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diff --git a/40680-0.txt b/40680-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c6e311 --- /dev/null +++ b/40680-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11396 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40680 *** + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES + +The Third Part of The Greville Memoirs contains two volumes, of which +this is the first. The second volume is available from Project Gutenberg +at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40681 + +All spellings are as they appeared in the original text save for those +that were obviously printer's errors. + +All phrases that are in languages other than English have been +italicised for consistency. The oe ligature is replaced by the separate +letters oe. + +There are two styles of footnotes used in this work. Footnotes enclosed +in square brackets [ ] are by the editor. Footnotes not enclosed in +square brackets are by the author. + +1 [This note is by the editor.] + +2 This note is by the author. + + + + + THE + GREVILLE MEMOIRS + + (THIRD PART) + + VOL. I. + + + PRINTED BY + SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE + LONDON + + + + + _THE GREVILLE MEMOIRS_ + (_THIRD PART_) + + + + + A JOURNAL OF THE REIGN + OF + QUEEN VICTORIA + FROM 1852 TO 1860 + + + BY THE LATE + CHARLES C. F. GREVILLE, ESQ. + CLERK OF THE COUNCIL + + IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL. I. + + + LONDON + LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. + 1887 + + _All rights reserved_ + + + + + PREFACE + OF THE EDITOR + TO THE THIRD PART OF THIS JOURNAL. + +It appears to be unnecessary and inexpedient to delay the publication of +the last portion of these papers, which contain some record of the +events occurring between the year 1852 and the close of the year 1860, a +period already remote from the present time, and relating almost +exclusively to men of the last generation. I have little to add to the +notices prefixed by me to the two preceding portions of this work, but I +am grateful for the length of days which has enabled me to complete the +task confided to me by Mr. Greville three and twenty years ago, and to +leave behind me a record of that delightful company to which I was bound +by the closest ties of intimacy and friendship. On looking back upon the +first half of the present century, I believe that we were too +unconscious of the exceptional privileges we enjoyed, and that we did +not sufficiently appreciate the remarkable gifts of the statesmen, the +orators, the historians, the poets, and the wits who shed an +incomparable lustre on the politics, the literature, and the social +intercourse of those years. Of these personages some traces are to be +found in the preceding volumes and in these pages. + +Nor am I less grateful for the reception this publication has met with +from the world, which has far surpassed the modest expectations of the +author, and has at last conveyed to the reader a just estimate of the +integrity and ability with which these Journals were written. They bear +evident marks of the changes which are wrought in a man's character and +judgements by the experience of life and the course of years; and they +fall naturally into the three periods or divisions of Mr. Greville's +life which I was led from other causes to adopt. In the first part he +appears as a man of fashion and of pleasure, plunged, as was not +inconsistent with his age and his social position, in the dissipation +and the amusements of the day; but he was beginning to get tired of +them. In the second part he enters with all the energy of which he was +capable, though shackled by his official position, upon the great +political struggles of the time--the earnest advocate of peace, of +moderation, of justice, and of liberal principles--regarding with a +discriminating eye and with some severity of judgement the actions of +men swayed by motives of ambition and vanity, from which he was himself +free. This was the most active period of his life. But years advanced, +and with age the infirmities from which he had always suffered withdrew +him more and more from society, and deprived him of many of those +sources of intelligence which had been so freely opened to him. Hence it +is possible that the volumes now published contain less of novelty and +original information than the preceding portions of the work. But on the +other hand, the events recorded in them are of a more momentous +character--the re-establishment of the French Empire, the Imperial +Court, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, and the Italian War, are more +interesting than the rise or fall of a Ministry; and it is curious to +note precisely the effect produced at the time on the mind of a +contemporary observer. No one was more conscious of the incompleteness +of these Journals, and of a certain roughness, due to the impromptu +character of a manuscript hastily written down, and rarely corrected, +than the author of them. He was more disposed to underrate their merit, +as appears from his concluding remarks, than to exaggerate their +importance. But the public have judged of them more favourably; and if +he entertained a hope that he might contribute some pages to the record +of his times and the literature of his country, that hope was not +altogether vain. + + HENRY REEVE. + + _January 1887_. + + + + + CONTENTS + OF + THE FIRST VOLUME. + + +CHAPTER I. + +Divisions of the Liberal Party--Lord Lansdowne as Head of a Liberal +Government--Hostility of the Radicals--National Defences--Lord John +Russell's Literary Pursuits--The Queen's Speech--The +Peelites--Protection abandoned--Duke of Wellington's Funeral--Mr. +Villiers' Motion--Disraeli's Panegyric on Wellington--Death of Miss +Berry--The Division on the Resolution--Disraeli's Budget--Lord +Palmerston's Position--The Division on the Budget--Lord Derby +resigns--Liberal Negotiations--Formation of Lord Aberdeen's +Government--Lord St. Leonards--Tone of the Conservatives--Lord +Clanricarde and the Irish Brigade--Violence of the Tories--Lord +Palmerston agrees to join the Government--The Aberdeen Cabinet--First +Appearance of the New Ministry--Irritation of the Whigs _page 1_ + + +CHAPTER II. + +A Royal Commission on Reform--M. de Flahault on the Emperor +Napoleon--Lord John's Blunder--Disraeli's Negotiation with the Irish +Members--Lord Beauvale's Death--Lady Beauvale's Grief--Napoleon III. and +Mdlle. de Montijo--Parliament meets--The Emperor's Marriage--Disraeli's +Attack on Sir C. Wood--Dislike of Mr. Disraeli--Lord John Russell leaves +the Foreign Office--Lord Stanley's Liberal Votes--Disraeli's Opinion of +his Colleagues--The Government in Smooth Water--England unpopular +abroad--Massimo d'Azeglio--The Austrians in Italy--The Bishop of +Lincoln--The Duke of Bedford's Papers--Lord Palmerston leads the +House--Social Amenities--Rancour of Northern Powers against +England--Friendly Resolution of the Emperor Napoleon III.--Difficulties +at Home--The India Bill--The Eastern Question--The Czar's +Proposals--Russian Assurances--The Royal Family _page 30_ + + +CHAPTER III. + +Weakness of the Government--Gladstone's Budget--A Conversation with +Disraeli--Suicidal Conduct of the Tories--Their Irritation--A Charge +against Mr. Gladstone defeated--The Stafford Committee--Harmony of the +Government--Electoral Corruption--Impending War--Success of the +Government--Macaulay's Speech on the Judges' Exclusion Bill--Erroneous +Predictions from Paris--Unsettled Policy as to the War--Lord John's +Anti-Catholic Speech--The English and French Fleets sail for the +Dardanelles--Conduct of Austria--Russia means War--Attacks by the +Opposition--Explanations desired--Attempted Mediation--Lord Aberdeen's +Confidence shaken--Divisions of Opinion--Terms of Accommodation--Lord +Palmerston's Views--Prospect of Peace--Division in the Lords on the +Succession Duties Bill--Friendly Relations of Lord Palmerston and Lord +Clarendon--Fears of War--Hopes of Peace--Lord Palmerston and Mr. +Cobden--Rejection of the Vienna Note--Lord Palmerston courted by the +Tories--Lord John Russell's Position--The Duke of Bedford's part in the +last Crisis--Dangers at Constantinople--Lord Stratford's +Influence--Suspected Intrigue of France and Russia--Lord Palmerston goes +to Balmoral--Sir James Graham's View--Lord Stratford's +Conduct--Importance of the Vienna Note--A Cabinet summoned _page 58_ + + +CHAPTER IV. + +The Conference at Olmütz--The Turks declare War--Lord Palmerston's +Views--Lord Palmerston lauded by the Radicals and the Tories--Failure of +the Pacific Policy--Lord Aberdeen desires to resign--Lord John to be +Prime Minister--Obstacles to Lord John's Pretensions--Danger of breaking +up the Government--Lord John's Wilfulness and Unpopularity--Alliance of +the Northern Powers defeated by Manteuffel--Conflict of the two +Policies--Meeting of Parliament discussed--French Refugees in +Belgium--General Baraquay d'Hilliers sent to Constantinople--Mr. Reeve +returns from the East--Lord John's Reform Bill--The Emperor of Russia +writes to the Queen--Sir James Graham's Views on Reform, &c.