the moment, the +designs of Russia in Poland, the selfish demands of Prussia, and the +half-formed coalition between Great Britain, France, and Austria, were +thrust into the background. Austria thought it necessary to repudiate +decisively the audaciously false assertion of Napoleon that he was +returning with the concurrence of his father-in-law, and would shortly be +supported by Austrian troops. Metternich, therefore, assumed the lead in +drawing up a solemn manifesto, dated March 13, in which Napoleon was +virtually declared an outlaw "abandoned to public justice," and the powers +which had signed the treaty of Paris in the preceding May bound +themselves, in the face of Europe, to carry out all its provisions and +defend the king of France, if need be, against his own rebellious +subjects.</p> + +<p>By a further convention made at the end of March, they engaged to provide +forces exceeding 700,000 men in the aggregate, to be concentrated on the +Upper Rhine, the Lower Rhine, and the Low Countries, with an immense +reserve of Russians to be rapidly moved across Germany from Poland. +Wellington having succeeded Castlereagh at Vienna, was appointed to +command the British, Hanoverian, and Belgian contingents on the north-east +frontier of France; Blücher's headquarters were to be on the Lower Rhine, +within easy reach of that frontier; for, whichever side might take the +offensive, it was there that the first shock of war might be expected. The +recent conclusion of peace with America at Ghent on December 24, 1814, +left England free to use her whole military power. Enormous sums were +voted by Parliament, with a rare approach to unanimity, for the equipment +of a British army, and a sum of £5,000,000 for subsidies to the allied +powers. A small section of the opposition led by Whitbread opposed the +renewal of war. On April 7 he moved an amendment to the address in reply +to the prince regent's message announcing that measures for the security +of Europe were being concerted with the allies, but he was only supported +by 32 votes against 220. On April 28 his motion for an address<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> to the +prince regent, deprecating war with Napoleon, was defeated by 273 votes +against 72. This was Whitbread's last prominent appearance in parliament. +On July 6, during a fit of insanity, he died by his own hand. The +subsidies to the allies were opposed by Bankes, but were carried on May 26 +by 160 votes against 17. There can be no doubt that the majorities in the +house of commons correctly expressed the national sentiment. Nobody wished +to dictate to France the form of government which she was to adopt, but it +was generally felt that Napoleon's character rendered peace with him +impossible.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_118" id="TOPIC_118"></a>In the end, about 80,000 men were assembled in Belgium under Wellington's +orders, but of these not half were British soldiers, including untrained +drafts from the militia, who replaced veteran Peninsular regiments still +detained in Canada and the United States. Yet Napoleon admitted the +British contingent to be equal, man for man, to his own troops, while he +estimated these to be worth twice their own number of Dutchmen, Prussians, +or other Germans. The first blow in the war was struck by Murat. Already +in February, dissatisfied with his ambiguous position, he had levied +troops and summoned Louis XVIII. to declare whether he was at war with +him. As soon as he heard of Napoleon's return, he invaded the Papal +States, and summoned the Italians to rise in the cause of Italian unity +and independence. Though disowned by Napoleon, he persevered in this plan, +but he was attacked and twice defeated by an Austrian army. On May 22 the +British and Austrians took the city of Naples, and Murat fled to France. +In October he made an attempt to recover his kingdom, but was captured and +shot. It is noteworthy that, on hearing of his fate at St. Helena, +Napoleon showed but little sympathy with his brother-in-law.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_119" id="TOPIC_119"></a>On the morning of June 12, Napoleon left Paris, saying as he entered his +carriage that he went to match himself with Wellington. All his troops +were already marshalled on the Belgian frontier, and numbered 124,588 men, +with 344 guns. The Imperial Guard alone was 20,954 strong, and the whole +army was largely composed of seasoned veterans. The Prussian army +consisted of 116,897 men, with 312 guns under Marshal Blücher, whose +headquarters were at Namur. Though the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> majority of these were veterans, +there was a considerable leaven of inferior troops, hastily raised from +the Westphalian and Rhine militia. Between this town and Quatre Bras lay +the Prussian line of defence, Sombreffe being the centre, with Ligny and +St. Amand in front of it, and rather on the south-west. Wellington's +headquarters were at Brussels, and, having no certain intelligence of +Napoleon's movements, he kept the various divisions of his army within +easy distance of that capital until the very eve of the final conflict. Of +the 93,717 men under his command, 31,253 were British, two-thirds of whom +had never been under fire; 6,387 were of the king's German legion; 15,935 +Hanoverians; 29,214 (including 4,300 Nassauers in the service of the +Prince of the Netherlands) Dutch and Belgians; 6,808 Brunswickers; 2,880 +Nassauers; the engineers, numbering 1,240, were not classified by +nationality. He fully expected that Napoleon would move upon Brussels +along the route by Mons and Hal, and maintained in later days that such +would have been the best strategical course. Napoleon thought otherwise, +and resolved to strike in between the Prussian and British armies, +crushing the former before the latter could be fully assembled. He very +nearly succeeded, and, if all had gone as he hoped, he could scarcely have +failed to win one of his greatest victories.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>LIGNY AND QUATRE BRAS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_120" id="TOPIC_120"></a>On the evening of the 15th, Wellington was still at Brussels, with the +great body of his army, and only a weak force of Dutch and Belgians was at +Quatre Bras, some sixteen miles to the south. Blücher, with about +three-fourths of his army, was at Sombreffe, a few miles south-east of +Quatre Bras. Napoleon himself was at or close by Charleroi, ten or twelve +miles south of Quatre Bras; the mass of his army was at Fleurus, +south-west of Sombreffe, with Ligny and St. Amand between it and the +Prussians; and Marshal Ney, with Reille's corps, was at Frasnes, opposite +to and due south of Quatre Bras. On the morning of the 16th, Napoleon +arrived from Charleroi at Fleurus, and carefully inspected his enemy's +position, but delayed his attack upon Ligny and St Amand until half-past +two in the afternoon. The Prussians outnumbered the French, and a +murderous conflict ensued among the streets, gardens, and enclosures of +these little towns, which lasted until eight or nine o'clock. At last +Napoleon ordered his guard to advance, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> the plateau behind Ligny was +taken, with a loss to the French of 12,000, and to the Prussians of over +20,000. Blücher himself was unhorsed and severely bruised in a furious +charge of cavalry, but the Prussians retired in good order towards Wavre, +north of the battlefield.</p> + +<p>Had Ney been in a condition to obey an urgent message from Napoleon, and +to envelop the Prussian right and rear, this defeat would have been +overwhelming in its effect. But while the battle of Ligny was raging, +another battle was going on at Quatre Bras, six miles distant, in which +the French sustained a serious check. Happily for the British, Ney failed +to bring up his divisions for an attack on Quatre Bras until two o'clock +in the afternoon, when the Dutch and Belgians under the Prince of Orange +were still his only opponents. The news for which Wellington had been +waiting did not reach him until just before the memorable ball, given by +the Duchess of Richmond at Brussels on the night of the 15th, which he +nevertheless attended, hurrying off his troops to Quatre Bras. They +arrived just in time to reinforce the Prince of Orange and save the +position; but Ney, too, was receiving fresh reinforcements every hour, the +Duke of Brunswick was killed, and a fearful stress fell on Picton's +division and the Hanoverians, who alone were a match for Ney's splendid +infantry and Kellermann's cuirassiers.</p> + +<p>These made a charge like that which had borne down the Austrians at +Marengo, but the British squares were proof against it, and when a +division of guards came up from Nivelles, the French in turn were put on +the defensive and retreated to Frasnes. The loss on the British side was +4,500 men; that on the French somewhat less. It is not difficult to +imagine what the issue of the battle must have been if D'Erlon's corps had +been brought into action. This corps was occupied in marching and +countermarching, under contradictory orders from Napoleon and Ney, between +the British left and the Prussian right during the whole of this eventful +day. Its appearance in the distance just when Napoleon was about to launch +his guard against the Prussians at Ligny, caused him to hesitate long, and +lose the decisive moment for demolishing his enemy. Its failure to appear +at Quatre Bras, and to roll up the wavering Dutch-Belgians, before Picton +took up the fighting, enabled Wellington to hold his ground at first, to +repulse Ney afterwards, and on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> hearing of Blücher's defeat at Ligny, to +fall back in good order on Waterloo. Even then, something was due to good +fortune. Had Napoleon joined Ney and marched direct on Quatre Bras early +on the 17th, it is difficult to see how his advance to Brussels could have +been arrested. But whether he was exhausted by his incessant labours since +leaving Paris, or whether his marvellous intuition was deserting him, +certain it is that he allowed that critical morning to slip by without an +effort—and without a reconnaissance. He assumed that Blücher must retire +upon Namur as his base of operations, and that Wellington, retiring +towards Brussels, would be cut off from his allies. He therefore +despatched Marshal Grouchy, with 33,000 men, to follow up the Prussians +eastward by the Namur road. His assumption was unfounded. Blücher, loyal +to his engagements, retired upon Wavre; Wellington, relying upon Blücher's +loyalty, took his stand on the field of Waterloo; and this error on the +part of Napoleon determined the fortunes of the campaign.<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WATERLOO.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_121" id="TOPIC_121"></a>The British army retreated upon Waterloo almost unmolested. Ney was +probably awaiting orders, and Napoleon, believing the Prussians to be at +Namur, probably thought he might safely rest himself and his army before +crushing Wellington at his leisure. When they realised that Wellington was +deliberately moving his army to a position nearer Brussels, they both +followed in pursuit along different roads converging at Quatre Bras, and a +brisk skirmish took place near Genappe between Ney's cavalry and that of +the British rear-guard. Heavy rain came on, and the two armies spent a +miserable night, half a mile from each other, close to Mont St. Jean, and +south of Waterloo. Napoleon rose before daybreak on the 18th, reconnoitred +the British position, and convinced himself that Wellington intended to +give battle. He expressed to his staff his satisfaction and confidence of +victory, when General Foy, who had experience of the Peninsular war, +replied in significant words: "Sire, when the British infantry stand at +bay, they are the very devil himself". Why Napoleon did not begin the +battle at eight o'clock has been the subject of much discussion. It is +said that he waited for Grouchy to join him before the close of the +action. But neither he nor Grouchy, though aware<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> that at least a large +force of Prussians had gone to Wavre and not to Namur, suspected that +Blücher had promised Wellington to march with his whole army on the +morning of the 18th to support the British at Waterloo. It is more likely +that he waited for his men to assemble and for the ground to dry and +become more practicable for his powerful artillery.<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p> + +<p>Exception has been taken to the conduct of Wellington in detaching 17,000 +men to guard the approach to Brussels at Hal, and, still more, in not +recalling them, when he must have ascertained that nothing was to be +feared on that side, and when such a reinforcement of his right wing must +have been all-important. But it must be remembered that in this force +there were only 1,500 English troops, and 2,000 Hanoverian militia. The +rest were Dutch and Belgians. At all events, Napoleon left his right flank +undefended, though he was already somewhat anxious about the Prussian +movements, and Wellington fought the battle of Waterloo with a force +numerically inferior to that under Napoleon's command, though it might +have been rendered superior by the accession of the Hal contingent. The +effective part of this force, numbering in all 67,661 men, consisted of +24,000 British soldiers, 6,000 soldiers of the king's German legion, and +about 11,000 Hanoverians. Napoleon's force numbered 72,000 men, and it was +stronger both in cavalry and in guns. It represented the flower of the +French army; there were few, if any, recruits as raw as those who swelled +the ranks of the British regiments; there were thousands upon thousands +who had formed part of that <i>Grande Armée</i> which had overawed the +continent of Europe. It is fair, however, to record that, while the +British rank and file suffered much for want of sufficient food, the +French had fared still worse, and that very many of them could have been +in no fit condition for the struggle impending over them.</p> + +<p>Both armies occupied ground extending from west to east, on opposite +ridges, and crossed at right angles by the great highway running north and +south from Charleroi to Brussels. In front of the British right were the +château and enclosures of Hougoumont which were occupied by the British; +nearly in front of the centre were the large farm-house and buildings of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +La Haye Sainte. Further to the left were the hamlet of Smohain and the +farms Papelotte and La Haye. Wellington had arranged his brigades so as to +distribute the older troops as much as possible among the less +experienced. Sir Thomas Picton's fifth division formed the left of the +line; to his right was Alten's second division, and beyond him to the +right was the guards division under Cooke. Further to the right and partly +in reserve was Clinton's second division, while Chassé's Dutch division on +the extreme right occupied the village of Braine l'Alleud. Somerset's +brigade of heavy cavalry and Kruse's Dutch cavalry were posted behind +Alten's division, and Ponsonby's "union brigade," consisting of the royal +dragoons, Scots greys, and Inniskillings, was stationed in Picton's rear. +The whole line lay on the inner slopes of the ridge with the exception of +Bylandt's Dutch-Belgian brigade which was posted on the outer slope in +front of Picton's division. D'Erlon's corps was opposite the British left, +Reille's opposite the British right. Squadrons of cavalry covered the +outer flank of either of the two French corps. The magnificent squadrons +of French cavalry, 15,000 strong, under Milhaud, Kellermann, and other +famous leaders, were in the second line; the imperial guard, as usual, was +massed in the rear.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WATERLOO.</i></div> + +<p>The battle opened about half-past eleven with a furious attack on +Hougoumont. It was defended with desperate gallantry, mainly by the +British guards, who reopened the old loopholes in the garden-walls, and +closed by sheer muscular force the eastern gate of the yard, which had +been forced open by the French. In the fruitless siege of Hougoumont, as +it may be called, the French left wing thus wasted most of its strength, +and incurred enormous loss. Meanwhile, the French right wing under +D'Erlon, advanced to attack the British left, which had been assailed for +an hour and a half by the fire of a battery with seventy-eight guns. The +Dutch and Belgians, who in their exposed position had suffered severely +from the French artillery fire, soon gave way; but Picton's division, +after a single volley, charged with the bayonet and drove their assailants +reeling backward, though Picton himself fell dead on the field. Without +orders from Wellington, Lord Uxbridge, in command of the British cavalry, +seized the opportunity, and launched the union brigade with other +regiments upon the flying masses.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> This whirlwind of British horsemen +swept all before it, slaughtering many of the French cavalry in passing, +taking 3,000 prisoners, sabring the gunners of Ney's battery, and spiking +fifteen of the guns. But their ardour carried them too far. By Napoleon's +orders a large force of French cuirassiers and lancers fell upon their +flank before they could take breath again, and their ranks were +frightfully thinned in a disorderly retreat. But their charge had saved +the day.</p> + +<p>At one o'clock, while the fate of D'Erlon's onslaught was still undecided, +Napoleon observed Prussian troops on his right. An intercepted despatch +proved these to be Bülow's corps. He instantly sent off a despatch to +Grouchy, whom he supposed to be within reach, ordering him to attack Bülow +in the rear. Then followed the memorable succession of charges by the +whole of the French cavalry upon the squares of the British infantry. Not +one of these squares was broken; a great part of the French cavalry was +mown down by volleys or cut to pieces by the British cavalry in their +precipitate retreat, and the British line remained unmoved, though +grievously weakened, behind its protecting ridge. This was the crisis of +the fight. Much of the British artillery was dismounted, and Wellington +confessed to one of his staff that he longed for the advent of night or +Blücher. Napoleon next felt himself compelled to detach Lobau's corps for +the purpose of meeting the advancing Prussians. Soon afterwards Ney +carried La Haye Sainte by a most determined assault, aided by the failure +of ammunition within its defences, and thus captured the key of the +British position. But Napoleon saw that his one chance of victory lay in a +final <i>coup</i> before the Prussians could wrest it from him. He ordered the +imperial guard to the front, leading it himself across the valley, and +then handing over the command to Ney. The guard was but the remnant of its +original strength, for all its cavalry had been wrecked in wild charges +against the British squares, and several battalions of its infantry were +kept in reserve to hold back the Prussians and protect the baggage train. +Nevertheless, the advance of this superb corps, the heroes of a hundred +fights, who had seldom failed to hurl back the tide of battle at the most +perilous junctures, was among the most impressive spectacles in the annals +of war. They swerved a little to the left, thereby exposing themselves to +the fire of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> British footguards and of a battery in excellent +condition. The former were lying down for shelter, but when the imperial +guard came within sixty paces of them they started up at the word of +command from Wellington himself. The footguards poured a deadly fire into +the front, and the 52nd regiment into the flank of their columns; as they +wavered under the storm of shot a bayonet charge followed, and the +imperial guard, hitherto almost invincible, was dissolved into a mob of +fugitives scattered over the plain.</p> + +<p>It was now past eight o'clock; Bülow's Prussians had long been engaged on +the British left, and Blücher, with indomitable energy, was pressing +forward with all his other divisions. Wellington first sent Vandeleur's +and Vivian's cavalry, still comparatively fresh, to sweep away what +remained of the French reserves, and then ordered a general advance. The +French retreat speedily became a rout, and a rout to which there is no +parallel except that which succeeded the battle of Leipzig. Wellington and +Blücher met at La Belle Alliance on the high road, just south of the +battlefield, and lately the French headquarters. The British troops were +utterly tired out, but the Prussian cavalry never drew rein until they had +driven the last Frenchman over the river Sambre in their relentless +pursuit. The slaughter had been prodigious, though far short of that at +Borodino. The British army lost 13,000 men, the Prussian 7,000, and the +French 37,000<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a> (including prisoners), besides the whole of their +artillery, ammunition, baggage-waggons, and military train. But the battle +was one of the most decisive recorded in history, and was the real +beginning of a peace which lasted over the whole of Europe for nearly +forty years. Grouchy heard the cannonade of Waterloo on his march from +Ligny to Wavre, and was strongly urged by Gérard to hasten across country, +with his whole force, in the direction of the firing. But he pleaded the +letter of Napoleon's instructions, and reached Wavre only to find Blücher +gone. After an encounter with a Prussian corps, which had been left +behind, he received news of Napoleon's defeat, and ultimately escaped into +France.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAPOLEON'S SECOND ABDICATION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_122" id="TOPIC_122"></a>The march of the allies into France after the battle of Waterloo was not +wholly unchecked, but it was far more rapid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> than in 1814. The French +could not be rallied, and in the first week of July Paris was occupied by +Anglo-Prussian troops. The Austrians and Prussians were moving again upon +the eastern frontiers of France, but were still far behind. The Prussian +general and soldiers were animated by the bitterest spirit of vengeance, +and it needed all the firmness of Wellington to prevent the bridge of Jena +from being blown up, and a ruinous contribution levied on the citizens of +Paris. <a name="TOPIC_123" id="TOPIC_123"></a>Napoleon himself was now at Rochefort, having quitted Paris after a +second abdication on June 22, but four days after the battle. No other +course was open to him. When he started for his last campaign, he was no +longer the champion of an united nation, and consciously staked his all on +a single throw. When he returned from it, discomfited and without an army, +he found the chambers actively hostile to him. Carnot, who had formerly +opposed his assumption of the imperial title, was now the only one of his +ministers to deprecate his abdication, but Napoleon himself saw no hope of +retaining his power, or transmitting it to his son, without a reckless +appeal to revolutionary passions. From this he shrank, and he represented +himself at St. Helena as having sacrificed personal ambition to +patriotism.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_124" id="TOPIC_124"></a>The chamber of deputies appointed an executive commission of five, +including the infamous Fouché, and from this body the late emperor +actually received an order to quit Paris. He retired to Malmaison, where +he received a fresh order to set out for Rochefort, which he reached on +July 3. On the next day Paris capitulated to the allies, and the necessity +for his leaving the shores of France became more urgent. Two frigates were +assigned for his escape to America, but a British squadron was lying ready +to intercept them. Some of his bolder companions devised a scheme for +smuggling him on board a swift merchant ship, but it was foiled by the +vigilant watch of the British squadron off the islands of Oléron and Ré. +At last he surrendered himself on board the <i>Bellerophon</i>, relying, as he +said, on the honour of the British nation, and claiming the generous +protection of the prince regent. He was, however, clearly informed that he +would be at the disposal of the government. Under an agreement with the +allied powers, the ministers decided, and were supported by the nation in +deciding, that he could not be detained in England, either<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> as a guest or +as a prisoner, with any regard to public safety or the verdict of Europe +at Vienna. The proposal of banishing him to St. Helena, suggested in the +previous year, was finally adopted, and he sailed thither in the +<i>Northumberland</i> on August 8, vehemently protesting against the bad faith +of Great Britain. <a name="TOPIC_125" id="TOPIC_125"></a>Louis XVIII. was restored, and the treaty of Vienna, +signed on the eve of the Waterloo campaign, was but slightly modified.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_126" id="TOPIC_126"></a>The action of Murat had solved the difficulties which the congress had to +face in Italy. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies reverted to the Bourbon, +Ferdinand; and the Bourbons also acquired a right of reversion in Parma, +where the protest of Spain against the rule of Maria Louisa could now be +ignored. Genoa was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia; the pope received +back the states of the Church; the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of +Modena were restored; while Austria had to be content with Venetia and +Lombardy as far as the Ticino. The organisation of Germany occupied the +congress until June, and was the least durable part of its work. The basis +of it was a confederation of thirty-eight states, represented and in +theory controlled by a diet under the presidency of Austria. This diet +naturally resolved itself into a mere permanent congress of diplomatists +for the purpose of settling the mutual relations of the constituent +states. Each state was ordered to adopt a constitutional form of +government, but, as no provision was made for enforcing this clause, it +remained a dead letter. Prussia regained her provinces on the left bank of +the Rhine, with a population exceeding 1,000,000, and was allotted the +northern part of Saxony, with a population of 800,000, besides retaining +her original share of Poland, with the province of Posen, which had formed +part of the duchy of Warsaw. Most of this duchy was annexed by Russia, but +Cracow was left a republic. Prussia also gained Swedish Pomerania. +Bavaria, Hanover, and Denmark profited more or less by the repartition of +Germany. Denmark, however, finally lost Norway, and Sweden paid the price +of this acquisition by resigning Finland to Russia. The neutrality of +Switzerland was proclaimed and her constitution simplified. The Belgian +Netherlands were united to Holland, the two forming together the kingdom +of the Netherlands, to which Austria ceded all her claims in the Low +Countries.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE SECOND TREATY OF PARIS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_127" id="TOPIC_127"></a>The treaty of Vienna left the boundaries of France itself as they had been +defined by the first treaty of Paris in 1814. The second treaty of Paris, +however, signed on November 20, 1815, was less favourable to France, which +had already ceded Western Savoy to Sardinia, and was now required to +abandon Landau and other outlying territories beyond the frontier of 1792. +She was also compelled to restore all the works of art accumulated during +the war.</p> + +<p>Great Britain had failed to obtain from the congress any binding +regulation on the subject of the slave trade. The most that she could +obtain was a solemn denunciation of that trade issued on February 8, which +declared it to be "repugnant to the principles of civilisation and of +universal morality". The moderation of the British demands, as embodied in +these treaties, excited not only the amazement but the contempt of +Napoleon, who discussed the subject at St. Helena with great freedom. Well +knowing that his paramount object throughout all his wars and negotiations +had been to crush Great Britain, and that Great Britain had been the +mainstay of all the combinations against him, he could find no explanation +of our self-denial except our insular simplicity. Perhaps it might be +attributed with greater reason to politic magnanimity; nor, indeed, could +Great Britain, as a member of the European council, dictate such terms as +Napoleon suggested. Still, the gains of Great Britain were substantial. +She retained Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, the Isle of France +(Mauritius), Trinidad, St. Lucia, Tobago, and, above all, Malta. She also +obtained possession of Heligoland and the protectorate of the Ionian +Islands, both of which she has since resigned of her own accord. If she +afterwards lost the commanding position which she had attained among the +allied powers, it was chiefly because the colossal empire which she had +defied was effectually shattered, because neither her armies nor her +subsidies were any longer needed on the continent of Europe, and perhaps +because the energies of her statesmen were no longer braced up by the +stress of a struggle for national life.</p> + +<p>Even before the allied armies entered Paris Wellington considered it +necessary to induce Louis XVIII. to make advances to certain politicians +of the revolution so as to inspire national confidence in him, and to +anticipate the risk of a "White<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> Terror," or a continuance of the war. +Fouché was accordingly summoned to power, and he had sufficient influence +to prevent any national opposition to the Bourbon restoration. Napoleon +remained at large for three weeks after his abdication, that is, for eight +days after the allied troops had entered Paris, and the fear of a future +Bonapartist revolution inclined the British government under Liverpool to +entertain favourably the demand of Prussia for the cession of Alsace, +Lorraine, and the northern fortresses. When, however, Napoleon had placed +himself on board the <i>Bellerophon</i>, the situation changed. A contented +France seemed preferable to an impotent France, and Wellington argued that +the Bourbon restoration could not last, if French opinion connected it +with the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. The tsar took this line from the +first, and Wellington won for it the adhesion first of his own government +and then of Austria. Prussia had finally to be contented with a provision +for the cession of the outlying districts, which the treaty of Paris of +1814 had left to France. The second treaty of Paris, which embodied this +stipulation, also provided for an indemnity of £40,000,000 to be paid by +France to the allies, and for the temporary occupation of Northern France +by the allied armies. On the same day Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and +Russia signed a treaty pledging themselves to act together in case fresh +revolution and usurpation in France should endanger the repose of other +states, and providing for frequent meetings of congresses to preserve the +peace of Europe.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_128" id="TOPIC_128"></a>In addition to the formal treaties of alliance signed at Chaumont, Vienna, +and Paris, an attempt was made by the Tsar Alexander to bind together the +European sovereigns in an union based on the principles of Christian +brotherhood. A form of treaty was accordingly drawn up which gave +expression to these motives, dealt with all Christians as one nation, and +committed their sovereigns to mutual affection and reciprocal service. +This treaty of the holy alliance was signed on September 26, by Austria, +Prussia, and Russia. All European princes except the sultan were invited +to adhere to it, and all except the pope and the sultan ultimately either +accepted it or expressed their sympathy with its principles. But in +England there was hardly a statesman who regarded the treaty seriously, +Wellington avowed his distrust of it, the prince regent declined to join<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +it, and its effective value in promoting the subsequent concert of the +powers was less than nothing. Still, however visionary and extravagantly +worded, it remains as an unique record embodying the deliberate adoption +of the principle of international brotherhood, and the sacrifice of +separate national interests for the sake of European peace.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_129" id="TOPIC_129"></a>It is remarkable that so little public discussion took place on two +questions which have since been so hotly debated—the legal <i>status</i> of +Napoleon after he surrendered himself, and the moral right of Great +Britain to banish him to St. Helena. One reason for this apparent +indifference to the fate of one who had overawed all Europe may be found +in the fact that parliament was not sitting when the decision of the +government was taken, and that, when it met on February 1, 1816, that +decision was virtually irrevocable. We know, however, that the first +question was fully considered by the allied powers and the British +ministry before his place of exile was fixed, and Great Britain undertook +the custody of his person. The view which prevailed was that, after his +escape from Elba, he could neither be treated as an independent sovereign +nor as a subject of the French king, but must be regarded as a public +enemy who had fallen into the hands of one among several allied powers. +Accordingly, it was by their joint mandate that he remained the prisoner +of Great Britain, and was to be under the joint inspection of +commissioners appointed by the other powers. Still the minds of Liverpool, +Ellenborough, and Sir William Scott, judge of the court of admiralty, were +not altogether easy on the legal aspect of the case, which Eldon reviewed +in an elaborate and exhaustive memorandum. His conclusion was that +Napoleon's position was quite exceptional, that he could not rightly be +made over to France as a French rebel, but was a prisoner of war at the +disposal of the British government, both on the broad principles of +international law, and under the express terms of his surrender, as +reported officially by Captain Maitland of the <i>Bellerophon</i>.</p> + +<p>It was thought expedient, however, to pass an act of parliament in the +session of 1816 for the purpose of setting at rest any objections which +might afterwards be raised. This measure was introduced on March 17 by +Lord Castlereagh, who defended it on grounds of national justice and +national policy. It met with no opposition in the house of commons, but +Lords<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> Holland and Lauderdale criticised it in the house of lords, not as +sanctioning a wrong to Napoleon, but as implicitly admitting the right of +other powers to join in arrangements for his custody. Little attention was +then bestowed by parliament or the public on the moral aspect of his +life-long detention at St. Helena, the restrictions to be there imposed +upon his liberty, or the provision to be made for his comfort. Yet these +subjects have ever since exercised the minds of myriads both in England +and France, and have given birth to a copious literature for more than +three generations.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> For the movements of June 15, 16, see Chesney, <i>Waterloo +Lectures</i>, pp. 70-137; Ropes, <i>The Campaign of Waterloo</i>, pp. 44-196.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> Rose, <i>Life of Napoleon I.</i>, ii., 494, 495.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> Oman in <i>English Historical Review</i>, xix., 693, and xxi., +132.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<h3>THE FIRST YEARS OF PEACE.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_130" id="TOPIC_130"></a>When Parliament met on February 1, 1816, after a recess of unusual length, +Castlereagh was received with loud acclamations from all parts of the +house as the chief actor in the pacification of Europe. There was, of +course, a full debate upon the treaties, but the opposition dwelt less +upon the arbitrary partition of Europe than upon their alleged tendency to +guarantee sovereigns against the assertion of popular rights and upon the +manifest intention of the government to "raise the country into a military +power". From this moment dates the whig and radical watchword of "Peace, +Retrenchment, and Reform". The nation was, in fact, entering upon a period +of unprecedented depression and discontent, which lasted through the last +four years of George III.'s reign. At the close of 1815, however, the +whole horizon was apparently bright. Great Britain had saved Europe by her +example, and, however small her army in comparison with those of +continental states, she stood foremost among the powers which had crushed +the rule of Napoleon. Her national debt, it is true, had reached the +prodigious total of £861,039,049, and the interest on it amounted +£32,645,618, but the expansion of our national resources had kept pace +with it. In spite of the continental system, the orders in council, and +the American war, the imports and exports had enormously increased, +chiefly by means of an organised contraband traffic; the carrying trade of +the world had passed into the hands of British shipowners; British +manufactures were largely fostered by warlike expenditure at home and the +suspension of many industries abroad; while population, stimulated by a +vicious poor law, was rapidly on the increase. In this last element, then +considered as a sure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> sign of prosperity, really consisted one of the +chief national dangers.</p> + +<p>So long as the war lasted, low as the rate of wages might be, there was +generally employment enough in the fields or in the factories for nearly +all the hands willing to labour. When the inflated war prices came to an +end, and wheat fell below 80s. or even 70s. a quarter, until it reached +52s. 6d. early in 1816, labourers were turned off and wages cut down still +further; bread was not proportionately cheapened, and agrarian outrages +sprang up. The continent, impoverished by the war, no longer required +British goods for military purposes, and, as its own domestic industries +revived, ceased to absorb British products, flung in profusion on its +markets. Hence came a reduction of 16 per cent. in the export trade, and +of nearly 20 per cent. in the import trade, which resulted in bankruptcies +and the dismissal of workpeople. If we add to these causes of distress, +the influence of over-speculation, the accession of disbanded soldiers to +the ranks of the unemployed, and the substitution of the factory system +with machinery for domestic manufactures with hand labour, we can partly +understand why Great Britain, never harried by invading armies, should +have suffered more than France itself from popular misery and disaffection +for several years after the restoration of peace.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>VANSITTART'S FINANCE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_131" id="TOPIC_131"></a>The history of these years is mainly a history of social unrest, and +attempts to cure social evils by legislation or coercion. Liverpool and +his colleagues, with the possible exception of Eldon, were not bigoted +tories, and it is sometimes forgotten that among them, together with +Sidmouth, Castlereagh, and Vansittart, were Canning, Palmerston, and Peel. +One of the first parliamentary struggles was on the proposal of the +government to reduce the income tax from 10 to 5 per cent., and to apply +this half of it, producing about £7,500,000, towards the expense of +maintaining an army of 150,000 men. Since the income tax has become a +favourite of democratic economists, as pressing specially upon the rich, +we may be surprised to find that its total repeal was successfully +advocated by Henry Brougham, the leading democrat of that day—a man whose +noble services to progress and to humanity in the earlier part of his +career have been obscured by the inordinate vanity and unprincipled +egotism which he displayed in the later phases of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> his long public life. +He had entered parliament in 1810, and rapidly became the most active of +the opposition speakers. He now employed without scruple all the arts of +agitation, petition-framing, and parliamentary obstruction to achieve his +object, and succeeded, by the aid of bankers and country-gentlemen, in +defeating the government by a majority of thirty-seven. This vote might be +justified, more or less, on the principle laid down by Pitt, that the +income tax should be held in reserve as a war tax only, or on the ground +that it was equally wasteful and mischievous to keep up so large a +peace-establishment, especially if it might be used to bolster up +despotism abroad. It was also unfortunate that Castlereagh, ignoring the +heroic efforts made by the people of England for more than twenty years, +should have deprecated "an ignorant impatience to be relieved from the +pressure of taxation". Still, it is remarkable that friends of the people +and the ultra-liberal corporation of London, as it then was, should have +concentrated their indignant protests against the financial policy of the +government, not on the corn laws, or any other indirect tax, but on the +income tax.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_132" id="TOPIC_132"></a>Public confidence in the economic wisdom of the ministers was further +weakened by the gratuitous abandonment of the malt tax, apparently in a +fit of petulance, on the ground, explicitly stated, that, if another war +tax must be raised, two or three millions more or less would make little +difference. By a temporary suspension of the sinking fund, a deficit might +be converted into a surplus; Vansittart, however, neglected to take +advantage of this simple expedient, and raised £11,500,000 by loan. His +waning reputation was almost shattered by this absurd proceeding. Finally, +the excessive and irregular expenditure upon the civil list provoked a +searching inquiry into its abuses, prefaced by a scathing attack from +Brougham upon the character of the prince regent. His character was, in +fact, indefensible, and had justly forfeited the respect of the nation. He +was a debauchee and gambler, a disobedient son, a cruel husband, a +heartless father, an ungrateful and treacherous friend, and a burden to +the ministries which had to act in his name and palliate his misdoings. +That of Liverpool carried a measure for the better regulation of the civil +list, upon which, swollen as it was by the wrongful appropriation of other +public funds,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> many official salaries had been charged hitherto. For these +parliament now made a separate provision. The house of commons, which +properly grudged the prince regent the means of reckless luxury and +self-indulgence, was unanimous in voting £60,000 for outfit and £60,000 a +year to the Princess Charlotte on her marriage, on May 2, to Prince +Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, looking forward to a reign under which virtue and +a sense of public duty would again be the attributes of royalty. In this +session, too, it conferred a boon upon Ireland, which earned little +gratitude, by the consolidation of the British and Irish exchequers. +Ireland was virtually insolvent before this measure was passed. With the +union of the exchequers the union of the countries was completed. The +administration, discredited by its financial policy, was strengthened in +June by the acquisition of Canning, who succeeded Buckinghamshire as +president of the board of control. In September, 1814, Wellesley Pole, a +brother of the Marquis Wellesley and the Duke of Wellington, had been +admitted to the cabinet as master of the mint, so that with Castlereagh, +Vansittart, and Bragge-Bathurst, there were now five members of the +cabinet in the lower house.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>INDUSTRIAL RIOTS.</i></div> + +<p>The disturbances which broke out again and again during the years 1816-19 +were partly the outcome of sheer destitution among the working classes, +and partly of a growing demand for reform, whether constitutional or +revolutionary. The statesmen of the regency must not be too severely +judged if they often confounded these causes of seditious movements, and +failed to distinguish between the moderate and violent sections of +reformers. Those who remembered the bloodthirsty orgies of the French +revolution, ushered in by quixotic visions of liberty, equality, and +fraternity, may perhaps be excused for distrusting the moderate +professions of demagogues who deliberately inflamed the passions of +ignorant mobs. Moreover, the whigs and moderate reformers, who privately +condemned the excesses of their violent followers, made light of these in +their public utterances, and reserved all their censures for the +repressive policy of the government. Bread riots had begun before the +harvest, which proved a total failure. The price of wheat, which was as +low as 52s. 6d. a quarter in January, 1816, rose to 103s. 1d. in January, +1817, and to 111s. 6d. in June, 1817. And when rickburning set in as a +consequence of agricultural depression,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> tumultuary processions as a +consequence of enforced idleness in the coal districts, and a revival of +Luddism as a consequence of stagnation in the various textile industries, +itself due to a glut of British goods on the continent, the reform party, +now raising its head, was held responsible by the government for a great +part of these disorders.<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> The writings of Cobbett, especially his +<i>Weekly Register</i>, certainly had a wide influence in stirring up +discontent against existing institutions, but it must be admitted that he +condemned the use of physical force, and pointed to parliamentary reform +as the legitimate cure for all social evils. Reform, however, in Cobbett's +meaning included universal suffrage with annual parliaments, and the +Hampden clubs, all over the country, agitated for the same objects in less +guarded language. Still, looking back at these democratic agencies by the +light of later experience, we can hardly adopt the opinion expressed by a +secret committee of the house of commons that their avowed objects were +"nothing short of a revolution".</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_133" id="TOPIC_133"></a>It was on December 2, 1816, that the extreme section of reformers, now for +the first time known as radicals, in alliance with a body of socialists +called Spenceans, first came into open collision with the forces of the +law. A meeting was announced to be held on that day in Spa Fields, +Bermondsey, and was to be addressed by "Orator" Hunt, Major Cartwright, +the two Watsons, and other demagogues. Hunt was a gentleman of Somerset, +and had stood for Bristol in 1812. Though a prominent speaker, he in no +sense directed the movement. Burdett and Cochrane, the orthodox leaders of +London reformers, were not concerned in this demonstration, which, +according to an informer who gave evidence, was to be the signal for an +attack upon the Tower and other acts of atrocity. As it was, before Hunt +chose to appear, the mob, headed by the younger Watson, broke into +gunsmiths' shops, not without bloodshed, and marched through the Royal +Exchange, but were courageously met by the lord mayor, with a few +assistants, and very soon dispersed. The alarm produced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> in the whole +nation by this riotous fiasco was quite out of proportion to its real +importance, and was reawakened by an insult offered to the prince regent +on his return from opening parliament on January 28, 1817. Even Canning, a +life-long opponent of reform, did not scruple to magnify these and similar +evidences of popular restlessness into proofs of a deep-laid plot against +the constitution, and committees of both houses urged the necessity of +drastic measures to put down a conspiracy against public order and private +property. These measures took the form of bills for the suppression of +seditious meetings, and for the suspension until July 1 of the <i>habeas +corpus</i> act, which had been uninterruptedly in force since its suspension +by Pitt had expired in 1801. This last bill was passed on March 3, and, +before the other became law, the so-called march of the Blanketeers took +place at Manchester. The march was the ridiculous sequel of a very large +meeting got up for the purpose of carrying a petition to London, and +presenting it to the prince regent in person. The meeting was dispersed by +the soldiers and police, after the riot act had been read, and a +straggling crowd of some three hundred who began their pilgrimage, +carrying blankets or overcoats, melted away by degrees before they had got +far southward.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SIDMOUTH'S UNPOPULARITY.</i></div> + +<p>A far more serious outbreak at Manchester seems to have been clumsily +planned soon afterwards, but it ended in nothing, and the enemies of the +government freely attributed this and other projects of mob violence to +the instigation of an <i>agent-provocateur</i>, well known as "Oliver the Spy". +This man was also credited with the authorship of "the Derbyshire +insurrection," for which three men were executed and many others +transported. Here there can be no doubt that a formidable gang, armed with +pikes, terrorised a large district, pressing operatives to join them in +overt defiance of the law, and killing one who held back. Being confronted +by a Nottinghamshire magistrate named Rolleston, with a small body of +soldiers, they fled across the fields, and the bubble of rebellion burst +at a touch. Whether they were legally guilty of high treason, for which +they were unwisely tried, may perhaps be doubted, but it would certainly +be no palliation of their crime if it could be shown, as it never was +shown, that Oliver had led them to rely on a jacobin revolution in London. +What does appear very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> clearly is that Sidmouth was greatly alarmed by the +reports of his agents on the disturbed state of the country, but that he +was highly conscientious in his instructions and in the use of his own +powers. The great majority of those imprisoned for political offences at +this time were liberated or acquitted, but the suspension of the <i>habeas +corpus</i> act was renewed at the beginning of July.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_134" id="TOPIC_134"></a>Moreover, a circular was addressed by Sidmouth to the lords-lieutenant of +counties, for the information of the magistrates, intimating that, in the +opinion of the law officers, persons charged on oath with seditious libel +might be apprehended and held to bail. No act of Sidmouth called forth +such an outburst of reprobation as this; yet it is not self-evident that +instigations to outrage, being criminal offences, should be treated by +magistrates differently from other offences for which bail may be +required, with the alternative of imprisonment. On the other hand, it is +hardly becoming for a home secretary to interpret the law, and, since the +forensic triumphs of Erskine, it had been declared by an act of parliament +that in cases of libel, as distinct from all other criminal trials, both +the law and the fact were within the province of the jury. At all events, +William Cobbett, feeling himself to be at the mercy of informers and the +crown, took refuge in America in December, 1817. Hone, an antiquarian +bookseller, was thrice prosecuted for blasphemous libels, in which the +ministers had been held up to contempt. All these ill-judged, if not +vindictive, prosecutions ended in signal failure. Ellenborough, the chief +justice, before whom the two last trials were held, strained his judicial +authority to procure a conviction of Hone, but the prisoner, with a spirit +worthy of a martyr, defied the intimidation of the court, and thrice +carried the sympathies of the jury with him. His triple acquittal led to +Ellenborough's resignation, and perceptibly shook the prestige of the +government.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_135" id="TOPIC_135"></a>In the year 1818 there was a temporary improvement in the economic +condition of the country. The depression of the preceding year was +followed in this year by a rapid increase of revenue. The importance the +ministry attached to finance was emphasised by the admission to the +cabinet in January of Frederick John Robinson, afterwards prime minister +as Lord Goderich, who had been appointed president of the board of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> trade +and treasurer of the navy. The chancellor of the exchequer and the master +of the mint were already members of the cabinet. The suspension of the +<i>habeas corpus</i> act having expired, the reform agitation revived, but +assumed a less dangerous character, and no serious outbreak occurred. A +bill of indemnity was passed to cover any excesses of jurisdiction in +arresting suspected persons or in suppressing tumultuous assemblies. A +parliamentary inquiry showed both that the disorders of the previous year +had been exaggerated, and that, after all, the extraordinary powers of the +home office had been used with moderation. Nevertheless, the early part of +the session was largely occupied by party debates on these questions, the +employment of spies, and apprehensions for libel. Parliament was dissolved +in June, and the general election which followed resulted in a gain of +several seats to the opposition.<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> The ministry was strengthened in +January, 1819, by the appointment of Wellington to be master-general of +the ordnance, in succession to Mulgrave, who remained in the cabinet +without office.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE "MANCHESTER MASSACRE".</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_136" id="TOPIC_136"></a>Before the end of the year 1818, a strike of Manchester cotton-spinners +was attended by the usual incidents of brutal violence towards workmen who +refused to join in it, but a few shots from the soldiers, one of which +killed a rioter, proved effectual in quelling lawlessness. Manchester, +however, remained the centre of agitation, and during the summer of 1819 a +series of reform meetings held in other great towns culminated in a +monster meeting originally convened for August 9, but postponed until the +16th. The history of this meeting ending in the so-called "Manchester" or +"Peterloo massacre," has been strongly coloured by party spirit and +sympathy with the victims of reckless demagogy no less than of blundering +officialism. It is certain that drilling had been going on for some time +among the multitudes invited to attend the meeting of the 9th; that its +avowed object was to choose a "legislatorial representative," as +Birmingham had already done, and that, on its being declared illegal by +the municipal authorities, who declined to summon it on their own +initiative, its organisers deliberately resolved to hold it a week later, +whether it were legal or not.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> + +<p>The contingents, which poured in by thousands from neighbouring towns, +seem to have carried no arms but sticks, and to have conducted themselves +peaceably when they arrived at St. Peter's Fields, where Orator Hunt, +puffed up with silly vanity, was voted into the chair on a hustings. +Unfortunately, instead of attempting to prevent the meeting, the county +magistrates decided to let the great masses of people assemble, and then +to arrest the leaders in the midst of them. They had at their disposal +several companies of infantry, six troops of the 15th hussars, and a body +of yeomanry, besides special constables. The chief constable, being +ordered to arrest Hunt and his colleagues, declared that he could not do +so without military aid, whereupon a small force of yeomanry advanced but +soon became wedged up and enclosed by the densely packed crowd. One of the +magistrates, fancying the yeomanry to be in imminent danger, of which +there is no proof, called upon Colonel L'Estrange, who was in command of +the soldiers, to rescue them and disperse the mob. Four troops of the +hussars then made a dashing charge, supported by a few of the yeomanry; +the people fled in wild confusion before them; some were cut down, more +were trampled down, and an eye-witness describes "several mounds of human +beings" as lying where they had fallen. Happily, the actual loss of life +did not exceed five or six, but a much larger number was more or less +wounded, the real havoc and bloodshed were inevitably exaggerated by +rumour, and a bitter sense of resentment was implanted in the breasts of +myriads, innocent of the slightest complicity with sedition, but impatient +of oligarchical rule, and disgusted with so ruthless an interference with +the right of public meeting.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_137" id="TOPIC_137"></a>It would have been wise if Sidmouth and his colleagues had recognised this +widespread feeling, had seen that famine and despair were at the bottom of +popular discontent, and had admitted error of judgment, at least, on the +part of the Lancashire magistrates. On the contrary, they felt it so +necessary to support civil and military authority, at all hazards, that +they induced the prince regent to express unqualified approbation of the +course taken, and afterwards defended it without reserve in parliament. +Even Eldon expressed his opinion privately that it would be hard to +justify it, unless the assembly amounted to an act of treason, as he +regarded it; whereas Hunt and his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> associates were prosecuted (and +convicted in the next year) not for treason, but only for a misdemeanour. +At all events, the storm of indignation excited by this sad event, and not +confined to the working classes, powerfully fomented the reform movement. +Large meetings were held over all the manufacturing districts, and a +requisition to summon a great Yorkshire meeting was signed by Fitzwilliam, +the lord-lieutenant, who attended it in person. For these acts he was +properly dismissed, but, in spite of inflammatory speeches, nearly all the +meetings passed off quietly and without interference. Nevertheless, the +government thought it necessary to hold an autumn session, and strengthen +the hands of the executive by fresh measures of repression. These having +been passed in December after strenuous opposition, were afterwards known +as the six acts, and regarded as the climax of Sidmouth's despotic +<i>régime</i>.</p> + +<p>Two of the six acts, directed against the possession of arms and military +training for unlawful purposes, cannot be considered oppressive under the +circumstances then prevailing. Nor can exception be taken on the ground of +principle to another for "preventing delay in the administration of +justice in cases of misdemeanour," which, indeed, was amended, by Holland, +with Eldon's consent, so as to benefit defendants in state prosecutions. +Two were designed to curb still further the liberty of the press. One of +these made the publication of seditious libels an offence punishable with +banishment, and authorised the seizure of all unsold copies. When we +consider the extreme virulence of seditious libels in those days, this act +does not wear so monstrous an aspect as its radical opponents alleged, but +happily it soon became a dead letter, and was repealed in 1830. The other, +imposing a stamp-duty on small pamphlets, only placed them on the same +footing with newspapers. The last of the new measures—"to prevent more +effectually seditious meetings and assemblies"—was practically aimed +against all large meetings, unless called by the highest authorities in +counties and corporate towns, or, at least, five justices of the peace. It +was, therefore, a grave encroachment on the right of public meeting, and +the only excuse for it was that it was passed under the fear of a +revolutionary movement, and limited in duration to a period of five years.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SOCIAL LEGISLATION.</i></div> + +<p>Nor can it be denied that, as a whole, this restrictive code<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> was +successful. From a modern point of view it may appear less arbitrary than +the suspension of the <i>habeas corpus</i> act for a whole year (1817-18), but +it was assuredly tainted with a reactionary spirit, and was capable of +being worked in a way inconsistent with civil liberty. That it was not so +worked, on the whole, and caused less hardship than had been anticipated, +was not so much the result of changes in the government itself, as of +economic progress in the nation, aided by a healthier growth of public +opinion. The violence which marked the early stages of the reform movement +has been described as a safety-valve against anarchy; it was, in reality, +the chief obstacle to a sound and comprehensive reform bill. While it +lasted, the middle classes and liberals of moderate views were estranged +from the cause; when it ceased, the demand for a new representative system +became irresistible.</p> + +<p>Whatever allowance may be made for the coercive policy of the government +during the dark period of storm and stress which succeeded the great war, +it is hard to find any excuse for its neglect of social legislation. Then, +if ever, was a time when the work of Pitt's best days should have been +resumed, when real popular grievances should have been redressed, and when +the long arrears of progressive reform should have been gradually +redeemed. Yet very little was done to better the lot of men, women, and +children in Great Britain, and that little was chiefly initiated by +individuals. In 1816, on the motion of a private member, an inquiry was +commenced into the state of the metropolitan police, which disclosed most +scandalous abuses, such as the habitual association of thieves and +thief-takers, encouraged by the grants of blood-money which had been +continued since the days of Jonathan Wild. In 1817 a committee sanctioned +by the ministers recommended a measure for the gradual abolition of +sinecures, which then figured prominently in the domestic charter of +reform. Their recommendations were adopted, and a large number of sinecure +offices were swept away. But inasmuch as sinecures had been largely given +to persons who had held public offices of business, it was thought +necessary to institute pensions to an amount not exceeding one-half of the +reduction. In 1816 a private member, named Curwen, brought forward a +fanciful scheme of his own for the amendment of the poor laws, which in +effect anticipated modern projects<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> of old age pensions. He obtained the +appointment of a select committee, which reported in 1817, but their +proposals were thoroughly inadequate, and no sensible improvement came of +them.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_138" id="TOPIC_138"></a>It was also in 1816 that the cause of national education, the importance +of which had been vainly urged by Whitbread, was taken up in earnest by +Brougham. His motion for the appointment of a select committee was +confined to the schools of the metropolis. It sat at intervals until 1818, +when its powers were enlarged, and its labours somewhat diverted into a +searching exposure of mismanagement in endowed charities. The one direct +fruit of the committee was the creation of the charity commission, but in +the opinion of Brougham himself it was of the highest value in opening the +whole education question. The almost universal prevalence of distress in +1817, and the excessive burden thrown upon poor rates, induced parliament +to authorise an expenditure of £750,000 in Great Britain and Ireland for +the employment of the labouring poor on public works. A far sounder and +more fruitful measure of relief owes its origin to the same year. It was +now that the institution of savings banks, hitherto promoted only by +single philanthropists, emerged from the experimental stage and claimed +the attention of parliament. A bill for their regulation, introduced by +Pitt's friend, George Rose, did not pass into an act; but the +establishment of savings banks was now directly encouraged by the +legislature, and there were thoughtful men who already dimly foresaw the +manifold benefits of their future development.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CURRENCY QUESTION.</i></div> + +<p>In the year 1819 was initiated a very important reform in the currency, +which had long been delayed. When the bullion committee reported in 1810, +Bank of England notes were at a discount of about 13½ per cent. There +were several reasons why this should be the case. Continental trade was +then compelled to pass through British ports, and a large supply of gold +was needed to serve as the medium of this trade. There was also a steady +drain of gold to the Spanish peninsula to meet war expenses, while +troubles in South America diminished the annual output of the precious +metals. In 1811 Bank of England notes were made legal tender, but no +further action was then taken, and the depreciation continued until 1814. +The magnificent harvest of 1813, together with other causes, brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +about a sudden fall of prices, in consequence of which no less than 240 +country banks stopped payment in the years 1814-16. The decrease and +popular distrust of private banknotes produced an increased demand for +Bank of England notes, which in 1817 had nearly risen in value to a par +with gold. In 1819, when they were at a discount of only 4½ per cent., +a committee was appointed by the house of commons to reconsider the policy +of resuming cash payments, and Peel, young as he was, became its chairman. +In this character he abandoned his preconceived views and induced the +house to adopt those which had been advocated by Horner. It was not +thought prudent to fix an earlier date than 1823 for the actual resumption +of cash payments, but the directors of the Bank of England anticipated +this date, and began to exchange notes for specie on May 1, 1821. The new +standard was definitely one of gold. A considerable fall of prices ensued, +and it is still a disputed question whether the return to a single +standard was entirely beneficial.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_139" id="TOPIC_139"></a>But for what is called the public, the readers of newspapers and the +frequenters of clubs or taverns, the rivalry of party leaders or the +incidents of court life excite a much keener interest than painful efforts +for the good of the humbler classes. During the closing years of George +III.'s reign there were no party conflicts of special intensity. The whigs +acquiesced in their self-imposed exclusion from office, and contented +themselves with damaging criticism; the radicals had not yet acquired the +confidence or respect of the electors. Liverpool remained prime minister; +Castlereagh, foreign secretary; Sidmouth, home secretary; Vansittart, +chancellor of the exchequer. Meanwhile there were startling vicissitudes +in the fortunes of the royal family. The king, indeed, remained under the +cloud of mental derangement which darkened the last ten years of his life, +and the Princess of Wales, who had been the object of so much scandal, was +now out of sight and residing abroad. The Princess Charlotte, however, the +only daughter of the regent, had centred in herself the loyalty and hopes +of the nation in a remarkable degree, and was credited, not unjustly, with +private virtues and public sympathies contrasting strongly with the +disposition of her father. Her marriage with Prince Leopold of +Saxe-Coburg, who bore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> a high character, had been hailed with national +enthusiasm, for it was known that, like Queen Victoria, she had been +carefully trained and had disciplined herself, physically and morally, for +the duties of a throne. It has been truly said that her death in +childbirth, on November 6, was the great historical event of 1817. The +prince regent, with his constitution weakened by dissipation, was not +expected to survive her long, and so long as his wife lived there was no +prospect of other legitimate issue, unless he could procure a divorce. +There was no grandchild of George III. who could lawfully inherit the +crown, and the apprehension of a collateral succession became more and +more generally felt.<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_140" id="TOPIC_140"></a>In the following year four royal marriages were announced. The Princess +Elizabeth espoused the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; the Duke of Clarence, +the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen; the Duke of Cambridge, the +Princess Augusta of Hesse; the Duke of Kent, the Princess Victoria Mary of +Saxe-Coburg. The Duke of Sussex was already married, but not with the +necessary consent of the crown, and the Duke of Cumberland was childless, +having married three years earlier a divorced widow whom the queen, for +private reasons, declined to receive. It is a striking proof of the +discredit into which the royal family had fallen, since the old king +virtually ceased<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> to reign, that parliament, in spite of its anxiety about +the succession, displayed an almost niggardly parsimony when it was moved +to increase the allowances of the princes about to marry. No application +was made on behalf of the Princess Elizabeth or the Duke of Sussex, who +was already married morganatically. The additional grant of £6,000 a year +asked on behalf of the Duke of Cumberland was refused by a small majority, +partly, no doubt, because his anti-liberal opinions and untrustworthy +character were no secret to public men. £10,000 a year was asked for the +Duke of Clarence, and justified by Canning as less than he might fairly +have claimed, but it was reduced to £6,000 and declined by the duke as +inadequate; he afterwards married without a parliamentary grant. The +provision of £6,000 a year for the Dukes of Cambridge and Kent +respectively was stoutly opposed but ultimately carried. Of all George +III.'s sons, the Duke of Kent was perhaps the most respected. It has been +truly said that if the nation could have expressed its dearest wish, in +the spirit of prophecy, after the death of the Princess Charlotte, it +would have been that the issue of the Duke of Kent's marriage with Prince +Leopold's sister might succeed, as Queen Victoria, to the crown of her +grandfather.<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE DEATH OF GEORGE III.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_141" id="TOPIC_141"></a>On November 17, 1818, Queen Charlotte died, having filled her great and +most difficult position for nearly sixty years with sound judgment, +exemplary moral integrity, and a certain homely dignity. The Duke of York +succeeded her as guardian of the king's person. Little more than a year +later she was followed to the grave by the Duke of Kent, who died on +January 23, 1820, and by the king himself, who died on January 29, in the +eighty-second year of his age. He was not a great sovereign, but, as a +man, he was far superior to his two predecessors, and must ever stand +high, if not highest, in the gallery of our kings. His venerable figure, +though shrouded from view, was a chief mainstay of the monarchy. Narrow as +his views were, and obstinately as he adhered to them, he was not +incapable of changing them, and could show generosity towards enemies, as +he ever showed fidelity to friends. His reception of Franklin after the +American war, and of Fox after the death of Pitt, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> that of a king who +understood his kingly office; and his strict devotion to business, +regardless of his own pleasure, could not have been exceeded by a merchant +engrossed in lucrative trade. The many pithy and racy sayings recorded of +him show an insight into men's characters and the realities of life not +unworthy of Dr. Johnson. His simplicity, kindliness, and charity endeared +him to his subjects. His undaunted courage and readiness to undertake sole +responsibility, not only during the panics of the Gordon riots and of the +impending French invasion, but in many a political crisis, compelled the +respect of all his ministers, and his disappearance from the scenes, to +make way for the regency of his eldest son, was almost as disastrous for +English society as the exchange, in France, of Louis XIV.'s decorous rule +for that of the Regent Orléans.</p> + +<p>The European concert which had been called into existence by the war +against Napoleon, and had effected a continental settlement at Vienna, +continued to act for the maintenance of peace. The treaty of alliance of +1815 only bound the four powers to common action in the event of a fresh +revolution in France which might endanger the tranquillity of other +states. The holy alliance was more comprehensive and wider in its aims, +but was too vague to form the practical basis of a federation. The +settlement of Europe by the treaty of Vienna was, however, the work of all +the powers, and they had therefore an interest in everything that might be +likely to affect that settlement. The habit of concerted action, once +formed, was not lightly abandoned, and the succeeding age was an age of +congresses. But though there was a general sentiment in favour of +concerted action it manifested itself in different ways. The causes of the +recent struggle with France had been political in their origin, and it was +agreed that a recurrence of disorder from France could be best prevented +by the establishment of a government in that country which should be at +once constitutional and legitimist. England favoured, and Russia, the most +autocratic of states, favoured still more vehemently, the development of +constitutions wherever it might be practicable, while Austria, being +composed of territories with no national cohesion, endeavoured rather to +thwart the growth of constitutions. But Russia was also the most active +advocate of joint interference where a constitutional reform was effected +by unconstitutional<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> means. Great Britain and Austria, on the other hand, +with a juster instinct, considered armed interference an extreme remedy +which might often be worse than the disease of a revolution.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ROYALIST REACTION IN EUROPE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_142" id="TOPIC_142"></a>The numerous restorations of 1814 and 1815 were followed by a royalist and +aristocratic reaction in many countries of Europe. In France Louis XVIII. +found himself confronted by an ultra-royalist chamber of deputies which +clamoured for vengeance on the partisans of the republican and imperial +<i>régimes</i> and for the restoration of the privileges and estates of the +Church. Ferdinand VII. of Spain swept away the unwieldy constitution of +1812 amid the rejoicings of his people, who little foresaw his future +tyranny; and Great Britain did not venture to resist the action of +Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies in abolishing a constitution which British +influence had induced him to grant his island kingdom in 1813. In Prussia +the government dealt sternly with the liberal press, and the provincial +estates opposed the institution of a national diet; while in Würtemberg a +parliament assembled under a liberal constitution demanded the restoration +of the ancient privileges of the nobility and clergy. In the Two Sicilies +British influence, supported by that of Austria, was used to prevent +outrages on the defeated party; in Spain the moderate counsels of Great +Britain were less successful. Austria endeavoured to prevent future +disturbance in the Italian peninsula by a secret treaty, which obtained +the sanction of the British government, requiring the Two Sicilies to +adopt no constitutional changes inconsistent with the principles adopted +by Austria in the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. Similar treaties were +concluded by Austria with Tuscany, Modena, and Parma, and she thus gained +an ascendency in Italy, from which only Sardinia and the papal states were +exempt. Russian agents meanwhile began to conduct a liberal propaganda in +Spain and Italy, and Russia was even credited with a desire to make a +liberalised Spain a counterpoise to England on the sea.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_143" id="TOPIC_143"></a>For a time, however, there were no European complications of a formidable +nature. In 1816 a British squadron was sent out under Lord Exmouth lo +execute the decree of the congress of Vienna against the Barbary states. +The Dey of Algiers and the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli were called upon to +recognise the Ionian Islands as British, to accept British media<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>tion +between them and the courts of the Two Sicilies and Sardinia, to restore +their Christian captives, and not to authorise further piracy. These terms +were accepted by the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli, and the two first demands +were granted by the Dey of Algiers. He was allowed a delay of three months +in order to obtain the sultan's permission for granting the remainder, but +in the interval a massacre of Italian fishermen took place at Bona. Lord +Exmouth now sailed from Gibraltar to attack Algiers. On his demands being +again ignored, he bombarded that city on August 27 for more than six +hours. The arsenal and storehouses and all the ships in the port were +burned, and on the next day the dey accepted Exmouth's terms; peace was +signed on the 30th, the principal terms being the abolition of Christian +slavery, and the delivery of all slaves to Exmouth on the following day.</p> + +<p>The treaty of Vienna in placing the Ionian Islands under British +protection had made no mention of the towns of Parga and Butrinto on the +mainland of Epirus which had passed under British rule along with the +islands. These places were now surrendered to Turkey in accordance with a +former treaty, in return for the Turkish recognition of the British +protectorate over the islands. The inhabitants of Parga were, however, +vehemently opposed to such a transference of their allegiance, and they +were conveyed to the Ionian Islands and compensated for the loss of their +property. The Turks entered into occupation of Parga in 1819. In 1817 and +1818 wild rumours of Russian aggression in the direction of the +Mediterranean began to circulate in England. It was reported that Spain +had promised to cede Port Mahon to Russia; and that Russia was preparing a +great military force, to be employed, if necessary, in alliance with the +Bourbon states, France, Spain, and the Two Sicilies, to counteract British +and Austrian influence. This influence, with that of Prussia, had really +been employed to keep the Dardanelles closed against Russian ships. +Meanwhile Austria had won over Prussia to her conservative policy in +Germany.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_144" id="TOPIC_144"></a>The violent language of the liberal party, especially at the universities, +already began to terrify the Prussian government. The first danger signal +was given at the Wartburg festival of delegates from the German +universities in 1817, at which the students indulged in some boyish +manifestations of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> sympathies; their proceedings made some stir in +Germany, and Metternich declared that they were revolutionary. The horror +of liberalism was destined to be heightened in 1819 by the murder of the +tsar's agent, the dramatist Kotzebue, by a lunatic member of a political +society at Giessen. Its immediate result was a conference of German +ministers at Carlsbad, where several resolutions for the suppression of +political agitation were passed, and afterwards adopted by the diet at +Frankfort. This policy was embodied in the "final act" of a similar +conference held at Vienna in the following year (1820), which empowered +the greater states of Germany to aid the smaller in checking revolutionary +movements. At the same time it reaffirmed the general principle of +non-intervention, and even laid down the pregnant doctrine that +constitutions could not be legitimately altered except by constitutional +means. The union of Austria and Prussia on the conservative side had +rather the effect of throwing the secondary states of southern Germany +upon the liberal side. In the spring and summer of 1818 Bavaria and Baden +framed constitutions, and in 1819 Würtemberg once more essayed +parliamentary government, which the reactionary policy of her first +parliament had compelled her to abandon. The significant fact in European +politics was that Frederick William III. of Prussia, always accustomed to +being led, had passed from the influence of Russia to that of Austria.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CONFERENCE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_145" id="TOPIC_145"></a>Such were the general tendencies of European politics when the conference +of Aix-la-Chapelle assembled on September 30, 1818. The primary object of +this conference was to consider the request of France for a reduction in +the indemnity demanded of her and for the evacuation of her territories by +the four allied powers. Wellington and Castlereagh, who represented Great +Britain, earned the gratitude of France by readily agreeing to these +requests, which were granted without any difficulty. This question was +obviously one which required such a conference to settle it; but the +conference, having once assembled, was urged to deal with other +difficulties that less directly concerned it. One of these was a dispute +between Denmark and Sweden about the apportionment of the Danish debt, +which, in consideration of the annexation of Norway to Sweden, under the +treaty of Kiel, was to be partly borne by Sweden. Denmark appealed to the +four powers, representing that treaty as in fact a part of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> own +settlement of Europe. Sweden would not admit the right of the powers to +intervene, but finally settled her difficulty with Denmark by a separate +negotiation conducted by the mediation of Great Britain in 1819.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_146" id="TOPIC_146"></a>A still more doubtful question was raised by the request of Spain for the +assistance of the allied powers against her revolted colonies. The Spanish +dependencies in America had declined to acknowledge Joseph Bonaparte, and +had lapsed into a state of chaos; the restoration of Ferdinand VII. had +induced most of them to return to their allegiance, but the three +south-eastern colonies, Banda Oriental (Uruguay), La Plata (the +Argentine), and Paraguay, continued in revolt. In 1817 fortune turned +still further against Spain; Monte Video, the capital of Banda Oriental, +was taken by Portugal, or rather by Brazil, and Chile revolted against +Spain. On February 12, 1818, Chile proclaimed her independence, and she +began at once to procure warships in England and the United States, of +which Lord Cochrane took command. The four allied powers and France had +protested against the seizure of Monte Video, but otherwise Spain had been +left to herself. Great Britain seemed to have more to gain than to lose by +the insurrection. The revolted colonies were open to her commerce, and by +weakening Spain they had strengthened the maritime supremacy of Great +Britain. Nevertheless Great Britain was willing to mediate, on condition +that Spain would make reasonable concessions. Spain, however, refused to +make any concessions at all, and called on the allied powers to aid her in +crushing the insurrection by force. Great Britain did not regard an +unconditional subjection of the colonies as either expedient or +practicable, and opposed this course; Austria took the same view, and thus +placed intervention out of the question.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_147" id="TOPIC_147"></a>But the principal question before the conference of Aix-la-Chapelle was +not one relating to any particular difficulty, but the permanent form of +the European alliance. The tsar desired a general confederacy of European +powers, such as had signed the treaty of Vienna and the holy alliance. +This confederacy was to guard against two evils—that of revolutionary +agitation and that of arbitrary administration and sectional alliances. +Such a project, though doubtless proposed in good faith, practically gave +Russia an interest in the domestic movements, both<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> reactionary and +constitutional, of every country, while it forbade any political +combination to which Russia was not a party. Castlereagh agreed with +Metternich in thinking that such an extension of Russian Influence was +more to be dreaded than local disorder, and Great Britain and Austria +proposed therefore that the alliance should be based on the treaty of +Chaumont, as renewed at Vienna and Paris, though they were willing to have +friendly discussions from time to time without extending the scope of the +alliance. All parties desired to include France in their alliance, but the +tsar pertinently objected that France could not be admitted to an alliance +aimed solely against France. A compromise was therefore adopted. The +quadruple alliance for war, in case of a revolution in France, was +secretly renewed, and centres for mobilisation were fixed, while France +was publicly invited to join the deliberations of the allied powers. A +secret protocol was then signed providing for the meeting of congresses +from time to time, and giving the minor European powers a place in these +congresses when their affairs should be under discussion.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> For details of the riots see <i>Annual Register</i>, lviii. +(1816), 60-73. They were particularly numerous in May, 1816, and in the +counties of Cambridge, Essex, and Suffolk. At Littleport in +Cambridgeshire, on May 24, it was found necessary to fire on the rioters. +Two men were killed and five were afterwards executed.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> Greville, <i>Memoirs</i>, i., 2; Walpole, <i>History of England</i>, +i., 392, 393.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> +The curious may be interested in the following list of the +names and ages of the persons who stood next in order of succession to the +crown after the death of Princess Charlotte. It will be observed that of +the fourteen who stood nearest the throne, not one was under forty years +of age, and not one had a legitimate child:—</p> + +<table summary="Line of Succession"> + <tr> + <td colspan="2"> </td> + <td>Age.</td> + <td>Relation to king.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">1.</td> + <td>George, Prince Regent</td> + <td class="center">55</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Son.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">2.</td> + <td>Frederick, Duke of York</td> + <td class="center">54</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Son.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">3.</td> + <td>William, Duke of Clarence</td> + <td class="center">52</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Son.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">4.</td> + <td>Edward, Duke of Kent</td> + <td class="center">50</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Son.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">5.</td> + <td>Ernest, Duke of Cumberland</td> + <td class="center">46</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Son.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">6.</td> + <td>Augustus, Duke of Sussex</td> + <td class="center">44</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Son.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">7.</td> + <td>Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge</td> + <td class="center">43</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Son.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">8.</td> + <td>Charlotte, Queen-Dowager of Würtemberg</td> + <td class="center">51</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Daughter.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">9.</td> + <td>Princess Augusta</td> + <td class="center">48</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Daughter.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">10.</td> + <td>Princess Elizabeth</td> + <td class="center">47</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Daughter.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">11.</td> + <td>Mary, Duchess of Gloucester</td> + <td class="center">41</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Daughter.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">12.</td> + <td>Princess Sophia</td> + <td class="center">40</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Daughter.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">13.</td> + <td>William, Duke of Gloucester</td> + <td class="center">41</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Nephew.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">14.</td> + <td>Princess Sophia of Gloucester</td> + <td class="center">44</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Niece.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="ralign">15.</td> + <td>Charles, Duke of Brunswick</td> + <td class="center">13</td> + <td style="padding-left:1em;">Great nephew.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> See, however, the <i>Creevey Papers</i>, i., 268-71, 284.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST YEARS OF LORD LIVERPOOL.</h3> + + +<p>The only important events of domestic interest in the year 1820, after the +death of George III., were the Cato Street conspiracy, and the so-called +trial of Queen Caroline. For the accession of the king, who had so long +exercised royal functions as regent, produced no visible effect either on +the personal composition or on the general policy of the government. +Immediately after his proclamation he was attacked by a dangerous illness, +but on his recovery he promptly raised two questions which nearly involved +a change of ministry. One of these was a proposal to increase his private +revenue, which he was induced to abandon for the present. The other was a +demand for a divorce, which the ministers firmly resisted, though they +ultimately agreed to a compromise, under which the divorce question was to +be deferred, so long as the queen remained quietly abroad, but action was +to be taken in case she returned to assert her rights.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CATO STREET CONSPIRACY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_148" id="TOPIC_148"></a>In the midst of these difficulties the lives of the ministers were +threatened by a plot somewhat like those of the seventeenth century. Later +writers have represented it as contemptible in its conception, and as +directly provoked by the "Manchester massacre". So it may be said that Guy +Fawkes was an insignificant person, and that his employers were +exasperated by the severe treatment of popish recusants. The facts are +that Arthur Thistlewood, the author of the Cato Street conspiracy, was a +well-known confederate of the Watsons and other members of the extreme +reform party, and that his plan for murdering the assembled cabinet in a +private house would probably have been effectual, had it not been detected +by the aid of an informer. This informer, Edwards, had warned the +authorities in Novem<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>ber, 1819, of the impending stroke, and may or may +not have instigated Thistlewood's gang to execute it at a moment and place +well-calculated to secure their arrest. At all events twenty-four +conspirators armed themselves in Cato Street, near the Edgware Road, +London, for the purpose of assassinating the ministers at a cabinet dinner +in Harrowby's house in Grosvenor Square, and some of their associates were +posted near the door of that house to summon them when the guests should +have assembled. Harrowby's dinner was of course put off, but the watchers +were deceived by the arrival of carriages for a dinner party next door, +and failed to apprise the gang in Cato Street. The police rushed in upon +the gang, but a body of soldiers ordered to support them reached the spot +too late, a policeman was stabbed, and Thistlewood, with twelve or +fourteen others, contrived to escape. He was captured the next morning, +and executed with four of his accomplices, five more were transported for +life, and the atrocity of the enterprise was naturally treated in the +king's speech as a justification for the repressive measures in operation. +In the following April a petty outbreak in Scotland was easily put down by +a few troops at a place called Bonnymuir. It was, however, preceded by a +treasonable proclamation, which spread terror among the citizens of +Glasgow for several hours, and was sufficiently like an attempt at armed +rebellion to confirm the alarm excited by the Cato Street conspiracy. In +the face of such warnings, the energy of the government in stamping out +disorder could hardly be censured.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_149" id="TOPIC_149"></a>The last parliament of George III. was prorogued on February 28, 1820, and +dissolved on the following day. One of its last debates was on Lord John +Russell's proposal to suspend the issue of writs to the boroughs of +Grampound, Penryn, Barnstaple, and Camelford. This was carried in the +house of commons, but lost in the house of lords. The new parliament was +opened by George IV. in person on April 21. Widespread excitement +occasioned by the question of the divorce prevented the business of the +first session from attracting much attention. A deficit in the revenue, +coinciding with growing expenditure, compelled Vansittart to fall back on +a fresh manipulation of the sinking fund. One measure, however, of the +highest importance was introduced by Brougham. The committee of 1814 on +national education had amassed a great body of valuable evidence,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> and he +now founded upon its report a comprehensive bill extending to the whole +country. It placed the management and teaching of elementary schools +entirely in the hands of Churchmen, and was dropped after the first +reading, but the conscience of the nation was roused by it, and it bore +fruit later. Further slight mitigations of the criminal law were carried +as a result of attacks made by Sir James Mackintosh, upon whom the mantle +of Romilly had fallen, and it is worthy of notice that even Eldon, the +stout opponent of such mitigations, condemned the use of spring-guns, as a +safeguard against poaching. The only ministerial change in this year was +the final retirement in May of Lord Mulgrave, who had held high office in +every ministry except that of Grenville since 1804, and had voluntarily +surrendered his post at the head of the ordnance in 1818 to make room for +Wellington.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>QUEEN CAROLINE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_150" id="TOPIC_150"></a>The "queen's trial," as it is erroneously called, was the last act but one +in a domestic tragedy which had lasted twenty-five years. The Princess +Caroline of Brunswick was a frivolous and ill-disciplined young woman when +she was selected by George III. as a wife for the heir-apparent, already +united and really attached to Mrs. Fitzherbert. The princess could not +have been married to a man less capable of drawing out the better side of +her character, nor was she one to inspire his selfish and heartless nature +with a sentiment, if not of conjugal love, yet of conjugal friendship. +From the first there was no pretence of affection between them. A few +years after her marriage she was relegated, not unwillingly, to live +independently at Blackheath, where many eminent men accepted her +hospitality. During this period, as we have seen, a "delicate +investigation" into her conduct was instituted in 1806. Though she emerged +from it with less stain on her character than had been expected, she never +enjoyed the respect of the royal family or of the nation, and there was no +question of her sharing the home of her husband. Instead of being a bond +of concord between them, the education of her daughter was the subject of +constant discord, requiring the frequent intervention of the old king +until he lost his reason. After she went abroad in 1814, she travelled +widely, but her English attendants soon retired from her service, and she +incurred fresh suspicion by her flighty and undignified conduct. She had +no part in the rejoicing for the marriage, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> in the mourning for the +death, of the Princess Charlotte; and in 1818 a secret commission, +afterwards known as the Milan commission, was sent out by the prince +regent to collect evidence for a divorce suit. Not only Liverpool, but +Eldon, who had formerly stood her friend, concurred in the appointment of +this commission, promoted by Sir John Leach, and its report was the +foundation of the proceedings now taken against her.</p> + +<p>These proceedings were immediately due to her own action in returning to +England in June, 1820, but this action was not wholly unprovoked. She had +long and bitterly resented her official exclusion from foreign courts, and +when, after the king's accession, her name was omitted from the +prayer-book, she protested against it as an intolerable insult. Contrary +to the advice of her wisest partisans, including Brougham, she persisted +in braving the wrath of the king and throwing herself upon the people. She +was received at Dover with acclamations from immense multitudes; and her +journey to and through London was a continued ovation. Not that her +innocence was established even in the popular mind, but that, innocent or +guilty, she was regarded as a persecuted woman, and persecuted by a +worthless husband. The ministry fulfilled its promise to the king by +moving the house of lords to institute an inquiry into the queen's +conduct. Pending this, conferences took place between Wellington and +Castlereagh, on the part of the king, and Brougham and Denman on that of +the queen. It was at once laid down as a preliminary basis of the +negotiation that neither should the king be understood to retract, nor the +queen to admit, any allegation against her. The points upon which she +inflexibly insisted were, the recognition of her royal status at foreign +courts, through an official introduction by the British ambassador, and +the insertion of her name in the prayer-book.</p> + +<p>The house of commons, on the motion of Wilberforce, offered to protect her +honour (whatever that might import) on condition of her waiving this last +point, but she courteously declined its conciliatory proposals on June 22. +On July 4 a secret committee of the house of lords recommended a solemn +investigation, to be carried out "in the course of a legislative +proceeding," and on the 8th Liverpool introduced a bill of pains and +penalties, to deprive her of her title, and to dissolve her marriage. The +second reading of this bill was formally set down for August<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> 17, and for +several weeks afterwards the house of lords was occupied in hearing +evidence in support of the charges against her. The whole country was +deluged with the squalid details of this evidence, the ministers were +insulted, and the sympathy of the populace with her cause was obtrusively +displayed in every part of the kingdom. On October 3, after an adjournment +of the lords, Brougham opened the defence in the most celebrated of his +speeches. On November 2 the lord chancellor, Eldon, moved the second +reading of the bill, and on the 8th it was carried by a majority of +twenty-eight. Four days later, on the third reading, the majority had +dwindled to nine only. Knowing the temper of the house of commons, +Liverpool treated such a victory as almost equivalent to a defeat, and +announced that the government would not proceed further with the measure.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_151" id="TOPIC_151"></a>Had the queen possessed the virtue of self-respect or dignity, she would +have been satisfied with this legislative, though not morally decisive, +acquittal. But she was intoxicated with popular applause, largely due to +her royal consort's vices, and, after London had been illuminated for +three nights in her honour, she declined overtures from the government, +and appealed for a maintenance to the house of commons, which granted her +an annuity of £50,000 in the next session. But she never lived to enjoy it +After going in procession to St. Paul's, to return thanks for her +deliverance, on the 29th, and vainly attempting, once more, to procure the +mention of her name in the prayer-book, she concentrated her efforts on a +claim of right to be crowned with the king. No government could have +conceded this claim, and, when it had been refused by the privy council, +her solemn protests were inevitably vain. Even her least prudent +counsellors would assuredly have dissuaded her from the attempt which she +made to force an entrance into Westminster Abbey on the coronation day, +July 19, 1821. It was a painful scene when she, who had so lately been the +idol of the fickle populace, was turned away from the doors amidst +conflicting exclamations of derision and pity. A fortnight later, on +August 2, she was officially reported to be seriously ill; on the 7th she +was no more. In accordance with her own direction her body was buried at +Brunswick. Her ill-founded popularity was shown for the last time, when a +riotous multitude succeeded in diverting her funeral procession, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +forcing it to pass through the city on its way to Harwich. But it did not +survive her long; the people were becoming tired of her, and the king, who +had forfeited the respect of the middle and upper classes, was less hated +by the lower classes after her death.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>GEORGE IV. IN IRELAND.</i></div> + +<p>The personal character and opinions of George IV. seem to have influenced +politics less during the early years of his reign than during his long +regency. His coronation was celebrated with unprecedented magnificence, +and amidst external demonstrations of loyalty, hard to reconcile with the +unbounded enthusiasm which the queen had so lately inspired. Soon +afterwards, he sailed in his yacht from Portsmouth on a voyage to Ireland, +but put into Holyhead and there awaited news of the queen's expected +death. This reached him at last, and probably impressed him, no less than +his ministers, as "the greatest of all possible deliverances, both to his +majesty and the country".<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> He proceeded to Dublin in one of the +earliest steam-packets, and secluded himself until "the corpse of his wife +was supposed to have left England".<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a> He then plunged into a round of +festivities, and pleased all classes of Irishmen by his affable and +condescending manners. He was, indeed, the first sovereign of England who +had appeared in Ireland on a mission of peace. John William Ward, +afterwards fourth Viscount Dudley in his letters, describes him as having +behaved like a popular candidate on an electioneering trip, and surmises +that "if the day before he left Ireland, he had stood for Dublin, he might +have turned out Shaw or Grattan ".<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> Certain it is that his visit to +Ireland was regarded as an important political event. The same kind of +success attended his visit to Scotland in August of the following year, +1822. Thenceforth, he scarcely figures in political life until the +resignation of Lord Liverpool in 1827, and though he consented with +reluctance to Canning's tenure of the foreign office, he did not attempt +to interfere with the change in foreign policy consequent upon it. He was, +in fact, sinking more and more into an apathetic voluptuary; but he could +rouse himself, and exhibit some proofs of ability, under the impulse of +his brothers, the honest Duke of York and the arch-intriguer, the Duke of +Cumberland.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> + +<p>The cry for retrenchment, now taken up by the country gentlemen, and not +unmingled with suggestions for a partial repudiation of the national debt, +compelled the government to adopt a policy of strict economy. Accordingly, +in 1822, Vansittart introduced a scheme for the conversion of the +so-called "Navy 5 per cents.," which resulted in a saving of above +£1,000,000 annually. He also carried a more questionable scheme for the +payment of military, naval, and civil pensions, which then amounted to +£4,900,000 a year, but were falling in rapidly; the money required for +this purpose was to be borrowed by trustees, and was to be repaid in the +course of forty-five years at the rate of £2,800,000 a year; in this way +an immediate saving of about £2,000,000 annually was effected at the cost, +however, of the next generation. By means of these expedients, with a +considerable reduction of official salaries, the government was enabled to +repeal the additional duty on malt, to diminish the duties on salt and +leather, and, on the whole to remit about £3,500,000 of taxes. When the +entire credit of financial reform is given to Huskisson, Joseph Hume, and +other economists of the new school, it should not be forgotten that a +beginning was made by economists of the old school, before Huskisson +joined the government in 1823, or Robinson took Vansittart's place as +chancellor of the exchequer.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_152" id="TOPIC_152"></a>From the beginning of this reign a more enlightened spirit may be traced +in parliamentary debates. This was aided by the growth of a constitutional +movement in favour of reform in parliament as the first step towards a +redress of grievances. The movement left its first trace on the +statute-book in a measure carried by Lord John Russell in the session of +1821 for the disfranchisement of Grampound, though the vacant seats were +transferred to the county of York, instead of to the "village" of Leeds or +some other of the great unrepresented cities. This was the first instance +of the actual disfranchisement of a constituency, though it was not +without precedent that the franchise of a corrupt borough should be +extended to the freeholders of the surrounding district. A notable sign of +the progressive change was the reconstruction of the cabinet in 1822. +Liverpool, who always possessed the gift of working harmoniously with +colleagues of different views and felt the weakness of his present +ministry, once more attempted to bring about a coalition<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> with the +Grenville party in the opposition. Grenville had long been drifting away +from his alliance with Grey, and had been a stout advocate of repressive +legislation which the more advanced whigs opposed. Though he declined +office for himself, several of his relatives and adherents were rewarded +with minor appointments, his cousin, Charles Wynn, became president of the +board of control, in succession to Bragge-Bathurst, who had himself +succeeded Canning in the previous year, and his nephew, the Marquis of +Buckingham, obtained a dukedom. Such recruits added little strength to the +Liverpool government, and Holland well said that "all articles are now to +be had at low prices, except Grenvilles".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE DEATH OF CASTLEREAGH.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_153" id="TOPIC_153"></a>But Liverpool gained far more powerful coadjutors in the Marquis +Wellesley, Peel, and Canning. In December, 1821, Wellesley undertook the +lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, which had relapsed into so disturbed a state +that it had been proposed to make Wellington both viceroy and +commander-in-chief. The significance of this selection was increased by +the appointment of Plunket as attorney-general. Sidmouth, while retaining +his seat in the cabinet, retired, by his own wish, from the office of home +secretary, with a sense of having pacified the country, and was succeeded +by Peel. Castlereagh, now Marquis of Londonderry, remained foreign +secretary, but on August 12, 1822, as he was on the point of setting out +for the congress of Verona, he died, like Whitbread and Romilly, by his +own hand. His suicidal act was clearly due to a morbid fit of depression, +under the stress of anxieties protracted over more than twenty years; and +the disordered state of his mind had been observed, not only by +Wellington, but also by the king. His successor was Canning, who also +became leader of the house of commons.</p> + +<p>The characters and political aims of these rival statesmen have often been +contrasted by historians of a later age, who have seldom done justice to +Castlereagh. It is remembered that he was the author of the Walcheren +expedition; it is forgotten that he was the advocate of sending a powerful +force to the Baltic coast at the critical moment between Jena and Eylau, +that he was not altogether responsible for the delays which rendered the +Walcheren expedition abortive or for the choice of its incompetent +commander, that his prime object was to strike a crushing blow at +Napoleon's naval power, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> that, if his instructions had been obeyed, +this would have been effected by a rapid advance upon Antwerp when nearly +all the French troops had been withdrawn from the Netherlands. It is +remembered that he was at the war office when the operations of Wellington +in the Peninsula were crippled for want of supplies; it is forgotten that +it was he who selected Wellington, and that he loyally strained every +nerve to keep him supplied with troops, provisions, and specie, when few +but himself believed in the policy of the Peninsular war, and Sir John +Moore had assured him that if the French dominated Spain, they could not +be resisted in Portugal. It is remembered—or rather it is assumed—that +he was the eager promoter of coercive and reactionary legislation at home; +it is forgotten, or ignored, that he was among the earliest and staunchest +advocates of catholic emancipation, and that a despotic temper is belied +by the whole tone of his speeches. Above all, he is unjustly credited, in +the face of direct evidence to the contrary, with being the champion of +absolutism in the councils of Europe, the fact being not only that his +voice was always on the side of moderation and conciliation, but that +Canning himself, on succeeding him, dissociated Great Britain from the +holy alliance by taking his stand upon an admirable despatch of +Castlereagh and adopting it as his own. When he met with his tragical end, +the brutal shouts of exultation raised by a portion of the crowd at his +funeral were the expression of sheer ignorance and not of intelligent +public opinion. He was a tory, in days when most patriots were tories, but +he was a tory of the best type; and we of a later generation can see that +few statesmen of George III.'s reign have left a purer reputation or +rendered greater services to their country.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CANNING AND PEEL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_154" id="TOPIC_154"></a>George Canning, his successor, has been far more favourably judged by +posterity, and not without reason, if intellectual brilliancy is a supreme +test of political merit. A firm adherent of Pitt, and a somewhat +unscrupulous critic of Addington, he was probably the first parliamentary +orator of the nineteenth century, with the possible exception of Sheridan. +Pitt's eloquence was of a loftier and simpler type, Fox's was more +impetuous and spontaneous; Peel's range of political knowledge was far +wider; Gladstone excelled all, not only in length of experience but in +readiness and dialectical resource. Canning's rhetoric was of a finer +quality and was combined with great debating power,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> but he was a man to +inspire admiration rather than confidence, and had not held one of the +higher political offices since his resignation in 1809, after his quarrel +with Castlereagh. He accepted a mission to Portugal, however, and was in +Lisbon when Napoleon returned from Elba. In 1816, as has been seen, he +became president of the board of control, but, having been formerly one of +the queen's advisers, he declined to have anything to do with her trial +and remained abroad during its continuance. In December, 1820, he +returned, but persisted in resigning his place at the board of control on +the supposed ground that further parliamentary discussion of the queen's +case was inevitable. On this occasion he received a special vote of thanks +from the directors of the East India Company for his services on the +board. The king objected to his readmission after the queen's death, and +he was a private member of parliament when he was offered and undertook +the governor-generalship of India in March, 1822. But his departure was +delayed until August, and he was on his way to bid farewell to his +constituents at Liverpool when Castlereagh destroyed himself. It was +generally felt that no other man was so well qualified as Canning to +succeed him. But the king declared his "final and unalterable decision" to +sanction no such change. Though he afterwards relented, on the +remonstrances of Wellington, he did so with a bad grace; but there was no +delay on Canning's part in accepting the foreign secretaryship thus +offered. From his acceptance may be dated the most remarkable part of his +career.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_155" id="TOPIC_155"></a>The accession of Peel to the Liverpool ministry, in the capacity of home +secretary; was only less important than that of Canning. Hitherto, Peel +had mostly been known to the British public as chief secretary for +Ireland, and as chairman of the committee which, in 1819, recommended the +early resumption of cash payments. In both these posts he displayed a +certain moderation and independence of mind, combined with a rare capacity +for business, which marked him out as a great administrator. This promise +he amply fulfilled as home secretary. He was the first minister of the +crown who took up the philanthropic work of Romilly and Mackintosh, +largely reducing the number of offences for which capital punishment could +be inflicted. He was also the first to reform the police<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> system of +London, and to substitute for a multitude of decrepit watchmen, incapable +of dealing with gangs of active criminals, a disciplined body of stalwart +constables, which has since been copied in every county and large town of +Great Britain. Above all, while he cannot be said to have shown a +statesmanlike insight or foresight of the highest order, he could read the +signs of the times and the temper of his countrymen with a sagacity far +beyond that of his predecessor, Sidmouth, or of such politicians as Eldon +and Castlereagh. In him was represented the domestic policy of Pitt in his +earlier days, as Pitt's financial views were represented in Huskisson, who +had actually served under him.</p> + +<p>Though Huskisson was only made president of the board of trade, in +January, 1823, and not chancellor of the exchequer, it is certain that his +mind controlled that of Robinson, who succeeded Vansittart in that +position. Vansittart, who was created Lord Bexley, succeeded +Bragge-Bathurst as chancellor of the duchy. The cabinet changes were +completed in October by the removal of Wellesley Pole, now Lord +Maryborough, from the office of master of the mint. Huskisson, if any man, +was the leading pioneer of free trade, and there can be little doubt that, +had he not died prematurely, its adoption would have been hastened by ten +or fifteen years. In his first year of office he welcomed petitions for +the repeal of the import duties on foreign wool, but failed to convince +the wool manufacturers that it must be accompanied by the abolition of +export duties on British wool. The proposed reform was, therefore, +dropped, and a like fate befell his attempt in the same year to benefit +the silk trade by abolishing certain vexatious restrictions upon it, +including the practice of fixing the wages of Spitalfields weavers by an +order of the magistrates. For the moment the ignorant outcry of the +journeymen themselves prevailed over their real interests, but in the +following year, 1824, Huskisson carried a much wider measure, providing +that foreign silks, hitherto excluded, should be admitted subject to a +duty of 30 per cent. in and after 1826, and another measure for the joint +relief of wool growers and wool manufacturers which imposed a small duty +of equal amount on the importation and the exportation of wool.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_156" id="TOPIC_156"></a>His great achievement in 1823 was the reform of the navi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>gation laws. +These acts, dating from the commonwealth and the restoration, gave British +shipowners a qualified monopoly of the carrying trade, since they +prohibited the importation of European goods except in British ships or +ships of the producing country, while the importation of goods from other +quarters of the world was confined to British ships only. America had +protested against this exclusive system, and it was abandoned, as regards +the United States, by the treaty of Ghent in 1814. The mercantile states +of Europe soon followed the example of America, and the reciprocity of +duties bill, introduced by Huskisson on June 6, 1823, conceded equal +rights to all countries reciprocating the concession, only retaining the +exclusion against such countries as might reject equality of trade. The +change involved some hardship to shipowners who had built their vessels +with timber bought at prices raised by heavy duties, but they were too +shortsighted to accept the compromise offered by Huskisson. Before long, +however, the act was justified, and the shipowners compensated by a rapid +increase in British shipping.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_157" id="TOPIC_157"></a>For nearly five years after the accession of George IV. the state of the +country was, on the whole, more prosperous, and the industrial classes +were more contented, than in the five years next preceding. Such +restlessness as there was prevailed among farmers and agricultural +labourers rather than among workmen in the manufacturing districts, and in +1823 every branch of manufactures was reported to be flourishing. It is +difficult for a later generation, accustomed to consider 30s. a quarter a +fair price for wheat, to understand the perennial complaints and petitions +of the agricultural interest when 60s. a quarter was regarded as a low +price for wheat, and the cultivation of wheat extended over a vastly +larger area than it does at present. Nor is the difficulty lessened, when +we remember the miserably low rate of wages then paid by farmers. A +partial explanation may be found in the fact that what they saved in wages +they lost in poor rates, and that most agricultural products except corn +were sold at a very small profit. The high poor rates were the result of +the disastrous system of giving allowances to labourers.</p> + +<p>But there were other evils caused by the vicious policy pursued by the +government. The encouragement of home production had led to the enclosure +of land not fit for cultivation, so that a slight fall in prices meant +ruin to many farmers. Moreover, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> corn laws, though framed for the +purpose of arresting fluctuations in price, actually increased +fluctuations and thus enhanced the risks attending agricultural +enterprise. Nor were landlords who had thriven on war prices, and raised +the scale of their establishments as if these prices were to be perpetual, +willing to reduce their rents on the return of peace. Rent was said to +have risen 70 per cent. since 1792; but the landlords were often +embarrassed, because their lands had too often been burdened with +jointures, settlements, and mortgages during the war. It was in their +interest that the act of 1815, which aimed at maintaining war prices, had +been passed. But the deeper reason for all this clamour from the rural +districts was the stagnation of ideas, and incapacity of improvement, +engendered by an artificial monopoly of the national food supply. This was +not the special lesson impressed upon landlords or tenants by Cobbett, +whose violent and delusive writings had a large circulation in the +country. But his teaching was so far beneficial that it quickened the +demand for parliamentary reform, though the fruits of that reform were +destined to be very different from the expectations which he excited.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SPECULATIVE FRENZY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_158" id="TOPIC_158"></a>The spell of general prosperity which, in spite of some distress in the +rural districts, prevailed in the years 1820-23 was somewhat broken in +1824 by strikes and outrages in the manufacturing districts. Strikes for +higher wages naturally arose out of the increase in mill owners' profits, +and the ferocious spirit displayed by the strikers against masters and +fellow-workmen was attributed by reformers to the one-sided operation of +the combination laws. Accordingly, a committee of the house of commons +reported in favour of repealing these laws, and also part of the common +law which treated coercion either by trade unions or by masters as +conspiracy. A bill founded on this report was hastily passed, with the +natural result that strikes broke out in every quarter of the country; +wholesale and cruel oppression was practised by trade unionists, and it +became necessary for parliament to retrace its steps. Under a new act, +passed in 1825, which continued in force until very recent times, trade +unions were recognised as legal, but their worst malpractices were once +more brought within the control of the criminal law.<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> So far the +commercial policy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> of Huskisson was justified, as a whole, by its effects +on trade, and the session of 1824 was closed on June 25 by a cheerful +speech from the king, in which the disturbed state of Ireland was the only +topic suggestive of anxiety. Already, however, the revival of commercial +hopefulness at home, with the opening of new markets in South America, was +paving the way for the most ruinous mania of speculation known in England +since the south sea bubble. It was well that sound and sober-minded +economists now guided the action of the government, and that Liverpool +proved himself a worthy successor of Sir Robert Walpole during the great +financial crisis of 1825.<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a></p> + +<p>The speculative frenzy of 1825 differed from the railway mania of the next +generation in that it had no solid basis of remunerative investment. The +development of the railway system, after the application of locomotive +steam engines to iron tramways, offered a legitimate promise of large +profits, and this promise would have been still more amply realised but +for the shameful waste of capital on competition and law expenses. It was +otherwise with the dupes and victims of the rage for speculation which +possessed all classes of society in 1825, and arose out of an immense +accumulation of wealth for which no safe employment could be found at home +except at a modest rate of interest. The weakening of the hold of Spain on +South America left her colonies open to foreign trade, but the enterprises +there and elsewhere which absorbed the hard-won savings of humble +families, by thousands and tens of thousands, were nearly all chimerical, +and some of them grotesque in their absurdity. Whether or not warming-pans +and skates were actually exported to the tropics, it is certain that +Scotch dairy-women emigrated to Buenos Ayres for the purpose of milking +wild cows and churning butter for people who preferred oil. The incredible +multiplication of bubble-companies was facilitated by a marvellous +cheapness of money, largely due to an inordinate issue of notes by country +bankers, and even by the Bank of England, in spite of the fact that gold +and silver were known to be leaving the country in vast quantities, +especially in the shape of loans to France. The inevitable reaction came +when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> the Bank of England contracted its issue of notes in order to arrest +the drain of gold; goods recklessly bought up had to be sold at a fearful +loss, bills upon which advances had been made proved to be of no value, +and several great London banking houses stopped payment, bringing down in +their fall a much larger number of country banks dependent on them.</p> + +<p>In the month of December, 1825, the crisis was at its height, and it is +stated that within six or seven weeks after the failure of the banking +firm of Pole & Company on the 5th, sixty or seventy banks had broken. The +king's speech in July had congratulated parliament on increasing +prosperity and had betrayed no misgivings about its stability. When the +crash came, however, the ministers showed no want of firmness or resource. +They could not repair the consequences of national folly, but they devoted +themselves with intelligence to a restoration of credit. For this purpose +they suppressed at once the further issue of small notes from country +banks by a high-handed act of authority, for which they admitted that an +act of indemnity might be needed. At the same time they rapidly increased +the supply of small notes from the Bank of England, and of coin from the +mint. Moreover, they induced the Bank of England to establish branches in +a few provincial towns and to make advances upon merchants' goods to the +amount of three millions. It cost a greater effort to break down the +monopoly of the Bank of England by legalising joint-stock banks in the +provinces, though not within a distance of sixty-five miles from London. +Such practical expedients as these, seconded by the good sense of the +mercantile community, proved sufficient to avert a catastrophe only less +disastrous than national bankruptcy. With the subsidence of alarm, the +causes of alarm also subsided, the recuperative powers of the country +reasserted themselves, as during the great war, and the heart-breaking +anxieties of 1825-26 were ignored, if not forgotten, in the political +excitement of 1827.<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ECONOMIC REFORM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_159" id="TOPIC_159"></a>The budgets of 1823-26 indeed mark a memorable advance in financial +reform, which the commercial panic of 1825 scarcely interrupted. There had +been a reduction of the national debt by about £25,000,000. "The poorer +householders had been relieved from the pressure both of house tax and +window tax.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> The manufacturing classes had been encouraged by the +reduction of the duties on silk, wool, and iron. The consuming classes had +been benefited by the reduction of duties on spirits, wines, coffee, and +sugar."<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> Owing to Huskisson's enlightened policy the old navigation +laws had been repealed upon the condition of reciprocity; the combination +laws had been liberally revised; various bounties had been abandoned on +free trade principles, and the monstrous evils of smuggling had been +greatly abated. If the chancellor of the exchequer could show no surplus +in 1826, he could at least boast that after so desperate a crisis there +was no deficit, and he had no reason to be ashamed of Cobbett's nickname, +"Prosperity Robinson," which he owed to his optimism, largely founded upon +facts. Before the close of the year 1826, however, this optimism received +a rude shock. The agitation against the corn laws assumed an acuter form +than ever, and Huskisson prudently deprecated it on the simple ground that +no effective action could be taken in an expiring parliament. Distress had +recurred in the manufacturing districts; mills and power-looms were again +destroyed. The free trade policy of Huskisson was vigorously attacked in +parliament, but it was successfully defended in powerful speeches by +Canning as well as by himself. Ultimately the government, having obtained +limited powers from parliament to admit foreign corn during the temporary +emergency, had the courage to exceed those powers and seek an indemnity +from the next parliament.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_160" id="TOPIC_160"></a>The dissolution of 1826, closing the life of one of the longest +parliaments in modern times, was the prelude to a very eventful year. The +general election brought into prominence the two burning questions of +catholic relief and the corn laws, and unseated for the moment Brougham, +Cobbett, Hunt, and Lord John Russell, but it produced no material change +in the balance of parties. Little was done in the short autumn session, +but when parliament met again early in February, 1827, great events had +already cast their shadows before. The Duke of York, heir-presumptive to +the crown, had died on January 5. He was known to be a strong tory in +politics, but, in spite of this, and of the scandals which attached to his +name in earlier years, he enjoyed a considerable share of popular +confidence. Compared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> with his elder brother, he was respected; he was a +true Englishman, like his father, whom he resembled in character; his +administration of the army had survived hostile criticism, while a +declaration which he had recently made against catholic emancipation had +produced a profound impression on public opinion. Much less was known of +the Duke of Clarence, who stood next in succession. He had already injured +himself in public estimation by declining the increased allowance offered +him, and then claiming it with arrears; nor did he now improve his +position in the eyes of his future subjects by stickling for a larger +addition to it than parliament was disposed to grant. But the Duke of +York's death was followed by a far more important incident. Liverpool was +disabled by illness from attending his funeral, which, occurring in the +depth of winter, proved directly fatal to one of those who were present, +and seriously weakened the constitutions of others, including Canning. On +February 8, the first day of the session, Liverpool was in his place, +though in broken health, and on the 17th he took a feeble part in the +debate on the grant to the Duke of Clarence. On the following morning he +was struck down by a paralytic seizure, and, though his life was prolonged +for two years, he never recovered the use of his faculties.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CLOSE OF LIVERPOOL'S MINISTRY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_161" id="TOPIC_161"></a>Liverpool's disappearance from the political scenes may be said to mark an +epoch in the later history of England. Though only fifty-six years of age, +he had been continuously in office for twenty years, and prime minister +for fifteen, a tenure of power which none of his predecessors had exceeded +except Walpole and Pitt. His lot was cast in the most critical period of +the great war, and in the long night of adversity and anxiety which +ushered in the "thirty years' peace". As foreign secretary he conducted +the negotiations for the peace of Amiens; as home secretary he led the +house of lords and was responsible for the government of Ireland; as +secretary for war and the colonies he gave Wellington a steady, if not +ardent, support in those apparently barren campaigns which strained the +national patience; as prime minister he guided the ship of state in all +the difficulties of foreign and domestic affairs which arose between 1812 +and 1827. Castlereagh may have been the most influential minister in the +earlier years of his administration, and Canning in the later, but he was +never the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> mere tool of either; on the contrary, it Is certain that he was +treated with respect and deference by all his numerous colleagues. In +general capacity and debating power he was inferior to few of them; in +temper, judgment, and experience he was superior to all.</p> + +<p>He may be said to have lived and died without "a policy," in so far as he +forebore to identify himself with any of the great questions then pressing +for solution. His real policy both at home and abroad was one of +moderation and conciliation; he looked at party divisions almost with the +eyes of a permanent official who can work loyally with chiefs of either +party; and he succeeded in keeping together in his cabinet ambitious +rivals who never would have co-operated under any other leader. This is +not the road to fame, neither is it the course which men of imperious +character like Castlereagh, or Canning, or Wellington, in his place, would +have adopted. But Canning and Wellington actually proved themselves +incapable of winning the confidence which Liverpool so long retained, and +the whig government which followed them fell to pieces in two years. +Moderation in statesmanship does not always imply mediocrity of ability; +and if Liverpool failed to see how many institutions needed radical +amendment, he was not so blind as some of his more celebrated associates. +Not only was he more liberal in his views than Eldon and Castlereagh, but +he was less opposed to free trade than most of his cabinet, to +parliamentary reform than Canning, and to catholic emancipation than +Wellington or Peel. His fault was that he did not act upon his own inward +convictions with sufficient promptitude, or assert his own authority with +sufficient energy. Had he done so, the beneficial measures of the last +years of his administration might have been anticipated, and the country +might have been spared much of the misery which darkened the close of +George III.'s reign.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> Lord Londonderry in Twiss, <i>Life of Eldon</i>, ii., 432.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> Harriet Martineau, <i>History of England During the Thirty +Years' Peace</i>, i., 274.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> <i>Letters to Copleston</i>, p. 295.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> Cunningham, <i>Growth of English Industry and Commerce in +Modern Times</i> (edit. 1903), pp. 756-59. Compare Dicey, <i>Law and Opinion in +England</i>, pp. 190-200.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> The graphic description of this crisis in Harriet +Martineau's <i>History of the Thirty Years' Peace</i>, i., 355-66, deserves to +be studied and remembered as a masterpiece of social portraiture by a +contemporary.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> Cunningham, <i>Growth of English Industry and Commerce in +Modern Times</i>, p. 823.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Walpole's <i>History of England</i>, vol. ii., p. 187.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<h3>PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_162" id="TOPIC_162"></a>The events of the year 1820 subjected the European concert to a severe +strain. An insurrection broke out in Spain on January 1, and on March 9 +the king was forced to swear fidelity to the obsolete constitution of +1812. The result was to plunge the country into disorder, as both the +clerical party and the extreme revolutionists refused to accept the +constitution. Meanwhile the assassination by a working man of the Duke of +Berry, who died on February 14, 1820, had occasioned a new royalist +reaction in France, and had increased the general fear of the +revolutionary party. The Bourbon succession had seemed to depend on his +life, for his son, the Count of Chambord, was posthumous. On receiving the +news of the Spanish revolution the tsar, already tiring of his liberal +enthusiasm, fell back on his scheme for exercising paternal discipline +over Europe. He proposed in April that the ambassadors at Paris should +issue a joint remonstrance requiring the Spanish cortes to disavow the +revolution, and to enact severe laws against sedition. Failing this, he +proposed joint intervention, and offered for his own part to send an army +of 15,000 men through North Italy and southern France to co-operate in the +suppression of the revolution. To this Castlereagh replied that England +would never consent to a joint intervention in Spain. Metternich was too +much displeased with the Russian encouragement of secret societies in +Italy to wish to see Russian troops in that country, and both Castlereagh +and Metternich wished to keep Spain free from French influence. In the +face of this opposition Russia could not, and France would not, do +anything, and all thought of intervention was postponed. It was the last +time that Castlereagh was able to assert the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> principle of +non-intervention without breaking up the European concert.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>REVOLUTIONS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_163" id="TOPIC_163"></a>July and August saw three new revolutions. A rebellion at Nola on July 2 +ended in King Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies taking the oath on the 13th to +the Spanish constitution, then regarded as a model by the liberals of +Southern Europe. But the grant of a constitution to Naples suggested a +demand for independence at Palermo. On July 17-18 that city rose in revolt +and was only subdued by the Neapolitans in the beginning of October. +Portugal, too, was in a disturbed state. The royal family had been absent +for nearly thirteen years, and the country had for five years been +governed by Lord, afterwards Viscount, Beresford as marshal and commander +of the Portuguese army. In April, 1820, he sailed for Brazil, intending to +induce the king, John VI., to return. During his absence a revolution took +place at Oporto on August 24, a provisional government was established, +and all British officers were dismissed. This was followed by a similar +revolution at Lisbon on September 15. Beresford on his return was +forbidden to land, and retired to England. On November 11, the Spanish +constitution was proclaimed in Portugal, but six days later another +proclamation left the question of determining the constitution to the +cortes which were to be elected on a popular suffrage.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_164" id="TOPIC_164"></a>The Neapolitan revolution raised at once the question of intervention. In +this case Castlereagh held that Austria had a right to interfere, because +her position as an Italian power was endangered by the revolution, and +because the revolution was a breach of the secret treaty of 1815 which had +received the sanction of the British government. He still objected to any +joint interference and was opposed to the reference of the question to a +congress. Austria could not have interfered alone without offending the +tsar, who clung to the principle of joint action. The question of +intervention was therefore postponed for the present. France, however, +being jealous of Austrian influence in Italy, demanded the meeting of a +congress, and such a meeting was accordingly held at Troppau on October +20. To this congress Austria, France, Prussia, and Russia sent +plenipotentiaries. Great Britain carried her opposition to joint +interference so far as to refuse to join in the deliberations, though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> Sir +Charles, now Lord, Stewart was sent to Troppau to watch the proceedings. +Metternich, on finding that he could not avoid the meeting of a congress, +determined to lead its proceedings, and, before it met, drew up a +memorandum defining his own views about intervention. These views were +accepted at the congress by Prussia and Russia as well as by Austria; and +a protocol was issued by the three powers declaring that a state in which +a revolution should occur was dangerous to other states, and ceased to be +a member of the European alliance, until it could give guarantees for its +future stability. If such a revolution placed other states in immediate +danger, the allied powers were bound to intervene by peaceful means, if +possible, or if need were, by arms. Before parting, the congress invited +Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies to attend an adjourned meeting, to assemble +early in the following year at Laibach.<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> Against these decisions +Castlereagh protested in vigorous terms, and more especially against any +possible application of the principle of intervention to England; France +under the Duke of Richelieu joined in neither the protocol nor the +protest. The liberal tendencies of the tsar had been quenched by recent +events, so that, instead of a concert of Europe, there was left only a +concert of absolute monarchs.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>AUSTRIAN INTERVENTION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_165" id="TOPIC_165"></a>In January, 1821, the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia met the +King of the Two Sicilies at Laibach. France had vainly attempted to +mediate between the King of the Two Sicilies and his people. But the +Neapolitans were not satisfied with any vague promise of a constitution, +and before allowing their king to depart for Laibach, held him pledged to +the observance of an impossible condition, the maintenance of the Spanish +constitution of 1812. The king's oath to preserve this particularly +objectionable constitution was regarded by Austria as sufficient to +preclude negotiation, and it was resolved that she should restore him by +force as an absolute monarch, and should occupy the Neapolitan territory. +The duration of this occupation was reserved as a question to be discussed +at the next European congress, which it was intended to hold at Florence +in the autumn of the next year. After a show of resistance at Rieti the +Neapolitans submitted, and the Austrian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> army entered Naples on March 24. +The restoration of absolute government was accompanied by severities +towards the constitutionalists, but Austria would not allow any repetition +of the bloodshed of 1799.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_166" id="TOPIC_166"></a>While the Austrian army was marching southwards, a new revolution broke +out in Piedmont. The Spanish constitution was proclaimed at Alessandria on +March 10, and at Turin on the 12th. On the 13th, Victor Emmanuel I., King +of Sardinia, abdicated, appointing as regent his distant cousin Prince +Charles Albert of Carignano, who had been in communication with the +revolutionary party. The regent immediately accepted the Spanish +constitution on condition of the maintenance of the line of succession and +of the Roman catholic religion. The new king, Charles Felix, was at Modena +when the revolt occurred. He refused to acknowledge the new constitution, +and ordered Charles Albert to betake himself to Novara, where the royalist +troops were collecting. On the night of the 21st, Charles Albert fled from +Turin to Novara, but the constitutional party did not submit without a +struggle. On April 8 the Austrians crossed the frontier and, uniting with +the royalists, defeated the constitutionalists at Novara. Two days later +the royalist army entered Turin. The two Italian revolutions had thus +ended in an Austrian occupation of the two largest Italian states which +were not ruled by members of the imperial house. The Papal States were now +the only Italian principality of any size which was not dominated by +Austria.</p> + +<p>So far Austria had been sufficiently powerful in the congresses of the +powers to be able to prevent interference with other states where it was +not to her interest, and to incline the balance in favour of it where +intervention would strengthen her. The reopening of the Eastern question +made her ascendency more difficult to maintain. The congress of Laibach +had been closed, but the sovereigns had not yet departed, when the news +arrived that a revolt, engineered by Greeks with the pretence of Russian +support, had broken out against the Turks in Moldavia and Wallachia. +Russia at once agreed with Austria that the principle laid down at Troppau +applied to this revolt; the insurrectionary leaders were disowned by +Russia, and by the end of June Turkish authority was restored in the +Danubian principalities. So far the action of Russia had met with the +approval<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> not only of Austria but of Great Britain, and Castlereagh had +written to Alexander urging him not to join the Greek cause, which +appeared to him to be part of an universal revolutionary movement.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_167" id="TOPIC_167"></a>Early in April, however, a more serious insurrection broke out in the +Morea, and was followed a few weeks later by one in Central Greece. The +war was disgraced from the first by inhuman massacres on both sides. The +Greek patriarch at Constantinople together with three archbishops was +executed by the Turks on Easter Sunday, April 22. A great ferment in +Russia was the result, where the people were anxious to assist their +co-religionists and to avenge the death of the patriarch, whom they +regarded as a martyr. The grievances of the Orthodox religion were +seconded by the proper grievances of Russia. Greek ships, sailing under +the Russian flag, had been seized in the Dardanelles; the principalities +of Moldavia and Wallachia had not been evacuated by the Turkish troops as +was required by treaty, while an ancient treaty rendered it possible to +regard the wrongs of the Greek Church as the political wrongs of Russia. A +Russian ultimatum was despatched on June 28; and, while awaiting a reply, +Russia consulted the other powers as to the course they would pursue in +the event of war breaking out between Russia and Turkey, and the system +with which they would propose to replace the Turkish domination if it came +to be destroyed. The principle of joint intervention, adopted at Troppau, +seemed to require the powers to give their support to Russia. Great +Britain and Austria, however, refused to treat war with Turkey as a +possibility. The Greek revolt seemed to them to express the principle of +revolution, and the tsar himself became inclined to take this view of the +situation when the Greeks established an advanced republican form of +government. They accordingly distinguished between the treaty rights of +Russia, which the four powers would urge Turkey to respect, and the +provision of a more secure state of order in Turkey, which would be +discussed at a European congress. The Russian ambassador had been +withdrawn from Constantinople on August 8, and the negotiation was +conducted mainly by Lord Strangford, the British ambassador at +Constantinople, who was supported by Austria, France, and Prussia. He +succeeded in inducing Turkey to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> evacuate the principalities and to open +the Dardanelles to ships of all nations, but Turkish obstinacy deferred +the conclusion of a treaty.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE SPANISH QUESTION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_168" id="TOPIC_168"></a>Meanwhile the Spanish question became more critical. As time went on Spain +grew less instead of more settled, while the ultra-royalist party gained +strength in France. To them the position to which the Bourbon King of +Spain had been reduced seemed at once an insult and a menace to France. +The establishment of Austrian supremacy in Italy made them long for French +supremacy in Spain. In August, 1821, the presence of yellow fever in Spain +was made the occasion for establishing a body of troops, professing to act +as a sanitary cordon, upon the frontier. They were retained there when the +fever had disappeared, and their numbers were gradually raised to 100,000. +<a name="TOPIC_169" id="TOPIC_169"></a>In December, 1821, an ultra-royalist ministry entered on office in France +under the leadership of Villèle. Villèle, like King Louis XVIII., was +opposed to war, but he might easily be forced to adopt the war policy +which was popular with his party. Fresh evidence was given of the +contagious nature of the Spanish revolution by the adoption, on the 27th +of the preceding June, by the Portuguese cortes, of a constitution +modelled on that of Spain. Six days later the Portuguese king arrived at +Lisbon and was induced to sign the new constitution. This event was the +more significant in the eyes of the powers, because the proclamation of +the constitution had been accompanied by an insult to the Austrian +embassy.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_170" id="TOPIC_170"></a>If Spanish liberalism placed Spain in danger of a war with France, Spain +was in equal danger of a war with Great Britain because she was not +liberal enough. The revolution of 1820, instead of reconciling the +revolted colonies, had served as an example to the loyal colonies to seek +their liberty. By the summer of 1822 Upper Peru was the only part of the +American mainland where Spain held more than isolated posts; she had been +compelled to sell Florida to the United States, and San Domingo had joined +the revolted French colony of Hayti. The Spanish cortes, however, were +even more resolute than the king had been to maintain the authority of the +mother country, and protested against the right which the British had +claimed and exercised of trading with the revolted colonies. The +disorderly state of these colonies encouraged the growth of piracy, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +flourished even in the ports which still acknowledged the supremacy of +Spain. Special irritation was caused in 1822 by the condemnation of the +<i>Lord Collingwood</i> for trading with Buenos Ayres, a place over which Spain +had exercised no authority for twelve years. In the same year the new +navigation acts greatly increased the facilities for trading with Great +Britain enjoyed by such places in America as admitted British ships. In +April, 1822, the United States recognised the independence of Colombia, +but Great Britain refrained as yet from recognising any of the +Spanish-American states, partly because of their unsettled condition and +partly because the threat of recognition was a valuable diplomatic counter +in negotiations with Spain.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_171" id="TOPIC_171"></a>Instead of a congress being held at Florence it was finally determined +that the Italian questions should be referred to a congress which was to +meet at Verona in September, 1822, and was to be preceded by a conference +at Vienna on the Eastern question; there could, however, be little doubt +that the Spanish question would also be raised. Castlereagh, or as we +should now call him Lord Londonderry, would have preferred that Great +Britain should stand aloof from the Spanish and Italian questions, but he +desired that she should participate in the discussion of the Eastern +question; it was accordingly arranged that he should represent Great +Britain at the conference of Vienna, and he had actually drawn up +instructions in favour of non-intervention in Spain and of accrediting +agents to some of the South American republics, when his departure was +prevented by his death on August 12. He was succeeded by Wellington as +plenipotentiary, and by Canning as foreign secretary. The change was, +however, one of persons rather than of policies. Canning was less +conciliatory in manner, and had less sympathy with the principle of +European congresses, but was prepared to carry on Castlereagh's policy on +the questions which for the time being agitated the world.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CONGRESS OF VERONA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_172" id="TOPIC_172"></a>The Spanish question was, as a fact, the one question which occupied the +attention of the powers at Vienna and Verona. In consequence of the +efforts of Strangford at Constantinople and his own growing +dissatisfaction with the Greeks, the tsar was willing to allow the Greek +question to drop; at the same time the kings of the Two Sicilies and +Sardinia themselves desired the continuance of Austrian occupation, and +thus post<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>poned the Italian question. As in 1820, Austria held the balance +between two rival policies. She had then thrown her weight on the side of +non-intervention, and, had the Spanish question stood by itself, she would +probably have done so again. But in Metternich's opinion the Spanish +question was of less importance than the Eastern, and it was important +that the tsar should not doubt her loyalty to the principle on which she +had persuaded him to refrain from an attack upon the Porte.</p> + +<p>On passing through Paris on his way to Vienna, Wellington found Villèle +desirous of avoiding war, but counting on it as a probability. He arrived +at Vienna too late for the actual conference, but in time to have some +conversation with Metternich and the tsar before leaving for Verona. So +far it appeared that Montmorency, the more active of the French +representatives, though professing to desire a peaceful termination to the +dispute between France and Spain, advocated French intervention, if +intervention should be necessary, but was opposed to the passage of +foreign troops through France. Metternich and the tsar distrusted French +troops when brought face to face with revolutionists, and Metternich was +therefore opposed to intervention, while the tsar still desired to be +allowed to march a Russian army on behalf of the combined powers through +Piedmont and southern France into Spain. Metternich of course did not wish +to see any Russian troops to dispute Austria's supremacy in Italy. But all +three desired the suppression of the Spanish constitution, if they could +find a trustworthy instrument. Wellington adhered to Castlereagh's policy +of non-intervention.<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_173" id="TOPIC_173"></a>When the congress opened at Verona on October 20, Montmorency proposed +three skilfully drawn questions. Avoiding the direct discussion of +hostilities, he asked whether, if France were compelled to withdraw her +ambassador from Madrid, the other powers would do the same. Then, assuming +their sympathy, he asked what form of moral support they would give her in +event of war. Lastly, he propitiated Russian views of joint action by +asking what form of material support the powers would give France, if she +should require it. Wellington refused to consider hypothetical cases, but +the sovereigns of Austria,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> Prussia, and Russia answered the first +question in the affirmative, and assured France of their moral, and, if +necessary, of their material support. So far no power had abandoned its +original attitude, but the promises had been given in a form which lent +itself best to the sole interference of France, as the representative of +the congress. Metternich now advocated British mediation, but this was +refused by Montmorency on the ground of the differences between the policy +adopted by Great Britain and that adopted by the other powers. It was then +agreed that Austria, France, Prussia, and Russia should address notes of +the same tenor to their ambassadors at Madrid, who should make +corresponding representations to the Spanish government, and a <i>procès +verbal</i> was concluded between these four powers defining the causes which +would justify the recall of their ambassadors.</p> + +<p>As the French king was not present at Verona, the sending of the French +note was made conditional on the approval of the French government. The +occupation of Spain by foreign troops was to be discussed when the King of +Spain should have been restored to liberty. The tenor of the notes agreed +on seemed to Wellington more likely to inflame the Spanish government than +to win concessions, and he lost no time in informing Villèle through Sir +Charles Stuart, the British ambassador at Paris, of the course of +negotiations.<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a> Although Wellington had been assured at Verona that +Villèle's decision would not affect the transmission of notes from the +other courts, he hoped and Canning believed that it was still in the power +of Villèle to arrest the machinery that Montmorency, his representative at +Verona, had set in motion. On November 30 Wellington left Verona, but the +emperors remained. On December 5 Villèle sent a message to Verona +proposing to postpone sending the despatches till an occasion for breaking +off diplomatic relations as defined in the <i>procès verbal</i> should arise, +and suggesting that the ambassadors at Paris should determine when such an +occasion had occurred. This proposal was rejected. It was inconsistent +with Russia's desire for war, while Austria was anxious to please Russia +in the west, so long as she remained pacific in the east. The three +eastern powers therefore resolved that they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> would only delay sending +their notes till the French note was ready.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE SPANISH QUESTION.</i></div> + +<p>While this negotiation was pending, Wellington arrived at Paris, where, +under strong pressure from Canning,<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a> he renewed his offer of mediation +with Spain. It was declined. On the arrival of the reply from Verona, +Wellington was informed that even if the other powers sent their +despatches to Madrid, France would withhold hers. In the end, Villèle +dismissed Montmorency for the independent line he had taken, and sent a +milder note than the three eastern powers, but withdrew his ambassador +from Madrid soon after the other ambassadors had departed. Great Britain +was in consequence the only great power which still continued diplomatic +relations with Spain at the end of January, 1823. In the course of the +negotiations two curious suspicions had occurred to Canning and Villèle +respectively. Canning imagined that France would employ the threats of her +allies as a show of force to compel Spain to join her in an attack on +British commerce in the West Indies, while Villèle suspected that the +British defence of the political independence of Spain was to be +recompensed by the cession of some Spanish colonies in America.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_174" id="TOPIC_174"></a>Meanwhile, the war party before which Villèle had had to bow, was having +its own way in France. On January 28 Louis XVIII. in opening the chambers +announced the withdrawal of his ambassador, and declared that 100,000 +Frenchmen were ready to march to preserve the throne of Spain to a +descendant of Henry IV., and to reconcile that country with Europe. The +sole object of any war that might arise would be to render Ferdinand VII. +free to give his people institutions which they could not hold except from +him, and which, by securing their tranquillity, would dissipate the unrest +in France. Canning protested against the apparent implication that no +valid constitution could rest on any other basis than that of France did, +as also against the apparent claim to interfere in virtue of the family +relation of the dynasties of France and Spain; but he vainly endeavoured +to persuade the Spanish government to come to some agreement with its +king. On March 31, when war seemed imminent, Canning despatched a note to +Paris defining the limits of British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> neutrality. The independence of +Spain and integrity of its dominions were to be recognised; it was not to +be permanently occupied by a military force, and France was not to attempt +to gain either by conquest or by cession any of the revolted colonies of +Spain in America. At the same time he disclaimed any intention of +acquiring any of those colonies for Great Britain.<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PORTUGAL AND BRAZIL.</i></div> + +<p>War between France and Spain began with the passage of the frontier by the +Duke of Angoulême on April 7. On May 23 he entered Madrid. On October 1 +the Spanish constitutionalists were compelled to set their king at liberty +to join the French, and on November 1 the war was terminated by the +surrender of Barcelona to the royalists. The restoration of Ferdinand VII. +to absolute power was followed by a furious and vindictive reaction, which +Angoulême strove in vain to moderate. For the next five years French +troops occupied the country, but Angoulême showed his disapproval of the +method of government by refusing the decorations offered him by Ferdinand. +The restoration of absolutism in Spain led to events in Portugal which +forced Great Britain to intervene and strengthened the difference between +her policy and that of the continental powers. The new Portuguese +constitution was unpopular, especially in the army, and as early as +February, 1823, there was a revolt against the constitution, but order was +restored in April. On May 26 another absolutist revolt broke out, and the +rebels were joined next day by the king's second son, Dom Miguel, then +twenty years of age; on the 29th the revolt spread to Lisbon; on the 31st +the king promised a revised constitution, and on June 2 the cortes ceased +to sit. The government resolved itself into an absolute monarchy, which +continued till the following year, in spite of the appointment of a junta +under the presidency of Palmella to draw up a new constitution. The +ambassadors of Austria, Prussia, and Russia opposed the granting of a new +constitution, and Dom Miguel still maintained a threatening attitude. +Palmella accordingly applied to Great Britain for troops to support his +government. This request created no little difficulty. It was impossible +for Great Britain to allow the government of Portugal to fall into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> the +hands of a party resting for support on the absolutists in Spain and the +French army, and it was equally impossible to employ British troops to +maintain the cause of the King of Portugal against his ultra-royalist +subjects when Great Britain had protested so vigorously against the kings +of Spain and the Two Sicilies receiving foreign assistance against their +liberal subjects; there were moreover no troops that could well be spared.</p> + +<p>Canning accordingly contented himself with despatching a naval squadron to +the Tagus to act as a moral support to the king. As the event proved, this +squadron was sufficient to determine the course of events. At the same +time Canning refused to guarantee any constitution, though when France +joined the eastern powers in threatening the proposed constitution, he +intimated his readiness to resist by force of arms any foreign +intervention in Portugal. On April 30, 1824, Dom Miguel attempted another +<i>coup d'état</i>, and was for nine days in possession of Lisbon, where he +made wholesale arrests of his political opponents. John VI. was, however, +supported by all the foreign ambassadors, and on March 9, by their advice, +he went on board the British ship of war, <i>Windsor Castle</i>, where he +summoned his son to appear before him. Dom Miguel thought it wisest to +obey; the king sent him abroad, and the attempt at a revolution was over +for the present. The junta appointed in the previous year to frame a +constitution now reported in favour of a revival of the ancient cortes, +and this proposal was accepted by the king. The cortes were not, however, +actually assembled; still, the mere fact of Dom Miguel's absence left the +government a little stronger.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_175" id="TOPIC_175"></a>Meanwhile, the relations between Portugal and Brazil occasioned +difficulties between the former country and Great Britain. On leaving +Brazil, King John VI. had entrusted the government to his elder son, +Peter, to whom he had given secret instructions to proclaim himself +Emperor of Brazil in case he found it impossible to maintain the union +between Brazil and the mother country. Acting on these instructions, Peter +had proclaimed the independence of Brazil on October 12, 1822, adopting +for himself the style of constitutional emperor. Next month Lord Cochrane, +who had been in the service of Chile, quitted it for that of Brazil. +Neither party in Portugal was prepared for the separation of Brazil, and +it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> was therefore opposed, but without much effect, by the home +government. By the end of 1823 Cochrane had captured all the Portuguese +posts in Brazil, and in August, 1824, he suppressed a republican movement +in the north of that country. On July 23 of the same year Great Britain +signed a commercial treaty with the new empire. This irritated the +Portuguese government. Meanwhile, Beresford, who had returned to Portugal +in a private capacity, had been requested to resume the command of the +Portuguese army. This he refused to do so long as the Count of Subsérra, a +French partisan, held office at home. There was a difficulty in forming a +ministry without him, and eventually Subsérra became virtual prime +minister, and Beresford was excluded from office. In order to obtain an +excuse for the introduction of French troops into Portugal, Subsérra sent +a request to Great Britain for a force of four or five thousand, knowing +it would be refused. Great Britain's refusal had not, however, the +expected consequence, because the influence of the other powers at Lisbon +was weakened by their anti-constitutional policy. <a name="TOPIC_176" id="TOPIC_176"></a>In July, 1825, the +representatives of Austria, Brazil, Great Britain, and Portugal assembled +at London to consider the relations of Portugal and Brazil. While the +conference was sitting it was discovered that Subsérra was carrying on +separate negotiations with Brazil. Canning was now able to obtain his +dismissal, which was followed by the recall of the French ambassador, De +Neuville, who had been the principal opponent of British influence at +Lisbon. As a result of this conference the Portuguese government on August +29 recognised the independence of Brazil.<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a></p> + +<p>The restoration of absolute government in Spain revived the question of +Spanish America. Ferdinand VII., on recovering his authority, proposed a +congress at Paris for the consideration of South American affairs. +Canning, however, declined his invitation, and it was thought useless to +hold a congress without the participation of Great Britain. The position +in which Great Britain had been placed by the negotiations of Verona, as +diplomatic champion of Spain, had caused her to suspend her complaints +about the treatment of her merchant vessels trading with the revolted +colonies; but disorder continued, and on one occasion the British admiral +was authorised to land in Cuba to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> extirpate the pirates using the Spanish +flag. Canning was determined that French force should not be employed to +reduce the revolted colonies, and in October, 1823, he informed the French +ambassador, Polignac, that he would acknowledge the independence of those +colonies if France assisted Spain in her attempts to reduce them<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a>—a +somewhat empty threat, as the commercial interests of Great Britain would +have compelled him to acknowledge them in any case as soon as there should +be settled governments in existence with which he could treat. Diplomatic +agents were in fact appointed in most of the revolted colonies before the +end of this year.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE MONROE DOCTRINE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_177" id="TOPIC_177"></a>What, however, rendered French interference hopeless was the attitude of +the United States, as expressed in President Monroe's historic message to +congress on December 2, 1823. In this message occur the words, since known +as the Monroe doctrine: "With the governments who have declared their +independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great +consideration, and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any +interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any +other manner their destiny, by any European power, in any other light than +as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United +States." After this the recognition of the independence of the Spanish +colonies was only a matter of time.<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> Great Britain recognised the +independence of Buenos Ayres, Colombia, and Mexico, in 1824, and the rest +soon after. In spite of the temporary successes of Canterac, Peru, the +last of the mainland provinces, was lost to Spain in 1825, and the other +European powers did not now delay their recognition of the American +republics. In April of that year France recognised the virtual +independence of her own revolted colony of Hayti.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_178" id="TOPIC_178"></a>The Eastern question advanced more slowly. On March 25, 1823, Canning +recognised the Greeks as belligerents. After this step Great Britain +enjoyed the advantage of being able to hold the Greek government +responsible for piracy committed by Greek ships; but, coming as it did +after the isolated action of Great Britain at Verona, it created a +suspicion among the eastern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> powers of a desire to effect a settlement of +the Eastern question without the co-operation of other states. In October, +1823, the Tsar Alexander and the Emperor Francis had a meeting at +Czernowitz in Bukowina. Here they discussed joint intervention in Greece +as a means of forestalling the isolated intervention of Great Britain. +During the meeting the news arrived of the Turkish concessions to the +Russian demands of 1821. Before the conference broke up, the tsar +informally suggested a conference at St. Petersburg to arrange joint +intervention on the basis of the erection of three principalities under +Turkish suzerainty in Greece and the Ægean. In January, 1824, the same +proposal was made formally in a Russian circular addressed to the great +powers. Metternich and Canning both opposed the scheme, thinking that the +principalities would fall under Russian influence.</p> + +<p>Metternich met it by a counter proposal for the complete independence of +Greece. Canning preferred to adopt neither course, and to watch the +sequence of events. In April, however, he consented that Great Britain +should be represented at the conference at St. Petersburg on condition +that no coercion should be applied to Turkey, and that diplomatic +relations should have been previously restored between Russia and Turkey; +in August the Greek government sent to London its protest against the +Russian proposals, and in November Canning, finding that neither Greeks +nor Turks would accept the decision of the conference, and being still +opposed to violent interference, refused to take part in it. At the same +time he offered British mediation to the Greeks in case it should be +absolutely necessary. Early in 1825 Metternich induced Charles X., the new +King of France, to support his proposal. Russia, however, would not hear +of the independence of Greece, which might mean the creation of a rival to +her influence in the Turkish dominions. The conference therefore merely +resolved that the Porte should grant satisfaction to its subjects, failing +which the powers offered their mediation.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER I.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_179" id="TOPIC_179"></a>Turkey refused the offer. She was in fact busily engaged in restoring +order in her own way. In February, 1825, an Egyptian army was landed in +the Morea, and met with rapid successes of such a nature as to arouse a +suspicion that it was the fixed policy of its commander, Ibrahim, the +adopted son of Mehemet Ali,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> Pasha of Egypt, to depopulate the Morea. His +advance upon Nauplia was checked by an order of the British commodore, +Hamilton, and he retired towards Tripolitza and Navarino. The Turkish +successes induced Canning to make proposals to Russia through Sir +Stratford Canning, the British ambassador at St. Petersburg, for a joint +intervention of the powers on condition that there should be no coercion +of Turkey. The tsar refused to accept the condition and made preparations +for war. Canning meanwhile declined an offer of the Greek government to +place itself under British protection, and on August 18 Alexander declared +that he would solve the Eastern question by himself. He then set out for +the south of Russia, where his army had collected. Canning now dropped his +scheme of an united intervention and opened negotiations for a separate +intervention on the part of Great Britain and Russia alone. Meanwhile he +informed the Greek government that he would allow no power to effect a +settlement without British co-operation, and that if Russia invaded Turkey +he would land troops in Greece. The negotiations with Russia were +proceeding favourably when they were interrupted by the death of Alexander +on December 1.</p> + +<p>One event of the year 1825 which attracted little attention at the time +was destined to be a cause of friction at a much later date. In 1824 the +boundary between British America and the United States had been partially +delimited, and this was followed early in the following year by a treaty, +which attempted to settle the boundary between British and Russian +America. Unfortunately the words used in this treaty were somewhat +indefinite, and, although no difficulty was experienced for two +generations, the discovery of gold in the north-west of America +subsequently led to a bitter dispute between Canada on the one side and +the United States, which had acquired the rights of Russia, on the other.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> Metternich, <i>Memoirs</i>, § 484, English translation, iii., +446.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Despatches, etc.</i>, i., 343-48.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Despatches, etc.</i>, i., 518-23. For a French +account of the congress see Duvergier de Hauranne, <i>Gouvernement +Parlementaire en France</i>, vii., 130-229.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Despatches, etc.</i>, i., 650. Compare pp. 638, +653-57.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> Stapleton, <i>Life of Canning</i>, ii., 18, 19.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Stapleton, <i>Life of Canning</i>, ii., chapters x., xi.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> Stapleton, <i>Life of Canning</i>, ii., 26-33.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> See J. W. Foster, <i>A Century of American Diplomacy</i>, pp. +442-50; Stapleton, <i>George Canning and his Times</i>, p. 375.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<h3>TORY DISSENSION AND CATHOLIC RELIEF.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_180" id="TOPIC_180"></a>The sudden illness of Liverpool in February, 1827, disclosed the dualism +and mutual jealousies which had enfeebled his cabinet. One section, +represented by Canning, advocated catholic emancipation, encouraged the +practical application of free trade doctrines, and was prepared to support +the principle of national independence, not only in South America, but in +Greece and Portugal. This section was dominant in the house of commons. +The other section, led by Wellington and Peel, which was dominant in the +house of lords, was strictly conservative on all these questions, though +Peel was beginning to show an open mind on one, at least, of them. The +king's known distrust of Canning, largely shared by his own party, +naturally suggested the hope of rallying it under the leadership of some +politician with the moderate and conciliatory temper of Lord Liverpool. +But no such politician could be found, nor was there any prospect of +Canning accepting a subordinate position in a new ministry. For nearly six +weeks the premiership was in abeyance, while Liverpool's recovery was +treated as a possible event. Canning himself was in broken health, but, +ill as he was, he proposed and carried in the house of commons a sliding +scale of import duties upon corn, variable with its market price. He also +made a fierce attack on Sir John Copley, then master of the rolls, who had +vigorously opposed a motion of Burdett for catholic relief. At last the +king, having consulted others, made up his mind to send for Canning, who +had been suffering from a relapse. It was in vain that Canning advised +him, unless he were prepared for concession on the catholic question, to +summon a body of ministers sharing his own convictions. There was, in +fact, no alternative to Canning's succession, except that of Wellington +or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> Peel. The former declared that he would be worse than mad to accept +the premiership; the latter was still young for the office and deprecated +as hopeless the formation of any exclusively "protestant" cabinet. The +selection of Canning became inevitable, and on April 10 the king +determined upon it, irritated by what he regarded as an attempt to force +his hand in the choice of a minister.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CANNING ACCEPTS OFFICE.</i></div> + +<p>From that moment, during the short remainder of his life Canning had to +undergo the same bitter experience as Pitt in 1804, and to suffer a cruel +retribution for his aggressive petulance. All his strongest colleagues, +except Huskisson, deserted him. The resignation of Lord Eldon, since 1821 +Earl of Eldon, must have been expected, terminating, as it did, the +longest chancellorship since the Norman conquest. But Canning seems to +have really hoped that he might secure the support of Wellington by the +assurance of his desire to carry out the principles of Liverpool's +government. The duke, however, repelled his overtures with something less +than courtesy, and even retired from the command of the army. Peel had +already intimated privately that a transfer of the premiership from an +opponent to a champion of emancipation would make it impossible for him to +retain office. Three peers, Bathurst, Melville, and Westmorland, followed +his example. Canning had no resource but to enlist colleagues from the +ranks of the whigs. In this he was at first unsuccessful. Sturges Bourne +was appointed to the home office, Viscount Dudley became foreign +secretary, and Robinson, who was raised to the peerage as Viscount +Goderich, became secretary for war and the colonies. Canning himself +united the offices of first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the +exchequer. The Duke of Portland became lord privy seal. Palmerston, the +secretary at war, was given a seat in the cabinet. Harrowby, Huskisson, +Wynn, and Bexley, retained their former posts, and Sidmouth, hitherto an +unofficial member of the cabinet, finally retired. One important office +outside the cabinet, that of chief secretary for Ireland, was given to a +whig, William Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne. It was a happy idea to make +the Duke of Clarence lord high admiral without a seat in the cabinet, and +without any power of acting independently of his council, while Copley (as +Lord Lyndhurst) proved a good successor to Eldon.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_181" id="TOPIC_181"></a>In May some of the whigs were induced to join the ministry. Tierney +entered the cabinet as master of the mint and the Earl of Carlisle as +first commissioner of woods and forests. The Marquis of Lansdowne, the +former Lord Henry Petty, joined the cabinet without taking office. Other +minor posts were assigned to whigs, and several whig chiefs, such as +Holland and Brougham, while they remained outside the government, tendered +it a friendly support. In July Lansdowne became home secretary, Bourne was +transferred to the woods and forests department, Carlisle became lord +privy seal, and Portland remained in the cabinet without office.</p> + +<p>The new cabinet was therefore still in an unsettled state when it met +parliament at the beginning of May. It there encountered a storm of +unsparing criticism even in the house of commons, but still more in the +house of lords. Lord Stewart, who had succeeded his brother as Marquis of +Londonderry, and the Duke of Newcastle denounced Canning in the most +intemperate language; and the veteran whig, Lord Grey, who had not been +consulted, delivered an elaborate oration against him not the less +virulent because it was carefully studied and measured. This attack was so +keenly felt by Canning that he was supposed to meditate the acceptance of +a peerage, that he might reply to it in person. The climax of his +vexations was reached when a corn bill, prepared by the late cabinet, and +passed by the house of commons, was finally wrecked in the house of lords +through an amendment introduced by Wellington. There was some excuse for +the duke's action in letters which had passed between him and Huskisson, +but Canning naturally resented his mischievous interposition, and unwisely +declared that he must "have been made an instrument in the hands of +others". So ended the session on July 2, amidst discords and divisions +which boded ill for the future, but threw a retrospective light on the +rare merits of Liverpool.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE DEATH OF CANNING.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_182" id="TOPIC_182"></a>The days of Canning were already numbered. Before the end of July he was +unable to attend a council, and retired for rest to the Duke of +Devonshire's villa at Chiswick. As in the case of Castlereagh, the king +had noticed the symptoms of serious illness, and on August 5 the public +was informed of his danger. On the 8th he died of internal inflammation in +the room which had witnessed the death of Fox. His loss was deeply felt, +not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> only by the king who never showed him confidence, but also by the +best part of the nation, and his funeral was attended by a great concourse +of mourners, both whigs and tories. No one doubted that he was a patriot, +and his noble gifts commanded the admiration of his bitterest opponents. +He belonged to an age of transition, and it must ever be deplored that he +missed the opportunity of showing whether his mind was capable of further +growth in the highest office of state; for the inconsistencies of his +opinions, obstinately maintained for years, would have demanded many +changes of conviction or policy. He was as stout an enemy of reform at +home as he was a resolute friend of constitutional liberty abroad. He +detested the system of repression consecrated by the holy alliance, but he +defended the necessity of such measures as the six acts and arbitrary +imprisonment for a limited period. He never swerved in his advocacy of +Roman catholic relief, but he was unmoved by arguments in favour of +repealing the test and corporation acts. Probably, at the head of a +coalition, embracing the ablest of the moderate tories and reformers, and +loyally supported by his colleagues, he might have proved the foremost +British statesman of the nineteenth century. But it is more than doubtful +whether his proud and sensitive nature would have enabled him so to cancel +past memories as to consolidate such a coalition, or to inspire such +loyalty in its members.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_183" id="TOPIC_183"></a>The death of Canning involved for the moment far less political change +than might have been expected. The king at once sent for Sturges Bourne +and Goderich, as the most intimate adherents of Canning. He then commanded +Goderich to form, or rather to continue, a ministry of compromise, and +this was done with little shifting of places. Wellington resumed the +command of the army, thereby revealing his motive in giving it up so +abruptly. But a very unwise choice was made in the appointment of John +Charles Herries, rather than Palmerston, as chancellor of the exchequer, +and it carried with it the seeds of an early disruption. Palmerston had +originally been proposed for the office, but the king strongly favoured +Herries, though he showed good sense in deferring to public opinion, and +desiring Huskisson to take the post himself. Unfortunately, Huskisson +preferred the colonial office, and, as neither Sturges Bourne nor Tierney +would accept the position, royal influence prevailed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> and Herries found +himself at the exchequer. Meanwhile Portland succeeded Harrowby as lord +president, Charles Grant succeeded Huskisson at the board of trade, and +Lord Uxbridge, who had been created Marquis of Anglesey after the battle +of Waterloo, and who was now master-general of the ordnance, was given a +seat in the cabinet.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_184" id="TOPIC_184"></a>In the course of November it was decided by Goderich, in concert with +Huskisson and Tierney, that a finance committee should be appointed early +in the next session to consider the state of the revenue. Lord Althorp, +the son of Earl Spencer, was designated as chairman, and provisionally +undertook to act, but the chancellor of the exchequer, who, contrary to +all precedent, had not been taken into counsel, strongly protested against +the nomination, as soon as he was informed of it. Out of this dispute +arose the ignoble fall of the Goderich administration, though it was +preceded by more serious dissensions on foreign policy. The king, whose +activity revived with the increasing weakness of his ministers, committed +himself, without asking their opinion, to a hearty approval of +Codrington's action at Navarino, in which, as will be recorded hereafter, +that admiral had co-operated in the destruction of the Turkish navy, +though the British government professed to be at peace with the Porte. The +king was also adverse to a proposal for the admission of Holland and +Wellesley into the cabinet. Goderich in consequence resigned, but had +withdrawn his resignation when the quarrel between Huskisson and Herries +broke out afresh. Driven to distraction by difficulties to which he was +utterly unequal, Goderich once more abandoned his post. The king gladly +dispensed with his services, and after some negotiation with Harrowby sent +for Wellington on January 9, 1828, giving him a free hand to invite any +co-operation except that of Grey. It was stipulated, however, "that the +Roman Catholic question was not to be made a cabinet question," and that +both the lord chancellors, as well as the lord lieutenant of Ireland, were +to be "protestants".<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WELLINGTON PRIME MINISTER.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_185" id="TOPIC_185"></a>It must ever be regretted, for the sake of the country not less than of +his own fame, that Wellington undertook the premiership. He was beyond all +dispute the greatest man in England, and exercised up to the end of his +life a more power<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>ful influence in emergencies than any other subject. But +he had judged himself rightly when he declared that he was wholly unfit to +be prime minister, and his administration was among the weakest of modern +times. The firmness which had sustained him in so many campaigns, the +political sagacity which had enabled him to grapple with the complications +of Spanish affairs, and with the great settlement of Europe, equally +failed him in party management and in the estimation of public opinion at +home. He understood better than any man how to deal with the king, and +overbore not only the king's own prejudices but the machinations of the +Duke of Cumberland with masterly resolution. He set a good example in +declining to regard himself as a mere party leader and in refusing to +study the arts of popularity hunting, but he never grasped the principle +that constitutional government ultimately rests on the will of the people. +Still he was too good a general not to see when facts were too strong for +him. His chief manœuvres on the field of politics consisted in somewhat +inglorious though not unskilful retreats; when he afterwards carried +boldness to the point of rashness, he encountered a signal defeat. +Nevertheless, while he utterly lost his political hold on the masses, and +even the confidence of shrewd politicians, he never ceased to retain the +profound respect of his countrymen, not only as the first of English +generals, but as the most honest of public servants.</p> + +<p>Wellington naturally applied first to Peel, and, by his advice, attempted +a reconstruction of the Goderich cabinet, but with the addition of certain +new elements. Five of Canning's followers—Lyndhurst, Dudley, who had been +created an earl, Huskisson, Grant, and Palmerston retained their old +offices, and Palmerston gave an extraordinary proof of patience by +cheerfully remaining secretary at war after eighteen years' service in +that capacity. These cabinet ministers were now joined or rejoined by Peel +as home secretary, Earl Bathurst as lord president, Henry Goulburn as +chancellor of the exchequer, Melville as president of the board of +control, Lord Aberdeen as chancellor of the duchy, and Lord Ellenborough, +son of the former chief justice, as lord privy seal. Herries was +transferred from the exchequer to the mastership of the mint. Outside the +cabinet Anglesey became lord lieutenant of Ireland, where Lamb remained +chief secretary. It was under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>stood that Eldon, now in his seventy-seventh +year, would have willingly accepted the presidency of the council, and +felt hurt that no offer or communication was made to him. On the other +hand, the whigs were by no means satisfied, while the inclusion of +Huskisson equally offended extreme tories and the widow of Canning, who +spoke of him as having become an associate of her husband's murderers. +This association was not destined to be long lived. The formation of the +ministry was not completed until the end of January, and very soon after +parliament met on the 29th of that month a rupture between Huskisson and +Wellington became imminent. For this Huskisson was mainly responsible. +Having to seek re-election at Liverpool, and irritated by the attacks made +upon his consistency, he delivered a very imprudent speech, in which he +implied, if he did not state, that he had obtained from his chief pledges +of adhesion to Canning's policy. Such a declaration from such a man was +inevitably understood as applying at least to free trade and the conduct +of foreign affairs. Both Huskisson and the duke in parliamentary speeches +disclaimed the imputation of any bargain; still the rift was not closed, +and it was speedily widened by events on which harmony between tories and +friends of Canning was impossible.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_186" id="TOPIC_186"></a>For six years the so-called war of Greek independence had been carried on +with the utmost barbarity on both sides. The sympathies of Canning, as +foreign secretary, had been entirely with the Greeks, as they had been +with the South American insurgents, but he was equally on his guard +against the armed "mediation" of Russia and her claim to be the supreme +protector of the Greek Christians. We have seen how at last, in 1825, +hopeless discord between the great continental powers led to overtures for +the peaceful intervention of Great Britain, and how at this juncture the +Tsar Alexander died on December 1, 1825. Wellington, at Canning's request, +undertook a special embassy to St. Petersburg for the ostensible purpose +of congratulating the new tsar, Nicholas, on his accession, and succeeded, +during April, 1826, in concluding an arrangement for joint action by +Russia and Great Britain with a view to establishing the autonomy of +Greece under the sovereignty of Turkey. Meanwhile the impulsive enthusiasm +which has so often seized the English people on behalf of "oppressed +nationalities" had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> fanned into a flame by the cause of Greek +independence. Byron had already sacrificed his life to it in April, 1824; +Cochrane now devoted to it an energy and a naval reputation only second to +Nelson's; volunteers joined the Greek levies, and subscriptions came in +freely. In the course of 1826 Canning succeeded in procuring the adhesion +of the French government to the Anglo-Russian agreement. Early in 1827 the +three powers demanded an armistice from Turkey, and, on the refusal of the +Porte, signed the treaty of London for the settlement of the Greek +question. This treaty, dated July 6, 1827, was almost the last public act +of Canning. It was moderate in its terms, embodying the conditions laid +down in the previous year at St. Petersburg, and making the +self-government of Greece subject to a payment of tribute to the Porte. It +provided for a combination of the British, French, and Russian fleets in +the event of a second refusal from Turkey; but Canning died in the hope +that hostilities might be avoided.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NAVARINO.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_187" id="TOPIC_187"></a>This hope was not likely, nor was it destined, to be realised. The Porte +remained inflexible, and would grant no armistice; indeed, it had summoned +a contingent of ships from Egypt, and a fleet of twenty-eight sail under +Ibrahim Pasha was lying in the Bay of Navarino awaiting further +reinforcements. Admiral Codrington, who commanded the allied fleet, now +before Navarino, showed much forbearance. In concert with the French +admiral, he warned Ibrahim Pasha not to leave the harbour, and obtained +assurances which were speedily broken. Futile negotiations went on during +the early part of October, ending in a massacre among the inhabitants of +the coast by the direction of Ibrahim. The admirals of the allied fleet no +longer hesitated. On the 20th the fleet entered the harbour. The first +shots were fired by the Turco-Egyptian fleet, which was skilfully ranged +in three lines, and in the form of a horseshoe. An action ensued, which +lasted four hours, and resulted in the almost complete destruction of the +Ottoman armament. Had the allied fleet at once proceeded to +Constantinople, the Greek question might perhaps have been settled +promptly, instead of being left to perplex cabinets for two years longer.</p> + +<p>The news of Navarino reached England when the ministry of Lord Goderich +was already tottering, and caused its members far more anxiety than +satisfaction. Probably the wisest of them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> foresaw that, unless immediate +action were taken, Russia would declare war single-handed against Turkey +and enforce her own terms, but nothing in fact was done, and Wellington, +on coming into power, found the question of our relations with Turkey and +Greece still open. In spite of his own share in bringing about the +co-operation of Russia with Great Britain, he was by no means prepared for +a crusade on behalf of Greek independence, or for a definite rupture with +Turkey. Hence the memorable phrases inserted in the king's speech of +January 29, 1828, which described the battle of Navarino as "a collision +wholly unexpected by His Majesty" and as "an untoward event," which His +Majesty hoped would not be followed by further hostilities. These +expressions, however much in accord with the pacific tone of the treaty of +London, provoked an outburst of indignation from the friends of Greece in +both houses. Lords Holland and Althorp, Lord John Russell, and Brougham +recorded earnest protests against any disparagement of Admiral +Codrington's action. The infatuation of the Porte, and the consequent war +with Russia, checked further agitation on the subject, and Wellington's +government was able to fall back on the policy of non-intervention +proposed, though not always practised, by Canning. But the reactionary +tendency of Wellington's foreign policy betrayed in the king's speech had +its effect in alienating the more liberal of his colleagues. Nor was his +position strengthened by his irresolute home policy. During the session of +1828 issues were raised which inevitably divided and ultimately broke up +the cabinet.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>TEST ACTS REPEALED.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_188" id="TOPIC_188"></a>The first of these difficulties was caused by the success of Lord John +Russell's motion for the repeal of the test and corporation acts, under +which dissenters were precluded from holding municipal and other offices. +It was, indeed, a grave blot on the consistency of reformers that, while +the claims of Roman catholics, and especially of Irish Roman catholics, +had been vehemently urged for nearly thirty years, those of protestant +nonconformists had been coldly neglected. Their legal disabilities, it is +true, had gradually become almost nominal, and an indemnity act was passed +yearly to cover the constant breaches of the obnoxious law. Still, the law +was maintained, and was stoutly defended by such tories as Eldon on the +principle that it was an important outwork of the union between Church +and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> State. Even the Canningite members of the government supported it +against Russell's attack, but on the very opposite ground—that it had +become a dead letter. However, the measure for its repeal was carried in +the house of commons by a majority of forty-four, including some +well-known Churchmen. This measure would assuredly have been rejected in +the house of lords had not Peel judiciously procured the insertion of a +clause substituting for the sacramental test a declaration binding the +office-holder to do nothing hostile to the Church. Thus modified, it +passed the house of lords, with the assent of several bishops, in spite of +the implacable opposition of Lords Eldon and Redesdale, and the Duke of +Cumberland. But the declaration was amended by the addition of the words +"upon the true faith of a Christian," which incidentally continued the +statutable exclusion of Jews.</p> + +<p>The enforced acceptance of this enactment was equivalent to a decisive +reverse, and could not but injure the prestige of the government, but it +did not actually cause a schism in the cabinet. It was otherwise when the +duke proposed a corn bill in lieu of that rejected at his instance in the +previous year. The difference between these measures was not very +material, but the duke insisted upon certain regulations of detail, which +Huskisson persistently opposed. Peel suggested a compromise which, after +long altercation and some threats of resignation, was adopted. But the +effect was to weaken the government still further in the eyes of the +public, inasmuch as the principle of duties on a graduated scale had +prevailed at last against the declared opinions of the duke. The +inevitable rupture was only deferred for a few weeks, and arose out of +motions for disfranchising East Retford and Penryn—a premonitory symptom +of the great reform bill. These were among the most corrupt of the old +"rotten boroughs," and the scandalous practices which flourished in both +of them had more than once shocked even the unreformed parliament. In 1827 +a bill for disfranchising Penryn had actually been carried by the house of +commons in spite of Canning's dissent, and one for disfranchising East +Retford would probably have been carried, but that it was introduced too +late.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_189" id="TOPIC_189"></a>The motions now introduced by Lord John Russell and Charles Tennyson +respectively could scarcely have been thrown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> out by the same house, but +squabbles arose in the cabinet, partly on the comparative guiltiness of +the two venal constituencies, but chiefly on the disposal of the seats to +be vacated. It was agreed at last that Penryn should be merged in the +adjacent hundred, and the majority of the cabinet, represented by Peel, +were for dealing in like manner with East Retford. The liberal section, +however, represented by Huskisson, was bent on transferring its +representation to Birmingham, and voted against Peel in the house of +commons. Having thus vindicated his independence, Huskisson, somewhat too +hastily, placed his resignation in the hands of the premier on May 20. The +duke, having fairly lost patience with his insubordinate colleagues, was +equally prompt in accepting it, and declined to receive the explanations +offered. In the end, Palmerston, Dudley, Grant, and Lamb, followed the +fortunes of Huskisson, and Wellington's government was completely purged +of Canning's old supporters.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CLARE ELECTION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_190" id="TOPIC_190"></a>Two military officers, without political experience, were now imported +into the ministry. Sir George Murray succeeded Huskisson at the colonial +office, and Sir Henry Hardinge replaced Palmerston as secretary at war, +but was not admitted to the cabinet; Lord Aberdeen became foreign +secretary, and Vesey Fitzgerald president of the board of trade, while +Lord Francis Leveson Gower succeeded Lamb as chief secretary for Ireland. +So purely tory an administration had not been formed since the days of +Perceval. Looking back we can see that, for that very reason, it was +doomed; but to politicians of 1828 Wellington's ascendency seemed assured, +and it was not actually broken for above two years. By far the most +important event of domestic history within that period was the crisis +ending in the catholic emancipation act, and this crisis was immediately +precipitated by the almost casual appointment of Vesey Fitzgerald. He was +a popular Irish landlord, who had always supported catholic relief, and +his re-election for the county of Clare was regarded as perfectly secure. +The landlords were known to be entirely in his favour, and Irish tenants, +miscalled "forty shilling freeholders," had been used to vote obsequiously +for the candidate of their landlords. Indeed, these counterfeit freeholds +had been manufactured recklessly throughout Ireland for the very purpose +of extending landlord influence. Perhaps the recent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> defeat of a Beresford +at Waterford by a nominee of Daniel O'Connell, who had made himself the +leader of the movement for Catholic relief, ought to have undeceived the +Irish tories, but no one could have foreseen so daring an act as the +candidature of O'Connell himself, notwithstanding that, as a catholic, he +was incapable of sitting in the house of commons.</p> + +<p>The contest began on June 30 and lasted five days. All the gentry and +electors of the higher class supported Fitzgerald, but all the poorer +electors, headed by their priests, flocked to the poll and voted for +O'Connell, who, on Fitzgerald's retirement, was triumphantly elected. The +violence of O'Connell's language was unmeasured, and as was said by Sheil, +"every altar became a tribune," but perfect order was maintained +throughout. The terrorism which has since disgraced Irish elections and +vitiated the whole representation of Ireland had no place in this +startling victory, and the impression produced by it was thereby +infinitely enhanced. Two conclusions were instantly drawn from it: the +one, that electoral power in Ireland could not safely be left in the hands +of the forty-shilling freeholders; the other, that, whether or not they +were disfranchised, nothing short of political equality of the catholics +of Ireland could avert the risk of civil war. It is seldom that momentous +changes can be so clearly traced to a single cause as in the case of +catholic emancipation. The whole interval between July, 1828, and April, +1829, was occupied by the discussion of this question, or circumstances +arising out of it, and it may truly be said to have filled the whole +horizon of domestic politics. The first and final recognition by a +responsible government of emancipation as a political necessity dates +immediately from the Clare election.</p> + +<p>The question of catholic emancipation had been the only reason for the +resignation of Pitt in 1801, but we have seen that he resumed office in +1804 under a pledge not to re-open it. It is certain that he never +contemplated a complete emancipation of the catholics without safeguards +for the interests of the established church. Such a safeguard (though +ineffective against a future attack through disestablishment) was provided +by the act of union,<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a> which inviolably united the Irish and English +churches. The catholic leaders, on their part, were profuse in their +disavowals of hostility to that establishment and to the protestant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +government in Ireland. In their first solemn memorial, presented by +Grenville on March 25, 1805, they expressly declared that "they do not +seek or wish, in the remotest degree, to injure or encroach upon the +rights, privileges, immunities, possessions, and revenues appertaining to +the bishops and clergy of the protestant religion, or to the churches +committed to their charge". They further volunteered an expression of +their belief that no evil act could be justified by the good of the +Church, and that papal infallibility was no article of the catholic faith. +Thenceforward, frequent motions in support of the "catholic claims" were +made in both houses of parliament. In 1810 such a motion was proposed in a +very eloquent speech by Grattan, but Castlereagh, though a staunch friend +of the cause, deprecated it as inopportune, since the catholics had +injured themselves by imprudent conduct, and fresh declarations +inconsistent with their former assurances. The motion was therefore +rejected, and a similar fate befell motions of the same kind in the two +following years, especially in the house of lords, where Eldon inflexibly +resisted any concession, and always commanded a majority.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CATHOLIC RELIEF.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_191" id="TOPIC_191"></a>When Liverpool replaced Perceval as prime minister in 1812, catholic +emancipation became an open question in the cabinet. In that year Canning +succeeded in carrying triumphantly a resolution pledging the house of +commons to consider the question seriously in the next session, and a like +resolution was only lost by one vote in the house of lords. Accordingly, +in 1813, Grattan's motion for a committee of the whole house on catholic +disabilities was accepted, and a bill for their removal passed its second +reading. But it was loaded with vexatious securities in committee and +wrecked by the vigorous opposition of the speaker, Abbot, who on May 24 +carried by a majority of four an amendment withholding the right to sit +and vote in parliament. After this, the bill was of course abandoned, but +another was unanimously passed exempting from penalties Roman catholics +holding certain military and civil offices, to which, by a harsh +construction of law, they were not eligible. In 1817 the question was +debated at great length in the house of commons, and several leading men +took part in it, but the motion for catholic relief was again defeated by +a majority of twenty-four. It was revived in 1819 by Grattan, who +delivered on this occasion one of his greatest speeches, and succeeded in +reducing the majority to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> two only. In 1821 a further advance was made by +Plunket's success in obtaining a committee to consider the claims of the +catholics. This was carried by a majority of six, and followed up by two +bills, removing all catholic disabilities with very slight exceptions, but +subject to stringent and somewhat illusory securities for the loyalty of +the priesthood. Ultimately on April 2 a comprehensive measure of catholic +relief passed the house of commons by a majority of nineteen. All the most +influential members of the lower house now voted in its favour, but the +attitude of the upper house remained unchanged. The spirit of Eldon still +ruled the peers, and his speech against Plunket's relief bill contains a +complete armoury of protestant arguments. But the catholics had a still +more doughty opponent in the Duke of York, who delivered on this occasion +the first of his famous declarations, binding himself to life-long +hostility. As Eldon said, "he did more to quiet this matter than +everything else put together".<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a></p> + +<p>The year 1821 marks a turning point in the history of the catholic +question, since the protestant cause, no longer safe in the house of +commons, was felt by its champions to depend on the crown and the house of +lords. But it would be an error to suppose that catholic relief was ever a +popular cry in this country, like retrenchment and reform. On the +contrary, the feelings of the masses in Great Britain were never roused in +regard to it, and, if roused at all, would probably have been enlisted on +the other side. It would be too much to say that the controversy was +merely academical, for it was keen enough to split up parties and produce +dualism in cabinets. But it was never a hustings question. It filled a +much larger space in the minds of statesmen than in the minds of the +people, and even among statesmen it was so far secondary that it could be +treated as an open question in Liverpool's ministry for a period of +fifteen years. No doubt the disturbed state of Ireland, which ultimately +supplied the motive power for carrying the emancipation act, contributed +at an earlier stage to damp the zeal of its advocates. Whatever the merits +of the union, it had failed to pacify the country, thereby verifying the +warning of Cornwallis, that, although Ireland could not be saved without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +the union, "you must not take it for granted that it will be saved by it".</p> + +<p>In 1800, the very year of the union, the <i>habeas corpus</i> act had been +suspended and another act passed for the suppression of rebellion. Though +repealed in the following year, these coercive measures were renewed in +1803, after Emmet's abortive rising, and continued in 1804. In 1805, when +they expired, special commissions were appointed for the repression of +crime in the south and west of Ireland. In 1807 the <i>habeas corpus</i> act +was again suspended and a rigorous insurrection act passed which continued +in force until 1810. In that year a Catholic Committee was formed, +anticipating the more notorious Catholic Association. An essential part of +the scheme was the formation of a representative assembly in Dublin, to +discuss and procure redress for the wrongs of catholics. This project was +put down by the Irish government, which treated it as a breach of the +convention act of 1793. The next ten years seem to have been somewhat +quieter in Ireland, and the disturbances which followed the peace in Great +Britain had no counterpart in that country. Still, it was thought +necessary to suppress another catholic convention in 1814, and to renew +the insurrection act, which remained in force with one interval till 1817. +It can well be imagined that a population so lawless, and so prone to +horrible outrages which shock Englishmen more than a thousand crimes +against property, should have excited little general sympathy by their +complaints of political grievances. These grievances were justly denounced +by party leaders, but in the eyes of ordinary politicians, and still more +of electors, coercion rather than concession was the appropriate remedy +for the ills of Ireland.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CATHOLIC RELIEF.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_192" id="TOPIC_192"></a>Canning, however, though suspected of lukewarmness, did not let the +question rest in 1822. On April 30, while still out of office, he +introduced a bill which he could scarcely have expected to become law, for +enabling Roman catholic peers to sit and vote in the house of lords. This +bill was passed in the commons by a majority of five, but rejected in the +lords by a majority of forty-four, in spite of somewhat transparent +assertions that it was not intended to prejudice the main issue. On April +18, 1823, an angry protest from Burdett against the "annual farce" of +motions leading to nothing was followed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> by a quarrel between Canning and +Brougham, who accused Canning, then foreign secretary, of "monstrous +truckling for the purpose of obtaining office"; and when Plunket moved, as +usual, for the relief of catholics, a temporary secession of radicals took +place, which left him in a ridiculous minority. In spite of this +discomfiture, Lord Nugent succeeded in carrying through the commons a +bill, granting the parliamentary franchise to Roman catholics in Great +Britain. The bill was lost in the lords, and the question remained dormant +in 1824; but in 1825 it received a fresh impulse. This time it was Burdett +who, at the instance of Lansdowne and Brougham, appeared as spokesman of +the catholics. His action was in some respects inopportune, as the +"Catholic Association," founded by O'Connell and Sheil in 1823, was now +usurping the functions of a government, and regularly levying taxes under +the name of "rent". The necessity of suppressing it, though not apparent +to Lord Wellesley, the lord-lieutenant, was strongly felt on both sides of +the house of commons. A bill for this purpose, but applicable to all +similar associations, was rapidly carried by large majorities in both +houses, and the opposition was fain to rely mainly on the declaration that +it would be put in force against catholic associations only, and not +against those of the Orangemen, as the more violent of the Irish +protestants were called. It is needless to say that it was evaded by the +former, but on March 1, while it was still before the house of lords, +Burdett took courage to move another preliminary resolution in favour of +the catholics, and obtained a majority of thirteen. A bill founded on this +resolution was at once introduced.</p> + +<p>The debates on this bill were memorable in several respects and opened the +last stage but one in the long history of catholic relief. In the first +place, more than one opponent publicly avowed his conversion to it; in the +second place, now that its "settlement" was actually within view, the +necessity of providing a counterpoise became admitted. Accordingly, one +independent member proposed a state grant of £250,000 a year for the +endowment of the catholic clergy, who might thus be indirectly bound over +to good behaviour, while another proposed the disfranchisement of the 40s. +freeholders. Both of these bills were read a second time, but held over +until the fate of the main relief bill should be determined. That bill +passed the house<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> of commons on May 10, 1825, by a majority of twenty-one, +and Peel tendered his resignation to Lord Liverpool.<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> Two days later, +the Duke of York, on presenting a petition against the bill in the house +of lords, delivered another speech which fell like a thunder-clap on the +country, and has been celebrated ever since as an audacious breach of +constitutional usage. In this speech, he justified the inflexible attitude +of his father, whose mental disorder he expressly attributed to the +agitation of the catholic question. He concluded by declaring that his +principles were the same, imbibed in early youth and confirmed by mature +reflection, and that he would maintain them up to the latest moment of his +existence, "whatever might be his situation in life". It is certain that, +in thus pledging himself, he acted without having consulted the king, who +somewhat resented so direct an allusion to his prospect of succession. +Still, the sensation produced by the duke's utterance was prodigious, and +he remained the favourite champion of the protestant cause until his +death. Brougham attacked him with furious sarcasm in the commons, but the +lords threw out Burdett's relief bill by a majority of forty-eight, and +the No-popery cry influenced the general election of 1826. In that year no +further effort was made by the friends of catholic claims, but O'Connell +showed his growing power in Ireland by exciting a political revolt of the +peasantry at Waterford, and procuring the defeat of Lord George Beresford.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CATHOLIC RELIEF.</i></div> + +<p>In the session of 1827, before Canning succeeded Lord Liverpool, Burdett +renewed his motion of 1825 on the catholic question, but found himself +defeated by four votes. The division had taken place in a full house, +after the fierce encounter, already mentioned, between Copley and Canning; +but it cannot be regarded as a decisive token of contrast between the old +and the new parliament, since relief was now claimed without any mention +of "securities". The subject was in abeyance during the short +administrations of Canning and Goderich, but was raised again by Burdett +in May, 1828, after the repeal of the test and corporation acts. The +number of votes on the catholic side, 272, was the same as in 1827, that +on the protestant side, 266, was less by ten, the result being a majority +of six for the motion. A similar resolution was lost in the house of +lords, as a matter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> of course; but the language held by the new lord +chancellor, Lyndhurst, and by Wellington himself, as prime minister, +prepared observant men for an impending change of policy. Then followed +the Clare election, which revealed nothing which might not have been +foreseen, but which had the same effect in precipitating the removal of +catholic disabilities as the Irish famine afterwards had in precipitating +the repeal of the corn laws.</p> + +<p>We now know that Peel had made up his mind to yield shortly after the +Clare election,<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> partly influenced by the alarming reports of Anglesey, +the Irish lord-lieutenant, on the state of Ireland. We also know that +Wellington himself was more than half convinced of the necessity of +concession, and was preparing to strengthen his government for the coming +struggle, in the event of Peel feeling bound to retire. Meanwhile a +vacancy in the ministry had been created by the Duke of Clarence's +resignation of his office of lord high admiral. In spite of the +limitations imposed on his power, he had insisted on hoisting his flag, +and assumed command. For this he was severely reprehended by the king and +Wellington, and was virtually forced to resign office. Melville now became +once more first lord of the admiralty, and was succeeded by Ellenborough +at the board of control. Ellenborough retained his former office of lord +privy seal, which Wellington was holding in reserve with a view to +strengthening the government. But the public of those days remained in +entire ignorance of their intentions until the meeting of parliament on +February 5, 1829.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_193" id="TOPIC_193"></a>The speech of George Dawson, Peel's brother-in-law, at Derry, on August +12, had greatly startled protestants. As it was never publicly disavowed, +Brunswick clubs were formed to repel the rising tide of sympathy with the +catholics, but the only tangible indication of Wellington's personal +sentiments favoured the belief that nothing would be done. The +circumstances under which this indication was given were peculiar. The +duke had written a letter to the Roman catholic archbishop of Dublin, an +old correspondent, deprecating agitation on the catholic question, as +likely to prejudice its future settlement, of which, however, the duke saw +"no prospect".<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a> This letter was improperly sent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> by the archbishop to +O'Connell as well as to Anglesey. O'Connell read it to the Catholic +Association as a sign of conciliatory inclinations; Anglesey's reply +suggested, at least, that agitation might continue. He was promptly +recalled, and his recall was rendered the more significant by the +appointment of the Duke of Northumberland, a known "protestant," as his +successor. What the public could not then know was that behind all other +difficulties, political or personal, lay the almost insuperable difficulty +of inducing the king to allow the cabinet to be even consulted. Indolent +and unprincipled as George IV. was, he was still capable of rousing and +asserting himself. Probably no one but Wellington could have prevailed +against his anti-catholic prejudices, shared, as they were, not only by +most of the peers, both spiritual and temporal, but also by the mass of +the English people. At this juncture Peel informed the duke that, rather +than risk the success of the proposed measure, he would remain at his +post. His example was followed by his "protestant" colleagues.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE INTRODUCTION OF THE RELIEF BILL.</i></div> + +<p>During the winter of 1828-29 the strongest pressure was brought to bear on +the king by his ministers to procure his consent to a measure of relief, +accompanied by safeguards. Though he afterwards assured Eldon that he had +never explicitly given such a consent, the old chancellor, on seeing the +documents, felt obliged to express a contrary opinion. It is certain that +he gave way most reluctantly, and probable that his scruples were as +sincere as was consistent with his character; but he knew well that, if he +dismissed his ministers, he would be left isolated, and he bowed to +necessity. Indeed even the "protestant" members of the cabinet had urged +him to yield. His assent was, in fact, only given by degrees; after each +member of the cabinet, who had previously opposed catholic emancipation, +had had a separate interview, the king consented on January 15 to the +consideration of the subject by the cabinet, but reserved the right to +reject its advice. After this no great difficulty was experienced in +obtaining the royal assent to the introduction of a bill.<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> Accordingly +the king's speech, delivered by commission on February 5, 1829, distinctly +recommended parliament to consider whether the civil disabilities of the +catho<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>lics could not be removed "consistently with the full and permanent +security of our establishments in Church and State". This recommendation, +however, was preceded by a severe condemnation of the Catholic Association +and the expression of a resolution to put down the disorders caused by it. +The sensation produced by the king's speech was increased by the +simultaneous resignation by Peel of his seat for the university of Oxford. +Considering that he was originally preferred to Canning mainly on +protestant grounds, he could not have honourably acted otherwise. Many of +his old friends stood by him, in spite of differences on the catholic +question, and Eldon's grandson, who had been proposed as a candidate, was +set aside as too weak an opponent. Ultimately Sir Robert Inglis was put +forward by the "protestants," and was returned by 755 votes against 609. +Peel obtained a seat for the borough of Westbury,<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> and moved a +preliminary bill for suppressing the Catholic Association. This passed +both houses in February, but was already ineffective when it became law, +since the association had been shrewd enough to dissolve itself upon the +advice of its English well-wishers. The catholic relief bill was therefore +introduced under favourable auspices.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_194" id="TOPIC_194"></a>The motives which actuated Wellington and Peel in espousing the cause +which they had so persistently opposed admit of no doubt whatever. In the +memoir which Peel left as embodying his own defence, no less than in his +speech introducing the emancipation bill, he affects no essential change +of conviction. He rests his case entirely on the public danger of leaving +the question "unsettled" after the disclosures of the Clare election, and +argues calmly, as the agitators had been arguing for nearly thirty years, +that no settlement was practicable short of complete, though not +unconditional, surrender. There is no pretence of consistency. All the +constitutional, political, and religious objections to civil equality +between protestants and catholics in Ireland remained unanswered and +unabated. Indeed the increasing power and defiant tone of the catholic +demagogues might well have appeared a crowning reason for refusing them +seats in parliament. Peel, however, had adopted, and pressed upon +Wellington, the delusive opinion of Anglesey that by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> "taking them from +the Association and placing them in the house of commons" they might be +reduced to comparative impotence. He lamented, it is true, the premature +announcement of a new policy by Dawson, and he had submitted his own +resignation to the duke in the belief, apparently sincere, that he could +render better service in an independent position. But he seems not to have +felt the least scruple in urging the duke to break all his pledges to his +protestant supporters, and conciliate the followers of O'Connell. Nor did +his advice fall on unwilling ears. Trained in a vocation where private +conscience is subordinate to military duty, where enemies must sometimes +be welcomed as allies if it may further the plan of campaign, and where a +masterly retreat is as honourable as a victory, Wellington did not shrink +from undertaking the part of an opportunist minister. He had always +regarded himself as a servant of the crown and the nation, rather than as +a party leader, and he saw no personal difficulty in adopting any +political measure as the less of two evils. Having once satisfied himself +that civil war in Ireland was the only alternative to emancipation, he +abandoned resistance to it as he would have abandoned a hopeless siege, +and called upon his tory followers to change their front with him.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_195" id="TOPIC_195"></a>Notice had been given of a resolution to be moved by Peel on March 5, +preparing the way for the catholic relief bill, when the king raised fresh +obstacles to its progress. As the day drew near, George, encouraged by the +Duke of Cumberland, grew very excited. He had violent interviews with his +ministers, and finally on March 3 he informed Wellington, Lyndhurst, and +Peel that he could not assent to any alteration in the oath of supremacy. +The three ministers accordingly tendered their resignations, which were +accepted. But the king soon found that no alternative administration was +possible, and on the following day the existing ministers received +permission to proceed with the bill.<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PROVISIONS OF THE RELIEF BILL.</i></div> + +<p>Peel's great speech on March 5, in favour of his resolution, contains a +comprehensive review of the Irish question, as well as an elaborate +defence of his own position, resting solely on grounds of expediency. He +advocated the measure itself as the only means of pacifying Ireland, +reducing the undue power<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> of the catholics, and securing the protestant +religion. It was simple in its main outlines, applying to the whole United +Kingdom, and purporting to open all political and civil rights to +catholics, with a very few specified exceptions. It contained, however, a +number of provisions, in the nature of securities against catholic +aggression. By the new oath, to be substituted for the oaths of +allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration, a member of parliament, or holder +of an office, was no longer required to renounce transubstantiation, the +invocation of saints, or the sacrifice of the mass. But he was still +obliged not only to swear allegiance, but to profess himself resolved to +maintain the protestant settlement of the crown, to condemn absolutely all +papal jurisdiction within the realm, and to disclaim solemnly any +intention of subverting the existing Church establishment or weakening the +system of protestant government. Moreover, priests were expressly denied +the privilege of sitting in parliament. Catholics were still excluded from +the high positions of sovereign, regent, lord chancellor of England or +Ireland, and lord-lieutenant of Ireland. They were enabled to become +ministers of the crown, but were debarred from the power of advising the +crown on presentations to ecclesiastical dignities or benefices, nor were +they allowed to exercise such patronage in their personal capacity. They +were still to be disabled from holding offices in the ecclesiastical +courts, or in the universities, and their bishops were forbidden to assume +diocesan titles already appropriated by the establishment. Other clauses +were directed against the use of catholic vestments except in their +chapels and private houses, and against the importation of Jesuits or +members of similar religious orders, with a saving clause for those +already resident and duly registered. Two other safeguards, often +proposed, were deliberately omitted from the bill. There was no provision +for a state endowment of catholic priests, or for a veto of the crown on +the appointment of catholic bishops. These omissions, whether justifiable +or not, were pregnant with serious consequences.</p> + +<p>The debates in both houses on Peel's bill, as it was rightly considered, +are chiefly interesting as throwing light on contemporary opinion. The +arguments for and against it had been fairly exhausted in previous years, +and would carry no great weight in a later age. The constitutional +objections to it, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> seemed vital to Eldon, and weighty to every +statesman of his time, were at a later date put aside, when they were +pleaded against the dissolution of the Irish church, directly guaranteed +by the act of union. The criticisms on the personal consistency of +Wellington and Peel belong to biography rather than to history. But no one +can read the speeches of leading men on either side without recognising +the superior foresight, at least, of those who opposed the bill, and +distrusted the efficacy of the safeguards embodied in it. Two assumptions +underlay the whole discussion, and were treated as axioms by nearly all +the speakers. The one was that catholic emancipation must be judged by its +effect on the future peace of Ireland; the other, that it could not be +justified, unless it would strengthen, rather than weaken, protestant +ascendency, then regarded as a bulwark of the constitution. Posterity may +contemplate it from a different and perhaps higher point of view; but it +is certain that, if its consequences had been foreseen by those who voted +upon it, the bill would have been rejected. It is no less certain that its +adoption was a victory of the educated classes, represented by +nomination-boroughs, over the unrepresented masses of the people.</p> + +<p>The actual result in the division lists was all that its promoters could +have desired. Though the secret had been so well kept by the government +that few of its supporters knew what to expect, and though piles of +petitions showed the preponderance of protestant sentiment outside +parliament, that sentiment was not reflected in the division lists. The +first reading of the bill in the house of commons was carried by a +majority of 348 to 160; the second reading by a majority of 353 to 180; +the third reading by a majority of 320 to 142. The debates were enlivened +on the protestant side by a brilliant speech from Michael Sadler, a tory +friend of the working classes, returned by the Duke of Newcastle for +Newark, and a violent invective from Sir Charles Wetherell, the +attorney-general, who was thereupon dismissed from office. Peel, who had +borne the brunt of these attacks, replied on March 30, when the bill was +sent up to the lords, and on April 2, the second reading of it in the +upper house was moved by Wellington. His candid admission that he was +driven to concession by the fear of civil war has since become historical, +and served as the watchword of many a lawless agitation in Ireland. It was +natural that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> most of the peers, and especially of the spiritual peers, +who took part in the discussion should be opponents of the measure, but +Lloyd, Bishop of Oxford, severed himself from the rest of his order, and +vigorous speeches were made in support of it by Anglesey and Grey, neither +of whom could be regarded as friendly to Wellington's government.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ROYAL ASSENT TO THE BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_196" id="TOPIC_196"></a>Anglesey, who had been recently dismissed from the lord-lieutenancy of +Ireland, went beyond the duke in the use of purely military arguments; +Grey ventured to prophesy not only a future reign of peace in Ireland, but +an extension of protestantism, as the consequence of catholic +emancipation. The hopeless attempt of Lyndhurst to vindicate his own +consistency, and a forensic duel between Eldon and Plunket, who had been +raised to the peerage in 1827, relieved the monotony of the debate, but +probably did not influence a single vote. The old guard of the +anti-catholic party remained firm, but the mass of tory peers followed +their leader in his new policy, as they had followed him in his old, and +the relief bill was read a third time in the house of lords on the 10th, +by a majority of 104. Three days later it received the royal assent. Lord +Eldon had virtually encouraged the king to refuse this, at the last +moment, though he was too honest to accept the assurance of George IV. +that the bill was introduced without his authority. But the son of George +III. had not inherited his father's resolute character. After a few +childish threats of retiring to Hanover and leaving the Duke of Clarence +to make terms with the ministry, he abandoned further resistance and +capitulated to Wellington, as Wellington had capitulated to O'Connell.</p> + +<p>The disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders and the +substitution of a ten-pound suffrage was the price to be paid for catholic +emancipation, and no time was lost in completing the bargain. In days when +it is assumed that every change in the electoral franchise must needs be +in a downward direction, it may well appear amazing that so wholesale a +destruction of privileges enjoyed for thirty-six years should have +provoked so feeble an opposition. It is still more amazing that it should +have passed without a protest from O'Connell himself, who had solemnly +vowed to perish on the field or on the scaffold rather than submit to it. +Yet so it was. These ignorant voters, it is true, had never ventured to +call<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> their souls their own, and had only ceased to be the servile +creatures of their landlords in order to become the servile creatures of +their priests. Still, it was they who, by their action in the Waterford +and Clare elections, had forced the hand of the government, and achieved +catholic emancipation. It may safely be said that after the reform act of +1832 it would have been politically impossible to disfranchise them; and +even in the unreformed parliament it would have been scarcely possible if +gratitude were a trustworthy motive in politics. On the other hand, the +government could never have secured a majority for catholic emancipation, +unless it had been distinctly understood to carry with it the extinction +of democracy in Ireland. This, rather than declarations and restrictions +of doubtful efficacy, was the real "security" on which the legislature +relied for disarming the disloyalty of Irish catholics. For some time it +answered its purpose so far as to keep the representation of that +disloyalty within safe limits in the house of commons. But it naturally +produced a contrary effect in Ireland itself, and was destined to be swept +away before a fresh wave of agitation.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_197" id="TOPIC_197"></a>A few days before the relief bill passed the house of commons an episode +occurred which is chiefly interesting for the light which it throws on the +ideas then prevalent in the highest society. In 1828 Wellington had +presided at a meeting for the establishment of King's College, London, an +institution which was to be entirely under the influence of the +established church, and which was intended as a counterpoise to the purely +secular institution which had been recently founded under the title of the +"London University". The Earl of Winchilsea, a peer of no personal +importance, but a stalwart upholder of Church and State, published in the +<i>Standard</i> newspaper of March 16, 1829, a virulent letter, describing the +whole transaction "as a blind to the protestant and high church party," +and accusing the prime minister of insidious designs for the introduction +of popery in every department of the state. The duke at once sent Hardinge +with a note couched in moderate language, demanding an apology. Winchilsea +made no apology, but offered to express regret for having mistaken the +duke's motives, if the duke would declare that when he presided at the +meeting in question he was not contemplating any measure of catholic +relief. Whereupon the duke demanded "that satis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>faction which a gentleman +has a right to require, and which a gentleman never refuses to give". A +hostile meeting took place on March 21 in Battersea fields. The duke +intentionally fired wide, and Winchilsea, after discharging his weapon in +the air, tendered a written apology, in conformity with the so-called +rules of honour. The duke was conscious that his conduct must have +"shocked many good men," but he always maintained that it was the only +way, and proved an effectual way, of dispelling the atmosphere of calumny +in which he was surrounded. It is probable that he judged rightly of his +contemporaries, and that he gained rather than lost in reputation by an +act which, apart from its moral aspect, risked the success of a great +measure largely depending on the continuance of his own life. It may be +noticed that he afterwards became not only the personal friend of his +antagonist, but the most influential member of the Anti-Duelling +Association.<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>EXCLUSION OF O'CONNELL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_198" id="TOPIC_198"></a>Another episode, or rather sequel, of the great contest on catholic relief +had more serious political consequences. Though O'Connell was the +undoubted leader of the movement, and might almost have claimed to be the +father of the act, he was most unwisely but deliberately excluded from its +benefits. His exclusion was effected by a clause which rendered its +operation strictly prospective, for the very purpose of shutting out the +one catholic who had been elected under the old law. It had been decided +by a committee of the house of commons that he was duly returned, the only +question being whether he could take his seat without subscribing the oath +now abolished. This question was brought to a test by the appearance of +O'Connell in person in the house itself. The speaker, Charles +Manners-Sutton, declared that he could not properly be admitted to be +sworn under the new law, upon which O'Connell claimed a hearing. A long +and futile discussion followed as to whether he should be heard at the +table or at the bar. In the end he was heard at the bar, and produced a +very favourable impression upon his opponents as well as his friends by +the ingenuity of his arguments and the studied moderation of his tone. His +case, however, was manifestly untenable from a legal point of view, and a +new writ was ordered to be issued for the county of Clare.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then was shown both the folly of stirring up so needlessly the inflammable +materials of Irish sedition and the futility of imagining that catholic +emancipation, right or wrong, would prove a healing measure. Having +exhibited the better side of his character in his speech before the house +of commons, O'Connell exhibited its worst side without stint or shame in +his addresses to the Irish peasantry. Skilfully avoiding the language of +sheer treason, he set no bounds to his coarse and outrageous vituperation +of the nation which had sacrificed even its conscience to appease Ireland; +nor did he shrink from denouncing Wellington and Peel as "those men who, +false to their own party, can never be true to us". The note which he +struck has never ceased to vibrate in the hearts of the excitable people +which he might have educated into loyal citizenship, and the spirit which +he evoked has been the evil genius of Ireland from his day to our own. He +openly unfurled the standard of repeal, but the repeal he demanded did not +involve the creation of an Irish republic. Ireland was still to be +connected with Great Britain by "the golden link of the crown," and though +agitation was carried to the verge of rebellion, the great agitator never +actually advised his dupes to rise in arms for a war of independence. +Short of this he did all in his power, and with too much success, to +inflame them with a malignant hatred of the sister country. If the +promoters of catholic emancipation had ever looked for any reward beyond +the inward satisfaction of having done a righteous act, they were speedily +and wofully undeceived.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Wellington to Peel, January 9, 1828, in Parker, <i>Sir Robert +Peel</i>, ii., 27.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> Lecky, <i>History of Ireland</i>, v., 358-60, <i>n.</i>; Stapleton, +<i>Life of Canning</i>, ii., 131-34.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> Eldon to Sir William Scott, Twiss, <i>Life of Eldon</i>, ii., +416. For Eldon's Speech, see Twiss, iii., 498-512.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, i., 372-75.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, ii., 54-60.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> Wellington to Curtis, December 11, 1828, Wellington, +<i>Despatches, etc.</i>, v., 326.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> For the king's qualified assent see Parker, <i>Sir Robert +Peel</i>, ii., 82-85; Peel's <i>Memoirs</i>, i., 297, 298, 310.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> See Peel's <i>Memoirs</i>, i., 3, for his unpopularity at +Westbury.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> Peel's <i>Memoirs</i>, i., 343-49; Greville, <i>Memoirs</i>, i., 189, +190, 201, 202.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> See Maxwell, <i>Life of Wellington</i>, ii., 231-36, for the +incident.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<h3>PORTUGAL AND GREECE.</h3> + + +<p>It is now time to turn to the general course of foreign policy during the +closing years of the reign of George IV. The only foreign problems which +gave serious trouble during this period were the Eastern and Portuguese +questions. The influence which the former exercised on domestic policy has +rendered it necessary to trace its course as far as the battle of Navarino +in the last chapter. We must now take up the other question where we left +it, at the recognition of the independence of Brazil and the expulsion of +the Spanish troops from the mainland of America.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_199" id="TOPIC_199"></a>Peter I., Emperor of Brazil, though an independent sovereign, was still +heir-apparent to the throne of Portugal, and the ultra-royalists hoped +that, in spite of the provisions of the Brazilian constitution, his +succession to his ancestral crown would restore the unity of the +Portuguese dominions. The death of King John VI. on March 10, 1826, +brought the matter to a crisis. Four days before his death he had +appointed a council of regency which was to be presided over by his +daughter, Isabella Maria, but from which the queen and Dom Miguel, then +twenty-three, were both excluded. By this act the absolutist party were +deprived of power until they should be restored to it by the action of the +new king, or by a revolution. The regency wished the new king to make a +speedy choice between the two crowns; and it was anticipated that he would +abdicate the Portuguese crown in favour of his seven-year-old daughter, +Maria da Gloria. The absolutists on the other hand hoped that the king +might by procrastination avoid the separation of the crowns.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_200" id="TOPIC_200"></a>What was their surprise when they discovered that the king had indeed +determined to procrastinate, but in such a way as to displease the +absolutists as much as the friends of constitutional government? No sooner +had the news of his father's death reached Peter at Rio Janeiro, than he +issued a charter of 145 clauses, conferring a constitution on Portugal. +This constitution which was destined to alternate for nearly a generation +with absolute monarchy or with the revolutionary constitution of 1821, had +the advantage of being the voluntary gift of the king. It was, however, +composed in great haste, and, except that it retained the hereditary +nobility as a first chamber in the cortes, was almost identical with the +constitution established in Brazil in the previous December. Among other +provisions it subjected the nobility to taxation and asserted the +principle of religious toleration. A few days later, on the 2nd of May, +King Peter executed an act of abdication in favour of his daughter Maria, +providing, however, that the abdication should not come into effect until +the necessary oaths had been taken to the new constitution and until the +new queen should have been married to her uncle, Dom Miguel.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CIVIL WAR IN PORTUGAL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_201" id="TOPIC_201"></a>This compromise pleased nobody. It is true that it seemed to make +permanent the separation of Brazil from Portugal, since the former state +was destined for Peter's infant son, afterwards Peter II.; but the +Brazilian patriots would have preferred a more definite abandonment of the +Portuguese throne, and Peter's half-measure of abdication was one of the +main causes of the discontent which drove him to resign the Brazilian +crown five years later. The Portuguese liberals were alarmed at the +prospect of a restoration of Dom Miguel to power, while the absolutists +were indignant at the imposition of a constitution. From the very first it +encountered opposition. The new constitution was indeed proclaimed on July +13, and the necessary oaths were taken on the 31st. But on the same day a +party, consisting mainly of Portuguese deserters in Spanish territory, +proclaimed Miguel as king and the queen-mother as regent during his +absence. Miguel, however, gave no open support to this party; on October 4 +he actually took the oath to the new constitution, and on the 29th he +formally betrothed himself at Vienna to the future Queen of Portugal. But +the Portuguese insurgents were not deterred by the apparent defection<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> of +the prince whose claim to reign they asserted, and they received a thinly +disguised encouragement from the Spanish government, which certainly did +nothing to interfere with their organisation in Spanish territory. On the +10th the last insurgents had been expelled from Portuguese territory, but +in November they were openly joined by some Spanish soldiers, and on the +22nd of that month they invaded the Portuguese province of Traz-os-Montes. +Another division made a simultaneous irruption into the province of +Alemtejo. This latter body was quickly expelled from the kingdom and +marched through Spanish territory to join its more successful comrades in +Northern Portugal. The whole province of Traz-os-Montes had fallen into +the hands of the absolutists in a few days, and its defection was followed +by that of the northern part of Beira, when the arrival of British forces +gave the constitutional party the necessary encouragement to enable them +to arrest the progress of the insurrection.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_202" id="TOPIC_202"></a>As in 1823, the Portuguese government, represented in London by Palmella, +applied for British assistance against the ultra-royalists at home. But on +the present occasion Portugal was able to appeal to something more than +the general friendship of Great Britain. By the treaties of 1661 and 1703, +renewed as recently as 1815, Great Britain was bound to defend Portugal +against invasion, and Portugal now claimed the fulfilment of these +treaties. The formal demand was received by the British ministry on +December 3, but it was not till Friday, the 8th, that official +intelligence was received of the invasion. Not a moment was lost in +despatching 5,000 troops to Portugal. This resolution was formed by the +cabinet on the 9th, approved by the king on the 10th, and communicated to +parliament on the 11th. On the evening of the 12th Canning was able to +inform the house of commons that the troops were already on the march for +embarkation.</p> + +<p>The debate in the house of commons on the address in answer to the royal +message announcing the request of the Portuguese government, was the +occasion of two of the most famous speeches that Canning ever delivered. +After recounting the treaty obligations of this country to Portugal, and +the circumstances of the Portuguese application for assistance, and +disclaiming any desire to meddle with the domestic politics of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> Portugal, +he referred to a previous anticipation that the next European war would be +one "not so much of armies as of opinions". "Not four years," he +proceeded, "have elapsed, and behold my apprehension realised! It is, to +be sure, within narrow limits that this war of opinion is at present +confined: but it is a war of opinion that Spain (whether as government or +as nation) is now waging against Portugal; it is a war which has commenced +in hatred of the new institutions of Portugal. How long is it reasonable +to expect that Portugal will abstain from retaliation? If into that war +this country shall be compelled to enter, we shall enter into it with a +sincere and anxious desire to mitigate rather than exasperate, and to +mingle only in the conflict of arms, not in the more fatal conflict of +opinions. But I much fear that this country (however earnestly she may +endeavour to avoid it) could not, in such case, avoid seeing ranked under +her banners all the restless and dissatisfied of any nation with which she +might come in conflict. It is the contemplation of this new power in any +future war which excites my most anxious apprehension. It is one thing to +have a giant's strength, but it would be another to use it like a giant. +The consciousness of such strength is undoubtedly a source of confidence +and security; but in the situation in which this country stands, our +business is not to seek opportunities of displaying it, but to content +ourselves with letting the professors of violent and exaggerated doctrines +on both sides feel that it is not their interests to convert an umpire +into an adversary."</p> + +<p>In his reply at the close of the debate Canning vindicated his consistency +in resisting Spanish aggression upon Portugal, while offering no +resistance to the military occupation of Spain by France, which had not +yet terminated. He pointed out that the Spain of his day was quite +different from "the Spain within the limits of whose empire the sun never +set—the Spain 'with the Indies' that excited the jealousies and alarmed +the imaginations of our ancestors". He admitted that the entry of the +French into Spain was a disparagement to the pride of England, but he +thought it had been possible to obtain compensation without offering +resistance in Spain itself. Then came the famous passage: "If France +occupied Spain, was it necessary, in order to avoid the consequences of +that occupation, that we should blockade Cadiz? No. I looked another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> +way—I sought materials of compensation in another hemisphere. +Contemplating Spain, such as our ancestors had known her, I resolved that +if France had Spain, it should not be Spain 'with the Indies'. I called +the new world into existence to redress the balance of the old."<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>TROOPS SENT TO PORTUGAL.</i></div> + +<p>The two speeches were greeted with applause both in parliament and in the +country, but their vanity was excessive. So far from "creating the new +world," Canning had merely recognised the existence of states which had +already won their own independence, and even so he was only following the +example of the United States. It was not only extremely foolish, but +altogether disingenuous, to maintain that the recognition of the South +American republics had been resolved on as a counterpoise to French +influence in Spain. The reasons which prompted this recognition were +commercial, not political, and it had been announced to the powers as our +ultimate policy before any invasion of Spain had taken place. The king had +only consented to the step on condition that it was not to be represented +as a measure of retaliation, and Canning himself when he delivered these +speeches knew that the French had promised to evacuate Spain in the +following April.<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> But however little justified by facts, the two +speeches made a profound impression throughout Europe. Whatever Canning +might desire, it was quite clear that he contemplated the possibility of a +military alliance between this country and the revolutionary factions on +the continent, and the impression gained ground that he desired to pose as +the champion of liberalism against legitimate government.</p> + +<p>The first detachment of the British army reached Lisbon on Christmas day. +It was not destined, however, to play an active part in the Portuguese +struggle. The insurgent army was as greatly discouraged as the loyal +troops were elated by its arrival, and the government was moreover enabled +to employ a larger force on the scene of hostilities. The insurgents were +in consequence driven out of the province of Beira and the greater part of +Traz-os-Montes. A new invasion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> from Spanish territory, supported by some +Spanish soldiers and Spanish artillery, took place during January, 1827. +The greater part of the province of the Minho fell into the hands of the +rebels, and on February 2 they captured the important town of Braga. But +the forces of the regency proved too strong for them, and early in March +the insurgents evacuated Portugal altogether. The Spanish government, now +that little could be effected by further assistance to the Portuguese +refugees, determined at length to perform the duties of a neutral power, +and disarmed them.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_203" id="TOPIC_203"></a>The British troops remained in Portugal till March, 1828. By that time the +disturbances had assumed a purely domestic character, and it was +ultimately decided to recall them. But a firmer policy than that actually +followed would have been necessary in order to extricate Great Britain +from the strife of Portuguese factions, in which her recent action had +given a decided advantage to the constitutional party. That party had been +driven into opposition before the British troops were recalled. On July 3, +1827, King Peter had issued a decree appointing Dom Miguel his lieutenant, +and investing him with all the powers which belonged to him as king under +the charter. Miguel, after visiting London, arrived at Lisbon on February +22, 1828, and was sworn in as regent four days later. As he was +twenty-five years old, and therefore of full age according to Portuguese +law, he could not with any show of equity have been kept out of the +regency longer. Miguel's installation as regent was followed by a series +of riots as well on the part of the absolutists, who desired to make him +king, as on the part of the constitutionalists who feared that he would +make himself king. It was not long before he definitely identified himself +with the absolutist party.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MIGUEL'S USURPATION.</i></div> + +<p>On March 14 the cortes were dissolved. On May 3 Miguel summoned the +ancient cortes in his own name, and on June 26 they acknowledged him as +king. The immediate result of this act was that all the ambassadors, +except those of Spain and the Holy See, quitted Lisbon, and the lapse of +time did not induce them to change their attitude towards Miguel. A +further complication was introduced by Peter's definite abdication in +favour of his daughter on March 3, executed before he had any suspicion of +Miguel's designs, which placed Miguel in the position<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> of regent for his +infant niece instead of for his brother. After this formal abdication +Peter despatched his daughter to Europe, intending that she should proceed +to Vienna. When, however, she arrived at Gibraltar on September 2, her +conductors, hearing of Miguel's usurpation, determined to take her to +England, and she landed at Falmouth on the 24th. Peter, on hearing of +Miguel's usurpation, naturally considered the regency terminated, and +claimed to act as the guardian of the infant queen; the Brazilian +ministers in Europe acted as his agents, while his partisans assembled in +England and attempted to use this country as a basis for warlike +operations in Portuguese territories.</p> + +<p>The situation of 1826 was thus reversed. Instead of an ultra-royalist +party resting on Spain, a constitutionalist party resting on Brazil and +attempting to rest on England was now threatening the established +government at Lisbon. Wellington was anxious to maintain a strict +neutrality, but he failed to prevent a ship of war and supplies of arms +and ammunition going from Plymouth to Terceira in the Azores, where Donna +Maria was acknowledged as queen. He succeeded, however, in preventing a +larger armament, which had been raised under the name of the Emperor of +Brazil, with Rio Janeiro as its nominal destination, from landing at +Terceira. This action, though the logical consequence of the British +opposition to the conduct of Spain in 1826, was severely criticised in +England as equivalent to an intervention on behalf of Miguel.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_204" id="TOPIC_204"></a>Meanwhile Canning's attempt to prevent the separate action of Russia in +the Eastern question had been doomed to disappointment. The destruction of +the Turkish navy at Navarino was naturally regarded at Constantinople as +an outrage, and the Porte demanded satisfaction from the ambassadors of +the allied powers. This they refused to grant on the ground that the Turks +had been the aggressors, and they in their turn demanded an armistice +between the Turkish troops and the Greek insurgents. As the Porte remained +obdurate, the ambassadors of France, Great Britain, and Russia, acting in +accordance with their instructions, left Constantinople on December 8, +1827. But though war seemed imminent, the tsar still disowned all idea of +conquest, and professed to desire nothing further than the execution of +the treaty of London. A protocol was accordingly signed on the 12th by +which the three powers confirmed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> a clause in the treaty, providing that, +in the event of war, none of them should derive any exclusive benefit, +either commercial or territorial.</p> + +<p>The British government imagined that the powers might still effect their +object by diplomacy, and that it would not be necessary to abandon the +Turkish alliance. But any such idea must have been rudely shaken by the +hati-sherif of December 20. In that document the sultan enlarged on the +cruelty and perfidy of the Christian powers and summoned the Muslim +nations to arms: he denounced Russia in particular as the prime mover of +the Greek rebellion, the instigator of the other powers, and the +arch-enemy of Islam; and he declared the treaty of Akkerman, by which the +outstanding disputes between Russia and the Porte had been settled in +October, 1826, to have been extorted by force and only signed in order to +save time. This defiance of Russia, if not of all Christendom, was +followed by a levy of Turkish troops and the expulsion of most of the +Christian residents from Constantinople. No course was now open to Russia +but to make war. It remained to be seen whether any other power would join +her. On January 6, 1828, a Russian despatch announced the tsar's intention +of occupying the Danubian principalities, and suggested that France and +Great Britain should force the Dardanelles and thus compel the Porte to +comply with the provisions of the treaty of London.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WELLINGTON'S EASTERN POLICY.</i></div> + +<p>It is possible that if the direction of British foreign policy had +remained in the hands of Goderich and Dudley, our government might have +lent its support to a settlement of the Eastern question which would in +effect have been the work of Russia only. The more daring policy of +Canning, by which Great Britain had attempted to take the lead as +opportunity offered, either in active co-operation with Russia or in +active opposition to her, could only be directed by a more versatile +statesman than the nation now possessed. The accession to office of +Wellington, though it left Dudley at the foreign office, was really marked +by a return to the policy of Castlereagh, a policy which, if not +brilliant, was at least honourable, consistent, and considerate, and which +in the hands of Wellington was managed with a sufficient measure of +firmness, though with less tact and insight than had been shown by +Castlereagh. The first object of this policy was to keep the special +grievances of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> Russia distinct from the complaints which Europe at large +or, in the present situation, the three allied powers were able to bring +against the Porte. By so doing the British government hoped to prevent +Russia from dragging other powers into a war for her private benefit, and +also to render it impossible for Russia to use her special grievances as a +lever by which she might effect a separate settlement of the general +question. For some years this policy was successful. Russia did indeed +wage a separate war with the Turks, but the Greek question was settled by +the three powers conjointly, and Great Britain rather than Russia took the +lead in the settlement. It was only after Palmerston had succeeded to the +direction of our foreign policy in 1830, that it was discovered how far +the victory of Russia in war had placed her in a position to dictate the +general policy of the Ottoman court.</p> + +<p>Wellington experienced no difficulty in striking out a line of policy +along which he could carry France with him. On February 21 De la +Ferronays, who had been recalled from the French embassy at St. Petersburg +to occupy the post of foreign minister in the new liberal administration, +which had been formed in France in December, 1827, despatched a note +urging the immediate employment of energetic measures against the Porte. +He saw that the hati-sherif gave special occasion of war to Russia, and he +was naturally anxious to anticipate her isolated action by combined +measures of coercion. He had, however, nothing better to suggest than the +execution of the Russian proposals of January 6. Wellington, in his reply, +dated the 26th, rightly minimised the seriousness of the hati-sherif, and +characterised the proposed measures of coercion as destined to be +ineffectual. He also expressed the fear that if the three powers combined +to make war on the Turks there would be a general insurrection of the +subject races in the Turkish dominions which might last indefinitely. He +therefore proposed first to settle the Greek question by local pressure, +after which he anticipated no serious trouble about events at +Constantinople. On the same day he drafted a memorandum to the cabinet in +which he proposed that the allied squadrons should proceed to the +Archipelago, blockade the Morea and Alexandria, destroy the Greek pirates, +stop the warfare in Chios and Crete, and call upon the Greek government to +withdraw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> the forces which were operating in western and eastern Greece +respectively under the command of two foreign volunteers, General Church +and Colonel Fabvier. In other words, he proposed to coerce not the Porte +but the actual combatants, Greece and Egypt, and to check each party where +it was the aggressor. If the prime object of the government in the eastern +question was the maintenance of order, these proposals were excellent. The +one capital defect of the whole scheme was that it ignored the Russian +desire for war, which rendered it impossible for the tsar to postpone the +settlement of his own grievances until an arrangement should be come to on +the Greek question; on the other hand, by isolating the Greek question, it +left it possible for the western powers to proceed with its solution in +spite of the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and the Turks.<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_205" id="TOPIC_205"></a>Russia's determination to act singly was, however, already made. On the +same day, February 26, on which Wellington sketched his policy, Nesselrode +issued a despatch declaring that war was inevitable, including among his +reasons the repudiation of recent treaties by the Porte and the +proclamation by it of a holy war. At the same time he endeavoured to +disarm any possible opposition on the part of the powers by an invitation +to them to make use of the coming war to carry out the treaty of London. +In any case Russia would execute the treaty, but if she were left to +herself, the manner of execution would be determined by her own +convenience and interest.<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> So far Russia had done nothing directly +inconsistent with the maintenance of her concert with France and Great +Britain, whose representatives had been sitting in conference with hers at +London since January, 1827. But the reference in this last note to the +possibility of a settlement of the Greek question according to the +convenience and interest of Russia appeared like a threat of breaking up +the alliance in case France and Great Britain refused to send their fleets +to the Mediterranean. At least Wellington so understood it, and, rather +than be a party to the war, he dissolved the conference of London in the +middle of March. But he soon found that by so doing he lost the +co-operation of France, and he was therefore compelled to accept the +assurances of Russia that she intended to keep within the limits of the +treaty of London, and to regard the Mediterranean as a neutral area.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> The +conference was in consequence reopened at the beginning of July. Meanwhile +hostilities had actually begun between Russia and the Turks. Russia +declared war on April 26. On May 7 her troops crossed the Pruth. They +rapidly overran the Danubian provinces, and on June 7 crossed the Danube +into Bulgaria. They were destined, however, to spend more than a year +between the Danube and the Balkans before they could force their way into +Rumelia.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_206" id="TOPIC_206"></a>During the interval considerable progress was made with the settlement of +the Greek question. The treaty of London in providing for the autonomy of +Greece had specified no boundaries, and the first problem demanding the +attention of the powers that had assumed the task of the settlement of +Greece was to determine the limits within which that settlement was to be +effected. It might be urged that all the Greeks who had accepted the +armistice imposed by the powers in consequence of the treaty of London had +a right to share in the settlement at which that treaty aimed. But the +armistice had been broken by Greek attacks on Chios and Crete, and +Wellington held that the powers were, in consequence, free from any +obligation imposed by the nominal acceptance of the armistice. He, +accordingly, desired to adopt the simple principle of granting the +proposed autonomy to those parts of Greece in which the insurrection had +proved successful, namely, the Morea and the Ægean Islands, and refusing +it in Northern and Central Greece, where the Turkish forces still held +their own. But the British cabinet was far from being unanimous; many, +among whom Palmerston was specially prominent, urged the concession of a +greatly increased territory. The changes which took place in the British +ministry towards the end of May, 1828, deprived Palmerston of his share in +its deliberations, and by substituting Aberdeen for Dudley at the foreign +office, placed our foreign relations under the direction of a man of +talent and experience, who had already exercised an important influence on +British policy and who was more in sympathy with the policy of the prime +minister than Dudley had been, but who was not content, like Dudley, to be +a mere cipher in the department over which he was called to preside. +Aberdeen, though opposed to the narrow boundaries which Wellington wished +to assign to liberated Greece, was no less antagonistic than his chief to +any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> attempt to make the new Greek state politically important; and he was +even of opinion that the Russian declaration of war had released Great +Britain from any further obligation under the treaty of London.