--Opponents +of the Reform Scheme--Abortive Attempts at Negotiation--The Four Powers +agree to a Protocol--Lord Palmerston threatens to secede--Lord +Palmerston resigns on the Reform Scheme--Lord Palmerston opposed to +Reform--Effects of Lord Palmerston's Resignation--Conciliatory +Overtures--Lord Lansdowne's Position--Lord Aberdeen's Account--Lady +Palmerston makes up the Dispute--Lord Palmerston withdraws his +Resignation--Baraquay d'Hilliers refuses to enter the Black Sea--War +resolved on--Review of the transaction _page 92_ + + +CHAPTER V. + +Lord Palmerston's Return--The Czar's Designs--Uncertain Prospects--A +Dinner of Lawyers--Preparations for War--The Reform Scheme +modified--Russian Preparations for War--Entry of the Black +Sea--Intrigues of France with Russia--Attacks on Prince +Albert--Virulence of the Press--Attitude of Russia--Reluctance on both +sides to engage in War--Prince Albert's Participation in Affairs of +State--Opening of Parliament--Vindication of Prince Albert--Offer of +Marriage of Prince Napoleon to Princess Mary of Cambridge--Publication +of the Queen's Speech--The Hesitation of Austria--Justification of the +War--The Blue Books--Popularity of the War--Last Efforts for Peace--The +Emperor Napoleon's Letter--Lord John's Reform Bill--Difficulties +arising--The Greeks--Objections to the Reform Bill--Postponement of the +Reform Bill _page 121_ + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Dinner to Sir Charles Napier--A Ministerial Indiscretion--Doubts as to +the Reform Bill--Discontent of Lord John Russell--The Secret +Correspondence with Russia--War declared--Weakness of the +Government--Mr. Greville disapproves the War--Divisions in the +Cabinet--Withdrawal of the Reform Bill--Blunder of the Government--The +Fast Day--Licences to trade in War--Death of the Marquis of +Anglesey--Mr. Gladstone's Financial Failures--Dissolution of +Parties--Mr. Gladstone's Budget--Lord Cowley's Opinion of the Emperor's +Position--The House of Commons supports the War--Disraeli attacks Lord +John Russell--A Change of Plans--Lord John Russell's +Mismanagement--Attacks on Lord Aberdeen--Popularity of the +War--Government Majority in the Lords--Attitude of the German Powers--A +meeting of the Liberal Party--An Appointment cancelled--Expedition to +the Crimea--English and French Policy united in Spain--Close of the +Session--The Character of Lord Aberdeen's Government--Effect of the +Quarrel with Russia--Lord Palmerston's Resignation--Waywardness of the +House of Commons _page 145_ + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Difficulties of the Campaign--Prince Albert and the King of Prussia--The +Prince goes to France--Military Commanders--Critical Relations of the +Ministers--The Crimea--The Emperor Napoleon and Prince Albert--Austria +and the Allies--The Landing in the Crimea--The Battle of the Alma--Royal +Invitations--The Crimean Expedition--Lord John's Hostility to his +Colleagues--False Report from Sebastopol--The Crimean +Campaign--Anecdotes of Lord Raglan--The Russian Defence--Trade with the +Enemy--Anecdote of Nesselrode--John Bright's Opinion of the War--Defence +of Sebastopol--The Balaklava Charge--The Judges at the Nomination of +Sheriffs--Lord John takes more moderate Views--The Battle of +Inkerman--Impolicy of the War--Inkerman--Spirit of the Nation--Military +Enthusiasm--Parliament summoned--Want of Foresight--Accounts of the +Battle--Lord Raglan as a General--Sufferings of the Army--Agreement with +Austria--Opponents of the War--Meeting of Parliament--The Government +attacked--The Foreign Enlistment Bill--Foreign Enlistment Bill +passed--Mr. Bright's Speech on the War--Review of the Year _page 182_ + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Lord John's Views on the Ministry--Gloomy Prospects--Attacks on Lord +Raglan--Russian and Prussian Diplomacy--Lord Palmerston more in +favour--French View of the British Army--Russian Negotiations--Lord John +Russell in Paris--Conference at Vienna--Lord Raglan unmoved--Terms +proposed to Russia--Failure of the Duke of Newcastle--Hesitation of +Austria and France--Deplorable State of the Armies--Chances of +Peace--Meeting of Parliament--Further Negotiations--Lord John Russell +resigns--Ministers stay in--The Debate on Roebuck's Motion--Resignation +of Lord Aberdeen--Lord John Russell's real Motives--Lord Derby sent +for--and fails--Wise Decision of the Queen--Ministerial +Negotiations--Lord Palmerston sent for--The Peelites refuse to +join--Lord Palmerston forms a Government--Lord Palmerston's +Prospects--Lord John Russell sent to Vienna--Lord Palmerston in the +House of Commons--General Alarm--Difficulties of Lord Palmerston--The +Peelites secede--Lord John accepts the Colonial Office--Sir George Lewis +Chancellor of the Exchequer--Death of the Emperor Nicholas of +Russia--Lord Palmerston supposed to be a weak Debater--Weakness of the +Government--Fresh Arrangements--The Budget--The Press _page 217_ + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The Vienna Conference--Literary Occupations--A Roman Catholic Privy +Councillor--Negotiations at Vienna--The Emperor Napoleon in London--The +Emperor's brilliant Reception--Russia refuses the Terms offered--The +Sebastopol Committee--Debate on the War--Visit to Paris--Resignation of +M. Drouyn de Lhuys--The Emperor's Journey to the Crimea--The Repulse at +the Redan--Visit to Thiers--A Dinner at the Tuileries--Conversation with +the Emperor--M. Guizot on the War--Death of Lord Raglan--A Dinner at +Princess Lieven's--The Palace of Versailles--Revelations of Lord John +Russell's Mission--Dinner with the Emperor at Villeneuve l'Étang--Lord +John Russell's Conduct at Vienna--Excitement in London--Lord John's +Resignation--Lord John's Conduct explained--'Whom shall we +Hang?'--Prorogation of Parliament _page 253_ + + +CHAPTER X. + +The Queen's Visit to France--Sir George C. Lewis on the +War--Inefficiency of Lord Panmure--The Queen and the Emperor--Lord John +Russell's Estrangement from his Friends--The Fall of Sebastopol--The +Queen on the Orleans Confiscation--The Prince Regent's Letter on the +Holy Alliance--Ferment in Italy--The Failure at the Redan--Lord John's +Defence--General Windham--Lord John Russell's Retirement--Death of Sir +Robert Adair--Adieu to the Turf--Progress of the War--Colonial Office +proposed to Lord Stanley--Lord John Russell's Position--Relations with +Mr. Disraeli--Mr. Labouchere Colonial Secretary--Negotiations for +Peace--The Terms proposed to Russia--The King of Sardinia and M. de +Cavour at Windsor--The Demands of the King of Sardinia--Lord Palmerston +presses for War--Lord Macaulay's History of England--An Ultimatum to +Russia--Death of the Poet Rogers--French Ministers--The Emperor's +Diplomacy--Sir George C. Lewis's Aversion to the War--Quarrels of +Walewski and Persigny--Austria presents the Terms to Russia--Baron +Seebach mediates--The Emperor's Difficulties and Doubts _page 281_ + + + + + A JOURNAL + OF THE + REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA + FROM 1852 TO 1860. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + Divisions of the Liberal Party--Lord Lansdowne as Head of a Liberal + Government--Hostility of the Radicals--National Defences--Lord John + Russell's Literary Pursuits--The Queen's Speech--The + Peelites--Protection abandoned--Duke of Wellington's Funeral--Mr. + Villiers' Motion--Disraeli's Panegyric on Wellington--Death of Miss + Berry--The Division on the Resolution--Disraeli's Budget--Lord + Palmerston's Position--The Division on the Budget--Lord Derby + resigns--Liberal Negotiations--Formation of Lord Aberdeen's + Government--Lord St. Leonard's--Tone of the Conservatives--Lord + Clanricarde and the Irish Brigade--Violence of the Tories--Lord + Palmerston agrees to join the Government--The Aberdeen + Cabinet--First Appearance of the New Ministry--Irritation of the + Whigs. + + +_October 22nd, 1852_.