</p> + +<p>Such were the composition and policy of the British government when the +conference of London reassembled in July. The differences between the +powers had prevented any active intervention in Greece, since the battle +of Navarino. The ports in the Morea, still occupied by Ibrahim, had indeed +been blockaded, but it had been found impossible to induce Austrian +vessels to acknowledge a blockade of such questionable legality, and the +allied fleets had even permitted the embarkation of Ibrahim's sick and +wounded together with 5,500 Greek prisoners, who were sold into slavery on +their arrival at Alexandria. The renewal of the concert of the three +powers was followed by a rapid change in the situation. On the 19th it was +decided that France should send an expedition to expel the Turco-Egyptian +troops from the Morea, while Great Britain should render her any naval +assistance that might be necessary. This step was valued by the British +government as definitely committing France to a share in the settlement of +the Greek question, and therefore interesting that power in opposition to +any attempt at a separate settlement by Russia. It also furnished a safe +outlet for French military ardour, disappointed by the results of the +Spanish expedition. In fact, the evacuation of Spain, which was in +progress at the date when this agreement was concluded, materially reduced +the strain which the new undertaking imposed upon the French government. +France immediately prepared to send out a force amounting to nearly 22,000 +men. But before they could arrive, the greater part of their task had been +performed by other hands.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>TURKS EXPELLED FROM THE MOREA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_207" id="TOPIC_207"></a>Codrington's conduct in permitting the embarkation of the Turkish sick and +wounded with their prisoners had given great dissatisfaction at home, and +the cabinet had resolved on his recall before the ministerial crisis of +the latter part of May. That crisis occasioned a fortnight's delay, and, +in consequence, Codrington was able, before his successor arrived, to make +a naval demonstration before Alexandria and on August 6 to obtain the +consent of Mehemet Ali to the following proposals: an exchange of +prisoners was to take place, involving the liberation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> of the recently +enslaved Greeks, and the Egyptian army was to be withdrawn from the Morea, +but Ibrahim was to be allowed to leave behind 1,200 Egyptian troops to +help to garrison five fortresses which were held by the Turks. Before +either the new London protocol or the Alexandria convention could be +carried into effect, further differences had arisen. Russia had proclaimed +a blockade of the Dardanelles and ordered her admiral to carry it out. +This proceeding was regarded by the British government as a breach of +faith and a menace to British commerce. It was, however, impossible to +abandon co-operation with Russia for fear that the Greek question might +become involved in the issues at stake between her and the Porte. +Wellington, in consequence, contented himself with obtaining certain +exemptions from the operation of the blockade on behalf of British +subjects trading with Turkey, and with the exclusion of the Russian fleet +from the operations conducted in the Mediterranean in accordance with the +orders of the London conference. The French force for expelling the +Egyptians from the Morea arrived almost simultaneously with the Egyptian +transports for removing them. On October 5 Ibrahim set sail for Egypt, +with 21,000 men, leaving 1,200 behind in the five fortresses in accordance +with the terms settled at Alexandria. The French began their attack on the +remaining fortresses two days later, and by the end of November had +expelled all the Turks from the Morea. By the terms of their engagements, +they ought now to have departed. But it was hardly to be expected that +France would so readily abandon the advantage that the presence of her +troops gave her in the settlement of the eastern question.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_208" id="TOPIC_208"></a>Meanwhile the negotiations made slow progress. On November 16 a protocol +was issued placing the Morea with the neighbouring islands under the +guarantee of the powers. Wellington had opposed any extension of the +guarantee to Central Greece on the ground that the allies had to provide +both the necessary military force and the cost of maintaining the Greek +government, so that any undertaking beyond the Morea would involve heavy +expense without rendering lighter the task of maintaining order. But the +real decision of the question lay not with the diplomatists at London, but +with the diplomatists on the spot. Representatives of the three powers had +been sent to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> Poros to make detailed arrangements in accordance with the +terms of the treaty of London. Stratford Canning, who represented Great +Britain, was one of the supporters of an extended frontier, and in the end +the ambassadors at Poros drew up a protocol in favour of erecting Greece +south of a line connecting the Gulfs of Arta and Volo into a hereditary +principality, which was also to include nearly all the islands. Even Samos +and Crete were recommended to the benevolent consideration of the courts. +All Mohammedans were to be expelled from this territory. The tribute +payable to Turkey was to be fixed at 1,500,000 piastres, but this was to +be paid not to the Turkish government, but to those who might suffer +pecuniary loss by the confiscation of lands hitherto owned by Mohammedans.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PEACE OF ADRIANOPLE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_209" id="TOPIC_209"></a>The spring of 1829 was marked by events which went far to cancel the +arguments on which Wellington had based his case for a restricted +frontier. Not only the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth but Acarnania +and Ætolia were liberated by the Greek forces under Sir Richard Church the +castle of Vonitza falling on March 17, Karavasara shortly afterwards, +Lepanto on April 30, and Mesolongi on May 17.<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a> Meanwhile the terms +agreed upon at Poros had been adopted and further defined by the +conference at London on March 22. It was now provided that the future +hereditary prince was to be chosen by the three powers and the sultan +conjointly, and that the terms were to be offered to the Porte by the +British and French ambassadors in the name of the three powers; any +Turkish objections were to be weighed.<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a> It was not till June that +Robert Gordon and Guilleminot, representing Great Britain and France +respectively, were able to lay these proposals before the Porte, and it +was only after a Russian army under Diebitsch had crossed the Balkans that +the Porte on August 15 accepted them, and even then only with extensive +modifications. These limited the new state to the Morea and the adjacent +islands, and left the tribute assigned to the same purposes as before the +revolt; a limit was to be set to the military and naval forces of Greece, +and Greeks were not to be allowed to migrate from Turkish dominions to the +new state.</p> + +<p>Wellington was of opinion that these concessions were ade<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>quate. He +attached great importance to the consent of the Porte, to dispense with +which seemed to him a sure method of encouraging a general revolt in the +Turkish dominions; and he also advocated a limited frontier in the +interests of the Ionian Islands. He doubted whether it would be found +possible to remove Capodistrias, who had been elected president of Greece +for a period of seven years on April 14, 1827, from his office to make +room for a hereditary prince, and he felt sure that if Capodistrias were +once granted Central Greece he would not hesitate to attempt the conquest +of the Ionian Islands. Capodistrias had in fact refused to accept any of +the arrangements proposed by the London conference, and was still engaged +in the vigorous prosecution of the war. Wellington did not, however, +succeed in inducing France and Russia to remain content with the Turkish +concessions. Diebitsch's successful march through Rumelia encouraged +Russia to demand more, and filled the minds of the French ministers with +the wildest schemes of aggression. They actually proposed to Russia that +the northern part of the Balkan peninsula should be divided between +Austria and Russia while the whole peninsula south of the Balkans, with +Bulgaria to the north, was to be formed into a new state under the +sovereignty of the King of the Netherlands, whose hereditary dominions +were in their turn to be divided between France, Great Britain, and +Prussia.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_210" id="TOPIC_210"></a>Such chimerical projects were based on the assumption that Constantinople +lay at the mercy of the army of Diebitsch; and this was believed to be the +case not only by the court of Paris, but by that of London, and even by +that of Constantinople. But no one knew better than Diebitsch how +precarious his situation was, and, if Russia wished to obtain advantageous +terms, it was necessary for her to make the most of the illusion while it +lasted. On September 14 the peace of Adrianople was signed, which +established the virtual independence of the principalities of Moldavia and +Wallachia and secured for all powers at peace with Turkey a free passage +for merchant ships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles; Russia received +a small addition to her Asiatic territories, and Turkey accepted both the +treaty of London of July 6, 1827, and the protocol of London of March 22, +1829. The difficulties raised by Turkey's opposition to the full terms of +the protocol were thus swept aside, and it was now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> clear that, if that +protocol was to be further modified, it would be modified out of regard +for the interests of Europe not by way of concession to Turkey. France and +Great Britain were naturally averse from a settlement of the question by +Russia alone, even when that settlement was on lines to which they had +given their consent, and they might have been expected to propose some +alteration in the scheme. But the conciliatory action of Russia rendered +such proposals needless. On September 29, only fifteen days after the +treaty, Aberdeen received a formal proposal from Russia that Turkey should +be offered a restriction of the Greek boundary in return for a recognition +of the total independence of Greece.<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> This proposal removed +Wellington's fear that the new principality might be used as a basis for +an attack on the Ionian Islands; while the maintenance of Turkish +suzerainty seemed less important after the apparent prostration of Turkish +military power in the recent war.</p> + +<p>It now remained for the allied powers to select a prince to whom the new +crown should be offered. This subject engaged their attention from +October, 1829, to January, 1830. Finally, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, +widower of the Princess Charlotte, was selected, greatly to the annoyance +of King George IV. On February 3 Prince Leopold was formally offered the +sovereignty of Greece as an independent state, bounded on the north by a +line drawn from the mouth of the Aspropotamo to Thermopylæ. Before +accepting the crown he made an effort to obtain a stronger position for +its future prince. He asked for a complete guarantee of independence from +the three powers, some security for the Greek inhabitants of Crete and +Samos, an extension of the boundary to the north, and financial and +military support. The powers on February 20 decided to grant the guarantee +and a loan of £2,400,000, and to allow the French troops to remain in +Greece for another year, but refused the extension of territory and would +not recognise the right of the Greek state to interfere in the affairs of +Crete and Samos. Leopold accepted the crown on these conditions on +February 24, and they were accepted by the Porte on April 24. +Capodistrias, who had no desire to make way for another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> ruler, invited +Leopold to the country, but suggested that he would not be well received +and that he would have to change his religion.<a name="FNanchor_100_100" id="FNanchor_100_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a> These considerations, +combined with other causes, induced him to renounce the crown on May 21.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FRANCE CONQUERS ALGERIA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_211" id="TOPIC_211"></a>One other foreign event exercised the minds of Wellington's cabinet during +the last months of George IV.'s reign. This was the French punitive +expedition to Algiers, which resulted In the conquest of that state. The +expedition was originally planned in concert with Mehemet Ali of Egypt, +and appeared to Wellington to be prompted by the idea that the defeat of +the Turks by Russia afforded a convenient opportunity for a partition of +Turkish territory. The British government was able by means of diplomatic +pressure to induce Mehemet Ali to refrain from co-operating, but it could +not deny the justice of the French expedition or prevent it from sailing.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> Stapleton, <i>Life of Canning</i>, iii., 220-25, 227-35.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> See Lloyd, <i>Transactions of the Royal Historical Society</i>, +N.S., xviii. (1904), 77-105.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Despatches, etc.</i>, iv., 270-79.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, pp. 280-86.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> So S. Lane-Poole, writing from Church's papers, <i>English +Historical Review</i>, v., 519.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> Hertslet, <i>Map of Europe by Treaty</i>, p. 142.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Despatches, etc.</i>, vi., 184.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_100_100" id="Footnote_100_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> See the letters in the <i>Annual Register</i>, lxxii. (1830), +389-401.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<h3>PRELUDE OF REFORM.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_212" id="TOPIC_212"></a>The year that elapsed between the prorogation of parliament on June 24, +1829, and the death of George IV., on June 26, 1830, was barren in events +of domestic importance. While Ireland was torn by faction, and the +Orangemen of Ulster rivalled in lawlessness the catholics of the other +provinces, England was undergoing another period of agricultural and +commercial depression. The harvest of 1829 was late and bad; the winter +that followed was the severest known for sixteen years; and a fresh series +of outrages was committed by the distressed operatives, especially by the +silk weavers in the east of London and the mill hands in the midland +counties. In the district of Huddersfield, where the people bore their +sufferings with admirable patience, a committee of masters stated as a +fact that "there were 13,000 individuals who had not more than twopence +half-penny a day to live on". When parliament met on February 4, 1830, the +prevailing distress was recognised in the king's speech, but in guarded +terms, and the ministers attributed it in the main, probably with justice, +to unavoidable causes. This gave the enemies of free trade and currency +reform an opportunity of renewing their protests against Peel's and +Huskisson's financial policy. They failed to effect their object, but +Goulburn, the chancellor of the exchequer, initiated a considerable +reduction of expenditure and remission of taxes. The excise duties on +beer, cider, and leather were now totally remitted, those on spirits being +somewhat increased. The government even deliberated on the proposal of a +property tax, and, stimulated by a motion of Sir James Graham, actually +carried out large savings in official salaries. On the whole, this session +was the most fruitful in economy since the conclusion of the peace. The +system of judicature, too, was subjected to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> salutary revision +throughout Great Britain by the amalgamation of the English and Welsh +benches, and the concentration of courts in Scotland. As the charter of +the East Indian Company was about to expire, a strong committee was +appointed to consider the whole subject of its territorial powers and +commercial privileges. This committee was not the least beneficial result +of a session which has left no great mark on the statute-book.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MOVEMENT FOR REFORM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_213" id="TOPIC_213"></a>The weakness of Wellington's position had long since become apparent to +all. By his conduct in regard to catholic emancipation he had estranged a +powerful section of his tory followers. By his jealousy and haughty +attitude towards his whig allies, he had forfeited their good-will, never +very heartily given. By his treatment of Huskisson, a small but able body +of politicians was thrown into the ranks of a discordant opposition. No +one else could have induced the king to give way on catholic emancipation, +but the king had not forgiven him, and submitted to him out of fear rather +than out of confidence. Though singularly deficient in rhetorical power, +he still maintained his ascendency in the house of lords by the aid of +more eloquent colleagues, but Peel was his only efficient lieutenant in +the house of commons. The vacancy in the office of lord privy seal, +occasioned by the transference of Ellenborough to the board of control, +had at last been filled in June, 1829, by the appointment of Lord Rosslyn, +nephew of the first earl, who, however, added nothing to the strength of +the ministry. In the meantime, reform had succeeded catholic emancipation +as the one burning question of politics, but with this all-important +difference that it roused enthusiasm in the popular mind. Political +unions, like the branches of the catholic association, were springing up +all over the country, and a series of motions was made in the house of +commons which feebly reflected the feverish agitation in all the active +centres of population. One of these, brought forward by the Marquis of +Blandford, who had made a similar motion in the previous year, was really +prompted by enmity against the author of catholic emancipation. Another, +introduced by Lord Howick, son of Earl Grey, called for some general and +comprehensive measure to remedy the admitted abuses of the electoral +system. A third, and far more practical, attempt was made by Lord John<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> +Russell to obtain the enfranchisement of Manchester, Leeds, and +Birmingham. A fourth, and perfectly futile proposal, was made by +O'Connell, in the shape of a bill for triennial parliaments, universal +suffrage, and vote by ballot, to which Russell moved a statesmanlike +amendment, in favour of transferring members from petty boroughs to +counties and great unrepresented towns. All these motions were defeated by +larger or smaller majorities, but no one doubted that parliamentary reform +was inevitable, and few can have imagined that Wellington was either +willing or competent to grapple with it.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_214" id="TOPIC_214"></a>While domestic affairs were in this state, George IV. died. His +constitution, weakened by many years of self-indulgence, had been further +depressed by a growing sense of loneliness and by the long struggle with +his ministers over catholic emancipation. On April 15 his illness had been +made public, and on May 24 it had been necessary to bring in a bill, +authorising the use of a stamp, to be affixed in his presence in lieu of +the royal sign manual. A month later, the disease of the heart from which +he suffered took a fatal turn, and on June 26 he passed away, not without +dignity, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. Perhaps no other English +king has been so harshly judged by posterity, nor is it possible to acquit +him of moral vices which outweighed all his merits, considerable as they +were. The Duke of Wellington, who knew him as well as any man, declared +that he was a marvellous compound of virtues and defects, but that, on the +whole, the good elements preponderated. Peel, who had become by his +father's death Sir Robert, testified in Parliament that he "never +exercised, or wished to exercise, a prerogative of the crown, except for +the advantage of his people". These estimates assuredly err on the side of +charity, and are quite inconsistent with other statements of the duke +himself.</p> + +<p>George IV., it is true, possessed many royal gifts. He was a man of no +ordinary ability, with a fine presence, courtly manners, various +accomplishments, and clear-sighted intelligence on every subject within +the sphere of his duties. But all these kingly qualities were marred by a +heartlessness which rendered him incapable of true love or friendship, and +a duplicity which made it impossible for him to retain the respect of his +ministers. His private life was not wholly unlike that of the Regent +Orléans<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> and had much the same influence on the society of the metropolis. +He was an undutiful son, a bad husband, a perfidious friend, with little +sense of truth or honour, and destitute of that public spirit which atoned +for the political obstinacy of his father. No one sincerely regretted his +death, except the favourites who had been enriched by his extravagance, +and actually succeeded in carrying off a large booty out of the valuables +that he had amassed. Nevertheless, his regency is identified with a +glorious period in our military history, and his reign ushered in a new +age of reform and national prosperity. In the great struggle against +Napoleon and the pacification of Europe he gave his ministers a cordial +and effective support. To catholic emancipation he was honestly opposed, +but he kept his opposition within constitutional limits, and his intense +selfishness did not exclude a certain sentiment of philanthropy and even +of patriotism.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE ACCESSION OF WILLIAM IV.</i></div> + +<p>His successor, William IV., was greatly inferior to him intellectually, +and infinitely less conversant with the business of state. Most of this +prince's early life was spent at sea, where he saw a fair share of +service, and became the friend of Nelson, but incurred his father's +displeasure by infringing the rules of discipline. Having been created +Duke of Clarence in 1789, he was rapidly promoted in the navy, but +remained on shore without employment for some forty years before his +accession, taking an occasional part in debates of the house of lords, and +generally acting with the whig party. During this long period he was +little regarded by his future subjects, and led a somewhat obscure life, +at first in the company of Mrs. Jordan, by whom he had a numerous family. +After his marriage with the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in 1818, +he became a more important personage, and, as we have seen, was made lord +high admiral by Canning, but held office for little more than a year. He +was thus entirely destitute of political training, and was living in +privacy when he was called to ascend the throne on the eve of a singularly +momentous crisis.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_215" id="TOPIC_215"></a>The session was prolonged until July 23, when parliament was prorogued by +the new king in person, and on the following day a dissolution was +proclaimed, the writs being made returnable on September 14. During the +month that elapsed between the death of George IV. and the prorogation, no +serious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> business was done, but the leaders of opposition in both houses +moved to provide for a regency, in view of a possible demise of the crown +before a fresh parliament could be assembled. This course was clearly +dictated by the highest expediency, for, had the king's life been cut +short suddenly, the young Princess Victoria, then eleven years old, would +have become sovereign with full powers, but without protection against the +baleful influence of her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, the least +trustworthy person in the realm. In advocating it, however, the whigs +showed an evident disposition to win the favour of William IV., who had +never broken away, like his predecessor, from his whig connexion. These +motions were defeated, but the opposition gained popularity at the expense +of the government, by raising debates on certain state prosecutions for +libel, and on the question of colonial slavery. Their position was further +strengthened by a widespread impression that the king himself was a +reformer at heart, and would seize an early opportunity of declaring his +sentiments. His weakness had not yet disclosed itself, while his +kindliness earned him golden opinions, as he "walked in London streets +with his umbrella under his arm, and gave a frank and sailor-like greeting +to all old acquaintances".</p> + +<p>The election of 1830, following close on the revolution of July in Paris, +was the death-blow of the old tory rule in England. The widespread +sympathy which the original uprising of 1789 had excited among Englishmen, +but which the atrocities of jacobinism had quenched, was now revived by +the comparatively bloodless victory of constitutional principles and the +accession of a citizen-king in France. The growing enthusiasm for reform, +thus stimulated, exercised a decisive effect in all the constituencies +except the pocket-boroughs. Brougham was returned without opposition for +Yorkshire, and Hume by a large majority for Middlesex, two brothers of Sir +Robert Peel lost their seats, and Croker was defeated for Dublin +University. Distrust of the government was equally shown in the counties +and in the great cities, but in some instances ultra-tories were elected, +in revenge for catholic emancipation or for alleged neglect of +agricultural interests. It was calculated that fifty seats, in all, had +changed hands, and the parliament which assembled in October 26 was very +different in constitution<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> and temper from any of those which supported +tory ministries with unshaken constancy during the great war and the long +period of agitation consequent on the peace.</p> + +<p>The losses of the government in Great Britain, partly due to its Irish +policy, were not compensated by any gain in Ireland, which did not fail to +display the ingratitude so often experienced by its benefactors. Catholic +emancipation was now treated as a vantage ground on which the battle of +repeal might be waged. Association after association was formed by +O'Connell, only to be put down by proclamation and to re-appear under +another name. The worst passions of the people were effectually roused, +assassinations became frequent, and Peel's correspondence with Hardinge, +then chief secretary, shows that he fully recognised the failure of his +experiment, as a cure for Irish anarchy.<a name="FNanchor_101_101" id="FNanchor_101_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a> In the course of this new +agitation, O'Connell used most offensive expressions for which Hardinge +called him to account. The chief secretary's act may have been +unjustifiable, but the shuffling and faint-hearted conduct of O'Connell in +declining this and later challenges provoked by his foul language was +fatal to his reputation for courage. The most insolent of bullies, he +never failed to consult his own personal safety, by professing +conscientious objections to duelling, as well as by keeping just outside +the meshes of the criminal law.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE DEATH OF HUSKISSON.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_216" id="TOPIC_216"></a>A few weeks before parliament met a tragical accident closed the life of +Huskisson, whose death was rendered all the more impressive by its +circumstances. In 1825 the idea of railways for the rapid conveyance of +goods and passengers bore fruit in an act for the construction of a line +between Liverpool and Manchester. It was not in itself a new idea, for +tramways had long been in use, and so far back as 1814 George Stephenson +had constructed a locomotive engine for a colliery. But it was generally +believed that such engines must always be limited to a speed of a few +miles an hour, and even the great engineer, Telford, giving evidence +before a committee in 1825, did not venture to speak of a higher maximum +speed than fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Few indeed were far-sighted +enough to credit this estimate, and the incredulity of ignorance was +aided<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> by the forces of self-interest, for the profits of canals, +stage-coaches, and carriers' vans were directly threatened by the +innovation of railways. However, George Stephenson quietly persevered, and +from the moment that his pioneer engine, the "Rocket," won the prize in a +great competition of locomotives, "the old modes of transit were changed +throughout the whole civilised world". On September 15, 1830, the first +public trial of this and other engines was made at the opening of the +Liverpool and Manchester railway. Wellington, Peel, and other eminent +personages were present, among whom was Huskisson, just returned for +Liverpool. Two trains proceeded towards Manchester on parallel lines, and +stopped at the Parkgate station. There several passengers got out, and +Huskisson was making his way to shake hands with the duke when he was +struck by a carriage of the other train, already in movement, fell upon +the rails, and was fatally crushed. He bore his sufferings with great +fortitude, but died during the night at a neighbouring vicarage to which +he was carried. He could ill be spared by his party, for, though he was +not the man to ride the storm which raged over the reform bill, his +counsels might have saved the whigs from the just reproach of financial +incapacity and have hastened the advent of free trade.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WELLINGTON ON REFORM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_217" id="TOPIC_217"></a>The winter session of 1830 opened with an ominous calm. It was believed +that private negotiations were going on between the ministry and the +survivors of Canning's following, which might result in a moderate scheme +of parliamentary reform. These expectations were utterly discomfited by +the king's speech delivered on November 2. It has unjustly been described +as "the most offensive that had been uttered by any monarch since the +revolution". On the contrary, it was tame and colourless for the most +part, recording his majesty's resolution to uphold treaties and enforce +order in the United Kingdom, but welcoming the new French monarchy in +terms which Grey emphatically commended. It gave offence to liberals by +describing the revolutionary movement in Belgium as a "revolt"; but what +called forth an immediate outburst of popular resentment was its +significant reticence on the subject of reform. This resentment was +aggravated tenfold by the Duke of Wellington's celebrated speech in the +lords, declaring against any reform whatever. The duke always refused to +admit that this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> declaration was the cause of his subsequent fall, which +he attributed, by preference, to his adoption of catholic emancipation. +Speaking deliberately in reply to Grey, who had indicated reform as the +only true remedy for popular discontent, the duke stated that no measure +of reform yet proposed would, in his opinion, improve the representative +system then existing, which, he said, "answered all the good purposes of +legislation" to a greater degree than "any legislature in any country +whatever". He went further, and avowed his conviction not only that this +system "possessed the full and entire confidence of the country," but also +that no better system could be devised by the wit of man. Its special +virtue, according to him, consisted in the fact of its producing a +representative assembly which "contained a large body of the property of +the country, and in which the landed interests had a preponderating +influence". Finally, he protested that he would never bring forward a +reform measure himself, and that "he should always feel it his duty to +resist such measures when proposed by others".</p> + +<p>There is no reason to suppose that the duke had consulted any of his +colleagues before making this declaration. Indeed, it is known that Peel +had just before received a confidential offer of co-operation in carrying +a moderate reform bill from Palmerston, Edward Stanley, grandson of the +Earl of Derby, Sir James Graham, and the Grants; nor had these overtures +been definitely rejected.<a name="FNanchor_102_102" id="FNanchor_102_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a> Some lame attempts were made to clear the +cabinet, as a whole, from responsibility for their chief's outspoken +opinions, and Peel cautiously limited himself to a doubt whether any safe +measure of reform would satisfy the reformers. But he would not separate +himself from Wellington, and Wellington's ultimatum remained unretracted.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_218" id="TOPIC_218"></a>Brougham at once gave notice of his intention to bring forward the +question of parliamentary reform in a fortnight. In the meantime the duke +had committed a mistake which irritated the people, and especially the +inhabitants of London. It happened that the king and queen, with the +ministers, were engaged to dine with the lord mayor on November 9. Three +days earlier, the lord mayor-elect warned the prime minister that a riot +was apprehended on that occasion, that an attempt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> would probably be made +to assassinate him, and that it would be desirable to come attended by a +strong military guard. Upon this intimation, confirmed by others, the +cabinet most unwisely decided not to surround the mansion house with a +large armed force, but to put off the king's visit to the city. A panic +naturally ensued, consols fell three per cent. in an hour and a half, and +the disorderly classes achieved a victory without running the smallest +risk. There were local disturbances in the evening, and the duke arranged +to join Peel at the home office, in case decisive measures should be +required, but the new police were too strong for the mob, and the whole +affair passed off quietly, though not without involving the government in +some ridicule. The Marquis Wellesley, now in opposition to his brother, +declared the postponement of the dinner to be "the boldest act of +cowardice" within his knowledge.</p> + +<p>If Wellington sought to conciliate the ultra-tories by his unfortunate +speech, he was soon undeceived. While Brougham's motion was pending, the +government proposed a revision of the civil list which purported to effect +slight economies for the benefit of the public. It was objected, however, +that a greater reduction of charges should have been contemplated, and +that parliament should have been invited to deal with the revenues derived +from the duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, which, as Peel explained, +formed no part of those placed at the disposal of parliament. Sir Henry +Parnell moved to refer the civil list to a select committee; the +chancellor of the exchequer directly opposed the motion, and, after a +short discussion, a division was taken on November 15. The result, which +had been foreseen, was a majority of twenty-nine against the government in +a house of 437 members. There were many defections among the discontented +tories, and the Wellington ministry preferred to fall on an issue of minor +importance, rather than await a decisive contest on the reform question. +On the following day, therefore, both the duke and Peel announced the +acceptance of their resignations, and it was known that Grey had received +the king's command to form a new administration.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>GREY ACCEPTS OFFICE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_219" id="TOPIC_219"></a>Grey was the inevitable head of any cabinet empowered to carry +parliamentary reform. His dignified presence, his stately eloquence, his +unblemished character, and his parliamentary experience, marked him out +for leadership, and disguised his want<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> of practical acquaintance with the +middle and lower classes of his countrymen. His political career, ranging +over forty-four years, though not destitute of errors, had been perfectly +consistent. From the first he was a staunch adherent of Fox; he was among +the managers who conducted the prosecution of Warren Hastings; his +connexion with the Society of the Friends of the People, and his advocacy +of reform during Pitt's first administration are described in the +preceding volume of this history. On Pitt's death he became closely +associated with Grenville; it will be remembered that he joined his +short-lived government, originally as first lord of the admiralty, and +afterwards as Fox's successor at the foreign office. It was he who carried +through the house of commons the bill for the abolition of the slave +trade, and it may truly be said that, in opposition, he was equally +persistent in supporting every measure in favour of liberty, political or +commercial, and in resisting every measure, necessary or otherwise, which +could be interpreted as restricting it. We have seen how he more than once +declined overtures for a coalition with his opponents, and showed a bitter +personal antipathy to Canning, whom he was more than suspected of +despising as a brilliant plebeian adventurer. This suspicion of +aristocratic prejudice, ill harmonising with democratic principles, had +never been quite dispelled, and was now to be confirmed by the composition +of his own cabinet.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_220" id="TOPIC_220"></a>All the members of this cabinet, with four exceptions, sat in the house of +lords. No cabinet had contained so few commoners since the reconstruction +of Liverpool's ministry in 1822. Of the four who now sat in the house of +commons, Lord Althorp was heir-apparent to an earldom; Lord Palmerston was +an Irish peer; Graham was a baronet of great territorial influence; +Charles Grant was still a commoner, though he was afterwards raised to the +peerage. In the distribution of offices, full justice was done to +Canning's followers. Three of these occupied posts of the highest +importance, Palmerston at the foreign office, Lamb, who had succeeded his +father as Viscount Melbourne in 1828, at the home office, and Goderich at +the colonial office, while Grant became president of the board of control. +The selection of Graham as first lord of the admiralty did not escape +criticism, but was due to his tried energy in financial reform, and was +justified by the result. Lansdowne was made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> president of the council, and +Holland chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. Both of these had been +Grey's colleagues in the administration of "All the Talents". Althorp, who +succeeded Goulburn at the exchequer, and Carlisle, who accepted a seat in +the cabinet without office, were both whigs of tried fidelity. But the +Duke of Richmond, the new postmaster-general, was a deserter from the tory +ranks, and Lord Durham, the premier's son-in-law, the new lord privy seal, +was a radical of the most aggressive type, well qualified, as the event +proved, to disturb the peace of any council to which he might be admitted. +Three occupants of places outside the cabinet remain to be mentioned. One +of these, the Marquis Wellesley, had been a warm supporter of catholic +emancipation when the Duke of Wellington stoutly opposed it, and his +brother's conversion on that question had not affected his own relations +with the whig party, which now welcomed him as lord steward. Lord John +Russell, the new paymaster of the forces, had identified himself as +prominently as Grey himself with the promotion of parliamentary reform, +and Stanley, the new chief secretary for Ireland, was probably selected +for his brilliant powers in debate, as the natural and most worthy +antagonist of the great demagogue, O'Connell.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>BROUGHAM BECOMES CHANCELLOR.</i></div> + +<p>But the most formidable of all the "radical reformers" still remained to +be conciliated, and provided with a post which might satisfy his restless +ambition. At the end of 1830 Brougham was in the plenitude of his +marvellous powers, and in the zenith of his unique popularity. As member +for the great county of York, returned free of expense on the shoulders of +the people, he already occupied the foremost position among British +commoners, and it was feared that he might use it for his own purposes in +a dictatorial spirit. He had recently declared in Yorkshire that "nothing +on earth should ever tempt him to accept place," and that he was conscious +of the power to compel the execution of measures which, before that +democratic election, he could only "ventilate". So late as November 16, he +assured the house of commons that "no change in the administration could +by any possibility affect him," adding that he would bring forward his +motion for parliamentary reform on the 25th, whatever might then be the +state of affairs, and whatever ministers should then be in office. The +great whig peers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> were most anxious to keep him out of the cabinet without +losing his support, or, still worse, provoking his active hostility. With +this view, Grey indiscreetly offered him the attorney-generalship, and we +cannot be surprised that Brougham rejected the offer with some indignation +and disdain. It was no secret that his supreme desire was to become master +of the rolls—an office compatible with a seat in the house of +commons—but his future colleagues well knew that, in that case, they +would be at his mercy in the house. Thereupon it was suggested, probably +by the king himself, that it might be the less of two dangers to entrust +him with the great seal, which Lord Lyndhurst was quite prepared to resume +under a fourth premier. Accordingly, it was known on November 20 that +Brougham was to be the whig lord chancellor, and on the 22nd he actually +took his place on the woolsack. His title was Baron Brougham and Vaux, +but, though he lived to retain it for nearly forty years, he always +preferred, with pardonable vanity, to sign his name as "Henry Brougham".</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_221" id="TOPIC_221"></a>Before the close of 1830 the new ministers found time to carry a regency +bill, whereby the Duchess of Kent (unless she married a foreigner) was to +be regent in the event of the Princess Victoria succeeding to the crown +during her minority. Having adopted the watchword of "Peace, Retrenchment, +and Reform," they gave an earnest of their zeal for retrenchment by +instituting a parliamentary inquiry into the possible reduction of +official salaries, including their own. The defeat of Stanley by "Orator" +Hunt at Preston was a warning against undue reliance on popular +confidence, for Preston was already a highly democratic constituency, +largely composed of ignorant "potwallopers". A similar but more emphatic +warning came from Ireland, where O'Connell did his utmost to insult and +defy Anglesey, the new lord-lieutenant, in spite of his sacrifices for +catholic emancipation, and his well-known sympathy with the cause of +reform. In the southern counties of England, too, violent disturbances had +broken out, and were marked by all the ferocity and terrorism +characteristic of luddism in the manufacturing districts. They spread from +Kent, Sussex, and Surrey into Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, and +Buckinghamshire. In these four counties there was a wanton and wholesale +destruction of agricultural machinery, of farm-buildings, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> especially +of ricks, as if the misery of labourers could possibly be cured by +impoverishing their only employers. The rioters moved about in large +organised bodies, and their anarchical passions were deliberately inflamed +by the writings of unscrupulous men like Cobbett and Carlile.</p> + +<p>Happily, the ministers showed no sign of the weakness upon which the +ringleaders had probably calculated. They promptly issued a proclamation +declaring their resolution to put down lawless outrage, and promised +effective support to the lords-lieutenant of the disturbed counties. +Acting upon this assurance, Wellington himself went down to Hampshire, and +took a leading part in quelling disorder. The government next appointed a +special commission, which tried many hundreds of prisoners and sentenced +the worst to death, though few were executed. This vigour soon overawed +the organised gangs which, in one or two instances, had only been +dispersed by military force. Finally, they prosecuted Carlile and Cobbett +for instigating the poor labourers to crime. The former was convicted at +the Old Bailey, and condemned to a long term of imprisonment, with a heavy +fine. The trial of Cobbett was postponed until the following July, when +the frenzy of reform was at its height. He defended himself with great +audacity in a speech of six hours, calling the lord chancellor with other +leading reformers as witnesses, and succeeded in escaping conviction by +the disagreement and discharge of the jury.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ALTHORP'S FIRST BUDGET.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_222" id="TOPIC_222"></a>Two other questions engaged the attention of parliament on the eve of the +great struggle over the reform bill. One of these was the settlement of +the civil list, which the Duke of Wellington's ministry had failed to +effect. William IV. was not an avaricious sovereign, nor did he share the +spendthrift inclination of his brother. But he was disposed to stickle for +the hereditary rights of the crown, both public and private, and he +greatly disliked the details of his expenditure being scrutinised by a +parliamentary committee. Now, Grey and his colleagues stood pledged to +such a committee, and could not avoid promoting its appointment. They +propitiated the king, however, by excluding the revenues of the Duchy of +Lancaster from the inquiry, and ultimately succeeded in persuading the +house of commons to grant a civil list of £510,000 a year. But the +publication of a return containing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> a complete list of sinecure offices +and pensions was turned to good account by the economists, and produced an +outburst of public indignation, which was by no means unreasonable. Great +results were expected from the report of the select committee on the civil +list, which revised the salaries of officials in the royal household, as +well as the emoluments of pensioners. It was even demanded that no regard +should be paid to vested interests, but Grey firmly supported the private +remonstrances of the king against such an act of confiscation. In fact, +the savings recommended by the committee were so trifling that it was +thought better to waive the question for the time, and the first +economical essay of the new <i>régime</i> ended in failure.</p> + +<p>The budget introduced by Althorp soon after the meeting of parliament on +February 3, 1831, and in anticipation of the reform bill, was equally +unsuccessful as a specimen of whig finance. Finding that, after all, he +could not effect a saving of more than one million on the national +expenditure, as reduced by his capable predecessor, Goulburn, he +nevertheless proposed to repeal the duties on coals, tallow candles, +printed cottons, and glass, as well as to diminish by one half the duties +on newspapers and tobacco. To meet the deficit thus created, he designed +an increase of the wine and timber duties, new taxation of raw cotton, +and, above all, a tax of ten shillings per cent. on all transfers of real +or funded property. This last proposal was at once denounced by Goulburn, +Peel, and Sugden, the late solicitor-general, as a breach of public faith +between the state and its creditors. Their protests were loudly echoed by +the city, and the obnoxious transfer duty was abandoned. The same fate +befell the proposed increase of the timber duties, and Althorp only +carried his budget after submitting to further modifications. Those who +had relied on his promises of economical reform were signally +disappointed, and, had not parliamentary reform overshadowed all other +issues, the credit of the government would have been rudely shaken in the +first session after its formation. But this great struggle, now to be +described, so engrossed the attention of the country, that little room was +left for the consideration of other interests, until it should be decided.</p> + +<p>It is probable that no great measure was ever preceded by so thorough a +preparation of the public mind as the reform bills of 1831-32. Ever since +the early part of the eighteenth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> century the abuses of the representative +system had been freely acknowledged, and no one attempted to defend them +in principle. The multitude of close boroughs, the smallness of the +electoral body, the sale of seats in parliament, the wide prevalence of +gross bribery, and the enormous expense of elections—these were notorious +evils which no one denied, though some palliated them, and few ventured to +assail them in earnest by drastic proposals, lest they should undermine +the constitution. So far back as 1770 Chatham had denounced them, and +predicted that unless parliament reformed itself from within before the +end of the century, it would be reformed "with a vengeance" from without. +In 1780 the Duke of Richmond had introduced a bill in favour of universal +suffrage, and Pitt had brought forward bills or motions in favour of +parliamentary reform as a private member in 1782 and 1783, and as prime +minister in 1785. But the French revolution persuaded him that the time +was not favourable to reform, and he successfully opposed Grey's motion +for referring a number of petitions in favour of reform to a committee in +1793.</p> + +<p>After this, a strong reaction set in, and the reform question had little +interest for the governing classes during the continuance of the great +war. It was never allowed to sleep, however, and in 1809, a bill +introduced by Curwen to pave the way for reform by preventing the return +of members upon corrupt agreements, actually passed both houses, though in +so mutilated a form that it was practically a dead letter. Still, the +cause was indefatigably pleaded by Brand, and Burdett, who in 1819 made +himself the spokesman of the violent reform agitation then spreading over +the country. Unfortunately, this violence, and the extravagance of the +demands put forward by the democratic leaders, were themselves fatal +obstacles to a temperate consideration of the question, and threw back the +reform movement for several years. In 1821, when Grampound was +disfranchised, it assumed, as we have seen, a more constitutional form, +and motions in favour of reform were proposed by Russell in 1822, 1823, +and 1826, and by Blandford in 1829. Had Canning placed himself at the head +of the movement the course of domestic history during the reign of George +IV. might have been very different. As it was, the number of petitions in +favour of reform sensibly fell off in the last half of the reign,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> and its +tory opponents vainly imagined that the movement had spent itself. We now +know that, in the absence of noisy demonstrations, it was really and +constantly gaining strength in the minds of thoughtful men until it +reached its climax at the end of 1830.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PUBLIC OPINION AND REFORM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_223" id="TOPIC_223"></a>The first act of the great political drama which occupied the next +eighteen months may be said to have opened with the fall of Wellington, +and the formation of the whig ministry. These events, together with the +success of the Paris revolution, supplied the motive power needed to +combine the great body of the middle classes with the proletariat in a +national crusade against the political privileges long exercised by a +powerful landed aristocracy. It is true that reform, unlike catholic +emancipation, had always appealed to broad popular sympathies, and had +been advocated by men like Grey and Burdett as carrying with it the +redress of all other grievances. But Canning was by no means the only +liberal statesman who heartily dreaded it, and even the advanced reformers +had not fully grasped the comprehensive meaning of the idea which they +embraced, or the far-reaching consequences involved in it. The palpable +anomaly of Old Sarum returning members to parliament, while Birmingham was +unrepresented, was shocking to common sense, and so was the monopoly of +the franchise by a handful of electors in some of the larger boroughs, +especially in Scotland. But few appreciated how seriously constitutional +liberty had been curtailed by the growth of these abuses (unchecked by the +Commonwealth) since the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, how +effectually home and foreign policy was controlled by a small circle of +noble families dominant in the lower as well as in the upper chamber, how +vast a transfer of sovereignty from class to class would inevitably be +wrought by a thorough reform bill, and how certainly men newly entrusted +with power would use it for their own advantage, whether or not that +should coincide with the advantage of the nation. Such general aspects of +the question are seldom noticed in the earlier debates upon it, and +economical reform sometimes appears to occupy a larger space than +parliamentary reform in the liberal statesmanship of the Georgian age.</p> + +<p>With Wellington's declaration against any parliamentary reform, this +apathy vanished, and the movement, gathering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> up into itself all other +popular aspirations thenceforward filled the whole political horizon. +Reform unions sprang up everywhere, and instituted a most active +propaganda. So rapid was its spread and so wild the promises lavished by +radical demagogues, that Grey and his wiser colleagues soon felt +themselves further removed from their own extreme left wing than from the +moderate section of the conservatives. It is abundantly clear that Grey +himself, faithful as he was to reform, never dreamed of inaugurating a +reign of democracy. He often declared in private that such a bill as he +contemplated would prove, in its effect, an aristocratic measure, and he +doubtless believed that it would be possible to bring the new +constituencies and the new electoral bodies under the same conservative +influences which had been dominant for so many generations. He did not +foresee, as Palmerston did thirty years later, that, even if the political +actors remained the same, they "would play to the gallery" instead of to +the pit or boxes. He would, indeed, have repudiated the maxim: "Everything +for the people, and nothing by the people"; he was fully prepared to place +the house of commons in the hands of the people, or at least of the great +middle class, but he regarded the crown and the house of lords as almost +equal powers, and he never doubted that property and education would +practically continue to rule the government of the country.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DRAFT OF THE FIRST BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_224" id="TOPIC_224"></a>When the whigs came into office they were singularly fortunate in the high +character and consistency of their chief, no less than in the divisions of +their opponents, whose right wing showed almost as mutinous a spirit as +their own left wing. Even between Wellington and Peel there was a want of +cordial harmony and confidence, yet Peel was the only tory statesman of +eminent capacity in the house of commons. The attitude of the king, too, +was not only strictly constitutional but friendly, though it afterwards +appeared that he relied too implicitly on Grey and Althorp to protect him +against the machinations of the radicals. The letters written by his +orders, though mostly composed by his private secretary, Sir Herbert +Taylor, display marked ability together with a very shrewd and just +conception of the situation. His loyal adoption of a moderate reform +policy was a most important element of strength to his ministers at the +outset of their great enterprise, and, if he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> afterwards held back, it was +in deference to scruples which several of them shared in their hearts. Nor +was the violence of the ultra-radicals, or the scurrilous language of +O'Connell by any means an unmixed source of weakness to men engaged in +framing and carrying a temperate reform bill. Their firm resistance to +extravagant demands reassured many a waverer and showed how carefully +their comprehensive plan had been matured. On the other hand, they had to +contend against difficulties not yet fully revealed. One of these was +their own want of administrative experience, contrasting unfavourably with +the statesmanlike capacity of Peel. Another was the intractable character +of two at least within their own innermost councils—Durham and Brougham. +A third was the inflexible conservatism of a great majority in the house +of lords, who, unlike the people at large, clearly understood that the +impending conflict was a life-and-death struggle for political supremacy +between themselves and the commons—the greatest that had been waged since +the revolutions of the seventeenth century.</p> + +<p>It was privately known that a committee had been empowered to draft the +bill awaited with so much impatience. This committee consisted of two +members of the cabinet, Durham and Graham, together with two members of +the administration not of cabinet rank, the Earl of Bessborough's eldest +son, Lord Duncannon, then chief whip of the whig party, and Russell, who +was second to none as a staunch and judicious promoter of parliamentary +reform. In spite of his vanity and petulance, Durham deserves the credit +of having drawn up the report, highly appreciated by the king, upon which +the projected measure was founded. It originally included vote by ballot, +and it is rather strange that on this point Durham was powerfully +supported by Graham, but opposed by Russell. It is still more strange that +Brougham, whose scheme of reform was locked up in his own breast, was +honestly disturbed by the radicalism of his colleagues and specially +objected to so large a disfranchisement of boroughs as they contemplated. +Upon the whole, however, the bill was the product of an united cabinet, +and received the express approval of the king in all its essential +features. The elaborate letter which he addressed to Grey on February 4, +1831, betrays a sense of relief on finding that universal suffrage and the +ballot were not to be pressed upon him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> In declaring that he never could +have given his consent to such revolutionary innovations, he insists +strongly on the necessity of maintaining an "equilibrium" between the +crown, the lords, and the commons, as well as between the "representation +of property" and that of numbers.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_225" id="TOPIC_225"></a>The reform bill of 1831, which differed only in detail from the act passed +in 1832, cannot be understood without some knowledge of the system which +that act transformed. This system has been well described as "combining +survivals from the middle ages with abuses of the prerogative in later +times". The counties remained as they had remained for centuries; Rutland, +for instance, returned as many representatives as Yorkshire, until in 1821 +the two seats taken from Grampound were added to those already possessed +by Yorkshire. On the other hand, the old franchise of the 40s. freeholders +was more widely diffused since the value of money had been greatly +depreciated. Still, the influence of the great county families was almost +supreme, and they were firmly entrenched in the nomination boroughs, where +there was scarcely a pretence of free election. The crown had originally a +discretion in summoning members from boroughs, and used it by issuing +writs to all the wealthiest as better able to bear taxation and more +competent to sanction it. The poorer boroughs, too, were also glad to +escape representation in order to save the expense of their members' +wages. The discretionary power of the crown was afterwards used in +creating petty boroughs such as "the Cornish group," for the purpose of +packing the house of commons with crown nominees. This practice, however, +ceased in the reign of Charles II., and these petty boroughs fell by +degrees into the hands of great landowners, who dictated the choice of +representatives.</p> + +<p>The result has been concisely stated as follows: "The majority of the +house of commons was elected by less than fifteen thousand persons. +Seventy members were returned by thirty-five places with scarcely any +voters at all; ninety members were returned by forty-six places with no +more than fifty voters; thirty-seven members by nineteen places with no +more than one hundred voters; fifty-two members by twenty-six places with +no more than two hundred voters. The local distribution of the +representation was flagrantly unfair.... Cornwall was a corrupt nest of +little boroughs whose vote outweighed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> that of great and populous +districts. At Old Sarum a deserted site, at Gatton an ancient wall sent +two representatives to the house of commons. Eighty-four men actually +nominated one hundred and fifty-seven members for parliament. In addition +to these, one hundred and fifty members were returned on the +recommendation of seventy patrons, and thus one hundred and fifty-four +patrons returned three hundred and seven members."<a name="FNanchor_103_103" id="FNanchor_103_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a> Household suffrage +prevailed in a few boroughs, and here barefaced corruption was common. +Seats for boroughs, appropriately called "rotten," were frequently put up +to sale; otherwise, they were reserved for young favourites of the +proprietor. Neither yearly tenants, nor leaseholders, nor even +copyholders, had votes for counties. Of Scotland it is enough to say that +free voting had practically ceased to exist both in counties and in +boroughs, as the borough franchise was the monopoly of self-elected town +councils, and the county franchise of persons, often non-resident, who +happened to own "superiorities".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PROVISIONS OF THE FIRST BILL.</i></div> + +<p>The reform bill of the whig ministry, drawn on broad and simple lines, +struck at the root of this system. Its twofold basis was a liberal +extension of the suffrage with a very large redistribution of seats. The +elective franchise in counties, hitherto confined to freeholders, was to +be conferred on £10 copyholders and £50 leaseholders; the borough +franchise was to exclude "scot and lot" voters, "potwallopers" and most +other survivals of antiquated electorates, but to include ratepaying £10 +householders. The qualification for this franchise had originally been +fixed at £20, and the king deprecated any reduction, but the omission of +the ballot reconciled him and other timid reformers to an immense increase +in the lower class of borough voters. Sixty boroughs of less than 2,000 +inhabitants, returning 119 members, were to be disfranchised altogether; +forty-seven others, with less than 4,000 inhabitants, were to be deprived +of one member, and Weymouth was to lose two out of the four members which +it returned in combination with the borough of Melcombe Regis. Fifty-five +new seats were allotted to the English counties, forty-two to the great +unrepresented towns, five to Scotland, three to Ireland, and one to Wales. +Altogether the numerical strength of the house of commons was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> to be +reduced by sixty-two, and this entirely at the expense of England. Both +the county and borough franchises in Scotland were to be assimilated +generally to those established for England, and the £10 borough franchise +was extended to Ireland. The bill contained many other provisions designed +to amend the practice of registration, the voting power of non-resident +electors, and the cumbrously expensive machinery of elections. It is +important to notice that it also limited the duration of each parliament +to five years—a concession to radicalism afterwards abandoned and never +since adopted.</p> + +<p>On February 3 parliament met after the adjournment, and Grey stated that a +measure of reform had been framed, but the nature of it was not disclosed +to the house of commons until March 1, and during the interval the secret +was kept with great fidelity. The task of explaining it was entrusted to +Russell, whose thorough mastery of its letter and spirit fully justified +the choice, partly suggested by his aristocratic connexions and historical +name. His speech was remarkable for clearness and cogency rather than for +rhetorical brilliancy, and he was careful to rest his case on +constitutional equity and political expediency of the highest order rather +than on vague and abstract principles of popular rights. The debate on the +motion for leave to bring in the bill lasted seven nights, and was +vigorously sustained on both sides. The drastic and sweeping character of +the measure took the whole house by surprise, while its authors justly +claimed some credit for moderation in rejecting the radical demands of +universal suffrage, vote by ballot, and triennial, if not annual, +parliaments. Not only inside but outside the walls of St. Stephen's the +statement of the government had been awaited with the utmost impatience, +and it was universally felt that an issue had now been raised which hardly +admitted of compromise. The king himself, though much engrossed by minor +questions affecting the civil list and the pension list, heartily +congratulated Grey on the favourable reception and prospects of the +measure, which he regarded as a safeguard against more democratic schemes. +His great fear was of a collision between the two houses, and the sequel +proved that it was not unfounded. For the present, however, all promised +well. Peel denounced the bill with less than his usual caution, but +declined to give battle upon it, and it passed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> first reading on March +9 without a division. Indeed, the chief danger to the stability of the +government arose from its defeat on the timber duties. This and other +vexatious rebuffs so irritated Grey that he actually contemplated a +dissolution, lest the reform bill itself should meet with a like fate. But +the king would not hear of it, and the cabinet wisely decided to follow +the example of Pitt and ignore an adverse division on a merely financial +proposal, however significant of parliamentary feeling.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SECOND READING OF THE FIRST BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_226" id="TOPIC_226"></a>Between the 9th and the 21st, the date fixed for the second reading, +popular excitement rose to a formidable height. Monster meetings were held +in the great centres of population, and the political unions put forth all +their strength. Nevertheless, the efforts of the "borough-mongers" were +all but successful, and after only two nights debate the bill passed its +second reading by a bare majority of one, 302 voting for it, and 301 +against it. After this demonstration of strength on the part of its +opponents, no one could expect that it would survive the ordeal of +discussion in committee, and a letter of Lord Durham, written in +anticipation of the event, sums up with great force the reasons for an +early dissolution. The crisis was precipitated by the action of General +Gascoyne, member for Liverpool, who moved before the house could go into +committee that in no case should the number of representatives from +England and Wales be diminished. In the hope of conciliating some wavering +members, the ministry framed certain modifications of their original +scheme, but they do not seem to have entertained the idea of accepting +Gascoyne's proposal in its entirety. In the division, which took place on +April 19, they were defeated by 299 votes to 291, and on the following +morning advised the king to dissolve. In spite of his former refusal, more +than once repeated, the king yielded to necessity, feeling that another +change of government, in the midst of European complications, and in +prospect of revolutionary agitation in the country, would be a greater +evil than a general election.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_227" id="TOPIC_227"></a>The opposition, flushed with victory, pressed its advantage to extremes, +and successfully resisted a motion for the grant of supplies. Urged by +Althorp, the cabinet promptly resolved on recommending that the +dissolution should be immediate, and the king, roused to energy by +indignation, eagerly adopted their recommendation. Indeed, on hearing that +Lord Wharn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>cliffe intended to move in the house of lords for an address to +the crown against a dissolution, he strongly resented such an attempt to +interfere with his prerogative, and declared himself ready to start at +once and dissolve parliament in person. Difficulties being raised about +preparing the royal carriages in time, he cut them short by remarking that +he was prepared to go in a hackney-coach—a royal saying which spread like +wildfire over the country. Both houses were scenes of confusion and uproar +when he arrived, preceded by the usual discharges of artillery, which +excited the angry disputants to fury. Lord Mansfield, who was supporting +the motion for an address, continued speaking as the king entered, until +he was forcibly compelled to resume his seat. Even Peel was only +restrained by like means from disregarding the appearance of the usher of +the black rod who came to summon the commons from the bar of the house. +The king preserved his composure, and announced an immediate prorogation +of parliament with a view to its dissolution, and an appeal to the country +on the great question of reform. Such an appeal could only be made to +constituencies under threat of thorough reconstruction or total +extinction, but from this moment the ultimate issue ceased to be doubtful.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_101_101" id="Footnote_101_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, ii., 160-62.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_102_102" id="Footnote_102_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> Arbuthnot to Peel, Nov. 1, 1830, Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, +ii., 163-66.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_103_103" id="Footnote_103_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> Goldwin Smith, <i>United Kingdom</i>, ii., 320.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3>THE REFORM.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_228" id="TOPIC_228"></a>The general election which took place in the summer of 1831 was perhaps +the most momentous on record. The news of the sudden dissolution, carrying +with it the assurance of the king's hearty assent to reform, stirred +popular enthusiasm to an intensity never equalled before or since. From +John o' Groat's to the Land's End a cry was raised of <i>The bill, the whole +bill, and nothing but the bill</i>. This cry signified more than appears on +the surface, and was not wholly one-sided in its application. No doubt it +was a passionate and defiant warning against any manipulation or dilution +of the bill in a reactionary sense, but it was also a distinct protest +against attempts by the extreme radicals to amend it in an opposite +direction. Now, as ever, the impulse was given by the middle classes, and +they were in no mood to imperil their own cause by revolutionary claims. +They could not always succeed, however, in checking the fury of the +populace, which had been taught to clamour for reform as the precursor of +a good time coming for the suffering and toiling masses of mankind. The +streets of London were illuminated, and the windows of those who omitted +to illuminate or were otherwise obnoxious were tumultuously demolished by +the mob, which did not even spare Apsley House, the town residence of the +Duke of Wellington. But, except in Scotland, no formidable riots occurred +for the present, and some good resulted from the new experience of popular +opinion gained by candidates even from unreformed constituencies hitherto +obedient to oligarchical influence, but animated for the moment by a +certain spirit of independence.</p> + +<p>Having sanctioned the dissolution, the king addressed an elaborate letter +to Grey, in which he did not disguise his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> own misgivings about the +perilous experiment of reform. Chiefly dreading a collision between the +two houses, he never ceased to press on his ministers the expediency of +making all possible sacrifices consistent with the spirit of the bill in +order to conciliate opposition in the house of peers. Grey's constant +reply was that no concessions would propitiate men bent on driving the +government from office, and that no measure less efficacious than that +already introduced would satisfy the just expectations of the people. Both +of these arguments were perfectly sound, and the constitutional triumph +ultimately achieved was largely due to the admirable tenacity of purpose +which refused to remodel the original reform bill in any essential respect +to please either the borough-mongers or the radicals. The elections were +conducted on the whole in good order. Seventy-six out of eighty-two +English county members (including the four Yorkshire members), and the +four members for the city of London, were pledged to vote for the bill. +Several notable anti-reformers were among the many county representatives +who failed to obtain re-election; even some of the doomed boroughs did not +venture to return anti-reformers; and the government found itself +supported by an immense nominal majority. The new bill, introduced on June +24 by Lord John Russell, who had recently been admitted in company with +Stanley to the cabinet, differed little from the old one. The number of +boroughs to be totally disfranchised was slightly greater, that of +boroughs to be partially disfranchised slightly less, but the net effect +of the disfranchising and enfranchising schedules was the same, and the +£10 rental suffrage was retained. The measure was allowed to pass its +first reading after one night's discussion. The debates on the second +reading lasted three nights, but the bill passed this stage on July 8 by a +majority of 136 in a house of 598 members.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>SECOND REFORM BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_229" id="TOPIC_229"></a>The victory, however, though great, was far indeed from proving decisive. +By adopting obstructive tactics, of a kind to be perfected in a later age, +the opposition succeeded in prolonging the discussion in committee over +forty nights, until September 7. Though Peel separated himself from the +old tories, and steadily declined to cabal with O'Connell's faction +against the government, such an unprofitable waste of time could not have +taken place without his tacit sanction. Only one important<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> alteration was +made in the bill. This was the famous "Chandos clause," proposed by Lord +Chandos, son of the Duke of Buckingham, whereby the county suffrage was +extended to all tenants-at-will of £50 rental and upwards. A very large +proportion of tenant farmers thus became county voters, and for the most +part followed the politics of their landlords. It may be doubted whether +Grey seriously lamented Chandos's intervention; at all events it went far +to verify his own prediction that aristocratic dominion would not be +undermined by reform.<a name="FNanchor_104_104" id="FNanchor_104_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a> Meanwhile, the country was naturally impatient +of the vexatious delay, and a somewhat menacing conference took place +between the political unions of Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow. +Happily public attention was diverted to some extent by the coronation, +which took place on the 8th. The bill was carried more rapidly through its +later stages, and was finally passed in the house of commons on the 21st, +though by a reduced majority of 345 to 236.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_230" id="TOPIC_230"></a>On the following day the bill reached the house of lords and was set down +for its second reading on October 3. Thenceforth all the hopes and fears +of its friends and enemies were concentrated on the proceedings in that +house, whose ascendency in the state was at stake. The question: "What +will the lords do?" was asked all over the country with the deepest +anxiety. The debate lasted five nights, and is admitted to have been among +the finest reported in our parliamentary history. All the leading peers +took part in it, and several of them were roused by the occasion to +unwonted eloquence, but the palm was generally awarded to the speeches of +Grey, Harrowby, Brougham, and Lyndhurst. The first of these occupied a +position which gave increased weight to his counsels, since he was the +veteran advocate of reform and yet known to be a most loyal member of the +nobility which now stood on its trial. In his opening speech he appealed +earnestly to the bench of bishops, as disinterested parties and as +ministers of peace, not to set themselves against the almost unanimous +will of the people. Brougham's great oration on the last night of the +debate contained a masterly review of the whole question, and, in spite of +its theatrical conclusion, when he sank upon his knees, extorted the +admiration of his bitterest critics as a consummate exhibition of his +marvellous powers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p> + +<p>But very few of the peers were open to persuasion; the votes of +anti-reformers were mainly guided by a shortsighted conception of their +own interests, and Eldon did not shrink from contending that nomination +boroughs were in the nature of property rather than of trusts. A memorable +division ended in the rejection of the second reform bill on the 8th by +199 votes to 158. Twenty-one bishops voted against it. The king lost no +time in reminding Grey of his own warning against submitting the bill, +without serious modifications, to the judgment of the house of lords. He +also intimated beforehand that he could not consent to any such creation +of peers as would convert the minority into a majority. Grey at once +admitted that he could not ask for so high-handed an exercise of the royal +prerogative, and undertook to remain at his post, on condition of being +allowed to introduce a third reform bill as comprehensive as its +predecessor. Thereupon the king abandoned his intention of proroguing +parliament by commission, and came down in person to do so on the 20th +when he delivered a speech clearly indicating legislation on reform as the +work of the next session.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>REFORM BILL RIOTS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_231" id="TOPIC_231"></a>During the interval between the 8th and the 20th it became evident that +the reform movement, quickened by the action of the upper house, would +rise to a dangerous height. A vote of confidence in the government, +brought forward by Lord Ebrington, eldest son of Earl Fortescue, was +carried by a majority of 131, and speeches were made in support of it +which encouraged, in the form of prediction, every kind of popular +agitation short of open violence. In the course of this debate Macaulay, +the future historian of the English revolution, delivered one of those +highly wrought orations which adorn the political literature of reform. +The excitement in London was great, but kept for the most part within +reasonable bounds, partly by the firm and sensible attitude of Melbourne +as home secretary. The mob, however, vented its rage in window breaking +and personal assaults on some prominent anti-reformers, one of whom, Lord +Londonderry, was knocked off his horse by a volley of stones. In the +provinces more serious disturbances broke out. At Derby the rioters +actually stormed the city jail, releasing the prisoners, and were only +repelled in their attack on the county jail by the fire of a military +force. At Nottingham they wreaked their vengeance on the Duke of Newcastle +by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> burning down Nottingham Castle, which belonged to him, and were +proceeding to further outrages when they were overawed by a regiment of +hussars. A great open-air meeting of the political union was held at +Birmingham, while the bill was still before the house of lords, at which a +refusal to pay taxes was openly recommended in the last resort, and votes +of thanks were passed to Althorp and Russell. The former, in acknowledging +it, wisely condemned such lawless proceedings; the latter unwisely made +use of a phrase which gravely displeased the king: "It is impossible that +the whisper of faction should prevail against the voice of a nation". Both +were called to account in the house of commons for holding correspondence +with an illegal association, but disclaimed any recognition of the +Birmingham union as a body, and fully admitted the responsibility of the +government for the maintenance of order.</p> + +<p>This assurance was about to be tested by the most atrocious outbreak which +disgraced the cause of reform. On Saturday, the 29th, Wetherell, as +recorder of Bristol, entered the city to open the commission on the +following Monday. Of all the anti-reformers, he was perhaps the most +vehement and unpopular, but his visit to Bristol was in discharge of an +official duty, and had been sanctioned expressly by the government. +Nevertheless, the cavalcade which escorted him was assailed by a furious +rabble on its way to the guildhall, and from the guildhall to the mansion +house, where he was to dine. For a while, they were kept back or driven +back by a large force of constables, but, on some of these being +withdrawn, their ferocity increased, and threatened a general assault on +the mansion house. In vain did the mayor address them and read the riot +act; they overpowered the constables, and carried the mansion house by +storm, the mayor and the magistrates escaping by the back premises, while +the recorder prudently left the city. At last the military were called +upon to act, and two troops of cavalry were ordered out. But the military +as well as the civil authorities showed a strange weakness and vacillation +in presence of an emergency only to be compared with the Lord George +Gordon riots of a by-gone generation. After making one charge and +dispersing the populace for the moment, the cavalry were sent back to +their barracks, and when one troop was recalled on the following (Sunday) +morning, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> rioters were all but masters of the city. Many of them, +having plundered the cellars of the mansion house, were infuriated by +drink; they broke into the Bridewell, the new city jail, and the county +jail, set free the prisoners, and fired the buildings. They next proceeded +to burn down the mansion house, the bishop's palace, the custom-house, and +the excise-office. The cathedral is said to have been saved by the +resolute stand of a few volunteers hastily rallied by one of the +officials. In the midst of all this havoc, the cavalry were almost +passive, Colonel Brereton, the commanding officer, waiting for orders from +the magistrates, and actually withdrawing a part of his small force when +it was most needed, because it had incurred the special hatred of the +criminals.</p> + +<p>On the morning of Monday, the guardians of law and order seemed to have +recovered their courage; at all events, the cavalry, no longer forbidden +to charge, and headed by Major Mackworth, soon cleared the streets, fresh +troops poured in, and the police made a number of arrests. The reign of +anarchy was at an end, having lasted three days. When a return of +casualties was made up, it showed that only twelve were known to have lost +their lives, besides ninety-four disabled, most of whom were the victims +of excessive drunkenness or of the flames kindled by themselves. But, +though the riot was quelled, it was some proof of its deliberate +promotion, and of the aims which its ringleaders had in view, that parties +of them issuing out from Bristol attempted to propagate sedition in +Somersetshire. A special commission sent down to Bristol condemned to +death several of the worst malefactors; four were hanged and eighty-eight +sentenced either to transportation or to lighter punishments; and Colonel +Brereton destroyed himself rather than face the verdict of a +court-martial.</p> + +<p>On the same Monday, the 31st, Burdett took the chair at a meeting in +Lincoln's Inn Fields, called for the purpose of forming a "National +Political Union" in London. Soon afterwards, however, he retired from the +organisation, on the nominal ground that half of the seats on its council +were allotted to the working classes, but more probably because he was +beginning to be alarmed by the violence of his associates. His fears were +justified by a manifesto summoning a mass meeting of the working-classes +to assemble at White Conduit House<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> on November 7, for the purpose of +ratifying a new and revolutionary bill of rights. This time the government +was on its guard, and Melbourne plainly informed a working-class +deputation that such a meeting would certainly be seditious, and perhaps +treasonable, in law. The plan was therefore abandoned, and soon afterwards +a royal proclamation was issued, declaring organised political +associations, assuming powers independent of the civil magistrates, to be +"unconstitutional and illegal". The political unions proposed to consider +themselves outside the scope of the proclamation, which had little visible +effect, though it was not without its value as proving that the government +was a champion of order as well as of liberty.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NEGOTIATIONS WITH WAVERERS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_232" id="TOPIC_232"></a>During the short recess of less than six weeks political discontent, +constantly growing, was aggravated by industrial distress and gloomy +forebodings of a mysterious pestilence, already known as cholera. A +voluminous correspondence was carried on between the king and Grey on the +means of silencing the political unions and smoothing the passage of a new +reform bill. It was not in the king's nature to conceal his own +conservative leanings, especially on the imaginary danger of increasing +the metropolitan constituencies, and Grey complained more than once of +these sentiments being confided, or at least becoming known, to opponents +of the government. At the same time attempts were being made not only by +the king himself, but also by peers of moderate views to arrange a +compromise which might save the honour of the government, and yet mitigate +the hostility of the tory majority in the upper house. In these +negotiations behind the scenes, Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, and +Carr, Bishop of Worcester, took part, as representing the episcopal bench, +while Lords Harrowby and Wharncliffe, in temporary concert with Chandos, +professed to speak for the "waverers" among peers. As little of importance +resulted from their well-meant efforts, and as nearly all the supposed +"waverers," including the bishops, drifted into open opposition, it is the +less necessary to dwell at length on a very tedious chapter in the history +of parliamentary reform. Suffice it to say that when parliament +reassembled on December 6, 1831, the prospects of the forthcoming bill +were no brighter than in October, except so far as the danger of rejecting +it had become more apparent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_233" id="TOPIC_233"></a>The final reform bill introduced by Lord John Russell on the 12th was +identical in its principle and its essential features with the former +ones. The chief alteration was the maintenance of the house of commons at +its full strength of 658 members. This enabled its framers not only to +reduce the number of wholly disfranchised boroughs (schedule A) from sixty +to fifty-six, and that of semi-disfranchised boroughs (schedule B) from +forty-six to thirty, but to assign a larger number of members to the +prosperous towns enfranchised. The bill was at once read a first time and +passed its second reading after two nights' debate on the 16th by a +majority of 324 to 162, or exactly two to one. But, after a short +adjournment for the Christmas holidays, a debate of twenty-two nights took +place in committee, and the opposition made skilful use of the many +vulnerable points in the new scheme. Every variation from the original +bill, even by way of concession, was subjected to minute criticism, and +especially the fact that the schedules were now framed, not on a scale of +population only, but on a mixed basis, partly resting on population, +partly on the number of inhabited houses, and partly on the local +contribution to assessed taxes.</p> + +<p>It was easy to pick such a compound scale to pieces, to uphold the claims +of one venal borough against another equally venal, and even to reproach +the government with inconsistency in relying on the census of 1831, +instead of on that of 1821—a course which the opposition had specially +urged upon them. But it was not so easy to combat the irresistible +arguments in favour of the bill on its general merits, to ignore the +reasonable concessions on points of detail which it embodied, or to +explain away the patent fact that no measure less stringent would satisfy +the people. There was therefore an air of unreality about this debate, +spirited as it was, nor is it easy to understand what practical object +enlightened men like Peel could have sought in prolonging it. He well +knew, and admitted in private correspondence, that reform was inevitable; +he must have known that a sham reform would be a stimulus to revolutionary +agitation; yet he strove to mutilate the bill so that it might pass its +second reading in the house of lords, and there undergo such further +mutilation as would destroy its efficacy as a settlement of the question. +For the present he yielded. No attempt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> was made to obstruct the bill on +its third reading, when the division showed 355 votes to 239, and it +passed the commons on March 23 without any division.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE THIRD REFORM BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_234" id="TOPIC_234"></a>Such a result would have been conclusive in any parliament during the +second half of the nineteenth century. A house of commons elected by the +old constituencies, and under the old franchises, had declared in favour +of a well-considered reform bill. The same constituencies voting under the +same franchises had returned an increased majority in support of the same, +or very nearly the same measure; this measure, with slight variations, had +been adopted by an immense preponderance of votes in the new house of +commons: yet its fate in the house of lords was very doubtful. Ever since +the autumn of 1831, the expedient of swamping the house of lords had been +seriously contemplated. It was supremely distasteful to the king, and Grey +himself, in common with a majority of the cabinet, was strongly averse +from it. Then came the intervention of Harrowby and Wharncliffe, the +failure of which strengthened the hands of the more determined reformers +in the cabinet, and induced the king to give way. Having already created a +few peers on the coronation, he consented to a limited addition in the +last resort, but with the reservation that eldest sons of existing peers +should be called up in the first instance, and upon the assurance that, +reform once carried, all further encroachments of the democracy should be +resisted by the government. He even authorised Grey to inform Harrowby +that he had given the prime minister this power, in the hope that it would +never be needed, and that at least the second reading of the bill would be +carried in the house of lords without it. His objection to a permanent +augmentation of the peerage remained unshaken, and Grey promised to +propose no augmentation at all before the second reading.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_235" id="TOPIC_235"></a>This compact, if it can be so called, was fulfilled in the letter, for the +bill was read a first time without a division, and it passed the second +reading on April 14 by a majority of 184 to 175. To all appearance a +notable process of conversion had been wrought among the peers, seventeen +of whom actually changed sides, while ten opponents of the former bill +absented themselves, and twelve new adherents were gained. However +encouraging these figures might be, the ministers were under no illusion. +They had the best reason for expecting the worst<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> from the struggle in +committee, and they were conscious of gradually losing the king's +confidence. The very demonstrations of popular enthusiasm for reform which +impressed others with a sense of its necessity impressed him with a sense +of its danger; the political unions and the Bristol riots alarmed him +extremely; and the foreign policy of the government elicited from him so +outspoken a protest that Grey tendered his resignation. The difficulty was +overcome for the moment, but recurred in a more serious form when +parliament reassembled on May 7. Lyndhurst at once proposed in committee +to postpone the consideration of schedule A; in other words, to shelve the +most vital provisions of the bill until the rest should have been +dissected in a hostile spirit. This proposal is supposed to have been +concerted with Harrowby and Wharncliffe, if not to have received the +sanction of the Duke of Wellington. It was adopted by 151 votes to 116, +and the cabinet, on May 8, courageously determined to make a decisive +stand. They firmly advised the king to confer peerages on "such a number +of persons as might ensure the success of the bill". The principle thus +expressed had, as has been seen, been reluctantly approved by the king +himself, but he recoiled from the application of it when he learned that +it would involve at least fifty new creations. After a day's thought, he +closed with the only alternative, and accepted the resignation of his +ministry. He then sent for Lyndhurst, who of course at once communicated +with the duke.</p> + +<p>The king, as we have seen, had never been able to understand the real +force of the reform movement, and his leading idea was that the demand for +reform might be satisfied by a moderate reform bill, which the house of +lords would not reject or reduce to nullity. Wellington shared this +impression, and, though an implacable opponent of reform, was willing to +undertake office for the purpose of carrying, not merely a mild substitute +for the whig reform bill, but the whig reform bill itself with little +modification. Such an act might appear immoral in a statesman whose +integrity was more open to question, but the duke's political <i>moral</i> +appears to have been of a less delicate type than that which is commonly +expected in party politicians. As a general, he considered, first of all +and above all, what manœuvres would best advance his plan of campaign. +As a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> political leader, he regarded himself not as the chief of a party, +still less as the exponent of a creed, but rather as a public servant to +whom his followers owed allegiance, whether in office or in opposition. As +a public servant he felt bound to obey the king's summons, and conduct the +administration, honestly and efficiently, but without much concern for +personal convictions. He was also anxious to preserve the house of lords +from being swamped and so rendered ridiculous by an extensive creation of +peers.<a name="FNanchor_105_105" id="FNanchor_105_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ATTEMPTS TO FORM A TORY MINISTRY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_236" id="TOPIC_236"></a>But Wellington knew that he was powerless to manage the house of commons +without the aid of Peel, and Peel, though pliable in the case of catholic +emancipation, was inflexible in the case of reform. He drew a distinction +between these cases, and absolutely rejected the advice of Croker that he +should grasp the helm of state to avert the worse evil of the whigs being +recalled. "I look," he wrote, "beyond the exigency and the peril of the +present moment, and I do believe that one of the greatest calamities that +could befall the country would be the utter want of confidence in the +declarations of public men which must follow the adoption of the bill of +reform by me as a minister of the crown."<a name="FNanchor_106_106" id="FNanchor_106_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> This language, repeated +under reserve in the house of commons, after a direct appeal from the +king, strongly contrasts with that of the duke who roundly asserted that +he should have been ashamed to show his face in the streets if he had +refused to serve his sovereign in an emergency. The marked divergence of +views and conduct between the two leaders of the conservative party led to +a temporary estrangement which materially weakened their counsels, and was +not finally removed until a fresh crisis arose two years later.</p> + +<p>While Lyndhurst and the duke were vainly endeavouring to patch up a +government without Peel or his personal adherents, Goulburn and Croker, +the house of commons and the country gave decisive proofs of their +resolution. A vote of confidence in Grey's ministry, proposed by +Ebrington, was carried on May 10 by a majority of eighty. Petitions came +in from the city of London and Manchester, calling upon the commons to +stop the supplies, and the reckless populace clamoured for a run upon the +Bank of England. A mass meeting convened by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> Birmingham political +union had already hoisted the standard of revolt against the legislature, +unless it would comply with the will of the people; the example was +spreading rapidly, and events seemed to be hurrying on towards a +fulfilment of Russell's prediction that, in the event of a political +deadlock, the British constitution would perish in the conflict. The duke +was credited, of course unjustly, with the intention of establishing +military rule, and doubts were freely expressed whether he could rely +either on the army or on the police to put down insurgent mobs. The +excitement in the house of commons itself was scarcely less formidable, +and it soon became evident that high tories were almost as much incensed +by the prospect of a tory reform bill as radicals and whigs by the vote on +Lyndhurst's amendment.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_237" id="TOPIC_237"></a>On the 14th Manners Sutton and Alexander Baring, Lyndhurst's trusted +confidants, plainly informed the duke that his self-imposed task was +hopeless, and on the next day the duke advised the king to recall Grey. +The king, who had apparently grasped the position earlier, acquiesced in +this solution of the question. He agreed to recall Grey and his +colleagues, and to use his own personal influence in persuading tory peers +to abstain from voting. He attempted to impose upon his old ministers the +condition of modifying the bill considerably, but they continued to insist +on maintaining its integrity, and on swamping the upper house, unless its +opposition should be withdrawn. It was, happily, unnecessary to resort to +such extreme measures. A letter from the king, dated the 17th, informed +Wellington that all difficulties would be removed by "a declaration in the +house of lords from a sufficient number of peers that they have come to +the resolution of dropping their further opposition to the reform bill". +On that night, after stating what had passed, the duke retired from the +house, followed by about 100 peers, and absented himself from the +discussion of the bill in committee. A stalwart minority remained, and +took issue on a few clauses, but their numbers constantly dwindled, and +when the report was received on June 1 only eighteen peers recorded their +dissent in a protest. <a name="TOPIC_238" id="TOPIC_238"></a>Grey himself, though suffering from illness, moved +the third reading on the 4th, when it was carried by 106 to 22. His last +words did not lack the dignity which had marked his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> bearing throughout, +and expressed the earnest hope that, in spite of sinister forebodings, +"the measure would be found to be, in the best sense, conservative of the +constitution".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ROYAL ASSENT TO THE BILL.</i></div> + +<p>The amendments made in the house of lords were slight, and the house of +commons adopted them without any argument on their merits. Peel, who had +made a convincing defence of his recent conduct, and who afterwards took a +statesmanlike course in the reformed parliament, declared, with some +petulance, that he would have nothing to do with the consideration of +provisions or amendments passed under compulsion, and that he was prepared +to accept them, <i>en bloc</i>, whatever their nature or consequences. The +bill, therefore, received the royal assent on the 7th, but the king could +not be induced to perform this ceremony in person. Though his scruples had +been respected in framing the scheme of reform, though he was consulted at +every turn and clearly recognised the necessity to which he bowed, and +though he was spared the resort to a <i>coup d'état</i> which he abhorred, he +could not but feel humiliated by the ill-disguised subjection of the crown +and the nobility to a single chamber of the people. It is greatly to his +honour that, with limited intelligence, and strong prejudices, he should +have played a straightforward and strictly constitutional part in so +perilous a crisis.</p> + +<p>By the great reform bill, as it was still called even after it became an +act, the whole representative system of England and Wales was +reconstructed. Fifty-six nomination boroughs, as we have seen, lost their +members altogether; thirty more were reduced to one member, and Weymouth +which, coupled with Melcombe Regis, had returned four members, now lost +two. Twenty-two large towns, including metropolitan districts, were +allotted two members each; twenty smaller but considerable towns received +one member each; the number of English and Welsh county members was +increased from ninety-four to one hundred and fifty-nine, and the larger +counties were parcelled out into divisions. All the fanciful and +antiquated franchises which had prevailed in the older boroughs were swept +away to make room for a levelling £10 household suffrage, the privileges +of freemen being alone preserved. The rights of 40s. freeholders were +retained in counties, but they found themselves associated with a large +body of copyholders, leaseholders, and tenants-at-will pay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>ing £50 in +rent. The general result was to place the borough representation mainly in +the hands of shopkeepers, and the county representation mainly in those of +landlords and farmers. The former change had a far greater effect on the +balance of parties than the latter. The shopkeepers, of whom many were +nonconformists, long continued to cherish advanced radical traditions, +partly derived from the reform agitation, and constantly rebelled against +dictation from their rich customers. The farmers, dependent on their +landlords and closely allied with them in defending the corn laws, proved +more submissive to influence, and constituted the backbone of the great +agricultural interest.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_239" id="TOPIC_239"></a>The enactment of the English reform bill carried with it as its necessary +sequel the success of similar bills for Scotland and Ireland. In Scotland +electoral abuses were so gross that reform was comparatively simple, and +that proposed, as Jeffrey, the lord advocate, frankly said, "left not a +shred of the former system". The nation, as a whole, gained eight members, +since its total representation was raised from forty-five to fifty-three +seats, thirty for counties and twenty-three for cities and burghs. Two +members were allotted to Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively; one each to +Paisley, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, and Greenock, as well as to certain +groups of boroughs. Both the county and burgh electorates were entirely +transformed. The "old parchment freeholders" in counties, many of whom +owned not a foot of land, were superseded by a mixed body of freeholders +and leaseholders with real though various qualifications. The electoral +monopoly of town councils was replaced by the enfranchisement of +householders with a uniform qualification of £10. A claim to +representation on behalf of the Scottish universities was negatived in the +house of lords. The number of representatives for Ireland was raised from +100 to 105. The disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders was maintained +against the strenuous attacks of O'Connell and Sheil, but the introduction +of the £10 borough franchise amply balanced the loss of democratic +influence in counties. On the whole the transfer of power from class to +class was greater in Scotland and Ireland than in England itself, and in +Ireland this signified a corresponding transfer of power from protestants +to catholics. The rule of the priests was almost as absolute as ever until +it was checked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> for a while by a purely democratic movement, and the Irish +vote in the house of commons was generally cast on the radical side.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>RETROSPECT OF THE REFORM MOVEMENT.</i></div> + +<p>A calm retrospect of the reform movement, culminating in the acts of 1832, +compels us to see how little the course of politics is guided by reason, +and how much by circumstances. Every argument employed in that and the +preceding year possessed equal force at the end of the eighteenth century, +and the benefits of reform might have been obtained at a much smaller cost +of domestic strife; nor can we doubt that, but for the French revolution, +these arguments would have prevailed. Whether or not the sanguinary +disruption of French society furthered the cause of progress on the +continent, it assuredly threw back that cause in Great Britain for more +than a generation. Not only did its horrors and enormities produce a +reaction which paralysed the efforts of liberals in this country, but the +wars arising out of it engrossed for twenty years the whole energy of the +nation. Had it been possible for Pitt to pass a reform bill after carrying +the Irish union, the current of English history would have been strangely +diverted. The sublime tenacity of that proud aristocracy which defied the +French empire in arms, and nerved all the rest of Europe by its example +and its subsidies, would never have been exhibited by a democratic or +middle class parliament, and it is more than probable that Great Britain +would have stood neutral while the continent was enslaved or worked out +its own salvation. On the other hand, in such a case, Great Britain might +have been spared a great part of the misery and discontent which, +following the peace, but indirectly caused by the war, actually paved the +way for the reform movement. It remained for a second French revolution, +combined with the infatuation of English tories, to supply the motive +power which converted a party cry into a national demand for justice. The +reform act was, in truth, a completion of the earlier English revolution +provoked by the Stuarts. Considering the condition of the people before +its introduction, and the obstinacy of the resistance to be overborne, we +may well marvel that it was carried, after all, so peacefully, and must +ever remember it as a signal triumph of whig statesmanship.</p> + +<p>It was the crowning merit of the reform act, from a whig point of view, +that it stayed the rising tide of democracy, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> raised a barrier against +household suffrage and the ballot which was not broken down for a +generation more. It put an end to an oligarchy of borough-owners and +borough-mongers; it was a charter of political rights for the +manufacturing interest and the great middle class. But it did nothing for +the working classes in town or country; indeed, by the abolition of +potwallopers and scot-and-lot voters in a few boroughs, they forfeited +such fragmentary representation as they had possessed. Hence the seeds of +chartism, already sown, were quickened in 1832; but socialism was not yet +a force in politics, and it was still hoped that, under the new electoral +system, the sufferings of the poor might be mostly remedied by act of +parliament. The effect of the reform act on the balance of the +constitution was not, at first, fully appreciated. The grievance of +nomination-boroughs had been all but completely redressed, and that of +political corruption greatly diminished, but the hereditary peerage +remained, and the right of the lords to override the will of the commons +had ostensibly survived the conflict of 1831-32. But far-sighted men could +not fail to perceive that, in fact, the upper house was no longer a +co-ordinate estate of the realm. The peers retained an indefinite power of +delaying a measure, but it soon came to be a received maxim that on a +measure of primary importance such a power could only be exercised in +order to give the commons an opportunity of reconsideration or to force an +appeal to the country at a general election, and that a new house of +commons, armed with a mandate to carry that measure, though once rejected +by the peers, could not be resisted except at the risk of revolution.</p> + +<p>The best safeguard against collision, however, was to be found in the +latent conservatism of the house of commons itself. Reformed as it was, it +had not ceased to be mainly a house of country gentlemen, and the +non-payment of members was a security for its being composed, almost +exclusively, of men with independent means and a stake in the country. A +very large proportion of these had been educated at the great public +schools, or the old English universities. They might accept on the +hustings the doctrine, against which Burke so eloquently protested, that a +representative is above all a delegate, and must go to parliament as the +pledged mouthpiece of his constituency. But in the house itself they could +not divest themselves of the senti<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>ments derived from their birth, their +education, and their own personal interests; nor was it found impossible, +without a direct violation of pledges, to act upon their own opinions in +many a critical division. Still, it has been well pointed out that, with +the flowing tide of reform there arose a new and one-sided conception of +statesmanship as consisting in progressive amendment of the laws rather +than in efficient administration, so that it is now popularly regarded as +a mark of weakness on the part of any government to allow a session to +pass without effecting some important legislative change.<a name="FNanchor_107_107" id="FNanchor_107_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CORONATION OF WILLIAM IV.</i></div> + +<p>The supreme interest of the reform bill and its incidents naturally +dwarfed all other political questions, and the legislative annals of +1831-32 are otherwise singularly devoid of historical importance. The +coronation of William IV., which, as has been seen, took place on +September 8, 1831, was hardly more than an interlude in the great +struggle, yet it served for the moment to assuage the animosities of party +warfare. The king himself, who disliked solemn ceremonials, and the +ministers, deeply pledged to economy, were inclined to dispense with the +pageant altogether. It was found, however, that not only peers and court +officials but the public would be grievously disappointed by the omission +of what, after all, is a solemn public celebration of the compact between +the sovereign and the nation. The coronation was, therefore, carried out +with due pomp and all the time-honoured formalities, but without the +profuse extravagance which attended the enthronement of George IV. There +was no public banquet, and the public celebration ceased with the ceremony +in Westminster Abbey. The Duke of Wellington and other leading members of +the opposition had been duly consulted by the government; there was a +welcome respite from parliamentary warfare; the king's returning +popularity was confirmed; and all classes of the people were satisfied.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_240" id="TOPIC_240"></a>Two months later, the appearance of the cholera at Sunderland added +another grave cause of anxiety to all the difficulties created by the +defeat of the reform bill in the house of lords, and the ominous riots at +Bristol. A similar but distinct and infinitely milder disease had long +been known under the name of <i>cholera morbus</i>, or more correctly <i>cholera +nostras</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> Asiatic cholera, as the new disease was called, had no affinity +with any other known disease, and excited all the greater terror by its +novelty, as well as by the suddenness of its fatal effect. It was first +observed by English physicians in 1817, when 10,000 persons fell victims +to it in the district of Jessor in Bengal. About the same time it attacked +and decimated the central division of the army of Lord Hastings, advancing +against Gwalior. Before long it spread over the whole province of Bengal, +and eastward along the coasts of Asia as far as China and Timur in the +East Indies, crossed the great wall, and penetrated into Mongolia. In 1818 +it broke out at Bombay, and during the next twelve years continued to +haunt, at intervals, the cities of Persia and Asiatic Turkey, with the +coasts of the Caspian Sea. It was not until 1829 that it reached the +Russian province of Orenburg, by way of the river Volga, visiting St. +Petersburg and Archangel in June, 1830. Thence it travelled slowly but +steadily westward through Northern Europe, as well as southward into the +valleys of the Danube and its tributaries, until it made its appearance at +Berlin and Hamburg in the summer of 1831. Long before this, and while the +reform crisis was in its acutest stage, the probability of its advent was +fully realised in England, and orders in council were issued in June, +1831, placing in quarantine all ships coming from the Baltic. +Notwithstanding the outcry against meddling with trade, men of war were +appointed to enforce these orders, and when the news came that Marshal +Diebitsch had died of the disease in Poland, the alarm increased and all +regulations against plague were made applicable to cholera. Whether or not +these precautions were ineffective, it swooped upon Sunderland on October +26, and prevailed there for two months, though its true character was very +unwillingly recognised.<a name="FNanchor_108_108" id="FNanchor_108_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a></p> + +<p>The conflict between the newly created board of health and the merchants +importing goods caused the government no little perplexity. The protests +of the latter were strengthened by the somewhat remarkable fact that, once +established at Sunderland, the cholera seemed to be arrested in its course +and for a while spread no further. There seemed to be some ground for the +belief that it was partly due to extreme overcrowding and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> neglect of all +sanitary rules in that town, but this belief was soon dissipated by its +appearance at Newcastle and progress over the north-eastern counties even +during the winter months. Seven cases of it occurred on the banks of the +Thames just below London early in February, 1832, and though its virulence +in England was alleged to be less than on the continent, further +experience hardly justified that opinion. The appalling violence of its +first onslaught on some vulnerable districts may be illustrated by the +example of Manchester, where a whole family just arrived from an infected +locality was swept away within twenty-four hours. The government did its +duty by disseminating instructions for its prevention and treatment among +the local authorities, but the prejudices of the lower orders were against +all interference for their benefit, and scenes of brutality were sometimes +enacted such as may still be witnessed in oriental cities scourged by the +plague. After a temporary decline, the visitation recurred in all its +severity, and in July the deaths of a few persons in the highest circles +occasioned a panic in the west end of London. Still the declared number of +deaths in the metropolitan area was only 5,275, showing a far lower rate +of mortality in London than in Paris at the same time, and much lower than +in London itself during the epidemic of 1849, when statistics were more +trustworthy. None of the cholera epidemics, however, approached in +deadliness the plagues of 1625 and 1665. In the latter year the number of +deaths in London from plague alone represented about one-fifth of the +entire resident population—a proportion equivalent to a mortality of +above 200,000 in the London of 1831-32. This comparative immunity was +partly due to improved sanitation, the vigorous development of which may +be said to date from the first visitation of cholera.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_241" id="TOPIC_241"></a>The census taken in 1831 revealed an increase of population, which, though +not equal to that of the preceding decade, indicated a most satisfactory +growth of wealth and employment. It was found that Great Britain contained +about 16,500,000 inhabitants, but of these, as might be expected, a +smaller percentage was employed in agriculture and a larger percentage in +manufacturing industry than in 1821. It has been calculated that since the +end of the great war the accumulation of capital had been twice as rapid +as the multiplication of the people, but, in spite of this, pauperism, as +measured by poor law expendi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>ture, had increased almost continuously since +1823, and emigration received a startling impulse in 1831-32. Rick burning +and frame breaking were the joint result of childish ignorance, miserable +wages, mistaken taxes on the staple of food, and poor laws administered as +if for the very purpose of encouraging improvidence and vice. All these +causes were capable of being removed or mitigated by legislation, for even +the rate of wages was kept down by the ruinous system of out-door relief. +But it was only a few thoughtful persons who then appreciated either the +extent or the real sources of the mischief, and the disputes which soon +arose about the proper remedies to be applied have been handed on to a +later age.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_242" id="TOPIC_242"></a>Next to parliamentary reform the state of Ireland was by far the most +important subject which engaged the attention of the legislature in +1831-32. The population had increased from 6,801,827 in 1821 to 7,767,401 +in 1831, and the increase, unlike that in England, had been almost +exclusively in the agricultural districts. While the political motive for +multiplying small freeholds had ceased, the motives for multiplying small +tenancies were as strong as ever, and were felt by landlords no less than +by cottiers. This class, often inhabiting huts like those of savage tribes +and living in a squalor hardly to be seen elsewhere in western Europe, +chiefly depended for their subsistence on potatoes—the most uncertain and +the least nutritious of the crops used for human food. Many hundred +thousands of them had no employment in their own country and no means of +livelihood except the produce of the scanty patches around their own turf +cabins. Tens of thousands flocked to England annually seeking harvest +work, and a small number emigrated to Canada or the United States, the +passage money for an emigrant being then almost prohibitive. Those who +could not pay rent were liable to eviction, and eviction was a more cruel +fate then than now, since there was no poor law in Ireland. Fever was rife +in their miserable abodes, following in the steps of hunger, and for +relief of any kind they could rely only on the mercy of their landlords or +the charity of their neighbours. <a name="TOPIC_243" id="TOPIC_243"></a>Under such conditions of life crime and +disaffection could not but flourish, and the Irish peasant could hardly be +blamed if he listened eagerly to the counsels of O'Connell. For him +catholic emancipation had no meaning except so far as it gave him a hope +that parliament,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> swayed by the great Irish demagogue, would abolish +tithes, if not rent, and find some means of making Irishmen happy in their +own country.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ANGLESEY LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND.</i></div> + +<p>Had O'Connell been a true patriot, or even an honest politician, he would +have devoted his vast powers and influence to practical schemes for the +good of Ireland, and specially to a solution of the agrarian question. +Unhappily, smarting under a not unfounded sense of injustice, when he was +disabled from taking his seat for Clare, he threw his whole energy into a +new campaign for the repeal of the union, which occupied the rest of his +life. So far from acknowledging any gratitude to the whigs, through whose +support emancipation had been carried, he exhausted all the resources of +his scurrilous rhetoric upon them, lavishing the epithets "base, brutal, +and bloody," with something like Homeric iteration. In December, 1830, +Anglesey had returned to succeed the Duke of Northumberland, and Stanley +occupied the post of chief secretary, in place of Hardinge. The ministers +were privately advised to buy O'Connell at any price, and it was intimated +that he would not object to become a law officer of the crown, or at least +would not refuse a judicial appointment. It may well be doubted whether +the offer of such a bargain to such a man could have been justified by +success; it is more than probable that it would have failed, and it is +quite certain that failure would have brought infinite discredit upon the +government. At all events the attempt was not made, and other catholic +aspirants to legal promotion were passed over with less excuse.</p> + +<p>Lord Anglesey proved a resolute viceroy, and proclaimed the various +associations, meetings, and processions organised by O'Connell, with +little regard for his own popularity. O'Connell's policy, carried out with +the cunning of a skilful lawyer, was to obey the law in the letter, but to +break it almost defiantly in the spirit. At last, however, he went a step +too far by advising the people who had come for a prohibited meeting to +reassemble and hold it elsewhere. He was arrested on January 18, 1831, and +pleaded "Not guilty," but on February 17, when his trial came on, he +allowed judgment to go by default against him on those counts of the +indictment which charged him with a statutable offence, provided that +other counts, which charged him with a conspiracy at common law, should be +withdrawn. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> attorney-general assented, and the case was adjourned +until the first day in Easter term. Before that day arrived, however, the +reform bill had been introduced, and O'Connell had made a powerful speech +in support of it. In the desperate struggle which ensued, the ministers +shrunk from estranging so formidable an ally, a further adjournment of the +case was allowed, a sudden dissolution of parliament took place, the act +under which O'Connell was to be sentenced expired with the parliament, and +no further action was taken.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>"TITHE-WAR" IN IRELAND.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_244" id="TOPIC_244"></a>During the year 1831, the agitation for repeal which O'Connell had set on +foot, as soon as the emancipation act had been passed, was for a while +thrust into the shade by the fiercer agitation against tithes. This +agitation was connected, in theory, with the demand for the abolition or +reduction of the Irish Church establishment, but was, in fact, entirely +independent of that or any other constitutional movement. It may seem +inexplicable to political students of a later age that Irish questions of +secondary importance, and eminently capable of equitable treatment, should +have convulsed the whole island and disturbed the whole course of imperial +politics, during the reign of William IV. The rebellion against tithes or +"tithe-war," as it was called, had not the semblance of justification in +law or reason. Every tenant who took part in it had inherited or acquired +his farm, subject to payment of tithes, and might have been charged a +higher rent if he could have obtained it tithe-free. The tithe was the +property of the parson as much as the land was the property of the +landlord, and the wilful refusal of it was from a legal point of view +sheer robbery. On the other hand, the mode of collection was extremely +vexatious, perhaps involving the seizure of a pig, a bag of meal, or a +sack of potatoes; and a starving cottier, paying fees to his own priest, +was easily persuaded by demagogues that it was an arbitrary tribute +extorted by clerical tyrants of an alien faith.</p> + +<p>Thus it came to pass that the history of the Irish "tithe-war" exhibits +the Irish peasantry in their very worst moods, and it is stained with +atrocities never surpassed in later records of Irish agrarian conspiracy. +It is among the strange and sad anomalies of national character that a +people so kindly in their domestic relations, so little prone to ordinary +crime, and so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> amenable to better influences, should have shown, in all +ages, down to the very latest, a capacity for dastardly inhumanity, under +vindictive and gregarious impulses, only to be matched by Spanish and +Italian brigands among the races of modern Europe. Yet so it is, and no +"coercion" (so-called) ultimately enforced by legal authority was +comparable in severity with the coercion which bloodthirsty miscreants +ruthlessly applied to honest and peaceable neighbours, only guilty of +paying their lawful debts. It is not too much to say that anarchy +prevailed over a great part of Ireland, especially of Leinster, during the +years 1831 and 1832. The collection of tithes became almost impossible. +The tithe-proctors were tortured or murdered; the few willing tithe-payers +were cruelly maltreated or intimidated; the police, unless mustered in +large bodies, were held at bay; cattle were driven, or, if seized and +offered for sale, could find no purchasers; and the protestant clergy, who +had acted on the whole with great forbearance, were reduced to extremities +of privations. Five of the police were shot dead on one occasion; on +another, twelve who were escorting a tithe-proctor were massacred in cold +blood. A large number of rioters were killed in encounters with the +police, which sometimes assumed the form of pitched battles and closely +resembled civil war. Special commissions were sent down into certain +districts, and a few executions took place, but in most cases Irish juries +proved as regardless of their oaths as they ever have on trials of +prisoners for popular crimes. O'Connell, and even Sheil, tacitly +countenanced these lawless proceedings, and openly palliated them in the +house of commons.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_245" id="TOPIC_245"></a>The whig government, engaged in a life-and-death contest with the English +borough-mongers, hesitated to crush the Irish insurgents by military +force, or to initiate a sweeping reform of the Irish Church. Early in +1832, however, committees of both houses reported in favour of giving the +clergy temporary relief out of public funds, and of ultimately commuting +tithes into a charge upon the land. A preliminary bill for the former +purpose was promptly carried by Stanley, and made the government +responsible for recovering the arrears. The committee, pursuing their +inquiries, produced fuller reports, and again recommended a complete +extinction of tithes in Ireland. But the method proposed and embodied in +three bills introduced by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> Stanley in the same year, was too complicated +to serve as a permanent settlement, and was denounced as illusory by the +Irish members. The first bill was, in fact, a compulsory extension of acts +already passed in 1822 and 1823, the former of which had permitted the +tithe-owner to lease the tithe to the landlord, while the latter permitted +the tithe-owner and tithe-payers of each parish to arrange a composition. +Unfortunately, the act of 1823 had provided that the payment in +commutation of tithe should be distributed over grass-lands hitherto +tithe-free in Ireland as well as over land hitherto liable to tithe. The +act was in consequence unpopular with a section of farmers, while at the +same time the bishops resented the commutation, as likely to diminish the +value of beneficies. But in spite of this opposition the act of 1823 had +been widely adopted. Stanley's bill to render such commutations compulsory +passed, but his other two bills, providing a new ecclesiastical machinery +for buying up tithes, were abandoned at the end of the session. Of course +the substitution of the government for the clergyman as creditor in +respect of arrears had no soothing effect on the debtors. The reign of +terror continued unabated, and O'Connell contented himself with pointing +out that without repeal there could be no peace in Ireland. We may so far +anticipate the legislation of 1833 as to notice the inevitable failure of +the experiment which converted the government into a tithe-proctor. It was +then replaced by a new plan, under which the government abandoned all +processes under the existing law, advanced £1,000,000 to clear off all +arrears of tithe, and sought reimbursement by a land tax payable for a +period of five years.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>EDUCATION IN IRELAND.</i></div> + +<p>It reflects credit on the unreformed house of commons that in its very +last session, harassed by the irreconcilable attitude of the catholic +population in Ireland, it should have found time and patience not only for +the pressing question of Irish tithes, but for the consideration of a +resolution introductory to an Irish poor law, of a bill (which became law) +for checking the abuses of Irish party processions, and of a grant for a +board to superintend the mixed education of Irish catholic and protestant +children. The discussion of Sadler's motion in favour of an Irish poor law +was somewhat academic, and produced a division among the Irish members, +O'Connell, with gross inconsistency, declaring himself vehemently opposed +to any such measure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> The ministers professed sympathy with its principle, +but would not pledge themselves to deal immediately with so difficult and +complicated a subject, perhaps foreseeing the necessity of radical change +in the English poor law system. The processions bill was vigorously +resisted on behalf of the Orangemen, as specially aimed at their annual +demonstrations on July 12, but it was so manifestly wise to remove every +wanton aggravation of party spirit in Ireland, that it was passed just +before the prorogation.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_246" id="TOPIC_246"></a>The experiment of mixed education in Ireland had already been made with +partial success, first by individuals, and afterwards by an association +known as the Kildare Place Society. On the appointment of Dr. Whately to +the archbishopric of Dublin, it received a fresh impulse, and Stanley, as +chief secretary, definitely adopted the principle, recommended by two +commissions and two committees, of "a combined moral and literary and +separate religious instruction". A board of national education was +established in Dublin, composed of eminent Roman catholics as well as +protestants, to superintend all state-aided schools in which selections +from the Bible, approved by the board, were to be read on two days in the +week. Though provision was made for unrestricted biblical teaching, out of +school hours, on the other four days, protestant bigotry was roused +against the very idea of compromise. A shrewd observer remarked, "While +the whole system is crumbling to dust under their feet, while the Church +is prostrate, property of all kind threatened, and robbery, murder, +starvation, and agitation rioting over the land, these wise legislators +are debating whether the brats at school shall read the whole Bible or +only parts of it".<a name="FNanchor_109_109" id="FNanchor_109_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a> The opponents of the national board failed to +defeat the scheme in parliament, and it was justly mentioned with +satisfaction by the king in his prorogation speech of August 16. But its +benefits, though lasting, were seriously curtailed by sectarian jealousy. +Most of the protestant clergy frowned upon the national schools, as the +Roman catholic priesthood had frowned upon the schools of the Kildare +Place Society, and a noble opportunity of mitigating religious strife in +Ireland was to a great extent wasted. Thus ended the eventful session of +1832.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_104_104" id="Footnote_104_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> See Professor Dicey's observations on this clause, <i>Law and +Opinion in England</i>, p. 54, <i>n.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_105_105" id="Footnote_105_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> Wellington, <i>Despatches, etc.</i>, viii., 206; Parker, <i>Sir +Robert Peel</i>, ii., 207.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_106_106" id="Footnote_106_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, ii., 206.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_107_107" id="Footnote_107_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> Goldwin Smith, <i>United Kingdom</i>, ii., 354; Dicey, <i>Law and +Opinion in England</i>, p. 85.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_108_108" id="Footnote_108_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> C. Creighton, <i>History of Epidemics in Britain</i>, ii., 768, +793-97, 860-62.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_109_109" id="Footnote_109_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> Greville, <i>Memoirs</i> (March 9, 1832), ii., 267.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<h3>FRUITS OF THE REFORM.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_247" id="TOPIC_247"></a>It was assumed in 1832, and has been held ever since, that a +redistribution act must be speedily followed by a dissolution, so as to +give the new constituencies the power of returning new members. +Accordingly, parliament, having been prorogued until October 16, was +further prorogued until December 3, and then finally dissolved. The +general election which followed, though awaited with much anxiety, was +orderly on the whole, and produced less change than had been expected in +the <i>personnel</i> of the house of commons. The counties, for the most part, +elected men from the landed aristocracy, the great towns elected men of +recognised distinction, and few political leaders were excluded, though +Croker abjured political life and refused to solicit a seat in the +reformed house of commons. The good sense of the country asserted itself; +while Cobbett was returned for Oldham, "Orator" Hunt was defeated at +Preston, and no general preference was shown for violent demagogues by the +more democratic boroughs. The age of members in the new house was higher, +on the average, than in the old; its social character was somewhat lower, +and the high authority of William Ewart Gladstone, who now entered +parliament for the first time, may be quoted for the opinion that it was +inferior, in the main, as a deliberative assembly. But it was certainly +superior as a representative assembly, it contained more capable men of +business, and its legislative productions, as we shall hereafter see, +claim the gratitude of posterity. A certain want of modesty in the new +class of members was observed by hostile critics, and was to be expected +in men who had won their seats by popular oratory and not through +patronage. The house of commons had already ceased to be "the best club in +London," and later re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>forms have still further weakened its title to be so +regarded, but they have also shown the wonderful power of assimilation +inherent in the atmosphere of the house itself, and the spirit of +freemasonry which springs up among those who enter it by very different +avenues.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT.</i></div> + +<p>The change wrought by the reform act in the strength and distribution of +parties was immediate and conspicuous. The ancient division of whigs and +tories, which had become well-nigh obsolete in the reign of George IV., +had been revived by the great struggle of 1831-32. It was now superseded +to a great extent by the combination of the radicals with O'Connell's +followers into an independent section, and by the growth of a party under +Peel, distinct from the inveterate tories and known by the name of +"conservative," which first came into use in 1831.<a name="FNanchor_110_110" id="FNanchor_110_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a> The preponderance +of liberalism, in its moderate and extreme forms, was overwhelming. It was +roughly computed that nearly half the house were ministerialists and about +190 members radicals, Irish repealers, or free lances, while only 150 were +classed as "conservatives," apparently including tories.<a name="FNanchor_111_111" id="FNanchor_111_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a> In such +circumstances the attitude to be adopted by Peel was of the highest +constitutional importance. It is some proof of the respect for +statesmanship instinctively felt by the new house of commons that Peel, as +inexorable an opponent of reform as Canning himself, should at once have +assumed a foremost position and soon obtained an ascendency in an assembly +so largely composed of his opponents.</p> + +<p>But Peel himself was no longer a mere party leader. Unlike Wellington and +Eldon, he saw the necessity of accepting loyally the accomplished fact and +shaping his future course in accordance with the nation's will. He, +therefore, took an early opportunity of declaring that he regarded the +reform act as irrevocable, and that he was prepared to participate in the +dispassionate amendment of any institution that really needed it. In a +private letter to Goulburn he stated that, in his judgment, "the best +position the government could assume would be that of moderation between +opposite extremes of ultra-toryism and radicalism," intimating further +that "we should appear to the greatest advantage in defending the +government" against their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> own extreme left wing.<a name="FNanchor_112_112" id="FNanchor_112_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a> In this policy he +persevered; his influence did much to quell the confusion and disorder of +the first debate, and his followers swelled the government majorities in +several of the early divisions. When he came to review the first session +of the reformed parliament he remarked in a private letter that what had +been foreseen took place, that "the popular assembly exercised tacitly +supreme power," and, without abolishing the crown or the house of lords, +overawed the convictions of both.<a name="FNanchor_113_113" id="FNanchor_113_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>IRISH COERCION BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_248" id="TOPIC_248"></a>The passion for reform, far from spending itself in remodelling the house +of commons, filled the statute-book with monuments of remedial +legislation. No session was more fruitful in legislative activity than +that of 1833. But the way of legislation was at first blocked against all +projects of improvement by the urgent necessity of passing an Irish +coercion bill. This had been indicated in the king's speech, and on +February 15, 1833 Grey introduced the strongest measure of repression ever +devised for curbing anarchy in Ireland. It combined, as he explained, the +provisions of "the proclamation act, the insurrection act, the partial +application of martial law, and the partial suspension of the <i>habeas +corpus</i> act". But the barbarities and terrorism which it was designed to +put down were beyond precedent and almost beyond belief. The attempt to +collect the arrears of tithe, even with the aid of military force, had +usually failed, and less than an eighth of the sum due was actually +levied. The organised defiance of law was not, however, confined to +refusal of tithes; it embraced the refusal of rent and extended over the +whole field of agrarian relations. The Whiteboys of the eighteenth century +reappeared as "Whitefeet," and other secret associations, under grotesque +names, enforced their decrees by wholesale murder, burglary, arson, savage +assaults, destruction of property, and mutilation of cattle. In two +counties, Kilkenny and Queen's County, nearly a hundred murders or +attempted murders were reported within twelve months, and the murderous +intimidation of witnesses and jurors secured impunity to perpetrators of +crimes. No civilised government could have tolerated an orgy of +lawlessness on so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> vast a scale, and nothing but the exigencies of the +reform bill can excuse Grey and his colleagues for not having grappled +with it earlier. Nor does it appear that any remedy less stern would have +been effectual. Where unarmed citizens have not the courage either to +protect themselves or to aid the constabulary employed for their +protection, soldiers, accustomed to face death and inflict it upon others +under lawful command, must be called in to maintain order. Where civil +tribunals have become a mockery, summary justice must be dealt out by +military tribunals. Force may be no remedy for grievances, but it is the +one sovereign remedy for organised crime, and this was soon to be proved +in Ireland.</p> + +<p>The viceroy, Anglesey, true to his liberal instincts, would have postponed +coercion to measures of relief, such as a settlement of the church +question. Stanley, on the other hand, insisted on the prompt introduction +of a stringent peace preservation bill, and his energetic will prevailed. +The bill contained provisions enabling the lord-lieutenant to suppress any +meeting, establishing a curfew law in disturbed districts, and placing +offenders in such districts under the jurisdiction of courts martial with +legal assessors. It passed the house of lords with little discussion on +the 22nd, and was laid before the house of commons a few days later by +Althorp, who had already brought in an Irish Church temporalities bill. +The debate on the address had already given warning of the reception which +the Irish members would accord to any coercion bill, and of their +malignant hostility to Stanley. Efforts were made to delay its +introduction, and full advantage was taken of Althorp's statement that one +special commission had been completely successful. His opening speech, +tame and inconclusive, discouraged his own followers. The fate of the bill +appeared doubtful, but Stanley, who had twice staked the existence of the +ministry on its adoption, reversed the whole tendency of the debate by a +speech of marvellous force and brilliancy, which Russell afterwards +described as "one of the greatest triumphs ever won in a popular assembly +by the powers of oratory".<a name="FNanchor_114_114" id="FNanchor_114_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a> It was in this speech that he proved +himself at least a match for O'Connell, whom he scathed with fierce +indignation as having lately called the house<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> of commons a body of +scoundrels. It cost many nights of debate to carry the bill, with slight +amendments, but Stanley's appeal had a lasting effect, and it became law +in April, to the great benefit of Ireland.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>IRISH CHURCH TEMPORALITIES BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_249" id="TOPIC_249"></a>Meanwhile, the Irish Church temporalities bill was pressed forward as a +counterpoise to coercion. It imposed a graduated tax upon all episcopal, +capitular, and clerical incomes above £200 a year, and placed the +proceeds, estimated at £60,000 or £70,000 a year, in the hands of +commissioners, to be expended in the repairs of churches, the erection of +glebe-houses, and other parochial charges. In this way Irish ratepayers +might be relieved of the obnoxious "vestry cess," a species of Church +rate, at the expense of the clergy. A further saving of £60,000 a year or +upwards was to be effected by a reduction of the Irish episcopate, aided +by a new and less wasteful method of leasing Church lands attached to +episcopal sees. Two out of four Irish archbishoprics and eight out of +eighteen bishoprics were doomed to extinction, as vacancies should occur. +Dioceses and benefices were to be freely consolidated, clerical sinecures +were to cease, and the more scandalous abuses of the Irish Church were to +be redressed.</p> + +<p>As a scheme for ecclesiastical rearrangement within the Church itself, the +bill was sound and liberal, but it was utterly futile to imagine that it +would be welcomed, except as a mere instalment of conciliation, by Roman +catholics who looked upon the protestant Church itself as a standing +national grievance. The only boon secured to them was exemption from their +share of vestry cess, for, though Althorp intimated that the ultimate +surplus to be realised by the union of sees and livings would be at the +disposal of parliament, they well knew how many influences would operate +to prevent its reaching them. Not even O'Connell, still less the ministry, +ventured to propose "concurrent endowment" as it was afterwards called, +and the very idea of diverting revenues from the protestant establishment +to Roman catholic uses was disclaimed with horror. More than a century +earlier, a partition of these revenues between the great protestant +communions had been seriously entertained, and Pitt had notoriously +contemplated a provision for the Roman catholic priests out of state +funds. But no such demand was now made, and the one feature of the bill +which commanded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> the vigorous support of O'Connell and his adherents was +the 147th section, or "appropriation clause," which enabled parliament to +apply the expected surplus of some £60,000 in income, or some £3,000,000 +in capital, to whatever purposes, secular or otherwise, it might think fit +to approve. The far-reaching importance of this principle was fully +understood on both sides. To radicals and Roman catholics it was the sole +virtue of the bill; to friends of the Irish Church and tories it was a +blot to be erased at any cost.</p> + +<p>The progress of the measure was not rapid. Its nature had been explained +by Althorp on February 12, but it was not in print on March 11 when, +notwithstanding the reasonable protest of Peel, he induced the house to +fix the second reading for the 14th. It was then found that, owing to its +form, it must be preceded by resolutions, in order to satisfy the rules of +the house. These resolutions, containing the essence of the bill, were +proposed on April 1, but were not adopted without a long debate, and the +debate on the second reading did not begin until May 6. It ended in a +majority of 317 to 78 for the government, chiefly due to a moderate speech +from Sir Robert Peel, who, however, denounced the policy of +"appropriation". The discussion in committee was far more vehement, and +radicals like Hume did not shrink from avowing their desire to pull down +the Irish establishment, root and branch. The attack on the conservative +side was mainly concentrated on the appropriation clause. In vain was it +argued that a great part of the expected surplus was not Church property, +inasmuch as it would result from improvements in the system of episcopal +leases to be carried out by the agency of the state. Every one saw that, +however disguised, and whether legitimate or not, appropriation of the +surplus for secular purposes would be an act of confiscation, and must +needs be interpreted as a precedent.</p> + +<p>The cabinet itself was divided on the subject, and despaired of saving the +bill in the house of lords, without sacrificing the disputed clause. On +June 21, therefore, Stanley announced in the house of commons that the +appropriation clause would be withdrawn, and that any profits arising out +of financial reforms within the Church would be allowed to fall into the +hands of the ecclesiastical commissioners. The fury of O'Connell was +unbounded, and not so devoid of excuse as many of his passionate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> +outbreaks. He treated the Church bill as the stipulated price to be paid +for the coercion bill, and the appropriation clause as the only part of +it, except relief from vestry cess, which could possess the smallest value +for Irish Roman catholics. There was no valid answer to his argument, +except that another collision with the house of lords must be avoided at +any tolerable cost, for, as Russell bluntly said, "the country could not +stand a revolution once a year". Thus lightened, and slightly modified in +the interest of Irish incumbents, the bill passed through committee and +was read a third time by very large majorities, the minority being mainly +composed of its old radical partisans. Peel's letters show how anxious he +was to "make the reform bill work," by protecting the government against +this extreme faction,<a name="FNanchor_115_115" id="FNanchor_115_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a> and the parliamentary reports show how much he +did to frustrate the attempt to intimidate the lords by a resolution of +the commons.</p> + +<p>The debate in the upper house lasted three nights in July, but is almost +devoid of permanent interest. The appropriation question being dropped, +there was little to discuss except the historical origin of Irish +dioceses, the precedents for their consolidation, and the economical +details of the scheme for equalising, in some degree, the incomes of Irish +clergymen. Two or three peers, headed by the Duke of Cumberland, took +their stand once more on the coronation oath, and Bishop Phillpotts of +Exeter availed himself of this objection in one of the most powerful +speeches delivered against the bill. On the other hand, Bishop Blomfield +of London, and the Duke of Wellington, now acting in concert with Peel, +gave it a grudging support, as the less of two evils. After passing the +second reading by a majority of 157 to 98, it was subjected to minute +criticism in committee, and one amendment was carried against the +government, but Grey wisely declined to relinquish it except on some vital +issue. The majority on the third reading was 135 to 81, and on August 2 +the commons agreed to the lords' amendments, O'Connell remarking that, +after all, the peers had not made the bill much worse than they found it. +More than a generation was to elapse before this "act to alter and amend +the laws relating to the temporalities of the Church in Ireland"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> was +completed by an act severing that Church from the state. But the ulterior +aims of those who first challenged the sanctity of Church endowments were +not concealed, and the more than Erastian tendency of the liberal movement +was henceforth clearly perceived by high Churchmen. We know, on the +authority of Dr. Newman, that he and his early associates regarded the +Anglican revival of which they were the pioneers as essentially a reaction +against liberalism, and liberalism as the most formidable enemy of +sacerdotal power.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>STANLEY COLONIAL SECRETARY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_250" id="TOPIC_250"></a>Long before the Irish church bill had passed the house of commons Stanley +exchanged the chief secretaryship of Ireland for the higher office of +colonial secretary, to which he was gazetted on March 28. His +uncompromising advocacy of the coercion bill, and his known hostility to +direct spoliation of the Church, alike provoked the hatred of Irish Roman +catholics, and Brougham had already advised his retirement from Ireland. +His promotion was facilitated by the resignation of Durham, nominally on +grounds of health, but also because he was in constant antagonism to his +own father-in-law, Grey, and his moderate colleagues in the cabinet. He +received an earldom, and was succeeded as lord privy seal by Goderich, who +became Earl of Ripon. This opened the colonial office to Stanley, who +instantly found himself face to face with a question almost as intractable +as the pacification of Ireland. Sir John Hobhouse became chief secretary +for Ireland, but without a seat in the cabinet. He resigned in May, and +was succeeded by Edward John Littleton, who was married to a natural +daughter of the Marquis Wellesley.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_251" id="TOPIC_251"></a>Among the statutes passed in 1833, there are several, besides those +relating to Ireland, of sufficient importance to confer distinction upon +any parliamentary session. One of these is entitled "an act for the better +administration of justice in His Majesty's privy council"; a second, "an +act for the abolition of slavery throughout the British colonies, for +promoting the industry of the manumitted slaves, and for compensating the +persons hitherto entitled to the services of such slaves"; a third, "an +act for the abolition of fines and recoveries, and for the substitution of +more simple methods of assurance"; a fourth, "an act to regulate the trade +to China and India"; a fifth, "an act for giving to the corporation of the +governor and company<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> of the Bank of England certain privileges, for a +limited period, under certain conditions"; a sixth, "an act to regulate +the labour of children and young persons in the mills and factories of the +United Kingdom". Not one of these salutary measures was forced upon the +legislature by popular clamour, every one of them represents a sincere +zeal for what has been ridiculed as "world-bettering," and the parliament +that passed them must have been thoroughly imbued with the spirit of +reform.</p> + +<p>Foremost of these measures, as a monument of philanthropic legislation, +will ever stand the act for the abolition of colonial slavery. No class in +the country was concerned in its promotion; the powerful interests of the +planters were arrayed against it; and humanity, operating through public +opinion, was the only motive which could induce a government to espouse +the anti-slavery cause. Stanley had not occupied his new office many weeks +when on May 14 it became his lot to explain the ministerial scheme in the +house of commons. Its essence consisted in the immediate extinction of +absolute property in slaves, but with somewhat complicated provisions for +an intermediate state of apprenticeship, to last twelve years. During this +period negroes were to be maintained by their former masters, under an +obligation to serve without wages for three-fourths of their working +hours, and were to earn wages during the remaining fourth. All children +under six years of age were to become free at once, and all born after the +passing of the act were to be free at birth. The proprietors were to +receive compensation by way of loan, to the extent of £15,000,000, and +additional grants were promised for the institution of a stipendiary +magistracy and a system of education.</p> + +<p>Several resolutions embodying the scheme were carried, with little +opposition, though some abolitionists, headed by Mr. Fowell Buxton, a +wealthy brewer and eminent philanthropist, who sat for Weymouth, took +strong exception to compulsory apprenticeship, as perpetuating the +principle of slavery, however mitigated by the recognition of personal +liberty and the suppression of corporal punishment. It was found +expedient, however, in deference to a very strong remonstrance from West +Indian proprietors, to convert the proposed loan of £15,000,000 into an +absolute payment of £20,000,000, and this noble donation, for conscience' +sake, was actually ratified by parliament and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> country. The bill +founded on the resolutions met with no serious opposition, but an +amendment by Buxton for adopting free labour at once was lost by so narrow +a majority that Stanley consented to reduce the period of apprenticeship +to an average of six years. In this instance the lords followed the +guidance of the commons, and a measure of almost quixotic liberalism was +endorsed by them without hesitation. It must be confessed that experience +has not verified the confident prediction that free labour would prove +more profitable than slave labour, but Great Britain has never repented of +the abolition act, and its example was followed, thirty years later, by +the United States.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FACTORY ACTS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_252" id="TOPIC_252"></a>The first of the general factory acts was marked by the same philanthropic +character, but here the manufacturing capitalists, introduced by the +reform act, were induced by self-interest to oppose it. Ever since the +beginning of the century the sufferings and degradation of children in +factories had occasionally engaged the attention of parliament, but the +full enormity of the factory system was known to few except those who +profited by it. It seems incredible, but it was shown afterwards by +irresistible evidence, that children of seven years old and upwards were +often compelled to work twelve or fourteen hours a day, with two short +intervals for meals, in a most unwholesome atmosphere, exposed not only to +ill-treatment but to every form of moral corruption. A very partial remedy +was applied by a law passed in 1802 which restricted the hours of labour +to twelve for mills in which apprentices were employed. The same limit of +hours was extended to cotton mills generally in 1816, and, but for the +resistance of the house of lords, it would have been reduced to ten, as a +select committee had recommended on the initiative of the first Sir Robert +Peel. A few years later the question was revived by Sir John Hobhouse, but +left unsettled. In 1831 Sadler introduced a ten hours bill for children, +and obtained a select committee, before which disclosures were made well +calculated to shock the country. At the general election of 1832, Sadler +was defeated by Macaulay for the new borough of Leeds, but his mantle fell +on Lord Ashley, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, one of the noblest +philanthropists of modern times.</p> + +<p>Early in the session of 1833 Ashley introduced a ten hours bill, +applicable, like that of Sadler, to all young persons under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> eighteen +years of age working in factories. It also prohibited the employment of +children under nine, and provided for the appointment of inspectors. It +was strongly opposed by the Lancashire members as interfering with freedom +of labour even for adults, since mills could not be kept running without +the labour of boys under eighteen. They also objected to the evidence +already reported as one-sided, and succeeded in procuring the appointment +of a royal commission. This commission prosecuted its inquiries with +unusual despatch, but its report was not in the hands of members on July +5, when the bill came on for its second reading. Though Althorp, unwilling +to offend the manufacturing interest, pleaded for deliberation and urged +that a select committee should frame the regulations to be adopted, the +majority of the house was impatient of delay, and he encountered a defeat. +The question now resolved itself into a choice between a greater or less +limitation of hours. On this question, a compromise proposed by Althorp +prevailed, and Ashley resigned the conduct of the bill into his hands. It +was further modified in committee, but ultimately became law in a form +which secured the main objects of its promoters. No child under nine years +of age could be employed at all in a factory, after two years none under +thirteen could be worked more than eight hours, and no young person under +eighteen could be required to work more than sixty-nine hours a week, +while the provisions for inspection were retained along with others which +contained the germ of education on the half-time system.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_253" id="TOPIC_253"></a>The trading monopoly of the East India Company, though confined to China +by the act of 1813, had been regarded ever since with great jealousy by +the mercantile community. As the revised charter was now on the point of +expiring, it was for the government to frame terms of renewal which might +satisfy the growing demand for free trade. Their scheme, which few were +competent to criticise, met with general approval, and the only determined +opposition to it was offered in the house of lords by Ellenborough, who +lived to come into sharp collision with the court of directors as +governor-general. It was embodied in three simple resolutions, the first +of which recommended the legislature to open the China trade without +reserve, the second provided for the assumption by the crown of all the +company's assets and liabilities but with the obligation of paying the +com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>pany a fixed subsidy, while the last affirmed the expediency of +entrusting the company with the political government of India. Grant, who +moved these resolutions, as president of the board of control, had no +occasion to defend the policy of setting free the China trade which no one +disputed; but he undertook to show that it had declined in the hands of +the company, and that private competition had already crept in on a large +scale. He also dwelt on the advantage of bringing the political relations +arising out of commercial intercourse more directly under the control of +the government. His reasoning was sound, and the China trade rapidly +developed, nor could he be expected to foresee the course of events +whereby the government afterwards became embroiled with the Chinese +empire, on the importation of opium, and other economical questions. As +compensation for the loss of its exclusive privileges, the company was to +receive an annuity of £630,000, charged on the territorial revenues of +India.</p> + +<p>The policy of continuing the company's rule in India for twenty years +longer would have excited more earnest discussion in a session less +crowded with legislative projects. The way had been paved for the +concession of complete free trade in the eastern seas by the reports of +select committees and parliamentary debates under former governments. The +consumers of tea, numbered by millions, promised themselves a better +quality at a lower price, and a keen spirit of enterprise was kindled by +the idea of breaking into the unknown resources of China. But public +interest in the administration of India was languid. It might well have +appeared that a board sitting in Leadenhall Street was fitter to conduct +shipping and mercantile operations than to govern an imperial dependency +like British India. But the contrary alternative was almost tacitly +accepted. The directors were "to remain princes, but no longer merchant +princes," and Ellenborough complained that whereas "hitherto the court had +appeared in India as beneficent conquerors, henceforth they would be +mortgagees in possession". Perhaps the ministry shrunk from provoking the +storm of obloquy which must have resulted from placing the vast patronage +of the company in the hands of the crown. At all events, it was agreed, +with little dissent, that under the new charter the company should +nominally retain the reins of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> power, checked, however, by Pitt's "board +of control," the president of which, in reality, shared a despotic +authority with the governor-general of Bengal, who was hereafter to be in +name what he had long been in fact, governor-general of India. The bill +strengthened his council, and enabled him to legislate for all India.</p> + +<p>At the same time Europeans were permitted to settle and hold land in India +without the necessity of applying for a licence. Lastly, the principle was +laid down, pregnant with future consequences, that all persons in India, +without distinction of race or creed, should be subject to the same law +and eligible for all offices under the government. Such was the last +charter of the great company. It is interesting to observe that Grant, in +admitting that the government of India under its sway had not been prone +"to make any great or rapid strides in improvement," paid a just tribute +to its eminently pacific character. "It excited vigilance," he said, +"against any encroachment of violence or rapacity; it ensured to the +people that which they most required—repose, security, and tranquillity." +The immense annexations of territory and far-reaching reforms which have +created the British India of the twentieth century were either most +reluctantly sanctioned by the court of directors or have been carried out +since its dominion was transferred to the crown. Irrevocable as they are, +and beneficent as they may be on the whole, they have certainly imposed +difficulties of portentous magnitude upon the rulers of India, nor would +it be surprising if some native survivors of the olden days in far-off +recesses of the country should remember with sad regret the paternal, +though unprogressive, despotism of the sovereign company.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE BANK CHARTER ACT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_254" id="TOPIC_254"></a>The bank charter act of 1833, having been superseded by that of 1844, +fills a less important place than it otherwise would in the history of +legislation on currency. The bill was founded, however, on the report of a +secret committee which embraced Peel as well as Althorp and several other +members of high financial repute or great experience in the city. Since +the subject of it was familiar to a large section of members engaged in +business, and touched the pockets of bankers all over the country, it was +discussed in the house of commons far more earnestly than the bill +renewing the charter of the East India Company. In the end two provisions +were dropped, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> directly encouraged the increase of joint stock +banks. The rest were passed, and contained important modifications of the +banking system as it then existed. The main privileges of the Bank of +England were continued, in spite of a strong opposition and of protests +against the one-sided inquiry said to have been conducted by the secret +committee. These privileges embraced the exclusive possession of the +government balances, the monopoly of limited liability, then refused to +other banks, and the right, shared by no other joint stock bank, of +issuing its own notes. Though private London banks might have legally +exercised this power they did not actually do so, and nearly all of them +deposited their reserves with the Bank of England.</p> + +<p>Another part of the scheme, which even Peel condemned, was thus briefly +stated in a preliminary resolution: "That, provided the Bank of England +continued liable, as at present, to defray in the current coin of the +realm all its existing engagements, it was expedient that its promissory +notes should be constituted a legal tender for sums of £5 and upwards". In +other words, country bankers would no longer be compelled to cash their +own notes, or pay off their deposits in gold, but might use Bank of +England notes instead, above the value of £5. The Bank of England, +however, and all its branches, remained liable to cash payments, as +before, so that, as Baring argued, only one intermediate stage was +interposed between the presentation of a country note and the exchange of +it for specie. Peel's objection, which did not prevail, chiefly rested on +the danger of the Bank of England closing its branches in its own +interests, in order to check the demand for cash. Though his fears were +not literally realised, experience disclosed the danger of country banks +multiplying unduly, and, by their over-issue of notes, causing a severe +drain upon the Bank of England for gold. For the present, however, the +critics of the measure were less concerned in forecasting such remote +consequences than in protesting against the charge to be made by the bank +for managing the public debt. This charge was, in fact, to be reduced by +£120,000 a year, but one-fourth part of the advances made by the bank to +the public (or £3,671,700) was to be paid off, and the proposed +remuneration was denounced as exorbitant. Althorp hardly denied that it +was a good bargain for the bank, though he persuaded the house of commons +to endorse the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> arrangement, rather than incur the dislocation of national +finance and commercial business certain to ensue if the bank should +withdraw from its connexion with the government and use its vast influence +for its own interest alone.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>LEGAL REFORMS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_255" id="TOPIC_255"></a>Two great law reforms close the series of important remedial measures +passed in the first session of the reformed parliament—a session, be it +remembered, which embraced all the furious and protracted debates on the +Irish coercion act and the Irish Church temporalities act. The first of +these was Brougham's valuable bill constituting a permanent "judicial +committee of the privy council," and transferring to it the judicial +functions theoretically belonging to "the king in council," but +practically exercised by committees selected <i>ad hoc</i> on each occasion. +Charles Greville, to whose memoirs all historians of this period are +greatly indebted, and who in 1833 was clerk of the council, was inclined +to disparage the proposed change as one of Brougham's fanciful projects, +designed to gratify his own self-importance.<a name="FNanchor_116_116" id="FNanchor_116_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a> Even Greville, however, +saw reason to modify his view, and the new court has ever since commanded +general respect, except from those high Churchmen who resented its +assumption of the appellate jurisdiction in ecclesiastical causes, +formerly vested, along with a similar jurisdiction in admiralty causes, in +the king in chancery, and exercised by a "court of delegates," usually +consisting of three common law judges and three or four civilians selected +<i>ad hoc</i>.</p> + +<p>The essential defects of such a court were fully stated in the report of a +very strong commission, including six bishops, appointed in 1830. Probably +the expediency of reforming the jurisdiction of the privy council for the +purpose of hearing these ecclesiastical appeals may have suggested to +Brougham the idea of constructing a standing appellate tribunal within the +privy council, for the purpose of hearing all appeals that might come +before that body. Accordingly, after carrying a bill in 1832 whereby the +privy council, as such, took over the powers of the "court of delegates," +he introduced the general bill whereby the judicial committee was created, +and under which it still acts. It was to consist of the lord chancellor, +with the present and past holders of certain high judicial offices, and +two privy councillors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> to be appointed by the sovereign; to whom prelates, +being privy councillors, were to be added for ecclesiastical appeals. The +system thus founded, and since developed, is capable of indefinite +expansion, in case still closer relations should be established between +Great Britain and the colonies.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_256" id="TOPIC_256"></a>The act for the abolition of fines and recoveries, though scarcely +intelligible except to lawyers, was a masterpiece not only of +draughtsmanship, but of honest law amendment. It swept away grotesque and +antiquated forms of conveyance, which had lost their meaning for +centuries, and which nothing but professional self-interest kept alive. +Had it been followed up by legislation in a like spirit on other +departments of law, the profits of lawyers and the needless expenses of +clients might have been reduced to an extent of which the unlearned public +has no conception. As it was, it simplified the process of selling land in +a remarkable degree, though it left untouched the complications of title +and transfer affecting real property, which no lord chancellor since +Brougham has been courageous enough to attack in earnest, and which remain +the distinctive reproach of English law. It is not without shame that we +read in the king's prorogation speech, delivered on August 29, 1833, the +assurance that he will heartily co-operate with parliament in making +justice easily accessible to all his subjects. He adds that, with this +view, a commission has been issued "for digesting into one body the +enactments of the criminal law, and for inquiring how far, and by what +means, a similar process may be extended to the other branches of +jurisprudence". Seventy years have since elapsed, yet this royal promise +of codification is not even in course of fulfilment. On the other hand, +Brougham's scheme for establishing local courts in certain parts of the +kingdom was destined to bear ample fruit in the next reign. It was +described by Eldon as "a most abominable bill," and, being generally +opposed by the law lords, was rejected by a small majority, but it was the +germ of the county courts, which have since done so much to bring justice +within the reach and the means of poor suitors.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding its legislative exploits, the whig government was +declining in popularity at the end of 1833, and was beginning to discover +how vain it is to rely on political gratitude. Other reforming governments +have since undergone the same<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> bitter experience, the causes of which are +by no means obscure. No reform can be effected without "harassing +interests," and the sense of resentment in the sections of the community +thus harassed is far stronger and more efficacious than any appreciation +of the benefits reaped by the general public at home, or by mankind at +large. Again, the expectations excited by the agitation of such a question +as parliamentary reform are far beyond the power of any legislature to +satisfy. Grey and his colleagues were too well aware of this, and Stanley, +for one, manfully championed the government measures on their own merits, +disdaining to flatter the radicals, but his discretion was not equal to +his valour, and every debate brought into stronger relief the more +statesmanlike capacity and moderation of Peel. There was no tory reaction, +but a growing distrust of heroic remedies for national disorders, and a +growing faith in the possible development of a liberal policy in a +conservative spirit. Even the Duke of Wellington found himself restored +insensibly to popular favour, and was again received in the streets with +marks of public respect.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ALTHORP'S THIRD BUDGET.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_257" id="TOPIC_257"></a>Of all the ministers, no one enjoyed a greater share of confidence both in +and out of parliament than Althorp. He was not a great financier, but he +was an honest and prudent chancellor of the exchequer, a free-trader by +conviction, and incapable of those artifices by which a plausible +balance-sheet may be made out at the cost of future liabilities. Yet his +budgets of 1831, 1832, and 1833 undoubtedly helped to shake the credit of +the government. The first had been far too ambitious, and became almost +futile, when the proposed tax on transfers was abandoned, and the timber +duties left undisturbed. The second was modest enough, and was saved from +damaging criticism by the absorbing interest of the reform bill. +Considerable reductions were made in the estimates, the revenue yielded +somewhat more than had been expected, and Althorp was enabled to present a +favourable account in 1833. He anticipated a surplus of about a million +and a half, out of which he was prepared to abolish certain vexatious +duties and to decrease others. But the country gentlemen, headed by +Ingilby, member for Lincolnshire, insisted on a reduction of the malt duty +by one-half, while the borough members, headed by Sir John Key, clamoured +for a repeal of the house tax and window tax. The former motion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> was +actually carried against the government by a small majority, but its +effect was annulled, and the latter motion was defeated, by a skilful +manœuvre. This consisted in the proposal by Althorp of a +counter-resolution, declaring that, if half of the malt tax and the whole +tax on windows and houses were to be taken off, it would be necessary to +meet the deficiency by a general income tax. Such a prospect was equally +alarming to the landed interest and the householders, whose rival demands +were mutually destructive, the result being that Althorp's amendment was +carried by a large majority, and the government escaped humiliation, +though not without some loss of prestige.</p> + +<p>It was perhaps to be expected that private members in the first session of +the reformed parliament should be eager to gain a hearing for their +special projects of improvement. So it was, but two only of these projects +deserved historical mention. One of these was the abortive attempt of +Attwood, the radical member for Birmingham, to reverse the policy of 1819 +by inducing parliament to initiate the return to a paper currency. Cobbett +actually followed up this failure by moving for an address praying the +king to dismiss Sir Robert Peel from his councils, a motion defeated by a +majority of 295 to 4.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_110_110" id="Footnote_110_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> <i>The Croker Papers</i>, ii., 198.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_111_111" id="Footnote_111_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> Mahon to Peel (Jan, 8, 1833), Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, +ii., 209.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_112_112" id="Footnote_112_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> Jan. 3, 1833, Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, ii., 213.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_113_113" id="Footnote_113_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> Peel to Croker (Sept. 28, 1833), <i>ibid.</i>, p. 224.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_114_114" id="Footnote_114_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> Russell, <i>Recollections and Suggestions</i>, p. 113.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_115_115" id="Footnote_115_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, ii., 212-16.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_116_116" id="Footnote_116_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> Greville, <i>Memoirs</i>, ii., 364, 365.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<h3>RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND POOR LAW REFORM.</h3> + + +<p>The year 1833, so fruitful in legislation, may be said to have witnessed +the birth of a religious movement which has profoundly affected the +character of the national Church. The neo-catholic revival, which +afterwards took its popular name from Pusey but drew its chief inspiration +from Newman, was in a great degree the outcome of the reform act and a +reaction against the more than Erastian tendencies of the reformed +parliament. In the early part of the century, as we have seen, personal +and practical religion was mainly represented by the evangelical or low +Church party, which did admirable service in the cause of philanthropy, as +well as in reclaiming the masses from heathenism. The high Church party +was comparatively inactive, but co-operated with its rival in opposition +to catholic emancipation. The clergy, as a body, were hostile to reform, +and the bishops incurred the fiercest obloquy by voting against the first +reform bill, which had unfortunately been rejected by a majority exactly +corresponding with the number of their votes.<a name="FNanchor_117_117" id="FNanchor_117_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a> The democratic outcry +against the Church became louder and louder, as the evils of nepotism, +pluralism, and sinecurism were exposed to public criticism, and a growing +disposition was shown to deal with Church endowments both in England and +in Ireland, if not as the property of the state, yet as under its +paramount control.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE TRACTARIAN MOVEMENT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_258" id="TOPIC_258"></a>The recent infusion of Irish Roman catholics into the house of commons, +following that of Scotch presbyterians a century earlier, rendered it less +and less fit, in the opinion of high Churchmen, to legislate for the +Church of England, and every concession to religious liberty shocked them +as a step towards "National<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> Apostasy". This was, in fact, the impressive +title of a sermon preached by John Keble, in July, 1833, before the +university of Oxford. From this sermon Newman himself dated the origin of +the Oxford or "Tractarian" movement, but its inward source lay deeper. +Having lost all confidence in the state and even in the Anglican hierarchy +as a creature of the state, a section of the clergy had already been +looking about for another basis of authority, and had found it in theories +of apostolical succession and Church organisation. The university of +Oxford was a natural centre for such a reaction, and it was set on foot +with the deliberate purpose of defending the Church and the Christianity +of England against the anti-catholic aggressions of the dominant +liberalism. It was not puritanism but liberal secularism which Newman +always denounced as the arch-enemy of the catholic faith. For, as Wesley's +sympathies were originally with high Church doctrines, so Newman's +sympathies were originally with evangelical doctrines, nor were they ever +entirely stifled by his ultimate secession to the Roman Church.</p> + +<p>The later development of this movement, which had its cradle in the common +room of Oriel College, belongs rather to ecclesiastical history, and to +the reign of Queen Victoria. But from the first it rallied a considerable +body of support. Many who were not influenced by the movement, shared its +earlier aspirations. Shortly after the formation of an association, under +Newman and Keble's auspices, seven or eight thousand of the clergy signed +an address to the Archbishop of Canterbury, insisting upon the necessity +of restoring Church discipline, maintaining Church principles, and +checking the progress of latitudinarianism. A large section of the laity +ranged themselves on the side of the revival, and meetings were held +throughout England. The king himself volunteered a declaration of his +strong affection for the national Church now militant, and prepared to +assert itself, not merely as a true branch of the catholic Church, but as +a co-ordinate power with the state. In the autumn of 1833, Newman and one +of his colleagues launched the first of that series of tracts from which +his followers derived the familiar name of Tractarians. From that day he +was their recognised leader, yet he claimed no allegiance and issued no +commands. He felt himself, not the creator of a new party, but a loyal son +of the old Church, at last awakened from her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> lethargy. The spell which he +exercised over so many young minds was due to a personal influence of +which he was almost unconscious, but which spread from the pulpit of St. +Mary's Church and his college rooms at Oriel over a great part of the +university and the Church. It was broken some years later, when he gave up +the <i>via media</i> which he had so long been advocating, accepted the logical +consequences of his own teaching, and reproached others for not +discovering that Anglicanism was but a pale and deformed counterfeit of +the primitive Christianity represented, in its purity, by the Church of +Rome.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_259" id="TOPIC_259"></a>Looking back at this movement across an interval of seventy years, we may +well feel astonished that it satisfied the aspirations of inquisitive +minds in contact with the ideas of their own times. For this was the age +of Benthamism in social philosophy and "German neology" in biblical +criticism. Though national education was in its infancy, a new desire for +knowledge, and even a free-thinking spirit, was permeating the middle +classes, and had gained a hold among the more intelligent of the artisans. +The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, established by +Brougham, circulated a mass of instructive and stimulating literature at a +cheap rate; popular magazines and cyclopædias were multiplying yearly; and +the British Association, which held its first meeting at Oxford in 1832, +brought the results of natural science within the reach of thousands and +tens of thousands incapable of scientific research. The <i>Bridgwater +Treatises</i>, which belong to the reign of William IV., are evidence of a +widespread anxiety to reconcile the claims and conclusions of science with +those of the received theology. Thoughtful and religious laymen in the +higher ranks of society were earnestly seeking a reason for the faith that +was in them, and pondering over fundamental problems like the personality +of God, the divinity of Christ, the reality of supernatural agency, and +the awful mystery of the future life. Yet the tractarians passed lightly +over all these problems, to exercise themselves and others with +disputations on points which to most laymen of their time appeared +comparatively trivial.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_260" id="TOPIC_260"></a>To them Church authority was supreme, and every catholic dogma a +self-evident truth. What engrossed their reason and consciences was the +discussion of questions affecting Church authority, for example, whether +the Anglican Church pos<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>sessed the true note of catholicity or was in a +state of schism, whether its position in Christendom was not on a par with +that of the monophysite heretics, whether its articles could be brought +into conformity with the Roman catholic doctrines expressly condemned by +them, or whether its alliance with Lutheranism in the appointment of a +bishop for Jerusalem did not amount to ecclesiastical suicide. Their +message, unlike that of the early Christian or methodist preachers, was +for the priestly order, and not for the masses of the people; their +appeals were addressed <i>ad clerum</i> not <i>ad populum</i>; still less were they +suited to influence scientific intellects. But their propaganda was +carried on by men of intense earnestness and holy lives, few in number but +strong in well-organised combination, and they carried with them for a +time many to whom any "movement" seemed better than lifeless "high and +dry" conformity. Herein consisted the secret of their early success. Their +subsequent failure was inevitable when they were fairly confronted with +protestant sentiment and with the independent spirit of the age. How their +aims were taken up and partially realised in a new form by new leaders and +through new methods, is an inquiry which must be reserved for a later +chapter in the history of the English Church.</p> + +<p>The strange religious movement which resulted in the foundation of the +so-called Catholic Apostolic Church was of somewhat earlier date, and its +author had already been disavowed as a minister by the presbyterian Church +before the <i>Tracts for the Times</i> began to startle the religious world. +The most brilliant part of Edward Irving's career falls within the reign +of George IV., when his chapel in London was crowded by the fashionable +world, and even attended occasionally by statesmen like Canning. According +to all contemporary testimony he was among the most remarkable of modern +preachers, and his visionary speculations in the field of biblical +prophecy failed to repel hearers attracted by his wonderful religious +enthusiasm. Compared with the adherents of the methodist or of the +neo-catholic revival, his followers were a mere handful, and his name +would scarcely merit a place in history but for the impression which he +made upon men of high ability and position. What brought him into +discredit with his own communion and with the public was his introduction +into his services of fanatics professing the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> gift of speaking with +"unknown tongues". These extravagances led to his deposition in 1832, and +probably hastened his early death in 1834. But his creed did not die with +him, and a small body of earnest believers has carried on into the +twentieth century a definite tradition of the gospel which he taught.</p> + +<p>Far deeper and more lasting in its effects was the change wrought in +current ideas by the almost unseen but steady advance of science in all +its branches. During this epoch perhaps the most formidable enemy of +orthodoxy was the rising study of geology, challenging, as it did, the +traditional theories of creation. The discoveries of astronomy—the law of +gravitation, the rotation of the earth, its place in the solar system, +and, above all, the infinite compass of the universe—were in themselves +of a nature to revolutionise theological beliefs more radically than any +conclusions respecting the antiquity of the earth. But it may be doubted +whether it was so in fact; at all events, theologians had slowly learned +to harmonise their doctrines with the conception of immeasurable space, +when they were suddenly required to admit the conception of immeasurable +time, and staggered under the blow. The pioneers of English geology were +careful to avoid shocking religious opinion, and Buckland devotes a +chapter of his famous <i>Treatise on Geology</i> to showing "the consistency of +geological discoveries with sacred history". His explanation is that an +undefined interval may have elapsed after the creation of the heaven and +the earth "in the beginning" as recorded in the first verse of Genesis; +and he rejects as opposed to geological evidence "the derivation of +existing systems of organic life, by an eternal succession, from preceding +individuals of the same species, or by gradual transmutation of one +species into another". But speculations of this order were utterly ignored +by such religious leaders as Newman and Irving, whose spiritual fervour, +however apostolical in its influence on the hearts of their disciples, was +confined within the narrowest circle of intellectual interests.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>POOR LAW.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_261" id="TOPIC_261"></a>The great event of parliamentary history in 1834, and the crowning +achievement of the first reformed parliament, was the enactment of the +"new poor law," as it was long called. No measure of modern times so well +represents the triumph of reason over prejudice; none has been so +carefully based on thorough inquiry and the deliberate acceptance of sound +prin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>ciples; none has so fully stood the conclusive test of experience. It +is not too much to say that it was essentially a product of the reform +period, and could scarcely have been carried either many years earlier or +many years later. In the dark age which followed the great war, contempt +for political economy, coupled with a weak sentiment of humanity, would +have made it impossible for a far-sighted treatment of national pauperism +and distress to obtain a fair hearing. After the introduction of household +suffrage, and the growth of socialism, any resolute attempt to diminish +the charge upon ratepayers for the immediate relief but ultimate +degradation of the struggling masses would have met with the most +desperate resistance from the new democracy. The philosophical whigs and +radicals, trained in the school of Bentham, and untainted as yet by a +false philanthropy, found themselves in possession of an opportunity which +might never have recurred. They deserved the gratitude of posterity by +using it wisely and courageously.</p> + +<p>The irregular development of the poor laws, from the act of Elizabeth down +to that of 1834, belongs to economic rather than to general history. It is +enough to say here that in later years, and especially since the system of +allowances adopted by the Berkshire magistrates at Speenhamland in 1795 +had become general, the original policy of relieving only the destitute +and helpless, and compelling able-bodied men to earn their own living, had +been entirely obscured by the intrusion of other ideas. The result was +admirably described in the report of a commission, appointed in 1832, with +the most comprehensive powers of investigation and recommendation. The +commissioners were the Bishops of London (Blomfield) and Chester (Sumner), +Sturges Bourne, Edwin Chadwick, and four others less known, but well +versed in the questions to be considered. A summary of the information +collected by them, ranging over the whole field of poor-law management, +was published in February, 1834. It astounded the benighted public of that +day, and it still remains on record as a wonderful revelation of ruinous +official infatuation on the largest possible scale. The evil system was +found to be almost universal, but the worst examples of it were furnished +by the southern counties of England. There, an actual premium was set upon +improvidence, if not on vice, by the wholesale practice of giving out-door +relief in aid of wages,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> and in proportion to the number of children in +the family, legitimate or illegitimate. The excuse was that it was better +to eke out scanty earnings by doles than to break up households, and bring +all their inmates into the workhouse. The inevitable effect of such action +was that wages fell as doles increased, that paupers so pensioned were +preferred by the farmers to independent labourers because their labour was +cheaper, and that independent labourers, failing to get work except at +wages forced down to a minimum, were constantly falling into the ranks of +pauperism.</p> + +<p>Had some theorists of a later generation witnessed the social order then +prevailing in country districts, they would have found several of their +favourite objects practically attained. There was no competition between +the working people; old and young, skilled and unskilled hands, the +industrious and the idle, were held worthy of equal reward, the actual +allowance to each being measured by his need and not by the value of his +work; while the parochial authorities, figuring as an earthly providence, +exercised a benevolent superintendence over the welfare and liberty of +every day-labourer in the village community. The fruits of that +superintendence were the decline of a race of freemen into a race of +slaves, unconscious of their slavery, and the gradual ruin of the +landlords and farmers upon whom the maintenance of these slaves +depended.<a name="FNanchor_118_118" id="FNanchor_118_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>NEW POOR LAW.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_262" id="TOPIC_262"></a>The evidence laid before the commissioners not only showed how intolerable +the evil had become in many counties, but also how purely artificial it +was. While the aggregate amount of the poor rate had risen to more than +eight millions and a half, while some parishes were going out of +cultivation and in others the rates exceeded the rental, there were +certain oases in the desert of agricultural distress where comparative +prosperity still reigned. These were villages in which an enlightened +squire or parson had set himself to strike at the root of pauperism, and +to initiate local reforms in the poor-law system. It was clearly found +that, where out-door relief was abolished or rigorously limited, where no +allowances were made in aid of wages, and where a manly self-reliance was +encouraged instead of a servile mendicity, wages rose, honest industry +revived, and the whole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> character of the village population was improved. +Fortified by these successful experiments, the commissioners took a firm +stand on the vital distinction, previously ignored, between poverty and +pauperism. They did not shrink from recommending that, after a certain +date, "the workhouse test" should be enforced against all able-bodied +applicants for relief, except in the form of medical attendance, and even +that women should be compelled to support their illegitimate children. +They also advised a liberal change in the complicated and oppressive +system of "parish settlement," whereby the free circulation of labour was +constricted. They further proposed a very large reform in the +administrative machinery of the poor laws, by the formation of parishes +into unions, the concentration of workhouses, the separation of the sexes +in workhouses, and, above all, the creation of a central poor-law board, +to consist of three commissioners, and to control the whole system about +to be transformed.</p> + +<p>A bill framed upon these lines, and remedying some minor abuses, was +introduced by Althorp on April 17, having been foreshadowed in the speech +from the throne, and carefully matured by the cabinet. So wide and deep +was the conviction of the necessity for some radical treatment of an +intolerable evil that party spirit was quelled for a while, and the bill +met with a very favourable reception, especially as its operation was +limited to five years. It passed the second reading by a majority of 299 +to 20 on May 9, notwithstanding a violent protest from De Lacy Evans, an +ultra-radical, who had displaced Hobhouse at Westminster. The keynote of +the radical agitation which followed was given by his declaration that +"the cessation of out-door relief would lead to a revolution in the +country," and by Cobbett's denunciation of the "poor man robbery bill". +The <i>Times</i> newspaper, already a great political force, took up the same +cry, and had not Peel, with admirable public spirit, thrown his weight +into the scale of sound economy, a formidable coalition between extremists +on both sides might have been organised. He stood firm, however; radicals +like Grote declined to barter principle for popularity, and the bill +emerged almost unscathed from committee in the house of commons. It passed +its third reading on July 2 by a majority of 157 to 50. Peel's example was +followed by Wellington in the house of lords, and Brougham delivered one +of his most powerful speeches in sup<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>port of the measure. With some +modification of the bastardy clauses and other slighter amendments it was +carried by a large majority, and received the royal assent on August 4.</p> + +<p>No other piece of legislation, except the repeal of the corn laws, has +done so much to rescue the working classes of Great Britain from the +misery entailed by twenty years of war. Its effect in reducing the rates +was immediate; its effect in raising the character of the agricultural +poor was not very long deferred. Happily for them, though not for the +farmers, bread was cheap for two years after it came into force. Still, +the sudden cessation of doles and pensions in aid of wages could not but +work great hardship to individuals in thousands of rural parishes, and +there was perhaps too little disposition on the part of the commissioners +to allow any temporary relaxation of the system. The rigorous enforcement +of the workhouse test, and the harsh management of workhouses, continued +for years to shock the charitable sensibilities of the public, and +actually produced some local riots. When the price of bread rose the +clamour naturally increased, and petitions multiplied until a committee +was appointed in 1837 to review the operation of the act. In the end the +committee found, as might have been expected, that, however painful the +state of transition, the change had permanently improved the condition of +the poor in England.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>QUESTION OF APPROPRIATION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_263" id="TOPIC_263"></a>While the bill was still in the house of commons the ministry which framed +it was torn by dissensions; before it came on for its second reading in +the lords Grey had ceased to be premier. The disruption of his government +had been foreseen for months, but it was directly caused by hopeless +discord on Irish policy. Anglesey had been forced by ill-health to resign +the vice-royalty, and the Marquis Wellesley, who succeeded him, was more +acceptable to Irish nationalists. But the king's speech at the opening of +the session contained a stern condemnation of the repeal movement. +O'Connell at once declared war, and the angry feelings of his followers +were inflamed by a personal and public quarrel between Althorp and Sheil. +Another incident, in itself trivial, disclosed the discord prevailing in +the cabinet on Irish affairs, and, though O'Connell was defeated on a +motion against the union by a crushing majority of 523 to 38, the +disturbed state of Ireland continued to distract the minis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>terial +councils. The ingenious devices of Stanley and Littleton for solving the +insoluble Irish tithe question had proved almost abortive; the government +officials employed to collect tithe were almost as powerless to do so as +the old tithe-proctors, and a new proposal to convert tithe into a land +tax was naturally ridiculed by O'Connell as delusive. He made a speech so +conciliatory in its tone as to startle the house, but no words, however +smooth, could now conjure away the irreconcilable difference of purpose +between those who regarded Church property as sacred and those who +regarded it not only as at the disposal of the state, but as hitherto +unjustly monopolised by a single religious communion. It was reserved for +Lord John Russell to "upset the coach" by openly declaring his adhesion to +"appropriation," in the sense of diverting to other objects, secular or +otherwise, such revenues of the established Church as were not strictly +required for the benefit of its own members. After this act of mutiny +against the collective authority of the cabinet Grey's ministry was +doomed.</p> + +<p>Its ruin was consummated by a motion of Henry Ward, member for St. Albans, +which expressly affirmed the right of the state to regulate the +distribution of Church property and the expediency of reducing the Irish +establishment. This motion was supposed to have been instigated by Durham, +who had never been loyal to his colleagues. The government was notoriously +divided upon it; Brougham suggested a commission of inquiry, by way of +compromise; other ministerialists were in favour of meeting the difficulty +by moving the previous question. Peel was prepared to support the +conservative section of the government, and deprecated in strong terms +"all manœuvring, all coquetting with radicals" in order to snatch a +temporary party triumph.<a name="FNanchor_119_119" id="FNanchor_119_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a></p> + +<p>Ward's resolution was introduced on May 27, 1834, and seconded by Grote, +but Althorp, instead of replying, announced the receipt of sudden news so +important that he induced the house to adjourn the debate. This news was +the resignation of Stanley, Graham, Richmond, and Ripon, whose views on +appropriation, as afterwards appeared, were shared by Lansdowne and Spring +Rice. The ministry was reconstructed by the ac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span>cession of Lord Conyngham +as postmaster-general, without a seat in the cabinet, and of Lord +Auckland, son of Sidmouth's colleague, as first lord of the admiralty, by +the appointment of Carlisle (already in the cabinet) to be lord privy +seal, and the substitution of Spring Rice for Stanley at the colonial +office. Edward Ellice, the secretary at war, was included in the cabinet, +and James Abercromby, afterwards Lord Dunfermline, a son of the famous +general, Sir Ralph Abercromby, became master of the mint with a seat in +the cabinet. Poulett Thomson became president of the board of trade, and +minor offices were assigned to Francis Baring, and other whig recruits. +Grey himself, sick of nominal power, was dissuaded with difficulty from +retiring; Althorp, conscious of failing authority, was retained in his +post only by a high sense of duty. Unfortunately, he was very soon +entangled by his colleague Littleton in something like an intrigue with +O'Connell, which precipitated the final resignation of Grey together with +his own temporary secession.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_264" id="TOPIC_264"></a>The details of this affair may be passed over in a few words. What is +clear is that Brougham and Littleton, without the knowledge of Grey, had +persuaded Lord Wellesley, as viceroy of Ireland, not to insist on a +renewal of the coercion act in its full severity, and especially to +sanction an abandonment of clauses suppressing public meetings. Having +obtained Wellesley's consent behind the backs of Grey and the rest of the +cabinet, Littleton with the cognisance of Althorp, proceeded to bargain +with O'Connell for an abatement, at least, of his opposition to all +coercion. The cabinet as a body declined to ratify any such agreement, +O'Connell denounced Littleton as having played a trick upon him, and +Althorp, disdaining to advocate provisions which he was almost pledged in +honour to drop, resigned his office and the leadership of the commons. +Grey, who could not have remained in office without the support of +Althorp's great popularity in the commons, at once resolved to follow his +example, and on July 9 took leave of political life in a dignified and +pathetic speech. As for Ward's motion, the original cause of Grey's +desertion by Stanley and his subsequent fall, it had been rejected by an +enormous majority in favour of "the previous question" before Althorp's +disappearance from his old position. Meanwhile Stanley availed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> himself of +his liberty to make one of his most dashing but least prudent speeches, +and permanently compromised his reputation for statesmanship.<a name="FNanchor_120_120" id="FNanchor_120_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MELBOURNE PRIME MINISTER.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_265" id="TOPIC_265"></a>No other whig possessed the prestige derived by Grey from nearly fifty +years of consistent public service. Althorp commanded an extraordinary +degree of confidence in the house of commons and the country, but his +intellectual capacity was not of the highest order, and many expected that +Peel might receive a summons from the king, whose sympathy with the whigs, +never very deep, had given place to mistrust. His choice, however, fell +upon Melbourne, whom he desired, if possible, to form a coalition with +Peel, Wellington, and Stanley against the radicals. But neither Melbourne +nor Peel would accept such a coalition, and they both showed their wisdom +in declining it. The king then empowered Melbourne to patch up the whig +ministry. In deference to a requisition signed by liberals of all +sections, Althorp was induced to withdraw his resignation, and resumed his +leadership in the commons with no apparent diminution of popularity. +Duncannon, who was created a peer, succeeded Melbourne at the home office; +Lord Mulgrave, son of the first earl, became lord privy seal in place of +Carlisle; and Hobhouse entered the cabinet as first commissioner of woods +and forests. The rest of the session was mainly spent in discussing the +budget and the two Irish questions which for so many years were the curse +of English politics. A surplus of two millions enabled Althorp to +propitiate an importunate class of taxpayers by repealing the house tax.</p> + +<p>It would have been more statesmanlike to repeal the window tax or reduce +indirect taxation, but relief was given, as usual, to those who raised the +loudest clamour, and the vindication of sound finance was reserved for a +conservative administration. A second and milder Irish coercion bill was +carried by a large majority, with the fatal proviso, which has marred the +effect of so many later measures, that it should continue in operation for +a year only. A far more serious conflict arose on the new Irish tithe +bill. A complicated plan had been proposed whereby four-fifths of the +tithe would have been ostensibly secured to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> church by conversion into +a rent-charge, the remaining fifth being sacrificed for the sake of peace +and security. O'Connell succeeded in inducing the house of commons to +adopt a counter-plan, of a very sweeping nature, whereby two-fifths of the +existing tithe would have been abandoned, and the tithe owner partly +compensated out of the revenues of suppressed bishoprics, aided by a state +grant. The bill thus amended was rejected by a majority of 189 to 122 in +the house of lords. Peel still cherished the idea of settling the question +by a system of voluntary commutation, but, after the peremptory action of +the lords, no compromise was likely to be acceptable, and there is some +ground for the opinion that in that division the Irish Church +establishment received its death-blow.</p> + +<p>On August 15 parliament was prorogued, and the belief of Peel in the +stability of the government may be inferred from the fact that he left +England for Italy on October 14. During the vacation, however, two +incidents occurred, trivial in themselves, but pregnant with important +consequences. One of these was Brougham's triumphant progress through +Scotland, where he was enthusiastically received as the saviour of his +country, and assumed the air of one who not only kept the king's +conscience but controlled the royal will. The story of this famous tour +exhibits alike the greatness of his powers and the littleness of his +character.<a name="FNanchor_121_121" id="FNanchor_121_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a> The homage paid to him was not undeserved, for he was +assuredly the foremost gladiator of the whig party, and had given proofs +of more varied ability than any living politician or lawyer. But the +dignified eloquence of which he was capable on rare occasions was here +submerged in a flood of egotistical rhetoric, which carried him away so +far that he assumed a political independence which his colleagues deeply +resented, and even spoke of the king in a tone of patronage. Having +lowered himself in public opinion by these speeches, especially at +Inverness and Aberdeen, he attended a banquet in honour of Grey at +Edinburgh, where he provoked a passage at arms with Durham. The press, and +especially the <i>Times</i> newspaper, which had formerly loaded him with +extravagant praises, now turned against him, and ridiculed him as a +political mountebank. But his worst enemy was the king.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> William IV.'s +ill-concealed impatience of whig dictation had at last been quickened into +disgust by this and other sources of irritation, when the sudden death of +Althorp's father, Earl Spencer, on November 10, gave him an opportunity +which he eagerly seized.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DESTRUCTION OF HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_266" id="TOPIC_266"></a>By a strange fatality, this event almost coincided with the destruction by +fire of the houses of parliament on October 16. This calamity was the +result of a carelessness, which it is easy to condemn after the event on +the part of some subordinate officials and the workmen employed by them. +Down to 1826, accounts had been kept at the exchequer by means of wooden +tallies, which were stored in what was called the tally-room of the +exchequer. This room was required in order to provide temporary +accommodation for the court of bankruptcy, and an order was given to +destroy the tallies. The officials charged with the task decided to burn +them in the stoves of the house of lords, and the work of burning began at +half-past six in the morning of October 16. The work, hazardous in any +case, was conducted by the workmen with a rapidity that their orders did +not justify; the flues used for warming the house were overheated, and +though the burning of the tallies was completed between four and five, the +woodwork near the flues must have smouldered till it burst into flame +about half-past six in the evening. In less than half an hour the house of +lords was a mass of fire. About eight a change in the wind threw the +flames upon the house of commons. That house was almost completely +destroyed. The walls of the house of lords and of the painted chamber +remained standing, while the house of lords library, the parliament +offices, and Westminster Hall escaped. The king offered the parliament the +use of Buckingham Palace, but it was found possible to fit up the house of +lords for the commons and the painted chamber for the lords. When the +legislature reassembled on February 9, 1835, a conservative ministry was +in office, though not, indeed, in power.</p> + +<p>It is difficult for a later age to understand why the accession of Althorp +to a peerage should have afforded even a plausible reason for a change of +ministry. The position which Althorp held in the house of commons is +puzzling to a later generation.<a name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> It is well known that Gladstone +recorded the very highest estimate of his public services. Yet he was not +only no orator but scarcely in the second order of speakers, he made no +pretence of far-sighted statesmanship, he was not a successful financier, +and he made several blunders which must have damaged the authority of any +other man. The influence which he obtained in leading the unreformed as +well as the reformed house of commons was entirely due to his character +for straightforward honesty, perhaps enhanced by his social rank, and his +reputation for possessing all the virtues of a country gentleman. The +national preference for amateurs over professionals in politics, no less +than in other fields of energy, found an admirable representative in him, +and he was all the more popular as a political leader because it was +believed that he had no desire to be a political leader at all. At all +events, he inspired confidence in all, and it was no mere whim of the king +which treated his removal from the commons to the lords as an irreparable +loss to Melbourne's administration.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MELBOURNE'S RESIGNATION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_267" id="TOPIC_267"></a>It is often stated that "without a word of preparation" the king got rid +of his whig ministers on November 14, 1834, and it must be admitted that +he afterwards took credit to himself for their dismissal as his own +personal act. But this view is not altogether borne out by contemporary +evidence. A published letter, of the 12th, from Melbourne to the king +shows that, as premier, he took the initiative in representing that, +whereas "the government in its present form was mainly founded upon the +personal weight and influence possessed by Earl Spencer in the house of +commons," it was for the king to consider whether, as "that foundation is +now withdrawn," a change of ministry was expedient.<a name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a> It also appears +from a letter placed by the king in Melbourne's hands that a "very +confidential conversation" took place between them at Brighton, in +consequence of which the king resolved to send for Wellington.<a name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a> In the +course of this conversation Melbourne informed the king that, in the +opinion of the cabinet, Lord John Russell should be selected for the +leadership of the house of commons. The king, incensed by Lord John's +action on the Irish Church question, would not hear of this arrangement, +espe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>cially as he thought Lord John "otherwise unequal to the task," and +disparaged the claims of other possible candidates.<a name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a> He also strongly +resented the recent conduct of Brougham. In the end, he parted kindly and +courteously from Melbourne, who actually undertook to convey the king's +summons to Wellington. Another memorandum by the king, of the same date, +proves that a fear of further encroachments on the church was really +uppermost in his mind, and that he anticipated, not without reason, "a +schism in the cabinet" on this very subject.<a name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_268" id="TOPIC_268"></a>Wellington acted with his customary promptitude, and with his customary +obedience to what he regarded as a call of public duty. A certain degree +of mistrust had existed between him and Peel, arising, in part, out of +circumstances preceding the duke's election to the chancellorship of +Oxford University. This suspension of cordiality had now passed away, and +Wellington strongly urged the king to entrust Peel, then at Rome, with the +formation of a new government. Hudson, afterwards known as Sir James +Hudson, delivered the despatch recalling him on the night of the 25th. +Peel started from Rome on the 26th and, travelling with a speed then +considered marvellous, reached Dover within twelve days on the night of +December 8. He was in London on the 9th, and, without consulting any one +else, immediately placed his services at the king's disposal. In the +meantime, Wellington had stepped into the gap, and actually held all the +secretaryships of state in his own hands, pending the arrival of Peel.</p> + +<p>The king had been encouraged to hustle his ministers unceremoniously out +of office by a paragraph which appeared in the <i>Times</i> of November 15. On +the previous evening Brougham had been informed by Melbourne in confidence +that the king had accepted his suggestion of resignation, and he carried +the news to the <i>Times</i>, which, without giving Brougham's name, published +his message in his own words. It stated that the king had turned out the +ministry, and ended with the words: "The queen has done it all". After +this the king was determined to be done with his ministers as quickly as +possible. It is certain that neither Wellington nor Peel wished to be +thought responsible for their dismissal, the propriety of which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> they both +secretly doubted. The king, however, had acted within his strict rights, +and the outgoing ministers, as a whole, were not ill pleased to be +relieved from the burdens of office.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_269" id="TOPIC_269"></a>Peel, though by no means hopeful of ultimate success, endeavoured to +construct a cabinet on a comprehensive basis. He first obtained the king's +"ready assent" to his inviting the co-operation of Stanley, who had +succeeded to the courtesy title of Lord Stanley, and Sir James Graham. +These overtures were declined in friendly terms, and both promised +independent support. But Stanley explicitly declared that, in his +judgment, "the sudden conversion of long political opposition into the +most intimate alliance would shock public opinion, would be ruinous to his +own character," and would rather injure than strengthen the new +government.<a name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a> After this failure, Peel felt his task well-nigh +hopeless, and though he spared no effort to procure an infusion of fresh +blood, he complained that after all "it would be only the duke's old +cabinet".<a name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a> There was, in fact, no man of known ability in it, except +himself, the Duke of Wellington (as secretary for foreign affairs), and +Lyndhurst, the chancellor; for the capacity of Aberdeen, who had been +foreign secretary under Wellington, and who now became secretary for war +and the colonies, and Ellenborough, who returned to the board of control, +had not yet been generally recognised. Peel himself became first lord of +the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer; Goulburn was home secretary, +Rosslyn lord president, and Wharncliffe lord privy seal. Earl de Grey, +elder brother of the Earl of Ripon, was made first lord of the admiralty, +Murray became master-general of the ordnance, Alexander Baring president +of the board of trade and master of the mint, Herries secretary at war, +and Sir Edward Knatchbull paymaster of the forces. It was fully understood +that a conservative government, even purged of ultra-tory elements, could +not face the first reformed house of commons, and the dissolution which +took place at the end of the year had been regarded by all as inevitable.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE TAMWORTH MANIFESTO.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_270" id="TOPIC_270"></a>In anticipation of this event, Peel issued an address to his constituents +which became celebrated as the "Tamworth manifesto". It is somewhat +cumbrous in style, but it embodies with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> sufficient clearness the new +conservative policy of which Peel was the real author and henceforth the +leading exponent. It opens with an appeal to his own previous conduct in +parliament, as showing that, while he was no apostate from old +constitutional principles, neither was he "a defender of abuses," nor the +enemy of "judicious reforms". In proof of this, he cites his action in +regard to the currency and various amendments of the law; to which he +might have added his adoption of catholic emancipation. He then declares, +absolutely and without reserve, that he accepts the reform act as "a final +and irrevocable settlement of a great constitutional question," which no +friend to peace and the welfare of the country would seek, either directly +or indirectly, to disturb. He approves of making "a careful review of +institutions, civil and ecclesiastical, undertaken in a friendly temper," +with a view to "the correction of proved abuses, and the redress of real +grievances," and that "without mere superstitious reverence for ancient +usages". He lays stress on his recorded assent to the principle of +corporation reform, the substitution of a treasury grant for Church rates, +the relief of dissenters from various civil disabilities (but not from +university tests), the restriction of pensions (saving vested interests), +the redistribution of Church revenues and the commutation of tithes, but +so that no ecclesiastical property be diverted to secular uses. After +these specific pledges, the Tamworth manifesto concludes with more general +professions of a progressive conservatism equally removed from what are +now called "advanced radicalism" and "tory democracy".<a name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a> It was, of +course, too liberal for the followers of Eldon, and was ridiculed as +colourless by extreme reformers, but its effect on the country was great, +and it did much to win popular confidence for the new ministry. If such a +policy must be called opportunism, it was opportunism in its best form; +and opportunism in its best form, under the conditions of party +government, is not far removed from political wisdom.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_117_117" id="Footnote_117_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> If all the bishops present had not merely abstained, but +actually voted in favour of the measure, it would have been carried by one +vote.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_118_118" id="Footnote_118_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> Sir George Nicholls, <i>History of the English Poor Law</i>, +vol. ii., see especially pp. 242, 243.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_119_119" id="Footnote_119_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> Peel to Goulburn (May 25, 1834), Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, +ii., 244.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_120_120" id="Footnote_120_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> Hatherton, <i>Memoir</i>; Creevey, <i>Memoirs</i>, ii., 285-88.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_121_121" id="Footnote_121_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> See Campbell's <i>Lives of the Chancellors</i>, viii., 446-57.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> Compare Walpole, <i>History of England</i>, iii., 478.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> <i>Lord Melbourne's Papers</i>, p. 220.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, pp. 222, 223.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> Stockmar, <i>Memoirs</i> (English translation), i., 330.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> Parker, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i>, ii., 235.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> Stanley to Peel (Dec. 11, 1834), Peel's <i>Memoirs</i>, ii., 39, +40.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> Croker to Mrs. Croker, <i>Croker Papers</i>, ii., 219.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> Peel, <i>Memoirs</i>, ii., 58-67.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<h3>PEEL AND MELBOURNE.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_271" id="TOPIC_271"></a>The general election which took place in January, 1835, was hotly +contested, and in the second reformed parliament the conservatives +mustered far stronger than in the first. The party now consisted of some +270 members, chiefly returned by the counties. But they were still +outnumbered by the whigs, radicals, and Irish repealers combined, and it +was certain that an occasion for such a combination would soon arise. It +was found at once in the election of a speaker, when the house of commons +met on February 9, 1835. Sutton, now Sir Charles Manners Sutton, was +proposed for re-election by the government; the opposition candidate was +Abercromby. <a name="TOPIC_272" id="TOPIC_272"></a>The number of members who took part in the division was the +largest ever assembled, being 622, and Abercromby was elected by a +majority of ten. It would have been larger, had not the government been +supported by some waverers, but its significance was appreciated by the +ministers, and still more by the king. He expressed his displeasure in a +very outspoken letter to Peel, declaring that, if the leaders "of the +present factious opposition" should be forced upon him by a refusal of the +supplies, he might, indeed, tolerate them, but could never give them his +confidence or friendship. Two days later, the 24th, the king's speech was +delivered, reflecting the spirit of the Tamworth manifesto.<a name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PEEL'S POLICY.</i></div> + +<p>The government was again defeated by seven on an amendment to the address, +notwithstanding the loyal aid of Graham and Stanley, whose attitude during +the general election had excited Peel's mistrust. In the course of this +debate, the prime minister, abandoning his usual reserve, definitely +pledged himself not only "to advance, soberly and cautiously, in the path +of pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span>gressive improvement," but to bring forward specific measures. "I +offer you," he said, "reduced estimates, improvements in civil +jurisprudence, reform of ecclesiastical law, the settlement of the tithe +question in Ireland, the commutation of tithe in England, the removal of +any real abuse in the Church, the redress of those grievances of which the +dissenters have any just ground to complain." Nor were these offers +illusory or barren. On March 17, he brought in a bill to relieve +dissenters from disabilities in respect of marriage, which met with +general approval. It was founded on the simple principle, since adopted, +of giving legal validity to civil marriages duly solemnised before a +registrar, and leaving each communion to superadd a religious sanction in +its own way. The marriages of Churchmen in a church were to be left on +their old footing, but Churchmen were of course to be granted the same +liberty as other citizens of contracting a purely civil marriage.</p> + +<p>Still more important, as examples of conservative reform, were Peel's +efforts to purge the established Church of abuses, and to introduce a +voluntary commutation of tithes. His correspondence amply shows how large +a space these remedial measures occupied in his mind, and one of his first +acts was to appoint an ecclesiastical commission, with instructions to +institute a most comprehensive inquiry into every subject affecting the +distribution of church revenues. Compared with the petty squabbles over +the appropriation of an imaginary surplus to be derived from Irish tithes +which it was impossible to collect, the schemes of Peel for purifying and +strengthening the Church of England assume heroic proportions. The report +of the ecclesiastical commission originated by him, with its startling +disclosures of pluralism and non-residence, became the basis of +legislation which has wrought a veritable revolution in the financial and +disciplinary administration of the church. His tithe bill, abortive as it +was in 1835, was reproduced, with little alteration, in the tithe +commutation act of 1836.</p> + +<p>But the whig-radical allies of 1835 had not the smallest intention of +giving Peel a fair trial; nor indeed had they any other object beyond the +recovery of power. His appeals to his opponents, though by no means +without effect in the country, fell upon deaf ears in the house of +commons, and further humiliations followed rapidly. One of these was the +successful outcry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span> against the appointment of Londonderry, who had excited +much hostility as an uncompromising enemy to reform, to the embassy at St. +Petersburg, in consequence of which he, very honourably, relieved the +government from obloquy by declining the post. A motion to repeal the malt +tax was decisively defeated, and soon afterwards a motion in favour of +granting a charter to the University of London was carried against the +government by a large majority. Then came a defeat on a motion for +adjournment, and the arts of obstruction were obstinately practised in +debates on the estimates. At last the inevitable crisis arrived, and, as +might be expected, the final issue was taken upon an Irish question.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_273" id="TOPIC_273"></a>The influence of O'Connell and his "tail," as his followers were called, +had been neutralised, since the reform act, by the overwhelming strength +of the whigs, and the public-spirited action of Peel, who, as leader of +the conservative opposition, actually supported the whig government in +sixteen out of twenty most important contests on domestic policy. A very +different spirit was now shown by the whig opposition, and an evil +precedent, pregnant with disastrous consequences, was set by the famous +"Lichfield House compact". This was a close alliance between O'Connell and +those whom he had so fiercely denounced as "the base, brutal, and bloody +whigs". It bore immediate fruit in a motion of Russell for a committee of +the whole house to consider the temporalities of the Irish Church. After a +debate of four nights, the resolution was carried, on March 30, by a +majority of thirty-three. On April 5, a further resolution was carried by +a majority of twenty-five for applying any surplus-funds "to the general +education of all classes of the people without religious distinction," and +was more emphatically affirmed two days later by a majority of +twenty-seven.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_274" id="TOPIC_274"></a>Peel had long been conscious of the hopelessness of his position and +impatient of maintaining the struggle. He felt the constitutional danger +of allowing the executive government to become a helpless instrument in +the hands of a hostile majority in the house of commons. Nothing but the +earnest remonstrances of the king and his tory friends, including +Wellington, had induced him to retain office so long, and, after the +division of the 7th, he firmly resolved to resign. On doing so, he +received from the whole conservative party, of which he was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> the creator, +a most cordial address of thanks and confidence. Though his short +administration had consolidated the whig forces for the moment, and given +them a new lease of power, it showed him to be the foremost statesman in +the country, and paved the way for his triumphant return to office. As +Guizot said, he had proved himself "the most liberal of conservatives, the +most conservative of liberals, and the most capable man of all in both +parties".</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MELBOURNE'S SECOND MINISTRY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_275" id="TOPIC_275"></a>The king now discovered the fatal mistake which he had made in +"dismissing" his whig cabinet, as he boasted, instead of waiting for it to +break down under the stress of internal dissensions. His first idea was to +fall back on Grey, who had already betrayed his growing mistrust of +radicalism, but Grey declined to enter the lists again. There was no +resource but to recall Melbourne, whom the king personally liked, and to +put up with the elevation of Russell to a position which all admitted him +to have fairly earned. He became home secretary, as well as leader of the +house of commons, and the new whig cabinet differed little from the old. +Palmerston, Lansdowne, Auckland, Thompson, and Holland returned to their +former offices. Grant was made secretary for war and the colonies, +Duncannon became lord privy seal, Spring Rice chancellor of the exchequer, +Hobhouse president of the board of control, and Viscount Howick, son of +Earl Grey, was appointed secretary at war. Outside the cabinet, Viscount +Morpeth, son of the Earl of Carlisle, became Irish secretary. The most +significant difference between the two cabinets lay in the omission of +Brougham, which was effected by the expedient of placing the great seal in +commission. This negative act was, in reality, the boldest and most +perilous in Melbourne's political life. A correspondence between Brougham +and Melbourne in February must have made clear to the ex-chancellor that +he would be excluded from office, and he reluctantly acquiesced in +Melbourne's decision, hoping that it would be merely temporary, and that +he would soon resume his place on the woolsack as the dominant member of +the cabinet, but his exclusion was destined to be final, and the close of +a career to which English history in the nineteenth century presents no +parallel.<a name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>BROUGHAM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_276" id="TOPIC_276"></a>Brougham was called to the Scottish bar at the age of twenty-one, having +already given proof of brilliant ability and rare versatility at the +University of Edinburgh. He was the youngest and most prolific of the +original writers in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i>, then a very powerful organ of +whig opinion, and his contributions to it ranged over some thirty years +after its first appearance in 1802. He was already twenty-nine when he +joined the English bar in 1808, and though he never rivalled Eldon as a +lawyer or Scarlett as a persuasive advocate, he soon became an +acknowledged master of the highest forensic eloquence. His fame was +already established by his argument before parliament against the orders +in council when he entered the house of commons in 1810. There his +passionate oratory and power of invective made him the most formidable of +party speakers, and it was said that Canning alone could face him on equal +terms in debate. Except during four years, 1812-16, when he was out of +parliament, his prodigious energy and versatility were the greatest +intellectual force on the liberal side throughout all the political +conflicts under the regency and the reign of George IV. His speeches +embraced every question of foreign, colonial, or domestic policy, and it +may truly be said that no salutary reform was carried during that period +of which he was not either the author or the active promoter. The +suppression of the slave-trade which had revived after the great war, the +liberty of the press, the cause of popular education—these were among the +almost innumerable objects, outside the common run of politics, and +largely philanthropic, to which he devoted his restless mind, before it +was engrossed for a while by parliamentary reform. There, as we have seen, +he showed a moderation which had not been expected of him, nor is it too +much to say that, both as a leader of the bar and as chancellor, he made +good his claim to be the greatest of law reformers.</p> + +<p>His famous speech of February 7, 1828, had quickened the germs of many +legal improvements carried out in a later age, and the four years of his +chancellorship actually produced great constructive amendments of the law, +such as the institution of the central criminal court and the judicial +committee of the privy council. Other reforms, in bankruptcy, criminal +law, and equity, were mainly due to his initiative, and it was he who +originated the county courts, though his bill was reck<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>lessly thrown out +by the house of lords on party grounds. His public life, up to the year +1835, was perhaps the most brilliant and the most useful of the century, +yet it was hopelessly marred in the end by a certain eccentric vanity, and +want of loyalty to colleagues, not inconsistent with the higher ambition +of leaving the world better than he found it. For some years after his +fall he retained his astounding energy, and even his ascendency in the +house of lords, where Lyndhurst, his only possible rival, was astute +enough to court his co-operation. Never was his fertility in debate more +conspicuously shown than in the session of 1835, while he was still +nominally a supporter of the whig government. The last stage of his life, +extending over more than thirty years, belongs to another chapter of +English history; it is enough here to notice that, whatever his political +aberrations, he continued in his isolation and old age to work zealously +for those social reforms which he sincerely had at heart. The popularity +which had been to him as the breath of life never, indeed, returned to +him, and his figure no longer occupies a foremost place in the gallery of +our statesmen, but the results of his noble services to humanity remain, +and the memory of them ought not to be obscured by the sad record of his +failings.</p> + +<p>The new Melbourne administration came in with unfavourable omens. Russell +failed to secure his re-election in South Devon, but a seat was found for +him at Stroud, and though the premier emphatically denied that he had made +any bargain with O'Connell, the Irish people believed it. Accordingly, +they received the whig lord-lieutenant, Mulgrave, with a tumultuous +procession, as if his advent portended the repeal of the union and +extinction of tithes. An attempt to solve the insoluble tithe question +was, in fact, among the earliest efforts of the government, and Morpeth, +as chief secretary, introduced a very reasonable measure, differing +little, except in details, from that of his predecessor. Like other +proposals for agrarian settlements in Ireland, it involved a certain +sacrifice on the part of the tithe-owner for the sake of security, and a +subsidy from the state to relieve of arrears the defaulting and rebellious +tithe-payers. Peel stated his intention of supporting these provisions for +commutation, if they could be separated from other provisions for +"appropriation," coupled with them under the influ<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>ence of political +necessity rather than of sound policy. The proposals for appropriation +were so moderate that little would have been lost by dropping or gained by +carrying them, but, moderate as they were, they embodied a principle on +which either party was resolved to stand or fall. The consequence might +have been foreseen. The bill, as a whole, was passed in the house of +commons, and even read a second time in the house of lords, after which +the appropriation clauses were rejected in that assembly by a large +majority. Thereupon Melbourne withdrew the scheme altogether. Thus a +question of third-rate importance, having been the chronic difficulty of +four Irish secretaries, was left to stand over for three years longer, and +ultimately to be settled on the very basis which Stanley and Peel had +accepted from the first. A greater waste of parliamentary time has perhaps +never been recorded.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS BILL.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_277" id="TOPIC_277"></a>The session of 1835, however, was rendered memorable by the enactment of +one beneficent measure of the first magnitude. This measure—the municipal +corporations act—was preceded, like the new poor law, by a thorough and +exhaustive inquiry. A committee of the house of commons, followed by a +commission, had been appointed in 1833. The commission prosecuted careful +researches into the local conditions of each municipality, and did not +conclude its labours until 1835. Its report laid bare not merely grotesque +anomalies, but the grossest abuses of election and administration in +boroughs ruled by small, corrupt, and irresponsible oligarchies which then +abounded in England, and, still more, in Scotland.<a name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a> The reform act had +paved the way for the purification of such urban communities, by +disfranchising the smallest and most venal of them, by extending the +boundaries of many others, by enfranchising great towns which had remained +outside the pale of representation, and by conferring the suffrage, +theretofore monopolised by freemen and other privileged classes, on the +unprivileged mass of ten-pound householders.</p> + +<p>The municipal corporations bill, in its ultimate form, rested<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span> on the same +broad lines of policy. It imposed upon all boroughs, with the exception of +the city of London and a few of minor importance, one constitutional form +of government, identical in all its essential features with those which a +few model boroughs already possessed. The governing body was to consist of +a mayor, aldermen, and councillors, together forming a town council. The +councillors were to be elected directly by ratepaying occupiers, with a +saving for the prescriptive rights of existing freemen. They were to hold +office for three years; the aldermen were to be elected by the councillors +for six years, with a provision for retirement by rotation. The mayor was +to be elected annually by the town council. The elementary powers of local +government, such as the control of lighting and the constabulary force, +were to be transferred (subject to certain exceptions) from the hands of +committees into those of the one recognised and supreme municipal +authority. Other clauses provided for a division of the larger boroughs +into wards, for the abolition of exclusive trading privileges, for the +public management of charity estates, and for the appointment, at the +option of each borough, of a recorder, for the purposes of jurisdiction.</p> + +<p>Such were the main outlines of the great measure introduced by Russell, to +which Peel heartily gave his adhesion. It was a natural, and almost +necessary, sequel of the reform act, which had already broken up many +nests of jobbery, curtailed the lucrative exercise of the elective +franchise by freemen, and undermined the influence of those self-elected +rulers who, in the worst boroughs, had become gangs of public thieves. +Supported by Peel, the bill was read a second time in the house of +commons, on June 15, without a division. Several conservative amendments +were defeated in committee by small majorities, and the bill was sent up +to the lords on July 21. There its fate was far different. Though +Wellington himself was not disposed to obstruct it, he entirely failed to +check the obstructive tactics of Lyndhurst who, on this occasion, outdid +himself in the deliberate mutilation of a bill approved by the late +conservative premier. Lord Campbell, no partial judge of Brougham, has +left on record his belief that, but for his faithful and vigorous support, +the scheme of municipal reform must have been utterly wrecked.<a name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a> It was +allowed to be read a second time, but with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span> the full concurrence of Eldon +and all the ultra-tory peers, Lyndhurst succeeded in pulling it to pieces +in committee. For instance, one of the amendments imported into it +perpetuated proprietary rights which it was a chief object of the bill to +abolish; another gave aldermen a life-tenure of their offices; a third +retained a part of the old town councillors on the new town councils. +Proud as he was of his destructive exploits, as a triumph of toryism over +conservatism, Lyndhurst soon found that he could not so lightly override +the wiser counsels of Peel. When the lords' amendments came to be +considered in the commons, Russell prudently advised the acceptance of the +less important, and the disallowance of those inconsistent with the +principle of the bill. He was followed by Peel who, professing to uphold +the independence of the upper house, declared against the more obnoxious +amendments, and stickled only for points which the ministry was not +unwilling to concede. His action proved decisive. The commons stood firm +on the main issues, and the hostile party in the lords, who had vowed to +mar this reform, flinched at the last moment. Many of them abstained from +attendance. Wellington and even Lyndhurst recommended concession; +conferences took place between the houses, at which Russell played the +part of moderator, and on September 9 the corporation bill became law, not +in its entirety, but in all its essential features.</p> + +<p>In spite of this pacific compromise, popular feeling ran higher than ever +against the house of lords which, under the evil influence of Lyndhurst, +seemed bent on thwarting every liberal measure. John Roebuck, member for +Bath, a prominent radical, who acted independently of party connexions, +took a lead in denouncing their conduct, and went so far as to propose +giving them a merely suspensory, instead of an absolute, veto on +legislation. A sweeping reform in their constitution was loudly advocated +in the press. O'Connell, exasperated by their wanton rejection of a Dublin +police bill, spent a part of the parliamentary recess in a tour over the +north of England and Scotland, exhausting the stores of his scurrilous +invective in pouring contempt on the 170 tyrants who could dare to +withstand the will of the people. But O'Connell's eloquence, marvellous as +it was, never stirred British audiences as it stirred the Irish masses, +and it happened that at this moment he was somewhat discredited<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span> by +accusations of corruption afterwards proved to be false. The house of +lords not only survived his attacks, but was instigated by Lyndhurst to +further acts of obstruction in the following year.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>COTTENHAM, LORD CHANCELLOR.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_278" id="TOPIC_278"></a>His most powerful opponent was about to disappear from the political +scenes for the present, and in the future to be converted into an ally. +When the great seal was entrusted to commissioners, Brougham had affected +to regard the arrangement as a temporary makeshift to propitiate William +IV., and hoped that he would inherit the reversion of the chancellorship. +With this expectation he not only patronised but warmly supported the whig +ministry in 1835. But his wayward and petulant egotism had set all his old +colleagues against him, and Melbourne had made up his mind that "it was +impossible to act with him". The interruption of legal business caused by +the constant withdrawal of three judges from their proper duties, to act +as commissioners, was severely criticised by the press, and Sir Edward +Sugden, who had been lord chancellor of Ireland under Peel, published an +effective pamphlet entitled, "What has become of the great seal?" It was +thought necessary to appoint a new chancellor, and in January, 1836, Sir +Charles Pepys, then master of the rolls, was raised to that dignity as +Lord Cottenham. Foreseeing the implacable indignation of Brougham, the +ministry decided to confer a peerage on Henry Bickersteth, the new master +of the rolls, who became Lord Langdale, and who was supposed capable of +confronting the ex-chancellor in debate. No expectation could have been +more unfounded or delusive, but the sense of disappointment and desertion +so preyed on the health and nerves of Brougham that he forsook the house +of lords for a whole session. Campbell does not shrink from saying that he +was "atrociously ill-used" on this occasion,<a name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a> and assuredly he should +not have been left to learn from a newspaper that he was thrust aside in +favour of a man of vastly inferior gifts and services.</p> + +<p>One other change was made in the cabinet during the recess. The Earl of +Minto became first lord of the admiralty in succession to Auckland who had +been appointed governor-general of India. When parliament met on February +4, 1836, the prospects of the whig government were more favourable than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> +on their first accession to office. The factious conduct of the house of +lords in the last session had disgusted the country, while the +statesmanlike moderation of Peel secured them fair-play in the house of +commons, though it was gradually building up a strong conservative party. +Ireland again blocked the way for a while against useful legislation for +Great Britain, and the first encounter of parties was on an amendment to +the address condemning the anticipated reform of Irish corporations on the +principles already adopted for England. This amendment, unwillingly moved +by Peel, was defeated by a majority of forty-one, and the Irish municipal +bill was introduced on the 16th. Like its English prototype, it was +founded on the report of a commission which had disclosed the grossest +possible abuses in Irish municipalities, chiefly dominated by protestant +oligarchies. A similar measure substituting elective councils for these +corrupt bodies had actually passed its third reading in the commons before +the end of the last session, but the attempt to carry it further was then +abandoned. The debates on the bill of 1836 for the same purpose inevitably +turned on broad issues which continued to disturb Irish politics and to +perplex English statesmen for the rest of the century. On the one hand, no +one could justify "government by ascendency" in Ireland, or the shameful +malpractices incident to an exercise of power under no sense of +responsibility. On the other hand, no one acquainted with Irish history +and Irish character could honestly regard the people as yet qualified for +local self-government. In the social and some of the moral virtues they +might be favourably compared with Englishmen and Scotchmen; in the +political virtues, upon which civil institutions must rest, they were +several generations behind their fellow-subjects in Great Britain.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>IRISH BILLS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_279" id="TOPIC_279"></a>All were agreed on the necessity of sweeping away or expurgating the +existing Irish corporations, but the whole strength of the conservative +party in both houses was enlisted against the experiment of elective town +councils, especially after the evidence lately taken before the so-called +"intimidation committee" in the house of commons. Peel's scheme was to +vest the executive powers and property of Irish corporations, at least for +the present, in officers appointed by the crown. An amendment framed in +this sense was defeated by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> a large majority, and the bill passed the +commons with little further opposition. When it reached the lords it was +stoutly contested by Lyndhurst, now fortified by Peel's concurrence, on +the not unreasonable ground that it would make the radicals and repealers +predominant in every Irish municipality, and create "seats of agitation" +for revolutionary purposes in the new town councils. Being converted into +a bill "for the abolition of municipal corporations" in Ireland, it was +returned in that form to the house of commons. Russell vainly attempted to +meet the lords half-way by another compromise, and the measure was +abandoned only to be adopted, in a very modified shape, after the lapse of +four years. A like course was pursued by the upper house when a new Irish +tithe bill, with an appropriation clause, was sent up to them. Had the +whig government been well advised they would scarcely have challenged a +needless collision between the two houses by reviving this burning +question so early. It would have been possible to settle the Irish tithe +system on equitable lines, without prejudicing the future application of +superfluous Church revenues, and it was a somewhat perverse obstinacy +which persisted in coupling the two objects year after year. The ingenuity +of Lyndhurst in wrecking sound reforms should have been left without +excuse; whereas, in this case, the peers could not have accepted what they +regarded as a confiscation bill without a sacrifice of conviction and +self-respect.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_280" id="TOPIC_280"></a>Happily the commutation of tithes in England presented no political +difficulties of the same nature. The payment of tithes in kind, though +founded on immemorial usage, had, indeed, produced constant discord +between the parish clergyman and his flock, while landlords and farmers +justly complained that it impeded the improvement of agriculture. In many +localities the pressure of these evils had led to voluntary compositions +between tithe-owners and tithe-payers, which, being temporary, lacked the +force of law. The permissive tithe bills of Althorp and Peel were designed +to render general a practice which already prevailed in a thousand +parishes, and that now introduced by Russell was little more than an +extension of the same principle. Its mainspring was the appointment of +commissioners with compulsory powers in the last resort, and the provision +of a self-acting machinery for assessing the reduced annual rent charge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span> +payable in lieu of tithes, so as to vary with the average price of wheat, +barley, and oats in the seven preceding years. This practical solution of +the question was adopted cheerfully by the wearied legislature, and the +commissioners succeeded before long in effecting universal commutation. +Amendments in detail have of course been found necessary, but the system +established by 6 and 7 William IV., cap. 61, has stood the test of long +experience, and although tithe-owners have been impoverished by the fall +of prices, the payment of tithes in England has ceased to be a grievance, +except with those who absolutely condemn the endowment of a Church.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>REGISTRATION ACTS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_281" id="TOPIC_281"></a>An equally valuable and permanent legacy of this session is contained in +two cognate acts regulating marriages and registration in England. By the +first of these acts two new modes of celebrating marriage were provided, +without interfering with the old privileges of the established Church in +regard to marriage by licence or banns. While the essential conditions of +notice and publicity were carefully secured, the superintendent registrar +of each district was empowered either to authorise the celebration of +marriage in a duly registered place of worship, but in presence of a +district registrar, or to solemnise the ceremony himself, without any +religious service, in his own office. Clergymen of the Church of England +were constituted registrars for marriages celebrated by themselves, and +were bound to furnish the superintendent registrars with certified entries +of such marriages. The act was complicated by a variety of safeguards, +enforced by heavy penalties, against fraud and evasion, but its leading +features were simple and have proved effectual for their purpose. It +marked an advance on the earlier marriage bill of Russell, since it not +only allowed dissenters to marry in their own chapels, but to marry +without having their banns published in the parish church. It went beyond +the marriage bill of Peel, since it not only recognised marriage as a +civil contract, but utilised the new poor law organisation, and posted in +each district a civil official before whom that contract could legally be +solemnised.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_282" id="TOPIC_282"></a>The rules laid down by the first act for the registration of marriages +were an integral part of a general registration system established by the +second act, and embracing births and deaths as well as marriages. This +system, rendered possible by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span> division of the country into unions, +brought under effective control the old parochial registers which had been +loosely kept for three centuries. The statistical value of the returns +thus checked and digested in a central department is now fully recognised, +but can only be appreciated by students of social history, which, indeed, +is now largely founded on reports of the registrar-general. The special +provisions for the registration of deaths are also of the utmost service +in the prevention of disease and crime. Not until after this act of 1836 +was it realised by the mass of the people, not only that a sudden death +would properly be followed by a coroner's inquest, but that every death, +with its circumstances, must be treated as a matter of public concern and +duly notified. Still more important in its results has been the +requirement of a medical statement on the cause of death—a requirement +which has brought about the discovery of numerous murders and greatly +checked the commission of others. If the marriage act relieved a large +class of the community from vexatious disabilities, the whole community +assuredly owes the second reformed parliament a debt of gratitude for the +registration act which, like so many of the best acts in the statute book, +provoked but little discussion.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_283" id="TOPIC_283"></a>A far keener party interest was excited by the crusade against the Orange +lodges in Great Britain and Ireland which Hume and Finn, an Irish member, +carried on with great energy in the sessions of 1835 and 1836. These +societies then had an importance which they no longer possess, and were +the more open to radical attacks because the Duke of Cumberland was grand +master of the order. It was said, with some justice, that while the +catholic association was nominally put down, the Orange lodges in Ireland +were openly spreading, with the connivance at least of the Irish +authorities. Their officials included noblemen of high position; Goulburn, +when chief secretary, was an Orangeman, and special efforts had been made +to enrol members in the army. Their principles were strictly loyal, but +their demonstrations were naturally resented by the Roman catholics, and +were not far removed from preparations for civil war. They hailed the +accession of Peel's short ministry with tumultuous enthusiasm, but when +the legality of their organisation and proceedings was challenged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span> in the +house of commons, during the session of 1835, their advocates felt +compelled to support a committee of inquiry. The evidence taken before +this committee, and the debate raised by Hume on the formation of Orange +lodges in the army, damaged their cause in the eyes of the public, and +seriously compromised the Duke of Cumberland. It was shown that his +brother, the Duke of York, had resigned the grand mastership, and on being +convinced of their illegality had forbidden Orange lodges in the army, +whereas the Duke of Cumberland had accepted the grand mastership and +directly promoted military lodges.</p> + +<p>An address condemning them was carried; the king undertook to discourage +them, and the commander-in-chief issued a stringent order for their +suppression. The struggle, however, was continued by the pertinacity of +the radicals in demanding a more extended inquiry, and the obstinacy of +the Orangemen in defying both the house of commons and the horse guards. +Early in the session of 1836 Finn and Hume renewed their assaults, and the +latter moved for an address, to be framed in the most sweeping terms, and +calling upon the crown to dismiss all persons in public employment, from +the highest to the lowest, who should belong to Orange societies. Russell, +who had been gradually rising in public estimation, showed the qualities +of a true statesman on this occasion by a firm yet conciliatory speech +which commanded assent on both sides. He exposed the extravagant and +impracticable nature of Hume's demand, but condemned the Orange societies, +and proposed an address urging the crown to use its influence for "the +effectual discouragement of Orange lodges, and generally all political +societies, excluding persons of different faith, using signs and symbols, +and acting by associated branches". This resolution was adopted without +opposition, the king heartily endorsed it, even the Duke of Cumberland +acquiesced in it, and the Orange societies quietly dissolved themselves, +for a while, throughout the United Kingdom.</p> + +<p>If the session of 1836 had produced no other legislative fruits it could +not be regarded as wasted. But several minor reforms of great social +benefit also date from this year, and prove that, however checked by +political blunders, the energy kindled by the reform act had not yet +exhausted itself. After repeated efforts of legal philanthropists, a bill +was now passed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span> for the first time allowing prisoners on trial for felony +to be defended by counsel. It was brought in by William Ewart, a private +member, who sat for Liverpool, but was supported by the highest legal +authorities in the house of lords, including Lyndhurst himself, who openly +recanted his former opinions, and declared the old law to be a barbarous +survival, inconsistent with the practice of other civilised nations. In +the same house an interesting debate took place on the management of +jails, which had been placed under a system of inspection by an act of the +previous year. The reports of the inspectors disclosed gross abuses, not +only in the smaller county jails but in Newgate itself. Lansdowne, in +pledging the government to deal with the larger question, intimated that +Russell, as home secretary, was considering the means of separating +juvenile offenders from hardened criminals by establishing places of +detention in the nature of what have since been known as reformatories.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DUTY ON NEWSPAPERS LOWERED.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_284" id="TOPIC_284"></a>A still more notable contribution to social improvement was made by Spring +Rice, the chancellor of the exchequer, in consolidating the paper duties +on a reduced scale, and lowering the stamp duty on newspapers from +fourpence to one penny. These were the only controversial elements in a +budget otherwise modest and acceptable. The battle over paper duties and +"taxes upon knowledge" raised in the debates of 1836 was destined to rage +many years longer, but the relief granted by Spring Rice gave a powerful +impulse to journalism and periodical literature. It was opposed by all the +familiar arguments against a cheap press, but that which most endangered +its success was a rival proposal to apply any surplus revenue to +cheapening soap. Soap, it was plausibly contended, was a necessary, +reading newspapers or periodicals was only a luxury, and a luxury, too, +far move capable of being abused than expenditure on soap. When the penny +stamp on newspapers was at last preferred to reduced soap duties it was +said that, "so far as financial arrangements were concerned, everything +went to supply the essential elements of low political clubs, <i>viz.</i>, +cheap gin, cheap newspapers, filthy hands, and unwashed faces".<a name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a></p> + +<p>The legislative record of 1836 was creditable to the government, nor was +the action of the upper house in amending<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span> certain of their bills so +purely mischievous as it has been described. For instance, a strange +clause had found its way into the newspaper stamp bill, requiring all the +proprietors of newspapers, however numerous, to be registered at the stamp +office. This clause was struck out in the house of lords, at the instance +of Lyndhurst, though Melbourne declared it to be a vital part of the +measure, which, however, passed without it, and was the better for the +loss of it. But the same cannot be said of Lyndhurst's conduct at the +"open conference" between the two houses on a supplementary bill for +remedying defects in the operation of the municipal corporations act. +There no question of principle was involved, and the only motive for +resisting every attempt to improve the new machinery already established +by law was one unworthy of a statesman. At the close of the session, +Lyndhurst delivered a masterly vindication of his own proceedings, but he +was answered by Melbourne in a speech of great ability, and the position +now occupied by the whigs appeared stronger than when they came into +office in 1835.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_285" id="TOPIC_285"></a>In this year complaints of agricultural distress once more became urgent, +and a committee was appointed by the house of commons, as in 1833, to +inquire into its cause. Strange to say, the immediate occasion for the +second inquiry was the occurrence of three magnificent harvests in +succession, which brought down the average price of wheat from 58s. 8d. in +1832 to 53s. in 1833, 46s. 2d. in 1834, and 39s. 4d. in 1835, whence it +rose to 48s. 6d. after the harvest of 1836. The average gazette price of +1835 was the lowest touched in the nineteenth century until 1884, and was +simply due to excess of production. It was stated before the committee of +1836, by the comptroller of corn returns, that in the period between 1814 +and 1834 the quantity of home-grown wheat only fell short of the +consumption, on the average, by about 1,000,000 quarters a year, of which +at least half was contributed by Ireland. The committee published its +evidence without making a report, but this fact is highly significant as +marking the later revolution in British agriculture. If the area then +devoted to wheat crops almost sufficed to feed an estimated population of +14,500,000, when the yield per acre was relatively small, we may safely +infer, in the absence of trustworthy statistics, that it must have been +very much greater than at present.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>AGITATION IN IRELAND.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_286" id="TOPIC_286"></a>At the opening of 1837 there was a marked stagnation in home politics, +mainly due to an equipoise of parties and serious divisions in the ranks +of the ministerialists as well as of the opposition. Not only was there a +very strong conservative majority in the house of lords, with a sufficient +though dwindling liberal majority in the house of commons, but neither +majority was amenable to party discipline. The aggressive policy and +vexatious tactics of Lyndhurst were distasteful to his nominal leader, the +Duke of Wellington, and still more so to Peel, the only possible +conservative premier, who eschewed the very name of tory. There was +greater unity of counsels between Melbourne and Russell, but Russell, who +had learned moderation, was dependent on the support of his extreme left, +composed of violent radicals and Irish repealers. The king, though he did +not carry his repugnance to his ministers so far as he once threatened, +yet almost excluded them from social invitations, and made no secret of +his preference for the opposite party. During the winter of 1836-37 +O'Connell and his satellites were busy in organising monster meetings to +demand the abolition of tithes and municipal reform. A national +association was formed on this basis, and a certain number of protestants +were induced to join it. The government dared not show vigour in checking +it lest they should estrange their Irish allies, and Mulgrave, the +lord-lieutenant, was openly accused of favouring sedition and discouraging +loyalty by his exercise of patronage and the royal prerogative of pardon. +At last, a very large and influential meeting was held in Dublin, at which +the discontent of loyalists and patriots was expressed with truly Irish +vehemence. Still, Ireland was less disturbed than in several previous +years. About the same time, Peel, having been elected lord rector of +Glasgow University, was entertained there at dinner by a company including +many old reformers, and made one of his greatest speeches. Its spirit was +that of his Tamworth manifesto, but he was far more outspoken in his +declaration of unswerving adhesion to the protestant cause and to the +independence of the upper house.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_287" id="TOPIC_287"></a>Such were the political conditions when parliament met on January 31. The +king's speech, delivered by commission, though singularly colourless, +indicated the importance of legislating on Irish tithes, Irish +corporations, and Irish poor relief. The debate on the address was +enlivened by a furious attack of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span> Roebuck on the whigs, but was otherwise +devoid of importance. On February 7, however, Russell introduced a new +Irish corporations bill, invoking the authority of Fox for the doctrine +that "Irish government should be regulated by Irish notions and Irish +prejudices," and avowing a faith in the efficacy of unlimited concession +which has not been justified by later experience. He further intimated the +resolution of the government to stand or fall by this measure. No serious +resistance was offered by the opposition to its first or second reading, +but Peel took occasion to protest against a transparent inconsistency +which seems to beset the advocacy of Irish claims. It is generally +assumed, and with too much justice, that Ireland is so backward and +helpless a country as to require exceptional treatment; in short, that it +must be governed by Irish ideas, with little regard to English principles +of sound policy or economy. Such was, in effect, Fox's contention, adopted +by Russell; and yet, like future supporters of "Ireland for the Irish," he +argued in the same breath that every liberal institution suitable to +Englishmen, with their long training in self-government and instinctive +reverence for law, must needs be extended to Irishmen, with their long +training in anarchy and instinctive propensity to lawlessness. He +prevailed, however, in the house of commons, where a hostile amendment was +decisively rejected, and the bill, having passed rapidly through +committee, was read a third time by a large though reduced majority.</p> + +<p>Had it been possible to isolate the Irish municipal bill, and to compel +the house of lords to deal with it singly, the peers might possibly have +shrunk from another collision with the commons. But it had been coupled in +the king's speech with two other projects of Irish legislation, a new +tithe bill, and an Irish poor law. Both of these were, in fact, +introduced, the former by Russell in February, the latter by Morpeth early +in May. The course to be taken by the conservative party was the subject +of anxious consultation between Peel and Wellington, and that ultimately +adopted had the full sanction of both. They regarded the separate +presentation of the municipal bill as a "manœuvre," and, while they +overruled the wish of Lyndhurst to defeat it by an adverse vote on the +second reading, they resolved to meet it by a counter-manœuvre. +Accordingly Wellington induced the house of lords to postpone the +com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>mittee on the municipal bill until they should have the other two +bills before them, and Peel not only approved of his action but stated +reasons for regarding them as essentially connected with each other. June +9 was originally fixed as the date for going into committee, but this +stage was afterwards deferred until July 3, before which unforeseen events +arrested all further progress.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CHURCH RATES.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_288" id="TOPIC_288"></a>In the meantime, the prestige of the government had been weakened by the +failure of their scheme for abolishing Church rates. The dissenters, no +longer content with religious liberty, were beginning to demand religious +equality. In the forefront of their grievances was that of paying rates +for the repair of parish churches which they did not attend, except as +members of the annual "vestry," where they could object to a rate but +might be out-voted by a majority of their fellow-parishioners. Althorp had +proposed a scheme for the removal of this grievance in 1834, involving a +parliamentary grant of £250,000. Setting aside this alternative, as well +as that of a special contribution, voluntary or otherwise, from members of +the Church, Spring Rice now proposed a solution of his own. It consisted +in vesting the property of bishops and chapters in a commission which, by +improved management, might raise the necessary sum for church repairs, +without impairing the incomes of these ecclesiastical dignitaries. Before +the government plan was discussed in the house of commons, Howley, +archbishop of Canterbury, entered a strong protest against it in the house +of lords on the ground that it would reduce the bishops and chapters from +the position of landowners to that of "mere annuitants". Melbourne +complained of his protest somewhat angrily as premature, and provoked a +vehement reply from Blomfield, bishop of London, who, though a member of +the ecclesiastical commission, denounced any such diversion of revenues as +"a sacrilegious act of spoliation". In the elaborate debates on the +resolutions moved by Spring Rice in the house of commons Peel took his +stand partly on financial objections and partly on the injustice of taking +away from the Church a fund belonging to it by immemorial usage, and in +the main willingly contributed. Amendment after amendment was proposed by +members of the opposition, and, though each was defeated, the government +resolutions were ultimately carried by so narrow a majority in May that no +further action was taken.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_289" id="TOPIC_289"></a>The conservative reaction, now in visible progress, was typi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>fied by the +open secession of Burdett from the ranks of the reformers. This sincere +but indiscreet radical, who had once enjoyed a popularity similar to that +of Wilkes as a political martyr, became estranged from his party when it +accepted O'Connell as an auxiliary, if not as an ally. Having failed in +procuring the exclusion of the great Irish demagogue from Brooks's club, +in 1835, he withdrew his own name. Soon afterwards he became irregular in +his parliamentary attendance, and more than lukewarm in his allegiance. +Early in 1837 he was, like Stanley and Graham, so much suspected of +gravitating towards conservatism, that some of his Westminster +constituents publicly called upon him to resign. He took up the challenge, +and was re-elected against a radical opponent by a substantial majority. +It was his last re-election for a borough which he had represented for +thirty years. In the Church-rate debate he rose from the opposition side +of the house, and lamenting his separation from his old associates, did +not spare them either reproaches or hostile criticism.</p> + +<p>Another desertion from the whig camp took place during this session, but +in an opposite direction. Roebuck, originally one of the philosophical +radicals, had become more and more violent in his attacks on his own +leaders, whom he accused of having deceived the people. According to him, +they were "aristocratic in principle, democratic in pretence," and all the +resources of his incisive rhetoric were exhausted in exposing their +incapacity, in a motion for a committee to consider the state of the +nation. This motion, so advocated, met with no support, and gave Russell +the opportunity of once more vindicating the wisdom of moderation in +statesmanship. But there were many besides Roebuck who were eager to +complete the work of the reform act by further organic changes, and the +notice book of the house of commons in 1837 embodied several proposals of +this kind. One was Grote's annual motion for the ballot, on which an +interesting debate took place. Among the others were two motions of Sir +William Molesworth for a reform of the upper house and for the abolition +of a property qualification for the lower house, a motion of Tennyson, who +had taken the additional name of D'Eyncourt, for the repeal of the +septennial act, and another of Hume for household suffrage, overshadowing +that of Duncombe for repealing the rate-paying clauses of the reform act<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span> +itself. Nearly all of these contained the germs of future legislation, but +they formed no part of the whig programme, nor could any whig government +have carried them against so powerful an opposition, with an invincible +reserve in the house of lords, during the last session of William IV. Only +seventeen public acts were actually passed in this session.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE DEATH OF WILLIAM IV.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_290" id="TOPIC_290"></a>There were, indeed, other reasons for declining to provoke a grave contest +at this juncture. The king's health was known to be failing, his death +under the law then in force would involve a general election, and no one +could desire his successor, a girl of eighteen, to begin her reign in the +midst of a political crisis. In May his illness assumed an alarming +aspect, early in June the medical reports satisfied the country that his +case was hopeless, on June 19 he received the last sacrament, and on the +20th he died at Windsor Castle. Something more than justice was done to +his character by the leaders of both parties in parliament, but something +less than justice has been done to it by later historians. He was inferior +in strength of will to his father, in ability to his eldest brother, and +in the higher virtues of a constitutional sovereign to his niece, who +succeeded him. But he was not only a kindly and well-meaning man, a good +husband to Queen Adelaide and a good father to his natural children, +faithful to his old friends, and bountiful in his charities; he was also a +loyal servant of the state, with a genuine sense of public duty, a natural +love of justice, an independent judgment, and a noble indifference to +personal or selfish objects. His lot was cast in almost revolutionary +times, and he was called upon to reign at an age when few men are capable +of shaking off old prejudices, yet he deserved well of his people in +supporting the ministry of Grey through all the stages of the reform +movement, in spite of his own declared sympathies, but in deference to his +own conviction of paramount obligation under the laws of the land. He was +quite as liberal in opinions as Peel, whose hearty interest in the poorer +classes he fully shared, and far more liberal than the tory majority in +the house of lords. Great he certainly was not, and he never affected the +royal dignity which partially concealed the littleness of his predecessor. +But in honesty and simplicity he was no unworthy son of George III., and +the greater pliability of his nature contributed, at least, to make the +seven years of his reign more fruitful in reforms than all the sixty years +during which the old king occupied the throne of England.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> The king to Peel (Feb. 22, 1835), Parker, <i>Sir Robert +Peel</i>, ii., 287-89.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> See Melbourne's letters to Brougham, <i>Melbourne Papers</i>, +pp. 257-64.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> The abuses in the Scottish municipalities had, however, +been already removed by an act conferring the municipal franchise on £10 +householders. Not the least important result of this act was the increased +strength which it gave to the "evangelical" party in the general assembly +of the Church of Scotland, which was partly elected by the +municipalities.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> Campbell, <i>Lives of the Chancellors</i>, viii., 470.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> Campbell, <i>Lives of the Chancellors</i>, viii., 476.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> <i>Annual Register</i>, lxxviii. (1836), p. 244<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + +<h3>FOREIGN RELATIONS UNDER WILLIAM IV.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_291" id="TOPIC_291"></a>In 1830 the closing months of Wellington's administration were disturbed +by the French and Belgian revolutions. The former of these was occasioned +by the publication on July 25 of three ordinances, restricting the liberty +of the press, dissolving the chambers, and amending the law of elections. +The Parisian populace rose against this infringement of the constitution. +In the course of a three days' street-fight (the 27th to the 29th) the +troops were driven out of Paris. On the 30th a few members of the +chambers, who had continued in session, invited Louis Philippe, Duke of +Orléans, to assume the office of lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and he +was proclaimed on the following day. On August 7 the chamber of deputies +offered him the crown, which he accepted, and on the 9th he was proclaimed +"King of the French". On the 2nd Charles X. and the dauphin had renounced +their rights in favour of the young Duke of Bordeaux, and on the 16th they +sailed from Cherbourg to England. The change of dynasty was accompanied by +a transference to the <i>bourgeoisie</i> of such political influence as had +hitherto belonged to the clergy and <i>noblesse</i>. It remained to be seen +whether it would also be accompanied by a change of foreign policy.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>RECOGNITION OF LOUIS PHILIPPE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_292" id="TOPIC_292"></a>The new French revolution occasioned no slight perturbation in the +European courts. To say nothing of the fear of the precedent being +followed in other lands, there was no longer any guarantee that France +would respect the arrangements effected by the treaties of Vienna and +Paris. Austria, Prussia, and Russia agreed not to recognise Louis +Philippe, and entered into a convention for mutual aid in the event of +French aggression. Aberdeen, the British foreign secretary, declared that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span> +the time had come for applying the treaty of Chaumont, which, as extended +at Paris, pledged Great Britain and the three eastern powers to act +together in case fresh revolution and usurpation in France should endanger +the repose of other states. Wellington, however, saw that the cause of the +elder Bourbon line was hopeless, and held now, as in 1815, that if France +was not to menace the peace of Europe, her political position must be one +with which she could be contented. He considered that the arguments which +justified the admission of France to the councils of the powers at +Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 applied with no less cogency to the government of +Louis Philippe than to that of Louis XVIII. He therefore determined to +acknowledge the new French government at an early date after the +notification of its assumption of power. Nor were the other powers slow in +taking the same course. It is true that Metternich suggested a closer bond +between Austria, Prussia, and Russia, partly to restore amicable relations +between Austria and Russia, partly to oppose any possible designs of +France on Italy. Prussia, fearing war, resisted the proposal, and +preferred to draw France into a guarantee of the <i>status quo</i> by +recognising Louis Philippe. Russia was last of the great powers to +acknowledge the new <i>régime</i> in France, and she only did so on condition +that the powers should hold the French king responsible for the execution +of the international engagements of the fallen dynasty. Louis Philippe was +certainly not the man wilfully to embroil France in a war with her +neighbours, and, had he been independent of French public opinion, there +would have been no reason to fear French aggression.</p> + +<p>The state which had most to fear from an aggressive France was the new +kingdom of the Netherlands. Trusting for protection to the great powers +rather than to its own forces, the Netherlands government had adopted a +system which left it almost entirely without troops except during the +military exercises of September and October. Wellington, who knew the +pacific character of the new French government, advised the garrisoning of +certain isolated points on the frontier, but thought no further +preparation necessary. A few weeks were however to prove that the new +French revolution had aroused a more implacable enemy, against whom the +house of Orange would have needed all the troops it could summon to its +aid.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span> The union of Holland and Belgium had been resolved on by the powers +at Paris in 1814, mainly for military reasons. Austria had been unwilling +to resume the heavy burden of guarding the Belgian Netherlands and +southern Germany against French aggression, and the powers had +consequently resolved on strengthening those smaller states on whom the +duty of resistance would fall. In these days, accustomed as we are to the +distinction between the Teutonic and Latin races, it might seem reasonable +that two countries in which the prevailing languages are low German should +be subject to the same government. But it was not yet customary to turn +the principles of comparative philology into arguments for the +rearrangement of political boundaries. The French language and culture had +moreover made considerable progress among the upper and middle classes of +Belgium, while religious differences alienated the clergy from the house +of Orange. In the states-general of the Netherlands the Dutch had half the +votes, and, as the Orange party was strong in Antwerp and Ghent, commanded +a majority. The fiscal system adopted by the government favoured the Dutch +rather than the Belgian population. Dutchmen were generally preferred for +state offices, and an attempt to control the education of the clergy was +deeply resented as an attack on the Roman catholic religion. Belgium in +consequence presented the curious spectacle of the liberal and clerical +parties working on the same side, united against the Dutch government.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>BELGIAN REVOLUTION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_293" id="TOPIC_293"></a>The example afforded by France turned a discontent which might have led to +local riots into a national conflagration. On August 25 there was a rising +of the populace at Brussels, which the troops proved unable to quell. On +the 27th it was suppressed by a body of burgher guards, a volunteer force +drawn from the <i>bourgeoisie</i> of the town. The <i>bourgeoisie</i> finding +themselves in possession of the Belgian capital, at first presented a +series of minor demands to the king, but on September 3 they went the +length of demanding a separate administration for Belgium. The king +undertook to lay this proposal before the states, which assembled on the +13th. But before the states could come to any conclusion the question had +assumed a new aspect. All the leading towns of Belgium had followed the +example of Brussels by forming burgher guards and had thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span> joined in the +revolution; and on the 20th a fresh rising of the populace of Brussels had +overthrown the burgher guard and instituted a provisional government. This +was followed by an attempt on the part of Prince Frederick of Orange, a +younger son of the King of the Netherlands, to occupy Brussels with a +military force. After five days' fighting he was compelled to retire, and +when on the 30th the states-general gave their consent to the proposal for +a separate administration, their decision fell upon deaf ears. All the +Belgian provinces were in revolt.</p> + +<p>It was now clear to everybody that the national party in Belgium would not +consent even to a personal union with Holland. As the union of the two +countries formed a part of the treaty of Vienna, every European power had +a legal right to employ force to prevent its disruption, and Russia and +Prussia both desired active intervention. In France, on the other hand, +there was a loud popular demand for the reannexation of Belgium to France, +of which it had formed a part from 1794 to 1814. Louis Philippe saw that +he could not resist this demand if the Belgian insurgents were coerced on +the side of Prussia, and therefore announced that Prussian aggression +would be met by a French expedition to Belgium to keep the balance even, +until the question should be settled by a congress of the powers. On +September 25 Talleyrand had arrived in England. He quickly obtained the +adhesion of Wellington to the principle of non-intervention. The duke had +been among the first to grasp the fact that reconciliation of Dutch and +Belgians was impossible, and that the intervention of the powers would +necessitate a European war, to avoid which the union of the two countries +had originally been designed. He agreed therefore to a separation of the +countries on condition that France should bind herself to observe the +arrangements of the congress of Vienna in 1815 and should take no separate +action in Belgium.</p> + +<p>On Talleyrand's suggestion it was decided to refer the question to the +conference already sitting in London for the purpose of settling the Greek +question, which would of course have to be reinforced by representatives +of Austria and Prussia for the present purpose. Molé, the French foreign +minister, would have preferred Paris as the seat of the congress, but the +King of the Netherlands absolutely refused to entrust his cause to a +conference meeting in a city where opinion ran so strongly against him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span> +On October 5 he made a formal appeal to the powers for the aid guaranteed +him by treaty, but the demand came too late to induce Wellington to swerve +from the policy of non-intervention, and on November 4 the conference of +London began its labours by proposing an armistice in Belgium, which was +accepted by both parties. This left Maastricht and the citadel of Antwerp +in the hands of Dutch garrisons, and Luxemburg in the hands of a garrison +supplied by the German confederation. Every other place in Belgium was in +the hands of the insurgents. But the further solution of the question was +reserved for other hands. On the 3rd Louis Philippe was compelled to +accept a revolutionary ministry, and on the 22nd Wellington and Aberdeen +had to make way for a whig ministry with Grey as premier, and Palmerston +as foreign secretary.</p> + +<p>The new foreign secretary had served a long political apprenticeship as +secretary at war in the successive administrations of Perceval, Liverpool, +Canning, Goderich, and Wellington, and under the three last-mentioned +premiers he had enjoyed a seat in the cabinet. It will be remembered that +he had been a warm champion of Greece, and had resigned office along with +Huskisson, Dudley, and Grant. He now returned in company with Grant as a +member of a whig cabinet. Although this change of party involved the +adoption of a domestic policy far removed from Canning's, Palmerston's +foreign policy remained rather Canningite than whig. The interest and the +honour of England ranked with Palmerston as with Canning before all +questions which concerned the maintenance of European peace. But instead +of Canning's versatile diplomacy he displayed too often a reckless +disregard of the susceptibilities of foreign governments, and, if, like +Canning, he lent the moral support of Great Britain to the liberal party +in every continental country, it was not, as it had professedly been with +Canning, because their success would promote the interests of Great +Britain, but because he had a genuine sympathy with their cause. It is +impossible to deny that in his earlier years at least Palmerston's policy +met with a success such as Castlereagh and Wellington had not attempted to +gain; real or imaginary dangers at home left the foreign governments too +weak to oppose the will of the one strong man of the moment. Yet it is +doubtful whether any resultant benefits were not more than counterbalanced +by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span> distrust and ill-will with which the greater nations of Europe +have learned to regard the British government and people.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PROPOSED DIVISION OF THE NETHERLANDS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_294" id="TOPIC_294"></a>During the first few weeks of the new administration, the Belgian question +advanced far towards a settlement. On November 10 a Belgian national +congress assembled at Brussels; on the 18th it voted the independence of +Belgium; on the 22nd it resolved that the new state should be a +constitutional monarchy, and on the 24th it proclaimed the total exclusion +of the house of Nassau. Finally the outbreak of a Polish insurrection at +Warsaw made it clear that Prussia and Russia would be too busily occupied +in the east to be able to interfere effectively in the Belgian question. +On December 20 a protocol was signed at London by the representatives of +the five powers, providing for the separation of Belgium from Holland. +When however the protocol was sent to the tsar for ratification, he would +only ratify it subject to the condition that its execution should depend +on the consent of the King of the Netherlands. Meanwhile the London +conference was engaged in settling the boundary of the new kingdom. For +the most part it went on the principle of leaving to Holland the districts +that had belonged to the United Provinces before the wars of the French +revolution. The remainder of the kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting +chiefly of the former Austrian Netherlands, but including also territories +which had belonged to France, Prussia, the Palatinate, the bishopric of +Liège, and some minor ecclesiastical states, was assigned to Belgium. An +exception was, however, made in the case of the grand duchy of Luxemburg. +Luxemburg was reputed to be, next to Gibraltar, the strongest fortress in +Europe. It was regarded as the key to the lower Rhine; it formed a part of +the German confederation, and was garrisoned by German troops. Although +Holland had no historical claim to its possession, the treaty of Vienna +granted it to the Dutch branch of the house of Nassau, as compensation for +its former possessions, merged in the duchy of Nassau; and it was now felt +that a place so important to the safety of Germany could not safely be +handed over to a state which seemed likely to fall under French influence. +The powers therefore determined that this duchy should continue to belong +to the king of the Netherlands.</p> + +<p>There was also some difficulty over the apportionment of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span> the debt. +Belgium was the more populous and the richer of the two countries, but the +greater part of the debt had been contracted by Holland before the union. +Belgium was, however, already responsible for its share of the whole debt, +and the powers can hardly be accused of injustice when they determined to +divide the debt in the proportion in which the debt-charges had been borne +in the three previous years, assigning sixteen thirty-firsts to Belgium, +and fifteen thirty-firsts to Holland. Belgium was moreover to possess the +right of trading with the Dutch colonies and to contribute towards their +defence. These provisions were embodied in two protocols which were issued +at London on January 20 and 27, 1831. As compared with the <i>status quo</i> +the Dutch were slightly the gainers. The protocol permitted them to keep +Maastricht and Luxemburg, but required them to abandon the citadel of +Antwerp; while the Belgians were required to surrender those less +important places which they had occupied in Dutch Limburg and in the grand +duchy of Luxemburg. Talleyrand considered the present a favourable +opportunity for claiming for France the cession of Mariembourg and +Philippeville which she had been compelled to surrender to the kingdom of +the Netherlands in 1815. Palmerston, however, absolutely refused to hear +of any extension of French territory, for fear of imperilling the security +of Europe. The two protocols were accepted by Holland on February 13 but +rejected by Belgium. Though Talleyrand had signed the protocol of January +20, it was repudiated by Sébastiani, the French foreign minister, on the +ground that the object of the conference was to effect a mediation, not to +dictate a settlement.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>BELGIUM CHOOSES A KING.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_295" id="TOPIC_295"></a>Meanwhile the national congress at Brussels had attempted to elect a king. +At first the most favoured candidate was Auguste Beauharnais, Duke of +Leuchtenberg, the grandson of Napoleon's first consort. Louis Philippe +naturally objected to the establishment on his frontier of a prince so +closely connected with the house of Bonaparte. The pliant Belgians +accordingly transferred their preference to the Duke of Nemours, the +second son of Louis Philippe. It was in vain that Sébastiani declared that +France could not allow such a selection, as it would be interpreted by the +powers as evidence of a French design to reincorporate Belgium in France. +On February<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span> 3, 1831, the Duke of Nemours was actually elected king by the +Belgian national congress. But the conference of London had, two days +earlier, adopted a resolution, excluding from the Belgian throne all +members of the reigning dynasties of the five powers. Still there was a +strong party in France, including Laffitte, the revolutionary premier, who +advocated the claims of Nemours. Louis Philippe, however, stood firm on +the side of European peace, and on the 17th definitively declined the +crown offered to his son. The French now recommended the Prince of Naples, +but the Belgians declined to accept him, and on the 25th the national +congress appointed a regent to hold office till a king should be elected. +On March 13 the accession to office of an anti-revolutionary ministry in +France rendered the complete co-operation of the powers easier.</p> + +<p>On April 17 France declared her adhesion to the protocol of January 20, +and by a new protocol the other four powers consented to the demolition of +some of the Belgian fortresses on the French frontier. Another protocol of +the same date ordered the Belgians to evacuate the grand duchy of +Luxemburg. On May 10 a further protocol even threatened Belgium with the +rupture of diplomatic relations in case she did not by June I accept the +protocol of January 20. But the powers soon adopted a more conciliatory +attitude. France and Great Britain desired that Prince Leopold of +Saxe-Coburg, who in the previous year had resigned the crown of Greece, +should now be offered that of Belgium. Prince Leopold would not accept the +crown so long as Belgium continued to defy the powers, and on the other +hand there was no chance of securing his election by the Belgian congress +unless he undertook to maintain the Belgian claim to the possession of +Luxemburg. Lord Ponsonby, the British minister at Brussels, succeeded in +inducing the London conference to sign a new protocol, undertaking to +negotiate with Holland for the cession of Luxemburg to Belgium, in return +for an indemnity elsewhere, provided that Belgium should first accept the +protocol of January 20. The Belgian congress gathered that the acceptance +of Prince Leopold was regarded by the powers as more important than the +maintenance of the terms of that protocol, and they accordingly elected +him as their king on June 4 without accepting the protocol. In answer to +Dutch complaints Ponsonby and General Belliard, the French<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span> minister, were +recalled from Brussels as the protocol of May 10 required. Leopold refused +to accept the crown until the conference should have offered better terms, +and on the 26th the conference signed another protocol, which differed +from that of January 20 in that it left the Luxemburg question open for +future negotiation, and rendered Holland liable for the whole of the debt +that it had incurred before the union of the two countries. On the same +day Leopold accepted the Belgian crown. The Belgian congress accepted this +last protocol on July 7, and on the 21st Leopold was proclaimed king, and +immediately recognised by Great Britain and France. The other great powers +were not long in following their example.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_296" id="TOPIC_296"></a>It was now Holland's turn to feel aggrieved. She refused to recognise the +changes proposed by the powers in the terms which she had already +accepted. On May 21 she had declared that if the protocol of January 20 +were not accepted by June 1 she would consider herself free to act on her +own account, and on July 12 that the acceptance in Belgium of a king who +had not agreed to that protocol would be an act of hostility. Feeling +herself betrayed by the conference she gave notice on August 1 that the +armistice which had existed since the previous November would terminate on +the 4th. It was soon seen how much Holland had lost in the preceding year +by being found in a state of military unpreparedness. When hostilities +began the Dutch carried everything before them. On the 8th the Belgians +were routed at Hasselt, and on the 13th Leopold in person was compelled to +surrender Louvain. But Holland was now arrested in the full tide of her +success. The opportunity that French patriots had long desired had +presented itself, and Louis Philippe would only have endangered his own +throne if he had failed to come to the assistance of Belgium against +Holland. On the 4th he received Leopold's appeal for assistance; on the +12th the first French division reached Brussels, and on the following day +the Prince of Orange, who led the main Dutch army, received orders from +the Hague to retire within the Dutch frontier.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>COERCION OF HOLLAND.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_297" id="TOPIC_297"></a>The conference had in fact found it necessary to join in measures of +coercion. On the first news of the outbreak of hostilities it severely +reproached Holland for the breach of the armistice, and ordered the Dutch +forces to retire. By a pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span>tocol of the 6th it accepted and justified the +French expedition, which, it knew, could not safely be recalled, and tried +to minimise the danger by forbidding the French to cross the Dutch +frontier and requiring them to return to France as soon as the Dutch +should return to Holland. At the same time a semblance of joint action was +created by the despatch of a British fleet to the Downs. If the Dutch +invasion of Belgium created excitement in France, the French expedition +had a similar effect in England, and Palmerston found it necessary to +insist sternly on the immediate evacuation of Belgium upon the withdrawal +of the Dutch troops. The French government naturally desired to point to +some tangible triumph of French arms, and requested that the troops should +be allowed to remain till the frontier fortresses should have been +demolished in accordance with the protocol of April 17. In a somewhat +insulting message Palmerston threatened a general war sooner than allow +the French troops to remain. The most that France could obtain was that +12,000 men might remain a fortnight longer than the rest and that a number +of French officers might enlist in the Belgian service.</p> + +<p>The conference now returned to the task of effecting a settlement in +accordance with the terms of the protocol of June 26. On October 15 it +provided for the partition of the grand duchy of Luxemburg between Holland +and Belgium and for the indemnification of Holland with a larger portion +of Limburg than had belonged to her in 1790. At the same time provision +was made for the freedom of the Scheldt, and the debt was reassessed, +8,400,000 florins of <i>rentes</i><a name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a> being assigned to Belgium and +19,300,000 to Holland. Along with this protocol a letter was sent to the +Belgian plenipotentiary, promising that if Belgium accepted it, the powers +would undertake to obtain the consent of Holland. The protocol was +converted into a treaty by the adhesion of Belgium on November 15. +Meanwhile the King of the Netherlands had appealed to the tsar against the +action of the western powers and of the Russian plenipotentiaries at +London, and the tsar had in consequence refused to ratify the treaty till +the King of the Netherlands should have given his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span> consent. That consent +was slow in coming. It was only on June 30, 1832, that Holland agreed to +the exchange of territories and the reduction of Belgium's share of the +debt, and even then questions remained as to the dues on the Scheldt and +the transit of goods through Dutch Limburg. The Belgians refused to +negotiate further until the citadel of Antwerp should be surrendered; the +Dutch on the other hand refused to surrender it till a definite treaty +should be signed and ratified. On October 1 France, with the approval of +the British government, proposed to suspend the payment of the Belgian +share of the interest on the debt until the citadel of Antwerp should be +surrendered, and to deduct from the share of the principal payable by +Belgium, 500,000 florins of <i>rentes</i> for each week that should elapse +before the surrender. The three eastern powers refused to agree to any +coercion of Holland, and, in consequence, Great Britain and France +determined to act alone.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_298" id="TOPIC_298"></a>On the 22nd they signed a convention providing for the coercion of Holland +by an embargo and by the despatch of a squadron to the Dutch coast. If any +Dutch troops should be still in Belgium on November 15, a French force was +empowered, subject to the consent of the Belgian government, to advance +into Belgium and expel the Dutch troops from the country. The French were, +however, to retire as soon as the Dutch evacuation was complete. The first +result of this convention was the suspension of the conference. On the +29th the two powers made their demand. As the Dutch refused compliance, a +joint French and British fleet sailed on November 4 to blockade the +Scheldt, and the embargo was proclaimed on the 6th. On the 15th a French +army of 56,000 men, commanded by Gérard, entered Belgium. On December 4 it +opened fire on the citadel of Antwerp, which surrendered after a nineteen +days' bombardment on the 23rd. The French army returned to its own country +before the end of the year, leaving the Dutch in possession of two small +forts on the Belgian side of the frontier, which were more than +compensated by the positions held by the Belgians in Dutch Limburg. Even +the fall of the citadel of Antwerp did not induce Holland to accept the +settlement proposed by the powers, and Great Britain and France now +attempted to effect a working agreement pending negotiations on the +details of the treaty. <a name="TOPIC_299" id="TOPIC_299"></a>It was in vain that Holland asked that Belgium +should evacuate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span> the Dutch provinces of Limburg and Luxemburg and pay her +share of the interest on the Dutch debt. Palmerston and Talleyrand refused +to include these provisions in a preliminary convention. Finally on March +21, 1833, a convention was signed between Great Britain, France, and +Holland, which terminated the embargo and provided for the free navigation +of the Scheldt and Maas. A similar convention was signed between Holland +and Belgium on November 18. Six years, however, were to elapse before the +Dutch government would consent to the conditions drawn up by the powers in +1831. Meanwhile the Belgians were free from their share of debt, held the +greater part of Limburg and Luxemburg, and enjoyed the free navigation of +the Maas and the Scheldt, over and above the terms granted them in 1831.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>POLISH REBELLION.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_300" id="TOPIC_300"></a>It is inconceivable that the Belgian question should have been left so +entirely in the hands of the two western powers, and that the settlement +should have taken the form of a foreign coercion of a legitimate king for +his unreadiness to make concessions to his revolted subjects, had not the +attention of the three absolutist powers of eastern and central Europe +been directed to another quarter. Just as the revolution of 1820 had +spread through southern Europe in spite of Castlereagh's attempt to +maintain that it was not of a contagious order, so that of 1830 awakened +similar outbursts not only at Brussels but in various German states, in +Switzerland, in Poland, and in Italy. The Polish insurrection was, like +the Belgian, a national revolt, and the consequent military operations +were of the nature of a war between Poland and Russia. The revolt broke +out at Warsaw on November 29, 1830, and on January 25, 1831, the Polish +diet proclaimed the independence of Poland. On February 5 a Russian army +crossed the Polish frontier. In France there was a loud popular demand for +intervention. But even the Laffitte ministry would not move without the +co-operation of Great Britain, though the French ambassador at +Constantinople tried to stir up the Porte to hostilities. The ministry of +Casimir-Perier, which came into office in March, proposed a joint +mediation of France and Great Britain, but to this Palmerston would not +assent. He remonstrated with Russia on her violations of the Polish +constitution, which Great Britain, along with the other powers, had +guaranteed at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span> congress of Vienna, but he could not support the Polish +claim to independence, since Great Britain had made herself a party to the +union of the two countries. As it happened, the remonstrance was simply a +cause of annoyance, which subsequent events were destined to intensify. <a name="TOPIC_301" id="TOPIC_301"></a>It +was only on September 8, 1831, that the Russians under Paskievitch +captured Warsaw, an event which was followed on February 26, 1832, by the +abolition of the Polish constitution. Palmerston protested again but with +no more success than in the previous year.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>DOM MIGUEL AND DON CARLOS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_302" id="TOPIC_302"></a>In the Portuguese, as in the Belgian question, Palmerston drifted from the +position of a neutral into that of a partisan. Ever since the year 1828, +British subjects accused of political offences had been brutally +ill-treated in Portugal, and as time went on the excesses increased. By +despatching six British warships to the Tagus Palmerston succeeded in +obtaining a pecuniary indemnity and a public apology on May 2, 1831. +Similar insults to France were not so readily redressed. A threat of force +on the part of the French government was followed by an appeal from Dom +Miguel for British assistance. This Palmerston refused to grant, and in +July a French squadron under Admiral Roussin forced the passage of the +Tagus, and carried off the best ships of the Portuguese navy. Meanwhile +much irritation had been caused in Brazil by Peter's advocacy of his +daughter's claim to Portugal, which was considered inconsistent with his +professed adherence to the separation of the two countries. On April 6, +Peter abdicated the crown of Brazil in favour of his infant son, Peter +II., and on the following day sailed for Europe in order to assert his +daughter's right to the Portuguese throne. He arrived in Europe towards +the end of May, and visited both England and France.</p> + +<p>Though neither government assisted him directly, he was permitted to raise +troops and even to secure the services of naval officers, and in December +a force of 300 men sailed from Liverpool to Belleisle, which he had +appointed as the rendezvous. Palmerston had thus, unlike Wellington, +adopted the same attitude towards the Portuguese liberals that Ferdinand +VII. had adopted towards the absolutists. Peter's expedition gathered +further strength at the Azores and sailed for Portugal on June 27, 1832. +On July 8, the fleet, commanded by Admiral Sartorius, a British officer, +appeared off Oporto, which submitted on the following day. The town was, +however,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span> blockaded by Miguel's forces and Peter's cause made no headway +until in June, 1833, the command of the fleet was transferred to Captain +(afterwards Admiral Sir Charles) Napier. On the night of June 24, he +landed at Villa Real a force of 2,500 men who conquered the province of +Algarve in a week, and on July 5 he annihilated Miguel's navy in an +engagement off Cape St. Vincent. After a further battle near Lisbon, +Peter's forces entered the capital on the 24th, and subsequently repulsed +a Miguelite attack upon the city. Miguel still held out in northern +Portugal, when another train of events caused the western powers to +substitute direct for indirect interference.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_303" id="TOPIC_303"></a>Ferdinand VII. of Spain had fallen so entirely under the influence of his +fourth and last queen, Maria Christina of Naples, as to repeal by a +pragmatic sanction the Salic law which the treaty of Utrecht had +established as the rule of succession in Spain. The result of this edict +was to leave the succession to his infant daughter Isabella instead of his +brother Don Carlos, the leader of the Spanish absolutists. When Ferdinand +died on September 29, 1833, Don Carlos was absent from the kingdom, +supporting the cause of his fellow-pretender Dom Miguel. Isabella received +the hearty support of the constitutional party and was almost universally +acknowledged as queen. It was only in Biscay, where the centralising +tendency of the Spanish constitution, published on April 10, 1834, seemed +to entrench upon local liberty, that Don Carlos met with much active +support. His cause, like that of Miguel in Portugal, was the more popular, +but his adherents were as yet almost entirely devoid of organisation. +<a name="TOPIC_304" id="TOPIC_304"></a>Peter's partisans had already made substantial progress towards a complete +victory, and Santha Martha, the Miguelite commander-in-chief, had +surrendered in the beginning of April, when on April 22 a triple alliance, +already signed between Great Britain, Maria Christina, Queen-regent of +Spain, and Peter, as regent of Portugal, was converted into a quadruple +alliance by the adhesion of France. This treaty provided for the +co-operation of Spain and Portugal to expel Dom Miguel and Don Carlos from +the Portuguese dominions. Great Britain was to assist by the employment of +a naval force, and France was to render assistance, if required, in such +manner as should be settled afterwards by common consent of the four +contracting powers. The Spanish general, Rodil, immediately crossed the +frontier. He met with no resistance, and on May<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span> 26 Miguel signed a +convention at Evora, by which he accepted a pension, renounced his rights +to the Portuguese throne, and agreed to quit the country.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE CARLIST WAR.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_305" id="TOPIC_305"></a>Don Carlos, however, refused to renounce his rights to the Spanish throne, +and all that the British navy could do was to convey the two pretenders, +Carlos to England and Miguel to Genoa. Although Miguel, on June 20, +repudiated his abdication, the Portuguese question was really at an end. +The Spanish question was, however, merely entering on its critical stage. +Don Carlos secretly left London on July 1, and nine days later appeared at +the Carlist headquarters in Spain. Here he had the assistance of the +ablest general of this war, Zumalacarregui. Melbourne's succession to the +premiership in July left Palmerston at the foreign office, and was +followed by no change in foreign policy. On August 18 an additional +article to the quadruple alliance provided that France was to prevent +reinforcements or warlike stores from reaching Don Carlos from the French +side of the frontier, while Great Britain was to supply arms and stores to +the Spanish royalists and, if necessary, intervene with a naval force. The +short interlude of conservative government, with Peel as premier and +Wellington as foreign secretary, was not marked by any change of policy +nor yet by any new aggressions. Wellington's only interference with the +course of hostilities was the mission of Lord Eliot to Navarre, which +induced the combatants to abandon for the time being those cruelties to +prisoners which had been the disgrace of the Spanish civil wars.</p> + +<p>Shortly after the return of Melbourne and Palmerston to power, +Zumalacarregui won a victory in the valley of Amascoas on April 21 and 22, +1835, which opened to him the road to Madrid. The Madrid government now +appealed to France to send 12,000 men to occupy the Basque provinces. By +the terms of the quadruple alliance the assent of Great Britain and +Portugal was necessary in order to determine the manner in which France +was to render assistance. Thiers, on behalf of Louis Philippe, suggested a +separate French expedition on the lines of that of 1823. Palmerston, like +Canning before him, refused to sanction such an expedition, though he was +prepared to allow France to make the expedition on her own responsibility. +He suggested in return that Great Britain should intervene. But Louis +Philippe was equally opposed to the separate action<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span> of his own country +and of Great Britain, and the result was that neither government sent any +troops. The Spanish government was, however, permitted to enlist +volunteers, and actually received the assistance of an English legion, a +French legion, and 6,000 Portuguese. The immediate danger was averted by +the obstinacy of Don Carlos, who refused to permit Zumalacarregui to march +on Madrid till the conquest of Biscay was complete. The Carlist general +turned aside in consequence to the siege of Bilbao, in which a few weeks +later he met his death.</p> + +<p>In February, 1836, some changes in the French ministry increased the power +of Thiers, who had so recently advocated the policy of intervention. +Palmerston now proposed a French expedition to the Basque provinces, while +the British were to occupy St. Sebastian and Pasages. Thiers did not, +however, feel strong enough to accept this offer, and Palmerston +determined to act alone. A British squadron under Lord John Hay was +despatched to the Spanish coast with instructions to assist the royalist +forces. This squadron is probably entitled to the principal share in the +credit for the successful resistance of Bilbao to the Carlist armies. In +May, however, a conservative government entered upon office in Spain, and +France became more ready to grant assistance. Isturiz, the new Spanish +premier, persuaded Louis Philippe to send some troops to Spain; but by +leaning on foreign support Isturiz had overreached himself. Spanish +indignation found vent in a revolutionary movement, accompanied by +bloodshed; one town after another declared for the constitution of 1812, +which the queen-regent was forced to sign on August 13, and on the +following day a progressist ministry was installed in office. Austria, +Prussia, and Russia withdrew their ambassadors from Madrid after the riots +of the 13th, and Louis Philippe recalled the forces he had sent to the +assistance of the Spanish government. Had Don Carlos listened to the +advice of the eastern powers and given such assurances as might have won +over the more moderate of Isabella's supporters, he would probably have +proved successful. As it was the war dragged on, but De Lacy Evans, who +was in command of the British legion, left Spain on June 10, 1837, and +most of his men followed soon after. The question of intervention had, +however, put an end to that cordial co-operation of Great Britain and +France which had existed ever since the July<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span> revolution, and left Great +Britain as isolated in the counsels of Europe as she had been when Canning +and Wellington dissociated themselves from the other powers at Verona.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_306" id="TOPIC_306"></a>The settlement of the Greek question proceeded very slowly. While the +powers were seeking a possible king, Capodistrias exercised an autocratic +sway as president. However, in the spring of 1831, the Mainots of southern +Laconia and the Hydriots revolted against him, and got possession of the +Greek fleet. Capodistrias appealed to Russia for assistance, and a Russian +squadron was sent to blockade the Greek fleet at Poros. But Miaoulis, the +Greek admiral, sank his ships in order to save them from the Russians. The +situation was simplified by the assassination of Capodistrias on October +9, which left two rival national assemblies struggling for the mastery. +The French troops failed to maintain order, and the way was clear for a +king who would have the prestige of an international treaty and an +independent revenue to support his position. <a name="TOPIC_307" id="TOPIC_307"></a>This was the situation when +on February 13, 1832, a protocol was signed at London, offering the Greek +crown to Otto, the second son of King Lewis of Bavaria, a boy of +seventeen. The boundary was to be fixed where Palmerston, while still a +member of the Wellington administration, had wished to fix it, along a +line running from the Gulf of Arta to that of Volo. King Lewis would not, +however, agree to accept the crown for his son unless he should be granted +the title of king, instead of prince, and should be guaranteed a loan to +enable him to meet the expenses of his position. On May 7, 1832, the +London protocol was embodied in a treaty of London; the crown was +definitely conferred on Otto, who was given the title of king, guaranteed +a loan, not exceeding £2,400,000, and allowed to take out 3,500 Bavarian +troops with him. The Turkish consent to the proposed boundary was given on +July 21; Greece accepted the treaty in August, and the new king left for +his kingdom in December.<a name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>VICTORIES OF IBRAHIM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_308" id="TOPIC_308"></a>Greece now disappears from the eastern question. But Ibrahim Pasha, whose +successes in Greece had induced Canning to interfere, had already +disclosed a new phase of that question by successes gained in another +quarter. Mehemet Ali had quickly repaired the losses which his fleet and +army had sus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span>tained in the Peloponnese. Meanwhile he demanded from Sultan +Mahmud that Ibrahim should be compensated with a part of Syria for the +loss of the Morea, which had been promised him as a reward for his +services in Greece. The sultan refused to grant this insolent demand, and +Mehemet Ali determined to conquer the province for himself. Abdallah, +Pasha of Acre, had taken under his protection some fugitive peasants, and +Mehemet Ali, in spite of the sultan's prohibition, sent Ibrahim with an +army of 30,000 men against him. He laid siege to Acre on December 9, 1831, +and took it on May 27, 1832. On July 8 he routed a Turkish army at Homs; +on the 29th he routed a larger army at the pass of Beilan, and on the 31st +he entered Antioch. In November he was at Konieh. The Tsar Nicholas had, +with Palmerston's approval, already sent Lieutenant-General Muraviov on a +mission to Constantinople, offering military and naval support; but the +sultan preferred to seek British assistance first.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately the message came at a time when the British fleet was +preparing to blockade the coasts of the Netherlands, and could not be +spared for service In the Mediterranean. An appeal to France was equally +unsuccessful. She had by this time formed the siege of the citadel of +Antwerp, and was moreover naturally averse from a struggle with Ibrahim, +whose army had been organised and trained by French officers. The sultan +therefore decided to avail himself of the offers made by Russia. Indeed he +had no choice, for the news now came that on December 21 Ibrahim had +completely defeated the Turkish general, Reshid, at Konieh and that there +was no army between him and Constantinople. Muraviov was sent on a vain +mission to Alexandria with authority to cede Acre to Mehemet Ali if he +would surrender his fleet to the sultan. Ibrahim advanced to Kiutayeh and +his advance-guard came as far as Broussa. The sultan on February 2, 1833, +requested the assistance of the Russian navy, and on the 20th a Russian +squadron appeared at Constantinople.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_309" id="TOPIC_309"></a>The powers that had refused to move to save Turkey from Ibrahim were quick +enough to interfere when the danger was from Russia and not from an +oriental. Ibrahim might have been expected to make a stronger ruler than +the sultan, whose fall seemed imminent. A Russian protectorate was a +different matter. Roussin, the French ambassador at Constantinople,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span> +protested against the Russian alliance and threatened to leave +Constantinople. A French envoy was, at his suggestion, permitted to offer +Mehemet the governorship of the Syrian pashaliks of Tripoli and Acre. On +March 8 Mehemet rejected these terms, and declared that if his own terms +were not accepted within six weeks his troops would march upon +Constantinople. The sultan then turned to Russia again and asked for +troops. Fifteen thousand Russians were in consequence landed on the shores +of the Bosphorus, and in the beginning of April an army of 24,000, which +had remained in Moldavia ever since the war of 1828-29, prepared to march +southwards. Constantinople at least was thus rendered safe from Ibrahim, +and there was therefore more hope that Mehemet would come to terms. The +British, French, and Austrian ambassadors spared no effort to induce the +Porte to offer terms that might be accepted, and their representations +were probably rendered the more persuasive by the appearance of British +and French fleets in the Ægean. Roussin especially urged that it was +better to surrender Syria than to reconquer it by Russian troops. At last +the sultan yielded, and on April 10 a peace was signed at Kiutayeh, though +not ratified by the sultan till May 15. This treaty granted to Mehemet Ali +Syria and Cilicia, but restored the bulk of Asia Minor to the Porte.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CONFERENCE OF MÜNCHENGRÄTZ.</i></div> + +<p>Turkey had been saved by the western powers, but only because they dreaded +the possibility of her being saved by Russia. A few weeks later their +worst fears seemed on the point of realisation. The Russian troops on the +Bosphorus were a sure guarantee of the predominance of Russian influence +at Constantinople, and this was illustrated in a marked degree by the +treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, signed on July 8, which provided for a +defensive alliance for eight years between Russia and the Porte. Russia +was, when required, to provide the sultan with both military and naval +forces, to be provisioned by him, but otherwise maintained by Russia. A +secret article, soon made known, provided that Russia would not ask for +material aid if at war, but that in that event the Porte would close the +Dardanelles to the warships of other nations. Great Britain had already +obtained the rights of the most favoured nation, so far as the passage of +the Dardanelles was concerned, and therefore maintained that the treaty +did not affect her right to pass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span> those straits; and France joined her in +presenting identical notes declaring their intention of ignoring the +treaty in event of war. British public opinion, already wounded by the +conquest of Poland, was even more vehemently affected than British policy. +The treaty was regarded as the establishment in Turkey of a Russian +protectorate, which it was necessary for Great Britain to destroy, and the +antagonism thus produced has lasted to our own day. Matters were not +improved when the tsar asked for the cession of the Danubian +principalities, which were still occupied by Russia, in return for a +remission of the war indemnity owing since 1829. Austria, France, and +Great Britain protested against this proposal, and in consequence nothing +came of it.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_310" id="TOPIC_310"></a>Austria then assumed the <i>rôle</i> of mediator. A friendly request for +explanation elicited a declaration from Russia, disclaiming all intention +of self-aggrandisement, and promising to accept the mediation of Austria +in any case where the treaty could be invoked. Austria in consequence +endeavoured to persuade the western powers that there was no immediate +danger, and that she would use her mediation to remove any danger that +might arise. Meanwhile she endeavoured to allay distrust of Russia by +inducing that power to evacuate the Danubian principalities. But before +this result could be accomplished the negotiations between Austria and +Russia had taken a turn which gave Austria, in English eyes, the +appearance of an accomplice rather than of a mediator. The revolutionary +movements of 1830 and following years had produced grave apprehensions in +the minds of the rulers of the three eastern powers, Austria, Prussia, and +Russia; and the coercion of Holland and Portugal caused them to feel a +deep distrust of the policy of Great Britain and France, and to grasp the +necessity of united action against the revolutionary forces at work in +Europe. For this purpose it was considered necessary to revive +Metternich's policy of 1820 as defined at Troppau. The three powers had +for some time been drawing together, and in September, 1833, the Emperors +Francis and Nicholas and the Crown Prince of Prussia met at Münchengrätz +in Bohemia, where a secret convention was signed on the 18th. They refused +to recognise Isabella as Queen of Spain in the event of Ferdinand's death; +they arranged for mutual assistance against the Poles; and agreed to +combine to resist<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span> any change of dynasty in Turkey and any extension of +Arab rule into Europe. In the event of a collapse of the Ottoman empire, +Austria and Russia were to act together in settling the reversion. On +October 15 the three powers signed a further convention at Berlin, +containing one public and two secret articles. The latter recognised the +right, already asserted at Troppau, of intervention in the internal +affairs of a country whose sovereign expressed a desire for foreign +assistance. There can be little doubt that Austria and Russia were in +earnest in their professed desire to maintain the integrity of the Turkish +dominions, but an opinion gained ground in England that they had already +agreed to partition them between themselves.</p> + +<p>On January 29, 1834, Austrian mediation bore fruit in a definite treaty +for the evacuation of the Danubian principalities. Russia merely reserved +to herself the appointment of the first hospodar of each principality. The +first act, however, of Alexander Ghika, the new hospodar of Wallachia, was +to forbid any change of statute without the consent of Russia. Silistria +alone remained in Russian hands till a third part of the indemnity should +be paid. The remaining two-thirds Russia consented to abandon. A revolt +among the Syrian mountaineers gave Russia an opportunity of demonstrating +her pacific intentions. The sultan supported the revolt and also sent +troops to conquer Urfa which Ibrahim had neglected to surrender. Russia, +however, refused to support the sultan in an aggressive war, and the +powers negotiated a peace. The Syrian revolt was quelled, and Urfa +surrendered to the sultan. In 1835 the Tsar Nicholas and the new Austrian +emperor, Ferdinand, met at Teplitz where they renewed the agreements +concluded at Münchengrätz. Metternich proposed a conference at Vienna to +settle the eastern question, but the tsar, who really possessed the +decisive voice so long as the question remained open, refused to hear of +this. Finally in September, 1836, the Russian evacuation of Silistria was +obtained by a payment of 30,000,000 piastres, borrowed, for the most part, +in England. The Eastern question now seemed to have entered upon a quieter +phase, and the military reforms which European officers, including Moltke, +afterwards famous in a different region, were carrying out in Turkey, gave +promise that she might be able to hold her own in future against domestic +foes.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> The debt was, according to the French practice, expressed +in terms of the interest payable annually (<i>rentes</i>), not in terms of a +nominal principal as in this country.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> Finlay, <i>History of Greece</i>, vol. vii., chapters ii., +iii.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + +<h3>BRITISH INDIA.</h3> + + +<p><a name="TOPIC_311" id="TOPIC_311"></a>When Pitt resigned office in 1801, the Marquis Wellesley had already +reached the climax, though by no means the close, of his brilliant +proconsulate. This remarkable man, whose fame has been unduly eclipsed by +that of his younger brother, may justly be considered the second founder +of our Indian Empire. This empire, recognised at last, in the vote of +thanks passed by the house of commons on the fall of Seringapatam, was +soon to be aggrandised by three important accessions of dominion. The +first of these was the annexation of the Karnátik on the well-founded plea +that its nabob was too weak even for the semblance of independence, that +he was incapable of governing tolerably, and that he had been in +correspondence with Tipú. The effect of this and two minor annexations was +to place the entire south-western and south-eastern coasts of the Indian +peninsula under the British rule. The next step was the system of +subsidiary treaties, whereby the British government assumed a protectorate +over native states, providing a fixed number of troops for their defence +and receiving an equivalent in subsidies. The Nizám of Haidarábád was +already in a condition little removed from vassalage, and now surrendered +considerable districts in lieu of a pecuniary tribute.</p> + +<p>A similar course was taken with the Nawáb Wazír of Oudh whose territory +was threatened on one side by the Afghán king, Zemán Sháh, and on another +by the Maráthá lord, Daulat Ráo Sindhia, who had gained possession of +Delhi. By forcible negotiations Wellesley obtained from him the cession of +all his frontier provinces, including Rohilkhand, and consolidated the +power of the Indian government along the whole line<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</a></span> of the Jumna and +Ganges. The last and greatest object of the governor-general's ambition +was the conquest of the confederate Maráthá states, and for this a pretext +was not long wanting. His forward policy, it is true, had already excited +alarm and criticism at home, while the peace of Amiens had ostensibly +removed the chief justification of it—the necessity of combating the +aggressive designs of France. But, in the case of India, far more than of +the American colonies, "months passed and seas rolled between the order +and the execution"; for in those days ships conveying despatches occupied +at least four or five months on their voyage, and decisions taken in +Leadenhall Street might be utterly stultified by accomplished facts before +they could be read in Calcutta.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>WELLESLEY AND LAKE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_312" id="TOPIC_312"></a>The Peshwá, at Poona, still maintained a show of independent authority +over the other great Maráthá chieftains, Sindhia, Holkar, and the Rájá of +Nágpur or Berár. But the real military power of the Maráthás rested with +these leaders, and their predatory troops of horsemen terrorised all +Central India. Happily for Wellesley's purpose, they were often at feud +with each other, and the Peshwá, though aided by Sindhia, was utterly +defeated by Jaswant Ráo Holkar. He fled to Bassein near Bombay, where, on +December 31, 1802, a treaty was signed by which not only the Peshwá but +the Nizám of Haidarábád was placed under British protection. The Peshwá +was conducted back to Poona by a British force under Arthur Wellesley in +May, 1803, but the other Maráthá chiefs naturally resented this fresh +encroachment on their independence, and a league was shortly formed +between the Rájá of Nágpur and Sindhia, which it was hoped that Holkar +would ultimately join. By this time, a rupture of the peace with France +was known to be impending, and Lord Wellesley eagerly seized the +opportunity to crush Sindhia, while he urged the home government to seize +the Cape of Good Hope and the Mauritius. Two expeditions were directed +against Sindhia's territory, the one under Arthur Wellesley, moving from +Poona in the west towards the Nizám's frontier; the other, under General +Lake, operating on the north-west against the highly trained forces, under +French officers, assembled before Delhi. Both campaigns were eminently +successful. Wellesley captured Ahmadnagar on August 11, encountered the +combined armies of Sindhia and the Rájá<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</a></span> of Nágpur at Assaye on September +23, and, after a desperate conflict, obtained a decisive victory. Twelve +hundred of the Maráthás were left dead on the field and 102 guns were +captured. He then advanced into Berár and completely defeated the army of +the Nágpur Rájá at Argáum. Lake marched from Cawnpur, took Delhi and Agra, +assuming custody of the Mughal emperor, and inflicted a final defeat on a +powerful Maráthá army, no longer under French officers, at Laswári. Large +cessions of territory followed. The treaty of Bassein was recognised by +Sindhia and the Rájá of Nágpur. Gujrát, Cuttack, and the districts along +the Jumna passed into British possession, and the East India Company +became the visible successor, though nominally the guardian, of the Mughal +emperor.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_313" id="TOPIC_313"></a>Meanwhile, Holkar remained a passive spectator of the contest. Jealous as +he was of Sindhia, he was by no means prepared to acquiesce in the +subjection of the great Maráthá power. Having taken up a threatening +position in Rájputána, and defied Lake's summons to retire, he was treated +as an enemy, and proved a very formidable enemy. Instead of relying, like +Sindhia, on disciplined battalions, he fell back on the old Maráthá +tactics, and swept the country with hordes of irregular cavalry who lived +by pillage. In 1804 a British force of 1,200 troops under Colonel Monson +was lured away from its base of supplies by a feigned retreat and incurred +a very serious reverse; scarcely a tenth of them, utterly broken, +"straggled, a mere rabble, into Agra". This disaster was soon afterwards +retrieved by other divisions of Lake's army, but three attempts to storm +the strong fortress of Bhartpur were repulsed by the rájá, Ranjít Singh, +an ally of Holkar. Though Holkar's bands were at last dispersed, a new +dispute arose with Sindhia about the ownership of Gwalior and Gohad, which +remained unsettled when Lord Wellesley resigned early in 1805, not so much +because his policy was disapproved by the court of directors, for whom he +always professed a sovereign contempt, as because he was no longer +cordially supported by the home government.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_314" id="TOPIC_314"></a>In his despatch to the secret committee of the East India Company after +the conclusion of the war with Sindhia, Wellesley describes the +consolidation of the British empire and the pacification of all India, as +the supreme result of his benefi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</a></span>cent rule.<a name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a> That rule was followed by +ten years of comparative repose, if not of reaction, but two events, +occurring within this period, threw a significant light on the inherent +danger of relying too much on a native army under British officers. Sepoy +regiments had been raised and had served loyally on both sides in the +struggles between the French and English during the eighteenth century. +The Bengal sepoys were mostly Rájputs and showed the highest military +qualities in many a wearisome march and hard fought field, from the days +of Clive to those of Lake and Arthur Wellesley. But outbreaks bordering +upon mutiny had occasionally taken place in the native armies of all the +presidencies, and on July 10, 1806, a most formidable mutiny, ending in a +massacre at Vellore, west of Madras, produced a sense of insecurity +throughout all India. It was instigated by the family of Tipú who had been +quartered in that fortress, and its immediate origin was the issue of +certain vexatious regulations about uniform which offended native +prejudices of caste. The European force, numbering some 370, was surprised +and surrounded by a much larger body of sepoys, half of them were killed +or wounded, and Tipú's standard was hoisted. Within a few hours, however, +cavalry and artillery arrived from Arcot, the mutineers were slaughtered +by hundreds, and the disaffected regiments were broken up. Three years +later, a serious mutiny broke out among the company's own officers at +Madras, caused by a petty grievance affecting their profits on +tent-contracts. It was appeased rather than suppressed, and, +notwithstanding these discouraging symptoms of insecurity, the Company's +army retained its separate organisation for half a century longer.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MINTO'S PACIFIC POLICY.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_315" id="TOPIC_315"></a>Lord Cornwallis, the successor of Lord Wellesley, was opposed by +conviction to a progressive expansion of British territory, and +represented not only the cautious views of the home government, but the +financial anxieties of the East India Company, which always valued a +steady revenue more highly than imperial supremacy. Wellesley had +virtually reconstructed the map of India on lines destined to endure until +a fresh period of annexation set in some forty years later. These lines +were not disturbed by Cornwallis, who died on October 5, 1805, three +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</a></span>months after his arrival, but he clearly indicated his desire to let the +system of protectorates and subsidiary treaties fall gradually into +abeyance. His correspondence with Lake, whose victories had won him the +rank of baron, contains a somewhat peremptory warning against fresh +engagements contemplated by that enterprising officer, whose vigorous +remonstrance he did not live to receive.<a name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a> Sir George Barlow, who +became acting governor-general for two years, adopted the same passive +attitude, and forebore to carry out a projected alliance with Sindhia, +though he would not allow any interference with our paramount influence at +Poona and Haidarábád. Lord Minto, father of the Earl of Minto who presided +at the admiralty under Melbourne, arrived as governor-general in 1807. He +was imbued with similar ideas, and was fortunate in finding the Maráthás +too much weakened to be dangerous neighbours. His rule was, therefore, +essentially pacific, but he did good service in maintaining internal +order, and especially in putting down the organised brigandage, known as +"dakáiti," which had been the curse of rural districts. The distinctive +feature of his career, however, was a permanent enlargement of the horizon +of Indian statesmanship to a sphere beyond the confines of India and even +of Asia, a change due to new movements in the vast international conflict +then engrossing the energies of Europe.</p> + +<p>However chimerical the designs of Napoleon against British India may now +appear, there is no doubt that such designs were seriously entertained by +him, nor is it self-evident that what Alexander the Great found possible +would have proved impossible to one who combined with Alexander's +superhuman audacity the command of resources beyond anything known in the +ancient world. At all events, after the battle of Friedland and the peace +of Tilsit, an expedition to be launched from Russian territory upon the +north-west frontier of India, with the support of Persia on the flank, +became a contingency which an Indian governor-general could not afford to +neglect. It is, indeed, strange that a march across Europe and half of +Asia should have appeared to Napoleon more practicable than a voyage +across the English Channel, and it is highly improbable that he would have +cherished the idea of it, if he could have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</a></span> foreseen the perils of the +Russian expedition. But his conversations at St. Helena prove that it was +not a mere vision but a half-formed design, and, even after it had been +discouraged by Russia, he sent a preliminary mission to Persia. Minto lost +no time in sending counter-missions, not only to Tihran, but to Lahore, +Afghánistán, and Sind.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_316" id="TOPIC_316"></a>The Persian court was already in diplomatic relations with the Indian +government. Colonel Malcolm, afterwards Sir John Malcolm, had been sent by +Wellesley as envoy to the sháh at the end of 1800, and in January, 1801, a +treaty had been signed, establishing free trade between India and Persia, +and binding the sháh to exclude the French from his dominions, while the +company undertook to provide ships, troops, and stores, in case of French +invasion. This treaty, however, neither was nor could have been actively +carried out on either side. Early in 1806 the sháh, who had become +embroiled with Russia, appealed to Calcutta for aid, regardless of the +fact that hostilities with Russia were not a <i>casus fœderis</i>. Failing +to obtain it, he appealed to France. Napoleon despatched General Gardane, +who arrived in December, 1807. He obtained a treaty under which the sháh +engaged to banish all Englishmen on demand of the French emperor. +Thereupon Malcolm was entrusted by Minto with a fresh mission, but never +reached the Persian capital, where French influence was still paramount, +and the peremptory tone of Malcolm's letters was resented. Meanwhile, Sir +Harford Jones had been sent out by the British foreign office, and was +received at Tihran in February, 1809, the peace of Tilsit having destroyed +the Persian hope of French support against Russia. For a while, the right +of negotiating with the sháh was in dispute between the Indian government +and the foreign office, and Sir John Malcolm reappeared at Tihran in the +spring of 1810, as the representative of the former. In the end, however, +he co-operated loyally with Jones, and a fresh treaty was signed, though +both these rival emissaries were soon afterwards superseded by Sir Gore +Ouseley as permanent ambassador.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ELPHINSTONE IN AFGHÁNISTÁN.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_317" id="TOPIC_317"></a>Two other envoys selected by Minto left names which are famous in +Anglo-Indian history, and one achieved an important success. Charles +Metcalfe, Minto's envoy to Lahore, succeeded with the advantage of an +armed force within easy reach<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</a></span> of the Sikh frontier, in converting into an +ally the redoubtable Ranjít Singh (not to be confounded with Ranjít Singh +of Bhartpur), who had gathered into his own hands the Sikh confederacy and +acquired sovereignty over the whole Punjab. He was now induced not only to +accept the Sutlej river as the boundary line of his dominion, but to +conclude a treaty of perpetual amity with the British government. This +treaty remained unbroken until his death, and stood us in good stead +during the perilous crisis of the first Afghán war. The embassy of +Mountstuart Elphinstone to Afghánistán was comparatively fruitless, +chiefly owing to the unsettled state of that mysterious country. Sháh +Shujá, its titular amír, so far from being in a condition to resist French +invasion, had lost possession of Kábul and Kandahár, and was only anxious +to obtain British aid against his elder brother Mahmúd. Elphinstone, of +course, had no authority to entangle the Company in a civil war far beyond +the Indian frontier and was obliged to content himself with a worthless +treaty empowering Great Britain to defend Afghánistán against France. This +treaty had scarcely been ratified when Sháh Shujá himself was driven into +exile, to play an ignoble part thirty years later in the great tragedy of +the first Afghán war.</p> + +<p>However pacific Minto's policy was, he did not shut his eyes to the +necessity of guarding the coasts and commerce of India against the enemy +who still dominated Europe, and had not wholly abandoned his visions of +eastern conquest. We have seen already that the "half way" naval station +at the Cape of Good Hope had been retaken from the Dutch in 1806, the year +in which the Berlin decree was issued. In 1810 the French were expelled +from Java by an expedition despatched under Minto's orders, though it was +soon to be restored to Holland. In the same year the islands of Mauritius +and Bourbon were captured from the French and the sea route to India was +finally secured. Lord Minto, who was recalled in 1813 and raised to the +dignity of an earl, left India after six years of peaceful government in a +state of tranquillity such as it had never before enjoyed, and the +settlement of the country under British suzerainty appeared to have been +assured. Yet the seeds of fresh trouble were already working, and his +successor was to prove himself a second Wellesley, and add new territories +of great extent to British India.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_318" id="TOPIC_318"></a>Lord Moira, better known by his later title as Marquis of Hastings, +displayed qualities as governor-general of which his previous career had +given no indication. He had already proved himself a good soldier, but he +was a court favourite as well as a somewhat impracticable politician, and +owed his appointment to other influences than his own merit. His arrival +in India nearly coincided with the charter of 1813, which threw open the +India trade, and virtually ushered in a new social era. He was at once +confronted with an empty treasury, on the one hand, and, on the other, +with alarming reports both from the northern frontier and from the central +provinces, still under independent princes of doubtful fidelity. The +earlier part of his nine years' residence in India was engrossed by most +harassing operations against the Nepálís and the Pindárís, but these +operations resulted in perfect success, and Hastings was able to show +before he left India that he was eminent alike in civil and in military +administration.</p> + +<p>The mountainous region of Nepál, lying on the slopes of the Himálayas +north of Bengal and Oudh, had been occupied by the warlike nation, still +known as the Gúrkhas, whose capital was at Khátmándu. Like the Maráthás, +they had been in the habit of pillaging British territory as well as Oudh, +and when part of Oudh was annexed by Wellesley, frontier disputes were +added to former grounds of hostility. Minto remonstrated with them sharply +but in vain, and Moira lost no time in declaring war against them. The +first campaign of 1814, which followed, though skilfully conceived by +Moira, who held the office of commander-in-chief, was carried out with +little generalship, and was marked by disasters highly damaging to British +prestige. Three out of four armies launched against the hill-tribes met +with serious reverses, chiefly due to a contempt for the enemy, and a +persistence in making frontal assaults on strong positions without +practicable breaches, which have proved so fatal in many a later conflict +between British troops and undisciplined foes. During the cold season, +however, on the extreme north-west, the cautious but irresistible advance +of General Ochterlony penetrated the hill ranges which had baffled all the +other commanders, and retrieved the fortunes of the war. The Gúrkhas were +far, indeed, from being subdued, but Ochterlony's success among their +strongest fastnesses, aided by that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</a></span> of Colonels Gardner and Nicholls in +the district of Kumáun, induced them to sue for peace, and offer +territorial cessions. The loss of the Tarái, or belt of forest +interspersed with pastures at the foot of the Himálayas, was the most +onerous of the conditions imposed upon them by the treaty of Almora, +signed in 1815. Rather than submit to it, the Gúrkha chiefs refused to +ratify the treaty, and resumed their arms. After two defeats, however, in +February, 1816, they abandoned further resistance, and Moira afterwards +wisely consented to a modification of the frontier-line. Retaining but a +remnant of their dominions in the lowlands, the Gúrkhas have ever since +preserved their independence with their military training in the +highlands, and have contributed some of the best fighting material to the +British army in India.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE PINDÁRÍS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_319" id="TOPIC_319"></a>While the war in Nepál was still undecided, fresh troubles broke out in +Central India, where Wellesley's settlement had left no permanent security +for peace. The very submission of the great Maráthá powers had set free +large bands of irregular troops, with no livelihood but pillage, and ever +ready, like the Italian <i>condottieri</i> of the later middle ages, to enlist +in the service of any aggressive state. These mounted freebooters, now +called the Pindárís, were secretly encouraged by the Maráthá chiefs, who +looked upon them as useful auxiliaries in the future, either against the +government of India or against other native princes. Several of these +still remained in a more or less dependent but restless condition, and the +great leaders of the Maráthá confederacy, Sindhia, Malhár Ráo Holkar, son +and successor of Jaswant Ráo, the Peshwá, and the Rájá of Nágpur, retained +a large share of their former sovereignty. Of these subject-allies, the +one most directly under British guidance and protection was the Peshwá, +but even he took advantage of hostile movements among his neighbours to +join in a combination against British rule, supported by the predatory +raids of the Pindárís. He had long been discontented with the subordinate +position which he had occupied since the treaty of Bassein. The +assassination in 1815 of an envoy of the Gáekwár of Baroda, who had been +sent to Poona on a special mission under British guarantees, nearly +provoked hostilities. But in June, 1817, a treaty was concluded, by which +the Peshwá accepted an increased subsidiary force,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</a></span> ceded part of his +territory, renounced his suzerainty over the Gáekwár and undertook to +submit all further disputes to the decision of the British government. In +November, however, chafing under the restrictions imposed by this treaty, +he broke out into hostility, burnt the British residency, and after vainly +attacking the British troops, fled from Poona. Almost simultaneously +Holkar and the Rájá of Nágpur rose. Holkar was defeated in a pitched +battle at Mehidpur in Málwá, while the sepoys successfully held their own +against the Rájá's troops at Nágpur. The fugitive Peshwá was energetically +pursued, and captured, and was stripped of his dominions. The greater part +of these was annexed by the East India Company, but a portion was reserved +for the heir of the old Maráthá kings who was established at Sátára. The +Rájá of Nágpur was also compelled to cede a large portion of his +dominions, and at the same time the Company acquired the overlordship of +Rájputána. Henceforth, the British government claimed a control over all +the foreign relations of native Indian states, whose internal government +was to be carefully watched by a British resident, and whose military +forces were to be practically under the supreme command of the paramount +power.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE END OF THE PINDÁRÍS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_320" id="TOPIC_320"></a>Lord Moira, created Marquis of Hastings in 1816, was at last free to hunt +down the Pindárís, with the sullen acquiescence of the Maráthá +governments, and he executed his task with extraordinary vigour. He would +have undertaken it, at the instigation of Metcalfe, then resident at +Delhi, a year earlier, but for the peremptory orders of Canning, at that +time president of the board of control, who positively forbade him to +embark on a new war. These orders were greatly relaxed after the +bloodthirsty raid of Chítu, the famous Pindárí leader, who in 1816 +desolated vast tracts of Central India. Still no effective action against +the Pindárís was possible until the Maráthá lords who harboured and +encouraged them had been crippled and overawed. With their connivance, a +second Pindárí raid, accompanied by shocking cruelties, was made in the +same year, but in 1817, when Holkar's followers were severely defeated at +Mehidpur, the secret coalition between these bandits and our nominal +allies was thoroughly broken up. Even then it proved a most difficult +enterprise to root out the Pindárís, who were not a race, or a tribe, or a +sect, but bands of lawless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</a></span> men of all faiths; for they met and vanished +like birds of the air, outstripping regular cavalry by the length and +rapidity of their marches, and carrying off their booty almost under the +eyes of their pursuers. But the resolute tactics of Hastings prevailed in +the end. Amír Khán, their most powerful leader, disbanded his troops; and +hemmed in on all sides, cut off from every place of shelter, and chased by +successive detachments of horsemen almost as fleet as his own, Chítu +became a hopeless fugitive, with a handful of faithful adherents, who +shared his desperate efforts to escape, but advised him to surrender. He +could not bring himself to do so, possessed, it is said, with an +unspeakable horror of being transported across "the black sea," and he +actually remained at large or in hiding for a year after his lair was +discovered. Nor was he ever captured, for, by a strange fate, this +ruthless scourge of the Deccan, after baffling human vengeance, found his +last refuge in a jungle and died, a tiger's prey. By this time, all the +wild bands which sprung into existence out of the Maráthá war had been +extirpated or dispersed, and after the year 1818 the dreaded name of +Pindárí was heard no more in history.</p> + +<p>The suppression of civil war and anarchy in Central India, which completed +the work of Wellesley, was the greatest achievement of Hastings. One +remarkable incident of it was a portentous outbreak of cholera in 1817, +during a campaign in Gwalior conducted by Hastings in person. There had +been several minor visitations of this disease in India. But it now first +established itself as an endemic disease, and it has ever since infested +the valley of the Ganges. So virulent was its onslaught, and so fearful +the mortality in Hastings' army, that it was only saved by shifting its +quarters, and the governor-general himself made preparations for his own +secret burial, in case he should be among the victims. As we have seen +already,<a name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a> it was propagated from this centre through other regions of +Asia, until it spread to Western Europe, and the "Asiatic cholera" of +1831-32 may be lineally traced back to the last Maráthá war.</p> + +<p>The position of Hastings in Indian history closely resembles that of +Wellesley. Disregarding the instructions of the board of control, as well +as of the board of directors, he forced upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</a></span> them, like Wellesley, a +large extension of their empire. But it cannot be doubted that his policy, +dictated by exigencies beyond the ken of authorities sitting in London, +was eminently successful and beneficent in its results. It went far to +establish a "Pax Britannica" in the Indian Peninsula, and, if it took +little account of dynastic rights, it broke the rod of oppression, and +relieved millions upon millions from tyranny and intimidation which +overshadowed their whole lives. He retired in 1823, after seven years' +tenure of office, and died in 1826 as governor of Malta. Canning had been +designated as his successor, and, having accepted the post, was on the eve +of starting for Calcutta, when the tragical death of Castlereagh recalled +him to the foreign office, and opened to him the most brilliant stage in +his career. Thereupon Lord Amherst was appointed governor-general, with +every prospect of a pacific vice-royalty, whereas it is now chiefly +remembered for the annexation of new provinces on the south-east of +Bengal, and the capture of Bhartpur.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE FIRST BURMESE WAR.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_321" id="TOPIC_321"></a>The first Burmese war arose out of persistent aggressions by the new +kingdom of Ava or Burma on what is now the British province of Assam, but +was then an independent, though feeble, state. There had been earlier +frontier disputes between the Indian government and Burma about the +districts lying eastward of Chittagong along the Bay of Bengal, but it was +not until Burma conquered Arakan, invaded Assam, and occupied passes on +the north-east overlooking the plains of Bengal, that serious action was +felt to be necessary. Indeed, while Hastings was engaged with the war in +Nepál and the suppression of the Pindárís, even he was in no mood to +embark on a fresh campaign beyond the borders of India. The incursions of +the Burmese, however, became more and more threatening both on the coast +line and on the mountains above the Brahmaputra river, and in February, +1824, Amherst resolved to check the extension of their dominion. +Notwithstanding the experience recently gained in Nepál, the first +operations of the Anglo-Indian troops were conducted with little knowledge +of the country, and met with very doubtful success. Rangoon was easily +captured, but the expedition was disabled from advancing up the river +Irawadi by the want of adequate supplies and the deadliness of the +climate. Part of the Tenasserim coast was subdued, but a British force was +defeated in Arakan.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</a></span> These reverses were retrieved in the following year, +1825, when one army under Sir Archibald Campbell made its way up the river +to Prome, while another army conquered Arakan, and a third, moving along +the valley of the Brahmaputra, established itself in Assam. The Burmese +now abandoned further resistance. Assam, Arakan, and the Tenasserim +provinces were ceded to the company, whose protectorate was also +recognised over other territories upon the course of the Brahmaputra. It +was not until February, 1826, that the King of Ava could be induced to +sign the treaty embodying these cessions, and many years were to elapse +before the port of Rangoon was opened to British commerce.</p> + +<p>The strong fortress of Bhartpur, in the east of Rájputána, and near to +Agra, had acquired an unique importance, in the eyes of all India by its +successful resistance to Lake's assaults during the Maráthá war of 1805. +It was still held until 1825 by its own petty rájá, the son of Ranjít +Singh, who remained on terms of respectful amity with the Indian +government, though his little principality was a notorious focus of native +disaffection. In that year he died, and his child, after being +acknowledged by the Indian government as his successor, was forcibly +ousted by a usurper. Sir David Ochterlony, the hero of the Nepálese war, +then resident in Málwá and Rájputána, undertook to support the legitimate +heir, but was overruled by orders from Amherst. On his resignation he was +succeeded by Metcalfe, who had become Sir Charles Metcalfe by his +brother's death in 1822, and who now obtained authority to carry out +Ochterlony's policy, if necessary, by armed intervention. As negotiation +failed, Lord Combermere, as commander-in-chief, proceeded to reduce the +virgin fortress, not by the slow process of siege, but by a well-organised +assault. Having cut off the water supply, and mined the mud walls, he +poured in a storming party and overpowered the garrison. The feat was +probably not so great, from a military point of view, as many that have +left no record, but its effect on the superstitious native mind was +prodigious, especially as it nearly coincided with the victorious issue of +the Burmese war. Nevertheless, Amherst was shortly afterwards recalled, +and left India in 1828. His annexation of Burmese territory and the +increase of expenditure under his rule displeased both the Company and the +home government, so often<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</a></span> foiled in the attempt to enforce a pacific and +economical policy. His successor was Lord William Bentinck, who had been +compelled to retire from the governorship of Madras after the mutiny of +Vellore.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_322" id="TOPIC_322"></a>Like Hastings, Bentinck showed a firmness and wisdom in his Indian +administration strongly contrasting with the restless self-assertion of +his earlier career. His lot was cast in an interval of tranquillity after +a long period of warfare, and his name is associated with internal reforms +and social progress in India, not unconnected with a like movement in +England. The measure upon which his fame chiefly rests was the abolition +of "satí," that is, the practice of Hindoo widows sacrificing themselves +by being burned alive on the funeral pile of their husbands. This +practice, which specially prevailed in Bengal, has been explained by a +false interpretation of certain texts in sacred books of the Hindus, by +the selfish eagerness of the husband's family to monopolise all his +property, and by the utterly desolate condition of a childless widow in +native communities. At all events, it was deeply rooted in Hindu +traditions, and no previous governor had dared to go beyond issuing +regulations to secure that the widow should be a willing victim. Bentinck +had the courage to act on the conviction that inhumanity, however +consecrated by superstition and priestcraft, has no permanent basis in +popular sentiment. With the consent of his council, he prohibited "satí" +absolutely, declaring that all who took any part in it should be held +guilty of culpable homicide; and the native population acquiesced in its +suppression.</p> + +<p>But this was only one of Bentinck's reforms. Armed with peremptory +instructions from the home government, he effected large retrenchments in +the growing expenditure of the Indian services, both civil and military, +and a considerable increase in the Indian revenue. It may be doubted +whether one of these retrenchments, involving a strict revision of +officers' allowances known as "batta," was considerable enough to be worth +the almost mutinous discontent which it provoked. Another, affecting the +salaries of civilians, was aggravated, in their eyes, by the admission of +natives to "primary jurisdiction," in other words, by enabling native +judges to sit in courts of first instance. This important change had been +gradually introduced before the arrival of Bentinck, but it was he who +most boldly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</a></span> adopted the idea of governing India in the interest and by +the agency of the natives. On the other hand, it was he who, supported by +Macaulay's famous minute, but contrary to official opinion in Leadenhall +Street, issued the ordinance constituting English the official language of +India. In a like spirit, he promoted the work of native education, partly +for the purpose of developing the political and judicial capacity of the +higher orders among the Hindus, but partly also for the purpose of making +the English language and literature the instrument of their elevation. He +earnestly desired to raise the standard of Indian civilisation, but he +equally desired to fashion it in an English mould.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>THE EXTIRPATION OF "THAGÍ".</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_323" id="TOPIC_323"></a>Under the rule of Bentinck, the revenue was largely augmented by a +reassessment of land in the north-western provinces, where an increasing +number of zamíndárs had fraudulently evaded the payment of rent, and by +the imposition of licence-duties on the growers of opium in Málwá, who had +carried on a profitable but illicit trade through foreign ports. But the +social benefit of the people was ever his first concern, and not the least +of his claims to their gratitude was the final extirpation of "thagí". +This institution was a secret association of highway robbers and murderers +who had plagued Central India almost as widely as the roving troops of +Pindárís. Their victims were travellers whom they decoyed into their +haunts, plundered, strangled, and buried on the spot. For years they +carried on their infamous trade with impunity, and no member of the +conspiracy had turned informer. At last, however, a clue was found by a +skilful and resolute agent of the government, and the spell of mutual +dread which held together the murderous confederacy was effectually broken +in India. Meanwhile, the same period of peaceful development witnessed the +execution of important public works, the relaxation of restrictions on the +liberty of the press, and a general advance towards a more paternal +despotism, coincident with the progress of liberal ideas at home. These +benign influences were favoured by the continuance of peace and the +maintenance of non-intervention, disturbed only by the minor annexations +of Cachar and Coorg, to which may be added the assumption of direct +control over Mysore.</p> + +<p>When the charter of 1833 transformed the "company of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</a></span> British merchants +trading to the east" into the "East India Company," with administrative +powers only, Bentinck was in failing health, and he soon afterwards +returned home. On his resignation in 1835, Metcalfe became provisional +governor-general, but his liberal policy displeased the court of +directors, and Lord Heytesbury was selected by the short-lived government +of Peel as Bentinck's successor. Palmerston, however, on resuming the +foreign office, was believed to have used his influence to set aside this +nomination, and to procure the appointment of Lord Auckland, then first +lord of the admiralty. The supposed objection to Heytesbury was his known +sympathy with Russia, at a moment when distrust of Russia's designs on the +north-west frontier was about to become the keynote of Anglo-Indian +statesmanship. During the interregnum between Bentinck's retirement and +Auckland's accession, three more remedial measures were carried into +effect, the wisdom of which is not even yet beyond dispute. These were the +complete liberation of the Indian press, the abolition of the exclusive +privilege whereby British residents could appeal in civil suits to the +supreme court at Calcutta, and the definite introduction of English +text-books into schools for the people. For all these reforms Macaulay was +largely responsible, but the impulse had been given by Bentinck, and was +accelerated by Metcalfe.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_324" id="TOPIC_324"></a>During the years 1835-37 domestic affairs occupied much less space in the +counsels of Indian statesmen than schemes for counteracting the growth of +Russian influence at Tihran, and securing the predominance of British +influence in Afghánistán. For a time their anxiety was concentrated on +Herat, which the Sháh of Persia was besieging, with the intention of +penetrating into the heart of Afghán territory, while the Afghán rulers +themselves were suspected of secretly conspiring with Persia against our +ally, Ranjít Singh. Since Persia, having again lost faith in British +support, was drifting more and more into reliance on Russia, this forward +movement was regarded as the first step of the Russian advance-guard +towards India. The fate of India was felt to depend on the defence of +Herat under Pottinger, a young British officer, who volunteered his +services without instructions from home. The siege, conducted under +Russian officers, lasted ten months, and its ultimate failure was hailed +as a triumph of British policy, for Herat was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</a></span> recognised, since the days +of Alexander the Great, as the western gate of India.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>COMMUNICATION WITH INDIA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_325" id="TOPIC_325"></a>About the same time the question of a shorter route to India attracted +much attention both in Russia and in England. The first project was that, +ultimately adopted, of a sea passage by Malta to Alexandria, a land +transit across Egypt to Suez, and a second voyage by the Red Sea to Indian +ports. The alternative line was more properly described as an "overland +route," since it was proposed to make the journey from some port in the +eastern Levant across Syria and by the Euphrates to the Persian Gulf. +Colonel Chesney was sent out in 1835 as the pioneer of an expedition by +this route, and parliament twice voted money for its development, but it +was vigorously opposed by Russia, and abandoned as impracticable owing to +physical difficulties in navigating the Euphrates, then considered as a +necessary channel of communication with the sea. The scheme has since been +revived on a much grander scale in the form of a projected railway +traversing Asia Minor to Baghdad, and running down the valley of the +Tigris. In the meantime, the Red Sea route, at first discredited, has far +more than justified the hopes of its promoters. With the aid of +steam-vessels, since 1845, and of the Suez Canal, since 1869, it has +reduced the journey to India from a period of four months to one of three +weeks, and profoundly affected its relations with Great Britain.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_326" id="TOPIC_326"></a>It would be well if the premature, but not unfounded, fear of Russian +invasion had produced no further effects on Anglo-Indian policy. +Unhappily, those who justly perceived the importance of Afghánistán, as +lying between Persia and the Punjab, were possessed with the delusion that +it would prove a more solid buffer as a British dependency than as an +independent state. In their ignorance of its internal condition and the +sentiments of its unruly tribes, the Indian government despatched Sir +Alexander Burnes to Kábul, nominally as a commercial emissary, but not +without ulterior objects. They could not have chosen a more capable agent, +for he added to a knowledge of several languages a minute geographical +acquaintance with Central Asia and an insight into the character of its +inhabitants which probably no other Englishman possessed. He was to +proceed by way of Sind to Pesháwar, and in passing through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</a></span> Sind he +received news of the siege of Herat, the significance of which he was not +slow to appreciate. Thenceforward his mission inevitably assumed a +political complexion, since the future of Afghánistán became a practical +question. His rash negotiations with Dost Muhammad, the Amír of Kábul, and +his brother at Kandahár, his return to India, his second mission to +Afghánistán in support of a policy which he had deprecated, and his +tragical death in the Kábul insurrection,—these are events which belong +to a later chapter of history. But, though Burnes cannot be held +responsible for the first Afghán war, there can be no doubt that his +travels in disguise through Central Asia, and confidential reports on the +border countries between the Russian and British spheres of influence, +were the immediate prelude to a campaign the most ill-advised and the most +disastrous ever organised by the Indian government and sanctioned by that +of Great Britain.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> Despatch of July 13, 1804, <i>Selection from Wellesley's +Despatches</i>, ed. Owen, pp. 436-41. See Sir A. Lyall, <i>British Dominion in +India</i>, p. 260.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> Cornwallis to Lake, Sept. 19, 1805, <i>Cornwallis +Correspondence</i>, iii., 547-55.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> See p. <a href="#Page_310">310</a> above.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2> + +<h3>LITERATURE AND SOCIAL PROGRESS.</h3> + + +<p>The period which elapsed between the resignation of Pitt and the battle of +Waterloo was hardly less eventful in the history of British civilisation +than in the history of British empire. To some, the boundary line between +the society of the eighteenth and that of the nineteenth century appears +to be marked by the outbreak of the French revolution, and the +far-reaching effects of that catastrophe upon ideas, manners, and politics +in Great Britain, as well as upon the continent, are too evident to be +denied. But it is equally certain that, before the French revolution, an +intellectual and industrial movement was in progress which must have given +a most powerful impulse to civilisation, even if the French revolution had +never taken place. In this country, especially, the great writers, +philanthropists, scientific leaders, inventors, engineers, and reformers +of various types, who adorned the latter part of George III.'s reign, +largely drew their inspiration from an age, just preceding the French +revolution, which is sometimes regarded as barren in originality.</p> + +<p>When the nineteenth century opened, the classical authors of that +pre-revolutionary age had mostly passed away. Hume died in 1776, Johnson +in 1784, Adam Smith in 1790, Gibbon in 1794, Burns in 1796, Burke in 1797, +Cowper in 1800. John Howard, the great pioneer of prison reform, became a +martyr to philanthropy in 1790. The most remarkable of those manufacturing +improvements and mechanical inventions upon which the commercial supremacy +of England is founded date from the same period, and have been described +in a previous volume. Steam navigation was still untried, but preliminary +experiments had already been made on both sides of the Atlantic before +1789. The application of steam to locomotion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</a></span> by land had scarcely been +conceived, but the facilities of traffic and travelling had been vastly +developed in the first forty years of George III.'s reign.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_327" id="TOPIC_327"></a>It may truly be said, however, that English literature in the early party +of the nineteenth century bears clear traces of the influence exercised on +receptive minds by the French revolution. Three of the leading poets, +Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Southey, were deeply infected by its spirit, +and indulged in their youth fantastic dreams of a social millennium; +Wordsworth, especially, who in his maturer years could be justly described +as the priest of nature-worship and the poet of rural life, had imbibed +violent republican ideas during a residence of more than a year in France. +These were passing off in 1798, when he published, jointly with Coleridge, +the volume of <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> containing the latter's immortal tale of +the <i>Ancient Mariner</i>. In the following year he settled in the English +lake-country, where Coleridge established himself for a while, and Southey +for life. Hence the popular but very inaccurate title of the "Lake +School," applied to a trio of poets who, except as friends, had little in +common with each other. Indeed, after Wordsworth had developed his theory +of poetical realism in the preface to a volume published in 1800, +Coleridge rejected and criticised it as wholly untenable. All three, +however, may be considered as comrades in a revolt against the +conventional diction of eighteenth century poetry, from which Coleridge's +"dreamy tenderness" and mystical flights of fancy were as remote as +Wordsworth's rusticity and almost prosaic studies of humble life.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>COLERIDGE AND SCOTT.</i></div> + +<p>Although Coleridge survived to 1834 and Wordsworth to 1850, both seem to +have lost at an early date that power of imagination, whether displayed in +sympathy or in creation, in which their greatness consisted. Wordsworth +wrote assiduously during the whole of this period; in 1807 he published a +volume of poems, including the famous <i>Ode on the Intimations of +Immortality</i> and several of his finest sonnets; but of his later work only +an occasional lyric deserves to be ranked beside the poems published in +1800 and 1807. Coleridge, indeed, published two of his finest poems, +<i>Christabel</i> and <i>Kubla Khan</i>, in 1816, but they were written long before, +<i>Christabel</i>, partly in 1797 and partly in 1801, and <i>Kubla Khan</i> in 1798. +Even the new metre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</a></span> of <i>Christabel</i>, which is not the least of Coleridge's +contributions to English poetry, had, as early as 1805, been borrowed in +the <i>Lay of the Last Minstrel</i> by Scott, to whom Coleridge had recited the +poem. Nevertheless, Coleridge continued to exercise a great influence, +partly through the charm of his conversation and partly through his prose +works, in which he introduced to a British public, as yet unused to German +literature, a vision of that mystical German thought which finds its +father in Kant, and was represented at that day by Hegel in philosophy and +Goethe in poetry. It is uncertain how far the general ignorance of German +literature in England was responsible for the influence exercised in their +own day by the few English or Scottish thinkers, such as Coleridge, +Hamilton, and Carlyle, who had either fallen under the spell or learned +the secret of the German mystics. The most important of Coleridge's prose +works was <i>Aids to Reflection</i>, which appeared in 1828, and whatever be +its literary value, it deserves the notice of the historian, as the least +unsystematic treatise of an author who gave the principal philosophical +impetus to the Oxford movement.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_328" id="TOPIC_328"></a>Two other poets, eminently the product of their age, though not the +offspring of the French revolution, Scott and Byron, were equally in +revolt against conventional diction. Scott elevated ballad-poetry to a +level which it had never before attained, and composed some of the most +beautiful songs in the English language. If it be remembered that he was +cramped by the drudgery of legal offices during the best years of his +life, that he was nearly thirty when he made his first literary venture, +that he was crippled by financial ruin and broken health during his later +years, that his anonymous contributions to periodicals would fill volumes, +and that he died at the age of sixty-one, his fertility of production must +ever be ranked as unique in the history of English literature. Already +known as the author of various lyrical pieces, and the <i>Border +Minstrelsy</i>, he published the <i>Lay of the Last Minstrel</i> in 1805, +<i>Marmion</i> (with its fine stanzas on Pitt and Fox) in 1808, the <i>Lady of +the Lake</i> in 1809, <i>Don Roderick</i> in 1811, and <i>Rokeby</i> in 1813, as well +as minor poems of high merit. He is said to have abandoned poetry in +deference to Byron's rising star, and it is certain that he now fills a +higher place in the roll of English classics as a prose writer than as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</a></span> +poet. His first novel, <i>Waverley</i>, appeared in 1814, and was followed In +the next four years by six of the greatest "Waverley Novels," as the +series came to be called—<i>Guy Mannering</i>, the <i>Antiquary</i>, the <i>Black +Dwarf</i>, <i>Old Mortality</i>, <i>Rob Roy</i>, and the <i>Heart of Midlothian</i>. It is +not too much to say that by these works, both in poetry and in prose, he +created the historical romance in Great Britain. The legends of chivalry +and the folk-lore of his native land had deeply stirred his soul, and +fired his imagination from childhood, and though later "research" has far +outstripped the range of his antiquarian knowledge, no modern writer has +ever done so much to awaken a reverence for olden times in the hearts of +his countrymen. The easy flow of his style, the vivid energy of his +thought, the graphic power of his descriptions, his shrewd and robust +sympathy with human nature, and the evident simplicity of his own +character, not unmingled with flashes of true poetical insight, justly +rendered him the most popular writer of his time.</p> + +<p>Byron was born in 1788, and first sprang into notice as the author of +<i>English Bards and Scotch Reviewers</i>, a fierce and bitter reply to critics +who had disparaged his first essay in poetry. This satire appeared in +1809, when he was just of age, after which he travelled with Hobhouse, and +it was not until 1812 that he "woke to find himself famous," on publishing +the first two cantos of <i>Childe Harold</i>. During the next three years, he +poured forth a succession of characteristic poems, including the <i>Giaour</i>, +the <i>Bride of Abydos</i>, the <i>Corsair</i>, <i>Lara</i>, and the <i>Siege of Corinth</i>. +His later work was of a more finished order, including the remaining +cantos of <i>Childe Harold</i>, <i>Manfred</i>, <i>Cain</i>, and <i>Mazeppa</i>, and when he +died at Mesolongi in 1824, he left unfinished what is, in some ways, the +most remarkable of his works, <i>Don Juan</i>. Long before his death he had +become the prophet and hero of a pseudo-romantic school, composed of young +Englishmen dazzled by his intellectual brilliancy, and attracted rather +than repelled by a certain Satanic taint in his moral sentiments. But he +also won the admiration of Goethe, and the reaction against his fame in a +later generation is as exaggerated as the idolatry of which he was the +object under the regency. His morbid egotism, his stormy rhetoric, and his +meretricious exaltation of passion, have lost their magical effect, but +his poetical gifts would have commanded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</a></span> homage in any age. The message +which he professed to deliver was a false message, but few poets have +surpassed him in daring vigour of imagination, in descriptive force, in +wit, or in pathos. His style was eminently such as to invite imitation, +yet no one has successfully imitated him. Had he been a better man, and +had his life been prolonged, he might perhaps have towered above his +literary contemporaries as Napoleon did among the generals and rulers of +Europe.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>KEATS, SHELLEY, TENNYSON.</i></div> + +<p>Yet among these contemporaries were Keats and Shelley, whom some critics +of a younger generation would place above him in poetical originality. +Their chief merit lay neither in thought nor in strength, but in an +exquisite sweetness of expression, which in the case of Shelley at least +was quite independent of the subject-matter. Keats, though junior to +Shelley, has been described as his poetical father, but his chief poem, +<i>Endymion</i>, did not appear until several years after Shelley had formed +his own distinctive style. He died in 1821 at the age of twenty-six, +leaving a poetical inheritance of the highest quality, which, though +limited in quantity and unequal in workmanship, has gained an enduring +reputation. Nevertheless his work lent itself readily to imitation, and he +exercised a marked influence on the style of later poets, not only in this +period, but in the Victorian age as well. The rebellious spirit of Shelley +had already shown itself at an early age in his poetry, and especially in +<i>Queen Mab</i>, printed in 1812. His ethereal fancy, his dreamy obscurity, +and his witchery of language, designated him from the first as a master of +lyrical poetry; though he wrote longer pieces, his fame rests on the +numerous short poems which continued to appear till his death in 1822.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the greatest master of melody was one who was only coming to the +front at the close of this period, Alfred Tennyson, born in 1809, +contributed with two of his brothers to a collection of verses, +misleadingly entitled <i>Poems by Two Brothers</i>, which appeared in 1826. At +Cambridge his <i>Timbuctoo</i> won the chancellor's prize, but the first proof +of his powers was given by a volume of short poems published in 1830, +followed by a similar volume two years later. By far the greater part of +his work lies in the next period, but the volume of 1833 already included +some of his best known poems.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_329" id="TOPIC_329"></a>Among minor poets of this period the highest rank must perhaps be assigned +to Thomas Campbell and Thomas Moore as authors of some of the most +stirring and graceful lyrics in the English language. The former had +attained celebrity by the <i>Pleasures of Hope</i>, published before the end of +the eighteenth century, but his choicest poems, such as <i>Ye Mariners of +England</i>, the fine verses on Hohenlinden and Copenhagen, and <i>Gertrude of +Wyoming</i>, appeared between 1802 and 1809. The series of Moore's Irish +melodies, on which his poetical fame largely rests, was begun in 1807, +though not completed until long afterwards. They were followed by other +lyrical pieces of great merit, and by a series of witty and malicious +lampoons, collected in 1813 into a volume called the <i>Twopenny Post Bag</i>. +<i>Lalla Rookh</i>, his most ambitious effort, was not published until 1817.</p> + +<p>Two prose writers of the same epoch, Southey and Bentham, claim special +notice, though Southey may also be numbered among the poets. Having +established himself close to Keswick in 1804, he prosecuted a literary +career with the most untiring industry until his mental faculties at last +failed him some thirty-six years later. During this period he produced +above a hundred volumes in poetry and prose, besides numerous scattered +articles and other papers. Most of these were of merely ephemeral +interest, but the <i>Life of Nelson</i>, published in 1813, may be said to have +set a standard of simplicity, purity, and dignity in English prose which +has been of permanent value. Bentham's style, on the contrary, was so +wanting in beauty and perspicuity that one at least of his chief works is +best known to English readers in the admirable French paraphrase of his +friend Dumont. This is his famous <i>Introduction to the Principles of +Morals and Legislation</i>, in which the doctrines of the utilitarian +philosophy are rigorously applied to jurisprudence and the regulation of +human conduct. Several of his numerous treatises had been planned, and +others actually composed, before the end of the eighteenth century, but +his practical influence, ultimately so great, first made itself felt in +the early part of the nineteenth century. This influence may be compared +within the sphere of social reform to that of Adam Smith within the sphere +of economy. Many amendments of the law, an improved system of prison +discipline, and even the reform of the poor law,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</a></span> may be directly traced +to his counsels, and it was he who inspired the leading radicals when +radicalism was not so much a destructive creed as a protest against real +and gross abuses.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MALTHUS.</i></div> + +<p>Perhaps, next to Bentham, no writer of this period influenced educated +opinion so powerfully as Malthus, whose <i>Essay on Population</i>, first +published anonymously in 1798, attracted comparatively little attention +until 1803, when it was republished in a maturer form. No work has ever +been more persistently misrepresented. While he shows that population, if +unchecked, will surely increase in a ratio far outstripping any possible +increase in the means of subsistence, he also shows, by elaborate proofs, +that it will inevitably be checked by vice and misery, whether or not they +are aided by moral restraint. Later experience has done little to weaken +his reasoning, but it has proved that "moral restraint" (in the most +general sense) operates more widely than he ventured to expect, and that +larger tracts of the earth's surface than he recognised could be brought +under profitable cultivation. With these modifications, his theory holds +the field, and the people of Great Britain only escape starvation by +ever-growing importations of grain from countries whose production—for +the present—exceeds their consumption.</p> + +<p>Several other writers of eminence, such as Sheridan and Paley, who lived +in the latter days of George III. are more properly to be regarded as +survivors of eighteenth century literature. Horne Tooke was returned for +Old Sarum in 1801, and enjoyed a reputation in society until his death in +1812, but his old-fashioned radicalism had long since been superseded by a +newer creed. Dugald Stewart continued to lecture on moral philosophy until +1809, and was fortunate in numbering among his pupils Palmerston, +Lansdowne, and Russell. A younger student of philosophy was Richard +Whately, who was born in 1787, and elected to a fellowship at Oriel +College, Oxford, in 1811. He soon began to play an active part in +university life, and, after being principal of St. Alban Hall, was removed +to the archbishopric of Dublin in 1831. Though not a great philosopher, he +was an acute logician, and his <i>Logic</i>, published in 1826, entitled him to +a high place among the thinkers of his generation. But it was not merely +as a teacher<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</a></span> and writer that Whately promoted the cause of philosophy in +Oxford. He was one of the leaders in that organisation of studies which +made philosophy one of the principal studies, if not the principal study, +of the abler students in that university, and gave elementary logic a +place in the ordinary "pass-man's" curriculum.</p> + +<p>The best work of Maria Edgeworth and Jane Austen appeared in the early +part of the nineteenth century. Maria Edgeworth's novel, <i>Castle +Rackrent</i>, was published in 1800, and rapidly followed by other tales +descriptive of Irish life; four of Jane Austen's novels, <i>Sense and +Sensibility</i>, <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, <i>Mansfield Park</i>, and <i>Emma</i>, were +published between 1811 and 1816, while <i>Northanger Abbey</i> and <i>Persuasion</i> +appeared after her death in 1817. All her work displays a power of minute +analysis of character shared by few, if any, of our other novelists. Both +authors deserve gratitude not only for having inspired Scott with a new +idea of novel-writing, but for having exercised a purifying influence on +the moral tone of English romance.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_330" id="TOPIC_330"></a>The most typical feature of English literature in the earlier years of the +nineteenth century was the extraordinary development of the periodical and +newspaper press. The eighteenth century was the golden age of pamphlets. +When the "governing classes" represented but a fraction of the population, +mostly concentrated in London, the practical effect of such political +appeals as those issued by Swift or Burke was incredibly great, and not to +be measured by their limited circulation. The rise of journalism as a +power in politics may be roughly dated from the notoriety of Wilkes' +<i>North Briton</i>, and of the letters of "Junius" in the <i>Public Advertiser</i>. +Thenceforward, newspapers, at first mere chronicles of passing events, +inevitably grew to be organs of political opinion, and had now almost +superseded pamphlets, as addressed to a far larger circle of readers. +Notwithstanding the heavy stamp duties, as well as duties on paper and +advertisements, six daily journals were published in London, of which the +<i>Times</i> was already the greatest. Cobbett's <i>Weekly Political Register</i>, +commenced in 1802, was diffusing new ideas among the middle classes, but +it was not yet committed to radicalism, and did not win its way into +cottages until its price was greatly reduced in 1816. After<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</a></span> Cobbett's +death in 1835, it ceased to appear. Still the ice was broken, and, as the +educated public recovered from the panic caused by the French revolution, +the newspaper press became a potent and independent rival of parliament +and the platform.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>EDINBURGH AND QUARTERLY REVIEWS.</i></div> + +<p>But the influence of the <i>Edinburgh</i> and <i>Quarterly Reviews</i> was perhaps +even greater among readers of the highest intelligence. The first of these +was founded in 1802 by Jeffrey, Brougham, Horner, and Sydney Smith, but +was supported at first by Scott and other able contributors. So remarkable +a body of writers must have commanded attention in any age, but at a time +when the only periodicals were annuals and miscellanies, the literary +vigour and range of knowledge displayed by the new review carried all +before it. For several years it had an unique success, but, as it +identified itself more and more with the whig party, Canning, with the aid +of Scott, determined to challenge its supremacy by establishing a new +review to be called the <i>Quarterly</i>. Scott was finally estranged from the +<i>Edinburgh</i> by an article against the war of independence in Spain, and +the first number of the <i>Quarterly</i> appeared in February, 1809, with three +articles by him. It was published by John Murray, and edited by Gifford, +on much the same lines as the <i>Edinburgh</i>, but with a strong tory bias, +and with somewhat less of literary brilliancy. <i>Blackwood's Magazine</i> +followed a few years later, and the almost classical dualism of the +<i>Quarterly</i> and <i>Edinburgh</i> has long since been invaded by a multitude of +younger serials.</p> + +<p>After the loss of its early monopoly of talent, the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> +still retained Jeffrey and Sydney Smith, and it was abundantly compensated +for the loss of Scott by the acquisition in 1825 of the fluent pen of +Macaulay. Born in 1800, the son of Zachary Macaulay, who like many other +philanthropists was on the tory side, he was early converted to the whig +party. He was well fitted to be a popular writer. His thought, never deep, +is always clear and vivid. None knew better how to seize a dramatic +incident or a picturesque simile, or to strike the weak points in his +adversary's armour. It has been said of him that he always chose to storm +a position by a cavalry charge, certainly the most imposing if not the +most effective method. Many of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</a></span> his contributions to the <i>Edinburgh +Review</i> were afterwards republished as <i>Essays</i>, and already in those +earlier essays which appeared before 1837, we can see him assuming the +<i>rôle</i> of the historical champion of the whigs. Widely read and with a +marvellous memory, he was generally accurate in his facts, but his +criticism of Gladstone applies with even greater force to himself: "There +is no want of light, but a great want of what Bacon would have called dry +light. Whatever Mr. Gladstone sees is refracted and distorted by a false +medium of passions and prejudices." The critic is sunk in the advocate, +and even a good cause is spoiled by a too obvious reluctance to admit +anything that comes from the other side. Perhaps his happiest, though far +from his greatest, work is to be found in the stirring ballads of <i>Ivry</i> +and the <i>Armada</i>, the precursors of the <i>Lays of Ancient Rome</i>. Deservedly +popular and full of patriotic fire, the class of literature to which they +belong renders questions of fairness or unfairness beside the point.</p> + +<p>Another contributor to the <i>Edinburgh Review</i>, also famous as a historian, +was Thomas Carlyle. He was born in 1795 at Ecclefechan in Dumfriesshire, +and wrote for Brewster's <i>Encyclopædia</i> and the <i>London Magazine</i> as well +as the <i>Edinburgh</i>. In 1826 he married Jane Welsh, and in 1828 he retired +from journalism to live humbly on her means. It was now that he began to +produce his best work. <i>Sartor Resartus</i> appeared in 1833-34, and the +<i>History of the French Revolution</i> in 1837. Even in the latter of these +works he is as much a preacher as a historian. Perhaps no other writer of +the age exercised a greater direct influence, and in his own country, +which seems specially amenable to the preacher's powers, his message has +been as effective in favour of broader views as the disruption of the +Church of Scotland in 1843 was in favour of the old orthodoxy. His +teaching has its roots in a German soil, but it bears the mark of his own +strong personality. His style, with a wilful ruggedness, displays the +German taste for the humour of an incongruous homeliness, where the +subject seems to call for a more dignified treatment. Perhaps this obvious +falseness of expression only relieves the weight of his stern earnestness +of purpose and makes us the more ready to join in his constant +denunciation of everything hollow and pretentious.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>LAMB.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_331" id="TOPIC_331"></a>Two new magazines appeared in or about 1817, <i>Blackwood's</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[Pg 425]</a></span> and the +<i>London</i>. Brilliant as the leading contributors to the former were, none +of them perhaps can claim a place in the front rank of English literature. +Of the contributors to the <i>London</i> Lamb is doubtless entitled to the +first place. Born in 1775, he was employed as a clerk in the East India +House from 1792 to 1825. He was a schoolfellow of Coleridge and +contributed to his earlier volume of poems It is, however, to the <i>Essays +of Elia</i> that he owes his fame. These appeared in the <i>London Magazine</i> +and were published in a collected form after his death in 1834. Few +authors that have been so much admired have exercised so little influence. +The reason for this is not far to seek. His style defies imitation, and he +would have been the last man to endeavour to win disciples to his +opinions. Another essayist who belongs to the same group of writers as +Coleridge and Lamb is Thomas de Quincey. He wrote both for <i>Blackwood's</i> +and for the <i>London Magazine</i>, in the latter of which appeared in 1821 his +best known work, the <i>Confessions of an English Opium Eater</i>. He excelled +in what was the dominant characteristic of English prose of this period, +in imagery, a quality which is conspicuous in the light fancy of +Coleridge's most famous poems, and which gives life to an author so +uniformly in dead earnest as Macaulay. Viewed historically, this taste for +imagery is the English side of the romantic movement, which in Germany +reacted against the conventional, not only in works of the imagination, +but in the heavier form of new philosophical systems. But these systems, +in spite of Coleridge, never became native in England. The growth of the +scientific spirit has made such thought and such language seem unreal in +serious literature, and prevents a later generation from imitating, though +not from admiring, the brilliance of the early essayists.</p> + +<p>Hazlitt's genius was of a heavier type. As an essayist his work breathes +the spirit of an earlier age; but as a literary critic he is a leader, and +displays an inwardness in his appreciation that makes him in a sense the +model of the new age in which criticism has so largely supplanted +creation. It may be doubted, however, whether the abnormal growth of +criticism, as a distinct branch of English letters, has been a benefit on +the whole to our literature. Certainly it has tended to substitute the +elaborate study of other men's thoughts for original production, and, +after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[Pg 426]</a></span> all, the greatest critics have been those who, being more than +critics, have shown themselves capable of constructive efforts.</p> + +<p>Two statesmen-novelists, Bulwer and Disraeli, are among the most +interesting literary characters of the end of this period. The former of +these, like his French contemporary Victor Hugo, had a remarkable gift for +expressing each successive phase of popular taste. He resembled Disraeli +in acquiring a pre-eminent position in letters in early youth, which was +followed by political success at a later age. Though neither rose to +cabinet rank before a time of life which must with literary men rank as +"middle age," Bulwer had, in the midst of an active parliamentary career, +been an active novelist, in fact the most popular novelist of his day. +Disraeli, on the other hand, only entered parliament after the close of +the period dealt with in this volume, and it is to this period, while he +was still unknown to politics, that the greater part of his literary work +belongs. One other resemblance between these writers is perhaps not less +interesting to the historian than to the critic. Both made use of +literature to establish for themselves a reputation as "men of the world," +an ambition which Bulwer's social position might easily justify, and +without which it would be impossible to understand the career of Disraeli. +Born in 1803 and 1804 respectively, both made their mark with their first +novels in 1827, Bulwer with <i>Falkland</i>, Disraeli with a work in which his +own career has been supposed to be foreshadowed—<i>Vivian Grey</i>. One other +great novelist had appeared before the close of the reign of William IV. +In 1836 Charles Dickens produced <i>Sketches by Boz</i> and began the <i>Pickwick +Papers</i>, but he belongs properly to the next reign.</p> + +<p>Among the historians of this period the first place undoubtedly belongs to +Henry Hallam. Born in 1788, he produced his <i>View of the State of Europe +during the Middle Ages</i> in 1818, and his <i>Constitutional History of +England</i> in 1827, while his <i>Introduction to the Literature of Europe</i> +began to appear in 1837. Like Macaulay he represents the whig attitude +towards politics, but does so less consciously and less emphatically than +his younger contemporary. There is a sense in which no constitutional +historian has adopted so strictly legal an attitude. It is not merely that +his interest centres on the legal side of the constitution, but, +lawyer-like, he judges every con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[Pg 427]</a></span>stitutional issue of the past in the +light of the legal system which the law of his own day presupposes for the +date in question. No one can deny the validity of this principle in a +court of justice, but no one gifted either with historical imagination or +with historical sympathy could wish to introduce it into a historical +work. Yet the very narrowness of his outlook made it easier for him to +adopt the impartiality of a judge; his criterion of justice is too +definite to allow him to indulge in special pleading or to twist facts to +suit his theories; and the student still turns to Hallam with a sense of +security which he does not feel in reading Macaulay or Carlyle.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>FINE ART.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_332" id="TOPIC_332"></a>The fine arts cannot be said to have flourished in England during the +period of the great war, and architecture was certainly at a low ebb, but +several eminent names belong to this period. Sir Thomas Lawrence was by +far the foremost English portrait painter, and fitly represents the +elegance of the regency, while Raeburn enjoyed an equal reputation in +Scotland. Turner, however, was painting in his earlier manner and showing +originality even in his imitations of old masters. Constable, too, was +producing some of those quiet English landscapes which, though little +appreciated at the time, have since made him famous. Two other English +landscape painters, Callcott and the elder Crome, were also in their +prime, and Wilkie executed several of his best known masterpieces at this +time. David Cox and Prout did not earn celebrity till a little later. The +Water-Colour Society was founded in 1804. Soon afterwards Flaxman was in +the zenith of his fame, being elected professor of sculpture by the Royal +Academy in 1810, and Chantrey was beginning to desert portrait painting +for statuary.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_333" id="TOPIC_333"></a>Science, especially in its practical applications, made greater strides +than art in the early years of the nineteenth century. It was now that +Jenner's memorable discovery of vaccination, dating from 1796, was +generally adopted by the medical profession. In 1802 his claim to priority +was recognised by a parliamentary committee, with the result that £10,000 +were then voted to him, and a further grant of £20,000 was made in 1807, +when vaccination was established at the Small-pox Hospital. In 1814, +George Stephenson, after many preliminary experiments, made a successful +trial of his first locomotive engine. In 1812, Bell's steamboat, the +<i>Comet</i> made its first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[Pg 428]</a></span> voyage on the Clyde, and the development of steam +navigation proceeded more rapidly than that of steam locomotion by land. +Sir Humphry Davy began his researches in 1800, and took part in that year, +with Count Rumford and Sir Joseph Banks, in founding the Royal +Institution. His invention of the safety lamp was not matured until 1815.</p> + +<p>But if the principal contributions of England to physical science in the +early years of the century were mainly in the direction of practical +application, her contributions to pure theory under the regency and in the +reign of William IV. were no less distinguished. Sir John Herschel, +following in the footsteps of his father, began in 1824 his observations +on double stars and his researches upon the parallax of fixed stars, while +Sir George Airy published in 1826 his mathematical treatises on lunar and +planetary theory. In Michael Faraday England possessed at once an eminent +chemist and the greatest electrician of the age. The discovery of benzine +and the liquefaction of numerous gases were followed by an investigation +of electric currents, and in 1831 by the crowning discovery of induction. +Not less valuable perhaps than these discoveries of his own were the +fertile suggestions which he left to others. William Smith, sometimes +called the father of modern English geology, vigorously followed up the +work of James Hutton by publishing in 1815 his great map of English +<i>strata</i> as identified by fossils. Charles Lyell's <i>Principles of Geology</i> +marks a great advance in geological science. In this book, which appeared +in 1833, the author advanced the view, now universally accepted, that the +great geological changes of the past are not to be explained as +catastrophes, followed by successive creations, but as the product of the +continuous play of forces still at work. This theory contained all that +was vital in the doctrine of evolution; but it was only at a later date, +when the doctrine had become the property of zoologists as well as +geologists and had been popularised by Darwin, that it came to exercise an +influence over non-scientific thought.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>UNIVERSITY REFORM.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_334" id="TOPIC_334"></a>A review of the literary and scientific progress of this period would be +incomplete without some notice of progress in higher education. The +universities of Oxford and Cambridge with their numerous colleges had in +the eighteenth century lapsed into that lethargic condition which seemed +to be the common<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[Pg 429]</a></span> fate of all corporations. They had to a certain extent +ceased to be seats of learning. At Oxford the limitations imposed upon +colleges by statute or custom in elections to fellowships and scholarships +ensured the mediocrity of the teachers and gave the preference to +mediocrities among the students. Where emoluments were not so restricted +they were generally awarded by interest rather than by merit; and it was +even the case that a scholarship at Winchester, carrying with it the right +to a fellowship at New College, was often promised to an infant only a few +days old. The Oxford examination system had not been reformed since the +time of Laud, and the degree examinations had degenerated into mere +formalities until the university in 1800 adopted a new examination +statute, mainly under the influence of Dr. Eveleigh, provost of Oriel. The +new statute, which came into operation in 1802, granted honours to the +better students of each year. The number of candidates to whom honours +were granted, at first very small, rapidly increased till in 1837 about +130 received honours in a single year. The attention which the examination +system received from the hebdomadal board, so often accused of +sluggishness, is proved by the frequent changes in the regulations, which +among other things differentiated between honours in "Literæ Humaniores" +and in mathematics in 1807, and separated the honours and pass +examinations in 1830. The same desire to encourage meritorious students +showed itself in the institution of competitive examinations for +fellowships, in which Oriel led the way. It was followed in 1817 by +Balliol, which in 1827 threw open its scholarships as well. It was not, +however, till the reign of Queen Victoria that the college statutes as a +whole were so modified as to make open competition possible in more than a +very few instances.</p> + +<p>Cambridge suffered less than Oxford from restrictions as to the choice of +fellows. In fact the majority of the fellowships, more especially of those +which carried with them a vote in the government of the colleges, were, so +far as the statutes went, open to all comers. Though the course of study +was still nominally regulated by statutes dating from the Tudor period, +which it would often have been ludicrous to enforce, an effective stimulus +was given to mathematical studies by the mathematical tripos, which had +existed from the middle of the eighteenth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[Pg 430]</a></span> century, and to which in 1824 a +classical tripos was added. The ground covered by these honour +examinations was certainly narrower than that which lay within the scope +of the corresponding examinations at Oxford, but at both places the +studies of most undergraduates were still directed more by the judgment of +their tutors than by the regulations of the university.</p> + +<p>These two universities were, however, subject to two limitations, which +prevented them from providing a higher education for all aspiring +students. The expense of living at Oxford and Cambridge, and the close +connexion of both universities with the Church of England, rendered them +difficult of access to many. These limitations were emphasised by the fact +that Scotland possessed five universities which were the opposite of the +English in both respects, and not a few English students could always be +found at the Scottish seats of learning. The reform ministry made a +serious effort to remove or alleviate the grievances of dissenters. Among +other reforms mooted was the abolition of theological tests for +matriculation and graduation. In 1834 a bill, which proposed to effect +this change, but which left intact such tests as existed for fellowships +and professorships, passed its second reading in the commons by a majority +of 321 against 174, and its third reading by 164 against 75. It was, +however, thrown out on the second reading in the lords by 187 votes +against 85. Though in this particular case the demands of the dissenters +were moderate, they were themselves opposed to other measures introduced +for their benefit, and the question of tests at Oxford and Cambridge was +not unnaturally allowed to rest for another twenty years.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>UNIVERSITY OF LONDON.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_335" id="TOPIC_335"></a>It was only in the reign of George IV. that anything was done to provide a +university education for those who were unable to proceed to the ancient +seats of learning. But the movement, once started, progressed rapidly. The +oldest of the university colleges, as they are now called, is St. David's +College, Lampeter, which was founded in 1822, mainly through the exertions +of Dr. Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St. David's, who was supported by many +others among the Welsh clergy. The college was opened in 1827, but at +first it had no power of conferring degrees, and contented itself with the +education of candidates for holy orders. A more important movement was +initiated in 1825. In a public letter written by the poet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[Pg 431]</a></span> Campbell to +Brougham, the project of founding a university of London, which should be +free from denominational restrictions, was advocated. The scheme was +warmly embraced by many whose names are found associated with other +movements of the times. Among them were Hume, Grote, Zachary Macaulay, +Dudley, and Russell. A large proportion of the promoters of the new +university had been educated at Scottish universities, and had therefore a +clear idea of the type of university which they might establish, and the +movement, although started primarily in the interests of dissenters, +received the support of many who still valued the connexion of the +universities with the Church. The "London University," as it was called, +was opened in 1828, when classes were formed in arts, law, and medicine, +but not in divinity. It was technically a joint-stock company, and the +attempt of the shareholders to obtain a charter of incorporation was +successfully resisted by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile some of the original supporters of the movement, regarding the +non-religious character of the new university with suspicion, had decided +to transfer their support to a new college, where the doctrine and worship +of the Church of England should be recognised. The Duke of Wellington took +a lively interest in this movement, and King George IV.'s patronage gave +the new institution the name of "King's College". There seemed every +reason to expect that the foundation would be on a munificent scale, when +Wellington's acceptance of catholic emancipation offended many of the +subscribers so deeply that they immediately withdrew from the undertaking, +and the college was in consequence left almost entirely without endowment. +State recognition, however, was given it from the first. It was +incorporated in 1829, and opened in 1831. In 1835 the demand of "London +University" for a charter received the support of the house of commons, +and Lord Melbourne's government decided to propose a compromise, by which +the so-called "London University" was to be converted into University +College, and an examining body was to be created under the title of the +University of London, while the work of teaching was to be performed by +University College, King's College, and other colleges, which might from +time to time be named by the crown. These terms were accepted by the +existing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[Pg 432]</a></span> "university," and charters were given to the new university and +to University College, London, in 1836. It was thus left open to students +or their parents to select either a denominational or an undenominational +college, according to their preference.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile another university had been founded in the north of England. The +dean and chapter of Durham had determined to set aside a part of their +emoluments for the foundation of a university, and the bishop had +undertaken to assist them by attaching prebendal stalls in the cathedral +to some of the professorships. An act of parliament was obtained in 1832, +authorising the establishment of the new university, which was opened in +October, 1833, and was incorporated by a royal charter on June 1, 1837. As +an ecclesiastical foundation, the university of Durham was of course in +the closest connexion with the established Church.</p> + +<p>None of these new foundations could compare in respect of endowments with +the old universities of Oxford and Cambridge, yet it was not altogether +without reason that the founders of University College, London, hoped to +give as good an education at a greatly reduced cost. It must be remembered +that only a small fraction of the endowments of the old universities and +their colleges was at this time applied to strictly educational purposes, +and, until they should either be reformed or become more sensible of their +opportunities, there was a fair field for an energetic rival.</p> + +<p>The beginning of the nineteenth century witnessed a marvellous expansion +of manufacturing industry, not so much caused by new discoveries as by the +energetic application of those made at the end of the last century, by the +growth of the factory-system, and, above all, by the monopoly of +English-made goods during the great war. The innovation of +machine-spinning and weaving by power-looms had an instant effect in +stimulating and cheapening the production of cottons, but that of +woollens, cramped by heavy duties on the raw material, languished for some +time longer under traditional methods of handspinning. When +stocking-frames and other forms of machinery penetrated at last into its +strongholds in the West Riding of Yorkshire and in the midland counties, +the demand for "hands" was inevitably reduced, and "frame-breaking"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</a></span> riots +ensued, which lasted for several years. From this period dates the +industrial revolution which gradually abolished domestic industries, +separated mill-owners and mill-hands into almost hostile classes, +undermined the system of apprenticeship, and brought about a large +migration of manufactures from centres with abundant water-power to +centres in close proximity to coal-fields.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_336" id="TOPIC_336"></a>The progress of British agriculture during the period under review was +almost as marked as that of British manufactures. Under the impulse of war +prices, and of the improvements adopted at the end of the eighteenth +century, the home-production of corn almost kept pace with the growing +consumption, and between 1801 and 1815 little more than 500,000 quarters +of imported corn were required annually to feed the population. No doubt, +when the price of bread might rise to famine-point, the consumption of it +fell to a minimum per head; still, the rural population continued to +multiply, though not so rapidly as the urban population, and neither could +have been maintained without a constant increase in the production of the +soil. This result was due to a progressive extension of enclosure and +drainage, as well as to wise innovations in the practice of agriculture. +Not the least important of such innovations was the destruction of useless +fences and straggling hedge-rows, the multitude and irregular outlines of +which had long been a picturesque but wasteful feature of old-fashioned +English farming. This was the age, too, in which many a small farm +vanished by consolidation, and many an ancient pasture was recklessly +broken up, some of which, though once more covered with green sward, have +never recovered their original fertility. Happily, the use of crushed +bones for manure was introduced in 1800, and the efforts of the national +board of agriculture, aided by the discoveries of Sir Humphry Davy, +brought about a far more general application of chemical science to +agriculture, partly compensating for the exhaustion of the soil under +successive wheat crops. Not less remarkable was the effect of mechanical +science in the development of new agricultural implements, which, however, +retained a comparatively rude form of construction. The Highland Society +of Scotland took a leading part in encouraging these gradual experiments +in tillage, as well as in the breeding of sheep and cattle, with a +special<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[Pg 434]</a></span> regard to early maturity. Had the farmers of Great Britain during +the great war possessed no more skill than their grandfathers, it would +have been impossible for the soil of this island to have so nearly +supported its inhabitants before the ports were freely thrown open.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_337" id="TOPIC_337"></a>The great triumphs of engineering in the fifteen years before the battle +of Waterloo were mainly achieved in facilitating locomotion, and are +specially associated with the name of Telford. It was he who, following in +the footsteps of Brindley and Smeaton, constructed the Ellesmere and +Caledonian Canals; he far eclipsed the fame of General Wade by opening out +roads and bridges in the highlands, and first adopted sound principles of +road-making both in England and Wales, afterwards to be applied with +marvellous success by Macadam. It is some proof of the impulse given to +land-travelling by such improvements that 1,355 public stage-coaches were +assessed in 1812, and that a rate of speed little short of ten miles an +hour was attained by the lighter vehicles. But Telford's labours were not +confined to roads or bridges; they extended also to harbours and to +canals, which continued to be the great arteries of heavy traffic until +the development of railways. The new power destined to supersede both +coaches and barges was first recognised practically when Bell's little +steam vessel the <i>Comet</i> was navigated down the Clyde in 1812, to be +followed not many years later by a steamship capable of crossing the +Atlantic Ocean. In a few years steam packets were numerous, but it was not +till well into the reign of Victoria that steam navigation was used in the +royal navy.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>RAILWAYS.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_338" id="TOPIC_338"></a>The most conspicuous improvement in the social and economic condition of +the country between 1815 and 1837 is undoubtedly the invention of the +steam locomotive engine. A few steam locomotives had been invented before +the former date, but they had met with little success and were as yet more +costly than horse traction. It was only in or about the year 1815 that +George Stephenson, enginewright in Killingworth colliery, succeeded in +inventing a locomotive engine which was cheaper than horse-power. The +value of railways was by this time better understood. Short railways +worked by horses were common in the neighbourhood of collieries, and a few +existed elsewhere. In 1821 Edward Pease obtained parliamentary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[Pg 435]</a></span> powers to +construct a railway between Stockton and Darlington. A visit to +Killingworth persuaded him to make use of steam-power. In 1823 an act +authorising the use of steam on the proposed railway was carried, and in +1825 the railway was opened. In 1826 an act was passed for the +construction of a railway between Liverpool and Manchester. Stephenson was +employed as engineer to make the line, and his success as a road-making +engineer proved equal to his brilliance as a mechanical inventor.</p> + +<p>In 1829 the line was completed. The directors were at first strongly +opposed to the use of steam-locomotion, but were induced by Stephenson, +before finally rejecting the idea, to offer a reward of £500 for the best +locomotive that could be made. Of four engines which were entered for the +competition, Stephenson's <i>Rocket</i> was the only one that would move, and +it proved able to travel at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour. The +opening of the railway in 1830, and the fatal accident to Mr. Huskisson +which attended it, have been noticed already. The accident did more to +attract attention to the power of the locomotive than to discredit it. The +opposition to railways was not, however, at an end. A proposal for a +railway between London and Birmingham was carried through parliament, only +after a struggle of some years' duration, but the construction of the line +was at length authorised in 1833. The English railway system now developed +with great rapidity, and by the end of the reign of William IV. lines had +been authorised which would when complete form a system, joining London +with Dover, Southampton, and Bristol, and both London and Bristol with +Birmingham, whence lines were to run to the most important places in +Yorkshire and Lancashire, and on to Darlington. Numerous small lines +served other portions of the country, partly in connexion with these, but +more often independently.</p> + +<p>Among the more conspicuous metropolitan improvements of this age may be +mentioned the introduction of gas and the incipient construction of new +bridges over the Thames, in which the engineer Rennie took a leading part. +Before the end of the eighteenth century the workshops of Boulton and Watt +had been lit by gas, and Soho was illuminated by it to celebrate the peace +of Amiens. By 1807 it was used in Golden Lane, and by 1809, if not +earlier, it had reached Pall Mall, but it scarcely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[Pg 436]</a></span> became general in +London until somewhat later. At the beginning of the century the +metropolis possessed but three bridges, old London bridge and the old +bridges at Blackfriars and Westminster. The first stone of the Strand +Bridge (afterwards to be called Waterloo Bridge) was laid on October 11, +1811, and Southwark Bridge was commenced in 1814, but these bridges were +not completed till 1817 and 1819 respectively. The existing London Bridge, +designed by Rennie, but built after his death, was completed in 1831. In +1812, the architect Nash was employed in laying out the Regent's Park, and +in 1813 an act was passed for the construction of Regent Street, as a +grand line of communication between it and Carlton House, the residence of +the regent.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_339" id="TOPIC_339"></a>The work of geographical discovery had been well commenced before the end +of the eighteenth century, and was inevitably checked during the great +war. The wonderful voyages of Cook had revealed Australia and New Zealand; +Flinders had carried on the survey of the Australian coast; Vancouver had +explored the great island which bears his name with the adjacent shores; +Rennell had produced his great map of India; Bruce had published his +celebrated travels in Abyssinia; and an association had been formed to +dispel the darkness that hung over the whole interior of Africa. Among its +first emissaries was Mungo Park, who afterwards was employed by the +British government, and died in the course of his second expedition in +1805-6. The idea of Arctic discovery was revived early in the nineteenth +century, and was no longer confined to commercial aims, such as the +opening of a north-east or north-west passage, but was rather directed to +scientific objects, not without the hope of reaching the North Pole +itself. Meanwhile, the ordnance survey of Great Britain itself was in full +progress, and that of British India was commenced in 1802, while the +hydrographical department of the admiralty, established in 1795, was +organising the system of marine-surveying which has since yielded such +valuable fruits.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_340" id="TOPIC_340"></a>The progress of philanthropy, based on religious sentiment was very marked +during the later years of the war. The institution of Sunday schools +between 1780 and 1790 had awakened a new sense of duty towards children in +the community, and the growing use of child-labour, keeping pace with the +constant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[Pg 437]</a></span> increase of machinery, forced upon the public the necessity of +legislative restrictions, which have been noticed in an earlier chapter. +Banks of savings, the forerunners of savings banks under parliamentary +regulation, had been suggested by Jeremy Bentham, and one at least was +instituted in 1802. The idea of penitentiaries, for the reformation as +well as for the punishment of criminals, had originated with the great +philanthropist, John Howard. It was adopted and popularised by Jeremy +Bentham, and might have been further developed but for the introduction of +transportation, which promised the well-conducted convict the prospect of +a new life in a new country. Meanwhile, prison reform became a favourite +study of benevolent theorists in an age when the criminal law was still a +relic of barbarism, when highway robbery was rife in the neighbourhood of +London, when sanitation was hardly in its infancy, when pauperism was +fostered by the poor law, and when the working classes in towns were +huddled together, without legal check or moral scruple, in undrained +courts and underground cellars. So capricious and shortsighted is the +public conscience in its treatment of social evils.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>CANADA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_341" id="TOPIC_341"></a>At the opening of the nineteenth century the colonial empire of Great +Britain was in a transitional state. The secession of thirteen American +colonies had not only robbed the mother country of its proudest +inheritance, but had also shattered the old colonial system of commercial +monopoly for the supposed benefit of British interests. Its immediate +effect was to annul the navigation act as affecting American trade, which +became free to all the world, and by which Great Britain itself profited +largely. Canada at once gained a new importance, and a new sense of +nationality, which Pitt recognised by dividing it into two provinces, and +giving each a considerable measure of independence, both political and +commercial. It was troubled by the presence of a conquered race of white +colonists side by side with new colonists of English blood, who were, +however, united in their resistance to the revolted colonies in the war of +1812-14. After the war a steady stream of immigration poured into Canada. +In 1816 the population was estimated at 450,000; between 1819 and 1829 +Canada received 126,000 immigrants from England, and during the next ten +years 320,000. The result was that the French element ceased to be +preponderant,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[Pg 438]</a></span> except in Lower Canada. The French Canadians felt that they +did not enjoy their share of the confidence of government; the home +government, ready enough to grant any favour that home opinion would +permit, was trammelled by a public opinion, which suspected all who were +of a French origin of a desire to restore the supremacy of the Roman +Catholic religion and to assert political independence. A vacillating +policy was the result, which only increased suspicions, and led in the +first year of the reign of Victoria to a civil war.</p> + +<p>In the Mauritius and the West Indies the one event of importance in this +period is the abolition of slavery. It was found impossible to obtain from +free negroes as much work as had been obtained from slaves, and their +place had to be supplied by Indian coolies in the Mauritius, and by +Chinese in Jamaica. At the same time the West Indies had begun to suffer +from the competition of the United States.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_342" id="TOPIC_342"></a>The colony of the Cape of Good Hope was still peopled almost entirely by +blacks or by the descendants of Dutch settlers, known as <i>boers</i>, or +peasants. Four thousand British colonists went out in 1820 to Algoa Bay, +but these were a mere handful compared with the Dutch. Unfortunately the +government adopted a line of policy which produced great irritation in the +Dutch population. They were granted no self-government, and in 1826 +English judicial forms were introduced, and English was declared the sole +official language. The reform administration made matters worse by +defending the blacks against the boers. In 1834 it set free the slaves, +offering £1,200,000, payable in London, very little of which ever reached +the boers, as compensation for slaves valued at £3,000,000. A Kaffir war +in 1834 had led to the conquest of Kaffraria, but in 1835 the home +government restored the independence of the Kaffirs, and appointed a +lieutenant-governor to defend their rights. After this the boers +considered their position intolerable, and in 1835 began their first +"trek" into the country now known as Natal.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>AUSTRALIA.</i></div> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_343" id="TOPIC_343"></a>Meanwhile, the great discoveries of Captain Cook, and the first settlement +of New South Wales, brought within view a possible extension of our +colonial dominion, which might go far to compensate for its losses on the +North American continent. Governor Phillip had been sent out by Pitt to +Botany Bay in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[Pg 439]</a></span> 1787-88, but it was many years before the earliest of +Australian colonies outgrew the character of a penal refuge for English +convicts. The first convict establishments were at Sydney and Norfolk +Island, but another settlement was founded on Van Diemen's Land in 1805, +and in 1807, after this island had been circumnavigated by Flinders and +Bass, it became the headquarters of that convict system, whose horrors are +not yet forgotten. Between 1810 and 1822 the resources of New South Wales +were vastly developed by the energetic policy of Governor Macquarie. While +his efforts to utilise convict labour, and to educate convicts into free +men, may have retarded the influx of genuine colonists, he prepared the +way for settlement by constructing roads, promoting exploration, and +raising public buildings, so that when he returned home the population of +New South Wales had increased fourfold, and its settled territory in a +much greater proportion. This territory comprised all English settlements +on the east coast, and included large tracts of what is now known as +Queensland, which did not become a separate colony until 1859.</p> + +<p><a name="TOPIC_344" id="TOPIC_344"></a>The early history of Australia, it has been said, is chiefly a tale of +convict settlements, bush-ranging, and expeditions of discovery. There is +much truth in this saying, but the real basis of Australian prosperity was +the introduction of sheep-farming on a large scale, after the merino-breed +had been imported and acclimatised by Macarthur at the beginning of the +century. Long before the region stretching northward from the later Port +Phillip grew into the colony of Victoria, sheep-owners were spreading over +the vast pastures of the interior, though many years elapsed before the +explorer Sturt opened out the great provinces further westward.</p> + +<p>The development of Australia made rapid progress during the generation +following the great war. Though Australia itself and Van Diemen's Land, +now called Tasmania, were still in the main convict settlements, free +settlers had been arriving at Sydney for some time, and in 1817 they began +to arrive in moderate numbers in Van Diemen's Land. In 1825 that island +had sufficiently progressed to be recognised as a separate colony. The +attempt to found a colony in western Australia in 1829 was, on the other +hand, an almost complete failure. But in 1824 a new centre of colonisation +in New South Wales<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[Pg 440]</a></span> had been established at Port Phillip. Meanwhile a +sharp cleavage of parties had arisen. The convicts and poorer colonists +were opposed to the large sheep-owners, who were endeavouring to form an +aristocracy. Governor Macquarie favoured the convicts, and Governor +Darling (1825-31) the sheep-owners. In 1823 a legislative council, +consisting of seven officials, had been instituted; in 1828 it was +developed into one of fifteen members, chosen entirely from among the +wealthiest colonists.</p> + +<p>Gibbon Wakefield's <i>Letter from Sydney</i>, published in 1829, marks an epoch +in the history of Australian colonisation. In this work he proposed that +the land should be sold in small lots at a fairly high price to settlers, +and that the proceeds of the sales should be used to pay the passage of +emigrants going out as labourers. This idea had hardly been published when +it was adopted by the home government, and five shillings an acre was +fixed as the minimum price of land. The number of emigrants increased +rapidly, but the new system threatened ruin to the owners of sheep-runs. +Unable to pay the stipulated price, they only moved further into the +interior and occupied fresh land without seeking government permission, an +unlicensed occupation which has left its mark upon the language in the +word "squatter". At last in 1837 a compromise was arranged, by which the +squatters were to pay a small rent for their runs, the crown retaining the +freehold with the right to sell it to others at some future date. In 1834 +the British government sanctioned the formation of a new colony, that of +South Australia. It was to be settled from the outset on the Wakefield +system, and no convicts were ever sent to it. The first lots were sold as +high as twelve shillings an acre, and in 1836 a company of emigrants went +out and founded Adelaide.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[Pg 441]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="APPENDICES" id="APPENDICES"></a>APPENDICES.</h2> + +<div style="margin-left:50%;"> +<div style="margin-left:-9em;"> +<ol class="ru gap2"> +<li><a href="#APPENDIX_I">ON AUTHORITIES.</a></li> + +<li><a href="#APPENDIX_II">ADMINISTRATIONS, 1801-1837.</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[Pg 443]</a></span></li> +</ol> +</div> +</div> + + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="APPENDIX_I" id="APPENDIX_I"></a>APPENDIX I.</h2> + +<h3>ON AUTHORITIES.<a name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a></h3> + + +<p>(1) General histories of England for the period 1801-1837: <span class="smcap">Massey</span>, +<i>History of England during the Reign of George the Third</i> (4 vols., 2nd +ed., 1865), closes with the treaty of Amiens in 1802, and therefore barely +touches this period. There is still room for a general history of England +on an adequate scale between 1802 and 1815. After that date we have +<span class="smcap">Harriet Martineau</span>, <i>History of England during the Thirty Years' Peace</i> +(1816-1846, 2 vols., 1849, 1850). This was begun by Charles Knight, the +publisher, who brought it down to 1819. From 1820 onwards it is Miss +Martineau's own work. It is too nearly contemporary to depend on any +authorities except such as were published at the time, and it represents +in the main the popular view of public events and public men held by +liberals at the time. Sir <span class="smcap">Spencer Walpole's</span> <i>History of England from the +Conclusion of the Great War in 1815</i> (6 vols., revised ed., 1890), a work +of high quality and thoroughly trustworthy, full of references to the best +published authorities, sympathises with the whigs and more liberal tories. +Reference is sometimes made in this volume to <span class="smcap">Goldwin Smith</span>, <i>The United +Kingdom, a Political History</i> (2 vols., 1899), but the work is too slight +to be regarded as an authority. Sir <span class="smcap">T. E. May's</span> (Lord Farnborough) +<i>Constitutional History of England from 1760 to 1860</i> (3 vols., 10th ed., +1891) is also useful.</p> + +<p>(2) The <i>Annual Register</i> is probably the most useful authority for this +period. In addition to more general information, it contains a very full +report of the more important parliamentary debates and the text of the +principal public treaties and of numerous other state papers. The +narrative is not often coloured by the political partisanship of the +writer, but allowance must be made for the strong tory bias of the volumes +dealing with the reign of William IV. The <i>Parliamentary History</i> closes +in 1803, at which date Cobbett's <i>Parlia<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[Pg 444]</a></span>mentary Debates</i> had begun to +appear. After 1812 Cobbett ceased to superintend the work and his name was +dropped, and in 1813 and afterwards the title-page acknowledged that the +work was "published under the superintendence of T. C. Hansard," who had +also been the publisher of Cobbett's series and of the <i>Parliamentary +History</i>.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE.</i></div> + +<p>(3) Political and other memoirs and printed correspondence. The following +have been noticed among the authorities for volume x.: <span class="smcap">Pellew</span>, <i>Life and +Correspondence of H. Addington, Viscount Sidmouth</i> (3 vols., 1847), very +full wherever Sidmouth was directly concerned, written with a strong bias +in favour of the subject of the biography. Lord <span class="smcap">Stanhope</span>, <i>Life of Pitt</i> +(4 vols., 3rd ed., 1867). The appendix to the last volume contains Pitt's +correspondence with the king in the years 1804-1806. Lord <span class="smcap">Rosebery</span>, <i>Pitt</i> +(Twelve English Statesmen Series, 1891), brilliant but not always sound. +Lord <span class="smcap">John</span> (Earl) <span class="smcap">Russell</span>, <i>Memorials and Correspondence of C. J. Fox</i> (4 +vols., 1853-1854), and <i>Life and Times of C. J. Fox, 1859-1866</i>. <i>Memoirs +of the Courts and Cabinets of George III.</i> (4 vols., 1853-1855; 1801 falls +in vol. iii.), continued in <i>Memoirs of the Court of England during the +Regency</i> (2 vols., 1856), <i>Memoirs of the Court of George IV.</i> (2 vols., +1859), and <i>Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and +Victoria</i> (2 vols., 1861; 1837 is reached in vol. i.); these volumes, +edited by the Duke of Buckingham, contain the correspondence of the +Grenville family. The first series alone, which contains many important +letters of Lord Grenville, is of first-rate importance. The editing is +often inaccurate. <i>Diaries and Correspondence of the First Earl of +Malmesbury</i> (4 vols., 1844), edited by the third earl (vol. iv. extends +from February, 1801, to July, 1809), authoritative and useful, especially +for the crisis of 1807. <i>Correspondence of Marquis Cornwallis</i> (3 vols., +1859), edited by C. Ross, valuable for the negotiations at Amiens and for +Cornwallis's brief second governor-generalship of India. The notes are +full of useful biographical material concerning the persons mentioned in +the correspondence. <i>Diaries and Correspondence of George Rose</i> (2 vols., +1860), edited by L. V. Harcourt. <i>The Diary and Correspondence of Charles +Abbot, Lord Colchester</i>, edited by his son (3 vols., 1861, extending from +1795 to 1829), with interesting notices of Perceval, and generally useful +from 1802-1817, when Abbot was Speaker. Lord <span class="smcap">Holland</span>, <i>Memoirs of the Whig +Party</i> (2 vols., 1852), edited by his son, Lord Holland. These memoirs do +not extend beyond the year 1807. Volume ii., which covers the period +during which Holland was a member of the Grenville cabinet, is of special +importance. His memory is not always accurate, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[Pg 445]</a></span> he writes with a whig +bias which makes him a harsh judge of George III. Holland's <i>Further +Memoirs of the Whig Party, 1807-1821</i>, edited by Lord Stavordale, the +present Lord Ilchester (1905), interesting, and, like the earlier volumes, +full of personal detail, but of less value, since Holland was not in +office again till 1830.</p> + +<p>Similar in character to the above, but only of importance after 1801 are +the following: <i>Life of Perceval</i> (2 vols., 1874), by his grandson, Sir +Spencer Walpole, written largely from the Perceval papers, especially +valuable for the ministerial crisis of 1809. The <i>Memoirs and +Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh</i> (12 vols., 1850-1853), edited by +his brother the third Marquis of Londonderry, consisting mainly of +military and diplomatic correspondence. Sir <span class="smcap">Archibald Alison</span>, <i>Lives of +Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, the Second and Third Marquesses +of Londonderry</i> (3 vols., 1861), much more political than biographical; +valuable and appreciative, but not rich in documents. <i>The Dispatches of +the Duke of Wellington during his various Campaigns in India, Denmark +[etc.], from 1799 to 1818</i> (12 vols., 1834-1838), compiled by +Lieut.-Colonel <span class="smcap">Gurwood</span> (really extending to 1815 only); <i>Supplementary +Despatches and Memoranda of the Duke of Wellington</i> (15 vols., 1858-1872), +edited by his son, the second Duke of Wellington, extending from 1797 to +1818; <i>Despatches, Correspondence, and Memoranda of the Duke of +Wellington</i> (8 vols., 1867-1880), by the same editor, extending from 1819 +to 1832. The second and third of these series contain not only the duke's +despatches, but the vast mass of political correspondence which passed +through his hands. In spite of the great size of the collection, very +little that can be considered trivial is included. It is our most +important authority for all foreign relations between 1815 and 1827, and +between 1828 and 1830. Sir <span class="smcap">Herbert Maxwell</span>, <i>The Life of Wellington</i> (2 +vols., 1899). <span class="smcap">Horace Twiss</span>, <i>Life of Eldon</i> (3 vols., 1844). <span class="smcap">C. Phipps</span>, +<i>Memoir of R. Plumer Ward</i> (2 vols., 1850), containing important political +correspondence from 1801 onward, and Ward's diary from 1809 to 1820. Ward +held numerous minor offices in the government and was on terms of intimacy +with Perceval and Mulgrave. <span class="smcap">Moore</span>, <i>Life of Sheridan</i> (2 vols., 1826), +valuable for the crisis of 1811. <i>The Greville Memoirs; a Journal of the +Reigns of King George IV. and King William IV.</i> (3 vols.), edited by Henry +Reeve. References are to the first edition, 1874. New edition, also +including 1837-1860 in 8 vols. (1888). Greville was clerk to the privy +council from 1821 to 1859, and as such possessed exceptional opportunities +for making himself acquainted with secret political transactions and with +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[Pg 446]</a></span> personal qualities of successive statesmen. <i>The Creevey Papers</i> (2 +vols., 1903), edited by Sir Herbert Maxwell, not of first-rate historical +importance, full of gossip and scandal. Creevey was a whig member of +parliament, 1802-1818, 1820-1828 and 1831-1832, and treasurer of the +ordnance, 1830-1834. <span class="smcap">Stapleton</span>, <i>The Political Life of George Canning +(from September 1822 to August 1827)</i> (3 vols., 1831), very full and +valuable, especially for foreign relations; strikingly deficient in +documents and dates. <i>George Canning and His Times</i> (1859), by the same +author, largely written from memory and therefore untrustworthy. <span class="smcap">Yonge</span>, +<i>Life and Administration of Lord Liverpool</i> (3 vols., 1868). <i>Memoirs of +Sir Robert Peel</i> (2 vols., 1856-1857), prepared by Peel himself, and +dealing with the Roman Catholic question, the administration of 1834-1835, +and the repeal of the corn laws. The memoirs, which are of the highest +importance, consist mainly of correspondence and are studiously fair. +<span class="smcap">Parker</span>, <i>Sir Robert Peel</i> (3 vols., 1891-1899), a large collection of +Peel's correspondence with a brief connecting narrative by the editor, of +great value even for the periods covered by the <i>Memoirs</i>. <i>The +Correspondence of King William IV. and Earl Grey, from November 1830 to +June 1832</i> (2 vols., 1867), edited by Henry, Earl Grey, valuable for the +history of the reform. <i>The Melbourne Papers</i> (1889), edited by Sanders, +throw light on Melbourne's relations with William IV. and with Brougham. +<span class="smcap">Torrens</span>, <i>Memoirs of Melbourne</i> (2 vols., 1878), polemical, and sadly +deficient in documents. Lord <span class="smcap">Hatherton</span>, <i>Memoir and Correspondence +relating to June and July, 1834</i> (published 1872), edited by H. Reeve, on +events connected with the fall of Grey's ministry. <i>The Croker Papers</i> (3 +vols., 1884), edited by L. J. Jennings. Croker was secretary to the +admiralty from 1809 to 1830. The papers, which are very full from 1809 +onwards, consist of correspondence and selections from Croker's journals +and correspondence. <span class="smcap">L. Horner</span>, <i>Memoir of Francis Horner</i> (1843). <span class="smcap">E. +Herries</span>, <i>Public Life of J. C. Herries</i> (1880), a defence of Herries +against the sneers of whig writers. Lord <span class="smcap">Dudley</span>, <i>Letters to the Bishop of +Llandaff</i> (Copleston), (1840), and <i>Letters to Ivy</i> (1905, edited by +Romilly), interesting and often vivacious, but not of first-rate +importance. Sir <span class="smcap">Henry Bulwer</span> (Lord Dalling), <i>Life of Palmerston</i> (2 +vols., 1870), extending to 1840. The first chapter of a third volume, +edited by Evelyn Ashley (1874) makes good a few omissions belonging to +this period. The work consists mainly of correspondence and extracts from +Palmerston's journal. <i>Memoirs of Baron Stockmar</i> (2 vols., 1872-1873), by +his son Baron E. von Stockmar, edited by F. Max Müller. Stockmar was a +confi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[Pg 447]</a></span>dential agent of Leopold, King of the Belgians. The memoirs contain +a narrative by William IV. of the political history of his reign to 1835, +including the circumstances of Melbourne's resignation in 1834. <span class="smcap">Campbell</span>, +<i>Lives of the Chancellors</i> (8 vols., 1848-1869). The last volume contains +excellent sketches of Lyndhurst and Brougham, based largely on personal +knowledge. <i>Correspondence of Princess Lieven and Earl Grey, 1824-1834</i>, +edited by G. le Strange (1890). <i>Letters of Dorothea, Princess Lieven +during Her Residence in London, 1812-1834</i>, edited by L. G. Robinson +(1902). <i>Letters of Harriet, Countess Granville, 1810-1845</i> (2 vols., +1894).</p> + +<p>(4) Miscellaneous books. Sir <span class="smcap">G. C. Lewis</span>, <i>Administrations of Great +Britain (1783-1830)</i>, edited by Sir E. Head, 1864, has been mentioned +among the authorities for volume x. It is a valuable history of the inner +political life of England, but suffers from a strong whig bias. <span class="smcap">Lecky</span>, +<i>History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century</i> (5 vols., 1892), though +nominally closing at the union, throws light on Irish history at the +beginning of the nineteenth century. <span class="smcap">A. V. Dicey</span>, <i>Lectures on the +Relation between Law and Public Opinion in England during the Nineteenth +Century</i> (1905), is very suggestive. <span class="smcap">Halévy</span>, <i>La formation du radicalisme +philosophique</i> (3 vols., 1901-1904), and Sir <span class="smcap">L. Stephen</span>, <i>The English +Utilitarians</i>, vols. i., ii. (1900), are valuable for the history of the +radical party. <span class="smcap">C. Creighton</span>, <i>History of Epidemics in Britain</i> (2 vols., +1894), contains an excellent account of the cholera epidemic.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ON THE GREAT WAR.</i></div> + +<p>(5) Books dealing with the great war are numerous. The following have been +already noticed among the authorities for volume x.: Dr. <span class="smcap">Holland Rose</span>, +<i>Life of Napoleon I.</i> (2 vols., 1904), our most trustworthy guide for the +career of the French emperor. The book has gained not a little from its +author's independent researches at the British Foreign Office. Captain +<span class="smcap">Mahan</span>, <i>Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire</i> (2 +vols., 1893), and <i>Life of Nelson</i> (2 vols., 1897), valuable for their +general view of the naval warfare and commercial policy of the period. +<span class="smcap">James</span>, <i>Naval History of Great Britain, 1793-1820</i> (6 vols., ed. 1826; +vols. iii.-vi. extend from 1801-1820), very full and accurate, largely +used in this volume for the American war. Sir <span class="smcap">John Laughton</span>, <i>Nelson</i> +(English Men of Action Series, 1895), and articles in the <i>Dictionary of +National Biography</i>.</p> + +<p>To these must be added <span class="smcap">Alison's</span> <i>History of Europe from the Commencement +of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in +1815</i> (20 vols., 1847, 1848), an uncritical but still a standard work. The +reaction against Alison is probably due in large measure to political +causes. In addition to the European history which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[Pg 448]</a></span> gives its title to the +book, it contains a narrative of the American war of 1812-1814. The +classical though far from trustworthy narrative on the French side is +<span class="smcap">Thiers</span>, <i>Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire</i> (21 vols., 1845-1869), +translated into English by Campbell and Stebbing (12 vols., 1893-1894). +See also <span class="smcap">Lanfrey's</span> incomplete <i>History of Napoleon I.</i>, English +translation (4 vols., 1871-1879), bitterly anti-Napoleonic. The +negotiations precedent to the outbreak of war in 1803 are to be found in +Mr. <span class="smcap">O. Browning's</span> <i>England and Napoleon in 1803</i>, containing despatches of +Whitworth and others, published in 1887, and in <span class="smcap">P. Coquelle</span>, <i>Napoleon and +England, 1803-1813</i>, translated by <span class="smcap">G. D. Knox</span> (1904), based on the reports +of Andréossy, the French ambassador at London. Sir <span class="smcap">H. Bunbury's</span> <i>Narrative +of Certain Passages, etc.</i> (1853) is of the highest value for the war in +the Mediterranean. The <i>Times</i> of September 16, 19, 22, 26, 28, 30, and +October 19, 1905, contains an excellent series of articles on Nelson's +tactics at Trafalgar. For the Moscow campaign, the Marquis <span class="smcap">de Chambray's</span> +<i>Histoire de l'Expédition de Russie</i> (3 vols., 1839) is perhaps the most +reliable of contemporary narratives. There is a good account of the +campaign in the Rev. <span class="smcap">H. B. George's</span> <i>Napoleon's Invasion of Russia</i> +(1899). For the Peninsular war, <span class="smcap">W. Napier's</span> <i>History of the War in the +Peninsula and in the South of France</i> (6 vols.; vols. i.-iii., ed. +1835-1840; iv.-vi., 1834-1840) is of the highest literary as well as +historical value. <span class="smcap">C. Oman's</span> <i>History of the Peninsular War</i> (in progress, +vols. i., ii., 1902-1903, extending at present to September, 1809) makes +good use of Spanish sources of information. The <i>Wellington Dispatches</i> +have been noticed already in section 3. The <i>Diary of Sir John Moore</i>, +edited by Sir J. F. Maurice (2 vols., 1904), is of value for the campaign +of 1808-1809. For Waterloo, in addition to Maxwell's <i>Life of Wellington</i>, +and Rose's <i>Life of Napoleon I.</i>, Chesney's <i>Waterloo Lectures</i>, 1868; <span class="smcap">W. +O'Connor Morris</span>, <i>The Campaign of 1815</i> (1900), and <span class="smcap">J. C. Ropes</span>, <i>The +Campaign of Waterloo</i>, may be studied with profit. Morris's work must, +however, be discounted for his extravagant admiration of Napoleon's genius +and his faith in the Grouchy legend. For the disputes with the United +States and war of 1812-1814, see chapters in the <i>Cambridge Modern +History</i> (vol. vii., 1903); <span class="smcap">Bourinot</span>, <i>Canada</i> (Story of the Nations), +(1897); <span class="smcap">J. Schouler</span>, <i>History of the United States of America under the +Constitution</i> (6 vols., 1880-1889); and <span class="smcap">Mahan</span>, <i>Sea Power in Its Relations +to the War of 1812</i> (2 vols., 1905).</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS.</i></div> + +<p>(6) For European politics and foreign relations generally, in addition to +some of the books mentioned in the last section, we have <span class="smcap">C.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[Pg 449]</a></span> A. Fyffe's</span> +<i>History of Modern Europe, 1792-1878</i> (ed. 1895), a very readable book, +which includes the results of some original study, and <span class="smcap">Seignobos</span>, +<i>Political History of Contemporary Europe</i>, English translation (2 vols., +1901), an useful but not always accurate book. The great French work, +<i>Histoire générale du IV<span style="vertical-align:super">e</span> Siècle à nos jours</i> (vols. ix., x., 1897-1898), +by numerous authors, edited by MM. Lavisse and Rambaud, is naturally of +varying merit; the chapters on France and Russia are the best, and there +is a very full bibliography at the close of each chapter. The <i>Cambridge +Modern History</i>, vol. ix., <i>Napoleon</i> (1906), is a similar compilation by +English writers. <span class="smcap">Alfred Stern's</span> <i>Geschichte Europas seit den Verträgen von +1815</i> (3 vols., 1894-1901, to be continued to 1871) is perhaps the best +general history of the period following the great war. <i>The Memoirs of +Prince Metternich</i> (5 vols., English translation, 1881-1882, edited by +Prince Richard Metternich, extending to 1835) contain much that is +valuable for diplomatic history. For French history see <span class="smcap">Duvergier de +Hauranne</span>, <i>Histoire du gouvernement parlementaire en France</i> (1814-1848, +10 vols., 1857-1872), which, in spite of the title, does not extend beyond +1830. For the Greek revolt, vols. vi. and vii. of <span class="smcap">G. Finlay's</span> <i>History of +Greece</i> (7 vols., ed. 1877) are important. American policy is treated by +<span class="smcap">J. W. Foster</span>, <i>A Century of American Diplomacy</i> (1901). Sir <span class="smcap">Edward +Hertslet's</span> <i>Map of Europe by Treaty</i> (4 vols., 1875-1891), while +professedly confined to the treaties dealing with boundaries, contains the +majority of those of general historical interest. It covers the period +1815-1891. <span class="smcap">Le Comte de Garden</span>, <i>Histoire générale des traités de paix</i> (14 +vols., 1848-1888, vols. vi.-xv., extending to 1814), and <span class="smcap">F. de Martens</span>, +<i>Recueil des traités et conventions, conclus par la Russie</i> (tomes xi., +xii. (Angleterre), 1895-1898), contain the principal treaties belonging to +the period. The <i>Castlereagh</i> and <i>Wellington</i> <i>Despatches</i> have been +noticed under section 3.</p> + +<p>(7) For Indian history: <span class="smcap">James Mill</span> and <span class="smcap">Wilson</span>, <i>History of British India</i> +(10 vols., 1858), vols. vi.-ix., noticed as an authority for volume x., +ends in 1835; Sir <span class="smcap">Alfred C. Lyall's</span> <i>Rise and Expansion of the British +Dominion in India</i> (1894) contains a brief and masterly sketch of the +subject. See also <i>A Selection from the Despatches, Treaties and Other +Papers of the Marquess Wellesley</i> (1877), well edited by S. J. Owen; the +first two series of the <i>Wellington Dispatches</i>, noticed under section 3; +and the vast mass of information collected in Sir <span class="smcap">W. W. Hunter's</span> <i>Imperial +Gazetteer of India</i> (14 vols., 1885-1887).</p> + +<p>(8) For social and economic history: Dr. <span class="smcap">W. Cunningham's</span> <i>The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[Pg 450]</a></span> Growth of +English Industry and Commerce in Modern Times</i>, vol. iii., <i>Laissez Faire</i> +(1903), extending from 1776 to 1850, is now the standard work. Reference +has also been made to <span class="smcap">G. R. Porter</span>, <i>Progress of the Nation</i> (1847), a +work abounding more in statistics than in narrative, and to Sir <span class="smcap">George +Nicholls</span>, <i>History of the English Poor Law</i> (2 vols., 1854). Nicholls took +an active interest in social and economic questions from 1816 till his +death in 1857. He probably understood the working of the poor-law better +than any other man of that date, and the poor-law legislation of 1834 and +1838 was largely founded on his suggestions. He was one of the poor-law +commissioners of 1834, and was permanent secretary to the poor-law board +from 1847 to 1851. Sir <span class="smcap">G. C. Lewis</span>, <i>The Government of Dependencies</i> +(1891), edited by C. P. Lucas, and <span class="smcap">Lucas</span>, <i>Historical Geography of the +British Colonies</i>, vols. i.-v. (1888-1901), are of value. For literary +history, <span class="smcap">Saintsbury's</span> <i>History of Nineteenth Century Literature, +1780-1895</i>, (1896), is an excellent guide. For educational progress at +Oxford University reference may be made to the <i>Report of H.M.'s +Commissioners appointed to inquire into the State, etc., of the University +and Colleges of Oxford</i> (1852), which contains a good historical summary. +The report of the similar commission appointed for Cambridge hardly +touches the progress of studies, and is therefore of less value to the +historical student.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> The dates given are, as far as possible, those of the +editions used by the authors of this volume.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[Pg 451]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + + +<h2><a name="APPENDIX_II" id="APPENDIX_II"></a>APPENDIX II.</h2> + +<h3>ADMINISTRATIONS, 1801-1837.</h3> + + +<p class="center gap2">1. ADDINGTON, <span class="smcap">March</span>, 1801.</p> + +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Addington Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury and chanc. exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">H. Addington.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="5" class="hangindent right" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="5" class="bottom top" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td rowspan="3" valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Duke of Portland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Pelham, <i>succeeded</i> July, 1801.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">C. P. Yorke, <i>succeeded</i> Aug., 1803.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Hawkesbury.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Hobart.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Chatham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Portland, <i>succeeded</i> July, 1801.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Eldon.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Westmorland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl St. Vincent.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Chatham, <i>appointed</i> June, 1801.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Auckland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Lewisham (July, 1801, Earl of Dartmouth), <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Castlereagh, <i>succeeded</i> July, 1802 <i>admitted to cabinet</i> Oct., 1802.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Hardwicke, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. P. Yorke, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">C. Bragge, <i>succeeded</i> Aug., 1803, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">2. PITT, <span class="smcap">May</span>, 1804.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Pitt Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury and chanc. exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">W. Pitt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[Pg 452]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="5" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="5" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Lord Hawkesbury.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Harrowby.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Mulgrave, <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1805.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Camden.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Castlereagh, <i>succeeded</i> July, 1805.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Portland (after Jan., 1805, <i>without office in cabinet</i>).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Sidmouth (<i>before</i> H. Addington), <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1805.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Camden, <i>succeeded</i> July, 1805.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Eldon.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Westmorland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Melville (<i>before</i> H. Dundas).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Barham, <i>succeeded</i> May, 1805.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Chatham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Montrose.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Castlereagh.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Mulgrave, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Buckinghamshire (<i>before</i> Lord Hobart), <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1805, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Harrowby, <i>succeeded</i> July, 1805, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Hardwicke, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Powis, <i>succeeded</i> Nov., 1805, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">W. Dundas, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">3. GRENVILLE, <span class="smcap">February</span>, 1806.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Grenville Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Grenville.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="4" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="4" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Earl Spencer.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. J. Fox.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Howick, <i>succeeded</i> Sept.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">W. Windham</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Fitzwilliam (after Oct., <i>without office in cabinet</i>).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Sidmouth, <i>succeeded</i> Oct.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Erskine.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Sidmouth.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Holland, <i>succeeded</i> Oct.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[Pg 453]</a></span><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord H. Petty.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. Grey (April, Viscount Howick).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">T. Grenville, <i>succeeded</i> Sept.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Moira.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Chief justice, King's bench</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Ellenborough, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Bedford, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">R. Fitzpatrick, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class="center gap2">4. PORTLAND, <span class="smcap">March</span>, 1807.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Portland Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Portland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="3" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Lord Hawkesbury (1808 Earl of Liverpool).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">G. Canning.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Castlereagh.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Camden.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Eldon.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Westmorland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Chanc. exchequer and duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">S. Perceval.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Mulgrave.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Chatham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Bathurst, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">R. S. Dundas, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of (<i>before</i> Lord) Harrowby, <i>succeeded</i> July, 1809, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Richmond, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Sir J. Pulteney, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord G. Leveson Gower, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1809, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + + +<p class="center gap2">5. PERCEVAL, <span class="smcap">October</span>, 1809.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Perceval Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury, chanc. exchequer and duchy of Lancaster</i><a name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a></td> + <td class="hangindent">S. Perceval.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="5" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="5" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">R. Ryder.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Bathurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis Wellesley, <i>succeeded</i> Dec., 1809.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Castlereagh, <i>succeeded</i> March, 1812.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Liverpool.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[Pg 454]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Camden (after April, 1812, <i>without office in cabinet</i>).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Sidmouth, <i>succeeded</i> April, 1812.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Eldon.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Westmorland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Mulgrave.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">C. P. Yorke, <i>succeeded</i> May, 1810.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Chatham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Mulgrave, <i>succeeded</i> May, 1810.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Bathurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Richmond, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">6. LIVERPOOL, <span class="smcap">June</span>, 1812</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Liverpool Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Liverpool.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="5" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="5" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Viscount Sidmouth (after Jan., 1822, <i>without office in cabinet</i>).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">R. Peel, <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1822.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Castlereagh (1821 Marquis of Londonderry).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">G. Canning, <i>succeeded</i> Sept., 1822.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Bathurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Harrowby.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Eldon (1821 Earl of Eldon).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Westmorland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">N. Vansittart.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">F. J. Robinson, <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1823.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Melville (<i>before</i> R. S. Dundas).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Mulgrave (Sept., 1812, Earl of Mulgrave), (from 1818-May, 1820, <i>without office in cabinet</i>).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Wellington, <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1819.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Clancarty, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">F. J. Robinson,<a name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a> <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1818, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">W. Huskisson,<a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a> <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1823, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="4" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Buckinghamshire, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">G. Canning, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1816, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">C. B. Bathurst, <i>succeeded</i> Jan., 1821, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[Pg 455]</a></span>C. W. Wynn, <i>succeeded</i> Feb., 1822, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Master of the mint</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Clancarty, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">W. W. Pole (1821 Lord Maryborough), <i>succeeded</i> Sept., 1814, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">T. Wallace, <i>succeeded</i> Oct., 1823, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. B. Bathurst (<i>before</i> C. Bragge).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">N. Vansittart (March, 1823, Lord Bexley), <i>succeeded</i> Feb., 1823.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Without office</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Camden (Sept., 1812, Marquis Camden), <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="4" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Richmond, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Whitworth (1815 Earl Whitworth), <i>succeeded</i> Aug., 1813, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Talbot, <i>succeeded</i> Oct., 1817, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis Wellesley, <i>succeeded</i> Dec., 1821, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + + +<p class="center gap2">7. CANNING, <span class="smcap">April</span>, 1827.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Canning Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury and chanc. exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">G. Canning.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="4" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="4" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">W. S. Bourne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Lansdowne (<i>before</i> Lord H. Petty), <i>succeeded</i> July.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Dudley.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Goderich (<i>before</i> F. J. Robinson).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Harrowby.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Lyndhurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Portland (<i>after</i> July, <i>without office in cabinet</i>).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Carlisle, <i>succeeded</i> July.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord high admiral</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Clarence, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade and treasurer of navy</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">W. Huskisson.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. W. Wynn.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Master of the mint</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">T. Wallace, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">G. Tierney, <i>succeeded</i> May, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>First commissioner of woods and forests</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[Pg 456]</a></span></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. Arbuthnot, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Carlisle <i>succeeded</i> May, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">W. S. Bourne, <i>succeeded</i> July, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Bexley.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Without office</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Lansdowne, May-July, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis Wellesley, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + + +<p class="center gap2">8. GODERICH, <span class="smcap">September</span>, 1827.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Goderich Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Goderich.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="3" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Marquis of Lansdowne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl (<i>before</i> Viscount) Dudley.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">W. Huskisson.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Portland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Lyndhurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Carlisle.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">J. C. Herries.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord high admiral</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Clarence, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Anglesey, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade and treasurer of navy</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. Grant.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. W. Wynn.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Master of the mint</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">G. Tierney.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First commissioner of woods and forests</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">W. S. Bourne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Bexley.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis Wellesley, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">9. WELLINGTON, <span class="smcap">January</span>, 1828.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Wellington Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Wellington.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="5" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="5" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">R. (May, 1830, Sir R.) Peel.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Dudley.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Aberdeen, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1828.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="2" valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">W. Huskisson.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Sir G. Murray, <i>succeeded</i> May, 1828.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Bathurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Lyndhurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Ellenborough.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Rosslyn, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1829.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">H. Goulburn.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Clarence (<i>lord high admiral</i>), <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Melville, <i>succeeded</i> Sept., 1828, <i>in cabinet</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[Pg 457]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade and treasurer of navy</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. Grant.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">W. V. Fitzgerald, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1828.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Melville.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Ellenborough, <i>succeeded</i> Sept., 1828.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Master of the mint</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">J. C. Herries.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Aberdeen, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">C. Arbuthnot, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1828, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Anglesey, Feb., 1828, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Northumberland, <i>succeeded</i> Feb., 1829, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Sir H. Hardinge, <i>succeeded</i> May, 1828, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">10. GREY, <span class="smcap">November</span>, 1830.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Grey Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl Grey (<i>before</i> Viscount Howick).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="5" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="5" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Viscount Melbourne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Goderich.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">E. G. Stanley, <i>succeeded</i> March, 1833.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">T. S. Rice, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1834.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Lansdowne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Brougham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Durham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Ripon (<i>before</i> Viscount Goderich) <i>succeeded</i> April, 1833.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Carlisle, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1834.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Althorp.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Sir J. R. Graham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Auckland, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1834.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Auckland, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">C. P. Thomson, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1834.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. Grant.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Master of mint</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Auckland, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">J. Abercromby, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1834, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Holland, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Postmaster-general</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Richmond, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Conyngham, <i>succeeded</i> June, 1834, <i>not in cabinet</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[Pg 458]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Holland, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Paymaster of forces</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord J. Russell, <i>admitted to cabinet</i> June, 1831.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Without office</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Carlisle (to June, 1834).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Anglesey, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis Wellesley, <i>succeeded</i> Sept., 1833, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="3" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Chief secretary for Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">E. G. Stanley, <i>admitted to cabinet</i> June, 1831.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Sir J. C. Hobhouse, <i>succeeded</i> March, 1833, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">E. J. Littleton, <i>succeeded</i> May, 1833, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="4" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. W. Wynn, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Sir H. Parnell, <i>succeeded</i> April, 1831, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Sir J. Hobhouse, <i>succeeded</i> Feb., 1832, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">E. Ellice, <i>succeeded</i> April, 1833, <i>admitted to cabinet</i> June, 1834.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">11. MELBOURNE, <span class="smcap">July</span>, 1834.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of first Melbourne Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Melbourne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="3" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Viscount Duncannon.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">T. S. Rice.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Lansdowne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Brougham.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Mulgrave.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Althorp.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Auckland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade and treasurer of navy</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. P. Thompson.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. Grant.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Master of mint</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">J. Abercromby.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First commissioner of woods and forests</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Sir J. C. Hobhouse, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Holland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Paymaster of forces</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord J. Russell.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis Wellesley, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">E. Ellice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[Pg 459]</a></span></td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">PROVISIONAL ADMINISTRATION, <span class="smcap">November</span>, 1834.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Provisional Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Wellington.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="3" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Duke of Wellington.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Wellington.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Wellington.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Lyndhurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Denman.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">12. PEEL, <span class="smcap">December</span>, 1834.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of Peel Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury and chanc. exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Sir R. Peel.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="3" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">H. Goulburn.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Duke of Wellington.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Aberdeen.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Rosslyn.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Lyndhurst.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Wharncliffe.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl de Grey.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Ordnance</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Sir G. Murray, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade and master of the mint</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">A. Baring.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Ellenborough.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Paymaster of forces</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Sir E. Knatchbull.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Haddington, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">J. C. Herries.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<p class="center gap2">13. MELBOURNE, <span class="smcap">April</span>, 1835.</p> +<table style="width:100%" summary="Members of second Melbourne Administration."> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>First lord of treasury</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Melbourne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td rowspan="3" class="right hangindent" style="width:25%"><i>Secretaries of state</i></td> + <td rowspan="3" class="bottom top hangindent" style="width:3%"> </td> + <td valign="top" style="width:17%"><i>home</i></td> + <td style="width:55%" class="hangindent">Lord J. Russell.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top"><i>foreign</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Palmerston.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td valign="top" class="xbottom hangindent"><i>war and colonies</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. Grant (May, 1835, Lord Glenelg).</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord president</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Marquis of Lansdowne.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Lord chancellor</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Great seal in commission.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Cottenham, <i>appointed</i> Jan., 1836.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord privy seal</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Duncannon.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Chancellor of exchequer</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">T. S. Rice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[Pg 460]</a></span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" rowspan="2" valign="top" class="hangindent"><i>Admiralty</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Auckland.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Minto, <i>succeeded</i> Sept., 1835.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of trade</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">C. P. Thompson.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Board of control</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Sir J. C. Hobhouse.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Duchy of Lancaster</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Lord Holland, <i>in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Lord-lieutenant Ireland</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Earl of Mulgrave, <i>not in cabinet</i>.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="3" class="hangindent"><i>Secretary at war</i></td> + <td class="hangindent">Viscount Howick.</td> + </tr> +</table> + + +<div class="footnotes gap2"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> On May 23, 1812, after Perceval's death, the Earl of +Buckinghamshire was appointed chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> Also treasurer of the navy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[Pg 461]</a></span></p></div> +</div> + +<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h2> + +<p class="indnewlet"><a name="Ind_Abbot_Charles" id="Ind_Abbot_Charles"></a>Abbot, Charles (afterwards Lord Colchester), speaker, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Abdallah, Pasha of Acre, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Abercromby, James (afterwards Lord Dunfermline), master of the mint, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">speaker, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Abercromby, Sir Ralph, general, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aberdeen, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aberdeen, Earl of (Gordon), <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the duchy, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Åbo, treaty of, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Abolition of slavery, acts for the, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>-<a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>-<a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Abolition of slave trade, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Abrantes, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Abyssinia, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Academy, Royal. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Acarnania, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Acre, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Acte Additionnel</i>, the, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Adams, John Quincy, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Addington_Henry" id="Ind_Addington_Henry"></a>Addington, Henry (afterwards Viscount Sidmouth), <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of treasury and chancellor of exchequer, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">relations with Pitt, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>-<a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">attacked by Pitt, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">his adherents, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">becomes Viscount Sidmouth and lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in cabinet without office, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retirement, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Addington, John Hiley, M.P., <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Adelaide, <a href="#Page_440">440</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Adelaide, Princess of Saxe-Meiningen (afterwards queen of William IV.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Adige, river, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Adour, river, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Adrianople, peace of, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ægean islands, the, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">sea, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ætolia, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Afghánistán, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>-<a href="#Page_414">414</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with East India Company, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first Afghán war, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Africa, interior of, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Agra, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Agriculture, condition of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ahmadnagar, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Airy, Sir George, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aix, island, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aix-la-Chapelle, conference of, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Akkerman, treaty of, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alava, Spanish admiral, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Albuera, battle, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Albuquerque, Duke of, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alcantara, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alemtejo, province, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alessandria, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alexander the Great, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alexander I., Tsar of Russia, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>-<a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>-<a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>-<a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alexandria, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle and capitulation of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retention by England, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">expeditions to, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention of, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Algarve, province, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Algeciras, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Algiers, Dey of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bombardment of, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conquest of, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Algoa bay, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alliance, La Belle, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"All the Talents" ministry. See <a href="#Ind_Ministries">ministries, Grenville's</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Almaraz, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Almeida, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Almora, treaty of, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alps, the, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alsace, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Alten, Count, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Althorp, Viscount (afterwards third Earl Spencer), <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>-<a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>-<a href="#Page_345">345</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[Pg 462]</a></span>Amager, island, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Amascoas, battle, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Ambigu, L'</i>, newspaper, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Amelia, Princess (daughter of George III.), <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">America, British North, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See also <a href="#Ind_Canada">Canada</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">America, South, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See also <a href="#Ind_Spain">Spain</a> and <a href="#Ind_Portugal">Portugal</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Amherst, Earl, governor-general of Bengal, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Amherstburg, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Amiens, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">negotiations, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>-<a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">preliminary treaty, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">definitive treaty, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Amír Khán, Pindárí leader, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Andalusia, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Anglesey, Marquis of. See <a href="#Ind_Paget_Lord">Paget, Lord</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Angoulême, Duke of. See <a href="#Ind_Louis_Antoine">Louis Antoine, dauphin</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ansbach, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Anti-Duelling Association, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Antioch, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Antwerp, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>, <a href="#Page_386">386</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Apsley House. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aragon, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Arakan, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aranjuez, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Arapiles hills, the, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Archangel, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Archipelago, the, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Arcis-sur-Aube, battle, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Arcot, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Arden, Lord (Perceval), <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Argáum, battle, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Argentine" id="Ind_Argentine"></a>Argentine, the (La Plata), <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Argus</i>, the, American ship, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Arkwright, Sir Richard, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Arta, gulf of, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Artois, Count of. See <a href="#Ind_Charles_X">Charles X. of France</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ascot races, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Ashley_Lord" id="Ind_Ashley_Lord"></a>Ashley, Lord (Ashley-Cooper), afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Asia Minor, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aspern, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Aspropotamo, river, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Assam, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Assaye, battle, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Astorga, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>-<a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Attwood, Thomas, M.P., <a href="#Page_335">335</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Auchmuty, Sir Samuel, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Auckland, first Lord (Eden), president of the board of trade, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Auckland, second Lord (Eden), afterwards Earl of, first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">governor-general of India, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Auerstädt, battle, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Augusta, Princess of Hesse, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Augusta, Princess (daughter of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Austen, Jane, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Austerlitz, battle, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Australia" id="Ind_Australia"></a>Australia, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>-<a href="#Page_440">440</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">New South Wales, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Queensland, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">South Australia, <a href="#Page_440">440</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Victoria, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">West Australia, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Austria" id="Ind_Austria"></a>Austria, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">guarantees independence of Malta, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with France, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">third coalition, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Ulm and peace of Pressburg, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">struggle with France, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>-<a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with England, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Bavaria, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">piece of Vienna, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">national bankruptcy, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with France, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">attacks North Italy, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">diplomacy, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-<a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>-<a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">truce with Russia, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Ried, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Teplitz, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with France, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">alliance with Murat, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1814, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Chaumont, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Fontainebleau, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Vienna, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>-<a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret treaty of Vienna, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">acquires Venetia and Lombardy, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">holy alliance, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with the Two Sicilies, Tuscany, Modena and Parma, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Troppau, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Laibach, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">army in Italy, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Verona, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at London, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at St. Petersburg, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">joins conference of London, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret convention at Münchengrätz, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention at Berlin, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ava. See <a href="#Ind_Burma">Burma</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Azores, islands, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Azzara, Chevalier, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Bacon, Lord, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Badajoz, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>-<a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baden, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baghdad, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bailey, Old. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baird, David (afterwards Sir David), general, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>-<a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Balkans, the, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baltic, the, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Baltic_Battle" id="Ind_Baltic_Battle"></a>Baltic, battle of the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baltimore, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[Pg 463]</a></span>Banda Oriental. See <a href="#Ind_Uruguay">Uruguay</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bank charter acts, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bank of England, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">notes made legal tender, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bank restriction act, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bankes, Henry, M.P., <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Banks, Sir Joseph, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Barcelona, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Barclay, Commander, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Barham_Lord" id="Ind_Barham_Lord"></a>Barham, Lord (Sir Charles Middleton), first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baring, Alexander (afterwards Lord Ashburton), <a href="#Page_304">304</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of board of trade and master of the mint, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baring, Francis (afterwards Lord Northbrook), <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Barlow, Sir George, governor-general of Bengal, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Barnstaple, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Baroda" id="Ind_Baroda"></a>Baroda, Gáekwár of, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Barrosa, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Basque provinces, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Basque roads, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bass, George, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bassein, treaty of, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Batavian republic. See <a href="#Ind_Holland">Holland</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bath, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bath (Holland), <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bathurst, Charles Bragge-. See <a href="#Ind_Bragge_Charles">Bragge, Charles</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bathurst, Earl, president of the board of trade, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Battersea Fields. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bautzen, battle, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Bavaria" id="Ind_Bavaria"></a>Bavaria, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Austria, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Ried, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Baylen, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bayonne, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">road to, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Beachy Head, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Beauharnais, Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Beauharnais, Eugène, viceroy of Italy, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bedford, Duke of (Russell), lord lieutenant of Ireland, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Beilan, pass, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Beira, province, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Belgium" id="Ind_Belgium"></a>Belgium, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Prince of Orange proclaimed, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">troops, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Waterloo campaign, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>-<a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">united to Holland, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">revolution, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>-<a href="#Page_382">382</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">elects Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg king, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Holland, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention with Holland, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Belgrade, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bell, Henry, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Belleisle, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Bellerophon</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Belliard, French general, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bellingham, John, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Benevente, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bengal, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_410">410</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bentham, Jeremy, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bentinck, Lord William, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">governor-general of India, <a href="#Page_410">410</a>-<a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berár, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See <a href="#Ind_Nagpur">Nágpur</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berbice, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Beresford, Lord George, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Beresford, William (afterwards Lord and later Viscount), <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berezina, river, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berkeley, Vice-admiral, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berkshire, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berlin, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention at, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berlin decree, the, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bernadotte, Marshal (afterwards Charles XIV. of Sweden), <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Berry, Duke of, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bessarabia, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bessborough, Earl of (Ponsonby), <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bessières, Marshal, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Betanzos, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bexley, Lord. See <a href="#Ind_Vansittart">Vansittart, Nicholas</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bhartpur, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Bickersteth_Henry" id="Ind_Bickersteth_Henry"></a>Bickersteth, Henry (afterwards Lord Langdale), <a href="#Page_363">363</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bidassoa, river, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bilbao, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Birmingham, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Biscay, province, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bishopp, British officer, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blackburn, Francis, attorney-general for Ireland, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blackfriars. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blackheath. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Blackwood's Magazine</i>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>-<a href="#Page_425">425</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bladensburg, battle, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blake, Spanish general, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blandford, Marquis of (Churchill), afterwards Duke of Marlborough, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blanketeers, the, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blomfield, bishop of London, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Blücher, Marshal, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Waterloo campaign, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>-<a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>-<a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bohemia, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bombay, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[Pg 464]</a></span>Bona, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bonaparte, Joseph, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>-<a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">King of Naples, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">King of Spain, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bonaparte, Josephine (wife of Napoleon), <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bonaparte, Louis, King of Holland, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Bonaparte" id="Ind_Bonaparte"></a>Bonaparte, Napoleon, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>-<a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>-<a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>-<a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>-<a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">concordat with the pope, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">refuses overtures of peace, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">meets Cornwallis, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">elected president of the Italian republic, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">plans for the invasion of England, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">attacked by French exiles in London, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">consul for life, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Fox presented to him, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">annexes Piedmont, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">mediates in Switzerland and Germany, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">schemes of colonial expansion, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Whitworth, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>-<a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">declared emperor, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">plots against his life, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">coronations, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Ulm and Austerlitz, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Jena and Auerstädt, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Eylau, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Friedland, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">meets Alexander, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">"continental system," <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>-<a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>-<a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">manifesto, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">at Erfurt, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Eckmühl and Wagram, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Borodino, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Leipzig, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">marriage with Maria Louisa, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">fiscal policy, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first abdication, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in Spain, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Russia, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>-<a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1813, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>-<a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Lützen and Bautzen, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Dresden, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1814, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">La Rothière, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Arcis-sur-Aube, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Fontainebleau, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Elba, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">"The Hundred Days," <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Ligny, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Quatre Bras, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Waterloo, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second abdication, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">St. Helena, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">designs on India, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>-<a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bond, Nathaniel, M.P., <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bonnymuir, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bordeaux, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">road to, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bordeaux, Henry, Duke of. See <a href="#Ind_Chambord_Count">Chambord, Count of</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Borisov, battle, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Borodino, battle, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bosphorus, the, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Boston (United States), <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Botany Bay, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Boulogne, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Boulton, Matthew, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bourbon, island, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bourbon, Duke of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bourne, W. Sturges, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first commissioner of woods and forests, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Braga, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Bragge_Charles" id="Ind_Bragge_Charles"></a>Bragge, Charles (afterwards Bragge-Bathurst), <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brahmaputra, the, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Braine l'Alleud, Belgian village, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brand, M.P., <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brazil, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">commercial treaty with England, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brereton, Colonel, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Breslau, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brest, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brewster's <i>Encyclopædia</i>, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Bridgwater Treatises</i>, the, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brienne, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brighton, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brindley, James, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bristol, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">British Association, the, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brittany, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brock, Major-general, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Broke, Captain, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brooks's club. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brougham, Henry (afterwards Lord Brougham and Vaux), <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>-<a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>-<a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord chancellor, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">legal reforms, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Broussa, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brown, American commander, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bruce, Michael, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brünn, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brunswick, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brunswick (Charles), Duke of, <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brunswick (Frederick William), Duke of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brunswick, troops, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brunswick clubs, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Brussels, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>-<a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Bucentaure</i>, the, French ship, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bucharest, treaty of, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Buckingham, Marquis of (Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville), afterwards Duke of, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Buckingham palace. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Buckinghamshire, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Buckinghamshire, third Earl of (Hobart), <a href="#Page_1">1</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[Pg 465]</a></span>Buckinghamshire, fourth Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Hobart_Lord">Hobart, Lord</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Buckland, William, Dean of Westminster, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Buenos Ayres, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bukowina, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bulgaria, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bull-baiting, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"Bullion committee," the, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bülow, Frederick William von, General, afterwards Count, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bulwer, Edward Lytton (afterwards Lord Lytton), <a href="#Page_426">426</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burdett, Sir Francis, M.P., <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>-<a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burgess, Thomas, bishop of St. Davids, <a href="#Page_430">430</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burgos, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burgundy, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burke, Edmund, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burlington Heights, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Burma" id="Ind_Burma"></a>Burma, first Burmese war, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with East India Company, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burnes, Sir Alexander, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burns, Robert, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Burrard, Sir Harry, general, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bussaco, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Butrinto, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Buxton, Thomas Fowell, M.P., <a href="#Page_326">326</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Bylandt, Dutch general, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Byron, Lord, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>-<a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Cachar, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cadiz, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>-<a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>-<a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cadoudal, Georges, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cairo, capture of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Calabria, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Calcott, Sir Augustus, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Calcutta, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Calder, Sir Robert, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Caledonian canal, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cambridge. See <a href="#Ind_Universities">Universities</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cambridge (Adolphus), Duke of (son of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cambridgeshire, <a href="#Page_175">175</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Camden, Earl (Pratt), afterwards Marquis Camden, secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in cabinet without office, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Camelford, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Campbell, Lord, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Campbell, Sir Archibald, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Campbell, Sir Neil, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Campbell, Thomas, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Canada" id="Ind_Canada"></a>Canada, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">attacked by the United States, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>-<a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Candia. See <a href="#Ind_Crete">Crete</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cannes, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Canning, George, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub"><i>jeux d'esprit</i>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>-<a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>-<a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>-<a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>-<a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Canning, Sir Stratford (afterwards Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe), <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Canterac, Spanish general, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Canterbury, archbishop of (Howley), <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cape Finisterre, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cape Formoso, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cape of Good Hope, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cape St. Vincent, battle, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cape Trafalgar, battle, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Capodistrias, Greek president, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carcassonne, road to, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carinthia, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carlile, agitator, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carlisle, sixth Earl of (Howard), first commissioner of woods and forests, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in cabinet without office, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carlos, Don. <a href="#Page_389">389</a>-<a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carlsbad, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carlton House. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carlyle, Jane Welsh, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carlyle, Thomas, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carnot, French statesman, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Caroline" id="Ind_Caroline"></a>Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (afterwards queen of George IV.), <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>-<a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Carr, R. J., bishop of Worcester, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cartwright, Edmund, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cartwright, Major, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Casimir-Perier, French premier, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Caspian Sea, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Castalla, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Castaños, Francisco Xavier de, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Castlereagh_Viscount" id="Ind_Castlereagh_Viscount"></a>Castlereagh, Viscount (Stewart), afterwards second Marquis of Londonderry, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>-<a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>-<a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>-<a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>-<a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[Pg 466]</a></span>death, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Catalonia, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cathcart, Lord (afterwards Viscount, later Earl of), <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Catholic Apostolic Church, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Catholic Association, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>-<a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Catholic emancipation, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>-<a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">abandoned, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">opposition to, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">carried, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cato Street conspiracy, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cattaro, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Caulaincourt, French diplomatist, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cawnpur, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Census, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ceylon, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chadwick, Edwin, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chambéry, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Chambord_Count" id="Ind_Chambord_Count"></a>Chambord, Count de, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chambray, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Champagne, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Champlain, lake, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chandos, Marquis of (Brydges-Chandos-Temple-Grenville), afterwards second Duke of Buckingham, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">"Chandos clause," <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chantrey, Sir Francis Legatt, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charity Commission, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charleroi, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Charles_X" id="Ind_Charles_X"></a>Charles, Count of Artois (afterwards Charles X. of France), <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charles IV., King of Spain, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charles XII., King of Sweden, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charles XIII., King of Sweden and Norway, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charles, Archduke, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charles Albert, Prince, of Carignano (afterwards King of Sardinia), <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charles Emmanuel II., King of Sardinia, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charles Felix, King of Sardinia, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charlotte, Princess (daughter of the Prince Regent), <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>-<a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charlotte, Queen-dowager of Würtemburg (daughter of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charlotte, queen of George III., <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Charlotte, queen of John VI. of Portugal, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chartism, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chassé, D. H., Dutch general, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chateauguay, battle of river, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chatham, Earl of (John Pitt), lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master-general of the ordnance, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Châtillon-sur-Seine, congress at, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chaumont, treaty of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">extended at Paris, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chauncey, Commodore, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cherbourg, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chesapeake Bay, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">estuary, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Chesapeake</i>, the, American frigate, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chesney, Francis Rawdon, colonel, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chester, bishop of (Sumner), <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chichagov, Russian general, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chichester, first Earl of (Pelham), <a href="#Page_1">1</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chile, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">China, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">coolies, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chios, island, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chippewa, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chiswick, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chittagong, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chítu, Pindárí leader, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cholera, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Christian, Prince (afterwards Christian VIII. of Denmark), <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Chrystler's Farm, battle, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Church, Sir Richard, general, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Church, Irish, temporalities act, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>-<a href="#Page_325">325</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Church rates, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Church, Scottish, <a href="#Page_360">360</a> n., <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Church, states of the. See <a href="#Ind_Papal_States">Papal states</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cilicia, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cinque Ports, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cintra, convention of, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Cisalpine_Republic" id="Ind_Cisalpine_Republic"></a>Cisalpine republic (Italian republic), <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ciudad Real, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ciudad Rodrigo, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>-<a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Civil list, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clancarty, Earl of (Le Poer-Trench), <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clare election, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clare, Earl of (Fitzgibbon), <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clarence (William), Duke of. See <a href="#Ind_William_IV">William IV</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clarke, Mrs., <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clarkson, Thomas, philanthropist, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clausel, General, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>-<a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cleves, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clinton, Sir Henry, general, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clive, Lord, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Clyde, the, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Coa, river, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Cobbett" id="Ind_Cobbett"></a>Cobbett, William, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub"><i>Weekly Register</i>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Coblenz, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cochrane, Lord (afterwards Earl of Dundonald), <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[Pg 467]</a></span>Codrington, Admiral, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Coercion acts (Irish), <a href="#Page_330">330</a>-<a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Coimbra, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Colchester, Lord. See <a href="#Ind_Abbot_Charles">Abbot, Charles</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cole, General (afterwards Sir) G. L. <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Colle, La, Mill, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Collingwood, Admiral, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Collingwood, the Lord</i>, British ship, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cologne, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Colombia, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Combermere, Lord (Cotton), afterwards Viscount, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Combination laws, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Comet</i>, the, steamboat, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Concordat, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Congreve rockets, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"Conservative," origin of name, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Constable, John, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Constantinople, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Constitution</i>, the, American frigate, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Continental system, the, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>-<a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>-<a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Convention act (Irish), <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Conyngham, Marquis of, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cook, Captain, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cooke, General, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Coorg, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Copenhagen, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>-<a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See <a href="#Ind_Baltic_Battle">Baltic, battle of the</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Copley_John" id="Ind_Copley_John"></a>Copley, Sir John (afterwards Lord Lyndhurst), <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>-<a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>-<a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>-<a href="#Page_372">372</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord chancellor, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Corn, price of, <a href="#Page_7">7</a> n., <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Corn laws, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cornwall, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cornwall (Canada), <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cornwall, revenues of duchy of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cornwallis, Admiral, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cornwallis, Marquis, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master-general of ordnance, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">negotiates treaty of Amiens, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>-<a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">warns England, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">governor-general of Bengal, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Corporation act, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Corporation act (Irish), <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Coruña, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cottenham, Lord. See <a href="#Ind_Pepys_Charles">Pepys, Sir Charles</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Countries, the Low. See <a href="#Ind_Belgium">Belgium</a> and <a href="#Ind_Holland">Holland</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cowper, William, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cox, David, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cracow, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cradock, Sir John, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Craig, Sir James, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">governor of Canada, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Craufurd, Robert, general, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Crete" id="Ind_Crete"></a>Crete, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Criminal law, reform of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Croker, John Wilson, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Crome, John, the elder, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cronstadt fleet, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cuba, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cuesta, Spanish general, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cumberland (Ernest), Duke of (son of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Curtis, Roman Catholic archbishop of Dublin, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Curwen, John Christian, M.P., <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Cuttack, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Czartoryski, Prince Adam, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Czernowitz, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Dakáiti, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dalmatia, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Duke of. See <a href="#Ind_Soult">Soult, Marshal</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dalrymple, Sir Hew, general, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Danube, the, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Danubian principalities. See <a href="#Ind_Moldavia">Moldavia</a> and <a href="#Ind_Wallachia">Wallachia</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Danzig, surrender of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dardanelles, the, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Darling, Governor, <a href="#Page_440">440</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Darlington, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Darnley, Earl of (Bligh), <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dartmouth, Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Lewisham_Viscount">Lewisham, Viscount</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Darwin, Charles, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Daulat Ráo Sindhia. See <a href="#Ind_Sindhia">Sindhia</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Davoût, Marshal, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Davy, Sir Humphry, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dawson, George, M.P., <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"Days, the Hundred." See <a href="#Ind_Bonaparte">Bonaparte, Napoleon</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dearborn, American general, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Decaen, French general, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Deccan, the, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Delaborde, French officer, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Delaware, estuary, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Delhi, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>-<a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Demerara, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Denman, Thomas (afterwards Lord Denman), <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Denmark, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>-<a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>-<a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties of Kiel, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">loses Norway, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[Pg 468]</a></span>Dennewitz, battle, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">De Quincey, Thomas, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Derby, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Derby, twelfth Earl of (Smith-Stanley), <a href="#Page_277">277</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Derbyshire, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Derry, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Desnoëttes, General Lefebvre-, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Despard, Edward Marcus, colonel, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Detroit, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Devonshire, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Devonshire, Duke of (Cavendish), <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">D'Eyncourt. See <a href="#Ind_Tennyson_Charles">Tennyson, Charles</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dickens, Charles, <a href="#Page_426">426</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Diebitsch, Russian general, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dijon, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Disraeli, Benjamin (afterwards Earl of Beaconsfield), <a href="#Page_426">426</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Dissenters" id="Ind_Dissenters"></a>Dissenters, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">disabilities of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>, <a href="#Page_430">430</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Donauwörth, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dost Muhammad, Amír of Kábul, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Douro, the, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dover, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Downs, the, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Drake, British envoy, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dresden, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dropmore, seat of Lord Grenville, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Drummond, Sir Gordon, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dublin, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">castle, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">police bill, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">archbishop of (Whately), <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Roman Catholic archbishop of (Curtis), <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Duckworth, Sir John, admiral, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dudley, Viscount and Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Ward_J_W">Ward, J. W.</a></p> + +<p class="indmain">Duhesme, French general, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dumont, Pierre Étienne Louis, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Duncannon, Viscount (Ponsonby), afterwards Earl of Bessborough, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Duncombe, Thomas S., M.P., <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dundas, Sir David, commander-in-chief, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Dundas_Henry" id="Ind_Dundas_Henry"></a>Dundas, Henry (afterwards first Viscount Melville), <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">impeachment, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Dundas_Robert" id="Ind_Dundas_Robert"></a>Dundas, Robert S. (afterwards second Viscount Melville), president of board of control, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of board of control, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dundee, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Dupont, General, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Durham. See <a href="#Ind_Universities">Universities</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Durham, Lord (Lambton), afterwards Earl of, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">East India Company. See <a href="#Ind_India">India</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">East Retford, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ebrington, Viscount (Fortescue), afterwards second Earl Fortescue, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ebro, the, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ecclefechan, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ecclesiastical commission, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Eckmühl, battle, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Edgeworth, Maria, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Edgware Road. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Edinburgh, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Edinburgh Review</i>, the, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Education, national, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Irish, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Edwards, George, informer, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Egmont, Earl of (Perceval), <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Egypt, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention of Alexandria, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">peace of Kiutayeh, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Elba, island, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Elbe, the, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Eldon, Lord (Scott), afterwards Earl of Eldon, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord chancellor, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a> n., <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>-<a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Elections, general. See <a href="#Ind_Parliament">Parliament</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Eliot, Lord (afterwards Earl of St. Germans), <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Elizabeth, Princess (daughter of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n., <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ellenborough, first Lord (Law), lord chief justice, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ellenborough, second Lord, afterwards Earl (Law), <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ellesmere canal, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ellice, Edward, secretary at war, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Elphinstone, Mountstuart, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Elsinore, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Elvas, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Embargo act (United States), <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Emmet, Robert, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Empire_Holy_Roman" id="Ind_Empire_Holy_Roman"></a>Empire, Holy Roman, dissolved, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Lunéville, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Enghien, Duke of, murder of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">England, negotiates with France, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>-<a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conquests, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">signs treaty of Amiens, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">industrial and agricultural depression, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>-<a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>-<a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">fresh discord with France, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war declared against France, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">preparations for invasion, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[Pg 469]</a></span>third coalition, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Russia, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>:</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Sweden, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">expeditions to Naples, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Anglo-Hanoverian expedition to North Germany, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">negotiations with France, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">state of army in 1806, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1807, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1813, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">troops in Sweden, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">troops in Denmark, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">orders in council, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">commercial warfare, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Spanish junta, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Walcheren expedition, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>-<a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>:</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Austria, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Sweden declares war on, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with Russia and Sweden, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with United States, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>-<a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>-<a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Stockholm, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties of Reichenbach, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Teplitz, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Ried, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Kiel, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Chaumont, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Fontainebleau, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Ghent, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">visit of the allied sovereigns, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Spain, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Vienna, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>-<a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Waterloo campaign, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">union of Irish and English exchequers, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">expedition against the Barbary States, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conferences of Vienna, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Troppau, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">the Eastern question, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>-<a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>-<a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Verona, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">assists Portugal, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>-<a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">commercial treaty with Brazil, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conferences of London, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at St. Petersburg, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with United States, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of London, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with Portugal, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention of Alexandria, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention with France and Holland, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">triple and quadruple alliances, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>-<a href="#Page_391">391</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with Indian states, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Persia, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Epirus, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Erfurt, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Erie, lake, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Erlon, d', French general, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Erskine, Lord, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord chancellor, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Esdremadura, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Espinosa, battle, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Essequibo, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Essex, <a href="#Page_175">175</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Essling, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Etruria, kingdom of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Euphrates, the, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Evans, De Lacy (afterwards Sir de Lacy), <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Eveleigh, Dr., <a href="#Page_429">429</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Evora, convention at, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ewart, William, M.P., <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Exchange, Royal. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Exeter, bishop of (Phillpotts), <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Exmouth, Lord (Pellew), afterwards Viscount, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Eylau, battle, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Fabvier, Colonel, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Factory acts, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>-<a href="#Page_328">328</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Falmouth, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Faraday, Michael, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fath Ali, Sháh of Persia, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fauvelet, French agent, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fawkes, Guy, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ferdinand III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ferdinand IV., King of the Two Sicilies, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ferdinand VII., King of Spain, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ferrol, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ferronays, De la, French foreign minister, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Finance, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>-<a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">income and property tax, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">currency reform, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fines, act for abolition of, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Finland, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Finn, W. F., M.P., <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fischer, Danish commander, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fitzgerald, Vesey, M.P., <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fitzherbert, Mrs., <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fitzwilliam, Earl, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in cabinet without office, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Flaxman, John, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fletcher, Colonel, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fleurus, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Flinders, Matthew, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Florence, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Florida, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Flushing, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fontainebleau, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">decree <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[Pg 470]</a></span>Fort Erie, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fortescue, first Earl, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fort George, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fort Sandusky, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fouché, French politician, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fox, Charles James, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>-<a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>-<a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">relations with George III., <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">abolition of slave trade, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Foy, French general, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">France, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>-<a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties of Lunéville and Aranjuez, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Florence, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">negotiations resulting in treaty of Amiens, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">proposed invasion of England, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war declared against England, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">alliance with Spain, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">encroachments in Europe, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Austria, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Russia, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">"army of England," <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">peace of Pressburg, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with the Two Sicilies, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Schönbrunn, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Prussia, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Prussia, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Tilsit, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret treaty of Fontainebleau, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Milan decree, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Austria, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>-<a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">peace of Vienna, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">loss of foreign possessions, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">annexations, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-<a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">breach with Russia, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>-<a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Prussia, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Russia, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>-<a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1813, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>-<a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Prussia, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Austria, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1814, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">the allies enter, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress at Châtillon-sur-Seine, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Vienna, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Waterloo campaign, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Troppau, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">dispute with Spain, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>-<a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Verona, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at St. Petersburg, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of London, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">the Eastern question, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>-<a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>-<a href="#Page_395">395</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of London, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conquest of Algiers, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">revolution of July, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">assists Belgium, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention with England and Holland, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">attacks Portugal, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">quadruple alliance, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>-<a href="#Page_391">391</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">officers in India, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Persia, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">France, Isle of. See <a href="#Ind_Mauritius">Mauritius, the</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Franche-Comté, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Francis II., Holy Roman Emperor (afterwards Francis I., Emperor of Austria), <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Francis IV., Duke of Modena, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frankfort, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Franklin, Benjamin, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fraser, General, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frasnes, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frederick, Prince Regent of Denmark (afterwards Frederick VI.), <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frederick, Prince, of Orange, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frederick II., the Great, King of Prussia, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frederick Augustus, King of Saxony, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frederick Joseph, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frederick William III., King of Prussia, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frederick William, Crown Prince of Prussia (afterwards Frederick William IV.), <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fréjus, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Frenchtown, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Freyre, English officer, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Friedland, battle, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Frolic</i>, the, British sloop, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Fuentes d'Oñoro, battle, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Gáekwár. See <a href="#Ind_Baroda">Baroda, Gáekwár of</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Galicia, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gambier, Admiral (afterwards Lord), <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gamonal, battle, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ganges, the, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gantheaume, French admiral, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gardane, French general, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gardner, Colonel, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Garonne, the, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gascoyne, General, M.P., <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gatton, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gebora, river, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Genappe, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Genoa, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bay of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">George III., <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>-<a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>-<a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">insanity, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">relations with Fox, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">jubilee, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">family, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">character, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_George_IV" id="Ind_George_IV"></a>George, Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.), his friends, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[Pg 471]</a></span>regent for George III., <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">marriage relations, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>-<a href="#Page_197">197</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">character, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">king, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>-<a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>-<a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">coronation, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gérard, General (afterwards Marshal), <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_386">386</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Germany, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>-<a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>-<a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>-<a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">redistribution of territory, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">forces in the Peninsula, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">organisation of, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See also <a href="#Ind_Austria">Austria</a>, <a href="#Ind_Bavaria">Bavaria</a>, <a href="#Ind_Hanover">Hanover</a>, <a href="#Ind_Prussia">Prussia</a>, etc.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gerona, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ghent, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ghika, Alexander, Hospodar of Wallachia, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gibbon, Edward, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gibraltar, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">governor of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">straits of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Giessen, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gifford, William, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gillray, James, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gladstone, William Ewart, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Glasgow, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Glenelg, Lord. See <a href="#Ind_Grant_Charles">Grant, Charles</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gloucester (William), Duke of (nephew of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Goderich, Viscount. See <a href="#Ind_Robinson_F_J">Robinson, F. J.</a></p> + +<p class="indmain">Godoy, Spanish statesman, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Goethe, Wolfgang von, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gohad, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Golden Lane. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gordon, Robert, diplomatist, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Goulburn, Henry, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gower, Lord Francis Leveson (afterwards Earl of Ellesmere), <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gower, Lord Granville Leveson- (afterwards Earl Granville), secretary at war, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retirement, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Graham, Sir James, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Graham, Sir Thomas (afterwards Lord Lynedoch), <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>-<a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grampound, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Granby, Marquis of (Manners), <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grand, river, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Grant_Charles" id="Ind_Grant_Charles"></a>Grant, Charles (afterwards Lord Glenelg), <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">board of trade, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grattan, Henry, M.P., <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Graves, Rear-admiral, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Greece, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">revolts against Turkey, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>-<a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>-<a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>-<a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">independent, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">boundary fixed, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Greenock, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grenoble, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grenville, Thomas, first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grenville, Lord, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>-<a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a> n., <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">his followers, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>-<a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">opposition to Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Greville, Charles, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Grey_Charles" id="Ind_Grey_Charles"></a>Grey, Charles (afterwards Viscount Howick and later second Earl Grey), <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a> n., <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">opposition to Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>-<a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>-<a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>-<a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>-<a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>-<a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grey, Earl de, first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grossbeeren, battle, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grosvenor Square. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grote, George, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Grouchy, Marshal, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Guadeloupe, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Guadiana, the, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Guarda, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Guerrière</i>, the, British frigate, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Guildhall. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Guilleminot, French diplomatist, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Guizot, French statesman, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gujrát, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gúrkhas, the, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gustavus IV., King of Sweden, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Gwalior, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See <a href="#Ind_Sindhia">Sindhia</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet"><i>Habeas corpus act</i>, suspension of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>-<a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hague, the, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Haidarábád, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Nizám of, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Bassein, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hal, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Halifax</i>, the, British sloop, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hallam, Henry, <a href="#Page_426">426</a>, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hamburg, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hamilton, English commodore, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hamilton, Sir William, philosopher, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hampden clubs, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hampshire, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[Pg 472]</a></span>Hampton, General, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hampton roads, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hanau, battle, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Hannibal</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Hanover" id="Ind_Hanover"></a>Hanover, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hanoverian troops, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hanse Towns, the, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hardenberg, Prussian minister, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hardinge, Henry (afterwards Sir Henry and later Viscount Hardinge), <a href="#Page_104">104</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary at war, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hardwicke, Earl of (Yorke), lord-lieutenant of Ireland, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Harrison, American general, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Harrowby_Earl" id="Ind_Harrowby_Earl"></a>Harrowby, Lord (Dudley Ryder), afterwards Earl of Harrowby, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retirement, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hartwell, Bucks, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Harwich, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hasselt, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hastings, Marquis of. See <a href="#Ind_Moira_Earl">Moira, Earl of</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hastings, Warren, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Haugwitz, Prussian minister, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Hawkesbury_Lord" id="Ind_Hawkesbury_Lord"></a>Hawkesbury, Lord (Jenkinson), afterwards Earl of Liverpool, foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">called to the house of lords, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">declines office as first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>-<a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hay, Lord John, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Haye, La, farm, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Haye Sainte, La, farm, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hayti, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hazlitt, William, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Health, board of, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hegel, Georg, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Heligoland, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Helvetian republic. See <a href="#Ind_Switzerland">Switzerland</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Helvoetsluis, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Henry IV., King of France, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Henry, John, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Herat, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>-<a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Herries, J. C., chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master of the mint, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary at war, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Herschel, Sir John, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hesse, Princess' Augusta of (Duchess of Cambridge), <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Heytesbury, Lord, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hill, Rowland (afterwards Sir Rowland and later Viscount Hill), <a href="#Page_104">104</a>-<a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>-<a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Himálayas, the, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Hobart_Lord" id="Ind_Hobart_Lord"></a>Hobart, Lord (afterwards fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire), secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hobhouse, Sir John Cam (afterwards Lord Broughton), <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first commissioner of woods and forests, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hohenlinden, battle, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Holkar" id="Ind_Holkar"></a>Holkar, Jaswant Ráo Holkar, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Malhár Ráo Holkar, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Holland" id="Ind_Holland"></a>Holland (Batavian republic), <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a> <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>-<a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Amiens, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Louis Bonaparte, king of, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">loss of Cape of Good Hope, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Walcheren expedition, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">annexed by France, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">revolts, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Prince of Orange proclaimed King of the Netherlands, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Dutch at Waterloo, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">united to Belgium, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">separation from Belgium, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention with Great Britain and France, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention with Belgium, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">settlers in South Africa, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Holland, Lord (Vassall-Fox), <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Holy Alliance, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Holyhead, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Homs, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hone, William, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hope, John (afterwards Sir John, later Lord Niddry and Earl of Hopetoun), <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Horner, Francis, M.P., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Hornet</i>, the, American ship, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hougoumont, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Howard, John, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Howick, Viscount. See <a href="#Ind_Grey_Charles">Grey, Charles</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Howick, Viscount (afterwards third Earl Grey), <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary at war, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Howley, archbishop of Canterbury, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Huddersfield, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hudson, James (afterwards Sir James Hudson), <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hugo, Victor, <a href="#Page_426">426</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[Pg 473]</a></span>Hull, American general, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hume, David, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hume, Joseph, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hunt, "Orator," <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Huron, lake, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Huskisson, William, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the board of trade, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>-<a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hutchinson, General, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hutton, James, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Hydriots, the, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Ibrahim, Pasha, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>-<a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Illyrian provinces, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Impérieuse</i>, the, British frigate, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Inconstant</i>, the, Napoleon's brig, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Indemnity acts, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_India" id="Ind_India"></a>India, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>-<a href="#Page_414">414</a>, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">French towns in India, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">East India Company, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">acts and charters relating to East India Company, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>-<a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>-<a href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">coolies, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Indians (America), <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Indies, East, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Indies, West, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Indore. See <a href="#Ind_Holkar">Holkar</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ingilby, Sir W. A., M.P., <a href="#Page_334">334</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Inglis, Sir Robert, M.P., <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Inn, river, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Insurrection act, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Inverness, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ionian islands, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Irawadi, the, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ireland, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>-<a href="#Page_373">373</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">condition of, in 1801, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1821, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1824, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1828, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1829, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1830, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1831-32, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>-<a href="#Page_317">317</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1833, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1834, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">in 1837, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">French spies, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Emmet's rebellion, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">scheme for representative assembly, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">union of Irish and English exchequers, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Clare election, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">disfranchisement of forty shilling freeholders, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">famine, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">reform bill, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">agitation against tithe, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>-<a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">church, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>-<a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">processions act, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">education, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">coercion act, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>-<a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">church temporalities act, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>-<a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second coercion act, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">municipal corporations bill, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Irving, Edward, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Isabella II., Queen of Spain, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Isabella Maria, Regent of Portugal, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ischia, island, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Isle-aux-noix, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Istria, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Isturiz, Spanish premier, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Italy, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>-<a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Napoleon crowned King of Italy, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Italian republic. See <a href="#Ind_Cisalpine_Republic">Cisalpine republic</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Jackson, Andrew (afterwards President of the United States), <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jackson, Francis J., British envoy, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jails, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jaswant Ráo Holkar. See <a href="#Ind_Holkar">Holkar</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Java, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Java</i>, the, British frigate, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jefferson, Thomas, President of the United States, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jeffrey, Francis (afterwards Lord), <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jena, battle, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jenner, Dr. Edward, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jessor, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jesuits, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jews, disabilities of, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">John VI., King of Portugal, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Johnson, Samuel, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jones, Sir Harford (afterwards Brydges), <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jones, John Gale, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jordan, Mrs., <a href="#Page_273">273</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jourdan, Marshal, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Jumna, river, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Junot, Duke of Abrantes, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>-<a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Kábul, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kaffraria, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kalisch, treaty of, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kandahár, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kant, Immanuel, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Karavasara, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Karnátik, the, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Katzbach, the, battle, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Keats, John, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Keble, John, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kehl, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kellermann, French general, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kent, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kent (Edward), Duke of (son of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kent (Victoria Mary), Duchess of <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Keswick, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Key, Sir John, M.P., <a href="#Page_334">334</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[Pg 474]</a></span>Khátmándu, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kiel, treaty of, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kilkenny, murders in, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Killingworth colliery, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kilwarden, Viscount (Wolfe), <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">King's College. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kiutayeh, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">peace of, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kléber, French general, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Knatchbull, Sir Edward, paymaster of forces, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Knights of St. John, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">property of the order, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Konieh, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Königsberg, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kotzebue, murder of, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Krasnoe, battle, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kronborg, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kruse, Dutch officer, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kulm, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kumáun, district of, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Kutuzov, Russian general, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Labedoyère, Colonel, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Laconia, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Laffitte, French premier, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lahore, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Laibach, treaty of, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lake, General (afterwards Lord and later Viscount Lake), <a href="#Page_398">398</a>-<a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lamb, Charles, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Lamb_William" id="Ind_Lamb_William"></a>Lamb, William (afterwards Viscount Melbourne), <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lampeter, St. David's College, <a href="#Page_430">430</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lancashire, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lancaster, revenues of duchy of, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Landau, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Langdale, Lord. See <a href="#Ind_Bickersteth_Henry">Bickersteth, Henry</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lansdowne, Marquis of. See <a href="#Ind_Petty_Henry">Petty, Lord Henry</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Laswári, battle, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Laud, William, <a href="#Page_429">429</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lauderdale, Earl of (Maitland), <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lauriston, General (afterwards Marshal), <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lawley, Sir Robert, M.P., <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lawrence, Captain, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lawrence, Sir Thomas, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leach, Sir John, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leadenhall Street. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leeds, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leghorn, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leicestershire, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leinster, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leipzig, battle, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leon, plains of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Leopard</i>, the, British flagship, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Leopold, Prince, of Saxe-Coburg (afterwards King of the Belgians), <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lepanto, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">L'Estrange, Colonel, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Levant, the, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lewis I., King of Bavaria, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Lewisham_Viscount" id="Ind_Lewisham_Viscount"></a>Lewisham, Viscount (Legge), afterwards Earl of Dartmouth, president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"Lichfield House Compact," <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Liège, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ligny, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>-<a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ligurian republic, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lille, negotiations at, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Limburg, province, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>-<a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lincolnshire, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lincoln's Inn Fields. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Linois, French admiral, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lisbon, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>-<a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>-<a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>-<a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>-<a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Littleport, <a href="#Page_175">175</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Littleton, Edward John (afterwards Lord Hatherton), <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Liverpool, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Liverpool, Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Hawkesbury_Lord">Hawkesbury, Lord</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lloyd, Charles, bishop of Oxford, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lobau, island, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lobau, Prince of, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lombardy, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See also <a href="#Ind_Cisalpine_Republic">Cisalpine republic</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">London, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bishop of (Blomfield), <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_London" id="Ind_London"></a>London:—</p> +<p class="indsub">Apsley House, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Battersea Fields, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Blackheath, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Bridges: Blackfriars, London, Southwark, Strand (Waterloo), Westminster, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Brooks's Club, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Buckingham Palace, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Carlton House, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Cato Street, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Corporation of, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Edgware Road, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Golden Lane, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Guildhall, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Grosvenor Square, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">King's College, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Leadenhall Street, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Lincoln's Inn Fields, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">"London University," <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">university of London, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Newgate, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[Pg 475]</a></span>Old Bailey, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Pall Mall, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Regent Street and Park, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Royal Academy, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Royal Exchange, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">St. Paul's, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Small-pox Hospital, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Southwark, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Spa Fields, Bermondsey, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Spitalfields, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Tower, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">University College, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Westminster, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Westminster Abbey, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Westminster Hall, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">White Conduit House, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">London, conferences of, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">protocols of, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>-<a href="#Page_385">385</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>-<a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>London Magazine</i>, the, <a href="#Page_424">424</a>, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Londonderry, second Marquis of. See <a href="#Ind_Castlereagh_Viscount">Castlereagh, Viscount</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Londonderry, third Marquis of. See <a href="#Ind_Stewart_Charles">Stewart, Sir Charles</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lonsdale, Earl of (Lowther), <a href="#Page_67">67</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lorraine, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Loughborough_Lord" id="Ind_Loughborough_Lord"></a>Loughborough, Lord (Wedderburn), afterwards first Earl of Rosslyn, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Louis XIV., King of France, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Louis XVI., King of France, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Louis XVIII., King of France, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>-<a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Louis_Antoine" id="Ind_Louis_Antoine"></a>Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (afterwards dauphin), <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Louis_Philippe" id="Ind_Louis_Philippe"></a>Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans (afterwards King of France), <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>-<a href="#Page_384">384</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Louisiana, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Louvain, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Low Countries. See <a href="#Ind_Belgium">Belgium</a> and <a href="#Ind_Holland">Holland</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lübeck, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Luddite riots. See <a href="#Ind_Riots">Riots</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lugo, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lundy's Lane, battle, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lunéville, treaty of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lützen, battle, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Luxemburg, grand duchy of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>-<a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lyell, Charles (afterwards Sir C.), <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lyndhurst, Lord. See <a href="#Ind_Copley_John">Copley, Sir John</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Lyons, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Maas, river, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maastricht, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Macadam, John Loudon, roadmaker, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Macarthur, John, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Macaulay, Thomas Babington (afterwards Lord Macaulay), <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>-<a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Macaulay, Zachary, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Macdonald, Marshal, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Macedonian</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mack, Austrian general, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mackinac, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mackintosh, Sir James, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mackworth, Major, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Macquarie, Governor, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>, <a href="#Page_440">440</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Madison, James, President of the United States, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>-<a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Madras, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_410">410</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Madrid, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>-<a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>-<a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Magdeburg, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mahmúd, Amír of Afghánistán, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mahmud II., Sultan of Turkey, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maida, battle, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maine, state, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mainots, the, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mainz, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maitland, Captain, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Majorca, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Malcolm, Sir John, colonel, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Malden, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Malhár, Ráo Holkar. See <a href="#Ind_Holkar">Holkar</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Malmaison, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Malmesbury, Earl of (Harris), <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Malta, possession of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>-<a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">independence guaranteed, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">parliamentary debate on, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retention by England, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Malthus, Thomas Robert, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Málwá, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Manchester, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mansfield, first Earl of (Murray), <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mansfield, third Earl of (Murray), <a href="#Page_292">292</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maráthá wars, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Marcoff, Count, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Marengo, battle, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maria II., da Gloria, Queen of Portugal, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maria Christina, Queen-regent of Spain, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maria Louisa, empress of Napoleon I., <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mariembourg, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Marlborough, Duke of (Churchill), <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Marmont, Marshal, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>-<a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Marriage reform bills, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">act, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Martinique, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mary, Duchess of Gloucester (daughter of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Masséna, Marshal, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>-<a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[Pg 476]</a></span>Maumee, river, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Mauritius" id="Ind_Mauritius"></a>Mauritius, the (Isle of France), <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Maya, pass, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">McClure, General, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">McDonnell, Colonel, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Medellin, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Medina de Rio Seco, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mediterranean, the, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>-<a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mehidpur, battle, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Melampus</i>, the, British warship, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Melbourne, Viscount. See <a href="#Ind_Lamb_William">Lamb, William</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Melcombe Regis, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Melville, first Viscount. See <a href="#Ind_Dundas_Henry">Dundas, Henry</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Melville, second Viscount. See <a href="#Ind_Dundas_Robert">Dundas, Robert S.</a></p> + +<p class="indmain">Menou, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Merton, Surrey, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mesolongi, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Metcalfe, Charles (afterwards Sir Charles and later Lord Metcalfe), <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Methodist revival, the, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Metternich, Prince, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>-<a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mexico, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Miaoulis, Greek admiral, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Michigan, lake, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">state, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Middle Ground shoal, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Middleton, Sir Charles. See <a href="#Ind_Barham_Lord">Barham, Lord</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Miguel, Dom (afterwards King of Portugal), <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>-<a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>-<a href="#Page_390">390</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention at Evora, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Milan, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">decree, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">commission, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Milhaud, French officer, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Militia, the, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Militia balloting bill, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Militia transfer bill, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mina, guerilla leader, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Minho, province, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Ministries" id="Ind_Ministries"></a>Ministries: Addington's, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>-<a href="#Page_31">31</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Pitt's, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>-<a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Grenville's (All the Talents), <a href="#Page_45">45</a>-<a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Portland's, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>-<a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Perceval's, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Liverpool's, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-<a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>-<a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>-<a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Canning's, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Goderich's, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Wellington's, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>-<a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>-<a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>-<a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Grey's, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>-<a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>-<a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>-<a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Melbourne's, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>-<a href="#Page_351">351</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">provisional administration, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Peel's, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Melbourne's, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>-<a href="#Page_375">375</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>-<a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Minorca, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Minto, second Earl of (Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound), first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Minto, Lord (Elliot), afterwards first Earl of Minto, governor-general of Bengal, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>-<a href="#Page_404">404</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Modena, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Austria, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Moira_Earl" id="Ind_Moira_Earl"></a>Moira, Earl of (Rawdon-Hastings), afterwards Marquis of Hastings, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master-general of the ordnance, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">governor-general of Bengal, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>-<a href="#Page_408">408</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Moldavia" id="Ind_Moldavia"></a>Moldavia, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>-<a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>-<a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Molé, French foreign minister, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Molesworth, Sir William, M.P., <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moltke, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moncey, Marshal, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mondego, river, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mongolia, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Moniteur</i>, newspaper, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Monroe, James, President of the United States, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Monroe doctrine, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mons, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Monson, Colonel, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Montbéliard, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Montenegrins, the, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Monte Video, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Montmorency, French diplomatist, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Montreal, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Montrose, Duke of (Graham), president of the board of trade, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mont St. Jean, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moore, Sir John, general, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>-<a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moore, Thomas, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moravia, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moraviantown, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Morea" id="Ind_Morea"></a>Morea, the, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>-<a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moreau, General, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Morpeth, Lord (afterwards seventh Earl of Carlisle), <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Morrison, Colonel, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mortier, Marshal, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moscow, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Moss, convention of, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mughal emperor, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Muhammad, Sháh of Persia, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mühlhausen, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mulgrave, Lord (Phipps) (afterwards first Earl of Mulgrave), <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a> n.;</p> +<p class="indsub">master-general of the ordnance, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in cabinet without office, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retirement of, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mulgrave, second Earl of (Phipps), lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord-lieutenant of Ireland, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[Pg 477]</a></span>Münchengrätz, secret convention at,<a href="#Page_395">395</a>,<a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Munich, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Municipal corporations act, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>-<a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bill (Ireland), <a href="#Page_364">364</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Murat, Joachim, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">King of Naples, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Muraviov, Russian general, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Murray, Colonel, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Murray, Sir George, secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master-general of the ordnance, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Murray, John, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Murray, Sir John, general, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Mysore, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet"><a name="Ind_Nagpur" id="Ind_Nagpur"></a>Nágpur, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Rájá of, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Namur, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Napier, Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir Charles Napier), <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Napier, General Sir W., <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Naples, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bay of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Naples, kingdom of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See also <a href="#Ind_Sicilies">Sicilies, the Two</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Naples, Prince of, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Napoleon, King of Rome, son of Napoleon I., <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nash, John, architect, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nassau, troops, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">National debt, the, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in 1802, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in 1815, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"National Political Union," <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nauplia, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Navarino, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Navarre, province, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Navigation laws, reform of the, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Neapolitan States. See <a href="#Ind_Sicilies">Sicilies, the Two</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nelson, Lord (afterwards Viscount), <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">expedition to Copenhagen, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>-<a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Trafalgar, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nemours, Louis, Duke of, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nepál, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Almora, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nesselrode, Russian diplomatist, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Netherlands, the. See <a href="#Ind_Belgium">Belgium</a> and <a href="#Ind_Holland">Holland</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Neuchâtel, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Neuville, De, French ambassador, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newark (Canada), <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newark (England), <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newcastle, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newcastle, Duke of (Fiennes-Pelham-Clinton), <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">New England, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newfoundland, fishery, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newgate. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newman, John Henry, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>-<a href="#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">New Orleans, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"New poor law," <a href="#Page_340">340</a>-<a href="#Page_344">344</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">New South Wales. See <a href="#Ind_Australia">Australia</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Newspaper stamp act, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">New York, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">state, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">New Zealand, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ney, Marshal, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>-<a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Niagara, river, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">falls, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nicholas I., Tsar of Russia, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nicholls, Colonel, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Niemen, the, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nile, the, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle of the, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nive, river, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nivelle, river, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nivelles, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nonconformists. See <a href="#Ind_Dissenters">Dissenters</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Non-intercourse act (United States), <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Norfolk (United States), <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Norfolk Island, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>North Briton</i>, the, journal, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Northern confederacy, the, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Northumberland, Duke of (Percy), lord lieutenant of Ireland, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Northumberland</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Norway, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">ceded to Sweden, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention at Moss, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nottingham, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">castle, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nottinghamshire, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Novara, battle, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nugent, John, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Nugent, Lord (Grenville-Nugent-Temple), <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Ocaña, battle, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ochterlony, General (afterwards Sir David), <a href="#Page_404">404</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">O'Connell, Daniel, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>-<a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>-<a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>-<a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Oder, the, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ohio, state, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Old Bailey. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Oldenburg, duchy of, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Oldham, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Old Sarum, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Oléron, island, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Olivenza, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Oliver, the spy, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ontario, lake, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Oporto, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Orange lodges, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Orangemen, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[Pg 478]</a></span>Orenburg, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Orfordness, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Orléans, Duke of. See <a href="#Ind_Louis_Philippe">Louis Philippe</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Orléans, Philip, Duke of, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Orthez, battle, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Otranto, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Otto, French diplomatist, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Otto, Prince of Bavaria (afterwards King of Greece), <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Oudh, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Nawáb Wazír of, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ouseley, Sir Gore, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Oxford_Movement" id="Ind_Oxford_Movement"></a>Oxford, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bishop of (Lloyd), <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">movement, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>-<a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">university. See <a href="#Ind_Universities">Universities</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet"><a name="Ind_Paget_Lord" id="Ind_Paget_Lord"></a>Paget, Lord (afterwards Earl of Uxbridge and later Marquis of Anglesey), <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master-general of the ordnance, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord-lieutenant of Ireland, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">recalled, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord-lieutenant of Ireland, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Paisley, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pakenham, Sir Edward, general, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Palatinate, the, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Palermo, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Paley, William, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pall Mall. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Palmella, Portuguese statesman, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Palmerston, Viscount (Temple), <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary at war, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pamplona, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>-<a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Papal_States" id="Ind_Papal_States"></a>Papal States, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Papelotte, farm, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Paraguay, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Parga, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Paris" id="Ind_Paris"></a>Paris: the Tuileries, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first capitulation, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first treaty of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second capitulation, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second treaty of, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Chaumont extended at, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">revolution of July, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">cholera at, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Park, Mungo, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Parker, Sir Hyde, admiral, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>-<a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Parliament" id="Ind_Parliament"></a>Parliament: general election of 1802, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1806, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1807, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1812, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1818, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1820, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1826, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1830, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1831, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1832, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">of 1835, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">reform, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">liberals and conservatives, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">houses destroyed by fire, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Parma, duchy of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Austria, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Parnell, Sir Henry, M.P., <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pasages, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Paskievitch, Russian general, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Patten, Colonel, M.P., <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Patuxent, river, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Paul, Tsar of Russia, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Peacock</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pease, Edward, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peel, Sir Robert (first baronet), <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peel, Robert (afterwards Sir Robert), <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>-<a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>-<a href="#Page_373">373</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>-<a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>-<a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>-<a href="#Page_278">278</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>-<a href="#Page_355">355</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pelham, Lord (afterwards second Earl of Chichester), home secretary, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resigns office, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Pelican</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peloponnese, the, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See <a href="#Ind_Morea">Morea, the</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peltier, Jean, editor, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peña, La, Spanish commander, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pennsylvania, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Penryn, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Pepys_Charles" id="Ind_Pepys_Charles"></a>Pepys, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord and later Earl Cottenham), lord chancellor, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Perceval, Spencer, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a> n., <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, etc., <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">assassination, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Perry, Commodore, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Persia, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with East India Company and Great Britain, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Perth, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peru, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pesháwar, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Peshwa" id="Ind_Peshwa"></a>Peshwá, the, of Poona, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Bassein, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peter (afterwards Peter I., Emperor of Brazil, and Peter IV., King of Portugal), <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peter II., Emperor of Brazil, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Peterloo, massacre of. See <a href="#Ind_Riots">Riots</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Petty_Henry" id="Ind_Petty_Henry"></a>Petty, Lord Henry (afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne), <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">president of the council, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Philippeville, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Philippon, governor of Badajoz, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Phillip, Governor, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[Pg 479]</a></span>Phillpotts, bishop of Exeter, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pichegru, French general, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Picton, Thomas (afterwards Sir Thomas), <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Piedmont, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pindárís, the, <a href="#Page_404">404</a>-<a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pitt, William, the elder (first Earl of Chatham), <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pitt, William, the younger, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>-<a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">his resignation in 1801, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">alienation from Addington's ministry, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">negotiations with Addington, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>-<a href="#Page_26">26</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">attacks Addington, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">overtures from Eldon, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">interview with the king, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>-<a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">organises third coalition, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">loss of Melville, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">collapse of the third coalition, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">his adherents, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pius VII., Pope, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Plasencia, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Plata, La. See <a href="#Ind_Argentine">Argentine, the</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Plattsburg (United States), <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Plunket, William (afterwards Lord Plunket), <a href="#Page_239">239</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">attorney-general of Ireland, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Plymouth, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Poictiers</i>, the British ship, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Poischwitz, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Poland, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pole & Co., <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pole, W. Wellesley (afterwards Lord Maryborough), master of the mint, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Polignac, French statesman, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pomerania, Swedish, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pondicherri, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">French towns in India, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ponsonby, Sir William, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ponsonby, Lord (afterwards Viscount Ponsonby), <a href="#Page_383">383</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Poona, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See <a href="#Ind_Peshwa">Peshwá</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Poor law, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">poor rates, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">"new poor law," <a href="#Page_340">340</a>-<a href="#Page_344">344</a>, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">poor law board, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Ireland, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Popham, Sir Home, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Poros, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Porte, the. See <a href="#Ind_Turkey">Turkey</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Portland, third Duke of (Cavendish-Bentinck), <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in cabinet without office, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">minor reforms, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">changes in his ministry, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Portland, fourth Duke of (Cavendish Scott Bentinck), lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">in cabinet without office, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Port Mahon, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Port Phillip, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>, <a href="#Page_440">440</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Portsmouth, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Portugal" id="Ind_Portugal"></a>Portugal, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties of Badajoz and Madrid, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Junot's expedition to, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>-<a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">revolutions, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>-<a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">cortes, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">junta, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">relations with Brazil, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>-<a href="#Page_390">390</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at London, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">triple and quadruple alliances, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention of Evora, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Posen, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pottinger, British officer, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Potwallopers, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Prague, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Prescott, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Presqu'isle (Pennsylvania), <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Press, liberty of the, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Indian press, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pressburg, peace of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Press-gang, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Preston, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Prevost, Sir George, governor of Canada, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Privy Council, acts relating to the, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Processions act (Ireland), <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Procida, island, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Proclamation act, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Proctor, English colonel, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Prome, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Prout, Samuel, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Prussia" id="Ind_Prussia"></a>Prussia, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>-<a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>-<a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">guarantees independence of Malta, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">vacillation, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>-<a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Schönbrunn, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with France, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Tilsit, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with France, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention of Tauroggen, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of <a href="#Page_181">181</a>3, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>-<a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention with Russia, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Kalisch, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Reichenbach, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Teplitz, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Ried, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1814, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Chaumont, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Vienna, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>-<a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1815, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">gains Swedish Pomerania, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[Pg 480]</a></span>second treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Holy Alliance, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Troppau, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Laibach, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Verona, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at St. Petersburg, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of London, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret convention at Münchengrätz, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention at Berlin, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pruth, river, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Public Advertiser</i>, the, newspaper, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Puebla, pass, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Punjab, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pusey, Edward Bouverie, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Putney, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Pyrenees, the, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Quadruple alliance, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Quakers, the, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Quarterly Review</i>, the, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Quatre Bras, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>-<a href="#Page_160">160</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Queen's County, murders in, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Queensland. See <a href="#Ind_Australia">Australia</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Queenstown (Canada), <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Raeburn, Sir Henry, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Railways, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Raisin, river, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rájputána, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rangoon, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Ranjit_Singh" id="Ind_Ranjit_Singh"></a>Ranjít Singh, Rájá of Bhartpur, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ranjít Singh, Sikh ruler, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with East India Company, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ratisbon, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ré, island, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Reciprocity of duties act, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Redesdale, Lord (Mitford), <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Redoutable</i>, the, French ship, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Red Sea, the, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Reform, movement for, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>-<a href="#Page_308">308</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">partial reforms, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first bill of <a href="#Page_183">183</a>1, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>-<a href="#Page_291">291</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second bill, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>-<a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">third bill, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>-<a href="#Page_306">306</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Scotch and Irish bills, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Regency act (1811), <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Regency act (1830), <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Regent Street and Park. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Register, Weekly</i>. See <a href="#Ind_Cobbett">Cobbett</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Registration bill, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">acts, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Reichenbach, treaties of, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Reille, French general, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Religious movements, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>-<a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rennell, James, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rennie, John, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rensselaer, Van, American general, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Reshid, Turkish general, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Revel, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rey, Emmanuel, governor of St. Sebastian, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Reynier, French general, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rhine, the, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">confederation of the, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Riall, General, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rice, Thomas Spring (afterwards Lord Monteagle), <a href="#Page_345">345</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Richelieu, Duke of, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Richmond, Charlotte, Duchess of, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Richmond, third Duke of (Lennox), <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Richmond, fifth Duke of (Lennox), postmaster-general, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ried, treaty of, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rieti, battle, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Riga, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rio Janeiro, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Riot act, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Riots" id="Ind_Riots"></a>Riots, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Luddite, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bread, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">agricultural, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Spa Fields, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Derbyshire insurrection, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">"Peterloo" or "Manchester massacre," <a href="#Page_178">178</a>-<a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">reform bill, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>-<a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Riou, Edward, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ripon, Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Robinson_F_J">Robinson, F. J.</a></p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Robinson_F_J" id="Ind_Robinson_F_J"></a>Robinson, Frederick John (afterwards Viscount Goderich, later Earl of Ripon), president of the board of trade, etc., <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rochefort, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rodil, Spanish general, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Roebuck, John, M.P., <a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rohilkhand, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Roliça, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rolleston, magistrate, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Romaña, Spanish general, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Roman Empire, Holy. See <a href="#Ind_Empire_Holy_Roman">Empire, Holy Roman</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Roman States. See <a href="#Ind_Papal_States">Papal States</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rome, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Romilly, Sir Samuel, M.P., <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Roncesvalles, pass, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rose, George, M.P., <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rosetta, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ross, General, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[Pg 481]</a></span>Rosslyn, first Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Loughborough_Lord">Loughborough, Lord</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rosslyn, second Earl of (St. Clair Erskine), president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord president of the council, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rothière, La, battle, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Roussin, French admiral, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Royal Institution, the, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Royal Sovereign</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rügen, island, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rumelia, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rumford, Count, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Russell, Lord John (afterwards Earl Russell), <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">paymaster of the forces, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Russia, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>-<a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">holy alliance, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war of third coalition, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with England, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Sweden, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Tilsit, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Turkey, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret convention at Erfurt, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">breach with France, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>-<a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">armistice with Turkey, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with France, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>-<a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>-<a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with England, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">fleet, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">alliance with Sweden, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Åbo, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Bucharest, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with England and Sweden, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention of Tauroggen, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention with Prussia, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Kalisch, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Reichenbach, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Teplitz, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Ried, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">campaign of 1814, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Chaumont, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Fontainebleau, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Vienna, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>-<a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">gains Finland, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">second treaty of Paris, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>-<a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Troppau, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Laibach, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">breach with Turkey, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>-<a href="#Page_215">215</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of Verona, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of St. Petersburg, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Akherman, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference of London, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-<a href="#Page_386">386</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of London, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>-<a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Turkey, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>-<a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">peace of Adrianople, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Poland, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">assists Turkey, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>-<a href="#Page_395">395</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret convention at Münchengrätz, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">convention at Berlin, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Turkey, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">influence in the east, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>-<a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Rutlandshire, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ryder, Dudley. See <a href="#Ind_Harrowby_Earl">Harrowby, Earl of</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ryder, Richard, home secretary, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retirement, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Saale, river, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sackett's Harbour, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sadler, Michael, M.P., <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sahagun, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Albans, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Amand, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>St. Antoine</i>, the, French ship, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. David's, bishop of (Burgess), <a href="#Page_430">430</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. George's Channel, American privateers in, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Helena, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Jean de Luz, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Lawrence, river, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">fishery, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Lucia, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Marcial, battle, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Paul's cathedral. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Petersburg, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Sebastian, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">St. Vincent, Earl of (Jervis), first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Salaberry, Colonel de, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Salamanca, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>-<a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Saldaña, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Salzburg, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sambre, river, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Samos, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">San Domingo, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sandvliet, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Santa Ana</i>, the, Spanish ship, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Santander, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Santarem, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Santha Martha, Miguelite general, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Santísima Trinidad</i>, the, Spanish ship, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sardinia, kingdom of, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sartorius, Admiral, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sarum, Old, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sátára, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"Satí," <a href="#Page_410">410</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Saumarez, Sir James (afterwards Baron), admiral, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Savary, French minister, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Savings-banks, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Savoy, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Saxony, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[Pg 482]</a></span>Scarlett, James (afterwards Lord Abinger), <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Scharnhorst, Prussian statesman, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Scheldt, the, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>-<a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>-<a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Schönbrunn, treaty of, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Schwarzenberg, Austrian general, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>-<a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Scientific discoveries, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>-<a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Scotland, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">reform bill, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">church of, <a href="#Page_360">360</a> n., <a href="#Page_424">424</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Scott, Sir Walter, <a href="#Page_417">417</a>, <a href="#Page_418">418</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Scott, Sir William (afterwards Lord Stowell), <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Scylla, castle, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sébastiani, French officer (afterwards foreign minister), <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Secretaries of state, division of departments of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Selim III., Sultan of Turkey, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sepoys, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_406">406</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Septennial act, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Seringapatam, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Servia, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Seville, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Shaftesbury, Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Ashley_Lord">Ashley, Lord</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sháh Shujá, Amír of Afghánistán, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Shannon</i>, the, British frigate, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Shaw, Sir Robert, M.P., <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sheaffe, Major-general, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sheil, Richard Lalor, M.P., <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Shelley, Percy Bysshe, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Sicilies" id="Ind_Sicilies"></a>Sicilies, the Two, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>-<a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_213">213</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Florence, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of neutrality with France, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sicily, island and kingdom of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">army in Spain, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sidmouth, Viscount. See <a href="#Ind_Addington_Henry">Addington, Henry</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sikhs, the, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">See <a href="#Ind_Ranjit_Singh">Ranjít Singh, Sikh ruler</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Silesia, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Silistria, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Simmons, Dr. Samuel Foart, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sind, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>, <a href="#Page_414">414</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Sindhia" id="Ind_Sindhia"></a>Sindhia, Daulat Ráo Sindhia, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>-<a href="#Page_399">399</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Six acts, the, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Skaw, the, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Small-pox, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">hospital, See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Smeaton, John, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Smohain, hamlet, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Smith, Adam, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Smith, Sydney, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Smith, William, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Smyth, American general, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Socialists, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Society for diffusion of useful knowledge, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Society, Highland, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Society, Kildare Place, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Society of friends of the people, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Society, Water-colour, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Soissons, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sombreffe, French general, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Somerset, Lord Robert, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Somersetshire, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sophia, Princess (daughter of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sophia, Princess, of Gloucester (niece of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Souham, French general, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Soult" id="Ind_Soult"></a>Soult (Duke of Dalmatia), French general, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>-<a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>-<a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">South Australia. See <a href="#Ind_Australia">Australia</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Southey, Robert, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>, <a href="#Page_420">420</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Southwark. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Spa Fields, Bermondsey. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a> and <a href="#Ind_Riots">Riots</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Spain" id="Ind_Spain"></a>Spain, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>-<a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>-<a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties of Aranjuez, Badajoz and Madrid, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Amiens, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">alliance with France, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_423">423</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">juntas, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret treaty of Fontainebleau, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">abdication of Charles IV., <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Joseph Bonaparte, king of, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with England, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">cortes, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">insurrection, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>-<a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">loss of colonies in America, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">dispute with France, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>-<a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">aggressions in Portugal, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>-<a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">triple and quadruple alliances, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Carlist war, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>-<a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Speculation, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Speenhamland, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Spenceans, the, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Spencer, second Earl, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">home secretary, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Spencer, General, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Spitalfields. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Spithead, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stafford, Marquis of, afterwards Duke of Sutherland (Gower), <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Standard</i>, the, newspaper, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stanley, Edward Geoffrey Smith- (afterwards Lord Stanley, later fourteenth Earl of Derby), <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chief secretary for Ireland, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>-<a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>-<a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[Pg 483]</a></span>Steamboats, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stephenson, George, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Stewart_Charles" id="Ind_Stewart_Charles"></a>Stewart, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord Stewart, later third Marquis of Londonderry), <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stewart, Dugald, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stockholm, treaty of, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stockton on Tees, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Strachan, Sir Richard, admiral, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stralsund, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Strand Bridge. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Strangford, Viscount (Smythe), <a href="#Page_214">214</a>-<a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Strassburg, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Strikes, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stroud, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stuart, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord Stuart de Rothesay), <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Stuart, Sir John, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sturt, Charles, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Subsérra, Count of, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Suchet, Marshal, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Suez, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">canal, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Suffolk, <a href="#Page_175">175</a> n.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sugden, Sir Edward (afterwards Lord St. Leonards), <a href="#Page_283">283</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sumatra, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sumner, John B., bishop of Chester, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sunderland, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Surrey, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sussex, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sussex (Augustus), Duke of (son of George III.), <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sutlej, river, <a href="#Page_403">403</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sutton, Charles Manners- (afterwards Sir C. Manners-Sutton, later Viscount Canterbury), speaker, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sweden, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>-<a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">third coalition, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaties with Russia and England, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">declares war on England, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">ally of Russia, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Åbo, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Stockholm, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with France, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Kiel, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">acquires Norway (convention of Moss), <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Swift, Jonathan, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Switzerland" id="Ind_Switzerland"></a>Switzerland (Helvetian republic), <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">civil war, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">invasion of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">revolts, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Sydney, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Syria, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Tagus, the, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>-<a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Talavera, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">battle, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Talleyrand, French statesman, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">"Tamworth manifesto," the, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tarái, the, <a href="#Page_405">405</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tarbes, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tarragona, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tasmania. See <a href="#Ind_Van_Diemens_Land">Van Diemen's Land</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tauroggen, convention of, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Taylor, Sir Herbert, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Telford, Thomas, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Temporalities, Irish Church, act, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>-<a href="#Page_325">325</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tenasserim, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>, <a href="#Page_409">409</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Tenedos</i>, the, British frigate, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tennyson, Alfred (afterwards Lord), <a href="#Page_419">419</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Tennyson_Charles" id="Ind_Tennyson_Charles"></a>Tennyson, Charles (afterwards Tennyson D'Eyncourt), M.P., <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Teplitz, treaty of, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Terceira, island, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Terneuze, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Test act, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Thagí, <a href="#Page_411">411</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Thames, the, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Thames, river (Canada), <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Thermopylæ, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Thiers, French statesman, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Thistlewood, Arthur, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Thompson, Charles Poulett (afterwards Lord Sydenham), president of the board of trade, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ticino, river, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tierney, George, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master of the mint, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>-<a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tigris, the, <a href="#Page_413">413</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tihran, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tilsit, treaty of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_401">401</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Times</i>, the, newspaper, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Timur, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tipú, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tithe, agitation against (Ireland), <a href="#Page_313">313</a>-<a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tithe commutation act, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tithe commutation bills (Ireland), <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tobago, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tooke, Horne, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">act, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tormes, river, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Toronto, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Torres Vedras, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>-<a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tortosa, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Toulon, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Toulouse, battle, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tower of London. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tractarians. See <a href="#Ind_Oxford_Movement">Oxford movement</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Tracts for the Times</i>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Trades Unions, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Trafalgar, battle, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Traz-os-Montes, province, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[Pg 484]</a></span>Trekroner, the, battery, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Trianon tariff, the, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Trieste, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Trinidad, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Triple alliance, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tripoli, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Bey of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tripolitza, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Trondhjem, diocese of, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Troppau, congress of, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>-<a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Trotter, paymaster, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tudela, battle, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Tugendbund</i>, the, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tuileries, the. See <a href="#Ind_Paris">Paris</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tunis, Dey of, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Turin, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Turkey" id="Ind_Turkey"></a>Turkey, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>-<a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Amiens, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with France, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Russia, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">armistice, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Bucharest, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Greek revolt, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>-<a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>-<a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>-<a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">rupture with Russia, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with Russia, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>-<a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Akherman, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">peace of Adrianople, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty and protocol of London, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Egyptian revolt, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">assisted by Russia, <a href="#Page_393">393</a>-<a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Kiutayeh, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Austrian mediation, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with Russia, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Asiatic Turkey, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Turner, J. M. W., <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tuscany, treaty with Austria, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Tyrol, the, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Ucles, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ulm, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ulster, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Union, act of, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">movement for repeal, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">United States, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">sale to them of Louisiana, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">war with England, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>-<a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">non-intercourse act, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of Ghent, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">buys Florida, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty with England, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>United States</i>, the, American ship, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Universities" id="Ind_Universities"></a>Universities, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_430">430</a>;—</p> +<p class="indsub">Cambridge, <a href="#Page_419">419</a>, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>-<a href="#Page_432">432</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Dublin, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Durham, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Edinburgh, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Glasgow, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">London, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">King's College, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">University College, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>.</p> +<p class="indsub">Oxford, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>, <a href="#Page_428">428</a>, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">Balliol College, <a href="#Page_429">429</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">New College, <a href="#Page_429">429</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">Oriel College, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>, <a href="#Page_429">429</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub2">St. Alban Hall, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Unkiar Skelessi, treaty of, <a href="#Page_394">394</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Urfa, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Uruguay" id="Ind_Uruguay"></a>Uruguay (Banda Oriental), <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Utrecht, treaty of, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Uxbridge, Earl of. See <a href="#Ind_Paget_Lord">Paget, Lord</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Valencia, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Valladolid, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vallais, republic of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vancouver, Captain, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vandamme, French general, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vandeleur, Sir John Ormesby, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Van_Diemens_Land" id="Ind_Van_Diemens_Land"></a>Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Vansittart" id="Ind_Vansittart"></a>Vansittart, Nicholas (afterwards Lord Bexley), <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">envoy at Copenhagen, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the exchequer, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>-<a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vellore, <a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_410">410</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Venaissin, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vendée, La, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Venetia, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Verdier, General, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Verona, congress of, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Victor, Marshal, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Victor Emmanuel I., King of Sardinia, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Victoria. See <a href="#Ind_Australia">Australia</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Victoria, Princess (afterwards Queen), <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Victory</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vienna, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">peace of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">congress of, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>-<a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secret treaty, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">treaty of, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>-<a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>-<a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">final act, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">conference at, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">proposed conference, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vigo, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Villafranca, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Villa Real, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Villèle, French statesman, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Villeneuve, French admiral, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>-<a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vimeiro, battle, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vincennes, castle, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vincent, Colonel, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vistula, the, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vitoria, battle, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>-<a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vivian, Sir Richard H. (afterwards Lord), <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Volga, the, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Volhynia, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Volo, gulf of, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Volunteer consolidation bill, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Vonitza, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Wade, General, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wadsworth, American general, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[Pg 485]</a></span>Wagram, battle, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, <a href="#Page_440">440</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Walcheren expedition, the, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>-<a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wales, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_434">434</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">amalgamation of English and Welsh benches, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wales, Caroline, Princess of. See <a href="#Ind_Caroline">Caroline, queen of George IV.</a></p> + +<p class="indmain">Wales (George), Prince of. See <a href="#Ind_George_IV">George IV.</a></p> + +<p class="indmain">Walker, George T. (afterwards Sir G. T.), <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Wallachia" id="Ind_Wallachia"></a>Wallachia, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>-<a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_395">395</a>, <a href="#Page_396">396</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Walmoden, Hanoverian general, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Walpole, Sir Robert (afterwards Earl of Orford), <a href="#Page_205">205</a>-<a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Walpole, Lord (afterwards Earl of Orford), <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Ward, Henry, M.P., <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Ward_J_W" id="Ind_Ward_J_W"></a>Ward, John William (afterwards Viscount, later Earl of Dudley), <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wardle, Colonel, M.P., <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Warsaw, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">duchy of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wartburg festival, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Washington, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Wasp</i>, the, American sloop, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Waterford, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Waterloo, battle, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>-<a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_415">415</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Waterloo Bridge. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Watsons, the, father and son, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Watt, James, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wavre, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>-<a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Weekly Political Register</i>, the. See <a href="#Ind_Cobbett">Cobbett</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_Wellesley_Arthur" id="Ind_Wellesley_Arthur"></a>Wellesley, Sir Arthur (afterwards Duke of Wellington), <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>-<a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>-<a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>-<a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>, <a href="#Page_431">431</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">chief secretary for Ireland, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">bombardment of Copenhagen, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Peninsular war, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>-<a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">viscount, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Vimeiro, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">commander-in-chief in the Peninsula, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Talavera, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Bussaco, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lines of Torres Vedras, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Fuentes d'Oñoro, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">earl, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Salamanca, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">marquis, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Vitoria, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">the Pyrenees, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">siege of St. Sebastian, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Bayonne, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>-<a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Toulouse, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">duke, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Waterloo campaign, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Waterloo, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>-<a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">master-general of the ordnance, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the treasury, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>-<a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>-<a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>-<a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>-<a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>-<a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>-<a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">duel with Winchilsea, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">provisional administration, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Indian campaign, <a href="#Page_398">398</a>-<a href="#Page_400">400</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">Assaye and Argáum, <a href="#Page_399">399</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wellesley, Sir Henry (afterwards Lord Cowley), <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wellesley, Richard, marquis, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">foreign secretary, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord-lieutenant of Ireland, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">governor-general of Bengal, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>-<a href="#Page_400">400</a>, <a href="#Page_402">402</a>-<a href="#Page_405">405</a>, <a href="#Page_407">407</a>, <a href="#Page_408">408</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wellington, Duke of. See <a href="#Ind_Wellesley_Arthur">Wellesley, Sir Arthur</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wesel, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wesley, John, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Westbury, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">West Australia. See <a href="#Ind_Australia">Australia</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Westminster abbey and hall. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Westmorland, Earl of (Fane), lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Westphalia, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">troops, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wetherell, Sir Charles, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Weymouth, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wharncliffe, Lord (Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie), <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord privy seal, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Whately, Dr., archbishop of Dublin, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Whitbread, Samuel, M.P., <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Whiteboys, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">White Conduit House. See <a href="#Ind_London">London</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Whitefeet, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Whitelocke, General, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Whitworth, Lord (afterwards Earl), ambassador extraordinary to France, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">negotiates with French government, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>-<a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wilberforce, William, M.P., <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wild, Jonathan, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wilkes, John, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a>, <a href="#Page_422">422</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wilkie, Sir David, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wilkinson, American general, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><a name="Ind_William_IV" id="Ind_William_IV"></a>William, Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.), <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">marriage, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">lord high admiral, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">resignation, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">king, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>-<a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>-<a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>-<a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>-<a href="#Page_352">352</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">coronation, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">death, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">William, Prince of Orange, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>-<a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[Pg 486]</a></span>William Frederick, Prince of Orange (afterwards William I., King of the Netherlands), <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_378">378</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">William, Prince of Orange (afterwards William II., King of the Netherlands), <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wilson, Sir Robert, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wiltshire, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Winchester, school, <a href="#Page_429">429</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Winchilsea, Earl of (Finch-Hatton), <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Winder, American general, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Windham, William, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">secretary for war and colonies, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Windsor Castle, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain"><i>Windsor Castle</i>, the, British ship, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wittgenstein, Russian general, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Worcester, bishop of (Carr), <a href="#Page_299">299</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wordsworth, William, <a href="#Page_416">416</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Würtemburg, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Wynn, Charles Williams, president of the board of control, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Yanzi, gorge, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Yarmouth, Viscount (Ingram-Seymour Conway), afterwards third Marquis of Hertford, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Yeo, Sir James, captain, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Yorck, Count, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">York, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">York (Toronto), <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">York (Frederick), Duke of (son of George III.), <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a> n., <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Yorke, Charles Philip, home secretary, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">first lord of the admiralty, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</p> +<p class="indsub">retirement, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Yorkshire, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_432">432</a>, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.</p> + + +<p class="indnewlet">Zadorra, river, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Zaragoza, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Zemán Sháh, King of Afghánistán, <a href="#Page_397">397</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Znaim, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</p> + +<p class="indmain">Zumalacarregui, Carlist general, <a href="#Page_390">390</a>, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.</p> + + +<p class="center gap4">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, ABERDEEN</p> + +<div class="txnotes"> +<h3>TRANSCRIBERS' NOTE</h3> +<p class="footnote">The following images are thumbnails. Clicking on them will link to a larger version of the map</p> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter gap2" style="width: 173px;"> +<a name="MAP_I" id="MAP_I"></a> +<a href="images/map1.png"><img src="images/map1th.png" width="173" height="325" alt="GREAT BRITAIN showing PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION according to the REFORM ACT OF 1832." title="" /> +</a> +</div> +<p class="caption center">GREAT BRITAIN showing PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION according to the REFORM ACT OF 1832.</p> + +<div class="figcenter gap2" style="width: 237px;"> +<a name="MAP_II" id="MAP_II"></a> +<a href="images/map2.png"><img src="images/map2th.png" width="237" height="178" alt="MAP OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL illustrating THE PENINSULAR WAR." title="" /> +</a> +</div> +<p class="caption center">MAP OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL illustrating THE PENINSULAR WAR.</p> + +<div class="figcenter gap2" style="width: 196px;"> +<a name="MAP_III" id="MAP_III"></a> +<a href="images/map3.png"><img src="images/map3th.png" width="196" height="213" alt="INDIA" title="" /> +</a> +</div> +<p class="caption center">INDIA</p> + +<div class="txnotes"> +<h3>TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES</h3> +<p class="footnote">General: Changes to punctuation have not been individually documented</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 11: reopen standardised to re-open</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 13: Shortlived standardised to Short-lived</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 42, 187, 189, 466, 486, footnote 66: Spelling of +Würtemberg, Würtemburg as in original</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 47, 296: short-sighted standardised to shortsighted</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 60: heartbreaking standardised to heart-breaking</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 66: Lord Granville Leveson Gower standardised to Leveson-Gower (note that +Francis Leveson Gower never has a hyphen in the original or this version)</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 85: non-conformists standardised to nonconformists</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 94: shortlived standardised to short-lived</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 108, 113: rearguard standardised to rear-guard</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 109, 363: Spelling of make-shift, makeshift not standardised +as usage differs</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 127: flag-ship standardised to flagship</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 176: lifelong standardised to life-long</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 182: it corrected to its after "measure of relief owes"</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 183: bank-notes standardised to banknotes</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 201: But replaced by but at start of page as it is a continuation of the +sentence from the previous page</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 252: wofully as in original</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 260, 481, 484: Spelling of Akkerman, Akherman as in original</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 274: deathblow standardised to death-blow</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 289, 361 and 374: Spelling of rate-paying and ratepaying not +standardised as it is used in two different contexts</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 298: ring-leaders standardised to ringleaders</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 316: tithe proctor standardised to tithe-proctor</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 316: beneficies as in original</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 335: house-holders standardised to householders</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 341: outdoor standardised to out-door</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 345: tithe proctors standardised to tithe-proctors</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 349: re-assembled standardised to reassembled</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 362: over-ride standardised to override</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 393, 403, 475: Spelling of Mahmud and Mahmúd not standardised as it +is used in two different contexts</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 394: MUNCHENGRATZ standardised to MÜNCHENGRÄTZ</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 407, 416, 462: Spelling of Khan and Khán not standardised as it +is used in two different contexts</p> + +<p class="footnote">Pages 427, 465: Spelling of Callcott, Calcott as in original</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 443: Italicisation of "Constitutional History of England +from 1760 to 1860" corrected</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 461: Aetolia standardised to Ætolia</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 461: Aegean standardised to Ægean</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 463: In entry Beauharnais, Eugene standardised to Eugène</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 464: Bridgewater standardised to Bridgwater</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 475: Malhar standardised to Malhár</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 475: In entry Louis Antoine, Angouléme standardised to Angoulême</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 475: In entry Louis Philippe, Orleans standardised to Orléans</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 479: Pressgang standardised to Press-gang</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 483: ) added to entry for Stewart, Sir Charles, after Londonderry</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 483: ) added to entry for Switzerland, after republic</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 483: Thermopylae standardised to Thermopylæ</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 484: Volgo standardised to Volga</p> + +<p class="footnote">Page 486: Ingram-Seymour Conway corrected to Ingram-Seymour-Conway</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Political History of England - Vol +XI, by George Brodrick and J.K. 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Fotheringham + +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: The Political History of England - Vol XI + From Addington's Administration to the close of William + IV.'s Reign (1801-1837) + +Author: George Brodrick + J.K. Fotheringham + +Release Date: September 30, 2008 [EBook #26727] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Murray, Brownfox and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + + + + + + + _THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND_ + + +_Seventy-five years have passed since Lingard completed his_ HISTORY OF +ENGLAND, _which ends with the Revolution of 1688. During that period +historical study has made a great advance. Year after year the mass of +materials for a new History of England has increased; new lights have +been thrown on events and characters, and old errors have been +corrected. Many notable works have been written on various periods of +our history; some of them at such length as to appeal almost exclusively +to professed historical students. It is believed that the time has come +when the advance which has been made in the knowledge of English history +as a whole should be laid before the public in a single work of fairly +adequate size. Such a book should be founded on independent thought and +research, but should at the same time be written with a full knowledge +of the works of the best modern historians and with a desire to take +advantage of their teaching wherever it appears sound._ + +_The vast number of authorities, printed and in manuscript, on which a +History of England should be based, if it is to represent the existing +state of knowledge, renders co-operation almost necessary and certainly +advisable. The History, of which this volume is an instalment, is an +attempt to set forth in a readable form the results at present attained +by research. It will consist of twelve volumes by twelve different +writers, each of them chosen as being specially capable of dealing with +the period which he undertakes, and the editors, while leaving to each +author as free a hand as possible, hope to insure a general similarity +in method of treatment, so that the twelve volumes may in their +contents, as well as in their outward appearance, form one History._ + +_As its title imports, this History will primarily deal with politics, +with the History of England and, after the date of the union with +Scotland, Great Britain, as a state or body politic; but as the life of +a nation is complex, and its condition at any given time cannot be +understood without taking into account the various forces acting upon +it, notices of religious matters and of intellectual, social, and +economic progress will also find place in these volumes. The footnotes +will, so far as is possible, be confined to references to authorities, +and references will not be appended to statements which appear to be +matters of common knowledge and do not call for support. Each volume +will have an Appendix giving some account of the chief authorities, +original and secondary, which the author has used. This account will be +compiled with a view of helping students rather than of making long +lists of books without any notes as to their contents or value. That the +History will have faults both of its own and such as will always in some +measure attend co-operative work, must be expected, but no pains have +been spared to make it, so far as may be, not wholly unworthy of the +greatness of its subject._ + +_Each volume, while forming part of a complete History, will also in +itself be a separate and complete book, will be sold separately, and +will have its own index, and two or more maps._ + +The History is divided as follows:-- + +Vol. I. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST (to 1066). By + Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L., Litt.D., Fellow of University College, + London; Fellow of the British Academy. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. II. FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO THE DEATH OF JOHN (1066-1216). By + George Burton Adams, D.D., Litt.D., Professor of History in Yale + University. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. III. FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY III. TO THE DEATH OF EDWARD III. + (1216-1377). By T. F. Tout, M.A., Bishop Fraser Professor of + Mediaeval and Ecclesiastical History in the University of Manchester; + formerly Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. IV. FROM THE ACCESSION OF RICHARD II. TO THE DEATH OF RICHARD III. + (1377-1485). By C. W. C. Oman, M.A., LL.D., M.P., Chichele Professor + of Modern History in the University of Oxford; Fellow of the British + Academy. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. V. FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VII. TO THE DEATH OF HENRY VIII. + (1485-1547). By the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, M.A., M.P., + President of the Board of Education; Fellow of the British Academy. + With 2 Maps. + +Vol. VI. FROM THE ACCESSION OF EDWARD VI. TO THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH + (1547-1603). By A. F. Pollard, M.A., Litt.D., Fellow of All Souls' + College, Oxford, and Professor of English History in the University + of London. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. VII. FROM THE ACCESSION OF JAMES I. TO THE RESTORATION (1603-1660). + By F. C. Montague, M.A., Astor Professor of History in University + College, London; formerly Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. With 3 + Maps. + +Vol. VIII. FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE DEATH OF WILLIAM III. + (1660-1702). By Sir Richard Lodge, M.A., LL.D., Litt.D., Professor + of History in the University of Edinburgh; formerly Fellow of + Brasenose College, Oxford. With 2 Maps. + +Vol. IX. FROM THE ACCESSION OF ANNE TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II. + (1702-1760). By I. S. Leadam, M.A., formerly Fellow of Brasenose + College, Oxford. With 8 Maps. + +Vol. X. FROM THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE III. TO THE CLOSE OF PITT'S FIRST + ADMINISTRATION (1760-1801). By the Rev. William Hunt, M.A., D.Litt., + Trinity College, Oxford. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. XI. FROM ADDINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION TO THE CLOSE OF WILLIAM IV.'S + REIGN (1801-1837). By the Hon. George C. Brodrick, D.C.L., late + Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and J. K. Fotheringham, M.A., + D.Litt., Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford; Lecturer in Ancient + History at King's College, London. With 3 Maps. + +Vol. XII. THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA (1837-1901). By Sir Sidney Low, + M.A., Fellow of King's College, London; formerly Scholar of Balliol + College, Oxford, and Lloyd C. Sanders, B.A. With 3 Maps. + + + + + The Political History of England + + IN TWELVE VOLUMES + + EDITED BY WILLIAM HUNT, D.LITT., AND + REGINALD L. POOLE, M.A. + + + + + XI. + + THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND + + FROM ADDINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION TO + + THE CLOSE OF WILLIAM IV.'S REIGN + + 1801-1837 + + + + + BY THE + + HON. GEORGE C. BRODRICK, D.C.L. + + LATE WARDEN OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD + + COMPLETED AND REVISED BY + + J. K. FOTHERINGHAM, M.A., D.LITT. + + FELLOW OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD; LECTURER IN + ANCIENT HISTORY AT KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON + + + _NEW IMPRESSION_ + + + LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. + + 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON + + FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK + + BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS + + 1919 + + + + +_NOTE._ + + +_When the late Warden of Merton undertook the preparation of this volume +he invited the assistance of Dr. Fotheringham in the portions dealing +with foreign affairs. At the time of the late Warden's death in 1903 +three chapters (x., xii. and xviii.) were unwritten, and one (xx.) was +left incomplete. It was also found that the volume had to be recast in +order to meet the plan of the series. The necessary alterations and +additions have been made by Dr. Fotheringham, who has been scrupulous in +retaining the expression of the late Warden's views, and, where +possible, his words._ + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + ADDINGTON. + PAGE + + Mar., 1801. The new ministry 1 + Condition of Ireland 2 + Expedition to Copenhagen 3 + Sept. Egypt evacuated by the French 6 + French diplomatic successes 6 + Bonaparte's concordat with the pope 7 + Peace negotiations with France 8 + Cornwallis at Amiens 10 +25 Mar., 1802. The treaty of Amiens 12 + Parliamentary criticism of the treaty 14 + July. General election 15 + Nov. Colonel Despard's conspiracy 16 + Further aggressions of Napoleon 17 + His colonial policy 18 + Negotiations between Whitworth and the French government 19 + 18 May, 1803. Renewal of the war with France 22 + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE RETURN OF PITT. + +23 July, 1803. Emmet's rebellion 23 + Pitt's discontent with the ministry 24 + Ministerial changes 27 + Jan., 1804. The king's illness 29 + April. Addington's resignation 31 + The exclusion of Fox 32 + 18 May. Napoleon declared emperor 33 + Pitt's ministry 34 + The impeachment of Melville 36 + July. The third coalition 37 + Nelson's pursuit of Villeneuve 39 +21 Oct., 1805. The battle of Trafalgar 40 + Napoleon marches into Germany 41 + Dec. Austerlitz: the peace of Pressburg 42 + Collapse of the coalition 43 +23 Jan., 1806. Death of Pitt 43 + + + CHAPTER III. + + GRENVILLE AND PORTLAND. + + Feb., 1806. Formation of the Grenville ministry 45 + 13 Sept. Death of Fox 46 + 14 Oct. Jena and Auerstaedt 47 + General election 48 +25 Mar., 1807. Abolition of the slave trade 48 + Fall of the whig government 49 + The Portland administration 50 + General election 50 + 7 July. The treaty of Tilsit 52 + Seizure of the Danish fleet 54 + The "continental system" and orders in council 55 + Fruitless expeditions 56 + 12 Oct. Conference of Erfurt 59 + Army scandals 60 + The Wagram campaign 63 + July, 1809. The Walcheren expedition 64 + 21 Sept. Duel between Canning and Castlereagh 67 + Oct. Perceval's administration 68 + Capture of the Ionian Isles and Bourbon 69 + 25. Jubilee of George III. 69 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + PERCEVAL AND LIVERPOOL. + + Jan., 1810. Debates on the Walcheren expedition 71 + April. The arrest of Burdett 72 + Appointment of the "Bullion committee" 73 + The king's insanity: regency bill 74 + 11 May, 1812. Assassination of Perceval 76 + 1809-11. Social reforms in his ministry 77 + July, 1810. Deposition of Louis Bonaparte 78 + Opposition in Europe to the continental system 78 + Alliances formed by Russia and France 81 + Conquest of Java and Sumatra 81 + June, 1812. The formation of Liverpool's cabinet 81 + 1811-12. Distress in town and country 83 + Oct., 1812. General election 85 + 1813. Confirmation of the East India Company's charter 86 + + + CHAPTER V. + + THE PENINSULAR WAR. + + 1807, 1808. The origin of the war 87 + Charles IV. and Ferdinand VII. seek the + protection of Napoleon 87 + 1808. Napoleon's plans for the conquest of Spain 88 + 24 July. Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed King of Spain 89 + 13 Aug. Landing of Wellesley 90 + 21. Battle of Vimeiro 91 +Oct., 1808.- Expedition of Sir John Moore 92 + Jan., 1809. + 16 Jan. Battle of Coruna 95 + Wellesley returns to Portugal 97 + 27 July. Battle of Talavera 98 + Sept., 1810. Bussaco: the lines of Torres Vedras 101 + Struggle for the frontier fortresses 103 + 16 May, 1811. Battle of Albuera 103 +Jan.-April, Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz 105 + 1812. + 22 July. Battle of Salamanca 107 + 1812, 1813. Wellington reorganises the Spanish and Portuguese armies 109 +21 June, 1813. Battle of Vitoria 110 + Battle of the Pyrenees 113 + Siege of St. Sebastian 113 + 8 Oct. Wellington crosses the Bidassoa 115 + Battles round Bayonne 115 + Feb., 1814. The investment of Bayonne 117 + 10 April. Battle of Toulouse 119 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON. + + 1812. French treaties with Prussia and Austria 122 + Alliances made by Russia 123 + June. Napoleon's advance into Russia 124 + His retreat 125 + War between England and the United States 126 + Attacks on Canada 129 + American successes at sea 131 + Feb., 1813. Treaty of Kalisch 134 + Austrian diplomacy 135 + 2, 21 May. Luetzen and Bautzen 135 + Aug., Oct. Dresden and Leipzig 137 + France loses Saxony, Holland, and Switzerland 138 + American war continued 138 + 1 June. Duel of the _Shannon_ and _Chesapeake_ 142 +Jan.-Mar., Campaign in France 143 + 1814. + April. Napoleon deposed: Louis XVIII. recalled 145 + 24 Dec. Treaty of Ghent 147 + July. Visit of Alexander and Frederick William to England 148 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + VIENNA AND WATERLOO. + +30 May, 1814. The first treaty of Paris 149 + English blockade of Norwegian ports 150 + Union of Sweden and Norway 150 + Restoration of Ferdinand VII. and Pius VII. 150 + Attempts to abolish the slave trade 151 +Sept., 1814- Congress of Vienna 152 + June, 1815. + 3 Jan., 1815. Secret treaty between England, France, and Austria 153 + 1 March. Napoleon's return from Elba 153 + Flight of Louis XVIII.: the _Acte Additionnel_ 155 + Plans of the allies 156 + Defeat and death of Murat 157 + June. Wellington at Brussels: his army 158 + 16. Ligny and Quatre Bras 159 + 18. Waterloo 160 + July. Paris occupied by the allies 163 + 22 June. Second abdication of Napoleon 165 + His surrender to England 165 + Restoration of Louis XVIII.: treaty of Vienna 166 + Resettlement of Europe 166 + 20 Nov. Second treaty of Paris: English gains 167 + 26 Sept. The Holy Alliance 168 + Napoleon at St. Helena 169 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + THE FIRST YEARS OF PEACE. + + 1816. Depression and discontent 171 + Vansittart's financial policy 173 + Union of British and Irish exchequers 174 + 2 Dec., 1816. Spa Fields riot 175 + Prosecution of Hone 177 + 1818. General election 178 +16 Aug., 1819. The "Manchester massacre" 178 + Dec. The six acts 180 + 1817, 1819. Institution of savings banks: currency reform 182 + 6 Nov., 1817. Death of Princess Charlotte 184 + 1818. Royal marriages 184 +29 Jan., 1820. Death of George III. 185 + Royalist reaction in Europe 187 + 1816. Expedition against the Barbary states 187 + 1819. Murder of Kotzebue 189 +30 Sept., Conference of Aix-la-Chapelle 189 + 1818. + Spain asks for assistance from the allies 190 + The European alliance 190 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE LAST YEARS OF LORD LIVERPOOL. + + 1820. The Cato Street conspiracy 192 + Dissolution of parliament 193 + The "queen's trial" 194 + 7 Aug., 1821. Her death 196 + 1822. Changes in the cabinet 199 + 12 Aug. Death of Castlereagh 199 + Sept. Canning foreign secretary 200 + Jan. Peel home secretary 201 + 1823. Reform of the navigation laws 202 + Agricultural discontent 203 + 1825. Speculative frenzy and financial panic 205 + 1823-26. Robinson's finance 206 + General election of 1826 207 + Close of Liverpool's ministry 208 + + + CHAPTER X. + + PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE. + + 1820. Revolution in Spain: policy of non-intervention 210 + July, Aug. Revolutions in the Two Sicilies and Portugal 211 + 20 Oct. Congress of Troppau 211 + Jan., 1821. Congress of Laibach 212 + Mar., April. Revolution in Piedmont: Austrian intervention 213 + Insurrections in the Morea and Central Greece 214 + Aug. "Sanitary cordon" 215 + Ultra-royalist parties in France and Spain 215 + Loss of Spanish colonies in America 215 + 1822. Conference at Vienna 216 + 20 Oct. Congress of Verona 217 + Offer of mediation declined 218 +7 April, 1823. War between France and Spain 220 +12 Oct., 1822. Independence of Brazil 221 + July, 1825. Conference at London 222 + 2 Dec., 1823. The Monroe doctrine 223 + 1824-25. Conference at St. Petersburg 224 + 1 Dec., 1825. Death of the Tsar Alexander I. 225 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + TORY DISSENSION AND CATHOLIC RELIEF. + + April, 1827. Formation of Canning's ministry 227 + Additions to the ministry 228 + 8 Aug. Death of Canning 228 + Sept. Goderich's cabinet 229 + Dissensions: resignation of Goderich 230 + 9 Jan., 1828. Wellington accepts office 230 + The Eastern question 232 +20 Oct., 1827. Navarino 233 + 1828. Repeal of the test and corporation acts 235 + May, June. Changes in the ministry 236 + June, July. The Clare election 237 + 1821. Measures for catholic relief 239 + 1825. Further measures 241 + George IV.'s opposition to catholic relief 244 + 1829. Wellington and Peel adopt catholic relief 245 + Mar., April. Debates on the bill 246 + 13 April. The royal assent 249 + 21 Mar. Duel between Wellington and Winchilsea 250 + Exclusion of O'Connell from Parliament 251 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + PORTUGAL AND GREECE. + +10 Mar., 1826. Death of John VI. of Portugal 253 + 2 May. Peter abdicates in favour of his daughter Maria 254 + 31 July. Miguel proclaimed king by the absolutists 254 + Dec. England sends troops to help the Portuguese government 255 + 3 Mar., 1828. Peter appoints Miguel regent for Maria 258 + Dec., 1827. The sultan defies Russia 260 +26 April, Russia makes war on the Turks 263 + 1828. + Negotiations for settlement of Greek question 264 + Oct., Nov. French troops expel the Turks from the Morea 265 + Terms of settlement agreed on at Poros and London 266 +14 Sept., Peace of Adrianople 267 + 1829. + 3 Feb., 1830. Greece independent: throne offered to Prince Leopold 268 + France conquers Algiers 269 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + PRELUDE OF REFORM. + + 1830. Amalgamation of English and Welsh benches 271 + Motions for reform 271 + 26 June. Death of George IV. 272 + General election 274 + 15 Sept. Death of Huskisson 275 + Wellington's opposition to reform 277 + Fall of his ministry 278 + Nov. Grey accepts office 278 + His cabinet 279 + The regency bill 281 + Feb., 1831. Althorp's first budget 283 + Public demand for reform 285 + Draft of the first reform bill 287 + System of representation in the unreformed house 288 + Popular excitement: second reading of the bill 291 + Dissolution of parliament 292 + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + THE REFORM. + + 1831. General election 293 + 24 June. Second reform bill introduced 294 + 8 Oct. Rejection by the lords 296 + Reform bill riots 296 + Attempts at compromise in the lords 299 + 12 Dec. Final reform bill introduced 300 + Gradual loss of the king's confidence in the ministry 302 + 9 May, 1832. Grey resigns 302 + Wellington unable to form a ministry 303 + The king recalls Grey 304 + 4 June. Third reading of the bill 304 + Scotch and Irish reform bills carried 306 + 26 Oct. The cholera epidemic 309 + 1831. The census 311 + State of Ireland 312 + O'Connell's agitation 312 + The "tithe-war" in Ireland 314 + Legislation for Ireland 316 + The Kildare Place Society 317 + + + CHAPTER XV. + + FRUITS OF THE REFORM. + + 1832. General election 318 + 1833. Irish coercion bill 320 + Irish Church temporalities bill 322 + Ministerial changes 325 + Abolition of colonial slavery 326 + Factory acts 327 + The East India Company act 328 + Bank charter act 330 + Formation of judicial committee of the privy council 332 + Act for the abolition of fines and recoveries 333 +1831, 1832, Althorp's budgets 334 + 1833. + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND POOR LAW REFORM. + + 1833. The Tractarian movement 336 + 1832. First meeting of the British Association 338 + Foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church 339 + 1834. The "new poor law" 340 + Creation of a central poor law board 343 + Ministerial discord 344 + 9 July. Grey's resignation 346 + Formation of Melbourne's ministry 347 + 16 Oct. Destruction of the houses of parliament 349 + 14 Nov. Melbourne's resignation 350 + Wellington's provisional government 351 + Dec. Peel's cabinet 352 + The Tamworth manifesto 353 + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + PEEL AND MELBOURNE. + + Jan., 1835. General election 354 + Feb. Abercromby elected speaker 354 + The "Lichfield House compact" 356 + April. Peel's resignation 356 + Melbourne's second ministry 357 + Exclusion of Brougham 357 + Municipal corporations act 360 + Jan., 1836. Cottenham lord chancellor 363 + Conflict with the lords on Irish bills 365 + Tithe commutation act (English) 365 + Reformed marriage law 366 + Registration system 366 + 1835, 1836. Crusade against Orange lodges 367 + 1836. The paper duties lowered 369 + Committee on agricultural distress 370 + 1836, 1837. Agitation in Ireland 371 + 1837. Irish municipal bill 372 + Church rates 373 + Burdett secedes from the whig party 374 + 20 June. Death of William IV. 375 + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + FOREIGN RELATIONS UNDER WILLIAM IV. + + July, 1830. The revolution of July 376 + Recognition of Louis Philippe by the Powers 377 + Sept. Belgian provinces in revolt 379 + 20 Dec. Protocol of London 381 + June, 1831. Election of Leopold as King of the Belgians 383 + Aug. War between Belgium and Holland 384 + French troops enter Belgium 384 + Nov. British and French fleets blockade the Scheldt 386 + Nov., 1833. Convention between Holland and Belgium 387 + 1830. Insurrections in Switzerland, Poland, Italy, etc. 387 + 1831, 1832. Capture of Warsaw; Polish constitution abolished 388 +7 April, 1831. Peter leaves Brazil for Portugal 388 + Carlist rebellion in Spain 389 +22 April, The quadruple alliance 389 + 1834. + 26 May. Miguel renounces his claims 390 + 9 Oct., 1831. Capodistrias (Greek president) assassinated 392 + 1832. Otto of Bavaria becomes King of Greece 392 + 1831. War between Ibrahim and the Sultan 393 + 1833. Treaties of Kiutayeh and Unkiar Skelessi 394 + 8 Sept. Secret convention at Muenchengraetz 395 + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + BRITISH INDIA. + + 1801. Annexation of the Karnatik 397 + 1803. Assaye and Argaum 399 + 1805. Resignation of Lord Wellesley 399 +10 July, 1806. Mutiny at Vellore 400 + Lord Minto's pacific policy 401 + 1801-10. Treaties with Persia 402 + Elphinstone in Afghanistan 403 + 1813. Lord Moira appointed governor-general 404 + The Pindari war 405 + 1818. Subjugation of the Pindaris 407 + First Burmese war 408 + Abolition of sati 410 + Extirpation of thagi 411 + Defence of Herat 412 + Communication with India 413 + Burnes's mission to Kabul 413 + + + CHAPTER XX. + + LITERATURE AND SOCIAL PROGRESS. + + The "Lake school" 416 + Scott's novels 418 + Minor poets: philosophical works 420 + Newspapers and reviews 422 + Essayists and historians 425 + The arts: painting, sculpture 427 + Scientific discoveries 428 + University reform 429 + Formation of London University 431 + Improvements in agriculture 433 + Steam navigation 434 + The first railways 435 + Geographical discovery 436 + Philanthropy 436 + Canada 437 + South Africa 438 + Convict settlements in Australia 438 + Development of Australia 439 + + +APPENDIX I. On Authorities 443 + II. Administrations, 1801-37 451 + + + MAPS. + + (AT THE END OF THE VOLUME.) + +1. Great Britain, showing the parliamentary representation after the + reform. +2. Spain and Portugal, illustrating the Peninsular war. +3. India. + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + ADDINGTON. + + +When, early in March, 1801, Pitt resigned office, he was succeeded by +Henry Addington, who had been speaker of the house of commons for over +eleven years, and who now received the seals of office as first lord of +the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer on March 14, 1801. He was +able to retain the services of the Duke of Portland as home secretary, +of Lord Chatham as president of the council, and of Lord Westmorland as +lord privy seal. For the rest, his colleagues were, like himself, new to +cabinet rank. Lord Hawkesbury (afterwards the second Earl of Liverpool) +became foreign secretary, and Lord Hobart, son of the Earl of +Buckinghamshire, secretary for war. Loughborough reaped the due reward +of his treachery by being excluded from the ministry altogether; with a +curious obstinacy he persisted in attending cabinet councils, until a +letter from Addington informed him that his presence was not desired. He +received some small consolation, however, in his elevation to the +Earldom of Rosslyn. Lord Eldon was the new chancellor and was destined +to hold the office uninterruptedly, except for the brief ministry of Fox +and Grenville, till 1827. Lord St. Vincent became first lord of the +admiralty, and Lord Lewisham president of the board of control. +Cornwallis had resigned with Pitt, but it was not till June 16 that a +successor was found for him as master general of the ordnance. It was +then arranged that Chatham should take this office. Portland succeeded +Chatham as lord president, and Lord Pelham, whose father had just been +created Earl of Chichester, became home secretary instead of Portland. +An important change was introduced into the distribution of work between +the different secretaries of state, the administration of colonial +affairs being transferred from the home to the war office, so that +Hobart and his successors down to 1854 were known as secretaries of +state for war and the colonies. Soon afterwards Lewisham succeeded his +father as Earl of Dartmouth. + +Though the Addington ministry has, not without justice, been derided for +its weakness as compared with its immediate predecessor, it is +interesting to observe that in it one of the greatest of English judges +as well as a future premier, destined to display an unique power of +holding his party together, first attained to cabinet rank; and in the +following year it was reinforced by Castlereagh, who disputes with +Canning the honour of being regarded as the ablest statesman of what was +then the younger generation. The weakness of the ministry must therefore +be attributed to a lack of experience rather than a lack of talent. It +was unfortunate in succeeding a particularly strong administration, but +is well able to bear comparison with most of the later ministries of +George III. Addington himself was in more thorough sympathy with the +king than any premier before or after. Conversation with Addington was, +according to the king, like "thinking aloud"; and with a king who, like +George III., still regarded himself as responsible for the national +policy, hearty co-operation between king and premier was a matter of no +slight importance. + +In the early days of the new administration Pitt loyally kept his +promise of friendly support, and it is to be deplored that Grenville and +Canning did not adopt the same course. While the issue of peace and war +was pending, domestic legislation inevitably remained in abeyance. In +Ireland serious disappointment had been caused by the abandonment of +catholic emancipation; but the disappointment was borne quietly, and the +Irish Roman catholics doubtless did not foresee to what a distance of +time the removal of their disabilities had been postponed. The just and +mild rule of the new lord lieutenant, Lord Hardwicke, contributed to the +pacification of the country. But in reality the conduct of the movement +for emancipation was only passing into new hands; when it reappeared it +was no longer led by catholic lords and bishops, but was a peasant +movement, headed by the unscrupulous demagogue O'Connell. In these +circumstances it is to be regretted that the new administration +neglected to carry that one of the half-promised concessions to the +catholics which could not offend the king's conscience, namely, the +commutation of tithe. Nothing in the protestant ascendency was so +irritating to the catholic peasantry as the necessity of paying tithe to +a protestant clergy, and its commutation, while benefiting the clergy +themselves, would have removed the occasion of subsequent agitation. The +spirit of disloyalty, however, was believed to be by no means extinct +either in Ireland or in Great Britain, and two stringent acts were +passed to repress it. The first, for the continuance of martial law in +Ireland, was supported by almost all the Irish speakers in the house of +commons, where it was carried without a division, and was adopted in the +house of lords by an overwhelming majority, after an impressive speech +from Lord Clare. The second, for the suspension of the _habeas corpus_ +act in the whole United Kingdom was framed to remain in force "during +the continuance of the war, and for one month after the signing of a +definitive treaty of peace". + +[Pageheading: _THE HORNE TOOKE ACT._] + +The only other measure of permanent interest which became law in this +session was the so-called "Horne Tooke act," occasioned by the return of +Horne Tooke, who was in holy orders, for Old Sarum. Such a return was +contrary to custom, but the precedents collected by a committee of the +house of commons were inconclusive. It was accordingly enacted that in +future clergymen of the established churches should be ineligible for +seats in parliament, while Horne Tooke was deemed to have been validly +elected, and retained his seat. The house of commons found time, +however, for an important and well-sustained debate on India, in which +among others Dundas, now no longer in office, showed a thorough +knowledge of questions affecting Indian finance and trade. + +The naval expedition which had been prepared in the last days of Pitt's +administration sailed for Copenhagen on March 12, 1801, under Sir Hyde +Parker, with Nelson as second in command. The admiral in chief was of a +cautious temper, but was wise enough to allow himself to be guided by +Nelson's judgment when planning an engagement, though not as to the +general course of the expedition. The fleet consisted of sixteen ships +of the line and thirty-four smaller vessels; all these with the +exception of one ship of the line reached the Skaw on the 18th. A +frigate was sent in advance with instructions to Vansittart, the +British envoy at Copenhagen, to present an ultimatum to the Danish +government,[1] demanding a favourable answer to the British demands +within forty-eight hours. For three days Parker waited at anchor +eighteen miles from Elsinore, and it was only when Vansittart brought an +unfavourable reply on the 23rd that he took Nelson into his counsels. He +readily adopted Nelson's plan of ignoring the Danish batteries at +Kronborg and making a circuit so as to attack Copenhagen at the weak +southern end of its defences, but set aside his project of masking +Copenhagen and making straight for a Russian squadron of twelve ships of +the line which was lying icebound at Revel. The fair weather of the 26th +was wasted in irresolution, and it was not till the 30th that the fleet +was able to weigh anchor. It passed Kronborg in safety and anchored five +miles north of Copenhagen. + +Parker placed under Nelson's immediate command twelve ships of the line +and twenty-one smaller vessels, by far the greater part of the British +fleet. With these he was to pass to the east of a shoal called the +Middle Ground and attack the defences of Copenhagen from the south, +while Parker with the remainder of the fleet was to make a demonstration +against the more formidable northern defences. The wind could not of +course favour both attacks simultaneously, and it was agreed that the +attack should be made when the wind favoured Nelson. The nights of the +30th and 31st were spent in reconnoitring and laying buoys. On April 1 a +north wind brought Nelson's squadron past the Middle Ground, and on the +next day a south wind enabled him to attack the Danish fleet, if fleet +it may be called. At the north end of the Danish position stood the only +permanent battery, the Trekroner, with two hulks or blockships; the rest +consisted of seven blockships and eleven floating batteries, drawn up +along the shore. An attack on the south end of the line was also exposed +to batteries on the island of Amager. Nelson's intention was to close +with the whole Danish fleet, but three of his ships of the line were +stranded and he was obliged to leave the assault on the northern end +entirely to lighter vessels. + +[Pageheading: _BATTLE OF THE BALTIC._] + +The Danish batteries proved more powerful than had been anticipated, and +as time went on and the Danish resistance did not appear to lose in +strength, Parker grew doubtful of the result of the battle and gave the +order to cease action. The order was apparently not intended to be +imperative, but it had the effect of inducing Riou, who commanded the +frigate squadron, to sail away to the north. For the rest of the fleet +obedience was out of the question. Nelson acknowledged, but refused to +repeat the order, and, jocularly placing his glass to his blind eye, +declared that he could not see the signal. At length the British +cannonade told. Fischer, the Danish commander, had had to shift his flag +twice, at the second time to the Trekroner, and all the ships south of +that battery had either ceased fire or were practically helpless. The +Trekroner, however, was still unsubdued and rendered it impossible for +Nelson's squadron to retire, in the only direction which the wind would +allow, without severe loss. He accordingly sent a message to the Danish +Prince Regent, declaring that he would be compelled to burn the +batteries he had taken, without saving their crews, unless firing +ceased. If a truce were arranged until he could take his prisoners out +of the prizes, he was prepared to land the wounded Danes, and burn or +remove the prizes. A truce for twenty-four hours was accordingly +arranged, which Nelson employed to remove his own fleet unmolested. + +The destruction of the southern batteries left Copenhagen exposed to +bombardment, and the Danes, unable to resist, yet afraid to offend the +tsar by submission, prolonged the time from day to day till news arrived +which removed all occasion for hostility. Unknown to either of the +combatants, the Tsar Paul, the life and soul of the northern +confederacy, had been murdered on the night of March 23, ten days before +the battle, and with his death the league was practically dissolved. +When Nelson advanced further into the Baltic, he found no hostile fleet +awaiting him, and the new tsar, Alexander, adopting an opposite policy, +entered into a compromise on the subject of maritime rights. The battle +of the Baltic is considered by some to have been Nelson's masterpiece. +It won for him the title of viscount and for his second in command, +Rear-Admiral Graves, the gift of the ribbon of the Bath, but the +admiralty, for official reasons, declined to confer any public reward +or honour on the officers concerned in it. + +At the same time, the French occupation of Egypt was drawing towards its +inevitable close. Kleber, who was left in command by Bonaparte, perished +by the hand of an assassin, and Menou, who succeeded to the command, was +not only a weak general, but was prevented from receiving any +reinforcements by the naval supremacy of Great Britain in the +Mediterranean. On March 21, 1801, the French army was defeated at the +battle of Alexandria by the British force sent out under Sir Ralph +Abercromby, who was himself mortally wounded on the field. His +successor, General Hutchinson, completed his work by taking Cairo, +before the arrival of General Baird, who had led a mixed body of British +soldiers and sepoys from the Red Sea across the desert to the Nile. The +capitulation of Alexandria soon followed. In September the French +evacuated Egypt, the remains of their army were conveyed to France in +English ships, and Bonaparte's long-cherished dreams of eastern conquest +faded away for ever--not from his own imagination, but from the +calculations of practical statesmanship. + +French arms, and French diplomacy supported by armed force, were more +successful elsewhere. The treaty of Luneville was only the first of a +series of treaties, by which France secured to herself a political +position commensurate with her military glory. By the treaty of Aranjuez +between France and Spain, signed on March 21, Spain ceded Louisiana to +France, reserving the right of pre-emption, and undertook to wage war on +Portugal in order to detach it from the British alliance. Spain and +Portugal were both lukewarm in this war, and on June 6 signed the treaty +of Badajoz, by which Portugal agreed to close her ports to England, to +pay an indemnity to Spain, and to cede the small district of Olivenza, +south of Badajoz. Bonaparte was intensely irritated by this treaty, +which deprived him of the hope of exchanging conquests in Portugal for +British colonial conquests in any future negotiations; he declared that +Spain would have to pay by the sacrifice of her colonies for the +conquered French colonies which he still hoped to recover. A French army +was despatched to Portugal and enabled Bonaparte to dictate the treaty +of Madrid, signed on September 29, whereby Portugal ceded half Guiana to +France and undertook, as at Badajoz, to close her ports against +England. + +[Pageheading: _INFLUENCES MAKING FOR PEACE._] + +This last condition was equally imposed on the King of the Two Sicilies +by the treaty of Florence, concluded on March 28, and before the end of +the year France had established friendly relations with the Sultan of +Turkey and the new Tsar of Russia. More important still, as +consolidating Bonaparte's power at home, was the concordat signed by him +and the pope on July 15 recognising Roman Catholicism as the religion of +the majority of Frenchmen, and of the consuls, guaranteeing stipends, +though on an abjectly mean scale, to the clergy, and placing the entire +patronage of the French Church in the hands of the first consul. Never +since the French revolution had the Church been thus acknowledged as the +auxiliary, or rather as the handmaid, of the state, and probably no one +but the first consul could have brought about the reconciliation. After +such exertions, even he may have sincerely desired an honourable peace, +as the crown of his victories, or at least as a breathing time, to +enable him to mature his vast designs for reorganising France. Perhaps +he did not yet fully recognise that war was a necessity of his political +ascendency, no less than of his own personal character. The French +people still clung to republican institutions; and the consulate was a +nominal republic, with all effective power vested in the first consul. +Time was to show how largely this unique position depended on his unique +capacity of conducting wars glorious to French arms; for the present, +France was satisfied, and longed for peace. + +The English ministry, too, was impelled by strong motives to enter upon +the negotiations which resulted in the peace of Amiens. Not only was +Great Britain crippled by the loss of nearly all her allies, but the +high price of bread had roused grave disaffection,[2] and intensified +among British merchants a desire for an unmolested extension of +commerce; above all, English statesmen now recognised the consulate, +under Bonaparte, as the first stable and non-revolutionary government +since the fall of the French monarchy. Both countries, therefore, were +predisposed to entertain pacific overtures, but the very fact that these +were in contemplation stirred both sides to further endeavours in order +to secure better terms of peace. A French squadron, commanded by Admiral +Linois and containing three ships of the line besides smaller boats, was +making a movement for the Straits of Gibraltar in order to strengthen +the force at Cadiz. Sir James Saumarez with five ships of the line and +two smaller vessels engaged Linois off Algeciras on July 5, but the +French ships were supported by the land batteries, and one of the +British ships, the _Hannibal_ (74), ran aground, and Saumarez was +eventually compelled to leave her in the hands of the enemy. This +victory was hailed with delight throughout France, but it was fully +retrieved a week later. The French squadron had in the meantime been +reinforced by one French and five Spanish ships of the line, and on the +12th it made a fresh attempt to reach Cadiz; it was, however, engaged in +the Straits by Saumarez with five ships of the line. In the ensuing +battle two Spanish ships blew up, and the French _Saint Antoine_ was +captured. The remainder succeeded in reaching Cadiz, but Saumarez was +able to resume the blockade a few weeks later. + +Meanwhile there was no relaxation of French preparations for an invasion +of England, or of naval activity on the part of Great Britain. No sooner +had Nelson returned from the Baltic than he was, on July 24, placed in +command of a "squadron on a particular service," charged with the +defence of the coast from Beachy Head to Orfordness. With this he not +only blockaded the northern French ports, but assumed the aggressive, +and bombarded the vessels therein collected. A more daring attempt to +cut out the flotilla moored at Boulogne by a boat attack was repelled +with some loss on the night of August 15. But couriers under flags of +truce were already passing between London and Paris, and hostilities +ceased in the autumn of the year 1801. + +[Pageheading: _THE QUESTION OF MALTA._] + +The history of the negotiations which ended in the peace of Amiens +derives a special interest from the events which followed it. The +earliest overtures for peace were made by Hawkesbury on March 21, 1801. +At first Bonaparte refused to listen to them, but the destruction of the +northern confederacy inclined him to more pacific counsels. On April 14 +the British government stated its demands. They mark a distinct advance +on those which had been made in vain at Lille in 1797. France was to +evacuate Egypt, and Great Britain Minorca, but Great Britain claimed to +retain Malta, Tobago, Martinique, Trinidad, Essequibo, Demerara, +Berbice, and Ceylon. She was willing to surrender the Cape of Good Hope +on condition that it became a free port, and stipulated that an +indemnity should be provided for the Prince of Orange. At the outset, +Bonaparte opposed all cessions by France and her allies, but the steady +improvement in the fortunes of England in the north and in Egypt at last +determined him to grant some of the British demands, and as the +evacuation of Egypt became inevitable, he was resolved to gain something +in exchange for it before it was too late. The preliminary treaty was +accordingly signed by Bonaparte's agent Otto on behalf of France and +Hawkesbury on behalf of Great Britain on October 1, the day before the +news of the French capitulation in Egypt reached England. Great Britain +had already consented to relinquish Malta, provided that it became +independent. She now consented to relinquish all her conquests from +France, and with the exception of Ceylon and Trinidad all her conquests +from the French allies, requiring, however, that the Cape should be +recognised as a free port. The French were to evacuate not only Egypt, +but the Neapolitan and Roman States. Malta was to be restored to the +knights of St. John under the guarantee of a third power. Prisoners of +war were to be released on payment of their debts, and the question of +the charge for their maintenance was to be settled by the definitive +treaty in accordance with the law of nations and established usage. + +No mention was made of the Prince of Orange, but Otto gave a verbal +assurance that provision would be made to satisfy his claims. He also +gave the British government to understand that France would be willing +to cede Tobago in consideration of the expenses incurred in the +maintenance of French and Dutch prisoners. The omission of all reference +to the continental relations of France is conspicuous. In France it was +interpreted as indicating that Great Britain renounced her interest in +continental politics. The Batavian, Helvetian, Cisalpine, and Ligurian +republics, the kingdom of Etruria, and the whole east bank of the Rhine +were, however, supposed to be already protected against French +encroachment by the treaty of Luneville, and Great Britain had no wish +to impose terms involving a recognition of these new creations. Again, +no mention was made of commercial relations apart from the Newfoundland +and St. Lawrence fisheries, for Great Britain was too ready to believe +that a separate commercial treaty would be practicable, and was +naturally loth to delay the conclusion of peace by a difficult +negotiation. + +Cornwallis was appointed to negotiate the definitive treaty, and had +some hope that he might arrive at an informal understanding with +Bonaparte at Paris before he proceeded to Amiens. But he was offended by +Bonaparte's manner, and, dreading to be pitted against so subtle a +diplomatist as Talleyrand, he left Paris before anything was +accomplished, and arrived at Amiens on November 30. There France was +represented by Joseph Bonaparte, the first consul's elder brother, and +the negotiator of Luneville. At Amiens, the position of the British +government was compromised from the first by its renewed insistence on a +point which had been omitted from the preliminary treaty, namely, the +compensation of the Prince of Orange. This demand was accompanied by an +endeavour to obtain compensation for the King of Sardinia. Joseph +Bonaparte, on the other hand, entrenched himself behind the letter of +the treaty, and acknowledged no further obligation. Any additional +concession to Great Britain could only be purchased by British +concessions to France. Other difficulties arose over the question of +Malta, the payment for the maintenance of prisoners, and the inclusion +of allies as parties to the treaty. + +[Pageheading: _CORNWALLIS AT AMIENS._] + +On the first of these questions the French would appear to have aimed +throughout at reducing the knights to as impotent a position as +possible. The British, on the other hand, ostensibly desiring to see the +strength of the order maintained, were chiefly interested in securing +its neutrality. At the time of the signature of the preliminary treaty, +Russia was the power that seemed to Great Britain the fittest guarantor +of the independence of the knights. On the refusal of Russia to accept +this position, Naples appeared to be the next best alternative, but it +was eventually agreed to substitute for the guarantee of a third power +the obviously futile guarantee of all the powers. Neither party foresaw +that the impossibility of obtaining such a guarantee was destined to +leave the whole clause about Malta inoperative. After much dispute over +the future constitution of the order, France proposed to obviate the +chief source of difficulty by the demolition of the forts. This plan +commended itself to Cornwallis, but was rejected by the British +government. By the end of December it was agreed that a Neapolitan +garrison was to occupy the islands provisionally, until the new +organisation should be established. Great Britain proposed that this +garrison should be maintained at the joint expense of Great Britain and +France. It did not occur to the British government to propose any +guarantee for the preservation of the property of the order, and this +omission ultimately proved material. The question of including allies in +the treaty was less complicated. France preferred a number of separate +treaties so as to keep the British interest in Europe at a minimum. +Great Britain, on the other hand, wished to make France a party to the +cessions made by her allies, and successfully insisted on the +negotiation of a single comprehensive treaty. Joseph Bonaparte granted +this point on December 11, but, as he had not full powers to negotiate +with any power except Great Britain, he continued to interpose delays +till the end of the year. + +In the meantime France had failed in her attempts to meet the British +claims on behalf of the Prince of Orange by demands for further +privileges and territory in the oceans and colonies. On the whole, the +first month's negotiations had contributed much to a settlement, without +giving a decided advantage to either side. The lapse of time, however, +turned the balance in favour of the negotiator who was the more +independent of his country's desire for peace. On January 1, 1802, +Hawkesbury wrote to Cornwallis, treating the acquisition of Tobago as +unimportant; on the 2nd Addington expressed his readiness to accept a +separate arrangement with the Batavian republic for the Prince of +Orange. By the 16th Hawkesbury had yielded the claim of Portugal to be a +party to the treaty. The refusal of the French to cede Tobago in lieu of +payment for the French prisoners, and the difficulty of assessing the +payment, opened a way to the evasion of compensation altogether. +Cornwallis, preferring to sacrifice this claim rather than re-open the +war, suggested to Joseph Bonaparte on the 22nd that the treaty should +provide for commissioners to assess the payment, while it should be +secretly provided that they should not be appointed. On the same day, +Joseph Bonaparte communicated his brother's consent to a clause engaging +France to find a suitable territorial possession in Germany for the +Prince of Orange. + +If Hawkesbury and Cornwallis imagined that they had made sure of an +early peace by these extensive concessions, they were greatly mistaken. +Napoleon, flushed with this unexpected success, was encouraged to make +further trial of the pliability of the British diplomatists. Two events +occurred at this stage of the negotiations which tried the temper of +both sides to the uttermost. On January 26, Bonaparte was elected +president of the Cisalpine republic, to be styled henceforth the Italian +republic. This event seems to have taken the British government by +surprise; they thought it a distinct indication that he still +contemplated further aggressions in spite of the series of treaties by +which he appeared to be securing peace, and were therefore much less +inclined than formerly to make concessions. About the same time +Bonaparte was not unreasonably enraged at the outrageous attacks made on +him in the press conducted in London by French exiles, especially by +Jean Peltier, the editor of a paper called _L'Ambigu_, and he blamed the +British government for permitting their publication. He therefore +instructed his brother Joseph to raise further difficulties over the +garrison and permanent organisation of Malta, as well as over the +proposed accession of the sultan to the treaty. Vain attempts were also +made by Joseph to retain Otranto for France till the British should have +evacuated Malta, and to secure the inclusion of the Ligurian republic in +the treaty. + +[Pageheading: _THE TREATY OF AMIENS._] + +At last on March 8 Napoleon agreed that no important difference +remained, and urged his brother to conclude the treaty. A little more +time was wasted in providing for a temporary occupation of Malta by +Neapolitan troops, and a more marked division of opinion arose as to the +compensation for the Prince of Orange. In spite of instructions to the +contrary from Hawkesbury, Cornwallis accepted an engagement on the part +of France to find a compensation, not defined, for the house of Nassau, +instead of charging it on the Dutch government; and the treaty was +finally concluded on March 25. It was signed by Great Britain, France, +Spain, and the Batavian republic, while the Porte was admitted as an +accessory power. It differed from the preliminary convention in no +important respect, except in the illusory safeguards for the claims of +the Prince of Orange, the secret arrangement for evading the cost of the +French prisoners, and the provisions concerning Malta, pregnant with the +seeds of future enmity. These provisions were as follows: Malta was to +be restored to the knights of St. John, from whose order both French and +British were hereafter to be excluded. The evacuation was to take place +within three months of the ratification of the treaty, or sooner if +possible. At that date Malta was to be given up, provided the grand +master or commissaries of the order were present, and provided the +Neapolitan garrison had arrived. Its independence was to be under the +guarantee of France, Great Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, and Prussia. +Two thousand Neapolitan troops were to occupy it for one year, and until +the order should have raised a force sufficient, in the judgment of the +guaranteeing powers, for the defence of the islands.[3] + +On October 29, 1801, parliament was opened with a speech from the throne +briefly announcing the conclusion of a convention with the northern +powers, and of preliminaries of peace with the French republic. General +Lauriston, bearing the ratification of the preliminaries by the first +consul, had reached London on the 10th, when he was received by the +populace with tumultuous demonstrations of joy. Soon afterwards the +"feast of the peace" was celebrated in Paris with equal enthusiasm. +Short-lived as they proved to be, these pacific sentiments were +doubtless genuine on both sides of the channel. The industrial, though +not the military, resources of France were exhausted by her prodigious +efforts during the last eight years; while England, suffering grievously +from distress among the working-classes and financial difficulties, +welcomed the prospect of cheaper provisions and easier times, as well as +of emerging from the political difficulties originating in the French +revolution. + +The preliminary treaty, however, did not escape hostile criticism in +either house of parliament. It was the subject of discussion in the +lords on November 3, and in the commons on the 3rd and 4th. Its most +strenuous assailants were Lord Grenville, who had been foreign secretary +under Pitt, and the whigs who had joined Pitt's ministry in 1794, among +whom Lords Spencer and Fitzwilliam and above all Windham call for +special notice. Windham's powerful and comprehensive speech contained +more than one shrewd forecast of the future. For once, Pitt and Fox +supported the same measure, and Pitt, dwelling on _security_ as our +grand object in the war, specially deprecated any attempt on the part of +Great Britain "to settle the affairs of the continent". Fox, in +advocating peace, fiercely denounced the war against the French +republic, and gloated over the discomfiture of the Bourbons.[4] It was +admitted on all sides that France was stronger than ever in a military +and political sense. She had already made treaties with Austria, Naples, +Spain, and Portugal; other treaties with Russia and Turkey were on the +point of being signed; while the still more important concordat with the +pope was already ratified. On the other hand, Great Britain had largely +increased her colonial possessions, and the chief question now discussed +was whether she would be the weaker for abandoning some of these recent +conquests. The general feeling of the nation was fitly expressed by +Sheridan in the phrase: "This is a peace which all men are glad of, but +no man can be proud of". Malmesbury, the negotiator of Lille, was absent +from the debates; but he has recorded in his diary his disapproval both +of the peace and of the violent opposition to it The king told +Malmesbury on November 26 that he considered it an experimental peace, +but unavoidable.[5] + +[Pageheading: _DEBATES ON TREATY OF AMIENS._] + +The debates on the definitive treaty of Amiens took place on May 13 and +14, 1802, and though vigorously sustained, were to some extent a +repetition of those on the preliminaries of peace. The opposition to it +was headed by Grenville in the lords and in the commons by Windham, who +compared it unfavourably with the preliminaries; and the stipulations +with respect to Malta were justly criticised as one of its weakest +points. Strange to say, Pitt took no effective part in the discussion, +which ended in overwhelming majorities for the government. As in the +previous session, domestic affairs, except in their bearing on foreign +policy, received comparatively little attention from parliament. The +income tax was repealed, almost in silence, as the first fruits of +peace, and Addington, as chancellor of the exchequer, delivered an +emphatic eulogy on the sinking fund by means of which he calculated that +in forty-five years the national debt, then amounting to L500,000,000, +might be entirely paid off. The house of commons showed no want of +economical zeal in scrutinising the claims of the king on the civil +list, and those of the Prince of Wales on the revenues of the duchy of +Cornwall. Nor did it neglect such abuses as the non-residence of the +parochial clergy, and the cruel practice of bull-baiting, though it +rejected a bill for the suppression of this practice, after a +characteristic apology for it from Windham, in which he dwelt upon its +superiority to horse-racing. In this session, too, a grant of L10,000 +was voted to Jenner for his recent invention of vaccination. In +supporting it, Wilberforce stated that the victims of small-pox, in +London alone, numbered 4,000 annually. + +The parliament, which had now lasted six years, was dissolved by the +king in person on June 28, and a general election was held during the +month of July. The new house of commons did not differ materially from +the old, and even in Ireland the recent national opposition to the union +did not lead to the unseating of a single member who had voted for +it.[6] Meanwhile the ministry was strengthened by the admission to +office of Lord Castlereagh, already distinguished for his share in the +negotiations precedent to the union with Ireland. On July 6 he was +appointed president of the board of control in succession to Dartmouth, +and was admitted to a seat in the cabinet in October. The new parliament +did not meet till November 16. During the interval members of both +houses, with vast numbers of their countrymen, flocked to Paris, which +had been almost closed to English travellers since the early days of the +revolution. Fox was presented to Napoleon, as Bonaparte, since the +decree which made him consul for life, preferred to be styled. Napoleon +conceived a great admiration for him, and afterwards persuaded himself +that, had Fox survived, the friendly relations of England and France +would not have been permanently interrupted. On the very day on which +parliament assembled, a conspiracy was discovered, which, however insane +it may now appear, attracted much attention at the time. A certain +Colonel Despard with thirty-six followers, mainly labourers, had plotted +to kill the king and seize all the government-buildings, with a view to +the establishment of what he called the "constitutional independence of +Ireland and Great Britain" and the "equalisation of all civic rights". +The conspiracy had no wide ramifications, and the arrest of its leader +and his companions brought it to an immediate end. Despard was found +guilty of high treason and was executed on February 21, 1803. + +When parliament met, the king's speech referred ominously to fresh +disturbances in the balance of power on the continent; and votes were +passed for large additions to the army and navy, in spite of Fox's +declaration that he saw no reason why Napoleon, satisfied with military +glory, should not henceforth devote himself to internal improvements in +France. Nelson, on the contrary, speaking in the house of lords, while +he professed himself a man of peace, insisted on the danger arising from +"a restless and unjust ambition on the part of our neighbours," and +Sheridan delivered a vigorous speech in a like spirit. On the whole, in +January, 1803, the prospects of assured peace and prosperity were much +gloomier than they had been in January, 1802, before the treaty of +Amiens. The funds were going down, the bank restriction act was renewed, +and Despard's conspiracy still agitated the public mind. In the month of +February a strong anti-Gallican sentiment was roused by Mackintosh's +powerful defence of the royalist Jean Peltier, accused and ultimately +convicted of a gross libel on the first consul. On March 8 came the +royal message calling out the militia, which heralded the rupture of the +peace. + +The renewal of the war, fraught with so much glory and misery to both +nations, can have taken neither by surprise. The ink was scarcely dry on +the treaty of Amiens when fresh causes of discord sprung up between +France and Great Britain. More than one of these, indeed, had arisen +between the signature of the preliminary convention and the actual +conclusion of peace. During the negotiations, the first consul had, as +we have seen, never ceased to protest against the violent attacks upon +himself in the English press, while Cornwallis persistently warned his +own government against the menacing attitude of France in Italy and +elsewhere. The proclamation of the concordat in April, 1802, and the +recognition of Napoleon as first consul for life in August, however they +may have strengthened his position in France, were no legitimate +subjects for resentment in England; but his acceptance of the presidency +of the "Italian" republic in January, followed by his annexation of +Piedmont in September, revived in all its intensity the British mistrust +of his aggressive policy. + +[Pageheading: _FRENCH AGGRESSIONS._] + +The month of October witnessed a renewed aggression on Switzerland. A +French army, commanded by Ney, advanced into the interior of the +country, and forced the Swiss, who were in the midst of a civil war, to +accept the mediation of Napoleon. The new constitution which he framed +attempted, by weakening the federal government, to place the direction +of Helvetian external relations in the hands of the French first consul. +Our government vainly endeavoured to resist this interference by sending +agents with money and promises. In Germany the redistribution of +territory necessitated by the peace of Luneville was carried out +professedly under the joint mediation of France and Russia, but really +at the dictation of Napoleon. The final project, which destroyed all +except three of the spiritual principalities and all except six of the +free cities, was proposed by France on February 23, 1803, and accepted +by the Emperor Francis on April 27. + +Against these rearrangements, Great Britain could have nothing to say; +their importance is that while the negotiations were pending, Austria, +Prussia, and Russia all had a strong motive for standing well with +France. Bonaparte's attitude towards Switzerland was, in so far as it +was backed by force, an infringement of the treaty of Luneville, to +which, however, Great Britain was not a party. The neutrality of +Piedmont had not been safeguarded either at Luneville or at Amiens; it +had already been occupied by France before the treaty was signed, and +Napoleon claimed to have as much right to annex territory in Europe +without the consent of Great Britain as Great Britain had to annex +territory in India without the consent of France. + +Napoleon's schemes of colonial expansion, though equally within the +letter of the treaty, were not less disconcerting. The reconquest of San +Domingo appeared necessary in order to obtain a base for the effective +occupation of the new French possession, Louisiana. The despatch of an +expedition for this purpose in December, 1801, had excited grave +suspicion, and when two-thirds of the army had died of yellow fever and +the remainder had returned home, fresh troops were sent out to take +their place. A new naval expedition was prepared in the Dutch port of +Helvoetsluis, but it was impossible to persuade British public opinion +that its real destination was San Domingo. Finally, on the eve of +hostilities, in the spring of 1803 Napoleon, despairing of advance in +this direction and disregarding the Spanish right of pre-emption, sold +Louisiana to the United States for 80,000,000 francs. Still more +embarrassing was Bonaparte's eastern policy. In September, 1802, Colonel +Sebastiani was sent as "commercial agent" to the Levant. He was +instructed to inspect the condition of ports and arsenals, to assure the +sheykhs of French favour, and to report on the military resources of +Syria, Egypt, and the north African coast. His report, which was +published in the _Moniteur_ of January 30, 1803, set forth the +opportunities that France would possess in the event of an immediate +return to hostilities, and was naturally interpreted as disclosing an +intention to renew the war on the first opportunity. Six thousand French +would, he said, be enough to reconquer Egypt; the country was in favour +of France. In March, 1803, Decaen left France with open instructions to +receive the surrender of the five towns in India restored to France, but +with secret orders to invite the alliance of Indian sovereigns opposed +to Great Britain. On his appearance at Pondicherri, the British +commander prepared to seize him, but he escaped to the Mauritius, which +he put in a state of defence, and made a basis for attacks on British +commerce which lasted from 1803 to 1811. + +[Pageheading: _CAUSES OF MISTRUST AFTER AMIENS._] + +Ireland also was visited by political spies, passing as commercial +agents. It may not be easy to say how far Emmet's rebellion, to be +recorded hereafter, was the result of these visits. At all events a +letter fell into the hands of the British government, addressed by +Talleyrand to a French agent at Dublin, called Fauvelet, directing him +to obtain answers to a series of questions about the military and naval +circumstances of the district, and "to procure a plan of the ports, with +the soundings and moorings, and to state the draught of water, and the +wind best suited for ingress and egress". The British government +naturally complained of these instructions, but Talleyrand persistently +maintained that they were of a purely commercial character.[7] It is, of +course, true that these preparations in view of a possible recurrence of +hostilities, however obvious their intention, were not in themselves +hostile acts. Still, they were just grounds for suspicion, and, with our +retrospective knowledge of Napoleon's later career, we may seek in vain +for the grounds of confidence which had made the conclusion of a treaty +possible. Great Britain was guilty of more direct breaches of the peace +of Amiens. Russia refused her guarantee for the independence of Malta, +and the British government was therefore technically justified in +retaining it. No similar justification could, however, be alleged for +the retention of Alexandria and the French towns in India. These +measures were, as will be seen, defended on broader grounds of public +policy. Not the least of the causes of discontent with the new situation +was the refusal of Napoleon to follow up the treaty of peace with a +commercial treaty. He had even retained French troops in Holland, and +thus shown that he meant to close its ports against British commerce. +The hope of a renewal of trade with France had been a main cause of the +popular desire for peace, and had reconciled the British public to the +sacrifices with which the treaty of Amiens had been purchased. It soon +became clear that further concessions would be made the price of a +commercial treaty, and it was felt in consequence that the sacrifices +already made were made in vain. + +In September, 1802, Lord Whitworth was sent as ambassador extraordinary +to the French Republic. The instructions which he carried with him from +Hawkesbury fully reflect the prevailing spirit of mistrust. He was to +watch for any new leagues which might prejudice England or disturb +Europe; he was to discover any secret designs that might be formed +against the East or West Indies; he was to maintain the closest +surveillance over the internal politics of France, but especially over +the dispositions of influential personages in the confidence of the +first consul, as well as over the financial resources and armaments of +the republic.[8] Two months later, he was expressly warned in a secret +despatch not in any way to commit His Majesty to a restoration of Malta, +even if the provisions made at Amiens for this purpose could be +completely executed; and the principle was laid down, from which the +British government never swerved, that Great Britain was entitled to +compensation for any acquisitions made by France since the treaty was +signed. Accordingly, the retention of Malta was justified as a +counterpoise to French extensions of territory in Italy, the invasion of +Switzerland, and the continued occupation of the Batavian republic.[9] +This resolution was naturally confirmed by the publication of +Sebastiani's report. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON AND WHITWORTH._] + +The long negotiations between Whitworth and the French government, +during the winter of 1802 and the spring of 1803, only bring into +stronger relief the importance of the issues thus raised, and the +hopelessness of a pacific solution. Napoleon firmly took his stand +throughout on the simple letter of the treaty, which pledged Great +Britain, upon certain conditions, to place the knights of St. John in +possession of Malta, but did not contemplate the case of further +accessions of French territory on the continent. Although the conditions +specified were never fully satisfied, it is abundantly clear that the +British ministers, having at last grasped the value of Malta, created +all the difficulties in their power, and determined to cancel this +article of the treaty. They alleged, in self-defence, that the spirit of +the treaty had been constantly violated by Napoleon, in repeated acts of +hostility to British subjects, in the refusal of all redress for such +grievances, and, above all, in that series of aggressions on the +continent which he declared to be outside the treaty and beyond the +province of Great Britain.[10] None of the compromises laboriously +discussed in the winter of 1802 betoken any desire on the part of +either government to retreat from its main position, though it does not +follow that either sought to bring about a renewal of the war. Whitworth +constantly reported that no formidable armaments were being prepared, +and clung for months to a belief that Napoleon, knowing the instability +of his own power and the ruinous state of his finances, would ultimately +give way. On the other hand, Talleyrand and Joseph Bonaparte never +ceased to hope that Great Britain would make concessions which might be +accepted. + +Such hopes were rudely dispelled by the king's message to parliament on +March 8, 1803, complaining of aggressive preparations in the ports of +France and Holland, and recommending immediate measures for the security +of his dominions. This message, with the consequent embodiment of the +militia, startled the whole continent, and was followed five days later +by the famous scene in which the first consul addressed Whitworth in +phrases little short of insult. During a public audience at the +Tuileries on the 13th, Napoleon, after inquiring whether the British +ambassador had received any news from home, broke out with the words: +"And so you are determined to go to war". The altercation which ensued +is best told in Whitworth's own words[11]:-- + +"'No, first consul,' I replied, 'we are too sensible of the advantages +of peace.' 'We have,' said he, 'been fighting these fifteen years.' As +he seemed to wait for an answer, I observed only, 'That is already too +long'. 'But,' said he, 'you desire to fight for fifteen years more, and +you are forcing me to it,' I told him that was very far from his +majesty's intentions. He then proceeded to Count Marcoff and the +Chevalier Azzara, who were standing together at a little distance from +me, and said to them, 'The English are bent on war, but if they are the +first to draw the sword, I shall be the last to put it back into the +scabbard. They do not respect treaties. They must be covered with black +crape.' I suppose he meant the treaties. He then went his round, and was +thought by all those to whom he addressed himself to betray great signs +of irritation. In a few minutes he came back to me, to my great +annoyance, and resumed the conversation, if such it can be called, by +something personally civil to me. He then began again, 'Why these +armaments? Against whom these measures of precaution? I have not a +single ship of the line in the French ports; but if you wish to arm, I +will arm also; if you wish to fight, I will fight also. You may perhaps +kill France, but will never intimidate her.' 'We wish,' said I, 'neither +the one nor the other. We wish to live on good terms with her.' 'You +must respect treaties then,' replied he; 'woe to those who do not +respect treaties; they shall answer for it to all Europe.'" + +Too much stress has been laid upon this incident, so characteristic of +Napoleon's studied impetuosity. Little more than a fortnight later he +received the British ambassador with courtesy. Overtures now succeeded +overtures, and much was expected on both sides from the influence of the +Tsar Alexander, to whom France suggested that Malta might be ceded.[12] +At the last moment, a somewhat more conciliatory disposition was shown +by the French diplomatists; and the British government was blamed by its +opponents, alike for having failed to break off the negotiations earlier +on the broadest grounds, and for breaking them off too abruptly on +grounds of doubtful validity. But we now see that national enmity, +fostered by the press on both sides, rendered friendly relations +impossible, and that, even had Napoleon been willing to refrain from +aggressions, peace was impossible. On May 12, two months after the +king's message, Whitworth, having presented an ultimatum, finally +quitted Paris. A few days later an order was issued for the detention of +all British subjects then resident in France, and justified on the +ground that French seamen (but not passengers) were liable to capture at +sea. On June 10 Talleyrand announced the occupation of Hanover and the +treatment as enemies of Hanoverian soldiers serving under the King of +Great Britain. Meanwhile, on May 16, the rupture of peaceful relations +was announced to both houses of parliament; on May 18 war was declared, +and in June volunteers were already mustering to resist invasion. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] So Vansittart himself, in Pellew, _Life of Sidmouth_, i., 371. +Southey and Captain Mahan have erroneously supposed that Vansittart +accompanied the naval expedition and was sent by Parker in the frigate +from the Skaw. + +[2] _Annual Register_, xliii. (1801), chapter i. The average price of +wheat in 1800 was 112s. 8d. the quarter, whereas the highest annual +average in the half century before the war had been 64s. 6d. On March 5, +1801, the price of the quartern loaf stood as high as 1s. 101/2d. On +July 23 it was still 1s. 8d. The harvest of this year was, however, an +excellent one. The price fell rapidly during August, and by November 12 +was as low as 101/2d. + +[3] Cornwallis, _Correspondence_, iii., 382-487. + +[4] In a letter to Charles Carey, dated October 22, Fox went the length +of expressing extreme pleasure in the triumph of the French government +over the English (_Memorials of C. J. Fox_, iii., 349). + +[5] Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iv., 60, 62. + +[6] Lecky, _History Of Ireland_, v., 465. + +[7] Lanfrey, _Napoleon I._ (English edition), ii., 202; Pellew, _Life of +Sidmouth_, ii., 164. + +[8] Browning, _England and Napoleon in 1803_, pp. 1-6. + +[9] Browning, _ibid._, pp. 6-10. + +[10] See especially Hawkesbury's despatch in Browning, _ibid._, pp. +65-68, and Whitworth's despatches, _ibid._, pp. 73-75, 78-85. + +[11] Whitworth's despatch of March 14, in Browning, _England and +Napoleon_, p. 116. + +[12] Browning, _England and Napoleon_, p. 218. + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE RETURN OF PITT. + + +The period following the rupture of the peace of Amiens, though crowded +with military events of the highest importance, was inevitably barren in +social and political interest. Disappointed in its hopes of returning +prosperity, the nation girded itself up with rare unanimity for a +renewed contest. In July the income-tax was reinstituted and a bill was +actually carried authorising a levy _en masse_ in case of invasion. +Pending its enforcement, the navy was vigorously recruited by means of +the press-gang; the yeomanry were called out, and a force of infantry +volunteers was enrolled, which reached a total of 300,000 in August, and +of nearly 400,000 at the beginning of the next session. Pitt himself, as +warden of the Cinque Ports, took command of 3,000 volunteers in Kent, +and contrasted in parliament the warlike enthusiasm of the country with +the alleged apathy of the ministry. On July 23 a rebellion broke out in +Ireland, instigated by French agents and headed by a young man named +Robert Emmet. The conspiracy was ill planned and in itself +insignificant, but the recklessness of the conspirators was equalled by +the weakness of the civil and military authorities, who neglected to +take any precautions in spite of the plainest warnings. The rebels had +intended to attack Dublin Castle and seize the person of the lord +lieutenant, who was to be held as a hostage; but they dared not make the +attempt, and after parading the streets for a few hours were dispersed +by the spontaneous action of a few determined officers with a handful of +troops, but not before Lord Kilwarden, the chief justice, and several +other persons, had been cruelly murdered by Emmet's followers. Futile as +the rising was, it sufficed to show that union was not a sovereign +remedy for Irish disaffection. + +Meanwhile the relations between the prime minister and his predecessor +had been growing less and less cordial. Throughout the year 1801 Pitt +was still the friend and informal adviser of the ministry, and it is +difficult to overrate the value of his support as a ground of confidence +in an administration, personally popular, but known to be deficient in +intellectual brilliance. In 1802 he generally stood aloof, and though in +June of that year he corrected the draft of the king's speech, he +absented himself from parliament, for he was dissatisfied with the +measures adopted by government. His dissatisfaction was known to his +friends, and in November a movement was set on foot by Canning to induce +Addington to withdraw in Pitt's favour; but Pitt, though willing to +resume office, refused to allow the ministry to be approached on the +subject. He preferred to wait till a general wish for his return to +power should be manifested. In December he visited Grenville at +Dropmore, and expressed a certain discontent with the government.[13] It +was his intention still to treat the ministers with tenderness, but to +return to parliament and criticise their policy. It is easy to see that +his object at this date was not to drive the government from office, but +to give rise to a desire to re-enlist his own talents in the service of +the country, and thus prepare the way for a peaceable resumption of the +position he had abandoned in the preceding year. + +[Pageheading: _NEGOTIATIONS FOR PITT'S RETURN._] + +No sooner had rumours of Pitt's willingness to resume office reached +Addington in the last days of December, than he opened negotiations with +Pitt with a view to effecting this object. Pitt did not receive his +overtures very warmly. He doubtless wished to be brought back because he +was felt to be indispensable, without any appearance of intrigue. Time +was in his favour, and he allowed the negotiations to proceed slowly. As +the proposals took shape, it became clear that Addington did not wish to +be openly superseded by Pitt, but preferred that they should serve +together as secretaries of state under a third person; and Addington +even suggested Pitt's brother, the Earl of Chatham, then master-general +of the ordnance, as a suitable prime minister. Pitt's reply, +communicated to Addington by Dundas, now Viscount Melville, in a letter +dated March 22, 1803, was to the effect that Pitt would not accept any +position in the government except that of prime minister, with which was +to be coupled the office of chancellor of the exchequer. Addington +readily acceded to Pitt's claim to this position, but Grenville refused +to serve in a ministry where Addington and Hawkesbury held "any +efficient offices of real business," and Addington declined to abandon +ministerial office for a speakership of the house of lords, which Pitt +proposed to create for him. Finally, on April 10, Pitt at a private +conference with Addington proposed as an indispensable condition of his +own return to office that Melville, Spencer, Grenville, and Windham +should become members of his cabinet. This meant a reconstruction of the +whole ministry, and Pitt stipulated that the changes should be made by +the king's desire and on the recommendation of the existing ministry. + +The situation had become an impossible one. Nothing was more reasonable +than that Pitt, the friend and protector of the existing ministry, +should assume the direction of affairs now that the nation appeared to +be on the brink of war. But Pitt could not honourably desert those +former colleagues, who had resigned with him on the catholic question. +Two of these, however, Grenville and Windham, though doubtless men of +the highest capacity, had bitterly attacked the existing ministry; and +it was not to be expected that that ministry, supported as it still was +by overwhelming majorities in both houses of parliament, supported as it +had hitherto been by Pitt himself, should consent to admit its opponents +to a share of office. It is highly improbable that Grenville and Windham +would then have co-operated with Addington and Hawkesbury, and their +admission to office would have ruined the cohesion of the cabinet, +unless it had been accompanied by the retirement of the leading members +of the existing ministry which Pitt's previous attitude, together with +the actual balance of parties in parliament, rendered it impossible to +demand. How difficult it was to induce Grenville and Windham to enter +into any combination future years were to prove. For the present the +ministry took not merely the wisest, but the only course open to it. +Addington, after vainly endeavouring to induce Pitt to modify his terms, +laid them before a cabinet council on April 13; they were immediately +rejected, though the cabinet declared itself ready to admit to office +Pitt himself and those of his colleagues who had hitherto acted with the +Addington ministry. Pitt could hardly have expected any other reply. No +ministry could have granted such terms except on the supposition that +Pitt was indispensable, and Pitt for the present hardly claimed such a +position.[14] + +But if Pitt did not consider himself indispensable, his friends did, and +both he and others came gradually to adopt their view. The rejection of +his terms left him free to adopt the line of policy that he had sketched +to Grenville in the previous December. He had not to wait long for an +opportunity, but in the opinion of Pitt's friends at least the first +provocation came from Addington. Unable to strengthen his ministry by +any accession from Pitt and his followers, he had turned to the "old +opposition," the whigs who, under the leadership of Fox, had +consistently advocated a pacific policy. These had recently supported +the ministry against the "new opposition," as the followers of Grenville +and Windham were called. But since 1797 Fox and the majority of the "old +opposition" had generally absented themselves from parliament, and +George Tierney, member for Southwark, had led what was left of their +party.[15] He now received and accepted the offer of the treasurership +of the navy, one of the most important of the offices below cabinet +rank. As a speaker Tierney was a valuable addition to the government +which was sadly deficient in debating power; he had, however, been +particularly bitter in his attacks on Pitt, with whom he had fought a +duel in 1798, and had provoked the sarcastic wit of Canning, in whose +well-known parody, "The Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder" +(1798), the original illustration by Gillray depicted the friend of +humanity with the features of Tierney and laid the scene in the borough +of Southwark. + +[Pageheading: _CHANGES IN ADDINGTON'S MINISTRY._] + +The appointment, which Pitt himself does not appear to have resented, +was announced on June 1, and Tierney took his place on the treasury +bench on the 3rd. On the same evening Colonel Patten moved a series of +resolutions condemning, in extravagant terms, the conduct of the +ministry in the negotiation with France. Pitt seized the opportunity to +move the orders of the day. In other words, he proposed that the +question should be left undecided. He expressed the opinion that the +ministry was not free from blame, but declared himself unable to concur +in all the charges against it. He considered further that to drive the +existing ministers out of office would only throw the country into +confusion, and that it was therefore inadvisable to pursue the question. +To this the ministerial speakers replied by demanding a direct censure +or a total acquittal, and the consequent division served only to display +the weakness of the opposition. The Addington, Fox, and Grenville +parties combined to oppose Pitt's motion, which was rejected by 333 +votes against 56. Pitt and Fox, and their respective followers then left +the house, leaving the ministerial party and the Grenville party to +decide the fate of Patten's resolutions, which were negatived by 275 +votes against 34. A comparison of the figures of the two divisions, +allowing for tellers, gives as the voting strength of Pitt's party 58, +of Grenville's 36, of Fox's 22, and of Addington's 277. Of these the +Grenville party alone desired to eject the ministers from office, while +Fox's party openly professed a preference for Addington over Pitt. + +During the remainder of the session Pitt seldom took any part in +parliamentary business, and never opposed the ministry on any question +of importance. On August 12 parliament was prorogued after a session +lasting nearly nine months, and the prime minister embraced the +opportunity of making some slight reconstructions in the ministry. +Pelham, who was removed from the home office, resigned his place in the +cabinet, and was shortly afterwards consoled with the chancellorship of +the duchy of Lancaster, an office which was not yet definitely +recognised as political. Charles Philip Yorke, son of the chancellor who +died in 1770 and half-brother of the third Earl of Hardwicke, resigned +the office of secretary at war and succeeded to the home office on the +17th. It was also considered advisable to strengthen the ministry in the +upper house, where Grenville's oratory gave the opposition a decided +advantage in debating power, and Hawkesbury was accordingly summoned to +the lords on November 16 in his father's barony of Hawkesbury. After +this rearrangement the cabinet contained eight peers and three +commoners, no illiberal allowance of commoners according to the ideas of +the age. The recess was further marked by a violent war of pamphlets +between the followers of Addington and Pitt, which began early in +September, and which, although no politician of the first order took any +direct part in it, did much to embitter the relations of their +respective parties.[16] Not less irritating were the _jeux d'esprit_ +with which Canning continued to assail the ministry in the newspaper +press.[17] The most famous of these is the couplet:-- + + Pitt is to Addington + As London is to Paddington. + +A more openly abusive poem, entitled "Good Intentions," described the +prime minister as "Happy Britain's guardian gander". The following +verses refer to the appointment of Addington's brother, John Hiley +Addington, to be paymaster-general of the forces, and of his +brother-in-law, Charles Bragge, afterwards succeeded by Tierney, to be +treasurer of the navy:-- + + How blest, how firm the statesman stands + (Him no low intrigue can move) + Circled by faithful kindred bands + And propped by fond fraternal love. + + When his speeches hobble vilely, + What "Hear him's" burst from Brother Hiley; + When his faltering periods lag, + Hark to the cheers of Brother Bragge. + + Each a gentleman at large, + Lodged and fed at public charge, + Paying (with a grace to charm ye) + This the Fleet, and that the Army.[18] + +[Pageheading: _THE KING'S ILLNESS._] + +When parliament reassembled on November 22 the opposition was still +disunited, and, though Windham severely condemned the inadequacy of the +provision made for national defence, he did not venture to divide +against the government. But during the Christmas recess a distinct step +was made towards the consolidation of the opposition by the reunion of +the two sections of the whig party. Grenville had conceived a chimerical +project of replacing the existing administration by one which should +include all statesmen possessed of real political talent, whatever their +differences in the past might have been. True to this policy, he +persuaded Fox in January, 1804, to join him in attempting to expel the +Addington administration from office as an essential preliminary to any +further action. Sheridan, however, with some of the Prince of Wales's +friends, still refused to enter into any combination which might result +in the return of Pitt to power. The parliamentary session was resumed on +February 1, but the course of events was complicated by a recurrence of +the king's malady. Symptoms of this were observed towards the end of +January; the disease took a turn for the worse about February 12, and on +the 14th it was made known to the public. For a short time the king's +life appeared to be in danger; his reason was affected during a longer +interval, but the attack was in every way milder than in 1789, and on +March 7 Dr. Simmons reported to Addington that "the king was competent +to perform any act of government".[19] It is true that for many months +the king's health did not allow him to give his full attention to public +business, but there was nothing to prevent him from attending to such +routine work as was absolutely necessary. There could, however, be no +question of a change of ministers till there should be a marked +improvement in the king's health. + +The king's illness was made the occasion on February 27 of a motion by +Sir Robert Lawley for the adjournment of the house of commons. This was +parried by Addington with the statement that there was no necessary +suspension of such royal functions as it might be necessary for His +Majesty to discharge at the present moment.[20] The emphasis here +obviously lay on the word "necessary". A still bolder course was adopted +shortly afterwards by the lord chancellor. When on March 9 the king's +assent to several bills was given by commission, Fitzwilliam raised not +unreasonable doubts as to whether the king was capable of resuming the +functions of government. Eldon, however, declared that, as the result of +a private interview with the king, he had come to the conclusion that +the royal commissioners were warranted in assenting to the bills in +question. Whether the chancellor was justified in assuming this +responsibility must remain doubtful; at all events Pitt seems to have +determined that the time was now ripe for a ministerial crisis. He had +on February 27 criticised both the military and naval defences of the +country, but he would not directly attack the government till the king's +health was in a better condition. At last, on March 15, the first attack +was made. Pitt selected the weak point in the administration. St. +Vincent's obstinacy in refusing to believe in the possibility of a +renewal of hostility and his excessive economy had brought about a +marked deterioration in the strength and quality of the fleet. Pitt +accordingly moved for an inquiry into the administration of the navy. +Fox dissociated himself from Pitt's attacks on the first lord of the +admiralty, but supported the motion on the ground that an inquiry would +clear St. Vincent's character. On a division the government had a +majority of 201 against 130. On the 19th, however, Pitt refused to join +the Grenvilles in supporting Fox's motion for the re-committal of the +volunteer consolidation bill. On the following day Eldon made overtures +to Pitt, and on the 23rd Pitt dined _tete-a-tete_ with the chancellor, +but no record has been preserved of the nature of their negotiations. + +On the 29th Pitt, in a letter to Melville, explained his position at +length. He intended, as soon after the Easter recess as the king's +health should permit, to write to the king explaining the dangers which, +in his opinion, threatened the crown and people from the continuance of +the existing government, and representing the urgent necessity of a +speedy change; he would prefer an administration from which no political +party should be excluded, but was unwilling, especially in view of the +king's state of health, to force any minister upon him; if, therefore, +he should be invited by the king to form a ministry from which the +partisans of Fox and Grenville were to be excluded, he was prepared to +form one from his own followers united with the more capable members of +the existing government, excluding Addington himself and St. Vincent; +should this measure fail of success, he would "have no hesitation in +taking such ground in Parliament as would be most likely to attain the +object".[21] As it happened, the parliamentary assault preceded the +correspondence with the king. Immediately after the recess the ministry +laid before parliament military proposals which Pitt felt bound to +resist. On April 16 Pitt, supported by Windham, opposed the third +reading of a bill for augmenting the Irish militia, and expressed a +preference for the army of reserve. He was defeated by the narrow +majority of 128 against 107. On the 23rd Fox proposed to refer the +question of national defence to a committee of the whole house. He was +supported by Pitt and Windham, and defeated by 256 votes only against +204. The division which sealed the fate of the ministry was taken two +days later on a motion that the house should go into committee on a bill +for the suspension of the army of reserve. This was opposed by Pitt, who +expounded a rival plan for the diminution of the militia and increase of +the army of reserve. Fox and Windham demanded for Pitt's scheme a right +to consideration, and on a division the motion was carried by no more +than 240 against 203. The division of April 16 had convinced Addington +that a reconciliation with Pitt was necessary. On Pitt's refusing to +confer with him, he agreed to recommend the king to charge Eldon with +the task of discovering Pitt's views as to the formation of a new +ministry, in case the king wished to learn them. + +[Pageheading: _ADDINGTON'S RESIGNATION._] + +The king, however, expressed no such wish, and on April 22 Pitt sent an +unsealed letter to Eldon to be laid before the king; announcing his +dissatisfaction with the ministry and his intention of declaring this +dissatisfaction in parliament.[22] It was not till the 27th that Eldon +found a suitable opportunity of communicating Pitt's letter to the king. +Before that date Addington, who considered that he could no longer +remain in office with dignity after the divisions of the 23rd and 25th, +had on the 26th informed the king of his intention to resign. The king +reluctantly consented to his resignation, which was announced to the +cabinet on the 29th. On the following day Eldon called on Pitt with a +request from the king for a plan of a new administration. Pitt replied +in a letter, setting forth at great length the arguments in favour of a +combined administration, and requesting permission to confer with Fox +and Grenville about the construction of the ministry.[23] The letter +irritated the king, who demanded a renewed pledge against catholic +emancipation, with which Grenville was specially associated in his mind, +and refused to admit Pitt to office if he persevered in his purpose of +consulting Fox and Grenville. Pitt then declared his adherence to the +pledge given in 1801[24] and requested an interview with the king. The +interview, which took place on May 7, lasted three hours, and ended in a +compromise. The king agreed to admit Grenville and his friends to +office, but, while ready to accept the friends of Fox, he refused, as +much on personal as on political grounds, to give Fox a place in the +cabinet. At the same time he declared himself ready to grant him a +diplomatic appointment. At a later date the king went the length of +declaring that, rather than accept Fox, he would have incurred the risk +of civil war. + +[Pageheading: _PITT'S RETURN TO OFFICE._] + +Fox readily agreed to his own exclusion, which he had fully expected, +and urged his followers to join Pitt, but Grenville and his friends +refused to serve without Fox, while the friends of Fox and the more +immediate followers of Addington refused to serve without their +respective leaders. Addington always considered that Pitt had treated +him ungenerously in driving him from office, when it was open to him to +return to the head of affairs with the full consent of the existing +ministers. More recently it has been the fashion to blame Pitt for +bringing too little pressure to bear upon the king and thus losing the +support of Fox and Grenville. Neither charge appears to be justified. +Through the whole length of the Addington administration Pitt showed +himself fully sensitive of what was due to the king, with whom he had +worked cordially for eighteen years, to Grenville who had resigned in +his cause, and to Addington who had assumed office under his protection. +There was no trace of faction in Pitt's attitude towards the ministry. +He merely opposed what he believed to be dangerous to the country, and +when he was convinced of the necessity of removing Addington from a +share in public business, he endeavoured to effect his purpose in such a +way as to give the minimum of offence. + +On the other hand, Pitt's intended combination in a supreme crisis of +his country's destiny with his life-long antagonist, Fox, was a heroic +experiment, perhaps, but still only an experiment. The failure of the +ministry of "All the Talents" renders it exceedingly doubtful whether +such an alliance would have proved successful, and Fox's lukewarm +patriotism would have been dearly purchased at the expense of the +alienation of the king, perhaps even of his relapse into insanity. Nor +is it certain that the strongest pressure would have induced George III. +to accept Fox at this date. Addington was still undefeated and might +have remained in office if Pitt had refused to assume the reins of +government without Fox. Grenville is undoubtedly more responsible than +any one else for the weakness of Pitt's second administration. It was +from a sense of loyalty to Grenville that Pitt had suffered the +negotiations for his return to office in 1803 to fall through, and now +when the two statesmen could return together, and when, if ever, a +strong government was needed, either a quixotic sense of honour or a +wounded pride induced Grenville not only to stand aloof from the new +administration himself, but to do his utmost to prevent others from +giving it their support.[25] The new cabinet was quickly formed. Pitt +received the seals of office on May 10, and took his seat in parliament +after re-election on the 18th, the very day on which Napoleon was +declared emperor by the French senate. + +This event, long foreseen, was doubtless hastened by the disclosure of +the plot formed by Moreau, Pichegru, and Georges Cadoudal against the +first consul. There was no proof of Moreau's complicity in designs on +Napoleon's life, and the mysterious death of Pichegru in prison left the +extent of his complicity among the insoluble problems of history, but +there can be no doubt that Cadoudal was justly executed for plotting +assassination. Unfortunately some of the under-secretaries in the +Addington administration had not only shared the plans of the +conspirators so far as they aimed at a rising in France, but had +procured for them material assistance. They appear, however, to have +been innocent of any attempt on Napoleon's life. Drake, the British +envoy at Munich, was, however, deeper in the plot. The evidence of +British complicity naturally received the very worst construction in +Paris.[26] Napoleon himself certainly believed in an Anglo-Bourbon +conspiracy, organised by the Count of Artois and other French royalists, +when he caused the Duke of Enghien to be kidnapped in Baden territory +and hurried off to the castle of Vincennes. He was, however, already +aware of his prisoner's innocence when on March 21 he had him shot there +by torch-light after a mock trial before a military commission. All +Europe was shocked by this atrocious assassination, and though Napoleon +sometimes attempted to shift the guilt of it upon Talleyrand, he +justified it at other times as a measure of self-defence, and left on +record his deliberate approval of it, for the consideration of +posterity. Two months later he became Emperor of the French. + +When Pitt resumed office on May 10, 1804, he was no longer the +heaven-born and buoyant young minister of 1783, strong in the confidence +of the king and the anticipated confidence of the nation, with a +minority of followers in the house of commons, but with the brightest +prospects of political success before him. Nor was he the leader of a +devoted majority, as when he resigned in 1801 rather than abandon his +convictions on the catholic question. He had been compelled to waive +these convictions, without fully regaining the confidence of the king, +and, while the adherents of Fox retained their deep-seated hatred of a +war-policy, the adherents of Addington and Grenville were in no mood to +give him a loyal support. Windham and Spencer were no longer at his +side, and his ministry was essentially the same as that of Addington, +with the substitution of Dudley Ryder, now Lord Harrowby, for Hawkesbury +as foreign secretary, Melville for St. Vincent as first lord of the +admiralty, Earl Camden for Hobart as secretary for war and the colonies, +and the Duke of Montrose for Auckland as president of the board of +trade. Hawkesbury was transferred to the home office, vacated by Yorke, +and the new chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Lord Mulgrave, was +given a seat in the cabinet. Of Pitt's eleven colleagues in the cabinet +Castlereagh alone, who remained president of the board of control--a +wretched speaker though an able administrator--had a seat in the lower +house. + +[Pageheading: _PITT'S RECONCILIATION WITH ADDINGTON._] + +Military exigencies now engrossed all thoughts, and the king's speech, +in proroguing parliament on July 31, foreshadowed a new coalition, for +which the murder of the Duke of Enghien had paved the way. The +preparations for an invasion of England had been resumed, and Napoleon +celebrated his birthday in great state at Boulogne, still postponing his +final stroke until he should be crowned, on December 2, at Paris by the +helpless pope, brought from Italy for the purpose.[27] A month later he +personally addressed another pacific letter to the King of England, who +replied in his speech from the throne on January 15, 1805, that he could +not entertain overtures except in concert with Russia and the other +powers. Meanwhile, Pitt, conscious as he was of failing powers, retained +his undaunted courage, and while he was organising a third coalition, +did not shrink from a bold measure which could hardly be justified by +international law. This was the seizure on October 5, 1804, of three +Spanish treasure-ships on the high seas, without a previous declaration +of war against Spain, though not without a previous notice that +hostilities might be opened at any moment unless Spain ceased to give +underhand assistance to France. The excuse was that Spain had long been +the obsequious ally of France, and, as the alliance now became open, +Pitt's act was sanctioned by a large majority in both houses of +parliament in January, 1805. The parliamentary session which opened in +this month found Pitt's ministry apparently stronger than it had been at +the beginning of the recess. Despairing of any help from Grenville, +except in a vigorous prosecution of the war, he had sought a +reconciliation with Addington, who became Viscount Sidmouth on January +12 and president of the council on the 14th. Along with Sidmouth his +former colleague Hobart, now Earl of Buckinghamshire, returned to office +as chancellor of the duchy. To make room for these new allies, Portland +had consented to resign the presidency of the council, though he +remained a member of the cabinet, while Mulgrave was appointed to the +foreign office, in place of Harrowby, who was compelled by ill-health to +retire. + +But this new accession of strength was soon followed by a terrible +mortification which probably contributed to shorten Pitt's life. +Melville, his tried supporter and intimate friend, was charged on the +report of a commission with having misapplied public money as treasurer +of the navy in Pitt's former ministry. It appeared that he had been +culpably careless, and had not prevented the paymaster, Trotter, from +engaging in private speculations with the naval balances. Although +Trotter's speculations involved no loss to the state they were, +nevertheless, a contravention of an act of 1785. Melville had also +supplied other departments of government with naval money, but was +personally innocent of fraud. There was a divergence of feeling in the +cabinet as to the attitude to be adopted towards Melville. Sidmouth, +himself a man of the highest integrity, was a friend of St. Vincent, the +late first lord of the admiralty, and had not forgiven Melville for his +part in the expulsion of himself and St. Vincent from office. He had +therefore both public and private grounds to incline him against +Melville. On April 8, Samuel Whitbread moved a formal censure on +Melville in the house of commons. Pitt, with the approval of Sidmouth +and his friends, moved the previous question on Whitbread's motion, and +declared his intention of introducing a motion of his own for a select +committee to investigate the charges. In spite of the support which Pitt +derived from the followers of Sidmouth the votes were equally divided on +Whitbread's motion, 216 a side. Abbot, the speaker, gave his casting +vote in favour of Whitbread, and the announcement was received by the +whig members with unseemly exultation.