--As usual a long interval, for since the Duke's +death I have had nothing to write about. The distribution of his offices +and honours has not given satisfaction. The appointment of Fitzroy +Somerset would have been more popular than that of Hardinge to the +command of the army, especially with the army; but I have no doubt the +Court insisted on having Hardinge, who is a great favourite there. + + MINISTERIAL COMBINATIONS. + +Matters in politics remain much as they were. There has been a constant +interchange of letters between Lord John Russell and his leading +friends and adherents, and conversations and correspondence between +these and Palmerston, the result of the whole being a hopeless state of +discord and disagreement in the Liberal party, so complete that there +appears no possibility of all the scattered elements of opposition being +combined into harmonious action, the consequence of which can hardly +fail to be the continuance in office of the present Government. The +state of things may be thus summed up: Lord John Russell declares he +will take no office but that of Premier, considering any other a +degradation; but he says he does not want office, and if a Liberal +Government can be formed under anybody else he will give it his best +support. He resents greatly the expressed sentiments of those who would +put him by and choose another Prime Minister, and this resentment his +belongings foster as much as they can. Palmerston professes _personal_ +regard for Lord John, but declares he will never again serve _under_ +him, though he would _with_ him, and his great object has been to induce +Lord Lansdowne to consent to put himself at the head of a Government (if +this falls) under whom he would be willing to serve, and he would +consent to Lord John's leading the House of Commons as heretofore. This +he communicated to the Duke of Bedford in conversation at Brocket, and +he afterwards wrote a detailed account of that conversation to Lansdowne +himself, which was an invitation to him to act the part he wished to +allot to him. Lord Lansdowne wrote him an answer in which he positively +declined to put himself at the head of a Government, stating various +reasons why he could not, and his conviction that John Russell was the +only man who could be at the head of one hereafter. With regard to other +opinions, Graham is heart and soul with Lord John, and decidedly in +favour of his supremacy. The Whig party are divided, some still adhering +to him; others, resenting his conduct in the past Session and +distrusting his prudence, are anxious for another chief, but without +having much considered how another is to be found, nor the consequences +of deposing him. The Radicals are in an unsettled and undecided state, +neither entirely favourable nor entirely hostile to Lord John; the +Peelites are pretty unanimously against him, and not overmuch disposed +to join with the Whig party, being still more or less deluded with the +hope and belief that they may form a Government themselves. Graham has +always maintained (and, as I thought, with great probability) that it +would end in Palmerston's joining Derby, and at this moment such an +arrangement seems exceedingly likely to happen. There were two or three +articles not long ago in the 'Morning Post' (his own paper), which +tended that way. I have just been for two days to Broadlands, where I +had a good deal of talk with him and with Lady Palmerston, and I came +away with the conviction that it would end in his joining this +Government. He admitted it to be a possible contingency, but said he +could not come in _alone_, and only in the event of a remodelling of the +Cabinet and a sweep of many of the incapables now in it. Sidney Herbert, +who was there, told me he had talked to him in the same tone, and spoke +of eight seats being vacated in the Cabinet, and as if he expected that +nobody should _certainly_ remain there but Derby, Disraeli, and the +Chancellor. It is evident from this that it depends on Derby himself to +have him, and if he frames measures and announces principles such as +would enable Palmerston with credit and consistency to join him, and if +he will throw over a sufficient number of his present crew, he may so +strengthen his Government as to make it secure for some time. It may, +however, be a matter of considerable difficulty to turn out a great many +colleagues, and not less so for Palmerston to find people to bring in +with him; for though he is very popular, and can excite any amount of +cheering in the House of Commons, he has no political adherents +whatever, and if Derby was to place seats in the Cabinet at his disposal +he has nobody to put into them, unless he could prevail on Gladstone and +Herbert to go with him, which does not seem probable.[1] + +[Footnote 1: A list of the members of Lord Derby's Administration will +be found in the third volume of the Second Part of this Journal, p. +451.] + + +_November 3rd._--Since writing the above, circumstances have occurred +which may have an important influence on future political events. John +Russell, whether moved by his own reflexions or the advice or opinions +of others I know not, has entirely changed his mind and become more +reasonable, moderate, and pliable than he has hitherto shown himself. He +has announced that if it should hereafter be found practicable to form a +Liberal Government under Lord Lansdowne, he will not object to serve +under him, only reserving to himself to judge of the expediency of +attempting such an arrangement, as well as of the Government that may be +formed. The letter in which he announced this to Lord Lansdowne was +certainly very creditable to him, and evinced great magnanimity. He +desired that it might be made known to Palmerston, which was done by +Lord Lansdowne, and Palmerston replied with great satisfaction, saying, +'for the first time he now saw daylight in public affairs.' Lord +Lansdowne was himself gratified at Lord John's conduct to him, but he +said that it would expose him to fresh importunities on the part of +Palmerston, and he seems by no means more disposed than he was before to +take the burden on himself, while he is conscious that it will be more +difficult for him to refuse. He has been suffering very much, and is +certainly physically unequal to the task, and _le cas échéant_ he will +no doubt try to make his escape; but, from what I hear of him, I do not +think he will be inexorable if it is made clear to him that there is no +other way of forming a Liberal Government, and especially if Lord John +himself urges him to undertake it. + +The other important matter is a correspondence, or rather a letter from +Cobden to a friend of his, in which he expresses himself in very hostile +terms towards John Russell and Graham likewise, abuses the Whig +Government, and announces his determination to fight for Radical +measures, and especially the Ballot. This letter was sent to Lord +Yarborough, by him to the Duke of Bedford, and by the Duke to Lord John. +He wrote a reply, or, more properly, a comment on it, which was intended +to be, and I conclude was, sent to Cobden; a very good letter, I am +told, in which he vindicated his own Government, and declared his +unalterable resolution to oppose the Ballot, which he said was with him +a question of principle, on which he never would give way. The result of +all this is a complete separation between Lord John and Cobden, and +therefore between the Whigs and the Radicals. What the ultimate +consequences of this may be it is difficult to foresee, but the +immediate one will probably be the continuation of Derby in office. Lord +John is going to have a parliamentary dinner before the meeting, which +many of his friends think he had better have left alone. He wrote to +Graham and invited him to it. Graham declined, and said he should not +come up to the meeting. To this Lord John responded that he might do as +he pleased about dining, but he assured him that his absence at the +opening of the Session would give great umbrage to the party and be +injurious to himself. Graham replied that he would come up, but he has +expressed to some of his correspondents his disapproval of the dinner. +Charles Villiers agrees with him about it, and so do I, but the Johnians +are very indignant with Graham, and consider his conduct very base, +though I do not exactly see why. + + NATIONAL DEFENCES. + +The question of national defence occupies everybody's mind, but it seems +very doubtful if any important measures will be taken. The Chancellor +told Senior that the Government were quite satisfied with Louis +Napoleon's pacific assurances, and saw no danger. It is not clear that +John Russell partakes of the general alarm, and whether he will be +disposed (as many wish that he should) to convey to Lord Derby an +intimation that he will support any measure he may propose for the +defence of the country, nor is it certain that Derby would feel any +reliance on such assurances after what passed when he came into office. +On that occasion Derby called on Lord John (who had just advised the +Queen to send for him) and said on leaving him, 'I suppose you are not +going to attack me and turn me out again,' which Lord John assured him +he had no thoughts of, and directly after he convoked his Chesham Place +meeting, which was certainly not very consistent with his previous +conduct, nor with his engagement to Derby. + + +_London, November 11th_, 1852.--I passed two days at The Grove with +John Russell the end of last and beginning of this week, when he was in +excellent health and spirits, and in a very reasonable composed state of +mind. There were Wilson, Panizzi, George Lewis, and the Duke of Bedford; +very little talk about politics, except in a general way. Lord John has +been engaged in literary pursuits, as the executor of Moore and the +depositary of Fox's papers, and he is about to bring out two volumes of +Moore and one of Fox, but in neither is there to be much of his own +composition; he has merely arranged the materials in each. + +There has been great curiosity about the Queen's Speech, and a hundred +reports of difficulties in composing it, and of dissensions in the +Cabinet with regard to the manner in which the great question should be +dealt with. As I know nothing certain on the subject, I will spare +myself the trouble of putting down the rumours, which may turn out to be +groundless or misrepresented. A great fuss has been made about keeping +the Speech secret. They refused to communicate it to the newspapers, and +strict orders were given at the Treasury to allow nobody whatever to see +it. Derby, however, wrote to Lord John that as he had always sent it to +him, he should do the same, and accordingly Lord John received it, and +read it at his dinner, but those present were bound on honour not to +communicate the contents of it. Lord John and his friends have been all +along determined, if possible, to avoid proposing an amendment. + +There was a Peelite gathering at a dinner at Hayward's the day before +yesterday, at which Gladstone, Sidney Herbert, Newcastle, Francis +Charteris, Sir John Young, and others were present; and Hayward told me +they were all united, resolved to act together, and likewise averse to +an amendment if possible; but from the manner in which they have dealt +with Free Trade, it is very doubtful whether Cobden at least, if not +Gladstone, will not insist on moving an amendment. A very few hours +will decide this point.