[28] + +[Pageheading: _MINISTERIAL CHANGES._] + +The censure was followed by an impeachment before the house of lords, +where Melville was acquitted in the following year. Meanwhile, he had +resigned office on April 9, the day after the vote of censure, and his +place at the admiralty was taken by Sir Charles Middleton, who was +raised to the peerage as Lord Barham. The appointment gave umbrage to +Sidmouth, to whom Pitt had made promises of promotion for his own +followers, and he was with difficulty induced to remain in the cabinet. +Pitt was, however, irritated by the hostile votes of Sidmouth's +followers, Hiley Addington and Bond, on the question of the impeachment, +and regarded this as a reason for delaying their preferment. Sidmouth +now complained of a breach of faith, as Pitt had promised to treat the +question as an open one, and he resigned office on July 4. +Buckinghamshire resigned next day. Camden was appointed to succeed +Sidmouth as lord president, Castlereagh followed Camden as secretary for +war and the colonies, retaining his previous position as president of +the board of control, and Harrowby, whose health had improved since his +resignation in January, took Buckinghamshire's place as chancellor of +the duchy. Thus weakened at home, Pitt could derive little consolation +from the aspect of continental affairs. On May 26, Napoleon was crowned +King of Italy in the cathedral of Milan, and the Ligurian Republic +became part of the French empire in the following month. The ascendency +of France in Europe might well have appeared impregnable, and it might +have been supposed that nothing remained for England but to guard her +own coasts and recapture some of the French colonies given up by the +treaty of Amiens. + +But Pitt's spirit was still unbroken, and by the middle of July he +succeeded in rallying three powers, Russia, Austria, and Sweden, into a +league to withstand the further encroachments of France. Such a league +had been proposed by Gustavus IV. of Sweden, early in 1804, but nothing +definite was done till Pitt's ministry entered upon office. Meanwhile, +the assassination of the Duke of Enghien had led to a rupture of +diplomatic relations between France and Russia, though war was not +declared. Negotiations were presently set on foot for a league, which, +it was hoped, would be joined by Austria and Prussia in addition to +Great Britain, Russia, and Sweden. An interesting feature in the +negotiations was the tsar's scheme of a European polity, where the +states should be independent and enjoy institutions "founded on the +sacred rights of humanity," a foreshadowing, as it would seem, of the +Holy Alliance. The discussion of details between Great Britain and +Russia began towards the end of 1804. Difficulties, however, arose about +the British retention of Malta and the British claim to search neutral +ships for deserters. A treaty between the two powers was signed on April +11, 1805; but the tsar long refused his ratification, and it was only +given in July, after a formal protest against the retention of Malta. + +The object of this alliance was defined to be the expulsion of French +troops from North Germany, the assured independence of the republics of +Holland and Switzerland, and the restoration of the King of Sardinia in +Piedmont; 500,000 men were to be provided for the war by Russia and such +other continental powers as might join the coalition. Great Britain, +instead of furnishing troops, was to supply L1,250,000 a year for every +100,000 men engaged in the war. After the close of the war an European +congress was to define more closely the law of nations and establish an +European federation. At the same time the allies disclaimed the +intention of forcing any system of government on France against her +will. It will be observed that the number of troops specified was far in +excess of what Russia alone could place in the field; such numbers could +only be obtained by the adhesion of Austria and of either Prussia or +some of the smaller German states to the coalition. So far as Austria +was concerned, Napoleon's Italian policy rendered war inevitable. +Already in November, 1804, the Austrian court had entered into a secret +agreement with Russia to make war on France in the event of further +French aggressions in Italy. The coronation of Napoleon as King of Italy +and the annexation of Liguria were, however, more than aggressions; they +were open violations of the treaty of Luneville which had guaranteed the +independence of the Cisalpine and Ligurian republics. Austria hereupon +determined on war, and secretly joined the coalition on August 9, 1805. +Sweden, which was not a member of it, concluded separate treaties of +alliance both with Great Britain and with Russia. Greater difficulties +had to be surmounted in the case of Prussia. Frederick William III. +cherished no enthusiasm for European liberty, and vacillated under the +influence of Napoleon's offer of Hanover on the one hand and his +numerous petty insults on the other. Prussia in consequence remained +neutral throughout the most decisive period of the ensuing war. + +[Pageheading: _NELSON AND VILLENEUVE._] + +Long before the coalition was ready Napoleon's mind had recurred to his +venturesome project for the invasion of England. An army, the finest +that he ever led to victory, which, even after it had been transferred +to another scene of action, he still saw fit to call the "army of +England," was encamped near Boulogne. It was constantly exercised in the +process of embarking on board flat-bottomed boats or rafts, which were +to be convoyed by Villeneuve, admiral of the Toulon fleet, and +Gantheaume, admiral of the Brest fleet, for whose appearance the French +signalmen vainly scanned the horizon. In the meantime, Nelson had been +engaged for two years, without setting foot on shore, in that patient +and sleepless watch, ranging over the whole Mediterranean, which must +ever rank with the greatest of his matchless exploits. At last, he +learned in the spring of 1805, that Villeneuve, following a plan +concerted by Napoleon himself, had eluded him by sailing from Toulon +towards Cadiz, had there been joined by the Spanish fleet, and was +steering for the West Indies. Nelson followed with a much smaller number +of ships, and might have forced an action in those waters, but he was +misled by false intelligence and missed the enemy, though his dreaded +presence was effectual in saving the British islands from any serious +attack. + +The combined fleets of France and Spain recrossed the Atlantic and in +accordance with Napoleon's plans made for Ferrol on the coast of +Galicia. After being repulsed with some loss off Cape Finisterre by Sir +Robert Calder, who was court-martialled and severely reprimanded for +neglecting to follow up his victory, they put in first at Vigo, and then +with fifteen allied ships at Coruna. But, instead of venturing to carry +out Napoleon's orders by challenging Admiral Cornwallis's fleet off +Brest, and making a desperate effort to command the channel, Villeneuve +now took advantage of his emperors recommendation to return to Cadiz in +event of defeat, and set sail for that port in the middle of August. +Nelson, ignorant of his movements, had vainly sought him off the Straits +of Gibraltar, and came home to report himself at the admiralty. Arriving +at Spithead on August 18, he was in England barely four weeks, most of +which he spent in privacy at Merton. During this brief respite he +received a general tribute of admiration and affection from his +countrymen, which anticipated the verdict of posterity. On September 15 +he sailed from Portsmouth, with a presentiment of his own fate, after +having described to Sidmouth the general design of his crowning sea +fight: he would, he said, break the enemy's line in two places; and he +did so. He joined Admiral Collingwood off Cadiz on the 29th, and on +October 19 he received news that Villeneuve, smarting under the +prospect of being superseded, had put to sea with the combined fleet. +Complicated naval manoeuvres followed, but on the 21st the enemy was +forced to give battle, a few leagues from Cape Trafalgar, and Nelson +caused his immortal signal to be hoisted--"England expects that every +man will do his duty". + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR._] + +The French and Spanish fleet comprised thirty-three ships of the line, +of which eighteen were French and fifteen Spanish; the British had only +twenty-seven, but among these were seven three-deckers as against four +on the side of the allies. It had the additional advantage of superior +discipline and equipment, to say nothing of the genius of its commander. +The British fleet advanced in two divisions, Nelson leading the weather +division of twelve, and Collingwood the lee division of fifteen ships. +According to Nelson's plan Collingwood was to attack the rear of the +enemy's line, while he himself cut off and paralysed the centre and van. +Both divisions advanced without regular formation, the ships bearing +down with all the speed they could command and without waiting for +laggards. Collingwood in the _Royal Sovereign_, steering E. by N., broke +through the allies' line twelve ships from the rear, raking the _Santa +Ana_, Alava's flagship, as he passed her stern, with a broadside which +struck down 400 of her men. For some fifteen minutes the _Royal +Sovereign_ was alone in action; then others of the division came up and +successively penetrated the line of the allies, and engaging ship to +ship completely disposed of the enemy's rear, their twelve rear ships +being all taken or destroyed. + +Meanwhile, Nelson in the _Victory_, who had reserved to himself the more +difficult task of containing twenty-one ships with twelve, held on his +course, advancing so as to keep the allied van stationary and yet to +prevent the centre from venturing to help the rear. He designed to pass +through the end of the line in order to cut the enemy's van off from +Cadiz, but, finding an opportunity, changed his course, passed down the +line and attacked the centre. He passed through the line of the allied +fleet, closely followed by four other ships of his division, and the +five British ships concentrated their attacks on the _Bucentaure_, +Villeneuve's flagship, the gigantic Spanish four-decker, the _Santisima +Trinidad_, which was next ahead of her, and the _Redoutable_, which +supported her. The centre of the allies was crushed and the van cut off +from coming to the help of the rear, which was being destroyed by +Collingwood. + +Before the battle ended, the naval force of France, and with it +Napoleon's projects of invasion, were utterly and hopelessly ruined. +Eighteen prizes were taken, and, though many of these were lost in a +gale, four ships which escaped were afterwards captured, and the +remainder lay for the most part shattered hulks at Cadiz. By this battle +the supremacy of Great Britain at sea was finally established. Nelson, +who, during the ship-to-ship engagement which followed his penetration +of the enemy's line, was mortally wounded by a sharp-shooter from the +mizzen-top of the _Redoutable_, died before the battle was over, though +he was spared to hear that a complete victory was secure. His death is +among the heroic incidents of history, and his last achievement, both in +its conception and its results, was the fitting climax of his fame. The +plan for the battle which he drew up beforehand for the instruction of +his captains, and the changes which he made in it to meet the conditions +of the moment are alike worthy of his supreme genius as a naval +tactician. His arrangements were carried out by men who had learned to +love and trust him, and who were inspired by the fire of his spirit, and +hence it was that the allied fleet of France and Spain perished at the +"Nelson touch".[29] + +Very different were the fortunes of war in central Europe, where +Napoleon himself commanded the "army of England". It was not until the +end of August that Napoleon knew that Villeneuve would be unable to +appear in the Channel, but no sooner did he abandon his project of +invasion in despair than he resolved on a campaign scarcely less +arduous, and gave orders for a grand march into Germany. Pitt, as we +have seen, had successfully negotiated an alliance with Russia and +Austria, whose armies were converging upon the plains of Bavaria and +were to have been reinforced by a large Prussian contingent. Unhappily, +they had not effected a junction when Napoleon crossed the Rhine near +Strassburg and the Danube near Donauwoerth, while he detached large +forces to check the advance of the Russians and the approach of +reinforcements expected from Italy. One of these movements involved an +open violation of Prussian territory, but he could rely on the +well-tried servility of Frederick William. The first decisive result of +his strategy was the surrender of Mack at Ulm, with 30,000 men and 60 +pieces of ordnance. This event took place on October 20, the very day +before the battle of Trafalgar, and opened the road to Vienna, which the +French troops entered on November 13, occupying the great bridge by a +ruse more skilful than honourable, during the negotiation of an +armistice. Vienna was spared, while Napoleon pressed on to meet the +remainder of the Austrian army, which had now been joined by a larger +body of Russians near Bruenn. The allies numbered about 100,000 men; +Napoleon's army was numerically somewhat less, but possessed the same +kind of superiority as the British navy at Trafalgar. The result was the +crushing victory of Austerlitz on December 2, followed by the peace of +Pressburg, between France and Austria, signed on the 26th. The principal +articles of this treaty provided for the cession of Venetia, Istria, and +Dalmatia to the kingdom of Italy, and the aggrandisement of Bavaria and +Wuertemberg, whose electors received the royal title as the price of +their sympathetic alliance with France. Russia withdrew sullenly, having +learned the hollowness of her league with Prussia, which had basely +temporised while the fate of Germany was at stake, and whose minister, +Haugwitz, suppressing the _ultimatum_ which he was charged to deliver, +had openly congratulated the conqueror of Austerlitz. + +Great Britain had had no direct share in the conflict in Southern +Germany and Moravia; she had, however, joined in two expeditions, the +one in Southern, the other in Northern Europe. In spite of a treaty of +neutrality between France and the Two Sicilies, ratified on October 8, +an Anglo-Russian squadron was permitted to land a force of 10,000 +British troops under Sir James Craig, and 14,000 Russians on the shore +of the Bay of Naples. These troops effected nothing, and the violation +of neutrality was, as we shall see, destined to involve the Neapolitan +monarchy in ruin. The expedition to North Germany was planned on a +larger scale. Hanover had been occupied by France since June, 1803. Its +recovery was attempted by an Anglo-Hanoverian force under Cathcart, +which was to have been supported by a Russian and Swedish force acting +from Stralsund. The co-operation of Prussia was also expected. In order +to secure this alliance the British government offered Prussia an +extension of territory so as to include Antwerp, Liege, Luxemburg, and +Cologne, in the event of victory. In November the expedition landed. In +December Prussia had definitely given her protection to the Russian +troops in Hanover and offered it to the Hanoverians. Pitt computed that +at the beginning of the next campaign nearly 300,000 men would be +available in North Germany. But the vacillation of Prussia ruined all. +On December 15 Haugwitz signed the treaty of Schoenbrunn, by which +Prussia was to enter into an offensive and defensive alliance with +France and was to receive Hanover in return for Ansbach, Cleves, and +Neuchatel. Frederick William could not yet stoop to such a degree of +infamy, and therefore, instead of ratifying the treaty, resolved on +January 3, 1806, to propose a compromise, which involved among other +provisions the temporary occupation of Hanover by Prussia. In +consequence of this determination he sent, on January 7, a request for +the withdrawal of the British forces, which were accordingly +recalled.[30] + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF PITT._] + +The collapse of his last coalition was the death-blow of Pitt, cheered +though he was for the moment by the news of Trafalgar. The fatal +consequences of Austerlitz were reported to him at Bath, whence he +returned by easy stages to his villa at Putney in January, 1806. His +noble spirit was broken at last by the defection of Prussia, and after +lingering a while, he died on the 23rd of that month, leaving a name +second to none among the greatest statesmen of his country. His +sagacious mind grasped the advantage to be gained by freeing trade from +unnecessary restrictions, and anticipated catholic emancipation, +parliamentary reform, and the abolition of slavery. He gave the nation, +in the union with Ireland, the one constructive measure of the first +order achieved in his time, and only marred by the weakness of more +pliable successors in a lesser age. His dauntless soul, which bore him +up against the bitterest disappointments, the desertion of friends, and +the depression of mortal disease, inspired the governing classes of +England to endure ten more years of exhausting war, to save Europe (as +he foretold) by their example, and to crown his own work at Waterloo. +His lofty eloquence, which has been described as a gift independent of +statesmanship, was indeed a product of statesmanship, for it consisted +in no mere witchery of words, but in a luminous and convincing +presentation of essential facts. He may have been inferior to his own +father in fiery rhetoric, to Peel in comprehensive grasp of domestic +policy, and to Gladstone in the political experience gained by sixty +years of political life, but in capacity for command he was inferior to +none. If he was not an ideal war minister, he was not a war minister by +his own choice; his lot was cast in times which suppressed the exercise +of his best powers; and he was matched in the organisation of war, +though not in the field, against the greatest organising genius known to +history. He must be judged by what he actually did and meditated as a +peace minister; his conduct of the war must be compared with that of +those able but not gifted men who strove to bend the bow which he left +behind him; and we must assuredly conclude that none of his colleagues +or rivals was his peer either in powers or in public spirit. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[13] Buckingham, _Court and Cabinets_, iii., 242; Lewis, +_Administrations of Great Britain_, p. 225. + +[14] Buckingham, _Court and Cabinets_, iii., 282-90; Pellew, _Life of +Sidmouth_, ii., 113-31; Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., 20-39. + +[15] See vol. x., p. 399. + +[16] Pellew, _Life of Sidmouth_, ii., 145-47; Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, +iv., 88-93. + +[17] For a list of Canning's squibs, belonging to this period, see +Lewis, _Administrations_, p. 249, note. + +[18] It was not fair to hold Addington entirely responsible for the +promotion of his brother, who had been a junior lord of the treasury +under Pitt. The taunt came with a particularly bad grace from Canning, +who had himself been paymaster-general in the last administration. + +[19] Pellew, _Life of Sidmouth_, ii., 250. + +[20] _Annual Register_, xlvi. (1804), p. 34. + +[21] Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., 135-44. + +[22] See the letter in Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., appendix, pp. +i.-iii. + +[23] There is preserved a sketch in Pitt's handwriting of a combined +administration with Melville, Fox, and Fitzwilliam as secretaries of +state, and Grenville as lord president. + +[24] Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., appendix, pp. xi., xii. + +[25] The best account of Pitt's return to power is to be found in +Stanhope, _Life of Pitt_, iv., 113-95; appendix, pp. i.-xiii. The story +is told in a very spirited manner by Lord Rosebery, _Pitt_, pp. 238-44. + +[26] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, i., 450-53. + +[27] Napoleon actually crowned himself, although he had originally +intended to be crowned by the pope. + +[28] Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iv., 338. + +[29] Nelson's tactics at Trafalgar are explained in a series of +remarkable articles in _The Times_ of September 16, 19, 22, 26, 28, 30, +and October 19, 1905. For incidents of the battle see Mahan, _Life of +Nelson_, ii., 363 _sqq._ + +[30] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 53-57, 63-65. + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + GRENVILLE AND PORTLAND. + + +The immediate effect of Pitt's death was the dissolution of his +government. The king turned at first to Hawkesbury, afterwards destined +as Earl of Liverpool to hold the office of premier for nearly fifteen +years; but he then felt himself unequal to such a burden. He next sent +for Grenville, who insisted on the co-operation of Fox, to which the +king assented without demur, and the short-lived ministry of "All the +Talents" was formed within a few days. It was essentially a whig +cabinet, but it included two tories, Sidmouth as lord privy seal, and +Lord Ellenborough, the lord chief justice. Grenville himself was first +lord of the treasury, Fox foreign secretary, and Erskine lord +chancellor. Charles Grey, the future Earl Grey, was first lord of the +admiralty. Spencer home secretary, Windham secretary for war and the +colonies, and Lord Henry Petty, the future Marquis of Lansdowne, +chancellor of the exchequer. Fitzwilliam was lord president, and the +Earl of Moira master-general of the ordnance. Ellenborough owed his +place in the cabinet to the influence of Sidmouth. The appointment was a +departure from the established constitutional practice. Since Lord +Mansfield, who had ceased to be an efficient member in 1765, no chief +justice had been a member of the cabinet, and it was argued in +parliament by the opposition that a seat in the cabinet was inconsistent +with the independence which a common law judge ought to maintain. It is +also important to observe that Sidmouth when accepting office gave +express notice to Grenville and Fox that under all circumstances "he +would ever resist the catholic question".[31] + +The friendly relations of the king with Fox were creditable to both of +them, and in the last few months of his life Fox showed himself a +statesman. Besides the abolition of the slave trade, his grand object +was the restoration of peace on a durable basis. There were some grounds +for believing that this was possible. France, under an emperor, seemed +no longer to represent a new principle in European politics, and was not +necessarily a menace to her neighbours; the coalition was fairly beaten +on land, while British supremacy had been reasserted on sea, and +Napoleon might well wish for peace to enable him to consolidate his +position on land and regain the power of using the sea, just as he had +done in 1801. Fox lost no time in renewing a pacific correspondence with +Talleyrand, afterwards carried on through the agency of Lord Yarmouth, +an English traveller detained in France, and Lord Lauderdale, who was +sent over as plenipotentiary. The principle of the negotiation was that +of _uti possidetis_, but it failed, as Whitworth's efforts had failed, +because the pretensions of France were constantly shifting, and +especially because France, anxious to isolate Great Britain, insisted on +negotiating separately with Great Britain and Russia, while Fox very +properly refused to make peace without our ally. Grey himself, now Lord +Howick, afterwards declared that France showed no disposition to grant +any terms which could be accepted by Great Britain. On September 13, Fox +died, and was buried in Westminster Abbey almost side by side with his +great rival. + +While he was earnestly striving for peace, there was no cessation of +warlike movements or political changes either in Central Europe or in +Italy. In June, 1806, Napoleon converted the Batavian Republic into the +kingdom of Holland, over which he set his brother Louis. In July the +discord of Germany, which had long ceased to be a nation, was +consummated by the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, which +separated all the western states from the Holy Roman empire, and united +them under the protection and control of France. On August 6, Francis +II., who had assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in 1804, formally +renounced the title of Roman Emperor, and the Holy Roman Empire became +extinct. The King of Prussia, with singular disregard of good faith and +national interest, finally accepted on February 15 the bribe of Hanover +for adhesion to France, but without the offensive and defensive alliance +offered him in the previous December, and with the additional +humiliation of being compelled to close his ports to English ships. He +vainly strove to conceal this shameful bargain, and was, as will be +seen, punished by the destruction of Prussian commerce. After all, he +found himself overreached by Napoleon in duplicity, and was at last +provoked into risking a single-handed contest with his imperious ally. +He declared war on October 1, and within a fortnight the army of +Prussia, inheriting the system and traditions of the great Frederick, +was all but annihilated in the twin battles of Jena and Auerstaedt fought +on October 14. + +[Pageheading: _SMALL EXPEDITIONS._] + +The British government, though not unwilling to forgive the perfidy of +its former confederate, was powerless to strike a blow on his behalf +until it was too late. Indeed, the only warlike operation undertaken by +Great Britain in Europe during the year was in the extreme south of +Italy. Ferdinand, King of the Two Sicilies, had been driven out of his +capital to make way for Joseph Bonaparte, who entered Naples on February +15, and the exiled monarch took refuge in the island of Sicily. In +accordance with the shortsighted policy of small expeditions, a British +force under Sir John Stuart was landed in Calabria to raise the +peasantry, and on July 4, defeated the French at the point of the +bayonet in the battle of Maida. This action shook the confidence of +Europe in the superiority of the French infantry, and saved Sicily from +France, but the French troops remained in possession of the Italian +mainland. The prestige of Great Britain was raised by the conquest of +the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope in January by a naval and +military force sent out by Pitt under the command of Sir Home Popham and +General, now Sir David, Baird, but was damaged by a futile expedition to +South America, undertaken by Popham without orders from the home +government. The city of Buenos Ayres was taken, indeed, in June by +General Beresford, but it was retaken by the Spaniards in August, and +soldiers who could ill be spared from the European conflict now +impending were lavished on a chimerical project on the other side of the +Atlantic. + +The short administration of Grenville, so inactive in its foreign +policy, is memorable only for one redeeming measure of home-policy--the +abolition of the slave trade. Before Fox's death, the attention of +parliament had been divided mainly between Windham's abortive scheme +for a vast standing army, to be raised on the basis of limited service, +and the secret inquiry into the conduct of the Princess of Wales. This +resulted in her being acquitted of the more scandalous charges against +her, but on the advice of the cabinet, she was censured by the king for +unseemly levity of behaviour. On October 24 parliament was dissolved. It +was a foolish dissolution, for ministerial convenience only, and aimed +not merely at strengthening the ministry, but at weakening the tory +section within the ministry. The election was not well managed, and the +king withheld the subscription of L12,000 with which he was accustomed +to assist his ministers for the time being at a general election. Still +the ministry obtained a considerable majority.[32] The new parliament +met on December 15, and on March 25, 1807, the abolition bill, having +passed the house of lords in spite of strong opposition, was carried in +the commons by 283 to 16. Thus ended a philanthropic struggle, which +began in 1783, when the quakers petitioned against the trade. Three +years later Clarkson began his crusade. Two bills in favour of abolition +were carried by the house of commons before the close of the eighteenth +century, but were thrown out in the house of lords. The same fate befell +a bill for a temporary suspension of the slave trade, which passed the +commons in 1804 under the spell of Wilberforce's persuasive eloquence; +but Pitt's government caused a royal proclamation to be issued, which at +least checked the spread of the nefarious traffic in the newly conquered +colonies. A larger measure failed to pass the house of commons in 1805, +but in 1806 Fox and Grenville succeeded in committing both houses to an +open condemnation of the trade. This was followed on March 25, 1807, by +an enactment entirely prohibiting the slave trade from and after January +1, 1808, though it was not made felony to engage in it until a further +act was carried by Brougham in 1811. + +[Pageheading: _FALL OF GRENVILLE'S MINISTRY._] + +In default of important legislative tasks, the parliament which expired +in 1806 devoted much attention to various features of the military +system, as well as to proposed reforms in the public accounts. It +sanctioned the principle of raising a great part of the war-expenses by +special taxes rather than by loan. A property-tax of 10 per cent. was +freely voted, and this was then represented to be its permanent limit. +The assessed taxes were increased at the same time by 10 per cent., but +with an allowance in favour of poorer taxpayers for every child above +the number of two. It is worthy of notice that, while Grenville's +ministry was in office, Whitbread brought forward an elaborate plan not +only for reforming the poor laws but also for establishing a system of +national education. Some changes in the cabinet were necessitated by the +death of Fox. Howick became foreign secretary and was succeeded at the +admiralty by Thomas Grenville, brother of the prime minister, most +famous as a book-collector. Fitzwilliam retired at the same time on the +ground of ill-health. He retained his seat in the cabinet, but was +succeeded as lord president by Sidmouth, while Fox's nephew, Lord +Holland, succeeded Sidmouth as lord privy seal. + +The fall of the whig government in March, 1807, was due to a cause +similar to that which had brought about the retirement of Pitt in 1801. +The Duke of Bedford, who was lord lieutenant of Ireland, had urged the +importance of making some concessions to Roman catholics. An Irish act +of 1793 had opened commissions in the army as high as the rank of +colonel to Roman catholics, and the ministry obtained the reluctant +consent of the king to the extension of this concession to Roman +catholics throughout his dominions. Without having fully ascertained the +king's mind, Howick, on behalf of his colleagues, moved for leave to +bring in a bill opening all commissions in the army and navy to Roman +catholics. The king at once refused his sanction, and the government, +finding that they could not carry their bill, agreed to withdraw it. +This decision was announced to the king in a cabinet minute, drawn up at +a meeting from which Ellenborough, Erskine, and Sidmouth, who +sympathised with the king, were excluded, and from which Fitzwilliam and +Spencer were absent owing to ill-health. The minute went on to record +their adhesion to the policy embodied in the bill, reserving the right +to advise the king on any future occasion in accordance with that +policy. Thereupon, Sidmouth, who had already sent in his resignation, +Eldon, Portland, and Malmesbury, with the concurrence of the Duke of +York and Spencer Perceval, urged the king to make a stand upon his +prerogative. He did so, by requiring the ministers who had signed the +minute, to give him a written pledge that they would never press upon +him further concessions, direct or indirect, to the Roman catholics. +This pledge they properly declined, and accepted the consequence by +resignation. Spencer was present at the meeting which arrived at this +conclusion and concurred in the decision of his colleagues.[33] + +A new administration was formed by Portland, as nominal head, but with +Perceval as its real leader and chancellor of the exchequer, Canning as +foreign secretary, Hawkesbury as home secretary, and Castlereagh as +minister for war and the colonies. Camden, Eldon, Westmorland, and +Chatham resumed the offices they had held before the death of Pitt, +Mulgrave became first lord of the admiralty, and Earl Bathurst president +of the board of trade. In this government, too, Sir Arthur Wellesley, +the future Duke of Wellington, who had returned in 1805 from a brilliant +military career in India, held office outside the cabinet as chief +secretary for Ireland. Spencer Perceval was a half-brother of the Earl +of Egmont and brother of Lord Arden. He enjoyed a large practice at the +bar and had made his mark as a parliamentary debater when filling the +offices, first of solicitor-general, and then of attorney-general under +Addington. He had held the latter office again under Pitt. Not the least +source of his influence was his steady and determined opposition to the +Roman catholic claims. + +[Pageheading: _NON-INTERVENTION._] + +After a short but animated debate on the important constitutional +question raised by the circumstances of the change of ministers, +parliament was again dissolved on April 27. The king's speech in closing +the session was virtually a personal appeal to his people, and a +majority was returned in favour of the new ministry. This result may be +said to mark the last triumph of George III. in maintaining the +principle of personal government. "A just and enlightened toleration" +was announced as the substitute for catholic relief. Still, a certain +revival of independent popular opinion may be traced in the return of +Sir Francis Burdett and Lord Cochrane for Westminster. It was not until +June 22 that parliament assembled, and the engrossing interest of +foreign events left but little room for discussions on home-policy. A +motion by Whitbread, however, bore fruit in a bill for establishing +parochial schools, which Eldon successfully opposed in the house of +lords, mainly on the ground that it would take popular education out of +the hands of the clergy. The same not unnatural apathy about home +affairs prevailed throughout the session of 1808, which began on January +31, and though a large number of acts were placed on the statute book in +this and succeeding years, the mass of them, including many relating to +Ireland, were essentially of a local or occasional character. An +exception must be recognised in the partial success of a motion for the +reform of the criminal law, which was proposed by Sir Samuel Romilly, +famous for his efforts in the cause of humanity, and which resulted in +the abolition of capital punishment for the offence of pocket-picking. + +During this critical period, when Great Britain was gradually drifting +into a position of isolation, the course of parliamentary history +becomes inseparable from the progress of those mighty events on the +continent, which Grenville's government would fain have treated as +outside the sphere of British interests. For, notwithstanding Windham's +schemes for a reconstruction of the army, that government had allowed +the naval and military establishments of Great Britain to fall below +their former standard. The leading idea of their policy was +non-intervention, and at the opening of 1807, there was no longer any +thought of sending a force to cope with Napoleon's veterans on the +continent When in 1805 a British force was operating in North Germany, +it was possible that if Prussia had been faithful to her engagements, +the disaster of Austerlitz might at least have been partially retrieved. +It was otherwise when, after the collapse of Prussia, France and Russia +stood face to face with each other. The drawn battle of Eylau in East +Prussia, marked by fearful carnage, was fought on February 8, 1807. This +check, breaking the spell of Napoleon's victorious career, had a +remarkable effect in raising the spirits of the allies, Russia, Sweden, +and Prussia, some remains of whose army were still in the field. These +powers now drew closer together, but they received a lukewarm support +from Great Britain, which might have done much to save Europe by timely +reinforcements and liberal subsidies. In reply to an urgent appeal from +the tsar for a loan of L6,000,000, the Grenville ministry doled out +L500,000 to Russia, and a still more pitiful gift to Prussia. No troops +were sent to aid Sweden on the Baltic coast, although, when, at +Napoleon's instigation, Turkey declared war against Russia, expeditions +were despatched to Alexandria and the Dardanelles. The notion of making +war on a large scale, in concert with allies, on the continent of +Europe, as in the days of Marlborough, and even of Lord Granby, seems to +have vanished from the minds of English statesmen, except Castlereagh, +who always advocated concentrated action. + +The succession of Portland and Canning to Grenville and Howick brought +no immediate change in our insular policy and the new government had +been in office for above three months before a British force at last +appeared in the Swedish island of Ruegen. It arrived too late, Danzig +surrendered in May, and on June 14 Napoleon obtained a decisive victory +over the Russian army and its Prussian contingent at Friedland. Russia +now gave a supreme example of that national selfishness, and contempt +for the rights of independent states which had dominated the counsels of +sovereigns ever since the first partition of Poland. Doubtless the tsar +might plead that Great Britain, too, had been wasting her strength in +selfish attempts to secure her mastery of the seas, and to open new +markets for her trade. He also deeply resented her recent failure to aid +him in the hour of his utmost need, while he still cherished the policy +of the "armed neutrality," and was eager to prosecute his designs +against Turkey. Dazzled and flattered by Napoleon, he welcomed overtures +for peace at the expense of Great Britain, and there is no doubt that +his imaginative nature indulged in the vision of a regenerated Europe, +divided between himself as emperor of the east and Napoleon as emperor +of the west. It is therefore far from surprising that he should have +held a private interview with Napoleon, on a raft in the Niemen, which +led to the treaty of Tilsit on July 7. + +[Pageheading: _THE TREATY OF TILSIT._] + +This treaty, in which the King of Prussia shared as a helpless partner, +contained both public and secret articles, but the distinction was not +very material, for the secret articles almost immediately became known +to Canning. The general effect of the whole agreement was the utter +humiliation of Prussia, the recognition by that country and Russia of +all Napoleon's acquisitions, and their combination with France against +the maritime claims and conquests of Great Britain. The western +provinces of Prussia were to be incorporated with other German +annexations to form the new kingdom of Westphalia; Prussian Poland was +to be converted into the duchy of Warsaw under the crown of Saxony, to +which a right of passage through Silesia was reserved; and Berlin with +other great Prussian fortresses were to remain in the hands of the +French until an exorbitant war indemnity should have been paid.[34] At +one stroke Prussia was thus reduced to a second-rate power, with a +territory little greater than it possessed before the first partition of +Poland. The rule of Joseph Bonaparte at Naples, that of Louis in +Holland, and the confederation of the Rhine, were solemnly confirmed. +Above all, Russia pledged herself to join France in coercing Sweden, +Denmark, and Portugal into an adoption of the organised commercial +exclusion, known as the "continental system," and hostility to Great +Britain in the event of her resistance. If Sweden refused to join this +league, Denmark was to be compelled to declare war on her. + +No sooner did it receive information of this alliance than the British +government despatched a naval armament to Denmark and landed troops, +which were soon reinforced by those withdrawn from Ruegen. There had been +no open rupture with Denmark, though much irritation existed between +Denmark and Great Britain with reference to neutral commerce. But there +were the best reasons for believing that the Danish fleet, as well as +that of Portugal, would be demanded by France and Russia, to be employed +against Great Britain, and it was certain that Denmark could not +withstand such pressure. The British envoy, Jackson, was accordingly +instructed to offer Denmark a treaty of alliance, of which one condition +was to be the deposit of her fleet on hire with the British government. +The proposal was accompanied by a threat of force, and the crown prince, +with a spirit worthy of admiration, refused the terms. In consequence a +peremptory summons to deliver up her ships of war and naval stores was +addressed to the governor of Copenhagen by the British commanders, +Admiral Gambier and Lord Cathcart, under whom Sir Arthur Wellesley was +entrusted with the reserve. The surrender, if made peaceably, was to be +in the nature of a deposit, and the fleet was to be restored at the end +of the war. The governor returned a temporising reply, and a bombardment +of Copenhagen followed (September 2); the fleet was brought to England +as prize of war; and Denmark naturally became the enemy of Great +Britain.[35] Sweden declined the proffered alliance of France and +Russia, and actually invaded Norway, then a part of the Danish kingdom. +The result was the loss of Finland and Swedish Pomerania. The king, +Gustavus IV., resembled Charles XII. in quixotic temperament, but not in +ability; and Sir John Moore, sent to his support with an army of 10,000 +men, found it hopeless to co-operate with him. Shortly afterwards, his +subjects formed the same opinion, and he was compelled to make way for +his uncle, who succeeded as Charles XIII. with Marshal Bernadotte as +crown prince. In consequence of this change Sweden became reconciled to +Russia, and estranged from Great Britain. + +The seizure of the Danish fleet, in time of so-called peace, roused +great indignation throughout most of Europe, and, in some degree, +strained the conscience of the British parliament itself. The justice +and wisdom of it were strenuously challenged in both houses, especially +by Grenville, Sidmouth, and Lord Darnley, who moved an address to the +crown embodying an impressive protest against it. It was defended, +however, by the high authority of the Marquis Wellesley, as well as by +Canning and other ministers, on the simple ground of military necessity. +Napoleon himself never ceased to denounce it as an international outrage +of the highest enormity. This did not prevent his doing his best to +justify it and to imitate it by sending Junot's expedition to Portugal, +with instructions to seize the Portuguese fleet at Lisbon. It is strange +that in the debates on this subject, peace with France was still treated +on both sides as a possibility; but Canning declared that neither +Russian nor Austrian mediation could have been accepted as impartial, +or as affording the least hope of pacification. However, on September +25, the king addressed a declaration to Europe, in which, after +justifying himself in regard to Copenhagen, he professed his readiness +to accept conditions of peace "consistent with the maritime rights and +political existence of Great Britain". + +[Pageheading: _COMMERCIAL EXCLUSION._] + +Still more reasonable attacks, supported by strong petitions, were made +by the opposition upon the "orders in council," whereby the British +government retaliated against Napoleon's "continental system". This +system was founded on a firm belief, shared by the French people, that +Great Britain, as mistress of the seas, was the one great obstacle to +his imperial ambition, and the most formidable enemy of French +aggrandisement, only to be crushed by the ruin of her trade. Prussia +had, in conformity with her treaty of February 15, 1806, issued a +proclamation on March 28 of that year, closing her ports, which would +now include those of Hanover, against British trade. The British +government replied by first laying an embargo on Prussian vessels in the +harbours of Great Britain and Ireland, and by proclaiming a blockade of +the coast of Europe from Brest to the Elbe. This was followed on May 14 +by an order in council for seizing all vessels found navigating under +Prussian colours. As yet the policy of commercial exclusion had not been +carried to any great length, but the Berlin decree issued by Napoleon on +November 21 after the battle of Jena proclaimed the whole of the British +Isles to be in a state of blockade, prohibited all commerce with them +from the ports of France and her dependent states, confiscated all +British merchandise in such ports, and declared all British subjects in +countries occupied by French troops to be prisoners of war. Howick +replied by further orders in council in January, 1807, forbidding +neutrals to trade between the ports of France and her allies, or between +the ports of nations which should observe the Berlin decree, on pain of +the confiscation of the ship and cargo. On the 27th another decree, +issued at Warsaw, ordered the seizure in the Hanse Towns of all British +goods and colonial produce. The reply of Great Britain was a stricter +blockade of the North German coast. + +The accession of Russia to Napoleon's commercial policy at Tilsit seemed +to have brought the combination against British trade to its furthest +development, and it was answered by new orders in council, treating any +port from which the British flag was excluded as if actually blockaded, +and further limiting the carriage by neutral vessels of produce from +hostile colonies. The Milan decree issued on December 17, and further +orders in council published during the same winter, carried to greater +extremes, if possible, this intolerable form of commercial warfare, +under which neutral commerce was gradually crushed out of existence. +Great Britain, owing to her command of the sea, was more independent of +this kind of commerce than her rival, and both the decrees and the +orders in council inflicted far more damage on France and her allies +than on Great Britain. But neither party was able to enforce completely +its policy of commercial exclusion. Europe could not dispense with +British goods or colonial produce carried in British vessels. The law +was deliberately set aside by a regular licensing system, and evaded by +wholesale smuggling; neutral ships continued to ply between continental +ports, and Napoleon did not disdain to clothe his troops with 50,000 +British overcoats during the Eylau campaign. Still, Great Britain was +enabled to cripple, if not to destroy, the merchant shipping of all +other countries, and the interests of consumers all over Europe were +enlisted against the author of the continental system. On the other +hand, a heavy blow was dealt to friendly relations between Great Britain +and the United States, the chief victim of these belligerent +pretensions.[36] + +[Pageheading: _FRUITLESS EXPEDITIONS._] + +In the meantime, the prestige of Great Britain had been injured by three +petty and abortive expeditions projected by the Grenville ministry. The +first of these was sent out to complete the conquest of Buenos Ayres, +the recapture of which was unknown in England. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who +commanded it, finding himself too late to occupy that city, attacked and +took Monte Video by storm with much skill and spirit, on February 3, +1807. Shortly afterwards, he was superseded by General Whitelocke, +bringing reinforcements, with orders to recover Buenos Ayres. In this he +signally failed, owing to gross tactical errors. The British troops were +almost passively slaughtered in the streets, and Whitelocke agreed to +withdraw the remains of his force, and give up Monte Video, on condition +of all prisoners being surrendered. On his return home, he was tried by +a court-martial and cashiered, being also declared "totally unfit to +serve his majesty in any military capacity whatever". + +Equally ill-managed was the naval expedition, directed to support +Russia, then in close alliance with Great Britain, by coercing the +sultan into a rupture with France. Collingwood, who was not consulted, +was required to entrust the command of this expedition, which started in +February, 1807, to Sir John Duckworth. Everything depended on +promptitude, and the admiral found little difficulty in forcing the +passage of the Dardanelles, as it was then almost unfortified. Having +reached Constantinople, he allowed himself to waste time in fruitless +negotiations, contrary to Collingwood's earnest advice, and not only +effected nothing but gravely imperilled his return. Instructed by the +French minister Sebastiani, the Turks had armed their coasts, and +erected batteries along the Dardanelles, through which the British fleet +made its way with considerable loss. Instead of being detached from the +French alliance, the Porte was thrown into its arms and became more +embittered than ever against Russia. It was soon involved in a serious +conflict with that country--for the possession of Wallachia and +Moldavia--only to be deserted again by France under the compact made at +Tilsit. The expedition to Egypt, planned in combination with the +expedition to the Dardanelles, ended in a still worse disaster. Though +General Fraser, its commander, was able to surprise Alexandria on March +30, he awaited in vain the expected news of Duckworth's success; he +proceeded to attack Rosetta with as little generalship as Whitelocke had +shown at Buenos Ayres, and encountered a similar repulse. An attempt to +besiege the town met with no better fortune: the British troops +submitted to a capitulation, evacuated Egypt, and sailed for Sicily in +September, 1807. In an imperial manifesto addressed to the French nation +at the end of this year, the British failures at Buenos Ayres, +Constantinople, and Alexandria were paraded, together with our alleged +crime against the rights of nations at Copenhagen. + +In the early months of 1808 the continental system was extended by the +establishment of French administration at Rome, and the annexation of +the eastern ports of the Papal States to the kingdom of Italy. On +February 18 of the same year Austria under French pressure adopted the +system. Sweden and Turkey were now the only continental countries left +outside it, but the retention of Sicily by the Bourbon king rendered it +easy for British commerce to enter Italy through that island. The +irritation of neutrals increased as the area of commercial exclusion +widened, but the United States were now the only neutral power of any +consequence. After April 17 Napoleon took the high-handed step of +confiscating all American shipping in his ports. In spite of this +aggression, the president and congress of the United States continued to +favour France against Great Britain. The story of the commercial warfare +between Great Britain and the United States will be related more fully +hereafter. For the present, it is sufficient to mention that an act, +placing an embargo on foreign vessels in American ports, was passed by +congress on December 22, 1807, and another on March 1, 1809, forbidding +commercial intercourse with Great Britain and France and the colonies +occupied by them. + +Meanwhile Great Britain continued to enforce her maritime rights, +including that of searching American merchantmen for British-born +sailors, and impressing them at the will of British naval officers. +These grievances ultimately led to a war between Great Britain and +America in 1812. The continental system, however, did not long remain so +complete as in the beginning of 1808. Junot's expedition to Portugal had +led to a French occupation of that country before the end of 1807. The +conquest of Portugal was followed, as we shall see later, by a partial +conquest of Spain. This threw the Spaniards back upon the British +alliance and afforded an opportunity for the liberation of Portugal, so +that from May, 1808, Great Britain once more had a large seaboard open +to her commerce. The early success of the Spanish resistance to France, +and other events in the peninsula hereafter to be recorded, encouraged +Austria to arm again; and on the news of the capitulation of the French +army at Baylen in July, she pushed forward her preparations with +redoubled energy. A national movement arose simultaneously in North +Germany, but the Prussian government dared not head it so long as +Russia remained faithful to the French alliance. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON AT ERFURT._] + +Notwithstanding a peremptory declaration from the tsar after the seizure +of the Danish fleet, Russia had nothing to gain by war with Great +Britain. She was bound to France by the prospect held forth to her at +Tilsit of the conquest of Finland and the partition of Turkey, but she +was inwardly desirous of peace with Great Britain. Napoleon, on the +other hand, saw in the partition of Turkey an opportunity of striking at +India, and had actually given orders for naval preparations to be made +in Spain, when all thought of eastern conquest had to be postponed owing +to the success of the Spanish patriots. After a conference between +Napoleon and the tsar at Erfurt a secret convention was signed on +October 12, by which France sanctioned Russian conquests in Finland and +the Danubian provinces, and Russia recognised the Bonaparte dynasty in +Spain and promised to assist France in a defensive war against Austria. +The two powers despatched a joint note to Great Britain inviting her to +make peace, on the principle of _uti possidetis_. Canning replied that +he was prepared to negotiate if his allies, especially Sweden and the +Spanish patriots, who were at that time in actual possession of almost +the entire country, were included in the peace. On November 19 Napoleon +expressed his willingness to treat with the British allies, but not with +the Spanish "rebels," as he styled them. Alexander took up a similar +position, speaking of the Spanish "insurgents," and expressly +recognising Joseph as King of Spain. Thus ended these pacific overtures, +and on November 3 the official _expose_, annually issued in Paris, +described Great Britain as "the enemy of the world". + +The year 1808 is memorable in English history for the active +intervention of Great Britain in the affairs of Spain which developed +into the "Peninsular war".[37] This intervention was rendered possible +and effective by the organisation of our army system in 1807, which was +due to Castlereagh, though he received little credit for it. Under this +system, the old constitutional force of the militia was made the basis +of the whole military establishment. By the militia balloting bill and +the militia transfer bill, that force, largely composed of substitutes, +and bound only to home-service, was practically converted into a +recruiting-ground for the regular army, and proved sufficient to make +good all the losses incurred during the long campaigns in Portugal and +Spain. The army thus raised contained, no doubt, many soldiers of bad +character, whose misdeeds, after the furious excitement of an escalade, +or under the heart-breaking stress of a retreat, sometimes brought +disgrace upon the British name. But these men, side by side with +steadier comrades, bore themselves like heroes on many a bloodstained +field; they quailed not before the conquering legions of Austerlitz and +Wagram; they could "go anywhere or do anything" under trusted leaders; +and they restored the military reputation of their country before the +eyes of Europe. To have forged such an instrument of war was no mean +administrative exploit. To have maintained its efficiency steadily on +the whole, though sometimes with a faint-hearted parsimony, and to have +loyally supported its commander against the cavils of a factious +opposition superior in parliamentary ability, for a period of seven +years, must be held to redeem the tory government from the charge of +political weakness. + +[Pageheading: _PARLIAMENTARY ZEAL._] + +At the beginning of 1809, however, the interest of parliament was less +concentrated on Sir Arthur Wellesley's first campaign in Portugal, or +even on the convention of Cintra, than on the scandals attaching to the +office of commander-in-chief, held by the Duke of York. Though an +incapable general, the duke had shown himself, on the whole, an +excellent administrator, and in the opinion of the best officers had +done much for the discipline and efficiency of the British army. +Unfortunately, Mrs. Clarke, his former mistress, had received bribes for +using her influence with the duke to procure military appointments. +Colonel Wardle, an obscure member of parliament, to whom Mrs. Clarke had +temporarily transferred herself after being discarded by the duke, +animated by a desire to damage the ministry, came forward with charges +directly implicating him in her corrupt practices, and incidentally +brought similar accusations against Portland and Eldon. The government +foolishly agreed to an inquiry on the Duke of York's behalf, and it was +conducted before a committee of the whole house, which sat from January +26 to March 20. In the course of this inquiry, Sir Arthur Wellesley +bore strong testimony in his favour, and the duke addressed a letter to +the speaker, declaring his innocence of corruption. Though Wardle and +his associates pressed for his dismissal, Perceval ultimately carried a +motion acquitting him not only of corruption but of connivance with +corruption. The majority, however, was small, and the duke thought it +necessary to resign on March 20, whereupon the house of commons decided +to proceed no further. A curious sequel of this case was an action +against Wardle by an upholsterer, who had furnished a house for Mrs. +Clarke by Wardle's orders, in consideration of her services in giving +hostile evidence against her former protector. The plaintiff obtained +L2,000 damages, and the law-suit was the means of producing a reaction +in popular feeling in favour of the duke. + +This scandal in high places quickened the zeal of parliament for general +purity of administration, and led to a disclosure of some grave abuses. +One of these, connected with the disposal of captured Dutch property, +dated as far back as 1795. Others were found to exist in the navy +department and the distribution of Indian patronage; others related to +parliamentary elections. Perceval brought in a bill to check the sale +and brokerage of offices, nor did Castlereagh himself escape the charge +of having procured the election of Lord Clancarty to parliament by the +offer of an Indian writership to a borough-monger. A frank explanation +saved him from censure, especially as it appeared that the offer had +never taken effect. The charge was renewed, in a different form, against +both him and Perceval, and their accusers moved for a trial at bar. But +as it turned out that undue influence rather than corruption was their +alleged offence, and as the avowed object of the resolution was to force +on parliamentary reform, it was negatived by an immense majority. +Nevertheless, the object was not wholly defeated. + +The removal of the Duke of York from the command of the army was +singularly inopportune, for Sir David Dundas had scarcely been appointed +as his successor when a juncture arose specially demanding a combination +of energy and experience. The British government, already engaged in the +Peninsular war, had at last resolved to take a vigorous part in the new +and desperate struggle between France and Austria in Southern Germany. +The latent spirit of German nationality, aroused by Napoleon's ruthless +treatment of Prussia, and quickened into a flame by sympathy with the +uprising in Spain, was embodied in the secret association of the +_Tugendbund_; and Austria, smarting under a sense of her own +humiliation, mustered up courage to assume the leadership of a national +movement. South Germany, governed by old dynasties, which profited by +the French alliance, displayed as yet no symptoms of disaffection to +France; but in North Germany the old dynasties had been either humbled +or deposed, and the general ferment among the people, needed, as the +Austrians believed, only the presence of a regular army to break out +into a national revolt against the foreigner. Prussia, it is true, was +still unwilling to move, because Russia was hostile; but the Austrian +court knew well the lukewarmness of Russia's attachment to France, and +hoped that a national upheaval would carry the Prussian government along +with it. No one, in fact, had played a more active part in rousing +Northern Germany than the Prussian minister, Stein, whom Frederick +William, by Napoleon's advice, had called to his councils after Tilsit, +and who was now compelled to resign his office and take refuge in +Austria. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON IN AUSTRIA._] + +The British government was aware of the situation in Germany when it +received a request in January, 1809, for the despatch of a British force +to the mouth of the Elbe. Austria was, however, still nominally at war +with Great Britain, and George III., perhaps not unreasonably, refused +to give her active military assistance till peace was concluded. +Meanwhile a subsidy of L250,000 in bullion was despatched to Trieste, +and inquiries were set on foot as to the means of supplying such a +military expedition as Austria desired.[38] On March 22, Dundas, who had +only been a few days in office as commander-in-chief, reported that +15,000 men could not be spared from home service, and, in consequence, +no extensive preparations were made until the muster rolls in June +showed that 40,000 troops might safely be employed abroad. This +convinced the government that a large force could be sent without +interfering with home defence, as Castlereagh had long contended; and +throughout June and July the naval and military departments were busy in +preparing for what has since left a sinister memory as the Walcheren +expedition. Meanwhile, as if the passion of frittering away resources +were irresistible, a smaller force was despatched, as a kind of feint, +against the kingdom of Naples. It consisted of 15,000 British troops and +a body of Sicilians. Bailing from Palermo early in June it captured the +islands of Ischia and Procida and the castle of Scylla, and threw Naples +into consternation. But the attack was not pushed, and it was too late +to be of any assistance to the Austrians who had already been expelled +from the Italian peninsula. At last, in July, the treaty of peace with +Austria was signed and the great armament was ready to sail. + +But Napoleon had not awaited the deliberations of British statesmen. +Hurrying back from Spain, he remained in Paris only long enough to +organise a campaign in South Germany, and left the capital to join his +armies on April 13. A week earlier, the Archduke Charles, having +remodelled the Austrian army, issued a proclamation affirming Austria to +be the champion of European liberty. On the 9th Austria declared war +against Bavaria, the ally of France, and her troops crossed the Inn. On +the 17th, when Napoleon arrived at Donauwoerth, he found the archduke in +occupation of Ratisbon. His presence turned the tide, and, after three +victories, he was once more on the road to Vienna. The most important of +these victories was that of Eckmuehl, and he regarded the manoeuvre by +which it was won as the finest in his military career. On May 13 the +French entered Vienna, but the Archduke Charles with an army of nearly +200,000 men was facing him on the left bank of the Danube. Napoleon's +army crossed and encountered the Austrians on the great plain between +Aspern and Essling. He was repulsed and fell back upon Lobau, between +which and the Vienna side of the Danube the bridge of boats had been +swept away by a rise of the river and by balks of timber floated down by +the Austrians. In this dangerous position he remained shut up for +several weeks. He finally succeeded in throwing across a light bridge by +which his army regained the left bank on the night of July 4. Finding +their position turned the Austrians took up their stand on the tableland +of Wagram. On July 6 another pitched battle was fought, which, in the +number of combatants engaged and in the losses inflicted on both sides, +must rank with the later conflicts of Borodino and Leipzig. A hard won +victory rested with the French, but it was not such a victory as that of +Austerlitz or Jena, though it secured the neutrality, at least, of +Austria for the next four years. Her army retreated into Bohemia, and on +July 12 an armistice was signed at Znaim in Moravia, which formed the +basis of a peace concluded at Vienna on October 14. + +Nothing remained for Great Britain but to abandon the auxiliary +enterprise so long planned, but so often delayed, or to carry it through +independently, with little hope of a decisive issue. The latter +alternative was adopted. The very day on which the news of the armistice +arrived witnessed the departure of the greatest single armament ever +sent out fully equipped from the shores of Great Britain. The deplorable +failure of the Walcheren expedition has obscured both its magnitude and +its probable importance had it only proved successful. The command of +the fleet was given to Sir Richard Strachan, a competent admiral; that +of the army to Chatham, who sat in the cabinet as master-general of the +ordnance, an incompetent general, who owed his nomination to royal +favour. This was the first blunder; the second was the utter neglect of +medical and sanitary precautions against the notoriously unhealthy +climate of Walcheren in the autumn months. The armament sailed from the +Downs on July 28, in the finest weather and with a display of intense +national enthusiasm. It consisted of thirty-five ships of the line, with +a swarm of smaller war-vessels and transports, carrying nearly 40,000 +troops, two battering-trains, and a complete apparatus of military +stores. Its destination, though more than suspected by the enemy, had +been officially kept secret at home. Castlereagh must be held largely +responsible for the delays and for the unwise choice of a general which +marred its success, but he showed true military sagacity in designating +the point of attack. Inspired by him, the British government, +distrusting the national movement in North Germany, had decided to +strike at Antwerp, which Napoleon had supplied with new docks, and +which, now that the mouth of the Scheldt had been reopened, threatened +to become the commercial rival of London. The town was entirely +unprepared, and a blow dealt here seemed the best way of doing as much +harm as possible to France and at the same time gaining a national +advantage for Great Britain. + +[Pageheading: _THE WALCHEREN EXPEDITION._] + +Chatham had received very precise instructions from Castlereagh, the +objects prescribed to him being, (1) the capture or destruction of the +enemy's ships, either building or afloat at Antwerp or Flushing, or +afloat in the Scheldt; (2) the destruction of the arsenals and dockyards +at Antwerp, Terneuze, and Flushing; (3) the reduction of the island of +Walcheren; (4) the rendering of the Scheldt no longer navigable to ships +of war. These objects were named, as far as possible, in the order of +their importance, and Chatham was specially directed to land troops at +Sandvliet and push on straight to Antwerp, with the view of taking it by +a _coup de main_. Napoleon, who clearly foretold the catastrophe +awaiting the British troops in the malarious swamps of Walcheren, +afterwards admitted that Antwerp could have been captured by a sudden +assault. Chatham obeyed his general orders, but, instead of taking them +in the order of importance, gave precedence to the objects which could +most easily be accomplished. By prompt action the French fleet, which +was moored off Flushing, might have been captured, but it was allowed to +escape to Antwerp. By August 2 the British were in complete possession +of the mouth of the Scheldt, and had taken Bath opposite Sandvliet, +while Antwerp was still almost unprotected. But Chatham concentrated his +attention on the siege of Flushing, which surrendered, after three days' +bombardment, on August 16, contrary to Napoleon's expectation. Antwerp +had meanwhile been put in a state of defence, and was now protected by +the enemy's fleet, while French and Dutch troops were pouring down to +the Scheldt. After ten days of inactivity, Chatham advanced his +headquarters to Bath, found that further advance was impossible, and +recommended the government to recall the expedition, leaving 15,000 men +to defend the island of Walcheren. This advice was adopted, but the +garrison left in Walcheren suffered most severely from fever in that +swampy island. Eventually, on December 24, Walcheren was abandoned, the +works and naval basins of Flushing having been previously destroyed. The +destruction of Flushing was the sole result of this expedition. + +The failure of the British to make any serious impression on the French +either in the Low Countries or in Spain induced Austria to consent to +peace with France. By the peace of Vienna, signed on October 14, she +ceded Salzburg and a part of Upper Austria to Bavaria, West Galicia to +the duchy of Warsaw, and a part of Carinthia with Trieste and the +Illyrian provinces to France. A small strip of Galicia was ceded to the +Russian tsar, who had rendered France some very half-hearted assistance +and was further alienated by the extension of the duchy of Warsaw. +Austria was enslaved to the will of Napoleon. She had abandoned the +Tyrolese peasants whose loyal insurrection against the Bavarians was the +most heroic incident in the war, and she now joined the other nations of +the continent in excluding the commerce of Great Britain, which had made +a powerful diversion in Spain and an imposing though futile diversion on +the Scheldt to save her from national annihilation. + +While the Walcheren expedition was preparing, two additions were made to +the cabinet. Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, brother of the Marquis of +Stafford, was admitted in June as secretary at war, and in July +Harrowby, who was created an earl, became president of the board of +control with a seat in the cabinet. After the fate of the expedition +became known, though before its final withdrawal, a serious quarrel took +place between Canning and Castlereagh. Personal jealousies had long +existed between these two statesmen, both half-Irish, half-English, and +of approximately the same age, yet widely different in character. +Canning was the most brilliant orator of his day, and no less persuasive +in private conversation than in public orations, gifted with an agile +brain that leaped readily from one idea or one project to another, but +cursed with a bitter wit which lightly aroused enduring enmities, and +which, coupled with an excessive vanity, rendered him unpopular with his +colleagues, and made it difficult for any one to take him seriously; +while his rival, not less able, and much more steady and trustworthy, a +skilful manager of men, was scarcely able to pronounce a coherent +sentence. Early in April Canning pressed upon the Duke of Portland the +transfer of Castlereagh to another office. Private communications +followed between various members of the cabinet, and it was understood +that Camden, as Castlereagh's friend, should apprise him of the +prevailing view, which the king himself had approved under a threat of +Canning's resignation. The duke, however, begged Camden to postpone the +disclosure, and others of Castlereagh's friends urged Canning not to +insist upon the change pending the completion of the Walcheren +expedition. + +[Pageheading: _DUEL BETWEEN CANNING AND CASTLEREAGH._] + +As the scheme took shape in July Camden was to resign, and thus make +possible a shifting of offices, which was to result in the Marquis +Wellesley succeeding Castlereagh as secretary for war. At last, on +September 6, the duke informed Canning of his own intention to retire on +the ground of ill-health, and at the same time disclosed the fact that +no steps had been taken to prepare Castlereagh for the proposed change +in his position. Thereupon Canning promptly sent in his own resignation, +the duke resigned the same day, and Castlereagh, learning what had +passed, followed his example two days later.[39] Believing that Canning +had been intriguing against him behind his back, under the guise of +friendship, he demanded satisfaction on the 19th, and on the 21st[40] +the duel was fought, in which Canning received a slight wound. Such +events provoked little censure in those days, and it is pleasant to +know that Canning and Castlereagh afterwards acted cordially together as +colleagues. Their enmity broke up the government. The Duke of Portland +did not long survive his withdrawal from office, and died on October 29; +Leveson-Gower insisted on following Canning into retirement. + +Perceval was entrusted with the task of forming an administration, but +the new ministry was not formed without considerable negotiation. +Canning vainly endeavoured to impress first on his colleagues and then +on the king his own pretensions to the highest office, while attempts, +to which the king gave a reluctant assent, had been made to enlist the +co-operation of Grenville and Howick, who succeeded his father as Earl +Grey, in 1807, but they failed as all later attempts were destined to +fail. The most influential motive governing their conduct was, +doubtless, their feeling that they would not as ministers possess the +king's confidence. Sidmouth's following had also been approached. +Sidmouth himself was considered too obnoxious to some of Pitt's +followers to be a safe member of the new cabinet, but Vansittart was +offered the chancellorship of the exchequer and Bragge, who had taken +the additional surname of Bathurst, the office of secretary at war. They +refused, however, to enter the ministry, unless accompanied by Sidmouth +himself. + +Perceval eventually became prime minister, retaining his former offices; +Lord Bathurst, while remaining at the board of trade, presided +temporarily at the foreign office, which was offered to the Marquis +Wellesley, then serving as British ambassador to the Spanish junta at +Seville, and taken over by him in December. Hawkesbury, now Earl of +Liverpool, succeeded Castlereagh as secretary for war and the colonies, +and was followed at the home office by Richard Ryder, a brother of +Harrowby. Harrowby himself gave up the board of control in November to +Melville's son, Robert Dundas, who, however, was not made a member of +the cabinet. Lord Palmerston, who had been a junior lord of the +admiralty under Portland, declined the chancellorship of the exchequer, +and though he accepted Leveson-Gower's post as secretary at war, he was +by his own desire excluded from the cabinet. + +[Pageheading: _NEW BRITISH CONQUESTS._] + +While the close of the year 1809 was darkened by national +disappointment and political anxieties, the honour of British arms had +been amply vindicated in the Spanish peninsula, and the brilliant +exploit of Lord Cochrane in Basque Roads had recalled the glories of the +Nile. Cochrane had already achieved marvels under Collingwood in the +Mediterranean, and notably off the Spanish coast, when he was selected +to conduct an attack by fireships on the French squadron blockaded under +the shelter of the islands of Aix and Oleron. This he carried out on the +night of April 11, with a dash and skill worthy of Nelson, and unless +checked by Gambier, the admiral in command, who had been raised to the +peerage after the seizure of the Danish fleet in 1807, he must have +succeeded in destroying the whole of the enemy's ships. Gambier was +afterwards acquitted by a court martial of negligence, but the verdict +of the public was against him. In the autumn Collingwood reduced the +seven Ionian islands, and gained an important advantage by cutting out a +considerable detachment of the Toulon fleet in the Bay of Genoa. In the +course of the year, too, all the remaining French territory in the West +Indies, as well as the Isle of Bourbon in the Indian Ocean, was captured +by the British navy. But this unchallenged supremacy on the high seas +did not prevent the depredations of French gunboats on British +merchantmen in the channel. Indeed after the battle of Trafalgar, the +French "sea-wasps" infesting the Channel were more active and +destructive than ever. + +On October 25, being the forty-ninth anniversary of his accession, the +jubilee of George III. was celebrated with hearty and sincere +rejoicings. His popularity was not unmerited. He was politically +shortsighted, but within his range of vision few saw facts so clearly; +he was obstinate and prejudiced, but his obstinacy was redeemed by a +moral intrepidity of the highest order, and his prejudices were shared +by the mass of his people. Having lived through the seven years' war, +the war of the American revolution, and the successive wars of Great +Britain against the French monarchy and the French republic, he was now +supporting, with indomitable firmness, a war against the all-conquering +French empire--the most perilous in which this country was ever engaged. +The colonial and Indian dominions of Great Britain, reduced by the loss +of the North American colonies, had been greatly extended during his +reign in other quarters of the globe. His subjects regarded him as an +Englishman to the core; they knew him to be honest, religious, virtuous, +and homely in his life; they justly believed him, in spite of his +failings, to be a power for good in the land; and they rewarded him with +a respect and affection granted to no other British sovereign of modern +times before Queen Victoria. They had good cause to desire the +continuance of his life and reason, knowing the character of his +heir-apparent, and contrasting the domestic habits of Windsor with the +licence of Carlton House. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[31] Colchester, _Diary_ (Feb. 4, 1806), ii., 35, 36. + +[32] Holland, _Memoirs of the Whig Party_, ii., 91-94. + +[33] Holland, _Memoirs of the Whig Party,_ ii., 173-205, 270-320; +Colchester, _Diary_, ii., 92-115; Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iv., 357-72; +Walpole, _Life of Perceval_, i., 223-33; Buckingham, _Courts and +Cabinets_, iv., 117-50. Holland accuses the king of treachery and +duplicity, and Lewis (_Administrations of Great Britain_, p. 294) +repeats this charge in milder terms. But the documents quoted do not +prove any want of straightforwardness, and the king's conduct was the +logical consequence of his action in 1801. + +[34] In the following year Napoleon consented to evacuate all the +Prussian fortresses except three, on condition that the Prussian army +should not exceed a total of 40,000 men. + +[35] _Annual Register_, xlix. (1807), 249-70, 731-38; Rose, in _English +Historical Review_, xi. (1896), 82-92. + +[36] Captain Mahan, _The Influence of Sea Power upon the French +Revolution and Empire_, ii., 272-357, shows that the policy of the +orders in council was essential to British safety. + +[37] The course of this war is related continuously in chap. v. + +[38] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 190, note. + +[39] The best account of the quarrel, especially in its relation to the +composition of the cabinet, is to be found in Walpole's _Life of +Perceval_, vol. i., chap. ix., and vol. ii., chap. i. Lewis, +_Administrations_, pp. 314-15, finds a double ground for Canning's +resignation in his failure to obtain the removal of Castlereagh from the +war office and in the refusal of the king and cabinet to allow him to +succeed Portland as prime minister. It is quite clear, however, that at +the time of Canning's resignation no decision had been come to about a +successor to Portland. Some correspondence had passed between Canning +and Perceval, in which each had refused to serve under the other, but +that this correspondence was unknown to the cabinet as a whole is proved +by Mulgrave's letters to Lord Lonsdale of September 11 and 15 (Phipps, +_Memoir of Ward_, pp. 210-17); in the former of these he discusses +Canning's probable conduct without referring to this correspondence, +while in the latter he only knows of such negotiations as subsequent to +the resignations of September 6 and 8. So, too, Eldon's letter to his +wife of September 11 (Twiss, _Life of Eldon_, ii., 88-90), places the +whole correspondence between Canning and Perceval after Portland's +resignation on September 6. The king was not informed of Canning's views +as to a successor to Portland till September 13, and the cabinet minute +of September 18, advising co-operation with Grenville and Grey, mentions +the selection of Canning as prime minister as a course open to the king. + +[40] This is the date commonly given. The _Annual Register_, li. (1809), +239, gives the 22nd, while Perceval refers to the result of the duel in +a letter dated the 20th (Colchester, _Diary_, ii., 209). It is clear, +however, that Canning did not receive Castlereagh's challenge till the +morning of the 20th (see his letter in _Annual Register_, _loc. cit._, +505, also his detailed statement to Camden, _ibid._, 525), and therefore +the duel cannot have taken place till the 21st. Lord Folkestone in a +letter dated the 21st refers to the duel as having been fought at "7 +o'clock this morning" (_Creevey Papers_, i., 96). + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + PERCEVAL AND LIVERPOOL. + + +The administration of Perceval, covering the period from October, 1809, +to May, 1812, coincided with a lull in the continental war save in the +Peninsula, though it saw no pause in the progress of French annexation. +Nor was it marked by many events of historical interest in domestic +affairs. When parliament was opened on January 23, 1810, it was natural +that attention should chiefly be devoted to the Walcheren expedition, +which the opposition illogically and unscrupulously contrived to use to +disparage the operations of Sir Arthur Wellesley, now Viscount +Wellington, in Spain. Grenville, who argued with some reason that 40,000 +British troops could have been employed to far better purpose in North +Germany, would have been on stronger ground if he had complained that +for want of them the British army had been unable to occupy Madrid. +Castlereagh, indeed, had confessed to Wellesley that he could not spare +the necessary reinforcements, after the reserves had been exhausted in +Walcheren; but it is by no means certain that Wellesley could have +collected provisions enough to feed a much larger force, or specie +enough to pay for them. Liverpool was driven in reply to Grenville to +magnify the value of the capture of Flushing, as the necessary basis of +the naval armaments which Napoleon had intended to launch against +England from the Scheldt. The government was also defended by the young +Robert Peel, lately elected to parliament. As the calamity was +irreparable, a committee of the whole house spent most of its time on a +constitutional question, regarding a private memorandum placed before +the king by Chatham in his own defence. So irregular a proceeding was +properly condemned, and Chatham resigned the mastership of the ordnance, +but the policy of the Walcheren expedition was approved by a vote of the +house of commons. Mulgrave received the office Chatham had vacated, and +was himself succeeded by Yorke at the admiralty. + +Parliament was next occupied by a question of privilege, in which Sir +Francis Burdett, member for Westminster, then a favourite of the +democracy, played a part resembling that of John Wilkes a generation +earlier. Burdett had been for fourteen years a member of parliament, and +had been conspicuous from the first for the vehemence of his opposition +to the government, and more especially to its supposed infringements of +the liberty of the subject. He had more recently taken an active part on +behalf of Wardle's attack on the Duke of York and had supported the +charges of ministerial corruption in the previous session. On the +present occasion one John Gale Jones, president of a debating club, had +published in a notice of debate the terms of a resolution which his club +had passed, condemning in extravagant language the exclusion of +strangers from the house of commons. This was treated as a breach of +privilege, and Jones was sent to Newgate by order of the house itself. +Burdett, in a violent letter to Cobbett's _Register_, challenged the +right of the house to imprison Jones by its own authority, and, after a +fierce debate lasting two nights, was adjudged by the house, on April 5, +to have been guilty of a still more scandalous libel. Accordingly, the +speaker issued a warrant for his committal to the Tower. Burdett +declared his resolution to resist arrest, the populace mustered in his +defence, the riot act was read, and he was conveyed to prison by a +strong military escort, on whose return more serious riots broke out, +and were not quelled without bloodshed. On his release at the end of the +session a repetition of these scenes was prevented by the simple +expedient of bringing him home by water. During his imprisonment he +wrote an offensive letter to the speaker, and his colleague, Lord +Cochrane, presented a violently worded petition from his Westminster +constituents. In the following year he sued the speaker and the +sergeant-at-arms in the court of king's bench, which decided against him +on the ground that a power of commitment was necessary for the +maintenance of the dignity of the house of commons, and its decision +was confirmed, on appeal, by the court of exchequer chamber and the +house of lords. + +[Pageheading: _THE CURRENCY QUESTION._] + +The most important subject of internal policy discussed in the session +of 1810 was the state of the currency. Since 1797 cash payments had been +suspended, the issue of banknotes had been nearly doubled, and the price +of commodities had risen enormously. Whether these results had in their +turn promoted the expansion of foreign commerce and internal industry +was vigorously disputed by two rival schools of economists. The one +thing certain was the increasing scarcity of specie, and the serious +loss incurred in its provision for the service of the army in the +Peninsula. Francis Horner, then rising to eminence, obtained the +appointment of what became known as the "bullion committee" to inquire +into the anomalous conditions thus created, and took a leading part in +the preparation of its celebrated report, published on September 20. The +committee arrived at the conclusion that the high price of gold was +mainly due to excess in the paper-currency, and not, as alleged, to a +drain of gold for the continental war. They attributed that excess to +"the want of a sufficient check and control in the issues of paper from +the Bank of England, and originally to the suspension of cash-payments, +which removed the natural and true control". While allowing that paper +could not be rendered suddenly convertible into specie without +dislocating the entire business of the country, they recommended that an +early provision should be made by parliament for terminating the +suspension of cash-payments at the end of two years. These conclusions +were combated by Castlereagh and Vansittart, who afterwards, in 1811, +succeeded in carrying several counter-resolutions, of which the general +effect was to explain the admitted rise in the price of gold, for the +most part by the exclusion of British trade from the continent, and the +consequent export of the precious metals in lieu of British +manufactures. The last resolution, while it recognised the wisdom of +restoring cash-payments as soon as it could safely be done, affirmed it +to be "highly inexpedient and dangerous to fix a definite period for the +removal of the restriction on cash-payments prior to the conclusion of a +definitive treaty of peace". These counsels prevailed, and the +restriction was not actually removed until Peel's act was passed in +July, 1819. + +The last domestic event in the inglorious annals of 1810 was the final +lapse of the king into mental derangement in the month of November. For +more than six years his sight had been failing, but he had suffered no +return of insanity since 1804. Now he lost both his sight and his +reason. This event, impending for some time, was precipitated by the +illness and death of the Princess Amelia, his favourite daughter, and +was perhaps aggravated by the Walcheren expedition and the disgrace of +the Duke of York. Parliament met on November 1, and was adjourned more +than once before a committee was appointed to examine the royal +physicians. Acting on their report, the ministers proposed and carried +resolutions declaring the king's incapacity, and the right and duty of +the two houses to provide for the emergency. It was also determined to +define by act of parliament the powers to be exercised in the king's +name and behalf. This implied a limitation of the regent's authority, +and was resented by the Prince of Wales and his friends. Perceval, +however, was able to rely on the precedent of 1788, to which Grenville, +for one, had been a party, and, after considerable opposition, the +prince was made regent under several temporary restrictions. With +certain exceptions, he was precluded from granting any peerage or office +tenable for life; the royal property was vested in trustees for the +king's benefit, and the personal care of the king was entrusted to the +queen, with the advice of a council. In this form, the regency bill was +passed on February 4, 1811, after a protest from the other sons of +George III. and violent attacks upon Eldon by Grenville and Grey. On the +5th, the regent took the oaths before the privy council, but, in +accepting the restrictions, he delicately expressed regret that he +should not have been trusted to impose upon himself proper limitations +for the exercise of royal patronage. The interregnum thus established +was to be provisional only, and was to cease on February 1, 1812, but +the queen and her private council, with the concurrence of the privy +council, were empowered to annul it at any time, by announcing the +king's recovery, when he could resume his powers by proclamation. + +[Pageheading: _THE REGENCY BILL._] + +The hopes of the opposition had been greatly excited by the prospect of +a regency, and it was generally expected that a change of ministry would +be its immediate consequence. Private communications had, in fact, +passed between the prince and the whig lords, Grenville and Grey, but +they were rendered nugatory by the dictatorial tone assumed by those +lords and by the unwillingness of the prince to dispense with the advice +of Moira and Sheridan. The two whig lords had by the prince's desire +prepared a reply to the address from the houses of parliament, +preparatory to the regency bill. Grenville had voted in favour of the +restriction on the creation of peers, and it is therefore not surprising +that the reply which he and Grey drafted appeared to the prince too weak +in its protest against the limitations. He therefore adopted in its +stead another reply which Sheridan had composed for him. The two lords +thereupon addressed to the prince a remonstrance, which practically +claimed for themselves the right of responsible ministers to be the sole +advisers of their prince. This remonstrance provoked the ridicule of +Sheridan, and certainly did not please the prince, who since the fall of +the Grenville ministry had refused to be regarded as a "party man". The +regent, accordingly, gave Perceval to understand that he intended to +retain his present ministers, but solely on the ground that he was +unwilling to do anything which might retard his father's recovery, or +distress him when he should come to himself. This reason was probably +genuine. The king appeared to be recovering; he had had several +interviews with Perceval and Eldon, and had made inquiries as to the +prince's intentions. Soon, however, the malady took a turn for the +worse, and the physicians came to the conclusion that it was +permanent.[41] + +Before February, 1812, when the restrictions expired, and a permanent +regency bill was passed, the prince drifted further away from his former +advisers, and had been pacified by the loyal attitude of Perceval and +Eldon. Further overtures were conveyed to the whig lords through a +letter from the prince regent to the Duke of York, in which he declared +that he had "no predilections to indulge or resentments to gratify," but +only a concern for the public good, towards which he desired the +co-operation of some of his old whig friends, indicating Grenville and +Grey. They declined in a letter to the Duke of York, alleging +differences on grounds of policy too deep to admit of a coalition. +Eldon, on his part, expressed a similar conviction, but the regent never +fully forgave what he regarded as their desertion. Wellesley, who was +strongly opposed to Perceval's policy of maintaining the catholic +disabilities, resigned the secretaryship of foreign affairs, protesting +against the feeble support given to his brother in the Peninsula, and +was succeeded by Castlereagh. In April Sidmouth became president of the +council in place of Camden, who remained in the cabinet without office; +and in the next month, on May 11, Perceval was assassinated in the lobby +of the house of commons by a man named Bellingham, who had an imaginary +grievance against the government. + +A very general and sincere tribute of respect was paid by the house to +Perceval's memory, for, though his statesmanship was of the second +order, he was far more than a tory partisan; he was an excellent +debater, and a thoroughly honest politician, and his private character +was above all reproach or suspicion. The cabinet was bewildered by his +death, and a fresh attempt was made to strengthen it by the simple +inclusion of Canning as well as Wellesley. Wellesley stipulated that the +catholic question should be left open, and that the war should be +prosecuted with the entire resources of the country, while Canning +declined co-operation on the ground of the catholic question alone. No +agreement being found possible, the house of commons stepped in and +addressed the regent, begging him to form a strong and efficient +administration, commanding the confidence of all classes. He replied by +sending for Wellesley, offering him the premiership and entrusting him +with the formation of a comprehensive ministry; but Wellesley soon found +that Liverpool and his adherents would not serve under him at all, while +Grenville and Grey, who secretly condemned the Peninsular war, would +only serve on conditions which he could not grant. Once more, the regent +treated directly with these haughty whigs, now including Moira, to whom +he committed the task of forming an administration. Grenville and Grey +raised difficulties about the appointments in the royal household, which +they wished to include in the political changes, and the negotiation was +broken off. The regent at last fell back on Liverpool, a capable and +conciliatory minister, who adopted Perceval's colleagues, and a spell of +tory administration set in which remained unbroken for no less than +fifteen years. Had more tact been shown on all sides, had the whigs been +less peremptory in their demands, and had the trivial household question +never arisen, the course of the war, if not of European history, might, +whether for good or evil, have been profoundly modified. + +[Pageheading: _SOCIAL REFORMS._] + +During the later period of Perceval's administration, from 1811 to 1812, +the strife of politics had been mainly concentrated on the regency +question, the chance of ministerial changes, and the fortunes of the war +in Spain. But it must not be supposed that social questions were +neglected, even in the darkest days of the war, however meagre the +legislative fruits may appear. Session after session, Romilly pressed +forward reforms of the criminal law, the institution of penitential +houses in the nature of reformatories, and the abolition of state +lotteries. Others laboured, and with greater success, to remedy the +delays and reduce the arrears in the court of chancery. Constant efforts +were made to expose defalcations in the revenue, to curtail exorbitant +salaries, and to put down electioneering corruption. In 1809 Erskine +introduced a bill for the prevention of cruelty to animals. In 1810 +there were earnest, if somewhat futile, debates on spiritual +destitution, the non-residence and poverty of the clergy, and the +scarcity of places of worship. Moreover, early in 1811, a premonitory +symptom of the repeal movement caused some anxiety in Ireland. It took +the form of a scheme for a representative assembly to sit in Dublin, and +manage the affairs of the Roman catholic population, under colour of +framing petitions to parliament, and seeking redress of grievances. It +was, of course, to consist of Roman catholics only, and to include Roman +catholic bishops. The Irish government wisely suppressed the scheme, and +Perceval justified their action, on the ground that a representative +assembly in Dublin, with such aims in view, bordered upon an illicit +legislature. + +Except for the war in the Spanish peninsula, and the war between Russia +and the Porte on the Danube, the year 1810 was marked by undisturbed +peace throughout the continent of Europe. France continued to make +annexations, but they were at the expense of her allies, not of her +enemies. Her supremacy was signalised in a striking way by the marriage +of her _parvenu_ emperor, whose divorce the pope still refused to +recognise, with Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. Though +thirteen out of twenty-six cardinals present in Paris declined to attend +it, this marriage was a masterstroke of Talleyrand's diplomacy; it +secured the benevolent neutrality of Austria for the next three years, +and weakened the counsels of the allies during the negotiations of +1814-15. But it went far to estrange the Tsar of Russia, who, though he +had courteously declined Napoleon's overtures for the hand of his own +sister, was greatly offended on discovering that another matrimonial +alliance had been contracted by his would-be brother-in-law before his +reply could be received. + +It was only within the limits of the French empire that Napoleon's +authority had been sufficient to enforce the rigorous exclusion of +British goods. His allies, including Sweden, which closed her ports to +British products in January, 1810, and declared war on Great Britain in +the following November, had adopted the continental system; but +administrative weakness, and the obvious interest that every people had +in its infraction, rendered its operation partial. Napoleon, determined +to enforce the system in spite of every obstacle, met this difficulty by +placing in immediate subjection to the French crown the territories +where British goods were imported. The first ally to suffer was his own +brother, Louis, King of Holland. His refusal to enforce Napoleon's +orders against the admission of British goods was followed at once by a +forced cession of part of Holland to France and the establishment of +French control at the custom houses, and shortly afterwards by the +despatch of French troops into Holland and its annexation to France on +July 9, 1810. In December the French dominion over the North Sea coast +was extended by the annexation of a corner of Germany, including the +coast as far as the Danish frontier, and the town of Luebeck on the +Baltic. As a result of this annexation, the duchy of Oldenburg, held by +a branch of the Russian imperial family, ceased to exist. The act was a +conspicuous breach of the treaty of Tilsit, which Napoleon considered +himself at liberty to disregard, as Russia had shown by her conduct +during the campaign of 1809 that she was no longer more than a nominal +ally of France. At last, on January 12, 1811, Russia asserted her +independence in fiscal matters by an order which declared her ports open +to all vessels sailing under a neutral flag, and imposed a duty on many +French products. Still the course of French annexation crept onwards, +and quietly absorbed the republic of Vallais in Switzerland, which had +been a great centre of smuggling. + +[Pageheading: _THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM._] + +Meanwhile, the restrictions and prohibitions which formed the +continental system were made more and more severe. By the Trianon tariff +of August, 1810, heavy duties were levied on colonial products, and by +the Fontainebleau decree of October 18 all goods of British origin were +to be seized and publicly burned. In November a special tribunal was +created to try offenders against the continental system. Nevertheless, +the fiscal and foreign policy of France at this date alike show how far +the continental system had failed in its object, and to what extreme +lengths it had become necessary to push it in order to give it a chance +of success. The strain of the system on English commerce was immense, +but the burden fell far more heavily on the continental nations. +Colonial produce rose to enormous prices in France, Germany, and Italy, +especially after the introduction of the Trianon tariff, and a subject +or ally of the French emperor had to pay ten times as much for his +morning cup of coffee as his enemy in London. The German opposition to +Napoleon had failed in 1809 mainly through the political apathy of the +German nation. Napoleon's fiscal measures were the surest way of +bringing that apathy to an end, and converting it into hostility. + +The events of December, 1810, and January, 1811, constituted a distinct +breach between France and Russia, which could only end in war, unless +one party or the other should withdraw from its position. A few months +sufficed to show that no such withdrawal would take place; but neither +power was prepared for war, and seventeen months elapsed after the +breach before hostilities began. The intervening period was spent in +negotiation and preparation. Much depended on the alliances that the +rival powers might be able to contract. Although Napoleon had bound +himself not to restore Poland, he had by the creation and subsequent +enlargement of the duchy of Warsaw given it a semblance of national +unity, and had inspired the Poles with the hope of a more complete +independence. The Polish troops were among the most devoted in the +French army, and the position of their country rendered the support of +the Poles a matter of great importance in any war with Russia. It +occurred to the Tsar Alexander that he might win their support for +himself by a restoration of Poland, under the suzerainty of Russia. He +promised Czartoryski the restoration of the eight provinces under a +guarantee of autonomy, and undertook to obtain the cession of Galicia. +On February 13, 1811, he made a secret offer to Austria of a part of +Moldavia in exchange for Galicia. Nothing came of this, but the massing +of Russian troops on the Polish frontier in March was met by the hurried +advance of French troops through Germany, and war seemed imminent until +Russia postponed the struggle by withdrawing her troops. + +Meanwhile, other European powers looked forward to selling their +alliance on the best possible terms. Sweden and Prussia both approached +the stronger power first. Bernadotte, on behalf of Sweden, was prepared +for a French alliance if France would favour the Swedish acquisition of +Norway. Napoleon, on February 25, not only refused these terms, but +ordered Sweden to enforce the continental system under pain of a French +occupation of Swedish Pomerania. This threat Sweden ventured to ignore. +Prussia, lying directly between the two future belligerents, was in a +more dangerous position. Neutrality was impossible, because her +neutrality would not be respected. She first offered her alliance to +Napoleon in return for a reduction of the payments due to France and a +removal of the limit imposed on her army. Napoleon did not reply to this +offer at once. Meanwhile the movement of French troops already mentioned +and the increase of the French garrisons on the Oder, though primarily +intended for the defence of Poland, caused great alarm in Prussia and +resulted in preparations to resist a French attack. In July Napoleon +finally refused to discuss the Prussian terms. Ever since his marriage +he had been inclined more and more to an Austrian alliance. On March 26 +of this year Otto, his ambassador at Vienna, had received information +that France would support Austria if she would protest against the +occupation of Belgrade by the Serbs. Napoleon even assured Otto that he +was prepared to undertake any engagement that Austria desired. Rest +was, however, essential to Austria. The military disasters of 1809 had +been followed by national bankruptcy, and with the government paper at a +discount of 90 per cent. she dared not incur further liabilities. + +Russia had an advantage over France in that she was able to free herself +from her entanglement in Turkey, while Napoleon could not make peace +either with Great Britain or with the Bourbon party in Spain. An +armistice with the Porte was concluded on October 15. By that time all +pretence of friendly intentions had been abandoned by France and Russia. +Prussia, hoping still to save herself from an unconditional alliance +with France, now turned to Russia, and Scharnhorst was despatched to +seek a Russian alliance. Meanwhile Napoleon sent word to the Prussian +court that, if her military preparations were not suspended, he would +order Davout to march on Berlin, and at the same time disclosed his +offer of an unconditional alliance against Russia. Prussia, hoping for +Russian aid still, put aside the French demands, but the Tsar Alexander +expressed a decided preference for a defensive campaign against France, +and refused any assistance unless the French should commit an unprovoked +aggression on Koenigsberg. Scharnhorst seems to have seen the wisdom of +this policy. He now turned to Austria, but there again a definite +alliance was refused. Russia was equally unable to move Austria to join +her, so that Russia and Prussia were each isolated in their opposition +to Napoleon. + +In the months of August and September of this year a British force, +commanded by Auchmuty, effected the conquest of Java, the wealthiest of +the East Indian islands. The island had been a Dutch colony, and like +other Dutch colonies had passed into the hands of France. Sumatra fell +into English hands along with Java, so that the supremacy of Great +Britain in the East Indies was fully established. + +[Pageheading: _LIVERPOOL'S MINISTRY._] + +The new ministry which entered on office in June, 1812, differed largely +in composition from that which had preceded it. Ryder and Yorke retired +at the death of Perceval, Harrowby returned to office, and places in the +cabinet were found for Sidmouth's adherents, Buckinghamshire, +Vansittart, and Bragge-Bathurst. Sidmouth himself succeeded Ryder as +home secretary, while Harrowby succeeded Sidmouth as president of the +council. Earl Bathurst took Liverpool's place as secretary for war and +the colonies. Vansittart succeeded Perceval at the exchequer and +Bragge-Bathurst in the duchy of Lancaster. Robert Dundas, now Viscount +Melville, followed Yorke at the admiralty, and Buckinghamshire took +Melville's place at the board of control, which became once more a +cabinet office. Eldon, Castlereagh, Westmorland, and Mulgrave retained +their former offices, while Camden remained in the cabinet without +office. In September Mulgrave was created an earl, and Camden a marquis. +The internal history of England during the first two years of +Liverpool's premiership has been entirely dwarfed by the interest of +external events. For this period comprised not only the Russian +expedition--the greatest military tragedy in modern history--the +marvellous resurrection of Germany, with the campaigns which culminated +in the stupendous battle of Leipzig, and the invasion of France which +ended in the abdication of Napoleon at Fontainebleau, but also the +brilliant conclusion of the Peninsular war, and the earlier stages of +the war between Great Britain and the United States. + +The nation was contented to leave the guidance of home and foreign +policy at that critical time to the existing ministers, all honest, +experienced, and high-minded statesmen, but none gifted with any signal +ability, and inferior both in cleverness and in eloquence to the leaders +of the opposition. Napoleon was not far wrong in regarding the British +aristocracy, which they represented, as his most inveterate and powerful +enemy; but he was grievously deceived in imagining that this +aristocracy, in withstanding his colossal ambition, had not the British +nation at its back. The electoral body, indeed, to which they owed their +parliamentary majority, was but a fraction of the population, and the +public opinion which supported them may seem but the voice of a +privileged class in these days of household suffrage. But there is +little reason to doubt that, if household suffrage had then prevailed, +their foreign policy would have received a democratic sanction; nor is +it at all certain that some features of their home policy, now generally +condemned, were not justified, in the main, by the exigencies of their +time. + +[Pageheading: _INDUSTRIAL DISTRESS._] + +The "condition of England," as it was then loosely termed, was the +first subject which claimed the attention of Liverpool's government. +While Perceval was congratulating parliament on the elasticity of the +revenue, a widespread depression of industry was producing formidable +disturbances in the midland counties. This depression was the +consequence partly of the continental system, crippling the export of +British goods to European countries; partly of the revival, in February, +1811, of the American non-intercourse act, closing the vast market of +the United States; and partly of the improvements in machinery, +especially those in spinning and weaving machines introduced by the +inventions of Cartwright and Arkwright. Unhappily, this last cause, +being the only one visible to artisans, was regarded by them as the sole +cause of their distress. During the autumn and winter of 1811 "Luddite" +riots broke out among the stocking-weavers of Nottingham. Their name was +derived from a half-witted man who had destroyed two stocking frames +many years before. Frame-breaking on a grand scale became the object of +an organised conspiracy, which extended its operations from +Nottinghamshire into Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire, and +Yorkshire. At first frame-breaking was carried on by large bodies of +operatives in broad daylight, and when these open proceedings were put +down by military force, they were succeeded by nightly outrages, +sometimes attended by murder. Early in 1812 a bill was passed making +frame-breaking a capital offence. + +In spite of this riots grew into local insurrections, and a message from +the prince regent on June 27 recommended further action to parliament. +It was natural, in that generation to connect all disorderly movements +with revolutionary designs, and this belief underlies an alarmist report +from a secret committee of the house of lords on the prevailing tumults. +Accordingly, Sidmouth obtained new powers for magistrates to search for +arms, to disperse tumultuous assemblies, and to exercise jurisdiction +beyond their own districts. In November many Luddites were convicted, +and sixteen were executed by sentence of a special commission sitting at +York. These stern measures were effectual for a time, and popular +discontent in the manufacturing districts ceased to assume so acute a +form until after the war was ended. + +The sufferings of the poor in the rural districts, though generally +endured in silence, were at least equally severe with those of the +artisan class, and it is difficult to say whether a good or bad harvest +pressed more heavily on agricultural labourers. When the price of wheat +rose to 130s. per quarter or upwards, as it did in 1812 and other years +of scarcity, the farmers were able to pay comparatively high wages. When +the price fell to 75s., as it did in years of plenty like 1813, wages +were reduced to starvation-point, but supplemented out of the +poor-rates, under the miserable system of indiscriminate out-door relief +graduated according to the size of families. In either case, the entire +income of a labourer was far below the modern standard, and the +prosperity of trade meant to him an increase in the cost of all +necessaries except bread. As for their employers, the golden age of +farming, which is often identified with the age of the great war, had +really ceased long before. Not only did the high price of a farmer's +purchases go far to neutralise the high price of his sales, but the +excessive fluctuations in all prices, due to the opening and closing of +markets according to the fortunes of war, made prudent speculation +almost impossible. The frequently recurring depressions were rendered +all the more disastrous, because in times of high prices "the margin of +cultivation" was unduly extended. + +[Pageheading: _CORN LAWS._] + +With a view to diminish the violence of these fluctuations, a select +committee on the corn-trade was appointed by the house of commons in +1813, and reported in favour of a sliding-scale. When the price of wheat +should fall below 90s. per quarter, its exportation was to be permitted; +but its importation was to be forbidden, until the price should reach +103s., when it might, indeed, be imported, but under "a very +considerable duty". It was assumed, in fact, that the normal price of +wheat was above 100s. per quarter, and the price above which importation +should be permitted was nearly twice as high as that fixed in 1801, +when, moreover, it was to be admitted above 50s. at a duty of 2s. 6d., +and above 54s. at a duty of sixpence. It is remarkable that in the +debates of 1814 upon the report of this committee, William Huskisson, as +well as Sir Henry Parnell, supported its main conclusions, upon the +ground that agriculture must be upheld at all costs, and the home-market +preferred to foreign markets. Canning and others ably advocated the +cause of the consumers, alleging that duties on corn injured them far +more than they could benefit landowners or farmers. Finally, a bill +embodying a modified sliding-scale was introduced by the government, +and, though lost by a narrow majority in 1814, became law in 1815. Under +this act the importation of foreign corn was prohibited, so long as the +price of wheat did not rise above 80s. Above that price it might be +imported free. Corn from British North America might, however, be +imported free so long as the price of wheat exceeded 67s. + +The parliamentary debates of 1812 chiefly turned on Spanish affairs, the +revocation of the orders in council, the subsequent rupture with the +United States which had anticipated this great concession, and the +wearisome cabinet intrigues which preceded the accession of Liverpool as +prime minister. It is noteworthy that so conservative a house of commons +should actually have pledged itself to consider the question of catholic +emancipation in the next session, and should have passed an act +relieving nonconformists from various disabilities. The next session of +this parliament, however, never came, for an unexpected dissolution took +place on September 29. This dissolution was attributed, with some +reason, to a wish on the part of the government to profit by an abundant +harvest, and to the restoration of comparative quiet both in England and +in Ireland. A new parliament assembled at the end of November. The +prince regent's speech in opening it, though it noticed the suppression +of the Luddite disturbances, was inevitably devoted to the great events +in Spain and Russia, the conclusion of a treaty with Russia, and the +American declaration of war. After the Christmas recess, Castlereagh +presented an argumentative message from the prince fully discussing the +points at issue between Great Britain and the United States, upon which +Canning, though out of office, delivered a vigorous speech in defence of +the British position. Eldon, in the house of lords, went further, boldly +justifying the right of search, and denying the American contention that +original allegiance could be cancelled by naturalisation without the +consent of the mother-country. The Princess of Wales, who had long been +separated from the prince, was the cause of more parliamentary time +being wasted by a complaint which she addressed to the speaker against +the proceedings of the privy council. That body had approved +restrictions which her husband had thought fit to place on her +intercourse with her daughter, the Princess Charlotte. Parliament, +however, took no action in the matter. + +Perhaps the most important measure enacted in the session of 1813 was +the so-called East India company's act. By this act the charter of the +company was renewed with a confirmation of its administrative privileges +and its monopoly of the China trade, but subject to material +reservations: the India trade was thrown open from April 10, 1814, and +the charter itself, thus restricted, was made terminable by three years' +notice after April 10, 1831. In this year the naval and military +armaments of Great Britain, considered as a whole, perhaps reached their +maximum strength, and the national expenditure rose to its highest +level, including, as it did, subsidies to foreign powers amounting to +about L10,500,000. Of the aggregate expenditure, about two-thirds, +L74,000,000, were provided by taxation, an enormous sum relatively to +the population and wealth of the country at that period. Patiently as +this burden was borne on the whole by the people of Great Britain, we +cannot wonder that Vansittart, the chancellor of the exchequer, should +have sought to lighten it in some degree by encroaching upon the sinking +fund, as founded and regulated by Pitt. The debates on this complicated +question, in which Huskisson and Tierney stoutly combated Vansittart's +proposal, belong rather to financial history. What strikes a modern +student of politics as strange is that Vansittart, tory as he was, +should have advocated the relief of living and suffering taxpayers, upon +the principle, then undefined, of leaving money "to fructify in the +pockets of the people"; while the whig economists of the day stickled +for the policy of piling up new debts, if need be, rather than break in +upon an empirical scheme for the gradual extinction of old debts. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[41] For the whole crisis see Walpole, _Life of Perceval_, ii., 157-96, +and for Sheridan's share in the transactions, Moore, _Life of Sheridan_, +ii., 382-409. + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + THE PENINSULAR WAR. + + +Reference has already been made to the conflict maintained for six years +by Great Britain against France for the liberation of Spain and +Portugal, which has since been known in history as the Peninsular war. +It had its origin in two events which occurred during the autumn of 1807 +and the spring of 1808. The first was the secret treaty of Fontainebleau +concluded between France and Spain at the end of October, 1807; the +second was the outbreak of revolutionary movements at Madrid, followed +by the intervention of Napoleon in March, April, and May, 1808. The +treaty of Fontainebleau was a sequel of the vast combination against +Great Britain completed by the peace of Tilsit, under which the +continental system was to be enforced over all Europe. Portugal, the +ally of this country and an emporium of British commerce, was to be +partitioned into principalities allotted by Napoleon, the house of +Braganza was to be exiled, and its transmarine possessions were to be +divided between France and Spain, then ruled by the worthless Godoy in +the name of King Charles IV. Whether or not the subjugation of the whole +peninsula was already designed by Napoleon, his troops, ostensibly +despatched for the conquest of Portugal under the provisions of the +treaty, had treacherously occupied commanding positions in Spain, when +the populace of Madrid rose in revolt, and, thronging the little town of +Aranjuez, where the court resided, frightened the king into abdication. +His unprincipled son, Ferdinand, was proclaimed in March, 1808, but +Murat, who now entered Madrid as commander-in-chief of the French troops +in that city, secretly favoured the ex-King Charles. In the end, both he +and Ferdinand were enticed into seeking the protection of Napoleon at +Bayonne. Instead of mediating or deciding between them, Napoleon soon +found means to get rid of both. They were induced or rather compelled to +resign their rights, and retire into private life on large pensions; and +Napoleon conferred the crown of Spain on his brother Joseph, whose +former kingdom of Naples was bestowed on Murat. + +In the meantime, sanguinary riots broke out afresh at Madrid, hundreds +of French were massacred, and the insurrection, as it was called, though +sternly put down by Murat, spread like wildfire into all parts of Spain. +A violent explosion of patriotism, resulting in anarchy, followed +throughout the whole country. Napoleon was taken by surprise, but the +combinations which he matured at Bayonne for the conquest of Spain were +as masterly as those by which he had well-nigh subdued the whole +continent, except Russia. He established a base of operations in the +centre of the country, and organised four campaigns in the north-west, +north-east, south-east, and south. Savary, who had succeeded Murat at +Madrid, was supposed to act as commander-in-chief, but was really little +more than a medium for transmitting orders received from Napoleon at +Bayonne. The campaign of Duhesme in Catalonia was facilitated by the +treacherous seizure of the citadel of Barcelona in the previous +February. It was not long, however, before effective aid was rendered on +the coast by the British fleet under Collingwood, and especially by Lord +Cochrane in the _Imperieuse_ frigate; the undisciplined bands of +Catalonian volunteers were reinforced by regular troops from Majorca and +Minorca; the fortress of Gerona made an obstinate resistance; the siege +of it was twice raised, and Barcelona, almost isolated, was now held +with difficulty. + +[Pageheading: _FRANCE OCCUPIES THE PENINSULA._] + +Marshal Moncey vainly besieged Valencia, while Generals +Lefebvre-Desnoettes and Verdier were equally unsuccessful before +Zaragoza. In the plains of Leon, Marshal Bessieres gained a decisive +victory over a superior force of Spaniards under Cuesta and Blake, at +Medina de Rio Seco, on July 14. Having thus secured the province of +Leon, and the great route from Bayonne to Madrid, he was advancing on +Galicia when his progress was arrested by disaster in another quarter. +General Dupont, commanding the southern army, found himself nearly +surrounded at Baylen, and solicited an armistice, followed by a +convention, under which, "above eighteen thousand French soldiers laid +down their arms before a raw army incapable of resisting half that +number, if the latter had been led by an able man".[42] The convention, +signed on July 20, stipulated for the transport of the French troops to +France, but its stipulations were shamefully violated; some were +massacred, others were sent to sicken in the hulks at Cadiz, and +comparatively few lived to rejoin their colours. Meanwhile a so-called +"assembly of notables," summoned to Bayonne, consisting of ninety-one +persons, all nominees of Napoleon, assumed to act for the whole nation, +had accepted the nomination of Joseph Bonaparte as king, and proceeded +to adopt a constitution. On July 20, the very day of the capitulation of +Baylen, Joseph entered Madrid, and on the 24th was proclaimed King of +Spain and the Indies. But the military prestige of the grand army +received a fatal blow in the catastrophe, of which the immediate effect +was the retirement of Joseph behind the Ebro, and the ultimate effects +were felt in the later history of the war. + +At this moment almost the whole of Portugal was in possession of the +French. In November, 1807, under peremptory orders from Napoleon, Junot +with a French army and an auxiliary force of Spaniards, but without +money or transport, had marched with extraordinary rapidity across the +mountains to Alcantara in the valley of the Tagus. He thence pressed +forward to Lisbon, hoping to anticipate the embarkation of the royal +family for Brazil, which, however, took place just before his arrival +and almost under his eyes. With his army terribly reduced by the +hardships and privations of his forced march, he overawed Lisbon and +issued a proclamation that "the house of Braganza had ceased to reign". +A fortnight later a Spanish division occupied Oporto, and meanwhile +another Spanish division established itself in the south-east of +Portugal, but, as the French stragglers came in and reinforcements +approached, Junot felt himself strong enough to cast off all disguise; +he suppressed the council of regency, took the government into his own +hands, and levied a heavy war contribution. During the early months of +1808 he was employed in reorganising his own forces, and the resources +of Lisbon, where an auxiliary Russian fleet of nine ships was lying +practically blockaded. In a military sense, he was successful, but the +rapacity of the French, the contagion of the Spanish uprising, the +memory of the old alliance with England, and the proximity of English +fleets, stirred the blood of the Portuguese nation into ill-concealed +hostility. The Spanish commander at Oporto withdrew his troops to +Galicia, and the inhabitants declared for independence. Their example +was followed in other parts of Portugal. Junot acted with vigour, +disarmed the Spanish contingent at Lisbon, and sent columns to quell +disturbances on the Spanish frontiers, but he soon realised the +necessity of concentration. He therefore resolved to abandon most of the +Portuguese fortresses, limiting his efforts to holding Lisbon, and +keeping open his line of communication with Spain. + +[Pageheading: _VIMEIRO AND CINTRA._] + +Such was the state of affairs in the Peninsula when Sir Arthur Wellesley +landed his army of some 12,000 men on August 13, 1808. He had been +specially designated for the command of a British army in Portugal by +Castlereagh, then secretary for war and the colonies, who fully +appreciated his singular capacity for so difficult a service. Sir John +Moore, who had just returned from the Baltic, having found it hopeless +to co-operate with Gustavus IV. of Sweden, was sent out soon afterwards +to Portugal with a corps of some 10,000 men. Both these eminent soldiers +were directed to place themselves under the orders not only of Sir Hew +Dalrymple, the governor of Gibraltar, as commander-in-chief, but of Sir +Harry Burrard, when he should arrive, as second in command. Wellesley +had received general instructions to afford "the Spanish and Portuguese +nations every possible aid in throwing off the yoke of France," and was +empowered to disembark at the mouth of the Tagus. Having obtained +trustworthy information at Coruna and Oporto, he decided rather to begin +his campaign from a difficult landing-place south of Oporto at the mouth +of the Mondego, and to march thence upon Lisbon. He was opportunely +joined by General Spencer from the south of Spain, and chose the +coast-road by Torres Vedras. At Rolica he encountered a smaller force +under Delaborde, sent in advance by Junot to delay his progress, and +routed it after a severe combat. Delaborde, however, retreated with +admirable tenacity, and Wellesley, expecting reinforcements from the +coast, pushed forward to Vimeiro, without attempting to check the +concentration of Junot's army. There was fought, on August 21, the first +important battle of the Peninsular war. The British troops, estimated at +16,778 men (besides about 2,000 Portuguese), outnumbered the French +considerably, but the French were much stronger in cavalry, and boldly +assumed the offensive, confident in the prestige derived from so many +victories in Italy and Germany. Wellesley's position was strong, but the +attack on it was skilfully designed and pressed home with resolute +courage. It was repelled at every point of the field, and the French, +retiring in confusion, might have been cut off from Lisbon. But Burrard, +who had just landed and witnessed the battle without interfering, now +absolutely refused to sanction a vigorous pursuit. + +On the following day he was superseded in turn by Dalrymple. The new +commander determined to await the arrival of Moore, whose approach was +reported, but who did not disembark his whole force until the 30th. In +the meantime, overtures for an armistice were received from Junot, and +ultimately resulted in the so-called "convention of Cintra," though it +was first drafted at Torres Vedras and was ratified at Lisbon. Under +this agreement the French army was to surrender Lisbon intact with other +Portuguese fortresses, but was allowed to return to France with its arms +and baggage at the expense of the British government. Having dissented +from the military decision which had enabled Junot to negotiate, instead +of capitulating, Wellesley also dissented from certain terms of the +convention. He was, however, party to it as a whole, and afterwards +justified its main conditions as securing the evacuation of Portugal at +the price of reasonable concessions. This was not the feeling of the +British public, which loudly resented the escape of the French army and +insisted upon a court of inquiry. The verdict of this court saved the +military honour of all three generals, but its members were so divided +in opinion on the policy of the convention that no authoritative +judgment was pronounced. Napoleon felt no such difficulty in condemning +Junot for yielding too much, and the inhabitants of Lisbon were +infuriated not only by the loss of their expected vengeance, but also by +the shameless plunder of their public and private property by the +departing French. Under a separate convention, the Russian fleet, long +blockaded in the Tagus, was surrendered to the British admiral, but +without its officers or crews. + +The capitulation of Baylen paralysed for a time the aggressive movements +of France in Spain. Catalonia remained unconquered, even Bessieres +retreated, and Joseph, as we have seen, abandoned Madrid. Happily for +the French, the Spaniards proved quite incapable of following up their +advantages, and though a "supreme junta" was assembled at Aranjuez, it +wasted its time in vain wrangling, and did little or nothing for the +organisation of national defence. Meanwhile, Napoleon was pouring +veteran troops from Germany into the north of Spain, where they repulsed +the Spanish levies in several minor engagements. On October 14 he left +Erfurt, where he had renewed his alliance with the tsar, and reached +Bayonne on November 3. His simple but masterly plan of campaign was +already prepared, and was carried out with the utmost promptitude. On +November 10-11, one of three Spanish armies was crushed at Espinosa; on +the former day another was routed at Gamonal; on the 23rd the third was +utterly dispersed at Tudela. Napoleon himself remained for some days at +Burgos, awaiting the result of these operations; on December 4, after a +feeble resistance, he entered Madrid in triumph, and stayed there +seventeen days, which he employed with marvellous activity in maturing +fresh designs, both civil and military, for securing his power in Spain. + +[Pageheading: _ADVANCE OF SIR JOHN MOORE._] + +Already, on October 7, Sir John Moore had taken over the command of the +British forces. He probably owed his appointment to George III., who +seems on this occasion to have overruled his foreign and war ministers, +Canning and Castlereagh. In spite of his unwillingness to offer the +appointment to Moore, Castlereagh gave him the most loyal and efficient +support during the whole campaign; and this loyalty to Moore was one of +the reasons for Canning's desire to remove Castlereagh from the war +office, which, as we have seen, led to the famous duel between those two +statesmen. It was at first intended that Moore should co-operate with +the Spanish armies which were then facing the French on the line of the +Ebro. For this purpose he was to have the command of 21,000 troops +already in Portugal and of about 12,000 who were being sent by sea to +Coruna under Sir David Baird. Burrard was to remain in Portugal with +another 10,000. Nothing had been done before Moore was appointed to the +command to provide the troops with their necessary equipment or their +commander with the necessary local information. The departure of the +troops was therefore slow. By October 18 the greater part of the British +troops in Portugal were in motion, but the whole army had not left +Lisbon till the 29th. The main body travelled by fairly direct routes to +Salamanca, where Moore arrived on November 13, but he was induced by +information, which proved to be incorrect, to send his cavalry and guns +with a column under Hope, by the more circuitous high road through Elvas +and Talavera. When this route was adopted it was anticipated that the +different divisions of the British army would be able to unite at, or +near, Valladolid. But the advance of the French rendered this +impossible, and Hope ultimately joined Moore at Salamanca on December 4. + +Baird suffered from even more vexatious delays. Though the greater part +of his convoy had arrived at Coruna on October 13, the local junta would +not permit them to land without express orders from the central junta at +Aranjuez. Consequently the disembarkation did not begin till the 26th +and was only finished on November 4. Transport and equipment were +difficult to obtain, and on November 22 Baird was still only at Astorga. +There exaggerated reports of the French advance induced him to halt, but +by Moore's orders he continued his march. On the 28th the news of the +defeat of Castanos at Tudela reached Moore at Salamanca. Co-operation +with a Spanish army now appeared impossible, and even a junction with +Baird seemed too hazardous to attempt. Moore therefore, ordered Baird to +retire on Coruna and to proceed to Lisbon by sea, and, while waiting +himself at Salamanca for Hope, made preparations for a retreat to +Portugal. On December 5, the day after his junction with Hope, Moore +determined to continue his advance. He had received news of the +enthusiastic preparations for the defence of Madrid but did not know of +its fall, and he considered that the Spanish enthusiasm justified some +risk on the part of the British troops. He accordingly recalled Baird, +whose infantry had retired to Villafranca, though his cavalry were still +at Astorga. On the 9th came the news of the fall of Madrid, but Moore +believed that an attack on the French lines of communication might still +prove useful, and on the 11th the advance was renewed. Moore himself +left Salamanca on the 13th. On the 12th he learned for the first time +from some prisoners the true strength of the French army, 250,000 of all +arms, and also discovered that the enemy were in complete ignorance of +the position of his own army. Next day an intercepted despatch showed +him that he might possibly be able to cut off Soult in an isolated +position at Saldana. Having at last effected a junction with Baird's +corps on the 19th he reached Sahagun on the 21st, and was on the point +of delivering his attack under favourable conditions, though his triumph +must have been short-lived. + +His real success was of another order. He had anticipated that Napoleon +would postpone everything to the opportunity of crushing a British army, +and the ultimate object of his march to Sahagun was to draw the French +away from Lisbon and Andalusia. He was not disappointed. Napoleon at +last divined that Moore was not flying in a south-westerly direction, +but carrying out a bold manoeuvre in a north-easterly direction. He +instantly pushed division after division from various quarters by forced +marches upon Moore's reported track, while he himself followed with +desperate efforts across the snow-clad mountains between Madrid and the +Douro. Apprised of his swift advance, and conscious of his own vast +inferiority in numbers, Moore had no choice but to retreat without a +moment's delay upon Benevente and Astorga. He was now sufficiently far +north to prefer to retire upon Galicia rather than upon Portugal. The +retreat began on the 24th and was executed with such rapidity that on +January 1, 1809, Napoleon gave up the pursuit at Astorga, leaving it to +be continued by Soult. Whether he was influenced by intelligence of +fresh armaments on the Danube, or of dangerous plots in Paris, must +remain uncertain, but it is highly probable that he saw little honour to +be won in a laborious chase of a foe who might prove formidable if +brought to bay. + +Moore's army, disheartened as it was by the loss of a brilliant chance, +and demoralised as it became under the fatigues and hardships of a most +harassing retreat, never failed to repel attacks on its rear, where +Paget handled the cavalry of the rear-guard with signal ability, +especially in a spirited action near Benevente. In spite of some +excesses, tolerable order was maintained until the British force, still +25,000 strong, reached Astorga, and was joined by some 10,000 Spaniards +under Romana. Thenceforward, all sense of discipline was abandoned by so +many regiments that Moore described the conduct of his whole army as +"infamous beyond belief," though it is certain that some regiments, and +notably those of the reserve, should be excepted from this sweeping +condemnation. Drunkenness, marauding, and other military crimes grew +more and more general as the main body marched "in a drove" through +Villafranca to Lugo, where Moore vainly offered battle, and onwards to +Betanzos on the sea-coast. There a marvellous rally was effected, +stragglers rejoined the ranks in unexpected numbers, the _moral_ of the +soldiery was restored as the fearful strain of physical misery was +relaxed, and by January 12, 1809, all the divisions of Moore's army were +safely posted in or around Coruna. Bad weather had delayed the fleet of +transports ordered round from Vigo, but it ran into the harbour on the +14th, and the sick and invalids were sent on board. + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF CORUNA._] + +Moore was advised to make terms for the embarkation of his entire +command, but he was too good a soldier to comply. Those who took part in +the battle of Coruna on the 16th, some 15,000 men in all, were no +unworthy representatives of the army which started from Lisbon three +months earlier. Soult, with a larger force, assumed the offensive, and +made a determined attack on the British position in front of the harbour +and town of Coruna. He was repulsed at all points, but Moore was +mortally, and Baird severely, wounded on the field. Hope, who took +command, knowing that Soult would soon be reinforced, wisely persisted +in carrying out Moore's intention, evacuated Coruna, and embarked his +army for England during the night and the following day. His losses were +estimated by Hope at above 700, killed and wounded; those of the enemy +were twice as great. Thus victory crowned a campaign which otherwise +would have done little to satisfy the popular appetite for tangible +success. The original object of supporting the Spanish resistance in the +north had been rendered impossible of fulfilment by Napoleon's victories +when Moore had barely crossed the Spanish frontier, and in this sense +the expedition must be regarded as a failure, though its commander was +in no sense responsible for its ill-success. On the other hand, +considered as a skilful diversion, the expedition was highly successful. +It drew all the best French troops and generals into the north-west +corner of Spain, leaving all the other, and far richer, provinces to +recover their power of resistance.[43] + +The spirit in which Napoleon had entered upon this contest is well +illustrated in two sentences of his address to the citizens of Madrid. +"The Bourbons," he said, "can no longer reign in Europe," and "No power +under the influence of England can exist on the continent". The +counter-proclamations of Spanish juntas were more prolix and equally +arrogant, but one of them reveals the secret of national strength when +it asserts that "a whole people is more powerful than disciplined +armies". The British estimate of Napoleon's Spanish policy was tersely +expressed by the Marquis Wellesley in the house of lords, "To him force +and fraud were alike; force, that would stoop to all the base artifices +of fraud; and fraud, that would come armed with all the fierce violence +of force". + +[Pageheading: _WELLESLEY TAKES COMMAND._] + +For three months after the battle of Coruna, the Peninsular war, as +regards the action of Great Britain, was all but suspended. Two days +before that battle, a formal treaty of peace and alliance between Great +Britain and the Spanish junta, which had withdrawn to Seville, was +signed at London. Sir John Cradock was in command of the British troops +at Lisbon, and took up a defensive position there, with reinforcements +from Cadiz, awaiting the approach of Soult, who had captured Oporto by +storm, and of Victor, who was in the valley of the Tagus. At the request +of the Portuguese, Beresford had been sent out to organise and command +their army. Early in 1809 the Spaniards were defeated with great +slaughter at Ucles, Ciudad Real, and Medellin; Zaragoza was taken after +another siege, and still more obstinate defence; and the national cause +seemed more desperate than ever. On April 2, however, Sir Arthur +Wellesley, who had returned home after the convention of Cintra, was +appointed to the command-in-chief of our forces in the Peninsula. +Before leaving England, he left with the ministers a memorandum on the +conduct of the war which, viewed by the light of later events, must be +accounted a masterpiece of foresight and sagacity. When it was laid +before George III., his natural shrewdness at once discerned its true +value, and he desired its author to be informed of the strong impression +which it had produced on his mind. + +Wellesley, indeed, could not estimate beforehand the vast numerical +superiority of the French while the rest of Europe was at peace, or the +impotent vacillations of Spanish juntas, or the "mulish obstinacy" of +Spanish generals, which so often wrecked his plans and spoiled his +victories. Nor could he foresee the advantages which he would derive +from the resources of guerilla warfare, the mutual jealousies of the +French marshals, and the sudden recall of the best French troops for +service in Germany and Russia. But his prescient and practical mind +firmly grasped the dominant facts of the position--that Portugal, +guarded by the ocean on the west and by mountain ranges on the east, was +far more accessible to the British navy than to the French army; that, +under British officers, its troops might be trained into an effective +force; and that, with it as a basis, Great Britain might ultimately +liberate the whole Peninsula. "I have always been of opinion," Wellesley +said in this memorandum, "that Portugal might be defended, whatever +might be the result of the contest in Spain; and that in the meantime +the measures adopted for the defence of Portugal would be highly useful +to the Spaniards in their contest with the French." On this simple +principle all his detailed recommendations were founded, and he +expressed a deliberate belief that, if 30,000 British troops were +supported by an equal number of Portuguese regulars, and a reserve of +militia was provided, "the French would not be able to overrun Portugal +with less than 100,000 men". This forecast was verified, and upon its +essential wisdom the fate of the Peninsular war, with all its +consequences, may be said to have depended.[44] + +Wellesley landed at Lisbon on April 22, and was received with the utmost +demonstrations of joy and confidence. He found not only the capital but +the whole country in a state of tumult, if not of anarchy, due to a +growing despair of the national cause. His arrival rekindled the embers +of patriotism, and on May 5 he reviewed at Coimbra a body of troops +consisting of 17,000 British and Germans, with about 8,000 Portuguese. +The next day he marched towards the Douro, and on the 14th he effected +the passage of that river in the face of the French army occupying +Oporto, which the British forthwith recaptured. Soult beat a hasty and +disorderly retreat into Galicia. Having driven Soult out of Portugal, +the British general was encouraged to undertake a further advance into +Spain, where Joseph with Victor and Sebastiani had collected a much +larger army to bar the approaches to Madrid than Wellesley, relying on +Spanish intelligence, had been led to expect. During June and the first +days of July, he moved by Abrantes and the Tagus valley as far as +Plasencia, little knowing that Soult was about to sweep round his rear, +with 50,000 men, and intercept his communications with Lisbon. On July +10 he held a conference with the Spanish general Cuesta, who insisted on +making an aggressive movement with his own troops only, and met with a +repulse. + +[Pageheading: _THE TALAVERA CAMPAIGN._] + +On the 27th, the combined armies of Wellesley and Cuesta, numbering +respectively about 20,000 British and 35,000 Spanish, confronted 46,000 +French troops, under Victor, in a strong position behind Talavera.[45] +The Spanish forces occupied the right and the British the left of this +position. Joseph was present, and disregarding the counsels of Jourdan, +his proper military adviser, authorised Victor to assume the offensive. +He failed in two preliminary attacks on the 27th, but renewed them on +the 28th, when a general engagement ensued. The whole brunt of the +battle fell upon the British troops, who gallantly withstood a desperate +onset, first on their left and then on their centre and right, until the +French quitted the field in confusion. The Spaniards, posted in +entrenchments nearer Talavera itself, did and suffered comparatively +little. Some of their regiments fled disgracefully, but the rest held +their ground, and Wellesley in his despatch spoke favourably of their +behaviour.[46] Perhaps the part which they played may be roughly +estimated by their losses, amounting to 1,200, as compared with 6,268 +British and nearly 9,000 French. Wellesley, after further experience of +Spanish co-operation, made up his mind to dispense with it altogether in +future. + +The victory of Talavera won for Wellesley the rank of viscount, to which +he was raised on September 4, with the title of Wellington. Although the +victory revived the respect of foreign nations for the prowess of +British arms, it was otherwise fruitless, and its sequel was fairly open +to criticism. Wellesley found that Soult, with Ney and Mortier, had +circumvented him, and that he must retreat through Esdremadura, on the +south of the Tagus, upon Badajoz. Cuesta, who had advocated bolder +counsels, undertook to guard the rear, and to protect the British +wounded at Talavera. But he soon found it necessary to abandon that +position. Fifteen hundred of the wounded were left behind, and were +humanely treated by the French generals. Wellesley's retreat over the +mountains was attended with great hardship and loss, for want of +supplies either from Spain or from the coast, and his long encampment in +the malarious valley of the Guadiana about Badajoz swelled the number of +his sick to a frightful extent. It was not until December, when it got +into better cantonments on Portuguese soil, that the British army, +triumphant at Talavera, recovered either its health or its _moral_. +Napoleon boasted, in a memorandum to be inserted in the Paris journals, +that Wellington had really been beaten in Spain, and that "if affairs +there had been properly conducted not an Englishman would have escaped". +Without going quite so far as this, the parliamentary opposition in +England made the least of the victory and the most of the retreat, which +unfortunately coincided in time with the wreck of the Walcheren +expedition. Even Wellington's best friends in England began to lose +heart, as did many of his own officers. He remained undaunted, and +having established his headquarters on the high ground between the Tagus +and the Douro, meditated designs which, slowly matured, bore good fruit +in later years. + +It is difficult to understand the inaction of Wellington for so many +months after the Talavera campaign, without taking into account not only +the difficulty of obtaining sufficient recruits and stores from England +after the waste of both at the mouth of the Scheldt, but the greatly +increased strength of the French in Spain during the long interval +between the Wagram campaign and the Russian expedition. At the close of +1809 all the fortresses of Spain had fallen into the enemy's hands, and +all her principal armies had been defeated and dispersed in successive +battles of which the greatest was that of Ocana in the month of +November. Suchet was master of Aragon and the east of Spain, nor was he +dislodged from it until the end of the war; Andalusia was nearly +conquered; Cadiz was only saved by the self-reliant courage of the Duc +d'Albuquerque, baffling the intrigues and treachery of the supreme junta +there assembled; and Napoleon was preparing a fresh army to overrun +Portugal, under the command of Massena. The Perceval ministry, in which +Liverpool had taken Castlereagh's post of secretary for war and the +colonies, adopting an optimistic tone at home, practically told +Wellington that he must shift for himself; and he braced himself up to +do so with extraordinary fortitude. + +He remained watching the gathering storm from the heights of Guarda, +south-west of Almeida, and commanding two great roads from Spain into +Portugal, but his thoughts were equally fixed upon the vast and famous +lines of Torres Vedras, which he was constructing for the defence of +Lisbon. His force, including the Portuguese regulars, did not exceed +50,000 men; that of the French under Ney, Reynier, and Junot consisted +of about 70,000, but they were not equally capable of being concentrated +on a single point. The Portuguese militia, too, were being gradually +disciplined, and the Portuguese civil authorities were being gradually +schooled into the new lesson of sweeping their own country bare of all +supplies before the coming French invasion. Wellington did not even +strike a blow to save Ciudad Rodrigo, which Massena took on July 10, +1810. But it was no part of his plan that Almeida should capitulate, as +it did shortly afterwards, partly owing to the accidental explosion of a +magazine, and partly as was suspected, to an act of treachery. Still, +Massena delayed until urged by Napoleon, and deceived by false +intelligence, he launched forth, at the beginning of September, on an +enterprise which proved fatal to his reputation. Both he and Wellington +issued appeals to the Portuguese nation, the contrast between which is +significant. The French marshal, echoing the prevailing note of his +master's proclamation, denounced Great Britain as the enemy of all +Europe; Wellington called upon the Portuguese to remember their actual +experience of French rapacity and outrage. + +[Pageheading: _BUSSACO AND TORRES VEDRAS._] + +The object of Massena was to reach Coimbra before Wellington. His +manoeuvres to outflank Wellington's left were skilfully devised, but +the British army marched steadily down the valley of the Mondego, +carrying with it the population of the district, and took its stand on +the ridge of Bussaco, north of Coimbra, barring Massena's progress. +There was fought, on September 27, 1810, a battle as deadly as that of +Talavera, and more decisive in its consequences. The French, as usual, +were the assailants; the English and the Portuguese stood at bay. Never, +in any of their brilliant victories, did French troops show more heroic +daring than in this assault under Reynier on the British right, and +under Ney on the British left. Both columns forced their way up bare +heath-clad slopes, and reached the summit, whence they were only driven +back after repeated charges. Their loss in killed and wounded exceeded +4,500, that of the allies was about 1,300. The French generals threw the +blame of defeat upon each other, but, in fact, the skill of Massena +converted a defeat into an episode in his victorious advance. On the +following day, he again found a way of turning Wellington's left, and, +in an intercepted despatch, he naturally treated this as a compensation +for the repulse at Bussaco, which he did not disguise. Compelled to +retire once more with a vast drove of encumbered, panic-stricken, and +famishing Portuguese fugitives, and conscious that no reserves awaited +him, Wellington knew, nevertheless, that he was drawing Massena further +and further away from his base, to encounter a terrible surprise. For, +so useless had been the French scouts, and so worthless the information +received from Portuguese sources, that no adequate conception of the +obstacle presented by the lines of Torres Vedras had entered the mind of +that experienced strategist. + +These elaborate works had been constructed in the course of a year by +thousands of Portuguese labourers, directed by Colonel Fletcher of the +royal engineers, upon a plan carefully thought out and laid down by +Wellington himself. The first and principal chain of fortifications +stretched for nearly thirty miles across the whole promontory between +the river Tagus and the sea, about twenty-five miles north of Lisbon. +The summits of hills were crowned with forts, their sides were escarped +and protected with earthworks, their gorges were blocked with redoubts, +a small river at the foot of them was made impassable by dams; in short, +the utmost advantage was taken of the defences provided by nature, and +these were supplemented by artificial entrenchments. Portuguese +garrisons manned the greater part of the batteries, armed with guns from +the arsenals of Lisbon; British troops were to occupy the most +vulnerable points of attack. There was a second and third range of +fortifications behind the first, in case these should be forced, but no +such emergency arose. When Massena had carefully inspected the +stupendous barrier reared in front of him, his well-trained eye +recognised it as impregnable: he paused for some weeks under semblance +of blockading the British forces, while he was really scouring the +country for the means of feeding his own; but in November he began to +retreat upon Santarem, Almeida, and Ciudad Rodrigo, with a half-starved +and dispirited army, greatly reduced in numbers during the campaign.[47] + +The year 1811 was perhaps the least interesting, yet the most critical +in the history of the Peninsular war. Wellington had not escaped +criticism at home for allowing Massena to remain so long unmolested near +Santarem. He described himself in a private letter, written in December, +1810, as "safe for the winter at all events". More he could not have +said, knowing, as he did, that Soult was in force before Cadiz, and +might at any moment join Massena. This, in fact, he did; leaving his +fields of plunder in Andalusia under the positive orders of Napoleon, he +defeated the Spaniards at the Gebora on February 19, and captured +Badajoz, as well as Olivenza. In his absence, Sir Thomas Graham, who +commanded the British troops at Cadiz, sailed thence with La Pena, the +Spanish commander, and a combined force of about 12,000 men, to make a +flank march, and attack the French besiegers, under Victor, in the rear. +A brisk action followed at Barrosa, in which Graham obtained a complete +victory, but the Spanish troops, as usual, remained almost passive; the +beaten army was not pursued, and the siege of Cadiz was not raised. +This city was still the seat of the Spanish national government, but the +feeble junta had been superseded by a national cortes, fairly +representative of the nation, which passed some liberal measures, and +dissolved the so-called regency which assumed to represent Ferdinand. + +[Pageheading: _FUENTES D'ONORO AND ALBUERA._] + +The two great frontier fortresses of Spain, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, +were now in the hands of the French. Massena had regained the Spanish +frontier in March, after frequent combats with the pursuing enemy, and +with heavy losses in men and horses, though he saved every gun except +one. This retreat involved the evacuation of every place in Portugal +except the fortress of Almeida. Wellington's pursuit would have been +still more vigorous, but that his Portuguese troops were half-starved, +and had lost discipline under intolerable privations. His next design +seems to have been the recapture of the fortresses, but he was not +without ulterior hopes--all too premature--of afterwards pushing on to +Madrid and operating in the eastern provinces of Spain. He first +invested Almeida, and, leaving General Spencer to continue the blockade, +proceeded to Elvas in order to concert measures with Beresford for the +siege of Badajoz. Thence he was suddenly recalled northward to repel a +fresh advance of Massena, strongly reinforced, for the relief of +Almeida. The battle which followed at Fuentes d'Onoro, south-east of +Almeida, was among the most hardly contested struggles in the whole +Peninsular war. It began on May 3, and, with a day's interval, concluded +on the 5th. The British remained masters of the field, and claimed a +somewhat doubtful victory, which at least secured the evacuation of +Almeida. The garrison of that fortress blew it up by night, and +succeeded, by masterly tactics, in joining the main French army with +little sacrifice of life. + +Wellington returned to Badajoz, only to meet with disappointment. +General Cole, acting under Beresford, had retaken Olivenza; but Soult, +with a force of 23,000 men, was marching to succour Badajoz, when he was +encountered by Beresford at Albuera. Beresford's force was numerically +stronger than Soult's, but only 7,000 men were English, the rest being +mostly Spanish. Measured by the proportion of losses to men engaged on +both sides, this fight on May 16, 1811, must rank among the bloodiest on +record. In four hours nearly 7,000 of the allies and 8,000 French were +struck down. The decisive charge of the reserve was inspired and led by +Hardinge, afterwards Governor-General of India; the French were routed, +and Soult was checked, but little was gained by the victors.[48] The +siege of Badajoz, indeed, was renewed, but its progress was slow for +want of proper engines and artillery, and it was abandoned, after two +futile attempts, on June 11. By this time, Marmont had succeeded +Massena, and was carrying out Napoleon's grand plan for a junction with +Soult's army and a fresh irruption into Portugal. With marvellous +audacity, Wellington offered battle to both marshals, who, happily +ignorant of his weakness, declined it more than once. In truth, he was +never more nearly at the end of his resources than when he went into +winter quarters at the close of 1811, having failed to prevent Marmont +from provisioning Ciudad Rodrigo, and having narrowly escaped being +overwhelmed by a much superior force. His army was greatly reduced by +sickness, he was very ill-supplied from England, and he received no +loyal support from the Portuguese government. Moreover, the French had +apparently extended their hold on Spain, both in the eastern and +northern provinces, while it was reported that Napoleon himself, not +content with dictating orders from afar, would return to complete the +conquest of the Peninsula. + +At this juncture, he must have been cheered by the arrival of so able a +lieutenant as Graham from Cadiz, and by the brilliant success of Hill +against a detached body of Marmont's army south of the Tagus. There were +other tendencies also secretly working in favour of the British and +their allies. Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain, openly protested +against the extortions which he was enjoined to practise on his +subjects, and went so far as to resign his crown at Paris, though he was +induced to resume it. Again the broken armies of the Spanish had +reappeared in the form of guerilla bands under leaders such as Mina; +they could not be dispersed, since they had no cohesion, and were more +formidable through their extreme mobility than organised battalions. +Above all, the domination of France over Europe was already undermined +and tottering invisibly to its fall. The Tsar Alexander had, as we have +seen, been deeply offended by the preference of an Austrian to a Russian +princess, as the consort of Napoleon, and still more by his imperious +annexation of Oldenburg. Sweden, following the example of Russia, had +begun to rebel against the continental system. A series of internal +reforms had aroused a national spirit, and stealthily created the basis +of a national army in Prussia, and the intense hostility of all North +Germany to France was thinly disguised by the unwilling servility of the +Prussian court. Napoleon, who seldom laboured under the illusions +propagated by his own manifestoes and bulletins, well knew what he was +doing when, in August, 1811, he allowed himself to burst into a storm of +indignation against the Russian ambassador at the Tuileries. From that +moment he clearly premeditated a rupture with Russia, and soon he +withdrew 60,000 of his best troops from Spain, to be employed in that +fatal enterprise of 1812 which proved to be his doom. + +[Pageheading: _CAPTURE OF CIUDAD RODRIGO AND BADAJOZ._] + +The winter of 1811-12 was spent by Wellington in preparing, with the +utmost secrecy, for the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, as the +first steps in an offensive campaign. In January, 1812, he struck a +sudden blow against the former, and captured it by an assault, attended +with great carnage, on the 19th of that month. In this furious conflict, +lasting but half an hour, Craufurd, the renowned leader of the light +division, fell mortally wounded. Shameful excesses sullied the glory of +a splendid exploit. Marmont immediately drew in his troops towards +Salamanca, leaving Soult in the valley of the Tagus; and Hill, with his +southern army, moved northward. Wellington, who was created an earl in +February, transferred the greater part of his troops to Badajoz, and +began a regular siege, but with very imperfect materials, no organised +corps of sappers and miners, and very few officers skilled in the art of +taking fortified towns. He was greatly delayed on the route by the lack +of transport, and the vexatious obstinacy of the Portuguese authorities, +while time was of the utmost consequence lest any or all of three French +armies should come to raise the siege. Hence the extreme rapidity of his +final operations. + +After the capture of an outlying fort, three breaches were made in the +walls, and on the night of April 6, under the cover of thick darkness, +two divisions of British troops descended into the ditch, many carrying +ladders or sacks of hay, and advanced to the foot of the _glacis_. Here +they were almost overwhelmed with a hurricane of fiery missiles, and in +mounting the breaches they had to face not only hand-grenades, trains of +powder, and bursting shells, but a _chevaux-de-frise_ of sabre-blades +crowning the summit. None of these attacks was successful; but another +division under Picton scaled the castle, and a brigade under Walker +effected an entrance elsewhere. After this, the French abandoned the +breaches; the resistance waxed fainter, and at six in the morning, +Philippon, the governor, with his brave garrison, surrendered +unconditionally. The loss of the British and Portuguese in killed and +wounded was stated at the enormous figure of 4,885, and it was avenged +by atrocities prolonged for two days and nights, worse than had followed +the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo. Wellington ordered the provost marshal +to execute any soldiers found in the act of plunder, but officers vainly +attempted to check their men at the peril of their own lives. + +[Pageheading: _SALAMANCA._] + +It had been the intention of Wellington to operate next against Soult, +and drive him, if possible, from Esdremadura and Andalusia. But, as +appears from one of his despatches to Lord Liverpool, he was ill +satisfied with the conduct of his allies guarding Ciudad Rodrigo, and +returned to resume command in that region. In the same despatch he +complains bitterly of the niggardly policy of his government in regard +to money and supplies. The same timidity on the part of ministers at +home appears in a letter from Liverpool, almost forbidding him to accept +the command-in-chief of the Spanish armies, which, however, was +conferred upon him later in this year.[49] At present, he decided to +march against Marmont in the plains of Leon. This movement was +facilitated by the success of Hill in surprising a body of French +troops, and seizing the important bridge of Almaraz over the Tagus on +May 19, thereby breaking the French lines of communication and isolating +Marmont's army for a time. Soon afterwards, Salamanca and its forts were +captured by Wellington, but Marmont proved a very formidable opponent, +and, having behind him another army under King Joseph, threatened the +British lines of communication. In the series of manoeuvres which +ensued, Wellington's forces met with more than one reverse, but the +French marshal was determined to win a victory on a large scale. +Wellington had no wish to risk a battle, unless Salamanca or his own +rear should be seriously threatened, and he stood on the defensive, a +little south of Salamanca, with Marmont's army encamped in front of him. + +Early on July 22, the French seized one of two hills called the Arapiles +which formed the key of the position and commanded the road to Ciudad +Rodrigo. Marmont then organised complicated evolutions, of which the +ultimate object was to envelop the British right and cut off its +expected retreat. To accomplish this, he extended his own left so far +that it became separated by a gap from his centre. No sooner did +Wellington, with a flash of military insight, perceive the advantage +thus offered than he flung half of his troops upon the French left wing, +and made a vigorous attack with the rest upon the French centre. It was +too late for Marmont, himself wounded, to repair the mistake, the centre +was driven in, and, as was said, 40,000 men were beaten in forty +minutes. General Clausel, who took Marmont's place, showed great ability +in the retreat, but the French army could scarcely have escaped +destruction had not the Spaniards, who were entrusted with a post on the +river Tormes, left the passage open for the flying enemy. Nevertheless, +the battle of Salamanca was the greatest and most decisive yet fought by +the British in the Peninsula; it established the reputation of our army, +and placed Wellington in the first rank of generals. Three weeks later +he entered Madrid in triumph, and was received with the wildest popular +acclamations. Joseph once more abandoned his capital, joined Suchet in +Valencia, and ordered Soult against his will to withdraw from Andalusia +and move in the same direction. This concentration relieved Wellington +from immediate anxieties, but exposed him to a serious danger of being +confronted before long by forces thrice as great as his own. He also +needed reinforcements, and was in still greater want of money. + +To students of military history it may seem a very doubtful question +whether, under such circumstances, it was prudent to advance farther +into Spain from his strongholds on the Portuguese frontier. But +Wellington, who had been created a marquis on August 18, judged it +necessary to crush if possible the remainder of Marmont's army which had +retired northward under Clausel. He therefore left Hill with a +detachment to cover Madrid, and marching through Valladolid occupied the +town of Burgos. The castle of that place remained in the hands of a +French garrison 2,000 strong and had been carefully fortified. Here +again we may be permitted to doubt whether, after the experience gained +at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, Wellington did wisely in resolving to +invest and storm a fortress so formidable, without an adequate +siege-train, and with the knowledge that Clausel might rally his forces +in time to relieve it. Wellington himself afterwards admitted to +Liverpool that he had erred in not taking with him the best of his own +troops, and that he did not possess the means of transporting ordnance +and military stores from Madrid and Santander, where there was abundance +of them. The siege lasted a month, from September 19 to October 18; the +garrison offered a most obstinate resistance, inflicting great loss on +the besiegers by sorties, and in the end the attack failed. Souham, with +Clausel, was closing in upon Wellington from the north, Soult from the +south-east; Hill's position at Madrid was untenable, and another retreat +became inevitable. It was the last and most trying in Wellington's +military career. The army which had behaved nobly at Salamanca broke +down under the strain of suffering and depression, like that of Sir John +Moore before Coruna. The enemy was driven back in various rear-guard +actions, but on the march the sense of discipline vanished and shameful +disorders occurred. A scathing reprimand from Wellington, which might +have been written by a French critic and which ought never to have been +made public, threw all the blame of this disorganisation on the +regimental officers, and denied that any scarcity of provisions could be +pleaded in excuse of it. + +[Pageheading: _MILITARY REFORMS._] + +By the middle of November the campaign ended, and Wellington's +headquarters were at Ciudad Rodrigo. For the present, Spain was still +dominated by the French, but its southern provinces were clear of the +invaders, and elsewhere the tide was already on the turn. The Russian +war cast its shadow beforehand on the Spanish peninsula; the French +army was constantly weakened in numbers and still more in quality, as +conscripts were substituted for veterans, and inferior generals +succeeded to high commands; the Portuguese and Spanish contingents of +the British army were stronger and better disciplined. Wellington +himself, tenacious of his purpose as ever, received heartier support +from home, where Liverpool had become prime minister in June, and had +been succeeded by Bathurst as secretary for war and the colonies; and +though the Marquis Wellesley, no longer in the government, complained +that his brother's operations had been crippled by ministerial apathy, +the Peninsular war, on the eve of its completion, was adopted with pride +and sympathy by the nation. + +The last chapter of the Peninsular war opens with the operations +culminating in the battle of Vitoria, and closes with the battle of +Toulouse. Having accepted the office of generalissimo of the Spanish +armies, Wellington repaired to Cadiz during the winter of 1812-13, and +formed the lowest estimate of the make-shift government there carried on +under the dual control of the cortes and the regency. He failed to +obtain a reform of this system, but succeeded in effecting a +reorganisation of the Spanish army, to be in future under his own +command. He next addressed himself, with the aid of Beresford and the +British minister at Lisbon, to amend the monstrous abuses, civil and +military, of Portuguese administration. By the beginning of May, 1813, a +great improvement was visible in the equipment and _moral_ of the +Spanish and Portuguese troops; a vigorous insurrection against the +French occupation had broken out in the province of Biscay, endangering +the great road into Spain; and an Anglo-Sicilian army of 16,000 men, +under Sir John Murray, had repulsed Suchet, hitherto undefeated, at +Castalla on the Valencian coast, without, however, completing their +victory, or capturing any of the French guns in the narrow defile by +which the enemy fled. The want of unity in the command of the French +army, and of harmony between its generals, was more felt than ever now +that Napoleon's master-mind was engrossed in retrieving the awful ruin +of the Russian expedition. + +Yet Napoleon's instructions to Joseph show that he had fully grasped the +critical nature of the situation. He enjoined Joseph to mass all his +forces round Valladolid, and imperatively directed that at all hazards +the communications with France should be maintained. The Spanish +guerillas had long rendered communications so insecure that couriers +with despatches had to be escorted by bodies of 250 cavalry or 500 +infantry; they were now so effectually intercepted that Napoleon's own +despatch reached Joseph more than two months late, by way of Barcelona +and Valencia. Meanwhile, Joseph was openly accusing Soult, in a letter +to his brother, of criminal ambition--a charge to which he laid himself +open before in Portugal--and did not hesitate to add, "the Duke of +Dalmatia or myself must quit Spain". In England, on the contrary, +parties were at last united in the desire to bring the war to a +triumphant end, and parliament grudged neither men nor money to aid +Wellington's plan of campaign. It was, then, under happier auspices than +in former years that he broke up from his cantonments then stationed on +the Coa, a little to the north-west of Ciudad Rodrigo, and set forward +with 70,000 British and Portuguese troops, besides 20,000 Spaniards, to +drive the French out of Spain. So confident was he of success that, as +Napier relates, he waved his hand in crossing the frontier on May 22, +and exclaimed, "Farewell, Portugal".[50] + +[Pageheading: _VITORIA._] + +He advanced by the valley of the Douro; then, turning to the north-east, +he compelled the French to evacuate Burgos, and passed the Ebro on June +13. Graham in command of his left wing there joined him, after forcing +his way by immense efforts across the mountains of the Portuguese +frontier. Hill, commanding the right wing of his composite but united +army, was already with him. A depot for his commissariat and a military +hospital were established at Santander, where a British fleet was lying, +and whence he could draw his supplies direct from home. The French army, +under Joseph and Marshal Jourdan, fell back before him by a forced night +march on the 19th and took up its position in front of Vitoria, in the +province of Biscay. Here, on the plain of the river Zadorra, was fought +on the 21st the greatest battle of the Peninsular war. Wellington had +encountered serious physical difficulties in his passage from the valley +of the Ebro to that of the Zadorra; but for once his plans had been +executed with admirable precision, and all his troops arrived at the +appointed time on the field of battle. The French, conscious of their +impending expulsion from Spain, were encumbered by enormous +baggage-trains containing the fruits of five years' merciless spoliation +"not of a province but of a kingdom," including treasures of art from +Madrid and all the provincial capitals, with no less than 5,500,000 +dollars in hard cash, besides two years' arrears of pay which Napoleon +had sent to fill the military chest of Joseph's army. A vast number of +vehicles, loaded with the whole imperial and royal treasure, overspread +the plain and choked the great road behind the French position, by which +alone such a mass of waggons could find its way into France. + +The French army consisted of about 60,000 men, with 150 pieces of +cannon, but strong detachments, under Foy and Clausel respectively, had +been sent away to guard the roads to Bilbao and Pamplona. The British +army numbered nearly 80,000, inclusive of Portuguese and Spanish, with +90 guns. The French were posted on strong ground, and held the bridges +across the river. Graham, with the left column of the British, made a +circuit in the direction of Bilbao, working round to cut off the French +rear on the Bayonne road. Hill, with the right column, forced the pass +of Puebla, in the latter direction, carried the ridge above it after +much hard fighting, and made good his position on the left flank of the +French. Wellington himself, in the centre, under the guidance of a +Spanish peasant, pushed a brigade across one of the bridges in his +front, weakly guarded, and thus mastered the others; his force then +expanded itself on the plain and bore down all opposition. Graham had +met with a more obstinate resistance from the French right, under +Reille, but at last got possession of the great Bayonne road. +Thenceforward a retreat of the French army, partly encircled, became +inevitable, but it was conducted at first in good order and with +frequent halts at defensible points. The only outlet left open was the +mountain road to Pamplona, and this was not only impracticable for heavy +traffic but obstructed by an overturned waggon. The orderly retreat was +soon converted into a rout; the flying throng made its way across +country and over mountains towards Pamplona, leaving all the artillery, +military stores, and accumulated spoils as trophies of the British +victory. + +The value of these was prodigious, but the great mass of booty, except +munitions of war, fell into the hands of private soldiers and +camp-followers. Wellington reported to Bathurst that nearly a million +sterling in money had been appropriated by the rank and file of the +army, and, still worse, that so dazzling a triumph had "totally +annihilated all order and discipline".[51] The loss in the battle had +been about 5,000, but Wellington stated that on July 8 "we had 12,500 +men less under arms than we had on the day before the battle". He +supposed the missing 7,500, nearly half of whom were British, to be +mostly concealed in the mountain villages.[52] A large number of +stragglers afterwards rejoined their colours, but too late to aid in an +effectual pursuit of the enemy. The immediate consequence of this great +victory was the evacuation by the French of all Spain south of the Ebro. +Even Suchet abandoned Valencia and distributed his forces between +Tarragona and Tortosa. To his great credit, Wellington addressed to the +cortes an earnest protest against wreaking vengeance on the French party +in Spain, many of whom might have been driven into acceptance of a +foreign yoke "by terror, by distress, or by despair". At the same time, +he vigorously followed up his success by chasing and nearly surrounding +Clausel's division, while Hill invested Pamplona, and Graham drove Foy +across the Bidassoa, in his advance upon the fortress of St. Sebastian. + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF THE PYRENEES._] + +The fortifications of St. Sebastian were in a very imperfect condition, +but the governor, Emmanuel Rey, was nevertheless able to defend the +place with success. Wellington, after laying siege to it, sanctioned a +premature attempt to scale the breaches which cost Graham's force a loss +of more than 500 men. This check was succeeded by another, still more +serious, in the historic pass of Roncesvalles. Napoleon, hearing at +Dresden of the battle of Vitoria, and instantly fathoming its momentous +import, despatched Soult, as "lieutenant of the emperor," to assume +command of all the French armies at Bayonne and on the Spanish frontier, +still amounting nominally to 114,000 men, besides 66,000 under Suchet in +Catalonia. Soult reached Bayonne on July 13, fortified it strongly, and +reorganised his troops with amazing energy, inspiriting them with a +warlike address in the well-known style of Napoleon's proclamations. On +the 25th he set his forces in motion, with the intention of crushing the +British right by a sudden irruption, and relieving Pamplona. He all but +achieved his object, for, by well-concerted and well-concealed +movements, he actually carried the passes of Roncesvalles and Maya, in +spite of a gallant resistance and the French troops were on the point of +pouring down the Pyrenees on the Spanish side, when Wellington arrived +at full speed from his position before St. Sebastian. + +He was opportunely reinforced, and gave battle on the rugged heights in +front of Pamplona to a force numerically superior, but for the most part +charging uphill. Never, even at Bussaco, did the French show greater +ardour and _elan_ in attack, and it was only after a series of bloody +hand-to-hand combats on the summits and sides of the mountains that they +were compelled to recoil and rolled backward down the ridge. Baffled in +his attempt to relieve Pamplona, Soult turned westwards towards St. +Sebastian, but was anticipated by Wellington, and faced by three +divisions of Hill on his right. A second engagement followed, in which +the Portuguese earned the chief honours, and 3,000 prisoners were taken. +At last Soult gave orders for a retreat, and in the course of it was all +but entrapped in a narrow valley where he could not have escaped the +necessity of surrender. It is said that he was warned just in time by +the sudden intrusion of three British marauders in uniform; at all +events, he instantly changed his line of march, and ultimately led his +broken army back to France, but in the utmost confusion, and not without +fresh disasters. One of these befell Reille's division in the gorge of +Yanzi, and another the French rear-guard under Clausel, which defended +itself valiantly, but was driven headlong down the northern side of the +Pyrenees from which this series of battles derives its name. + +The siege of St. Sebastian was immediately renewed with a far more +powerful battering train, but its defences had also been strengthened by +the indefatigable governor. The final assault took place on August 31, +and rivalled the storming of Badajoz in the murderous ferocity of the +_melee_ at the breaches, as well as in the horrors practised on the +inhabitants by the victorious assailants, which Wellington and Graham +vainly endeavoured to check. So desperate was the defence, and so +insuperable appeared the obstacles to an entrance by the breaches, that +Graham adopted the heroic expedient of causing his artillery to fire a +few feet only over the heads of the forlorn hope, until a clear opening +had been made, and deadly piles of combustibles had been exploded behind +the main breach, blowing into the air 300 of the garrison. A hideous +conflagration destroyed the greater part of the town. A few days later +the castle, to which the governor had retired, yielded to an +irresistible cannonade, and he surrendered at discretion with about +1,200 men. Several hundred wounded, including a large number of British +prisoners, were found there in the hospitals. + +On the 30th, the day before St. Sebastian was stormed, Soult attempted a +diversion for its relief by crossing the Bidassoa, and on the following +day he engaged a large body of Spaniards at St. Marcial. On this +occasion Wellington held the British troops in reserve, and the +Spaniards without their aid defeated the French with great slaughter. So +ended a well-planned and well-executed effort to reconquer the Spanish +frontier. Pamplona was still untaken, and Suchet was still in Catalonia, +but no further offensive movement was undertaken by the French against +Spain. Both Soult and Wellington had shown remarkable powers of +generalship, and there was a moment when Soult might have snatched the +prize of victory by raising the siege of Pamplona. But his ultimate +success was hopeless, and his failure was complete. Before the fall of +St. Sebastian and the battle of St. Marcial, Wellington estimated the +French losses at 15,000 men, who could ill be spared in the interval +between Napoleon's last gleam of victory at Dresden and on his signal +defeat at Leipzig. + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON ENTERS FRANCE._] + +But the Peninsular war, in the historical sense, was not yet over. +During the summer of 1813 a mixed force of British, Germans, Spaniards, +and Sicilians had been carrying on an intermittent war against the +French under Suchet in the eastern provinces. Their commander, Sir John +Murray, who had allowed the beaten enemy to escape at Castalla, proved +equally irresolute in an attempt to capture Tarragona, countermanded the +assault, and re-embarked his troops on the approach of Suchet. Soon +afterwards he was superseded by Lord William Bentinck, and Suchet after +the battle of Vitoria was compelled to retire behind the Ebro. Bentinck +renewed the investment of Tarragona, but permitted Suchet without a +battle to relieve it, demolish its fortifications, and withdraw its +garrison at the end of August. An ill-judged advance of the British +general into Catalonia brought about another misfortune, and, upon the +whole, the series of operations conducted against Suchet were by no +means glorious to British arms or generalship, however important their +effect in preventing a large body of French veterans from reinforcing +Soult's army at a critical time in the Western Pyrenees. Wellington +himself inclined to complete the deliverance of Spain by clearing the +province of Catalonia of the invaders, but the British government, +having in view the prospect of crushing Napoleon in Germany, urged him +to undertake an immediate invasion of France. Accordingly he moved +forward on October 7, leaving Pamplona closely blockaded, threw his army +across the Bidassoa on the 8th by a stroke of masterly tactics, forced +the strong French lines on the north side of it, and established himself +on the enemy's soil. Before entering France he issued the most stringent +proclamations against plundering, which he enforced by the sternest +measures, and announced that he would not suffer the peaceful +inhabitants of France to be punished for the ambition of their ruler. On +the 31st the French garrison of Pamplona, despairing of relief, +surrendered as prisoners of war. + +The prolonged defence of Pamplona gave Soult time to strengthen his +position on the Nivelle. The lines which he constructed rivalled those +of Torres Vedras, and the several actions by which they were at last +forced and turned were among the most desperate of the whole war. The +first was fought in the early part of November, and resulted in the +occupation by Wellington's army of the great mountain-barrier south of +Bayonne, with six miles of entrenchments along the Nivelle, and of the +port of St. Jean de Luz. A month later Wellington became anxious to +establish his winter-cantonments between the Nive and the Adour, partly +for strategical reasons, and partly in order to command a larger and +more fertile area for his supplies. On December 9, therefore, Hill with +the right wing forded the Nive and drove back the French left upon their +camp in front of Bayonne. Then followed three most obstinate combats on +the 10th, 11th and 13th, in which Soult took the offensive, with Bayonne +as the centre of his operations, and with the advantage of always moving +upon interior lines resting upon a strong fortress. In the first of +these attacks, he surprised and nearly succeeded in overwhelming the +British left, under Hope, now Sir John, before Wellington could bring +other divisions to its support. In the second, he fell suddenly on the +same troops, exhausted by fatigue, and still more or less isolated, but +they were rallied by Hope and Wellington in person, and remained masters +of the field. In the third he concentrated his whole strength upon the +British right under Hill, aided by a thick mist, and by a flood upon the +Nive, which swept away a bridge of boats, and separated Hill from the +rest of the army. Nevertheless, that able general, emulating the noble +example of Hope in the earlier encounters, succeeded in repelling +assault after assault, until Wellington himself appeared with +reinforcements of imposing strength, and converted a stubborn defence +into a victory. + +The loss of the allies since crossing the Nive had exceeded 5,000; that +of the French was 6,000, besides 2,400 Germans who deserted to the +British during the night of the 9th in obedience to orders from home. +Ever since he assumed the command Soult had shown military ability of a +rare order. Bayonne, the base of all his operations, was indefensible +before he fortified it. A great proportion of his troops were raw +conscripts, or demoralised by defeat, before he inspired them with his +own courage and vigour. He was practically dependent for subsistence in +his own country on the very system of pillage which had roused a +patriotic frenzy of resentment in Spain and other lands ravaged by +French armies. He now stood at bay in the south of France, as Wellington +had so long stood at bay in Portugal, and continued there during the +early part of 1814 a defensive campaign not unworthy of comparison with +the prodigious exploits of Napoleon himself against the invaders of his +eastern provinces. + +[Pageheading: _THE INVESTMENT OF BAYONNE._] + +A respite of two months succeeded the battles on the Nive. During this +interval Wellington's difficulty in paying his troops was great, owing +to the enormous drain of specie from England into Central Europe. He was +further embarrassed by the appearance of the Duke of Angouleme, elder +son of Charles, Count of Artois, afterwards Charles X., at his +headquarters. The British government was by no means committed to a +restoration of the Bourbons, and Wellington deprecated the duke's +appearance as at least premature. He therefore insisted upon his +remaining incognito and as a non-combatant at St. Jean de Luz. Soult +was in great straits, not only because he was compelled to "make war +support war" by exorbitant requisitions upon the French peasantry, but +also because the exigencies of Napoleon were such that large drafts of +the best troops were drawn from the army of the south. When hostilities +were resumed in the middle of February, 1814, the Anglo-Portuguese and +Spanish force combined outnumbered the French by nearly five to three, +but Soult retained the decisive advantage of having a strong _point +d'appui_ in Bayonne at the confluence of the Nive and Adour. Careful +preparations were made by Wellington for throwing a large force across +the Lower Adour below Bayonne, in concert with a British fleet. Contrary +winds and a violent surf delayed the arrival of the British gunboats, +but on February 23 Hope sent over a body of his men on a raft of +pontoons in the face of the enemy's flotilla, with the aid of a brigade +armed with Congreve rockets, which had been first used at Leipzig, and +produced the utmost consternation in the French ranks. The gunboats soon +followed, but with the loss of one wrecked and others stranded in +crossing the bar. By the joint exertions of soldiers and sailors a +bridge was then constructed, by which Hope's entire army with artillery +passed over the river, and, two days afterwards, began the investment of +Bayonne. + +Meanwhile, the centre and right wing, under the command of Wellington, +had forced a passage across the Upper Adour and threatened Bayonne on +the other side. Leaving a garrison of 6,000 men in Bayonne, Soult took +his stand at Orthez, with an army of about 40,000 men, on the summit of +a formidable ridge. Wellington attacked this ridge on the 27th, with a +force of nearly equal strength in three columns so disposed as to +converge from points several miles distant from each other. The veterans +of the French army, admirably handled, fought with tenacity, and all but +succeeded in foiling the attack before Wellington could bring up his +reserves. The conscripts, however, were not equally steady, and when +Hill, advancing from the extreme right, pressed upon the French left, +Soult's orderly retreat became a precipitate flight. The French loss +greatly exceeded the British, and was soon afterwards swelled by +wholesale desertions; the road to Bordeaux was thrown open, and the +royalist reaction against Napoleon, stimulated by the depredation of +the French troops, ripened into a general revolt. + +Meanwhile, Napoleon had lost Germany by the battle of Leipzig; early in +1814 the allied armies of Austria, Prussia, and Russia had entered +France, and a congress was being held at Chatillon-sur-Seine, to +formulate, if possible, terms of peace. The city of Bordeaux was the +first to declare itself openly in favour of the Bourbons. Wellington +sent a large detachment to preserve order, with strict instructions to +Beresford, who commanded it, to remain neutral, in the event of Louis +XVIII. being proclaimed, pending the negotiations with Napoleon at +Chatillon. But the excitement of the people could not be restrained, and +the arrival of the Duke of Angouleme evoked a burst of royalist +enthusiasm which anticipated by a few weeks only the abdication of +Napoleon at Fontainebleau. The defection of Bordeaux forced Soult to +fall back rapidly on a very formidable position in front of Toulouse. +The British army followed in pursuit, encumbered with a great artillery +and pontoon train. After a lively action at Tarbes, it arrived in front +of Toulouse on March 27, to find the Garonne in flood, and the French +army strongly entrenched around the town, with a prospect of being +joined by 20,000 or 30,000 veterans, under Suchet, from Catalonia. + +[Pageheading: _THE BATTLE OF TOULOUSE._] + +The dispositions of Wellington, ending in the battle of Toulouse, on +April 10, have not escaped criticism. Hill, with two divisions and a +Spanish contingent, threw a bridge across the Garonne below Toulouse, +but discovered that he could make no progress in that direction, owing +to the impassable state of the roads. Beresford crossed the river with +18,000 men at another point, but a sudden flood broke up the pontoon +bridge in his rear, and he remained isolated for no less than four days, +exposed to an attack from Soult's whole army. Having missed this rare +opportunity, Soult calmly awaited the attack, with a force numerically +inferior, but with every advantage of position. On the 10th Wellington's +troops advanced in two columns, separated from each other by a perilous +interval of two miles. One of these, including Freyre's Spaniards and +Picton's division, was fairly driven back after furious attempts to +storm the ramparts of the fortified ridge held by the French. Beresford, +however, who in this battle combined generalship with brilliant +courage, restored the fortunes of the day by a dashing advance against +the redoubts on the French right. Having carried these he swept along +the ridge, which became untenable, and Soult withdrew his army within +his second line of defences. Two days later, seeing that Hill menaced +Toulouse on the other side, and fearing that if defeated again he would +lose his only line of retreat along the Carcassonne road, he evacuated +Toulouse by that route, leaving his magazines and hospitals in the hands +of the British army. By so doing he left to Wellington the honour and +prize of victory, but few victories have been so dearly bought, and the +loss in killed and wounded was actually greater on the side of the +victors than on that of the vanquished. + +Toulouse received Wellington on the 12th with open arms, and as news +reached him on the same day announcing the proclamation of Louis XVIII. +at Paris, he no longer hesitated to assume the white cockade. Soult +loyally declined to accept the intelligence until it was officially +confirmed, when a military convention was made on the 18th, whereby a +boundary line was established between the two armies. Suchet had already +withdrawn from Spain, and at last recalled the garrisons from those +Spanish fortresses in which Napoleon had so obstinately locked up picked +troops which he sorely needed in his dire extremity. But on the 14th, a +week after Napoleon's abdication, the famous "sortie from Bayonne" took +place, in which each side lost 800 or 900 men, and Hope, wounded in two +places, was made prisoner. For this waste of life the governor of +Bayonne must be held responsible, since he was informed of the events at +Paris by Hope, and instead of awaiting official confirmation, like +Soult, chose to risk the issue of a night combat, which must needs be +deadly and could not be decisive. + +Thus ended the Peninsular war. This war on the British side has seldom +been surpassed in the steady adherence to a settled purpose, through +years of discouragement and failure, maintained by the general whose +name it has made immortal. Neither his strategy nor his tactical skill +was always faultless; and afterwards in comparing himself with Soult, he +is reported to have said, that he often got into scrapes, but was +extricated by the valour of his army, whereas Soult, when he got into a +scrape, had no such men to get him out of it. However this might be, +Wellington's foresight in appreciating the place to be filled by the +Peninsular war in the overthrow of Napoleon's domination, and his truly +heroic constancy in striving to realise his own idea will ever +constitute his best claim to greatness. No other man in England or in +Europe discerned as he did, that with Portugal independent and guarded +by the power of Great Britain on its western coast and its eastern +frontier, the permanent conquest of Spain by the French would become +impossible. No one else saw beforehand, what Napoleon discovered too +late, that a war in Portugal and Spain would drain the life-blood of his +invincible hosts, and at length help towards the invasion of France +itself. No other general would have shown equal statesmanship in +managing Spanish juntas and controlling even Spanish guerillas, or equal +forbearance in sparing the French people the evils which a victorious +army might have inflicted upon them. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[42] Napier, _Peninsular War_ (3rd edition), i., 123. + +[43] For Moore's campaign see Napier, _Peninsular War_, i., pp. +xxi.-xxv., lvii.-lxxvi., 330-44, 431-542, and Oman, _Peninsular War_, +i., 486-602; and compare Moore's _Diary_, edited by Maurice, ii., +272-398. Sir F. Maurice has not completely answered Professor Oman's +criticisms. + +[44] Wellington, _Dispatches_, iv., 261-63 (March 7, 1809). + +[45] For the exact figures see Oman, _Peninsular War_, ii., 645-48. + +[46] Wellington, _Dispatches_, iv., 536 (July 29, 1809). + +[47] For Massena's lines of march see T. J. Andrews in _English +Historical Review_, xvi. (1901), 474-92. + +[48] The battle is picturesquely described by Napier, _Peninsular War_, +iii., 536-66. See also _ibid._, pp. xxxv.-li. + +[49] Wellington, _Supplementary Dispatches_, vii., 318-19. + +[50] Napier, _Peninsular War_ (first edition), v., 513. + +[51] Wellington, _Dispatches_, x., 473 (June 29, 1813). + +[52] _Ibid._, x., 519 (July 9, 1813). + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON. + + +The war between France and Russia, publicly threatened in August, +1811,[53] was long deferred. On Russia's part the adherence to a +defensive policy delayed action until France was ready. But there was +another reason why the preparations for war were only slowly pushed +forward. Even at the court of St. Petersburg there was a French party +which retarded such preparations as committing Russia too definitely to +an open rupture. On the part of France, also, delay was necessary. +Though deliberately provoked by himself, the war was not altogether +welcome to Napoleon. It suited him best to have a strong but friendly +neighbour in Russia, and victory promised him but the half-hearted +friendship of a power to which he could no longer dare to leave much +strength. Besides it was necessary to make far more extensive +preparations than had been required for any of his previous campaigns. +Russia was too poor and too thinly peopled for it to be possible for war +to support itself, and immense supplies with correspondingly large +transport arrangements were needed for a large army which would have to +fight at so vast a distance from its base. It would have been impossible +to be ready in time for a summer campaign in 1811; the country was not +favourable to transport on a large scale during winter, and the war was +therefore postponed till the summer of 1812. The end of May or beginning +of June was the date originally selected for the beginning of +operations, as it was expected that the difficulty of providing fodder +would be greatly reduced when the grass had grown. But the preparations +were not sufficiently advanced by that date, and hostilities were only +opened on June 24. + +The interval was spent by both powers in securing allies and pacifying +enemies. Early in the year 1812 Prussia had made a last attempt to avert +a French alliance by inviting Russia to join in a peaceful compromise. +After the failure of this negotiation her position was helpless, and +resembled that of Poland before its national extinction. Russia could +not become her active ally without exposing her own army to destruction +at a second Friedland, and Prussia could not fight France alone. +Frederick William, therefore, accepted the terms dictated by Napoleon. +By a treaty concluded on February 24 he agreed to supply the emperor +with 20,000 men to serve as a part of the French army, and was to raise +no levies and give no orders without his consent. The king was also to +afford a free passage and provide food and forage for the French troops, +payment for which was to be arranged afterwards. In return for this a +reduction was made in the war indemnity due to France. This was probably +as much as Napoleon could have obtained without authorising a dangerous +increase in the Prussian army. + +[Pageheading: _RUSSIAN ALLIANCES._] + +Austria was more fortunate, because an Austrian war would have been a +serious diversion, not a step towards the invasion of Russia. She was in +consequence able to impose her own terms on France. These terms, so far +as the nature and extent of the Austrian assistance to France were +concerned, had been sketched by Metternich to the British agent, Nugent, +as far back as November, 1811, and they were accepted by France in a +treaty of March 16, 1812.[54] Austria was to provide an army of 30,000 +men to guard Napoleon's flank in Volhynia. In return France guaranteed +the integrity of Turkey, and secretly promised a restoration of the +Illyrian provinces to Austria in exchange for Galicia, which was to form +a part of a reconstituted Poland. Elsewhere Napoleon's negotiations were +unsuccessful. In January he fulfilled his threat of occupying Swedish +Pomerania, but it had no effect on Swedish policy, and when in March he +offered Finland and a part of Norway as the price of an alliance, his +terms were rejected and Sweden allied herself with Russia. On April 17 +Napoleon made overtures for peace with Great Britain, offering to +evacuate Spain and to recognise the house of Braganza in Portugal and +the Bourbons in Sicily, if the British would recognise the "actual +dynasty" in Spain and Murat in Naples. The offer was certainly illusory. +"Actual dynasty" was an ambiguous phrase, but would naturally mean the +Bonapartes. Castlereagh declined to recognise Joseph, but declared his +readiness to discuss the proposed basis if "actual dynasty" meant a +recognition of Ferdinand VII. in Spain. Napoleon was enabled to say that +his offers of peace had been rejected, and made no answer to +Castlereagh. + +Russia in her turn had to conciliate the Porte, Sweden, Persia, and +Great Britain. The Turkish negotiations were prolonged, and it was only +in May that the treaty of Bucharest was signed, by which Russia gave up +all her conquests except Bessarabia. Sweden had offered Russia her +alliance in February. She was prepared to surrender Finland to Russia on +condition that Russia should assist her in the conquest of Norway. A +joint army was to effect this conquest and then make a descent on North +Germany, threatening the rear of the French army of invasion. The +adhesion of Great Britain was to be invited. On April 5 an alliance +between Russia and Sweden was signed on the terms suggested. This was +followed on August 28 by the treaty of Abo, which was signed in the +presence of the British representative, Lord Cathcart. By this treaty +Russia was to assist Sweden with 30,000 men and a loan, Sweden undertook +to support Russia's claim, when it should be made, for an extension of +her frontier to the Vistula. Shortly afterwards it was agreed to +postpone the attack on Norway till the following year, and thus at +length the Russian army in Finland was set free. The treaties with the +Porte and Sweden were too late to liberate troops to oppose Napoleon's +advance, but the troops thus liberated greatly endangered his retreat. +With Persia no peace could be made. Great Britain was still nominally at +war both with Russia and with Sweden. Negotiations with Russia in April +came to nothing because the British government refused to take over a +loan of L4,000,000, but on July 18 a treaty of alliance between the +three powers was signed, in which Great Britain promised pecuniary aid +to Russia. A further sign of friendship was given when the tsar handed +over the Cronstadt fleet for safekeeping to the British. The formal +treaty was, however, only the public recognition of a friendship and +mutual confidence which had begun with the breach between Russia and +France. This good understanding was shared by the nominal allies of +France, Prussia and Austria. Russia was fully informed of the military +and political plans of Austria, and knew that her forces would not fight +except under compulsion. + +At last, on June 24, Napoleon's grand army began the passage of the +Niemen, which formed the boundary between the duchy of Warsaw and the +Russian empire. The main body, at least 300,000 strong, was commanded by +Napoleon himself. A northern division, including the Prussian +contingent, was commanded by Macdonald, and, after advancing to Riga, +which it pretended to besiege, remained idle throughout the campaign. +The Austrians, under Schwarzenberg, formed a southern division, but they +merely manoeuvred, and made no serious attempts to impede the +movements of the southern Russian army on its return journey from the +war on the Danube. Napoleon himself drove the main Russian armies before +him in the direction of Moscow. At last Kutuzov, who had taken over the +command of the Russians in the course of the retreat, made a stand at +Borodino, where on September 7 one of the bloodiest battles on record +was fought. The figures are variously given, but the French army +probably lost over 30,000 in killed and wounded out of a force of +125,000; and the Russians lost not less than 40,000 out of an army of +slightly smaller dimensions. This awful carnage ended, after all, in +little more than a trial of strength. The French gained the ground, but +the Russians made good their retreat, and six days later Kutuzov retired +through the streets of Moscow, taking the better part of the population +and all the military stores with him. The French vanguard entered on the +14th, and Napoleon himself next day. A fire, kindled either by accident +or by Russian incendiaries, raged from the 14th to the 20th and +destroyed three-fourths of the city. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON'S RETREAT FROM MOSCOW._] + +The capture of Moscow was far from being the triumph that the French +emperor had anticipated. Deceived by his recollections of Tilsit, he had +fully counted upon receiving pacific overtures from Alexander or at +least upon his eager acceptance of conciliatory assurances from himself. +But as the weeks passed and the vision of negotiation with the Russians +proved illusory, retreat became inevitable. On the night of October 18 +the French army, now about 115,000 strong, evacuated Moscow. Kutuzov, +who was stronger in cavalry, though perhaps still weaker in infantry, +hung upon its rear, and, while avoiding a pitched battle, was able to +prevent Napoleon from retreating by any other route than the now +devastated line of his advance. It has often been questioned whether +Kutuzov did not deliberately refrain from destroying the French army. He +certainly informed Sir Robert Wilson on one occasion that he did not +wish to drive Napoleon to extremities, lest his supremacy should go to +the power that ruled the sea. The remark may have been nothing more than +an outburst of ill-temper, but, whatever the motive, there can be no +doubt as to the policy adopted. The retreating French army suffered +terrible hardships from the cold, for which it was ill prepared. Twice +it seemed on the point of falling into the hands of the Russians; at +Krasnoe 26,000 prisoners are said to have been captured by Kutuzov's +army, while at Borisov the southern army under Chichagov and the army +returning from Finland under Wittgenstein joined hands, and disputed the +French passage of the Berezina on November 26-29. According to +Chambray's calculation, the French army numbered 31,000 combatants +before the passage, of whom but 9,000 remained on December 1. All the +non-combatants had been left in the hands of the enemy. + +This was the last direct attack made by the Russians on the relics of +the grand army. But the worst ravages of the Russian winter had yet to +come. On December 3 the cold became intense. As the survivors of the +expedition dragged themselves homewards through the Polish provinces, +they were met by large bodies of reinforcements pouring in from the +west; these recruits, comparatively fresh, were at first appalled by the +gaunt and famine-stricken aspect of the returning veterans, but soon +perished themselves in nearly equal numbers. It is estimated that +altogether only 60,000 men recrossed the frontier out of a total of +630,000, and in the estimate of 60,000 is included Macdonald's division, +which was exposed to comparatively little hardship. That division with +the Prussian contingent began to fall back on December 19. On the 30th, +however, the Prussians were reduced to neutrality by the convention of +Tauroggen, signed by the Prussian commander, Yorck, with the Russians, +without the sanction of his government. Had Russia been in a condition +to press onwards at once and carry the war into French territory, it is +possible that Europe might have been spared the misery and bloodshed of +the next few years. But, for the moment, her strength and resources were +exhausted, nor was it until months had elapsed that other nations, or +even France herself, became aware of the magnitude of the catastrophe +which had overtaken Napoleon's host. That he was able to rally himself +after it, to carry the French people with him, to enforce a new +conscription, and to assume the aggressive in the campaign of 1813, must +ever remain a supreme proof of his capacity for empire. + +[Pageheading: _DISPUTES WITH THE UNITED STATES._] + +In the year 1812 war broke out between Great Britain and the United +States. For a time the continental warfare had led to a great increase +in American commerce, which was free from the attacks of privateers and +from the restrictions which the opposing parties placed on one another. +Presently, however, both parties attempted to force the United States +into a virtual alliance with themselves. Orders in council on the one +side and imperial decrees on the other had, as we have seen, declared a +blockade of the ports of the continent of Europe and of Great Britain, +and the United States saw their commerce threatened with disabilities +approximating to those suffered by the belligerent powers. President +Jefferson, who was supported by the republican party, adhered to a +policy of strict neutrality, and prepared to suffer any commercial loss +rather than be drawn into an European war. The only action which he took +was the defence of the river mouths with a view to resisting any +offensive movement. The federalist party on the other hand were in +favour of energetic action against France, so as to secure English +favour and the great commercial privileges which the mistress of the +seas could bestow. For a time no hostilities resulted, but constant +irritation was caused by the British claim to a right of search and to +the impressment of sailors of British nationality found on American +ships, while American ships accused of infringing the blockade were +seized by either of the European combatants. To some extent the +differences between Great Britain and the United States depended on +rival views of the law of allegiance. The British maintained the +doctrine _nemo potest exuere patriam_, and regarded all British-born +persons, unless absolved from their allegiance by the act of the +mother-country, as British subjects. The law of the United States, on +the other hand, permitted an alien to become a citizen after fourteen +years' residence, and previously to 1798 had required a residence of +five years only. In this way it often happened that sailors who had +received the American citizenship were impressed for service on British +ships, and sometimes sailors of actual American birth were impressed. +But it was impossible to justify the practice to which the Americans +resorted of receiving deserters of British nationality from British +ships of war, who were induced by offers of higher pay to transfer +themselves to the American service. + +Jefferson at first preferred to coerce the European powers by +retaliatory legislation. As early as April, 1806, a law had been passed +forbidding the importation of certain British wares, but was suspended +six weeks after it came into operation. In June, 1807, irritation was +intensified by the incident of the _Leopard_ and the _Chesapeake_. Five +men, four of whom were British born and one an American by birth, were +known to have deserted from the British sloop _Halifax_, lying in +Hampton roads, and to have taken service on an American frigate, the +_Chesapeake_. After application for their surrender had been made in +vain to the magistrates of the town of Norfolk, where the _Chesapeake's_ +rendezvous was, and to the officer commanding the rendezvous, +Vice-admiral Berkeley sent his flagship, the _Leopard_, carrying fifty +guns, with an order to the British captains on the North American +station to search the _Chesapeake_ for deserters from six ships named, +including the _Halifax_, in case she should be encountered on the high +seas. The _Leopard_ arrived in Chesapeake bay in time to follow the +_Chesapeake_ beyond American waters, and then made a demand to search +for deserters. On the captain of the _Chesapeake_ refusing compliance, +the _Leopard_ opened fire. The _Chesapeake_ was not in a condition to +make any effectual reply, and, after receiving three broadsides, struck +her flag. Only one of the deserters from the _Halifax_, an Englishman, +was found on the _Chesapeake_; but three deserters from the British +warship _Melampus_, which had not been named in Berkeley's order, all +Americans by birth, were removed from the _Chesapeake_, which was now +permitted to return to port.[55] Although the British government offered +reparation for this action, recalled Berkeley, and disavowed the right +to search ships of war for deserters, the incident could not fail to +make a bad impression on American opinion. + +But still Jefferson adhered to a policy of pacific coercion. In +December, 1807, the act of April, 1806, was again put into force, and an +embargo act, passed by the American congress, now cut off all foreign +countries from trade with the United States. But the policy of embargo +was disastrous to its promoters. It ruined the commerce and emptied the +treasury of the United States. On March 1, 1809, a non-intercourse act, +applying only to France, Great Britain, and their dependencies, was +substituted for the embargo act.[56] The new act enabled the president +to remove the embargo against whichever country should cancel its orders +or decrees against American trade. Three days later Jefferson was +succeeded by Madison as President of the United States. The change made +no difference to the policy of the United States government. But the +opposition was now much stronger and more violent than formerly; so much +so that Sir James Craig, the Canadian governor, actually despatched a +spy, John Henry, to sound the willingness of New England, where the +federalist party was the stronger, to secede from the union and join +Great Britain against the United States. This venture becomes the less +surprising when we observe that in the previous year, 1808, John Quincy +Adams, the future president, had predicted such a secession. Nothing, +however, came of the attempt. Madison attempted to obtain concessions +from the British government, but while the Perceval ministry lasted he +met with no success. In May, 1810, the non-intercourse act expired, but +a proviso was enacted that, if before March 3, 1811, either Great +Britain or France should cancel her decrees against American trade the +act should, three months after such revocation, revive against the power +that maintained its decrees. Madison was cajoled into believing that +Napoleon had recalled his decrees on November 1, 1810, and the +non-intercourse act was accordingly revived against Great Britain and +her dependencies in February, 1811. + +[Pageheading: _WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES._] + +Almost the first act of the Liverpool administration was to cancel the +restrictions on American trade. But it was too late. Five days earlier +the United States had declared war against Great Britain on June 18, +1812. The explanation of this step must be sought in the party politics +of the United States. While the federalists courted British alliance, +the younger members of the republican party had conceived a hope of +conquering Canada as a result of a victorious war against Great Britain. +This was the reply of the national party in the United States to the +action of the Canadian governor. Madison knew the impracticability of +such a step, but, finding that he could only carry the presidential +election of 1812 with the support of this section of his party, he +declared war. Great Britain, with her best troops in the Peninsula, was +in no condition to use her full strength in America, but the United +States were entirely unprepared for war. Their treasury was still empty, +and their army and navy were small, while Canada generally was contented +and loyal to the British crown. Upper Canada was full of loyalists, who +had been expelled from the revolted colonies, and who with their +descendants hated the men that had driven them from their homes; lower +Canada was half-French and had nothing in common with the United States, +while the Roman catholic clergy threw the whole weight of their +influence on the British side. General Hull, who commanded the forces +employed against Canada, succeeded in crossing the river Detroit in July +and threatened the British post of Malden. But an alliance with the +Indians enabled the British first to possess themselves of Mackinac, at +the junction of lakes Huron and Michigan, and afterwards to imperil +Hull's communications through the Michigan territory. + +Hull accordingly fell back on Detroit. The British, with 750 men under +Major-General Brock, together with 600 Indians, now prepared to attack +Hull at that place. Hull, who believed his retreat to be cut off by the +Indians, did not await the British attack, but surrendered on August 16 +with 2,500 men and thirty-three guns. The effect of the capitulation was +to place the British in effectual possession, not merely of Detroit, but +of the territory of Michigan, and thus to render any attack on Canada +from that quarter extremely difficult. The advantages gained by the +British through this success were unfortunately neutralised by the +policy pursued by Sir George Prevost, who had succeeded Craig as +governor of Canada. Prevost was of opinion that, when the news of the +withdrawal of the orders in council reached Washington, the United +States government would be ready to abandon hostilities; and he +accordingly concluded a provisional armistice with General Dearborn, the +commander-in-chief of the enemy's forces in the northern states. But +President Madison, having engaged in war, was anxious to try the effect +of another attack on Canada before negotiating for peace, and therefore +declined to ratify the armistice. The interval enabled the United States +to bring up reinforcements, but their new army failed in an attack on a +British post on the Maumee river. + +Meanwhile a second attempt was made to invade Upper Canada, this time +from the side of Niagara. On October 13, Brigadier-General Wadsworth, +acting under the orders of General Van Rensselaer, led an attack on the +British position of Queenstown on the Canadian bank of the Niagara +river. Brock commanded the defence, but was killed early in the fight. +The position was momentarily seized by the enemy, but was presently +recaptured by the British, who had in the meantime been reinforced by +Major-General Sheaffe, the son of a loyalist, with a force from Fort +George, and before the day closed Wadsworth found himself compelled to +surrender with 900 men. The remainder of the enemy's forces, consisting +of militia, rather than exceed their military obligations by crossing +the frontier, chose to leave these men to their fate. In spite of the +ignominious surrenders with which the first two expeditions against +Canada had terminated, a third attempt was made by Brigadier-General +Smyth to force the Canadian frontier; but on November 28 he was repulsed +with loss by the British under Bishopp between Chippewa and Fort Erie, +above the Niagara Falls, and at the end of the year the Canadian +frontier still remained unpierced. + +[Pageheading: _AMERICAN SUCCESSES AT SEA._] + +The glory of the British military successes was unfortunately obscured +in large measure by American successes on the sea. The maritime war +resolved itself into a series of fights between individual frigates. +This was the necessary result of the nature of the British force kept in +American waters. Ever since the renewal of hostilities with France in +1803 a species of blockade had been maintained along the coast of the +United States by British vessels on the watch for deserters or +contraband of war. It was also found necessary to employ ships of war +to guard against pirates in the West Indies and to protect British +commerce in that quarter against French privateers. For all these +purposes speed was of more importance than strength, and the British +force in the west contained a disproportionate number of smaller vessels +as compared with line of battle ships. The actual numbers of British +warships in North American waters at the beginning of 1812 were three +ships of the line, twenty-one cruisers and frigates, and fifty-three +small craft. The United States navy was still weaker, and amounted +merely to seven efficient frigates and nine small craft.[57] There was +no question of a contest between fleets, and though the numbers of the +British warships enabled them to destroy American trade, they were ship +for ship inferior to the American frigates, which were thus enabled to +win an empty glory in single-ship encounters. The American frigates +were, in fact, superior in every respect to the British ships which +nominally belonged to the same class. They were larger and more strongly +built, a frigate being as strong as a British seventy-four. Their crews +were more numerous, and were recruited entirely from seamen, about +one-third of whom would appear to have been of British nationality, +while, as has been seen, many of them had been decoyed from British +war-vessels by offers of higher pay. The British ships on the other hand +were manned largely by landsmen, often impressed from the jails. A false +economy had induced the British admiralty to impose narrow limits on the +use of ammunition for gunnery practice. The Americans on the other hand +were very liberal in this respect, with the result that in the early +years of the war they were greatly superior to their enemies in point of +marksmanship. + +A good example of the disproportion between the British and American +frigates is furnished by the fight between the British frigate +_Guerriere_ and the American frigate _Constitution_, on August 19, one +of the first naval actions in the war. The _Guerriere_ was armed with +twenty-four broadside guns, discharging projectiles with a total weight +of 517 pounds; the _Constitution_ with twenty-eight broadside guns, +discharging a weight of 768 pounds. The crew of the _Guerriere_, +counting men only, numbered 244, that of the _Constitution_ with a +similar limitation 460. Finally the _Guerriere's_ tonnage amounted to +1,092, as against the _Constitution's_ 1,533. The _Guerriere's_ guns +proved very ineffectual from the start, while the marksmanship, not only +of the American gunners but of the riflemen in the _Constitution's_ +tops, was the wonder of the British. It is stated that none of her shot +fell short. After a fight lasting nearly two hours the _Guerriere_ +surrendered. The ship was a complete wreck, and she had lost fifteen men +killed and six mortally wounded as against seven killed and three +mortally wounded on board her opponent. + +The effect of the engagement both on British and on American public +opinion was altogether out of proportion to its intrinsic importance. +The inequality in strength of the opposing frigates was not understood, +and any defeat of the mistress of the seas seemed an event of +considerable significance. The Americans soon met with other similar +successes. On October 18 their sloop _Wasp_, of eighteen guns, reduced +the British sloop _Frolic_, a weaker vessel, though of similar armament, +to a helpless hulk after a ten minutes' cannonade. The moral effect of +this victory was not impaired by the fact that the conqueror and her +prize were compelled to surrender a few hours later to the British +seventy-four _Poictiers_. On the 25th the _United States_, of forty-four +guns, captured the _Macedonian_, of thirty-eight, after three hours' +fighting, and on December 29 the British thirty-eight-gun frigate +_Java_, with a very inexperienced crew, was captured by the +_Constitution_ after a running fight of three hours and a half.[58] + +[Pageheading: _THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN OF 1813._] + +With the retreat of the French army from Russia the main scene of +operations on the continent was shifted from Russia to Germany. Great +Britain took little part in the actual warfare in Germany, and if she +had a larger share in the political negotiations which ultimately +determined the distribution of forces, still Austria and not Great +Britain was the power whose diplomacy had most effect on the course of +events. The upheaval of Europe against Napoleon, however, would have +been much less effective if it had not been supported by English +subsidies, and Austria, in the crippled state of her finances, would +probably have had to remain inactive if she had not been able to rely on +English gold and perhaps still more on English credit. + +The campaign of 1813 falls naturally into three parts. During the first, +from the beginning of January to the latter part of April the victorious +Russians swept over North Germany, and, carrying the Prussian monarchy +with them, strengthened a reaction which had already begun against the +rule of Napoleon. The second part began with the arrival of Napoleon on +the scene of action towards the end of April and lasted to the +conclusion of an armistice on June 4. In this period of seven or eight +weeks the allies were forced to retire at all points and the war was +carried into Prussian territory. The armistice, which terminated on +August 10, preceded the opening of the third part of the campaign in +which Russia and Prussia were joined by Austria and Sweden, and, after +gradually drawing closer round the main French position in Saxony, +finally inflicted a crushing defeat upon Napoleon at Leipzig in the +middle of October. The campaign was virtually over when Napoleon secured +his retreat by the victory of Hanau on October 30; but it is impossible +to sever it from the events outside Germany which were directly +occasioned by the downfall of Napoleon's German domination. These are +the revolt of Holland in November, that of Switzerland in December, and +the Austrian attack on Northern Italy in October and November. + +In the opening months of the campaign the movements were merely a sequel +to those of the previous year. The French retreat was continued from the +Niemen to the Vistula, the Elbe, and finally the Saale. The Russians +entered Prussia proper a few days after Yorck's capitulation, and the +French retired before them. Stein, the Prussian statesman who had +received a commission from Russia to administer the Prussian districts +occupied by her, ordered the provincial governor to convoke an assembly. +Although some indignation was felt at such a step being taken by Russian +orders, the assembly met and voted the formation of the Landwehr. In +this way Prussia actually began to arm against France, while the +Prussian government still professed to maintain the French alliance. A +few days later King Frederick William left Berlin, which was still +occupied by the French, for Breslau. Before the end of February he had +concluded the treaty of Kalisch with Russia, by which the two powers +were to conduct the war against France conjointly, and Russia was not to +lay down her arms till Prussia should be restored to a strength equal to +that which she had possessed in 1806. On March 2 Cathcart arrived at +Kalisch as British ambassador to the Russian court. He actively promoted +Russia's alliance with Prussia, from which Great Britain stood apart for +the present. He was able to obtain from Prussia a renunciation of her +claims on Hanover, but Frederick William was still opposed to any +increase of Hanoverian territory. On the 17th Prussia declared war on +France. By that time the Russians had entered both Berlin and Breslau, +and had freed Hamburg from French dominion, thus reopening Germany to +British commerce. The declaration of war by Prussia was accompanied by a +convention with Russia providing for the deliverance of Germany and the +dissolution of the confederation of the Rhine. This convention embodied +Stein's policy. It relied on popular support and it aimed at an unified +government, at least in the territories occupied at that date by +adherents of France. + +[Pageheading: _THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN OF 1813._] + +But the popular upheaval in Germany was confined to the kingdom of +Prussia, and the attempt to spread it elsewhere only provoked distrust +in Austria and the South German states; it was not until the +conservative elements in Germany were won over by Metternich's policy +that the anti-Napoleonic movement became truly national. For the present +Austria played the part of mediator. Lord Walpole, who had been sent on +a secret errand to Vienna in December, 1812, tried in vain to win +Austria to the side of the allies by promising the restoration of the +Tyrol, Illyria, and Venetia.[59] Her government would probably have +preferred a reconciliation with France, which would have arrested the +growth of Russia and left Germany divided, to a unified Germany such as +Stein desired; but Metternich, who directed her policy, cherished little +hope of the success of his endeavours, though he knew when to employ +agents more optimistic than himself. The Austrian treasury was empty, +and it therefore suited Austria to remain neutral as long as possible, +while in the event of a doubtful struggle this very neutrality would +raise the price of her ultimate alliance. It was in this way that she +came at last to exercise a decisive voice in the resettlement of +Germany, not to say of Europe. True to this policy, the Austrian court +concluded a truce of indefinite duration with Russia at the beginning of +the year, and withdrew its forces within its own borders. This was +followed by an offer of mediation made to France, which was, however, +declined. A renewed offer was declined early in April by both France and +Great Britain. The British still distrusted Austria, while France +desired to buy her active co-operation and made an offer of Silesia in +return for an army of 100,000, should Prussia or Russia open +hostilities. Austria did not, however, abandon her project, but notified +Prussia and Russia that she would proceed with the task of armed +mediation, and steadily busied herself with military preparations. + +The vigour of the Prussians in recruiting had surprised Napoleon, but +his own vigour was the marvel of Europe. In spite of the losses of the +Russian campaign, he was able to take the field at the end of April with +an army which at the lowest estimate was 200,000 strong. But his +soldiers were for the most part mere boys, and he was sadly deficient in +cavalry. The veterans of Austerlitz, of Jena, of Friedland, and of +Wagram had been recklessly sacrificed on the plains of Russia. He was +victorious at Luetzen on May 2, was joined by the King of Saxony, entered +Dresden, and thence pushed across the Elbe. On the 21st the victory of +Bautzen enabled him to advance to the Oder and occupy Breslau. A renewed +offer of Austrian mediation drew from him a declaration in favour of an +armistice and a diplomatic congress. On June 4 an armistice was actually +concluded at Poischwitz to last until August 1, and a neutral zone was +provided to separate the combatants. On June 7 the demands of Austria +were presented to Napoleon. They involved the renunciation by France of +all territorial possessions, and even of a protectorate in Germany, and +the restoration to Prussia and Austria of most of their lost provinces. +Napoleon refused these terms, but accepted the mediation of Austria, and +arranged for a congress which met at Prague in the middle of July. The +armistice was prolonged till August 10. Both France and Austria were +merely striving to gain time while they prepared for war, and there can +be no doubt that the allies profited most by the delay. During the +interval the news arrived of Wellington's great victory at Vitoria on +June 21, and Napoleon, recalled to Mainz, occupied himself in arranging +plans for the defence of the Pyrenees. + +During the armistice Prussia and Russia not only greatly reinforced +their troops, but received valuable assistance from Great Britain, +Sweden, and above all Austria. Already, on March 3, Great Britain had by +the treaty of Stockholm given her sanction to the seizure of the whole +of Norway by Sweden, after a vain attempt to induce Denmark to consent +to a peaceable cession of the diocese of Trondhjem. At the same time +Great Britain promised Guadeloupe as a personal gift to Bernadotte, and +a subsidy of L1,000,000 for the Swedish troops fighting against +Napoleon. A new treaty between Russia and Sweden on April 22 guaranteed +the cession of Norway. On June 14 and 15 Cathcart, having at last +obtained Prussia's consent to an increase in the territories of Hanover, +signed treaties at Reichenbach with Prussia and Russia, by which Great +Britain undertook to pay a subsidy of two-thirds of a million pounds to +the former and a million and a third to the latter power. It was also +agreed to issue federative paper notes to an extent not exceeding +L5,000,000 to pay the expenses of the armies of the two powers during +the year 1813, and Great Britain undertook the responsibility for +one-half of these notes. Soon afterwards Austria received a promise of a +loan of L500,000 as soon as she should join the allies. Half of this +last sum was actually paid within a few days of the resumption of +hostilities. + +[Pageheading: _DRESDEN AND LEIPZIG._] + +When the armistice expired, French forces were threatening Austria from +three sides--from Bavaria, Illyria, and Saxony; and Napoleon's intention +seems to have been to amuse the Austrian court with negotiations until +he could defeat the Prussian and Russian armies, after which he counted +upon overwhelming the Austrians with his entire force. The task of +defeating the Prussians was entrusted to his army in Saxony with which +Davout was expected to co-operate from Hamburg, retaken by the French on +May 30. Austria, however, declared war on France the moment the +armistice had elapsed, August 12, and the main army of the allies, +principally composed of Austrians with large Prussian and Russian +contingents, assembled in Bohemia. Napoleon was opposed in Silesia by an +army of Prussians and Russians, while Bernadotte, in command of a mixed +army, consisting mainly of Swedes, Prussians and Russians, but including +3,000 British troops and 25,000 Hanoverians under Walmoden, operated +against him from the north. These three armies were eventually able to +join hands, while Davout's army, the French armies in Italy and Illyria, +and 170,000 French troops in various German fortresses were unable to +render effective aid in the struggle. On August 26-27 Napoleon himself +won the last of his great victories at Dresden over the main army of the +allies, while his lieutenants were defeated by the northern army at +Grossbeeren on August 23, and again at Dennewitz on September 6, and by +the Silesian army at the Katzbach on August 26. The capitulation of +Vandamme at Kulm, with some 10,000 men, neutralised Napoleon's victory +at Dresden, and his enemies were increased by Austrian diplomacy. The +treaty of Teplitz, concluded on September 9, and accepted by Great +Britain on October 3, committed the allies to the complete independence +of the several German states. On the 10th Bavaria renounced the French +alliance, and on October 8, by the treaty of Ried, she engaged to join +the allies with 36,000 men, in return for a promise that she should +suffer no diminution of territory. On the 7th the northern and Silesian +armies had united west of the Elbe; Napoleon, who had quitted Dresden on +the 6th and vainly attempted to engage the separate northern army, +arrived at Leipzig on the 14th. But it was now too late. + +On the 16th the allied armies, which had concentrated on Leipzig, +compelled him to stand at bay, and to risk all upon the fortunes of a +single battle. This battle, lasting three days, was not only one of the +greatest but one of the most decisive recorded in modern history, for it +finally crippled the warlike power of Napoleon, and inevitably +determined the issue of the campaigns yet to be fought in 1814 and 1815. +It would appear that Napoleon had under his command about 250,000 men, +and that he lost at least 50,000 in killed and wounded on the field. The +allied forces were much larger numerically, and their losses fully +equalled those of the French. But their victory was crushing. One of its +immediate results was that Napoleon was forced to abandon Saxony, and +with it the French cause in Germany. The French garrisons were reduced +one by one. Of the fortresses east of the Rhine, Hamburg, Kehl, +Magdeburg, and Wesel alone held out until the conclusion of peace in +1814. The general rising of Central Europe against French domination +which followed the battle of Leipzig extended itself to Holland. The +French were expelled in the middle of November, and on December 2 the +Prince of Orange was proclaimed sovereign prince of the Netherlands. On +the 29th the Swiss diet voted the restoration of the old constitution. +The confederation of the Rhine was practically dissolved, but in Italy +Napoleon's viceroy, Eugene Beauharnais, after falling back before the +Austrian army, was able to hold the line of the Adige. On November 9 it +was decided to offer peace to Napoleon on condition of the surrender of +all French conquests beyond the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. These +terms represented the policy of Metternich. The Earl of Aberdeen +consented to them on behalf of Great Britain and Nesselrode on behalf of +Russia, but they were not accepted by Napoleon before the date by which +an answer was required, and the war proceeded. On December 31 the +Prussians under Bluecher crossed the Rhine near Coblenz and opened a new +campaign. + +[Pageheading: _AMERICAN SUCCESSES._] + +Meanwhile the war on the American continent was carried on with varying +success, though the balance of fortune was rather on the side of the +United States. The operations were in the main of a desultory character, +no permanent conquests being made. The first engagement in the year 1813 +was at Frenchtown on the Raisin River in Michigan, where Colonel +Proctor, commanding 500 regulars and militia, and 600 Indians, defeated +an American force of 1,000 under Brigadier-General Winchester, and took +500 prisoners, while many of the remaining Americans fell into the hands +of the Indians. The immediate effect of this victory was that General +Harrison, who was leading an American force of 2,000 men against +Detroit, determined to retrace his steps. Three months later Proctor +made a descent upon an American position on the Maumee River in the +north of the State of Ohio. After besieging the enemy for a few days he +was compelled to retire, but, before he left, an engagement took place +on May 5, in which the British forces, with a total loss of less than +100, inflicted severe losses on their opponents and made about 500 +prisoners. A subsequent attempt to capture Fort Sandusky, near the head +of Lake Erie, was repulsed on August 2; ninety out of 350 British troops +were returned as killed, wounded or missing. + +The British had hitherto commanded the lakes, but Commodore Perry now +occupied himself in building a fleet at Presqu'isle in Pennsylvania on +the coast of Lake Erie. Commander Barclay, in command of such ships as +the British possessed, was badly supported and encountered the same +difficulties in obtaining seamen as had been experienced for the +sea-going ships. The ships in the service of the United States were in +consequence again the more powerful and the better manned. On September +10 the two squadrons engaged. The British had six vessels with a +broadside of 459 lb., while the enemy had nine vessels with a broadside +of 928 lb. With such odds the result could not be doubtful, and the +whole British squadron was compelled to surrender. This success enabled +the enemy to strike with effect at the south-western end of Lower +Canada. The British immediately evacuated the whole territory of +Michigan with the exception of Mackinac; and Proctor, now raised to the +rank of major-general, commenced a retreat in the direction of Lake +Ontario. On October 5 he was attacked at Moraviantown on the Thames by +Harrison, and the greater part of his forces were captured in an +engagement which reflected small credit on British generalship. The +remainder of his forces reached Burlington Heights, at the west end of +Lake Ontario, but the whole country to the west of the Grand River had +to be abandoned to the enemy. + +On Lake Ontario the fortune of war was more equally divided. The +Americans had been gradually collecting a naval squadron at Sackett's +Harbour and had gained command of the lake as early as November, 1812. +The command was, however, precarious, since it might be disturbed by the +arrival or construction of new warships. One such was building at York, +now known as Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada, when, on April 27, +1813, the American squadron under Commodore Chauncey attacked the town +and succeeded in landing a detachment of troops under General Dearborn. +The British general, Sheaffe, withdrew his regular forces from the town +without awaiting an assault, but not before he had destroyed the ship of +which the enemy were in quest. The Americans captured some naval stores, +but did not attempt to hold the town; they set an evil precedent, +however, by burning the parliament house and other public buildings +before evacuating the place. On May 27 Chauncey co-operated again with +Dearborn in an attack on Fort George, the capture of which threw the +whole line of the Niagara into American hands. On the same day Prevost, +whose naval strength had been reinforced, availing himself of Chauncey's +absence, made an attack on Sackett's Harbour. The attack, which was +renewed on the 29th, was miserably conducted, and ended in failure, +though the Americans were compelled to burn the naval stores captured at +York. The reinforcements had, however, transferred to the British the +command of the lake, which was not challenged again till the end of +July. Meanwhile their land forces were not idle. On June 6 the Americans +were surprised by Colonel Vincent at Burlington Heights and over 100 +prisoners, including two brigadier-generals, were taken. This defeat, +combined with the approach of the British naval squadron under Sir James +Yeo, induced Dearborn to abandon his other posts on the Canadian side of +the Niagara and to concentrate at Fort George, but on the 24th another +surprise ended in the surrender of a detachment of more than 500 +Americans to a force of fifty British troops and 240 Indians. By the end +of July Chauncey's squadron was once more strong enough to put to sea. +It raided York on the 31st, but did not venture to join battle with Yeo; +though a skirmish on August 10 enabled Yeo to capture two schooners. + +Meanwhile on the frontier of Lower Canada the British were everywhere +successful. On June 3 two American sloops attacked the British garrison +of Isle-aux-noix at the north end of Lake Champlain. Both ships were +compelled to surrender. On August 1 a British force raided Plattsburg +and destroyed the barracks and military stores. A combined movement on +Montreal was now made by the forces of the United States; it was mainly +owing to the loyalty of the French Canadians that they were repulsed. +General Hampton advancing from the south with a force 7,000 strong was +defeated at the river Chateauguay on October 26, by 900 men belonging to +the Canadian militia, commanded by Colonel McDonnell and Colonel de +Salaberry. The defeated general withdrew his troops into winter quarters +at Plattsburg. Not long after, on December 7, the American general +Wilkinson who had sailed down the St. Lawrence to Prescott and was +marching towards Cornwall, was defeated with heavy loss by Colonel +Morrison at Chrystler's Farm, and made no further attempt on Canada. In +the same month General McClure, who commanded at Fort George, retired to +the eastern bank of the Niagara before Colonel Murray's advance. His +retreat was disgraced by the burning of the town of Newark, where women +and children were turned homeless into the cold of a Canadian winter. At +the same time the American forces were withdrawn from south-western +Canada but still retained Amherstburg at the head of Lake Erie, the sole +conquest of the campaign. + +[Pageheading: _NAVAL WARFARE._] + +The naval warfare of 1813 was less rich in individual encounters than +that of 1812. The British captains were better acquainted with the +strength of the American ships and did not rashly engage vessels +stronger than their own. There was also a marked improvement in British +gunnery, and an increase in the strength of the British naval force in +American waters. At first the blockade of the American coast had not +been strictly maintained further south than New York, but as +reinforcements arrived it was made more complete, and after June of this +year it was only occasionally that any warship or privateer contrived to +elude the blockading vessels. Meanwhile the British constantly raided +and harassed the American coast, and had no difficulty in availing +themselves of the Chesapeake and Delaware estuaries as naval bases. A +new feature of this year's warfare was the appearance of American +cruisers, especially privateers, in British waters, and even in the St. +George's Channel. To such ships the French ports were a very serviceable +naval base. The Americans would appear to have captured more of British +commerce than the British captured of theirs, but this was no +compensation for the almost complete cessation of their foreign trade. +Of single ship actions the destruction of the British _Peacock_ by the +American _Hornet_, commanded by Captain Lawrence, on February 24, the +capture of the American _Argus_ by the British _Pelican_ not far from +the Welsh coast on August 14, and the famous duel between the +_Chesapeake_ and the _Shannon_ on June 1 were the most important. + +The British frigate _Shannon_ (38) was commanded by Captain Broke, who +was famous not merely for the attention he paid to gun practice, but for +the care he had bestowed on the laying of his ship's ordnance. Ever +since the beginning of April the frigates _Shannon_ and _Tenedos_ (38) +had been lying off Boston, where they hoped to intercept any American +frigate that dared to leave the harbour. Two succeeded in eluding them. +The _Chesapeake_ frigate (36) commanded by Lawrence, lay in the harbour; +and Broke, having detached the _Tenedos_ in order to tempt her out, sent +a challenge to Lawrence on the morning of June 1, but before it could be +delivered the _Chesapeake_ had sailed. She steered for the _Shannon_, +who waited for her. The fight began at 5.50 P.M. about six leagues out +from Boston; it was brief and bloody. After ten minutes' firing the +_Chesapeake_ fell on board the _Shannon_, and was immediately boarded. +In four minutes more every man on board had surrendered. In this short +fight the _Shannon_ had lost out of a crew of 352 twenty-four killed and +fifty-nine wounded, two of the latter mortally, while the _Chesapeake_, +according to American official figures, had lost out of 386 forty-seven +killed and ninety-nine wounded (fourteen of the latter mortally). No +fewer than thirty-two British deserters were found on board the +_Chesapeake_. The victory made the best possible impression. The two +ships had been of approximately equal strength, the American having a +slight superiority of force, and the _Chesapeake_ had been captured in +the way in which most turns on individual courage, by boarding. Both +captains had distinguished themselves in the fight, and both were +severely wounded, Lawrence, as the event proved, fatally. + +[Pageheading: _CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE._] + +The abandonment of Germany by the French at the close of 1813 left the +outlying provinces and allies of France exposed to invasion. The +Austrian general, Nugent, aided by British naval and military forces, +captured Trieste on October 31. Dalmatia had been invaded by the +Montenegrins as early as September, 1813, and was afterwards attacked by +Austrians and British marines, but the town of Cattaro held out till it +was taken by the British in January, 1814. On the 14th of the same +month Denmark was compelled by the treaty of Kiel to cede Norway to +Sweden in exchange for Swedish Pomerania and Ruegen, Sweden undertaking +to assist Denmark in procuring a fuller equivalent for Norway at the +conclusion of a general peace. A treaty signed between Denmark and Great +Britain at the same time and place provided for the restitution to +Denmark of all British conquests, with the exception of Heligoland, +while Denmark undertook to do all in her power for the abolition of the +slave trade. The people of Norway and their governor, Prince Christian +of Denmark, refused to submit to the transference of their allegiance, +and on February 19 the independence of Norway was proclaimed. At first +the Swedish government attempted to obtain the submission of Norway by +negotiation only, but so important a diversion of her interest and +energies was sufficient to prevent Sweden from joining in the new +campaign against France. In Italy on January 11 Napoleon's +brother-in-law, Murat, whom he had made King of Naples in 1808, formed +an alliance with Austria. The treaty was never confirmed by Great +Britain, but the British government subsequently consented to support +Murat, if he should loyally exert himself in Italy against Napoleon's +forces. Although Murat did actually engage in hostilities against the +French, the British were far from satisfied with his operations and +considered that his remissness left them a free hand. Accordingly on +March 9 a British fleet entered the port of Leghorn and landed 8,000 +men, of whom Lord William Bentinck took command. From Leghorn he marched +upon Genoa which surrendered to him on April 18. + +Meanwhile the main forces of the allies were concentrated for a campaign +against Napoleon in Champagne. Of the three armies which had combined at +Leipzig the Austro-Russian army under Schwarzenberg made its way through +Switzerland, Alsace, and Franche-Comte, while Bluecher's army of +Prussians and Russians passed through the region which afterwards became +the Rhine province and Lorraine. The two armies united in the +neighbourhood of Brienne in Champagne. Bernadotte's army did not as a +whole take part in the campaign; but a portion of it, consisting of +Russians under Wittgenstein and Prussians under Buelow, was engaged in +the conquest of Belgium and was able to invade France itself later in +the year. Schwarzenberg's army was accompanied by the Emperors of +Russia and Austria, the King of Prussia, and the leading European +diplomatists, including Castlereagh. From the outset there was a marked +difference between the Austrian and Russian policies. Metternich was +content with reducing France to the natural frontiers already offered to +her, and aimed merely at compelling Napoleon to recognise the _fait +accompli_ in Germany, and to evacuate Italy and Spain. He was therefore +in favour of slow advances and of giving Napoleon every opportunity for +coming to terms. The tsar, on the other hand, wished to reduce France to +her ancient limits, and was anxious to enter Paris as a conqueror. He +also excited Austrian jealousy by his scheme of annexing what had been +Prussian Poland, and compensating Prussia with Saxony. Castlereagh and +the Prussian minister, Hardenberg, supported the tsar's policy towards +France, but without sharing his ardour. + +On the first arrival of the allies in Champagne the tsar had only +induced Metternich to advance by threatening to prosecute the war alone. +After they had gained what appeared to be a decisive victory over +Napoleon at La Rothiere on February 1, negotiations were commenced at +Chatillon. Napoleon insisted on continuing the war during the +negotiations and interposed every possible delay. The allies first +demanded that France should recede within the limits of 1791 and offered +a partial restoration of French colonies, but refused to specify the +colonies which they were willing to relinquish until France should +accept the first condition. To this the French demurred, and on the 9th +the tsar impetuously withdrew his minister. From the 10th to the 14th +Napoleon inflicted a series of crushing blows upon Bluecher's army. +Negotiations were now resumed; they lasted till the middle of March, but +as Napoleon would not surrender his claim to Belgium and the Rhine +provinces they were fruitless, notwithstanding the pacific efforts of +Caulaincourt, the French negotiator. On the 21st Napoleon tried in vain +to detach Austria from the allies by a private letter to the Emperor +Francis, and on March 1 a permanent basis was given to the alliance by +the treaty of Chaumont (definitely signed on the 9th), by which the four +allied powers bound themselves to conclude no separate peace, and not to +lay down their arms till the object of the war should have been obtained +by the restriction of France to her ancient frontiers. Each power was +to maintain 150,000 men regularly in the field, and Great Britain was to +pay the three other powers a subsidy of L5,000,000 for the current year +and a like sum for every subsequent year of warfare. The signatory +powers were to maintain their present concert and armaments for twenty +years if necessary. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON'S FIRST ABDICATION._] + +After this treaty on March 4 Bluecher united with Wittgenstein and Buelow +near Soissons. On the 20th Napoleon was repulsed by Schwarzenberg's army +at Arcis-sur-Aube, after which he attempted to cut off its +communications by a movement to its rear. In consequence of this +movement the allied armies advanced on Paris, while the Austrian emperor +fled to Dijon taking Castlereagh and Metternich with him.[60] This left +the war to be concluded under the influence of the most vigorous of the +allied sovereigns, the Tsar of Russia. Paris capitulated on the 30th and +on the next day was occupied by the allies. The tsar now issued "on +behalf of all the allied powers" a proclamation in which he declared +that they would not treat with Napoleon or his family, but were willing +to respect the integrity of France, and to guarantee the constitution +that the French people should adopt. This prepared the way for a +reaction against Napoleon in France. A provisional government was formed +on April 1; on the 3rd the French senate proclaimed the deposition of +Napoleon, and on the 6th it published a constitution, and recalled the +Bourbons in the person of Louis XVIII., the younger brother of Louis +XVI. On the same day Napoleon signed an unconditional abdication at +Fontainebleau. On the 11th a treaty was signed between Napoleon and the +sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, by which he renounced all +claim to the crowns of France and Italy, and was assigned the Isle of +Elba as an independent principality and a place of residence, together +with a liberal revenue charged on the French treasury, which, however, +was never paid. The duchy of Parma was secured to the Empress Maria +Louisa and was to descend to her son. The treaty was afterwards +confirmed by Great Britain, with the exception of the clauses providing +revenues for the fallen emperor and his family. The promise of Elba had +been made by the tsar in the absence of Castlereagh and Metternich. It +was vigorously opposed by Castlereagh's half-brother, Sir Charles +Stewart, but the tsar considered his honour bound to it, and Napoleon +sailed from Frejus for Elba on the 28th. + +In America the war was conducted with more vigour in 1814 than in +previous years, but with equally small effect on either side. In March +the American general, Wilkinson, advancing from Lake Champlain, was +repulsed by a small British garrison at La Colle Mill. In July an +American army under Brown invaded Upper Canada across the river Niagara. +It was attacked by General Riall, near Chippewa, on the 5th, but it +repelled the attack and occupied that place. Brown was, however, checked +by British regulars and Canadian militia under Sir Gordon Drummond at +Lundy's Lane, near Niagara Falls, on the 25th. Both sides claim the +victory, but on the reinforcement of the British troops Brown abandoned +the invasion. After the close of the Peninsular war some of the best +regiments of the Peninsular army, numbering about 14,000 men, were sent +to America. But they were not commanded by any of the generals who had +made their names illustrious in that war, and did not effect so much as +had been expected. On August 19 and 20 General Ross landed with 5,000 +men at the mouth of the Patuxent in Chesapeake Bay. On the 24th he +defeated a large body of militia under General Winder at Bladensburg, +and occupied Washington, where he burned all the public buildings. +However deplorable such an act may seem, it is well to note that it was +a fair and even merciful reprisal after the action of the Americans at +York and Newark. Ross did not attempt to retain the city, but evacuated +it on the next day and re-embarked on the 30th. On September 12 he +landed near Baltimore, but was immediately killed in an attack on the +town. The attack had to be abandoned because it proved impossible to +obtain adequate support from the fleet, and the troops returned to the +ships on the 15th. + +On September 1 Prevost invaded New York State by Lake Champlain. He +advanced against Plattsburg, which he bombarded on the 11th, but his +flotilla was defeated by an American flotilla during the bombardment, +and he felt himself compelled to retreat into Canada. At the end of the +year Sir Edward Pakenham took command of a force operating against New +Orleans, but on January 8, 1815, he was defeated and killed by the +American forces under the future president, Andrew Jackson. No +expedition was ever worse planned than this; the veterans of the +Peninsula were mowed down by a withering fire, and, losing confidence in +their leaders, forfeited their reputation for invincible courage in +attack. The fighting, however, was desperate while it lasted, and was +compared by one engaged in it with the storm of Badajoz, and the deadly +charges at Waterloo. It was but a small compensation for these failures +that the British were able to annex a strip of territory belonging to +the State of Maine. On the sea no general engagement took place, nor was +there any naval duel so famous as that between the _Shannon_ and the +_Chesapeake_ in the previous year. The Americans lost two of their best +frigates, but, with crews largely composed of British sailors, captured +several British ships of war. + +[Pageheading: _THE TREATY OF GHENT._] + +As early as January, 1814, advances had been made towards negotiations +for peace, but they were not actually begun till August 6. In the course +of a few days a serious difficulty arose, as the British commissioners +demanded the delimitation of an Indian territory which should be exempt +from territorial acquisitions on the part of either power, and also +claimed the military occupation of the lakes for their own government. +The Americans thereupon suspended the negotiations, and Castlereagh +expressed grave discontent with the conduct of the British negotiators +in pressing these points. Late in the year negotiations were resumed, +when the British abandoned these claims. The far more comprehensive +questions about the rights of neutrals, which had occasioned the war, +had ceased to be of practical importance now that peace was restored in +Europe. They were therefore, by tacit consent, suffered to drop, and a +treaty signed at Ghent on December 24, 1814, ended a war of which the +Canadians alone had reason to be proud. + +The most dramatic incident in the domestic annals of England in this +year was the visit of the allied sovereigns to this country, after their +triumphal entry into Paris, and the signature of a convention, to be +described hereafter, for the resettlement of Europe. Louis XVIII. left +his retreat at Hartwell on April 20, and reached his capital on May 3 +to find it occupied by foreign armies, and to discover that his French +escort, composed of Napoleon's old guard, was of doubtful loyalty. On +July 8 the Tsar of Russia and the King of Prussia, having accepted an +invitation from the prince regent, which the Emperor of Austria +declined, landed at Dover, and were afterwards received with the utmost +enthusiasm in London. Their appearance betokened the supposed +termination of the greatest, and almost the longest, war recorded in +European history, but it was also accepted as a tribute of gratitude for +the unique services rendered by Great Britain, the only European power +which had never bowed the knee to the French Republic or the French +Empire. They attended Ascot races, were feasted at the Guildhall, +witnessed a naval review at Portsmouth, and were decorated with honorary +degrees at Oxford, where Bluecher was the hero of the day with the +younger members of the university. There were men of calmer minds and +maturer age, who must have remembered the time, but seven years before, +when Alexander swore eternal friendship with Napoleon, on the basis of +enmity to Great Britain, and Frederick William of Prussia shrunk from no +depths of dishonour, first to aggrandise his kingdom and then to save +the remnants of it from destruction. Others foresaw that a restoration +of the Bourbons portended reaction, in its worst sense, throughout all +the continent of Europe. But such memories and forebodings were hushed +in the sincere and general rejoicing over the return of peace, marred by +no suspicion of the new trials and privations which peace itself was +destined to bring with it for the working classes of Great Britain. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[53] See p. 105. + +[54] George, _Napoleon's Invasion of Russia_, p. 33. + +[55] James, _British Naval History_, iv., 470-84. + +[56] See above, p. 58. + +[57] See _Cambridge Modern History_, vii., 336, 338. + +[58] For details of the naval warfare of this year see James, _British +Naval History_, vi., 115-202. + +[59] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 372. + +[60] For the importance of this flight of the Emperor Francis see Rose, +_Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 418, 425. The flight did not take place till +after the advance on Paris was begun. + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + VIENNA AND WATERLOO. + + +After the restoration of Louis XVIII. as a constitutional king, the +treaty of Paris between France and the allied powers was signed on May +30, 1814. The treaty amounted to a settlement in outline of those +territorial questions in Europe in which France was concerned, and aimed +mainly at the construction of a strong barrier to resist further +encroachments by France on her neighbours. The French boundaries were to +coincide generally with the limits of French territory on January 1, +1792, but with certain additions. The principle adopted was that France +should retain certain detached pieces of foreign states within her own +frontier (such as Muehlhausen, Montbeliard, and the Venaissin), while the +line of frontier was extended so as to include certain detached +fragments belonging to France before 1792, such as Landau, Mariembourg, +and Philippeville, as well as Western Savoy with Chambery for its +capital. She was moreover allowed to regain all her colonies except the +Mauritius, St. Lucia, and Tobago. The Spanish portion of San Domingo was +restored to the Spanish government. Holland was placed under the +sovereignty of the house of Orange, and was to receive an increase of +territory; so much of Italy as was not to be ceded to Austria was to +consist of independent sovereign states; and Germany was to be formed +into a confederation. Finally an European congress was to meet at Vienna +in two months' time "to regulate the arrangements necessary for +completing the dispositions of the treaty". At the same time secret +articles provided that the disposition of territories was to be +controlled at Vienna by Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia; +that Austria, was to receive Venice and Lombardy as far as the Ticino; +and that the former territories of Genoa were to be annexed to +Sardinia, and the late Austrian Netherlands to Holland. + +In the midst of the general restoration of legitimate princes +difficulties were occasioned by the exceptional cases in which +territories were reserved for the new dynasties that had arisen during +the Napoleonic wars. France, Spain, and Sicily objected to the retention +of the kingdom of Naples by Murat, Spain resented the cession of Parma +to the Bonapartes, and Norway was in revolt against the attempt to +subjugate it to the king of Sweden and his heir Marshal Bernadotte. The +Norwegian government under Prince Christian vainly endeavoured to secure +the British recognition of the independence of Norway. The British +government, on the contrary, held itself bound to support the claims of +Sweden, and on April 29 notified a blockade of the Norwegian ports, +which was promptly carried into effect. Meanwhile a new constitution was +promulgated in Norway, and Prince Christian was proclaimed king. While +the British maintained the blockade Sweden attempted to gain its ends by +negotiation. At last, on July 30, the Swedes invaded Norway. After some +Swedish successes a convention was signed at Moss on August 14, which +recognised the new Norwegian constitution, but provided for a personal +union of the crowns of Sweden and Norway. This constitution was accepted +by Charles XIII. of Sweden in the following November, and Norway +retained almost complete independence, though united to Sweden. + +[Pageheading: _THE SLAVE TRADE._] + +Among the last acts of Napoleon's government had been the release and +restoration of Ferdinand VII. of Spain and of Pope Pius VII. Ferdinand, +supported by the vast mass of Spanish opinion, declared against the +rather unpractical constitution established in his absence, and entered +Madrid as an absolute king on May 14. One of his first acts was the +revival of the inquisition. There was some apprehension among British +representatives lest the two restored Bourbon monarchies should renew +the family compact, and also lest they should attempt to assert the +Bourbon claims to Naples and Parma. Sir Henry Wellesley, afterwards Lord +Cowley, was, however, successful in negotiating a treaty of alliance +between Great Britain and Spain, which made provision against any +renewal of the family compact, restored the commercial relations of the +two countries to the footing on which they had been before 1796, and +promised the future consideration of means to be adopted for the +suppression of the slave trade. Spain was in fact too dependent on +British credit to be able to adopt a line of her own in politics. But +the hold which Great Britain had thus gained over Spain was somewhat +weakened by the British attitude towards the slave trade. + +It is remarkable how large a space the abolition of the slave trade +occupied in the foreign policy of Great Britain, when the liberties of +Europe were at stake. During the months preceding the meeting of the +congress of Vienna, which had been postponed till September by the tsar, +British diplomacy had been engaged in a strenuous effort to obtain the +co-operation of such European powers as possessed American colonies in +securing this philanthropic object. Sweden had already consented to it, +and now Holland also gave her consent. Portugal agreed to relinquish the +trade north of the equator, on condition that the other powers consented +to impose a similar restriction on themselves. Strong pressure was +brought to bear upon France to consent to the immediate abolition of the +trade, and Wellington, who had been created a duke in May and who +arrived at Paris in August in the capacity of British ambassador, was +authorised by Liverpool to offer the cession of Trinidad or the payment +of two or three million pounds to obtain this end. By the treaty of +Paris only French subjects were allowed to trade in slaves with the +French colonies, and French subjects were excluded from trading +elsewhere; and the whole trade was to cease within French dominions +after five years. Talleyrand, negotiating with Wellington, refused to +consent to a general abolition, but, on being pressed to surrender the +slave trade north of the equator, consented to abandon it to the north +of Cape Formoso. In the following year Napoleon on his return from Elba +ordered its immediate suppression, and this was not the least +significant act of the Hundred Days. With Spain our diplomatists were +less successful. The British government refused to renew its subsidy to +Spain for the last half of 1814 except on condition that Spain +relinquished the slave trade north of the equator at once, and consented +to relinquish that south of the equator in five years' time; while it +would not issue a loan except on condition that Spain abolished the +whole trade immediately. Even these terms did not prevail with Spain, +and the most that she would grant at the congress was to relinquish the +trade at the conclusion of eight years. + +Meanwhile Talleyrand was endeavouring to induce Great Britain to combine +with France in a joint mediation between Austria and Russia at the +congress, in the event of Russia demanding the duchy of Warsaw. +Wellington, while expressing himself in favour of an understanding, +refused to accept anything which might seem equivalent to a declaration +in favour of mediation by the two powers in every case. At the congress +itself Great Britain was first represented by Castlereagh, who was +succeeded in February, 1815, by Wellington. The two principal +difficulties were the questions of Poland and Saxony. The tsar desired +to erect the duchy of Warsaw, Prussia's share in the two partitions of +Poland in 1793 and 1795, into a constitutional monarchy attached to the +Russian crown, while Prussia, though not unwilling to resign her claims +to Polish dominion, wished to increase her territory by the +incorporation of Saxony in her monarchy. Austria was naturally averse +from any increase of strength in the states on her northern borders, and +she was also opposed to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy +in Poland which might serve as a centre for political discontent in her +own dominions. Even France urged this objection to a constitutional +Poland. Great Britain alone was willing to see an independent Poland, +but preferred to join France, Prussia, and Austria in demanding its +repartition between the two latter powers rather than its annexation to +Russia. All through October Austria, Great Britain, and Prussia +endeavoured to induce the tsar to withdraw his demand. Early in November +he won over the King of Prussia to whom he promised the kingdom of +Saxony, proposing to indemnify the Saxon king with a new state on that +lower Rhine which France was not allowed to have, but which no other +power desired. + +[Pageheading: _THE RETURN OF NAPOLEON._] + +It was no longer possible to resist Russia's claims on Poland, but +Austria was determined not to allow Prussia to receive the proffered +compensation. On December 10 Metternich notified the Prussian minister, +Hardenberg, that he would not allow Prussia to annex more than a fifth +part of Saxony. Great Britain, France, Bavaria, and the minor German +states joined Austria in this action, and thus the attempt to effect a +settlement of Europe by a concert of the four allied powers broke down. +On January 3, 1815, a secret treaty was concluded between Austria, +France, and Great Britain in defence of what their diplomatists called +"the principles of the peace of Paris". Each of these powers was to be +prepared, if necessary, to place an army of 50,000 men in the field. +Bavaria joined them in their preparations for war, and many of the +troops which occupied Paris in 1815 would have been disbanded or +dispersed, but for the prospect of a rupture between the allies +themselves. But a compromise was soon arranged, and on February 8 it was +agreed that Cracow, the Polish fortress which threatened Austria most, +should be an independent republic, and that Prussia should retain enough +of Western Poland to round off her dominions, while the remainder of the +duchy of Warsaw became a constitutional kingdom under the tsar. Prussia +was to be allowed to annex part of Saxony, and was to receive a further +compensation on the left bank of the Rhine and in Westphalia. The most +thorny questions were now settled, and Castlereagh had left Vienna when +the congress was electrified by the news that Napoleon had reappeared in +France. + +The episode of "the Hundred Days" interrupted, but did not break up, the +councils of the congress at Vienna. It cannot be said that Napoleon's +escape from Elba took the negotiators altogether by surprise. They were +already aware of his correspondence with the neighbouring shores of +Italy, and his removal to St Helena or some other distant island had +been proposed by the French government, though never discussed at the +congress. Sir Neil Campbell, the British commissioner at Elba, had gone +so far as to warn his government of Napoleon's suspected "plan," and to +indicate, though erroneously, the place of his probable descent upon the +Italian coast. Owing to an almost incredible want of precaution, he +embarked on February 26 with the least possible disguise, and +accompanied by 400 of his guards, on board his brig the _Inconstant_, +eluded the observation of two French ships, and landed near Cannes on +March 1. Thence he hastened across the mountains to Grenoble, passing +unmolested, and sometimes welcomed, through districts where his life had +been threatened but a few months before. The commandant of Grenoble was +prepared to resist his further progress, but a heart-stirring appeal +from Napoleon induced a regiment detached to oppose him to join his +standard, and the rest of the garrison was brought over by Colonel +Labedoyere, one of the officers who had conspired to bring him back. +Thence he proceeded to Lyons, issuing decrees, scattering proclamations, +and gathering followers at every stage. He was lavish of promises, not +perhaps wholly insincere, that he would adopt constitutional +government--already established by the charter of Louis XVIII.--and +cease to wage aggressive wars. He relied unduly on the discontent +provoked by the blind partisans of the Bourbons, who, it was said, had +learned nothing and forgotten nothing. This was true, if the spirit of +the restoration were to be measured by the parade of expiatory masses +for the execution of royalists under the revolution, the ostentatious +patronage of priests, the preference of returned _emigres_ to well-tried +servants of the republic and the empire, or the anticipated expulsion of +landowners in possession of "national domains" for the purpose of +dividing them among their old proprietors. All this naturally +exasperated those who had imbibed the principles of the revolution, but +it was more than compensated in the eyes of millions of Frenchmen by the +cessation of conscription and the infinite blessings of peace. + +[Pageheading: _"THE HUNDRED DAYS."_] + +The king was amongst the least infatuated of the royalists. On hearing +of Napoleon's proclamation, he had the sense to appreciate the danger of +such a bid for sovereignty and the magic of such a name, while his +courtiers regarded Napoleon's enterprise as the last effort of a madman. +He addressed the chamber of deputies in confident and dignified +language; the Duke of Angouleme was employed to rouse the royalist party +at Bordeaux; the Duke of Bourbon was sent into Brittany, the Count of +Artois, with the Duke of Orleans and Marshal Macdonald, visited Lyons, +upon the attitude of which everything, for the moment, seemed to depend. +Most of the marshals remained faithful to the restored monarchy, and Ney +was selected to bar the progress of Napoleon in Burgundy, and has been +credited with a vow that he would bring him back in an iron cage. But it +was all in vain. The Count of Artois was loyally received by the +officials and upper classes at Lyons, but he soon found that Napoleon +possessed the hearts of the soldiers and the mass of the people. Ney +yielded to urgent appeals from his old chief, signed and read to his +troops a proclamation drawn up by Napoleon himself, and was followed in +his treason by his whole army. As Napoleon approached Paris, all armed +opposition to him melted away. On March 19, Louis XVIII., seeing that +his cause was hopeless, proclaimed a dissolution of the chambers, and +retired once more into exile, fixing his residence at Ghent. + +Napoleon re-entered the Tuileries on the 20th, after a journey which he +afterwards described as the happiest in his life. But his penetrating +mind was not deceived by the manifestations of popular joy. He well knew +that he was distrusted by the middle classes, as well as by the +aristocracy, and threw himself more and more on the sympathy of the old +revolutionists. When he came to fill up the higher offices, he met with +a strange reluctance to accept them, and was driven to enlist the +services of two regicides, the virtuous republican, Carnot, and the +double-dyed traitor Fouche. Feeling the necessity of resting his power +on a democratic basis, he promulgated a constitution modelled on the +charter of Louis XVIII., and known as the _Acte Additionnel_, which, +however, satisfied no one. The royalists objected to its anti-feudal +spirit, the revolutionists and moderates to its express recognition of +an hereditary peerage, and its tacit recognition of a dictatorial power. +It was by no means with a light heart that Napoleon took leave of Paris +on June 7, having appointed a provisional government, to place himself +at the head of his army. + +Attempts had been made in the southern provinces and La Vendee to +organise armed rebellion against the emperor, and met for a time with +considerable success. But they were soon quelled by the overwhelming +imperialism not only of the regular army, but of vast numbers of +disbanded soldiers and half-pay officers, dispersed throughout France, +and disgusted with their treatment under the restored monarchy. Even +among the _bourgeoisie_ Napoleon had an advantage which he never +possessed before. Disguise it as he might, all his former wars had been +essentially wars of conquest, and, however patiently they might endure +it, the peasantry of France, in thousands upon thousands of humble +cottages, groaned under the exaction of crushing taxes--worst of all, +the blood-tax of conscription--in order to enable one man, in the name +of France, to usurp the empire of the world. Now, however, as in the +early days of the revolution, France was put on its defence, and called +upon to repel an invasion of its frontiers. For the news of Napoleon's +escape, announced by Talleyrand on March 11, instantly stilled the +quarrels and rebuked the jealousies which had so nearly proved fatal to +any settlement at Vienna. For the moment, the designs of Russia in +Poland, the selfish demands of Prussia, and the half-formed coalition +between Great Britain, France, and Austria, were thrust into the +background. Austria thought it necessary to repudiate decisively the +audaciously false assertion of Napoleon that he was returning with the +concurrence of his father-in-law, and would shortly be supported by +Austrian troops. Metternich, therefore, assumed the lead in drawing up a +solemn manifesto, dated March 13, in which Napoleon was virtually +declared an outlaw "abandoned to public justice," and the powers which +had signed the treaty of Paris in the preceding May bound themselves, in +the face of Europe, to carry out all its provisions and defend the king +of France, if need be, against his own rebellious subjects. + +By a further convention made at the end of March, they engaged to +provide forces exceeding 700,000 men in the aggregate, to be +concentrated on the Upper Rhine, the Lower Rhine, and the Low Countries, +with an immense reserve of Russians to be rapidly moved across Germany +from Poland. Wellington having succeeded Castlereagh at Vienna, was +appointed to command the British, Hanoverian, and Belgian contingents on +the north-east frontier of France; Bluecher's headquarters were to be on +the Lower Rhine, within easy reach of that frontier; for, whichever side +might take the offensive, it was there that the first shock of war might +be expected. The recent conclusion of peace with America at Ghent on +December 24, 1814, left England free to use her whole military power. +Enormous sums were voted by Parliament, with a rare approach to +unanimity, for the equipment of a British army, and a sum of L5,000,000 +for subsidies to the allied powers. A small section of the opposition +led by Whitbread opposed the renewal of war. On April 7 he moved an +amendment to the address in reply to the prince regent's message +announcing that measures for the security of Europe were being concerted +with the allies, but he was only supported by 32 votes against 220. On +April 28 his motion for an address to the prince regent, deprecating +war with Napoleon, was defeated by 273 votes against 72. This was +Whitbread's last prominent appearance in parliament. On July 6, during a +fit of insanity, he died by his own hand. The subsidies to the allies +were opposed by Bankes, but were carried on May 26 by 160 votes against +17. There can be no doubt that the majorities in the house of commons +correctly expressed the national sentiment. Nobody wished to dictate to +France the form of government which she was to adopt, but it was +generally felt that Napoleon's character rendered peace with him +impossible. + +[Pageheading: _THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815._] + +In the end, about 80,000 men were assembled in Belgium under +Wellington's orders, but of these not half were British soldiers, +including untrained drafts from the militia, who replaced veteran +Peninsular regiments still detained in Canada and the United States. Yet +Napoleon admitted the British contingent to be equal, man for man, to +his own troops, while he estimated these to be worth twice their own +number of Dutchmen, Prussians, or other Germans. The first blow in the +war was struck by Murat. Already in February, dissatisfied with his +ambiguous position, he had levied troops and summoned Louis XVIII. to +declare whether he was at war with him. As soon as he heard of +Napoleon's return, he invaded the Papal States, and summoned the +Italians to rise in the cause of Italian unity and independence. Though +disowned by Napoleon, he persevered in this plan, but he was attacked +and twice defeated by an Austrian army. On May 22 the British and +Austrians took the city of Naples, and Murat fled to France. In October +he made an attempt to recover his kingdom, but was captured and shot. It +is noteworthy that, on hearing of his fate at St. Helena, Napoleon +showed but little sympathy with his brother-in-law. + +On the morning of June 12, Napoleon left Paris, saying as he entered his +carriage that he went to match himself with Wellington. All his troops +were already marshalled on the Belgian frontier, and numbered 124,588 +men, with 344 guns. The Imperial Guard alone was 20,954 strong, and the +whole army was largely composed of seasoned veterans. The Prussian army +consisted of 116,897 men, with 312 guns under Marshal Bluecher, whose +headquarters were at Namur. Though the majority of these were veterans, +there was a considerable leaven of inferior troops, hastily raised from +the Westphalian and Rhine militia. Between this town and Quatre Bras lay +the Prussian line of defence, Sombreffe being the centre, with Ligny and +St. Amand in front of it, and rather on the south-west. Wellington's +headquarters were at Brussels, and, having no certain intelligence of +Napoleon's movements, he kept the various divisions of his army within +easy distance of that capital until the very eve of the final conflict. +Of the 93,717 men under his command, 31,253 were British, two-thirds of +whom had never been under fire; 6,387 were of the king's German legion; +15,935 Hanoverians; 29,214 (including 4,300 Nassauers in the service of +the Prince of the Netherlands) Dutch and Belgians; 6,808 Brunswickers; +2,880 Nassauers; the engineers, numbering 1,240, were not classified by +nationality. He fully expected that Napoleon would move upon Brussels +along the route by Mons and Hal, and maintained in later days that such +would have been the best strategical course. Napoleon thought otherwise, +and resolved to strike in between the Prussian and British armies, +crushing the former before the latter could be fully assembled. He very +nearly succeeded, and, if all had gone as he hoped, he could scarcely +have failed to win one of his greatest victories. + +[Pageheading: _LIGNY AND QUATRE BRAS._] + +On the evening of the 15th, Wellington was still at Brussels, with the +great body of his army, and only a weak force of Dutch and Belgians was +at Quatre Bras, some sixteen miles to the south. Bluecher, with about +three-fourths of his army, was at Sombreffe, a few miles south-east of +Quatre Bras. Napoleon himself was at or close by Charleroi, ten or +twelve miles south of Quatre Bras; the mass of his army was at Fleurus, +south-west of Sombreffe, with Ligny and St. Amand between it and the +Prussians; and Marshal Ney, with Reille's corps, was at Frasnes, +opposite to and due south of Quatre Bras. On the morning of the 16th, +Napoleon arrived from Charleroi at Fleurus, and carefully inspected his +enemy's position, but delayed his attack upon Ligny and St Amand until +half-past two in the afternoon. The Prussians outnumbered the French, +and a murderous conflict ensued among the streets, gardens, and +enclosures of these little towns, which lasted until eight or nine +o'clock. At last Napoleon ordered his guard to advance, and the plateau +behind Ligny was taken, with a loss to the French of 12,000, and to the +Prussians of over 20,000. Bluecher himself was unhorsed and severely +bruised in a furious charge of cavalry, but the Prussians retired in +good order towards Wavre, north of the battlefield. + +Had Ney been in a condition to obey an urgent message from Napoleon, and +to envelop the Prussian right and rear, this defeat would have been +overwhelming in its effect. But while the battle of Ligny was raging, +another battle was going on at Quatre Bras, six miles distant, in which +the French sustained a serious check. Happily for the British, Ney +failed to bring up his divisions for an attack on Quatre Bras until two +o'clock in the afternoon, when the Dutch and Belgians under the Prince +of Orange were still his only opponents. The news for which Wellington +had been waiting did not reach him until just before the memorable ball, +given by the Duchess of Richmond at Brussels on the night of the 15th, +which he nevertheless attended, hurrying off his troops to Quatre Bras. +They arrived just in time to reinforce the Prince of Orange and save the +position; but Ney, too, was receiving fresh reinforcements every hour, +the Duke of Brunswick was killed, and a fearful stress fell on Picton's +division and the Hanoverians, who alone were a match for Ney's splendid +infantry and Kellermann's cuirassiers. + +These made a charge like that which had borne down the Austrians at +Marengo, but the British squares were proof against it, and when a +division of guards came up from Nivelles, the French in turn were put on +the defensive and retreated to Frasnes. The loss on the British side was +4,500 men; that on the French somewhat less. It is not difficult to +imagine what the issue of the battle must have been if D'Erlon's corps +had been brought into action. This corps was occupied in marching and +countermarching, under contradictory orders from Napoleon and Ney, +between the British left and the Prussian right during the whole of this +eventful day. Its appearance in the distance just when Napoleon was +about to launch his guard against the Prussians at Ligny, caused him to +hesitate long, and lose the decisive moment for demolishing his enemy. +Its failure to appear at Quatre Bras, and to roll up the wavering +Dutch-Belgians, before Picton took up the fighting, enabled Wellington +to hold his ground at first, to repulse Ney afterwards, and on hearing +of Bluecher's defeat at Ligny, to fall back in good order on Waterloo. +Even then, something was due to good fortune. Had Napoleon joined Ney +and marched direct on Quatre Bras early on the 17th, it is difficult to +see how his advance to Brussels could have been arrested. But whether he +was exhausted by his incessant labours since leaving Paris, or whether +his marvellous intuition was deserting him, certain it is that he +allowed that critical morning to slip by without an effort--and without +a reconnaissance. He assumed that Bluecher must retire upon Namur as his +base of operations, and that Wellington, retiring towards Brussels, +would be cut off from his allies. He therefore despatched Marshal +Grouchy, with 33,000 men, to follow up the Prussians eastward by the +Namur road. His assumption was unfounded. Bluecher, loyal to his +engagements, retired upon Wavre; Wellington, relying upon Bluecher's +loyalty, took his stand on the field of Waterloo; and this error on the +part of Napoleon determined the fortunes of the campaign.[61] + +[Pageheading: _WATERLOO._] + +The British army retreated upon Waterloo almost unmolested. Ney was +probably awaiting orders, and Napoleon, believing the Prussians to be at +Namur, probably thought he might safely rest himself and his army before +crushing Wellington at his leisure. When they realised that Wellington +was deliberately moving his army to a position nearer Brussels, they +both followed in pursuit along different roads converging at Quatre +Bras, and a brisk skirmish took place near Genappe between Ney's cavalry +and that of the British rear-guard. Heavy rain came on, and the two +armies spent a miserable night, half a mile from each other, close to +Mont St. Jean, and south of Waterloo. Napoleon rose before daybreak on +the 18th, reconnoitred the British position, and convinced himself that +Wellington intended to give battle. He expressed to his staff his +satisfaction and confidence of victory, when General Foy, who had +experience of the Peninsular war, replied in significant words: "Sire, +when the British infantry stand at bay, they are the very devil +himself". Why Napoleon did not begin the battle at eight o'clock has +been the subject of much discussion. It is said that he waited for +Grouchy to join him before the close of the action. But neither he nor +Grouchy, though aware that at least a large force of Prussians had gone +to Wavre and not to Namur, suspected that Bluecher had promised +Wellington to march with his whole army on the morning of the 18th to +support the British at Waterloo. It is more likely that he waited for +his men to assemble and for the ground to dry and become more +practicable for his powerful artillery.[62] + +Exception has been taken to the conduct of Wellington in detaching +17,000 men to guard the approach to Brussels at Hal, and, still more, in +not recalling them, when he must have ascertained that nothing was to be +feared on that side, and when such a reinforcement of his right wing +must have been all-important. But it must be remembered that in this +force there were only 1,500 English troops, and 2,000 Hanoverian +militia. The rest were Dutch and Belgians. At all events, Napoleon left +his right flank undefended, though he was already somewhat anxious about +the Prussian movements, and Wellington fought the battle of Waterloo +with a force numerically inferior to that under Napoleon's command, +though it might have been rendered superior by the accession of the Hal +contingent. The effective part of this force, numbering in all 67,661 +men, consisted of 24,000 British soldiers, 6,000 soldiers of the king's +German legion, and about 11,000 Hanoverians. Napoleon's force numbered +72,000 men, and it was stronger both in cavalry and in guns. It +represented the flower of the French army; there were few, if any, +recruits as raw as those who swelled the ranks of the British regiments; +there were thousands upon thousands who had formed part of that _Grande +Armee_ which had overawed the continent of Europe. It is fair, however, +to record that, while the British rank and file suffered much for want +of sufficient food, the French had fared still worse, and that very many +of them could have been in no fit condition for the struggle impending +over them. + +Both armies occupied ground extending from west to east, on opposite +ridges, and crossed at right angles by the great highway running north +and south from Charleroi to Brussels. In front of the British right were +the chateau and enclosures of Hougoumont which were occupied by the +British; nearly in front of the centre were the large farm-house and +buildings of La Haye Sainte. Further to the left were the hamlet of +Smohain and the farms Papelotte and La Haye. Wellington had arranged his +brigades so as to distribute the older troops as much as possible among +the less experienced. Sir Thomas Picton's fifth division formed the left +of the line; to his right was Alten's second division, and beyond him to +the right was the guards division under Cooke. Further to the right and +partly in reserve was Clinton's second division, while Chasse's Dutch +division on the extreme right occupied the village of Braine l'Alleud. +Somerset's brigade of heavy cavalry and Kruse's Dutch cavalry were +posted behind Alten's division, and Ponsonby's "union brigade," +consisting of the royal dragoons, Scots greys, and Inniskillings, was +stationed in Picton's rear. The whole line lay on the inner slopes of +the ridge with the exception of Bylandt's Dutch-Belgian brigade which +was posted on the outer slope in front of Picton's division. D'Erlon's +corps was opposite the British left, Reille's opposite the British +right. Squadrons of cavalry covered the outer flank of either of the two +French corps. The magnificent squadrons of French cavalry, 15,000 +strong, under Milhaud, Kellermann, and other famous leaders, were in the +second line; the imperial guard, as usual, was massed in the rear. + +[Pageheading: _WATERLOO._] + +The battle opened about half-past eleven with a furious attack on +Hougoumont. It was defended with desperate gallantry, mainly by the +British guards, who reopened the old loopholes in the garden-walls, and +closed by sheer muscular force the eastern gate of the yard, which had +been forced open by the French. In the fruitless siege of Hougoumont, as +it may be called, the French left wing thus wasted most of its strength, +and incurred enormous loss. Meanwhile, the French right wing under +D'Erlon, advanced to attack the British left, which had been assailed +for an hour and a half by the fire of a battery with seventy-eight guns. +The Dutch and Belgians, who in their exposed position had suffered +severely from the French artillery fire, soon gave way; but Picton's +division, after a single volley, charged with the bayonet and drove +their assailants reeling backward, though Picton himself fell dead on +the field. Without orders from Wellington, Lord Uxbridge, in command of +the British cavalry, seized the opportunity, and launched the union +brigade with other regiments upon the flying masses. This whirlwind of +British horsemen swept all before it, slaughtering many of the French +cavalry in passing, taking 3,000 prisoners, sabring the gunners of Ney's +battery, and spiking fifteen of the guns. But their ardour carried them +too far. By Napoleon's orders a large force of French cuirassiers and +lancers fell upon their flank before they could take breath again, and +their ranks were frightfully thinned in a disorderly retreat. But their +charge had saved the day. + +At one o'clock, while the fate of D'Erlon's onslaught was still +undecided, Napoleon observed Prussian troops on his right. An +intercepted despatch proved these to be Buelow's corps. He instantly sent +off a despatch to Grouchy, whom he supposed to be within reach, ordering +him to attack Buelow in the rear. Then followed the memorable succession +of charges by the whole of the French cavalry upon the squares of the +British infantry. Not one of these squares was broken; a great part of +the French cavalry was mown down by volleys or cut to pieces by the +British cavalry in their precipitate retreat, and the British line +remained unmoved, though grievously weakened, behind its protecting +ridge. This was the crisis of the fight. Much of the British artillery +was dismounted, and Wellington confessed to one of his staff that he +longed for the advent of night or Bluecher. Napoleon next felt himself +compelled to detach Lobau's corps for the purpose of meeting the +advancing Prussians. Soon afterwards Ney carried La Haye Sainte by a +most determined assault, aided by the failure of ammunition within its +defences, and thus captured the key of the British position. But +Napoleon saw that his one chance of victory lay in a final _coup_ before +the Prussians could wrest it from him. He ordered the imperial guard to +the front, leading it himself across the valley, and then handing over +the command to Ney. The guard was but the remnant of its original +strength, for all its cavalry had been wrecked in wild charges against +the British squares, and several battalions of its infantry were kept in +reserve to hold back the Prussians and protect the baggage train. +Nevertheless, the advance of this superb corps, the heroes of a hundred +fights, who had seldom failed to hurl back the tide of battle at the +most perilous junctures, was among the most impressive spectacles in the +annals of war. They swerved a little to the left, thereby exposing +themselves to the fire of the British footguards and of a battery in +excellent condition. The former were lying down for shelter, but when +the imperial guard came within sixty paces of them they started up at +the word of command from Wellington himself. The footguards poured a +deadly fire into the front, and the 52nd regiment into the flank of +their columns; as they wavered under the storm of shot a bayonet charge +followed, and the imperial guard, hitherto almost invincible, was +dissolved into a mob of fugitives scattered over the plain. + +It was now past eight o'clock; Buelow's Prussians had long been engaged +on the British left, and Bluecher, with indomitable energy, was pressing +forward with all his other divisions. Wellington first sent Vandeleur's +and Vivian's cavalry, still comparatively fresh, to sweep away what +remained of the French reserves, and then ordered a general advance. The +French retreat speedily became a rout, and a rout to which there is no +parallel except that which succeeded the battle of Leipzig. Wellington +and Bluecher met at La Belle Alliance on the high road, just south of the +battlefield, and lately the French headquarters. The British troops were +utterly tired out, but the Prussian cavalry never drew rein until they +had driven the last Frenchman over the river Sambre in their relentless +pursuit. The slaughter had been prodigious, though far short of that at +Borodino. The British army lost 13,000 men, the Prussian 7,000, and the +French 37,000[63] (including prisoners), besides the whole of their +artillery, ammunition, baggage-waggons, and military train. But the +battle was one of the most decisive recorded in history, and was the +real beginning of a peace which lasted over the whole of Europe for +nearly forty years. Grouchy heard the cannonade of Waterloo on his march +from Ligny to Wavre, and was strongly urged by Gerard to hasten across +country, with his whole force, in the direction of the firing. But he +pleaded the letter of Napoleon's instructions, and reached Wavre only to +find Bluecher gone. After an encounter with a Prussian corps, which had +been left behind, he received news of Napoleon's defeat, and ultimately +escaped into France. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON'S SECOND ABDICATION._] + +The march of the allies into France after the battle of Waterloo was not +wholly unchecked, but it was far more rapid than in 1814. The French +could not be rallied, and in the first week of July Paris was occupied +by Anglo-Prussian troops. The Austrians and Prussians were moving again +upon the eastern frontiers of France, but were still far behind. The +Prussian general and soldiers were animated by the bitterest spirit of +vengeance, and it needed all the firmness of Wellington to prevent the +bridge of Jena from being blown up, and a ruinous contribution levied on +the citizens of Paris. Napoleon himself was now at Rochefort, having +quitted Paris after a second abdication on June 22, but four days after +the battle. No other course was open to him. When he started for his +last campaign, he was no longer the champion of an united nation, and +consciously staked his all on a single throw. When he returned from it, +discomfited and without an army, he found the chambers actively hostile +to him. Carnot, who had formerly opposed his assumption of the imperial +title, was now the only one of his ministers to deprecate his +abdication, but Napoleon himself saw no hope of retaining his power, or +transmitting it to his son, without a reckless appeal to revolutionary +passions. From this he shrank, and he represented himself at St. Helena +as having sacrificed personal ambition to patriotism. + +The chamber of deputies appointed an executive commission of five, +including the infamous Fouche, and from this body the late emperor +actually received an order to quit Paris. He retired to Malmaison, where +he received a fresh order to set out for Rochefort, which he reached on +July 3. On the next day Paris capitulated to the allies, and the +necessity for his leaving the shores of France became more urgent. Two +frigates were assigned for his escape to America, but a British squadron +was lying ready to intercept them. Some of his bolder companions devised +a scheme for smuggling him on board a swift merchant ship, but it was +foiled by the vigilant watch of the British squadron off the islands of +Oleron and Re. At last he surrendered himself on board the +_Bellerophon_, relying, as he said, on the honour of the British nation, +and claiming the generous protection of the prince regent. He was, +however, clearly informed that he would be at the disposal of the +government. Under an agreement with the allied powers, the ministers +decided, and were supported by the nation in deciding, that he could not +be detained in England, either as a guest or as a prisoner, with any +regard to public safety or the verdict of Europe at Vienna. The proposal +of banishing him to St. Helena, suggested in the previous year, was +finally adopted, and he sailed thither in the _Northumberland_ on August +8, vehemently protesting against the bad faith of Great Britain. Louis +XVIII. was restored, and the treaty of Vienna, signed on the eve of the +Waterloo campaign, was but slightly modified. + +The action of Murat had solved the difficulties which the congress had +to face in Italy. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies reverted to the +Bourbon, Ferdinand; and the Bourbons also acquired a right of reversion +in Parma, where the protest of Spain against the rule of Maria Louisa +could now be ignored. Genoa was annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia; the +pope received back the states of the Church; the Grand Duke of Tuscany +and the Duke of Modena were restored; while Austria had to be content +with Venetia and Lombardy as far as the Ticino. The organisation of +Germany occupied the congress until June, and was the least durable part +of its work. The basis of it was a confederation of thirty-eight states, +represented and in theory controlled by a diet under the presidency of +Austria. This diet naturally resolved itself into a mere permanent +congress of diplomatists for the purpose of settling the mutual +relations of the constituent states. Each state was ordered to adopt a +constitutional form of government, but, as no provision was made for +enforcing this clause, it remained a dead letter. Prussia regained her +provinces on the left bank of the Rhine, with a population exceeding +1,000,000, and was allotted the northern part of Saxony, with a +population of 800,000, besides retaining her original share of Poland, +with the province of Posen, which had formed part of the duchy of +Warsaw. Most of this duchy was annexed by Russia, but Cracow was left a +republic. Prussia also gained Swedish Pomerania. Bavaria, Hanover, and +Denmark profited more or less by the repartition of Germany. Denmark, +however, finally lost Norway, and Sweden paid the price of this +acquisition by resigning Finland to Russia. The neutrality of +Switzerland was proclaimed and her constitution simplified. The Belgian +Netherlands were united to Holland, the two forming together the kingdom +of the Netherlands, to which Austria ceded all her claims in the Low +Countries. + +[Pageheading: _THE SECOND TREATY OF PARIS._] + +The treaty of Vienna left the boundaries of France itself as they had +been defined by the first treaty of Paris in 1814. The second treaty of +Paris, however, signed on November 20, 1815, was less favourable to +France, which had already ceded Western Savoy to Sardinia, and was now +required to abandon Landau and other outlying territories beyond the +frontier of 1792. She was also compelled to restore all the works of art +accumulated during the war. + +Great Britain had failed to obtain from the congress any binding +regulation on the subject of the slave trade. The most that she could +obtain was a solemn denunciation of that trade issued on February 8, +which declared it to be "repugnant to the principles of civilisation and +of universal morality". The moderation of the British demands, as +embodied in these treaties, excited not only the amazement but the +contempt of Napoleon, who discussed the subject at St. Helena with great +freedom. Well knowing that his paramount object throughout all his wars +and negotiations had been to crush Great Britain, and that Great Britain +had been the mainstay of all the combinations against him, he could find +no explanation of our self-denial except our insular simplicity. Perhaps +it might be attributed with greater reason to politic magnanimity; nor, +indeed, could Great Britain, as a member of the European council, +dictate such terms as Napoleon suggested. Still, the gains of Great +Britain were substantial. She retained Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, +the Isle of France (Mauritius), Trinidad, St. Lucia, Tobago, and, above +all, Malta. She also obtained possession of Heligoland and the +protectorate of the Ionian Islands, both of which she has since resigned +of her own accord. If she afterwards lost the commanding position which +she had attained among the allied powers, it was chiefly because the +colossal empire which she had defied was effectually shattered, because +neither her armies nor her subsidies were any longer needed on the +continent of Europe, and perhaps because the energies of her statesmen +were no longer braced up by the stress of a struggle for national life. + +Even before the allied armies entered Paris Wellington considered it +necessary to induce Louis XVIII. to make advances to certain politicians +of the revolution so as to inspire national confidence in him, and to +anticipate the risk of a "White Terror," or a continuance of the war. +Fouche was accordingly summoned to power, and he had sufficient +influence to prevent any national opposition to the Bourbon restoration. +Napoleon remained at large for three weeks after his abdication, that +is, for eight days after the allied troops had entered Paris, and the +fear of a future Bonapartist revolution inclined the British government +under Liverpool to entertain favourably the demand of Prussia for the +cession of Alsace, Lorraine, and the northern fortresses. When, however, +Napoleon had placed himself on board the _Bellerophon_, the situation +changed. A contented France seemed preferable to an impotent France, and +Wellington argued that the Bourbon restoration could not last, if French +opinion connected it with the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. The tsar took +this line from the first, and Wellington won for it the adhesion first +of his own government and then of Austria. Prussia had finally to be +contented with a provision for the cession of the outlying districts, +which the treaty of Paris of 1814 had left to France. The second treaty +of Paris, which embodied this stipulation, also provided for an +indemnity of L40,000,000 to be paid by France to the allies, and for the +temporary occupation of Northern France by the allied armies. On the +same day Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia signed a treaty +pledging themselves to act together in case fresh revolution and +usurpation in France should endanger the repose of other states, and +providing for frequent meetings of congresses to preserve the peace of +Europe. + +In addition to the formal treaties of alliance signed at Chaumont, +Vienna, and Paris, an attempt was made by the Tsar Alexander to bind +together the European sovereigns in an union based on the principles of +Christian brotherhood. A form of treaty was accordingly drawn up which +gave expression to these motives, dealt with all Christians as one +nation, and committed their sovereigns to mutual affection and +reciprocal service. This treaty of the holy alliance was signed on +September 26, by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. All European princes +except the sultan were invited to adhere to it, and all except the pope +and the sultan ultimately either accepted it or expressed their sympathy +with its principles. But in England there was hardly a statesman who +regarded the treaty seriously, Wellington avowed his distrust of it, the +prince regent declined to join it, and its effective value in promoting +the subsequent concert of the powers was less than nothing. Still, +however visionary and extravagantly worded, it remains as an unique +record embodying the deliberate adoption of the principle of +international brotherhood, and the sacrifice of separate national +interests for the sake of European peace. + +[Pageheading: _NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA._] + +It is remarkable that so little public discussion took place on two +questions which have since been so hotly debated--the legal _status_ of +Napoleon after he surrendered himself, and the moral right of Great +Britain to banish him to St. Helena. One reason for this apparent +indifference to the fate of one who had overawed all Europe may be found +in the fact that parliament was not sitting when the decision of the +government was taken, and that, when it met on February 1, 1816, that +decision was virtually irrevocable. We know, however, that the first +question was fully considered by the allied powers and the British +ministry before his place of exile was fixed, and Great Britain +undertook the custody of his person. The view which prevailed was that, +after his escape from Elba, he could neither be treated as an +independent sovereign nor as a subject of the French king, but must be +regarded as a public enemy who had fallen into the hands of one among +several allied powers. Accordingly, it was by their joint mandate that +he remained the prisoner of Great Britain, and was to be under the joint +inspection of commissioners appointed by the other powers. Still the +minds of Liverpool, Ellenborough, and Sir William Scott, judge of the +court of admiralty, were not altogether easy on the legal aspect of the +case, which Eldon reviewed in an elaborate and exhaustive memorandum. +His conclusion was that Napoleon's position was quite exceptional, that +he could not rightly be made over to France as a French rebel, but was a +prisoner of war at the disposal of the British government, both on the +broad principles of international law, and under the express terms of +his surrender, as reported officially by Captain Maitland of the +_Bellerophon_. + +It was thought expedient, however, to pass an act of parliament in the +session of 1816 for the purpose of setting at rest any objections which +might afterwards be raised. This measure was introduced on March 17 by +Lord Castlereagh, who defended it on grounds of national justice and +national policy. It met with no opposition in the house of commons, but +Lords Holland and Lauderdale criticised it in the house of lords, not +as sanctioning a wrong to Napoleon, but as implicitly admitting the +right of other powers to join in arrangements for his custody. Little +attention was then bestowed by parliament or the public on the moral +aspect of his life-long detention at St. Helena, the restrictions to be +there imposed upon his liberty, or the provision to be made for his +comfort. Yet these subjects have ever since exercised the minds of +myriads both in England and France, and have given birth to a copious +literature for more than three generations. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[61] For the movements of June 15, 16, see Chesney, _Waterloo Lectures_, +pp. 70-137; Ropes, _The Campaign of Waterloo_, pp. 44-196. + +[62] Rose, _Life of Napoleon I._, ii., 494, 495. + +[63] Oman in _English Historical Review_, xix., 693, and xxi., 132. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + THE FIRST YEARS OF PEACE. + + +When Parliament met on February 1, 1816, after a recess of unusual +length, Castlereagh was received with loud acclamations from all parts +of the house as the chief actor in the pacification of Europe. There +was, of course, a full debate upon the treaties, but the opposition +dwelt less upon the arbitrary partition of Europe than upon their +alleged tendency to guarantee sovereigns against the assertion of +popular rights and upon the manifest intention of the government to +"raise the country into a military power". From this moment dates the +whig and radical watchword of "Peace, Retrenchment, and Reform". The +nation was, in fact, entering upon a period of unprecedented depression +and discontent, which lasted through the last four years of George +III.'s reign. At the close of 1815, however, the whole horizon was +apparently bright. Great Britain had saved Europe by her example, and, +however small her army in comparison with those of continental states, +she stood foremost among the powers which had crushed the rule of +Napoleon. Her national debt, it is true, had reached the prodigious +total of L861,039,049, and the interest on it amounted L32,645,618, but +the expansion of our national resources had kept pace with it. In spite +of the continental system, the orders in council, and the American war, +the imports and exports had enormously increased, chiefly by means of an +organised contraband traffic; the carrying trade of the world had passed +into the hands of British shipowners; British manufactures were largely +fostered by warlike expenditure at home and the suspension of many +industries abroad; while population, stimulated by a vicious poor law, +was rapidly on the increase. In this last element, then considered as a +sure sign of prosperity, really consisted one of the chief national +dangers. + +So long as the war lasted, low as the rate of wages might be, there was +generally employment enough in the fields or in the factories for nearly +all the hands willing to labour. When the inflated war prices came to an +end, and wheat fell below 80s. or even 70s. a quarter, until it reached +52s. 6d. early in 1816, labourers were turned off and wages cut down +still further; bread was not proportionately cheapened, and agrarian +outrages sprang up. The continent, impoverished by the war, no longer +required British goods for military purposes, and, as its own domestic +industries revived, ceased to absorb British products, flung in +profusion on its markets. Hence came a reduction of 16 per cent. in the +export trade, and of nearly 20 per cent. in the import trade, which +resulted in bankruptcies and the dismissal of workpeople. If we add to +these causes of distress, the influence of over-speculation, the +accession of disbanded soldiers to the ranks of the unemployed, and the +substitution of the factory system with machinery for domestic +manufactures with hand labour, we can partly understand why Great +Britain, never harried by invading armies, should have suffered more +than France itself from popular misery and disaffection for several +years after the restoration of peace. + +[Pageheading: _VANSITTART'S FINANCE._] + +The history of these years is mainly a history of social unrest, and +attempts to cure social evils by legislation or coercion. Liverpool and +his colleagues, with the possible exception of Eldon, were not bigoted +tories, and it is sometimes forgotten that among them, together with +Sidmouth, Castlereagh, and Vansittart, were Canning, Palmerston, and +Peel. One of the first parliamentary struggles was on the proposal of +the government to reduce the income tax from 10 to 5 per cent., and to +apply this half of it, producing about L7,500,000, towards the expense +of maintaining an army of 150,000 men. Since the income tax has become a +favourite of democratic economists, as pressing specially upon the rich, +we may be surprised to find that its total repeal was successfully +advocated by Henry Brougham, the leading democrat of that day--a man +whose noble services to progress and to humanity in the earlier part of +his career have been obscured by the inordinate vanity and unprincipled +egotism which he displayed in the later phases of his long public life. +He had entered parliament in 1810, and rapidly became the most active of +the opposition speakers. He now employed without scruple all the arts of +agitation, petition-framing, and parliamentary obstruction to achieve +his object, and succeeded, by the aid of bankers and country-gentlemen, +in defeating the government by a majority of thirty-seven. This vote +might be justified, more or less, on the principle laid down by Pitt, +that the income tax should be held in reserve as a war tax only, or on +the ground that it was equally wasteful and mischievous to keep up so +large a peace-establishment, especially if it might be used to bolster +up despotism abroad. It was also unfortunate that Castlereagh, ignoring +the heroic efforts made by the people of England for more than twenty +years, should have deprecated "an ignorant impatience to be relieved +from the pressure of taxation". Still, it is remarkable that friends of +the people and the ultra-liberal corporation of London, as it then was, +should have concentrated their indignant protests against the financial +policy of the government, not on the corn laws, or any other indirect +tax, but on the income tax. + +Public confidence in the economic wisdom of the ministers was further +weakened by the gratuitous abandonment of the malt tax, apparently in a +fit of petulance, on the ground, explicitly stated, that, if another war +tax must be raised, two or three millions more or less would make little +difference. By a temporary suspension of the sinking fund, a deficit +might be converted into a surplus; Vansittart, however, neglected to +take advantage of this simple expedient, and raised L11,500,000 by loan. +His waning reputation was almost shattered by this absurd proceeding. +Finally, the excessive and irregular expenditure upon the civil list +provoked a searching inquiry into its abuses, prefaced by a scathing +attack from Brougham upon the character of the prince regent. His +character was, in fact, indefensible, and had justly forfeited the +respect of the nation. He was a debauchee and gambler, a disobedient +son, a cruel husband, a heartless father, an ungrateful and treacherous +friend, and a burden to the ministries which had to act in his name and +palliate his misdoings. That of Liverpool carried a measure for the +better regulation of the civil list, upon which, swollen as it was by +the wrongful appropriation of other public funds, many official +salaries had been charged hitherto. For these parliament now made a +separate provision. The house of commons, which properly grudged the +prince regent the means of reckless luxury and self-indulgence, was +unanimous in voting L60,000 for outfit and L60,000 a year to the +Princess Charlotte on her marriage, on May 2, to Prince Leopold of +Saxe-Coburg, looking forward to a reign under which virtue and a sense +of public duty would again be the attributes of royalty. In this +session, too, it conferred a boon upon Ireland, which earned little +gratitude, by the consolidation of the British and Irish exchequers. +Ireland was virtually insolvent before this measure was passed. With the +union of the exchequers the union of the countries was completed. The +administration, discredited by its financial policy, was strengthened in +June by the acquisition of Canning, who succeeded Buckinghamshire as +president of the board of control. In September, 1814, Wellesley Pole, a +brother of the Marquis Wellesley and the Duke of Wellington, had been +admitted to the cabinet as master of the mint, so that with Castlereagh, +Vansittart, and Bragge-Bathurst, there were now five members of the +cabinet in the lower house. + +[Pageheading: _INDUSTRIAL RIOTS._] + +The disturbances which broke out again and again during the years +1816-19 were partly the outcome of sheer destitution among the working +classes, and partly of a growing demand for reform, whether +constitutional or revolutionary. The statesmen of the regency must not +be too severely judged if they often confounded these causes of +seditious movements, and failed to distinguish between the moderate and +violent sections of reformers. Those who remembered the bloodthirsty +orgies of the French revolution, ushered in by quixotic visions of +liberty, equality, and fraternity, may perhaps be excused for +distrusting the moderate professions of demagogues who deliberately +inflamed the passions of ignorant mobs. Moreover, the whigs and moderate +reformers, who privately condemned the excesses of their violent +followers, made light of these in their public utterances, and reserved +all their censures for the repressive policy of the government. Bread +riots had begun before the harvest, which proved a total failure. The +price of wheat, which was as low as 52s. 6d. a quarter in January, 1816, +rose to 103s. 1d. in January, 1817, and to 111s. 6d. in June, 1817. And +when rickburning set in as a consequence of agricultural depression, +tumultuary processions as a consequence of enforced idleness in the coal +districts, and a revival of Luddism as a consequence of stagnation in +the various textile industries, itself due to a glut of British goods on +the continent, the reform party, now raising its head, was held +responsible by the government for a great part of these disorders.[64] +The writings of Cobbett, especially his _Weekly Register_, certainly had +a wide influence in stirring up discontent against existing +institutions, but it must be admitted that he condemned the use of +physical force, and pointed to parliamentary reform as the legitimate +cure for all social evils. Reform, however, in Cobbett's meaning +included universal suffrage with annual parliaments, and the Hampden +clubs, all over the country, agitated for the same objects in less +guarded language. Still, looking back at these democratic agencies by +the light of later experience, we can hardly adopt the opinion expressed +by a secret committee of the house of commons that their avowed objects +were "nothing short of a revolution". + +It was on December 2, 1816, that the extreme section of reformers, now +for the first time known as radicals, in alliance with a body of +socialists called Spenceans, first came into open collision with the +forces of the law. A meeting was announced to be held on that day in Spa +Fields, Bermondsey, and was to be addressed by "Orator" Hunt, Major +Cartwright, the two Watsons, and other demagogues. Hunt was a gentleman +of Somerset, and had stood for Bristol in 1812. Though a prominent +speaker, he in no sense directed the movement. Burdett and Cochrane, the +orthodox leaders of London reformers, were not concerned in this +demonstration, which, according to an informer who gave evidence, was to +be the signal for an attack upon the Tower and other acts of atrocity. +As it was, before Hunt chose to appear, the mob, headed by the younger +Watson, broke into gunsmiths' shops, not without bloodshed, and marched +through the Royal Exchange, but were courageously met by the lord mayor, +with a few assistants, and very soon dispersed. The alarm produced in +the whole nation by this riotous fiasco was quite out of proportion to +its real importance, and was reawakened by an insult offered to the +prince regent on his return from opening parliament on January 28, 1817. +Even Canning, a life-long opponent of reform, did not scruple to magnify +these and similar evidences of popular restlessness into proofs of a +deep-laid plot against the constitution, and committees of both houses +urged the necessity of drastic measures to put down a conspiracy against +public order and private property. These measures took the form of bills +for the suppression of seditious meetings, and for the suspension until +July 1 of the _habeas corpus_ act, which had been uninterruptedly in +force since its suspension by Pitt had expired in 1801. This last bill +was passed on March 3, and, before the other became law, the so-called +march of the Blanketeers took place at Manchester. The march was the +ridiculous sequel of a very large meeting got up for the purpose of +carrying a petition to London, and presenting it to the prince regent in +person. The meeting was dispersed by the soldiers and police, after the +riot act had been read, and a straggling crowd of some three hundred who +began their pilgrimage, carrying blankets or overcoats, melted away by +degrees before they had got far southward. + +[Pageheading: _SIDMOUTH'S UNPOPULARITY._] + +A far more serious outbreak at Manchester seems to have been clumsily +planned soon afterwards, but it ended in nothing, and the enemies of the +government freely attributed this and other projects of mob violence to +the instigation of an _agent-provocateur_, well known as "Oliver the +Spy". This man was also credited with the authorship of "the Derbyshire +insurrection," for which three men were executed and many others +transported. Here there can be no doubt that a formidable gang, armed +with pikes, terrorised a large district, pressing operatives to join +them in overt defiance of the law, and killing one who held back. Being +confronted by a Nottinghamshire magistrate named Rolleston, with a small +body of soldiers, they fled across the fields, and the bubble of +rebellion burst at a touch. Whether they were legally guilty of high +treason, for which they were unwisely tried, may perhaps be doubted, but +it would certainly be no palliation of their crime if it could be shown, +as it never was shown, that Oliver had led them to rely on a jacobin +revolution in London. What does appear very clearly is that Sidmouth +was greatly alarmed by the reports of his agents on the disturbed state +of the country, but that he was highly conscientious in his instructions +and in the use of his own powers. The great majority of those imprisoned +for political offences at this time were liberated or acquitted, but the +suspension of the _habeas corpus_ act was renewed at the beginning of +July. + +Moreover, a circular was addressed by Sidmouth to the lords-lieutenant +of counties, for the information of the magistrates, intimating that, in +the opinion of the law officers, persons charged on oath with seditious +libel might be apprehended and held to bail. No act of Sidmouth called +forth such an outburst of reprobation as this; yet it is not +self-evident that instigations to outrage, being criminal offences, +should be treated by magistrates differently from other offences for +which bail may be required, with the alternative of imprisonment. On the +other hand, it is hardly becoming for a home secretary to interpret the +law, and, since the forensic triumphs of Erskine, it had been declared +by an act of parliament that in cases of libel, as distinct from all +other criminal trials, both the law and the fact were within the +province of the jury. At all events, William Cobbett, feeling himself to +be at the mercy of informers and the crown, took refuge in America in +December, 1817. Hone, an antiquarian bookseller, was thrice prosecuted +for blasphemous libels, in which the ministers had been held up to +contempt. All these ill-judged, if not vindictive, prosecutions ended in +signal failure. Ellenborough, the chief justice, before whom the two +last trials were held, strained his judicial authority to procure a +conviction of Hone, but the prisoner, with a spirit worthy of a martyr, +defied the intimidation of the court, and thrice carried the sympathies +of the jury with him. His triple acquittal led to Ellenborough's +resignation, and perceptibly shook the prestige of the government. + +In the year 1818 there was a temporary improvement in the economic +condition of the country. The depression of the preceding year was +followed in this year by a rapid increase of revenue. The importance the +ministry attached to finance was emphasised by the admission to the +cabinet in January of Frederick John Robinson, afterwards prime minister +as Lord Goderich, who had been appointed president of the board of +trade and treasurer of the navy. The chancellor of the exchequer and the +master of the mint were already members of the cabinet. The suspension +of the _habeas corpus_ act having expired, the reform agitation revived, +but assumed a less dangerous character, and no serious outbreak +occurred. A bill of indemnity was passed to cover any excesses of +jurisdiction in arresting suspected persons or in suppressing tumultuous +assemblies. A parliamentary inquiry showed both that the disorders of +the previous year had been exaggerated, and that, after all, the +extraordinary powers of the home office had been used with moderation. +Nevertheless, the early part of the session was largely occupied by +party debates on these questions, the employment of spies, and +apprehensions for libel. Parliament was dissolved in June, and the +general election which followed resulted in a gain of several seats to +the opposition.[65] The ministry was strengthened in January, 1819, by +the appointment of Wellington to be master-general of the ordnance, in +succession to Mulgrave, who remained in the cabinet without office. + +[Pageheading: _THE "MANCHESTER MASSACRE"._] + +Before the end of the year 1818, a strike of Manchester cotton-spinners +was attended by the usual incidents of brutal violence towards workmen +who refused to join in it, but a few shots from the soldiers, one of +which killed a rioter, proved effectual in quelling lawlessness. +Manchester, however, remained the centre of agitation, and during the +summer of 1819 a series of reform meetings held in other great towns +culminated in a monster meeting originally convened for August 9, but +postponed until the 16th. The history of this meeting ending in the +so-called "Manchester" or "Peterloo massacre," has been strongly +coloured by party spirit and sympathy with the victims of reckless +demagogy no less than of blundering officialism. It is certain that +drilling had been going on for some time among the multitudes invited to +attend the meeting of the 9th; that its avowed object was to choose a +"legislatorial representative," as Birmingham had already done, and +that, on its being declared illegal by the municipal authorities, who +declined to summon it on their own initiative, its organisers +deliberately resolved to hold it a week later, whether it were legal or +not. + +The contingents, which poured in by thousands from neighbouring towns, +seem to have carried no arms but sticks, and to have conducted +themselves peaceably when they arrived at St. Peter's Fields, where +Orator Hunt, puffed up with silly vanity, was voted into the chair on a +hustings. Unfortunately, instead of attempting to prevent the meeting, +the county magistrates decided to let the great masses of people +assemble, and then to arrest the leaders in the midst of them. They had +at their disposal several companies of infantry, six troops of the 15th +hussars, and a body of yeomanry, besides special constables. The chief +constable, being ordered to arrest Hunt and his colleagues, declared +that he could not do so without military aid, whereupon a small force of +yeomanry advanced but soon became wedged up and enclosed by the densely +packed crowd. One of the magistrates, fancying the yeomanry to be in +imminent danger, of which there is no proof, called upon Colonel +L'Estrange, who was in command of the soldiers, to rescue them and +disperse the mob. Four troops of the hussars then made a dashing charge, +supported by a few of the yeomanry; the people fled in wild confusion +before them; some were cut down, more were trampled down, and an +eye-witness describes "several mounds of human beings" as lying where +they had fallen. Happily, the actual loss of life did not exceed five or +six, but a much larger number was more or less wounded, the real havoc +and bloodshed were inevitably exaggerated by rumour, and a bitter sense +of resentment was implanted in the breasts of myriads, innocent of the +slightest complicity with sedition, but impatient of oligarchical rule, +and disgusted with so ruthless an interference with the right of public +meeting. + +It would have been wise if Sidmouth and his colleagues had recognised +this widespread feeling, had seen that famine and despair were at the +bottom of popular discontent, and had admitted error of judgment, at +least, on the part of the Lancashire magistrates. On the contrary, they +felt it so necessary to support civil and military authority, at all +hazards, that they induced the prince regent to express unqualified +approbation of the course taken, and afterwards defended it without +reserve in parliament. Even Eldon expressed his opinion privately that +it would be hard to justify it, unless the assembly amounted to an act +of treason, as he regarded it; whereas Hunt and his associates were +prosecuted (and convicted in the next year) not for treason, but only +for a misdemeanour. At all events, the storm of indignation excited by +this sad event, and not confined to the working classes, powerfully +fomented the reform movement. Large meetings were held over all the +manufacturing districts, and a requisition to summon a great Yorkshire +meeting was signed by Fitzwilliam, the lord-lieutenant, who attended it +in person. For these acts he was properly dismissed, but, in spite of +inflammatory speeches, nearly all the meetings passed off quietly and +without interference. Nevertheless, the government thought it necessary +to hold an autumn session, and strengthen the hands of the executive by +fresh measures of repression. These having been passed in December after +strenuous opposition, were afterwards known as the six acts, and +regarded as the climax of Sidmouth's despotic _regime_. + +Two of the six acts, directed against the possession of arms and +military training for unlawful purposes, cannot be considered oppressive +under the circumstances then prevailing. Nor can exception be taken on +the ground of principle to another for "preventing delay in the +administration of justice in cases of misdemeanour," which, indeed, was +amended, by Holland, with Eldon's consent, so as to benefit defendants +in state prosecutions. Two were designed to curb still further the +liberty of the press. One of these made the publication of seditious +libels an offence punishable with banishment, and authorised the seizure +of all unsold copies. When we consider the extreme virulence of +seditious libels in those days, this act does not wear so monstrous an +aspect as its radical opponents alleged, but happily it soon became a +dead letter, and was repealed in 1830. The other, imposing a stamp-duty +on small pamphlets, only placed them on the same footing with +newspapers. The last of the new measures--"to prevent more effectually +seditious meetings and assemblies"--was practically aimed against all +large meetings, unless called by the highest authorities in counties and +corporate towns, or, at least, five justices of the peace. It was, +therefore, a grave encroachment on the right of public meeting, and the +only excuse for it was that it was passed under the fear of a +revolutionary movement, and limited in duration to a period of five +years. + +[Pageheading: _SOCIAL LEGISLATION._] + +Nor can it be denied that, as a whole, this restrictive code was +successful. From a modern point of view it may appear less arbitrary +than the suspension of the _habeas corpus_ act for a whole year +(1817-18), but it was assuredly tainted with a reactionary spirit, and +was capable of being worked in a way inconsistent with civil liberty. +That it was not so worked, on the whole, and caused less hardship than +had been anticipated, was not so much the result of changes in the +government itself, as of economic progress in the nation, aided by a +healthier growth of public opinion. The violence which marked the early +stages of the reform movement has been described as a safety-valve +against anarchy; it was, in reality, the chief obstacle to a sound and +comprehensive reform bill. While it lasted, the middle classes and +liberals of moderate views were estranged from the cause; when it +ceased, the demand for a new representative system became irresistible. + +Whatever allowance may be made for the coercive policy of the government +during the dark period of storm and stress which succeeded the great +war, it is hard to find any excuse for its neglect of social +legislation. Then, if ever, was a time when the work of Pitt's best days +should have been resumed, when real popular grievances should have been +redressed, and when the long arrears of progressive reform should have +been gradually redeemed. Yet very little was done to better the lot of +men, women, and children in Great Britain, and that little was chiefly +initiated by individuals. In 1816, on the motion of a private member, an +inquiry was commenced into the state of the metropolitan police, which +disclosed most scandalous abuses, such as the habitual association of +thieves and thief-takers, encouraged by the grants of blood-money which +had been continued since the days of Jonathan Wild. In 1817 a committee +sanctioned by the ministers recommended a measure for the gradual +abolition of sinecures, which then figured prominently in the domestic +charter of reform. Their recommendations were adopted, and a large +number of sinecure offices were swept away. But inasmuch as sinecures +had been largely given to persons who had held public offices of +business, it was thought necessary to institute pensions to an amount +not exceeding one-half of the reduction. In 1816 a private member, named +Curwen, brought forward a fanciful scheme of his own for the amendment +of the poor laws, which in effect anticipated modern projects of old +age pensions. He obtained the appointment of a select committee, which +reported in 1817, but their proposals were thoroughly inadequate, and no +sensible improvement came of them. + +It was also in 1816 that the cause of national education, the importance +of which had been vainly urged by Whitbread, was taken up in earnest by +Brougham. His motion for the appointment of a select committee was +confined to the schools of the metropolis. It sat at intervals until +1818, when its powers were enlarged, and its labours somewhat diverted +into a searching exposure of mismanagement in endowed charities. The one +direct fruit of the committee was the creation of the charity +commission, but in the opinion of Brougham himself it was of the highest +value in opening the whole education question. The almost universal +prevalence of distress in 1817, and the excessive burden thrown upon +poor rates, induced parliament to authorise an expenditure of L750,000 +in Great Britain and Ireland for the employment of the labouring poor on +public works. A far sounder and more fruitful measure of relief owes its +origin to the same year. It was now that the institution of savings +banks, hitherto promoted only by single philanthropists, emerged from +the experimental stage and claimed the attention of parliament. A bill +for their regulation, introduced by Pitt's friend, George Rose, did not +pass into an act; but the establishment of savings banks was now +directly encouraged by the legislature, and there were thoughtful men +who already dimly foresaw the manifold benefits of their future +development. + +[Pageheading: _THE CURRENCY QUESTION._] + +In the year 1819 was initiated a very important reform in the currency, +which had long been delayed. When the bullion committee reported in +1810, Bank of England notes were at a discount of about 131/2 per cent. +There were several reasons why this should be the case. Continental +trade was then compelled to pass through British ports, and a large +supply of gold was needed to serve as the medium of this trade. There +was also a steady drain of gold to the Spanish peninsula to meet war +expenses, while troubles in South America diminished the annual output +of the precious metals. In 1811 Bank of England notes were made legal +tender, but no further action was then taken, and the depreciation +continued until 1814. The magnificent harvest of 1813, together with +other causes, brought about a sudden fall of prices, in consequence of +which no less than 240 country banks stopped payment in the years +1814-16. The decrease and popular distrust of private banknotes produced +an increased demand for Bank of England notes, which in 1817 had nearly +risen in value to a par with gold. In 1819, when they were at a discount +of only 41/2 per cent., a committee was appointed by the house of +commons to reconsider the policy of resuming cash payments, and Peel, +young as he was, became its chairman. In this character he abandoned his +preconceived views and induced the house to adopt those which had been +advocated by Horner. It was not thought prudent to fix an earlier date +than 1823 for the actual resumption of cash payments, but the directors +of the Bank of England anticipated this date, and began to exchange +notes for specie on May 1, 1821. The new standard was definitely one of +gold. A considerable fall of prices ensued, and it is still a disputed +question whether the return to a single standard was entirely +beneficial. + +But for what is called the public, the readers of newspapers and the +frequenters of clubs or taverns, the rivalry of party leaders or the +incidents of court life excite a much keener interest than painful +efforts for the good of the humbler classes. During the closing years of +George III.'s reign there were no party conflicts of special intensity. +The whigs acquiesced in their self-imposed exclusion from office, and +contented themselves with damaging criticism; the radicals had not yet +acquired the confidence or respect of the electors. Liverpool remained +prime minister; Castlereagh, foreign secretary; Sidmouth, home +secretary; Vansittart, chancellor of the exchequer. Meanwhile there were +startling vicissitudes in the fortunes of the royal family. The king, +indeed, remained under the cloud of mental derangement which darkened +the last ten years of his life, and the Princess of Wales, who had been +the object of so much scandal, was now out of sight and residing abroad. +The Princess Charlotte, however, the only daughter of the regent, had +centred in herself the loyalty and hopes of the nation in a remarkable +degree, and was credited, not unjustly, with private virtues and public +sympathies contrasting strongly with the disposition of her father. Her +marriage with Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who bore a high character, +had been hailed with national enthusiasm, for it was known that, like +Queen Victoria, she had been carefully trained and had disciplined +herself, physically and morally, for the duties of a throne. It has been +truly said that her death in childbirth, on November 6, was the great +historical event of 1817. The prince regent, with his constitution +weakened by dissipation, was not expected to survive her long, and so +long as his wife lived there was no prospect of other legitimate issue, +unless he could procure a divorce. There was no grandchild of George +III. who could lawfully inherit the crown, and the apprehension of a +collateral succession became more and more generally felt.[66] + +In the following year four royal marriages were announced. The Princess +Elizabeth espoused the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg; the Duke of Clarence, +the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen; the Duke of Cambridge, the +Princess Augusta of Hesse; the Duke of Kent, the Princess Victoria Mary +of Saxe-Coburg. The Duke of Sussex was already married, but not with the +necessary consent of the crown, and the Duke of Cumberland was +childless, having married three years earlier a divorced widow whom the +queen, for private reasons, declined to receive. It is a striking proof +of the discredit into which the royal family had fallen, since the old +king virtually ceased to reign, that parliament, in spite of its +anxiety about the succession, displayed an almost niggardly parsimony +when it was moved to increase the allowances of the princes about to +marry. No application was made on behalf of the Princess Elizabeth or +the Duke of Sussex, who was already married morganatically. The +additional grant of L6,000 a year asked on behalf of the Duke of +Cumberland was refused by a small majority, partly, no doubt, because +his anti-liberal opinions and untrustworthy character were no secret to +public men. L10,000 a year was asked for the Duke of Clarence, and +justified by Canning as less than he might fairly have claimed, but it +was reduced to L6,000 and declined by the duke as inadequate; he +afterwards married without a parliamentary grant. The provision of +L6,000 a year for the Dukes of Cambridge and Kent respectively was +stoutly opposed but ultimately carried. Of all George III.'s sons, the +Duke of Kent was perhaps the most respected. It has been truly said that +if the nation could have expressed its dearest wish, in the spirit of +prophecy, after the death of the Princess Charlotte, it would have been +that the issue of the Duke of Kent's marriage with Prince Leopold's +sister might succeed, as Queen Victoria, to the crown of her +grandfather.[67] + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF GEORGE III._] + +On November 17, 1818, Queen Charlotte died, having filled her great and +most difficult position for nearly sixty years with sound judgment, +exemplary moral integrity, and a certain homely dignity. The Duke of +York succeeded her as guardian of the king's person. Little more than a +year later she was followed to the grave by the Duke of Kent, who died +on January 23, 1820, and by the king himself, who died on January 29, in +the eighty-second year of his age. He was not a great sovereign, but, as +a man, he was far superior to his two predecessors, and must ever stand +high, if not highest, in the gallery of our kings. His venerable figure, +though shrouded from view, was a chief mainstay of the monarchy. Narrow +as his views were, and obstinately as he adhered to them, he was not +incapable of changing them, and could show generosity towards enemies, +as he ever showed fidelity to friends. His reception of Franklin after +the American war, and of Fox after the death of Pitt, was that of a +king who understood his kingly office; and his strict devotion to +business, regardless of his own pleasure, could not have been exceeded +by a merchant engrossed in lucrative trade. The many pithy and racy +sayings recorded of him show an insight into men's characters and the +realities of life not unworthy of Dr. Johnson. His simplicity, +kindliness, and charity endeared him to his subjects. His undaunted +courage and readiness to undertake sole responsibility, not only during +the panics of the Gordon riots and of the impending French invasion, but +in many a political crisis, compelled the respect of all his ministers, +and his disappearance from the scenes, to make way for the regency of +his eldest son, was almost as disastrous for English society as the +exchange, in France, of Louis XIV.'s decorous rule for that of the +Regent Orleans. + +The European concert which had been called into existence by the war +against Napoleon, and had effected a continental settlement at Vienna, +continued to act for the maintenance of peace. The treaty of alliance of +1815 only bound the four powers to common action in the event of a fresh +revolution in France which might endanger the tranquillity of other +states. The holy alliance was more comprehensive and wider in its aims, +but was too vague to form the practical basis of a federation. The +settlement of Europe by the treaty of Vienna was, however, the work of +all the powers, and they had therefore an interest in everything that +might be likely to affect that settlement. The habit of concerted +action, once formed, was not lightly abandoned, and the succeeding age +was an age of congresses. But though there was a general sentiment in +favour of concerted action it manifested itself in different ways. The +causes of the recent struggle with France had been political in their +origin, and it was agreed that a recurrence of disorder from France +could be best prevented by the establishment of a government in that +country which should be at once constitutional and legitimist. England +favoured, and Russia, the most autocratic of states, favoured still more +vehemently, the development of constitutions wherever it might be +practicable, while Austria, being composed of territories with no +national cohesion, endeavoured rather to thwart the growth of +constitutions. But Russia was also the most active advocate of joint +interference where a constitutional reform was effected by +unconstitutional means. Great Britain and Austria, on the other hand, +with a juster instinct, considered armed interference an extreme remedy +which might often be worse than the disease of a revolution. + +[Pageheading: _ROYALIST REACTION IN EUROPE._] + +The numerous restorations of 1814 and 1815 were followed by a royalist +and aristocratic reaction in many countries of Europe. In France Louis +XVIII. found himself confronted by an ultra-royalist chamber of deputies +which clamoured for vengeance on the partisans of the republican and +imperial _regimes_ and for the restoration of the privileges and estates +of the Church. Ferdinand VII. of Spain swept away the unwieldy +constitution of 1812 amid the rejoicings of his people, who little +foresaw his future tyranny; and Great Britain did not venture to resist +the action of Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies in abolishing a constitution +which British influence had induced him to grant his island kingdom in +1813. In Prussia the government dealt sternly with the liberal press, +and the provincial estates opposed the institution of a national diet; +while in Wuertemberg a parliament assembled under a liberal constitution +demanded the restoration of the ancient privileges of the nobility and +clergy. In the Two Sicilies British influence, supported by that of +Austria, was used to prevent outrages on the defeated party; in Spain +the moderate counsels of Great Britain were less successful. Austria +endeavoured to prevent future disturbance in the Italian peninsula by a +secret treaty, which obtained the sanction of the British government, +requiring the Two Sicilies to adopt no constitutional changes +inconsistent with the principles adopted by Austria in the +Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. Similar treaties were concluded by Austria +with Tuscany, Modena, and Parma, and she thus gained an ascendency in +Italy, from which only Sardinia and the papal states were exempt. +Russian agents meanwhile began to conduct a liberal propaganda in Spain +and Italy, and Russia was even credited with a desire to make a +liberalised Spain a counterpoise to England on the sea. + +For a time, however, there were no European complications of a +formidable nature. In 1816 a British squadron was sent out under Lord +Exmouth lo execute the decree of the congress of Vienna against the +Barbary states. The Dey of Algiers and the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli +were called upon to recognise the Ionian Islands as British, to accept +British mediation between them and the courts of the Two Sicilies and +Sardinia, to restore their Christian captives, and not to authorise +further piracy. These terms were accepted by the Beys of Tunis and +Tripoli, and the two first demands were granted by the Dey of Algiers. +He was allowed a delay of three months in order to obtain the sultan's +permission for granting the remainder, but in the interval a massacre of +Italian fishermen took place at Bona. Lord Exmouth now sailed from +Gibraltar to attack Algiers. On his demands being again ignored, he +bombarded that city on August 27 for more than six hours. The arsenal +and storehouses and all the ships in the port were burned, and on the +next day the dey accepted Exmouth's terms; peace was signed on the 30th, +the principal terms being the abolition of Christian slavery, and the +delivery of all slaves to Exmouth on the following day. + +The treaty of Vienna in placing the Ionian Islands under British +protection had made no mention of the towns of Parga and Butrinto on the +mainland of Epirus which had passed under British rule along with the +islands. These places were now surrendered to Turkey in accordance with +a former treaty, in return for the Turkish recognition of the British +protectorate over the islands. The inhabitants of Parga were, however, +vehemently opposed to such a transference of their allegiance, and they +were conveyed to the Ionian Islands and compensated for the loss of +their property. The Turks entered into occupation of Parga in 1819. In +1817 and 1818 wild rumours of Russian aggression in the direction of the +Mediterranean began to circulate in England. It was reported that Spain +had promised to cede Port Mahon to Russia; and that Russia was preparing +a great military force, to be employed, if necessary, in alliance with +the Bourbon states, France, Spain, and the Two Sicilies, to counteract +British and Austrian influence. This influence, with that of Prussia, +had really been employed to keep the Dardanelles closed against Russian +ships. Meanwhile Austria had won over Prussia to her conservative policy +in Germany. + +The violent language of the liberal party, especially at the +universities, already began to terrify the Prussian government. The +first danger signal was given at the Wartburg festival of delegates from +the German universities in 1817, at which the students indulged in some +boyish manifestations of their sympathies; their proceedings made some +stir in Germany, and Metternich declared that they were revolutionary. +The horror of liberalism was destined to be heightened in 1819 by the +murder of the tsar's agent, the dramatist Kotzebue, by a lunatic member +of a political society at Giessen. Its immediate result was a conference +of German ministers at Carlsbad, where several resolutions for the +suppression of political agitation were passed, and afterwards adopted +by the diet at Frankfort. This policy was embodied in the "final act" of +a similar conference held at Vienna in the following year (1820), which +empowered the greater states of Germany to aid the smaller in checking +revolutionary movements. At the same time it reaffirmed the general +principle of non-intervention, and even laid down the pregnant doctrine +that constitutions could not be legitimately altered except by +constitutional means. The union of Austria and Prussia on the +conservative side had rather the effect of throwing the secondary states +of southern Germany upon the liberal side. In the spring and summer of +1818 Bavaria and Baden framed constitutions, and in 1819 Wuertemberg once +more essayed parliamentary government, which the reactionary policy of +her first parliament had compelled her to abandon. The significant fact +in European politics was that Frederick William III. of Prussia, always +accustomed to being led, had passed from the influence of Russia to that +of Austria. + +[Pageheading: _THE CONFERENCE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE._] + +Such were the general tendencies of European politics when the +conference of Aix-la-Chapelle assembled on September 30, 1818. The +primary object of this conference was to consider the request of France +for a reduction in the indemnity demanded of her and for the evacuation +of her territories by the four allied powers. Wellington and +Castlereagh, who represented Great Britain, earned the gratitude of +France by readily agreeing to these requests, which were granted without +any difficulty. This question was obviously one which required such a +conference to settle it; but the conference, having once assembled, was +urged to deal with other difficulties that less directly concerned it. +One of these was a dispute between Denmark and Sweden about the +apportionment of the Danish debt, which, in consideration of the +annexation of Norway to Sweden, under the treaty of Kiel, was to be +partly borne by Sweden. Denmark appealed to the four powers, +representing that treaty as in fact a part of their own settlement of +Europe. Sweden would not admit the right of the powers to intervene, but +finally settled her difficulty with Denmark by a separate negotiation +conducted by the mediation of Great Britain in 1819. + +A still more doubtful question was raised by the request of Spain for +the assistance of the allied powers against her revolted colonies. The +Spanish dependencies in America had declined to acknowledge Joseph +Bonaparte, and had lapsed into a state of chaos; the restoration of +Ferdinand VII. had induced most of them to return to their allegiance, +but the three south-eastern colonies, Banda Oriental (Uruguay), La Plata +(the Argentine), and Paraguay, continued in revolt. In 1817 fortune +turned still further against Spain; Monte Video, the capital of Banda +Oriental, was taken by Portugal, or rather by Brazil, and Chile revolted +against Spain. On February 12, 1818, Chile proclaimed her independence, +and she began at once to procure warships in England and the United +States, of which Lord Cochrane took command. The four allied powers and +France had protested against the seizure of Monte Video, but otherwise +Spain had been left to herself. Great Britain seemed to have more to +gain than to lose by the insurrection. The revolted colonies were open +to her commerce, and by weakening Spain they had strengthened the +maritime supremacy of Great Britain. Nevertheless Great Britain was +willing to mediate, on condition that Spain would make reasonable +concessions. Spain, however, refused to make any concessions at all, and +called on the allied powers to aid her in crushing the insurrection by +force. Great Britain did not regard an unconditional subjection of the +colonies as either expedient or practicable, and opposed this course; +Austria took the same view, and thus placed intervention out of the +question. + +[Pageheading: _THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE._] + +But the principal question before the conference of Aix-la-Chapelle was +not one relating to any particular difficulty, but the permanent form of +the European alliance. The tsar desired a general confederacy of +European powers, such as had signed the treaty of Vienna and the holy +alliance. This confederacy was to guard against two evils--that of +revolutionary agitation and that of arbitrary administration and +sectional alliances. Such a project, though doubtless proposed in good +faith, practically gave Russia an interest in the domestic movements, +both reactionary and constitutional, of every country, while it forbade +any political combination to which Russia was not a party. Castlereagh +agreed with Metternich in thinking that such an extension of Russian +Influence was more to be dreaded than local disorder, and Great Britain +and Austria proposed therefore that the alliance should be based on the +treaty of Chaumont, as renewed at Vienna and Paris, though they were +willing to have friendly discussions from time to time without extending +the scope of the alliance. All parties desired to include France in +their alliance, but the tsar pertinently objected that France could not +be admitted to an alliance aimed solely against France. A compromise was +therefore adopted. The quadruple alliance for war, in case of a +revolution in France, was secretly renewed, and centres for mobilisation +were fixed, while France was publicly invited to join the deliberations +of the allied powers. A secret protocol was then signed providing for +the meeting of congresses from time to time, and giving the minor +European powers a place in these congresses when their affairs should be +under discussion. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[64] For details of the riots see _Annual Register_, lviii. (1816), +60-73. They were particularly numerous in May, 1816, and in the counties +of Cambridge, Essex, and Suffolk. At Littleport in Cambridgeshire, on +May 24, it was found necessary to fire on the rioters. Two men were +killed and five were afterwards executed. + +[65] Greville, _Memoirs_, i., 2; Walpole, _History of England_, i., 392, +393. + +[66] The curious may be interested in the following list of the names +and ages of the persons who stood next in order of succession to the +crown after the death of Princess Charlotte. It will be observed that of +the fourteen who stood nearest the throne, not one was under forty years +of age, and not one had a legitimate child:-- + + Age. Relation to king. + 1. George, Prince Regent 55 Son. + 2. Frederick, Duke of York 54 Son. + 3. William, Duke of Clarence 52 Son. + 4. Edward, Duke of Kent 50 Son. + 5. Ernest, Duke of Cumberland 46 Son. + 6. Augustus, Duke of Sussex 44 Son. + 7. Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge 43 Son. + 8. Charlotte, Queen-Dowager of Wuertemberg 51 Daughter. + 9. Princess Augusta 48 Daughter. + 10. Princess Elizabeth 47 Daughter. + 11. Mary, Duchess of Gloucester 41 Daughter, + 12. Princess Sophia 40 Daughter. + 13. William, Duke of Gloucester 41 Nephew. + 14. Princess Sophia of Gloucester 44 Niece. + 15. Charles, Duke of Brunswick 13 Great nephew. + +[67] See, however, the _Creevey Papers_, i., 268-71, 284. + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE LAST YEARS OF LORD LIVERPOOL. + + +The only important events of domestic interest in the year 1820, after +the death of George III., were the Cato Street conspiracy, and the +so-called trial of Queen Caroline. For the accession of the king, who +had so long exercised royal functions as regent, produced no visible +effect either on the personal composition or on the general policy of +the government. Immediately after his proclamation he was attacked by a +dangerous illness, but on his recovery he promptly raised two questions +which nearly involved a change of ministry. One of these was a proposal +to increase his private revenue, which he was induced to abandon for the +present. The other was a demand for a divorce, which the ministers +firmly resisted, though they ultimately agreed to a compromise, under +which the divorce question was to be deferred, so long as the queen +remained quietly abroad, but action was to be taken in case she returned +to assert her rights. + +[Pageheading: _THE CATO STREET CONSPIRACY._] + +In the midst of these difficulties the lives of the ministers were +threatened by a plot somewhat like those of the seventeenth century. +Later writers have represented it as contemptible in its conception, and +as directly provoked by the "Manchester massacre". So it may be said +that Guy Fawkes was an insignificant person, and that his employers were +exasperated by the severe treatment of popish recusants. The facts are +that Arthur Thistlewood, the author of the Cato Street conspiracy, was a +well-known confederate of the Watsons and other members of the extreme +reform party, and that his plan for murdering the assembled cabinet in a +private house would probably have been effectual, had it not been +detected by the aid of an informer. This informer, Edwards, had warned +the authorities in November, 1819, of the impending stroke, and may or +may not have instigated Thistlewood's gang to execute it at a moment and +place well-calculated to secure their arrest. At all events twenty-four +conspirators armed themselves in Cato Street, near the Edgware Road, +London, for the purpose of assassinating the ministers at a cabinet +dinner in Harrowby's house in Grosvenor Square, and some of their +associates were posted near the door of that house to summon them when +the guests should have assembled. Harrowby's dinner was of course put +off, but the watchers were deceived by the arrival of carriages for a +dinner party next door, and failed to apprise the gang in Cato Street. +The police rushed in upon the gang, but a body of soldiers ordered to +support them reached the spot too late, a policeman was stabbed, and +Thistlewood, with twelve or fourteen others, contrived to escape. He was +captured the next morning, and executed with four of his accomplices, +five more were transported for life, and the atrocity of the enterprise +was naturally treated in the king's speech as a justification for the +repressive measures in operation. In the following April a petty +outbreak in Scotland was easily put down by a few troops at a place +called Bonnymuir. It was, however, preceded by a treasonable +proclamation, which spread terror among the citizens of Glasgow for +several hours, and was sufficiently like an attempt at armed rebellion +to confirm the alarm excited by the Cato Street conspiracy. In the face +of such warnings, the energy of the government in stamping out disorder +could hardly be censured. + +The last parliament of George III. was prorogued on February 28, 1820, +and dissolved on the following day. One of its last debates was on Lord +John Russell's proposal to suspend the issue of writs to the boroughs of +Grampound, Penryn, Barnstaple, and Camelford. This was carried in the +house of commons, but lost in the house of lords. The new parliament was +opened by George IV. in person on April 21. Widespread excitement +occasioned by the question of the divorce prevented the business of the +first session from attracting much attention. A deficit in the revenue, +coinciding with growing expenditure, compelled Vansittart to fall back +on a fresh manipulation of the sinking fund. One measure, however, of +the highest importance was introduced by Brougham. The committee of 1814 +on national education had amassed a great body of valuable evidence, +and he now founded upon its report a comprehensive bill extending to the +whole country. It placed the management and teaching of elementary +schools entirely in the hands of Churchmen, and was dropped after the +first reading, but the conscience of the nation was roused by it, and it +bore fruit later. Further slight mitigations of the criminal law were +carried as a result of attacks made by Sir James Mackintosh, upon whom +the mantle of Romilly had fallen, and it is worthy of notice that even +Eldon, the stout opponent of such mitigations, condemned the use of +spring-guns, as a safeguard against poaching. The only ministerial +change in this year was the final retirement in May of Lord Mulgrave, +who had held high office in every ministry except that of Grenville +since 1804, and had voluntarily surrendered his post at the head of the +ordnance in 1818 to make room for Wellington. + +[Pageheading: _QUEEN CAROLINE._] + +The "queen's trial," as it is erroneously called, was the last act but +one in a domestic tragedy which had lasted twenty-five years. The +Princess Caroline of Brunswick was a frivolous and ill-disciplined young +woman when she was selected by George III. as a wife for the +heir-apparent, already united and really attached to Mrs. Fitzherbert. +The princess could not have been married to a man less capable of +drawing out the better side of her character, nor was she one to inspire +his selfish and heartless nature with a sentiment, if not of conjugal +love, yet of conjugal friendship. From the first there was no pretence +of affection between them. A few years after her marriage she was +relegated, not unwillingly, to live independently at Blackheath, where +many eminent men accepted her hospitality. During this period, as we +have seen, a "delicate investigation" into her conduct was instituted in +1806. Though she emerged from it with less stain on her character than +had been expected, she never enjoyed the respect of the royal family or +of the nation, and there was no question of her sharing the home of her +husband. Instead of being a bond of concord between them, the education +of her daughter was the subject of constant discord, requiring the +frequent intervention of the old king until he lost his reason. After +she went abroad in 1814, she travelled widely, but her English +attendants soon retired from her service, and she incurred fresh +suspicion by her flighty and undignified conduct. She had no part in the +rejoicing for the marriage, or in the mourning for the death, of the +Princess Charlotte; and in 1818 a secret commission, afterwards known as +the Milan commission, was sent out by the prince regent to collect +evidence for a divorce suit. Not only Liverpool, but Eldon, who had +formerly stood her friend, concurred in the appointment of this +commission, promoted by Sir John Leach, and its report was the +foundation of the proceedings now taken against her. + +These proceedings were immediately due to her own action in returning to +England in June, 1820, but this action was not wholly unprovoked. She +had long and bitterly resented her official exclusion from foreign +courts, and when, after the king's accession, her name was omitted from +the prayer-book, she protested against it as an intolerable insult. +Contrary to the advice of her wisest partisans, including Brougham, she +persisted in braving the wrath of the king and throwing herself upon the +people. She was received at Dover with acclamations from immense +multitudes; and her journey to and through London was a continued +ovation. Not that her innocence was established even in the popular +mind, but that, innocent or guilty, she was regarded as a persecuted +woman, and persecuted by a worthless husband. The ministry fulfilled its +promise to the king by moving the house of lords to institute an inquiry +into the queen's conduct. Pending this, conferences took place between +Wellington and Castlereagh, on the part of the king, and Brougham and +Denman on that of the queen. It was at once laid down as a preliminary +basis of the negotiation that neither should the king be understood to +retract, nor the queen to admit, any allegation against her. The points +upon which she inflexibly insisted were, the recognition of her royal +status at foreign courts, through an official introduction by the +British ambassador, and the insertion of her name in the prayer-book. + +The house of commons, on the motion of Wilberforce, offered to protect +her honour (whatever that might import) on condition of her waiving this +last point, but she courteously declined its conciliatory proposals on +June 22. On July 4 a secret committee of the house of lords recommended +a solemn investigation, to be carried out "in the course of a +legislative proceeding," and on the 8th Liverpool introduced a bill of +pains and penalties, to deprive her of her title, and to dissolve her +marriage. The second reading of this bill was formally set down for +August 17, and for several weeks afterwards the house of lords was +occupied in hearing evidence in support of the charges against her. The +whole country was deluged with the squalid details of this evidence, the +ministers were insulted, and the sympathy of the populace with her cause +was obtrusively displayed in every part of the kingdom. On October 3, +after an adjournment of the lords, Brougham opened the defence in the +most celebrated of his speeches. On November 2 the lord chancellor, +Eldon, moved the second reading of the bill, and on the 8th it was +carried by a majority of twenty-eight. Four days later, on the third +reading, the majority had dwindled to nine only. Knowing the temper of +the house of commons, Liverpool treated such a victory as almost +equivalent to a defeat, and announced that the government would not +proceed further with the measure. + +Had the queen possessed the virtue of self-respect or dignity, she would +have been satisfied with this legislative, though not morally decisive, +acquittal. But she was intoxicated with popular applause, largely due to +her royal consort's vices, and, after London had been illuminated for +three nights in her honour, she declined overtures from the government, +and appealed for a maintenance to the house of commons, which granted +her an annuity of L50,000 in the next session. But she never lived to +enjoy it After going in procession to St. Paul's, to return thanks for +her deliverance, on the 29th, and vainly attempting, once more, to +procure the mention of her name in the prayer-book, she concentrated her +efforts on a claim of right to be crowned with the king. No government +could have conceded this claim, and, when it had been refused by the +privy council, her solemn protests were inevitably vain. Even her least +prudent counsellors would assuredly have dissuaded her from the attempt +which she made to force an entrance into Westminster Abbey on the +coronation day, July 19, 1821. It was a painful scene when she, who had +so lately been the idol of the fickle populace, was turned away from the +doors amidst conflicting exclamations of derision and pity. A fortnight +later, on August 2, she was officially reported to be seriously ill; on +the 7th she was no more. In accordance with her own direction her body +was buried at Brunswick. Her ill-founded popularity was shown for the +last time, when a riotous multitude succeeded in diverting her funeral +procession, and forcing it to pass through the city on its way to +Harwich. But it did not survive her long; the people were becoming tired +of her, and the king, who had forfeited the respect of the middle and +upper classes, was less hated by the lower classes after her death. + +[Pageheading: _GEORGE IV. IN IRELAND._] + +The personal character and opinions of George IV. seem to have +influenced politics less during the early years of his reign than during +his long regency. His coronation was celebrated with unprecedented +magnificence, and amidst external demonstrations of loyalty, hard to +reconcile with the unbounded enthusiasm which the queen had so lately +inspired. Soon afterwards, he sailed in his yacht from Portsmouth on a +voyage to Ireland, but put into Holyhead and there awaited news of the +queen's expected death. This reached him at last, and probably impressed +him, no less than his ministers, as "the greatest of all possible +deliverances, both to his majesty and the country".[68] He proceeded to +Dublin in one of the earliest steam-packets, and secluded himself until +"the corpse of his wife was supposed to have left England".[69] He then +plunged into a round of festivities, and pleased all classes of Irishmen +by his affable and condescending manners. He was, indeed, the first +sovereign of England who had appeared in Ireland on a mission of peace. +John William Ward, afterwards fourth Viscount Dudley in his letters, +describes him as having behaved like a popular candidate on an +electioneering trip, and surmises that "if the day before he left +Ireland, he had stood for Dublin, he might have turned out Shaw or +Grattan ".[70] Certain it is that his visit to Ireland was regarded as +an important political event. The same kind of success attended his +visit to Scotland in August of the following year, 1822. Thenceforth, he +scarcely figures in political life until the resignation of Lord +Liverpool in 1827, and though he consented with reluctance to Canning's +tenure of the foreign office, he did not attempt to interfere with the +change in foreign policy consequent upon it. He was, in fact, sinking +more and more into an apathetic voluptuary; but he could rouse himself, +and exhibit some proofs of ability, under the impulse of his brothers, +the honest Duke of York and the arch-intriguer, the Duke of Cumberland. + +The cry for retrenchment, now taken up by the country gentlemen, and not +unmingled with suggestions for a partial repudiation of the national +debt, compelled the government to adopt a policy of strict economy. +Accordingly, in 1822, Vansittart introduced a scheme for the conversion +of the so-called "Navy 5 per cents.," which resulted in a saving of +above L1,000,000 annually. He also carried a more questionable scheme +for the payment of military, naval, and civil pensions, which then +amounted to L4,900,000 a year, but were falling in rapidly; the money +required for this purpose was to be borrowed by trustees, and was to be +repaid in the course of forty-five years at the rate of L2,800,000 a +year; in this way an immediate saving of about L2,000,000 annually was +effected at the cost, however, of the next generation. By means of these +expedients, with a considerable reduction of official salaries, the +government was enabled to repeal the additional duty on malt, to +diminish the duties on salt and leather, and, on the whole to remit +about L3,500,000 of taxes. When the entire credit of financial reform is +given to Huskisson, Joseph Hume, and other economists of the new school, +it should not be forgotten that a beginning was made by economists of +the old school, before Huskisson joined the government in 1823, or +Robinson took Vansittart's place as chancellor of the exchequer. + +From the beginning of this reign a more enlightened spirit may be traced +in parliamentary debates. This was aided by the growth of a +constitutional movement in favour of reform in parliament as the first +step towards a redress of grievances. The movement left its first trace +on the statute-book in a measure carried by Lord John Russell in the +session of 1821 for the disfranchisement of Grampound, though the vacant +seats were transferred to the county of York, instead of to the +"village" of Leeds or some other of the great unrepresented cities. This +was the first instance of the actual disfranchisement of a constituency, +though it was not without precedent that the franchise of a corrupt +borough should be extended to the freeholders of the surrounding +district. A notable sign of the progressive change was the +reconstruction of the cabinet in 1822. Liverpool, who always possessed +the gift of working harmoniously with colleagues of different views and +felt the weakness of his present ministry, once more attempted to bring +about a coalition with the Grenville party in the opposition. Grenville +had long been drifting away from his alliance with Grey, and had been a +stout advocate of repressive legislation which the more advanced whigs +opposed. Though he declined office for himself, several of his relatives +and adherents were rewarded with minor appointments, his cousin, Charles +Wynn, became president of the board of control, in succession to +Bragge-Bathurst, who had himself succeeded Canning in the previous year, +and his nephew, the Marquis of Buckingham, obtained a dukedom. Such +recruits added little strength to the Liverpool government, and Holland +well said that "all articles are now to be had at low prices, except +Grenvilles". + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF CASTLEREAGH._] + +But Liverpool gained far more powerful coadjutors in the Marquis +Wellesley, Peel, and Canning. In December, 1821, Wellesley undertook the +lord-lieutenancy of Ireland, which had relapsed into so disturbed a +state that it had been proposed to make Wellington both viceroy and +commander-in-chief. The significance of this selection was increased by +the appointment of Plunket as attorney-general. Sidmouth, while +retaining his seat in the cabinet, retired, by his own wish, from the +office of home secretary, with a sense of having pacified the country, +and was succeeded by Peel. Castlereagh, now Marquis of Londonderry, +remained foreign secretary, but on August 12, 1822, as he was on the +point of setting out for the congress of Verona, he died, like Whitbread +and Romilly, by his own hand. His suicidal act was clearly due to a +morbid fit of depression, under the stress of anxieties protracted over +more than twenty years; and the disordered state of his mind had been +observed, not only by Wellington, but also by the king. His successor +was Canning, who also became leader of the house of commons. + +The characters and political aims of these rival statesmen have often +been contrasted by historians of a later age, who have seldom done +justice to Castlereagh. It is remembered that he was the author of the +Walcheren expedition; it is forgotten that he was the advocate of +sending a powerful force to the Baltic coast at the critical moment +between Jena and Eylau, that he was not altogether responsible for the +delays which rendered the Walcheren expedition abortive or for the +choice of its incompetent commander, that his prime object was to strike +a crushing blow at Napoleon's naval power, and that, if his +instructions had been obeyed, this would have been effected by a rapid +advance upon Antwerp when nearly all the French troops had been +withdrawn from the Netherlands. It is remembered that he was at the war +office when the operations of Wellington in the Peninsula were crippled +for want of supplies; it is forgotten that it was he who selected +Wellington, and that he loyally strained every nerve to keep him +supplied with troops, provisions, and specie, when few but himself +believed in the policy of the Peninsular war, and Sir John Moore had +assured him that if the French dominated Spain, they could not be +resisted in Portugal. It is remembered--or rather it is assumed--that he +was the eager promoter of coercive and reactionary legislation at home; +it is forgotten, or ignored, that he was among the earliest and +staunchest advocates of catholic emancipation, and that a despotic +temper is belied by the whole tone of his speeches. Above all, he is +unjustly credited, in the face of direct evidence to the contrary, with +being the champion of absolutism in the councils of Europe, the fact +being not only that his voice was always on the side of moderation and +conciliation, but that Canning himself, on succeeding him, dissociated +Great Britain from the holy alliance by taking his stand upon an +admirable despatch of Castlereagh and adopting it as his own. When he +met with his tragical end, the brutal shouts of exultation raised by a +portion of the crowd at his funeral were the expression of sheer +ignorance and not of intelligent public opinion. He was a tory, in days +when most patriots were tories, but he was a tory of the best type; and +we of a later generation can see that few statesmen of George III.'s +reign have left a purer reputation or rendered greater services to their +country. + +[Pageheading: _CANNING AND PEEL._] + +George Canning, his successor, has been far more favourably judged by +posterity, and not without reason, if intellectual brilliancy is a +supreme test of political merit. A firm adherent of Pitt, and a somewhat +unscrupulous critic of Addington, he was probably the first +parliamentary orator of the nineteenth century, with the possible +exception of Sheridan. Pitt's eloquence was of a loftier and simpler +type, Fox's was more impetuous and spontaneous; Peel's range of +political knowledge was far wider; Gladstone excelled all, not only in +length of experience but in readiness and dialectical resource. +Canning's rhetoric was of a finer quality and was combined with great +debating power, but he was a man to inspire admiration rather than +confidence, and had not held one of the higher political offices since +his resignation in 1809, after his quarrel with Castlereagh. He accepted +a mission to Portugal, however, and was in Lisbon when Napoleon returned +from Elba. In 1816, as has been seen, he became president of the board +of control, but, having been formerly one of the queen's advisers, he +declined to have anything to do with her trial and remained abroad +during its continuance. In December, 1820, he returned, but persisted in +resigning his place at the board of control on the supposed ground that +further parliamentary discussion of the queen's case was inevitable. On +this occasion he received a special vote of thanks from the directors of +the East India Company for his services on the board. The king objected +to his readmission after the queen's death, and he was a private member +of parliament when he was offered and undertook the governor-generalship +of India in March, 1822. But his departure was delayed until August, and +he was on his way to bid farewell to his constituents at Liverpool when +Castlereagh destroyed himself. It was generally felt that no other man +was so well qualified as Canning to succeed him. But the king declared +his "final and unalterable decision" to sanction no such change. Though +he afterwards relented, on the remonstrances of Wellington, he did so +with a bad grace; but there was no delay on Canning's part in accepting +the foreign secretaryship thus offered. From his acceptance may be dated +the most remarkable part of his career. + +The accession of Peel to the Liverpool ministry, in the capacity of home +secretary; was only less important than that of Canning. Hitherto, Peel +had mostly been known to the British public as chief secretary for +Ireland, and as chairman of the committee which, in 1819, recommended +the early resumption of cash payments. In both these posts he displayed +a certain moderation and independence of mind, combined with a rare +capacity for business, which marked him out as a great administrator. +This promise he amply fulfilled as home secretary. He was the first +minister of the crown who took up the philanthropic work of Romilly and +Mackintosh, largely reducing the number of offences for which capital +punishment could be inflicted. He was also the first to reform the +police system of London, and to substitute for a multitude of decrepit +watchmen, incapable of dealing with gangs of active criminals, a +disciplined body of stalwart constables, which has since been copied in +every county and large town of Great Britain. Above all, while he cannot +be said to have shown a statesmanlike insight or foresight of the +highest order, he could read the signs of the times and the temper of +his countrymen with a sagacity far beyond that of his predecessor, +Sidmouth, or of such politicians as Eldon and Castlereagh. In him was +represented the domestic policy of Pitt in his earlier days, as Pitt's +financial views were represented in Huskisson, who had actually served +under him. + +Though Huskisson was only made president of the board of trade, in +January, 1823, and not chancellor of the exchequer, it is certain that +his mind controlled that of Robinson, who succeeded Vansittart in that +position. Vansittart, who was created Lord Bexley, succeeded +Bragge-Bathurst as chancellor of the duchy. The cabinet changes were +completed in October by the removal of Wellesley Pole, now Lord +Maryborough, from the office of master of the mint. Huskisson, if any +man, was the leading pioneer of free trade, and there can be little +doubt that, had he not died prematurely, its adoption would have been +hastened by ten or fifteen years. In his first year of office he +welcomed petitions for the repeal of the import duties on foreign wool, +but failed to convince the wool manufacturers that it must be +accompanied by the abolition of export duties on British wool. The +proposed reform was, therefore, dropped, and a like fate befell his +attempt in the same year to benefit the silk trade by abolishing certain +vexatious restrictions upon it, including the practice of fixing the +wages of Spitalfields weavers by an order of the magistrates. For the +moment the ignorant outcry of the journeymen themselves prevailed over +their real interests, but in the following year, 1824, Huskisson carried +a much wider measure, providing that foreign silks, hitherto excluded, +should be admitted subject to a duty of 30 per cent. in and after 1826, +and another measure for the joint relief of wool growers and wool +manufacturers which imposed a small duty of equal amount on the +importation and the exportation of wool. + +His great achievement in 1823 was the reform of the navigation laws. +These acts, dating from the commonwealth and the restoration, gave +British shipowners a qualified monopoly of the carrying trade, since +they prohibited the importation of European goods except in British +ships or ships of the producing country, while the importation of goods +from other quarters of the world was confined to British ships only. +America had protested against this exclusive system, and it was +abandoned, as regards the United States, by the treaty of Ghent in 1814. +The mercantile states of Europe soon followed the example of America, +and the reciprocity of duties bill, introduced by Huskisson on June 6, +1823, conceded equal rights to all countries reciprocating the +concession, only retaining the exclusion against such countries as might +reject equality of trade. The change involved some hardship to +shipowners who had built their vessels with timber bought at prices +raised by heavy duties, but they were too shortsighted to accept the +compromise offered by Huskisson. Before long, however, the act was +justified, and the shipowners compensated by a rapid increase in British +shipping. + +[Pageheading: _AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT._] + +For nearly five years after the accession of George IV. the state of the +country was, on the whole, more prosperous, and the industrial classes +were more contented, than in the five years next preceding. Such +restlessness as there was prevailed among farmers and agricultural +labourers rather than among workmen in the manufacturing districts, and +in 1823 every branch of manufactures was reported to be flourishing. It +is difficult for a later generation, accustomed to consider 30s. a +quarter a fair price for wheat, to understand the perennial complaints +and petitions of the agricultural interest when 60s. a quarter was +regarded as a low price for wheat, and the cultivation of wheat extended +over a vastly larger area than it does at present. Nor is the difficulty +lessened, when we remember the miserably low rate of wages then paid by +farmers. A partial explanation may be found in the fact that what they +saved in wages they lost in poor rates, and that most agricultural +products except corn were sold at a very small profit. The high poor +rates were the result of the disastrous system of giving allowances to +labourers. + +But there were other evils caused by the vicious policy pursued by the +government. The encouragement of home production had led to the +enclosure of land not fit for cultivation, so that a slight fall in +prices meant ruin to many farmers. Moreover, the corn laws, though +framed for the purpose of arresting fluctuations in price, actually +increased fluctuations and thus enhanced the risks attending +agricultural enterprise. Nor were landlords who had thriven on war +prices, and raised the scale of their establishments as if these prices +were to be perpetual, willing to reduce their rents on the return of +peace. Rent was said to have risen 70 per cent. since 1792; but the +landlords were often embarrassed, because their lands had too often been +burdened with jointures, settlements, and mortgages during the war. It +was in their interest that the act of 1815, which aimed at maintaining +war prices, had been passed. But the deeper reason for all this clamour +from the rural districts was the stagnation of ideas, and incapacity of +improvement, engendered by an artificial monopoly of the national food +supply. This was not the special lesson impressed upon landlords or +tenants by Cobbett, whose violent and delusive writings had a large +circulation in the country. But his teaching was so far beneficial that +it quickened the demand for parliamentary reform, though the fruits of +that reform were destined to be very different from the expectations +which he excited. + +[Pageheading: _SPECULATIVE FRENZY._] + +The spell of general prosperity which, in spite of some distress in the +rural districts, prevailed in the years 1820-23 was somewhat broken in +1824 by strikes and outrages in the manufacturing districts. Strikes for +higher wages naturally arose out of the increase in mill owners' +profits, and the ferocious spirit displayed by the strikers against +masters and fellow-workmen was attributed by reformers to the one-sided +operation of the combination laws. Accordingly, a committee of the house +of commons reported in favour of repealing these laws, and also part of +the common law which treated coercion either by trade unions or by +masters as conspiracy. A bill founded on this report was hastily passed, +with the natural result that strikes broke out in every quarter of the +country; wholesale and cruel oppression was practised by trade +unionists, and it became necessary for parliament to retrace its steps. +Under a new act, passed in 1825, which continued in force until very +recent times, trade unions were recognised as legal, but their worst +malpractices were once more brought within the control of the criminal +law.[71] So far the commercial policy of Huskisson was justified, as a +whole, by its effects on trade, and the session of 1824 was closed on +June 25 by a cheerful speech from the king, in which the disturbed state +of Ireland was the only topic suggestive of anxiety. Already, however, +the revival of commercial hopefulness at home, with the opening of new +markets in South America, was paving the way for the most ruinous mania +of speculation known in England since the south sea bubble. It was well +that sound and sober-minded economists now guided the action of the +government, and that Liverpool proved himself a worthy successor of Sir +Robert Walpole during the great financial crisis of 1825.[72] + +The speculative frenzy of 1825 differed from the railway mania of the +next generation in that it had no solid basis of remunerative +investment. The development of the railway system, after the application +of locomotive steam engines to iron tramways, offered a legitimate +promise of large profits, and this promise would have been still more +amply realised but for the shameful waste of capital on competition and +law expenses. It was otherwise with the dupes and victims of the rage +for speculation which possessed all classes of society in 1825, and +arose out of an immense accumulation of wealth for which no safe +employment could be found at home except at a modest rate of interest. +The weakening of the hold of Spain on South America left her colonies +open to foreign trade, but the enterprises there and elsewhere which +absorbed the hard-won savings of humble families, by thousands and tens +of thousands, were nearly all chimerical, and some of them grotesque in +their absurdity. Whether or not warming-pans and skates were actually +exported to the tropics, it is certain that Scotch dairy-women emigrated +to Buenos Ayres for the purpose of milking wild cows and churning butter +for people who preferred oil. The incredible multiplication of +bubble-companies was facilitated by a marvellous cheapness of money, +largely due to an inordinate issue of notes by country bankers, and even +by the Bank of England, in spite of the fact that gold and silver were +known to be leaving the country in vast quantities, especially in the +shape of loans to France. The inevitable reaction came when the Bank of +England contracted its issue of notes in order to arrest the drain of +gold; goods recklessly bought up had to be sold at a fearful loss, bills +upon which advances had been made proved to be of no value, and several +great London banking houses stopped payment, bringing down in their fall +a much larger number of country banks dependent on them. + +In the month of December, 1825, the crisis was at its height, and it is +stated that within six or seven weeks after the failure of the banking +firm of Pole & Company on the 5th, sixty or seventy banks had broken. +The king's speech in July had congratulated parliament on increasing +prosperity and had betrayed no misgivings about its stability. When the +crash came, however, the ministers showed no want of firmness or +resource. They could not repair the consequences of national folly, but +they devoted themselves with intelligence to a restoration of credit. +For this purpose they suppressed at once the further issue of small +notes from country banks by a high-handed act of authority, for which +they admitted that an act of indemnity might be needed. At the same time +they rapidly increased the supply of small notes from the Bank of +England, and of coin from the mint. Moreover, they induced the Bank of +England to establish branches in a few provincial towns and to make +advances upon merchants' goods to the amount of three millions. It cost +a greater effort to break down the monopoly of the Bank of England by +legalising joint-stock banks in the provinces, though not within a +distance of sixty-five miles from London. Such practical expedients as +these, seconded by the good sense of the mercantile community, proved +sufficient to avert a catastrophe only less disastrous than national +bankruptcy. With the subsidence of alarm, the causes of alarm also +subsided, the recuperative powers of the country reasserted themselves, +as during the great war, and the heart-breaking anxieties of 1825-26 +were ignored, if not forgotten, in the political excitement of 1827.[73] + +[Pageheading: _ECONOMIC REFORM._] + +The budgets of 1823-26 indeed mark a memorable advance in financial +reform, which the commercial panic of 1825 scarcely interrupted. There +had been a reduction of the national debt by about L25,000,000. "The +poorer householders had been relieved from the pressure both of house +tax and window tax. The manufacturing classes had been encouraged by +the reduction of the duties on silk, wool, and iron. The consuming +classes had been benefited by the reduction of duties on spirits, wines, +coffee, and sugar."[74] Owing to Huskisson's enlightened policy the old +navigation laws had been repealed upon the condition of reciprocity; the +combination laws had been liberally revised; various bounties had been +abandoned on free trade principles, and the monstrous evils of smuggling +had been greatly abated. If the chancellor of the exchequer could show +no surplus in 1826, he could at least boast that after so desperate a +crisis there was no deficit, and he had no reason to be ashamed of +Cobbett's nickname, "Prosperity Robinson," which he owed to his +optimism, largely founded upon facts. Before the close of the year 1826, +however, this optimism received a rude shock. The agitation against the +corn laws assumed an acuter form than ever, and Huskisson prudently +deprecated it on the simple ground that no effective action could be +taken in an expiring parliament. Distress had recurred in the +manufacturing districts; mills and power-looms were again destroyed. The +free trade policy of Huskisson was vigorously attacked in parliament, +but it was successfully defended in powerful speeches by Canning as well +as by himself. Ultimately the government, having obtained limited powers +from parliament to admit foreign corn during the temporary emergency, +had the courage to exceed those powers and seek an indemnity from the +next parliament. + +The dissolution of 1826, closing the life of one of the longest +parliaments in modern times, was the prelude to a very eventful year. +The general election brought into prominence the two burning questions +of catholic relief and the corn laws, and unseated for the moment +Brougham, Cobbett, Hunt, and Lord John Russell, but it produced no +material change in the balance of parties. Little was done in the short +autumn session, but when parliament met again early in February, 1827, +great events had already cast their shadows before. The Duke of York, +heir-presumptive to the crown, had died on January 5. He was known to be +a strong tory in politics, but, in spite of this, and of the scandals +which attached to his name in earlier years, he enjoyed a considerable +share of popular confidence. Compared with his elder brother, he was +respected; he was a true Englishman, like his father, whom he resembled +in character; his administration of the army had survived hostile +criticism, while a declaration which he had recently made against +catholic emancipation had produced a profound impression on public +opinion. Much less was known of the Duke of Clarence, who stood next in +succession. He had already injured himself in public estimation by +declining the increased allowance offered him, and then claiming it with +arrears; nor did he now improve his position in the eyes of his future +subjects by stickling for a larger addition to it than parliament was +disposed to grant. But the Duke of York's death was followed by a far +more important incident. Liverpool was disabled by illness from +attending his funeral, which, occurring in the depth of winter, proved +directly fatal to one of those who were present, and seriously weakened +the constitutions of others, including Canning. On February 8, the first +day of the session, Liverpool was in his place, though in broken health, +and on the 17th he took a feeble part in the debate on the grant to the +Duke of Clarence. On the following morning he was struck down by a +paralytic seizure, and, though his life was prolonged for two years, he +never recovered the use of his faculties. + +[Pageheading: _THE CLOSE OF LIVERPOOL'S MINISTRY._] + +Liverpool's disappearance from the political scenes may be said to mark +an epoch in the later history of England. Though only fifty-six years of +age, he had been continuously in office for twenty years, and prime +minister for fifteen, a tenure of power which none of his predecessors +had exceeded except Walpole and Pitt. His lot was cast in the most +critical period of the great war, and in the long night of adversity and +anxiety which ushered in the "thirty years' peace". As foreign secretary +he conducted the negotiations for the peace of Amiens; as home secretary +he led the house of lords and was responsible for the government of +Ireland; as secretary for war and the colonies he gave Wellington a +steady, if not ardent, support in those apparently barren campaigns +which strained the national patience; as prime minister he guided the +ship of state in all the difficulties of foreign and domestic affairs +which arose between 1812 and 1827. Castlereagh may have been the most +influential minister in the earlier years of his administration, and +Canning in the later, but he was never the mere tool of either; on the +contrary, it Is certain that he was treated with respect and deference +by all his numerous colleagues. In general capacity and debating power +he was inferior to few of them; in temper, judgment, and experience he +was superior to all. + +He may be said to have lived and died without "a policy," in so far as +he forebore to identify himself with any of the great questions then +pressing for solution. His real policy both at home and abroad was one +of moderation and conciliation; he looked at party divisions almost with +the eyes of a permanent official who can work loyally with chiefs of +either party; and he succeeded in keeping together in his cabinet +ambitious rivals who never would have co-operated under any other +leader. This is not the road to fame, neither is it the course which men +of imperious character like Castlereagh, or Canning, or Wellington, in +his place, would have adopted. But Canning and Wellington actually +proved themselves incapable of winning the confidence which Liverpool so +long retained, and the whig government which followed them fell to +pieces in two years. Moderation in statesmanship does not always imply +mediocrity of ability; and if Liverpool failed to see how many +institutions needed radical amendment, he was not so blind as some of +his more celebrated associates. Not only was he more liberal in his +views than Eldon and Castlereagh, but he was less opposed to free trade +than most of his cabinet, to parliamentary reform than Canning, and to +catholic emancipation than Wellington or Peel. His fault was that he did +not act upon his own inward convictions with sufficient promptitude, or +assert his own authority with sufficient energy. Had he done so, the +beneficial measures of the last years of his administration might have +been anticipated, and the country might have been spared much of the +misery which darkened the close of George III.'s reign. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[68] Lord Londonderry in Twiss, _Life of Eldon_, ii., 432. + +[69] Harriet Martineau, _History of England During the Thirty Years' +Peace_, i., 274. + +[70] _Letters to Copleston_, p. 295. + +[71] Cunningham, _Growth of English Industry and Commerce in Modern +Times_ (edit. 1903), pp. 756-59. Compare Dicey, _Law and Opinion in +England_, pp. 190-200. + +[72] The graphic description of this crisis in Harriet Martineau's +_History of the Thirty Years' Peace_, i., 355-66, deserves to be studied +and remembered as a masterpiece of social portraiture by a contemporary. + +[73] Cunningham, _Growth of English Industry and Commerce in Modern +Times_, p. 823. + +[74] Walpole's _History of England_, vol. ii., p. 187. + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE. + + +The events of the year 1820 subjected the European concert to a severe +strain. An insurrection broke out in Spain on January 1, and on March 9 +the king was forced to swear fidelity to the obsolete constitution of +1812. The result was to plunge the country into disorder, as both the +clerical party and the extreme revolutionists refused to accept the +constitution. Meanwhile the assassination by a working man of the Duke +of Berry, who died on February 14, 1820, had occasioned a new royalist +reaction in France, and had increased the general fear of the +revolutionary party. The Bourbon succession had seemed to depend on his +life, for his son, the Count of Chambord, was posthumous. On receiving +the news of the Spanish revolution the tsar, already tiring of his +liberal enthusiasm, fell back on his scheme for exercising paternal +discipline over Europe. He proposed in April that the ambassadors at +Paris should issue a joint remonstrance requiring the Spanish cortes to +disavow the revolution, and to enact severe laws against sedition. +Failing this, he proposed joint intervention, and offered for his own +part to send an army of 15,000 men through North Italy and southern +France to co-operate in the suppression of the revolution. To this +Castlereagh replied that England would never consent to a joint +intervention in Spain. Metternich was too much displeased with the +Russian encouragement of secret societies in Italy to wish to see +Russian troops in that country, and both Castlereagh and Metternich +wished to keep Spain free from French influence. In the face of this +opposition Russia could not, and France would not, do anything, and all +thought of intervention was postponed. It was the last time that +Castlereagh was able to assert the principle of non-intervention +without breaking up the European concert. + +[Pageheading: _REVOLUTIONS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE._] + +July and August saw three new revolutions. A rebellion at Nola on July 2 +ended in King Ferdinand of the Two Sicilies taking the oath on the 13th +to the Spanish constitution, then regarded as a model by the liberals of +Southern Europe. But the grant of a constitution to Naples suggested a +demand for independence at Palermo. On July 17-18 that city rose in +revolt and was only subdued by the Neapolitans in the beginning of +October. Portugal, too, was in a disturbed state. The royal family had +been absent for nearly thirteen years, and the country had for five +years been governed by Lord, afterwards Viscount, Beresford as marshal +and commander of the Portuguese army. In April, 1820, he sailed for +Brazil, intending to induce the king, John VI., to return. During his +absence a revolution took place at Oporto on August 24, a provisional +government was established, and all British officers were dismissed. +This was followed by a similar revolution at Lisbon on September 15. +Beresford on his return was forbidden to land, and retired to England. +On November 11, the Spanish constitution was proclaimed in Portugal, but +six days later another proclamation left the question of determining the +constitution to the cortes which were to be elected on a popular +suffrage. + +The Neapolitan revolution raised at once the question of intervention. +In this case Castlereagh held that Austria had a right to interfere, +because her position as an Italian power was endangered by the +revolution, and because the revolution was a breach of the secret treaty +of 1815 which had received the sanction of the British government. He +still objected to any joint interference and was opposed to the +reference of the question to a congress. Austria could not have +interfered alone without offending the tsar, who clung to the principle +of joint action. The question of intervention was therefore postponed +for the present. France, however, being jealous of Austrian influence in +Italy, demanded the meeting of a congress, and such a meeting was +accordingly held at Troppau on October 20. To this congress Austria, +France, Prussia, and Russia sent plenipotentiaries. Great Britain +carried her opposition to joint interference so far as to refuse to join +in the deliberations, though Sir Charles, now Lord, Stewart was sent to +Troppau to watch the proceedings. Metternich, on finding that he could +not avoid the meeting of a congress, determined to lead its proceedings, +and, before it met, drew up a memorandum defining his own views about +intervention. These views were accepted at the congress by Prussia and +Russia as well as by Austria; and a protocol was issued by the three +powers declaring that a state in which a revolution should occur was +dangerous to other states, and ceased to be a member of the European +alliance, until it could give guarantees for its future stability. If +such a revolution placed other states in immediate danger, the allied +powers were bound to intervene by peaceful means, if possible, or if +need were, by arms. Before parting, the congress invited Ferdinand of +the Two Sicilies to attend an adjourned meeting, to assemble early in +the following year at Laibach.[75] Against these decisions Castlereagh +protested in vigorous terms, and more especially against any possible +application of the principle of intervention to England; France under +the Duke of Richelieu joined in neither the protocol nor the protest. +The liberal tendencies of the tsar had been quenched by recent events, +so that, instead of a concert of Europe, there was left only a concert +of absolute monarchs. + +[Pageheading: _AUSTRIAN INTERVENTION._] + +In January, 1821, the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia met the +King of the Two Sicilies at Laibach. France had vainly attempted to +mediate between the King of the Two Sicilies and his people. But the +Neapolitans were not satisfied with any vague promise of a constitution, +and before allowing their king to depart for Laibach, held him pledged +to the observance of an impossible condition, the maintenance of the +Spanish constitution of 1812. The king's oath to preserve this +particularly objectionable constitution was regarded by Austria as +sufficient to preclude negotiation, and it was resolved that she should +restore him by force as an absolute monarch, and should occupy the +Neapolitan territory. The duration of this occupation was reserved as a +question to be discussed at the next European congress, which it was +intended to hold at Florence in the autumn of the next year. After a +show of resistance at Rieti the Neapolitans submitted, and the Austrian +army entered Naples on March 24. The restoration of absolute government +was accompanied by severities towards the constitutionalists, but +Austria would not allow any repetition of the bloodshed of 1799. + +While the Austrian army was marching southwards, a new revolution broke +out in Piedmont. The Spanish constitution was proclaimed at Alessandria +on March 10, and at Turin on the 12th. On the 13th, Victor Emmanuel I., +King of Sardinia, abdicated, appointing as regent his distant cousin +Prince Charles Albert of Carignano, who had been in communication with +the revolutionary party. The regent immediately accepted the Spanish +constitution on condition of the maintenance of the line of succession +and of the Roman catholic religion. The new king, Charles Felix, was at +Modena when the revolt occurred. He refused to acknowledge the new +constitution, and ordered Charles Albert to betake himself to Novara, +where the royalist troops were collecting. On the night of the 21st, +Charles Albert fled from Turin to Novara, but the constitutional party +did not submit without a struggle. On April 8 the Austrians crossed the +frontier and, uniting with the royalists, defeated the constitutionalists +at Novara. Two days later the royalist army entered Turin. The two +Italian revolutions had thus ended in an Austrian occupation of the two +largest Italian states which were not ruled by members of the imperial +house. The Papal States were now the only Italian principality of any +size which was not dominated by Austria. + +So far Austria had been sufficiently powerful in the congresses of the +powers to be able to prevent interference with other states where it was +not to her interest, and to incline the balance in favour of it where +intervention would strengthen her. The reopening of the Eastern question +made her ascendency more difficult to maintain. The congress of Laibach +had been closed, but the sovereigns had not yet departed, when the news +arrived that a revolt, engineered by Greeks with the pretence of Russian +support, had broken out against the Turks in Moldavia and Wallachia. +Russia at once agreed with Austria that the principle laid down at +Troppau applied to this revolt; the insurrectionary leaders were +disowned by Russia, and by the end of June Turkish authority was +restored in the Danubian principalities. So far the action of Russia had +met with the approval not only of Austria but of Great Britain, and +Castlereagh had written to Alexander urging him not to join the Greek +cause, which appeared to him to be part of an universal revolutionary +movement. + +Early in April, however, a more serious insurrection broke out in the +Morea, and was followed a few weeks later by one in Central Greece. The +war was disgraced from the first by inhuman massacres on both sides. The +Greek patriarch at Constantinople together with three archbishops was +executed by the Turks on Easter Sunday, April 22. A great ferment in +Russia was the result, where the people were anxious to assist their +co-religionists and to avenge the death of the patriarch, whom they +regarded as a martyr. The grievances of the Orthodox religion were +seconded by the proper grievances of Russia. Greek ships, sailing under +the Russian flag, had been seized in the Dardanelles; the principalities +of Moldavia and Wallachia had not been evacuated by the Turkish troops +as was required by treaty, while an ancient treaty rendered it possible +to regard the wrongs of the Greek Church as the political wrongs of +Russia. A Russian ultimatum was despatched on June 28; and, while +awaiting a reply, Russia consulted the other powers as to the course +they would pursue in the event of war breaking out between Russia and +Turkey, and the system with which they would propose to replace the +Turkish domination if it came to be destroyed. The principle of joint +intervention, adopted at Troppau, seemed to require the powers to give +their support to Russia. Great Britain and Austria, however, refused to +treat war with Turkey as a possibility. The Greek revolt seemed to them +to express the principle of revolution, and the tsar himself became +inclined to take this view of the situation when the Greeks established +an advanced republican form of government. They accordingly +distinguished between the treaty rights of Russia, which the four powers +would urge Turkey to respect, and the provision of a more secure state +of order in Turkey, which would be discussed at a European congress. The +Russian ambassador had been withdrawn from Constantinople on August 8, +and the negotiation was conducted mainly by Lord Strangford, the British +ambassador at Constantinople, who was supported by Austria, France, and +Prussia. He succeeded in inducing Turkey to evacuate the principalities +and to open the Dardanelles to ships of all nations, but Turkish +obstinacy deferred the conclusion of a treaty. + +[Pageheading: _THE SPANISH QUESTION._] + +Meanwhile the Spanish question became more critical. As time went on +Spain grew less instead of more settled, while the ultra-royalist party +gained strength in France. To them the position to which the Bourbon +King of Spain had been reduced seemed at once an insult and a menace to +France. The establishment of Austrian supremacy in Italy made them long +for French supremacy in Spain. In August, 1821, the presence of yellow +fever in Spain was made the occasion for establishing a body of troops, +professing to act as a sanitary cordon, upon the frontier. They were +retained there when the fever had disappeared, and their numbers were +gradually raised to 100,000. In December, 1821, an ultra-royalist +ministry entered on office in France under the leadership of Villele. +Villele, like King Louis XVIII., was opposed to war, but he might easily +be forced to adopt the war policy which was popular with his party. +Fresh evidence was given of the contagious nature of the Spanish +revolution by the adoption, on the 27th of the preceding June, by the +Portuguese cortes, of a constitution modelled on that of Spain. Six days +later the Portuguese king arrived at Lisbon and was induced to sign the +new constitution. This event was the more significant in the eyes of the +powers, because the proclamation of the constitution had been +accompanied by an insult to the Austrian embassy. + +If Spanish liberalism placed Spain in danger of a war with France, Spain +was in equal danger of a war with Great Britain because she was not +liberal enough. The revolution of 1820, instead of reconciling the +revolted colonies, had served as an example to the loyal colonies to +seek their liberty. By the summer of 1822 Upper Peru was the only part +of the American mainland where Spain held more than isolated posts; she +had been compelled to sell Florida to the United States, and San Domingo +had joined the revolted French colony of Hayti. The Spanish cortes, +however, were even more resolute than the king had been to maintain the +authority of the mother country, and protested against the right which +the British had claimed and exercised of trading with the revolted +colonies. The disorderly state of these colonies encouraged the growth +of piracy, which flourished even in the ports which still acknowledged +the supremacy of Spain. Special irritation was caused in 1822 by the +condemnation of the _Lord Collingwood_ for trading with Buenos Ayres, a +place over which Spain had exercised no authority for twelve years. In +the same year the new navigation acts greatly increased the facilities +for trading with Great Britain enjoyed by such places in America as +admitted British ships. In April, 1822, the United States recognised the +independence of Colombia, but Great Britain refrained as yet from +recognising any of the Spanish-American states, partly because of their +unsettled condition and partly because the threat of recognition was a +valuable diplomatic counter in negotiations with Spain. + +Instead of a congress being held at Florence it was finally determined +that the Italian questions should be referred to a congress which was to +meet at Verona in September, 1822, and was to be preceded by a +conference at Vienna on the Eastern question; there could, however, be +little doubt that the Spanish question would also be raised. +Castlereagh, or as we should now call him Lord Londonderry, would have +preferred that Great Britain should stand aloof from the Spanish and +Italian questions, but he desired that she should participate in the +discussion of the Eastern question; it was accordingly arranged that he +should represent Great Britain at the conference of Vienna, and he had +actually drawn up instructions in favour of non-intervention in Spain +and of accrediting agents to some of the South American republics, when +his departure was prevented by his death on August 12. He was succeeded +by Wellington as plenipotentiary, and by Canning as foreign secretary. +The change was, however, one of persons rather than of policies. Canning +was less conciliatory in manner, and had less sympathy with the +principle of European congresses, but was prepared to carry on +Castlereagh's policy on the questions which for the time being agitated +the world. + +[Pageheading: _THE CONGRESS OF VERONA._] + +The Spanish question was, as a fact, the one question which occupied the +attention of the powers at Vienna and Verona. In consequence of the +efforts of Strangford at Constantinople and his own growing +dissatisfaction with the Greeks, the tsar was willing to allow the Greek +question to drop; at the same time the kings of the Two Sicilies and +Sardinia themselves desired the continuance of Austrian occupation, and +thus postponed the Italian question. As in 1820, Austria held the +balance between two rival policies. She had then thrown her weight on +the side of non-intervention, and, had the Spanish question stood by +itself, she would probably have done so again. But in Metternich's +opinion the Spanish question was of less importance than the Eastern, +and it was important that the tsar should not doubt her loyalty to the +principle on which she had persuaded him to refrain from an attack upon +the Porte. + +On passing through Paris on his way to Vienna, Wellington found Villele +desirous of avoiding war, but counting on it as a probability. He +arrived at Vienna too late for the actual conference, but in time to +have some conversation with Metternich and the tsar before leaving for +Verona. So far it appeared that Montmorency, the more active of the +French representatives, though professing to desire a peaceful +termination to the dispute between France and Spain, advocated French +intervention, if intervention should be necessary, but was opposed to +the passage of foreign troops through France. Metternich and the tsar +distrusted French troops when brought face to face with revolutionists, +and Metternich was therefore opposed to intervention, while the tsar +still desired to be allowed to march a Russian army on behalf of the +combined powers through Piedmont and southern France into Spain. +Metternich of course did not wish to see any Russian troops to dispute +Austria's supremacy in Italy. But all three desired the suppression of +the Spanish constitution, if they could find a trustworthy instrument. +Wellington adhered to Castlereagh's policy of non-intervention.[76] + +When the congress opened at Verona on October 20, Montmorency proposed +three skilfully drawn questions. Avoiding the direct discussion of +hostilities, he asked whether, if France were compelled to withdraw her +ambassador from Madrid, the other powers would do the same. Then, +assuming their sympathy, he asked what form of moral support they would +give her in event of war. Lastly, he propitiated Russian views of joint +action by asking what form of material support the powers would give +France, if she should require it. Wellington refused to consider +hypothetical cases, but the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia, and Russia +answered the first question in the affirmative, and assured France of +their moral, and, if necessary, of their material support. So far no +power had abandoned its original attitude, but the promises had been +given in a form which lent itself best to the sole interference of +France, as the representative of the congress. Metternich now advocated +British mediation, but this was refused by Montmorency on the ground of +the differences between the policy adopted by Great Britain and that +adopted by the other powers. It was then agreed that Austria, France, +Prussia, and Russia should address notes of the same tenor to their +ambassadors at Madrid, who should make corresponding representations to +the Spanish government, and a _proces verbal_ was concluded between +these four powers defining the causes which would justify the recall of +their ambassadors. + +As the French king was not present at Verona, the sending of the French +note was made conditional on the approval of the French government. The +occupation of Spain by foreign troops was to be discussed when the King +of Spain should have been restored to liberty. The tenor of the notes +agreed on seemed to Wellington more likely to inflame the Spanish +government than to win concessions, and he lost no time in informing +Villele through Sir Charles Stuart, the British ambassador at Paris, of +the course of negotiations.[77] Although Wellington had been assured at +Verona that Villele's decision would not affect the transmission of +notes from the other courts, he hoped and Canning believed that it was +still in the power of Villele to arrest the machinery that Montmorency, +his representative at Verona, had set in motion. On November 30 +Wellington left Verona, but the emperors remained. On December 5 Villele +sent a message to Verona proposing to postpone sending the despatches +till an occasion for breaking off diplomatic relations as defined in the +_proces verbal_ should arise, and suggesting that the ambassadors at +Paris should determine when such an occasion had occurred. This proposal +was rejected. It was inconsistent with Russia's desire for war, while +Austria was anxious to please Russia in the west, so long as she +remained pacific in the east. The three eastern powers therefore +resolved that they would only delay sending their notes till the French +note was ready. + +[Pageheading: _THE SPANISH QUESTION._] + +While this negotiation was pending, Wellington arrived at Paris, where, +under strong pressure from Canning,[78] he renewed his offer of +mediation with Spain. It was declined. On the arrival of the reply from +Verona, Wellington was informed that even if the other powers sent their +despatches to Madrid, France would withhold hers. In the end, Villele +dismissed Montmorency for the independent line he had taken, and sent a +milder note than the three eastern powers, but withdrew his ambassador +from Madrid soon after the other ambassadors had departed. Great Britain +was in consequence the only great power which still continued diplomatic +relations with Spain at the end of January, 1823. In the course of the +negotiations two curious suspicions had occurred to Canning and Villele +respectively. Canning imagined that France would employ the threats of +her allies as a show of force to compel Spain to join her in an attack +on British commerce in the West Indies, while Villele suspected that the +British defence of the political independence of Spain was to be +recompensed by the cession of some Spanish colonies in America. + +Meanwhile, the war party before which Villele had had to bow, was having +its own way in France. On January 28 Louis XVIII. in opening the +chambers announced the withdrawal of his ambassador, and declared that +100,000 Frenchmen were ready to march to preserve the throne of Spain to +a descendant of Henry IV., and to reconcile that country with Europe. +The sole object of any war that might arise would be to render Ferdinand +VII. free to give his people institutions which they could not hold +except from him, and which, by securing their tranquillity, would +dissipate the unrest in France. Canning protested against the apparent +implication that no valid constitution could rest on any other basis +than that of France did, as also against the apparent claim to interfere +in virtue of the family relation of the dynasties of France and Spain; +but he vainly endeavoured to persuade the Spanish government to come to +some agreement with its king. On March 31, when war seemed imminent, +Canning despatched a note to Paris defining the limits of British +neutrality. The independence of Spain and integrity of its dominions +were to be recognised; it was not to be permanently occupied by a +military force, and France was not to attempt to gain either by conquest +or by cession any of the revolted colonies of Spain in America. At the +same time he disclaimed any intention of acquiring any of those colonies +for Great Britain.[79] + +[Pageheading: _PORTUGAL AND BRAZIL._] + +War between France and Spain began with the passage of the frontier by +the Duke of Angouleme on April 7. On May 23 he entered Madrid. On +October 1 the Spanish constitutionalists were compelled to set their +king at liberty to join the French, and on November 1 the war was +terminated by the surrender of Barcelona to the royalists. The +restoration of Ferdinand VII. to absolute power was followed by a +furious and vindictive reaction, which Angouleme strove in vain to +moderate. For the next five years French troops occupied the country, +but Angouleme showed his disapproval of the method of government by +refusing the decorations offered him by Ferdinand. The restoration of +absolutism in Spain led to events in Portugal which forced Great Britain +to intervene and strengthened the difference between her policy and that +of the continental powers. The new Portuguese constitution was +unpopular, especially in the army, and as early as February, 1823, there +was a revolt against the constitution, but order was restored in April. +On May 26 another absolutist revolt broke out, and the rebels were +joined next day by the king's second son, Dom Miguel, then twenty years +of age; on the 29th the revolt spread to Lisbon; on the 31st the king +promised a revised constitution, and on June 2 the cortes ceased to sit. +The government resolved itself into an absolute monarchy, which +continued till the following year, in spite of the appointment of a +junta under the presidency of Palmella to draw up a new constitution. +The ambassadors of Austria, Prussia, and Russia opposed the granting of +a new constitution, and Dom Miguel still maintained a threatening +attitude. Palmella accordingly applied to Great Britain for troops to +support his government. This request created no little difficulty. It +was impossible for Great Britain to allow the government of Portugal to +fall into the hands of a party resting for support on the absolutists +in Spain and the French army, and it was equally impossible to employ +British troops to maintain the cause of the King of Portugal against his +ultra-royalist subjects when Great Britain had protested so vigorously +against the kings of Spain and the Two Sicilies receiving foreign +assistance against their liberal subjects; there were moreover no troops +that could well be spared. + +Canning accordingly contented himself with despatching a naval squadron +to the Tagus to act as a moral support to the king. As the event proved, +this squadron was sufficient to determine the course of events. At the +same time Canning refused to guarantee any constitution, though when +France joined the eastern powers in threatening the proposed +constitution, he intimated his readiness to resist by force of arms any +foreign intervention in Portugal. On April 30, 1824, Dom Miguel +attempted another _coup d'etat_, and was for nine days in possession of +Lisbon, where he made wholesale arrests of his political opponents. John +VI. was, however, supported by all the foreign ambassadors, and on March +9, by their advice, he went on board the British ship of war, _Windsor +Castle_, where he summoned his son to appear before him. Dom Miguel +thought it wisest to obey; the king sent him abroad, and the attempt at +a revolution was over for the present. The junta appointed in the +previous year to frame a constitution now reported in favour of a +revival of the ancient cortes, and this proposal was accepted by the +king. The cortes were not, however, actually assembled; still, the mere +fact of Dom Miguel's absence left the government a little stronger. + +Meanwhile, the relations between Portugal and Brazil occasioned +difficulties between the former country and Great Britain. On leaving +Brazil, King John VI. had entrusted the government to his elder son, +Peter, to whom he had given secret instructions to proclaim himself +Emperor of Brazil in case he found it impossible to maintain the union +between Brazil and the mother country. Acting on these instructions, +Peter had proclaimed the independence of Brazil on October 12, 1822, +adopting for himself the style of constitutional emperor. Next month +Lord Cochrane, who had been in the service of Chile, quitted it for that +of Brazil. Neither party in Portugal was prepared for the separation of +Brazil, and it was therefore opposed, but without much effect, by the +home government. By the end of 1823 Cochrane had captured all the +Portuguese posts in Brazil, and in August, 1824, he suppressed a +republican movement in the north of that country. On July 23 of the same +year Great Britain signed a commercial treaty with the new empire. This +irritated the Portuguese government. Meanwhile, Beresford, who had +returned to Portugal in a private capacity, had been requested to resume +the command of the Portuguese army. This he refused to do so long as the +Count of Subserra, a French partisan, held office at home. There was a +difficulty in forming a ministry without him, and eventually Subserra +became virtual prime minister, and Beresford was excluded from office. +In order to obtain an excuse for the introduction of French troops into +Portugal, Subserra sent a request to Great Britain for a force of four +or five thousand, knowing it would be refused. Great Britain's refusal +had not, however, the expected consequence, because the influence of the +other powers at Lisbon was weakened by their anti-constitutional policy. +In July, 1825, the representatives of Austria, Brazil, Great Britain, +and Portugal assembled at London to consider the relations of Portugal +and Brazil. While the conference was sitting it was discovered that +Subserra was carrying on separate negotiations with Brazil. Canning was +now able to obtain his dismissal, which was followed by the recall of +the French ambassador, De Neuville, who had been the principal opponent +of British influence at Lisbon. As a result of this conference the +Portuguese government on August 29 recognised the independence of +Brazil.[80] + +The restoration of absolute government in Spain revived the question of +Spanish America. Ferdinand VII., on recovering his authority, proposed a +congress at Paris for the consideration of South American affairs. +Canning, however, declined his invitation, and it was thought useless to +hold a congress without the participation of Great Britain. The position +in which Great Britain had been placed by the negotiations of Verona, as +diplomatic champion of Spain, had caused her to suspend her complaints +about the treatment of her merchant vessels trading with the revolted +colonies; but disorder continued, and on one occasion the British +admiral was authorised to land in Cuba to extirpate the pirates using +the Spanish flag. Canning was determined that French force should not be +employed to reduce the revolted colonies, and in October, 1823, he +informed the French ambassador, Polignac, that he would acknowledge the +independence of those colonies if France assisted Spain in her attempts +to reduce them[81]--a somewhat empty threat, as the commercial interests +of Great Britain would have compelled him to acknowledge them in any +case as soon as there should be settled governments in existence with +which he could treat. Diplomatic agents were in fact appointed in most +of the revolted colonies before the end of this year. + +[Pageheading: _THE MONROE DOCTRINE._] + +What, however, rendered French interference hopeless was the attitude of +the United States, as expressed in President Monroe's historic message +to congress on December 2, 1823. In this message occur the words, since +known as the Monroe doctrine: "With the governments who have declared +their independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have, +on great consideration, and on just principles, acknowledged, we could +not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or +controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power, in +any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition +towards the United States." After this the recognition of the +independence of the Spanish colonies was only a matter of time.[82] +Great Britain recognised the independence of Buenos Ayres, Colombia, and +Mexico, in 1824, and the rest soon after. In spite of the temporary +successes of Canterac, Peru, the last of the mainland provinces, was +lost to Spain in 1825, and the other European powers did not now delay +their recognition of the American republics. In April of that year +France recognised the virtual independence of her own revolted colony of +Hayti. + +The Eastern question advanced more slowly. On March 25, 1823, Canning +recognised the Greeks as belligerents. After this step Great Britain +enjoyed the advantage of being able to hold the Greek government +responsible for piracy committed by Greek ships; but, coming as it did +after the isolated action of Great Britain at Verona, it created a +suspicion among the eastern powers of a desire to effect a settlement +of the Eastern question without the co-operation of other states. In +October, 1823, the Tsar Alexander and the Emperor Francis had a meeting +at Czernowitz in Bukowina. Here they discussed joint intervention in +Greece as a means of forestalling the isolated intervention of Great +Britain. During the meeting the news arrived of the Turkish concessions +to the Russian demands of 1821. Before the conference broke up, the tsar +informally suggested a conference at St. Petersburg to arrange joint +intervention on the basis of the erection of three principalities under +Turkish suzerainty in Greece and the AEgean. In January, 1824, the same +proposal was made formally in a Russian circular addressed to the great +powers. Metternich and Canning both opposed the scheme, thinking that +the principalities would fall under Russian influence. + +Metternich met it by a counter proposal for the complete independence of +Greece. Canning preferred to adopt neither course, and to watch the +sequence of events. In April, however, he consented that Great Britain +should be represented at the conference at St. Petersburg on condition +that no coercion should be applied to Turkey, and that diplomatic +relations should have been previously restored between Russia and +Turkey; in August the Greek government sent to London its protest +against the Russian proposals, and in November Canning, finding that +neither Greeks nor Turks would accept the decision of the conference, +and being still opposed to violent interference, refused to take part in +it. At the same time he offered British mediation to the Greeks in case +it should be absolutely necessary. Early in 1825 Metternich induced +Charles X., the new King of France, to support his proposal. Russia, +however, would not hear of the independence of Greece, which might mean +the creation of a rival to her influence in the Turkish dominions. The +conference therefore merely resolved that the Porte should grant +satisfaction to its subjects, failing which the powers offered their +mediation. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER I._] + +Turkey refused the offer. She was in fact busily engaged in restoring +order in her own way. In February, 1825, an Egyptian army was landed in +the Morea, and met with rapid successes of such a nature as to arouse a +suspicion that it was the fixed policy of its commander, Ibrahim, the +adopted son of Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, to depopulate the Morea. +His advance upon Nauplia was checked by an order of the British +commodore, Hamilton, and he retired towards Tripolitza and Navarino. The +Turkish successes induced Canning to make proposals to Russia through +Sir Stratford Canning, the British ambassador at St. Petersburg, for a +joint intervention of the powers on condition that there should be no +coercion of Turkey. The tsar refused to accept the condition and made +preparations for war. Canning meanwhile declined an offer of the Greek +government to place itself under British protection, and on August 18 +Alexander declared that he would solve the Eastern question by himself. +He then set out for the south of Russia, where his army had collected. +Canning now dropped his scheme of an united intervention and opened +negotiations for a separate intervention on the part of Great Britain +and Russia alone. Meanwhile he informed the Greek government that he +would allow no power to effect a settlement without British +co-operation, and that if Russia invaded Turkey he would land troops in +Greece. The negotiations with Russia were proceeding favourably when +they were interrupted by the death of Alexander on December 1. + +One event of the year 1825 which attracted little attention at the time +was destined to be a cause of friction at a much later date. In 1824 the +boundary between British America and the United States had been +partially delimited, and this was followed early in the following year +by a treaty, which attempted to settle the boundary between British and +Russian America. Unfortunately the words used in this treaty were +somewhat indefinite, and, although no difficulty was experienced for two +generations, the discovery of gold in the north-west of America +subsequently led to a bitter dispute between Canada on the one side and +the United States, which had acquired the rights of Russia, on the +other. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[75] Metternich, _Memoirs_, Sec. 484, English translation, iii., 446. + +[76] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, i., 343-48. + +[77] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, i., 518-23. For a French account of +the congress see Duvergier de Hauranne, _Gouvernement Parlementaire en +France_, vii., 130-229. + +[78] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, i., 650. Compare pp. 638, 653-57. + +[79] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, ii., 18, 19. + +[80] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, ii., chapters x., xi. + +[81] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, ii., 26-33. + +[82] See J. W. Foster, _A Century of American Diplomacy_, pp. 442-50; +Stapleton, _George Canning and his Times_, p. 375. + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + TORY DISSENSION AND CATHOLIC RELIEF. + + +The sudden illness of Liverpool in February, 1827, disclosed the dualism +and mutual jealousies which had enfeebled his cabinet. One section, +represented by Canning, advocated catholic emancipation, encouraged the +practical application of free trade doctrines, and was prepared to +support the principle of national independence, not only in South +America, but in Greece and Portugal. This section was dominant in the +house of commons. The other section, led by Wellington and Peel, which +was dominant in the house of lords, was strictly conservative on all +these questions, though Peel was beginning to show an open mind on one, +at least, of them. The king's known distrust of Canning, largely shared +by his own party, naturally suggested the hope of rallying it under the +leadership of some politician with the moderate and conciliatory temper +of Lord Liverpool. But no such politician could be found, nor was there +any prospect of Canning accepting a subordinate position in a new +ministry. For nearly six weeks the premiership was in abeyance, while +Liverpool's recovery was treated as a possible event. Canning himself +was in broken health, but, ill as he was, he proposed and carried in the +house of commons a sliding scale of import duties upon corn, variable +with its market price. He also made a fierce attack on Sir John Copley, +then master of the rolls, who had vigorously opposed a motion of Burdett +for catholic relief. At last the king, having consulted others, made up +his mind to send for Canning, who had been suffering from a relapse. It +was in vain that Canning advised him, unless he were prepared for +concession on the catholic question, to summon a body of ministers +sharing his own convictions. There was, in fact, no alternative to +Canning's succession, except that of Wellington or Peel. The former +declared that he would be worse than mad to accept the premiership; the +latter was still young for the office and deprecated as hopeless the +formation of any exclusively "protestant" cabinet. The selection of +Canning became inevitable, and on April 10 the king determined upon it, +irritated by what he regarded as an attempt to force his hand in the +choice of a minister. + +[Pageheading: _CANNING ACCEPTS OFFICE._] + +From that moment, during the short remainder of his life Canning had to +undergo the same bitter experience as Pitt in 1804, and to suffer a +cruel retribution for his aggressive petulance. All his strongest +colleagues, except Huskisson, deserted him. The resignation of Lord +Eldon, since 1821 Earl of Eldon, must have been expected, terminating, +as it did, the longest chancellorship since the Norman conquest. But +Canning seems to have really hoped that he might secure the support of +Wellington by the assurance of his desire to carry out the principles of +Liverpool's government. The duke, however, repelled his overtures with +something less than courtesy, and even retired from the command of the +army. Peel had already intimated privately that a transfer of the +premiership from an opponent to a champion of emancipation would make it +impossible for him to retain office. Three peers, Bathurst, Melville, +and Westmorland, followed his example. Canning had no resource but to +enlist colleagues from the ranks of the whigs. In this he was at first +unsuccessful. Sturges Bourne was appointed to the home office, Viscount +Dudley became foreign secretary, and Robinson, who was raised to the +peerage as Viscount Goderich, became secretary for war and the colonies. +Canning himself united the offices of first lord of the treasury and +chancellor of the exchequer. The Duke of Portland became lord privy +seal. Palmerston, the secretary at war, was given a seat in the cabinet. +Harrowby, Huskisson, Wynn, and Bexley, retained their former posts, and +Sidmouth, hitherto an unofficial member of the cabinet, finally retired. +One important office outside the cabinet, that of chief secretary for +Ireland, was given to a whig, William Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne. +It was a happy idea to make the Duke of Clarence lord high admiral +without a seat in the cabinet, and without any power of acting +independently of his council, while Copley (as Lord Lyndhurst) proved a +good successor to Eldon. + +In May some of the whigs were induced to join the ministry. Tierney +entered the cabinet as master of the mint and the Earl of Carlisle as +first commissioner of woods and forests. The Marquis of Lansdowne, the +former Lord Henry Petty, joined the cabinet without taking office. Other +minor posts were assigned to whigs, and several whig chiefs, such as +Holland and Brougham, while they remained outside the government, +tendered it a friendly support. In July Lansdowne became home secretary, +Bourne was transferred to the woods and forests department, Carlisle +became lord privy seal, and Portland remained in the cabinet without +office. + +The new cabinet was therefore still in an unsettled state when it met +parliament at the beginning of May. It there encountered a storm of +unsparing criticism even in the house of commons, but still more in the +house of lords. Lord Stewart, who had succeeded his brother as Marquis +of Londonderry, and the Duke of Newcastle denounced Canning in the most +intemperate language; and the veteran whig, Lord Grey, who had not been +consulted, delivered an elaborate oration against him not the less +virulent because it was carefully studied and measured. This attack was +so keenly felt by Canning that he was supposed to meditate the +acceptance of a peerage, that he might reply to it in person. The climax +of his vexations was reached when a corn bill, prepared by the late +cabinet, and passed by the house of commons, was finally wrecked in the +house of lords through an amendment introduced by Wellington. There was +some excuse for the duke's action in letters which had passed between +him and Huskisson, but Canning naturally resented his mischievous +interposition, and unwisely declared that he must "have been made an +instrument in the hands of others". So ended the session on July 2, +amidst discords and divisions which boded ill for the future, but threw +a retrospective light on the rare merits of Liverpool. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF CANNING._] + +The days of Canning were already numbered. Before the end of July he was +unable to attend a council, and retired for rest to the Duke of +Devonshire's villa at Chiswick. As in the case of Castlereagh, the king +had noticed the symptoms of serious illness, and on August 5 the public +was informed of his danger. On the 8th he died of internal inflammation +in the room which had witnessed the death of Fox. His loss was deeply +felt, not only by the king who never showed him confidence, but also by +the best part of the nation, and his funeral was attended by a great +concourse of mourners, both whigs and tories. No one doubted that he was +a patriot, and his noble gifts commanded the admiration of his bitterest +opponents. He belonged to an age of transition, and it must ever be +deplored that he missed the opportunity of showing whether his mind was +capable of further growth in the highest office of state; for the +inconsistencies of his opinions, obstinately maintained for years, would +have demanded many changes of conviction or policy. He was as stout an +enemy of reform at home as he was a resolute friend of constitutional +liberty abroad. He detested the system of repression consecrated by the +holy alliance, but he defended the necessity of such measures as the six +acts and arbitrary imprisonment for a limited period. He never swerved +in his advocacy of Roman catholic relief, but he was unmoved by +arguments in favour of repealing the test and corporation acts. +Probably, at the head of a coalition, embracing the ablest of the +moderate tories and reformers, and loyally supported by his colleagues, +he might have proved the foremost British statesman of the nineteenth +century. But it is more than doubtful whether his proud and sensitive +nature would have enabled him so to cancel past memories as to +consolidate such a coalition, or to inspire such loyalty in its members. + +The death of Canning involved for the moment far less political change +than might have been expected. The king at once sent for Sturges Bourne +and Goderich, as the most intimate adherents of Canning. He then +commanded Goderich to form, or rather to continue, a ministry of +compromise, and this was done with little shifting of places. Wellington +resumed the command of the army, thereby revealing his motive in giving +it up so abruptly. But a very unwise choice was made in the appointment +of John Charles Herries, rather than Palmerston, as chancellor of the +exchequer, and it carried with it the seeds of an early disruption. +Palmerston had originally been proposed for the office, but the king +strongly favoured Herries, though he showed good sense in deferring to +public opinion, and desiring Huskisson to take the post himself. +Unfortunately, Huskisson preferred the colonial office, and, as neither +Sturges Bourne nor Tierney would accept the position, royal influence +prevailed, and Herries found himself at the exchequer. Meanwhile +Portland succeeded Harrowby as lord president, Charles Grant succeeded +Huskisson at the board of trade, and Lord Uxbridge, who had been created +Marquis of Anglesey after the battle of Waterloo, and who was now +master-general of the ordnance, was given a seat in the cabinet. + +In the course of November it was decided by Goderich, in concert with +Huskisson and Tierney, that a finance committee should be appointed +early in the next session to consider the state of the revenue. Lord +Althorp, the son of Earl Spencer, was designated as chairman, and +provisionally undertook to act, but the chancellor of the exchequer, +who, contrary to all precedent, had not been taken into counsel, +strongly protested against the nomination, as soon as he was informed of +it. Out of this dispute arose the ignoble fall of the Goderich +administration, though it was preceded by more serious dissensions on +foreign policy. The king, whose activity revived with the increasing +weakness of his ministers, committed himself, without asking their +opinion, to a hearty approval of Codrington's action at Navarino, in +which, as will be recorded hereafter, that admiral had co-operated in +the destruction of the Turkish navy, though the British government +professed to be at peace with the Porte. The king was also adverse to a +proposal for the admission of Holland and Wellesley into the cabinet. +Goderich in consequence resigned, but had withdrawn his resignation when +the quarrel between Huskisson and Herries broke out afresh. Driven to +distraction by difficulties to which he was utterly unequal, Goderich +once more abandoned his post. The king gladly dispensed with his +services, and after some negotiation with Harrowby sent for Wellington +on January 9, 1828, giving him a free hand to invite any co-operation +except that of Grey. It was stipulated, however, "that the Roman +Catholic question was not to be made a cabinet question," and that both +the lord chancellors, as well as the lord lieutenant of Ireland, were to +be "protestants".[83] + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON PRIME MINISTER._] + +It must ever be regretted, for the sake of the country not less than of +his own fame, that Wellington undertook the premiership. He was beyond +all dispute the greatest man in England, and exercised up to the end of +his life a more powerful influence in emergencies than any other +subject. But he had judged himself rightly when he declared that he was +wholly unfit to be prime minister, and his administration was among the +weakest of modern times. The firmness which had sustained him in so many +campaigns, the political sagacity which had enabled him to grapple with +the complications of Spanish affairs, and with the great settlement of +Europe, equally failed him in party management and in the estimation of +public opinion at home. He understood better than any man how to deal +with the king, and overbore not only the king's own prejudices but the +machinations of the Duke of Cumberland with masterly resolution. He set +a good example in declining to regard himself as a mere party leader and +in refusing to study the arts of popularity hunting, but he never +grasped the principle that constitutional government ultimately rests on +the will of the people. Still he was too good a general not to see when +facts were too strong for him. His chief manoeuvres on the field of +politics consisted in somewhat inglorious though not unskilful retreats; +when he afterwards carried boldness to the point of rashness, he +encountered a signal defeat. Nevertheless, while he utterly lost his +political hold on the masses, and even the confidence of shrewd +politicians, he never ceased to retain the profound respect of his +countrymen, not only as the first of English generals, but as the most +honest of public servants. + +Wellington naturally applied first to Peel, and, by his advice, attempted +a reconstruction of the Goderich cabinet, but with the addition of certain +new elements. Five of Canning's followers--Lyndhurst, Dudley, who had been +created an earl, Huskisson, Grant, and Palmerston retained their old +offices, and Palmerston gave an extraordinary proof of patience by +cheerfully remaining secretary at war after eighteen years' service in +that capacity. These cabinet ministers were now joined or rejoined by Peel +as home secretary, Earl Bathurst as lord president, Henry Goulburn as +chancellor of the exchequer, Melville as president of the board of +control, Lord Aberdeen as chancellor of the duchy, and Lord Ellenborough, +son of the former chief justice, as lord privy seal. Herries was +transferred from the exchequer to the mastership of the mint. Outside the +cabinet Anglesey became lord lieutenant of Ireland, where Lamb remained +chief secretary. It was understood that Eldon, now in his seventy-seventh +year, would have willingly accepted the presidency of the council, and +felt hurt that no offer or communication was made to him. On the other +hand, the whigs were by no means satisfied, while the inclusion of +Huskisson equally offended extreme tories and the widow of Canning, who +spoke of him as having become an associate of her husband's murderers. +This association was not destined to be long lived. The formation of the +ministry was not completed until the end of January, and very soon after +parliament met on the 29th of that month a rupture between Huskisson and +Wellington became imminent. For this Huskisson was mainly responsible. +Having to seek re-election at Liverpool, and irritated by the attacks made +upon his consistency, he delivered a very imprudent speech, in which he +implied, if he did not state, that he had obtained from his chief pledges +of adhesion to Canning's policy. Such a declaration from such a man was +inevitably understood as applying at least to free trade and the conduct +of foreign affairs. Both Huskisson and the duke in parliamentary speeches +disclaimed the imputation of any bargain; still the rift was not closed, +and it was speedily widened by events on which harmony between tories and +friends of Canning was impossible. + +For six years the so-called war of Greek independence had been carried +on with the utmost barbarity on both sides. The sympathies of Canning, +as foreign secretary, had been entirely with the Greeks, as they had +been with the South American insurgents, but he was equally on his guard +against the armed "mediation" of Russia and her claim to be the supreme +protector of the Greek Christians. We have seen how at last, in 1825, +hopeless discord between the great continental powers led to overtures +for the peaceful intervention of Great Britain, and how at this juncture +the Tsar Alexander died on December 1, 1825. Wellington, at Canning's +request, undertook a special embassy to St. Petersburg for the +ostensible purpose of congratulating the new tsar, Nicholas, on his +accession, and succeeded, during April, 1826, in concluding an +arrangement for joint action by Russia and Great Britain with a view to +establishing the autonomy of Greece under the sovereignty of Turkey. +Meanwhile the impulsive enthusiasm which has so often seized the English +people on behalf of "oppressed nationalities" had been fanned into a +flame by the cause of Greek independence. Byron had already sacrificed +his life to it in April, 1824; Cochrane now devoted to it an energy and +a naval reputation only second to Nelson's; volunteers joined the Greek +levies, and subscriptions came in freely. In the course of 1826 Canning +succeeded in procuring the adhesion of the French government to the +Anglo-Russian agreement. Early in 1827 the three powers demanded an +armistice from Turkey, and, on the refusal of the Porte, signed the +treaty of London for the settlement of the Greek question. This treaty, +dated July 6, 1827, was almost the last public act of Canning. It was +moderate in its terms, embodying the conditions laid down in the +previous year at St. Petersburg, and making the self-government of +Greece subject to a payment of tribute to the Porte. It provided for a +combination of the British, French, and Russian fleets in the event of a +second refusal from Turkey; but Canning died in the hope that +hostilities might be avoided. + +[Pageheading: _NAVARINO._] + +This hope was not likely, nor was it destined, to be realised. The Porte +remained inflexible, and would grant no armistice; indeed, it had +summoned a contingent of ships from Egypt, and a fleet of twenty-eight +sail under Ibrahim Pasha was lying in the Bay of Navarino awaiting +further reinforcements. Admiral Codrington, who commanded the allied +fleet, now before Navarino, showed much forbearance. In concert with the +French admiral, he warned Ibrahim Pasha not to leave the harbour, and +obtained assurances which were speedily broken. Futile negotiations went +on during the early part of October, ending in a massacre among the +inhabitants of the coast by the direction of Ibrahim. The admirals of +the allied fleet no longer hesitated. On the 20th the fleet entered the +harbour. The first shots were fired by the Turco-Egyptian fleet, which +was skilfully ranged in three lines, and in the form of a horseshoe. An +action ensued, which lasted four hours, and resulted in the almost +complete destruction of the Ottoman armament. Had the allied fleet at +once proceeded to Constantinople, the Greek question might perhaps have +been settled promptly, instead of being left to perplex cabinets for two +years longer. + +The news of Navarino reached England when the ministry of Lord Goderich +was already tottering, and caused its members far more anxiety than +satisfaction. Probably the wisest of them foresaw that, unless +immediate action were taken, Russia would declare war single-handed +against Turkey and enforce her own terms, but nothing in fact was done, +and Wellington, on coming into power, found the question of our +relations with Turkey and Greece still open. In spite of his own share +in bringing about the co-operation of Russia with Great Britain, he was +by no means prepared for a crusade on behalf of Greek independence, or +for a definite rupture with Turkey. Hence the memorable phrases inserted +in the king's speech of January 29, 1828, which described the battle of +Navarino as "a collision wholly unexpected by His Majesty" and as "an +untoward event," which His Majesty hoped would not be followed by +further hostilities. These expressions, however much in accord with the +pacific tone of the treaty of London, provoked an outburst of +indignation from the friends of Greece in both houses. Lords Holland and +Althorp, Lord John Russell, and Brougham recorded earnest protests +against any disparagement of Admiral Codrington's action. The +infatuation of the Porte, and the consequent war with Russia, checked +further agitation on the subject, and Wellington's government was able +to fall back on the policy of non-intervention proposed, though not +always practised, by Canning. But the reactionary tendency of +Wellington's foreign policy betrayed in the king's speech had its effect +in alienating the more liberal of his colleagues. Nor was his position +strengthened by his irresolute home policy. During the session of 1828 +issues were raised which inevitably divided and ultimately broke up the +cabinet. + +[Pageheading: _TEST ACTS REPEALED._] + +The first of these difficulties was caused by the success of Lord John +Russell's motion for the repeal of the test and corporation acts, under +which dissenters were precluded from holding municipal and other +offices. It was, indeed, a grave blot on the consistency of reformers +that, while the claims of Roman catholics, and especially of Irish Roman +catholics, had been vehemently urged for nearly thirty years, those of +protestant nonconformists had been coldly neglected. Their legal +disabilities, it is true, had gradually become almost nominal, and an +indemnity act was passed yearly to cover the constant breaches of the +obnoxious law. Still, the law was maintained, and was stoutly defended +by such tories as Eldon on the principle that it was an important +outwork of the union between Church and State. Even the Canningite +members of the government supported it against Russell's attack, but on +the very opposite ground--that it had become a dead letter. However, the +measure for its repeal was carried in the house of commons by a majority +of forty-four, including some well-known Churchmen. This measure would +assuredly have been rejected in the house of lords had not Peel +judiciously procured the insertion of a clause substituting for the +sacramental test a declaration binding the office-holder to do nothing +hostile to the Church. Thus modified, it passed the house of lords, with +the assent of several bishops, in spite of the implacable opposition of +Lords Eldon and Redesdale, and the Duke of Cumberland. But the +declaration was amended by the addition of the words "upon the true +faith of a Christian," which incidentally continued the statutable +exclusion of Jews. + +The enforced acceptance of this enactment was equivalent to a decisive +reverse, and could not but injure the prestige of the government, but it +did not actually cause a schism in the cabinet. It was otherwise when +the duke proposed a corn bill in lieu of that rejected at his instance +in the previous year. The difference between these measures was not very +material, but the duke insisted upon certain regulations of detail, +which Huskisson persistently opposed. Peel suggested a compromise which, +after long altercation and some threats of resignation, was adopted. But +the effect was to weaken the government still further in the eyes of the +public, inasmuch as the principle of duties on a graduated scale had +prevailed at last against the declared opinions of the duke. The +inevitable rupture was only deferred for a few weeks, and arose out of +motions for disfranchising East Retford and Penryn--a premonitory +symptom of the great reform bill. These were among the most corrupt of +the old "rotten boroughs," and the scandalous practices which flourished +in both of them had more than once shocked even the unreformed +parliament. In 1827 a bill for disfranchising Penryn had actually been +carried by the house of commons in spite of Canning's dissent, and one +for disfranchising East Retford would probably have been carried, but +that it was introduced too late. + +The motions now introduced by Lord John Russell and Charles Tennyson +respectively could scarcely have been thrown out by the same house, but +squabbles arose in the cabinet, partly on the comparative guiltiness of +the two venal constituencies, but chiefly on the disposal of the seats +to be vacated. It was agreed at last that Penryn should be merged in the +adjacent hundred, and the majority of the cabinet, represented by Peel, +were for dealing in like manner with East Retford. The liberal section, +however, represented by Huskisson, was bent on transferring its +representation to Birmingham, and voted against Peel in the house of +commons. Having thus vindicated his independence, Huskisson, somewhat +too hastily, placed his resignation in the hands of the premier on May +20. The duke, having fairly lost patience with his insubordinate +colleagues, was equally prompt in accepting it, and declined to receive +the explanations offered. In the end, Palmerston, Dudley, Grant, and +Lamb, followed the fortunes of Huskisson, and Wellington's government +was completely purged of Canning's old supporters. + +[Pageheading: _THE CLARE ELECTION._] + +Two military officers, without political experience, were now imported +into the ministry. Sir George Murray succeeded Huskisson at the colonial +office, and Sir Henry Hardinge replaced Palmerston as secretary at war, +but was not admitted to the cabinet; Lord Aberdeen became foreign +secretary, and Vesey Fitzgerald president of the board of trade, while +Lord Francis Leveson Gower succeeded Lamb as chief secretary for +Ireland. So purely tory an administration had not been formed since the +days of Perceval. Looking back we can see that, for that very reason, it +was doomed; but to politicians of 1828 Wellington's ascendency seemed +assured, and it was not actually broken for above two years. By far the +most important event of domestic history within that period was the +crisis ending in the catholic emancipation act, and this crisis was +immediately precipitated by the almost casual appointment of Vesey +Fitzgerald. He was a popular Irish landlord, who had always supported +catholic relief, and his re-election for the county of Clare was +regarded as perfectly secure. The landlords were known to be entirely in +his favour, and Irish tenants, miscalled "forty shilling freeholders," +had been used to vote obsequiously for the candidate of their landlords. +Indeed, these counterfeit freeholds had been manufactured recklessly +throughout Ireland for the very purpose of extending landlord influence. +Perhaps the recent defeat of a Beresford at Waterford by a nominee of +Daniel O'Connell, who had made himself the leader of the movement for +Catholic relief, ought to have undeceived the Irish tories, but no one +could have foreseen so daring an act as the candidature of O'Connell +himself, notwithstanding that, as a catholic, he was incapable of +sitting in the house of commons. + +The contest began on June 30 and lasted five days. All the gentry and +electors of the higher class supported Fitzgerald, but all the poorer +electors, headed by their priests, flocked to the poll and voted for +O'Connell, who, on Fitzgerald's retirement, was triumphantly elected. +The violence of O'Connell's language was unmeasured, and as was said by +Sheil, "every altar became a tribune," but perfect order was maintained +throughout. The terrorism which has since disgraced Irish elections and +vitiated the whole representation of Ireland had no place in this +startling victory, and the impression produced by it was thereby +infinitely enhanced. Two conclusions were instantly drawn from it: the +one, that electoral power in Ireland could not safely be left in the +hands of the forty-shilling freeholders; the other, that, whether or not +they were disfranchised, nothing short of political equality of the +catholics of Ireland could avert the risk of civil war. It is seldom +that momentous changes can be so clearly traced to a single cause as in +the case of catholic emancipation. The whole interval between July, +1828, and April, 1829, was occupied by the discussion of this question, +or circumstances arising out of it, and it may truly be said to have +filled the whole horizon of domestic politics. The first and final +recognition by a responsible government of emancipation as a political +necessity dates immediately from the Clare election. + +The question of catholic emancipation had been the only reason for the +resignation of Pitt in 1801, but we have seen that he resumed office in +1804 under a pledge not to re-open it. It is certain that he never +contemplated a complete emancipation of the catholics without safeguards +for the interests of the established church. Such a safeguard (though +ineffective against a future attack through disestablishment) was +provided by the act of union,[84] which inviolably united the Irish and +English churches. The catholic leaders, on their part, were profuse in +their disavowals of hostility to that establishment and to the +protestant government in Ireland. In their first solemn memorial, +presented by Grenville on March 25, 1805, they expressly declared that +"they do not seek or wish, in the remotest degree, to injure or encroach +upon the rights, privileges, immunities, possessions, and revenues +appertaining to the bishops and clergy of the protestant religion, or to +the churches committed to their charge". They further volunteered an +expression of their belief that no evil act could be justified by the +good of the Church, and that papal infallibility was no article of the +catholic faith. Thenceforward, frequent motions in support of the +"catholic claims" were made in both houses of parliament. In 1810 such a +motion was proposed in a very eloquent speech by Grattan, but +Castlereagh, though a staunch friend of the cause, deprecated it as +inopportune, since the catholics had injured themselves by imprudent +conduct, and fresh declarations inconsistent with their former +assurances. The motion was therefore rejected, and a similar fate befell +motions of the same kind in the two following years, especially in the +house of lords, where Eldon inflexibly resisted any concession, and +always commanded a majority. + +[Pageheading: _CATHOLIC RELIEF._] + +When Liverpool replaced Perceval as prime minister in 1812, catholic +emancipation became an open question in the cabinet. In that year +Canning succeeded in carrying triumphantly a resolution pledging the +house of commons to consider the question seriously in the next session, +and a like resolution was only lost by one vote in the house of lords. +Accordingly, in 1813, Grattan's motion for a committee of the whole +house on catholic disabilities was accepted, and a bill for their +removal passed its second reading. But it was loaded with vexatious +securities in committee and wrecked by the vigorous opposition of the +speaker, Abbot, who on May 24 carried by a majority of four an amendment +withholding the right to sit and vote in parliament. After this, the +bill was of course abandoned, but another was unanimously passed +exempting from penalties Roman catholics holding certain military and +civil offices, to which, by a harsh construction of law, they were not +eligible. In 1817 the question was debated at great length in the house +of commons, and several leading men took part in it, but the motion for +catholic relief was again defeated by a majority of twenty-four. It was +revived in 1819 by Grattan, who delivered on this occasion one of his +greatest speeches, and succeeded in reducing the majority to two only. +In 1821 a further advance was made by Plunket's success in obtaining a +committee to consider the claims of the catholics. This was carried by a +majority of six, and followed up by two bills, removing all catholic +disabilities with very slight exceptions, but subject to stringent and +somewhat illusory securities for the loyalty of the priesthood. +Ultimately on April 2 a comprehensive measure of catholic relief passed +the house of commons by a majority of nineteen. All the most influential +members of the lower house now voted in its favour, but the attitude of +the upper house remained unchanged. The spirit of Eldon still ruled the +peers, and his speech against Plunket's relief bill contains a complete +armoury of protestant arguments. But the catholics had a still more +doughty opponent in the Duke of York, who delivered on this occasion the +first of his famous declarations, binding himself to life-long +hostility. As Eldon said, "he did more to quiet this matter than +everything else put together".[85] + +The year 1821 marks a turning point in the history of the catholic +question, since the protestant cause, no longer safe in the house of +commons, was felt by its champions to depend on the crown and the house +of lords. But it would be an error to suppose that catholic relief was +ever a popular cry in this country, like retrenchment and reform. On the +contrary, the feelings of the masses in Great Britain were never roused +in regard to it, and, if roused at all, would probably have been +enlisted on the other side. It would be too much to say that the +controversy was merely academical, for it was keen enough to split up +parties and produce dualism in cabinets. But it was never a hustings +question. It filled a much larger space in the minds of statesmen than +in the minds of the people, and even among statesmen it was so far +secondary that it could be treated as an open question in Liverpool's +ministry for a period of fifteen years. No doubt the disturbed state of +Ireland, which ultimately supplied the motive power for carrying the +emancipation act, contributed at an earlier stage to damp the zeal of +its advocates. Whatever the merits of the union, it had failed to pacify +the country, thereby verifying the warning of Cornwallis, that, although +Ireland could not be saved without the union, "you must not take it for +granted that it will be saved by it". + +In 1800, the very year of the union, the _habeas corpus_ act had been +suspended and another act passed for the suppression of rebellion. +Though repealed in the following year, these coercive measures were +renewed in 1803, after Emmet's abortive rising, and continued in 1804. +In 1805, when they expired, special commissions were appointed for the +repression of crime in the south and west of Ireland. In 1807 the +_habeas corpus_ act was again suspended and a rigorous insurrection act +passed which continued in force until 1810. In that year a Catholic +Committee was formed, anticipating the more notorious Catholic +Association. An essential part of the scheme was the formation of a +representative assembly in Dublin, to discuss and procure redress for +the wrongs of catholics. This project was put down by the Irish +government, which treated it as a breach of the convention act of 1793. +The next ten years seem to have been somewhat quieter in Ireland, and +the disturbances which followed the peace in Great Britain had no +counterpart in that country. Still, it was thought necessary to suppress +another catholic convention in 1814, and to renew the insurrection act, +which remained in force with one interval till 1817. It can well be +imagined that a population so lawless, and so prone to horrible outrages +which shock Englishmen more than a thousand crimes against property, +should have excited little general sympathy by their complaints of +political grievances. These grievances were justly denounced by party +leaders, but in the eyes of ordinary politicians, and still more of +electors, coercion rather than concession was the appropriate remedy for +the ills of Ireland. + +[Pageheading: _CATHOLIC RELIEF._] + +Canning, however, though suspected of lukewarmness, did not let the +question rest in 1822. On April 30, while still out of office, he +introduced a bill which he could scarcely have expected to become law, +for enabling Roman catholic peers to sit and vote in the house of lords. +This bill was passed in the commons by a majority of five, but rejected +in the lords by a majority of forty-four, in spite of somewhat +transparent assertions that it was not intended to prejudice the main +issue. On April 18, 1823, an angry protest from Burdett against the +"annual farce" of motions leading to nothing was followed by a quarrel +between Canning and Brougham, who accused Canning, then foreign +secretary, of "monstrous truckling for the purpose of obtaining office"; +and when Plunket moved, as usual, for the relief of catholics, a +temporary secession of radicals took place, which left him in a +ridiculous minority. In spite of this discomfiture, Lord Nugent +succeeded in carrying through the commons a bill, granting the +parliamentary franchise to Roman catholics in Great Britain. The bill +was lost in the lords, and the question remained dormant in 1824; but in +1825 it received a fresh impulse. This time it was Burdett who, at the +instance of Lansdowne and Brougham, appeared as spokesman of the +catholics. His action was in some respects inopportune, as the "Catholic +Association," founded by O'Connell and Sheil in 1823, was now usurping +the functions of a government, and regularly levying taxes under the +name of "rent". The necessity of suppressing it, though not apparent to +Lord Wellesley, the lord-lieutenant, was strongly felt on both sides of +the house of commons. A bill for this purpose, but applicable to all +similar associations, was rapidly carried by large majorities in both +houses, and the opposition was fain to rely mainly on the declaration +that it would be put in force against catholic associations only, and +not against those of the Orangemen, as the more violent of the Irish +protestants were called. It is needless to say that it was evaded by the +former, but on March 1, while it was still before the house of lords, +Burdett took courage to move another preliminary resolution in favour of +the catholics, and obtained a majority of thirteen. A bill founded on +this resolution was at once introduced. + +The debates on this bill were memorable in several respects and opened +the last stage but one in the long history of catholic relief. In the +first place, more than one opponent publicly avowed his conversion to +it; in the second place, now that its "settlement" was actually within +view, the necessity of providing a counterpoise became admitted. +Accordingly, one independent member proposed a state grant of L250,000 a +year for the endowment of the catholic clergy, who might thus be +indirectly bound over to good behaviour, while another proposed the +disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders. Both of these bills were read +a second time, but held over until the fate of the main relief bill +should be determined. That bill passed the house of commons on May 10, +1825, by a majority of twenty-one, and Peel tendered his resignation to +Lord Liverpool.[86] Two days later, the Duke of York, on presenting a +petition against the bill in the house of lords, delivered another +speech which fell like a thunder-clap on the country, and has been +celebrated ever since as an audacious breach of constitutional usage. In +this speech, he justified the inflexible attitude of his father, whose +mental disorder he expressly attributed to the agitation of the catholic +question. He concluded by declaring that his principles were the same, +imbibed in early youth and confirmed by mature reflection, and that he +would maintain them up to the latest moment of his existence, "whatever +might be his situation in life". It is certain that, in thus pledging +himself, he acted without having consulted the king, who somewhat +resented so direct an allusion to his prospect of succession. Still, the +sensation produced by the duke's utterance was prodigious, and he +remained the favourite champion of the protestant cause until his death. +Brougham attacked him with furious sarcasm in the commons, but the lords +threw out Burdett's relief bill by a majority of forty-eight, and the +No-popery cry influenced the general election of 1826. In that year no +further effort was made by the friends of catholic claims, but O'Connell +showed his growing power in Ireland by exciting a political revolt of +the peasantry at Waterford, and procuring the defeat of Lord George +Beresford. + +[Pageheading: _CATHOLIC RELIEF._] + +In the session of 1827, before Canning succeeded Lord Liverpool, Burdett +renewed his motion of 1825 on the catholic question, but found himself +defeated by four votes. The division had taken place in a full house, +after the fierce encounter, already mentioned, between Copley and +Canning; but it cannot be regarded as a decisive token of contrast +between the old and the new parliament, since relief was now claimed +without any mention of "securities". The subject was in abeyance during +the short administrations of Canning and Goderich, but was raised again +by Burdett in May, 1828, after the repeal of the test and corporation +acts. The number of votes on the catholic side, 272, was the same as in +1827, that on the protestant side, 266, was less by ten, the result +being a majority of six for the motion. A similar resolution was lost in +the house of lords, as a matter of course; but the language held by the +new lord chancellor, Lyndhurst, and by Wellington himself, as prime +minister, prepared observant men for an impending change of policy. Then +followed the Clare election, which revealed nothing which might not have +been foreseen, but which had the same effect in precipitating the +removal of catholic disabilities as the Irish famine afterwards had in +precipitating the repeal of the corn laws. + +We now know that Peel had made up his mind to yield shortly after the +Clare election,[87] partly influenced by the alarming reports of +Anglesey, the Irish lord-lieutenant, on the state of Ireland. We also +know that Wellington himself was more than half convinced of the +necessity of concession, and was preparing to strengthen his government +for the coming struggle, in the event of Peel feeling bound to retire. +Meanwhile a vacancy in the ministry had been created by the Duke of +Clarence's resignation of his office of lord high admiral. In spite of +the limitations imposed on his power, he had insisted on hoisting his +flag, and assumed command. For this he was severely reprehended by the +king and Wellington, and was virtually forced to resign office. Melville +now became once more first lord of the admiralty, and was succeeded by +Ellenborough at the board of control. Ellenborough retained his former +office of lord privy seal, which Wellington was holding in reserve with +a view to strengthening the government. But the public of those days +remained in entire ignorance of their intentions until the meeting of +parliament on February 5, 1829. + +The speech of George Dawson, Peel's brother-in-law, at Derry, on August +12, had greatly startled protestants. As it was never publicly +disavowed, Brunswick clubs were formed to repel the rising tide of +sympathy with the catholics, but the only tangible indication of +Wellington's personal sentiments favoured the belief that nothing would +be done. The circumstances under which this indication was given were +peculiar. The duke had written a letter to the Roman catholic archbishop +of Dublin, an old correspondent, deprecating agitation on the catholic +question, as likely to prejudice its future settlement, of which, +however, the duke saw "no prospect".[88] This letter was improperly +sent by the archbishop to O'Connell as well as to Anglesey. O'Connell +read it to the Catholic Association as a sign of conciliatory +inclinations; Anglesey's reply suggested, at least, that agitation might +continue. He was promptly recalled, and his recall was rendered the more +significant by the appointment of the Duke of Northumberland, a known +"protestant," as his successor. What the public could not then know was +that behind all other difficulties, political or personal, lay the +almost insuperable difficulty of inducing the king to allow the cabinet +to be even consulted. Indolent and unprincipled as George IV. was, he +was still capable of rousing and asserting himself. Probably no one but +Wellington could have prevailed against his anti-catholic prejudices, +shared, as they were, not only by most of the peers, both spiritual and +temporal, but also by the mass of the English people. At this juncture +Peel informed the duke that, rather than risk the success of the +proposed measure, he would remain at his post. His example was followed +by his "protestant" colleagues. + +[Pageheading: _THE INTRODUCTION OF THE RELIEF BILL._] + +During the winter of 1828-29 the strongest pressure was brought to bear +on the king by his ministers to procure his consent to a measure of +relief, accompanied by safeguards. Though he afterwards assured Eldon +that he had never explicitly given such a consent, the old chancellor, +on seeing the documents, felt obliged to express a contrary opinion. It +is certain that he gave way most reluctantly, and probable that his +scruples were as sincere as was consistent with his character; but he +knew well that, if he dismissed his ministers, he would be left +isolated, and he bowed to necessity. Indeed even the "protestant" +members of the cabinet had urged him to yield. His assent was, in fact, +only given by degrees; after each member of the cabinet, who had +previously opposed catholic emancipation, had had a separate interview, +the king consented on January 15 to the consideration of the subject by +the cabinet, but reserved the right to reject its advice. After this no +great difficulty was experienced in obtaining the royal assent to the +introduction of a bill.[89] Accordingly the king's speech, delivered by +commission on February 5, 1829, distinctly recommended parliament to +consider whether the civil disabilities of the catholics could not be +removed "consistently with the full and permanent security of our +establishments in Church and State". This recommendation, however, was +preceded by a severe condemnation of the Catholic Association and the +expression of a resolution to put down the disorders caused by it. The +sensation produced by the king's speech was increased by the +simultaneous resignation by Peel of his seat for the university of +Oxford. Considering that he was originally preferred to Canning mainly +on protestant grounds, he could not have honourably acted otherwise. +Many of his old friends stood by him, in spite of differences on the +catholic question, and Eldon's grandson, who had been proposed as a +candidate, was set aside as too weak an opponent. Ultimately Sir Robert +Inglis was put forward by the "protestants," and was returned by 755 +votes against 609. Peel obtained a seat for the borough of Westbury,[90] +and moved a preliminary bill for suppressing the Catholic Association. +This passed both houses in February, but was already ineffective when it +became law, since the association had been shrewd enough to dissolve +itself upon the advice of its English well-wishers. The catholic relief +bill was therefore introduced under favourable auspices. + +The motives which actuated Wellington and Peel in espousing the cause +which they had so persistently opposed admit of no doubt whatever. In +the memoir which Peel left as embodying his own defence, no less than in +his speech introducing the emancipation bill, he affects no essential +change of conviction. He rests his case entirely on the public danger of +leaving the question "unsettled" after the disclosures of the Clare +election, and argues calmly, as the agitators had been arguing for +nearly thirty years, that no settlement was practicable short of +complete, though not unconditional, surrender. There is no pretence of +consistency. All the constitutional, political, and religious objections +to civil equality between protestants and catholics in Ireland remained +unanswered and unabated. Indeed the increasing power and defiant tone of +the catholic demagogues might well have appeared a crowning reason for +refusing them seats in parliament. Peel, however, had adopted, and +pressed upon Wellington, the delusive opinion of Anglesey that by +"taking them from the Association and placing them in the house of +commons" they might be reduced to comparative impotence. He lamented, it +is true, the premature announcement of a new policy by Dawson, and he +had submitted his own resignation to the duke in the belief, apparently +sincere, that he could render better service in an independent position. +But he seems not to have felt the least scruple in urging the duke to +break all his pledges to his protestant supporters, and conciliate the +followers of O'Connell. Nor did his advice fall on unwilling ears. +Trained in a vocation where private conscience is subordinate to +military duty, where enemies must sometimes be welcomed as allies if it +may further the plan of campaign, and where a masterly retreat is as +honourable as a victory, Wellington did not shrink from undertaking the +part of an opportunist minister. He had always regarded himself as a +servant of the crown and the nation, rather than as a party leader, and +he saw no personal difficulty in adopting any political measure as the +less of two evils. Having once satisfied himself that civil war in +Ireland was the only alternative to emancipation, he abandoned +resistance to it as he would have abandoned a hopeless siege, and called +upon his tory followers to change their front with him. + +Notice had been given of a resolution to be moved by Peel on March 5, +preparing the way for the catholic relief bill, when the king raised +fresh obstacles to its progress. As the day drew near, George, +encouraged by the Duke of Cumberland, grew very excited. He had violent +interviews with his ministers, and finally on March 3 he informed +Wellington, Lyndhurst, and Peel that he could not assent to any +alteration in the oath of supremacy. The three ministers accordingly +tendered their resignations, which were accepted. But the king soon +found that no alternative administration was possible, and on the +following day the existing ministers received permission to proceed with +the bill.[91] + +[Pageheading: _PROVISIONS OF THE RELIEF BILL._] + +Peel's great speech on March 5, in favour of his resolution, contains a +comprehensive review of the Irish question, as well as an elaborate +defence of his own position, resting solely on grounds of expediency. He +advocated the measure itself as the only means of pacifying Ireland, +reducing the undue power of the catholics, and securing the protestant +religion. It was simple in its main outlines, applying to the whole +United Kingdom, and purporting to open all political and civil rights to +catholics, with a very few specified exceptions. It contained, however, +a number of provisions, in the nature of securities against catholic +aggression. By the new oath, to be substituted for the oaths of +allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration, a member of parliament, or holder +of an office, was no longer required to renounce transubstantiation, the +invocation of saints, or the sacrifice of the mass. But he was still +obliged not only to swear allegiance, but to profess himself resolved to +maintain the protestant settlement of the crown, to condemn absolutely +all papal jurisdiction within the realm, and to disclaim solemnly any +intention of subverting the existing Church establishment or weakening +the system of protestant government. Moreover, priests were expressly +denied the privilege of sitting in parliament. Catholics were still +excluded from the high positions of sovereign, regent, lord chancellor +of England or Ireland, and lord-lieutenant of Ireland. They were enabled +to become ministers of the crown, but were debarred from the power of +advising the crown on presentations to ecclesiastical dignities or +benefices, nor were they allowed to exercise such patronage in their +personal capacity. They were still to be disabled from holding offices +in the ecclesiastical courts, or in the universities, and their bishops +were forbidden to assume diocesan titles already appropriated by the +establishment. Other clauses were directed against the use of catholic +vestments except in their chapels and private houses, and against the +importation of Jesuits or members of similar religious orders, with a +saving clause for those already resident and duly registered. Two other +safeguards, often proposed, were deliberately omitted from the bill. +There was no provision for a state endowment of catholic priests, or for +a veto of the crown on the appointment of catholic bishops. These +omissions, whether justifiable or not, were pregnant with serious +consequences. + +The debates in both houses on Peel's bill, as it was rightly considered, +are chiefly interesting as throwing light on contemporary opinion. The +arguments for and against it had been fairly exhausted in previous +years, and would carry no great weight in a later age. The +constitutional objections to it, which seemed vital to Eldon, and +weighty to every statesman of his time, were at a later date put aside, +when they were pleaded against the dissolution of the Irish church, +directly guaranteed by the act of union. The criticisms on the personal +consistency of Wellington and Peel belong to biography rather than to +history. But no one can read the speeches of leading men on either side +without recognising the superior foresight, at least, of those who +opposed the bill, and distrusted the efficacy of the safeguards embodied +in it. Two assumptions underlay the whole discussion, and were treated +as axioms by nearly all the speakers. The one was that catholic +emancipation must be judged by its effect on the future peace of +Ireland; the other, that it could not be justified, unless it would +strengthen, rather than weaken, protestant ascendency, then regarded as +a bulwark of the constitution. Posterity may contemplate it from a +different and perhaps higher point of view; but it is certain that, if +its consequences had been foreseen by those who voted upon it, the bill +would have been rejected. It is no less certain that its adoption was a +victory of the educated classes, represented by nomination-boroughs, +over the unrepresented masses of the people. + +The actual result in the division lists was all that its promoters could +have desired. Though the secret had been so well kept by the government +that few of its supporters knew what to expect, and though piles of +petitions showed the preponderance of protestant sentiment outside +parliament, that sentiment was not reflected in the division lists. The +first reading of the bill in the house of commons was carried by a +majority of 348 to 160; the second reading by a majority of 353 to 180; +the third reading by a majority of 320 to 142. The debates were +enlivened on the protestant side by a brilliant speech from Michael +Sadler, a tory friend of the working classes, returned by the Duke of +Newcastle for Newark, and a violent invective from Sir Charles +Wetherell, the attorney-general, who was thereupon dismissed from +office. Peel, who had borne the brunt of these attacks, replied on March +30, when the bill was sent up to the lords, and on April 2, the second +reading of it in the upper house was moved by Wellington. His candid +admission that he was driven to concession by the fear of civil war has +since become historical, and served as the watchword of many a lawless +agitation in Ireland. It was natural that most of the peers, and +especially of the spiritual peers, who took part in the discussion +should be opponents of the measure, but Lloyd, Bishop of Oxford, severed +himself from the rest of his order, and vigorous speeches were made in +support of it by Anglesey and Grey, neither of whom could be regarded as +friendly to Wellington's government. + +[Pageheading: _ROYAL ASSENT TO THE BILL._] + +Anglesey, who had been recently dismissed from the lord-lieutenancy of +Ireland, went beyond the duke in the use of purely military arguments; +Grey ventured to prophesy not only a future reign of peace in Ireland, +but an extension of protestantism, as the consequence of catholic +emancipation. The hopeless attempt of Lyndhurst to vindicate his own +consistency, and a forensic duel between Eldon and Plunket, who had been +raised to the peerage in 1827, relieved the monotony of the debate, but +probably did not influence a single vote. The old guard of the +anti-catholic party remained firm, but the mass of tory peers followed +their leader in his new policy, as they had followed him in his old, and +the relief bill was read a third time in the house of lords on the 10th, +by a majority of 104. Three days later it received the royal assent. +Lord Eldon had virtually encouraged the king to refuse this, at the last +moment, though he was too honest to accept the assurance of George IV. +that the bill was introduced without his authority. But the son of +George III. had not inherited his father's resolute character. After a +few childish threats of retiring to Hanover and leaving the Duke of +Clarence to make terms with the ministry, he abandoned further +resistance and capitulated to Wellington, as Wellington had capitulated +to O'Connell. + +The disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders and the +substitution of a ten-pound suffrage was the price to be paid for +catholic emancipation, and no time was lost in completing the bargain. +In days when it is assumed that every change in the electoral franchise +must needs be in a downward direction, it may well appear amazing that +so wholesale a destruction of privileges enjoyed for thirty-six years +should have provoked so feeble an opposition. It is still more amazing +that it should have passed without a protest from O'Connell himself, who +had solemnly vowed to perish on the field or on the scaffold rather than +submit to it. Yet so it was. These ignorant voters, it is true, had +never ventured to call their souls their own, and had only ceased to be +the servile creatures of their landlords in order to become the servile +creatures of their priests. Still, it was they who, by their action in +the Waterford and Clare elections, had forced the hand of the +government, and achieved catholic emancipation. It may safely be said +that after the reform act of 1832 it would have been politically +impossible to disfranchise them; and even in the unreformed parliament +it would have been scarcely possible if gratitude were a trustworthy +motive in politics. On the other hand, the government could never have +secured a majority for catholic emancipation, unless it had been +distinctly understood to carry with it the extinction of democracy in +Ireland. This, rather than declarations and restrictions of doubtful +efficacy, was the real "security" on which the legislature relied for +disarming the disloyalty of Irish catholics. For some time it answered +its purpose so far as to keep the representation of that disloyalty +within safe limits in the house of commons. But it naturally produced a +contrary effect in Ireland itself, and was destined to be swept away +before a fresh wave of agitation. + +A few days before the relief bill passed the house of commons an episode +occurred which is chiefly interesting for the light which it throws on +the ideas then prevalent in the highest society. In 1828 Wellington had +presided at a meeting for the establishment of King's College, London, +an institution which was to be entirely under the influence of the +established church, and which was intended as a counterpoise to the +purely secular institution which had been recently founded under the +title of the "London University". The Earl of Winchilsea, a peer of no +personal importance, but a stalwart upholder of Church and State, +published in the _Standard_ newspaper of March 16, 1829, a virulent +letter, describing the whole transaction "as a blind to the protestant +and high church party," and accusing the prime minister of insidious +designs for the introduction of popery in every department of the state. +The duke at once sent Hardinge with a note couched in moderate language, +demanding an apology. Winchilsea made no apology, but offered to express +regret for having mistaken the duke's motives, if the duke would declare +that when he presided at the meeting in question he was not +contemplating any measure of catholic relief. Whereupon the duke +demanded "that satisfaction which a gentleman has a right to require, +and which a gentleman never refuses to give". A hostile meeting took +place on March 21 in Battersea fields. The duke intentionally fired +wide, and Winchilsea, after discharging his weapon in the air, tendered +a written apology, in conformity with the so-called rules of honour. The +duke was conscious that his conduct must have "shocked many good men," +but he always maintained that it was the only way, and proved an +effectual way, of dispelling the atmosphere of calumny in which he was +surrounded. It is probable that he judged rightly of his contemporaries, +and that he gained rather than lost in reputation by an act which, apart +from its moral aspect, risked the success of a great measure largely +depending on the continuance of his own life. It may be noticed that he +afterwards became not only the personal friend of his antagonist, but +the most influential member of the Anti-Duelling Association.[92] + +[Pageheading: _EXCLUSION OF O'CONNELL._] + +Another episode, or rather sequel, of the great contest on catholic +relief had more serious political consequences. Though O'Connell was the +undoubted leader of the movement, and might almost have claimed to be +the father of the act, he was most unwisely but deliberately excluded +from its benefits. His exclusion was effected by a clause which rendered +its operation strictly prospective, for the very purpose of shutting out +the one catholic who had been elected under the old law. It had been +decided by a committee of the house of commons that he was duly +returned, the only question being whether he could take his seat without +subscribing the oath now abolished. This question was brought to a test +by the appearance of O'Connell in person in the house itself. The +speaker, Charles Manners-Sutton, declared that he could not properly be +admitted to be sworn under the new law, upon which O'Connell claimed a +hearing. A long and futile discussion followed as to whether he should +be heard at the table or at the bar. In the end he was heard at the bar, +and produced a very favourable impression upon his opponents as well as +his friends by the ingenuity of his arguments and the studied moderation +of his tone. His case, however, was manifestly untenable from a legal +point of view, and a new writ was ordered to be issued for the county of +Clare. + +Then was shown both the folly of stirring up so needlessly the +inflammable materials of Irish sedition and the futility of imagining +that catholic emancipation, right or wrong, would prove a healing +measure. Having exhibited the better side of his character in his speech +before the house of commons, O'Connell exhibited its worst side without +stint or shame in his addresses to the Irish peasantry. Skilfully +avoiding the language of sheer treason, he set no bounds to his coarse +and outrageous vituperation of the nation which had sacrificed even its +conscience to appease Ireland; nor did he shrink from denouncing +Wellington and Peel as "those men who, false to their own party, can +never be true to us". The note which he struck has never ceased to +vibrate in the hearts of the excitable people which he might have +educated into loyal citizenship, and the spirit which he evoked has been +the evil genius of Ireland from his day to our own. He openly unfurled +the standard of repeal, but the repeal he demanded did not involve the +creation of an Irish republic. Ireland was still to be connected with +Great Britain by "the golden link of the crown," and though agitation +was carried to the verge of rebellion, the great agitator never actually +advised his dupes to rise in arms for a war of independence. Short of +this he did all in his power, and with too much success, to inflame them +with a malignant hatred of the sister country. If the promoters of +catholic emancipation had ever looked for any reward beyond the inward +satisfaction of having done a righteous act, they were speedily and +wofully undeceived. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[83] Wellington to Peel, January 9, 1828, in Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, +ii., 27. + +[84] Lecky, _History of Ireland_, v., 358-60, _n._; Stapleton, _Life of +Canning_, ii., 131-34. + +[85] Eldon to Sir William Scott, Twiss, _Life of Eldon_, ii., 416. For +Eldon's Speech, see Twiss, iii., 498-512. + +[86] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, i., 372-75. + +[87] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 54-60. + +[88] Wellington to Curtis, December 11, 1828, Wellington, _Despatches, +etc._, v., 326. + +[89] For the king's qualified assent see Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +82-85; Peel's _Memoirs_, i., 297, 298, 310. + +[90] See Peel's _Memoirs_, i., 3, for his unpopularity at Westbury. + +[91] Peel's _Memoirs_, i., 343-49; Greville, _Memoirs_, i., 189, 190, +201, 202. + +[92] See Maxwell, _Life of Wellington_, ii., 231-36, for the incident. + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + PORTUGAL AND GREECE. + + +It is now time to turn to the general course of foreign policy during +the closing years of the reign of George IV. The only foreign problems +which gave serious trouble during this period were the Eastern and +Portuguese questions. The influence which the former exercised on +domestic policy has rendered it necessary to trace its course as far as +the battle of Navarino in the last chapter. We must now take up the +other question where we left it, at the recognition of the independence +of Brazil and the expulsion of the Spanish troops from the mainland of +America. + +Peter I., Emperor of Brazil, though an independent sovereign, was still +heir-apparent to the throne of Portugal, and the ultra-royalists hoped +that, in spite of the provisions of the Brazilian constitution, his +succession to his ancestral crown would restore the unity of the +Portuguese dominions. The death of King John VI. on March 10, 1826, +brought the matter to a crisis. Four days before his death he had +appointed a council of regency which was to be presided over by his +daughter, Isabella Maria, but from which the queen and Dom Miguel, then +twenty-three, were both excluded. By this act the absolutist party were +deprived of power until they should be restored to it by the action of +the new king, or by a revolution. The regency wished the new king to +make a speedy choice between the two crowns; and it was anticipated that +he would abdicate the Portuguese crown in favour of his seven-year-old +daughter, Maria da Gloria. The absolutists on the other hand hoped that +the king might by procrastination avoid the separation of the crowns. + +What was their surprise when they discovered that the king had indeed +determined to procrastinate, but in such a way as to displease the +absolutists as much as the friends of constitutional government? No +sooner had the news of his father's death reached Peter at Rio Janeiro, +than he issued a charter of 145 clauses, conferring a constitution on +Portugal. This constitution which was destined to alternate for nearly a +generation with absolute monarchy or with the revolutionary constitution +of 1821, had the advantage of being the voluntary gift of the king. It +was, however, composed in great haste, and, except that it retained the +hereditary nobility as a first chamber in the cortes, was almost +identical with the constitution established in Brazil in the previous +December. Among other provisions it subjected the nobility to taxation +and asserted the principle of religious toleration. A few days later, on +the 2nd of May, King Peter executed an act of abdication in favour of +his daughter Maria, providing, however, that the abdication should not +come into effect until the necessary oaths had been taken to the new +constitution and until the new queen should have been married to her +uncle, Dom Miguel. + +[Pageheading: _CIVIL WAR IN PORTUGAL._] + +This compromise pleased nobody. It is true that it seemed to make +permanent the separation of Brazil from Portugal, since the former state +was destined for Peter's infant son, afterwards Peter II.; but the +Brazilian patriots would have preferred a more definite abandonment of +the Portuguese throne, and Peter's half-measure of abdication was one of +the main causes of the discontent which drove him to resign the +Brazilian crown five years later. The Portuguese liberals were alarmed +at the prospect of a restoration of Dom Miguel to power, while the +absolutists were indignant at the imposition of a constitution. From the +very first it encountered opposition. The new constitution was indeed +proclaimed on July 13, and the necessary oaths were taken on the 31st. +But on the same day a party, consisting mainly of Portuguese deserters +in Spanish territory, proclaimed Miguel as king and the queen-mother as +regent during his absence. Miguel, however, gave no open support to this +party; on October 4 he actually took the oath to the new constitution, +and on the 29th he formally betrothed himself at Vienna to the future +Queen of Portugal. But the Portuguese insurgents were not deterred by +the apparent defection of the prince whose claim to reign they +asserted, and they received a thinly disguised encouragement from the +Spanish government, which certainly did nothing to interfere with their +organisation in Spanish territory. On the 10th the last insurgents had +been expelled from Portuguese territory, but in November they were +openly joined by some Spanish soldiers, and on the 22nd of that month +they invaded the Portuguese province of Traz-os-Montes. Another division +made a simultaneous irruption into the province of Alemtejo. This latter +body was quickly expelled from the kingdom and marched through Spanish +territory to join its more successful comrades in Northern Portugal. The +whole province of Traz-os-Montes had fallen into the hands of the +absolutists in a few days, and its defection was followed by that of the +northern part of Beira, when the arrival of British forces gave the +constitutional party the necessary encouragement to enable them to +arrest the progress of the insurrection. + +As in 1823, the Portuguese government, represented in London by +Palmella, applied for British assistance against the ultra-royalists at +home. But on the present occasion Portugal was able to appeal to +something more than the general friendship of Great Britain. By the +treaties of 1661 and 1703, renewed as recently as 1815, Great Britain +was bound to defend Portugal against invasion, and Portugal now claimed +the fulfilment of these treaties. The formal demand was received by the +British ministry on December 3, but it was not till Friday, the 8th, +that official intelligence was received of the invasion. Not a moment +was lost in despatching 5,000 troops to Portugal. This resolution was +formed by the cabinet on the 9th, approved by the king on the 10th, and +communicated to parliament on the 11th. On the evening of the 12th +Canning was able to inform the house of commons that the troops were +already on the march for embarkation. + +The debate in the house of commons on the address in answer to the royal +message announcing the request of the Portuguese government, was the +occasion of two of the most famous speeches that Canning ever delivered. +After recounting the treaty obligations of this country to Portugal, and +the circumstances of the Portuguese application for assistance, and +disclaiming any desire to meddle with the domestic politics of +Portugal, he referred to a previous anticipation that the next European +war would be one "not so much of armies as of opinions". "Not four +years," he proceeded, "have elapsed, and behold my apprehension +realised! It is, to be sure, within narrow limits that this war of +opinion is at present confined: but it is a war of opinion that Spain +(whether as government or as nation) is now waging against Portugal; it +is a war which has commenced in hatred of the new institutions of +Portugal. How long is it reasonable to expect that Portugal will abstain +from retaliation? If into that war this country shall be compelled to +enter, we shall enter into it with a sincere and anxious desire to +mitigate rather than exasperate, and to mingle only in the conflict of +arms, not in the more fatal conflict of opinions. But I much fear that +this country (however earnestly she may endeavour to avoid it) could +not, in such case, avoid seeing ranked under her banners all the +restless and dissatisfied of any nation with which she might come in +conflict. It is the contemplation of this new power in any future war +which excites my most anxious apprehension. It is one thing to have a +giant's strength, but it would be another to use it like a giant. The +consciousness of such strength is undoubtedly a source of confidence and +security; but in the situation in which this country stands, our +business is not to seek opportunities of displaying it, but to content +ourselves with letting the professors of violent and exaggerated +doctrines on both sides feel that it is not their interests to convert +an umpire into an adversary." + +In his reply at the close of the debate Canning vindicated his +consistency in resisting Spanish aggression upon Portugal, while +offering no resistance to the military occupation of Spain by France, +which had not yet terminated. He pointed out that the Spain of his day +was quite different from "the Spain within the limits of whose empire +the sun never set--the Spain 'with the Indies' that excited the +jealousies and alarmed the imaginations of our ancestors". He admitted +that the entry of the French into Spain was a disparagement to the pride +of England, but he thought it had been possible to obtain compensation +without offering resistance in Spain itself. Then came the famous +passage: "If France occupied Spain, was it necessary, in order to avoid +the consequences of that occupation, that we should blockade Cadiz? No. +I looked another way--I sought materials of compensation in another +hemisphere. Contemplating Spain, such as our ancestors had known her, I +resolved that if France had Spain, it should not be Spain 'with the +Indies'. I called the new world into existence to redress the balance of +the old."[93] + +[Pageheading: _TROOPS SENT TO PORTUGAL._] + +The two speeches were greeted with applause both in parliament and in +the country, but their vanity was excessive. So far from "creating the +new world," Canning had merely recognised the existence of states which +had already won their own independence, and even so he was only +following the example of the United States. It was not only extremely +foolish, but altogether disingenuous, to maintain that the recognition +of the South American republics had been resolved on as a counterpoise +to French influence in Spain. The reasons which prompted this +recognition were commercial, not political, and it had been announced to +the powers as our ultimate policy before any invasion of Spain had taken +place. The king had only consented to the step on condition that it was +not to be represented as a measure of retaliation, and Canning himself +when he delivered these speeches knew that the French had promised to +evacuate Spain in the following April.[94] But however little justified +by facts, the two speeches made a profound impression throughout Europe. +Whatever Canning might desire, it was quite clear that he contemplated +the possibility of a military alliance between this country and the +revolutionary factions on the continent, and the impression gained +ground that he desired to pose as the champion of liberalism against +legitimate government. + +The first detachment of the British army reached Lisbon on Christmas +day. It was not destined, however, to play an active part in the +Portuguese struggle. The insurgent army was as greatly discouraged as +the loyal troops were elated by its arrival, and the government was +moreover enabled to employ a larger force on the scene of hostilities. +The insurgents were in consequence driven out of the province of Beira +and the greater part of Traz-os-Montes. A new invasion from Spanish +territory, supported by some Spanish soldiers and Spanish artillery, +took place during January, 1827. The greater part of the province of the +Minho fell into the hands of the rebels, and on February 2 they captured +the important town of Braga. But the forces of the regency proved too +strong for them, and early in March the insurgents evacuated Portugal +altogether. The Spanish government, now that little could be effected by +further assistance to the Portuguese refugees, determined at length to +perform the duties of a neutral power, and disarmed them. + +The British troops remained in Portugal till March, 1828. By that time +the disturbances had assumed a purely domestic character, and it was +ultimately decided to recall them. But a firmer policy than that +actually followed would have been necessary in order to extricate Great +Britain from the strife of Portuguese factions, in which her recent +action had given a decided advantage to the constitutional party. That +party had been driven into opposition before the British troops were +recalled. On July 3, 1827, King Peter had issued a decree appointing Dom +Miguel his lieutenant, and investing him with all the powers which +belonged to him as king under the charter. Miguel, after visiting +London, arrived at Lisbon on February 22, 1828, and was sworn in as +regent four days later. As he was twenty-five years old, and therefore +of full age according to Portuguese law, he could not with any show of +equity have been kept out of the regency longer. Miguel's installation +as regent was followed by a series of riots as well on the part of the +absolutists, who desired to make him king, as on the part of the +constitutionalists who feared that he would make himself king. It was +not long before he definitely identified himself with the absolutist +party. + +[Pageheading: _MIGUEL'S USURPATION._] + +On March 14 the cortes were dissolved. On May 3 Miguel summoned the +ancient cortes in his own name, and on June 26 they acknowledged him as +king. The immediate result of this act was that all the ambassadors, +except those of Spain and the Holy See, quitted Lisbon, and the lapse of +time did not induce them to change their attitude towards Miguel. A +further complication was introduced by Peter's definite abdication in +favour of his daughter on March 3, executed before he had any suspicion +of Miguel's designs, which placed Miguel in the position of regent for +his infant niece instead of for his brother. After this formal +abdication Peter despatched his daughter to Europe, intending that she +should proceed to Vienna. When, however, she arrived at Gibraltar on +September 2, her conductors, hearing of Miguel's usurpation, determined +to take her to England, and she landed at Falmouth on the 24th. Peter, +on hearing of Miguel's usurpation, naturally considered the regency +terminated, and claimed to act as the guardian of the infant queen; the +Brazilian ministers in Europe acted as his agents, while his partisans +assembled in England and attempted to use this country as a basis for +warlike operations in Portuguese territories. + +The situation of 1826 was thus reversed. Instead of an ultra-royalist +party resting on Spain, a constitutionalist party resting on Brazil and +attempting to rest on England was now threatening the established +government at Lisbon. Wellington was anxious to maintain a strict +neutrality, but he failed to prevent a ship of war and supplies of arms +and ammunition going from Plymouth to Terceira in the Azores, where +Donna Maria was acknowledged as queen. He succeeded, however, in +preventing a larger armament, which had been raised under the name of +the Emperor of Brazil, with Rio Janeiro as its nominal destination, from +landing at Terceira. This action, though the logical consequence of the +British opposition to the conduct of Spain in 1826, was severely +criticised in England as equivalent to an intervention on behalf of +Miguel. + +Meanwhile Canning's attempt to prevent the separate action of Russia in +the Eastern question had been doomed to disappointment. The destruction +of the Turkish navy at Navarino was naturally regarded at Constantinople +as an outrage, and the Porte demanded satisfaction from the ambassadors +of the allied powers. This they refused to grant on the ground that the +Turks had been the aggressors, and they in their turn demanded an +armistice between the Turkish troops and the Greek insurgents. As the +Porte remained obdurate, the ambassadors of France, Great Britain, and +Russia, acting in accordance with their instructions, left +Constantinople on December 8, 1827. But though war seemed imminent, the +tsar still disowned all idea of conquest, and professed to desire +nothing further than the execution of the treaty of London. A protocol +was accordingly signed on the 12th by which the three powers confirmed +a clause in the treaty, providing that, in the event of war, none of +them should derive any exclusive benefit, either commercial or +territorial. + +The British government imagined that the powers might still effect their +object by diplomacy, and that it would not be necessary to abandon the +Turkish alliance. But any such idea must have been rudely shaken by the +hati-sherif of December 20. In that document the sultan enlarged on the +cruelty and perfidy of the Christian powers and summoned the Muslim +nations to arms: he denounced Russia in particular as the prime mover of +the Greek rebellion, the instigator of the other powers, and the +arch-enemy of Islam; and he declared the treaty of Akkerman, by which +the outstanding disputes between Russia and the Porte had been settled +in October, 1826, to have been extorted by force and only signed in +order to save time. This defiance of Russia, if not of all Christendom, +was followed by a levy of Turkish troops and the expulsion of most of +the Christian residents from Constantinople. No course was now open to +Russia but to make war. It remained to be seen whether any other power +would join her. On January 6, 1828, a Russian despatch announced the +tsar's intention of occupying the Danubian principalities, and suggested +that France and Great Britain should force the Dardanelles and thus +compel the Porte to comply with the provisions of the treaty of London. + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON'S EASTERN POLICY._] + +It is possible that if the direction of British foreign policy had +remained in the hands of Goderich and Dudley, our government might have +lent its support to a settlement of the Eastern question which would in +effect have been the work of Russia only. The more daring policy of +Canning, by which Great Britain had attempted to take the lead as +opportunity offered, either in active co-operation with Russia or in +active opposition to her, could only be directed by a more versatile +statesman than the nation now possessed. The accession to office of +Wellington, though it left Dudley at the foreign office, was really +marked by a return to the policy of Castlereagh, a policy which, if not +brilliant, was at least honourable, consistent, and considerate, and +which in the hands of Wellington was managed with a sufficient measure +of firmness, though with less tact and insight than had been shown by +Castlereagh. The first object of this policy was to keep the special +grievances of Russia distinct from the complaints which Europe at large +or, in the present situation, the three allied powers were able to bring +against the Porte. By so doing the British government hoped to prevent +Russia from dragging other powers into a war for her private benefit, +and also to render it impossible for Russia to use her special +grievances as a lever by which she might effect a separate settlement of +the general question. For some years this policy was successful. Russia +did indeed wage a separate war with the Turks, but the Greek question +was settled by the three powers conjointly, and Great Britain rather +than Russia took the lead in the settlement. It was only after +Palmerston had succeeded to the direction of our foreign policy in 1830, +that it was discovered how far the victory of Russia in war had placed +her in a position to dictate the general policy of the Ottoman court. + +Wellington experienced no difficulty in striking out a line of policy +along which he could carry France with him. On February 21 De la +Ferronays, who had been recalled from the French embassy at St. +Petersburg to occupy the post of foreign minister in the new liberal +administration, which had been formed in France in December, 1827, +despatched a note urging the immediate employment of energetic measures +against the Porte. He saw that the hati-sherif gave special occasion of +war to Russia, and he was naturally anxious to anticipate her isolated +action by combined measures of coercion. He had, however, nothing better +to suggest than the execution of the Russian proposals of January 6. +Wellington, in his reply, dated the 26th, rightly minimised the +seriousness of the hati-sherif, and characterised the proposed measures +of coercion as destined to be ineffectual. He also expressed the fear +that if the three powers combined to make war on the Turks there would +be a general insurrection of the subject races in the Turkish dominions +which might last indefinitely. He therefore proposed first to settle the +Greek question by local pressure, after which he anticipated no serious +trouble about events at Constantinople. On the same day he drafted a +memorandum to the cabinet in which he proposed that the allied squadrons +should proceed to the Archipelago, blockade the Morea and Alexandria, +destroy the Greek pirates, stop the warfare in Chios and Crete, and call +upon the Greek government to withdraw the forces which were operating +in western and eastern Greece respectively under the command of two +foreign volunteers, General Church and Colonel Fabvier. In other words, +he proposed to coerce not the Porte but the actual combatants, Greece +and Egypt, and to check each party where it was the aggressor. If the +prime object of the government in the eastern question was the +maintenance of order, these proposals were excellent. The one capital +defect of the whole scheme was that it ignored the Russian desire for +war, which rendered it impossible for the tsar to postpone the +settlement of his own grievances until an arrangement should be come to +on the Greek question; on the other hand, by isolating the Greek +question, it left it possible for the western powers to proceed with its +solution in spite of the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and the +Turks.[95] + +[Pageheading: _WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY._] + +Russia's determination to act singly was, however, already made. On the +same day, February 26, on which Wellington sketched his policy, +Nesselrode issued a despatch declaring that war was inevitable, +including among his reasons the repudiation of recent treaties by the +Porte and the proclamation by it of a holy war. At the same time he +endeavoured to disarm any possible opposition on the part of the powers +by an invitation to them to make use of the coming war to carry out the +treaty of London. In any case Russia would execute the treaty, but if +she were left to herself, the manner of execution would be determined by +her own convenience and interest.[96] So far Russia had done nothing +directly inconsistent with the maintenance of her concert with France +and Great Britain, whose representatives had been sitting in conference +with hers at London since January, 1827. But the reference in this last +note to the possibility of a settlement of the Greek question according +to the convenience and interest of Russia appeared like a threat of +breaking up the alliance in case France and Great Britain refused to +send their fleets to the Mediterranean. At least Wellington so +understood it, and, rather than be a party to the war, he dissolved the +conference of London in the middle of March. But he soon found that by +so doing he lost the co-operation of France, and he was therefore +compelled to accept the assurances of Russia that she intended to keep +within the limits of the treaty of London, and to regard the +Mediterranean as a neutral area. The conference was in consequence +reopened at the beginning of July. Meanwhile hostilities had actually +begun between Russia and the Turks. Russia declared war on April 26. On +May 7 her troops crossed the Pruth. They rapidly overran the Danubian +provinces, and on June 7 crossed the Danube into Bulgaria. They were +destined, however, to spend more than a year between the Danube and the +Balkans before they could force their way into Rumelia. + +During the interval considerable progress was made with the settlement +of the Greek question. The treaty of London in providing for the +autonomy of Greece had specified no boundaries, and the first problem +demanding the attention of the powers that had assumed the task of the +settlement of Greece was to determine the limits within which that +settlement was to be effected. It might be urged that all the Greeks who +had accepted the armistice imposed by the powers in consequence of the +treaty of London had a right to share in the settlement at which that +treaty aimed. But the armistice had been broken by Greek attacks on +Chios and Crete, and Wellington held that the powers were, in +consequence, free from any obligation imposed by the nominal acceptance +of the armistice. He, accordingly, desired to adopt the simple principle +of granting the proposed autonomy to those parts of Greece in which the +insurrection had proved successful, namely, the Morea and the AEgean +Islands, and refusing it in Northern and Central Greece, where the +Turkish forces still held their own. But the British cabinet was far +from being unanimous; many, among whom Palmerston was specially +prominent, urged the concession of a greatly increased territory. The +changes which took place in the British ministry towards the end of May, +1828, deprived Palmerston of his share in its deliberations, and by +substituting Aberdeen for Dudley at the foreign office, placed our +foreign relations under the direction of a man of talent and experience, +who had already exercised an important influence on British policy and +who was more in sympathy with the policy of the prime minister than +Dudley had been, but who was not content, like Dudley, to be a mere +cipher in the department over which he was called to preside. Aberdeen, +though opposed to the narrow boundaries which Wellington wished to +assign to liberated Greece, was no less antagonistic than his chief to +any attempt to make the new Greek state politically important; and he +was even of opinion that the Russian declaration of war had released +Great Britain from any further obligation under the treaty of London. + +Such were the composition and policy of the British government when the +conference of London reassembled in July. The differences between the +powers had prevented any active intervention in Greece, since the battle +of Navarino. The ports in the Morea, still occupied by Ibrahim, had +indeed been blockaded, but it had been found impossible to induce +Austrian vessels to acknowledge a blockade of such questionable +legality, and the allied fleets had even permitted the embarkation of +Ibrahim's sick and wounded together with 5,500 Greek prisoners, who were +sold into slavery on their arrival at Alexandria. The renewal of the +concert of the three powers was followed by a rapid change in the +situation. On the 19th it was decided that France should send an +expedition to expel the Turco-Egyptian troops from the Morea, while +Great Britain should render her any naval assistance that might be +necessary. This step was valued by the British government as definitely +committing France to a share in the settlement of the Greek question, +and therefore interesting that power in opposition to any attempt at a +separate settlement by Russia. It also furnished a safe outlet for +French military ardour, disappointed by the results of the Spanish +expedition. In fact, the evacuation of Spain, which was in progress at +the date when this agreement was concluded, materially reduced the +strain which the new undertaking imposed upon the French government. +France immediately prepared to send out a force amounting to nearly +22,000 men. But before they could arrive, the greater part of their task +had been performed by other hands. + +[Pageheading: _TURKS EXPELLED FROM THE MOREA._] + +Codrington's conduct in permitting the embarkation of the Turkish sick +and wounded with their prisoners had given great dissatisfaction at +home, and the cabinet had resolved on his recall before the ministerial +crisis of the latter part of May. That crisis occasioned a fortnight's +delay, and, in consequence, Codrington was able, before his successor +arrived, to make a naval demonstration before Alexandria and on August 6 +to obtain the consent of Mehemet Ali to the following proposals: an +exchange of prisoners was to take place, involving the liberation of +the recently enslaved Greeks, and the Egyptian army was to be withdrawn +from the Morea, but Ibrahim was to be allowed to leave behind 1,200 +Egyptian troops to help to garrison five fortresses which were held by +the Turks. Before either the new London protocol or the Alexandria +convention could be carried into effect, further differences had arisen. +Russia had proclaimed a blockade of the Dardanelles and ordered her +admiral to carry it out. This proceeding was regarded by the British +government as a breach of faith and a menace to British commerce. It +was, however, impossible to abandon co-operation with Russia for fear +that the Greek question might become involved in the issues at stake +between her and the Porte. Wellington, in consequence, contented himself +with obtaining certain exemptions from the operation of the blockade on +behalf of British subjects trading with Turkey, and with the exclusion +of the Russian fleet from the operations conducted in the Mediterranean +in accordance with the orders of the London conference. The French force +for expelling the Egyptians from the Morea arrived almost simultaneously +with the Egyptian transports for removing them. On October 5 Ibrahim set +sail for Egypt, with 21,000 men, leaving 1,200 behind in the five +fortresses in accordance with the terms settled at Alexandria. The +French began their attack on the remaining fortresses two days later, +and by the end of November had expelled all the Turks from the Morea. By +the terms of their engagements, they ought now to have departed. But it +was hardly to be expected that France would so readily abandon the +advantage that the presence of her troops gave her in the settlement of +the eastern question. + +Meanwhile the negotiations made slow progress. On November 16 a protocol +was issued placing the Morea with the neighbouring islands under the +guarantee of the powers. Wellington had opposed any extension of the +guarantee to Central Greece on the ground that the allies had to provide +both the necessary military force and the cost of maintaining the Greek +government, so that any undertaking beyond the Morea would involve heavy +expense without rendering lighter the task of maintaining order. But the +real decision of the question lay not with the diplomatists at London, +but with the diplomatists on the spot. Representatives of the three +powers had been sent to Poros to make detailed arrangements in +accordance with the terms of the treaty of London. Stratford Canning, +who represented Great Britain, was one of the supporters of an extended +frontier, and in the end the ambassadors at Poros drew up a protocol in +favour of erecting Greece south of a line connecting the Gulfs of Arta +and Volo into a hereditary principality, which was also to include +nearly all the islands. Even Samos and Crete were recommended to the +benevolent consideration of the courts. All Mohammedans were to be +expelled from this territory. The tribute payable to Turkey was to be +fixed at 1,500,000 piastres, but this was to be paid not to the Turkish +government, but to those who might suffer pecuniary loss by the +confiscation of lands hitherto owned by Mohammedans. + +[Pageheading: _PEACE OF ADRIANOPLE._] + +The spring of 1829 was marked by events which went far to cancel the +arguments on which Wellington had based his case for a restricted +frontier. Not only the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth but Acarnania +and AEtolia were liberated by the Greek forces under Sir Richard Church +the castle of Vonitza falling on March 17, Karavasara shortly +afterwards, Lepanto on April 30, and Mesolongi on May 17.[97] Meanwhile +the terms agreed upon at Poros had been adopted and further defined by +the conference at London on March 22. It was now provided that the +future hereditary prince was to be chosen by the three powers and the +sultan conjointly, and that the terms were to be offered to the Porte by +the British and French ambassadors in the name of the three powers; any +Turkish objections were to be weighed.[98] It was not till June that +Robert Gordon and Guilleminot, representing Great Britain and France +respectively, were able to lay these proposals before the Porte, and it +was only after a Russian army under Diebitsch had crossed the Balkans +that the Porte on August 15 accepted them, and even then only with +extensive modifications. These limited the new state to the Morea and +the adjacent islands, and left the tribute assigned to the same purposes +as before the revolt; a limit was to be set to the military and naval +forces of Greece, and Greeks were not to be allowed to migrate from +Turkish dominions to the new state. + +Wellington was of opinion that these concessions were adequate. He +attached great importance to the consent of the Porte, to dispense with +which seemed to him a sure method of encouraging a general revolt in the +Turkish dominions; and he also advocated a limited frontier in the +interests of the Ionian Islands. He doubted whether it would be found +possible to remove Capodistrias, who had been elected president of +Greece for a period of seven years on April 14, 1827, from his office to +make room for a hereditary prince, and he felt sure that if Capodistrias +were once granted Central Greece he would not hesitate to attempt the +conquest of the Ionian Islands. Capodistrias had in fact refused to +accept any of the arrangements proposed by the London conference, and +was still engaged in the vigorous prosecution of the war. Wellington did +not, however, succeed in inducing France and Russia to remain content +with the Turkish concessions. Diebitsch's successful march through +Rumelia encouraged Russia to demand more, and filled the minds of the +French ministers with the wildest schemes of aggression. They actually +proposed to Russia that the northern part of the Balkan peninsula should +be divided between Austria and Russia while the whole peninsula south of +the Balkans, with Bulgaria to the north, was to be formed into a new +state under the sovereignty of the King of the Netherlands, whose +hereditary dominions were in their turn to be divided between France, +Great Britain, and Prussia. + +Such chimerical projects were based on the assumption that +Constantinople lay at the mercy of the army of Diebitsch; and this was +believed to be the case not only by the court of Paris, but by that of +London, and even by that of Constantinople. But no one knew better than +Diebitsch how precarious his situation was, and, if Russia wished to +obtain advantageous terms, it was necessary for her to make the most of +the illusion while it lasted. On September 14 the peace of Adrianople +was signed, which established the virtual independence of the +principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia and secured for all powers at +peace with Turkey a free passage for merchant ships through the +Bosphorus and Dardanelles; Russia received a small addition to her +Asiatic territories, and Turkey accepted both the treaty of London of +July 6, 1827, and the protocol of London of March 22, 1829. The +difficulties raised by Turkey's opposition to the full terms of the +protocol were thus swept aside, and it was now clear that, if that +protocol was to be further modified, it would be modified out of regard +for the interests of Europe not by way of concession to Turkey. France +and Great Britain were naturally averse from a settlement of the +question by Russia alone, even when that settlement was on lines to +which they had given their consent, and they might have been expected to +propose some alteration in the scheme. But the conciliatory action of +Russia rendered such proposals needless. On September 29, only fifteen +days after the treaty, Aberdeen received a formal proposal from Russia +that Turkey should be offered a restriction of the Greek boundary in +return for a recognition of the total independence of Greece.