[1] + +[Footnote 1: The new Parliament was opened by the Queen in person on +November 11.] + + +_November 12th._--The question of Protection or Free Trade, virtually +settled long ago, was formally settled last night, Derby having +announced in terms the most clear and unequivocal his final and complete +abandonment of Protection, and his determination to adhere to, and +honestly to administer, the present system. His speech was received in +silence on both sides. There has not yet been time to ascertain the +effect of this announcement on the various parties and individuals +interested by it. + + + DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S FUNERAL. + +_November 16th._--I went yesterday to the lying in state of the Duke of +Wellington; it was fine and well done, but too gaudy and theatrical, +though this is unavoidable. Afterwards to St. Paul's to see it lit up. +The effect was very good, but it was like a great rout; all London was +there strolling and staring about in the midst of a thousand workmen +going on with their business all the same, and all the fine ladies +scrambling over vast masses of timber, or ducking to avoid the great +beams that were constantly sweeping along. These public funerals are +very disgusting _meâ sententiâ_. On Saturday several people were killed +and wounded at Chelsea; yesterday everything was orderly and well +conducted, and I heard of no accidents. + +Charles Villiers' motion, after much consultation and debate, whether it +should be brought on or not, is settled in the affirmative, and was +concocted by the Peelites at a meeting at Aberdeen's, Graham present. +Nothing could be more moderate, so moderate that it appeared next to +impossible the Government could oppose it. Yesterday morning there was a +Ministerialist meeting in Downing Street, when Derby harangued his +followers. + + +_November 21st._--I saw the Duke's funeral from Devonshire House. Rather +a fine sight, and all well done, except the car, which was tawdry, +cumbrous, and vulgar. It was contrived by a German artist attached to +the School of Design, and under Prince Albert's direction--no proof of +his good taste. The whole ceremony within St. Paul's and without went +off admirably, and without mistakes, mishaps, or accidents; but as all +the newspapers overflow with the details I may very well omit them here. + +Now that this great ceremony is over, we have leisure to turn our +thoughts to political matters. I have already said that Villiers +proposed a mild resolution which was drawn up by Graham at Aberdeen's +house, and agreed to by the Peelites.[1] Then came Derby's meeting, +where he informed his followers that he must reserve to himself entire +liberty of dealing with Villiers' resolution as he thought best, but if +he contested it, and was beaten, he should not resign. He then requested +that if anyone had any objection to make, or remarks to offer, on his +proposed course, they would make them then and there, and not find fault +afterwards. They all cheered, and nobody said a word; in fact they were +all consenting to his abandonment of Protection, many not at all liking +it, but none recalcitrant. After this meeting there was a +reconsideration of Villiers' resolution. Cobden and his friends +complained that it was too milk and water, and required that it should +be made stronger. After much discussion Villiers consented to alter it, +and it was eventually put on the table of the House in its present more +stringent form. Lord John Russell was against the alteration, and +Gladstone and the Peelites still more so; but Charles Villiers thought +he could not do otherwise than defer to Cobden, after having prevailed +on the latter to consent to no amendment being moved on the Address. +There is good reason to believe that the Government would have swallowed +the first resolution, but they could not make up their minds to take the +second; and accordingly Disraeli announced an amendment in the shape of +another resolution, and the battle will be fought on the two, Dizzy's +just as strongly affirming the principle of Free Trade as the other, but +it omits the declaration that the measure of '46 was 'wise and _just_.' +At this moment nobody has the least idea what the division will be, nor +how many of the most conspicuous men will vote, nor what the Government +will do if they are beaten. Moderate men on the Liberal side regret that +the original resolution was changed, deprecate the pitched battle, and +above all dread that the Government may resign if they are beaten, which +would cause the greatest confusion, nothing being ready for forming a +government on the Liberal side, and the Government would go out with the +advantage of saying that they were prepared with all sorts of good +measures which the factious conduct of their opponents would not let +them produce. Things have not been well managed, and I expect the result +of all these proceedings will be damaging to the Liberal interest, and +rather advantageous to Lord Derby. + + DISRAELI'S ORATION ON WELLINGTON. + +An incident occurred the other night in the House of Commons, which +exposed Disraeli to much ridicule and severe criticism. He pronounced a +pompous funeral oration on the Duke of Wellington, and the next day the +'Globe' showed that half of it was taken word for word from a panegyric +of Thiers on Marshal Gouvion de St. Cyr. Disraeli has been unmercifully +pelted ever since, and well deserves it for such a piece of folly and +bad taste. His excuse is, that he was struck by the passage, wrote it +down, and, when he referred to it recently, forgot what it was, and +thought it was his own composition. But this poor apology does not save +him. Derby spoke very well on the same subject a few nights after in the +House of Lords, complimenting the authorities, the people, and foreign +nations, particularly France. It is creditable to Louis Napoleon to have +ordered Walewski to attend the funeral.[2] + + + DEATH OF MISS BERRY. + +On Saturday night, about twelve o'clock, Miss Mary Berry died after a +few weeks' illness, without suffering, and in possession of her +faculties, the machine worn out, for she was in her 90th year.[3] As she +was born nearly a century ago, and was the contemporary of my +grandfathers and grandmothers, she was already a very old woman when I +first became acquainted with her, and it was not till a later period, +about twenty years ago, that I began to live in an intimacy with her +which continued uninterrupted to the last. My knowledge of her early +life is necessarily only traditional. She must have been exceedingly +goodlooking, for I can remember her with a fine commanding figure and a +very handsome face, full of expression and intelligence. It is well +known that she was the object of Horace Walpole's octogenarian +attachment, and it has been generally believed that he was anxious to +marry her for the sake of bestowing upon her a title and a jointure, +which advantages her disinterested and independent spirit would not +allow her to accept. She continued nevertheless to make the charm and +consolation of his latter days, and at his death she became his literary +executrix, in which capacity she edited Madame du Deffand's letters. She +always preserved a great veneration for the memory of Lord Orford, and +has often talked to me about him. I gathered from what she said that she +never was herself quite sure whether he wished to marry her, but +inclined to believe that she might have been his wife had she chosen it. +She seems to have been very early initiated into the best and most +refined society, was a constant inmate of Devonshire House and an +intimate friend of the Duchess, a friendship which descended to her +children, all of whom treated Miss Berry to the last with unceasing +marks of attention, respect, and affection. She had been very carefully +educated, and was full of literary tastes and general information, so +that her conversation was always spirited, agreeable, and instructive; +her published works, without exhibiting a high order of genius, have +considerable merit, and her 'Social Life in England and France' and 'The +Life of Rachel, Lady Russell,' will always be read with pleasure, and +are entitled to a permanent place in English literature; but her +greatest merit was her amiable and benevolent disposition, which secured +to her a very large circle of attached friends, who were drawn to her as +much by affectionate regard as by the attraction of her vigorous +understanding and the vivacity and variety of her conversational powers. +For a great many years the Misses Berry were amongst the social +celebrities of London, and their house was the continual resort of the +most distinguished people of both sexes in politics, literature, and +fashion. She ranked amongst her friends and associates all the most +remarkable literary men of the day, and there certainly was no house at +which so many persons of such various qualities and attainments, but all +more or less distinguished, could be found assembled. She continued her +usual course of life, and to gather her friends about her, till within a +few weeks of her death, and at last she sank by gradual exhaustion, +without pain or suffering, and with the happy consciousness of the +affectionate solicitude and care of the friends who had cheered and +comforted the last declining years of her existence. To those friends +her loss is irreparable, and besides the private and individual +bereavement it is impossible not to be affected by the melancholy +consideration that her death has deprived the world of the sole survivor +of a once brilliant generation, who in her person was a link between the +present age and one fertile in great intellectual powers, to which our +memories turn with never failing curiosity and interest. + +[Footnote 1: On November 23, Mr. Charles Villiers moved Resolutions in +the House of Commons, declaring the adherence of Parliament to the +principles of Free Trade and approving the Repeal of the Corn Laws. Mr. +Disraeli moved an amendment, not directly adverse. But this amendment +was withdrawn in favour of one more skilfully drawn by Lord Palmerston. +On this occasion Lord Palmerston rendered an essential service to Lord +Derby's Government.] + +[Footnote 2: Count Walewski, then French Ambassador in London, +expressed some reluctance to attend the funeral of the conqueror of +Napoleon I., upon which Baron Brunnow said to him, 'If this ceremony +were intended to bring the Duke to life again, I can conceive your +reluctance to appear at it; but as it is only to bury him, I don't see +you have anything to complain of.'] + +[Footnote 3: Miss Mary Berry was born at Kirkbridge, in Yorkshire, on +March 16, 1763; her sister Agnes, who was her inseparable companion for +eighty-eight years, fourteen months later. Her father, Robert Berry, was +the nephew of a Scotch merchant named Ferguson, who purchased the estate +of Raith, in Fifeshire. William Berry, the brother of Robert, and uncle +of these ladies, succeeded to this property, and took the name of +Ferguson. The Miss Berrys first made the acquaintance of Horace Walpole +in 1788, when he was seventy years of age, and they became the objects +of his devoted attachment and regard. See 'National Biography,' vol. iv. +p. 397.] + + +_December 4th._--Last week the House of Commons was occupied with the +'Resolutions,' the whole history of which was given by Graham, and +which need not be repeated here.[1] The divisions were pretty much what +were expected, and the only interesting consideration is the effect +produced, and the influence of the debate on the state of parties. +Palmerston is highly glorified by his small clique, and rather smiled on +by the Tories, but he has given great offence to both Whigs and +Radicals, and removed himself further than ever from a coalition with +John Russell and the Liberal party. Lord John himself, who made a very +good speech, rather gained reputation by his behaviour throughout the +transaction, and is on better terms both with Cobden, Bright, and his +own party, than he has been for some time past. Disraeli made a very +imprudent speech, which disgusted many of his own adherents, and exposed +him to vigorous attacks and a tremendous castigation on the part of his +opponents, by Bernal Osborne in the coarser, and Sidney Herbert in more +polished style. The Protectionists generally cut a very poor figure, and +had nothing to say for themselves. 'If people wish for _humiliation_,' +said Sidney Herbert, 'let them look at the benches opposite.' But all +the dirt they had to eat, and all the mortification they had to endure, +did not prevent the Derbyites from presenting a compact determined +phalanx of about three hundred men, all resolved to support the +Government, and to vote through thick and thin, without reference to +their past or present opinions. The Ministerial papers and satellites +toss their caps up and proclaim a great victory, but it is difficult to +discover in what the victory consists. It certainly shows that they are +strong and devoted if not united. + +After the division there was a good deal of speculation rife as to +Palmerston's joining the Government, which his friends insist he will +not do. I am disposed to think he will. Since that we have had +Beresford's affair in the House of Commons, and Clanricarde's folly in +the Lords. + +Cockburn produced a strong _primâ facie_ case against Beresford, and the +committee has been appointed on his case, and proceeds to business on +Monday.[2] Clanricarde chose _de son chef_ to propose a resolution like +that of the Commons, which Derby refused to take and offered another in +its place, which Clanricarde has accepted. He gave Derby the opportunity +he wanted of setting himself right with his own party, who, albeit +resolved to support him, are smarting severely under his complete +abandonment of Protection, and the necessity to which they are reduced +of swallowing the nauseous Free Trade pill. He will make the dose more +palateable by soothing their wounded pride. Clanricarde went to Lord +Lansdowne and told him what he proposed to do. Lansdowne objected, but +Clanricarde said he did it individually and would take all the +responsibility on himself, on which Lansdowne very unwisely ceased to +object. His purpose is to take no responsibility on himself. + +[Footnote 1: After three nights' debate, the Resolutions moved by Mr. +Villiers were negatived by 256 to 236, and the motion adroitly +substituted for them by Lord Palmerston in favour of 'unrestricted +competition' was carried by 468 against 53, being accepted by the +Government.] + +[Footnote 2: This related to proceedings with reference to the recent +election at Derby.] + + + MR. DISRAELI'S BUDGET. + +_December 6th._--Ever since the termination of the 'Resolutions' debate +the world has been in a state of intense curiosity to hear the Budget, +so long announced, and of which such magnificent things were predicted. +The secret was so well kept that nobody knew anything about it, and not +one of the hundred guesses and conjectures turned out to be correct. At +length on Friday night Disraeli produced his measure in a House crowded +to suffocation with members and strangers. He spoke for five and a half +hours, much too diffusely, spinning out what he might have said in half +the time. The Budget has been on the whole tolerably well received, and +may, I think, be considered successful, though it is open to criticism, +and parts of it will be fiercely attacked, and he will very likely be +obliged to change some parts of it. But though favourably received on +the whole, it by no means answers to the extravagant expectations that +were raised, or proves so entirely satisfactory to all parties and all +interests as Disraeli rather imprudently gave out that it would be. The +people who regard it with the least favour are those who will be +obliged to give it the most unqualified support, the ex-Protectionists, +for the relief or compensation to the landed interest is very far from +commensurate with their expectations. It is certainly of a Free Trade +character altogether, which does not make it the more palateable to +them. He threw over the West Indians, and (Pakington, their advocate, +sitting beside him) declared they had no claim to any relief beyond that +which he tendered them, viz. the power of refining sugar in bond--a drop +of water to one dying of thirst. I think it will go down, and make the +Government safe. This I have all along thought they would be, and every +day seems to confirm this opinion. They have got from three hundred to +three hundred and fifteen men in the House of Commons who, though +dissatisfied and disappointed, are nevertheless determined to swallow +everything and support them through thick and thin, and they have to +encounter an opposition, the scattered fractions of which are scarcely +more numerous, but which is in a state of the greatest confusion and +disunion, and without any prospect of concord amongst them. + +The Duke of Bedford came to me yesterday, and told me he had never been +so disheartened about politics in his life, or so hopeless of any good +result for his party, in which he saw nothing but disagreement and all +sorts of pretensions and jealousies incompatible with any common cause, +and Aberdeen, whom I met at dinner yesterday, is of much the same +opinion. The principal object of interest and