[99] This +proposal removed Wellington's fear that the new principality might be +used as a basis for an attack on the Ionian Islands; while the +maintenance of Turkish suzerainty seemed less important after the +apparent prostration of Turkish military power in the recent war. + +It now remained for the allied powers to select a prince to whom the new +crown should be offered. This subject engaged their attention from +October, 1829, to January, 1830. Finally, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, +widower of the Princess Charlotte, was selected, greatly to the +annoyance of King George IV. On February 3 Prince Leopold was formally +offered the sovereignty of Greece as an independent state, bounded on +the north by a line drawn from the mouth of the Aspropotamo to +Thermopylae. Before accepting the crown he made an effort to obtain a +stronger position for its future prince. He asked for a complete +guarantee of independence from the three powers, some security for the +Greek inhabitants of Crete and Samos, an extension of the boundary to +the north, and financial and military support. The powers on February 20 +decided to grant the guarantee and a loan of L2,400,000, and to allow +the French troops to remain in Greece for another year, but refused the +extension of territory and would not recognise the right of the Greek +state to interfere in the affairs of Crete and Samos. Leopold accepted +the crown on these conditions on February 24, and they were accepted by +the Porte on April 24. Capodistrias, who had no desire to make way for +another ruler, invited Leopold to the country, but suggested that he +would not be well received and that he would have to change his +religion.[100] These considerations, combined with other causes, induced +him to renounce the crown on May 21. + +[Pageheading: _FRANCE CONQUERS ALGERIA._] + +One other foreign event exercised the minds of Wellington's cabinet +during the last months of George IV.'s reign. This was the French +punitive expedition to Algiers, which resulted In the conquest of that +state. The expedition was originally planned in concert with Mehemet Ali +of Egypt, and appeared to Wellington to be prompted by the idea that the +defeat of the Turks by Russia afforded a convenient opportunity for a +partition of Turkish territory. The British government was able by means +of diplomatic pressure to induce Mehemet Ali to refrain from +co-operating, but it could not deny the justice of the French expedition +or prevent it from sailing. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[93] Stapleton, _Life of Canning_, iii., 220-25, 227-35. + +[94] See Lloyd, _Transactions of the Royal Historical Society_, N.S., +xviii. (1904), 77-105. + +[95] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, iv., 270-79. + +[96] _Ibid._, pp. 280-86. + +[97] So S. Lane-Poole, writing from Church's papers, _English Historical +Review_, v., 519. + +[98] Hertslet, _Map of Europe by Treaty_, p. 142. + +[99] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, vi., 184. + +[100] See the letters in the _Annual Register_, lxxii. (1830), 389-401. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + PRELUDE OF REFORM. + + +The year that elapsed between the prorogation of parliament on June 24, +1829, and the death of George IV., on June 26, 1830, was barren in +events of domestic importance. While Ireland was torn by faction, and +the Orangemen of Ulster rivalled in lawlessness the catholics of the +other provinces, England was undergoing another period of agricultural +and commercial depression. The harvest of 1829 was late and bad; the +winter that followed was the severest known for sixteen years; and a +fresh series of outrages was committed by the distressed operatives, +especially by the silk weavers in the east of London and the mill hands +in the midland counties. In the district of Huddersfield, where the +people bore their sufferings with admirable patience, a committee of +masters stated as a fact that "there were 13,000 individuals who had not +more than twopence half-penny a day to live on". When parliament met on +February 4, 1830, the prevailing distress was recognised in the king's +speech, but in guarded terms, and the ministers attributed it in the +main, probably with justice, to unavoidable causes. This gave the +enemies of free trade and currency reform an opportunity of renewing +their protests against Peel's and Huskisson's financial policy. They +failed to effect their object, but Goulburn, the chancellor of the +exchequer, initiated a considerable reduction of expenditure and +remission of taxes. The excise duties on beer, cider, and leather were +now totally remitted, those on spirits being somewhat increased. The +government even deliberated on the proposal of a property tax, and, +stimulated by a motion of Sir James Graham, actually carried out large +savings in official salaries. On the whole, this session was the most +fruitful in economy since the conclusion of the peace. The system of +judicature, too, was subjected to a salutary revision throughout Great +Britain by the amalgamation of the English and Welsh benches, and the +concentration of courts in Scotland. As the charter of the East Indian +Company was about to expire, a strong committee was appointed to +consider the whole subject of its territorial powers and commercial +privileges. This committee was not the least beneficial result of a +session which has left no great mark on the statute-book. + +[Pageheading: _MOVEMENT FOR REFORM._] + +The weakness of Wellington's position had long since become apparent to +all. By his conduct in regard to catholic emancipation he had estranged +a powerful section of his tory followers. By his jealousy and haughty +attitude towards his whig allies, he had forfeited their good-will, +never very heartily given. By his treatment of Huskisson, a small but +able body of politicians was thrown into the ranks of a discordant +opposition. No one else could have induced the king to give way on +catholic emancipation, but the king had not forgiven him, and submitted +to him out of fear rather than out of confidence. Though singularly +deficient in rhetorical power, he still maintained his ascendency in the +house of lords by the aid of more eloquent colleagues, but Peel was his +only efficient lieutenant in the house of commons. The vacancy in the +office of lord privy seal, occasioned by the transference of +Ellenborough to the board of control, had at last been filled in June, +1829, by the appointment of Lord Rosslyn, nephew of the first earl, who, +however, added nothing to the strength of the ministry. In the meantime, +reform had succeeded catholic emancipation as the one burning question +of politics, but with this all-important difference that it roused +enthusiasm in the popular mind. Political unions, like the branches of +the catholic association, were springing up all over the country, and a +series of motions was made in the house of commons which feebly +reflected the feverish agitation in all the active centres of +population. One of these, brought forward by the Marquis of Blandford, +who had made a similar motion in the previous year, was really prompted +by enmity against the author of catholic emancipation. Another, +introduced by Lord Howick, son of Earl Grey, called for some general and +comprehensive measure to remedy the admitted abuses of the electoral +system. A third, and far more practical, attempt was made by Lord John +Russell to obtain the enfranchisement of Manchester, Leeds, and +Birmingham. A fourth, and perfectly futile proposal, was made by +O'Connell, in the shape of a bill for triennial parliaments, universal +suffrage, and vote by ballot, to which Russell moved a statesmanlike +amendment, in favour of transferring members from petty boroughs to +counties and great unrepresented towns. All these motions were defeated +by larger or smaller majorities, but no one doubted that parliamentary +reform was inevitable, and few can have imagined that Wellington was +either willing or competent to grapple with it. + +While domestic affairs were in this state, George IV. died. His +constitution, weakened by many years of self-indulgence, had been +further depressed by a growing sense of loneliness and by the long +struggle with his ministers over catholic emancipation. On April 15 his +illness had been made public, and on May 24 it had been necessary to +bring in a bill, authorising the use of a stamp, to be affixed in his +presence in lieu of the royal sign manual. A month later, the disease of +the heart from which he suffered took a fatal turn, and on June 26 he +passed away, not without dignity, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. +Perhaps no other English king has been so harshly judged by posterity, +nor is it possible to acquit him of moral vices which outweighed all his +merits, considerable as they were. The Duke of Wellington, who knew him +as well as any man, declared that he was a marvellous compound of +virtues and defects, but that, on the whole, the good elements +preponderated. Peel, who had become by his father's death Sir Robert, +testified in Parliament that he "never exercised, or wished to exercise, +a prerogative of the crown, except for the advantage of his people". +These estimates assuredly err on the side of charity, and are quite +inconsistent with other statements of the duke himself. + +George IV., it is true, possessed many royal gifts. He was a man of no +ordinary ability, with a fine presence, courtly manners, various +accomplishments, and clear-sighted intelligence on every subject within +the sphere of his duties. But all these kingly qualities were marred by +a heartlessness which rendered him incapable of true love or friendship, +and a duplicity which made it impossible for him to retain the respect +of his ministers. His private life was not wholly unlike that of the +Regent Orleans and had much the same influence on the society of the +metropolis. He was an undutiful son, a bad husband, a perfidious friend, +with little sense of truth or honour, and destitute of that public +spirit which atoned for the political obstinacy of his father. No one +sincerely regretted his death, except the favourites who had been +enriched by his extravagance, and actually succeeded in carrying off a +large booty out of the valuables that he had amassed. Nevertheless, his +regency is identified with a glorious period in our military history, +and his reign ushered in a new age of reform and national prosperity. In +the great struggle against Napoleon and the pacification of Europe he +gave his ministers a cordial and effective support. To catholic +emancipation he was honestly opposed, but he kept his opposition within +constitutional limits, and his intense selfishness did not exclude a +certain sentiment of philanthropy and even of patriotism. + +[Pageheading: _THE ACCESSION OF WILLIAM IV._] + +His successor, William IV., was greatly inferior to him intellectually, +and infinitely less conversant with the business of state. Most of this +prince's early life was spent at sea, where he saw a fair share of +service, and became the friend of Nelson, but incurred his father's +displeasure by infringing the rules of discipline. Having been created +Duke of Clarence in 1789, he was rapidly promoted in the navy, but +remained on shore without employment for some forty years before his +accession, taking an occasional part in debates of the house of lords, +and generally acting with the whig party. During this long period he was +little regarded by his future subjects, and led a somewhat obscure life, +at first in the company of Mrs. Jordan, by whom he had a numerous +family. After his marriage with the Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen +in 1818, he became a more important personage, and, as we have seen, was +made lord high admiral by Canning, but held office for little more than +a year. He was thus entirely destitute of political training, and was +living in privacy when he was called to ascend the throne on the eve of +a singularly momentous crisis. + +The session was prolonged until July 23, when parliament was prorogued +by the new king in person, and on the following day a dissolution was +proclaimed, the writs being made returnable on September 14. During the +month that elapsed between the death of George IV. and the prorogation, +no serious business was done, but the leaders of opposition in both +houses moved to provide for a regency, in view of a possible demise of +the crown before a fresh parliament could be assembled. This course was +clearly dictated by the highest expediency, for, had the king's life +been cut short suddenly, the young Princess Victoria, then eleven years +old, would have become sovereign with full powers, but without +protection against the baleful influence of her uncle, the Duke of +Cumberland, the least trustworthy person in the realm. In advocating it, +however, the whigs showed an evident disposition to win the favour of +William IV., who had never broken away, like his predecessor, from his +whig connexion. These motions were defeated, but the opposition gained +popularity at the expense of the government, by raising debates on +certain state prosecutions for libel, and on the question of colonial +slavery. Their position was further strengthened by a widespread +impression that the king himself was a reformer at heart, and would +seize an early opportunity of declaring his sentiments. His weakness had +not yet disclosed itself, while his kindliness earned him golden +opinions, as he "walked in London streets with his umbrella under his +arm, and gave a frank and sailor-like greeting to all old +acquaintances". + +The election of 1830, following close on the revolution of July in +Paris, was the death-blow of the old tory rule in England. The +widespread sympathy which the original uprising of 1789 had excited +among Englishmen, but which the atrocities of jacobinism had quenched, +was now revived by the comparatively bloodless victory of constitutional +principles and the accession of a citizen-king in France. The growing +enthusiasm for reform, thus stimulated, exercised a decisive effect in +all the constituencies except the pocket-boroughs. Brougham was returned +without opposition for Yorkshire, and Hume by a large majority for +Middlesex, two brothers of Sir Robert Peel lost their seats, and Croker +was defeated for Dublin University. Distrust of the government was +equally shown in the counties and in the great cities, but in some +instances ultra-tories were elected, in revenge for catholic +emancipation or for alleged neglect of agricultural interests. It was +calculated that fifty seats, in all, had changed hands, and the +parliament which assembled in October 26 was very different in +constitution and temper from any of those which supported tory +ministries with unshaken constancy during the great war and the long +period of agitation consequent on the peace. + +The losses of the government in Great Britain, partly due to its Irish +policy, were not compensated by any gain in Ireland, which did not fail +to display the ingratitude so often experienced by its benefactors. +Catholic emancipation was now treated as a vantage ground on which the +battle of repeal might be waged. Association after association was +formed by O'Connell, only to be put down by proclamation and to +re-appear under another name. The worst passions of the people were +effectually roused, assassinations became frequent, and Peel's +correspondence with Hardinge, then chief secretary, shows that he fully +recognised the failure of his experiment, as a cure for Irish +anarchy.[101] In the course of this new agitation, O'Connell used most +offensive expressions for which Hardinge called him to account. The +chief secretary's act may have been unjustifiable, but the shuffling and +faint-hearted conduct of O'Connell in declining this and later +challenges provoked by his foul language was fatal to his reputation for +courage. The most insolent of bullies, he never failed to consult his +own personal safety, by professing conscientious objections to duelling, +as well as by keeping just outside the meshes of the criminal law. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF HUSKISSON._] + +A few weeks before parliament met a tragical accident closed the life of +Huskisson, whose death was rendered all the more impressive by its +circumstances. In 1825 the idea of railways for the rapid conveyance of +goods and passengers bore fruit in an act for the construction of a line +between Liverpool and Manchester. It was not in itself a new idea, for +tramways had long been in use, and so far back as 1814 George Stephenson +had constructed a locomotive engine for a colliery. But it was generally +believed that such engines must always be limited to a speed of a few +miles an hour, and even the great engineer, Telford, giving evidence +before a committee in 1825, did not venture to speak of a higher maximum +speed than fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Few indeed were far-sighted +enough to credit this estimate, and the incredulity of ignorance was +aided by the forces of self-interest, for the profits of canals, +stage-coaches, and carriers' vans were directly threatened by the +innovation of railways. However, George Stephenson quietly persevered, +and from the moment that his pioneer engine, the "Rocket," won the prize +in a great competition of locomotives, "the old modes of transit were +changed throughout the whole civilised world". On September 15, 1830, +the first public trial of this and other engines was made at the opening +of the Liverpool and Manchester railway. Wellington, Peel, and other +eminent personages were present, among whom was Huskisson, just returned +for Liverpool. Two trains proceeded towards Manchester on parallel +lines, and stopped at the Parkgate station. There several passengers got +out, and Huskisson was making his way to shake hands with the duke when +he was struck by a carriage of the other train, already in movement, +fell upon the rails, and was fatally crushed. He bore his sufferings +with great fortitude, but died during the night at a neighbouring +vicarage to which he was carried. He could ill be spared by his party, +for, though he was not the man to ride the storm which raged over the +reform bill, his counsels might have saved the whigs from the just +reproach of financial incapacity and have hastened the advent of free +trade. + +[Pageheading: _WELLINGTON ON REFORM._] + +The winter session of 1830 opened with an ominous calm. It was believed +that private negotiations were going on between the ministry and the +survivors of Canning's following, which might result in a moderate +scheme of parliamentary reform. These expectations were utterly +discomfited by the king's speech delivered on November 2. It has +unjustly been described as "the most offensive that had been uttered by +any monarch since the revolution". On the contrary, it was tame and +colourless for the most part, recording his majesty's resolution to +uphold treaties and enforce order in the United Kingdom, but welcoming +the new French monarchy in terms which Grey emphatically commended. It +gave offence to liberals by describing the revolutionary movement in +Belgium as a "revolt"; but what called forth an immediate outburst of +popular resentment was its significant reticence on the subject of +reform. This resentment was aggravated tenfold by the Duke of +Wellington's celebrated speech in the lords, declaring against any +reform whatever. The duke always refused to admit that this declaration +was the cause of his subsequent fall, which he attributed, by +preference, to his adoption of catholic emancipation. Speaking +deliberately in reply to Grey, who had indicated reform as the only true +remedy for popular discontent, the duke stated that no measure of reform +yet proposed would, in his opinion, improve the representative system +then existing, which, he said, "answered all the good purposes of +legislation" to a greater degree than "any legislature in any country +whatever". He went further, and avowed his conviction not only that this +system "possessed the full and entire confidence of the country," but +also that no better system could be devised by the wit of man. Its +special virtue, according to him, consisted in the fact of its producing +a representative assembly which "contained a large body of the property +of the country, and in which the landed interests had a preponderating +influence". Finally, he protested that he would never bring forward a +reform measure himself, and that "he should always feel it his duty to +resist such measures when proposed by others". + +There is no reason to suppose that the duke had consulted any of his +colleagues before making this declaration. Indeed, it is known that Peel +had just before received a confidential offer of co-operation in +carrying a moderate reform bill from Palmerston, Edward Stanley, +grandson of the Earl of Derby, Sir James Graham, and the Grants; nor had +these overtures been definitely rejected.[102] Some lame attempts were +made to clear the cabinet, as a whole, from responsibility for their +chief's outspoken opinions, and Peel cautiously limited himself to a +doubt whether any safe measure of reform would satisfy the reformers. +But he would not separate himself from Wellington, and Wellington's +ultimatum remained unretracted. + +Brougham at once gave notice of his intention to bring forward the +question of parliamentary reform in a fortnight. In the meantime the +duke had committed a mistake which irritated the people, and especially +the inhabitants of London. It happened that the king and queen, with the +ministers, were engaged to dine with the lord mayor on November 9. Three +days earlier, the lord mayor-elect warned the prime minister that a riot +was apprehended on that occasion, that an attempt would probably be +made to assassinate him, and that it would be desirable to come attended +by a strong military guard. Upon this intimation, confirmed by others, +the cabinet most unwisely decided not to surround the mansion house with +a large armed force, but to put off the king's visit to the city. A +panic naturally ensued, consols fell three per cent. in an hour and a +half, and the disorderly classes achieved a victory without running the +smallest risk. There were local disturbances in the evening, and the +duke arranged to join Peel at the home office, in case decisive measures +should be required, but the new police were too strong for the mob, and +the whole affair passed off quietly, though not without involving the +government in some ridicule. The Marquis Wellesley, now in opposition to +his brother, declared the postponement of the dinner to be "the boldest +act of cowardice" within his knowledge. + +If Wellington sought to conciliate the ultra-tories by his unfortunate +speech, he was soon undeceived. While Brougham's motion was pending, the +government proposed a revision of the civil list which purported to +effect slight economies for the benefit of the public. It was objected, +however, that a greater reduction of charges should have been +contemplated, and that parliament should have been invited to deal with +the revenues derived from the duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, which, +as Peel explained, formed no part of those placed at the disposal of +parliament. Sir Henry Parnell moved to refer the civil list to a select +committee; the chancellor of the exchequer directly opposed the motion, +and, after a short discussion, a division was taken on November 15. The +result, which had been foreseen, was a majority of twenty-nine against +the government in a house of 437 members. There were many defections +among the discontented tories, and the Wellington ministry preferred to +fall on an issue of minor importance, rather than await a decisive +contest on the reform question. On the following day, therefore, both +the duke and Peel announced the acceptance of their resignations, and it +was known that Grey had received the king's command to form a new +administration. + +[Pageheading: _GREY ACCEPTS OFFICE._] + +Grey was the inevitable head of any cabinet empowered to carry +parliamentary reform. His dignified presence, his stately eloquence, his +unblemished character, and his parliamentary experience, marked him out +for leadership, and disguised his want of practical acquaintance with +the middle and lower classes of his countrymen. His political career, +ranging over forty-four years, though not destitute of errors, had been +perfectly consistent. From the first he was a staunch adherent of Fox; +he was among the managers who conducted the prosecution of Warren +Hastings; his connexion with the Society of the Friends of the People, +and his advocacy of reform during Pitt's first administration are +described in the preceding volume of this history. On Pitt's death he +became closely associated with Grenville; it will be remembered that he +joined his short-lived government, originally as first lord of the +admiralty, and afterwards as Fox's successor at the foreign office. It +was he who carried through the house of commons the bill for the +abolition of the slave trade, and it may truly be said that, in +opposition, he was equally persistent in supporting every measure in +favour of liberty, political or commercial, and in resisting every +measure, necessary or otherwise, which could be interpreted as +restricting it. We have seen how he more than once declined overtures +for a coalition with his opponents, and showed a bitter personal +antipathy to Canning, whom he was more than suspected of despising as a +brilliant plebeian adventurer. This suspicion of aristocratic prejudice, +ill harmonising with democratic principles, had never been quite +dispelled, and was now to be confirmed by the composition of his own +cabinet. + +All the members of this cabinet, with four exceptions, sat in the house +of lords. No cabinet had contained so few commoners since the +reconstruction of Liverpool's ministry in 1822. Of the four who now sat +in the house of commons, Lord Althorp was heir-apparent to an earldom; +Lord Palmerston was an Irish peer; Graham was a baronet of great +territorial influence; Charles Grant was still a commoner, though he was +afterwards raised to the peerage. In the distribution of offices, full +justice was done to Canning's followers. Three of these occupied posts +of the highest importance, Palmerston at the foreign office, Lamb, who +had succeeded his father as Viscount Melbourne in 1828, at the home +office, and Goderich at the colonial office, while Grant became +president of the board of control. The selection of Graham as first lord +of the admiralty did not escape criticism, but was due to his tried +energy in financial reform, and was justified by the result. Lansdowne +was made president of the council, and Holland chancellor of the duchy +of Lancaster. Both of these had been Grey's colleagues in the +administration of "All the Talents". Althorp, who succeeded Goulburn at +the exchequer, and Carlisle, who accepted a seat in the cabinet without +office, were both whigs of tried fidelity. But the Duke of Richmond, the +new postmaster-general, was a deserter from the tory ranks, and Lord +Durham, the premier's son-in-law, the new lord privy seal, was a radical +of the most aggressive type, well qualified, as the event proved, to +disturb the peace of any council to which he might be admitted. Three +occupants of places outside the cabinet remain to be mentioned. One of +these, the Marquis Wellesley, had been a warm supporter of catholic +emancipation when the Duke of Wellington stoutly opposed it, and his +brother's conversion on that question had not affected his own relations +with the whig party, which now welcomed him as lord steward. Lord John +Russell, the new paymaster of the forces, had identified himself as +prominently as Grey himself with the promotion of parliamentary reform, +and Stanley, the new chief secretary for Ireland, was probably selected +for his brilliant powers in debate, as the natural and most worthy +antagonist of the great demagogue, O'Connell. + +[Pageheading: _BROUGHAM BECOMES CHANCELLOR._] + +But the most formidable of all the "radical reformers" still remained to +be conciliated, and provided with a post which might satisfy his +restless ambition. At the end of 1830 Brougham was in the plenitude of +his marvellous powers, and in the zenith of his unique popularity. As +member for the great county of York, returned free of expense on the +shoulders of the people, he already occupied the foremost position among +British commoners, and it was feared that he might use it for his own +purposes in a dictatorial spirit. He had recently declared in Yorkshire +that "nothing on earth should ever tempt him to accept place," and that +he was conscious of the power to compel the execution of measures which, +before that democratic election, he could only "ventilate". So late as +November 16, he assured the house of commons that "no change in the +administration could by any possibility affect him," adding that he +would bring forward his motion for parliamentary reform on the 25th, +whatever might then be the state of affairs, and whatever ministers +should then be in office. The great whig peers were most anxious to +keep him out of the cabinet without losing his support, or, still worse, +provoking his active hostility. With this view, Grey indiscreetly +offered him the attorney-generalship, and we cannot be surprised that +Brougham rejected the offer with some indignation and disdain. It was no +secret that his supreme desire was to become master of the rolls--an +office compatible with a seat in the house of commons--but his future +colleagues well knew that, in that case, they would be at his mercy in +the house. Thereupon it was suggested, probably by the king himself, +that it might be the less of two dangers to entrust him with the great +seal, which Lord Lyndhurst was quite prepared to resume under a fourth +premier. Accordingly, it was known on November 20 that Brougham was to +be the whig lord chancellor, and on the 22nd he actually took his place +on the woolsack. His title was Baron Brougham and Vaux, but, though he +lived to retain it for nearly forty years, he always preferred, with +pardonable vanity, to sign his name as "Henry Brougham". + +Before the close of 1830 the new ministers found time to carry a regency +bill, whereby the Duchess of Kent (unless she married a foreigner) was +to be regent in the event of the Princess Victoria succeeding to the +crown during her minority. Having adopted the watchword of "Peace, +Retrenchment, and Reform," they gave an earnest of their zeal for +retrenchment by instituting a parliamentary inquiry into the possible +reduction of official salaries, including their own. The defeat of +Stanley by "Orator" Hunt at Preston was a warning against undue reliance +on popular confidence, for Preston was already a highly democratic +constituency, largely composed of ignorant "potwallopers". A similar but +more emphatic warning came from Ireland, where O'Connell did his utmost +to insult and defy Anglesey, the new lord-lieutenant, in spite of his +sacrifices for catholic emancipation, and his well-known sympathy with +the cause of reform. In the southern counties of England, too, violent +disturbances had broken out, and were marked by all the ferocity and +terrorism characteristic of luddism in the manufacturing districts. They +spread from Kent, Sussex, and Surrey into Hampshire, Wiltshire, +Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire. In these four counties there was a +wanton and wholesale destruction of agricultural machinery, of +farm-buildings, and especially of ricks, as if the misery of labourers +could possibly be cured by impoverishing their only employers. The +rioters moved about in large organised bodies, and their anarchical +passions were deliberately inflamed by the writings of unscrupulous men +like Cobbett and Carlile. + +Happily, the ministers showed no sign of the weakness upon which the +ringleaders had probably calculated. They promptly issued a proclamation +declaring their resolution to put down lawless outrage, and promised +effective support to the lords-lieutenant of the disturbed counties. +Acting upon this assurance, Wellington himself went down to Hampshire, +and took a leading part in quelling disorder. The government next +appointed a special commission, which tried many hundreds of prisoners +and sentenced the worst to death, though few were executed. This vigour +soon overawed the organised gangs which, in one or two instances, had +only been dispersed by military force. Finally, they prosecuted Carlile +and Cobbett for instigating the poor labourers to crime. The former was +convicted at the Old Bailey, and condemned to a long term of +imprisonment, with a heavy fine. The trial of Cobbett was postponed +until the following July, when the frenzy of reform was at its height. +He defended himself with great audacity in a speech of six hours, +calling the lord chancellor with other leading reformers as witnesses, +and succeeded in escaping conviction by the disagreement and discharge +of the jury. + +[Pageheading: _ALTHORP'S FIRST BUDGET._] + +Two other questions engaged the attention of parliament on the eve of +the great struggle over the reform bill. One of these was the settlement +of the civil list, which the Duke of Wellington's ministry had failed to +effect. William IV. was not an avaricious sovereign, nor did he share +the spendthrift inclination of his brother. But he was disposed to +stickle for the hereditary rights of the crown, both public and private, +and he greatly disliked the details of his expenditure being scrutinised +by a parliamentary committee. Now, Grey and his colleagues stood pledged +to such a committee, and could not avoid promoting its appointment. They +propitiated the king, however, by excluding the revenues of the Duchy of +Lancaster from the inquiry, and ultimately succeeded in persuading the +house of commons to grant a civil list of L510,000 a year. But the +publication of a return containing a complete list of sinecure offices +and pensions was turned to good account by the economists, and produced +an outburst of public indignation, which was by no means unreasonable. +Great results were expected from the report of the select committee on +the civil list, which revised the salaries of officials in the royal +household, as well as the emoluments of pensioners. It was even demanded +that no regard should be paid to vested interests, but Grey firmly +supported the private remonstrances of the king against such an act of +confiscation. In fact, the savings recommended by the committee were so +trifling that it was thought better to waive the question for the time, +and the first economical essay of the new _regime_ ended in failure. + +The budget introduced by Althorp soon after the meeting of parliament on +February 3, 1831, and in anticipation of the reform bill, was equally +unsuccessful as a specimen of whig finance. Finding that, after all, he +could not effect a saving of more than one million on the national +expenditure, as reduced by his capable predecessor, Goulburn, he +nevertheless proposed to repeal the duties on coals, tallow candles, +printed cottons, and glass, as well as to diminish by one half the +duties on newspapers and tobacco. To meet the deficit thus created, he +designed an increase of the wine and timber duties, new taxation of raw +cotton, and, above all, a tax of ten shillings per cent. on all +transfers of real or funded property. This last proposal was at once +denounced by Goulburn, Peel, and Sugden, the late solicitor-general, as +a breach of public faith between the state and its creditors. Their +protests were loudly echoed by the city, and the obnoxious transfer duty +was abandoned. The same fate befell the proposed increase of the timber +duties, and Althorp only carried his budget after submitting to further +modifications. Those who had relied on his promises of economical reform +were signally disappointed, and, had not parliamentary reform +overshadowed all other issues, the credit of the government would have +been rudely shaken in the first session after its formation. But this +great struggle, now to be described, so engrossed the attention of the +country, that little room was left for the consideration of other +interests, until it should be decided. + +It is probable that no great measure was ever preceded by so thorough a +preparation of the public mind as the reform bills of 1831-32. Ever +since the early part of the eighteenth century the abuses of the +representative system had been freely acknowledged, and no one attempted +to defend them in principle. The multitude of close boroughs, the +smallness of the electoral body, the sale of seats in parliament, the +wide prevalence of gross bribery, and the enormous expense of +elections--these were notorious evils which no one denied, though some +palliated them, and few ventured to assail them in earnest by drastic +proposals, lest they should undermine the constitution. So far back as +1770 Chatham had denounced them, and predicted that unless parliament +reformed itself from within before the end of the century, it would be +reformed "with a vengeance" from without. In 1780 the Duke of Richmond +had introduced a bill in favour of universal suffrage, and Pitt had +brought forward bills or motions in favour of parliamentary reform as a +private member in 1782 and 1783, and as prime minister in 1785. But the +French revolution persuaded him that the time was not favourable to +reform, and he successfully opposed Grey's motion for referring a number +of petitions in favour of reform to a committee in 1793. + +After this, a strong reaction set in, and the reform question had little +interest for the governing classes during the continuance of the great +war. It was never allowed to sleep, however, and in 1809, a bill +introduced by Curwen to pave the way for reform by preventing the return +of members upon corrupt agreements, actually passed both houses, though +in so mutilated a form that it was practically a dead letter. Still, the +cause was indefatigably pleaded by Brand, and Burdett, who in 1819 made +himself the spokesman of the violent reform agitation then spreading +over the country. Unfortunately, this violence, and the extravagance of +the demands put forward by the democratic leaders, were themselves fatal +obstacles to a temperate consideration of the question, and threw back +the reform movement for several years. In 1821, when Grampound was +disfranchised, it assumed, as we have seen, a more constitutional form, +and motions in favour of reform were proposed by Russell in 1822, 1823, +and 1826, and by Blandford in 1829. Had Canning placed himself at the +head of the movement the course of domestic history during the reign of +George IV. might have been very different. As it was, the number of +petitions in favour of reform sensibly fell off in the last half of the +reign, and its tory opponents vainly imagined that the movement had +spent itself. We now know that, in the absence of noisy demonstrations, +it was really and constantly gaining strength in the minds of thoughtful +men until it reached its climax at the end of 1830. + +[Pageheading: _PUBLIC OPINION AND REFORM._] + +The first act of the great political drama which occupied the next +eighteen months may be said to have opened with the fall of Wellington, +and the formation of the whig ministry. These events, together with the +success of the Paris revolution, supplied the motive power needed to +combine the great body of the middle classes with the proletariat in a +national crusade against the political privileges long exercised by a +powerful landed aristocracy. It is true that reform, unlike catholic +emancipation, had always appealed to broad popular sympathies, and had +been advocated by men like Grey and Burdett as carrying with it the +redress of all other grievances. But Canning was by no means the only +liberal statesman who heartily dreaded it, and even the advanced +reformers had not fully grasped the comprehensive meaning of the idea +which they embraced, or the far-reaching consequences involved in it. +The palpable anomaly of Old Sarum returning members to parliament, while +Birmingham was unrepresented, was shocking to common sense, and so was +the monopoly of the franchise by a handful of electors in some of the +larger boroughs, especially in Scotland. But few appreciated how +seriously constitutional liberty had been curtailed by the growth of +these abuses (unchecked by the Commonwealth) since the fourteenth and +fifteenth centuries, how effectually home and foreign policy was +controlled by a small circle of noble families dominant in the lower as +well as in the upper chamber, how vast a transfer of sovereignty from +class to class would inevitably be wrought by a thorough reform bill, +and how certainly men newly entrusted with power would use it for their +own advantage, whether or not that should coincide with the advantage of +the nation. Such general aspects of the question are seldom noticed in +the earlier debates upon it, and economical reform sometimes appears to +occupy a larger space than parliamentary reform in the liberal +statesmanship of the Georgian age. + +With Wellington's declaration against any parliamentary reform, this +apathy vanished, and the movement, gathering up into itself all other +popular aspirations thenceforward filled the whole political horizon. +Reform unions sprang up everywhere, and instituted a most active +propaganda. So rapid was its spread and so wild the promises lavished by +radical demagogues, that Grey and his wiser colleagues soon felt +themselves further removed from their own extreme left wing than from +the moderate section of the conservatives. It is abundantly clear that +Grey himself, faithful as he was to reform, never dreamed of +inaugurating a reign of democracy. He often declared in private that +such a bill as he contemplated would prove, in its effect, an +aristocratic measure, and he doubtless believed that it would be +possible to bring the new constituencies and the new electoral bodies +under the same conservative influences which had been dominant for so +many generations. He did not foresee, as Palmerston did thirty years +later, that, even if the political actors remained the same, they "would +play to the gallery" instead of to the pit or boxes. He would, indeed, +have repudiated the maxim: "Everything for the people, and nothing by +the people"; he was fully prepared to place the house of commons in the +hands of the people, or at least of the great middle class, but he +regarded the crown and the house of lords as almost equal powers, and he +never doubted that property and education would practically continue to +rule the government of the country. + +[Pageheading: _DRAFT OF THE FIRST BILL._] + +When the whigs came into office they were singularly fortunate in the +high character and consistency of their chief, no less than in the +divisions of their opponents, whose right wing showed almost as mutinous +a spirit as their own left wing. Even between Wellington and Peel there +was a want of cordial harmony and confidence, yet Peel was the only tory +statesman of eminent capacity in the house of commons. The attitude of +the king, too, was not only strictly constitutional but friendly, though +it afterwards appeared that he relied too implicitly on Grey and Althorp +to protect him against the machinations of the radicals. The letters +written by his orders, though mostly composed by his private secretary, +Sir Herbert Taylor, display marked ability together with a very shrewd +and just conception of the situation. His loyal adoption of a moderate +reform policy was a most important element of strength to his ministers +at the outset of their great enterprise, and, if he afterwards held +back, it was in deference to scruples which several of them shared in +their hearts. Nor was the violence of the ultra-radicals, or the +scurrilous language of O'Connell by any means an unmixed source of +weakness to men engaged in framing and carrying a temperate reform bill. +Their firm resistance to extravagant demands reassured many a waverer +and showed how carefully their comprehensive plan had been matured. On +the other hand, they had to contend against difficulties not yet fully +revealed. One of these was their own want of administrative experience, +contrasting unfavourably with the statesmanlike capacity of Peel. +Another was the intractable character of two at least within their own +innermost councils--Durham and Brougham. A third was the inflexible +conservatism of a great majority in the house of lords, who, unlike the +people at large, clearly understood that the impending conflict was a +life-and-death struggle for political supremacy between themselves and +the commons--the greatest that had been waged since the revolutions of +the seventeenth century. + +It was privately known that a committee had been empowered to draft the +bill awaited with so much impatience. This committee consisted of two +members of the cabinet, Durham and Graham, together with two members of +the administration not of cabinet rank, the Earl of Bessborough's eldest +son, Lord Duncannon, then chief whip of the whig party, and Russell, who +was second to none as a staunch and judicious promoter of parliamentary +reform. In spite of his vanity and petulance, Durham deserves the credit +of having drawn up the report, highly appreciated by the king, upon +which the projected measure was founded. It originally included vote by +ballot, and it is rather strange that on this point Durham was +powerfully supported by Graham, but opposed by Russell. It is still more +strange that Brougham, whose scheme of reform was locked up in his own +breast, was honestly disturbed by the radicalism of his colleagues and +specially objected to so large a disfranchisement of boroughs as they +contemplated. Upon the whole, however, the bill was the product of an +united cabinet, and received the express approval of the king in all its +essential features. The elaborate letter which he addressed to Grey on +February 4, 1831, betrays a sense of relief on finding that universal +suffrage and the ballot were not to be pressed upon him In declaring +that he never could have given his consent to such revolutionary +innovations, he insists strongly on the necessity of maintaining an +"equilibrium" between the crown, the lords, and the commons, as well as +between the "representation of property" and that of numbers. + +The reform bill of 1831, which differed only in detail from the act +passed in 1832, cannot be understood without some knowledge of the +system which that act transformed. This system has been well described +as "combining survivals from the middle ages with abuses of the +prerogative in later times". The counties remained as they had remained +for centuries; Rutland, for instance, returned as many representatives +as Yorkshire, until in 1821 the two seats taken from Grampound were +added to those already possessed by Yorkshire. On the other hand, the +old franchise of the 40s. freeholders was more widely diffused since the +value of money had been greatly depreciated. Still, the influence of the +great county families was almost supreme, and they were firmly +entrenched in the nomination boroughs, where there was scarcely a +pretence of free election. The crown had originally a discretion in +summoning members from boroughs, and used it by issuing writs to all the +wealthiest as better able to bear taxation and more competent to +sanction it. The poorer boroughs, too, were also glad to escape +representation in order to save the expense of their members' wages. The +discretionary power of the crown was afterwards used in creating petty +boroughs such as "the Cornish group," for the purpose of packing the +house of commons with crown nominees. This practice, however, ceased in +the reign of Charles II., and these petty boroughs fell by degrees into +the hands of great landowners, who dictated the choice of +representatives. + +The result has been concisely stated as follows: "The majority of the +house of commons was elected by less than fifteen thousand persons. +Seventy members were returned by thirty-five places with scarcely any +voters at all; ninety members were returned by forty-six places with no +more than fifty voters; thirty-seven members by nineteen places with no +more than one hundred voters; fifty-two members by twenty-six places +with no more than two hundred voters. The local distribution of the +representation was flagrantly unfair.... Cornwall was a corrupt nest of +little boroughs whose vote outweighed that of great and populous +districts. At Old Sarum a deserted site, at Gatton an ancient wall sent +two representatives to the house of commons. Eighty-four men actually +nominated one hundred and fifty-seven members for parliament. In +addition to these, one hundred and fifty members were returned on the +recommendation of seventy patrons, and thus one hundred and fifty-four +patrons returned three hundred and seven members."[103] Household +suffrage prevailed in a few boroughs, and here barefaced corruption was +common. Seats for boroughs, appropriately called "rotten," were +frequently put up to sale; otherwise, they were reserved for young +favourites of the proprietor. Neither yearly tenants, nor leaseholders, +nor even copyholders, had votes for counties. Of Scotland it is enough +to say that free voting had practically ceased to exist both in counties +and in boroughs, as the borough franchise was the monopoly of +self-elected town councils, and the county franchise of persons, often +non-resident, who happened to own "superiorities". + +[Pageheading: _PROVISIONS OF THE FIRST BILL._] + +The reform bill of the whig ministry, drawn on broad and simple lines, +struck at the root of this system. Its twofold basis was a liberal +extension of the suffrage with a very large redistribution of seats. The +elective franchise in counties, hitherto confined to freeholders, was to +be conferred on L10 copyholders and L50 leaseholders; the borough +franchise was to exclude "scot and lot" voters, "potwallopers" and most +other survivals of antiquated electorates, but to include ratepaying L10 +householders. The qualification for this franchise had originally been +fixed at L20, and the king deprecated any reduction, but the omission of +the ballot reconciled him and other timid reformers to an immense +increase in the lower class of borough voters. Sixty boroughs of less +than 2,000 inhabitants, returning 119 members, were to be disfranchised +altogether; forty-seven others, with less than 4,000 inhabitants, were +to be deprived of one member, and Weymouth was to lose two out of the +four members which it returned in combination with the borough of +Melcombe Regis. Fifty-five new seats were allotted to the English +counties, forty-two to the great unrepresented towns, five to Scotland, +three to Ireland, and one to Wales. Altogether the numerical strength of +the house of commons was to be reduced by sixty-two, and this entirely +at the expense of England. Both the county and borough franchises in +Scotland were to be assimilated generally to those established for +England, and the L10 borough franchise was extended to Ireland. The bill +contained many other provisions designed to amend the practice of +registration, the voting power of non-resident electors, and the +cumbrously expensive machinery of elections. It is important to notice +that it also limited the duration of each parliament to five years--a +concession to radicalism afterwards abandoned and never since adopted. + +On February 3 parliament met after the adjournment, and Grey stated that +a measure of reform had been framed, but the nature of it was not +disclosed to the house of commons until March 1, and during the interval +the secret was kept with great fidelity. The task of explaining it was +entrusted to Russell, whose thorough mastery of its letter and spirit +fully justified the choice, partly suggested by his aristocratic +connexions and historical name. His speech was remarkable for clearness +and cogency rather than for rhetorical brilliancy, and he was careful to +rest his case on constitutional equity and political expediency of the +highest order rather than on vague and abstract principles of popular +rights. The debate on the motion for leave to bring in the bill lasted +seven nights, and was vigorously sustained on both sides. The drastic +and sweeping character of the measure took the whole house by surprise, +while its authors justly claimed some credit for moderation in rejecting +the radical demands of universal suffrage, vote by ballot, and +triennial, if not annual, parliaments. Not only inside but outside the +walls of St. Stephen's the statement of the government had been awaited +with the utmost impatience, and it was universally felt that an issue +had now been raised which hardly admitted of compromise. The king +himself, though much engrossed by minor questions affecting the civil +list and the pension list, heartily congratulated Grey on the favourable +reception and prospects of the measure, which he regarded as a safeguard +against more democratic schemes. His great fear was of a collision +between the two houses, and the sequel proved that it was not unfounded. +For the present, however, all promised well. Peel denounced the bill +with less than his usual caution, but declined to give battle upon it, +and it passed the first reading on March 9 without a division. Indeed, +the chief danger to the stability of the government arose from its +defeat on the timber duties. This and other vexatious rebuffs so +irritated Grey that he actually contemplated a dissolution, lest the +reform bill itself should meet with a like fate. But the king would not +hear of it, and the cabinet wisely decided to follow the example of Pitt +and ignore an adverse division on a merely financial proposal, however +significant of parliamentary feeling. + +[Pageheading: _SECOND READING OF THE FIRST BILL._] + +Between the 9th and the 21st, the date fixed for the second reading, +popular excitement rose to a formidable height. Monster meetings were +held in the great centres of population, and the political unions put +forth all their strength. Nevertheless, the efforts of the +"borough-mongers" were all but successful, and after only two nights +debate the bill passed its second reading by a bare majority of one, 302 +voting for it, and 301 against it. After this demonstration of strength +on the part of its opponents, no one could expect that it would survive +the ordeal of discussion in committee, and a letter of Lord Durham, +written in anticipation of the event, sums up with great force the +reasons for an early dissolution. The crisis was precipitated by the +action of General Gascoyne, member for Liverpool, who moved before the +house could go into committee that in no case should the number of +representatives from England and Wales be diminished. In the hope of +conciliating some wavering members, the ministry framed certain +modifications of their original scheme, but they do not seem to have +entertained the idea of accepting Gascoyne's proposal in its entirety. +In the division, which took place on April 19, they were defeated by 299 +votes to 291, and on the following morning advised the king to dissolve. +In spite of his former refusal, more than once repeated, the king +yielded to necessity, feeling that another change of government, in the +midst of European complications, and in prospect of revolutionary +agitation in the country, would be a greater evil than a general +election. + +The opposition, flushed with victory, pressed its advantage to extremes, +and successfully resisted a motion for the grant of supplies. Urged by +Althorp, the cabinet promptly resolved on recommending that the +dissolution should be immediate, and the king, roused to energy by +indignation, eagerly adopted their recommendation. Indeed, on hearing +that Lord Wharncliffe intended to move in the house of lords for an +address to the crown against a dissolution, he strongly resented such an +attempt to interfere with his prerogative, and declared himself ready to +start at once and dissolve parliament in person. Difficulties being +raised about preparing the royal carriages in time, he cut them short by +remarking that he was prepared to go in a hackney-coach--a royal saying +which spread like wildfire over the country. Both houses were scenes of +confusion and uproar when he arrived, preceded by the usual discharges +of artillery, which excited the angry disputants to fury. Lord +Mansfield, who was supporting the motion for an address, continued +speaking as the king entered, until he was forcibly compelled to resume +his seat. Even Peel was only restrained by like means from disregarding +the appearance of the usher of the black rod who came to summon the +commons from the bar of the house. The king preserved his composure, and +announced an immediate prorogation of parliament with a view to its +dissolution, and an appeal to the country on the great question of +reform. Such an appeal could only be made to constituencies under threat +of thorough reconstruction or total extinction, but from this moment the +ultimate issue ceased to be doubtful. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[101] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 160-62. + +[102] Arbuthnot to Peel, Nov. 1, 1830, Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +163-66. + +[103] Goldwin Smith, _United Kingdom_, ii., 320. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + THE REFORM. + + +The general election which took place in the summer of 1831 was perhaps +the most momentous on record. The news of the sudden dissolution, +carrying with it the assurance of the king's hearty assent to reform, +stirred popular enthusiasm to an intensity never equalled before or +since. From John o' Groat's to the Land's End a cry was raised of _The +bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill_. This cry signified more +than appears on the surface, and was not wholly one-sided in its +application. No doubt it was a passionate and defiant warning against +any manipulation or dilution of the bill in a reactionary sense, but it +was also a distinct protest against attempts by the extreme radicals to +amend it in an opposite direction. Now, as ever, the impulse was given +by the middle classes, and they were in no mood to imperil their own +cause by revolutionary claims. They could not always succeed, however, +in checking the fury of the populace, which had been taught to clamour +for reform as the precursor of a good time coming for the suffering and +toiling masses of mankind. The streets of London were illuminated, and +the windows of those who omitted to illuminate or were otherwise +obnoxious were tumultuously demolished by the mob, which did not even +spare Apsley House, the town residence of the Duke of Wellington. But, +except in Scotland, no formidable riots occurred for the present, and +some good resulted from the new experience of popular opinion gained by +candidates even from unreformed constituencies hitherto obedient to +oligarchical influence, but animated for the moment by a certain spirit +of independence. + +Having sanctioned the dissolution, the king addressed an elaborate +letter to Grey, in which he did not disguise his own misgivings about +the perilous experiment of reform. Chiefly dreading a collision between +the two houses, he never ceased to press on his ministers the expediency +of making all possible sacrifices consistent with the spirit of the bill +in order to conciliate opposition in the house of peers. Grey's constant +reply was that no concessions would propitiate men bent on driving the +government from office, and that no measure less efficacious than that +already introduced would satisfy the just expectations of the people. +Both of these arguments were perfectly sound, and the constitutional +triumph ultimately achieved was largely due to the admirable tenacity of +purpose which refused to remodel the original reform bill in any +essential respect to please either the borough-mongers or the radicals. +The elections were conducted on the whole in good order. Seventy-six out +of eighty-two English county members (including the four Yorkshire +members), and the four members for the city of London, were pledged to +vote for the bill. Several notable anti-reformers were among the many +county representatives who failed to obtain re-election; even some of +the doomed boroughs did not venture to return anti-reformers; and the +government found itself supported by an immense nominal majority. The +new bill, introduced on June 24 by Lord John Russell, who had recently +been admitted in company with Stanley to the cabinet, differed little +from the old one. The number of boroughs to be totally disfranchised was +slightly greater, that of boroughs to be partially disfranchised +slightly less, but the net effect of the disfranchising and +enfranchising schedules was the same, and the L10 rental suffrage was +retained. The measure was allowed to pass its first reading after one +night's discussion. The debates on the second reading lasted three +nights, but the bill passed this stage on July 8 by a majority of 136 in +a house of 598 members. + +[Pageheading: _SECOND REFORM BILL._] + +The victory, however, though great, was far indeed from proving +decisive. By adopting obstructive tactics, of a kind to be perfected in +a later age, the opposition succeeded in prolonging the discussion in +committee over forty nights, until September 7. Though Peel separated +himself from the old tories, and steadily declined to cabal with +O'Connell's faction against the government, such an unprofitable waste +of time could not have taken place without his tacit sanction. Only one +important alteration was made in the bill. This was the famous "Chandos +clause," proposed by Lord Chandos, son of the Duke of Buckingham, +whereby the county suffrage was extended to all tenants-at-will of L50 +rental and upwards. A very large proportion of tenant farmers thus +became county voters, and for the most part followed the politics of +their landlords. It may be doubted whether Grey seriously lamented +Chandos's intervention; at all events it went far to verify his own +prediction that aristocratic dominion would not be undermined by +reform.[104] Meanwhile, the country was naturally impatient of the +vexatious delay, and a somewhat menacing conference took place between +the political unions of Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow. Happily +public attention was diverted to some extent by the coronation, which +took place on the 8th. The bill was carried more rapidly through its +later stages, and was finally passed in the house of commons on the +21st, though by a reduced majority of 345 to 236. + +On the following day the bill reached the house of lords and was set +down for its second reading on October 3. Thenceforth all the hopes and +fears of its friends and enemies were concentrated on the proceedings in +that house, whose ascendency in the state was at stake. The question: +"What will the lords do?" was asked all over the country with the +deepest anxiety. The debate lasted five nights, and is admitted to have +been among the finest reported in our parliamentary history. All the +leading peers took part in it, and several of them were roused by the +occasion to unwonted eloquence, but the palm was generally awarded to +the speeches of Grey, Harrowby, Brougham, and Lyndhurst. The first of +these occupied a position which gave increased weight to his counsels, +since he was the veteran advocate of reform and yet known to be a most +loyal member of the nobility which now stood on its trial. In his +opening speech he appealed earnestly to the bench of bishops, as +disinterested parties and as ministers of peace, not to set themselves +against the almost unanimous will of the people. Brougham's great +oration on the last night of the debate contained a masterly review of +the whole question, and, in spite of its theatrical conclusion, when he +sank upon his knees, extorted the admiration of his bitterest critics as +a consummate exhibition of his marvellous powers. + +But very few of the peers were open to persuasion; the votes of +anti-reformers were mainly guided by a shortsighted conception of their +own interests, and Eldon did not shrink from contending that nomination +boroughs were in the nature of property rather than of trusts. A +memorable division ended in the rejection of the second reform bill on +the 8th by 199 votes to 158. Twenty-one bishops voted against it. The +king lost no time in reminding Grey of his own warning against +submitting the bill, without serious modifications, to the judgment of +the house of lords. He also intimated beforehand that he could not +consent to any such creation of peers as would convert the minority into +a majority. Grey at once admitted that he could not ask for so +high-handed an exercise of the royal prerogative, and undertook to +remain at his post, on condition of being allowed to introduce a third +reform bill as comprehensive as its predecessor. Thereupon the king +abandoned his intention of proroguing parliament by commission, and came +down in person to do so on the 20th when he delivered a speech clearly +indicating legislation on reform as the work of the next session. + +[Pageheading: _REFORM BILL RIOTS._] + +During the interval between the 8th and the 20th it became evident that +the reform movement, quickened by the action of the upper house, would +rise to a dangerous height. A vote of confidence in the government, +brought forward by Lord Ebrington, eldest son of Earl Fortescue, was +carried by a majority of 131, and speeches were made in support of it +which encouraged, in the form of prediction, every kind of popular +agitation short of open violence. In the course of this debate Macaulay, +the future historian of the English revolution, delivered one of those +highly wrought orations which adorn the political literature of reform. +The excitement in London was great, but kept for the most part within +reasonable bounds, partly by the firm and sensible attitude of Melbourne +as home secretary. The mob, however, vented its rage in window breaking +and personal assaults on some prominent anti-reformers, one of whom, +Lord Londonderry, was knocked off his horse by a volley of stones. In +the provinces more serious disturbances broke out. At Derby the rioters +actually stormed the city jail, releasing the prisoners, and were only +repelled in their attack on the county jail by the fire of a military +force. At Nottingham they wreaked their vengeance on the Duke of +Newcastle by burning down Nottingham Castle, which belonged to him, and +were proceeding to further outrages when they were overawed by a +regiment of hussars. A great open-air meeting of the political union was +held at Birmingham, while the bill was still before the house of lords, +at which a refusal to pay taxes was openly recommended in the last +resort, and votes of thanks were passed to Althorp and Russell. The +former, in acknowledging it, wisely condemned such lawless proceedings; +the latter unwisely made use of a phrase which gravely displeased the +king: "It is impossible that the whisper of faction should prevail +against the voice of a nation". Both were called to account in the house +of commons for holding correspondence with an illegal association, but +disclaimed any recognition of the Birmingham union as a body, and fully +admitted the responsibility of the government for the maintenance of +order. + +This assurance was about to be tested by the most atrocious outbreak +which disgraced the cause of reform. On Saturday, the 29th, Wetherell, +as recorder of Bristol, entered the city to open the commission on the +following Monday. Of all the anti-reformers, he was perhaps the most +vehement and unpopular, but his visit to Bristol was in discharge of an +official duty, and had been sanctioned expressly by the government. +Nevertheless, the cavalcade which escorted him was assailed by a furious +rabble on its way to the guildhall, and from the guildhall to the +mansion house, where he was to dine. For a while, they were kept back or +driven back by a large force of constables, but, on some of these being +withdrawn, their ferocity increased, and threatened a general assault on +the mansion house. In vain did the mayor address them and read the riot +act; they overpowered the constables, and carried the mansion house by +storm, the mayor and the magistrates escaping by the back premises, +while the recorder prudently left the city. At last the military were +called upon to act, and two troops of cavalry were ordered out. But the +military as well as the civil authorities showed a strange weakness and +vacillation in presence of an emergency only to be compared with the +Lord George Gordon riots of a by-gone generation. After making one +charge and dispersing the populace for the moment, the cavalry were sent +back to their barracks, and when one troop was recalled on the following +(Sunday) morning, the rioters were all but masters of the city. Many of +them, having plundered the cellars of the mansion house, were infuriated +by drink; they broke into the Bridewell, the new city jail, and the +county jail, set free the prisoners, and fired the buildings. They next +proceeded to burn down the mansion house, the bishop's palace, the +custom-house, and the excise-office. The cathedral is said to have been +saved by the resolute stand of a few volunteers hastily rallied by one +of the officials. In the midst of all this havoc, the cavalry were +almost passive, Colonel Brereton, the commanding officer, waiting for +orders from the magistrates, and actually withdrawing a part of his +small force when it was most needed, because it had incurred the special +hatred of the criminals. + +On the morning of Monday, the guardians of law and order seemed to have +recovered their courage; at all events, the cavalry, no longer forbidden +to charge, and headed by Major Mackworth, soon cleared the streets, +fresh troops poured in, and the police made a number of arrests. The +reign of anarchy was at an end, having lasted three days. When a return +of casualties was made up, it showed that only twelve were known to have +lost their lives, besides ninety-four disabled, most of whom were the +victims of excessive drunkenness or of the flames kindled by themselves. +But, though the riot was quelled, it was some proof of its deliberate +promotion, and of the aims which its ringleaders had in view, that +parties of them issuing out from Bristol attempted to propagate sedition +in Somersetshire. A special commission sent down to Bristol condemned to +death several of the worst malefactors; four were hanged and +eighty-eight sentenced either to transportation or to lighter +punishments; and Colonel Brereton destroyed himself rather than face the +verdict of a court-martial. + +On the same Monday, the 31st, Burdett took the chair at a meeting in +Lincoln's Inn Fields, called for the purpose of forming a "National +Political Union" in London. Soon afterwards, however, he retired from +the organisation, on the nominal ground that half of the seats on its +council were allotted to the working classes, but more probably because +he was beginning to be alarmed by the violence of his associates. His +fears were justified by a manifesto summoning a mass meeting of the +working-classes to assemble at White Conduit House on November 7, for +the purpose of ratifying a new and revolutionary bill of rights. This +time the government was on its guard, and Melbourne plainly informed a +working-class deputation that such a meeting would certainly be +seditious, and perhaps treasonable, in law. The plan was therefore +abandoned, and soon afterwards a royal proclamation was issued, +declaring organised political associations, assuming powers independent +of the civil magistrates, to be "unconstitutional and illegal". The +political unions proposed to consider themselves outside the scope of +the proclamation, which had little visible effect, though it was not +without its value as proving that the government was a champion of order +as well as of liberty. + +[Pageheading: _NEGOTIATIONS WITH WAVERERS._] + +During the short recess of less than six weeks political discontent, +constantly growing, was aggravated by industrial distress and gloomy +forebodings of a mysterious pestilence, already known as cholera. A +voluminous correspondence was carried on between the king and Grey on +the means of silencing the political unions and smoothing the passage of +a new reform bill. It was not in the king's nature to conceal his own +conservative leanings, especially on the imaginary danger of increasing +the metropolitan constituencies, and Grey complained more than once of +these sentiments being confided, or at least becoming known, to +opponents of the government. At the same time attempts were being made +not only by the king himself, but also by peers of moderate views to +arrange a compromise which might save the honour of the government, and +yet mitigate the hostility of the tory majority in the upper house. In +these negotiations behind the scenes, Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, +and Carr, Bishop of Worcester, took part, as representing the episcopal +bench, while Lords Harrowby and Wharncliffe, in temporary concert with +Chandos, professed to speak for the "waverers" among peers. As little of +importance resulted from their well-meant efforts, and as nearly all the +supposed "waverers," including the bishops, drifted into open +opposition, it is the less necessary to dwell at length on a very +tedious chapter in the history of parliamentary reform. Suffice it to +say that when parliament reassembled on December 6, 1831, the prospects +of the forthcoming bill were no brighter than in October, except so far +as the danger of rejecting it had become more apparent. + +The final reform bill introduced by Lord John Russell on the 12th was +identical in its principle and its essential features with the former +ones. The chief alteration was the maintenance of the house of commons +at its full strength of 658 members. This enabled its framers not only +to reduce the number of wholly disfranchised boroughs (schedule A) from +sixty to fifty-six, and that of semi-disfranchised boroughs (schedule B) +from forty-six to thirty, but to assign a larger number of members to +the prosperous towns enfranchised. The bill was at once read a first +time and passed its second reading after two nights' debate on the 16th +by a majority of 324 to 162, or exactly two to one. But, after a short +adjournment for the Christmas holidays, a debate of twenty-two nights +took place in committee, and the opposition made skilful use of the many +vulnerable points in the new scheme. Every variation from the original +bill, even by way of concession, was subjected to minute criticism, and +especially the fact that the schedules were now framed, not on a scale +of population only, but on a mixed basis, partly resting on population, +partly on the number of inhabited houses, and partly on the local +contribution to assessed taxes. + +It was easy to pick such a compound scale to pieces, to uphold the +claims of one venal borough against another equally venal, and even to +reproach the government with inconsistency in relying on the census of +1831, instead of on that of 1821--a course which the opposition had +specially urged upon them. But it was not so easy to combat the +irresistible arguments in favour of the bill on its general merits, to +ignore the reasonable concessions on points of detail which it embodied, +or to explain away the patent fact that no measure less stringent would +satisfy the people. There was therefore an air of unreality about this +debate, spirited as it was, nor is it easy to understand what practical +object enlightened men like Peel could have sought in prolonging it. He +well knew, and admitted in private correspondence, that reform was +inevitable; he must have known that a sham reform would be a stimulus to +revolutionary agitation; yet he strove to mutilate the bill so that it +might pass its second reading in the house of lords, and there undergo +such further mutilation as would destroy its efficacy as a settlement of +the question. For the present he yielded. No attempt was made to +obstruct the bill on its third reading, when the division showed 355 +votes to 239, and it passed the commons on March 23 without any +division. + +[Pageheading: _THE THIRD REFORM BILL._] + +Such a result would have been conclusive in any parliament during the +second half of the nineteenth century. A house of commons elected by the +old constituencies, and under the old franchises, had declared in favour +of a well-considered reform bill. The same constituencies voting under +the same franchises had returned an increased majority in support of the +same, or very nearly the same measure; this measure, with slight +variations, had been adopted by an immense preponderance of votes in the +new house of commons: yet its fate in the house of lords was very +doubtful. Ever since the autumn of 1831, the expedient of swamping the +house of lords had been seriously contemplated. It was supremely +distasteful to the king, and Grey himself, in common with a majority of +the cabinet, was strongly averse from it. Then came the intervention of +Harrowby and Wharncliffe, the failure of which strengthened the hands of +the more determined reformers in the cabinet, and induced the king to +give way. Having already created a few peers on the coronation, he +consented to a limited addition in the last resort, but with the +reservation that eldest sons of existing peers should be called up in +the first instance, and upon the assurance that, reform once carried, +all further encroachments of the democracy should be resisted by the +government. He even authorised Grey to inform Harrowby that he had given +the prime minister this power, in the hope that it would never be +needed, and that at least the second reading of the bill would be +carried in the house of lords without it. His objection to a permanent +augmentation of the peerage remained unshaken, and Grey promised to +propose no augmentation at all before the second reading. + +This compact, if it can be so called, was fulfilled in the letter, for +the bill was read a first time without a division, and it passed the +second reading on April 14 by a majority of 184 to 175. To all +appearance a notable process of conversion had been wrought among the +peers, seventeen of whom actually changed sides, while ten opponents of +the former bill absented themselves, and twelve new adherents were +gained. However encouraging these figures might be, the ministers were +under no illusion. They had the best reason for expecting the worst +from the struggle in committee, and they were conscious of gradually +losing the king's confidence. The very demonstrations of popular +enthusiasm for reform which impressed others with a sense of its +necessity impressed him with a sense of its danger; the political unions +and the Bristol riots alarmed him extremely; and the foreign policy of +the government elicited from him so outspoken a protest that Grey +tendered his resignation. The difficulty was overcome for the moment, +but recurred in a more serious form when parliament reassembled on May +7. Lyndhurst at once proposed in committee to postpone the consideration +of schedule A; in other words, to shelve the most vital provisions of +the bill until the rest should have been dissected in a hostile spirit. +This proposal is supposed to have been concerted with Harrowby and +Wharncliffe, if not to have received the sanction of the Duke of +Wellington. It was adopted by 151 votes to 116, and the cabinet, on May +8, courageously determined to make a decisive stand. They firmly advised +the king to confer peerages on "such a number of persons as might ensure +the success of the bill". The principle thus expressed had, as has been +seen, been reluctantly approved by the king himself, but he recoiled +from the application of it when he learned that it would involve at +least fifty new creations. After a day's thought, he closed with the +only alternative, and accepted the resignation of his ministry. He then +sent for Lyndhurst, who of course at once communicated with the duke. + +The king, as we have seen, had never been able to understand the real +force of the reform movement, and his leading idea was that the demand +for reform might be satisfied by a moderate reform bill, which the house +of lords would not reject or reduce to nullity. Wellington shared this +impression, and, though an implacable opponent of reform, was willing to +undertake office for the purpose of carrying, not merely a mild +substitute for the whig reform bill, but the whig reform bill itself +with little modification. Such an act might appear immoral in a +statesman whose integrity was more open to question, but the duke's +political _moral_ appears to have been of a less delicate type than that +which is commonly expected in party politicians. As a general, he +considered, first of all and above all, what manoeuvres would best +advance his plan of campaign. As a political leader, he regarded +himself not as the chief of a party, still less as the exponent of a +creed, but rather as a public servant to whom his followers owed +allegiance, whether in office or in opposition. As a public servant he +felt bound to obey the king's summons, and conduct the administration, +honestly and efficiently, but without much concern for personal +convictions. He was also anxious to preserve the house of lords from +being swamped and so rendered ridiculous by an extensive creation of +peers.[105] + +[Pageheading: _ATTEMPTS TO FORM A TORY MINISTRY._] + +But Wellington knew that he was powerless to manage the house of commons +without the aid of Peel, and Peel, though pliable in the case of +catholic emancipation, was inflexible in the case of reform. He drew a +distinction between these cases, and absolutely rejected the advice of +Croker that he should grasp the helm of state to avert the worse evil of +the whigs being recalled. "I look," he wrote, "beyond the exigency and +the peril of the present moment, and I do believe that one of the +greatest calamities that could befall the country would be the utter +want of confidence in the declarations of public men which must follow +the adoption of the bill of reform by me as a minister of the +crown."[106] This language, repeated under reserve in the house of +commons, after a direct appeal from the king, strongly contrasts with +that of the duke who roundly asserted that he should have been ashamed +to show his face in the streets if he had refused to serve his sovereign +in an emergency. The marked divergence of views and conduct between the +two leaders of the conservative party led to a temporary estrangement +which materially weakened their counsels, and was not finally removed +until a fresh crisis arose two years later. + +While Lyndhurst and the duke were vainly endeavouring to patch up a +government without Peel or his personal adherents, Goulburn and Croker, +the house of commons and the country gave decisive proofs of their +resolution. A vote of confidence in Grey's ministry, proposed by +Ebrington, was carried on May 10 by a majority of eighty. Petitions came +in from the city of London and Manchester, calling upon the commons to +stop the supplies, and the reckless populace clamoured for a run upon +the Bank of England. A mass meeting convened by the Birmingham +political union had already hoisted the standard of revolt against the +legislature, unless it would comply with the will of the people; the +example was spreading rapidly, and events seemed to be hurrying on +towards a fulfilment of Russell's prediction that, in the event of a +political deadlock, the British constitution would perish in the +conflict. The duke was credited, of course unjustly, with the intention +of establishing military rule, and doubts were freely expressed whether +he could rely either on the army or on the police to put down insurgent +mobs. The excitement in the house of commons itself was scarcely less +formidable, and it soon became evident that high tories were almost as +much incensed by the prospect of a tory reform bill as radicals and +whigs by the vote on Lyndhurst's amendment. + +On the 14th Manners Sutton and Alexander Baring, Lyndhurst's trusted +confidants, plainly informed the duke that his self-imposed task was +hopeless, and on the next day the duke advised the king to recall Grey. +The king, who had apparently grasped the position earlier, acquiesced in +this solution of the question. He agreed to recall Grey and his +colleagues, and to use his own personal influence in persuading tory +peers to abstain from voting. He attempted to impose upon his old +ministers the condition of modifying the bill considerably, but they +continued to insist on maintaining its integrity, and on swamping the +upper house, unless its opposition should be withdrawn. It was, happily, +unnecessary to resort to such extreme measures. A letter from the king, +dated the 17th, informed Wellington that all difficulties would be +removed by "a declaration in the house of lords from a sufficient number +of peers that they have come to the resolution of dropping their further +opposition to the reform bill". On that night, after stating what had +passed, the duke retired from the house, followed by about 100 peers, +and absented himself from the discussion of the bill in committee. A +stalwart minority remained, and took issue on a few clauses, but their +numbers constantly dwindled, and when the report was received on June 1 +only eighteen peers recorded their dissent in a protest. Grey himself, +though suffering from illness, moved the third reading on the 4th, when +it was carried by 106 to 22. His last words did not lack the dignity +which had marked his bearing throughout, and expressed the earnest hope +that, in spite of sinister forebodings, "the measure would be found to +be, in the best sense, conservative of the constitution". + +[Pageheading: _ROYAL ASSENT TO THE BILL._] + +The amendments made in the house of lords were slight, and the house of +commons adopted them without any argument on their merits. Peel, who had +made a convincing defence of his recent conduct, and who afterwards took +a statesmanlike course in the reformed parliament, declared, with some +petulance, that he would have nothing to do with the consideration of +provisions or amendments passed under compulsion, and that he was +prepared to accept them, _en bloc_, whatever their nature or +consequences. The bill, therefore, received the royal assent on the 7th, +but the king could not be induced to perform this ceremony in person. +Though his scruples had been respected in framing the scheme of reform, +though he was consulted at every turn and clearly recognised the +necessity to which he bowed, and though he was spared the resort to a +_coup d'etat_ which he abhorred, he could not but feel humiliated by the +ill-disguised subjection of the crown and the nobility to a single +chamber of the people. It is greatly to his honour that, with limited +intelligence, and strong prejudices, he should have played a +straightforward and strictly constitutional part in so perilous a +crisis. + +By the great reform bill, as it was still called even after it became an +act, the whole representative system of England and Wales was +reconstructed. Fifty-six nomination boroughs, as we have seen, lost +their members altogether; thirty more were reduced to one member, and +Weymouth which, coupled with Melcombe Regis, had returned four members, +now lost two. Twenty-two large towns, including metropolitan districts, +were allotted two members each; twenty smaller but considerable towns +received one member each; the number of English and Welsh county members +was increased from ninety-four to one hundred and fifty-nine, and the +larger counties were parcelled out into divisions. All the fanciful and +antiquated franchises which had prevailed in the older boroughs were +swept away to make room for a levelling L10 household suffrage, the +privileges of freemen being alone preserved. The rights of 40s. +freeholders were retained in counties, but they found themselves +associated with a large body of copyholders, leaseholders, and +tenants-at-will paying L50 in rent. The general result was to place the +borough representation mainly in the hands of shopkeepers, and the +county representation mainly in those of landlords and farmers. The +former change had a far greater effect on the balance of parties than +the latter. The shopkeepers, of whom many were nonconformists, long +continued to cherish advanced radical traditions, partly derived from +the reform agitation, and constantly rebelled against dictation from +their rich customers. The farmers, dependent on their landlords and +closely allied with them in defending the corn laws, proved more +submissive to influence, and constituted the backbone of the great +agricultural interest. + +The enactment of the English reform bill carried with it as its +necessary sequel the success of similar bills for Scotland and Ireland. +In Scotland electoral abuses were so gross that reform was comparatively +simple, and that proposed, as Jeffrey, the lord advocate, frankly said, +"left not a shred of the former system". The nation, as a whole, gained +eight members, since its total representation was raised from forty-five +to fifty-three seats, thirty for counties and twenty-three for cities +and burghs. Two members were allotted to Edinburgh and Glasgow +respectively; one each to Paisley, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, and +Greenock, as well as to certain groups of boroughs. Both the county and +burgh electorates were entirely transformed. The "old parchment +freeholders" in counties, many of whom owned not a foot of land, were +superseded by a mixed body of freeholders and leaseholders with real +though various qualifications. The electoral monopoly of town councils +was replaced by the enfranchisement of householders with a uniform +qualification of L10. A claim to representation on behalf of the +Scottish universities was negatived in the house of lords. The number of +representatives for Ireland was raised from 100 to 105. The +disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders was maintained against the +strenuous attacks of O'Connell and Sheil, but the introduction of the +L10 borough franchise amply balanced the loss of democratic influence in +counties. On the whole the transfer of power from class to class was +greater in Scotland and Ireland than in England itself, and in Ireland +this signified a corresponding transfer of power from protestants to +catholics. The rule of the priests was almost as absolute as ever until +it was checked for a while by a purely democratic movement, and the +Irish vote in the house of commons was generally cast on the radical +side. + +[Pageheading: _RETROSPECT OF THE REFORM MOVEMENT._] + +A calm retrospect of the reform movement, culminating in the acts of +1832, compels us to see how little the course of politics is guided by +reason, and how much by circumstances. Every argument employed in that +and the preceding year possessed equal force at the end of the +eighteenth century, and the benefits of reform might have been obtained +at a much smaller cost of domestic strife; nor can we doubt that, but +for the French revolution, these arguments would have prevailed. Whether +or not the sanguinary disruption of French society furthered the cause +of progress on the continent, it assuredly threw back that cause in +Great Britain for more than a generation. Not only did its horrors and +enormities produce a reaction which paralysed the efforts of liberals in +this country, but the wars arising out of it engrossed for twenty years +the whole energy of the nation. Had it been possible for Pitt to pass a +reform bill after carrying the Irish union, the current of English +history would have been strangely diverted. The sublime tenacity of that +proud aristocracy which defied the French empire in arms, and nerved all +the rest of Europe by its example and its subsidies, would never have +been exhibited by a democratic or middle class parliament, and it is +more than probable that Great Britain would have stood neutral while the +continent was enslaved or worked out its own salvation. On the other +hand, in such a case, Great Britain might have been spared a great part +of the misery and discontent which, following the peace, but indirectly +caused by the war, actually paved the way for the reform movement. It +remained for a second French revolution, combined with the infatuation +of English tories, to supply the motive power which converted a party +cry into a national demand for justice. The reform act was, in truth, a +completion of the earlier English revolution provoked by the Stuarts. +Considering the condition of the people before its introduction, and the +obstinacy of the resistance to be overborne, we may well marvel that it +was carried, after all, so peacefully, and must ever remember it as a +signal triumph of whig statesmanship. + +It was the crowning merit of the reform act, from a whig point of view, +that it stayed the rising tide of democracy, and raised a barrier +against household suffrage and the ballot which was not broken down for +a generation more. It put an end to an oligarchy of borough-owners and +borough-mongers; it was a charter of political rights for the +manufacturing interest and the great middle class. But it did nothing +for the working classes in town or country; indeed, by the abolition of +potwallopers and scot-and-lot voters in a few boroughs, they forfeited +such fragmentary representation as they had possessed. Hence the seeds +of chartism, already sown, were quickened in 1832; but socialism was not +yet a force in politics, and it was still hoped that, under the new +electoral system, the sufferings of the poor might be mostly remedied by +act of parliament. The effect of the reform act on the balance of the +constitution was not, at first, fully appreciated. The grievance of +nomination-boroughs had been all but completely redressed, and that of +political corruption greatly diminished, but the hereditary peerage +remained, and the right of the lords to override the will of the commons +had ostensibly survived the conflict of 1831-32. But far-sighted men +could not fail to perceive that, in fact, the upper house was no longer +a co-ordinate estate of the realm. The peers retained an indefinite +power of delaying a measure, but it soon came to be a received maxim +that on a measure of primary importance such a power could only be +exercised in order to give the commons an opportunity of reconsideration +or to force an appeal to the country at a general election, and that a +new house of commons, armed with a mandate to carry that measure, though +once rejected by the peers, could not be resisted except at the risk of +revolution. + +The best safeguard against collision, however, was to be found in the +latent conservatism of the house of commons itself. Reformed as it was, +it had not ceased to be mainly a house of country gentlemen, and the +non-payment of members was a security for its being composed, almost +exclusively, of men with independent means and a stake in the country. A +very large proportion of these had been educated at the great public +schools, or the old English universities. They might accept on the +hustings the doctrine, against which Burke so eloquently protested, that +a representative is above all a delegate, and must go to parliament as +the pledged mouthpiece of his constituency. But in the house itself they +could not divest themselves of the sentiments derived from their birth, +their education, and their own personal interests; nor was it found +impossible, without a direct violation of pledges, to act upon their own +opinions in many a critical division. Still, it has been well pointed +out that, with the flowing tide of reform there arose a new and +one-sided conception of statesmanship as consisting in progressive +amendment of the laws rather than in efficient administration, so that +it is now popularly regarded as a mark of weakness on the part of any +government to allow a session to pass without effecting some important +legislative change.[107] + +[Pageheading: _CORONATION OF WILLIAM IV._] + +The supreme interest of the reform bill and its incidents naturally +dwarfed all other political questions, and the legislative annals of +1831-32 are otherwise singularly devoid of historical importance. The +coronation of William IV., which, as has been seen, took place on +September 8, 1831, was hardly more than an interlude in the great +struggle, yet it served for the moment to assuage the animosities of +party warfare. The king himself, who disliked solemn ceremonials, and +the ministers, deeply pledged to economy, were inclined to dispense with +the pageant altogether. It was found, however, that not only peers and +court officials but the public would be grievously disappointed by the +omission of what, after all, is a solemn public celebration of the +compact between the sovereign and the nation. The coronation was, +therefore, carried out with due pomp and all the time-honoured +formalities, but without the profuse extravagance which attended the +enthronement of George IV. There was no public banquet, and the public +celebration ceased with the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. The Duke of +Wellington and other leading members of the opposition had been duly +consulted by the government; there was a welcome respite from +parliamentary warfare; the king's returning popularity was confirmed; +and all classes of the people were satisfied. + +[Pageheading: _THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC._] + +Two months later, the appearance of the cholera at Sunderland added +another grave cause of anxiety to all the difficulties created by the +defeat of the reform bill in the house of lords, and the ominous riots +at Bristol. A similar but distinct and infinitely milder disease had +long been known under the name of _cholera morbus_, or more correctly +_cholera nostras_. Asiatic cholera, as the new disease was called, had +no affinity with any other known disease, and excited all the greater +terror by its novelty, as well as by the suddenness of its fatal effect. +It was first observed by English physicians in 1817, when 10,000 persons +fell victims to it in the district of Jessor in Bengal. About the same +time it attacked and decimated the central division of the army of Lord +Hastings, advancing against Gwalior. Before long it spread over the +whole province of Bengal, and eastward along the coasts of Asia as far +as China and Timur in the East Indies, crossed the great wall, and +penetrated into Mongolia. In 1818 it broke out at Bombay, and during the +next twelve years continued to haunt, at intervals, the cities of Persia +and Asiatic Turkey, with the coasts of the Caspian Sea. It was not until +1829 that it reached the Russian province of Orenburg, by way of the +river Volga, visiting St. Petersburg and Archangel in June, 1830. Thence +it travelled slowly but steadily westward through Northern Europe, as +well as southward into the valleys of the Danube and its tributaries, +until it made its appearance at Berlin and Hamburg in the summer of +1831. Long before this, and while the reform crisis was in its acutest +stage, the probability of its advent was fully realised in England, and +orders in council were issued in June, 1831, placing in quarantine all +ships coming from the Baltic. Notwithstanding the outcry against +meddling with trade, men of war were appointed to enforce these orders, +and when the news came that Marshal Diebitsch had died of the disease in +Poland, the alarm increased and all regulations against plague were made +applicable to cholera. Whether or not these precautions were +ineffective, it swooped upon Sunderland on October 26, and prevailed +there for two months, though its true character was very unwillingly +recognised.[108] + +The conflict between the newly created board of health and the merchants +importing goods caused the government no little perplexity. The protests +of the latter were strengthened by the somewhat remarkable fact that, +once established at Sunderland, the cholera seemed to be arrested in its +course and for a while spread no further. There seemed to be some ground +for the belief that it was partly due to extreme overcrowding and +neglect of all sanitary rules in that town, but this belief was soon +dissipated by its appearance at Newcastle and progress over the +north-eastern counties even during the winter months. Seven cases of it +occurred on the banks of the Thames just below London early in February, +1832, and though its virulence in England was alleged to be less than on +the continent, further experience hardly justified that opinion. The +appalling violence of its first onslaught on some vulnerable districts +may be illustrated by the example of Manchester, where a whole family +just arrived from an infected locality was swept away within twenty-four +hours. The government did its duty by disseminating instructions for its +prevention and treatment among the local authorities, but the prejudices +of the lower orders were against all interference for their benefit, and +scenes of brutality were sometimes enacted such as may still be +witnessed in oriental cities scourged by the plague. After a temporary +decline, the visitation recurred in all its severity, and in July the +deaths of a few persons in the highest circles occasioned a panic in the +west end of London. Still the declared number of deaths in the +metropolitan area was only 5,275, showing a far lower rate of mortality +in London than in Paris at the same time, and much lower than in London +itself during the epidemic of 1849, when statistics were more +trustworthy. None of the cholera epidemics, however, approached in +deadliness the plagues of 1625 and 1665. In the latter year the number +of deaths in London from plague alone represented about one-fifth of the +entire resident population--a proportion equivalent to a mortality of +above 200,000 in the London of 1831-32. This comparative immunity was +partly due to improved sanitation, the vigorous development of which may +be said to date from the first visitation of cholera. + +The census taken in 1831 revealed an increase of population, which, +though not equal to that of the preceding decade, indicated a most +satisfactory growth of wealth and employment. It was found that Great +Britain contained about 16,500,000 inhabitants, but of these, as might +be expected, a smaller percentage was employed in agriculture and a +larger percentage in manufacturing industry than in 1821. It has been +calculated that since the end of the great war the accumulation of +capital had been twice as rapid as the multiplication of the people, +but, in spite of this, pauperism, as measured by poor law expenditure, +had increased almost continuously since 1823, and emigration received a +startling impulse in 1831-32. Rick burning and frame breaking were the +joint result of childish ignorance, miserable wages, mistaken taxes on +the staple of food, and poor laws administered as if for the very +purpose of encouraging improvidence and vice. All these causes were +capable of being removed or mitigated by legislation, for even the rate +of wages was kept down by the ruinous system of out-door relief. But it +was only a few thoughtful persons who then appreciated either the extent +or the real sources of the mischief, and the disputes which soon arose +about the proper remedies to be applied have been handed on to a later +age. + +Next to parliamentary reform the state of Ireland was by far the most +important subject which engaged the attention of the legislature in +1831-32. The population had increased from 6,801,827 in 1821 to +7,767,401 in 1831, and the increase, unlike that in England, had been +almost exclusively in the agricultural districts. While the political +motive for multiplying small freeholds had ceased, the motives for +multiplying small tenancies were as strong as ever, and were felt by +landlords no less than by cottiers. This class, often inhabiting huts +like those of savage tribes and living in a squalor hardly to be seen +elsewhere in western Europe, chiefly depended for their subsistence on +potatoes--the most uncertain and the least nutritious of the crops used +for human food. Many hundred thousands of them had no employment in +their own country and no means of livelihood except the produce of the +scanty patches around their own turf cabins. Tens of thousands flocked +to England annually seeking harvest work, and a small number emigrated +to Canada or the United States, the passage money for an emigrant being +then almost prohibitive. Those who could not pay rent were liable to +eviction, and eviction was a more cruel fate then than now, since there +was no poor law in Ireland. Fever was rife in their miserable abodes, +following in the steps of hunger, and for relief of any kind they could +rely only on the mercy of their landlords or the charity of their +neighbours. Under such conditions of life crime and disaffection could +not but flourish, and the Irish peasant could hardly be blamed if he +listened eagerly to the counsels of O'Connell. For him catholic +emancipation had no meaning except so far as it gave him a hope that +parliament, swayed by the great Irish demagogue, would abolish tithes, +if not rent, and find some means of making Irishmen happy in their own +country. + +[Pageheading: _ANGLESEY LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND._] + +Had O'Connell been a true patriot, or even an honest politician, he +would have devoted his vast powers and influence to practical schemes +for the good of Ireland, and specially to a solution of the agrarian +question. Unhappily, smarting under a not unfounded sense of injustice, +when he was disabled from taking his seat for Clare, he threw his whole +energy into a new campaign for the repeal of the union, which occupied +the rest of his life. So far from acknowledging any gratitude to the +whigs, through whose support emancipation had been carried, he exhausted +all the resources of his scurrilous rhetoric upon them, lavishing the +epithets "base, brutal, and bloody," with something like Homeric +iteration. In December, 1830, Anglesey had returned to succeed the Duke +of Northumberland, and Stanley occupied the post of chief secretary, in +place of Hardinge. The ministers were privately advised to buy O'Connell +at any price, and it was intimated that he would not object to become a +law officer of the crown, or at least would not refuse a judicial +appointment. It may well be doubted whether the offer of such a bargain +to such a man could have been justified by success; it is more than +probable that it would have failed, and it is quite certain that failure +would have brought infinite discredit upon the government. At all events +the attempt was not made, and other catholic aspirants to legal +promotion were passed over with less excuse. + +Lord Anglesey proved a resolute viceroy, and proclaimed the various +associations, meetings, and processions organised by O'Connell, with +little regard for his own popularity. O'Connell's policy, carried out +with the cunning of a skilful lawyer, was to obey the law in the letter, +but to break it almost defiantly in the spirit. At last, however, he +went a step too far by advising the people who had come for a prohibited +meeting to reassemble and hold it elsewhere. He was arrested on January +18, 1831, and pleaded "Not guilty," but on February 17, when his trial +came on, he allowed judgment to go by default against him on those +counts of the indictment which charged him with a statutable offence, +provided that other counts, which charged him with a conspiracy at +common law, should be withdrawn. The attorney-general assented, and the +case was adjourned until the first day in Easter term. Before that day +arrived, however, the reform bill had been introduced, and O'Connell had +made a powerful speech in support of it. In the desperate struggle which +ensued, the ministers shrunk from estranging so formidable an ally, a +further adjournment of the case was allowed, a sudden dissolution of +parliament took place, the act under which O'Connell was to be sentenced +expired with the parliament, and no further action was taken. + +[Pageheading: _"TITHE-WAR" IN IRELAND._] + +During the year 1831, the agitation for repeal which O'Connell had set +on foot, as soon as the emancipation act had been passed, was for a +while thrust into the shade by the fiercer agitation against tithes. +This agitation was connected, in theory, with the demand for the +abolition or reduction of the Irish Church establishment, but was, in +fact, entirely independent of that or any other constitutional movement. +It may seem inexplicable to political students of a later age that Irish +questions of secondary importance, and eminently capable of equitable +treatment, should have convulsed the whole island and disturbed the +whole course of imperial politics, during the reign of William IV. The +rebellion against tithes or "tithe-war," as it was called, had not the +semblance of justification in law or reason. Every tenant who took part +in it had inherited or acquired his farm, subject to payment of tithes, +and might have been charged a higher rent if he could have obtained it +tithe-free. The tithe was the property of the parson as much as the land +was the property of the landlord, and the wilful refusal of it was from +a legal point of view sheer robbery. On the other hand, the mode of +collection was extremely vexatious, perhaps involving the seizure of a +pig, a bag of meal, or a sack of potatoes; and a starving cottier, +paying fees to his own priest, was easily persuaded by demagogues that +it was an arbitrary tribute extorted by clerical tyrants of an alien +faith. + +Thus it came to pass that the history of the Irish "tithe-war" exhibits +the Irish peasantry in their very worst moods, and it is stained with +atrocities never surpassed in later records of Irish agrarian +conspiracy. It is among the strange and sad anomalies of national +character that a people so kindly in their domestic relations, so little +prone to ordinary crime, and so amenable to better influences, should +have shown, in all ages, down to the very latest, a capacity for +dastardly inhumanity, under vindictive and gregarious impulses, only to +be matched by Spanish and Italian brigands among the races of modern +Europe. Yet so it is, and no "coercion" (so-called) ultimately enforced +by legal authority was comparable in severity with the coercion which +bloodthirsty miscreants ruthlessly applied to honest and peaceable +neighbours, only guilty of paying their lawful debts. It is not too much +to say that anarchy prevailed over a great part of Ireland, especially +of Leinster, during the years 1831 and 1832. The collection of tithes +became almost impossible. The tithe-proctors were tortured or murdered; +the few willing tithe-payers were cruelly maltreated or intimidated; the +police, unless mustered in large bodies, were held at bay; cattle were +driven, or, if seized and offered for sale, could find no purchasers; +and the protestant clergy, who had acted on the whole with great +forbearance, were reduced to extremities of privations. Five of the +police were shot dead on one occasion; on another, twelve who were +escorting a tithe-proctor were massacred in cold blood. A large number +of rioters were killed in encounters with the police, which sometimes +assumed the form of pitched battles and closely resembled civil war. +Special commissions were sent down into certain districts, and a few +executions took place, but in most cases Irish juries proved as +regardless of their oaths as they ever have on trials of prisoners for +popular crimes. O'Connell, and even Sheil, tacitly countenanced these +lawless proceedings, and openly palliated them in the house of commons. + +The whig government, engaged in a life-and-death contest with the +English borough-mongers, hesitated to crush the Irish insurgents by +military force, or to initiate a sweeping reform of the Irish Church. +Early in 1832, however, committees of both houses reported in favour of +giving the clergy temporary relief out of public funds, and of +ultimately commuting tithes into a charge upon the land. A preliminary +bill for the former purpose was promptly carried by Stanley, and made +the government responsible for recovering the arrears. The committee, +pursuing their inquiries, produced fuller reports, and again recommended +a complete extinction of tithes in Ireland. But the method proposed and +embodied in three bills introduced by Stanley in the same year, was too +complicated to serve as a permanent settlement, and was denounced as +illusory by the Irish members. The first bill was, in fact, a compulsory +extension of acts already passed in 1822 and 1823, the former of which +had permitted the tithe-owner to lease the tithe to the landlord, while +the latter permitted the tithe-owner and tithe-payers of each parish to +arrange a composition. Unfortunately, the act of 1823 had provided that +the payment in commutation of tithe should be distributed over +grass-lands hitherto tithe-free in Ireland as well as over land hitherto +liable to tithe. The act was in consequence unpopular with a section of +farmers, while at the same time the bishops resented the commutation, as +likely to diminish the value of beneficies. But in spite of this +opposition the act of 1823 had been widely adopted. Stanley's bill to +render such commutations compulsory passed, but his other two bills, +providing a new ecclesiastical machinery for buying up tithes, were +abandoned at the end of the session. Of course the substitution of the +government for the clergyman as creditor in respect of arrears had no +soothing effect on the debtors. The reign of terror continued unabated, +and O'Connell contented himself with pointing out that without repeal +there could be no peace in Ireland. We may so far anticipate the +legislation of 1833 as to notice the inevitable failure of the +experiment which converted the government into a tithe-proctor. It was +then replaced by a new plan, under which the government abandoned all +processes under the existing law, advanced L1,000,000 to clear off all +arrears of tithe, and sought reimbursement by a land tax payable for a +period of five years. + +[Pageheading: _EDUCATION IN IRELAND._] + +It reflects credit on the unreformed house of commons that in its very +last session, harassed by the irreconcilable attitude of the catholic +population in Ireland, it should have found time and patience not only +for the pressing question of Irish tithes, but for the consideration of +a resolution introductory to an Irish poor law, of a bill (which became +law) for checking the abuses of Irish party processions, and of a grant +for a board to superintend the mixed education of Irish catholic and +protestant children. The discussion of Sadler's motion in favour of an +Irish poor law was somewhat academic, and produced a division among the +Irish members, O'Connell, with gross inconsistency, declaring himself +vehemently opposed to any such measure. The ministers professed +sympathy with its principle, but would not pledge themselves to deal +immediately with so difficult and complicated a subject, perhaps +foreseeing the necessity of radical change in the English poor law +system. The processions bill was vigorously resisted on behalf of the +Orangemen, as specially aimed at their annual demonstrations on July 12, +but it was so manifestly wise to remove every wanton aggravation of +party spirit in Ireland, that it was passed just before the prorogation. + +The experiment of mixed education in Ireland had already been made with +partial success, first by individuals, and afterwards by an association +known as the Kildare Place Society. On the appointment of Dr. Whately to +the archbishopric of Dublin, it received a fresh impulse, and Stanley, +as chief secretary, definitely adopted the principle, recommended by two +commissions and two committees, of "a combined moral and literary and +separate religious instruction". A board of national education was +established in Dublin, composed of eminent Roman catholics as well as +protestants, to superintend all state-aided schools in which selections +from the Bible, approved by the board, were to be read on two days in +the week. Though provision was made for unrestricted biblical teaching, +out of school hours, on the other four days, protestant bigotry was +roused against the very idea of compromise. A shrewd observer remarked, +"While the whole system is crumbling to dust under their feet, while the +Church is prostrate, property of all kind threatened, and robbery, +murder, starvation, and agitation rioting over the land, these wise +legislators are debating whether the brats at school shall read the +whole Bible or only parts of it".[109] The opponents of the national +board failed to defeat the scheme in parliament, and it was justly +mentioned with satisfaction by the king in his prorogation speech of +August 16. But its benefits, though lasting, were seriously curtailed by +sectarian jealousy. Most of the protestant clergy frowned upon the +national schools, as the Roman catholic priesthood had frowned upon the +schools of the Kildare Place Society, and a noble opportunity of +mitigating religious strife in Ireland was to a great extent wasted. +Thus ended the eventful session of 1832. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[104] See Professor Dicey's observations on this clause, _Law and +Opinion in England_, p. 54, _n._ + +[105] Wellington, _Despatches, etc._, viii., 206; Parker, _Sir Robert +Peel_, ii., 207. + +[106] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 206. + +[107] Goldwin Smith, _United Kingdom_, ii., 354; Dicey, _Law and Opinion +in England_, p. 85. + +[108] C. Creighton, _History of Epidemics in Britain_, ii., 768, 793-97, +860-62. + +[109] Greville, _Memoirs_ (March 9, 1832), ii., 267. + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + FRUITS OF THE REFORM. + + +It was assumed in 1832, and has been held ever since, that a +redistribution act must be speedily followed by a dissolution, so as to +give the new constituencies the power of returning new members. +Accordingly, parliament, having been prorogued until October 16, was +further prorogued until December 3, and then finally dissolved. The +general election which followed, though awaited with much anxiety, was +orderly on the whole, and produced less change than had been expected in +the _personnel_ of the house of commons. The counties, for the most +part, elected men from the landed aristocracy, the great towns elected +men of recognised distinction, and few political leaders were excluded, +though Croker abjured political life and refused to solicit a seat in +the reformed house of commons. The good sense of the country asserted +itself; while Cobbett was returned for Oldham, "Orator" Hunt was +defeated at Preston, and no general preference was shown for violent +demagogues by the more democratic boroughs. The age of members in the +new house was higher, on the average, than in the old; its social +character was somewhat lower, and the high authority of William Ewart +Gladstone, who now entered parliament for the first time, may be quoted +for the opinion that it was inferior, in the main, as a deliberative +assembly. But it was certainly superior as a representative assembly, it +contained more capable men of business, and its legislative productions, +as we shall hereafter see, claim the gratitude of posterity. A certain +want of modesty in the new class of members was observed by hostile +critics, and was to be expected in men who had won their seats by +popular oratory and not through patronage. The house of commons had +already ceased to be "the best club in London," and later reforms have +still further weakened its title to be so regarded, but they have also +shown the wonderful power of assimilation inherent in the atmosphere of +the house itself, and the spirit of freemasonry which springs up among +those who enter it by very different avenues. + +[Pageheading: _THE FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT._] + +The change wrought by the reform act in the strength and distribution of +parties was immediate and conspicuous. The ancient division of whigs and +tories, which had become well-nigh obsolete in the reign of George IV., +had been revived by the great struggle of 1831-32. It was now superseded +to a great extent by the combination of the radicals with O'Connell's +followers into an independent section, and by the growth of a party +under Peel, distinct from the inveterate tories and known by the name of +"conservative," which first came into use in 1831.[110] The +preponderance of liberalism, in its moderate and extreme forms, was +overwhelming. It was roughly computed that nearly half the house were +ministerialists and about 190 members radicals, Irish repealers, or free +lances, while only 150 were classed as "conservatives," apparently +including tories.[111] In such circumstances the attitude to be adopted +by Peel was of the highest constitutional importance. It is some proof +of the respect for statesmanship instinctively felt by the new house of +commons that Peel, as inexorable an opponent of reform as Canning +himself, should at once have assumed a foremost position and soon +obtained an ascendency in an assembly so largely composed of his +opponents. + +But Peel himself was no longer a mere party leader. Unlike Wellington +and Eldon, he saw the necessity of accepting loyally the accomplished +fact and shaping his future course in accordance with the nation's will. +He, therefore, took an early opportunity of declaring that he regarded +the reform act as irrevocable, and that he was prepared to participate +in the dispassionate amendment of any institution that really needed it. +In a private letter to Goulburn he stated that, in his judgment, "the +best position the government could assume would be that of moderation +between opposite extremes of ultra-toryism and radicalism," intimating +further that "we should appear to the greatest advantage in defending +the government" against their own extreme left wing.[112] In this +policy he persevered; his influence did much to quell the confusion and +disorder of the first debate, and his followers swelled the government +majorities in several of the early divisions. When he came to review the +first session of the reformed parliament he remarked in a private letter +that what had been foreseen took place, that "the popular assembly +exercised tacitly supreme power," and, without abolishing the crown or +the house of lords, overawed the convictions of both.[113] + +[Pageheading: _IRISH COERCION BILL._] + +The passion for reform, far from spending itself in remodelling the +house of commons, filled the statute-book with monuments of remedial +legislation. No session was more fruitful in legislative activity than +that of 1833. But the way of legislation was at first blocked against +all projects of improvement by the urgent necessity of passing an Irish +coercion bill. This had been indicated in the king's speech, and on +February 15, 1833 Grey introduced the strongest measure of repression +ever devised for curbing anarchy in Ireland. It combined, as he +explained, the provisions of "the proclamation act, the insurrection +act, the partial application of martial law, and the partial suspension +of the _habeas corpus_ act". But the barbarities and terrorism which it +was designed to put down were beyond precedent and almost beyond belief. +The attempt to collect the arrears of tithe, even with the aid of +military force, had usually failed, and less than an eighth of the sum +due was actually levied. The organised defiance of law was not, however, +confined to refusal of tithes; it embraced the refusal of rent and +extended over the whole field of agrarian relations. The Whiteboys of +the eighteenth century reappeared as "Whitefeet," and other secret +associations, under grotesque names, enforced their decrees by wholesale +murder, burglary, arson, savage assaults, destruction of property, and +mutilation of cattle. In two counties, Kilkenny and Queen's County, +nearly a hundred murders or attempted murders were reported within +twelve months, and the murderous intimidation of witnesses and jurors +secured impunity to perpetrators of crimes. No civilised government +could have tolerated an orgy of lawlessness on so vast a scale, and +nothing but the exigencies of the reform bill can excuse Grey and his +colleagues for not having grappled with it earlier. Nor does it appear +that any remedy less stern would have been effectual. Where unarmed +citizens have not the courage either to protect themselves or to aid the +constabulary employed for their protection, soldiers, accustomed to face +death and inflict it upon others under lawful command, must be called in +to maintain order. Where civil tribunals have become a mockery, summary +justice must be dealt out by military tribunals. Force may be no remedy +for grievances, but it is the one sovereign remedy for organised crime, +and this was soon to be proved in Ireland. + +The viceroy, Anglesey, true to his liberal instincts, would have +postponed coercion to measures of relief, such as a settlement of the +church question. Stanley, on the other hand, insisted on the prompt +introduction of a stringent peace preservation bill, and his energetic +will prevailed. The bill contained provisions enabling the +lord-lieutenant to suppress any meeting, establishing a curfew law in +disturbed districts, and placing offenders in such districts under the +jurisdiction of courts martial with legal assessors. It passed the house +of lords with little discussion on the 22nd, and was laid before the +house of commons a few days later by Althorp, who had already brought in +an Irish Church temporalities bill. The debate on the address had +already given warning of the reception which the Irish members would +accord to any coercion bill, and of their malignant hostility to +Stanley. Efforts were made to delay its introduction, and full advantage +was taken of Althorp's statement that one special commission had been +completely successful. His opening speech, tame and inconclusive, +discouraged his own followers. The fate of the bill appeared doubtful, +but Stanley, who had twice staked the existence of the ministry on its +adoption, reversed the whole tendency of the debate by a speech of +marvellous force and brilliancy, which Russell afterwards described as +"one of the greatest triumphs ever won in a popular assembly by the +powers of oratory".[114] It was in this speech that he proved himself at +least a match for O'Connell, whom he scathed with fierce indignation as +having lately called the house of commons a body of scoundrels. It cost +many nights of debate to carry the bill, with slight amendments, but +Stanley's appeal had a lasting effect, and it became law in April, to +the great benefit of Ireland. + +[Pageheading: _IRISH CHURCH TEMPORALITIES BILL._] + +Meanwhile, the Irish Church temporalities bill was pressed forward as a +counterpoise to coercion. It imposed a graduated tax upon all episcopal, +capitular, and clerical incomes above L200 a year, and placed the +proceeds, estimated at L60,000 or L70,000 a year, in the hands of +commissioners, to be expended in the repairs of churches, the erection +of glebe-houses, and other parochial charges. In this way Irish +ratepayers might be relieved of the obnoxious "vestry cess," a species +of Church rate, at the expense of the clergy. A further saving of +L60,000 a year or upwards was to be effected by a reduction of the Irish +episcopate, aided by a new and less wasteful method of leasing Church +lands attached to episcopal sees. Two out of four Irish archbishoprics +and eight out of eighteen bishoprics were doomed to extinction, as +vacancies should occur. Dioceses and benefices were to be freely +consolidated, clerical sinecures were to cease, and the more scandalous +abuses of the Irish Church were to be redressed. + +As a scheme for ecclesiastical rearrangement within the Church itself, +the bill was sound and liberal, but it was utterly futile to imagine +that it would be welcomed, except as a mere instalment of conciliation, +by Roman catholics who looked upon the protestant Church itself as a +standing national grievance. The only boon secured to them was exemption +from their share of vestry cess, for, though Althorp intimated that the +ultimate surplus to be realised by the union of sees and livings would +be at the disposal of parliament, they well knew how many influences +would operate to prevent its reaching them. Not even O'Connell, still +less the ministry, ventured to propose "concurrent endowment" as it was +afterwards called, and the very idea of diverting revenues from the +protestant establishment to Roman catholic uses was disclaimed with +horror. More than a century earlier, a partition of these revenues +between the great protestant communions had been seriously entertained, +and Pitt had notoriously contemplated a provision for the Roman catholic +priests out of state funds. But no such demand was now made, and the one +feature of the bill which commanded the vigorous support of O'Connell +and his adherents was the 147th section, or "appropriation clause," +which enabled parliament to apply the expected surplus of some L60,000 +in income, or some L3,000,000 in capital, to whatever purposes, secular +or otherwise, it might think fit to approve. The far-reaching importance +of this principle was fully understood on both sides. To radicals and +Roman catholics it was the sole virtue of the bill; to friends of the +Irish Church and tories it was a blot to be erased at any cost. + +The progress of the measure was not rapid. Its nature had been explained +by Althorp on February 12, but it was not in print on March 11 when, +notwithstanding the reasonable protest of Peel, he induced the house to +fix the second reading for the 14th. It was then found that, owing to +its form, it must be preceded by resolutions, in order to satisfy the +rules of the house. These resolutions, containing the essence of the +bill, were proposed on April 1, but were not adopted without a long +debate, and the debate on the second reading did not begin until May 6. +It ended in a majority of 317 to 78 for the government, chiefly due to a +moderate speech from Sir Robert Peel, who, however, denounced the policy +of "appropriation". The discussion in committee was far more vehement, +and radicals like Hume did not shrink from avowing their desire to pull +down the Irish establishment, root and branch. The attack on the +conservative side was mainly concentrated on the appropriation clause. +In vain was it argued that a great part of the expected surplus was not +Church property, inasmuch as it would result from improvements in the +system of episcopal leases to be carried out by the agency of the state. +Every one saw that, however disguised, and whether legitimate or not, +appropriation of the surplus for secular purposes would be an act of +confiscation, and must needs be interpreted as a precedent. + +The cabinet itself was divided on the subject, and despaired of saving +the bill in the house of lords, without sacrificing the disputed clause. +On June 21, therefore, Stanley announced in the house of commons that +the appropriation clause would be withdrawn, and that any profits +arising out of financial reforms within the Church would be allowed to +fall into the hands of the ecclesiastical commissioners. The fury of +O'Connell was unbounded, and not so devoid of excuse as many of his +passionate outbreaks. He treated the Church bill as the stipulated +price to be paid for the coercion bill, and the appropriation clause as +the only part of it, except relief from vestry cess, which could possess +the smallest value for Irish Roman catholics. There was no valid answer +to his argument, except that another collision with the house of lords +must be avoided at any tolerable cost, for, as Russell bluntly said, +"the country could not stand a revolution once a year". Thus lightened, +and slightly modified in the interest of Irish incumbents, the bill +passed through committee and was read a third time by very large +majorities, the minority being mainly composed of its old radical +partisans. Peel's letters show how anxious he was to "make the reform +bill work," by protecting the government against this extreme +faction,[115] and the parliamentary reports show how much he did to +frustrate the attempt to intimidate the lords by a resolution of the +commons. + +The debate in the upper house lasted three nights in July, but is almost +devoid of permanent interest. The appropriation question being dropped, +there was little to discuss except the historical origin of Irish +dioceses, the precedents for their consolidation, and the economical +details of the scheme for equalising, in some degree, the incomes of +Irish clergymen. Two or three peers, headed by the Duke of Cumberland, +took their stand once more on the coronation oath, and Bishop Phillpotts +of Exeter availed himself of this objection in one of the most powerful +speeches delivered against the bill. On the other hand, Bishop Blomfield +of London, and the Duke of Wellington, now acting in concert with Peel, +gave it a grudging support, as the less of two evils. After passing the +second reading by a majority of 157 to 98, it was subjected to minute +criticism in committee, and one amendment was carried against the +government, but Grey wisely declined to relinquish it except on some +vital issue. The majority on the third reading was 135 to 81, and on +August 2 the commons agreed to the lords' amendments, O'Connell +remarking that, after all, the peers had not made the bill much worse +than they found it. More than a generation was to elapse before this +"act to alter and amend the laws relating to the temporalities of the +Church in Ireland" was completed by an act severing that Church from +the state. But the ulterior aims of those who first challenged the +sanctity of Church endowments were not concealed, and the more than +Erastian tendency of the liberal movement was henceforth clearly +perceived by high Churchmen. We know, on the authority of Dr. Newman, +that he and his early associates regarded the Anglican revival of which +they were the pioneers as essentially a reaction against liberalism, and +liberalism as the most formidable enemy of sacerdotal power. + +[Pageheading: _STANLEY COLONIAL SECRETARY._] + +Long before the Irish church bill had passed the house of commons +Stanley exchanged the chief secretaryship of Ireland for the higher +office of colonial secretary, to which he was gazetted on March 28. His +uncompromising advocacy of the coercion bill, and his known hostility to +direct spoliation of the Church, alike provoked the hatred of Irish +Roman catholics, and Brougham had already advised his retirement from +Ireland. His promotion was facilitated by the resignation of Durham, +nominally on grounds of health, but also because he was in constant +antagonism to his own father-in-law, Grey, and his moderate colleagues +in the cabinet. He received an earldom, and was succeeded as lord privy +seal by Goderich, who became Earl of Ripon. This opened the colonial +office to Stanley, who instantly found himself face to face with a +question almost as intractable as the pacification of Ireland. Sir John +Hobhouse became chief secretary for Ireland, but without a seat in the +cabinet. He resigned in May, and was succeeded by Edward John Littleton, +who was married to a natural daughter of the Marquis Wellesley. + +Among the statutes passed in 1833, there are several, besides those +relating to Ireland, of sufficient importance to confer distinction upon +any parliamentary session. One of these is entitled "an act for the +better administration of justice in His Majesty's privy council"; a +second, "an act for the abolition of slavery throughout the British +colonies, for promoting the industry of the manumitted slaves, and for +compensating the persons hitherto entitled to the services of such +slaves"; a third, "an act for the abolition of fines and recoveries, and +for the substitution of more simple methods of assurance"; a fourth, "an +act to regulate the trade to China and India"; a fifth, "an act for +giving to the corporation of the governor and company of the Bank of +England certain privileges, for a limited period, under certain +conditions"; a sixth, "an act to regulate the labour of children and +young persons in the mills and factories of the United Kingdom". Not one +of these salutary measures was forced upon the legislature by popular +clamour, every one of them represents a sincere zeal for what has been +ridiculed as "world-bettering," and the parliament that passed them must +have been thoroughly imbued with the spirit of reform. + +Foremost of these measures, as a monument of philanthropic legislation, +will ever stand the act for the abolition of colonial slavery. No class +in the country was concerned in its promotion; the powerful interests of +the planters were arrayed against it; and humanity, operating through +public opinion, was the only motive which could induce a government to +espouse the anti-slavery cause. Stanley had not occupied his new office +many weeks when on May 14 it became his lot to explain the ministerial +scheme in the house of commons. Its essence consisted in the immediate +extinction of absolute property in slaves, but with somewhat complicated +provisions for an intermediate state of apprenticeship, to last twelve +years. During this period negroes were to be maintained by their former +masters, under an obligation to serve without wages for three-fourths of +their working hours, and were to earn wages during the remaining fourth. +All children under six years of age were to become free at once, and all +born after the passing of the act were to be free at birth. The +proprietors were to receive compensation by way of loan, to the extent +of L15,000,000, and additional grants were promised for the institution +of a stipendiary magistracy and a system of education. + +Several resolutions embodying the scheme were carried, with little +opposition, though some abolitionists, headed by Mr. Fowell Buxton, a +wealthy brewer and eminent philanthropist, who sat for Weymouth, took +strong exception to compulsory apprenticeship, as perpetuating the +principle of slavery, however mitigated by the recognition of personal +liberty and the suppression of corporal punishment. It was found +expedient, however, in deference to a very strong remonstrance from West +Indian proprietors, to convert the proposed loan of L15,000,000 into an +absolute payment of L20,000,000, and this noble donation, for +conscience' sake, was actually ratified by parliament and the country. +The bill founded on the resolutions met with no serious opposition, but +an amendment by Buxton for adopting free labour at once was lost by so +narrow a majority that Stanley consented to reduce the period of +apprenticeship to an average of six years. In this instance the lords +followed the guidance of the commons, and a measure of almost quixotic +liberalism was endorsed by them without hesitation. It must be confessed +that experience has not verified the confident prediction that free +labour would prove more profitable than slave labour, but Great Britain +has never repented of the abolition act, and its example was followed, +thirty years later, by the United States. + +[Pageheading: _FACTORY ACTS._] + +The first of the general factory acts was marked by the same +philanthropic character, but here the manufacturing capitalists, +introduced by the reform act, were induced by self-interest to oppose +it. Ever since the beginning of the century the sufferings and +degradation of children in factories had occasionally engaged the +attention of parliament, but the full enormity of the factory system was +known to few except those who profited by it. It seems incredible, but +it was shown afterwards by irresistible evidence, that children of seven +years old and upwards were often compelled to work twelve or fourteen +hours a day, with two short intervals for meals, in a most unwholesome +atmosphere, exposed not only to ill-treatment but to every form of moral +corruption. A very partial remedy was applied by a law passed in 1802 +which restricted the hours of labour to twelve for mills in which +apprentices were employed. The same limit of hours was extended to +cotton mills generally in 1816, and, but for the resistance of the house +of lords, it would have been reduced to ten, as a select committee had +recommended on the initiative of the first Sir Robert Peel. A few years +later the question was revived by Sir John Hobhouse, but left unsettled. +In 1831 Sadler introduced a ten hours bill for children, and obtained a +select committee, before which disclosures were made well calculated to +shock the country. At the general election of 1832, Sadler was defeated +by Macaulay for the new borough of Leeds, but his mantle fell on Lord +Ashley, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, one of the noblest +philanthropists of modern times. + +Early in the session of 1833 Ashley introduced a ten hours bill, +applicable, like that of Sadler, to all young persons under eighteen +years of age working in factories. It also prohibited the employment of +children under nine, and provided for the appointment of inspectors. It +was strongly opposed by the Lancashire members as interfering with +freedom of labour even for adults, since mills could not be kept running +without the labour of boys under eighteen. They also objected to the +evidence already reported as one-sided, and succeeded in procuring the +appointment of a royal commission. This commission prosecuted its +inquiries with unusual despatch, but its report was not in the hands of +members on July 5, when the bill came on for its second reading. Though +Althorp, unwilling to offend the manufacturing interest, pleaded for +deliberation and urged that a select committee should frame the +regulations to be adopted, the majority of the house was impatient of +delay, and he encountered a defeat. The question now resolved itself +into a choice between a greater or less limitation of hours. On this +question, a compromise proposed by Althorp prevailed, and Ashley +resigned the conduct of the bill into his hands. It was further modified +in committee, but ultimately became law in a form which secured the main +objects of its promoters. No child under nine years of age could be +employed at all in a factory, after two years none under thirteen could +be worked more than eight hours, and no young person under eighteen +could be required to work more than sixty-nine hours a week, while the +provisions for inspection were retained along with others which +contained the germ of education on the half-time system. + +[Pageheading: _THE EAST INDIA COMPANY._] + +The trading monopoly of the East India Company, though confined to China +by the act of 1813, had been regarded ever since with great jealousy by +the mercantile community. As the revised charter was now on the point of +expiring, it was for the government to frame terms of renewal which +might satisfy the growing demand for free trade. Their scheme, which few +were competent to criticise, met with general approval, and the only +determined opposition to it was offered in the house of lords by +Ellenborough, who lived to come into sharp collision with the court of +directors as governor-general. It was embodied in three simple +resolutions, the first of which recommended the legislature to open the +China trade without reserve, the second provided for the assumption by +the crown of all the company's assets and liabilities but with the +obligation of paying the company a fixed subsidy, while the last +affirmed the expediency of entrusting the company with the political +government of India. Grant, who moved these resolutions, as president of +the board of control, had no occasion to defend the policy of setting +free the China trade which no one disputed; but he undertook to show +that it had declined in the hands of the company, and that private +competition had already crept in on a large scale. He also dwelt on the +advantage of bringing the political relations arising out of commercial +intercourse more directly under the control of the government. His +reasoning was sound, and the China trade rapidly developed, nor could he +be expected to foresee the course of events whereby the government +afterwards became embroiled with the Chinese empire, on the importation +of opium, and other economical questions. As compensation for the loss +of its exclusive privileges, the company was to receive an annuity of +L630,000, charged on the territorial revenues of India. + +The policy of continuing the company's rule in India for twenty years +longer would have excited more earnest discussion in a session less +crowded with legislative projects. The way had been paved for the +concession of complete free trade in the eastern seas by the reports of +select committees and parliamentary debates under former governments. +The consumers of tea, numbered by millions, promised themselves a better +quality at a lower price, and a keen spirit of enterprise was kindled by +the idea of breaking into the unknown resources of China. But public +interest in the administration of India was languid. It might well have +appeared that a board sitting in Leadenhall Street was fitter to conduct +shipping and mercantile operations than to govern an imperial dependency +like British India. But the contrary alternative was almost tacitly +accepted. The directors were "to remain princes, but no longer merchant +princes," and Ellenborough complained that whereas "hitherto the court +had appeared in India as beneficent conquerors, henceforth they would be +mortgagees in possession". Perhaps the ministry shrunk from provoking +the storm of obloquy which must have resulted from placing the vast +patronage of the company in the hands of the crown. At all events, it +was agreed, with little dissent, that under the new charter the company +should nominally retain the reins of power, checked, however, by Pitt's +"board of control," the president of which, in reality, shared a +despotic authority with the governor-general of Bengal, who was +hereafter to be in name what he had long been in fact, governor-general +of India. The bill strengthened his council, and enabled him to +legislate for all India. + +At the same time Europeans were permitted to settle and hold land in +India without the necessity of applying for a licence. Lastly, the +principle was laid down, pregnant with future consequences, that all +persons in India, without distinction of race or creed, should be +subject to the same law and eligible for all offices under the +government. Such was the last charter of the great company. It is +interesting to observe that Grant, in admitting that the government of +India under its sway had not been prone "to make any great or rapid +strides in improvement," paid a just tribute to its eminently pacific +character. "It excited vigilance," he said, "against any encroachment of +violence or rapacity; it ensured to the people that which they most +required--repose, security, and tranquillity." The immense annexations +of territory and far-reaching reforms which have created the British +India of the twentieth century were either most reluctantly sanctioned +by the court of directors or have been carried out since its dominion +was transferred to the crown. Irrevocable as they are, and beneficent as +they may be on the whole, they have certainly imposed difficulties of +portentous magnitude upon the rulers of India, nor would it be +surprising if some native survivors of the olden days in far-off +recesses of the country should remember with sad regret the paternal, +though unprogressive, despotism of the sovereign company. + +[Pageheading: _THE BANK CHARTER ACT._] + +The bank charter act of 1833, having been superseded by that of 1844, +fills a less important place than it otherwise would in the history of +legislation on currency. The bill was founded, however, on the report of +a secret committee which embraced Peel as well as Althorp and several +other members of high financial repute or great experience in the city. +Since the subject of it was familiar to a large section of members +engaged in business, and touched the pockets of bankers all over the +country, it was discussed in the house of commons far more earnestly +than the bill renewing the charter of the East India Company. In the end +two provisions were dropped, which directly encouraged the increase of +joint stock banks. The rest were passed, and contained important +modifications of the banking system as it then existed. The main +privileges of the Bank of England were continued, in spite of a strong +opposition and of protests against the one-sided inquiry said to have +been conducted by the secret committee. These privileges embraced the +exclusive possession of the government balances, the monopoly of limited +liability, then refused to other banks, and the right, shared by no +other joint stock bank, of issuing its own notes. Though private London +banks might have legally exercised this power they did not actually do +so, and nearly all of them deposited their reserves with the Bank of +England. + +Another part of the scheme, which even Peel condemned, was thus briefly +stated in a preliminary resolution: "That, provided the Bank of England +continued liable, as at present, to defray in the current coin of the +realm all its existing engagements, it was expedient that its promissory +notes should be constituted a legal tender for sums of L5 and upwards". +In other words, country bankers would no longer be compelled to cash +their own notes, or pay off their deposits in gold, but might use Bank +of England notes instead, above the value of L5. The Bank of England, +however, and all its branches, remained liable to cash payments, as +before, so that, as Baring argued, only one intermediate stage was +interposed between the presentation of a country note and the exchange +of it for specie. Peel's objection, which did not prevail, chiefly +rested on the danger of the Bank of England closing its branches in its +own interests, in order to check the demand for cash. Though his fears +were not literally realised, experience disclosed the danger of country +banks multiplying unduly, and, by their over-issue of notes, causing a +severe drain upon the Bank of England for gold. For the present, +however, the critics of the measure were less concerned in forecasting +such remote consequences than in protesting against the charge to be +made by the bank for managing the public debt. This charge was, in fact, +to be reduced by L120,000 a year, but one-fourth part of the advances +made by the bank to the public (or L3,671,700) was to be paid off, and +the proposed remuneration was denounced as exorbitant. Althorp hardly +denied that it was a good bargain for the bank, though he persuaded the +house of commons to endorse the arrangement, rather than incur the +dislocation of national finance and commercial business certain to ensue +if the bank should withdraw from its connexion with the government and +use its vast influence for its own interest alone. + +[Pageheading: _LEGAL REFORMS._] + +Two great law reforms close the series of important remedial measures +passed in the first session of the reformed parliament--a session, be it +remembered, which embraced all the furious and protracted debates on the +Irish coercion act and the Irish Church temporalities act. The first of +these was Brougham's valuable bill constituting a permanent "judicial +committee of the privy council," and transferring to it the judicial +functions theoretically belonging to "the king in council," but +practically exercised by committees selected _ad hoc_ on each occasion. +Charles Greville, to whose memoirs all historians of this period are +greatly indebted, and who in 1833 was clerk of the council, was inclined +to disparage the proposed change as one of Brougham's fanciful projects, +designed to gratify his own self-importance.[116] Even Greville, +however, saw reason to modify his view, and the new court has ever since +commanded general respect, except from those high Churchmen who resented +its assumption of the appellate jurisdiction in ecclesiastical causes, +formerly vested, along with a similar jurisdiction in admiralty causes, +in the king in chancery, and exercised by a "court of delegates," +usually consisting of three common law judges and three or four +civilians selected _ad hoc_. + +The essential defects of such a court were fully stated in the report of +a very strong commission, including six bishops, appointed in 1830. +Probably the expediency of reforming the jurisdiction of the privy +council for the purpose of hearing these ecclesiastical appeals may have +suggested to Brougham the idea of constructing a standing appellate +tribunal within the privy council, for the purpose of hearing all +appeals that might come before that body. Accordingly, after carrying a +bill in 1832 whereby the privy council, as such, took over the powers of +the "court of delegates," he introduced the general bill whereby the +judicial committee was created, and under which it still acts. It was to +consist of the lord chancellor, with the present and past holders of +certain high judicial offices, and two privy councillors to be +appointed by the sovereign; to whom prelates, being privy councillors, +were to be added for ecclesiastical appeals. The system thus founded, +and since developed, is capable of indefinite expansion, in case still +closer relations should be established between Great Britain and the +colonies. + +The act for the abolition of fines and recoveries, though scarcely +intelligible except to lawyers, was a masterpiece not only of +draughtsmanship, but of honest law amendment. It swept away grotesque +and antiquated forms of conveyance, which had lost their meaning for +centuries, and which nothing but professional self-interest kept alive. +Had it been followed up by legislation in a like spirit on other +departments of law, the profits of lawyers and the needless expenses of +clients might have been reduced to an extent of which the unlearned +public has no conception. As it was, it simplified the process of +selling land in a remarkable degree, though it left untouched the +complications of title and transfer affecting real property, which no +lord chancellor since Brougham has been courageous enough to attack in +earnest, and which remain the distinctive reproach of English law. It is +not without shame that we read in the king's prorogation speech, +delivered on August 29, 1833, the assurance that he will heartily +co-operate with parliament in making justice easily accessible to all +his subjects. He adds that, with this view, a commission has been issued +"for digesting into one body the enactments of the criminal law, and for +inquiring how far, and by what means, a similar process may be extended +to the other branches of jurisprudence". Seventy years have since +elapsed, yet this royal promise of codification is not even in course of +fulfilment. On the other hand, Brougham's scheme for establishing local +courts in certain parts of the kingdom was destined to bear ample fruit +in the next reign. It was described by Eldon as "a most abominable +bill," and, being generally opposed by the law lords, was rejected by a +small majority, but it was the germ of the county courts, which have +since done so much to bring justice within the reach and the means of +poor suitors. + +Notwithstanding its legislative exploits, the whig government was +declining in popularity at the end of 1833, and was beginning to +discover how vain it is to rely on political gratitude. Other reforming +governments have since undergone the same bitter experience, the causes +of which are by no means obscure. No reform can be effected without +"harassing interests," and the sense of resentment in the sections of +the community thus harassed is far stronger and more efficacious than +any appreciation of the benefits reaped by the general public at home, +or by mankind at large. Again, the expectations excited by the agitation +of such a question as parliamentary reform are far beyond the power of +any legislature to satisfy. Grey and his colleagues were too well aware +of this, and Stanley, for one, manfully championed the government +measures on their own merits, disdaining to flatter the radicals, but +his discretion was not equal to his valour, and every debate brought +into stronger relief the more statesmanlike capacity and moderation of +Peel. There was no tory reaction, but a growing distrust of heroic +remedies for national disorders, and a growing faith in the possible +development of a liberal policy in a conservative spirit. Even the Duke +of Wellington found himself restored insensibly to popular favour, and +was again received in the streets with marks of public respect. + +[Pageheading: _ALTHORP'S THIRD BUDGET._] + +Of all the ministers, no one enjoyed a greater share of confidence both +in and out of parliament than Althorp. He was not a great financier, but +he was an honest and prudent chancellor of the exchequer, a free-trader +by conviction, and incapable of those artifices by which a plausible +balance-sheet may be made out at the cost of future liabilities. Yet his +budgets of 1831, 1832, and 1833 undoubtedly helped to shake the credit +of the government. The first had been far too ambitious, and became +almost futile, when the proposed tax on transfers was abandoned, and the +timber duties left undisturbed. The second was modest enough, and was +saved from damaging criticism by the absorbing interest of the reform +bill. Considerable reductions were made in the estimates, the revenue +yielded somewhat more than had been expected, and Althorp was enabled to +present a favourable account in 1833. He anticipated a surplus of about +a million and a half, out of which he was prepared to abolish certain +vexatious duties and to decrease others. But the country gentlemen, +headed by Ingilby, member for Lincolnshire, insisted on a reduction of +the malt duty by one-half, while the borough members, headed by Sir John +Key, clamoured for a repeal of the house tax and window tax. The former +motion was actually carried against the government by a small majority, +but its effect was annulled, and the latter motion was defeated, by a +skilful manoeuvre. This consisted in the proposal by Althorp of a +counter-resolution, declaring that, if half of the malt tax and the +whole tax on windows and houses were to be taken off, it would be +necessary to meet the deficiency by a general income tax. Such a +prospect was equally alarming to the landed interest and the +householders, whose rival demands were mutually destructive, the result +being that Althorp's amendment was carried by a large majority, and the +government escaped humiliation, though not without some loss of +prestige. + +It was perhaps to be expected that private members in the first session +of the reformed parliament should be eager to gain a hearing for their +special projects of improvement. So it was, but two only of these +projects deserved historical mention. One of these was the abortive +attempt of Attwood, the radical member for Birmingham, to reverse the +policy of 1819 by inducing parliament to initiate the return to a paper +currency. Cobbett actually followed up this failure by moving for an +address praying the king to dismiss Sir Robert Peel from his councils, a +motion defeated by a majority of 295 to 4. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[110] _The Croker Papers_, ii., 198. + +[111] Mahon to Peel (Jan, 8, 1833), Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 209. + +[112] Jan. 3, 1833, Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 213. + +[113] Peel to Croker (Sept. 28, 1833), _ibid._, p. 224. + +[114] Russell, _Recollections and Suggestions_, p. 113. + +[115] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 212-16. + +[116] Greville, _Memoirs_, ii., 364, 365. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND POOR LAW REFORM. + + +The year 1833, so fruitful in legislation, may be said to have witnessed +the birth of a religious movement which has profoundly affected the +character of the national Church. The neo-catholic revival, which +afterwards took its popular name from Pusey but drew its chief +inspiration from Newman, was in a great degree the outcome of the reform +act and a reaction against the more than Erastian tendencies of the +reformed parliament. In the early part of the century, as we have seen, +personal and practical religion was mainly represented by the +evangelical or low Church party, which did admirable service in the +cause of philanthropy, as well as in reclaiming the masses from +heathenism. The high Church party was comparatively inactive, but +co-operated with its rival in opposition to catholic emancipation. The +clergy, as a body, were hostile to reform, and the bishops incurred the +fiercest obloquy by voting against the first reform bill, which had +unfortunately been rejected by a majority exactly corresponding with the +number of their votes.[117] The democratic outcry against the Church +became louder and louder, as the evils of nepotism, pluralism, and +sinecurism were exposed to public criticism, and a growing disposition +was shown to deal with Church endowments both in England and in Ireland, +if not as the property of the state, yet as under its paramount control. + +[Pageheading: _THE TRACTARIAN MOVEMENT._] + +The recent infusion of Irish Roman catholics into the house of commons, +following that of Scotch presbyterians a century earlier, rendered it +less and less fit, in the opinion of high Churchmen, to legislate for +the Church of England, and every concession to religious liberty shocked +them as a step towards "National Apostasy". This was, in fact, the +impressive title of a sermon preached by John Keble, in July, 1833, +before the university of Oxford. From this sermon Newman himself dated +the origin of the Oxford or "Tractarian" movement, but its inward source +lay deeper. Having lost all confidence in the state and even in the +Anglican hierarchy as a creature of the state, a section of the clergy +had already been looking about for another basis of authority, and had +found it in theories of apostolical succession and Church organisation. +The university of Oxford was a natural centre for such a reaction, and +it was set on foot with the deliberate purpose of defending the Church +and the Christianity of England against the anti-catholic aggressions of +the dominant liberalism. It was not puritanism but liberal secularism +which Newman always denounced as the arch-enemy of the catholic faith. +For, as Wesley's sympathies were originally with high Church doctrines, +so Newman's sympathies were originally with evangelical doctrines, nor +were they ever entirely stifled by his ultimate secession to the Roman +Church. + +The later development of this movement, which had its cradle in the +common room of Oriel College, belongs rather to ecclesiastical history, +and to the reign of Queen Victoria. But from the first it rallied a +considerable body of support. Many who were not influenced by the +movement, shared its earlier aspirations. Shortly after the formation of +an association, under Newman and Keble's auspices, seven or eight +thousand of the clergy signed an address to the Archbishop of +Canterbury, insisting upon the necessity of restoring Church discipline, +maintaining Church principles, and checking the progress of +latitudinarianism. A large section of the laity ranged themselves on the +side of the revival, and meetings were held throughout England. The king +himself volunteered a declaration of his strong affection for the +national Church now militant, and prepared to assert itself, not merely +as a true branch of the catholic Church, but as a co-ordinate power with +the state. In the autumn of 1833, Newman and one of his colleagues +launched the first of that series of tracts from which his followers +derived the familiar name of Tractarians. From that day he was their +recognised leader, yet he claimed no allegiance and issued no commands. +He felt himself, not the creator of a new party, but a loyal son of the +old Church, at last awakened from her lethargy. The spell which he +exercised over so many young minds was due to a personal influence of +which he was almost unconscious, but which spread from the pulpit of St. +Mary's Church and his college rooms at Oriel over a great part of the +university and the Church. It was broken some years later, when he gave +up the _via media_ which he had so long been advocating, accepted the +logical consequences of his own teaching, and reproached others for not +discovering that Anglicanism was but a pale and deformed counterfeit of +the primitive Christianity represented, in its purity, by the Church of +Rome. + +Looking back at this movement across an interval of seventy years, we +may well feel astonished that it satisfied the aspirations of +inquisitive minds in contact with the ideas of their own times. For this +was the age of Benthamism in social philosophy and "German neology" in +biblical criticism. Though national education was in its infancy, a new +desire for knowledge, and even a free-thinking spirit, was permeating +the middle classes, and had gained a hold among the more intelligent of +the artisans. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, +established by Brougham, circulated a mass of instructive and +stimulating literature at a cheap rate; popular magazines and +cyclopaedias were multiplying yearly; and the British Association, which +held its first meeting at Oxford in 1832, brought the results of natural +science within the reach of thousands and tens of thousands incapable of +scientific research. The _Bridgwater Treatises_, which belong to the +reign of William IV., are evidence of a widespread anxiety to reconcile +the claims and conclusions of science with those of the received +theology. Thoughtful and religious laymen in the higher ranks of society +were earnestly seeking a reason for the faith that was in them, and +pondering over fundamental problems like the personality of God, the +divinity of Christ, the reality of supernatural agency, and the awful +mystery of the future life. Yet the tractarians passed lightly over all +these problems, to exercise themselves and others with disputations on +points which to most laymen of their time appeared comparatively +trivial. + +[Pageheading: _THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH._] + +To them Church authority was supreme, and every catholic dogma a +self-evident truth. What engrossed their reason and consciences was the +discussion of questions affecting Church authority, for example, whether +the Anglican Church possessed the true note of catholicity or was in a +state of schism, whether its position in Christendom was not on a par +with that of the monophysite heretics, whether its articles could be +brought into conformity with the Roman catholic doctrines expressly +condemned by them, or whether its alliance with Lutheranism in the +appointment of a bishop for Jerusalem did not amount to ecclesiastical +suicide. Their message, unlike that of the early Christian or methodist +preachers, was for the priestly order, and not for the masses of the +people; their appeals were addressed _ad clerum_ not _ad populum_; still +less were they suited to influence scientific intellects. But their +propaganda was carried on by men of intense earnestness and holy lives, +few in number but strong in well-organised combination, and they carried +with them for a time many to whom any "movement" seemed better than +lifeless "high and dry" conformity. Herein consisted the secret of their +early success. Their subsequent failure was inevitable when they were +fairly confronted with protestant sentiment and with the independent +spirit of the age. How their aims were taken up and partially realised +in a new form by new leaders and through new methods, is an inquiry +which must be reserved for a later chapter in the history of the English +Church. + +The strange religious movement which resulted in the foundation of the +so-called Catholic Apostolic Church was of somewhat earlier date, and +its author had already been disavowed as a minister by the presbyterian +Church before the _Tracts for the Times_ began to startle the religious +world. The most brilliant part of Edward Irving's career falls within +the reign of George IV., when his chapel in London was crowded by the +fashionable world, and even attended occasionally by statesmen like +Canning. According to all contemporary testimony he was among the most +remarkable of modern preachers, and his visionary speculations in the +field of biblical prophecy failed to repel hearers attracted by his +wonderful religious enthusiasm. Compared with the adherents of the +methodist or of the neo-catholic revival, his followers were a mere +handful, and his name would scarcely merit a place in history but for +the impression which he made upon men of high ability and position. What +brought him into discredit with his own communion and with the public +was his introduction into his services of fanatics professing the gift +of speaking with "unknown tongues". These extravagances led to his +deposition in 1832, and probably hastened his early death in 1834. But +his creed did not die with him, and a small body of earnest believers +has carried on into the twentieth century a definite tradition of the +gospel which he taught. + +Far deeper and more lasting in its effects was the change wrought in +current ideas by the almost unseen but steady advance of science in all +its branches. During this epoch perhaps the most formidable enemy of +orthodoxy was the rising study of geology, challenging, as it did, the +traditional theories of creation. The discoveries of astronomy--the law +of gravitation, the rotation of the earth, its place in the solar +system, and, above all, the infinite compass of the universe--were in +themselves of a nature to revolutionise theological beliefs more +radically than any conclusions respecting the antiquity of the earth. +But it may be doubted whether it was so in fact; at all events, +theologians had slowly learned to harmonise their doctrines with the +conception of immeasurable space, when they were suddenly required to +admit the conception of immeasurable time, and staggered under the blow. +The pioneers of English geology were careful to avoid shocking religious +opinion, and Buckland devotes a chapter of his famous _Treatise on +Geology_ to showing "the consistency of geological discoveries with +sacred history". His explanation is that an undefined interval may have +elapsed after the creation of the heaven and the earth "in the +beginning" as recorded in the first verse of Genesis; and he rejects as +opposed to geological evidence "the derivation of existing systems of +organic life, by an eternal succession, from preceding individuals of +the same species, or by gradual transmutation of one species into +another". But speculations of this order were utterly ignored by such +religious leaders as Newman and Irving, whose spiritual fervour, however +apostolical in its influence on the hearts of their disciples, was +confined within the narrowest circle of intellectual interests. + +[Pageheading: _POOR LAW._] + +The great event of parliamentary history in 1834, and the crowning +achievement of the first reformed parliament, was the enactment of the +"new poor law," as it was long called. No measure of modern times so +well represents the triumph of reason over prejudice; none has been so +carefully based on thorough inquiry and the deliberate acceptance of +sound principles; none has so fully stood the conclusive test of +experience. It is not too much to say that it was essentially a product +of the reform period, and could scarcely have been carried either many +years earlier or many years later. In the dark age which followed the +great war, contempt for political economy, coupled with a weak sentiment +of humanity, would have made it impossible for a far-sighted treatment +of national pauperism and distress to obtain a fair hearing. After the +introduction of household suffrage, and the growth of socialism, any +resolute attempt to diminish the charge upon ratepayers for the +immediate relief but ultimate degradation of the struggling masses would +have met with the most desperate resistance from the new democracy. The +philosophical whigs and radicals, trained in the school of Bentham, and +untainted as yet by a false philanthropy, found themselves in possession +of an opportunity which might never have recurred. They deserved the +gratitude of posterity by using it wisely and courageously. + +The irregular development of the poor laws, from the act of Elizabeth +down to that of 1834, belongs to economic rather than to general +history. It is enough to say here that in later years, and especially +since the system of allowances adopted by the Berkshire magistrates at +Speenhamland in 1795 had become general, the original policy of +relieving only the destitute and helpless, and compelling able-bodied +men to earn their own living, had been entirely obscured by the +intrusion of other ideas. The result was admirably described in the +report of a commission, appointed in 1832, with the most comprehensive +powers of investigation and recommendation. The commissioners were the +Bishops of London (Blomfield) and Chester (Sumner), Sturges Bourne, +Edwin Chadwick, and four others less known, but well versed in the +questions to be considered. A summary of the information collected by +them, ranging over the whole field of poor-law management, was published +in February, 1834. It astounded the benighted public of that day, and it +still remains on record as a wonderful revelation of ruinous official +infatuation on the largest possible scale. The evil system was found to +be almost universal, but the worst examples of it were furnished by the +southern counties of England. There, an actual premium was set upon +improvidence, if not on vice, by the wholesale practice of giving +out-door relief in aid of wages, and in proportion to the number of +children in the family, legitimate or illegitimate. The excuse was that +it was better to eke out scanty earnings by doles than to break up +households, and bring all their inmates into the workhouse. The +inevitable effect of such action was that wages fell as doles increased, +that paupers so pensioned were preferred by the farmers to independent +labourers because their labour was cheaper, and that independent +labourers, failing to get work except at wages forced down to a minimum, +were constantly falling into the ranks of pauperism. + +Had some theorists of a later generation witnessed the social order then +prevailing in country districts, they would have found several of their +favourite objects practically attained. There was no competition between +the working people; old and young, skilled and unskilled hands, the +industrious and the idle, were held worthy of equal reward, the actual +allowance to each being measured by his need and not by the value of his +work; while the parochial authorities, figuring as an earthly +providence, exercised a benevolent superintendence over the welfare and +liberty of every day-labourer in the village community. The fruits of +that superintendence were the decline of a race of freemen into a race +of slaves, unconscious of their slavery, and the gradual ruin of the +landlords and farmers upon whom the maintenance of these slaves +depended.[118] + +[Pageheading: _NEW POOR LAW._] + +The evidence laid before the commissioners not only showed how +intolerable the evil had become in many counties, but also how purely +artificial it was. While the aggregate amount of the poor rate had risen +to more than eight millions and a half, while some parishes were going +out of cultivation and in others the rates exceeded the rental, there +were certain oases in the desert of agricultural distress where +comparative prosperity still reigned. These were villages in which an +enlightened squire or parson had set himself to strike at the root of +pauperism, and to initiate local reforms in the poor-law system. It was +clearly found that, where out-door relief was abolished or rigorously +limited, where no allowances were made in aid of wages, and where a +manly self-reliance was encouraged instead of a servile mendicity, wages +rose, honest industry revived, and the whole character of the village +population was improved. Fortified by these successful experiments, the +commissioners took a firm stand on the vital distinction, previously +ignored, between poverty and pauperism. They did not shrink from +recommending that, after a certain date, "the workhouse test" should be +enforced against all able-bodied applicants for relief, except in the +form of medical attendance, and even that women should be compelled to +support their illegitimate children. They also advised a liberal change +in the complicated and oppressive system of "parish settlement," whereby +the free circulation of labour was constricted. They further proposed a +very large reform in the administrative machinery of the poor laws, by +the formation of parishes into unions, the concentration of workhouses, +the separation of the sexes in workhouses, and, above all, the creation +of a central poor-law board, to consist of three commissioners, and to +control the whole system about to be transformed. + +A bill framed upon these lines, and remedying some minor abuses, was +introduced by Althorp on April 17, having been foreshadowed in the +speech from the throne, and carefully matured by the cabinet. So wide +and deep was the conviction of the necessity for some radical treatment +of an intolerable evil that party spirit was quelled for a while, and +the bill met with a very favourable reception, especially as its +operation was limited to five years. It passed the second reading by a +majority of 299 to 20 on May 9, notwithstanding a violent protest from +De Lacy Evans, an ultra-radical, who had displaced Hobhouse at +Westminster. The keynote of the radical agitation which followed was +given by his declaration that "the cessation of out-door relief would +lead to a revolution in the country," and by Cobbett's denunciation of +the "poor man robbery bill". The _Times_ newspaper, already a great +political force, took up the same cry, and had not Peel, with admirable +public spirit, thrown his weight into the scale of sound economy, a +formidable coalition between extremists on both sides might have been +organised. He stood firm, however; radicals like Grote declined to +barter principle for popularity, and the bill emerged almost unscathed +from committee in the house of commons. It passed its third reading on +July 2 by a majority of 157 to 50. Peel's example was followed by +Wellington in the house of lords, and Brougham delivered one of his most +powerful speeches in support of the measure. With some modification of +the bastardy clauses and other slighter amendments it was carried by a +large majority, and received the royal assent on August 4. + +No other piece of legislation, except the repeal of the corn laws, has +done so much to rescue the working classes of Great Britain from the +misery entailed by twenty years of war. Its effect in reducing the rates +was immediate; its effect in raising the character of the agricultural +poor was not very long deferred. Happily for them, though not for the +farmers, bread was cheap for two years after it came into force. Still, +the sudden cessation of doles and pensions in aid of wages could not but +work great hardship to individuals in thousands of rural parishes, and +there was perhaps too little disposition on the part of the +commissioners to allow any temporary relaxation of the system. The +rigorous enforcement of the workhouse test, and the harsh management of +workhouses, continued for years to shock the charitable sensibilities of +the public, and actually produced some local riots. When the price of +bread rose the clamour naturally increased, and petitions multiplied +until a committee was appointed in 1837 to review the operation of the +act. In the end the committee found, as might have been expected, that, +however painful the state of transition, the change had permanently +improved the condition of the poor in England. + +[Pageheading: _QUESTION OF APPROPRIATION._] + +While the bill was still in the house of commons the ministry which +framed it was torn by dissensions; before it came on for its second +reading in the lords Grey had ceased to be premier. The disruption of +his government had been foreseen for months, but it was directly caused +by hopeless discord on Irish policy. Anglesey had been forced by +ill-health to resign the vice-royalty, and the Marquis Wellesley, who +succeeded him, was more acceptable to Irish nationalists. But the king's +speech at the opening of the session contained a stern condemnation of +the repeal movement. O'Connell at once declared war, and the angry +feelings of his followers were inflamed by a personal and public quarrel +between Althorp and Sheil. Another incident, in itself trivial, +disclosed the discord prevailing in the cabinet on Irish affairs, and, +though O'Connell was defeated on a motion against the union by a +crushing majority of 523 to 38, the disturbed state of Ireland continued +to distract the ministerial councils. The ingenious devices of Stanley +and Littleton for solving the insoluble Irish tithe question had proved +almost abortive; the government officials employed to collect tithe were +almost as powerless to do so as the old tithe-proctors, and a new +proposal to convert tithe into a land tax was naturally ridiculed by +O'Connell as delusive. He made a speech so conciliatory in its tone as +to startle the house, but no words, however smooth, could now conjure +away the irreconcilable difference of purpose between those who regarded +Church property as sacred and those who regarded it not only as at the +disposal of the state, but as hitherto unjustly monopolised by a single +religious communion. It was reserved for Lord John Russell to "upset the +coach" by openly declaring his adhesion to "appropriation," in the sense +of diverting to other objects, secular or otherwise, such revenues of +the established Church as were not strictly required for the benefit of +its own members. After this act of mutiny against the collective +authority of the cabinet Grey's ministry was doomed. + +Its ruin was consummated by a motion of Henry Ward, member for St. +Albans, which expressly affirmed the right of the state to regulate the +distribution of Church property and the expediency of reducing the Irish +establishment. This motion was supposed to have been instigated by +Durham, who had never been loyal to his colleagues. The government was +notoriously divided upon it; Brougham suggested a commission of inquiry, +by way of compromise; other ministerialists were in favour of meeting +the difficulty by moving the previous question. Peel was prepared to +support the conservative section of the government, and deprecated in +strong terms "all manoeuvring, all coquetting with radicals" in order +to snatch a temporary party triumph.[119] + +Ward's resolution was introduced on May 27, 1834, and seconded by Grote, +but Althorp, instead of replying, announced the receipt of sudden news +so important that he induced the house to adjourn the debate. This news +was the resignation of Stanley, Graham, Richmond, and Ripon, whose views +on appropriation, as afterwards appeared, were shared by Lansdowne and +Spring Rice. The ministry was reconstructed by the accession of Lord +Conyngham as postmaster-general, without a seat in the cabinet, and of +Lord Auckland, son of Sidmouth's colleague, as first lord of the +admiralty, by the appointment of Carlisle (already in the cabinet) to be +lord privy seal, and the substitution of Spring Rice for Stanley at the +colonial office. Edward Ellice, the secretary at war, was included in +the cabinet, and James Abercromby, afterwards Lord Dunfermline, a son of +the famous general, Sir Ralph Abercromby, became master of the mint with +a seat in the cabinet. Poulett Thomson became president of the board of +trade, and minor offices were assigned to Francis Baring, and other whig +recruits. Grey himself, sick of nominal power, was dissuaded with +difficulty from retiring; Althorp, conscious of failing authority, was +retained in his post only by a high sense of duty. Unfortunately, he was +very soon entangled by his colleague Littleton in something like an +intrigue with O'Connell, which precipitated the final resignation of +Grey together with his own temporary secession. + +The details of this affair may be passed over in a few words. What is +clear is that Brougham and Littleton, without the knowledge of Grey, had +persuaded Lord Wellesley, as viceroy of Ireland, not to insist on a +renewal of the coercion act in its full severity, and especially to +sanction an abandonment of clauses suppressing public meetings. Having +obtained Wellesley's consent behind the backs of Grey and the rest of +the cabinet, Littleton with the cognisance of Althorp, proceeded to +bargain with O'Connell for an abatement, at least, of his opposition to +all coercion. The cabinet as a body declined to ratify any such +agreement, O'Connell denounced Littleton as having played a trick upon +him, and Althorp, disdaining to advocate provisions which he was almost +pledged in honour to drop, resigned his office and the leadership of the +commons. Grey, who could not have remained in office without the support +of Althorp's great popularity in the commons, at once resolved to follow +his example, and on July 9 took leave of political life in a dignified +and pathetic speech. As for Ward's motion, the original cause of Grey's +desertion by Stanley and his subsequent fall, it had been rejected by an +enormous majority in favour of "the previous question" before Althorp's +disappearance from his old position. Meanwhile Stanley availed himself +of his liberty to make one of his most dashing but least prudent +speeches, and permanently compromised his reputation for +statesmanship.[120] + +[Pageheading: _MELBOURNE PRIME MINISTER._] + +No other whig possessed the prestige derived by Grey from nearly fifty +years of consistent public service. Althorp commanded an extraordinary +degree of confidence in the house of commons and the country, but his +intellectual capacity was not of the highest order, and many expected +that Peel might receive a summons from the king, whose sympathy with the +whigs, never very deep, had given place to mistrust. His choice, +however, fell upon Melbourne, whom he desired, if possible, to form a +coalition with Peel, Wellington, and Stanley against the radicals. But +neither Melbourne nor Peel would accept such a coalition, and they both +showed their wisdom in declining it. The king then empowered Melbourne +to patch up the whig ministry. In deference to a requisition signed by +liberals of all sections, Althorp was induced to withdraw his +resignation, and resumed his leadership in the commons with no apparent +diminution of popularity. Duncannon, who was created a peer, succeeded +Melbourne at the home office; Lord Mulgrave, son of the first earl, +became lord privy seal in place of Carlisle; and Hobhouse entered the +cabinet as first commissioner of woods and forests. The rest of the +session was mainly spent in discussing the budget and the two Irish +questions which for so many years were the curse of English politics. A +surplus of two millions enabled Althorp to propitiate an importunate +class of taxpayers by repealing the house tax. + +It would have been more statesmanlike to repeal the window tax or reduce +indirect taxation, but relief was given, as usual, to those who raised +the loudest clamour, and the vindication of sound finance was reserved +for a conservative administration. A second and milder Irish coercion +bill was carried by a large majority, with the fatal proviso, which has +marred the effect of so many later measures, that it should continue in +operation for a year only. A far more serious conflict arose on the new +Irish tithe bill. A complicated plan had been proposed whereby +four-fifths of the tithe would have been ostensibly secured to the +church by conversion into a rent-charge, the remaining fifth being +sacrificed for the sake of peace and security. O'Connell succeeded in +inducing the house of commons to adopt a counter-plan, of a very +sweeping nature, whereby two-fifths of the existing tithe would have +been abandoned, and the tithe owner partly compensated out of the +revenues of suppressed bishoprics, aided by a state grant. The bill thus +amended was rejected by a majority of 189 to 122 in the house of lords. +Peel still cherished the idea of settling the question by a system of +voluntary commutation, but, after the peremptory action of the lords, no +compromise was likely to be acceptable, and there is some ground for the +opinion that in that division the Irish Church establishment received +its death-blow. + +On August 15 parliament was prorogued, and the belief of Peel in the +stability of the government may be inferred from the fact that he left +England for Italy on October 14. During the vacation, however, two +incidents occurred, trivial in themselves, but pregnant with important +consequences. One of these was Brougham's triumphant progress through +Scotland, where he was enthusiastically received as the saviour of his +country, and assumed the air of one who not only kept the king's +conscience but controlled the royal will. The story of this famous tour +exhibits alike the greatness of his powers and the littleness of his +character.[121] The homage paid to him was not undeserved, for he was +assuredly the foremost gladiator of the whig party, and had given proofs +of more varied ability than any living politician or lawyer. But the +dignified eloquence of which he was capable on rare occasions was here +submerged in a flood of egotistical rhetoric, which carried him away so +far that he assumed a political independence which his colleagues deeply +resented, and even spoke of the king in a tone of patronage. Having +lowered himself in public opinion by these speeches, especially at +Inverness and Aberdeen, he attended a banquet in honour of Grey at +Edinburgh, where he provoked a passage at arms with Durham. The press, +and especially the _Times_ newspaper, which had formerly loaded him with +extravagant praises, now turned against him, and ridiculed him as a +political mountebank. But his worst enemy was the king. William IV.'s +ill-concealed impatience of whig dictation had at last been quickened +into disgust by this and other sources of irritation, when the sudden +death of Althorp's father, Earl Spencer, on November 10, gave him an +opportunity which he eagerly seized. + +[Pageheading: _DESTRUCTION OF HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT._] + +By a strange fatality, this event almost coincided with the destruction +by fire of the houses of parliament on October 16. This calamity was the +result of a carelessness, which it is easy to condemn after the event on +the part of some subordinate officials and the workmen employed by them. +Down to 1826, accounts had been kept at the exchequer by means of wooden +tallies, which were stored in what was called the tally-room of the +exchequer. This room was required in order to provide temporary +accommodation for the court of bankruptcy, and an order was given to +destroy the tallies. The officials charged with the task decided to burn +them in the stoves of the house of lords, and the work of burning began +at half-past six in the morning of October 16. The work, hazardous in +any case, was conducted by the workmen with a rapidity that their orders +did not justify; the flues used for warming the house were overheated, +and though the burning of the tallies was completed between four and +five, the woodwork near the flues must have smouldered till it burst +into flame about half-past six in the evening. In less than half an hour +the house of lords was a mass of fire. About eight a change in the wind +threw the flames upon the house of commons. That house was almost +completely destroyed. The walls of the house of lords and of the painted +chamber remained standing, while the house of lords library, the +parliament offices, and Westminster Hall escaped. The king offered the +parliament the use of Buckingham Palace, but it was found possible to +fit up the house of lords for the commons and the painted chamber for +the lords. When the legislature reassembled on February 9, 1835, a +conservative ministry was in office, though not, indeed, in power. + +It is difficult for a later age to understand why the accession of +Althorp to a peerage should have afforded even a plausible reason for a +change of ministry. The position which Althorp held in the house of +commons is puzzling to a later generation.[122] It is well known that +Gladstone recorded the very highest estimate of his public services. Yet +he was not only no orator but scarcely in the second order of speakers, +he made no pretence of far-sighted statesmanship, he was not a +successful financier, and he made several blunders which must have +damaged the authority of any other man. The influence which he obtained +in leading the unreformed as well as the reformed house of commons was +entirely due to his character for straightforward honesty, perhaps +enhanced by his social rank, and his reputation for possessing all the +virtues of a country gentleman. The national preference for amateurs +over professionals in politics, no less than in other fields of energy, +found an admirable representative in him, and he was all the more +popular as a political leader because it was believed that he had no +desire to be a political leader at all. At all events, he inspired +confidence in all, and it was no mere whim of the king which treated his +removal from the commons to the lords as an irreparable loss to +Melbourne's administration. + +[Pageheading: _MELBOURNE'S RESIGNATION._] + +It is often stated that "without a word of preparation" the king got rid +of his whig ministers on November 14, 1834, and it must be admitted that +he afterwards took credit to himself for their dismissal as his own +personal act. But this view is not altogether borne out by contemporary +evidence. A published letter, of the 12th, from Melbourne to the king +shows that, as premier, he took the initiative in representing that, +whereas "the government in its present form was mainly founded upon the +personal weight and influence possessed by Earl Spencer in the house of +commons," it was for the king to consider whether, as "that foundation +is now withdrawn," a change of ministry was expedient.[123] It also +appears from a letter placed by the king in Melbourne's hands that a +"very confidential conversation" took place between them at Brighton, in +consequence of which the king resolved to send for Wellington.[124] In +the course of this conversation Melbourne informed the king that, in the +opinion of the cabinet, Lord John Russell should be selected for the +leadership of the house of commons. The king, incensed by Lord John's +action on the Irish Church question, would not hear of this arrangement, +especially as he thought Lord John "otherwise unequal to the task," and +disparaged the claims of other possible candidates.[125] He also +strongly resented the recent conduct of Brougham. In the end, he parted +kindly and courteously from Melbourne, who actually undertook to convey +the king's summons to Wellington. Another memorandum by the king, of the +same date, proves that a fear of further encroachments on the church was +really uppermost in his mind, and that he anticipated, not without +reason, "a schism in the cabinet" on this very subject.[126] + +Wellington acted with his customary promptitude, and with his customary +obedience to what he regarded as a call of public duty. A certain degree +of mistrust had existed between him and Peel, arising, in part, out of +circumstances preceding the duke's election to the chancellorship of +Oxford University. This suspension of cordiality had now passed away, +and Wellington strongly urged the king to entrust Peel, then at Rome, +with the formation of a new government. Hudson, afterwards known as Sir +James Hudson, delivered the despatch recalling him on the night of the +25th. Peel started from Rome on the 26th and, travelling with a speed +then considered marvellous, reached Dover within twelve days on the +night of December 8. He was in London on the 9th, and, without +consulting any one else, immediately placed his services at the king's +disposal. In the meantime, Wellington had stepped into the gap, and +actually held all the secretaryships of state in his own hands, pending +the arrival of Peel. + +The king had been encouraged to hustle his ministers unceremoniously out +of office by a paragraph which appeared in the _Times_ of November 15. +On the previous evening Brougham had been informed by Melbourne in +confidence that the king had accepted his suggestion of resignation, and +he carried the news to the _Times_, which, without giving Brougham's +name, published his message in his own words. It stated that the king +had turned out the ministry, and ended with the words: "The queen has +done it all". After this the king was determined to be done with his +ministers as quickly as possible. It is certain that neither Wellington +nor Peel wished to be thought responsible for their dismissal, the +propriety of which they both secretly doubted. The king, however, had +acted within his strict rights, and the outgoing ministers, as a whole, +were not ill pleased to be relieved from the burdens of office. + +Peel, though by no means hopeful of ultimate success, endeavoured to +construct a cabinet on a comprehensive basis. He first obtained the +king's "ready assent" to his inviting the co-operation of Stanley, who +had succeeded to the courtesy title of Lord Stanley, and Sir James +Graham. These overtures were declined in friendly terms, and both +promised independent support. But Stanley explicitly declared that, in +his judgment, "the sudden conversion of long political opposition into +the most intimate alliance would shock public opinion, would be ruinous +to his own character," and would rather injure than strengthen the new +government.[127] After this failure, Peel felt his task well-nigh +hopeless, and though he spared no effort to procure an infusion of fresh +blood, he complained that after all "it would be only the duke's old +cabinet".[128] There was, in fact, no man of known ability in it, except +himself, the Duke of Wellington (as secretary for foreign affairs), and +Lyndhurst, the chancellor; for the capacity of Aberdeen, who had been +foreign secretary under Wellington, and who now became secretary for war +and the colonies, and Ellenborough, who returned to the board of +control, had not yet been generally recognised. Peel himself became +first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer; Goulburn was +home secretary, Rosslyn lord president, and Wharncliffe lord privy seal. +Earl de Grey, elder brother of the Earl of Ripon, was made first lord of +the admiralty, Murray became master-general of the ordnance, Alexander +Baring president of the board of trade and master of the mint, Herries +secretary at war, and Sir Edward Knatchbull paymaster of the forces. It +was fully understood that a conservative government, even purged of +ultra-tory elements, could not face the first reformed house of commons, +and the dissolution which took place at the end of the year had been +regarded by all as inevitable. + +[Pageheading: _THE TAMWORTH MANIFESTO._] + +In anticipation of this event, Peel issued an address to his +constituents which became celebrated as the "Tamworth manifesto". It is +somewhat cumbrous in style, but it embodies with sufficient clearness +the new conservative policy of which Peel was the real author and +henceforth the leading exponent. It opens with an appeal to his own +previous conduct in parliament, as showing that, while he was no +apostate from old constitutional principles, neither was he "a defender +of abuses," nor the enemy of "judicious reforms". In proof of this, he +cites his action in regard to the currency and various amendments of the +law; to which he might have added his adoption of catholic emancipation. +He then declares, absolutely and without reserve, that he accepts the +reform act as "a final and irrevocable settlement of a great +constitutional question," which no friend to peace and the welfare of +the country would seek, either directly or indirectly, to disturb. He +approves of making "a careful review of institutions, civil and +ecclesiastical, undertaken in a friendly temper," with a view to "the +correction of proved abuses, and the redress of real grievances," and +that "without mere superstitious reverence for ancient usages". He lays +stress on his recorded assent to the principle of corporation reform, +the substitution of a treasury grant for Church rates, the relief of +dissenters from various civil disabilities (but not from university +tests), the restriction of pensions (saving vested interests), the +redistribution of Church revenues and the commutation of tithes, but so +that no ecclesiastical property be diverted to secular uses. After these +specific pledges, the Tamworth manifesto concludes with more general +professions of a progressive conservatism equally removed from what are +now called "advanced radicalism" and "tory democracy".[129] It was, of +course, too liberal for the followers of Eldon, and was ridiculed as +colourless by extreme reformers, but its effect on the country was +great, and it did much to win popular confidence for the new ministry. +If such a policy must be called opportunism, it was opportunism in its +best form; and opportunism in its best form, under the conditions of +party government, is not far removed from political wisdom. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[117] If all the bishops present had not merely abstained, but actually +voted in favour of the measure, it would have been carried by one vote. + +[118] Sir George Nicholls, _History of the English Poor Law_, vol. ii., +see especially pp. 242, 243. + +[119] Peel to Goulburn (May 25, 1834), Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +244. + +[120] Hatherton, _Memoir_; Creevey, _Memoirs_, ii., 285-88. + +[121] See Campbell's _Lives of the Chancellors_, viii., 446-57. + +[122] Compare Walpole, _History of England_, iii., 478. + +[123] _Lord Melbourne's Papers_, p. 220. + +[124] _Ibid._, pp. 222, 223. + +[125] Stockmar, _Memoirs_ (English translation), i., 330. + +[126] Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., 235. + +[127] Stanley to Peel (Dec. 11, 1834), Peel's _Memoirs_, ii., 39, 40. + +[128] Croker to Mrs. Croker, _Croker Papers_, ii., 219. + +[129] Peel, _Memoirs_, ii., 58-67. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + PEEL AND MELBOURNE. + + +The general election which took place in January, 1835, was hotly +contested, and in the second reformed parliament the conservatives +mustered far stronger than in the first. The party now consisted of some +270 members, chiefly returned by the counties. But they were still +outnumbered by the whigs, radicals, and Irish repealers combined, and it +was certain that an occasion for such a combination would soon arise. It +was found at once in the election of a speaker, when the house of +commons met on February 9, 1835. Sutton, now Sir Charles Manners Sutton, +was proposed for re-election by the government; the opposition candidate +was Abercromby. The number of members who took part in the division was +the largest ever assembled, being 622, and Abercromby was elected by a +majority of ten. It would have been larger, had not the government been +supported by some waverers, but its significance was appreciated by the +ministers, and still more by the king. He expressed his displeasure in a +very outspoken letter to Peel, declaring that, if the leaders "of the +present factious opposition" should be forced upon him by a refusal of +the supplies, he might, indeed, tolerate them, but could never give them +his confidence or friendship. Two days later, the 24th, the king's +speech was delivered, reflecting the spirit of the Tamworth +manifesto.[130] + +[Pageheading: _PEEL'S POLICY._] + +The government was again defeated by seven on an amendment to the +address, notwithstanding the loyal aid of Graham and Stanley, whose +attitude during the general election had excited Peel's mistrust. In the +course of this debate, the prime minister, abandoning his usual reserve, +definitely pledged himself not only "to advance, soberly and cautiously, +in the path of progressive improvement," but to bring forward specific +measures. "I offer you," he said, "reduced estimates, improvements in +civil jurisprudence, reform of ecclesiastical law, the settlement of the +tithe question in Ireland, the commutation of tithe in England, the +removal of any real abuse in the Church, the redress of those grievances +of which the dissenters have any just ground to complain." Nor were +these offers illusory or barren. On March 17, he brought in a bill to +relieve dissenters from disabilities in respect of marriage, which met +with general approval. It was founded on the simple principle, since +adopted, of giving legal validity to civil marriages duly solemnised +before a registrar, and leaving each communion to superadd a religious +sanction in its own way. The marriages of Churchmen in a church were to +be left on their old footing, but Churchmen were of course to be granted +the same liberty as other citizens of contracting a purely civil +marriage. + +Still more important, as examples of conservative reform, were Peel's +efforts to purge the established Church of abuses, and to introduce a +voluntary commutation of tithes. His correspondence amply shows how +large a space these remedial measures occupied in his mind, and one of +his first acts was to appoint an ecclesiastical commission, with +instructions to institute a most comprehensive inquiry into every +subject affecting the distribution of church revenues. Compared with the +petty squabbles over the appropriation of an imaginary surplus to be +derived from Irish tithes which it was impossible to collect, the +schemes of Peel for purifying and strengthening the Church of England +assume heroic proportions. The report of the ecclesiastical commission +originated by him, with its startling disclosures of pluralism and +non-residence, became the basis of legislation which has wrought a +veritable revolution in the financial and disciplinary administration of +the church. His tithe bill, abortive as it was in 1835, was reproduced, +with little alteration, in the tithe commutation act of 1836. + +But the whig-radical allies of 1835 had not the smallest intention of +giving Peel a fair trial; nor indeed had they any other object beyond +the recovery of power. His appeals to his opponents, though by no means +without effect in the country, fell upon deaf ears in the house of +commons, and further humiliations followed rapidly. One of these was the +successful outcry against the appointment of Londonderry, who had +excited much hostility as an uncompromising enemy to reform, to the +embassy at St. Petersburg, in consequence of which he, very honourably, +relieved the government from obloquy by declining the post. A motion to +repeal the malt tax was decisively defeated, and soon afterwards a +motion in favour of granting a charter to the University of London was +carried against the government by a large majority. Then came a defeat +on a motion for adjournment, and the arts of obstruction were +obstinately practised in debates on the estimates. At last the +inevitable crisis arrived, and, as might be expected, the final issue +was taken upon an Irish question. + +The influence of O'Connell and his "tail," as his followers were called, +had been neutralised, since the reform act, by the overwhelming strength +of the whigs, and the public-spirited action of Peel, who, as leader of +the conservative opposition, actually supported the whig government in +sixteen out of twenty most important contests on domestic policy. A very +different spirit was now shown by the whig opposition, and an evil +precedent, pregnant with disastrous consequences, was set by the famous +"Lichfield House compact". This was a close alliance between O'Connell +and those whom he had so fiercely denounced as "the base, brutal, and +bloody whigs". It bore immediate fruit in a motion of Russell for a +committee of the whole house to consider the temporalities of the Irish +Church. After a debate of four nights, the resolution was carried, on +March 30, by a majority of thirty-three. On April 5, a further +resolution was carried by a majority of twenty-five for applying any +surplus-funds "to the general education of all classes of the people +without religious distinction," and was more emphatically affirmed two +days later by a majority of twenty-seven. + +Peel had long been conscious of the hopelessness of his position and +impatient of maintaining the struggle. He felt the constitutional danger +of allowing the executive government to become a helpless instrument in +the hands of a hostile majority in the house of commons. Nothing but the +earnest remonstrances of the king and his tory friends, including +Wellington, had induced him to retain office so long, and, after the +division of the 7th, he firmly resolved to resign. On doing so, he +received from the whole conservative party, of which he was the +creator, a most cordial address of thanks and confidence. Though his +short administration had consolidated the whig forces for the moment, +and given them a new lease of power, it showed him to be the foremost +statesman in the country, and paved the way for his triumphant return to +office. As Guizot said, he had proved himself "the most liberal of +conservatives, the most conservative of liberals, and the most capable +man of all in both parties". + +[Pageheading: _MELBOURNE'S SECOND MINISTRY._] + +The king now discovered the fatal mistake which he had made in +"dismissing" his whig cabinet, as he boasted, instead of waiting for it +to break down under the stress of internal dissensions. His first idea +was to fall back on Grey, who had already betrayed his growing mistrust +of radicalism, but Grey declined to enter the lists again. There was no +resource but to recall Melbourne, whom the king personally liked, and to +put up with the elevation of Russell to a position which all admitted +him to have fairly earned. He became home secretary, as well as leader +of the house of commons, and the new whig cabinet differed little from +the old. Palmerston, Lansdowne, Auckland, Thompson, and Holland returned +to their former offices. Grant was made secretary for war and the +colonies, Duncannon became lord privy seal, Spring Rice chancellor of +the exchequer, Hobhouse president of the board of control, and Viscount +Howick, son of Earl Grey, was appointed secretary at war. Outside the +cabinet, Viscount Morpeth, son of the Earl of Carlisle, became Irish +secretary. The most significant difference between the two cabinets lay +in the omission of Brougham, which was effected by the expedient of +placing the great seal in commission. This negative act was, in reality, +the boldest and most perilous in Melbourne's political life. A +correspondence between Brougham and Melbourne in February must have made +clear to the ex-chancellor that he would be excluded from office, and he +reluctantly acquiesced in Melbourne's decision, hoping that it would be +merely temporary, and that he would soon resume his place on the +woolsack as the dominant member of the cabinet, but his exclusion was +destined to be final, and the close of a career to which English history +in the nineteenth century presents no parallel.[131] + +[Pageheading: _BROUGHAM._] + +Brougham was called to the Scottish bar at the age of twenty-one, having +already given proof of brilliant ability and rare versatility at the +University of Edinburgh. He was the youngest and most prolific of the +original writers in the _Edinburgh Review_, then a very powerful organ +of whig opinion, and his contributions to it ranged over some thirty +years after its first appearance in 1802. He was already twenty-nine +when he joined the English bar in 1808, and though he never rivalled +Eldon as a lawyer or Scarlett as a persuasive advocate, he soon became +an acknowledged master of the highest forensic eloquence. His fame was +already established by his argument before parliament against the orders +in council when he entered the house of commons in 1810. There his +passionate oratory and power of invective made him the most formidable +of party speakers, and it was said that Canning alone could face him on +equal terms in debate. Except during four years, 1812-16, when he was +out of parliament, his prodigious energy and versatility were the +greatest intellectual force on the liberal side throughout all the +political conflicts under the regency and the reign of George IV. His +speeches embraced every question of foreign, colonial, or domestic +policy, and it may truly be said that no salutary reform was carried +during that period of which he was not either the author or the active +promoter. The suppression of the slave-trade which had revived after the +great war, the liberty of the press, the cause of popular +education--these were among the almost innumerable objects, outside the +common run of politics, and largely philanthropic, to which he devoted +his restless mind, before it was engrossed for a while by parliamentary +reform. There, as we have seen, he showed a moderation which had not +been expected of him, nor is it too much to say that, both as a leader +of the bar and as chancellor, he made good his claim to be the greatest +of law reformers. + +His famous speech of February 7, 1828, had quickened the germs of many +legal improvements carried out in a later age, and the four years of his +chancellorship actually produced great constructive amendments of the +law, such as the institution of the central criminal court and the +judicial committee of the privy council. Other reforms, in bankruptcy, +criminal law, and equity, were mainly due to his initiative, and it was +he who originated the county courts, though his bill was recklessly +thrown out by the house of lords on party grounds. His public life, up +to the year 1835, was perhaps the most brilliant and the most useful of +the century, yet it was hopelessly marred in the end by a certain +eccentric vanity, and want of loyalty to colleagues, not inconsistent +with the higher ambition of leaving the world better than he found it. +For some years after his fall he retained his astounding energy, and +even his ascendency in the house of lords, where Lyndhurst, his only +possible rival, was astute enough to court his co-operation. Never was +his fertility in debate more conspicuously shown than in the session of +1835, while he was still nominally a supporter of the whig government. +The last stage of his life, extending over more than thirty years, +belongs to another chapter of English history; it is enough here to +notice that, whatever his political aberrations, he continued in his +isolation and old age to work zealously for those social reforms which +he sincerely had at heart. The popularity which had been to him as the +breath of life never, indeed, returned to him, and his figure no longer +occupies a foremost place in the gallery of our statesmen, but the +results of his noble services to humanity remain, and the memory of them +ought not to be obscured by the sad record of his failings. + +The new Melbourne administration came in with unfavourable omens. +Russell failed to secure his re-election in South Devon, but a seat was +found for him at Stroud, and though the premier emphatically denied that +he had made any bargain with O'Connell, the Irish people believed it. +Accordingly, they received the whig lord-lieutenant, Mulgrave, with a +tumultuous procession, as if his advent portended the repeal of the +union and extinction of tithes. An attempt to solve the insoluble tithe +question was, in fact, among the earliest efforts of the government, and +Morpeth, as chief secretary, introduced a very reasonable measure, +differing little, except in details, from that of his predecessor. Like +other proposals for agrarian settlements in Ireland, it involved a +certain sacrifice on the part of the tithe-owner for the sake of +security, and a subsidy from the state to relieve of arrears the +defaulting and rebellious tithe-payers. Peel stated his intention of +supporting these provisions for commutation, if they could be separated +from other provisions for "appropriation," coupled with them under the +influence of political necessity rather than of sound policy. The +proposals for appropriation were so moderate that little would have been +lost by dropping or gained by carrying them, but, moderate as they were, +they embodied a principle on which either party was resolved to stand or +fall. The consequence might have been foreseen. The bill, as a whole, +was passed in the house of commons, and even read a second time in the +house of lords, after which the appropriation clauses were rejected in +that assembly by a large majority. Thereupon Melbourne withdrew the +scheme altogether. Thus a question of third-rate importance, having been +the chronic difficulty of four Irish secretaries, was left to stand over +for three years longer, and ultimately to be settled on the very basis +which Stanley and Peel had accepted from the first. A greater waste of +parliamentary time has perhaps never been recorded. + +[Pageheading: _MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS BILL._] + +The session of 1835, however, was rendered memorable by the enactment of +one beneficent measure of the first magnitude. This measure--the +municipal corporations act--was preceded, like the new poor law, by a +thorough and exhaustive inquiry. A committee of the house of commons, +followed by a commission, had been appointed in 1833. The commission +prosecuted careful researches into the local conditions of each +municipality, and did not conclude its labours until 1835. Its report +laid bare not merely grotesque anomalies, but the grossest abuses of +election and administration in boroughs ruled by small, corrupt, and +irresponsible oligarchies which then abounded in England, and, still +more, in Scotland.[132] The reform act had paved the way for the +purification of such urban communities, by disfranchising the smallest +and most venal of them, by extending the boundaries of many others, by +enfranchising great towns which had remained outside the pale of +representation, and by conferring the suffrage, theretofore monopolised +by freemen and other privileged classes, on the unprivileged mass of +ten-pound householders. + +The municipal corporations bill, in its ultimate form, rested on the +same broad lines of policy. It imposed upon all boroughs, with the +exception of the city of London and a few of minor importance, one +constitutional form of government, identical in all its essential +features with those which a few model boroughs already possessed. The +governing body was to consist of a mayor, aldermen, and councillors, +together forming a town council. The councillors were to be elected +directly by ratepaying occupiers, with a saving for the prescriptive +rights of existing freemen. They were to hold office for three years; +the aldermen were to be elected by the councillors for six years, with a +provision for retirement by rotation. The mayor was to be elected +annually by the town council. The elementary powers of local government, +such as the control of lighting and the constabulary force, were to be +transferred (subject to certain exceptions) from the hands of committees +into those of the one recognised and supreme municipal authority. Other +clauses provided for a division of the larger boroughs into wards, for +the abolition of exclusive trading privileges, for the public management +of charity estates, and for the appointment, at the option of each +borough, of a recorder, for the purposes of jurisdiction. + +Such were the main outlines of the great measure introduced by Russell, +to which Peel heartily gave his adhesion. It was a natural, and almost +necessary, sequel of the reform act, which had already broken up many +nests of jobbery, curtailed the lucrative exercise of the elective +franchise by freemen, and undermined the influence of those self-elected +rulers who, in the worst boroughs, had become gangs of public thieves. +Supported by Peel, the bill was read a second time in the house of +commons, on June 15, without a division. Several conservative amendments +were defeated in committee by small majorities, and the bill was sent up +to the lords on July 21. There its fate was far different. Though +Wellington himself was not disposed to obstruct it, he entirely failed +to check the obstructive tactics of Lyndhurst who, on this occasion, +outdid himself in the deliberate mutilation of a bill approved by the +late conservative premier. Lord Campbell, no partial judge of Brougham, +has left on record his belief that, but for his faithful and vigorous +support, the scheme of municipal reform must have been utterly +wrecked.[133] It was allowed to be read a second time, but with the +full concurrence of Eldon and all the ultra-tory peers, Lyndhurst +succeeded in pulling it to pieces in committee. For instance, one of the +amendments imported into it perpetuated proprietary rights which it was +a chief object of the bill to abolish; another gave aldermen a +life-tenure of their offices; a third retained a part of the old town +councillors on the new town councils. Proud as he was of his destructive +exploits, as a triumph of toryism over conservatism, Lyndhurst soon +found that he could not so lightly override the wiser counsels of Peel. +When the lords' amendments came to be considered in the commons, Russell +prudently advised the acceptance of the less important, and the +disallowance of those inconsistent with the principle of the bill. He +was followed by Peel who, professing to uphold the independence of the +upper house, declared against the more obnoxious amendments, and +stickled only for points which the ministry was not unwilling to +concede. His action proved decisive. The commons stood firm on the main +issues, and the hostile party in the lords, who had vowed to mar this +reform, flinched at the last moment. Many of them abstained from +attendance. Wellington and even Lyndhurst recommended concession; +conferences took place between the houses, at which Russell played the +part of moderator, and on September 9 the corporation bill became law, +not in its entirety, but in all its essential features. + +In spite of this pacific compromise, popular feeling ran higher than +ever against the house of lords which, under the evil influence of +Lyndhurst, seemed bent on thwarting every liberal measure. John Roebuck, +member for Bath, a prominent radical, who acted independently of party +connexions, took a lead in denouncing their conduct, and went so far as +to propose giving them a merely suspensory, instead of an absolute, veto +on legislation. A sweeping reform in their constitution was loudly +advocated in the press. O'Connell, exasperated by their wanton rejection +of a Dublin police bill, spent a part of the parliamentary recess in a +tour over the north of England and Scotland, exhausting the stores of +his scurrilous invective in pouring contempt on the 170 tyrants who +could dare to withstand the will of the people. But O'Connell's +eloquence, marvellous as it was, never stirred British audiences as it +stirred the Irish masses, and it happened that at this moment he was +somewhat discredited by accusations of corruption afterwards proved to +be false. The house of lords not only survived his attacks, but was +instigated by Lyndhurst to further acts of obstruction in the following +year. + +[Pageheading: _COTTENHAM, LORD CHANCELLOR._] + +His most powerful opponent was about to disappear from the political +scenes for the present, and in the future to be converted into an ally. +When the great seal was entrusted to commissioners, Brougham had +affected to regard the arrangement as a temporary makeshift to +propitiate William IV., and hoped that he would inherit the reversion of +the chancellorship. With this expectation he not only patronised but +warmly supported the whig ministry in 1835. But his wayward and petulant +egotism had set all his old colleagues against him, and Melbourne had +made up his mind that "it was impossible to act with him". The +interruption of legal business caused by the constant withdrawal of +three judges from their proper duties, to act as commissioners, was +severely criticised by the press, and Sir Edward Sugden, who had been +lord chancellor of Ireland under Peel, published an effective pamphlet +entitled, "What has become of the great seal?" It was thought necessary +to appoint a new chancellor, and in January, 1836, Sir Charles Pepys, +then master of the rolls, was raised to that dignity as Lord Cottenham. +Foreseeing the implacable indignation of Brougham, the ministry decided +to confer a peerage on Henry Bickersteth, the new master of the rolls, +who became Lord Langdale, and who was supposed capable of confronting +the ex-chancellor in debate. No expectation could have been more +unfounded or delusive, but the sense of disappointment and desertion so +preyed on the health and nerves of Brougham that he forsook the house of +lords for a whole session. Campbell does not shrink from saying that he +was "atrociously ill-used" on this occasion,[134] and assuredly he +should not have been left to learn from a newspaper that he was thrust +aside in favour of a man of vastly inferior gifts and services. + +One other change was made in the cabinet during the recess. The Earl of +Minto became first lord of the admiralty in succession to Auckland who +had been appointed governor-general of India. When parliament met on +February 4, 1836, the prospects of the whig government were more +favourable than on their first accession to office. The factious +conduct of the house of lords in the last session had disgusted the +country, while the statesmanlike moderation of Peel secured them +fair-play in the house of commons, though it was gradually building up a +strong conservative party. Ireland again blocked the way for a while +against useful legislation for Great Britain, and the first encounter of +parties was on an amendment to the address condemning the anticipated +reform of Irish corporations on the principles already adopted for +England. This amendment, unwillingly moved by Peel, was defeated by a +majority of forty-one, and the Irish municipal bill was introduced on +the 16th. Like its English prototype, it was founded on the report of a +commission which had disclosed the grossest possible abuses in Irish +municipalities, chiefly dominated by protestant oligarchies. A similar +measure substituting elective councils for these corrupt bodies had +actually passed its third reading in the commons before the end of the +last session, but the attempt to carry it further was then abandoned. +The debates on the bill of 1836 for the same purpose inevitably turned +on broad issues which continued to disturb Irish politics and to perplex +English statesmen for the rest of the century. On the one hand, no one +could justify "government by ascendency" in Ireland, or the shameful +malpractices incident to an exercise of power under no sense of +responsibility. On the other hand, no one acquainted with Irish history +and Irish character could honestly regard the people as yet qualified +for local self-government. In the social and some of the moral virtues +they might be favourably compared with Englishmen and Scotchmen; in the +political virtues, upon which civil institutions must rest, they were +several generations behind their fellow-subjects in Great Britain. + +[Pageheading: _IRISH BILLS._] + +All were agreed on the necessity of sweeping away or expurgating the +existing Irish corporations, but the whole strength of the conservative +party in both houses was enlisted against the experiment of elective +town councils, especially after the evidence lately taken before the +so-called "intimidation committee" in the house of commons. Peel's +scheme was to vest the executive powers and property of Irish +corporations, at least for the present, in officers appointed by the +crown. An amendment framed in this sense was defeated by a large +majority, and the bill passed the commons with little further +opposition. When it reached the lords it was stoutly contested by +Lyndhurst, now fortified by Peel's concurrence, on the not unreasonable +ground that it would make the radicals and repealers predominant in +every Irish municipality, and create "seats of agitation" for +revolutionary purposes in the new town councils. Being converted into a +bill "for the abolition of municipal corporations" in Ireland, it was +returned in that form to the house of commons. Russell vainly attempted +to meet the lords half-way by another compromise, and the measure was +abandoned only to be adopted, in a very modified shape, after the lapse +of four years. A like course was pursued by the upper house when a new +Irish tithe bill, with an appropriation clause, was sent up to them. Had +the whig government been well advised they would scarcely have +challenged a needless collision between the two houses by reviving this +burning question so early. It would have been possible to settle the +Irish tithe system on equitable lines, without prejudicing the future +application of superfluous Church revenues, and it was a somewhat +perverse obstinacy which persisted in coupling the two objects year +after year. The ingenuity of Lyndhurst in wrecking sound reforms should +have been left without excuse; whereas, in this case, the peers could +not have accepted what they regarded as a confiscation bill without a +sacrifice of conviction and self-respect. + +Happily the commutation of tithes in England presented no political +difficulties of the same nature. The payment of tithes in kind, though +founded on immemorial usage, had, indeed, produced constant discord +between the parish clergyman and his flock, while landlords and farmers +justly complained that it impeded the improvement of agriculture. In +many localities the pressure of these evils had led to voluntary +compositions between tithe-owners and tithe-payers, which, being +temporary, lacked the force of law. The permissive tithe bills of +Althorp and Peel were designed to render general a practice which +already prevailed in a thousand parishes, and that now introduced by +Russell was little more than an extension of the same principle. Its +mainspring was the appointment of commissioners with compulsory powers +in the last resort, and the provision of a self-acting machinery for +assessing the reduced annual rent charge payable in lieu of tithes, so +as to vary with the average price of wheat, barley, and oats in the +seven preceding years. This practical solution of the question was +adopted cheerfully by the wearied legislature, and the commissioners +succeeded before long in effecting universal commutation. Amendments in +detail have of course been found necessary, but the system established +by 6 and 7 William IV., cap. 61, has stood the test of long experience, +and although tithe-owners have been impoverished by the fall of prices, +the payment of tithes in England has ceased to be a grievance, except +with those who absolutely condemn the endowment of a Church. + +[Pageheading: _REGISTRATION ACTS._] + +An equally valuable and permanent legacy of this session is contained in +two cognate acts regulating marriages and registration in England. By +the first of these acts two new modes of celebrating marriage were +provided, without interfering with the old privileges of the established +Church in regard to marriage by licence or banns. While the essential +conditions of notice and publicity were carefully secured, the +superintendent registrar of each district was empowered either to +authorise the celebration of marriage in a duly registered place of +worship, but in presence of a district registrar, or to solemnise the +ceremony himself, without any religious service, in his own office. +Clergymen of the Church of England were constituted registrars for +marriages celebrated by themselves, and were bound to furnish the +superintendent registrars with certified entries of such marriages. The +act was complicated by a variety of safeguards, enforced by heavy +penalties, against fraud and evasion, but its leading features were +simple and have proved effectual for their purpose. It marked an advance +on the earlier marriage bill of Russell, since it not only allowed +dissenters to marry in their own chapels, but to marry without having +their banns published in the parish church. It went beyond the marriage +bill of Peel, since it not only recognised marriage as a civil contract, +but utilised the new poor law organisation, and posted in each district +a civil official before whom that contract could legally be solemnised. + +The rules laid down by the first act for the registration of marriages +were an integral part of a general registration system established by +the second act, and embracing births and deaths as well as marriages. +This system, rendered possible by the division of the country into +unions, brought under effective control the old parochial registers +which had been loosely kept for three centuries. The statistical value +of the returns thus checked and digested in a central department is now +fully recognised, but can only be appreciated by students of social +history, which, indeed, is now largely founded on reports of the +registrar-general. The special provisions for the registration of deaths +are also of the utmost service in the prevention of disease and crime. +Not until after this act of 1836 was it realised by the mass of the +people, not only that a sudden death would properly be followed by a +coroner's inquest, but that every death, with its circumstances, must be +treated as a matter of public concern and duly notified. Still more +important in its results has been the requirement of a medical statement +on the cause of death--a requirement which has brought about the +discovery of numerous murders and greatly checked the commission of +others. If the marriage act relieved a large class of the community from +vexatious disabilities, the whole community assuredly owes the second +reformed parliament a debt of gratitude for the registration act which, +like so many of the best acts in the statute book, provoked but little +discussion. + +A far keener party interest was excited by the crusade against the +Orange lodges in Great Britain and Ireland which Hume and Finn, an Irish +member, carried on with great energy in the sessions of 1835 and 1836. +These societies then had an importance which they no longer possess, and +were the more open to radical attacks because the Duke of Cumberland was +grand master of the order. It was said, with some justice, that while +the catholic association was nominally put down, the Orange lodges in +Ireland were openly spreading, with the connivance at least of the Irish +authorities. Their officials included noblemen of high position; +Goulburn, when chief secretary, was an Orangeman, and special efforts +had been made to enrol members in the army. Their principles were +strictly loyal, but their demonstrations were naturally resented by the +Roman catholics, and were not far removed from preparations for civil +war. They hailed the accession of Peel's short ministry with tumultuous +enthusiasm, but when the legality of their organisation and proceedings +was challenged in the house of commons, during the session of 1835, +their advocates felt compelled to support a committee of inquiry. The +evidence taken before this committee, and the debate raised by Hume on +the formation of Orange lodges in the army, damaged their cause in the +eyes of the public, and seriously compromised the Duke of Cumberland. It +was shown that his brother, the Duke of York, had resigned the grand +mastership, and on being convinced of their illegality had forbidden +Orange lodges in the army, whereas the Duke of Cumberland had accepted +the grand mastership and directly promoted military lodges. + +An address condemning them was carried; the king undertook to discourage +them, and the commander-in-chief issued a stringent order for their +suppression. The struggle, however, was continued by the pertinacity of +the radicals in demanding a more extended inquiry, and the obstinacy of +the Orangemen in defying both the house of commons and the horse guards. +Early in the session of 1836 Finn and Hume renewed their assaults, and +the latter moved for an address, to be framed in the most sweeping +terms, and calling upon the crown to dismiss all persons in public +employment, from the highest to the lowest, who should belong to Orange +societies. Russell, who had been gradually rising in public estimation, +showed the qualities of a true statesman on this occasion by a firm yet +conciliatory speech which commanded assent on both sides. He exposed the +extravagant and impracticable nature of Hume's demand, but condemned the +Orange societies, and proposed an address urging the crown to use its +influence for "the effectual discouragement of Orange lodges, and +generally all political societies, excluding persons of different faith, +using signs and symbols, and acting by associated branches". This +resolution was adopted without opposition, the king heartily endorsed +it, even the Duke of Cumberland acquiesced in it, and the Orange +societies quietly dissolved themselves, for a while, throughout the +United Kingdom. + +If the session of 1836 had produced no other legislative fruits it could +not be regarded as wasted. But several minor reforms of great social +benefit also date from this year, and prove that, however checked by +political blunders, the energy kindled by the reform act had not yet +exhausted itself. After repeated efforts of legal philanthropists, a +bill was now passed for the first time allowing prisoners on trial for +felony to be defended by counsel. It was brought in by William Ewart, a +private member, who sat for Liverpool, but was supported by the highest +legal authorities in the house of lords, including Lyndhurst himself, +who openly recanted his former opinions, and declared the old law to be +a barbarous survival, inconsistent with the practice of other civilised +nations. In the same house an interesting debate took place on the +management of jails, which had been placed under a system of inspection +by an act of the previous year. The reports of the inspectors disclosed +gross abuses, not only in the smaller county jails but in Newgate +itself. Lansdowne, in pledging the government to deal with the larger +question, intimated that Russell, as home secretary, was considering the +means of separating juvenile offenders from hardened criminals by +establishing places of detention in the nature of what have since been +known as reformatories. + +[Pageheading: _DUTY ON NEWSPAPERS LOWERED._] + +A still more notable contribution to social improvement was made by +Spring Rice, the chancellor of the exchequer, in consolidating the paper +duties on a reduced scale, and lowering the stamp duty on newspapers +from fourpence to one penny. These were the only controversial elements +in a budget otherwise modest and acceptable. The battle over paper +duties and "taxes upon knowledge" raised in the debates of 1836 was +destined to rage many years longer, but the relief granted by Spring +Rice gave a powerful impulse to journalism and periodical literature. It +was opposed by all the familiar arguments against a cheap press, but +that which most endangered its success was a rival proposal to apply any +surplus revenue to cheapening soap. Soap, it was plausibly contended, +was a necessary, reading newspapers or periodicals was only a luxury, +and a luxury, too, far move capable of being abused than expenditure on +soap. When the penny stamp on newspapers was at last preferred to +reduced soap duties it was said that, "so far as financial arrangements +were concerned, everything went to supply the essential elements of low +political clubs, _viz._, cheap gin, cheap newspapers, filthy hands, and +unwashed faces".[135] + +The legislative record of 1836 was creditable to the government, nor was +the action of the upper house in amending certain of their bills so +purely mischievous as it has been described. For instance, a strange +clause had found its way into the newspaper stamp bill, requiring all +the proprietors of newspapers, however numerous, to be registered at the +stamp office. This clause was struck out in the house of lords, at the +instance of Lyndhurst, though Melbourne declared it to be a vital part +of the measure, which, however, passed without it, and was the better +for the loss of it. But the same cannot be said of Lyndhurst's conduct +at the "open conference" between the two houses on a supplementary bill +for remedying defects in the operation of the municipal corporations +act. There no question of principle was involved, and the only motive +for resisting every attempt to improve the new machinery already +established by law was one unworthy of a statesman. At the close of the +session, Lyndhurst delivered a masterly vindication of his own +proceedings, but he was answered by Melbourne in a speech of great +ability, and the position now occupied by the whigs appeared stronger +than when they came into office in 1835. + +In this year complaints of agricultural distress once more became +urgent, and a committee was appointed by the house of commons, as in +1833, to inquire into its cause. Strange to say, the immediate occasion +for the second inquiry was the occurrence of three magnificent harvests +in succession, which brought down the average price of wheat from 58s. +8d. in 1832 to 53s. in 1833, 46s. 2d. in 1834, and 39s. 4d. in 1835, +whence it rose to 48s. 6d. after the harvest of 1836. The average +gazette price of 1835 was the lowest touched in the nineteenth century +until 1884, and was simply due to excess of production. It was stated +before the committee of 1836, by the comptroller of corn returns, that +in the period between 1814 and 1834 the quantity of home-grown wheat +only fell short of the consumption, on the average, by about 1,000,000 +quarters a year, of which at least half was contributed by Ireland. The +committee published its evidence without making a report, but this fact +is highly significant as marking the later revolution in British +agriculture. If the area then devoted to wheat crops almost sufficed to +feed an estimated population of 14,500,000, when the yield per acre was +relatively small, we may safely infer, in the absence of trustworthy +statistics, that it must have been very much greater than at present. + +[Pageheading: _AGITATION IN IRELAND._] + +At the opening of 1837 there was a marked stagnation in home politics, +mainly due to an equipoise of parties and serious divisions in the ranks +of the ministerialists as well as of the opposition. Not only was there +a very strong conservative majority in the house of lords, with a +sufficient though dwindling liberal majority in the house of commons, +but neither majority was amenable to party discipline. The aggressive +policy and vexatious tactics of Lyndhurst were distasteful to his +nominal leader, the Duke of Wellington, and still more so to Peel, the +only possible conservative premier, who eschewed the very name of tory. +There was greater unity of counsels between Melbourne and Russell, but +Russell, who had learned moderation, was dependent on the support of his +extreme left, composed of violent radicals and Irish repealers. The +king, though he did not carry his repugnance to his ministers so far as +he once threatened, yet almost excluded them from social invitations, +and made no secret of his preference for the opposite party. During the +winter of 1836-37 O'Connell and his satellites were busy in organising +monster meetings to demand the abolition of tithes and municipal reform. +A national association was formed on this basis, and a certain number of +protestants were induced to join it. The government dared not show +vigour in checking it lest they should estrange their Irish allies, and +Mulgrave, the lord-lieutenant, was openly accused of favouring sedition +and discouraging loyalty by his exercise of patronage and the royal +prerogative of pardon. At last, a very large and influential meeting was +held in Dublin, at which the discontent of loyalists and patriots was +expressed with truly Irish vehemence. Still, Ireland was less disturbed +than in several previous years. About the same time, Peel, having been +elected lord rector of Glasgow University, was entertained there at +dinner by a company including many old reformers, and made one of his +greatest speeches. Its spirit was that of his Tamworth manifesto, but he +was far more outspoken in his declaration of unswerving adhesion to the +protestant cause and to the independence of the upper house. + +Such were the political conditions when parliament met on January 31. +The king's speech, delivered by commission, though singularly +colourless, indicated the importance of legislating on Irish tithes, +Irish corporations, and Irish poor relief. The debate on the address was +enlivened by a furious attack of Roebuck on the whigs, but was +otherwise devoid of importance. On February 7, however, Russell +introduced a new Irish corporations bill, invoking the authority of Fox +for the doctrine that "Irish government should be regulated by Irish +notions and Irish prejudices," and avowing a faith in the efficacy of +unlimited concession which has not been justified by later experience. +He further intimated the resolution of the government to stand or fall +by this measure. No serious resistance was offered by the opposition to +its first or second reading, but Peel took occasion to protest against a +transparent inconsistency which seems to beset the advocacy of Irish +claims. It is generally assumed, and with too much justice, that Ireland +is so backward and helpless a country as to require exceptional +treatment; in short, that it must be governed by Irish ideas, with +little regard to English principles of sound policy or economy. Such +was, in effect, Fox's contention, adopted by Russell; and yet, like +future supporters of "Ireland for the Irish," he argued in the same +breath that every liberal institution suitable to Englishmen, with their +long training in self-government and instinctive reverence for law, must +needs be extended to Irishmen, with their long training in anarchy and +instinctive propensity to lawlessness. He prevailed, however, in the +house of commons, where a hostile amendment was decisively rejected, and +the bill, having passed rapidly through committee, was read a third time +by a large though reduced majority. + +Had it been possible to isolate the Irish municipal bill, and to compel +the house of lords to deal with it singly, the peers might possibly have +shrunk from another collision with the commons. But it had been coupled +in the king's speech with two other projects of Irish legislation, a new +tithe bill, and an Irish poor law. Both of these were, in fact, +introduced, the former by Russell in February, the latter by Morpeth +early in May. The course to be taken by the conservative party was the +subject of anxious consultation between Peel and Wellington, and that +ultimately adopted had the full sanction of both. They regarded the +separate presentation of the municipal bill as a "manoeuvre," and, +while they overruled the wish of Lyndhurst to defeat it by an adverse +vote on the second reading, they resolved to meet it by a +counter-manoeuvre. Accordingly Wellington induced the house of lords +to postpone the committee on the municipal bill until they should have +the other two bills before them, and Peel not only approved of his +action but stated reasons for regarding them as essentially connected +with each other. June 9 was originally fixed as the date for going into +committee, but this stage was afterwards deferred until July 3, before +which unforeseen events arrested all further progress. + +[Pageheading: _CHURCH RATES._] + +In the meantime, the prestige of the government had been weakened by the +failure of their scheme for abolishing Church rates. The dissenters, no +longer content with religious liberty, were beginning to demand +religious equality. In the forefront of their grievances was that of +paying rates for the repair of parish churches which they did not +attend, except as members of the annual "vestry," where they could +object to a rate but might be out-voted by a majority of their +fellow-parishioners. Althorp had proposed a scheme for the removal of +this grievance in 1834, involving a parliamentary grant of L250,000. +Setting aside this alternative, as well as that of a special +contribution, voluntary or otherwise, from members of the Church, Spring +Rice now proposed a solution of his own. It consisted in vesting the +property of bishops and chapters in a commission which, by improved +management, might raise the necessary sum for church repairs, without +impairing the incomes of these ecclesiastical dignitaries. Before the +government plan was discussed in the house of commons, Howley, +archbishop of Canterbury, entered a strong protest against it in the +house of lords on the ground that it would reduce the bishops and +chapters from the position of landowners to that of "mere annuitants". +Melbourne complained of his protest somewhat angrily as premature, and +provoked a vehement reply from Blomfield, bishop of London, who, though +a member of the ecclesiastical commission, denounced any such diversion +of revenues as "a sacrilegious act of spoliation". In the elaborate +debates on the resolutions moved by Spring Rice in the house of commons +Peel took his stand partly on financial objections and partly on the +injustice of taking away from the Church a fund belonging to it by +immemorial usage, and in the main willingly contributed. Amendment after +amendment was proposed by members of the opposition, and, though each +was defeated, the government resolutions were ultimately carried by so +narrow a majority in May that no further action was taken. + +The conservative reaction, now in visible progress, was typified by the +open secession of Burdett from the ranks of the reformers. This sincere +but indiscreet radical, who had once enjoyed a popularity similar to +that of Wilkes as a political martyr, became estranged from his party +when it accepted O'Connell as an auxiliary, if not as an ally. Having +failed in procuring the exclusion of the great Irish demagogue from +Brooks's club, in 1835, he withdrew his own name. Soon afterwards he +became irregular in his parliamentary attendance, and more than lukewarm +in his allegiance. Early in 1837 he was, like Stanley and Graham, so +much suspected of gravitating towards conservatism, that some of his +Westminster constituents publicly called upon him to resign. He took up +the challenge, and was re-elected against a radical opponent by a +substantial majority. It was his last re-election for a borough which he +had represented for thirty years. In the Church-rate debate he rose from +the opposition side of the house, and lamenting his separation from his +old associates, did not spare them either reproaches or hostile +criticism. + +Another desertion from the whig camp took place during this session, but +in an opposite direction. Roebuck, originally one of the philosophical +radicals, had become more and more violent in his attacks on his own +leaders, whom he accused of having deceived the people. According to +him, they were "aristocratic in principle, democratic in pretence," and +all the resources of his incisive rhetoric were exhausted in exposing +their incapacity, in a motion for a committee to consider the state of +the nation. This motion, so advocated, met with no support, and gave +Russell the opportunity of once more vindicating the wisdom of +moderation in statesmanship. But there were many besides Roebuck who +were eager to complete the work of the reform act by further organic +changes, and the notice book of the house of commons in 1837 embodied +several proposals of this kind. One was Grote's annual motion for the +ballot, on which an interesting debate took place. Among the others were +two motions of Sir William Molesworth for a reform of the upper house +and for the abolition of a property qualification for the lower house, a +motion of Tennyson, who had taken the additional name of D'Eyncourt, for +the repeal of the septennial act, and another of Hume for household +suffrage, overshadowing that of Duncombe for repealing the rate-paying +clauses of the reform act itself. Nearly all of these contained the +germs of future legislation, but they formed no part of the whig +programme, nor could any whig government have carried them against so +powerful an opposition, with an invincible reserve in the house of +lords, during the last session of William IV. Only seventeen public acts +were actually passed in this session. + +[Pageheading: _THE DEATH OF WILLIAM IV._] + +There were, indeed, other reasons for declining to provoke a grave +contest at this juncture. The king's health was known to be failing, his +death under the law then in force would involve a general election, and +no one could desire his successor, a girl of eighteen, to begin her +reign in the midst of a political crisis. In May his illness assumed an +alarming aspect, early in June the medical reports satisfied the country +that his case was hopeless, on June 19 he received the last sacrament, +and on the 20th he died at Windsor Castle. Something more than justice +was done to his character by the leaders of both parties in parliament, +but something less than justice has been done to it by later historians. +He was inferior in strength of will to his father, in ability to his +eldest brother, and in the higher virtues of a constitutional sovereign +to his niece, who succeeded him. But he was not only a kindly and +well-meaning man, a good husband to Queen Adelaide and a good father to +his natural children, faithful to his old friends, and bountiful in his +charities; he was also a loyal servant of the state, with a genuine +sense of public duty, a natural love of justice, an independent +judgment, and a noble indifference to personal or selfish objects. His +lot was cast in almost revolutionary times, and he was called upon to +reign at an age when few men are capable of shaking off old prejudices, +yet he deserved well of his people in supporting the ministry of Grey +through all the stages of the reform movement, in spite of his own +declared sympathies, but in deference to his own conviction of paramount +obligation under the laws of the land. He was quite as liberal in +opinions as Peel, whose hearty interest in the poorer classes he fully +shared, and far more liberal than the tory majority in the house of +lords. Great he certainly was not, and he never affected the royal +dignity which partially concealed the littleness of his predecessor. But +in honesty and simplicity he was no unworthy son of George III., and the +greater pliability of his nature contributed, at least, to make the +seven years of his reign more fruitful in reforms than all the sixty +years during which the old king occupied the throne of England. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[130] The king to Peel (Feb. 22, 1835), Parker, _Sir Robert Peel_, ii., +287-89. + +[131] See Melbourne's letters to Brougham, _Melbourne Papers_, pp. +257-64. + +[132] The abuses in the Scottish municipalities had, however, been +already removed by an act conferring the municipal franchise on L10 +householders. Not the least important result of this act was the +increased strength which it gave to the "evangelical" party in the +general assembly of the Church of Scotland, which was partly elected by +the municipalities. + +[133] Campbell, _Lives of the Chancellors_, viii., 470. + +[134] Campbell, _Lives of the Chancellors_, viii., 476. + +[135] _Annual Register_, lxxviii. (1836), p. 244 + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + FOREIGN RELATIONS UNDER WILLIAM IV. + + +In 1830 the closing months of Wellington's administration were disturbed +by the French and Belgian revolutions. The former of these was +occasioned by the publication on July 25 of three ordinances, +restricting the liberty of the press, dissolving the chambers, and +amending the law of elections. The Parisian populace rose against this +infringement of the constitution. In the course of a three days' +street-fight (the 27th to the 29th) the troops were driven out of Paris. +On the 30th a few members of the chambers, who had continued in session, +invited Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, to assume the office of +lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and he was proclaimed on the +following day. On August 7 the chamber of deputies offered him the +crown, which he accepted, and on the 9th he was proclaimed "King of the +French". On the 2nd Charles X. and the dauphin had renounced their +rights in favour of the young Duke of Bordeaux, and on the 16th they +sailed from Cherbourg to England. The change of dynasty was accompanied +by a transference to the _bourgeoisie_ of such political influence as +had hitherto belonged to the clergy and _noblesse_. It remained to be +seen whether it would also be accompanied by a change of foreign policy. + +[Pageheading: _RECOGNITION OF LOUIS PHILIPPE._] + +The new French revolution occasioned no slight perturbation in the +European courts. To say nothing of the fear of the precedent being +followed in other lands, there was no longer any guarantee that France +would respect the arrangements effected by the treaties of Vienna and +Paris. Austria, Prussia, and Russia agreed not to recognise Louis +Philippe, and entered into a convention for mutual aid in the event of +French aggression. Aberdeen, the British foreign secretary, declared +that the time had come for applying the treaty of Chaumont, which, as +extended at Paris, pledged Great Britain and the three eastern powers to +act together in case fresh revolution and usurpation in France should +endanger the repose of other states. Wellington, however, saw that the +cause of the elder Bourbon line was hopeless, and held now, as in 1815, +that if France was not to menace the peace of Europe, her political +position must be one with which she could be contented. He considered +that the arguments which justified the admission of France to the +councils of the powers at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 applied with no less +cogency to the government of Louis Philippe than to that of Louis XVIII. +He therefore determined to acknowledge the new French government at an +early date after the notification of its assumption of power. Nor were +the other powers slow in taking the same course. It is true that +Metternich suggested a closer bond between Austria, Prussia, and Russia, +partly to restore amicable relations between Austria and Russia, partly +to oppose any possible designs of France on Italy. Prussia, fearing war, +resisted the proposal, and preferred to draw France into a guarantee of +the _status quo_ by recognising Louis Philippe. Russia was last of the +great powers to acknowledge the new _regime_ in France, and she only did +so on condition that the powers should hold the French king responsible +for the execution of the international engagements of the fallen +dynasty. Louis Philippe was certainly not the man wilfully to embroil +France in a war with her neighbours, and, had he been independent of +French public opinion, there would have been no reason to fear French +aggression. + +The state which had most to fear from an aggressive France was the new +kingdom of the Netherlands. Trusting for protection to the great powers +rather than to its own forces, the Netherlands government had adopted a +system which left it almost entirely without troops except during the +military exercises of September and October. Wellington, who knew the +pacific character of the new French government, advised the garrisoning +of certain isolated points on the frontier, but thought no further +preparation necessary. A few weeks were however to prove that the new +French revolution had aroused a more implacable enemy, against whom the +house of Orange would have needed all the troops it could summon to its +aid. The union of Holland and Belgium had been resolved on by the +powers at Paris in 1814, mainly for military reasons. Austria had been +unwilling to resume the heavy burden of guarding the Belgian Netherlands +and southern Germany against French aggression, and the powers had +consequently resolved on strengthening those smaller states on whom the +duty of resistance would fall. In these days, accustomed as we are to +the distinction between the Teutonic and Latin races, it might seem +reasonable that two countries in which the prevailing languages are low +German should be subject to the same government. But it was not yet +customary to turn the principles of comparative philology into arguments +for the rearrangement of political boundaries. The French language and +culture had moreover made considerable progress among the upper and +middle classes of Belgium, while religious differences alienated the +clergy from the house of Orange. In the states-general of the +Netherlands the Dutch had half the votes, and, as the Orange party was +strong in Antwerp and Ghent, commanded a majority. The fiscal system +adopted by the government favoured the Dutch rather than the Belgian +population. Dutchmen were generally preferred for state offices, and an +attempt to control the education of the clergy was deeply resented as an +attack on the Roman catholic religion. Belgium in consequence presented +the curious spectacle of the liberal and clerical parties working on the +same side, united against the Dutch government. + +[Pageheading: _BELGIAN REVOLUTION._] + +The example afforded by France turned a discontent which might have led +to local riots into a national conflagration. On August 25 there was a +rising of the populace at Brussels, which the troops proved unable to +quell. On the 27th it was suppressed by a body of burgher guards, a +volunteer force drawn from the _bourgeoisie_ of the town. The +_bourgeoisie_ finding themselves in possession of the Belgian capital, +at first presented a series of minor demands to the king, but on +September 3 they went the length of demanding a separate administration +for Belgium. The king undertook to lay this proposal before the states, +which assembled on the 13th. But before the states could come to any +conclusion the question had assumed a new aspect. All the leading towns +of Belgium had followed the example of Brussels by forming burgher +guards and had thus joined in the revolution; and on the 20th a fresh +rising of the populace of Brussels had overthrown the burgher guard and +instituted a provisional government. This was followed by an attempt on +the part of Prince Frederick of Orange, a younger son of the King of the +Netherlands, to occupy Brussels with a military force. After five days' +fighting he was compelled to retire, and when on the 30th the +states-general gave their consent to the proposal for a separate +administration, their decision fell upon deaf ears. All the Belgian +provinces were in revolt. + +It was now clear to everybody that the national party in Belgium would +not consent even to a personal union with Holland. As the union of the +two countries formed a part of the treaty of Vienna, every European +power had a legal right to employ force to prevent its disruption, and +Russia and Prussia both desired active intervention. In France, on the +other hand, there was a loud popular demand for the reannexation of +Belgium to France, of which it had formed a part from 1794 to 1814. +Louis Philippe saw that he could not resist this demand if the Belgian +insurgents were coerced on the side of Prussia, and therefore announced +that Prussian aggression would be met by a French expedition to Belgium +to keep the balance even, until the question should be settled by a +congress of the powers. On September 25 Talleyrand had arrived in +England. He quickly obtained the adhesion of Wellington to the principle +of non-intervention. The duke had been among the first to grasp the fact +that reconciliation of Dutch and Belgians was impossible, and that the +intervention of the powers would necessitate a European war, to avoid +which the union of the two countries had originally been designed. He +agreed therefore to a separation of the countries on condition that +France should bind herself to observe the arrangements of the congress +of Vienna in 1815 and should take no separate action in Belgium. + +On Talleyrand's suggestion it was decided to refer the question to the +conference already sitting in London for the purpose of settling the +Greek question, which would of course have to be reinforced by +representatives of Austria and Prussia for the present purpose. Mole, +the French foreign minister, would have preferred Paris as the seat of +the congress, but the King of the Netherlands absolutely refused to +entrust his cause to a conference meeting in a city where opinion ran so +strongly against him. On October 5 he made a formal appeal to the +powers for the aid guaranteed him by treaty, but the demand came too +late to induce Wellington to swerve from the policy of non-intervention, +and on November 4 the conference of London began its labours by +proposing an armistice in Belgium, which was accepted by both parties. +This left Maastricht and the citadel of Antwerp in the hands of Dutch +garrisons, and Luxemburg in the hands of a garrison supplied by the +German confederation. Every other place in Belgium was in the hands of +the insurgents. But the further solution of the question was reserved +for other hands. On the 3rd Louis Philippe was compelled to accept a +revolutionary ministry, and on the 22nd Wellington and Aberdeen had to +make way for a whig ministry with Grey as premier, and Palmerston as +foreign secretary. + +The new foreign secretary had served a long political apprenticeship as +secretary at war in the successive administrations of Perceval, +Liverpool, Canning, Goderich, and Wellington, and under the three +last-mentioned premiers he had enjoyed a seat in the cabinet. It will be +remembered that he had been a warm champion of Greece, and had resigned +office along with Huskisson, Dudley, and Grant. He now returned in +company with Grant as a member of a whig cabinet. Although this change +of party involved the adoption of a domestic policy far removed from +Canning's, Palmerston's foreign policy remained rather Canningite than +whig. The interest and the honour of England ranked with Palmerston as +with Canning before all questions which concerned the maintenance of +European peace. But instead of Canning's versatile diplomacy he +displayed too often a reckless disregard of the susceptibilities of +foreign governments, and, if, like Canning, he lent the moral support of +Great Britain to the liberal party in every continental country, it was +not, as it had professedly been with Canning, because their success +would promote the interests of Great Britain, but because he had a +genuine sympathy with their cause. It is impossible to deny that in his +earlier years at least Palmerston's policy met with a success such as +Castlereagh and Wellington had not attempted to gain; real or imaginary +dangers at home left the foreign governments too weak to oppose the will +of the one strong man of the moment. Yet it is doubtful whether any +resultant benefits were not more than counterbalanced by the distrust +and ill-will with which the greater nations of Europe have learned to +regard the British government and people. + +[Pageheading: _PROPOSED DIVISION OF THE NETHERLANDS._] + +During the first few weeks of the new administration, the Belgian +question advanced far towards a settlement. On November 10 a Belgian +national congress assembled at Brussels; on the 18th it voted the +independence of Belgium; on the 22nd it resolved that the new state +should be a constitutional monarchy, and on the 24th it proclaimed the +total exclusion of the house of Nassau. Finally the outbreak of a Polish +insurrection at Warsaw made it clear that Prussia and Russia would be +too busily occupied in the east to be able to interfere effectively in +the Belgian question. On December 20 a protocol was signed at London by +the representatives of the five powers, providing for the separation of +Belgium from Holland. When however the protocol was sent to the tsar for +ratification, he would only ratify it subject to the condition that its +execution should depend on the consent of the King of the Netherlands. +Meanwhile the London conference was engaged in settling the boundary of +the new kingdom. For the most part it went on the principle of leaving +to Holland the districts that had belonged to the United Provinces +before the wars of the French revolution. The remainder of the kingdom +of the Netherlands, consisting chiefly of the former Austrian +Netherlands, but including also territories which had belonged to +France, Prussia, the Palatinate, the bishopric of Liege, and some minor +ecclesiastical states, was assigned to Belgium. An exception was, +however, made in the case of the grand duchy of Luxemburg. Luxemburg was +reputed to be, next to Gibraltar, the strongest fortress in Europe. It +was regarded as the key to the lower Rhine; it formed a part of the +German confederation, and was garrisoned by German troops. Although +Holland had no historical claim to its possession, the treaty of Vienna +granted it to the Dutch branch of the house of Nassau, as compensation +for its former possessions, merged in the duchy of Nassau; and it was +now felt that a place so important to the safety of Germany could not +safely be handed over to a state which seemed likely to fall under +French influence. The powers therefore determined that this duchy should +continue to belong to the king of the Netherlands. + +There was also some difficulty over the apportionment of the debt. +Belgium was the more populous and the richer of the two countries, but +the greater part of the debt had been contracted by Holland before the +union. Belgium was, however, already responsible for its share of the +whole debt, and the powers can hardly be accused of injustice when they +determined to divide the debt in the proportion in which the +debt-charges had been borne in the three previous years, assigning +sixteen thirty-firsts to Belgium, and fifteen thirty-firsts to Holland. +Belgium was moreover to possess the right of trading with the Dutch +colonies and to contribute towards their defence. These provisions were +embodied in two protocols which were issued at London on January 20 and +27, 1831. As compared with the _status quo_ the Dutch were slightly the +gainers. The protocol permitted them to keep Maastricht and Luxemburg, +but required them to abandon the citadel of Antwerp; while the Belgians +were required to surrender those less important places which they had +occupied in Dutch Limburg and in the grand duchy of Luxemburg. +Talleyrand considered the present a favourable opportunity for claiming +for France the cession of Mariembourg and Philippeville which she had +been compelled to surrender to the kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. +Palmerston, however, absolutely refused to hear of any extension of +French territory, for fear of imperilling the security of Europe. The +two protocols were accepted by Holland on February 13 but rejected by +Belgium. Though Talleyrand had signed the protocol of January 20, it was +repudiated by Sebastiani, the French foreign minister, on the ground +that the object of the conference was to effect a mediation, not to +dictate a settlement. + +[Pageheading: _BELGIUM CHOOSES A KING._] + +Meanwhile the national congress at Brussels had attempted to elect a +king. At first the most favoured candidate was Auguste Beauharnais, Duke +of Leuchtenberg, the grandson of Napoleon's first consort. Louis +Philippe naturally objected to the establishment on his frontier of a +prince so closely connected with the house of Bonaparte. The pliant +Belgians accordingly transferred their preference to the Duke of +Nemours, the second son of Louis Philippe. It was in vain that +Sebastiani declared that France could not allow such a selection, as it +would be interpreted by the powers as evidence of a French design to +reincorporate Belgium in France. On February 3, 1831, the Duke of +Nemours was actually elected king by the Belgian national congress. But +the conference of London had, two days earlier, adopted a resolution, +excluding from the Belgian throne all members of the reigning dynasties +of the five powers. Still there was a strong party in France, including +Laffitte, the revolutionary premier, who advocated the claims of +Nemours. Louis Philippe, however, stood firm on the side of European +peace, and on the 17th definitively declined the crown offered to his +son. The French now recommended the Prince of Naples, but the Belgians +declined to accept him, and on the 25th the national congress appointed +a regent to hold office till a king should be elected. On March 13 the +accession to office of an anti-revolutionary ministry in France rendered +the complete co-operation of the powers easier. + +On April 17 France declared her adhesion to the protocol of January 20, +and by a new protocol the other four powers consented to the demolition +of some of the Belgian fortresses on the French frontier. Another +protocol of the same date ordered the Belgians to evacuate the grand +duchy of Luxemburg. On May 10 a further protocol even threatened Belgium +with the rupture of diplomatic relations in case she did not by June I +accept the protocol of January 20. But the powers soon adopted a more +conciliatory attitude. France and Great Britain desired that Prince +Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who in the previous year had resigned the crown +of Greece, should now be offered that of Belgium. Prince Leopold would +not accept the crown so long as Belgium continued to defy the powers, +and on the other hand there was no chance of securing his election by +the Belgian congress unless he undertook to maintain the Belgian claim +to the possession of Luxemburg. Lord Ponsonby, the British minister at +Brussels, succeeded in inducing the London conference to sign a new +protocol, undertaking to negotiate with Holland for the cession of +Luxemburg to Belgium, in return for an indemnity elsewhere, provided +that Belgium should first accept the protocol of January 20. The Belgian +congress gathered that the acceptance of Prince Leopold was regarded by +the powers as more important than the maintenance of the terms of that +protocol, and they accordingly elected him as their king on June 4 +without accepting the protocol. In answer to Dutch complaints Ponsonby +and General Belliard, the French minister, were recalled from Brussels +as the protocol of May 10 required. Leopold refused to accept the crown +until the conference should have offered better terms, and on the 26th +the conference signed another protocol, which differed from that of +January 20 in that it left the Luxemburg question open for future +negotiation, and rendered Holland liable for the whole of the debt that +it had incurred before the union of the two countries. On the same day +Leopold accepted the Belgian crown. The Belgian congress accepted this +last protocol on July 7, and on the 21st Leopold was proclaimed king, +and immediately recognised by Great Britain and France. The other great +powers were not long in following their example. + +It was now Holland's turn to feel aggrieved. She refused to recognise +the changes proposed by the powers in the terms which she had already +accepted. On May 21 she had declared that if the protocol of January 20 +were not accepted by June 1 she would consider herself free to act on +her own account, and on July 12 that the acceptance in Belgium of a king +who had not agreed to that protocol would be an act of hostility. +Feeling herself betrayed by the conference she gave notice on August 1 +that the armistice which had existed since the previous November would +terminate on the 4th. It was soon seen how much Holland had lost in the +preceding year by being found in a state of military unpreparedness. +When hostilities began the Dutch carried everything before them. On the +8th the Belgians were routed at Hasselt, and on the 13th Leopold in +person was compelled to surrender Louvain. But Holland was now arrested +in the full tide of her success. The opportunity that French patriots +had long desired had presented itself, and Louis Philippe would only +have endangered his own throne if he had failed to come to the +assistance of Belgium against Holland. On the 4th he received Leopold's +appeal for assistance; on the 12th the first French division reached +Brussels, and on the following day the Prince of Orange, who led the +main Dutch army, received orders from the Hague to retire within the +Dutch frontier. + +[Pageheading: _COERCION OF HOLLAND._] + +The conference had in fact found it necessary to join in measures of +coercion. On the first news of the outbreak of hostilities it severely +reproached Holland for the breach of the armistice, and ordered the +Dutch forces to retire. By a protocol of the 6th it accepted and +justified the French expedition, which, it knew, could not safely be +recalled, and tried to minimise the danger by forbidding the French to +cross the Dutch frontier and requiring them to return to France as soon +as the Dutch should return to Holland. At the same time a semblance of +joint action was created by the despatch of a British fleet to the +Downs. If the Dutch invasion of Belgium created excitement in France, +the French expedition had a similar effect in England, and Palmerston +found it necessary to insist sternly on the immediate evacuation of +Belgium upon the withdrawal of the Dutch troops. The French government +naturally desired to point to some tangible triumph of French arms, and +requested that the troops should be allowed to remain till the frontier +fortresses should have been demolished in accordance with the protocol +of April 17. In a somewhat insulting message Palmerston threatened a +general war sooner than allow the French troops to remain. The most that +France could obtain was that 12,000 men might remain a fortnight longer +than the rest and that a number of French officers might enlist in the +Belgian service. + +The conference now returned to the task of effecting a settlement in +accordance with the terms of the protocol of June 26. On October 15 it +provided for the partition of the grand duchy of Luxemburg between +Holland and Belgium and for the indemnification of Holland with a larger +portion of Limburg than had belonged to her in 1790. At the same time +provision was made for the freedom of the Scheldt, and the debt was +reassessed, 8,400,000 florins of _rentes_[136] being assigned to Belgium +and 19,300,000 to Holland. Along with this protocol a letter was sent to +the Belgian plenipotentiary, promising that if Belgium accepted it, the +powers would undertake to obtain the consent of Holland. The protocol +was converted into a treaty by the adhesion of Belgium on November 15. +Meanwhile the King of the Netherlands had appealed to the tsar against +the action of the western powers and of the Russian plenipotentiaries at +London, and the tsar had in consequence refused to ratify the treaty +till the King of the Netherlands should have given his consent. That +consent was slow in coming. It was only on June 30, 1832, that Holland +agreed to the exchange of territories and the reduction of Belgium's +share of the debt, and even then questions remained as to the dues on +the Scheldt and the transit of goods through Dutch Limburg. The Belgians +refused to negotiate further until the citadel of Antwerp should be +surrendered; the Dutch on the other hand refused to surrender it till a +definite treaty should be signed and ratified. On October 1 France, with +the approval of the British government, proposed to suspend the payment +of the Belgian share of the interest on the debt until the citadel of +Antwerp should be surrendered, and to deduct from the share of the +principal payable by Belgium, 500,000 florins of _rentes_ for each week +that should elapse before the surrender. The three eastern powers +refused to agree to any coercion of Holland, and, in consequence, Great +Britain and France determined to act alone. + +On the 22nd they signed a convention providing for the coercion of +Holland by an embargo and by the despatch of a squadron to the Dutch +coast. If any Dutch troops should be still in Belgium on November 15, a +French force was empowered, subject to the consent of the Belgian +government, to advance into Belgium and expel the Dutch troops from the +country. The French were, however, to retire as soon as the Dutch +evacuation was complete. The first result of this convention was the +suspension of the conference. On the 29th the two powers made their +demand. As the Dutch refused compliance, a joint French and British +fleet sailed on November 4 to blockade the Scheldt, and the embargo was +proclaimed on the 6th. On the 15th a French army of 56,000 men, +commanded by Gerard, entered Belgium. On December 4 it opened fire on +the citadel of Antwerp, which surrendered after a nineteen days' +bombardment on the 23rd. The French army returned to its own country +before the end of the year, leaving the Dutch in possession of two small +forts on the Belgian side of the frontier, which were more than +compensated by the positions held by the Belgians in Dutch Limburg. Even +the fall of the citadel of Antwerp did not induce Holland to accept the +settlement proposed by the powers, and Great Britain and France now +attempted to effect a working agreement pending negotiations on the +details of the treaty. It was in vain that Holland asked that Belgium +should evacuate the Dutch provinces of Limburg and Luxemburg and pay +her share of the interest on the Dutch debt. Palmerston and Talleyrand +refused to include these provisions in a preliminary convention. Finally +on March 21, 1833, a convention was signed between Great Britain, +France, and Holland, which terminated the embargo and provided for the +free navigation of the Scheldt and Maas. A similar convention was signed +between Holland and Belgium on November 18. Six years, however, were to +elapse before the Dutch government would consent to the conditions drawn +up by the powers in 1831. Meanwhile the Belgians were free from their +share of debt, held the greater part of Limburg and Luxemburg, and +enjoyed the free navigation of the Maas and the Scheldt, over and above +the terms granted them in 1831. + +[Pageheading: _POLISH REBELLION._] + +It is inconceivable that the Belgian question should have been left so +entirely in the hands of the two western powers, and that the settlement +should have taken the form of a foreign coercion of a legitimate king +for his unreadiness to make concessions to his revolted subjects, had +not the attention of the three absolutist powers of eastern and central +Europe been directed to another quarter. Just as the revolution of 1820 +had spread through southern Europe in spite of Castlereagh's attempt to +maintain that it was not of a contagious order, so that of 1830 awakened +similar outbursts not only at Brussels but in various German states, in +Switzerland, in Poland, and in Italy. The Polish insurrection was, like +the Belgian, a national revolt, and the consequent military operations +were of the nature of a war between Poland and Russia. The revolt broke +out at Warsaw on November 29, 1830, and on January 25, 1831, the Polish +diet proclaimed the independence of Poland. On February 5 a Russian army +crossed the Polish frontier. In France there was a loud popular demand +for intervention. But even the Laffitte ministry would not move without +the co-operation of Great Britain, though the French ambassador at +Constantinople tried to stir up the Porte to hostilities. The ministry +of Casimir-Perier, which came into office in March, proposed a joint +mediation of France and Great Britain, but to this Palmerston would not +assent. He remonstrated with Russia on her violations of the Polish +constitution, which Great Britain, along with the other powers, had +guaranteed at the congress of Vienna, but he could not support the +Polish claim to independence, since Great Britain had made herself a +party to the union of the two countries. As it happened, the +remonstrance was simply a cause of annoyance, which subsequent events +were destined to intensify. It was only on September 8, 1831, that the +Russians under Paskievitch captured Warsaw, an event which was followed +on February 26, 1832, by the abolition of the Polish constitution. +Palmerston protested again but with no more success than in the previous +year. + +[Pageheading: _DOM MIGUEL AND DON CARLOS._] + +In the Portuguese, as in the Belgian question, Palmerston drifted from +the position of a neutral into that of a partisan. Ever since the year +1828, British subjects accused of political offences had been brutally +ill-treated in Portugal, and as time went on the excesses increased. By +despatching six British warships to the Tagus Palmerston succeeded in +obtaining a pecuniary indemnity and a public apology on May 2, 1831. +Similar insults to France were not so readily redressed. A threat of +force on the part of the French government was followed by an appeal +from Dom Miguel for British assistance. This Palmerston refused to +grant, and in July a French squadron under Admiral Roussin forced the +passage of the Tagus, and carried off the best ships of the Portuguese +navy. Meanwhile much irritation had been caused in Brazil by Peter's +advocacy of his daughter's claim to Portugal, which was considered +inconsistent with his professed adherence to the separation of the two +countries. On April 6, Peter abdicated the crown of Brazil in favour of +his infant son, Peter II., and on the following day sailed for Europe in +order to assert his daughter's right to the Portuguese throne. He +arrived in Europe towards the end of May, and visited both England and +France. + +Though neither government assisted him directly, he was permitted to +raise troops and even to secure the services of naval officers, and in +December a force of 300 men sailed from Liverpool to Belleisle, which he +had appointed as the rendezvous. Palmerston had thus, unlike Wellington, +adopted the same attitude towards the Portuguese liberals that Ferdinand +VII. had adopted towards the absolutists. Peter's expedition gathered +further strength at the Azores and sailed for Portugal on June 27, 1832. +On July 8, the fleet, commanded by Admiral Sartorius, a British officer, +appeared off Oporto, which submitted on the following day. The town was, +however, blockaded by Miguel's forces and Peter's cause made no headway +until in June, 1833, the command of the fleet was transferred to Captain +(afterwards Admiral Sir Charles) Napier. On the night of June 24, he +landed at Villa Real a force of 2,500 men who conquered the province of +Algarve in a week, and on July 5 he annihilated Miguel's navy in an +engagement off Cape St. Vincent. After a further battle near Lisbon, +Peter's forces entered the capital on the 24th, and subsequently +repulsed a Miguelite attack upon the city. Miguel still held out in +northern Portugal, when another train of events caused the western +powers to substitute direct for indirect interference. + +Ferdinand VII. of Spain had fallen so entirely under the influence of +his fourth and last queen, Maria Christina of Naples, as to repeal by a +pragmatic sanction the Salic law which the treaty of Utrecht had +established as the rule of succession in Spain. The result of this edict +was to leave the succession to his infant daughter Isabella instead of +his brother Don Carlos, the leader of the Spanish absolutists. When +Ferdinand died on September 29, 1833, Don Carlos was absent from the +kingdom, supporting the cause of his fellow-pretender Dom Miguel. +Isabella received the hearty support of the constitutional party and was +almost universally acknowledged as queen. It was only in Biscay, where +the centralising tendency of the Spanish constitution, published on +April 10, 1834, seemed to entrench upon local liberty, that Don Carlos +met with much active support. His cause, like that of Miguel in +Portugal, was the more popular, but his adherents were as yet almost +entirely devoid of organisation. Peter's partisans had already made +substantial progress towards a complete victory, and Santha Martha, the +Miguelite commander-in-chief, had surrendered in the beginning of April, +when on April 22 a triple alliance, already signed between Great +Britain, Maria Christina, Queen-regent of Spain, and Peter, as regent of +Portugal, was converted into a quadruple alliance by the adhesion of +France. This treaty provided for the co-operation of Spain and Portugal +to expel Dom Miguel and Don Carlos from the Portuguese dominions. Great +Britain was to assist by the employment of a naval force, and France was +to render assistance, if required, in such manner as should be settled +afterwards by common consent of the four contracting powers. The Spanish +general, Rodil, immediately crossed the frontier. He met with no +resistance, and on May 26 Miguel signed a convention at Evora, by which +he accepted a pension, renounced his rights to the Portuguese throne, +and agreed to quit the country. + +[Pageheading: _THE CARLIST WAR._] + +Don Carlos, however, refused to renounce his rights to the Spanish +throne, and all that the British navy could do was to convey the two +pretenders, Carlos to England and Miguel to Genoa. Although Miguel, on +June 20, repudiated his abdication, the Portuguese question was really +at an end. The Spanish question was, however, merely entering on its +critical stage. Don Carlos secretly left London on July 1, and nine days +later appeared at the Carlist headquarters in Spain. Here he had the +assistance of the ablest general of this war, Zumalacarregui. +Melbourne's succession to the premiership in July left Palmerston at the +foreign office, and was followed by no change in foreign policy. On +August 18 an additional article to the quadruple alliance provided that +France was to prevent reinforcements or warlike stores from reaching Don +Carlos from the French side of the frontier, while Great Britain was to +supply arms and stores to the Spanish royalists and, if necessary, +intervene with a naval force. The short interlude of conservative +government, with Peel as premier and Wellington as foreign secretary, +was not marked by any change of policy nor yet by any new aggressions. +Wellington's only interference with the course of hostilities was the +mission of Lord Eliot to Navarre, which induced the combatants to +abandon for the time being those cruelties to prisoners which had been +the disgrace of the Spanish civil wars. + +Shortly after the return of Melbourne and Palmerston to power, +Zumalacarregui won a victory in the valley of Amascoas on April 21 and +22, 1835, which opened to him the road to Madrid. The Madrid government +now appealed to France to send 12,000 men to occupy the Basque +provinces. By the terms of the quadruple alliance the assent of Great +Britain and Portugal was necessary in order to determine the manner in +which France was to render assistance. Thiers, on behalf of Louis +Philippe, suggested a separate French expedition on the lines of that of +1823. Palmerston, like Canning before him, refused to sanction such an +expedition, though he was prepared to allow France to make the +expedition on her own responsibility. He suggested in return that Great +Britain should intervene. But Louis Philippe was equally opposed to the +separate action of his own country and of Great Britain, and the result +was that neither government sent any troops. The Spanish government was, +however, permitted to enlist volunteers, and actually received the +assistance of an English legion, a French legion, and 6,000 Portuguese. +The immediate danger was averted by the obstinacy of Don Carlos, who +refused to permit Zumalacarregui to march on Madrid till the conquest of +Biscay was complete. The Carlist general turned aside in consequence to +the siege of Bilbao, in which a few weeks later he met his death. + +In February, 1836, some changes in the French ministry increased the +power of Thiers, who had so recently advocated the policy of +intervention. Palmerston now proposed a French expedition to the Basque +provinces, while the British were to occupy St. Sebastian and Pasages. +Thiers did not, however, feel strong enough to accept this offer, and +Palmerston determined to act alone. A British squadron under Lord John +Hay was despatched to the Spanish coast with instructions to assist the +royalist forces. This squadron is probably entitled to the principal +share in the credit for the successful resistance of Bilbao to the +Carlist armies. In May, however, a conservative government entered upon +office in Spain, and France became more ready to grant assistance. +Isturiz, the new Spanish premier, persuaded Louis Philippe to send some +troops to Spain; but by leaning on foreign support Isturiz had +overreached himself. Spanish indignation found vent in a revolutionary +movement, accompanied by bloodshed; one town after another declared for +the constitution of 1812, which the queen-regent was forced to sign on +August 13, and on the following day a progressist ministry was installed +in office. Austria, Prussia, and Russia withdrew their ambassadors from +Madrid after the riots of the 13th, and Louis Philippe recalled the +forces he had sent to the assistance of the Spanish government. Had Don +Carlos listened to the advice of the eastern powers and given such +assurances as might have won over the more moderate of Isabella's +supporters, he would probably have proved successful. As it was the war +dragged on, but De Lacy Evans, who was in command of the British legion, +left Spain on June 10, 1837, and most of his men followed soon after. +The question of intervention had, however, put an end to that cordial +co-operation of Great Britain and France which had existed ever since +the July revolution, and left Great Britain as isolated in the counsels +of Europe as she had been when Canning and Wellington dissociated +themselves from the other powers at Verona. + +The settlement of the Greek question proceeded very slowly. While the +powers were seeking a possible king, Capodistrias exercised an +autocratic sway as president. However, in the spring of 1831, the +Mainots of southern Laconia and the Hydriots revolted against him, and +got possession of the Greek fleet. Capodistrias appealed to Russia for +assistance, and a Russian squadron was sent to blockade the Greek fleet +at Poros. But Miaoulis, the Greek admiral, sank his ships in order to +save them from the Russians. The situation was simplified by the +assassination of Capodistrias on October 9, which left two rival +national assemblies struggling for the mastery. The French troops failed +to maintain order, and the way was clear for a king who would have the +prestige of an international treaty and an independent revenue to +support his position. This was the situation when on February 13, 1832, +a protocol was signed at London, offering the Greek crown to Otto, the +second son of King Lewis of Bavaria, a boy of seventeen. The boundary +was to be fixed where Palmerston, while still a member of the Wellington +administration, had wished to fix it, along a line running from the Gulf +of Arta to that of Volo. King Lewis would not, however, agree to accept +the crown for his son unless he should be granted the title of king, +instead of prince, and should be guaranteed a loan to enable him to meet +the expenses of his position. On May 7, 1832, the London protocol was +embodied in a treaty of London; the crown was definitely conferred on +Otto, who was given the title of king, guaranteed a loan, not exceeding +L2,400,000, and allowed to take out 3,500 Bavarian troops with him. The +Turkish consent to the proposed boundary was given on July 21; Greece +accepted the treaty in August, and the new king left for his kingdom in +December.[137] + +[Pageheading: _VICTORIES OF IBRAHIM._] + +Greece now disappears from the eastern question. But Ibrahim Pasha, +whose successes in Greece had induced Canning to interfere, had already +disclosed a new phase of that question by successes gained in another +quarter. Mehemet Ali had quickly repaired the losses which his fleet and +army had sustained in the Peloponnese. Meanwhile he demanded from +Sultan Mahmud that Ibrahim should be compensated with a part of Syria +for the loss of the Morea, which had been promised him as a reward for +his services in Greece. The sultan refused to grant this insolent +demand, and Mehemet Ali determined to conquer the province for himself. +Abdallah, Pasha of Acre, had taken under his protection some fugitive +peasants, and Mehemet Ali, in spite of the sultan's prohibition, sent +Ibrahim with an army of 30,000 men against him. He laid siege to Acre on +December 9, 1831, and took it on May 27, 1832. On July 8 he routed a +Turkish army at Homs; on the 29th he routed a larger army at the pass of +Beilan, and on the 31st he entered Antioch. In November he was at +Konieh. The Tsar Nicholas had, with Palmerston's approval, already sent +Lieutenant-General Muraviov on a mission to Constantinople, offering +military and naval support; but the sultan preferred to seek British +assistance first. + +Unfortunately the message came at a time when the British fleet was +preparing to blockade the coasts of the Netherlands, and could not be +spared for service In the Mediterranean. An appeal to France was equally +unsuccessful. She had by this time formed the siege of the citadel of +Antwerp, and was moreover naturally averse from a struggle with Ibrahim, +whose army had been organised and trained by French officers. The sultan +therefore decided to avail himself of the offers made by Russia. Indeed +he had no choice, for the news now came that on December 21 Ibrahim had +completely defeated the Turkish general, Reshid, at Konieh and that +there was no army between him and Constantinople. Muraviov was sent on a +vain mission to Alexandria with authority to cede Acre to Mehemet Ali if +he would surrender his fleet to the sultan. Ibrahim advanced to Kiutayeh +and his advance-guard came as far as Broussa. The sultan on February 2, +1833, requested the assistance of the Russian navy, and on the 20th a +Russian squadron appeared at Constantinople. + +The powers that had refused to move to save Turkey from Ibrahim were +quick enough to interfere when the danger was from Russia and not from +an oriental. Ibrahim might have been expected to make a stronger ruler +than the sultan, whose fall seemed imminent. A Russian protectorate was +a different matter. Roussin, the French ambassador at Constantinople, +protested against the Russian alliance and threatened to leave +Constantinople. A French envoy was, at his suggestion, permitted to +offer Mehemet the governorship of the Syrian pashaliks of Tripoli and +Acre. On March 8 Mehemet rejected these terms, and declared that if his +own terms were not accepted within six weeks his troops would march upon +Constantinople. The sultan then turned to Russia again and asked for +troops. Fifteen thousand Russians were in consequence landed on the +shores of the Bosphorus, and in the beginning of April an army of +24,000, which had remained in Moldavia ever since the war of 1828-29, +prepared to march southwards. Constantinople at least was thus rendered +safe from Ibrahim, and there was therefore more hope that Mehemet would +come to terms. The British, French, and Austrian ambassadors spared no +effort to induce the Porte to offer terms that might be accepted, and +their representations were probably rendered the more persuasive by the +appearance of British and French fleets in the AEgean. Roussin especially +urged that it was better to surrender Syria than to reconquer it by +Russian troops. At last the sultan yielded, and on April 10 a peace was +signed at Kiutayeh, though not ratified by the sultan till May 15. This +treaty granted to Mehemet Ali Syria and Cilicia, but restored the bulk +of Asia Minor to the Porte. + +[Pageheading: _CONFERENCE OF MUeNCHENGRAeTZ._] + +Turkey had been saved by the western powers, but only because they +dreaded the possibility of her being saved by Russia. A few weeks later +their worst fears seemed on the point of realisation. The Russian troops +on the Bosphorus were a sure guarantee of the predominance of Russian +influence at Constantinople, and this was illustrated in a marked degree +by the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, signed on July 8, which provided for a +defensive alliance for eight years between Russia and the Porte. Russia +was, when required, to provide the sultan with both military and naval +forces, to be provisioned by him, but otherwise maintained by Russia. A +secret article, soon made known, provided that Russia would not ask for +material aid if at war, but that in that event the Porte would close the +Dardanelles to the warships of other nations. Great Britain had already +obtained the rights of the most favoured nation, so far as the passage +of the Dardanelles was concerned, and therefore maintained that the +treaty did not affect her right to pass those straits; and France +joined her in presenting identical notes declaring their intention of +ignoring the treaty in event of war. British public opinion, already +wounded by the conquest of Poland, was even more vehemently affected +than British policy. The treaty was regarded as the establishment in +Turkey of a Russian protectorate, which it was necessary for Great +Britain to destroy, and the antagonism thus produced has lasted to our +own day. Matters were not improved when the tsar asked for the cession +of the Danubian principalities, which were still occupied by Russia, in +return for a remission of the war indemnity owing since 1829. Austria, +France, and Great Britain protested against this proposal, and in +consequence nothing came of it. + +Austria then assumed the _role_ of mediator. A friendly request for +explanation elicited a declaration from Russia, disclaiming all +intention of self-aggrandisement, and promising to accept the mediation +of Austria in any case where the treaty could be invoked. Austria in +consequence endeavoured to persuade the western powers that there was no +immediate danger, and that she would use her mediation to remove any +danger that might arise. Meanwhile she endeavoured to allay distrust of +Russia by inducing that power to evacuate the Danubian principalities. +But before this result could be accomplished the negotiations between +Austria and Russia had taken a turn which gave Austria, in English eyes, +the appearance of an accomplice rather than of a mediator. The +revolutionary movements of 1830 and following years had produced grave +apprehensions in the minds of the rulers of the three eastern powers, +Austria, Prussia, and Russia; and the coercion of Holland and Portugal +caused them to feel a deep distrust of the policy of Great Britain and +France, and to grasp the necessity of united action against the +revolutionary forces at work in Europe. For this purpose it was +considered necessary to revive Metternich's policy of 1820 as defined at +Troppau. The three powers had for some time been drawing together, and +in September, 1833, the Emperors Francis and Nicholas and the Crown +Prince of Prussia met at Muenchengraetz in Bohemia, where a secret +convention was signed on the 18th. They refused to recognise Isabella as +Queen of Spain in the event of Ferdinand's death; they arranged for +mutual assistance against the Poles; and agreed to combine to resist +any change of dynasty in Turkey and any extension of Arab rule into +Europe. In the event of a collapse of the Ottoman empire, Austria and +Russia were to act together in settling the reversion. On October 15 the +three powers signed a further convention at Berlin, containing one +public and two secret articles. The latter recognised the right, already +asserted at Troppau, of intervention in the internal affairs of a +country whose sovereign expressed a desire for foreign assistance. There +can be little doubt that Austria and Russia were in earnest in their +professed desire to maintain the integrity of the Turkish dominions, but +an opinion gained ground in England that they had already agreed to +partition them between themselves. + +On January 29, 1834, Austrian mediation bore fruit in a definite treaty +for the evacuation of the Danubian principalities. Russia merely +reserved to herself the appointment of the first hospodar of each +principality. The first act, however, of Alexander Ghika, the new +hospodar of Wallachia, was to forbid any change of statute without the +consent of Russia. Silistria alone remained in Russian hands till a +third part of the indemnity should be paid. The remaining two-thirds +Russia consented to abandon. A revolt among the Syrian mountaineers gave +Russia an opportunity of demonstrating her pacific intentions. The +sultan supported the revolt and also sent troops to conquer Urfa which +Ibrahim had neglected to surrender. Russia, however, refused to support +the sultan in an aggressive war, and the powers negotiated a peace. The +Syrian revolt was quelled, and Urfa surrendered to the sultan. In 1835 +the Tsar Nicholas and the new Austrian emperor, Ferdinand, met at +Teplitz where they renewed the agreements concluded at Muenchengraetz. +Metternich proposed a conference at Vienna to settle the eastern +question, but the tsar, who really possessed the decisive voice so long +as the question remained open, refused to hear of this. Finally in +September, 1836, the Russian evacuation of Silistria was obtained by a +payment of 30,000,000 piastres, borrowed, for the most part, in England. +The Eastern question now seemed to have entered upon a quieter phase, +and the military reforms which European officers, including Moltke, +afterwards famous in a different region, were carrying out in Turkey, +gave promise that she might be able to hold her own in future against +domestic foes. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[136] The debt was, according to the French practice, expressed in terms +of the interest payable annually (_rentes_), not in terms of a nominal +principal as in this country. + +[137] Finlay, _History of Greece_, vol. vii., chapters ii., iii. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + BRITISH INDIA. + + +When Pitt resigned office in 1801, the Marquis Wellesley had already +reached the climax, though by no means the close, of his brilliant +proconsulate. This remarkable man, whose fame has been unduly eclipsed +by that of his younger brother, may justly be considered the second +founder of our Indian Empire. This empire, recognised at last, in the +vote of thanks passed by the house of commons on the fall of +Seringapatam, was soon to be aggrandised by three important accessions +of dominion. The first of these was the annexation of the Karnatik on +the well-founded plea that its nabob was too weak even for the semblance +of independence, that he was incapable of governing tolerably, and that +he had been in correspondence with Tipu. The effect of this and two +minor annexations was to place the entire south-western and +south-eastern coasts of the Indian peninsula under the British rule. The +next step was the system of subsidiary treaties, whereby the British +government assumed a protectorate over native states, providing a fixed +number of troops for their defence and receiving an equivalent in +subsidies. The Nizam of Haidarabad was already in a condition little +removed from vassalage, and now surrendered considerable districts in +lieu of a pecuniary tribute. + +A similar course was taken with the Nawab Wazir of Oudh whose territory +was threatened on one side by the Afghan king, Zeman Shah, and on +another by the Maratha lord, Daulat Rao Sindhia, who had gained +possession of Delhi. By forcible negotiations Wellesley obtained from +him the cession of all his frontier provinces, including Rohilkhand, and +consolidated the power of the Indian government along the whole line of +the Jumna and Ganges. The last and greatest object of the +governor-general's ambition was the conquest of the confederate Maratha +states, and for this a pretext was not long wanting. His forward policy, +it is true, had already excited alarm and criticism at home, while the +peace of Amiens had ostensibly removed the chief justification of +it--the necessity of combating the aggressive designs of France. But, in +the case of India, far more than of the American colonies, "months +passed and seas rolled between the order and the execution"; for in +those days ships conveying despatches occupied at least four or five +months on their voyage, and decisions taken in Leadenhall Street might +be utterly stultified by accomplished facts before they could be read in +Calcutta. + +[Pageheading: _WELLESLEY AND LAKE._] + +The Peshwa, at Poona, still maintained a show of independent authority +over the other great Maratha chieftains, Sindhia, Holkar, and the Raja +of Nagpur or Berar. But the real military power of the Marathas rested +with these leaders, and their predatory troops of horsemen terrorised +all Central India. Happily for Wellesley's purpose, they were often at +feud with each other, and the Peshwa, though aided by Sindhia, was +utterly defeated by Jaswant Rao Holkar. He fled to Bassein near Bombay, +where, on December 31, 1802, a treaty was signed by which not only the +Peshwa but the Nizam of Haidarabad was placed under British protection. +The Peshwa was conducted back to Poona by a British force under Arthur +Wellesley in May, 1803, but the other Maratha chiefs naturally resented +this fresh encroachment on their independence, and a league was shortly +formed between the Raja of Nagpur and Sindhia, which it was hoped that +Holkar would ultimately join. By this time, a rupture of the peace with +France was known to be impending, and Lord Wellesley eagerly seized the +opportunity to crush Sindhia, while he urged the home government to +seize the Cape of Good Hope and the Mauritius. Two expeditions were +directed against Sindhia's territory, the one under Arthur Wellesley, +moving from Poona in the west towards the Nizam's frontier; the other, +under General Lake, operating on the north-west against the highly +trained forces, under French officers, assembled before Delhi. Both +campaigns were eminently successful. Wellesley captured Ahmadnagar on +August 11, encountered the combined armies of Sindhia and the Raja of +Nagpur at Assaye on September 23, and, after a desperate conflict, +obtained a decisive victory. Twelve hundred of the Marathas were left +dead on the field and 102 guns were captured. He then advanced into +Berar and completely defeated the army of the Nagpur Raja at Argaum. +Lake marched from Cawnpur, took Delhi and Agra, assuming custody of the +Mughal emperor, and inflicted a final defeat on a powerful Maratha army, +no longer under French officers, at Laswari. Large cessions of territory +followed. The treaty of Bassein was recognised by Sindhia and the Raja +of Nagpur. Gujrat, Cuttack, and the districts along the Jumna passed +into British possession, and the East India Company became the visible +successor, though nominally the guardian, of the Mughal emperor. + +Meanwhile, Holkar remained a passive spectator of the contest. Jealous +as he was of Sindhia, he was by no means prepared to acquiesce in the +subjection of the great Maratha power. Having taken up a threatening +position in Rajputana, and defied Lake's summons to retire, he was +treated as an enemy, and proved a very formidable enemy. Instead of +relying, like Sindhia, on disciplined battalions, he fell back on the +old Maratha tactics, and swept the country with hordes of irregular +cavalry who lived by pillage. In 1804 a British force of 1,200 troops +under Colonel Monson was lured away from its base of supplies by a +feigned retreat and incurred a very serious reverse; scarcely a tenth of +them, utterly broken, "straggled, a mere rabble, into Agra". This +disaster was soon afterwards retrieved by other divisions of Lake's +army, but three attempts to storm the strong fortress of Bhartpur were +repulsed by the raja, Ranjit Singh, an ally of Holkar. Though Holkar's +bands were at last dispersed, a new dispute arose with Sindhia about the +ownership of Gwalior and Gohad, which remained unsettled when Lord +Wellesley resigned early in 1805, not so much because his policy was +disapproved by the court of directors, for whom he always professed a +sovereign contempt, as because he was no longer cordially supported by +the home government. + +In his despatch to the secret committee of the East India Company after +the conclusion of the war with Sindhia, Wellesley describes the +consolidation of the British empire and the pacification of all India, +as the supreme result of his beneficent rule.[138] That rule was +followed by ten years of comparative repose, if not of reaction, but two +events, occurring within this period, threw a significant light on the +inherent danger of relying too much on a native army under British +officers. Sepoy regiments had been raised and had served loyally on both +sides in the struggles between the French and English during the +eighteenth century. The Bengal sepoys were mostly Rajputs and showed the +highest military qualities in many a wearisome march and hard fought +field, from the days of Clive to those of Lake and Arthur Wellesley. But +outbreaks bordering upon mutiny had occasionally taken place in the +native armies of all the presidencies, and on July 10, 1806, a most +formidable mutiny, ending in a massacre at Vellore, west of Madras, +produced a sense of insecurity throughout all India. It was instigated +by the family of Tipu who had been quartered in that fortress, and its +immediate origin was the issue of certain vexatious regulations about +uniform which offended native prejudices of caste. The European force, +numbering some 370, was surprised and surrounded by a much larger body +of sepoys, half of them were killed or wounded, and Tipu's standard was +hoisted. Within a few hours, however, cavalry and artillery arrived from +Arcot, the mutineers were slaughtered by hundreds, and the disaffected +regiments were broken up. Three years later, a serious mutiny broke out +among the company's own officers at Madras, caused by a petty grievance +affecting their profits on tent-contracts. It was appeased rather than +suppressed, and, notwithstanding these discouraging symptoms of +insecurity, the Company's army retained its separate organisation for +half a century longer. + +[Pageheading: _MINTO'S PACIFIC POLICY._] + +Lord Cornwallis, the successor of Lord Wellesley, was opposed by +conviction to a progressive expansion of British territory, and +represented not only the cautious views of the home government, but the +financial anxieties of the East India Company, which always valued a +steady revenue more highly than imperial supremacy. Wellesley had +virtually reconstructed the map of India on lines destined to endure +until a fresh period of annexation set in some forty years later. These +lines were not disturbed by Cornwallis, who died on October 5, 1805, +three months after his arrival, but he clearly indicated his desire to +let the system of protectorates and subsidiary treaties fall gradually +into abeyance. His correspondence with Lake, whose victories had won him +the rank of baron, contains a somewhat peremptory warning against fresh +engagements contemplated by that enterprising officer, whose vigorous +remonstrance he did not live to receive.[139] Sir George Barlow, who +became acting governor-general for two years, adopted the same passive +attitude, and forebore to carry out a projected alliance with Sindhia, +though he would not allow any interference with our paramount influence +at Poona and Haidarabad. Lord Minto, father of the Earl of Minto who +presided at the admiralty under Melbourne, arrived as governor-general +in 1807. He was imbued with similar ideas, and was fortunate in finding +the Marathas too much weakened to be dangerous neighbours. His rule was, +therefore, essentially pacific, but he did good service in maintaining +internal order, and especially in putting down the organised brigandage, +known as "dakaiti," which had been the curse of rural districts. The +distinctive feature of his career, however, was a permanent enlargement +of the horizon of Indian statesmanship to a sphere beyond the confines +of India and even of Asia, a change due to new movements in the vast +international conflict then engrossing the energies of Europe. + +However chimerical the designs of Napoleon against British India may now +appear, there is no doubt that such designs were seriously entertained +by him, nor is it self-evident that what Alexander the Great found +possible would have proved impossible to one who combined with +Alexander's superhuman audacity the command of resources beyond anything +known in the ancient world. At all events, after the battle of Friedland +and the peace of Tilsit, an expedition to be launched from Russian +territory upon the north-west frontier of India, with the support of +Persia on the flank, became a contingency which an Indian +governor-general could not afford to neglect. It is, indeed, strange +that a march across Europe and half of Asia should have appeared to +Napoleon more practicable than a voyage across the English Channel, and +it is highly improbable that he would have cherished the idea of it, if +he could have foreseen the perils of the Russian expedition. But his +conversations at St. Helena prove that it was not a mere vision but a +half-formed design, and, even after it had been discouraged by Russia, +he sent a preliminary mission to Persia. Minto lost no time in sending +counter-missions, not only to Tihran, but to Lahore, Afghanistan, and +Sind. + +The Persian court was already in diplomatic relations with the Indian +government. Colonel Malcolm, afterwards Sir John Malcolm, had been sent +by Wellesley as envoy to the shah at the end of 1800, and in January, +1801, a treaty had been signed, establishing free trade between India +and Persia, and binding the shah to exclude the French from his +dominions, while the company undertook to provide ships, troops, and +stores, in case of French invasion. This treaty, however, neither was +nor could have been actively carried out on either side. Early in 1806 +the shah, who had become embroiled with Russia, appealed to Calcutta for +aid, regardless of the fact that hostilities with Russia were not a +_casus foederis_. Failing to obtain it, he appealed to France. +Napoleon despatched General Gardane, who arrived in December, 1807. He +obtained a treaty under which the shah engaged to banish all Englishmen +on demand of the French emperor. Thereupon Malcolm was entrusted by +Minto with a fresh mission, but never reached the Persian capital, where +French influence was still paramount, and the peremptory tone of +Malcolm's letters was resented. Meanwhile, Sir Harford Jones had been +sent out by the British foreign office, and was received at Tihran in +February, 1809, the peace of Tilsit having destroyed the Persian hope of +French support against Russia. For a while, the right of negotiating +with the shah was in dispute between the Indian government and the +foreign office, and Sir John Malcolm reappeared at Tihran in the spring +of 1810, as the representative of the former. In the end, however, he +co-operated loyally with Jones, and a fresh treaty was signed, though +both these rival emissaries were soon afterwards superseded by Sir Gore +Ouseley as permanent ambassador. + +[Pageheading: _ELPHINSTONE IN AFGHANISTAN._] + +Two other envoys selected by Minto left names which are famous in +Anglo-Indian history, and one achieved an important success. Charles +Metcalfe, Minto's envoy to Lahore, succeeded with the advantage of an +armed force within easy reach of the Sikh frontier, in converting into +an ally the redoubtable Ranjit Singh (not to be confounded with Ranjit +Singh of Bhartpur), who had gathered into his own hands the Sikh +confederacy and acquired sovereignty over the whole Punjab. He was now +induced not only to accept the Sutlej river as the boundary line of his +dominion, but to conclude a treaty of perpetual amity with the British +government. This treaty remained unbroken until his death, and stood us +in good stead during the perilous crisis of the first Afghan war. The +embassy of Mountstuart Elphinstone to Afghanistan was comparatively +fruitless, chiefly owing to the unsettled state of that mysterious +country. Shah Shuja, its titular amir, so far from being in a condition +to resist French invasion, had lost possession of Kabul and Kandahar, +and was only anxious to obtain British aid against his elder brother +Mahmud. Elphinstone, of course, had no authority to entangle the Company +in a civil war far beyond the Indian frontier and was obliged to content +himself with a worthless treaty empowering Great Britain to defend +Afghanistan against France. This treaty had scarcely been ratified when +Shah Shuja himself was driven into exile, to play an ignoble part thirty +years later in the great tragedy of the first Afghan war. + +However pacific Minto's policy was, he did not shut his eyes to the +necessity of guarding the coasts and commerce of India against the enemy +who still dominated Europe, and had not wholly abandoned his visions of +eastern conquest. We have seen already that the "half way" naval station +at the Cape of Good Hope had been retaken from the Dutch in 1806, the +year in which the Berlin decree was issued. In 1810 the French were +expelled from Java by an expedition despatched under Minto's orders, +though it was soon to be restored to Holland. In the same year the +islands of Mauritius and Bourbon were captured from the French and the +sea route to India was finally secured. Lord Minto, who was recalled in +1813 and raised to the dignity of an earl, left India after six years of +peaceful government in a state of tranquillity such as it had never +before enjoyed, and the settlement of the country under British +suzerainty appeared to have been assured. Yet the seeds of fresh trouble +were already working, and his successor was to prove himself a second +Wellesley, and add new territories of great extent to British India. + +Lord Moira, better known by his later title as Marquis of Hastings, +displayed qualities as governor-general of which his previous career had +given no indication. He had already proved himself a good soldier, but +he was a court favourite as well as a somewhat impracticable politician, +and owed his appointment to other influences than his own merit. His +arrival in India nearly coincided with the charter of 1813, which threw +open the India trade, and virtually ushered in a new social era. He was +at once confronted with an empty treasury, on the one hand, and, on the +other, with alarming reports both from the northern frontier and from +the central provinces, still under independent princes of doubtful +fidelity. The earlier part of his nine years' residence in India was +engrossed by most harassing operations against the Nepalis and the +Pindaris, but these operations resulted in perfect success, and Hastings +was able to show before he left India that he was eminent alike in civil +and in military administration. + +The mountainous region of Nepal, lying on the slopes of the Himalayas +north of Bengal and Oudh, had been occupied by the warlike nation, still +known as the Gurkhas, whose capital was at Khatmandu. Like the Marathas, +they had been in the habit of pillaging British territory as well as +Oudh, and when part of Oudh was annexed by Wellesley, frontier disputes +were added to former grounds of hostility. Minto remonstrated with them +sharply but in vain, and Moira lost no time in declaring war against +them. The first campaign of 1814, which followed, though skilfully +conceived by Moira, who held the office of commander-in-chief, was +carried out with little generalship, and was marked by disasters highly +damaging to British prestige. Three out of four armies launched against +the hill-tribes met with serious reverses, chiefly due to a contempt for +the enemy, and a persistence in making frontal assaults on strong +positions without practicable breaches, which have proved so fatal in +many a later conflict between British troops and undisciplined foes. +During the cold season, however, on the extreme north-west, the cautious +but irresistible advance of General Ochterlony penetrated the hill +ranges which had baffled all the other commanders, and retrieved the +fortunes of the war. The Gurkhas were far, indeed, from being subdued, +but Ochterlony's success among their strongest fastnesses, aided by +that of Colonels Gardner and Nicholls in the district of Kumaun, +induced them to sue for peace, and offer territorial cessions. The loss +of the Tarai, or belt of forest interspersed with pastures at the foot +of the Himalayas, was the most onerous of the conditions imposed upon +them by the treaty of Almora, signed in 1815. Rather than submit to it, +the Gurkha chiefs refused to ratify the treaty, and resumed their arms. +After two defeats, however, in February, 1816, they abandoned further +resistance, and Moira afterwards wisely consented to a modification of +the frontier-line. Retaining but a remnant of their dominions in the +lowlands, the Gurkhas have ever since preserved their independence with +their military training in the highlands, and have contributed some of +the best fighting material to the British army in India. + +[Pageheading: _THE PINDARIS._] + +While the war in Nepal was still undecided, fresh troubles broke out in +Central India, where Wellesley's settlement had left no permanent +security for peace. The very submission of the great Maratha powers had +set free large bands of irregular troops, with no livelihood but +pillage, and ever ready, like the Italian _condottieri_ of the later +middle ages, to enlist in the service of any aggressive state. These +mounted freebooters, now called the Pindaris, were secretly encouraged +by the Maratha chiefs, who looked upon them as useful auxiliaries in the +future, either against the government of India or against other native +princes. Several of these still remained in a more or less dependent but +restless condition, and the great leaders of the Maratha confederacy, +Sindhia, Malhar Rao Holkar, son and successor of Jaswant Rao, the +Peshwa, and the Raja of Nagpur, retained a large share of their former +sovereignty. Of these subject-allies, the one most directly under +British guidance and protection was the Peshwa, but even he took +advantage of hostile movements among his neighbours to join in a +combination against British rule, supported by the predatory raids of +the Pindaris. He had long been discontented with the subordinate +position which he had occupied since the treaty of Bassein. The +assassination in 1815 of an envoy of the Gaekwar of Baroda, who had been +sent to Poona on a special mission under British guarantees, nearly +provoked hostilities. But in June, 1817, a treaty was concluded, by +which the Peshwa accepted an increased subsidiary force, ceded part of +his territory, renounced his suzerainty over the Gaekwar and undertook +to submit all further disputes to the decision of the British +government. In November, however, chafing under the restrictions imposed +by this treaty, he broke out into hostility, burnt the British +residency, and after vainly attacking the British troops, fled from +Poona. Almost simultaneously Holkar and the Raja of Nagpur rose. Holkar +was defeated in a pitched battle at Mehidpur in Malwa, while the sepoys +successfully held their own against the Raja's troops at Nagpur. The +fugitive Peshwa was energetically pursued, and captured, and was +stripped of his dominions. The greater part of these was annexed by the +East India Company, but a portion was reserved for the heir of the old +Maratha kings who was established at Satara. The Raja of Nagpur was also +compelled to cede a large portion of his dominions, and at the same time +the Company acquired the overlordship of Rajputana. Henceforth, the +British government claimed a control over all the foreign relations of +native Indian states, whose internal government was to be carefully +watched by a British resident, and whose military forces were to be +practically under the supreme command of the paramount power. + +[Pageheading: _THE END OF THE PINDARIS._] + +Lord Moira, created Marquis of Hastings in 1816, was at last free to +hunt down the Pindaris, with the sullen acquiescence of the Maratha +governments, and he executed his task with extraordinary vigour. He +would have undertaken it, at the instigation of Metcalfe, then resident +at Delhi, a year earlier, but for the peremptory orders of Canning, at +that time president of the board of control, who positively forbade him +to embark on a new war. These orders were greatly relaxed after the +bloodthirsty raid of Chitu, the famous Pindari leader, who in 1816 +desolated vast tracts of Central India. Still no effective action +against the Pindaris was possible until the Maratha lords who harboured +and encouraged them had been crippled and overawed. With their +connivance, a second Pindari raid, accompanied by shocking cruelties, +was made in the same year, but in 1817, when Holkar's followers were +severely defeated at Mehidpur, the secret coalition between these +bandits and our nominal allies was thoroughly broken up. Even then it +proved a most difficult enterprise to root out the Pindaris, who were +not a race, or a tribe, or a sect, but bands of lawless men of all +faiths; for they met and vanished like birds of the air, outstripping +regular cavalry by the length and rapidity of their marches, and +carrying off their booty almost under the eyes of their pursuers. But +the resolute tactics of Hastings prevailed in the end. Amir Khan, their +most powerful leader, disbanded his troops; and hemmed in on all sides, +cut off from every place of shelter, and chased by successive +detachments of horsemen almost as fleet as his own, Chitu became a +hopeless fugitive, with a handful of faithful adherents, who shared his +desperate efforts to escape, but advised him to surrender. He could not +bring himself to do so, possessed, it is said, with an unspeakable +horror of being transported across "the black sea," and he actually +remained at large or in hiding for a year after his lair was discovered. +Nor was he ever captured, for, by a strange fate, this ruthless scourge +of the Deccan, after baffling human vengeance, found his last refuge in +a jungle and died, a tiger's prey. By this time, all the wild bands +which sprung into existence out of the Maratha war had been extirpated +or dispersed, and after the year 1818 the dreaded name of Pindari was +heard no more in history. + +The suppression of civil war and anarchy in Central India, which +completed the work of Wellesley, was the greatest achievement of +Hastings. One remarkable incident of it was a portentous outbreak of +cholera in 1817, during a campaign in Gwalior conducted by Hastings in +person. There had been several minor visitations of this disease in +India. But it now first established itself as an endemic disease, and it +has ever since infested the valley of the Ganges. So virulent was its +onslaught, and so fearful the mortality in Hastings' army, that it was +only saved by shifting its quarters, and the governor-general himself +made preparations for his own secret burial, in case he should be among +the victims. As we have seen already,[140] it was propagated from this +centre through other regions of Asia, until it spread to Western Europe, +and the "Asiatic cholera" of 1831-32 may be lineally traced back to the +last Maratha war. + +The position of Hastings in Indian history closely resembles that of +Wellesley. Disregarding the instructions of the board of control, as +well as of the board of directors, he forced upon them, like Wellesley, +a large extension of their empire. But it cannot be doubted that his +policy, dictated by exigencies beyond the ken of authorities sitting in +London, was eminently successful and beneficent in its results. It went +far to establish a "Pax Britannica" in the Indian Peninsula, and, if it +took little account of dynastic rights, it broke the rod of oppression, +and relieved millions upon millions from tyranny and intimidation which +overshadowed their whole lives. He retired in 1823, after seven years' +tenure of office, and died in 1826 as governor of Malta. Canning had +been designated as his successor, and, having accepted the post, was on +the eve of starting for Calcutta, when the tragical death of Castlereagh +recalled him to the foreign office, and opened to him the most brilliant +stage in his career. Thereupon Lord Amherst was appointed +governor-general, with every prospect of a pacific vice-royalty, whereas +it is now chiefly remembered for the annexation of new provinces on the +south-east of Bengal, and the capture of Bhartpur. + +[Pageheading: _THE FIRST BURMESE WAR._] + +The first Burmese war arose out of persistent aggressions by the new +kingdom of Ava or Burma on what is now the British province of Assam, +but was then an independent, though feeble, state. There had been +earlier frontier disputes between the Indian government and Burma about +the districts lying eastward of Chittagong along the Bay of Bengal, but +it was not until Burma conquered Arakan, invaded Assam, and occupied +passes on the north-east overlooking the plains of Bengal, that serious +action was felt to be necessary. Indeed, while Hastings was engaged with +the war in Nepal and the suppression of the Pindaris, even he was in no +mood to embark on a fresh campaign beyond the borders of India. The +incursions of the Burmese, however, became more and more threatening +both on the coast line and on the mountains above the Brahmaputra river, +and in February, 1824, Amherst resolved to check the extension of their +dominion. Notwithstanding the experience recently gained in Nepal, the +first operations of the Anglo-Indian troops were conducted with little +knowledge of the country, and met with very doubtful success. Rangoon +was easily captured, but the expedition was disabled from advancing up +the river Irawadi by the want of adequate supplies and the deadliness of +the climate. Part of the Tenasserim coast was subdued, but a British +force was defeated in Arakan. These reverses were retrieved in the +following year, 1825, when one army under Sir Archibald Campbell made +its way up the river to Prome, while another army conquered Arakan, and +a third, moving along the valley of the Brahmaputra, established itself +in Assam. The Burmese now abandoned further resistance. Assam, Arakan, +and the Tenasserim provinces were ceded to the company, whose +protectorate was also recognised over other territories upon the course +of the Brahmaputra. It was not until February, 1826, that the King of +Ava could be induced to sign the treaty embodying these cessions, and +many years were to elapse before the port of Rangoon was opened to +British commerce. + +The strong fortress of Bhartpur, in the east of Rajputana, and near to +Agra, had acquired an unique importance, in the eyes of all India by its +successful resistance to Lake's assaults during the Maratha war of 1805. +It was still held until 1825 by its own petty raja, the son of Ranjit +Singh, who remained on terms of respectful amity with the Indian +government, though his little principality was a notorious focus of +native disaffection. In that year he died, and his child, after being +acknowledged by the Indian government as his successor, was forcibly +ousted by a usurper. Sir David Ochterlony, the hero of the Nepalese war, +then resident in Malwa and Rajputana, undertook to support the +legitimate heir, but was overruled by orders from Amherst. On his +resignation he was succeeded by Metcalfe, who had become Sir Charles +Metcalfe by his brother's death in 1822, and who now obtained authority +to carry out Ochterlony's policy, if necessary, by armed intervention. +As negotiation failed, Lord Combermere, as commander-in-chief, proceeded +to reduce the virgin fortress, not by the slow process of siege, but by +a well-organised assault. Having cut off the water supply, and mined the +mud walls, he poured in a storming party and overpowered the garrison. +The feat was probably not so great, from a military point of view, as +many that have left no record, but its effect on the superstitious +native mind was prodigious, especially as it nearly coincided with the +victorious issue of the Burmese war. Nevertheless, Amherst was shortly +afterwards recalled, and left India in 1828. His annexation of Burmese +territory and the increase of expenditure under his rule displeased both +the Company and the home government, so often foiled in the attempt to +enforce a pacific and economical policy. His successor was Lord William +Bentinck, who had been compelled to retire from the governorship of +Madras after the mutiny of Vellore. + +Like Hastings, Bentinck showed a firmness and wisdom in his Indian +administration strongly contrasting with the restless self-assertion of +his earlier career. His lot was cast in an interval of tranquillity +after a long period of warfare, and his name is associated with internal +reforms and social progress in India, not unconnected with a like +movement in England. The measure upon which his fame chiefly rests was +the abolition of "sati," that is, the practice of Hindoo widows +sacrificing themselves by being burned alive on the funeral pile of +their husbands. This practice, which specially prevailed in Bengal, has +been explained by a false interpretation of certain texts in sacred +books of the Hindus, by the selfish eagerness of the husband's family to +monopolise all his property, and by the utterly desolate condition of a +childless widow in native communities. At all events, it was deeply +rooted in Hindu traditions, and no previous governor had dared to go +beyond issuing regulations to secure that the widow should be a willing +victim. Bentinck had the courage to act on the conviction that +inhumanity, however consecrated by superstition and priestcraft, has no +permanent basis in popular sentiment. With the consent of his council, +he prohibited "sati" absolutely, declaring that all who took any part in +it should be held guilty of culpable homicide; and the native population +acquiesced in its suppression. + +But this was only one of Bentinck's reforms. Armed with peremptory +instructions from the home government, he effected large retrenchments +in the growing expenditure of the Indian services, both civil and +military, and a considerable increase in the Indian revenue. It may be +doubted whether one of these retrenchments, involving a strict revision +of officers' allowances known as "batta," was considerable enough to be +worth the almost mutinous discontent which it provoked. Another, +affecting the salaries of civilians, was aggravated, in their eyes, by +the admission of natives to "primary jurisdiction," in other words, by +enabling native judges to sit in courts of first instance. This +important change had been gradually introduced before the arrival of +Bentinck, but it was he who most boldly adopted the idea of governing +India in the interest and by the agency of the natives. On the other +hand, it was he who, supported by Macaulay's famous minute, but contrary +to official opinion in Leadenhall Street, issued the ordinance +constituting English the official language of India. In a like spirit, +he promoted the work of native education, partly for the purpose of +developing the political and judicial capacity of the higher orders +among the Hindus, but partly also for the purpose of making the English +language and literature the instrument of their elevation. He earnestly +desired to raise the standard of Indian civilisation, but he equally +desired to fashion it in an English mould. + +[Pageheading: _THE EXTIRPATION OF "THAGI"._] + +Under the rule of Bentinck, the revenue was largely augmented by a +reassessment of land in the north-western provinces, where an increasing +number of zamindars had fraudulently evaded the payment of rent, and by +the imposition of licence-duties on the growers of opium in Malwa, who +had carried on a profitable but illicit trade through foreign ports. But +the social benefit of the people was ever his first concern, and not the +least of his claims to their gratitude was the final extirpation of +"thagi". This institution was a secret association of highway robbers +and murderers who had plagued Central India almost as widely as the +roving troops of Pindaris. Their victims were travellers whom they +decoyed into their haunts, plundered, strangled, and buried on the spot. +For years they carried on their infamous trade with impunity, and no +member of the conspiracy had turned informer. At last, however, a clue +was found by a skilful and resolute agent of the government, and the +spell of mutual dread which held together the murderous confederacy was +effectually broken in India. Meanwhile, the same period of peaceful +development witnessed the execution of important public works, the +relaxation of restrictions on the liberty of the press, and a general +advance towards a more paternal despotism, coincident with the progress +of liberal ideas at home. These benign influences were favoured by the +continuance of peace and the maintenance of non-intervention, disturbed +only by the minor annexations of Cachar and Coorg, to which may be added +the assumption of direct control over Mysore. + +When the charter of 1833 transformed the "company of British merchants +trading to the east" into the "East India Company," with administrative +powers only, Bentinck was in failing health, and he soon afterwards +returned home. On his resignation in 1835, Metcalfe became provisional +governor-general, but his liberal policy displeased the court of +directors, and Lord Heytesbury was selected by the short-lived +government of Peel as Bentinck's successor. Palmerston, however, on +resuming the foreign office, was believed to have used his influence to +set aside this nomination, and to procure the appointment of Lord +Auckland, then first lord of the admiralty. The supposed objection to +Heytesbury was his known sympathy with Russia, at a moment when distrust +of Russia's designs on the north-west frontier was about to become the +keynote of Anglo-Indian statesmanship. During the interregnum between +Bentinck's retirement and Auckland's accession, three more remedial +measures were carried into effect, the wisdom of which is not even yet +beyond dispute. These were the complete liberation of the Indian press, +the abolition of the exclusive privilege whereby British residents could +appeal in civil suits to the supreme court at Calcutta, and the definite +introduction of English text-books into schools for the people. For all +these reforms Macaulay was largely responsible, but the impulse had been +given by Bentinck, and was accelerated by Metcalfe. + +During the years 1835-37 domestic affairs occupied much less space in +the counsels of Indian statesmen than schemes for counteracting the +growth of Russian influence at Tihran, and securing the predominance of +British influence in Afghanistan. For a time their anxiety was +concentrated on Herat, which the Shah of Persia was besieging, with the +intention of penetrating into the heart of Afghan territory, while the +Afghan rulers themselves were suspected of secretly conspiring with +Persia against our ally, Ranjit Singh. Since Persia, having again lost +faith in British support, was drifting more and more into reliance on +Russia, this forward movement was regarded as the first step of the +Russian advance-guard towards India. The fate of India was felt to +depend on the defence of Herat under Pottinger, a young British officer, +who volunteered his services without instructions from home. The siege, +conducted under Russian officers, lasted ten months, and its ultimate +failure was hailed as a triumph of British policy, for Herat was +recognised, since the days of Alexander the Great, as the western gate +of India. + +[Pageheading: _COMMUNICATION WITH INDIA._] + +About the same time the question of a shorter route to India attracted +much attention both in Russia and in England. The first project was +that, ultimately adopted, of a sea passage by Malta to Alexandria, a +land transit across Egypt to Suez, and a second voyage by the Red Sea to +Indian ports. The alternative line was more properly described as an +"overland route," since it was proposed to make the journey from some +port in the eastern Levant across Syria and by the Euphrates to the +Persian Gulf. Colonel Chesney was sent out in 1835 as the pioneer of an +expedition by this route, and parliament twice voted money for its +development, but it was vigorously opposed by Russia, and abandoned as +impracticable owing to physical difficulties in navigating the +Euphrates, then considered as a necessary channel of communication with +the sea. The scheme has since been revived on a much grander scale in +the form of a projected railway traversing Asia Minor to Baghdad, and +running down the valley of the Tigris. In the meantime, the Red Sea +route, at first discredited, has far more than justified the hopes of +its promoters. With the aid of steam-vessels, since 1845, and of the +Suez Canal, since 1869, it has reduced the journey to India from a +period of four months to one of three weeks, and profoundly affected its +relations with Great Britain. + +It would be well if the premature, but not unfounded, fear of Russian +invasion had produced no further effects on Anglo-Indian policy. +Unhappily, those who justly perceived the importance of Afghanistan, as +lying between Persia and the Punjab, were possessed with the delusion +that it would prove a more solid buffer as a British dependency than as +an independent state. In their ignorance of its internal condition and +the sentiments of its unruly tribes, the Indian government despatched +Sir Alexander Burnes to Kabul, nominally as a commercial emissary, but +not without ulterior objects. They could not have chosen a more capable +agent, for he added to a knowledge of several languages a minute +geographical acquaintance with Central Asia and an insight into the +character of its inhabitants which probably no other Englishman +possessed. He was to proceed by way of Sind to Peshawar, and in passing +through Sind he received news of the siege of Herat, the significance +of which he was not slow to appreciate. Thenceforward his mission +inevitably assumed a political complexion, since the future of +Afghanistan became a practical question. His rash negotiations with Dost +Muhammad, the Amir of Kabul, and his brother at Kandahar, his return to +India, his second mission to Afghanistan in support of a policy which he +had deprecated, and his tragical death in the Kabul insurrection,--these +are events which belong to a later chapter of history. But, though +Burnes cannot be held responsible for the first Afghan war, there can be +no doubt that his travels in disguise through Central Asia, and +confidential reports on the border countries between the Russian and +British spheres of influence, were the immediate prelude to a campaign +the most ill-advised and the most disastrous ever organised by the +Indian government and sanctioned by that of Great Britain. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[138] Despatch of July 13, 1804, _Selection from Wellesley's +Despatches_, ed. Owen, pp. 436-41. See Sir A. Lyall, _British Dominion +in India_, p. 260. + +[139] Cornwallis to Lake, Sept. 19, 1805, _Cornwallis Correspondence_, +iii., 547-55. + +[140] See p. 310 above. + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + LITERATURE AND SOCIAL PROGRESS. + + +The period which elapsed between the resignation of Pitt and the battle +of Waterloo was hardly less eventful in the history of British +civilisation than in the history of British empire. To some, the +boundary line between the society of the eighteenth and that of the +nineteenth century appears to be marked by the outbreak of the French +revolution, and the far-reaching effects of that catastrophe upon ideas, +manners, and politics in Great Britain, as well as upon the continent, +are too evident to be denied. But it is equally certain that, before the +French revolution, an intellectual and industrial movement was in +progress which must have given a most powerful impulse to civilisation, +even if the French revolution had never taken place. In this country, +especially, the great writers, philanthropists, scientific leaders, +inventors, engineers, and reformers of various types, who adorned the +latter part of George III.'s reign, largely drew their inspiration from +an age, just preceding the French revolution, which is sometimes +regarded as barren in originality. + +When the nineteenth century opened, the classical authors of that +pre-revolutionary age had mostly passed away. Hume died in 1776, Johnson +in 1784, Adam Smith in 1790, Gibbon in 1794, Burns in 1796, Burke in +1797, Cowper in 1800. John Howard, the great pioneer of prison reform, +became a martyr to philanthropy in 1790. The most remarkable of those +manufacturing improvements and mechanical inventions upon which the +commercial supremacy of England is founded date from the same period, +and have been described in a previous volume. Steam navigation was still +untried, but preliminary experiments had already been made on both sides +of the Atlantic before 1789. The application of steam to locomotion by +land had scarcely been conceived, but the facilities of traffic and +travelling had been vastly developed in the first forty years of George +III.'s reign. + +It may truly be said, however, that English literature in the early +party of the nineteenth century bears clear traces of the influence +exercised on receptive minds by the French revolution. Three of the +leading poets, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Southey, were deeply infected +by its spirit, and indulged in their youth fantastic dreams of a social +millennium; Wordsworth, especially, who in his maturer years could be +justly described as the priest of nature-worship and the poet of rural +life, had imbibed violent republican ideas during a residence of more +than a year in France. These were passing off in 1798, when he +published, jointly with Coleridge, the volume of _Lyrical Ballads_ +containing the latter's immortal tale of the _Ancient Mariner_. In the +following year he settled in the English lake-country, where Coleridge +established himself for a while, and Southey for life. Hence the popular +but very inaccurate title of the "Lake School," applied to a trio of +poets who, except as friends, had little in common with each other. +Indeed, after Wordsworth had developed his theory of poetical realism in +the preface to a volume published in 1800, Coleridge rejected and +criticised it as wholly untenable. All three, however, may be considered +as comrades in a revolt against the conventional diction of eighteenth +century poetry, from which Coleridge's "dreamy tenderness" and mystical +flights of fancy were as remote as Wordsworth's rusticity and almost +prosaic studies of humble life. + +[Pageheading: _COLERIDGE AND SCOTT._] + +Although Coleridge survived to 1834 and Wordsworth to 1850, both seem to +have lost at an early date that power of imagination, whether displayed +in sympathy or in creation, in which their greatness consisted. +Wordsworth wrote assiduously during the whole of this period; in 1807 he +published a volume of poems, including the famous _Ode on the +Intimations of Immortality_ and several of his finest sonnets; but of +his later work only an occasional lyric deserves to be ranked beside the +poems published in 1800 and 1807. Coleridge, indeed, published two of +his finest poems, _Christabel_ and _Kubla Khan_, in 1816, but they were +written long before, _Christabel_, partly in 1797 and partly in 1801, +and _Kubla Khan_ in 1798. Even the new metre of _Christabel_, which is +not the least of Coleridge's contributions to English poetry, had, as +early as 1805, been borrowed in the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_ by Scott, +to whom Coleridge had recited the poem. Nevertheless, Coleridge +continued to exercise a great influence, partly through the charm of his +conversation and partly through his prose works, in which he introduced +to a British public, as yet unused to German literature, a vision of +that mystical German thought which finds its father in Kant, and was +represented at that day by Hegel in philosophy and Goethe in poetry. It +is uncertain how far the general ignorance of German literature in +England was responsible for the influence exercised in their own day by +the few English or Scottish thinkers, such as Coleridge, Hamilton, and +Carlyle, who had either fallen under the spell or learned the secret of +the German mystics. The most important of Coleridge's prose works was +_Aids to Reflection_, which appeared in 1828, and whatever be its +literary value, it deserves the notice of the historian, as the least +unsystematic treatise of an author who gave the principal philosophical +impetus to the Oxford movement. + +Two other poets, eminently the product of their age, though not the +offspring of the French revolution, Scott and Byron, were equally in +revolt against conventional diction. Scott elevated ballad-poetry to a +level which it had never before attained, and composed some of the most +beautiful songs in the English language. If it be remembered that he was +cramped by the drudgery of legal offices during the best years of his +life, that he was nearly thirty when he made his first literary venture, +that he was crippled by financial ruin and broken health during his +later years, that his anonymous contributions to periodicals would fill +volumes, and that he died at the age of sixty-one, his fertility of +production must ever be ranked as unique in the history of English +literature. Already known as the author of various lyrical pieces, and +the _Border Minstrelsy_, he published the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_ in +1805, _Marmion_ (with its fine stanzas on Pitt and Fox) in 1808, the +_Lady of the Lake_ in 1809, _Don Roderick_ in 1811, and _Rokeby_ in +1813, as well as minor poems of high merit. He is said to have abandoned +poetry in deference to Byron's rising star, and it is certain that he +now fills a higher place in the roll of English classics as a prose +writer than as a poet. His first novel, _Waverley_, appeared in 1814, +and was followed In the next four years by six of the greatest "Waverley +Novels," as the series came to be called--_Guy Mannering_, the +_Antiquary_, the _Black Dwarf_, _Old Mortality_, _Rob Roy_, and the +_Heart of Midlothian_. It is not too much to say that by these works, +both in poetry and in prose, he created the historical romance in Great +Britain. The legends of chivalry and the folk-lore of his native land +had deeply stirred his soul, and fired his imagination from childhood, +and though later "research" has far outstripped the range of his +antiquarian knowledge, no modern writer has ever done so much to awaken +a reverence for olden times in the hearts of his countrymen. The easy +flow of his style, the vivid energy of his thought, the graphic power of +his descriptions, his shrewd and robust sympathy with human nature, and +the evident simplicity of his own character, not unmingled with flashes +of true poetical insight, justly rendered him the most popular writer of +his time. + +Byron was born in 1788, and first sprang into notice as the author of +_English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_, a fierce and bitter reply to +critics who had disparaged his first essay in poetry. This satire +appeared in 1809, when he was just of age, after which he travelled with +Hobhouse, and it was not until 1812 that he "woke to find himself +famous," on publishing the first two cantos of _Childe Harold_. During +the next three years, he poured forth a succession of characteristic +poems, including the _Giaour_, the _Bride of Abydos_, the _Corsair_, +_Lara_, and the _Siege of Corinth_. His later work was of a more +finished order, including the remaining cantos of _Childe Harold_, +_Manfred_, _Cain_, and _Mazeppa_, and when he died at Mesolongi in 1824, +he left unfinished what is, in some ways, the most remarkable of his +works, _Don Juan_. Long before his death he had become the prophet and +hero of a pseudo-romantic school, composed of young Englishmen dazzled +by his intellectual brilliancy, and attracted rather than repelled by a +certain Satanic taint in his moral sentiments. But he also won the +admiration of Goethe, and the reaction against his fame in a later +generation is as exaggerated as the idolatry of which he was the object +under the regency. His morbid egotism, his stormy rhetoric, and his +meretricious exaltation of passion, have lost their magical effect, but +his poetical gifts would have commanded homage in any age. The message +which he professed to deliver was a false message, but few poets have +surpassed him in daring vigour of imagination, in descriptive force, in +wit, or in pathos. His style was eminently such as to invite imitation, +yet no one has successfully imitated him. Had he been a better man, and +had his life been prolonged, he might perhaps have towered above his +literary contemporaries as Napoleon did among the generals and rulers of +Europe. + +[Pageheading: _KEATS, SHELLEY, TENNYSON._] + +Yet among these contemporaries were Keats and Shelley, whom some critics +of a younger generation would place above him in poetical originality. +Their chief merit lay neither in thought nor in strength, but in an +exquisite sweetness of expression, which in the case of Shelley at least +was quite independent of the subject-matter. Keats, though junior to +Shelley, has been described as his poetical father, but his chief poem, +_Endymion_, did not appear until several years after Shelley had formed +his own distinctive style. He died in 1821 at the age of twenty-six, +leaving a poetical inheritance of the highest quality, which, though +limited in quantity and unequal in workmanship, has gained an enduring +reputation. Nevertheless his work lent itself readily to imitation, and +he exercised a marked influence on the style of later poets, not only in +this period, but in the Victorian age as well. The rebellious spirit of +Shelley had already shown itself at an early age in his poetry, and +especially in _Queen Mab_, printed in 1812. His ethereal fancy, his +dreamy obscurity, and his witchery of language, designated him from the +first as a master of lyrical poetry; though he wrote longer pieces, his +fame rests on the numerous short poems which continued to appear till +his death in 1822. + +Perhaps the greatest master of melody was one who was only coming to the +front at the close of this period, Alfred Tennyson, born in 1809, +contributed with two of his brothers to a collection of verses, +misleadingly entitled _Poems by Two Brothers_, which appeared in 1826. +At Cambridge his _Timbuctoo_ won the chancellor's prize, but the first +proof of his powers was given by a volume of short poems published in +1830, followed by a similar volume two years later. By far the greater +part of his work lies in the next period, but the volume of 1833 already +included some of his best known poems. + +Among minor poets of this period the highest rank must perhaps be +assigned to Thomas Campbell and Thomas Moore as authors of some of the +most stirring and graceful lyrics in the English language. The former +had attained celebrity by the _Pleasures of Hope_, published before the +end of the eighteenth century, but his choicest poems, such as _Ye +Mariners of England_, the fine verses on Hohenlinden and Copenhagen, and +_Gertrude of Wyoming_, appeared between 1802 and 1809. The series of +Moore's Irish melodies, on which his poetical fame largely rests, was +begun in 1807, though not completed until long afterwards. They were +followed by other lyrical pieces of great merit, and by a series of +witty and malicious lampoons, collected in 1813 into a volume called the +_Twopenny Post Bag_. _Lalla Rookh_, his most ambitious effort, was not +published until 1817. + +Two prose writers of the same epoch, Southey and Bentham, claim special +notice, though Southey may also be numbered among the poets. Having +established himself close to Keswick in 1804, he prosecuted a literary +career with the most untiring industry until his mental faculties at +last failed him some thirty-six years later. During this period he +produced above a hundred volumes in poetry and prose, besides numerous +scattered articles and other papers. Most of these were of merely +ephemeral interest, but the _Life of Nelson_, published in 1813, may be +said to have set a standard of simplicity, purity, and dignity in +English prose which has been of permanent value. Bentham's style, on the +contrary, was so wanting in beauty and perspicuity that one at least of +his chief works is best known to English readers in the admirable French +paraphrase of his friend Dumont. This is his famous _Introduction to the +Principles of Morals and Legislation_, in which the doctrines of the +utilitarian philosophy are rigorously applied to jurisprudence and the +regulation of human conduct. Several of his numerous treatises had been +planned, and others actually composed, before the end of the eighteenth +century, but his practical influence, ultimately so great, first made +itself felt in the early part of the nineteenth century. This influence +may be compared within the sphere of social reform to that of Adam Smith +within the sphere of economy. Many amendments of the law, an improved +system of prison discipline, and even the reform of the poor law, may +be directly traced to his counsels, and it was he who inspired the +leading radicals when radicalism was not so much a destructive creed as +a protest against real and gross abuses. + +[Pageheading: _MALTHUS._] + +Perhaps, next to Bentham, no writer of this period influenced educated +opinion so powerfully as Malthus, whose _Essay on Population_, first +published anonymously in 1798, attracted comparatively little attention +until 1803, when it was republished in a maturer form. No work has ever +been more persistently misrepresented. While he shows that population, +if unchecked, will surely increase in a ratio far outstripping any +possible increase in the means of subsistence, he also shows, by +elaborate proofs, that it will inevitably be checked by vice and misery, +whether or not they are aided by moral restraint. Later experience has +done little to weaken his reasoning, but it has proved that "moral +restraint" (in the most general sense) operates more widely than he +ventured to expect, and that larger tracts of the earth's surface than +he recognised could be brought under profitable cultivation. With these +modifications, his theory holds the field, and the people of Great +Britain only escape starvation by ever-growing importations of grain +from countries whose production--for the present--exceeds their +consumption. + +Several other writers of eminence, such as Sheridan and Paley, who lived +in the latter days of George III. are more properly to be regarded as +survivors of eighteenth century literature. Horne Tooke was returned for +Old Sarum in 1801, and enjoyed a reputation in society until his death +in 1812, but his old-fashioned radicalism had long since been superseded +by a newer creed. Dugald Stewart continued to lecture on moral +philosophy until 1809, and was fortunate in numbering among his pupils +Palmerston, Lansdowne, and Russell. A younger student of philosophy was +Richard Whately, who was born in 1787, and elected to a fellowship at +Oriel College, Oxford, in 1811. He soon began to play an active part in +university life, and, after being principal of St. Alban Hall, was +removed to the archbishopric of Dublin in 1831. Though not a great +philosopher, he was an acute logician, and his _Logic_, published in +1826, entitled him to a high place among the thinkers of his generation. +But it was not merely as a teacher and writer that Whately promoted the +cause of philosophy in Oxford. He was one of the leaders in that +organisation of studies which made philosophy one of the principal +studies, if not the principal study, of the abler students in that +university, and gave elementary logic a place in the ordinary +"pass-man's" curriculum. + +The best work of Maria Edgeworth and Jane Austen appeared in the early +part of the nineteenth century. Maria Edgeworth's novel, _Castle +Rackrent_, was published in 1800, and rapidly followed by other tales +descriptive of Irish life; four of Jane Austen's novels, _Sense and +Sensibility_, _Pride and Prejudice_, _Mansfield Park_, and _Emma_, were +published between 1811 and 1816, while _Northanger Abbey_ and +_Persuasion_ appeared after her death in 1817. All her work displays a +power of minute analysis of character shared by few, if any, of our +other novelists. Both authors deserve gratitude not only for having +inspired Scott with a new idea of novel-writing, but for having +exercised a purifying influence on the moral tone of English romance. + +The most typical feature of English literature in the earlier years of +the nineteenth century was the extraordinary development of the +periodical and newspaper press. The eighteenth century was the golden +age of pamphlets. When the "governing classes" represented but a +fraction of the population, mostly concentrated in London, the practical +effect of such political appeals as those issued by Swift or Burke was +incredibly great, and not to be measured by their limited circulation. +The rise of journalism as a power in politics may be roughly dated from +the notoriety of Wilkes' _North Briton_, and of the letters of "Junius" +in the _Public Advertiser_. Thenceforward, newspapers, at first mere +chronicles of passing events, inevitably grew to be organs of political +opinion, and had now almost superseded pamphlets, as addressed to a far +larger circle of readers. Notwithstanding the heavy stamp duties, as +well as duties on paper and advertisements, six daily journals were +published in London, of which the _Times_ was already the greatest. +Cobbett's _Weekly Political Register_, commenced in 1802, was diffusing +new ideas among the middle classes, but it was not yet committed to +radicalism, and did not win its way into cottages until its price was +greatly reduced in 1816. After Cobbett's death in 1835, it ceased to +appear. Still the ice was broken, and, as the educated public recovered +from the panic caused by the French revolution, the newspaper press +became a potent and independent rival of parliament and the platform. + +[Pageheading: _EDINBURGH AND QUARTERLY REVIEWS._] + +But the influence of the _Edinburgh_ and _Quarterly Reviews_ was perhaps +even greater among readers of the highest intelligence. The first of +these was founded in 1802 by Jeffrey, Brougham, Horner, and Sydney +Smith, but was supported at first by Scott and other able contributors. +So remarkable a body of writers must have commanded attention in any +age, but at a time when the only periodicals were annuals and +miscellanies, the literary vigour and range of knowledge displayed by +the new review carried all before it. For several years it had an unique +success, but, as it identified itself more and more with the whig party, +Canning, with the aid of Scott, determined to challenge its supremacy by +establishing a new review to be called the _Quarterly_. Scott was +finally estranged from the _Edinburgh_ by an article against the war of +independence in Spain, and the first number of the _Quarterly_ appeared +in February, 1809, with three articles by him. It was published by John +Murray, and edited by Gifford, on much the same lines as the +_Edinburgh_, but with a strong tory bias, and with somewhat less of +literary brilliancy. _Blackwood's Magazine_ followed a few years later, +and the almost classical dualism of the _Quarterly_ and _Edinburgh_ has +long since been invaded by a multitude of younger serials. + +After the loss of its early monopoly of talent, the _Edinburgh Review_ +still retained Jeffrey and Sydney Smith, and it was abundantly +compensated for the loss of Scott by the acquisition in 1825 of the +fluent pen of Macaulay. Born in 1800, the son of Zachary Macaulay, who +like many other philanthropists was on the tory side, he was early +converted to the whig party. He was well fitted to be a popular writer. +His thought, never deep, is always clear and vivid. None knew better how +to seize a dramatic incident or a picturesque simile, or to strike the +weak points in his adversary's armour. It has been said of him that he +always chose to storm a position by a cavalry charge, certainly the most +imposing if not the most effective method. Many of his contributions to +the _Edinburgh Review_ were afterwards republished as _Essays_, and +already in those earlier essays which appeared before 1837, we can see +him assuming the _role_ of the historical champion of the whigs. Widely +read and with a marvellous memory, he was generally accurate in his +facts, but his criticism of Gladstone applies with even greater force to +himself: "There is no want of light, but a great want of what Bacon +would have called dry light. Whatever Mr. Gladstone sees is refracted +and distorted by a false medium of passions and prejudices." The critic +is sunk in the advocate, and even a good cause is spoiled by a too +obvious reluctance to admit anything that comes from the other side. +Perhaps his happiest, though far from his greatest, work is to be found +in the stirring ballads of _Ivry_ and the _Armada_, the precursors of +the _Lays of Ancient Rome_. Deservedly popular and full of patriotic +fire, the class of literature to which they belong renders questions of +fairness or unfairness beside the point. + +Another contributor to the _Edinburgh Review_, also famous as a +historian, was Thomas Carlyle. He was born in 1795 at Ecclefechan in +Dumfriesshire, and wrote for Brewster's _Encyclopaedia_ and the _London +Magazine_ as well as the _Edinburgh_. In 1826 he married Jane Welsh, and +in 1828 he retired from journalism to live humbly on her means. It was +now that he began to produce his best work. _Sartor Resartus_ appeared +in 1833-34, and the _History of the French Revolution_ in 1837. Even in +the latter of these works he is as much a preacher as a historian. +Perhaps no other writer of the age exercised a greater direct influence, +and in his own country, which seems specially amenable to the preacher's +powers, his message has been as effective in favour of broader views as +the disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843 was in favour of the +old orthodoxy. His teaching has its roots in a German soil, but it bears +the mark of his own strong personality. His style, with a wilful +ruggedness, displays the German taste for the humour of an incongruous +homeliness, where the subject seems to call for a more dignified +treatment. Perhaps this obvious falseness of expression only relieves +the weight of his stern earnestness of purpose and makes us the more +ready to join in his constant denunciation of everything hollow and +pretentious. + +[Pageheading: _LAMB._] + +Two new magazines appeared in or about 1817, _Blackwood's_ and the +_London_. Brilliant as the leading contributors to the former were, none +of them perhaps can claim a place in the front rank of English +literature. Of the contributors to the _London_ Lamb is doubtless +entitled to the first place. Born in 1775, he was employed as a clerk in +the East India House from 1792 to 1825. He was a schoolfellow of +Coleridge and contributed to his earlier volume of poems It is, however, +to the _Essays of Elia_ that he owes his fame. These appeared in the +_London Magazine_ and were published in a collected form after his death +in 1834. Few authors that have been so much admired have exercised so +little influence. The reason for this is not far to seek. His style +defies imitation, and he would have been the last man to endeavour to +win disciples to his opinions. Another essayist who belongs to the same +group of writers as Coleridge and Lamb is Thomas de Quincey. He wrote +both for _Blackwood's_ and for the _London Magazine_, in the latter of +which appeared in 1821 his best known work, the _Confessions of an +English Opium Eater_. He excelled in what was the dominant +characteristic of English prose of this period, in imagery, a quality +which is conspicuous in the light fancy of Coleridge's most famous +poems, and which gives life to an author so uniformly in dead earnest as +Macaulay. Viewed historically, this taste for imagery is the English +side of the romantic movement, which in Germany reacted against the +conventional, not only in works of the imagination, but in the heavier +form of new philosophical systems. But these systems, in spite of +Coleridge, never became native in England. The growth of the scientific +spirit has made such thought and such language seem unreal in serious +literature, and prevents a later generation from imitating, though not +from admiring, the brilliance of the early essayists. + +Hazlitt's genius was of a heavier type. As an essayist his work breathes +the spirit of an earlier age; but as a literary critic he is a leader, +and displays an inwardness in his appreciation that makes him in a sense +the model of the new age in which criticism has so largely supplanted +creation. It may be doubted, however, whether the abnormal growth of +criticism, as a distinct branch of English letters, has been a benefit +on the whole to our literature. Certainly it has tended to substitute +the elaborate study of other men's thoughts for original production, +and, after all, the greatest critics have been those who, being more +than critics, have shown themselves capable of constructive efforts. + +Two statesmen-novelists, Bulwer and Disraeli, are among the most +interesting literary characters of the end of this period. The former of +these, like his French contemporary Victor Hugo, had a remarkable gift +for expressing each successive phase of popular taste. He resembled +Disraeli in acquiring a pre-eminent position in letters in early youth, +which was followed by political success at a later age. Though neither +rose to cabinet rank before a time of life which must with literary men +rank as "middle age," Bulwer had, in the midst of an active +parliamentary career, been an active novelist, in fact the most popular +novelist of his day. Disraeli, on the other hand, only entered +parliament after the close of the period dealt with in this volume, and +it is to this period, while he was still unknown to politics, that the +greater part of his literary work belongs. One other resemblance between +these writers is perhaps not less interesting to the historian than to +the critic. Both made use of literature to establish for themselves a +reputation as "men of the world," an ambition which Bulwer's social +position might easily justify, and without which it would be impossible +to understand the career of Disraeli. Born in 1803 and 1804 +respectively, both made their mark with their first novels in 1827, +Bulwer with _Falkland_, Disraeli with a work in which his own career has +been supposed to be foreshadowed--_Vivian Grey_. One other great +novelist had appeared before the close of the reign of William IV. In +1836 Charles Dickens produced _Sketches by Boz_ and began the _Pickwick +Papers_, but he belongs properly to the next reign. + +Among the historians of this period the first place undoubtedly belongs +to Henry Hallam. Born in 1788, he produced his _View of the State of +Europe during the Middle Ages_ in 1818, and his _Constitutional History +of England_ in 1827, while his _Introduction to the Literature of +Europe_ began to appear in 1837. Like Macaulay he represents the whig +attitude towards politics, but does so less consciously and less +emphatically than his younger contemporary. There is a sense in which no +constitutional historian has adopted so strictly legal an attitude. It +is not merely that his interest centres on the legal side of the +constitution, but, lawyer-like, he judges every constitutional issue of +the past in the light of the legal system which the law of his own day +presupposes for the date in question. No one can deny the validity of +this principle in a court of justice, but no one gifted either with +historical imagination or with historical sympathy could wish to +introduce it into a historical work. Yet the very narrowness of his +outlook made it easier for him to adopt the impartiality of a judge; his +criterion of justice is too definite to allow him to indulge in special +pleading or to twist facts to suit his theories; and the student still +turns to Hallam with a sense of security which he does not feel in +reading Macaulay or Carlyle. + +[Pageheading: _FINE ART._] + +The fine arts cannot be said to have flourished in England during the +period of the great war, and architecture was certainly at a low ebb, +but several eminent names belong to this period. Sir Thomas Lawrence was +by far the foremost English portrait painter, and fitly represents the +elegance of the regency, while Raeburn enjoyed an equal reputation in +Scotland. Turner, however, was painting in his earlier manner and +showing originality even in his imitations of old masters. Constable, +too, was producing some of those quiet English landscapes which, though +little appreciated at the time, have since made him famous. Two other +English landscape painters, Callcott and the elder Crome, were also in +their prime, and Wilkie executed several of his best known masterpieces +at this time. David Cox and Prout did not earn celebrity till a little +later. The Water-Colour Society was founded in 1804. Soon afterwards +Flaxman was in the zenith of his fame, being elected professor of +sculpture by the Royal Academy in 1810, and Chantrey was beginning to +desert portrait painting for statuary. + +Science, especially in its practical applications, made greater strides +than art in the early years of the nineteenth century. It was now that +Jenner's memorable discovery of vaccination, dating from 1796, was +generally adopted by the medical profession. In 1802 his claim to +priority was recognised by a parliamentary committee, with the result +that L10,000 were then voted to him, and a further grant of L20,000 was +made in 1807, when vaccination was established at the Small-pox +Hospital. In 1814, George Stephenson, after many preliminary +experiments, made a successful trial of his first locomotive engine. In +1812, Bell's steamboat, the _Comet_ made its first voyage on the Clyde, +and the development of steam navigation proceeded more rapidly than that +of steam locomotion by land. Sir Humphry Davy began his researches in +1800, and took part in that year, with Count Rumford and Sir Joseph +Banks, in founding the Royal Institution. His invention of the safety +lamp was not matured until 1815. + +But if the principal contributions of England to physical science in the +early years of the century were mainly in the direction of practical +application, her contributions to pure theory under the regency and in +the reign of William IV. were no less distinguished. Sir John Herschel, +following in the footsteps of his father, began in 1824 his observations +on double stars and his researches upon the parallax of fixed stars, +while Sir George Airy published in 1826 his mathematical treatises on +lunar and planetary theory. In Michael Faraday England possessed at once +an eminent chemist and the greatest electrician of the age. The +discovery of benzine and the liquefaction of numerous gases were +followed by an investigation of electric currents, and in 1831 by the +crowning discovery of induction. Not less valuable perhaps than these +discoveries of his own were the fertile suggestions which he left to +others. William Smith, sometimes called the father of modern English +geology, vigorously followed up the work of James Hutton by publishing +in 1815 his great map of English _strata_ as identified by fossils. +Charles Lyell's _Principles of Geology_ marks a great advance in +geological science. In this book, which appeared in 1833, the author +advanced the view, now universally accepted, that the great geological +changes of the past are not to be explained as catastrophes, followed by +successive creations, but as the product of the continuous play of +forces still at work. This theory contained all that was vital in the +doctrine of evolution; but it was only at a later date, when the +doctrine had become the property of zoologists as well as geologists and +had been popularised by Darwin, that it came to exercise an influence +over non-scientific thought. + +[Pageheading: _UNIVERSITY REFORM._] + +A review of the literary and scientific progress of this period would be +incomplete without some notice of progress in higher education. The +universities of Oxford and Cambridge with their numerous colleges had in +the eighteenth century lapsed into that lethargic condition which seemed +to be the common fate of all corporations. They had to a certain extent +ceased to be seats of learning. At Oxford the limitations imposed upon +colleges by statute or custom in elections to fellowships and +scholarships ensured the mediocrity of the teachers and gave the +preference to mediocrities among the students. Where emoluments were not +so restricted they were generally awarded by interest rather than by +merit; and it was even the case that a scholarship at Winchester, +carrying with it the right to a fellowship at New College, was often +promised to an infant only a few days old. The Oxford examination system +had not been reformed since the time of Laud, and the degree +examinations had degenerated into mere formalities until the university +in 1800 adopted a new examination statute, mainly under the influence of +Dr. Eveleigh, provost of Oriel. The new statute, which came into +operation in 1802, granted honours to the better students of each year. +The number of candidates to whom honours were granted, at first very +small, rapidly increased till in 1837 about 130 received honours in a +single year. The attention which the examination system received from +the hebdomadal board, so often accused of sluggishness, is proved by the +frequent changes in the regulations, which among other things +differentiated between honours in "Literae Humaniores" and in mathematics +in 1807, and separated the honours and pass examinations in 1830. The +same desire to encourage meritorious students showed itself in the +institution of competitive examinations for fellowships, in which Oriel +led the way. It was followed in 1817 by Balliol, which in 1827 threw +open its scholarships as well. It was not, however, till the reign of +Queen Victoria that the college statutes as a whole were so modified as +to make open competition possible in more than a very few instances. + +Cambridge suffered less than Oxford from restrictions as to the choice +of fellows. In fact the majority of the fellowships, more especially of +those which carried with them a vote in the government of the colleges, +were, so far as the statutes went, open to all comers. Though the course +of study was still nominally regulated by statutes dating from the Tudor +period, which it would often have been ludicrous to enforce, an +effective stimulus was given to mathematical studies by the mathematical +tripos, which had existed from the middle of the eighteenth century, +and to which in 1824 a classical tripos was added. The ground covered by +these honour examinations was certainly narrower than that which lay +within the scope of the corresponding examinations at Oxford, but at +both places the studies of most undergraduates were still directed more +by the judgment of their tutors than by the regulations of the +university. + +These two universities were, however, subject to two limitations, which +prevented them from providing a higher education for all aspiring +students. The expense of living at Oxford and Cambridge, and the close +connexion of both universities with the Church of England, rendered them +difficult of access to many. These limitations were emphasised by the +fact that Scotland possessed five universities which were the opposite +of the English in both respects, and not a few English students could +always be found at the Scottish seats of learning. The reform ministry +made a serious effort to remove or alleviate the grievances of +dissenters. Among other reforms mooted was the abolition of theological +tests for matriculation and graduation. In 1834 a bill, which proposed +to effect this change, but which left intact such tests as existed for +fellowships and professorships, passed its second reading in the commons +by a majority of 321 against 174, and its third reading by 164 against +75. It was, however, thrown out on the second reading in the lords by +187 votes against 85. Though in this particular case the demands of the +dissenters were moderate, they were themselves opposed to other measures +introduced for their benefit, and the question of tests at Oxford and +Cambridge was not unnaturally allowed to rest for another twenty years. + +[Pageheading: _UNIVERSITY OF LONDON._] + +It was only in the reign of George IV. that anything was done to provide +a university education for those who were unable to proceed to the +ancient seats of learning. But the movement, once started, progressed +rapidly. The oldest of the university colleges, as they are now called, +is St. David's College, Lampeter, which was founded in 1822, mainly +through the exertions of Dr. Thomas Burgess, Bishop of St. David's, who +was supported by many others among the Welsh clergy. The college was +opened in 1827, but at first it had no power of conferring degrees, and +contented itself with the education of candidates for holy orders. A +more important movement was initiated in 1825. In a public letter +written by the poet Campbell to Brougham, the project of founding a +university of London, which should be free from denominational +restrictions, was advocated. The scheme was warmly embraced by many +whose names are found associated with other movements of the times. +Among them were Hume, Grote, Zachary Macaulay, Dudley, and Russell. A +large proportion of the promoters of the new university had been +educated at Scottish universities, and had therefore a clear idea of the +type of university which they might establish, and the movement, +although started primarily in the interests of dissenters, received the +support of many who still valued the connexion of the universities with +the Church. The "London University," as it was called, was opened in +1828, when classes were formed in arts, law, and medicine, but not in +divinity. It was technically a joint-stock company, and the attempt of +the shareholders to obtain a charter of incorporation was successfully +resisted by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. + +Meanwhile some of the original supporters of the movement, regarding the +non-religious character of the new university with suspicion, had +decided to transfer their support to a new college, where the doctrine +and worship of the Church of England should be recognised. The Duke of +Wellington took a lively interest in this movement, and King George +IV.'s patronage gave the new institution the name of "King's College". +There seemed every reason to expect that the foundation would be on a +munificent scale, when Wellington's acceptance of catholic emancipation +offended many of the subscribers so deeply that they immediately +withdrew from the undertaking, and the college was in consequence left +almost entirely without endowment. State recognition, however, was given +it from the first. It was incorporated in 1829, and opened in 1831. In +1835 the demand of "London University" for a charter received the +support of the house of commons, and Lord Melbourne's government decided +to propose a compromise, by which the so-called "London University" was +to be converted into University College, and an examining body was to be +created under the title of the University of London, while the work of +teaching was to be performed by University College, King's College, and +other colleges, which might from time to time be named by the crown. +These terms were accepted by the existing "university," and charters +were given to the new university and to University College, London, in +1836. It was thus left open to students or their parents to select +either a denominational or an undenominational college, according to +their preference. + +Meanwhile another university had been founded in the north of England. +The dean and chapter of Durham had determined to set aside a part of +their emoluments for the foundation of a university, and the bishop had +undertaken to assist them by attaching prebendal stalls in the cathedral +to some of the professorships. An act of parliament was obtained in +1832, authorising the establishment of the new university, which was +opened in October, 1833, and was incorporated by a royal charter on June +1, 1837. As an ecclesiastical foundation, the university of Durham was +of course in the closest connexion with the established Church. + +None of these new foundations could compare in respect of endowments +with the old universities of Oxford and Cambridge, yet it was not +altogether without reason that the founders of University College, +London, hoped to give as good an education at a greatly reduced cost. It +must be remembered that only a small fraction of the endowments of the +old universities and their colleges was at this time applied to strictly +educational purposes, and, until they should either be reformed or +become more sensible of their opportunities, there was a fair field for +an energetic rival. + +The beginning of the nineteenth century witnessed a marvellous expansion +of manufacturing industry, not so much caused by new discoveries as by +the energetic application of those made at the end of the last century, +by the growth of the factory-system, and, above all, by the monopoly of +English-made goods during the great war. The innovation of +machine-spinning and weaving by power-looms had an instant effect in +stimulating and cheapening the production of cottons, but that of +woollens, cramped by heavy duties on the raw material, languished for +some time longer under traditional methods of handspinning. When +stocking-frames and other forms of machinery penetrated at last into its +strongholds in the West Riding of Yorkshire and in the midland counties, +the demand for "hands" was inevitably reduced, and "frame-breaking" +riots ensued, which lasted for several years. From this period dates the +industrial revolution which gradually abolished domestic industries, +separated mill-owners and mill-hands into almost hostile classes, +undermined the system of apprenticeship, and brought about a large +migration of manufactures from centres with abundant water-power to +centres in close proximity to coal-fields. + +[Pageheading: _PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE._] + +The progress of British agriculture during the period under review was +almost as marked as that of British manufactures. Under the impulse of +war prices, and of the improvements adopted at the end of the eighteenth +century, the home-production of corn almost kept pace with the growing +consumption, and between 1801 and 1815 little more than 500,000 quarters +of imported corn were required annually to feed the population. No +doubt, when the price of bread might rise to famine-point, the +consumption of it fell to a minimum per head; still, the rural +population continued to multiply, though not so rapidly as the urban +population, and neither could have been maintained without a constant +increase in the production of the soil. This result was due to a +progressive extension of enclosure and drainage, as well as to wise +innovations in the practice of agriculture. Not the least important of +such innovations was the destruction of useless fences and straggling +hedge-rows, the multitude and irregular outlines of which had long been +a picturesque but wasteful feature of old-fashioned English farming. +This was the age, too, in which many a small farm vanished by +consolidation, and many an ancient pasture was recklessly broken up, +some of which, though once more covered with green sward, have never +recovered their original fertility. Happily, the use of crushed bones +for manure was introduced in 1800, and the efforts of the national board +of agriculture, aided by the discoveries of Sir Humphry Davy, brought +about a far more general application of chemical science to agriculture, +partly compensating for the exhaustion of the soil under successive +wheat crops. Not less remarkable was the effect of mechanical science in +the development of new agricultural implements, which, however, retained +a comparatively rude form of construction. The Highland Society of +Scotland took a leading part in encouraging these gradual experiments in +tillage, as well as in the breeding of sheep and cattle, with a special +regard to early maturity. Had the farmers of Great Britain during the +great war possessed no more skill than their grandfathers, it would have +been impossible for the soil of this island to have so nearly supported +its inhabitants before the ports were freely thrown open. + +The great triumphs of engineering in the fifteen years before the battle +of Waterloo were mainly achieved in facilitating locomotion, and are +specially associated with the name of Telford. It was he who, following +in the footsteps of Brindley and Smeaton, constructed the Ellesmere and +Caledonian Canals; he far eclipsed the fame of General Wade by opening +out roads and bridges in the highlands, and first adopted sound +principles of road-making both in England and Wales, afterwards to be +applied with marvellous success by Macadam. It is some proof of the +impulse given to land-travelling by such improvements that 1,355 public +stage-coaches were assessed in 1812, and that a rate of speed little +short of ten miles an hour was attained by the lighter vehicles. But +Telford's labours were not confined to roads or bridges; they extended +also to harbours and to canals, which continued to be the great arteries +of heavy traffic until the development of railways. The new power +destined to supersede both coaches and barges was first recognised +practically when Bell's little steam vessel the _Comet_ was navigated +down the Clyde in 1812, to be followed not many years later by a +steamship capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In a few years steam +packets were numerous, but it was not till well into the reign of +Victoria that steam navigation was used in the royal navy. + +[Pageheading: _RAILWAYS._] + +The most conspicuous improvement in the social and economic condition of +the country between 1815 and 1837 is undoubtedly the invention of the +steam locomotive engine. A few steam locomotives had been invented +before the former date, but they had met with little success and were as +yet more costly than horse traction. It was only in or about the year +1815 that George Stephenson, enginewright in Killingworth colliery, +succeeded in inventing a locomotive engine which was cheaper than +horse-power. The value of railways was by this time better understood. +Short railways worked by horses were common in the neighbourhood of +collieries, and a few existed elsewhere. In 1821 Edward Pease obtained +parliamentary powers to construct a railway between Stockton and +Darlington. A visit to Killingworth persuaded him to make use of +steam-power. In 1823 an act authorising the use of steam on the proposed +railway was carried, and in 1825 the railway was opened. In 1826 an act +was passed for the construction of a railway between Liverpool and +Manchester. Stephenson was employed as engineer to make the line, and +his success as a road-making engineer proved equal to his brilliance as +a mechanical inventor. + +In 1829 the line was completed. The directors were at first strongly +opposed to the use of steam-locomotion, but were induced by Stephenson, +before finally rejecting the idea, to offer a reward of L500 for the +best locomotive that could be made. Of four engines which were entered +for the competition, Stephenson's _Rocket_ was the only one that would +move, and it proved able to travel at the rate of thirty-five miles an +hour. The opening of the railway in 1830, and the fatal accident to Mr. +Huskisson which attended it, have been noticed already. The accident did +more to attract attention to the power of the locomotive than to +discredit it. The opposition to railways was not, however, at an end. A +proposal for a railway between London and Birmingham was carried through +parliament, only after a struggle of some years' duration, but the +construction of the line was at length authorised in 1833. The English +railway system now developed with great rapidity, and by the end of the +reign of William IV. lines had been authorised which would when complete +form a system, joining London with Dover, Southampton, and Bristol, and +both London and Bristol with Birmingham, whence lines were to run to the +most important places in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and on to Darlington. +Numerous small lines served other portions of the country, partly in +connexion with these, but more often independently. + +Among the more conspicuous metropolitan improvements of this age may be +mentioned the introduction of gas and the incipient construction of new +bridges over the Thames, in which the engineer Rennie took a leading +part. Before the end of the eighteenth century the workshops of Boulton +and Watt had been lit by gas, and Soho was illuminated by it to +celebrate the peace of Amiens. By 1807 it was used in Golden Lane, and +by 1809, if not earlier, it had reached Pall Mall, but it scarcely +became general in London until somewhat later. At the beginning of the +century the metropolis possessed but three bridges, old London bridge +and the old bridges at Blackfriars and Westminster. The first stone of +the Strand Bridge (afterwards to be called Waterloo Bridge) was laid on +October 11, 1811, and Southwark Bridge was commenced in 1814, but these +bridges were not completed till 1817 and 1819 respectively. The existing +London Bridge, designed by Rennie, but built after his death, was +completed in 1831. In 1812, the architect Nash was employed in laying +out the Regent's Park, and in 1813 an act was passed for the +construction of Regent Street, as a grand line of communication between +it and Carlton House, the residence of the regent. + +The work of geographical discovery had been well commenced before the +end of the eighteenth century, and was inevitably checked during the +great war. The wonderful voyages of Cook had revealed Australia and New +Zealand; Flinders had carried on the survey of the Australian coast; +Vancouver had explored the great island which bears his name with the +adjacent shores; Rennell had produced his great map of India; Bruce had +published his celebrated travels in Abyssinia; and an association had +been formed to dispel the darkness that hung over the whole interior of +Africa. Among its first emissaries was Mungo Park, who afterwards was +employed by the British government, and died in the course of his second +expedition in 1805-6. The idea of Arctic discovery was revived early in +the nineteenth century, and was no longer confined to commercial aims, +such as the opening of a north-east or north-west passage, but was +rather directed to scientific objects, not without the hope of reaching +the North Pole itself. Meanwhile, the ordnance survey of Great Britain +itself was in full progress, and that of British India was commenced in +1802, while the hydrographical department of the admiralty, established +in 1795, was organising the system of marine-surveying which has since +yielded such valuable fruits. + +The progress of philanthropy, based on religious sentiment was very +marked during the later years of the war. The institution of Sunday +schools between 1780 and 1790 had awakened a new sense of duty towards +children in the community, and the growing use of child-labour, keeping +pace with the constant increase of machinery, forced upon the public +the necessity of legislative restrictions, which have been noticed in an +earlier chapter. Banks of savings, the forerunners of savings banks +under parliamentary regulation, had been suggested by Jeremy Bentham, +and one at least was instituted in 1802. The idea of penitentiaries, for +the reformation as well as for the punishment of criminals, had +originated with the great philanthropist, John Howard. It was adopted +and popularised by Jeremy Bentham, and might have been further developed +but for the introduction of transportation, which promised the +well-conducted convict the prospect of a new life in a new country. +Meanwhile, prison reform became a favourite study of benevolent +theorists in an age when the criminal law was still a relic of +barbarism, when highway robbery was rife in the neighbourhood of London, +when sanitation was hardly in its infancy, when pauperism was fostered +by the poor law, and when the working classes in towns were huddled +together, without legal check or moral scruple, in undrained courts and +underground cellars. So capricious and shortsighted is the public +conscience in its treatment of social evils. + +[Pageheading: _CANADA._] + +At the opening of the nineteenth century the colonial empire of Great +Britain was in a transitional state. The secession of thirteen American +colonies had not only robbed the mother country of its proudest +inheritance, but had also shattered the old colonial system of +commercial monopoly for the supposed benefit of British interests. Its +immediate effect was to annul the navigation act as affecting American +trade, which became free to all the world, and by which Great Britain +itself profited largely. Canada at once gained a new importance, and a +new sense of nationality, which Pitt recognised by dividing it into two +provinces, and giving each a considerable measure of independence, both +political and commercial. It was troubled by the presence of a conquered +race of white colonists side by side with new colonists of English +blood, who were, however, united in their resistance to the revolted +colonies in the war of 1812-14. After the war a steady stream of +immigration poured into Canada. In 1816 the population was estimated at +450,000; between 1819 and 1829 Canada received 126,000 immigrants from +England, and during the next ten years 320,000. The result was that the +French element ceased to be preponderant, except in Lower Canada. The +French Canadians felt that they did not enjoy their share of the +confidence of government; the home government, ready enough to grant any +favour that home opinion would permit, was trammelled by a public +opinion, which suspected all who were of a French origin of a desire to +restore the supremacy of the Roman Catholic religion and to assert +political independence. A vacillating policy was the result, which only +increased suspicions, and led in the first year of the reign of Victoria +to a civil war. + +In the Mauritius and the West Indies the one event of importance in this +period is the abolition of slavery. It was found impossible to obtain +from free negroes as much work as had been obtained from slaves, and +their place had to be supplied by Indian coolies in the Mauritius, and +by Chinese in Jamaica. At the same time the West Indies had begun to +suffer from the competition of the United States. + +The colony of the Cape of Good Hope was still peopled almost entirely by +blacks or by the descendants of Dutch settlers, known as _boers_, or +peasants. Four thousand British colonists went out in 1820 to Algoa Bay, +but these were a mere handful compared with the Dutch. Unfortunately the +government adopted a line of policy which produced great irritation in +the Dutch population. They were granted no self-government, and in 1826 +English judicial forms were introduced, and English was declared the +sole official language. The reform administration made matters worse by +defending the blacks against the boers. In 1834 it set free the slaves, +offering L1,200,000, payable in London, very little of which ever +reached the boers, as compensation for slaves valued at L3,000,000. A +Kaffir war in 1834 had led to the conquest of Kaffraria, but in 1835 the +home government restored the independence of the Kaffirs, and appointed +a lieutenant-governor to defend their rights. After this the boers +considered their position intolerable, and in 1835 began their first +"trek" into the country now known as Natal. + +[Pageheading: _AUSTRALIA._] + +Meanwhile, the great discoveries of Captain Cook, and the first +settlement of New South Wales, brought within view a possible extension +of our colonial dominion, which might go far to compensate for its +losses on the North American continent. Governor Phillip had been sent +out by Pitt to Botany Bay in 1787-88, but it was many years before the +earliest of Australian colonies outgrew the character of a penal refuge +for English convicts. The first convict establishments were at Sydney +and Norfolk Island, but another settlement was founded on Van Diemen's +Land in 1805, and in 1807, after this island had been circumnavigated by +Flinders and Bass, it became the headquarters of that convict system, +whose horrors are not yet forgotten. Between 1810 and 1822 the resources +of New South Wales were vastly developed by the energetic policy of +Governor Macquarie. While his efforts to utilise convict labour, and to +educate convicts into free men, may have retarded the influx of genuine +colonists, he prepared the way for settlement by constructing roads, +promoting exploration, and raising public buildings, so that when he +returned home the population of New South Wales had increased fourfold, +and its settled territory in a much greater proportion. This territory +comprised all English settlements on the east coast, and included large +tracts of what is now known as Queensland, which did not become a +separate colony until 1859. + +The early history of Australia, it has been said, is chiefly a tale of +convict settlements, bush-ranging, and expeditions of discovery. There +is much truth in this saying, but the real basis of Australian +prosperity was the introduction of sheep-farming on a large scale, after +the merino-breed had been imported and acclimatised by Macarthur at the +beginning of the century. Long before the region stretching northward +from the later Port Phillip grew into the colony of Victoria, +sheep-owners were spreading over the vast pastures of the interior, +though many years elapsed before the explorer Sturt opened out the great +provinces further westward. + +The development of Australia made rapid progress during the generation +following the great war. Though Australia itself and Van Diemen's Land, +now called Tasmania, were still in the main convict settlements, free +settlers had been arriving at Sydney for some time, and in 1817 they +began to arrive in moderate numbers in Van Diemen's Land. In 1825 that +island had sufficiently progressed to be recognised as a separate +colony. The attempt to found a colony in western Australia in 1829 was, +on the other hand, an almost complete failure. But in 1824 a new centre +of colonisation in New South Wales had been established at Port +Phillip. Meanwhile a sharp cleavage of parties had arisen. The convicts +and poorer colonists were opposed to the large sheep-owners, who were +endeavouring to form an aristocracy. Governor Macquarie favoured the +convicts, and Governor Darling (1825-31) the sheep-owners. In 1823 a +legislative council, consisting of seven officials, had been instituted; +in 1828 it was developed into one of fifteen members, chosen entirely +from among the wealthiest colonists. + +Gibbon Wakefield's _Letter from Sydney_, published in 1829, marks an +epoch in the history of Australian colonisation. In this work he +proposed that the land should be sold in small lots at a fairly high +price to settlers, and that the proceeds of the sales should be used to +pay the passage of emigrants going out as labourers. This idea had +hardly been published when it was adopted by the home government, and +five shillings an acre was fixed as the minimum price of land. The +number of emigrants increased rapidly, but the new system threatened +ruin to the owners of sheep-runs. Unable to pay the stipulated price, +they only moved further into the interior and occupied fresh land +without seeking government permission, an unlicensed occupation which +has left its mark upon the language in the word "squatter". At last in +1837 a compromise was arranged, by which the squatters were to pay a +small rent for their runs, the crown retaining the freehold with the +right to sell it to others at some future date. In 1834 the British +government sanctioned the formation of a new colony, that of South +Australia. It was to be settled from the outset on the Wakefield system, +and no convicts were ever sent to it. The first lots were sold as high +as twelve shillings an acre, and in 1836 a company of emigrants went out +and founded Adelaide. + + + + + APPENDICES. + + I. ON AUTHORITIES. + + II. ADMINISTRATIONS, 1801-1837. + + + + + APPENDIX I. + + ON AUTHORITIES.[141] + + +(1) General histories of England for the period 1801-1837: MASSEY, +_History of England during the Reign of George the Third_ (4 vols., 2nd +ed., 1865), closes with the treaty of Amiens in 1802, and therefore +barely touches this period. There is still room for a general history of +England on an adequate scale between 1802 and 1815. After that date we +have HARRIET MARTINEAU, _History of England during the Thirty Years' +Peace_ (1816-1846, 2 vols., 1849, 1850). This was begun by Charles +Knight, the publisher, who brought it down to 1819. From 1820 onwards it +is Miss Martineau's own work. It is too nearly contemporary to depend on +any authorities except such as were published at the time, and it +represents in the main the popular view of public events and public men +held by liberals at the time. Sir SPENCER WALPOLE'S _History of England +from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815_ (6 vols., revised ed., +1890), a work of high quality and thoroughly trustworthy, full of +references to the best published authorities, sympathises with the whigs +and more liberal tories. Reference is sometimes made in this volume to +GOLDWIN SMITH, _The United Kingdom, a Political History_ (2 vols., +1899), but the work is too slight to be regarded as an authority. Sir T. +E. MAY'S (Lord Farnborough) _Constitutional History of England from 1760 +to 1860_ (3 vols., 10th ed., 1891) is also useful. + +(2) The _Annual Register_ is probably the most useful authority for this +period. In addition to more general information, it contains a very full +report of the more important parliamentary debates and the text of the +principal public treaties and of numerous other state papers. The +narrative is not often coloured by the political partisanship of the +writer, but allowance must be made for the strong tory bias of the +volumes dealing with the reign of William IV. The _Parliamentary +History_ closes in 1803, at which date Cobbett's _Parliamentary +Debates_ had begun to appear. After 1812 Cobbett ceased to superintend +the work and his name was dropped, and in 1813 and afterwards the +title-page acknowledged that the work was "published under the +superintendence of T. C. Hansard," who had also been the publisher of +Cobbett's series and of the _Parliamentary History_. + +[Pageheading: _MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE._] + +(3) Political and other memoirs and printed correspondence. The +following have been noticed among the authorities for volume x.: PELLEW, +_Life and Correspondence of H. Addington, Viscount Sidmouth_ (3 vols., +1847), very full wherever Sidmouth was directly concerned, written with +a strong bias in favour of the subject of the biography. Lord STANHOPE, +_Life of Pitt_ (4 vols., 3rd ed., 1867). The appendix to the last volume +contains Pitt's correspondence with the king in the years 1804-1806. +Lord ROSEBERY, _Pitt_ (Twelve English Statesmen Series, 1891), brilliant +but not always sound. Lord JOHN (Earl) RUSSELL, _Memorials and +Correspondence of C. J. Fox_ (4 vols., 1853-1854), and _Life and Times +of C. J. Fox, 1859-1866_. _Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of George +III._ (4 vols., 1853-1855; 1801 falls in vol. iii.), continued in +_Memoirs of the Court of England during the Regency_ (2 vols., 1856), +_Memoirs of the Court of George IV._ (2 vols., 1859), and _Memoirs of +the Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and Victoria_ (2 vols., 1861; +1837 is reached in vol. i.); these volumes, edited by the Duke of +Buckingham, contain the correspondence of the Grenville family. The +first series alone, which contains many important letters of Lord +Grenville, is of first-rate importance. The editing is often inaccurate. +_Diaries and Correspondence of the First Earl of Malmesbury_ (4 vols., +1844), edited by the third earl (vol. iv. extends from February, 1801, +to July, 1809), authoritative and useful, especially for the crisis of +1807. _Correspondence of Marquis Cornwallis_ (3 vols., 1859), edited by +C. Ross, valuable for the negotiations at Amiens and for Cornwallis's +brief second governor-generalship of India. The notes are full of useful +biographical material concerning the persons mentioned in the +correspondence. _Diaries and Correspondence of George Rose_ (2 vols., +1860), edited by L. V. Harcourt. _The Diary and Correspondence of +Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester_, edited by his son (3 vols., 1861, +extending from 1795 to 1829), with interesting notices of Perceval, and +generally useful from 1802-1817, when Abbot was Speaker. Lord HOLLAND, +_Memoirs of the Whig Party_ (2 vols., 1852), edited by his son, Lord +Holland. These memoirs do not extend beyond the year 1807. Volume ii., +which covers the period during which Holland was a member of the +Grenville cabinet, is of special importance. His memory is not always +accurate, and he writes with a whig bias which makes him a harsh judge +of George III. Holland's _Further Memoirs of the Whig Party, 1807-1821_, +edited by Lord Stavordale, the present Lord Ilchester (1905), +interesting, and, like the earlier volumes, full of personal detail, but +of less value, since Holland was not in office again till 1830. + +Similar in character to the above, but only of importance after 1801 are +the following: _Life of Perceval_ (2 vols., 1874), by his grandson, Sir +Spencer Walpole, written largely from the Perceval papers, especially +valuable for the ministerial crisis of 1809. The _Memoirs and +Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh_ (12 vols., 1850-1853), edited by +his brother the third Marquis of Londonderry, consisting mainly of +military and diplomatic correspondence. Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON, _Lives of +Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, the Second and Third +Marquesses of Londonderry_ (3 vols., 1861), much more political than +biographical; valuable and appreciative, but not rich in documents. _The +Dispatches of the Duke of Wellington during his various Campaigns in +India, Denmark [etc.], from 1799 to 1818_ (12 vols., 1834-1838), +compiled by Lieut.-Colonel GURWOOD (really extending to 1815 only); +_Supplementary Despatches and Memoranda of the Duke of Wellington_ (15 +vols., 1858-1872), edited by his son, the second Duke of Wellington, +extending from 1797 to 1818; _Despatches, Correspondence, and Memoranda +of the Duke of Wellington_ (8 vols., 1867-1880), by the same editor, +extending from 1819 to 1832. The second and third of these series +contain not only the duke's despatches, but the vast mass of political +correspondence which passed through his hands. In spite of the great +size of the collection, very little that can be considered trivial is +included. It is our most important authority for all foreign relations +between 1815 and 1827, and between 1828 and 1830. Sir HERBERT MAXWELL, +_The Life of Wellington_ (2 vols., 1899). HORACE TWISS, _Life of Eldon_ +(3 vols., 1844). C. PHIPPS, _Memoir of R. Plumer Ward_ (2 vols., 1850), +containing important political correspondence from 1801 onward, and +Ward's diary from 1809 to 1820. Ward held numerous minor offices in the +government and was on terms of intimacy with Perceval and Mulgrave. +MOORE, _Life of Sheridan_ (2 vols., 1826), valuable for the crisis of +1811. _The Greville Memoirs; a Journal of the Reigns of King George IV. +and King William IV._ (3 vols.), edited by Henry Reeve. References are +to the first edition, 1874. New edition, also including 1837-1860 in 8 +vols. (1888). Greville was clerk to the privy council from 1821 to 1859, +and as such possessed exceptional opportunities for making himself +acquainted with secret political transactions and with the personal +qualities of successive statesmen. _The Creevey Papers_ (2 vols., 1903), +edited by Sir Herbert Maxwell, not of first-rate historical importance, +full of gossip and scandal. Creevey was a whig member of parliament, +1802-1818, 1820-1828 and 1831-1832, and treasurer of the ordnance, +1830-1834. STAPLETON, _The Political Life of George Canning (from +September 1822 to August 1827)_ (3 vols., 1831), very full and valuable, +especially for foreign relations; strikingly deficient in documents and +dates. _George Canning and His Times_ (1859), by the same author, +largely written from memory and therefore untrustworthy. YONGE, _Life +and Administration of Lord Liverpool_ (3 vols., 1868). _Memoirs of Sir +Robert Peel_ (2 vols., 1856-1857), prepared by Peel himself, and dealing +with the Roman Catholic question, the administration of 1834-1835, and +the repeal of the corn laws. The memoirs, which are of the highest +importance, consist mainly of correspondence and are studiously fair. +PARKER, _Sir Robert Peel_ (3 vols., 1891-1899), a large collection of +Peel's correspondence with a brief connecting narrative by the editor, +of great value even for the periods covered by the _Memoirs_. _The +Correspondence of King William IV. and Earl Grey, from November 1830 to +June 1832_ (2 vols., 1867), edited by Henry, Earl Grey, valuable for the +history of the reform. _The Melbourne Papers_ (1889), edited by Sanders, +throw light on Melbourne's relations with William IV. and with Brougham. +TORRENS, _Memoirs of Melbourne_ (2 vols., 1878), polemical, and sadly +deficient in documents. Lord HATHERTON, _Memoir and Correspondence +relating to June and July, 1834_ (published 1872), edited by H. Reeve, +on events connected with the fall of Grey's ministry. _The Croker +Papers_ (3 vols., 1884), edited by L. J. Jennings. Croker was secretary +to the admiralty from 1809 to 1830. The papers, which are very full from +1809 onwards, consist of correspondence and selections from Croker's +journals and correspondence. L. HORNER, _Memoir of Francis Horner_ +(1843). E. HERRIES, _Public Life of J. C. Herries_ (1880), a defence of +Herries against the sneers of whig writers. Lord DUDLEY, _Letters to the +Bishop of Llandaff_ (Copleston), (1840), and _Letters to Ivy_ (1905, +edited by Romilly), interesting and often vivacious, but not of +first-rate importance. Sir HENRY BULWER (Lord Dalling), _Life of +Palmerston_ (2 vols., 1870), extending to 1840. The first chapter of a +third volume, edited by Evelyn Ashley (1874) makes good a few omissions +belonging to this period. The work consists mainly of correspondence and +extracts from Palmerston's journal. _Memoirs of Baron Stockmar_ (2 +vols., 1872-1873), by his son Baron E. von Stockmar, edited by F. Max +Mueller. Stockmar was a confidential agent of Leopold, King of the +Belgians. The memoirs contain a narrative by William IV. of the +political history of his reign to 1835, including the circumstances of +Melbourne's resignation in 1834. CAMPBELL, _Lives of the Chancellors_ (8 +vols., 1848-1869). The last volume contains excellent sketches of +Lyndhurst and Brougham, based largely on personal knowledge. +_Correspondence of Princess Lieven and Earl Grey, 1824-1834_, edited by +G. le Strange (1890). _Letters of Dorothea, Princess Lieven during Her +Residence in London, 1812-1834_, edited by L. G. Robinson (1902). +_Letters of Harriet, Countess Granville, 1810-1845_ (2 vols., 1894). + +(4) Miscellaneous books. Sir G. C. LEWIS, _Administrations of Great +Britain (1783-1830)_, edited by Sir E. Head, 1864, has been mentioned +among the authorities for volume x. It is a valuable history of the +inner political life of England, but suffers from a strong whig bias. +LECKY, _History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century_ (5 vols., 1892), +though nominally closing at the union, throws light on Irish history at +the beginning of the nineteenth century. A. V. DICEY, _Lectures on the +Relation between Law and Public Opinion in England during the Nineteenth +Century_ (1905), is very suggestive. HALEVY, _La formation du +radicalisme philosophique_ (3 vols., 1901-1904), and Sir L. STEPHEN, +_The English Utilitarians_, vols. i., ii. (1900), are valuable for the +history of the radical party. C. CREIGHTON, _History of Epidemics in +Britain_ (2 vols., 1894), contains an excellent account of the cholera +epidemic. + +[Pageheading: _ON THE GREAT WAR._] + +(5) Books dealing with the great war are numerous. The following have +been already noticed among the authorities for volume x.: Dr. HOLLAND +ROSE, _Life of Napoleon I._ (2 vols., 1904), our most trustworthy guide +for the career of the French emperor. The book has gained not a little +from its author's independent researches at the British Foreign Office. +Captain MAHAN, _Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and +Empire_ (2 vols., 1893), and _Life of Nelson_ (2 vols., 1897), valuable +for their general view of the naval warfare and commercial policy of the +period. JAMES, _Naval History of Great Britain, 1793-1820_ (6 vols., ed. +1826; vols. iii.-vi. extend from 1801-1820), very full and accurate, +largely used in this volume for the American war. Sir JOHN LAUGHTON, +_Nelson_ (English Men of Action Series, 1895), and articles in the +_Dictionary of National Biography_. + +To these must be added ALISON'S _History of Europe from the Commencement +of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in +1815_ (20 vols., 1847, 1848), an uncritical but still a standard work. +The reaction against Alison is probably due in large measure to +political causes. In addition to the European history which gives its +title to the book, it contains a narrative of the American war of +1812-1814. The classical though far from trustworthy narrative on the +French side is THIERS, _Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire_ (21 vols., +1845-1869), translated into English by Campbell and Stebbing (12 vols., +1893-1894). See also LANFREY'S incomplete _History of Napoleon I._, +English translation (4 vols., 1871-1879), bitterly anti-Napoleonic. The +negotiations precedent to the outbreak of war in 1803 are to be found in +Mr. O. BROWNING'S _England and Napoleon in 1803_, containing despatches +of Whitworth and others, published in 1887, and in P. COQUELLE, +_Napoleon and England, 1803-1813_, translated by G. D. KNOX (1904), +based on the reports of Andreossy, the French ambassador at London. Sir +H. BUNBURY'S _Narrative of Certain Passages, etc._ (1853) is of the +highest value for the war in the Mediterranean. The _Times_ of September +16, 19, 22, 26, 28, 30, and October 19, 1905, contains an excellent +series of articles on Nelson's tactics at Trafalgar. For the Moscow +campaign, the Marquis DE CHAMBRAY'S _Histoire de l'Expedition de Russie_ +(3 vols., 1839) is perhaps the most reliable of contemporary narratives. +There is a good account of the campaign in the Rev. H. B. GEORGE'S +_Napoleon's Invasion of Russia_ (1899). For the Peninsular war, W. +NAPIER'S _History of the War in the Peninsula and in the South of +France_ (6 vols.; vols. i.-iii., ed. 1835-1840; iv.-vi., 1834-1840) is +of the highest literary as well as historical value. C. OMAN'S _History +of the Peninsular War_ (in progress, vols. i., ii., 1902-1903, extending +at present to September, 1809) makes good use of Spanish sources of +information. The _Wellington Dispatches_ have been noticed already in +section 3. The _Diary of Sir John Moore_, edited by Sir J. F. Maurice (2 +vols., 1904), is of value for the campaign of 1808-1809. For Waterloo, +in addition to Maxwell's _Life of Wellington_, and Rose's _Life of +Napoleon I._, Chesney's _Waterloo Lectures_, 1868; W. O'CONNOR MORRIS, +_The Campaign of 1815_ (1900), and J. C. ROPES, _The Campaign of +Waterloo_, may be studied with profit. Morris's work must, however, be +discounted for his extravagant admiration of Napoleon's genius and his +faith in the Grouchy legend. For the disputes with the United States and +war of 1812-1814, see chapters in the _Cambridge Modern History_ (vol. +vii., 1903); BOURINOT, _Canada_ (Story of the Nations), (1897); J. +SCHOULER, _History of the United States of America under the +Constitution_ (6 vols., 1880-1889); and MAHAN, _Sea Power in Its +Relations to the War of 1812_ (2 vols., 1905). + +[Pageheading: _ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS._] + +(6) For European politics and foreign relations generally, in addition +to some of the books mentioned in the last section, we have C. A. +FYFFE'S _History of Modern Europe, 1792-1878_ (ed. 1895), a very +readable book, which includes the results of some original study, and +SEIGNOBOS, _Political History of Contemporary Europe_, English +translation (2 vols., 1901), an useful but not always accurate book. The +great French work, _Histoire generale du IVe Siecle a nos jours_ (vols. +ix., x., 1897-1898), by numerous authors, edited by MM. Lavisse and +Rambaud, is naturally of varying merit; the chapters on France and +Russia are the best, and there is a very full bibliography at the close +of each chapter. The _Cambridge Modern History_, vol. ix., _Napoleon_ +(1906), is a similar compilation by English writers. ALFRED STERN'S +_Geschichte Europas seit den Vertraegen von 1815_ (3 vols., 1894-1901, to +be continued to 1871) is perhaps the best general history of the period +following the great war. _The Memoirs of Prince Metternich_ (5 vols., +English translation, 1881-1882, edited by Prince Richard Metternich, +extending to 1835) contain much that is valuable for diplomatic history. +For French history see DUVERGIER DE HAURANNE, _Histoire du gouvernement +parlementaire en France_ (1814-1848, 10 vols., 1857-1872), which, in +spite of the title, does not extend beyond 1830. For the Greek revolt, +vols. vi. and vii. of G. FINLAY'S _History of Greece_ (7 vols., ed. +1877) are important. American policy is treated by J. W. FOSTER, _A +Century of American Diplomacy_ (1901). Sir EDWARD HERTSLET'S _Map of +Europe by Treaty_ (4 vols., 1875-1891), while professedly confined to +the treaties dealing with boundaries, contains the majority of those of +general historical interest. It covers the period 1815-1891. LE COMTE DE +GARDEN, _Histoire generale des traites de paix_ (14 vols., 1848-1888, +vols. vi.-xv., extending to 1814), and F. DE MARTENS, _Recueil des +traites et conventions, conclus par la Russie_ (tomes xi., xii. +(Angleterre), 1895-1898), contain the principal treaties belonging to +the period. The _Castlereagh_ and _Wellington_ _Despatches_ have been +noticed under section 3. + +(7) For Indian history: JAMES MILL and WILSON, _History of British +India_ (10 vols., 1858), vols. vi.-ix., noticed as an authority for +volume x., ends in 1835; Sir ALFRED C. LYALL'S _Rise and Expansion of +the British Dominion in India_ (1894) contains a brief and masterly +sketch of the subject. See also _A Selection from the Despatches, +Treaties and Other Papers of the Marquess Wellesley_ (1877), well edited +by S. J. Owen; the first two series of the _Wellington Dispatches_, +noticed under section 3; and the vast mass of information collected in +Sir W. W. HUNTER'S _Imperial Gazetteer of India_ (14 vols., 1885-1887). + +(8) For social and economic history: Dr. W. CUNNINGHAM'S _The Growth of +English Industry and Commerce in Modern Times_, vol. iii., _Laissez +Faire_ (1903), extending from 1776 to 1850, is now the standard work. +Reference has also been made to G. R. PORTER, _Progress of the Nation_ +(1847), a work abounding more in statistics than in narrative, and to +Sir GEORGE NICHOLLS, _History of the English Poor Law_ (2 vols., 1854). +Nicholls took an active interest in social and economic questions from +1816 till his death in 1857. He probably understood the working of the +poor-law better than any other man of that date, and the poor-law +legislation of 1834 and 1838 was largely founded on his suggestions. He +was one of the poor-law commissioners of 1834, and was permanent +secretary to the poor-law board from 1847 to 1851. Sir G. C. LEWIS, _The +Government of Dependencies_ (1891), edited by C. P. Lucas, and LUCAS, +_Historical Geography of the British Colonies_, vols. i.-v. (1888-1901), +are of value. For literary history, SAINTSBURY'S _History of Nineteenth +Century Literature, 1780-1895_, (1896), is an excellent guide. For +educational progress at Oxford University reference may be made to the +_Report of H.M.'s Commissioners appointed to inquire into the State, +etc., of the University and Colleges of Oxford_ (1852), which contains a +good historical summary. The report of the similar commission appointed +for Cambridge hardly touches the progress of studies, and is therefore +of less value to the historical student. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[141] The dates given are, as far as possible, those of the editions +used by the authors of this volume. + + + + + APPENDIX II. + + ADMINISTRATIONS, 1801-1837. + + + 1. ADDINGTON, MARCH, 1801. + +_First lord of treasury } H. Addington. + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ Duke of Portland. + { Lord Pelham, _succeeded_ July, 1801. +_Secretaries of { C. P. Yorke, _succeeded_ Aug., 1803. + state_ { _foreign_ Lord Hawkesbury. + { _war and } Lord Hobart. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl of Chatham. + Duke of Portland, _succeeded_ July, 1801. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Admiralty_ Earl St. Vincent. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham, _appointed_ June, 1801. +_Board of trade_ Lord Auckland. +_Board of control_ Viscount Lewisham (July, 1801, Earl of + Dartmouth), _in cabinet_. + Viscount Castlereagh, _succeeded_ July, + 1802, _admitted to cabinet_ Oct., 1802. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Hardwicke, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ C. P. Yorke, _not in cabinet_. + C. Bragge, _succeeded_ Aug., 1803, _not in + cabinet_. + + + 2. PITT, MAY, 1804. + +_First lord of treasury } W. Pitt + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ Lord Hawkesbury. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Lord Harrowby. + state_ { Lord Mulgrave, _succeeded_ Jan., 1805. + { _war and } Earl Camden. + { colonies_ } Viscount Castlereagh, _succeeded_ July, + 1805. +_Lord president_ Duke of Portland (after Jan., 1805, + _without office in cabinet_). + Viscount Sidmouth (_before_ H. Addington), + _succeeded_ Jan., 1805. + Earl Camden, _succeeded_ July, 1805. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Admiralty_ Viscount Melville (_before_ H. Dundas). + Lord Barham, _succeeded_ May, 1805. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham. +_Board of trade_ Duke of Montrose. +_Board of control_ Viscount Castlereagh. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Mulgrave, _in cabinet_. + Earl of Buckinghamshire (_before_ Lord + Hobart), _succeeded_ Jan., 1805, _in + cabinet_. + Lord Harrowby, _succeeded_ July, 1805, _in + cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Hardwicke, _not in cabinet_. + Earl Powis, _succeeded_ Nov., 1805, _not + in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ W. Dundas, _not in cabinet_. + + + 3. GRENVILLE, FEBRUARY, 1806. + +_First lord of treasury_ Lord Grenville. + { _home_ Earl Spencer. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ C. J. Fox. + state_ { Viscount Howick, _succeeded_ Sept. + { _war and } W. Windham + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl Fitzwilliam (after Oct., _without + office in cabinet_). + Viscount Sidmouth, _succeeded_ Oct. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Erskine. +_Lord privy seal_ Viscount Sidmouth. + Lord Holland, _succeeded_ Oct. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Lord H. Petty. +_Admiralty_ C. Grey (April, Viscount Howick). + T. Grenville, _succeeded_ Sept. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Moira. +_Chief justice, King's bench_ Lord Ellenborough, _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Bedford, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ R. Fitzpatrick, _not in cabinet_. + + + 4. PORTLAND, MARCH, 1807. + +_First lord of treasury_ Duke of Portland. + { _home_ Lord Hawkesbury (1808 Earl of Liverpool). +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ G. Canning. + state_ { _war and } Viscount Castlereagh. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl Camden. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Chanc. exchequer and } S. Perceval. + duchy of Lancaster_ } +_Admiralty_ Lord Mulgrave. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham. +_Board of trade_ Earl Bathurst, _in cabinet_. +_Board of control_ R. S. Dundas, _not in cabinet_. + Earl of (_before_ Lord) Harrowby, + _succeeded_ July, 1809, _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Richmond, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Sir J. Pulteney, _not in cabinet_. + Lord G. Leveson Gower, _succeeded_ June, + 1809, _in cabinet_. + + + 5. PERCEVAL, OCTOBER, 1809. + +_First lord of treasury, } + chanc. exchequer and } S. Perceval. + duchy of Lancaster_[142] } + { _home_ R. Ryder. + { _foreign_ Earl Bathurst. +_Secretaries of { Marquis Wellesley, _succeeded_ Dec., 1809. + state_ { Viscount Castlereagh, _succeeded_ March, + { 1812. + { _war and } Earl of Liverpool. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl Camden (after April, 1812, _without + office in cabinet_). + Viscount Sidmouth, _succeeded_ April, + 1812. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Admiralty_ Lord Mulgrave. + C. P. Yorke, _succeeded_ May, 1810. +_Ordnance_ Earl of Chatham. + Lord Mulgrave, _succeeded_ May, 1810. +_Board of trade_ Earl Bathurst. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Richmond, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _not in cabinet_. + + + 6. LIVERPOOL, JUNE, 1812 + +_First lord of treasury_ Earl of Liverpool. + { _home_ Viscount Sidmouth (after Jan., 1822, + { _without office in cabinet_). + { R. Peel, _succeeded_ Jan., 1822. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Castlereagh (1821 Marquis of. + state_ { Londonderry). + { G. Canning, _succeeded_ Sept., 1822. + { _war and } Earl Bathurst. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl of Harrowby. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Eldon (1821 Earl of Eldon). +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Westmorland. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ N. Vansittart. + F. J. Robinson, _succeeded_ Jan., 1823. +_Admiralty_ Viscount Melville (_before_ R. S. Dundas). +_Ordnance_ Lord Mulgrave (Sept., 1812, Earl of + Mulgrave), (from 1818-May, 1820, + _without office in cabinet_). + Duke of Wellington, _succeeded_ Jan., + 1819. +_Board of trade_ Earl of Clancarty, _not in cabinet_. + F. J. Robinson,[143] _succeeded_ Jan., + 1818, _in cabinet_. + W. Huskisson,[143] _succeeded_ Jan., 1823, + _in cabinet_. +_Board of control_ Earl of Buckinghamshire, _in cabinet_. + G. Canning, _succeeded_ June, 1816, _in + cabinet_. + C. B. Bathurst, _succeeded_ Jan., 1821, + _in cabinet_. + C. W. Wynn, _succeeded_ Feb., 1822, _in + cabinet_. +_Master of the mint_ Earl of Clancarty, _not in cabinet_. + W. W. Pole (1821 Lord Maryborough), + _succeeded_ Sept., 1814, _in cabinet_. + T. Wallace, _succeeded_ Oct., 1823, _not + in cabinet_. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ C. B. Bathurst (_before_ C. Bragge). + N. Vansittart (March, 1823, Lord Bexley), + _succeeded_ Feb., 1823. +_Without office_ Earl Camden (Sept., 1812, Marquis Camden), + _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Duke of Richmond, _not in cabinet_. + Viscount Whitworth (1815 Earl Whitworth), + _succeeded_ Aug., 1813, _not in + cabinet_. + Earl Talbot, _succeeded_ Oct., 1817, _not + in cabinet_. + Marquis Wellesley, _succeeded_ Dec., 1821, + _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _not in cabinet_. + + + 7. CANNING, APRIL, 1827. + +_First lord of treasury } G. Canning. + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ W. S. Bourne. + { Marquis of Lansdowne (_before_ Lord H. +_Secretaries of { Petty), _succeeded_ July. + state_ { _foreign_ Viscount Dudley. + { _war and } Viscount Goderich (_before_ F. J. + { colonies_ } Robinson). +_Lord president_ Earl of Harrowby. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Duke of Portland (_after_ July, _without + office in cabinet_). + Earl of Carlisle, _succeeded_ July. +_Lord high admiral_ Duke of Clarence, _not in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } W. Huskisson. + treasurer of navy_ } +_Board of control_ C. W. Wynn. +_Master of the mint_ T. Wallace, _not in cabinet_. + G. Tierney, _succeeded_ May, _in cabinet_. + { C. Arbuthnot, _not in cabinet_. +_First commissioner of { Earl of Carlisle _succeeded_ May, _in + woods and forests_ { cabinet_. + { W. S. Bourne, _succeeded_ July, _in + { cabinet_. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Bexley. +_Without office_ Marquis of Lansdowne, May-July, _in + cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis Wellesley, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _in cabinet_. + + + 8. GODERICH, SEPTEMBER, 1827. + +_First lord of treasury_ Viscount Goderich. + { _home_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Earl (_before_ Viscount) Dudley. + state_ { _war and } W. Huskisson. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Duke of Portland. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Carlisle. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ J. C. Herries. +_Lord high admiral_ Duke of Clarence, _not in cabinet_. +_Ordnance_ Marquis of Anglesey, _in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } C. Grant. + treasurer of navy_ } +_Board of control_ C. W. Wynn. +_Master of the mint_ G. Tierney. +_First commissioner of } W. S. Bourne. + woods and forests_ } +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Bexley. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis Wellesley, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston. + + +9. WELLINGTON, JANUARY, 1828. + +_First lord of treasury_ Duke of Wellington. + { _home_ R. (May, 1830, Sir R.) Peel. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Earl Dudley. + state_ { Earl of Aberdeen, _succeeded_ June, 1828. + { _war and } W. Huskisson. + { colonies_ } Sir G. Murray, _succeeded_ May, 1828. +_Lord president_ Earl Bathurst. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Lord Ellenborough. + Earl of Rosslyn, _succeeded_ June, 1829. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ H. Goulburn. +_Admiralty_ Duke of Clarence (_lord high admiral_), + _not in cabinet_. + Viscount Melville, _succeeded_ Sept., + 1828, _in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } C. Grant. + treasurer of navy_ } W. V. Fitzgerald, _succeeded_ June, 1828. +_Board of control_ Viscount Melville. + Lord Ellenborough, _succeeded_ Sept., + 1828. +_Master of the mint_ J. C. Herries. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Earl of Aberdeen, _in cabinet_. + C. Arbuthnot, _succeeded_ June, 1828, _not + in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis of Anglesey, Feb., 1828, _not in + cabinet_. + Duke of Northumberland, _succeeded_ Feb., + 1829, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Palmerston, _in cabinet_. + Sir H. Hardinge, _succeeded_ May, 1828, + _not in cabinet_. + + + 10. GREY, NOVEMBER, 1830. + +_First lord of treasury_ Earl Grey (_before_ Viscount Howick). + { _home_ Viscount Melbourne. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Palmerston. + state_ { _war and { Viscount Goderich. + { colonies_ { E. G. Stanley, _succeeded_ March, 1833. + { { T. S. Rice, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Lord president_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Brougham. +_Lord privy seal_ Lord Durham. + Earl of Ripon (_before_ Viscount Goderich) + _succeeded_ April, 1833. + Earl of Carlisle, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Viscount Althorp. +_Admiralty_ Sir J. R. Graham. + Lord Auckland, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Board of trade_ Lord Auckland, _not in cabinet_. + C. P. Thomson, _succeeded_ June, 1834. +_Board of control_ C. Grant. +_Master of mint_ Lord Auckland, _not in cabinet_. + J. Abercromby, _succeeded_ June, 1834, _in + cabinet_. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Holland, _in cabinet_. +_Postmaster-general_ Duke of Richmond, _in cabinet_. + Marquis of Conyngham, _succeeded_ June, + 1834, _not in cabinet_. +_Paymaster of forces_ Lord J. Russell, _admitted to cabinet_ + June, 1831. +_Without office_ Earl of Carlisle (to June, 1834). +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis of Anglesey, _not in cabinet_. + Marquis Wellesley, _succeeded_ Sept., + 1833, _not in cabinet_. +_Chief secretary for Ireland_ E. G. Stanley, _admitted to cabinet_ June, + 1831. + Sir J. C. Hobhouse, _succeeded_ March, + 1833, _not in cabinet_. + E. J. Littleton, _succeeded_ May, 1833, + _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ C. W. Wynn, _not in cabinet_. + Sir H. Parnell, _succeeded_ April, 1831, + _not in cabinet_. + Sir J. Hobhouse, _succeeded_ Feb., 1832, + _not in cabinet_. + E. Ellice, _succeeded_ April, 1833, + _admitted to cabinet_ June, 1834. + + + 11. MELBOURNE, JULY, 1834. + +_First lord of treasury_ Viscount Melbourne. + { _home_ Viscount Duncannon. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Palmerston. + state_ { _war and } T. S. Rice. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Brougham. +_Lord privy seal_ Earl of Mulgrave. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Viscount Althorp. +_Admiralty_ Lord Auckland. +_Board of trade and } C. P. Thompson. + treasurer of navy_ } +_Board of control_ C. Grant. +_Master of mint_ J. Abercromby. +_First commissioner of } Sir J. C. Hobhouse, _in cabinet_. + woods and forests_ } +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Holland. +_Paymaster of forces_ Lord J. Russell. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Marquis Wellesley, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ E. Ellice. + + + PROVISIONAL ADMINISTRATION, NOVEMBER, 1834. + +_First lord of treasury_ Duke of Wellington. + { _home_ Duke of Wellington. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Duke of Wellington. + state_ { _war and } Duke of Wellington. + { colonies_ } +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ Lord Denman. + + + 12. PEEL, DECEMBER, 1834. + +_First lord of treasury } Sir R. Peel. + and chanc. exchequer_ } + { _home_ H. Goulburn. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Duke of Wellington. + state_ { _war and } Earl of Aberdeen. + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Earl of Rosslyn. +_Lord chancellor_ Lord Lyndhurst. +_Lord privy seal_ Lord Wharncliffe. +_Admiralty_ Earl de Grey. +_Ordnance_ Sir G. Murray, _in cabinet_. +_Board of trade and } A. Baring. + master of the mint_ } +_Board of control_ Lord Ellenborough. +_Paymaster of forces_ Sir E. Knatchbull. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Haddington, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ J. C. Herries. + + + 13. MELBOURNE, APRIL, 1835. + +_First lord of treasury_ Viscount Melbourne. + { _home_ Lord J. Russell. +_Secretaries of { _foreign_ Viscount Palmerston. + state_ { _war and } C. Grant (May, 1835, Lord Glenelg). + { colonies_ } +_Lord president_ Marquis of Lansdowne. +_Lord chancellor_ Great seal in commission. + Lord Cottenham, _appointed_ Jan., 1836. +_Lord privy seal_ Viscount Duncannon. +_Chancellor of exchequer_ T. S. Rice. +_Admiralty_ Lord Auckland. + Earl of Minto, _succeeded_ Sept., 1835. +_Board of trade_ C. P. Thompson. +_Board of control_ Sir J. C. Hobhouse. +_Duchy of Lancaster_ Lord Holland, _in cabinet_. +_Lord-lieutenant Ireland_ Earl of Mulgrave, _not in cabinet_. +_Secretary at war_ Viscount Howick. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[142] On May 23, 1812, after Perceval's death, the Earl of +Buckinghamshire was appointed chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. + +[143] Also treasurer of the navy. + + + + +INDEX. + +Abbot, Charles (afterwards Lord Colchester), speaker, 36, 61, 72, 85, 238. + +Abdallah, Pasha of Acre, 393. + +Abercromby, James (afterwards Lord Dunfermline), master of the mint, 346; + speaker, 354. + +Abercromby, Sir Ralph, general, 6, 346. + +Aberdeen, 306, 348. + +Aberdeen, Earl of (Gordon), 138; + chancellor of the duchy, 231; + foreign secretary, 236, 263, 264, 268, 352, 376, 380; + secretary for war and colonies, 352. + +Abo, treaty of, 123. + +Abolition of slavery, acts for the, 46-48, 325-327, 438. + +Abolition of slave trade, 48, 143, 151, 152, 167, 188, 274, 279, 358, 438. + +Abrantes, 98. + +Abyssinia, 436. + +Academy, Royal. See London. + +Acarnania, 266. + +Acre, 393, 394. + +_Acte Additionnel_, the, 155. + +Adams, John Quincy, 128. + +Addington, Henry (afterwards Viscount Sidmouth), 25, 39, 50, 54, 68, 200, + 202, 346; + first lord of treasury and chancellor of exchequer, 1, 2, 11, 15, 16, 27, + 34; + relations with Pitt, 2, 24-29; + attacked by Pitt, 30, 31; + resignation, 31, 32; + his adherents, 34, 36, 68, 81; + becomes Viscount Sidmouth and lord president of the council, 35; + resignation, 37; + lord privy seal, 45; + lord president of the council, 49; + resignation, 49; + lord president of the council, 76, 82; + home secretary, 81, 83, 172, 177, 179, 180, 183; + in cabinet without office, 199; + retirement, 227. + +Addington, John Hiley, M.P., 28, 36. + +Adelaide, 440. + +Adelaide, Princess of Saxe-Meiningen (afterwards queen of William IV.), + 184, 273, 277, 351, 375. + +Adige, river, 138. + +Adour, river, 115, 117. + +Adrianople, peace of, 267, 268. + +AEgean islands, the, 263; + sea, 224, 394. + +AEtolia, 266. + +Afghanistan, 397, 402, 403, 412-414; + treaty with East India Company, 403; + first Afghan war, 403, 414. + +Africa, interior of, 436. + +Agra, 399, 409. + +Agriculture, condition of, 84, 433, 434. + +Ahmadnagar, 398. + +Airy, Sir George, 428. + +Aix, island, 69. + +Aix-la-Chapelle, conference of, 189-191, 377. + +Akkerman, treaty of, 260. + +Alava, Spanish admiral, 40. + +Albuera, battle, 103, 104. + +Albuquerque, Duke of, 100. + +Alcantara, 99. + +Alemtejo, province, 255. + +Alessandria, 213. + +Alexander the Great, 401, 413. + +Alexander I., Tsar of Russia, 5, 7, 23, 37, 52, 59, 66, 78, 80, 81, 92, + 104, 105, 124, 144-148, 151-153, 168, 189-191, 210-212, 214, 216-218, + 224, 225, 232. + +Alexandria, 261, 264, 265, 393, 413; + battle and capitulation of, 6; + retention by England, 19; + expeditions to, 52, 57, 264; + convention of, 264, 265. + +Algarve, province, 389. + +Algeciras, 8. + +Algiers, Dey of, 187, 188; + bombardment of, 188; + conquest of, 269. + +Algoa bay, 438. + +Alliance, La Belle, 164. + +"All the Talents" ministry. See ministries, Grenville's. + +Almaraz, 106. + +Almeida, 100, 102, 103. + +Almora, treaty of, 405. + +Alps, the, 138. + +Alsace, 143, 168. + +Alten, Count, 162. + +Althorp, Viscount (afterwards third Earl Spencer), 230, 234; + chancellor of the exchequer, 279, 280, 283, 286, 291, 297, 321-323, 328, + 330, 334, 335, 343-345; + resignation, 346; + chancellor of the exchequer, 347, 349, 350, 373. + +Amager, island, 4. + +Amascoas, battle, 390. + +_Ambigu, L'_, newspaper, 12. + +Amelia, Princess (daughter of George III.), 74. + +America, British North, 85, 225. + See also Canada. + +America, South, 205, 226. + See also Spain and Portugal. + +Amherst, Earl, governor-general of Bengal, 408, 409. + +Amherstburg, 141. + +Amiens, 10; + treaty of, 16, 17, 19, 20, 208, 398; + negotiations, 7-12; + preliminary treaty, 9, 13, 14; + definitive treaty, 12, 13, 435. + +Amir Khan, Pindari leader, 407. + +Andalusia, 94, 100, 102, 106, 107. + +Anglesey, Marquis of. See Paget, Lord. + +Angouleme, Duke of. See Louis Antoine, dauphin. + +Ansbach, 43. + +Anti-Duelling Association, 251. + +Antioch, 393. + +Antwerp, 43, 64, 65, 200, 378, 380, 382, 386. + +Apsley House. See London. + +Aragon, 100. + +Arakan, 408, 409. + +Aranjuez, 87, 92, 93; + treaty of, 6. + +Arapiles hills, the, 107. + +Archangel, 310. + +Archipelago, the, 261. + +Arcis-sur-Aube, battle, 145. + +Arcot, 400. + +Arden, Lord (Perceval), 50. + +Argaum, battle, 399. + +Argentine, the (La Plata), 190. + +_Argus_, the, American ship, 141. + +Arkwright, Sir Richard, 83. + +Arta, gulf of, 266, 392. + +Artois, Count of. See Charles X. of France. + +Ascot races, 148. + +Ashley, Lord (Ashley-Cooper), afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury, 327, 328. + +Asia Minor, 394, 413. + +Aspern, 63. + +Aspropotamo, river, 268. + +Assam, 408, 409. + +Assaye, battle, 399. + +Astorga, 93-95. + +Attwood, Thomas, M.P., 335. + +Auchmuty, Sir Samuel, 56, 81. + +Auckland, first Lord (Eden), president of the board of trade, 34, 346. + +Auckland, second Lord (Eden), afterwards Earl of, first lord of the + admiralty, 346, 357; + governor-general of India, 363, 412. + +Auerstaedt, battle, 47. + +Augusta, Princess of Hesse, 184. + +Augusta, Princess (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Austen, Jane, 422. + +Austerlitz, battle, 42, 43, 51, 60. + +Australia, 436, 438-440; + New South Wales, 438, 439; + Queensland, 439; + South Australia, 440; + Victoria, 439; + West Australia, 439. + +Austria, 17, 54, 58, 59, 62, 78, 80, 124, 214, 215, 220, 264, 267, 391; + guarantees independence of Malta, 13; + treaty with France, 14; + third coalition, 37, 38, 41; + Ulm and peace of Pressburg, 42; + struggle with France, 61-64; + treaty with England, 63; + war with Bavaria, 63; + piece of Vienna, 64, 66; + national bankruptcy, 81; + treaty with France, 122; + attacks North Italy, 133; + diplomacy, 132, 134-137, 144, 187-189, 217; + truce with Russia, 135; + treaty of Ried, 137; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + war with France, 137, 142; + alliance with Murat, 143; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 166, 167, 186, 188-190, 376, 379, 381, + 388; + secret treaty of Vienna, 153; + acquires Venetia and Lombardy, 166; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + holy alliance, 168; + treaties with the Two Sicilies, Tuscany, Modena and Parma, 187; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + congress of Laibach, 212, 223; + army in Italy, 212, 213, 216; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference at London, 222; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + joins conference of London, 379-386, 392; + secret convention at Muenchengraetz, 395, 396; + convention at Berlin, 396. + +Ava. See Burma. + +Azores, islands, 259, 388. + +Azzara, Chevalier, 21. + + +Bacon, Lord, 424. + +Badajoz, 99, 102-106, 108, 113, 147; + treaty of, 6. + +Baden, 34, 189. + +Baghdad, 413. + +Bailey, Old. See London. + +Baird, David (afterwards Sir David), general, 6, 47, 93-95. + +Balkans, the, 263, 266, 267. + +Baltic, the, 52, 78, 90, 199, 310. + +Baltic, battle of the, 4, 5, 420. + +Baltimore, 146. + +Banda Oriental. See Uruguay. + +Bank charter acts, 325, 326, 330, 331. + +Bank of England, 183, 205, 206, 303; + notes made legal tender, 182. + +Bank restriction act, 16. + +Bankes, Henry, M.P., 157. + +Banks, Sir Joseph, 428. + +Barcelona, 88, 110, 220. + +Barclay, Commander, 139. + +Barham, Lord (Sir Charles Middleton), first lord of the admiralty, 36. + +Baring, Alexander (afterwards Lord Ashburton), 304; + president of board of trade and master of the mint, 352. + +Baring, Francis (afterwards Lord Northbrook), 346. + +Barlow, Sir George, governor-general of Bengal, 401. + +Barnstaple, 193. + +Baroda, Gaekwar of, 405, 406. + +Barrosa, 102. + +Basque provinces, 390, 391. + +Basque roads, 69. + +Bass, George, 439. + +Bassein, treaty of, 398, 399, 405. + +Batavian republic. See Holland. + +Bath, 43, 362. + +Bath (Holland), 65. + +Bathurst, Charles Bragge-. See Bragge, Charles. + +Bathurst, Earl, president of the board of trade, 50, 68; + secretary for war and colonies, 82, 109, 112; + resignation, 227; + lord president of the council, 231. + +Battersea Fields. See London. + +Bautzen, battle, 135. + +Bavaria, 41, 42, 66, 136, 152, 153, 166, 189, 392; + war with Austria, 63; + treaty of Ried, 137. + +Baylen, 58, 88, 89, 92. + +Bayonne, 88, 89, 92, 112, 115-117, 119; + road to, 111. + +Beachy Head, 8. + +Beauharnais, Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, 382. + +Beauharnais, Eugene, viceroy of Italy, 138. + +Bedford, Duke of (Russell), lord lieutenant of Ireland, 49. + +Beilan, pass, 393. + +Beira, province, 255, 257. + +Belgium, 143, 144, 150, 158, 159, 161, 162, 200, 377; + Prince of Orange proclaimed, 138; + troops, 156; + Waterloo campaign, 157-164; + united to Holland, 166; + revolution, 276, 376-382; + elects Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg king, 383; + war with Holland, 384-386, 393; + convention with Holland, 387. + +Belgrade, 80. + +Bell, Henry, 427, 434. + +Belleisle, 388. + +_Bellerophon_, the, British ship, 165, 168, 169. + +Belliard, French general, 383, 384. + +Bellingham, John, 76. + +Benevente, 94, 95. + +Bengal, 310, 330, 400, 404, 408, 410. + +Bentham, Jeremy, 338, 341, 420, 421, 437. + +Bentinck, Lord William, 114, 143; + governor-general of India, 410-412. + +Berar, 399. + See Nagpur. + +Berbice, 9. + +Beresford, Lord George, 242. + +Beresford, William (afterwards Lord and later Viscount), 47, 96, 103, 109, + 118, 119, 211, 222. + +Berezina, river, 125. + +Berkeley, Vice-admiral, 127. + +Berkshire, 281, 341. + +Berlin, 53, 81, 134, 310; + convention at, 396. + +Berlin decree, the, 55, 403. + +Bernadotte, Marshal (afterwards Charles XIV. of Sweden), 54, 80, 136, 137, + 143, 150. + +Berry, Duke of, 210. + +Bessarabia, 123. + +Bessborough, Earl of (Ponsonby), 287. + +Bessieres, Marshal, 88, 92. + +Betanzos, 95. + +Bexley, Lord. See Vansittart, Nicholas. + +Bhartpur, 399, 403, 408, 409. + +Bickersteth, Henry (afterwards Lord Langdale), 363. + +Bidassoa, river, 112, 114, 115. + +Bilbao, 111, 391. + +Birmingham, 178, 236, 272, 285, 295, 297, 304, 335, 435. + +Biscay, province, 109, 389, 391. + +Bishopp, British officer, 130. + +Blackburn, Francis, attorney-general for Ireland, 313, 314. + +Blackfriars. See London. + +Blackheath. See London. + +_Blackwood's Magazine_, 423-425. + +Bladensburg, battle, 146. + +Blake, Spanish general, 88. + +Blandford, Marquis of (Churchill), afterwards Duke of Marlborough, 271, + 284. + +Blanketeers, the, 176. + +Blomfield, bishop of London, 324, 341, 373. + +Bluecher, Marshal, 138, 143-145, 148; + Waterloo campaign, 156-161, 163-164. + +Bohemia, 64, 137. + +Bombay, 310, 398. + +Bona, 188. + +Bonaparte, Joseph, 10-12, 21; + King of Naples, 47, 53; + King of Spain, 59, 88, 89, 92, 98, 104, 106, 107, 109-111, 122, 123, 190. + +Bonaparte, Josephine (wife of Napoleon), 382. + +Bonaparte, Louis, King of Holland, 46, 53, 78. + +Bonaparte, Napoleon, 6, 19, 39, 41, 42, 51, 53-56, 58, 62, 64-66, 78, + 80-82, 87-89, 91, 92, 95, 96, 99-102, 104, 105, 109-112, 114, 115, + 117, 119, 120-126, 128, 143, 145, 148, 150, 168, 171, 186, 199, 382; + concordat with the pope, 7; + refuses overtures of peace, 8; + meets Cornwallis, 10; + elected president of the Italian republic, 12, 17; + plans for the invasion of England, 8, 35, 38, 41, 71; + attacked by French exiles in London, 12, 17; + consul for life, 15, 17; + Fox presented to him, 15, 16; + annexes Piedmont, 17; + mediates in Switzerland and Germany, 17; + schemes of colonial expansion, 18; + Whitworth, 20-22; + declared emperor, 33, 34; + plots against his life, 33, 34; + coronations, 35, 37, 38; + Ulm and Austerlitz, 42, 64; + Jena and Auerstaedt, 47, 55, 64; + Eylau, 51, 56; + Friedland, 52, 122, 401; + meets Alexander, 52; + "continental system," 53, 55-58, 78-80, 83, 87, 105, 171, 403; + manifesto, 57; + at Erfurt, 59; + Eckmuehl and Wagram, 60, 63; + Borodino, 63, 124; + Leipzig, 63, 114, 118, 133, 137, 138; + marriage with Maria Louisa, 78; + fiscal policy, 79; + first abdication, 82, 118, 145; + in Spain, 92, 94; + war with Russia, 121-126, 402; + campaign of 1813, 132-138; + Luetzen and Bautzen, 135; + Dresden, 137; + campaign of 1814, 143-145; + La Rothiere, 144; + Arcis-sur-Aube, 145; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + Elba, 145, 146, 153, 201; + "The Hundred Days," 151, 153-165; + Ligny, 158, 159; + Quatre Bras, 159; + Waterloo, 160-165; + second abdication, 165; + St. Helena, 166, 167, 169, 170, 402; + designs on India, 401-403. + +Bond, Nathaniel, M.P., 36. + +Bonnymuir, 193. + +Bordeaux, 118, 154; + road to, 117. + +Bordeaux, Henry, Duke of. See Chambord, Count of. + +Borisov, battle, 125. + +Borodino, battle, 63, 124, 164. + +Bosphorus, the, 267, 394. + +Boston (United States), 142. + +Botany Bay, 438. + +Boulogne, 8, 35, 38. + +Boulton, Matthew, 435. + +Bourbon, island, 69, 403. + +Bourbon, Duke of, 154. + +Bourne, W. Sturges, 341; + home secretary, 227; + first commissioner of woods and forests, 228, 229. + +Braga, 258. + +Bragge, Charles (afterwards Bragge-Bathurst), 28, 68, 202; + chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 81, 82, 174; + president of the board of control, 199. + +Brahmaputra, the, 408, 409. + +Braine l'Alleud, Belgian village, 162. + +Brand, M.P., 284. + +Brazil, 89, 190, 211, 221, 222, 253, 254, 259, 388; + commercial treaty with England, 222. + +Brereton, Colonel, 298. + +Breslau, 134, 135. + +Brest, 39, 55. + +Brewster's _Encyclopaedia_, 424. + +_Bridgwater Treatises_, the, 338. + +Brienne, 143. + +Brighton, 350. + +Brindley, James, 434. + +Bristol, 175, 297, 298, 302, 309, 435. + +British Association, the, 338. + +Brittany, 154. + +Brock, Major-general, 129, 130. + +Broke, Captain, 142. + +Brooks's club. See London. + +Brougham, Henry (afterwards Lord Brougham and Vaux), 48, 172, 173, 182, + 193-196, 207, 228, 234, 241, 242, 274, 277, 278, 280, 357-359, 363, + 423, 431; + lord chancellor, 281, 282, 287, 295, 325, 338, 343, 345, 346, 348, 351; + legal reforms, 332, 333, 358, 359, 361. + +Broussa, 393. + +Brown, American commander, 146. + +Bruce, Michael, 436. + +Bruenn, 42. + +Brunswick, 196. + +Brunswick (Charles), Duke of, 184 n. + +Brunswick (Frederick William), Duke of, 159. + +Brunswick, troops, 158. + +Brunswick clubs, 243. + +Brussels, 158-161, 378, 379, 381, 383, 384, 387. + +_Bucentaure_, the, French ship, 40. + +Bucharest, treaty of, 123. + +Buckingham, Marquis of (Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville), + afterwards Duke of, 199, 295. + +Buckingham palace. See London. + +Buckinghamshire, 281. + +Buckinghamshire, third Earl of (Hobart), 1. + +Buckinghamshire, fourth Earl of. See Hobart, Lord. + +Buckland, William, Dean of Westminster, 340. + +Buenos Ayres, 47, 56, 57, 205, 216, 223. + +Bukowina, 224. + +Bulgaria, 263, 267. + +Bull-baiting, 15. + +"Bullion committee," the, 73. + +Buelow, Frederick William von, General, afterwards Count, 143, 145, 163, + 164. + +Bulwer, Edward Lytton (afterwards Lord Lytton), 426. + +Burdett, Sir Francis, M.P., 51, 72, 175, 226, 240-242, 284, 285, 298, 374. + +Burgess, Thomas, bishop of St. Davids, 430. + +Burgos, 92, 108, 110. + +Burgundy, 154. + +Burke, Edmund, 308, 415, 422. + +Burlington Heights, 139, 140. + +Burma, first Burmese war, 408, 409; + treaty with East India Company, 409. + +Burnes, Sir Alexander, 413, 414. + +Burns, Robert, 415. + +Burrard, Sir Harry, general, 90, 91, 93. + +Bussaco, 101, 113. + +Butrinto, 188. + +Buxton, Thomas Fowell, M.P., 326, 327. + +Bylandt, Dutch general, 162. + +Byron, Lord, 233, 417-419. + + +Cachar, 411. + +Cadiz, 8, 39-41, 89, 96, 100, 102-104, 109, 256. + +Cadoudal, Georges, 33. + +Cairo, capture of, 6. + +Calabria, 47. + +Calcott, Sir Augustus, 427. + +Calcutta, 398, 402, 408, 412. + +Calder, Sir Robert, 39. + +Caledonian canal, 434. + +Cambridge. See Universities. + +Cambridge (Adolphus), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185. + +Cambridgeshire, 175 n. + +Camden, Earl (Pratt), afterwards Marquis Camden, secretary for war and + colonies, 34, 37; + lord president of the council, 37, 50, 66, 67; + in cabinet without office, 76, 82. + +Camelford, 193. + +Campbell, Lord, 361, 363. + +Campbell, Sir Archibald, 409. + +Campbell, Sir Neil, 153. + +Campbell, Thomas, 420, 431. + +Canada, 128, 147, 157, 225, 312, 437, 438; + attacked by the United States, 129, 130, 139-141, 146. + +Candia. See Crete. + +Cannes, 153. + +Canning, George, 2, 24, 68, 76, 84, 85, 172, 209, 231, 232, 238, 240, 245, + 279, 284, 285, 319, 339, 358, 423; + _jeux d'esprit_, 26, 28; + foreign secretary, 50, 52-54, 59, 66, 92; + resignation, 67; + president of the board of control, 174, 176, 185, 199, 201, 406; + foreign secretary, 197, 199-201, 207, 208, 216, 218-226, 232-235, 241, + 242, 255-257, 259, 260, 390, 392, 408; + first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, 227, 228, + 273, 380; + death, 228, 229. + +Canning, Sir Stratford (afterwards Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe), 225, + 266. + +Canterac, Spanish general, 223. + +Canterbury, archbishop of (Howley), 299, 337, 373. + +Cape Finisterre, 39. + +Cape Formoso, 151. + +Cape of Good Hope, 9, 47, 167, 398, 403, 438. + +Cape St. Vincent, battle, 389. + +Cape Trafalgar, battle, 40, 43, 69. + +Capodistrias, Greek president, 267, 268, 392. + +Carcassonne, road to, 119. + +Carinthia, 66. + +Carlile, agitator, 282. + +Carlisle, sixth Earl of (Howard), first commissioner of woods and forests, + 228, 357; + lord privy seal, 228; + in cabinet without office, 280; + lord privy seal, 346, 347. + +Carlos, Don. 389-391. + +Carlsbad, 189. + +Carlton House. See London. + +Carlyle, Jane Welsh, 424. + +Carlyle, Thomas, 417, 434, 427. + +Carnot, French statesman, 155, 165. + +Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (afterwards queen of George IV.), + 48, 85, 86, 183, 184, 192-197, 200. + +Carr, R. J., bishop of Worcester, 299. + +Cartwright, Edmund, 83. + +Cartwright, Major, 175. + +Casimir-Perier, French premier, 387. + +Caspian Sea, 310. + +Castalla, 109, 114. + +Castanos, Francisco Xavier de, 93. + +Castlereagh, Viscount (Stewart), afterwards second Marquis of Londonderry, + 2, 68, 71, 73, 100, 201, 202, 208, 209, 228, 238; + president of the board of control, 15, 34; + secretary for war and colonies, 37, 50, 52, 59, 61, 62, 64, 65-67, 90, + 92, 200; + resignation, 67; + foreign secretary, 76, 82, 85, 123, 144-147, 153, 156, 169, 171-173, 183, + 189, 191, 195, 199, 210-212, 214, 217, 260, 387; + death, 199-201, 216, 408. + +Catalonia, 88, 92, 112, 114, 115, 118. + +Cathcart, Lord (afterwards Viscount, later Earl of), 43, 54, 123, 134, 136. + +Catholic Apostolic Church, 339. + +Catholic Association, 240, 241, 244-246. + +Catholic emancipation, 49, 76, 200, 207, 226, 230, 236-249, 431; + abandoned, 2, 34; + opposition to, 32, 34, 45, 50, 208, 227; + carried, 249. + +Cato Street conspiracy, 192, 193. + +Cattaro, 142. + +Caulaincourt, French diplomatist, 144. + +Cawnpur, 399. + +Census, 300, 311, 312. + +Ceylon, 9, 167. + +Chadwick, Edwin, 341. + +Chambery, 149. + +Chambord, Count de, 210, 376. + +Chambray, Marquis de, 125. + +Champagne, 143, 144. + +Champlain, lake, 140, 146. + +Chandos, Marquis of (Brydges-Chandos-Temple-Grenville), afterwards second + Duke of Buckingham, 295, 299; + "Chandos clause," 295. + +Chantrey, Sir Francis Legatt, 427. + +Charity Commission, 182. + +Charleroi, 158, 161. + +Charles, Count of Artois (afterwards Charles X. of France), 34, 116, 154, + 224, 376. + +Charles IV., King of Spain, 87, 88. + +Charles XII., King of Sweden, 54. + +Charles XIII., King of Sweden and Norway, 54, 150. + +Charles, Archduke, 63. + +Charles Albert, Prince, of Carignano (afterwards King of Sardinia), 213. + +Charles Emmanuel II., King of Sardinia, 10. + +Charles Felix, King of Sardinia, 213. + +Charlotte, Princess (daughter of the Prince Regent), 86, 174, 183-185, 194, + 195, 268. + +Charlotte, Queen-dowager of Wuertemburg (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Charlotte, queen of George III., 74, 184, 185. + +Charlotte, queen of John VI. of Portugal, 253, 254. + +Chartism, 308. + +Chasse, D. H., Dutch general, 162. + +Chateauguay, battle of river, 141. + +Chatham, Earl of (John Pitt), lord president of the council, 1; + master-general of the ordnance, 1, 24, 50, 64, 65, 71; + resignation, 72. + +Chatillon-sur-Seine, congress at, 118, 144. + +Chaumont, treaty of, 144, 145; + extended at Paris, 168, 186, 191, 377. + +Chauncey, Commodore, 140. + +Cherbourg, 376. + +Chesapeake Bay, 146; + estuary, 141. + +_Chesapeake_, the, American frigate, 127, 142, 147. + +Chesney, Francis Rawdon, colonel, 413. + +Chester, bishop of (Sumner), 341. + +Chichagov, Russian general, 125. + +Chichester, first Earl of (Pelham), 1. + +Chile, 190, 221. + +China, 86, 310, 325, 328, 329; + coolies, 438. + +Chios, island, 261, 263. + +Chippewa, 130, 146. + +Chiswick, 228. + +Chittagong, 408. + +Chitu, Pindari leader, 406, 407. + +Cholera, 299, 309, 311, 407. + +Christian, Prince (afterwards Christian VIII. of Denmark), 143, 150. + +Chrystler's Farm, battle, 141. + +Church, Sir Richard, general, 262, 266. + +Church, Irish, temporalities act, 321-325. + +Church rates, 373, 374. + +Church, Scottish, 360 n., 424. + +Church, states of the. See Papal states. + +Cilicia, 394. + +Cinque Ports, 23. + +Cintra, convention of, 60, 91. + +Cisalpine republic (Italian republic), 9, 12, 17, 38. + +Ciudad Real, 96. + +Ciudad Rodrigo, 100, 102-108. + +Civil list, 15, 173, 174, 192, 278, 282, 283, 290. + +Clancarty, Earl of (Le Poer-Trench), 61, 68. + +Clare election, 236, 237, 243, 245, 250, 251, 313. + +Clare, Earl of (Fitzgibbon), 3. + +Clarence (William), Duke of. See William IV. + +Clarke, Mrs., 60, 61. + +Clarkson, Thomas, philanthropist, 48. + +Clausel, General, 107, 108, 111-113. + +Cleves, 43. + +Clinton, Sir Henry, general, 162. + +Clive, Lord, 396. + +Clyde, the, 428, 434. + +Coa, river, 110. + +Cobbett, William, 177, 207, 282, 318, 335, 343, 423; + _Weekly Register_, 72, 175, 204, 422, 423. + +Coblenz, 138. + +Cochrane, Lord (afterwards Earl of Dundonald), 51, 69, 72, 88, 175, 190, + 221, 222, 233. + +Codrington, Admiral, 230, 233, 234, 264. + +Coercion acts (Irish), 330-322, 324, 325, 346, 347. + +Coimbra, 98, 101. + +Colchester, Lord. See Abbot, Charles. + +Cole, General (afterwards Sir) G. L. 103. + +Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 416, 417, 425. + +Colle, La, Mill, 146. + +Collingwood, Admiral, 39, 40, 41, 57, 69, 88. + +_Collingwood, the Lord_, British ship, 216. + +Cologne, 43. + +Colombia, 216, 223. + +Combermere, Lord (Cotton), afterwards Viscount, 409. + +Combination laws, 204, 207. + +_Comet_, the, steamboat, 427, 434. + +Concordat, the, 7. + +Congreve rockets, 117. + +"Conservative," origin of name, 319. + +Constable, John, 427. + +Constantinople, 57, 214, 216, 233, 259, 261, 267, 387, 393, 394. + +_Constitution_, the, American frigate, 131, 132. + +Continental system, the, 33, 55-58, 66, 78-80, 83, 87, 105, 126, 128, 171, + 403. + +Convention act (Irish), 240. + +Conyngham, Marquis of, 346. + +Cook, Captain, 436, 438. + +Cooke, General, 162. + +Coorg, 411. + +Copenhagen, 3-5, 54, 55, 57. + See Baltic, battle of the. + +Copley, Sir John (afterwards Lord Lyndhurst), 226, 242, 281, 295, 302-304, + 359, 361-363, 365, 369-372; + lord chancellor, 227, 231, 243, 246, 249, 352. + +Corn, price of, 7 n., 84, 85, 172, 174, 203, 370. + +Corn laws, 85, 173, 204, 207, 243, 306. + +Cornwall, 288. + +Cornwall (Canada), 141. + +Cornwall, revenues of duchy of, 15, 278. + +Cornwallis, Admiral, 39. + +Cornwallis, Marquis, 239; + master-general of ordnance, 1; + negotiates treaty of Amiens, 10-12; + warns England, 17; + governor-general of Bengal, 400, 401. + +Corporation act, 229, 334, 235, 242. + +Corporation act (Irish), 372. + +Coruna, 39, 90, 92, 93; + battle, 95, 96, 108. + +Cottenham, Lord. See Pepys, Sir Charles. + +Countries, the Low. See Belgium and Holland. + +Cowper, William, 415. + +Cox, David, 427. + +Cracow, 153, 166. + +Cradock, Sir John, 96. + +Craig, Sir James, 42; + governor of Canada, 128, 129. + +Craufurd, Robert, general, 105. + +Crete, 261, 263, 266, 268. + +Criminal law, reform of, 51, 77, 194, 201, 369. + +Croker, John Wilson, 274, 303, 318. + +Crome, John, the elder, 427. + +Cronstadt fleet, 123. + +Cuba, 222. + +Cuesta, Spanish general, 88, 98, 99. + +Cumberland (Ernest), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185, 197, 231, 235, + 246, 274, 324, 367, 368. + +Curtis, Roman Catholic archbishop of Dublin, 243, 244. + +Curwen, John Christian, M.P., 181, 182, 284. + +Cuttack, 399. + +Czartoryski, Prince Adam, 80. + +Czernowitz, 224. + + +Dakaiti, 401. + +Dalmatia, 42, 142; + Duke of. See Soult, Marshal. + +Dalrymple, Sir Hew, general, 90, 91. + +Danube, the, 41, 63, 77, 94, 124, 263, 310. + +Danubian principalities. See Moldavia and Wallachia. + +Danzig, surrender of, 52. + +Dardanelles, the, 55, 57, 188, 214, 215, 260, 265, 267, 394, 395. + +Darling, Governor, 440. + +Darlington, 435. + +Darnley, Earl of (Bligh), 54. + +Dartmouth, Earl of. See Lewisham, Viscount. + +Darwin, Charles, 428. + +Daulat Rao Sindhia. See Sindhia. + +Davout, Marshal, 81, 136, 137. + +Davy, Sir Humphry, 428, 433. + +Dawson, George, M.P., 243, 246. + +"Days, the Hundred." See Bonaparte, Napoleon. + +Dearborn, American general, 130, 140. + +Decaen, French general, 18. + +Deccan, the, 407. + +Delaborde, French officer, 90. + +Delaware, estuary, 141. + +Delhi, 397-399, 406. + +Demerara, 9. + +Denman, Thomas (afterwards Lord Denman), 195. + +Denmark, 3-5, 53-55, 59, 69, 136, 190; + treaties of Kiel, 143, 189; + loses Norway, 166. + +Dennewitz, battle, 137. + +De Quincey, Thomas, 425. + +Derby, 296. + +Derby, twelfth Earl of (Smith-Stanley), 277. + +Derbyshire, 83. + +Derry, 243. + +Desnoettes, General Lefebvre-, 88. + +Despard, Edward Marcus, colonel, 16. + +Detroit, 129, 138. + +Devonshire, 359. + +Devonshire, Duke of (Cavendish), 228. + +D'Eyncourt. See Tennyson, Charles. + +Dickens, Charles, 426. + +Diebitsch, Russian general, 266, 267, 310. + +Dijon, 145. + +Disraeli, Benjamin (afterwards Earl of Beaconsfield), 426. + +Dissenters, 306; + disabilities of, 85, 234, 235, 353, 355, 430. + +Donauwoerth, 41, 63. + +Dost Muhammad, Amir of Kabul, 414. + +Douro, the, 94, 98, 99, 110. + +Dover, 148, 195, 351, 435. + +Downs, the, 64. + +Drake, British envoy, 33. + +Dresden, 112, 114, 135; + battle, 137. + +Dropmore, seat of Lord Grenville, 24. + +Drummond, Sir Gordon, 146. + +Dublin, 19, 77, 197, 240, 317, 371; + castle, 23; + police bill, 362; + archbishop of (Whately), 317, 421, 422; + Roman Catholic archbishop of (Curtis), 243, 244. + +Duckworth, Sir John, admiral, 57. + +Dudley, Viscount and Earl of. See Ward, J. W. + +Duhesme, French general, 88. + +Dumont, Pierre Etienne Louis, 420. + +Duncannon, Viscount (Ponsonby), afterwards Earl of Bessborough, 287; + home secretary, 347; + lord privy seal, 357. + +Duncombe, Thomas S., M.P., 374. + +Dundas, Sir David, commander-in-chief, 61, 62. + +Dundas, Henry (afterwards first Viscount Melville), 3, 24, 25, 30, 32, 68; + first lord of the admiralty, 34; + impeachment, 36. + +Dundas, Robert S. (afterwards second Viscount Melville), president of board + of control, 68; + first lord of the admiralty, 82; + resignation, 227; + president of board of control, 231; + first lord of the admiralty, 243. + +Dundee, 306. + +Dupont, General, 88. + +Durham. See Universities. + +Durham, Lord (Lambton), afterwards Earl of, 345, 348; + lord privy seal, 280, 287, 291; + resignation, 325. + + +East India Company. See India. + +East Retford, 235, 236. + +Ebrington, Viscount (Fortescue), afterwards second Earl Fortescue, 206, + 303. + +Ebro, the, 89, 92, 110, 114. + +Ecclefechan, 424. + +Ecclesiastical commission, 355, 373. + +Eckmuehl, battle, 63. + +Edgeworth, Maria, 422. + +Edgware Road. See London. + +Edinburgh, 306, 348. + +_Edinburgh Review_, the, 358, 423, 424. + +Education, national, 49, 51, 182, 193, 194, 358; + Irish, 316, 317. + +Edwards, George, informer, 192. + +Egmont, Earl of (Perceval), 50. + +Egypt, 6, 9, 18, 57, 224, 225, 233, 262, 264, 265, 269, 396, 413; + convention of Alexandria, 264, 265; + peace of Kiutayeh, 394. + +Elba, island, 145, 146, 151, 153, 169, 201. + +Elbe, the, 55, 62, 133, 135, 137. + +Eldon, Lord (Scott), afterwards Earl of Eldon, 232, 234, 235, 238, 239, + 244, 248, 249, 296, 319, 333, 353, 358, 362; + lord chancellor, 1, 29, 30, 31, 49, 50, 51, 60, 67 n., 74-76, 82, 85, + 169, 172, 179, 180, 194-196, 202, 209; + resignation, 227. + +Elections, general. See Parliament. + +Eliot, Lord (afterwards Earl of St. Germans), 390. + +Elizabeth, Princess (daughter of George III.), 184 n., 185. + +Ellenborough, first Lord (Law), lord chief justice, 45, 49, 169, 177. + +Ellenborough, second Lord, afterwards Earl (Law), 328, 329; + lord privy seal, 231; + president of the board of control, 243, 271, 352. + +Ellesmere canal, 434. + +Ellice, Edward, secretary at war, 346. + +Elphinstone, Mountstuart, 403. + +Elsinore, 4. + +Elvas, 93, 103. + +Embargo act (United States), 128. + +Emmet, Robert, 18, 23, 240. + +Empire, Holy Roman, dissolved, 46; + treaty of Luneville, 6, 17. + +Enghien, Duke of, murder of, 34, 35, 37. + +England, negotiates with France, 7-12; + conquests, 9, 14, 47, 69, 81, 398, 403; + signs treaty of Amiens, 12, 13, 398; + industrial and agricultural depression, 13, 83, 171, 172, 174-180, + 205-207, 270, 299, 312, 370; + fresh discord with France, 16, 17; + war declared against France, 22; + preparations for invasion, 23; + third coalition, 35, 37, 38, 41, 52; + treaty with Russia, 37: + treaty with Sweden, 38; + expeditions to Naples, 42, 47, 63; + Anglo-Hanoverian expedition to North Germany, 42, 43, 51; + negotiations with France, 46; + state of army in 1806, 51; + in 1807, 59, 60; + in 1813, 86; + troops in Sweden, 52; + troops in Denmark, 53, 54; + orders in council, 55, 56, 126, 130, 171; + commercial warfare, 58; + Peninsular war, 59-63, 65, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120, 129, 182; + treaty with Spanish junta, 96; + Walcheren expedition, 62-66, 99: + treaty with Austria, 63; + Sweden declares war on, 78; + treaties with Russia and Sweden, 85, 123, 136; + war with United States, 58, 82, 126-132, 138-142, 146, 147, 156, 171; + treaty of Stockholm, 136; + treaties of Reichenbach, 136; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + treaty of Ried, 137; + treaty of Kiel, 143; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + treaty of Ghent, 147, 156, 203; + visit of the allied sovereigns, 147, 148; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + treaty with Spain, 150; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 168, 186-188, 190, 376, 379, + 381, 388; + Waterloo campaign, 156-165; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + union of Irish and English exchequers, 174; + expedition against the Barbary States, 187, 188; + conferences of Vienna, 189, 216, 217; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191, 377; + congress of Troppau, 211-215, 395, 396; + the Eastern question, 213, 216, 232-234, 259-269, 392; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + assists Portugal, 220, 221, 255-258; + commercial treaty with Brazil, 322; + conferences of London, 222, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + treaty with United States, 225; + treaty of London, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266, 267; + treaties with Portugal, 255; + convention of Alexandria, 264, 265; + convention with France and Holland, 387; + triple and quadruple alliances, 389-391; + treaties with Indian states, 398, 399; + treaty with Persia, 402. + +Epirus, 188. + +Erfurt, 59, 92. + +Erie, lake, 139, 141. + +Erlon, d', French general, 159, 162, 163. + +Erskine, Lord, 77, 177; + lord chancellor, 49. + +Esdremadura, 99, 106. + +Espinosa, battle, 92. + +Essequibo, 9. + +Essex, 175 n. + +Essling, 63. + +Etruria, kingdom of, 9. + +Euphrates, the, 413. + +Evans, De Lacy (afterwards Sir de Lacy), 343, 391. + +Eveleigh, Dr., 429. + +Evora, convention at, 390. + +Ewart, William, M.P., 369. + +Exchange, Royal. See London. + +Exeter, bishop of (Phillpotts), 324. + +Exmouth, Lord (Pellew), afterwards Viscount, 187, 188. + +Eylau, battle, 51, 199; + campaign, 56. + + +Fabvier, Colonel, 262. + +Factory acts, 326-328. + +Falmouth, 259. + +Faraday, Michael, 428. + +Fath Ali, Shah of Persia, 402. + +Fauvelet, French agent, 19. + +Fawkes, Guy, 192. + +Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria, 396. + +Ferdinand III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, 166. + +Ferdinand IV., King of the Two Sicilies, 7, 47, 58, 166, 187, 211, 212, + 216, 221. + +Ferdinand VII., King of Spain, 87, 88, 103, 123, 150, 187, 190, 210, 215, + 218, 222, 388, 389, 395. + +Ferrol, 39. + +Ferronays, De la, French foreign minister, 261. + +Finance, 15, 48, 49, 86, 172, 173, 198, 201-204, 206, 207, 226, 238, 235, + 270, 283, 291, 334, 335, 347, 356, 369; + income and property tax, 15, 23, 48, 49, 172, 173; + currency reform, 74, 182, 183. + +Fines, act for abolition of, 325, 333. + +Finland, 54, 59, 122, 123, 125, 166. + +Finn, W. F., M.P., 367, 368. + +Fischer, Danish commander, 5. + +Fitzgerald, Vesey, M.P., 236, 237. + +Fitzherbert, Mrs., 194. + +Fitzwilliam, Earl, 14, 29, 32, 180; + lord president of the council, 45; + in cabinet without office, 49. + +Flaxman, John, 427. + +Fletcher, Colonel, 101. + +Fleurus, 158. + +Flinders, Matthew, 436, 439. + +Florence, 212, 216; + treaty of, 7. + +Florida, 215. + +Flushing, 65, 71. + +Fontainebleau, 82, 118, 145; + decree 79; + treaties of, 87, 145, 146. + +Fort Erie, 130. + +Fortescue, first Earl, 296. + +Fort George, 130, 140, 141. + +Fort Sandusky, 139. + +Fouche, French politician, 155, 165, 168. + +Fox, Charles James, 14-16, 26, 27, 29-34, 200, 279, 372, 417; + relations with George III., 32, 33, 45, 46, 185; + foreign secretary, 45, 46; + abolition of slave trade, 46, 48; + death, 46, 47, 49, 228. + +Foy, French general, 111, 112, 160. + +France, 13, 14, 17, 21, 39-41, 47, 54, 58, 64, 65, 69, 79, 88, 105, 119, + 128, 130, 145, 150-153, 186, 187, 189-191, 205, 210, 212, 221, 223, + 377, 398; + treaties of Luneville and Aranjuez, 6, 17; + treaty of Florence, 7; + negotiations resulting in treaty of Amiens, 7, 13; + proposed invasion of England, 8; + war declared against England, 22; + alliance with Spain, 35; + encroachments in Europe, 37; + war with Austria, 38, 41, 42; + war with Russia, 38, 41, 42, 51; + "army of England," 38, 42; + peace of Pressburg, 42; + treaty with the Two Sicilies, 42; + treaty of Schoenbrunn, 43; + treaty with Prussia, 46, 55; + war with Prussia, 47, 52; + treaty of Tilsit, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 78, 87, 401, 402; + secret treaty of Fontainebleau, 87; + Milan decree, 56; + Peninsular war, 59-63, 65, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120; + war with Austria, 61-64; + peace of Vienna, 64, 66; + loss of foreign possessions, 69, 81, 215, 223, 403; + annexations, 77-79; + breach with Russia, 79-81, 105, 108; + treaty with Prussia, 122; + war with Russia, 82, 97, 100, 121-126, 402; + campaign of 1813, 132-138; + war with Prussia, 134; + war with Austria, 137, 142, 143; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + the allies enter, 118, 143; + congress at Chatillon-sur-Seine, 118, 144; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 167, 186, 188, 190, 379, 381, + 388; + Waterloo campaign, 156-165; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + dispute with Spain, 215, 217-221, 256, 257, 264; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + treaty of London, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266, 267; + the Eastern question, 259-269, 392-395; + conference of London, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + conquest of Algiers, 269; + revolution of July, 274, 276, 285, 376, 378; + assists Belgium, 384-386; + convention with England and Holland, 387; + attacks Portugal, 388; + quadruple alliance, 389-391; + officers in India, 398; + treaty with Persia, 402. + +France, Isle of. See Mauritius, the. + +Franche-Comte, 143. + +Francis II., Holy Roman Emperor (afterwards Francis I., Emperor of + Austria), 17, 46, 78, 144, 145, 148, 218, 224, 395. + +Francis IV., Duke of Modena, 166. + +Frankfort, 189. + +Franklin, Benjamin, 185. + +Fraser, General, 57. + +Frasnes, 158, 159. + +Frederick, Prince Regent of Denmark (afterwards Frederick VI.), 5, 53. + +Frederick, Prince, of Orange, 379. + +Frederick II., the Great, King of Prussia, 47. + +Frederick Augustus, King of Saxony, 135. + +Frederick Joseph, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, 184. + +Frederick William III., King of Prussia, 38, 42, 43, 46, 47, 52, 62, 122, + 134, 144, 147, 148, 152, 189. + +Frederick William, Crown Prince of Prussia (afterwards Frederick William + IV.), 395. + +Frejus, 146. + +Frenchtown, 138. + +Freyre, English officer, 118. + +Friedland, battle, 52, 122, 401. + +_Frolic_, the, British sloop, 132. + +Fuentes d'Onoro, battle, 103. + + +Gaekwar. See Baroda, Gaekwar of. + +Galicia, 39, 66, 80, 88, 90, 94, 98, 122. + +Gambier, Admiral (afterwards Lord), 54, 69. + +Gamonal, battle, 92. + +Ganges, the, 398, 407. + +Gantheaume, French admiral, 39. + +Gardane, French general, 402. + +Gardner, Colonel, 405. + +Garonne, the, 118. + +Gascoyne, General, M.P., 291. + +Gatton, 289. + +Gebora, river, 102. + +Genappe, 160. + +Genoa, 143, 149, 166, 390; + bay of, 69. + +George III., 2, 14, 22, 31, 32, 34, 48-50, 55, 62, 66-68, 71, 92, 96, 171, + 194, 208, 242, 375; + insanity, 29, 74, 83; + relations with Fox, 32, 33, 45, 46; + jubilee, 69; + family, 184; + death, 185, 192; + character, 185, 186, 249, 273. + +George, Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.), his friends, 29; + regent for George III., 74-76, 83, 85, 148, 156, 157, 165, 168, 176, 179, + 186; + marriage relations, 85, 86, 183, 184, 192-197; + character, 173, 174, 183, 184, 194, 197, 208, 244, 282, 375; + king, 192, 199, 201, 226-231, 242-244, 246, 249, 268, 271; + coronation, 196, 197, 309; + death, 272, 273. + +Gerard, General (afterwards Marshal), 164, 386. + +Germany, 38, 41-43, 46, 47, 55, 58, 59, 61-64, 71, 79, 80, 82, 92, 97, 105, + 115, 118, 123, 132-138, 142, 144, 149, 152, 156, 188, 189, 381, 387, + 424, 425; + redistribution of territory, 17, 53, 78, 153; + forces in the Peninsula, 98, 114, 116; + organisation of, 166. + See also Austria, Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, etc. + +Gerona, 88. + +Ghent, 155, 378; + treaty of, 147, 156, 203. + +Ghika, Alexander, Hospodar of Wallachia, 396. + +Gibbon, Edward, 415. + +Gibraltar, 188, 259, 381; + governor of, 90; + straits of, 8, 39. + +Giessen, 189. + +Gifford, William, 423. + +Gillray, James, 26. + +Gladstone, William Ewart, 44, 200, 318, 350, 424. + +Glasgow, 193, 295, 306, 371. + +Glenelg, Lord. See Grant, Charles. + +Gloucester (William), Duke of (nephew of George III.), 184 n. + +Goderich, Viscount. See Robinson, F. J. + +Godoy, Spanish statesman, 87. + +Goethe, Wolfgang von, 417, 418. + +Gohad, 399. + +Golden Lane. See London. + +Gordon, Robert, diplomatist, 266. + +Goulburn, Henry, 284, 303, 319; + chancellor of the exchequer, 231, 270, 278, 280; + home secretary, 352, 367. + +Gower, Lord Francis Leveson (afterwards Earl of Ellesmere), 236. + +Gower, Lord Granville Leveson- (afterwards Earl Granville), secretary at + war, 66; + retirement, 68. + +Graham, Sir James, 270, 277, 352, 354, 374; + first lord of the admiralty, 279, 287; + resignation, 345. + +Graham, Sir Thomas (afterwards Lord Lynedoch), 102, 104, 110-113. + +Grampound, 193, 198, 284, 288. + +Granby, Marquis of (Manners), 52. + +Grand, river, 139. + +Grant, Charles (afterwards Lord Glenelg), 277; + board of trade, 230, 231; + resignation, 236, 380; + president of the board of control, 279, 329, 330, 380; + secretary for war and colonies, 357. + +Grattan, Henry, M.P., 197, 238. + +Graves, Rear-admiral, 5. + +Greece, 379, 380, 383; + revolts against Turkey, 213, 214, 216, 217, 223-226, 232-234, 253, + 259-267, 393; + independent, 268; + boundary fixed, 392. + +Greenock, 306. + +Grenoble, 153. + +Grenville, Thomas, first lord of the admiralty, 49. + +Grenville, Lord, 2, 14, 24-26, 29, 33, 35, 54, 56, 67 n., 68, 74-76, 109, + 238, 279; + his followers, 26, 27, 30, 32, 34; + first lord of the treasury, 45, 47-49, 51, 52; + resignation, 49, 50; + opposition to Peninsular war, 71, 76. + +Greville, Charles, 332. + +Grey, Charles (afterwards Viscount Howick and later second Earl Grey), 46, + 67 n., 68, 74-76, 199, 228, 230, 249, 271, 276, 277, 348, 357; + first lord of the admiralty, 45; + foreign secretary, 49, 52, 55; + opposition to Peninsular war, 76; + first lord of the treasury, 278-283, 285-287, 290, 291, 293-296, 299, + 301-304, 320, 321, 324, 325, 334, 375, 380; + resignation, 344-347. + +Grey, Earl de, first lord of the admiralty, 352. + +Grossbeeren, battle, 137. + +Grosvenor Square. See London. + +Grote, George, 341, 345, 374, 431. + +Grouchy, Marshal, 160, 163, 164. + +Guadeloupe, 136. + +Guadiana, the, 99. + +Guarda, 100. + +_Guerriere_, the, British frigate, 131, 132. + +Guildhall. See London. + +Guilleminot, French diplomatist, 266. + +Guizot, French statesman, 357. + +Gujrat, 399. + +Gurkhas, the, 404, 405. + +Gustavus IV., King of Sweden, 37, 54, 90. + +Gwalior, 310, 399, 407. + See Sindhia. + + +_Habeas corpus act_, suspension of, 3, 176-178, 181, 240, 320. + +Hague, the, 384. + +Haidarabad, 40; + Nizam of, 397, 398; + treaty of Bassein, 398, 399. + +Hal, 158, 161. + +_Halifax_, the, British sloop, 127. + +Hallam, Henry, 426, 427. + +Hamburg, 134, 136, 138, 310. + +Hamilton, English commodore, 225. + +Hamilton, Sir William, philosopher, 417. + +Hampden clubs, 175. + +Hampshire, 281, 282. + +Hampton, General, 140, 141. + +Hampton roads, 127. + +Hanau, battle, 133. + +_Hannibal_, the, British ship, 8. + +Hanover, 22, 38, 42, 43, 46, 55, 134, 136, 166, 249. + +Hanoverian troops, 137, 158, 159, 161. + +Hanse Towns, the, 55. + +Hardenberg, Prussian minister, 144, 152. + +Hardinge, Henry (afterwards Sir Henry and later Viscount Hardinge), 104; + secretary at war, 236, 250, 275, 313. + +Hardwicke, Earl of (Yorke), lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 2, 23, 27. + +Harrison, American general, 138, 139. + +Harrowby, Lord (Dudley Ryder), afterwards Earl of Harrowby, 68, 193, 295, + 299, 301, 302; + foreign secretary, 34; + retirement, 35; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 37; + president of the board of control, 66; + lord president of the council, 81, 82, 227, 230. + +Hartwell, Bucks, 147. + +Harwich, 197. + +Hasselt, 384. + +Hastings, Marquis of. See Moira, Earl of. + +Hastings, Warren, 279. + +Haugwitz, Prussian minister, 42, 43. + +Hawkesbury, Lord (Jenkinson), afterwards Earl of Liverpool, foreign + secretary, 1, 8, 9, 11, 12, 19, 20, 25, 34, 228; + called to the house of lords, 27; + home secretary, 34; + declines office as first lord of the treasury, 45; + home secretary, 50; + secretary for war and colonies, 68, 71, 82, 100, 106; + first lord of the treasury, 77, 82, 83, 85, 108, 109, 151, 168, 169, 172, + 173, 183, 195-199, 205, 238, 239, 242, 279, 380; + resignation, 208, 209, 226. + +Hay, Lord John, 391. + +Haye, La, farm, 162. + +Haye Sainte, La, farm, 162, 163. + +Hayti, 215, 223. + +Hazlitt, William, 425. + +Health, board of, 310. + +Hegel, Georg, 417. + +Heligoland, 143, 167. + +Helvetian republic. See Switzerland. + +Helvoetsluis, 18. + +Henry IV., King of France, 219. + +Henry, John, 128. + +Herat, 412-414. + +Herries, J. C., chancellor of the exchequer, 229, 230; + master of the mint, 231; + secretary at war, 352. + +Herschel, Sir John, 428. + +Hesse, Princess' Augusta of (Duchess of Cambridge), 184. + +Heytesbury, Lord, 412. + +Hill, Rowland (afterwards Sir Rowland and later Viscount Hill), 104-106, + 108, 110-113, 115-117, 119. + +Himalayas, the, 404, 405. + +Hobart, Lord (afterwards fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire), secretary for war + and colonies, 1, 2, 34; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 35; + resignation, 37; + president of the board of control, 81, 82, 174. + +Hobhouse, Sir John Cam (afterwards Lord Broughton), 325, 327, 343, 418; + first commissioner of woods and forests, 347; + president of the board of control, 357. + +Hohenlinden, battle, 420. + +Holkar, Jaswant Rao Holkar, 398, 399, 405; + Malhar Rao Holkar, 405, 406. + +Holland (Batavian republic), 9, 11, 18 19, 21, 38, 53, 61, 81, 149-151, + 156, 158, 159, 161, 162, 166, 199, 377; + treaty of Amiens, 13; + Louis Bonaparte, king of, 46; + loss of Cape of Good Hope, 47, 403; + Walcheren expedition, 65; + annexed by France, 78; + revolts, 133, 138; + Prince of Orange proclaimed King of the Netherlands, 138; + Dutch at Waterloo, 158, 161, 162; + united to Belgium, 166; + separation from Belgium, 376-386, 393; + convention with Great Britain and France, 387; + convention with Belgium, 387; + settlers in South Africa, 438. + +Holland, Lord (Vassall-Fox), 170, 180, 199, 228, 230, 234; + lord privy seal, 49; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 280, 357. + +Holy Alliance, 37, 168, 169, 186, 200, 229. + +Holyhead, 197. + +Homs, 393. + +Hone, William, 177. + +Hope, John (afterwards Sir John, later Lord Niddry and Earl of Hopetoun), + 93, 95, 116, 117, 119. + +Horner, Francis, M.P., 73, 183, 423. + +_Hornet_, the, American ship, 141. + +Hougoumont, 161, 162. + +Howard, John, 415, 437. + +Howick, Viscount. See Grey, Charles. + +Howick, Viscount (afterwards third Earl Grey), 271; + secretary at war, 357. + +Howley, archbishop of Canterbury, 299, 337, 373. + +Huddersfield, 270. + +Hudson, James (afterwards Sir James Hudson), 351. + +Hugo, Victor, 426. + +Hull, American general, 129. + +Hume, David, 415. + +Hume, Joseph, 198, 274, 323, 367, 368, 374, 431. + +Hunt, "Orator," 175, 179, 207, 281, 318. + +Huron, lake, 129. + +Huskisson, William, 84, 86; + president of the board of trade, 198, 202, 203, 205, 207, 227, 228; + secretary for war and colonies, 229-232, 235, 270, 271; + resignation, 236, 380; + death, 275, 276, 435. + +Hutchinson, General, 6. + +Hutton, James, 428. + +Hydriots, the, 392. + + +Ibrahim, Pasha, 224, 225, 233, 264, 265, 392-394, 396. + +Illyrian provinces, 66, 122, 134, 137. + +_Imperieuse_, the, British frigate, 88. + +_Inconstant_, the, Napoleon's brig, 153. + +Indemnity acts, 234. + +India, 3, 18, 50, 59, 61, 104, 329, 330, 397-414, 436; + French towns in India, 18, 19; + East India Company, 201, 271, 399, 400, 406, 409; + acts and charters relating to East India Company, 86, 325, 328-330, 404, + 411, 412; + treaties, 398, 399, 402, 403-406, 409, 412; + coolies, 438. + +Indians (America), 129, 138, 147. + +Indies, East, 20, 81, 310. + +Indies, West, 20, 39, 69, 131, 219, 326, 438. + +Indore. See Holkar. + +Ingilby, Sir W. A., M.P., 334. + +Inglis, Sir Robert, M.P., 245. + +Inn, river, 63. + +Insurrection act, 240, 320. + +Inverness, 348. + +Ionian islands, 69, 167, 187, 188, 267, 268. + +Irawadi, the, 408. + +Ireland, 16, 51, 55, 85, 197, 208, 242, 246, 247, 281, 289, 290, 312, 316, + 317, 359, 360, 367, 368, 370-373; + condition of, in 1801, 2, 3; + in 1821, 199, 239; + in 1824, 205; + in 1828, 243; + in 1829, 270; + in 1830, 275; + in 1831-32, 312-317; + in 1833, 320, 321; + in 1834, 345; + in 1837, 371; + French spies, 18, 19, 23; + Emmet's rebellion, 18, 23, 240; + scheme for representative assembly, 77; + union of Irish and English exchequers, 174; + Clare election, 236, 237, 243, 245, 250, 251, 313; + disfranchisement of forty shilling freeholders, 241, 249; + famine, 243; + reform bill, 306, 307; + agitation against tithe, 313-316, 320; + church, 315-317, 322; + processions act, 316, 317; + education, 316, 317; + coercion act, 320-322, 324, 325, 332; + church temporalities act, 321-325, 332; + second coercion act, 347; + municipal corporations bill, 364, 365. + +Irving, Edward, 339, 340. + +Isabella II., Queen of Spain, 389, 395. + +Isabella Maria, Regent of Portugal, 253. + +Ischia, island, 63. + +Isle-aux-noix, 140. + +Istria, 42. + +Isturiz, Spanish premier, 391. + +Italy, 42, 58, 63, 79, 133, 137, 138, 143-145, 149, 153, 157, 166, 187, + 210, 211, 213, 215-217, 348, 377, 387; + Napoleon crowned King of Italy, 37, 38. + +Italian republic. See Cisalpine republic. + + +Jackson, Andrew (afterwards President of the United States), 147. + +Jackson, Francis J., British envoy, 53. + +Jails, 369, 437. + +Jaswant Rao Holkar. See Holkar. + +Java, 81, 403. + +_Java_, the, British frigate, 132. + +Jefferson, Thomas, President of the United States, 58, 127, 128. + +Jeffrey, Francis (afterwards Lord), 423. + +Jena, battle, 47, 199. + +Jenner, Dr. Edward, 15, 427. + +Jessor, 310. + +Jesuits, 247. + +Jews, disabilities of, 235. + +John VI., King of Portugal, 211, 215, 220, 221, 253, 254. + +Johnson, Samuel, 186, 415. + +Jones, Sir Harford (afterwards Brydges), 402. + +Jones, John Gale, 72. + +Jordan, Mrs., 273. + +Jourdan, Marshal, 98, 110. + +Jumna, river, 398, 399. + +Junot, Duke of Abrantes, 54, 58, 89-91, 100. + + +Kabul, 403, 413, 414. + +Kaffraria, 438. + +Kalisch, treaty of, 134. + +Kandahar, 403, 414. + +Kant, Immanuel, 417. + +Karavasara, 266. + +Karnatik, the, 397. + +Katzbach, the, battle, 137. + +Keats, John, 419. + +Keble, John, 337. + +Kehl, 138. + +Kellermann, French general, 159, 162. + +Kent, 23, 281. + +Kent (Edward), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185. + +Kent (Victoria Mary), Duchess of 184, 185, 281. + +Keswick, 420. + +Key, Sir John, M.P., 334. + +Khatmandu, 404. + +Kiel, treaty of, 142, 143, 189. + +Kilkenny, murders in, 320. + +Killingworth colliery, 434, 435. + +Kilwarden, Viscount (Wolfe), 23. + +King's College. See London. + +Kiutayeh, 393; + peace of, 394. + +Kleber, French general, 6. + +Knatchbull, Sir Edward, paymaster of forces, 352. + +Knights of St. John, 9, 10, 13; + property of the order, 11. + +Konieh, 393. + +Koenigsberg, 81. + +Kotzebue, murder of, 189. + +Krasnoe, battle, 125. + +Kronborg, 4. + +Kruse, Dutch officer, 162. + +Kulm, 137. + +Kumaun, district of, 405. + +Kutuzov, Russian general, 124. + + +Labedoyere, Colonel, 154. + +Laconia, 392. + +Laffitte, French premier, 383, 387. + +Lahore, 402. + +Laibach, treaty of, 212, 213. + +Lake, General (afterwards Lord and later Viscount Lake), 398-401, 409. + +Lamb, Charles, 425. + +Lamb, William (afterwards Viscount Melbourne), 227, 231, 236; + home secretary, 279, 296, 299; + first lord of the treasury, 347, 350; + resignation, 351; + first lord of the treasury, 357, 359, 360, 363, 370, 371, 373, 390, 401, + 431. + +Lampeter, St. David's College, 430. + +Lancashire, 83, 179, 435. + +Lancaster, revenues of duchy of, 278, 282. + +Landau, 149, 167. + +Langdale, Lord. See Bickersteth, Henry. + +Lansdowne, Marquis of. See Petty, Lord Henry. + +Laswari, battle, 399. + +Laud, William, 429. + +Lauderdale, Earl of (Maitland), 46, 170. + +Lauriston, General (afterwards Marshal), 13. + +Lawley, Sir Robert, M.P., 29. + +Lawrence, Captain, 141, 142. + +Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 427. + +Leach, Sir John, 195. + +Leadenhall Street. See London. + +Leeds, 198, 272, 327. + +Leghorn, 143. + +Leicestershire, 83. + +Leinster, 315. + +Leipzig, battle, 63, 82, 114, 117, 118, 133, 137, 138, 143, 164. + +Leon, plains of, 88, 106. + +_Leopard_, the, British flagship, 127. + +Leopold, Prince, of Saxe-Coburg (afterwards King of the Belgians), 174, + 183, 185, 268, 269, 383, 384. + +Lepanto, 266. + +L'Estrange, Colonel, 179. + +Levant, the, 18, 413. + +Lewis I., King of Bavaria, 392. + +Lewisham, Viscount (Legge), afterwards Earl of Dartmouth, president of the + board of control, 1, 15. + +"Lichfield House Compact," 356. + +Liege, 43, 381. + +Ligny, 158, 164; + battle, 158-160. + +Ligurian republic, 9, 12, 37, 38. + +Lille, negotiations at, 9, 14. + +Limburg, province, 382, 385-387. + +Lincolnshire, 334. + +Lincoln's Inn Fields. See London. + +Linois, French admiral, 8. + +Lisbon, 54, 89-91, 93-98, 100, 102, 109, 201, 211, 215, 220-222, 257-259, + 389. + +Littleport, 175 n. + +Littleton, Edward John (afterwards Lord Hatherton), 325, 345, 346. + +Liverpool, 201, 232, 275, 276, 291, 369, 388, 435. + +Liverpool, Earl of. See Hawkesbury, Lord. + +Lloyd, Charles, bishop of Oxford, 249. + +Lobau, island, 63. + +Lobau, Prince of, 163. + +Lombardy, 149, 166, 187. + See also Cisalpine republic. + +London, 195, 196, 201, 202, 206, 270, 277, 278, 296, 303, 311, 435, 437; + bishop of (Blomfield), 324, 341, 373. + +London:-- + Apsley House, 293. + Battersea Fields, 251. + Blackheath, 194. + Bridges: Blackfriars, London, Southwark, Strand (Waterloo), Westminster, + 436. + Brooks's Club, 374. + Buckingham Palace, 349. + Carlton House, 70, 436. + Cato Street, 193. + Corporation of, 173. + Edgware Road, 193. + Golden Lane, 435. + Guildhall, 148. + Grosvenor Square, 193. + King's College, 250, 431. + Leadenhall Street, 329, 398, 411. + Lincoln's Inn Fields, 298. + "London University," 250, 356, 431; + university of London, 431, 432. + Newgate, 72, 369. + Old Bailey, 282. + Pall Mall, 435. + Regent Street and Park, 436. + Royal Academy, 427. + Royal Exchange, 175. + St. Paul's, 196. + Small-pox Hospital, 427. + Southwark, 26. + Spa Fields, Bermondsey, 175. + Spitalfields, 202. + Tower, 72, 175. + University College, 431, 432. + Westminster, 51, 72, 343. + Westminster Abbey, 46, 196, 309. + Westminster Hall, 349. + White Conduit House, 298. + +London, conferences of, 222, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + protocols of, 265, 267, 381-385, 392; + treaties of, 96, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266-268, 385, 392. + +_London Magazine_, the, 424, 425. + +Londonderry, second Marquis of. See Castlereagh, Viscount. + +Londonderry, third Marquis of. See Stewart, Sir Charles. + +Lonsdale, Earl of (Lowther), 67 n. + +Lorraine, 143, 168. + +Loughborough, Lord (Wedderburn), afterwards first Earl of Rosslyn, 1, 271. + +Louis XIV., King of France, 186. + +Louis XVI., King of France, 145. + +Louis XVIII., King of France, 118, 119, 145, 147, 149, 154-157, 166, 167, + 169, 187, 215, 218, 219, 377. + +Louis Antoine, Duke of Angouleme (afterwards dauphin), 116, 118, 154, 220, + 376. + +Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans (afterwards King of France), 154, 274, 376, + 377, 379, 380, 382-384, 390, 391. + +Louisiana, 6, 18. + +Louvain, 384. + +Low Countries. See Belgium and Holland. + +Luebeck, 78. + +Luddite riots. See Riots. + +Lugo, 95. + +Lundy's Lane, battle, 146. + +Luneville, treaty of, 6, 10, 13, 17, 38. + +Luetzen, battle, 135. + +Luxemburg, grand duchy of, 43, 380-387. + +Lyell, Charles (afterwards Sir C.), 428. + +Lyndhurst, Lord. See Copley, Sir John. + +Lyons, 154. + + +Maas, river, 387. + +Maastricht, 380, 382. + +Macadam, John Loudon, roadmaker, 434. + +Macarthur, John, 439. + +Macaulay, Thomas Babington (afterwards Lord Macaulay), 296, 327, 411, 412, + 423-427. + +Macaulay, Zachary, 423, 431. + +Macdonald, Marshal, 124, 125, 154. + +_Macedonian_, the, British ship, 132. + +Mack, Austrian general, 42. + +Mackinac, 129, 139. + +Mackintosh, Sir James, 16, 194, 201. + +Mackworth, Major, 298. + +Macquarie, Governor, 439, 440. + +Madison, James, President of the United States, 128-130. + +Madras, 400, 410. + +Madrid, 71, 87-89, 92-94, 96, 98, 103, 107, 108, 111, 150, 217-220, 390, + 391; + treaty of, 6. + +Magdeburg, 138. + +Mahmud, Amir of Afghanistan, 403. + +Mahmud II., Sultan of Turkey, 57, 168, 188, 266, 393, 394, 396. + +Maida, battle, 47. + +Maine, state, 147. + +Mainots, the, 392. + +Mainz, 136. + +Maitland, Captain, 169. + +Majorca, 88. + +Malcolm, Sir John, colonel, 402. + +Malden, 129. + +Malhar, Rao Holkar. See Holkar. + +Malmaison, 165. + +Malmesbury, Earl of (Harris), 14, 49. + +Malta, possession of, 9-13, 20, 22, 37, 408, 413; + independence guaranteed, 13; + parliamentary debate on, 14; + retention by England, 19, 20, 167. + +Malthus, Thomas Robert, 421. + +Malwa, 406, 409, 411. + +Manchester, 176, 178, 179, 272, 275, 276, 295, 303, 311, 435. + +Mansfield, first Earl of (Murray), 45. + +Mansfield, third Earl of (Murray), 292. + +Maratha wars, 398, 399, 406, 407. + +Marcoff, Count, 21. + +Marengo, battle, 159. + +Maria II., da Gloria, Queen of Portugal, 253, 254, 258, 259, 388. + +Maria Christina, Queen-regent of Spain, 389, 391. + +Maria Louisa, empress of Napoleon I., 78, 145, 150, 166. + +Mariembourg, 149, 382. + +Marlborough, Duke of (Churchill), 52. + +Marmont, Marshal, 104-108. + +Marriage reform bills, 355; + act, 366, 367. + +Martinique, 9. + +Mary, Duchess of Gloucester (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Massena, Marshal, 100-104. + +Maumee, river, 130, 138. + +Mauritius, the (Isle of France), 18, 149, 167, 398, 403, 438. + +Maya, pass, 113. + +McClure, General, 141. + +McDonnell, Colonel, 141. + +Medellin, 96. + +Medina de Rio Seco, 88. + +Mediterranean, the, 39, 69, 188, 262, 265, 393. + +Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, 224, 225, 264, 269, 392-394. + +Mehidpur, battle, 406. + +_Melampus_, the, British warship, 127. + +Melbourne, Viscount. See Lamb, William. + +Melcombe Regis, 289, 305. + +Melville, first Viscount. See Dundas, Henry. + +Melville, second Viscount. See Dundas, Robert S. + +Menou, 6. + +Merton, Surrey, 39. + +Mesolongi, 266, 418. + +Metcalfe, Charles (afterwards Sir Charles and later Lord Metcalfe), 402, + 403, 406, 409, 411, 412. + +Methodist revival, the, 339. + +Metternich, Prince, 122, 134, 138, 144-146, 152, 156, 189, 191, 210, 217, + 218, 224, 377, 395, 396. + +Mexico, 223. + +Miaoulis, Greek admiral, 393. + +Michigan, lake, 129; + state, 138, 139. + +Middle Ground shoal, 4. + +Middleton, Sir Charles. See Barham, Lord. + +Miguel, Dom (afterwards King of Portugal), 220, 221, 253-255, 258, 259, + 388-390; + convention at Evora, 390. + +Milan, 37; + decree, 56; + commission, 195. + +Milhaud, French officer, 162. + +Militia, the, 16, 21, 31. + +Militia balloting bill, 59. + +Militia transfer bill, 60. + +Mina, guerilla leader, 104. + +Minho, province, 258. + +Ministries: Addington's, 1-31; + Pitt's, 33-44; + Grenville's (All the Talents), 45-50; + Portland's, 50-67, 87-99; + Perceval's, 68-76, 99-106; + Liverpool's, 77-86, 107-226, 253-258; + Canning's, 227, 228, 258; + Goderich's, 229, 230, 259, 260; + Wellington's, 230-252, 260-278, 376-380; + Grey's, 278-347, 380-390, 392-396; + Melbourne's, 347-351; + provisional administration, 351; + Peel's, 352; + Melbourne's, 357-375, 390-392. + +Minorca, 9, 88. + +Minto, second Earl of (Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound), first lord of the + admiralty, 363, 401. + +Minto, Lord (Elliot), afterwards first Earl of Minto, governor-general of + Bengal, 401-404. + +Modena, 213; + treaty with Austria, 187. + +Moira, Earl of (Rawdon-Hastings), afterwards Marquis of Hastings, 75, 76, + 310; + master-general of the ordnance, 45; + governor-general of Bengal, 404-408. + +Moldavia, 57, 59, 80, 213-215, 260, 263, 267, 394-396. + +Mole, French foreign minister, 379. + +Molesworth, Sir William, M.P., 374. + +Moltke, 396. + +Moncey, Marshal, 88. + +Mondego, river, 90, 101. + +Mongolia, 310. + +_Moniteur_, newspaper, 18. + +Monroe, James, President of the United States, 223; + Monroe doctrine, 223. + +Mons, 158. + +Monson, Colonel, 399. + +Montbeliard, 149. + +Montenegrins, the, 142. + +Monte Video, 56, 57, 190. + +Montmorency, French diplomatist, 217, 218. + +Montreal, 140. + +Montrose, Duke of (Graham), president of the board of trade, 34. + +Mont St. Jean, 160. + +Moore, Sir John, general, 54, 90-95, 108, 200. + +Moore, Thomas, 420. + +Moravia, 42, 64. + +Moraviantown, 139. + +Morea, the, 214, 224, 225, 261, 263-266, 393. + +Moreau, General, 33. + +Morpeth, Lord (afterwards seventh Earl of Carlisle), 357, 359, 372. + +Morrison, Colonel, 141. + +Mortier, Marshal, 99. + +Moscow, 124. + +Moss, convention of, 150. + +Mughal emperor, 399. + +Muhammad, Shah of Persia, 412. + +Muehlhausen, 149. + +Mulgrave, Lord (Phipps) (afterwards first Earl of Mulgrave), 347; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 34; + foreign secretary, 35; + first lord of the admiralty, 50, 67 n.; + master-general of the ordnance, 72, 82; + in cabinet without office, 178; + retirement of, 194. + +Mulgrave, second Earl of (Phipps), lord privy seal, 347; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 359, 371. + +Muenchengraetz, secret convention at, 395, 396. + +Munich, 33. + +Municipal corporations act, 360-362, 370; + bill (Ireland), 364, 365. + +Murat, Joachim, 87; + King of Naples, 88, 123, 143, 150, 157, 168; + death, 157. + +Muraviov, Russian general, 393. + +Murray, Colonel, 141. + +Murray, Sir George, secretary for war and colonies, 236; + master-general of the ordnance, 352. + +Murray, John, 423. + +Murray, Sir John, general, 109, 114. + +Mysore, 411. + + +Nagpur, 406; + Raja of, 398, 390, 405, 406. + +Namur, 157, 160, 161. + +Napier, Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir Charles Napier), 389. + +Napier, General Sir W., 110. + +Naples, 47, 63, 157, 213; + bay of, 42. + +Naples, kingdom of, 47, 53, 63, 88, 123, 143, 150, 157. + See also Sicilies, the Two. + +Naples, Prince of, 383. + +Napoleon, King of Rome, son of Napoleon I., 145, 165. + +Nash, John, architect, 436. + +Nassau, troops, 158. + +National debt, the, 204, 206; + in 1802, 15; + in 1815, 171. + +"National Political Union," 298. + +Nauplia, 225. + +Navarino, 225; + battle, 230, 233, 234, 253, 259, 264. + +Navarre, province, 300. + +Navigation laws, reform of the, 202, 203, 207, 216, 437. + +Neapolitan States. See Sicilies, the Two. + +Nelson, Lord (afterwards Viscount), 8, 16, 39, 69, 233, 273; + expedition to Copenhagen, 3-5, 8; + Trafalgar, 40, 41. + +Nemours, Louis, Duke of, 382, 383. + +Nepal, 404, 405, 408, 409; + treaty of Almora, 405. + +Nesselrode, Russian diplomatist, 138, 262. + +Netherlands, the. See Belgium and Holland. + +Neuchatel, 43. + +Neuville, De, French ambassador, 222. + +Newark (Canada), 141, 146. + +Newark (England), 248. + +Newcastle, 311. + +Newcastle, Duke of (Fiennes-Pelham-Clinton), 228, 248, 296, 297. + +New England, 128. + +Newfoundland, fishery, 10. + +Newgate. See London. + +Newman, John Henry, 325, 336-338, 340. + +New Orleans, 147. + +"New poor law," 340-344. + +New South Wales. See Australia. + +Newspaper stamp act, 369, 370. + +New York, 146; + state, 146. + +New Zealand, 436. + +Ney, Marshal, 17, 99-101, 154, 155, 158-160, 163. + +Niagara, river, 130, 140, 141, 146; + falls, 130, 146. + +Nicholas I., Tsar of Russia, 232, 259, 260, 262, 361, 385, 393, 395, 396. + +Nicholls, Colonel, 405. + +Niemen, the, 52, 124, 133. + +Nile, the, 6; + battle of the, 69. + +Nive, river, 115-117. + +Nivelle, river, 115. + +Nivelles, 159. + +Nonconformists. See Dissenters. + +Non-intercourse act (United States), 83, 128. + +Norfolk (United States), 127. + +Norfolk Island, 439. + +_North Briton_, the, journal, 422. + +Northern confederacy, the, 5, 8. + +Northumberland, Duke of (Percy), lord lieutenant of Ireland, 244, 313. + +_Northumberland_, the, British ship, 166. + +Norway, 54, 80, 122, 123, 189; + ceded to Sweden, 136, 142, 143, 150, 166; + convention at Moss, 150. + +Nottingham, 296; + castle, 297. + +Nottinghamshire, 83, 176. + +Novara, battle, 213. + +Nugent, John, 122, 142. + +Nugent, Lord (Grenville-Nugent-Temple), 241. + + +Ocana, battle, 100. + +Ochterlony, General (afterwards Sir David), 404, 405, 409. + +O'Connell, Daniel, 2, 237, 241, 242, 244, 246, 249, 251, 252, 272, 275, + 280, 281, 287, 294, 306, 312-316, 319, 321-324, 344-346, 348, 356, + 359, 362, 363, 371, 374. + +Oder, the, 80, 135. + +Ohio, state, 138. + +Old Bailey. See London. + +Oldenburg, duchy of, 78, 105. + +Oldham, 318. + +Old Sarum, 3, 285, 289. + +Oleron, island, 69, 165. + +Olivenza, 6, 102, 123. + +Oliver, the spy, 176. + +Ontario, lake, 139. + +Oporto, 89, 90, 96, 98, 211, 388. + +Orange lodges, 367, 368; + Orangemen, 241, 270, 317, 367, 368. + +Orenburg, 310. + +Orfordness, 8. + +Orleans, Duke of. See Louis Philippe. + +Orleans, Philip, Duke of, 186, 272. + +Orthez, battle, 117. + +Otranto, 12. + +Otto, French diplomatist, 80. + +Otto, Prince of Bavaria (afterwards King of Greece), 392. + +Oudh, 404; + Nawab Wazir of, 397. + +Ouseley, Sir Gore, 402. + +Oxford, 148, 337, 338; + bishop of (Lloyd), 249; + movement, 337-340, 417; + university. See Universities. + + +Paget, Lord (afterwards Earl of Uxbridge and later Marquis of Anglesey), + 94, 162, 245, 249; + master-general of the ordnance, 230; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 231, 243; + recalled, 244; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 281, 313, 321; + resignation, 344. + +Paisley, 306. + +Pakenham, Sir Edward, general, 147. + +Palatinate, the, 381. + +Palermo, 63, 211. + +Paley, William, 421. + +Pall Mall. See London. + +Palmella, Portuguese statesman, 220, 255. + +Palmerston, Viscount (Temple), 277, 286, 421; + secretary at war, 68, 172, 227, 229, 231, 263, 392; + resignation, 236; + foreign secretary, 261, 279, 357, 380, 382, 387, 388, 390, 391, 393, 412. + +Pamplona, 111-113, 115. + +Papal States, 9, 58, 157, 166, 187, 213, 258. + +Papelotte, farm, 162. + +Paraguay, 190. + +Parga, 188. + +Paris: the Tuileries, 31, 105, 155; + first capitulation, 145; + first treaty of, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + second capitulation, 165; + second treaty of, 167, 168, 376; + treaty of Chaumont extended at, 168, 186, 191, 377; + revolution of July, 274, 285, 376; + cholera at, 311. + +Park, Mungo, 436. + +Parker, Sir Hyde, admiral, 3-5. + +Parliament: general election of 1802, 15; + of 1806, 48; + of 1807, 50; + of 1812, 85; + of 1818, 178; + of 1820, 193; + of 1826, 207, 242; + of 1830, 274; + of 1831, 293, 294; + of 1832, 318; + of 1835, 354; + reform, 61; + liberals and conservatives, 319; + houses destroyed by fire, 349. + +Parma, duchy of, 145, 150, 166; + treaty with Austria, 187. + +Parnell, Sir Henry, M.P., 84, 278. + +Pasages, 391. + +Paskievitch, Russian general, 388. + +Patten, Colonel, M.P., 26, 27. + +Patuxent, river, 146. + +Paul, Tsar of Russia, 5. + +_Peacock_, the, British ship, 141. + +Pease, Edward, 434, 435. + +Peel, Sir Robert (first baronet), 327. + +Peel, Robert (afterwards Sir Robert), 44, 71, 172, 183, 200, 227, 283, 286, + 287, 290, 292, 294, 300, 303, 305, 319, 323, 324, 330, 331, 334, 335, + 343, 345, 347, 348, 351, 359-362, 364, 365, 371-373, 375; + home secretary, 199, 201, 202, 209, 226, 231, 235, 236, 242-248, 252, + 270-272, 274-278; + first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, 352-355, 363, + 366, 367, 390, 412; + resignation, 356, 357. + +Pelham, Lord (afterwards second Earl of Chichester), home secretary, 1; + resigns office, 27; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 27. + +_Pelican_, the, British ship, 142. + +Peloponnese, the, 393. + See Morea, the. + +Peltier, Jean, editor, 12, 16. + +Pena, La, Spanish commander, 102. + +Peninsular war, 59-61, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87, 120, 129, 146, 182, + 200, 423. + +Pennsylvania, 139. + +Penryn, 193, 235, 236. + +Pepys, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord and later Earl Cottenham), lord + chancellor, 363. + +Perceval, Spencer, 49; + chancellor of the exchequer, 50, 61, 67 n., 82, 83; + first lord of the treasury, etc., 68, 71, 74-76, 77, 236, 238, 380; + assassination, 76, 81. + +Perry, Commodore, 139. + +Persia, 123, 310, 401, 402, 412, 413; + treaties with East India Company and Great Britain, 402. + +Perth, 306. + +Peru, 215, 223. + +Peshawar, 413. + +Peshwa, the, of Poona, 398, 405, 406; + treaty of Bassein, 398, 399, 405. + +Peter (afterwards Peter I., Emperor of Brazil, and Peter IV., King of + Portugal), 221, 253, 254, 258, 259, 388, 389. + +Peter II., Emperor of Brazil, 254, 388. + +Peterloo, massacre of. See Riots. + +Petty, Lord Henry (afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne), 241, 345, 421; + chancellor of the exchequer, 45; + home secretary, 228; + president of the council, 279, 280, 357, 369. + +Philippeville, 149, 382. + +Philippon, governor of Badajoz, 106. + +Phillip, Governor, 438. + +Phillpotts, bishop of Exeter, 324. + +Pichegru, French general, 33. + +Picton, Thomas (afterwards Sir Thomas), 106, 118, 159, 162. + +Piedmont, 17, 38, 213, 217. + +Pindaris, the, 404-408, 411. + +Pitt, William, the elder (first Earl of Chatham), 44, 284. + +Pitt, William, the younger, 2, 14, 15, 23, 47-50, 86, 173, 176, 181, 182, + 185, 202, 208, 227, 237, 279, 284, 291, 307, 322, 330, 417, 437, 438; + his resignation in 1801, 1, 397, 415; + alienation from Addington's ministry, 24; + negotiations with Addington, 24-26; + attacks Addington, 30, 31; + overtures from Eldon, 30; + interview with the king, 32; + first lord of the treasury, 33-37; + organises third coalition, 35, 37, 38, 41; + loss of Melville, 36; + collapse of the third coalition, 43, 46; + death, 43; + his adherents, 68, 200. + +Pius VII., Pope, 7, 35, 78, 150, 166, 163. + +Plasencia, 98. + +Plata, La. See Argentine, the. + +Plattsburg (United States), 140, 141, 146. + +Plunket, William (afterwards Lord Plunket), 239; + attorney-general of Ireland, 199, 241, 249. + +Plymouth, 259. + +_Poictiers_, the British ship, 132. + +Poischwitz, 135. + +Poland, 52, 53, 79, 80, 122, 144, 152, 153, 156, 166, 310, 381, 387, 388, + 395. + +Pole & Co., 206. + +Pole, W. Wellesley (afterwards Lord Maryborough), master of the mint, 174, + 178, 202. + +Polignac, French statesman, 223. + +Pomerania, Swedish, 54, 80, 122, 143, 166. + +Pondicherri, 18; + French towns in India, 18, 19. + +Ponsonby, Sir William, 162. + +Ponsonby, Lord (afterwards Viscount Ponsonby), 383. + +Poona, 398, 405, 406. + See Peshwa. + +Poor law, 171, 181, 311, 312, 420, 437; + poor rates, 182, 203; + "new poor law," 340-344, 366; + poor law board, 343; + Ireland, 312, 316, 317, 372, 373. + +Popham, Sir Home, 47. + +Poros, 266, 392. + +Porte, the. See Turkey. + +Portland, third Duke of (Cavendish-Bentinck), 49, 66; + home secretary, 1; + lord president of the council, 1; + in cabinet without office, 35; + first lord of the treasury, 50, 52, 60; + minor reforms, 51, 61; + changes in his ministry, 66; + resignation, 67; + death, 68. + +Portland, fourth Duke of (Cavendish Scott Bentinck), lord privy seal, 227; + in cabinet without office, 228; + lord president of the council, 230. + +Port Mahon, 188. + +Port Phillip, 439, 440. + +Portsmouth, 39, 148, 197. + +Portugal, 11, 53, 60, 122, 151, 190, 200, 201, 226, 395; + treaties of Badajoz and Madrid, 6; + Junot's expedition to, 54, 58, 89-91; + Peninsular war, 59-61, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120; + revolutions, 211, 220, 221, 254, 255-258; + cortes, 211, 215, 220, 221, 254, 258; + junta, 220, 221; + relations with Brazil, 221, 222, 253, 254, 388-390; + conference at London, 222; + triple and quadruple alliances, 389, 390; + convention of Evora, 390. + +Posen, 166. + +Pottinger, British officer, 412. + +Potwallopers, 281, 289, 308. + +Prague, 135. + +Prescott, 141. + +Presqu'isle (Pennsylvania), 139. + +Press, liberty of the, 180, 358; + Indian press, 411, 412. + +Pressburg, peace of, 42. + +Press-gang, 23. + +Preston, 281, 318. + +Prevost, Sir George, governor of Canada, 129, 130, 140, 146. + +Privy Council, acts relating to the, 325, 332. + +Processions act (Ireland), 316, 317. + +Procida, island, 63. + +Proclamation act, 320. + +Proctor, English colonel, 138, 139. + +Prome, 409. + +Prout, Samuel, 427. + +Prussia, 17, 51-53, 59, 80, 81, 105, 124, 136, 144, 187-189, 220, 267, 391; + guarantees independence of Malta, 13; + vacillation, 38, 41-43, 51; + treaty of Schoenbrunn, 43; + treaty with France, 46, 55; + treaty of Tilsit, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 62, 78, 87, 124, 401, 402; + treaty with France, 122; + convention of Tauroggen, 125; + campaign of 1813, 133-138; + convention with Russia, 134; + treaty of Kalisch, 134; + treaty of Reichenbach, 136; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + treaty of Ried, 137; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 168, 186, 188-190, 378, 381, + 388; + campaign of 1815, 156-165; + gains Swedish Pomerania, 166; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + Holy Alliance, 168; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191, 377; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + congress of Laibach, 212, 313; + congress of Verona, 216-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference at St. Petersburg, 224; + conference of London, 379-386, 392; + secret convention at Muenchengraetz, 395, 396; + convention at Berlin, 396. + +Pruth, river, 263. + +_Public Advertiser_, the, newspaper, 422. + +Puebla, pass, 111. + +Punjab, 403, 413. + +Pusey, Edward Bouverie, 336. + +Putney, 43. + +Pyrenees, the, 110, 115, 136, 138; + battle, 113. + + +Quadruple alliance, 389, 391. + +Quakers, the, 48. + +_Quarterly Review_, the, 423. + +Quatre Bras, 158-160; + battle, 159. + +Queen's County, murders in, 320. + +Queensland. See Australia. + +Queenstown (Canada), 130. + + +Raeburn, Sir Henry, 427. + +Railways, 275, 276, 427, 428, 434, 435. + +Raisin, river, 138. + +Rajputana, 399, 400, 406, 409. + +Rangoon, 408, 409. + +Ranjit Singh, Raja of Bhartpur, 309, 403, 409. + +Ranjit Singh, Sikh ruler, 403, 412; + treaty with East India Company, 403. + +Ratisbon, 63. + +Re, island, 165. + +Reciprocity of duties act, 203, 207. + +Redesdale, Lord (Mitford), 235. + +_Redoutable_, the, French ship, 41. + +Red Sea, the, 6, 413. + +Reform, movement for, 61, 77, 174, 175, 178, 181, 198, 204, 271, 272, 277, + 278, 280-308; + partial reforms, 198, 235; + first bill of 1831, 287-291; + second bill, 294-296; + third bill, 300-306; + Scotch and Irish bills, 306, 307. + +Regency act (1811), 74, 75. + +Regency act (1830), 281. + +Regent Street and Park. See London. + +_Register, Weekly_. See Cobbett. + +Registration bill, 355; + acts, 366, 367. + +Reichenbach, treaties of, 136. + +Reille, French general, 111, 113, 158, 162. + +Religious movements, 336-340, 417. + +Rennell, James, 436. + +Rennie, John, 435, 436. + +Rensselaer, Van, American general, 130. + +Reshid, Turkish general, 393. + +Revel, 4. + +Rey, Emmanuel, governor of St. Sebastian, 112-114. + +Reynier, French general, 100, 101. + +Rhine, the, 9, 41, 138, 143, 152, 153, 158, 166, 381; + confederation of the, 46, 53, 134, 138. + +Riall, General, 146. + +Rice, Thomas Spring (afterwards Lord Monteagle), 345; + secretary for war and colonies, 346; + chancellor of the exchequer, 357, 369, 373. + +Richelieu, Duke of, 212. + +Richmond, Charlotte, Duchess of, 159. + +Richmond, third Duke of (Lennox), 284. + +Richmond, fifth Duke of (Lennox), postmaster-general, 280; + resignation, 345. + +Ried, treaty of, 137. + +Rieti, battle, 212. + +Riga, 124. + +Rio Janeiro, 254, 259. + +Riot act, 72, 176, 297. + +Riots, 344; + Luddite, 83, 85, 175, 432, 433; + bread, 174; + agricultural, 174, 281, 282; + Spa Fields, 175; + Derbyshire insurrection, 176; + "Peterloo" or "Manchester massacre," 178-180, 192; + reform bill, 293, 296-298, 302, 309. + +Riou, Edward, 5. + +Ripon, Earl of. See Robinson, F. J. + +Robinson, Frederick John (afterwards Viscount Goderich, later Earl of + Ripon), president of the board of trade, etc., 177, 178, 198; + chancellor of the exchequer, 202, 207; + secretary for war and colonies, 227; + first lord of the treasury, 229, 230, 233, 242, 260, 380; + secretary for war and colonies, 279; + lord privy seal, 325; + resignation, 345. + +Rochefort, 165. + +Rodil, Spanish general, 389. + +Roebuck, John, M.P., 362, 372, 374. + +Rohilkhand, 397. + +Rolica, 90. + +Rolleston, magistrate, 176. + +Romana, Spanish general, 95. + +Roman Empire, Holy. See Empire, Holy Roman. + +Roman States. See Papal States. + +Rome, 58, 351. + +Romilly, Sir Samuel, M.P., 51, 77, 194, 199, 201. + +Roncesvalles, pass, 112, 113. + +Rose, George, M.P., 182. + +Rosetta, 57. + +Ross, General, 146. + +Rosslyn, first Earl of. See Loughborough, Lord. + +Rosslyn, second Earl of (St. Clair Erskine), president of the board of + control, 271; + lord president of the council, 352. + +Rothiere, La, battle, 144. + +Roussin, French admiral, 388, 393, 394. + +Royal Institution, the, 428. + +_Royal Sovereign_, the, British ship, 40. + +Ruegen, island, 52, 53, 143. + +Rumelia, 263, 267. + +Rumford, Count, 428. + +Russell, Lord John (afterwards Earl Russell), 193, 198, 207, 234, 235, 272, + 284, 356, 421, 431; + paymaster of the forces, 280, 287, 290, 294, 297, 300, 304, 321, 324, + 345, 350, 351; + home secretary, 357, 361, 362, 365, 366, 368, 369, 371, 372, 374. + +Russia, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 35, 38, 41-43, 51, 52, 62, 66, 88, 90, 92, 187, + 188, 210, 220, 225, 232, 391, 392, 402, 412; + holy alliance, 37, 168, 169, 186, 199, 229; + war of third coalition, 37, 38, 41, 42, 51; + treaty with England, 37; + treaty with Sweden, 38; + treaty of Tilsit, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 62, 78, 87, 124, 401, 402; + war with Turkey, 52, 57, 77; + secret convention at Erfurt, 59, 92; + breach with France, 79-81, 105; + armistice with Turkey, 81; + war with France, 82, 97, 100, 121-126, 132-138; + treaty with England, 85; + fleet, 90, 92; + alliance with Sweden, 54, 122, 123; + treaty of Abo, 123; + treaty of Bucharest, 123; + treaties with England and Sweden, 123, 136; + convention of Tauroggen, 125; + convention with Prussia, 134; + treaty of Kalisch, 134; + treaty of Reichenbach, 136; + treaty of Teplitz, 137; + treaty of Ried, 137; + campaign of 1814, 118, 143-145; + treaty of Chaumont, 144, 145, 168, 186, 191, 377; + treaty of Fontainebleau, 145, 146; + first treaty of Paris, 147, 149, 151, 156, 167, 378; + congress of Vienna, 149, 151-153, 156, 166, 168, 186, 188-190, 376, 379, + 381, 388; + gains Finland, 166; + second treaty of Paris, 167, 168, 376; + conference of Aix-la-Chapelle, 189-191, 377; + congress of Troppau, 211-214, 395, 396; + congress of Laibach, 212, 213; + breach with Turkey, 213-215; + congress of Verona, 217-219, 222, 223, 392; + conference of St. Petersburg, 224; + treaty of Akherman, 260; + conference of London, 262-268, 379-386, 392; + treaty of London, 233, 234, 259, 260, 262-264, 266, 267; + war with Turkey, 234, 260-267; + peace of Adrianople, 267, 268; + war with Poland, 387, 388; + assists Turkey, 393-395; + treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, 394, 395; + secret convention at Muenchengraetz, 395, 396; + convention at Berlin, 396; + treaty with Turkey, 396; + influence in the east, 412-414. + +Rutlandshire, 288. + +Ryder, Dudley. See Harrowby, Earl of. + +Ryder, Richard, home secretary, 68; + retirement, 81. + + +Saale, river, 133. + +Sackett's Harbour, 139, 140. + +Sadler, Michael, M.P., 248, 316, 327. + +Sahagun, 94. + +St. Albans, 345. + +St. Amand, 158. + +_St. Antoine_, the, French ship, 8. + +St. David's, bishop of (Burgess), 430. + +St. George's Channel, American privateers in, 141. + +St. Helena, 153, 157, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170. + +St. Jean de Luz, 115, 117. + +St. Lawrence, river, 141; + fishery, 10. + +St. Lucia, 149, 167. + +St. Marcial, battle, 114. + +St. Paul's cathedral. See London. + +St. Petersburg, 121, 225, 232, 233, 261, 310, 356; + conference at, 224. + +St. Sebastian, 112-114, 391. + +St. Vincent, Earl of (Jervis), first lord of the admiralty, 1, 30, 34, 36. + +Salaberry, Colonel de, 141. + +Salamanca, 93, 94, 105-108; + battle, 107. + +Saldana, 94. + +Salzburg, 66. + +Sambre, river, 164. + +Samos, 266, 268. + +San Domingo, 18, 49, 215. + +Sandvliet, 65. + +_Santa Ana_, the, Spanish ship, 40. + +Santander, 108, 110. + +Santarem, 102. + +Santha Martha, Miguelite general, 389. + +_Santisima Trinidad_, the, Spanish ship, 40. + +Sardinia, kingdom of, 150, 166, 167, 187. + +Sartorius, Admiral, 388. + +Sarum, Old, 421. + +Satara, 406. + +"Sati," 410. + +Saumarez, Sir James (afterwards Baron), admiral, 8. + +Savary, French minister, 88. + +Savings-banks, 182, 437. + +Savoy, 149, 167. + +Saxony, 53, 133, 136, 138, 144, 152, 153, 166. + +Scarlett, James (afterwards Lord Abinger), 358. + +Scharnhorst, Prussian statesman, 81. + +Scheldt, the, 64-66, 71, 99, 385-387. + +Schoenbrunn, treaty of, 43. + +Schwarzenberg, Austrian general, 124, 143-145. + +Scientific discoveries, 340, 427-436. + +Scotland, 193, 197, 271, 285, 289, 290, 293, 348, 360, 362, 433; + reform bill, 306; + church of, 360 n., 424. + +Scott, Sir Walter, 417, 418, 422, 423. + +Scott, Sir William (afterwards Lord Stowell), 169. + +Scylla, castle, 63. + +Sebastiani, French officer (afterwards foreign minister), 18, 20, 57, 98, + 382. + +Secretaries of state, division of departments of, 1, 2. + +Selim III., Sultan of Turkey, 7. + +Sepoys, 6, 400, 406. + +Septennial act, 374. + +Seringapatam, 397. + +Servia, 80. + +Seville, 68, 96. + +Shaftesbury, Earl of. See Ashley, Lord. + +Shah Shuja, Amir of Afghanistan, 403. + +_Shannon_, the, British frigate, 142, 147. + +Shaw, Sir Robert, M.P., 197. + +Sheaffe, Major-general, 130, 140. + +Sheil, Richard Lalor, M.P., 237, 241, 306, 315, 344. + +Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 419. + +Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 14, 16, 29, 75, 200, 421. + +Sicilies, the Two, 9-14, 47, 166, 187, 188, 211-213; + treaty of Florence, 7; + treaty of neutrality with France, 42. + +Sicily, island and kingdom of, 47, 57, 58, 150; + army in Spain, 109, 114. + +Sidmouth, Viscount. See Addington, Henry. + +Sikhs, the, 403. + See Ranjit Singh, Sikh ruler. + +Silesia, 53, 135, 137. + +Silistria, 396. + +Simmons, Dr. Samuel Foart, 29. + +Sind, 402, 413, 414. + +Sindhia, Daulat Rao Sindhia, 397-399, 401, 405. + +Six acts, the, 180, 229. + +Skaw, the, 3. + +Small-pox, 15; + hospital, see London. + +Smeaton, John, 434. + +Smohain, hamlet, 162. + +Smith, Adam, 415, 420. + +Smith, Sydney, 423. + +Smith, William, 428. + +Smyth, American general, 130. + +Socialists, 175. + +Society for diffusion of useful knowledge, 338. + +Society, Highland, 433. + +Society, Kildare Place, 317. + +Society of friends of the people, 279. + +Society, Water-colour, 427. + +Soissons, 145. + +Sombreffe, French general, 158. + +Somerset, Lord Robert, 162. + +Somersetshire, 175, 298. + +Sophia, Princess (daughter of George III.), 184 n. + +Sophia, Princess, of Gloucester (niece of George III.), 184 n. + +Souham, French general, 108. + +Soult (Duke of Dalmatia), French general, 94-96, 98, 99, 102-108, 110, + 112-119. + +South Australia. See Australia. + +Southey, Robert, 416, 420. + +Southwark. See London. + +Spa Fields, Bermondsey. See London and Riots. + +Spain, 13, 35, 39-41, 47, 58, 59, 81, 85, 123, 144, 149-151, 166, 187, 188, + 190, 200, 205, 231, 254, 259; + treaties of Aranjuez, Badajoz and Madrid, 6; + treaty of Amiens, 13; + alliance with France, 35; + Peninsular war, 59-61, 66, 68, 71, 73, 76, 77, 82, 87-120, 423; + juntas, 68, 92, 93, 96, 97, 103, 120; + secret treaty of Fontainebleau, 87; + abdication of Charles IV., 87; + Joseph Bonaparte, king of, 59, 88, 89, 104, 122, 123; + treaties with England, 96, 150, 151; + cortes, 103, 109, 112, 210, 215; + insurrection, 210, 215-217; + loss of colonies in America, 190, 205, 215, 216, 219, 220, 222, 223, 253, + 257; + dispute with France, 215, 217-221, 256, 257, 264; + aggressions in Portugal, 254-256, 258; + triple and quadruple alliances, 389, 390; + Carlist war, 389-391. + +Speculation, 205, 206. + +Speenhamland, 341. + +Spenceans, the, 175. + +Spencer, second Earl, 14, 25, 34, 230, 349; + home secretary, 45, 49; + resignation, 50. + +Spencer, General, 90, 103. + +Spitalfields. See London. + +Spithead, 39. + +Stafford, Marquis of, afterwards Duke of Sutherland (Gower), 66. + +_Standard_, the, newspaper, 250. + +Stanley, Edward Geoffrey Smith- (afterwards Lord Stanley, later fourteenth + Earl of Derby), 277, 347, 352, 354, 360, 374; + chief secretary for Ireland, 280, 281, 294, 313, 315-317, 321; + secretary for war and colonies, 322, 323, 325-327, 334; + resignation, 345, 346. + +Steamboats, 427, 428, 434. + +Stephenson, George, 275, 276, 427, 434, 435. + +Stewart, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord Stewart, later third Marquis of + Londonderry), 146, 212, 228, 296, 356. + +Stewart, Dugald, 421. + +Stockholm, treaty of, 136. + +Stockton on Tees, 435. + +Strachan, Sir Richard, admiral, 64. + +Stralsund, 43. + +Strand Bridge. See London. + +Strangford, Viscount (Smythe), 214-216. + +Strassburg, 41. + +Strikes, 178, 204. + +Stroud, 359. + +Stuart, Sir Charles (afterwards Lord Stuart de Rothesay), 218. + +Stuart, Sir John, 47. + +Sturt, Charles, 439. + +Subserra, Count of, 222. + +Suchet, Marshal, 100, 107, 109, 112, 114, 115, 118, 119. + +Suez, 413; + canal, 413. + +Suffolk, 175 n. + +Sugden, Sir Edward (afterwards Lord St. Leonards), 283. + +Sumatra, 81. + +Sumner, John B., bishop of Chester, 341. + +Sunderland, 309, 310. + +Surrey, 281. + +Sussex, 281. + +Sussex (Augustus), Duke of (son of George III.), 184, 185. + +Sutlej, river, 403. + +Sutton, Charles Manners- (afterwards Sir C. Manners-Sutton, later Viscount + Canterbury), speaker, 251, 304, 354. + +Sweden, 43, 51-54, 58, 59, 78, 80, 105, 151, 166, 190; + third coalition, 37, 38; + treaties with Russia and England, 38, 123, 136; + declares war on England, 78; + ally of Russia, 122, 123, 133, 136; + treaty of Abo, 123; + treaty of Stockholm, 136; + war with France, 136, 137; + treaty of Kiel, 142, 143, 189; + acquires Norway (convention of Moss), 150. + +Swift, Jonathan, 422. + +Switzerland (Helvetian republic), 9, 38, 79, 138, 143, 166, 387; + civil war, 17; + invasion of, 17, 20; + revolts, 133. + +Sydney, 439. + +Syria, 18, 393, 394, 396, 413. + + +Tagus, the, 89, 90, 92, 96, 98, 99, 102, 104-106, 221, 388. + +Talavera, 93; + battle, 98, 99, 101. + +Talleyrand, French statesman, 10, 19, 21, 22, 34, 46, 78, 151, 152, 156, + 379, 382, 387. + +"Tamworth manifesto," the, 332, 354, 371. + +Tarai, the, 405. + +Tarbes, 118. + +Tarragona, 112, 114. + +Tasmania. See Van Diemen's Land. + +Tauroggen, convention of, 125. + +Taylor, Sir Herbert, 286. + +Telford, Thomas, 275, 434. + +Temporalities, Irish Church, act, 321-325. + +Tenasserim, 408, 409. + +_Tenedos_, the, British frigate, 142. + +Tennyson, Alfred (afterwards Lord), 419. + +Tennyson, Charles (afterwards Tennyson D'Eyncourt), M.P., 235, 374. + +Teplitz, treaty of, 137; + conference at, 396. + +Terceira, island, 259. + +Terneuze, 65. + +Test act, 229, 234, 235, 242. + +Thagi, 411. + +Thames, the, 435. + +Thames, river (Canada), 139. + +Thermopylae, 268. + +Thiers, French statesman, 390, 391. + +Thistlewood, Arthur, 192, 193. + +Thompson, Charles Poulett (afterwards Lord Sydenham), president of the + board of trade, 346, 357. + +Ticino, river, 149, 166. + +Tierney, George, 26, 28, 86; + master of the mint, 228-230. + +Tigris, the, 413. + +Tihran, 402, 412. + +Tilsit, treaty of, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 62, 78, 87, 124, 401, 402. + +_Times_, the, newspaper, 343, 348, 351, 422. + +Timur, 310. + +Tipu, 397, 400. + +Tithe, agitation against (Ireland), 313-316, 320. + +Tithe commutation act, 355, 365, 366. + +Tithe commutation bills (Ireland), 347, 348, 365, 372. + +Tobago, 9, 11, 149, 167. + +Tooke, Horne, 3, 421; + act, 3. + +Tormes, river, 107. + +Toronto, 139. + +Torres Vedras, 90, 91, 100-102, 115. + +Tortosa, 112. + +Toulon, 39. + +Toulouse, battle, 109, 118, 119. + +Tower of London. See London. + +Tractarians. See Oxford movement. + +_Tracts for the Times_, 339. + +Trades Unions, 204. + +Trafalgar, battle, 40, 41. + +Traz-os-Montes, province, 255, 257. + +Trekroner, the, battery, 4, 5. + +Trianon tariff, the, 79. + +Trieste, 62, 66, 142. + +Trinidad, 9, 151, 167. + +Triple alliance, 389. + +Tripoli, 394; + Bey of, 187, 188. + +Tripolitza, 225. + +Trondhjem, diocese of, 136. + +Troppau, congress of, 211-214, 395, 396. + +Trotter, paymaster, 36. + +Tudela, battle, 92, 93. + +_Tugendbund_, the, 62. + +Tuileries, the. See Paris. + +Tunis, Dey of, 187, 188. + +Turin, 213. + +Turkey, 7, 57-59, 122, 188, 269, 387; + treaty of Amiens, 13; + treaty with France, 14; + war with Russia, 52, 57, 77; + armistice, 81; + treaty of Bucharest, 123; + Greek revolt, 213, 214, 216, 217, 223-225, 232-234, 259-267, 392; + rupture with Russia, 214, 217, 225; + war with Russia, 234, 260-267; + treaty of Akherman, 260; + peace of Adrianople, 267, 268; + treaty and protocol of London, 267; + Egyptian revolt, 393, 394; + assisted by Russia, 393-396; + treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, 394, 395; + treaty of Kiutayeh, 394; + Austrian mediation, 395, 396; + treaty with Russia, 396; + Asiatic Turkey, 310. + +Turner, J. M. W., 427. + +Tuscany, treaty with Austria, 187. + +Tyrol, the, 66, 134. + + +Ucles, 96. + +Ulm, 42. + +Ulster, 270. + +Union, act of, 237, 239, 240, 248; + movement for repeal, 252, 275, 313, 314, 316, 344. + +United States, 56, 58, 83, 131, 157, 190, 216, 223, 257, 312, 337, 438; + sale to them of Louisiana, 18; + war with England, 82, 85, 126-132, 138, 146, 147; + non-intercourse act, 83, 128; + treaty of Ghent, 147, 156, 203; + buys Florida, 215; + treaty with England, 225. + +_United States_, the, American ship, 132. + +Universities, 247, 306, 308, 430;-- + Cambridge, 419, 428-432. + Dublin, 274. + Durham, 432. + Edinburgh, 358. + Glasgow, 371. + London, 250, 356, 431, 432; + King's College, 250, 431; + University College, 431, 432. + Oxford, 148, 245, 337, 351, 421, 422, 428, 432; + Balliol College, 429; + New College, 429; + Oriel College, 337, 338, 421, 429; + St. Alban Hall, 421. + +Unkiar Skelessi, treaty of, 394, 395. + +Urfa, 396. + +Uruguay (Banda Oriental), 190. + +Utrecht, treaty of, 389. + +Uxbridge, Earl of. See Paget, Lord. + + +Valencia, 88, 107, 109, 110, 112. + +Valladolid, 93, 108, 109. + +Vallais, republic of, 79. + +Vancouver, Captain, 436. + +Vandamme, French general, 137. + +Vandeleur, Sir John Ormesby, 164. + +Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), 439. + +Vansittart, Nicholas (afterwards Lord Bexley), 68, 73; + envoy at Copenhagen, 3, 4; + chancellor of the exchequer, 81, 82, 86, 173-174, 183, 193, 198; + chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, 202, 227. + +Vellore, 400, 410. + +Venaissin, 149. + +Vendee, La, 155. + +Venetia, 42, 134, 149, 166, 187. + +Verdier, General, 88. + +Verona, congress of, 199, 216-219, 222, 223, 392. + +Victor, Marshal, 96, 98, 102. + +Victor Emmanuel I., King of Sardinia, 38, 213, 216. + +Victoria. See Australia. + +Victoria, Princess (afterwards Queen), 70, 185, 274, 281, 375. + +_Victory_, the, British ship, 40. + +Vienna, 42, 63, 80, 134, 189, 191, 254, 259; + peace of, 64, 66; + congress of, 149, 151-153, 156, 166; + secret treaty, 153; + treaty of, 166, 168, 186-188, 190, 379-381, 388; + final act, 189; + conference at, 216, 217; + proposed conference, 396. + +Vigo, 39, 95. + +Villafranca, 93, 95. + +Villa Real, 389. + +Villele, French statesman, 215, 217-219. + +Villeneuve, French admiral, 39-41. + +Vimeiro, battle, 91. + +Vincennes, castle, 34. + +Vincent, Colonel, 140. + +Vistula, the, 123, 133. + +Vitoria, battle, 109-112, 114, 136. + +Vivian, Sir Richard H. (afterwards Lord), 164. + +Volga, the, 310. + +Volhynia, 122. + +Volo, gulf of, 266, 392. + +Volunteer consolidation bill, 30. + +Vonitza, 266. + + +Wade, General, 434. + +Wadsworth, American general, 130. + +Wagram, battle, 63, 100. + +Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 440. + +Walcheren expedition, the, 62-67, 71, 72, 74, 99, 199. + +Wales, 289, 291, 305, 434; + amalgamation of English and Welsh benches, 271. + +Wales, Caroline, Princess of. See Caroline, queen of George IV. + +Wales (George), Prince of. See George IV. + +Walker, George T. (afterwards Sir G. T.), 106. + +Wallachia, 57, 59, 213-215, 260, 263, 267, 395, 396. + +Walmoden, Hanoverian general, 137. + +Walpole, Sir Robert (afterwards Earl of Orford), 205-208. + +Walpole, Lord (afterwards Earl of Orford), 134. + +Ward, Henry, M.P., 345, 346. + +Ward, John William (afterwards Viscount, later Earl of Dudley), 197, 431; + foreign secretary, 227, 231, 260; + resignation, 236, 263, 380. + +Wardle, Colonel, M.P., 60, 61, 72. + +Warsaw, 55, 381, 387, 388; + duchy of, 53, 66, 79, 124, 152, 153, 166. + +Wartburg festival, 188. + +Washington, 130, 146. + +_Wasp_, the, American sloop, 132. + +Waterford, 237, 242, 250. + +Waterloo, battle, 44, 147, 160-166, 230, 415. + +Waterloo Bridge. See London. + +Watsons, the, father and son, 175, 192. + +Watt, James, 435. + +Wavre, 159-161, 164. + +_Weekly Political Register_, the. See Cobbett. + +Wellesley, Sir Arthur (afterwards Duke of Wellington), 61, 151, 152, 156, + 167, 168, 174, 189, 195, 199, 201, 208, 209, 216-219, 226, 227-229, + 259, 280, 282, 285, 286, 293, 302-304, 309, 319, 324, 334, 343, 347, + 350, 361, 362, 371, 372, 392, 397, 431; + chief secretary for Ireland, 50; + bombardment of Copenhagen, 54; + Peninsular war, 60, 71, 76, 90-120, 200; + viscount, 71, 99; + Vimeiro, 91; + commander-in-chief in the Peninsula, 96, 97; + Talavera, 98, 99; + Bussaco, 101; + lines of Torres Vedras, 101, 102; + Fuentes d'Onoro, 103; + earl, 105; + sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, 105, 106; + Salamanca, 107; + marquis, 108; + Vitoria, 110, 111, 136; + the Pyrenees, 113; + siege of St. Sebastian, 113, 114; + Bayonne, 115-117; + Toulouse, 118, 119; + duke, 151; + Waterloo campaign, 156-165; + Waterloo, 160-165; + master-general of the ordnance, 178, 194; + first lord of the treasury, 230-232, 234, 236, 243-246, 248-252, 260-263, + 265-269, 271, 272, 276-278, 376, 377, 379, 380, 388; + duel with Winchilsea, 250, 251; + provisional administration, 351; + foreign secretary, 352, 356, 390; + Indian campaign, 398-400; + Assaye and Argaum, 399. + +Wellesley, Sir Henry (afterwards Lord Cowley), 150. + +Wellesley, Richard, marquis, 54, 67, 76, 96, 109, 174, 230, 278, 280, 325; + foreign secretary, 68, 76; + lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 199, 241, 344, 346; + governor-general of Bengal, 397-400, 402-405, 407, 408. + +Wellington, Duke of. See Wellesley, Sir Arthur. + +Wesel, 138. + +Wesley, John, 337. + +Westbury, 245. + +West Australia. See Australia. + +Westminster abbey and hall. See London. + +Westmorland, Earl of (Fane), lord privy seal, 1, 50, 82; + resignation, 237. + +Westphalia, 53, 153; + troops, 158. + +Wetherell, Sir Charles, 248, 297. + +Weymouth, 289, 305, 326. + +Wharncliffe, Lord (Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie), 291, 292, 299, 301, 302; + lord privy seal, 352. + +Whately, Dr., archbishop of Dublin, 317, 421, 422. + +Whitbread, Samuel, M.P., 36, 49, 51, 156, 157, 182, 199. + +Whiteboys, 320. + +White Conduit House. See London. + +Whitefeet, 320. + +Whitelocke, General, 56, 57. + +Whitworth, Lord (afterwards Earl), ambassador extraordinary to France, 19; + negotiates with French government, 20-22, 46. + +Wilberforce, William, M.P., 15, 48, 195. + +Wild, Jonathan, 181. + +Wilkes, John, 72, 374, 422. + +Wilkie, Sir David, 427. + +Wilkinson, American general, 141, 146. + +William, Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV.), 208, 249; + marriage, 184, 185; + lord high admiral, 227; + resignation, 243; + king, 273, 274, 277, 278, 281-283, 286, 287, 289-294, 296, 297, 299, + 301-305, 337, 347-352, 354, 356, 357, 363, 368, 371; + coronation, 295, 301, 309; + death, 375. + +William, Prince of Orange, 9-13. + +William Frederick, Prince of Orange (afterwards William I., King of the + Netherlands), 138, 158, 267, 378, 381, 385. + +William, Prince of Orange (afterwards William II., King of the + Netherlands), 159, 384. + +Wilson, Sir Robert, 125. + +Wiltshire, 281. + +Winchester, school, 429. + +Winchilsea, Earl of (Finch-Hatton), 250, 251. + +Winder, American general, 146. + +Windham, William, 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 31, 34, 47, 51; + secretary for war and colonies, 45. + +Windsor Castle, 70, 375. + +_Windsor Castle_, the, British ship, 221. + +Wittgenstein, Russian general, 125, 143, 145. + +Worcester, bishop of (Carr), 299. + +Wordsworth, William, 416. + +Wuertemburg, 42, 187, 189. + +Wynn, Charles Williams, president of the board of control, 199, 227. + + +Yanzi, gorge, 113. + +Yarmouth, Viscount (Ingram-Seymour-Conway), afterwards third Marquis of + Hertford, 46. + +Yeo, Sir James, captain, 140. + +Yorck, Count, 125, 133. + +York, 83. + +York (Toronto), 139, 140, 146. + +York (Frederick), Duke of (son of George III.), 49, 60, 61, 72, 74-76, + 184 n., 185, 197, 207, 208, 239, 242, 268. + +Yorke, Charles Philip, home secretary, 27, 34; + first lord of the admiralty, 72, 82; + retirement, 81. + +Yorkshire, 38, 180, 198, 274, 280, 288, 294, 432, 435. + + +Zadorra, river, 110. + +Zaragoza, 88, 96. + +Zeman Shah, King of Afghanistan, 397. + +Znaim, 64. + +Zumalacarregui, Carlist general, 390, 391. + + + PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT + THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, ABERDEEN + +[Illustration: GREAT BRITAIN +showing +PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION +according to the +REFORM ACT OF 1832.] + +[Illustration: MAP OF +SPAIN AND PORTUGAL +illustrating +THE PENINSULAR WAR.] + +[Illustration: INDIA] + ++-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +| TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES | +| | +| General: Changes to punctuation have not been individually documented. | +| | +| Page 11: reopen standardised to re-open | +| | +| Page 13: Shortlived standardised to Short-lived | +| | +| Pages 42, 187, 189, 466, 486, footnote 66: Spelling of Wuertemberg, | +| Wuertemburg as in original | +| | +| Pages 47, 296: short-sighted standardised to shortsighted | +| | +| Page 60: heartbreaking standardised to heart-breaking | +| | +| Page 66: Lord Granville Leveson Gower standardised to Leveson-Gower | +| (note that Francis Leveson Gower never has a hyphen in the original | +| version so that is maintained here) | +| | +| Page 85: non-conformists standardised to nonconformists | +| | +| Page 94: shortlived standardised to short-lived | +| | +| Pages 108, 113: rearguard standardised to rear-guard | +| | +| Page 109, 363: Spelling of make-shift, makeshift not standardised as | +| usage differs. | +| | +| Page 127: flag-ship standardised to flagship | +| | +| Page 176: lifelong standardised to life-long | +| | +| Page 182: it corrected to its after "measure of relief owes" | +| | +| Page 183: bank-notes standardised to banknotes | +| | +| Page 201: But replaced by but at start of page as it is a continuation | +| of the sentence from the previous page. | +| | +| Page 252: wofully as in original | +| | +| Pages 260, 481, 484: Spelling of Akkerman, Akherman as in original | +| | +| Page 274: deathblow standardised to death-blow | +| | +| Pages 289, 361 and 374: Spelling of rate-paying and ratepaying not | +| standardised as it is used in two different contexts | +| | +| Page 298: ring-leaders standardised to ringleaders | +| | +| Page 316: tithe proctor standardised to tithe-proctor | +| beneficies as in original | +| | +| Page 335: house-holders standardised to householders | +| | +| Page 341: outdoor standardised to out-door | +| | +| Page 345: tithe proctors standardised to tithe-proctors | +| | +| Page 349: re-assembled standardised to reassembled | +| | +| Page 362: over-ride standardised to override | +| | +| Pages 393, 403, 475: Spelling of Mahmud and Mahmud not standardised as | +| it is used in two different contexts | +| | +| Page 394: MUNCHENGRATZ standardised to MUeNCHENGRAeTZ | +| | +| Pages 407, 416, 462: Spelling of Khan and Khan not standardised as it | +| is used in two different contexts | +| | +| Pages 427, 465: Spelling of Callcott, Calcott as in original | +| | +| Page 443: Italicisation of "Constitutional History of England from 1760 | +| to 1860" corrected | +| | +| Page 461: Aetolia standardised to AEtolia | +| Aegean standardised to AEgean | +| | +| Page 463: In entry Beauharnais, Eugene standardised to Eugene | +| | +| Page 464: Bridgewater standardised to Bridgwater | +| | +| Page 475: Malhar standardised to Malhar | +| In entry Louis Antoine, Angouleme standardised to Angouleme | +| In entry Louis Philippe, Orleans standardised to Orleans | +| | +| Page 479: Pressgang standardised to Press-gang | +| | +| Page 483: ) added to entry for Stewart, Sir Charles, after Londonderry | +| ) added to entry for Switzerland, after republic | +| Thermopylae standardised to Thermopylae | +| | +| Page 484: Volgo standardised to Volga | +| | +| Page 486: Ingram-Seymour Conway corrected to Ingram-Seymour-Conway | ++-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Political History of England - Vol +XI, by George Brodrick and J.K. 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