curiosity seems now to be +whether Palmerston will join them or not. On this the most opposite +opinions and reports prevail. Just now it is said that he has resolved +not. At all events, if he does, he will have to go alone, for he can +take nobody with him, as it certainly is his object to do. But it does +not appear now as if there was the least chance of Gladstone or Sidney +Herbert joining him. The Duke of Bedford told me that both Derby and +Palmerston were in better odour at Windsor than they were, and that the +Queen and Prince approve of Pam's move about the Resolutions, and think +he did good service. Aberdeen also thinks that though the Whigs and +Radicals are angry with Lord Palmerston, and that his proceeding was +unwarrantable, he stands in a better position in the country, and has +gained credit and influence by what he did. Abroad, where nobody +understands our affairs, he is supposed to have played a very great +part, and to have given indubitable proof of great political power. + + +_December 9th._--Within these few days the Budget, which was not ill +received at first, has excited a strong opposition, and to-morrow there +is to be a pitched battle and grand trial of strength between the +Government and Opposition upon it, and there is much difference of +opinion as to the result. The Government have put forth that they mean +to resign if beaten upon it. Derby and Disraeli were both remarkably +well received at the Lord Mayor's dinner the night before last, and this +is an additional proof that, in spite of all their disreputable conduct, +they are not unpopular, and I believe, if the country were polled, they +would as soon have these people for Ministers as any others. Nobody +knows what part Palmerston is going to take. + + + DEFEAT ON THE BUDGET. + +_December 18th._--The last few days have been entirely occupied by the +interest of the Budget debate and speculations as to the result. We +received the account of the division at Panshanger yesterday morning, +not without astonishment; for although the opinion had latterly been +gaining ground that the Government would be beaten, nobody expected such +a majority against them.[1] Up to the last they were confident of +winning. The debate was all against them, and only exhibited their +weakness in the House of Commons. It was closed by two very fine +speeches from Disraeli and Gladstone, very different in their style, but +not unequal in their merits. + +[Footnote 1: The division on the Budget took place on December 16 after +five nights' debate, the numbers being--for the Government, 286; +against, 305; adverse majority, 19.] + + +_Panshanger, December 19th._--I went to town yesterday morning to hear +what was going on. Lord Derby returned from Osborne in the middle of the +day, and the Queen had sent for Lords Lansdowne and Aberdeen. She had +been gracious to Derby, and pressed him to stay on, if it were only for +a short time. I saw Talbot, and from the few words he let drop I +gathered that they have already resolved to keep together, and to enter +on a course of bitter and determined opposition. Not that he said this, +of course, but he intimated that he had no idea of any new Government +that might be formed being able to go on even for a short time, and that +they would very speedily be let in again. The language of the Carlton +corresponds with this, and I have no doubt they will be as virulent and +as mischievous as they can. It remains to be seen, if a good Government +is formed, whether some will not be more moderate, and disposed to give +the new Cabinet a fair trial. + +Clarendon writes me word that the meeting at Woburn between John +Russell, Aberdeen, Newcastle, and himself has been altogether +satisfactory, everybody ready to give and take, and anxious to promote +the common cause, without any selfish views or prejudices. Newcastle is +particularly reasonable, disclaiming any hostility to John Russell, and +only objecting to his being at present the nominal head of the +Government, because there is rightly or wrongly a prejudice against him, +which would prevent some Liberals and some Peelites joining the +Government if he was placed in that position; but he contemplates his +ultimately resuming that post, and he (Newcastle) is ready to do +anything in office or out. There is no disposition to take in Cobden and +Bright, but they would not object to Molesworth. + +I went over to Brocket just now, and found the Palmerstons there. He is +not pleased at the turn matters have taken, would have liked the +Government to go on at all events some time longer, and is disgusted at +the thought of Aberdeen being at the head of the next Ministry. This is +likewise obnoxious to the Whigs at Brooks's, and there will be no small +difficulty in bringing them to consent to it, if Lansdowne refuses. +Beauvale said if Palmerston had not been laid up, and prevented going to +the House of Commons, he thinks this catastrophe would not have +happened, for Palmerston meant to have done in a friendly way what +Charles Wood did in an unfriendly one, and advised Disraeli to postpone +and remake his Budget, and this advice so tendered he thinks Dizzy would +have taken, and then the issue would have been changed and deferred till +after the recess. But I don't believe this fine scheme would have taken +effect, or that Dizzy would or could have adopted such a course. +Beauvale says he is pretty sure Palmerston will not take office under +Aberdeen's Premiership; on the other hand, Aberdeen has no objection to +him, and will invite Palmerston, if the task devolves upon him. Ellice +fancies Lansdowne will decline, and that Aberdeen will fail, and that it +will end in Derby coming back, reinforced by Palmerston and some +Peelites. The difficulties are certainly enormous, but by some means or +other I think a Government will be formed. The exclusions will be very +painful, and must be enormous. Lord Derby met Granville and others at +the station on Friday, and he said he calculated the new Cabinet could +not consist of less than thirty-two men, and many then left out. It will +be a fine time to test the amount of patriotism and unselfishness that +can be found in the political world. + + + THE COALITION MINISTRY. + +_London, December 21st._--I came to town yesterday morning, and heard +that the day before (Sunday) a very hostile feeling towards Aberdeen had +been prevailing at Brooks's, but no doubt was entertained that the +Government would be formed. In the afternoon Clarendon came to me on his +way to the House of Lords, and told me all that had passed up to that +time. On receiving the Queen's summons, a meeting took place between +Lansdowne and Aberdeen at Lansdowne House, at which each did his best to +persuade the other to accept the commission to form a Government. +Lansdowne pleaded absolute physical inability, and his friends seem to +be quite satisfied that he really could not undertake it. Accordingly +Aberdeen gave way, and departed for Osborne on a reiterated summons, +and, after telling the Queen all that had passed between Lansdowne and +himself, undertook the task. Nothing could be more cordial all this time +than the relations between himself and John Russell; but as soon as it +became known that Aberdeen was to form the new Government, certain +friends of John Russell set to work to persuade him that it would be +derogatory to his character to have any concern in it, and entreated him +to refuse his concurrence. These were David Dundas and Romilly, and +there may have been others. This advice was probably the more readily +listened to, because it corresponded with his original view of the +matter and his own natural disposition, and it produced so much effect +that yesterday morning he went to Lansdowne and told him that he had +resolved to have nothing to do with the new Government. Lansdowne was +thunderstruck, and employed every argument he could think of to change +this resolution. It so happened that he had written to Macaulay and +asked him to call on him to talk matters over, and Macaulay was +announced while Lord John was still there. Lansdowne told him the +subject of their discussion, and the case was put before Macaulay with +all its pros and cons for his opinion. He heard all Lansdowne and Lord +John had to say, and then delivered his opinion in a very eloquent +speech, strongly recommending Lord John to go on with Aberdeen, and +saying that, at such a crisis as this, the refusal of his aid, which was +indispensable for the success of the attempt, would be little short of +treason. Lord John went away evidently shaken, but without pronouncing +any final decision. Clarendon then called at Lansdowne House, and heard +these particulars, and Lansdowne entreated him to go and see Lord John +and try his influence over him. Clarendon had the day before given him +his opinion in writing to the same effect as Macaulay. He went, saw him, +and repeated all he had before written. Lord John took it very well, +and, when he left him, said, 'I suppose it will be as you wish,' and +when I saw Clarendon he seemed reassured, and tolerably confident that +this great peril of the whole concern being thus shipwrecked _in limine_ +had passed away. After the House of Lords where I heard Derby's strange +and inexcusable speech, we again discussed the matter, when he said Lord +John had raised another difficulty, for he said he would not take the +Foreign Office, alleging, not without truth, that it was impossible for +him or any man to perform the duties of so laborious an office and lead +the House of Commons. Lord John also signified to Clarendon that he +should insist on _his_ being in the Cabinet, which Clarendon entreated +him not to require. Newcastle, who was there, suggested that Lord John +might take the Foreign Office for a time, and if he found the two duties +incompatible, he might give it up, and Clarendon seemed to think this +might be done, and at all events he means to persuade Lord John (as no +doubt he will) to make up his mind to take it, for his not doing so +would certainly be very inconvenient. Should Lord John prove obstinate +in this respect, I have no doubt Clarendon will himself be put there. + + LORD ST. LEONARD'S. + +We talked about the Great Seal, and Senior had been with Lord Lansdowne, +who appears to incline very much to getting Lord St. Leonard's[1] to +stay if he will, but Senior thinks he will not; certainly not, unless +with the concurrence of his present colleagues, which it is doubtful if +Derby in his present frame of mind would give. The Chancellor was at +Derby's meeting in the morning, which looks like a resolution to go out +with them. It will be a good thing if he will remain, but it will do +good to the new Government to invite him, whether he accepts or refuses. +We talked of Brougham, but Clarendon, though anxious to have Brougham in +as President of the Council, thinks he would not do for the woolsack, +and that it will be better to have Cranworth if Lord St. Leonard's will +not stay. There is a great difficulty in respect to the retiring +pension. There can only be four, and Sugden's will make up the number, +so that a fresh Chancellor could have none except at the death of one +of the others. The worst part of the foregoing story is, that Lord John +will not join cordially and heartily, and it is impossible to say, +during the difficult adjustment of details, what objections he may not +raise and what embarrassments he may not cause. + +There was a meeting at Lord Derby's yesterday morning, at which he told +his friends he would continue to lead them, and he recommended a +moderation, in which he probably was not sincere, and which they will +not care to observe. Lord Delawarr got up and thanked him. Nothing can +be more rabid than the party and the ex-ministers, and they are +evidently bent on vengeance and a furious opposition. I fell in with +Lord Drumlanrig and Ousely Higgins yesterday morning, one a moderate +Derbyite (always Free Trader), the other an Irish Brigadier. Drumlanrig +told me he knew of several adherents of Derby who were resolved to give +the new Government fair play, and would not rush into opposition, and +Ousely Higgins said he thought the Irish would be all right, especially +if, as the report ran, Granville was sent to Ireland; but there is no +counting on the Irish Brigade, whose object it is to embarrass every +Government. If they could be friendly to any, it would, however, be one +composed of Aberdeen, Graham, and Gladstone, the opponents of the +Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. + +[Footnote 1: Sir Edward Burtenshaw Sugden was one of the most eminent +equity lawyers of the day, distinguished as an advocate in the Court of +Chancery and by his important legal writings. He was twice Lord +Chancellor of Ireland under the two Administrations of Sir Robert Peel, +and he received the Great Seal of England on the formation of Lord +Derby's Administration in 1852, with a peerage under the title of Baron +St. Leonards. But he owed his celebrity and his promotion to his +eminence as a lawyer, far more than to his activity as a politician.] + + + THE DUKE OF BEDFORD CONSULTED. + +_December 22nd._--On going to The Grove yesterday afternoon, I found a +letter Clarendon had received from Lansdowne in bad spirits enough. He +had seen Aberdeen, who had received no answer from John Russell, and +Aberdeen was prepared, if he did not get his acceptance the next +morning, to give the thing up. Lansdowne was greatly alarmed and far +from confident Lord John would agree, at all events, that he would not +take the Foreign Office, in which case Lansdowne said he (Clarendon) +must take it. Nothing could look worse. This morning Clarendon received +a letter from Aberdeen announcing that Lord John had agreed to lead the +House of Commons, either without an office or with a nominal one, and +asking Clarendon to take the Foreign Office. We came up to town +together, he meaning to accept unless he can prevail on Lord John to +take it, if it be only for a time, and he is gone to see what he can do +with him. He told me last night that when he was at Woburn last week, +the Duke informed him that he had had a confidential communication from +Stockmar, asking for his advice, whom the Queen should send for if the +Government was beaten and if Derby resigned. He had just received this +letter, and had not answered it, and consulted Clarendon what he should +say. Clarendon advised him to recommend Lansdowne and Aberdeen, and he +wrote to that effect. The very morning after the division, just as they +were going hunting, the hounds meeting at the Torr, a Queen's messenger +arrived with another letter, requesting he would communicate more fully +his sentiments at the present crisis. The messenger was ordered to keep +himself secret, and not to let his mission transpire. The Duke, under +Clarendon's advice, wrote a long letter back, setting forth in detail +all that had, not long ago, passed about Palmerston and Lansdowne, and +his notions of the difficulties and exigencies of the present time. He +said that it was evident Lord John could not make a Government, and that +he was himself conscious of it. + + +_December 23rd._--It appears that on Tuesday (21st) Aberdeen went to +Palmerston, who received him very civilly, even cordially, talked of old +times, and reminded him that they had been acquainted for sixty years +(since they were at Harrow together), and had lived together in the +course of their political lives more than most men. Aberdeen offered him +the Admiralty, saying he considered it in existing circumstances the +most important office, and the one in which he could render the greatest +service to the country, but if he for any reason objected to that +office, he begged him to say what other office he would have. Palmerston +replied that he had no hostile feeling towards him, but they had for so +many years been in strong opposition to each other, that the public +would never understand his taking office in Aberdeen's Government, and +he was too old to expose himself to such misconceptions. And so they +parted, on ostensibly very friendly terms, which will probably not +prevent Palmerston's joining Derby and going into furious opposition. In +the course of the day yesterday both Clarendon and Lansdowne called on +Palmerston, and he expressed great satisfaction at Clarendon's +appointment to the Foreign Office. + +In the afternoon I called on Lady Clanricarde, who gave me to understand +that Clanricarde was likely to become a personage of considerable +influence and power (and therefore worth having), inasmuch as the Irish +Band had made overtures to him, and signified their desire to act under +his guidance. She said this was not the first overture he had received +of the kind from the same quarter; that for various reasons he had +declined the others, but she thought at the present time he might very +well listen to it; that they were very anxious to be led by a gentleman, +and a man of consideration and station in the world. All this, to which +I attach very little credit, was no doubt said to me in order to be +repeated, and that it might impress on Aberdeen and his friends and +colleagues the importance of securing Clanricarde's services and +co-operation; and I am the more confirmed in this by receiving a note +from the Marchioness in the evening, begging I would not repeat what she +had told me. + +There was nothing new yesterday in the purlieus of Whiggism, but I think +somewhat more of acquiescence, and a disposition to regard this +combination as inevitable. The Derbyites quite frenzied, and prepared to +go any lengths. Lonsdale told me the party were delighted with Derby's +intemperate speech in the House of Lords, which seems to have been +rehearsed at his own meeting the same morning; and the other day twenty +ruffians of the Carlton Club gave a dinner there to Beresford, to +celebrate what they consider his acquittal! After dinner, when they got +drunk, they went upstairs, and finding Gladstone alone in the +drawing-room, some of them proposed to throw him out of the window. This +they did not quite dare to do, but contented themselves with giving some +insulting message or order to the waiter, and then went away. + + + LORD PALMERSTON ACCEPTS OFFICE. + +_Hatchford, Friday, 24th._--The great event of yesterday was +Palmerston's accession to the Government. Lord Lansdowne had called on +him the day before, and had, I suspect, little difficulty in persuading +him to change his determination and join the new Cabinet. He said he +would place himself in Lord Lansdowne's hands, and yesterday morning I +heard as a secret, though it was speedily published, that he had agreed +to take the Home Office. The next thing was Lord John's consent to take +the Foreign Office. This he was persuaded to do by Clarendon, who +engaged to help him in the work, and relieve him by taking it himself +the moment Lord John should find himself unequal to it, and on these +conditions he consented. It was settled that Gladstone should be +Chancellor of the Exchequer, but Delane went to Aberdeen last night for +the purpose of getting him to change this arrangement on the ground of +the difficulty there would be about the Income Tax. + +The important part of forming the Cabinet is now done, and nothing +remains but the allotment of the places. It will be wonderfully strong +in point of ability, and in this respect exhibit a marked contrast with +the last; but its very excellence in this respect may prove a source of +weakness, and eventually of disunion. The late Cabinet had two paramount +chiefs, and all the rest nonentities, and the nominal head was also a +real and predominant head. In the present Cabinet are five or six +first-rate men of equal or nearly equal pretensions, none of them likely +to acknowledge the superiority or defer to the opinions of any other, +and every one of these five or six considering himself abler and more +important than their Premier. They are all at present on very good terms +and perfectly satisfied with each other; but this satisfaction does not +extend beyond the Cabinet itself; murmurings and grumblings are already +very loud. The Whigs have never looked with much benignity on this +coalition, and they are now furious at the unequal and, as they think, +unfair distribution of places. These complaints are not without reason, +nor will it make matters better that John Russell has had no +communication with his old friends and adherents, nor made any +struggle, as it is believed, to provide for them, although his adhesion +is so indispensable that he might have made any terms and conditions he +chose. Then the Radicals, to judge from their press, are exceedingly +sulky and suspicious, and more likely to oppose than to support the new +Government. The Irish also seem disposed to assume a menacing and half +hostile attitude, and, having contributed to overthrow the last +Government, are very likely (according to the policy chalked out for +them after the election) to take an early opportunity of aiding the +Derbyites to turn out this. Thus hampered with difficulties and beset +with dangers, it is impossible to feel easy about their prospects. If, +however, they set to work vigorously to frame good measures and remove +practical and crying evils, they may excite a feeling in their favour in +the country, and may attract support enough from different quarters in +the House of Commons to go on, but I much fear that it will at best be a +perturbed and doubtful existence. Such seems the necessary condition of +every Government nowadays, and unfortunately there is a considerable +party which rejoices in such a state of things, and only desires to +aggravate the mischief, because they think its continuance and the +instability of every Government will be most conducive to the ends and +objects which they aim at. + + +_London, December 28th._--The remonstrances against Gladstone's being +Chancellor of the Exchequer were unavailing, but he says he is not tied +up by anything he said about the Income Tax. This will nevertheless be a +great difficulty, for Graham and Wood, though not perhaps so much +committed as Gladstone, are both against the alteration, which the +public voice undoubtedly demands. Last night the new Ministers took +their places on the Treasury bench, and the Tories moved over to the +opposite side. Aberdeen made his statement, which was fair enough and +not ill received, but it was ill delivered, and he omitted to say all he +might and ought to have said about Lord Lansdowne, nor did he say enough +about John Russell. He said, on the other hand, more than enough about +foreign policy, and gave Derby a good opportunity of attacking that part +of his speech. Derby was more moderate and temperate than on the first +night, and made a pretty good speech. He was wrong in dilating so much +on what had passed in the House of Commons, and he made very little of +the case of combination; he was severe on Graham and his speech at his +election at Carlisle, and Graham heard it all. Nobody else said a word. + + IRRITATION OF THE WHIGS. + +The Government is now complete, except some of the minor appointments +and the Household. It has not been a smooth and easy business by any +means, and there is anything but contentment, cordiality, and zeal in +the confederated party. The Whigs are excessively dissatisfied with the +share of places allotted to them, and complain that every Peelite +without exception has been provided for, while half the Whigs are +excluded. Though they exaggerate the case, there is a good deal of +justice in their complaints, and they have a right to murmur against +Aberdeen for not doing more for them, and John Russell for not insisting +on a larger share of patronage for his friends.[1] Clarendon told me +last night that the Peelites have behaved very ill, and have grasped at +everything, and he mentioned some very flagrant cases, in which, after +the distribution had been settled between Aberdeen and John Russell, +Newcastle and Sidney Herbert, for they appear to have been the most +active in the matter, persuaded Aberdeen to alter it and bestow or offer +offices intended for Whigs to Peelites and in some instances to +Derbyites who had been Peelites. Clarendon has been all along very +anxious to get Brougham into the Cabinet as President of the Council, +and he proposed it both to Lord John and Aberdeen, and the latter +acquiesced, and Clarendon thought it was going to be arranged that +Granville should be President of the Board of Trade, and Brougham +President of Council; but Newcastle and Sidney Herbert not only upset +this plan, but proposed that Ellenborough should be President of +Council, and then, when he was objected to, Harrowby. They also wanted +that Jersey should remain Master of the Horse, Jonathan Peel go again to +the Ordnance, and Chandos continue a Lord of the Treasury. With what +object they wished for these appointments I have not an idea, but the +very notion of them is an insult to the Whigs, and will be resented +accordingly. + +Lord Lansdowne seems to have taken little or no part in all this. He +hooked Palmerston, and, having rendered this great service, he probably +thought he had done enough. The Whigs at Brooks's are very angry, and +Bessborough told me that he thought his party so ill used, that he had +implored Lord John to withdraw even now rather than be a party to such +injustice. Lord John seems to have been very supine, and while the +Peelites were all activity, and intent on getting all they could, he let +matters take their course, and abstained from exercising the influence +in behalf of his own followers which his position and the +indispensability of his co-operation enabled him to do. This puts them +out of humour with him as much as with Aberdeen and his friends. + +We had a great reunion here (at Lord Granville's) last night, with half +the Cabinet at dinner or in the evening. I told Graham what the feelings +of the Whigs were. He said they had a very large and important share, +the Chancellors of England and of Ireland, etc., and he defended some of +the appointments and consequent exclusions on special grounds. They have +made Monsell, an Irish Catholic convert, Clerk of the Ordnance, together +with some other Irish Catholic appointments, and he said that these were +necessary in order to reconquer in Ireland what had been lost by the +Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and that it was of more consequence to +conciliate that large part of the Empire than to provide for the Ansons +and the Pagets; and on the same ground he justified the appointment of +St. Germans instead of Lord Carlisle as Lord Lieutenant. All this may be +very true, but the Whigs to be left out to make room for these +substitutes will not be convinced or pacified by the political +expediency which Graham sets forth, nor will such appointments be at all +popular here. If, however, they really should be the means of rallying +the Irish Brigade to the support of the Government, it may be patronage +well bestowed. But this makes it a disagreeable start, and may be +hereafter productive of serious consequences. Nothing can be more +shortsighted, as well as unfair, than the conduct of the Peelites in +trying to thrust their own people instead of Whigs into the offices, for +they can only hope to keep their places at all by the zealous support of +the whole Whig force, themselves bringing next to nothing in point of +numbers, and to encounter such a numerous and compact Opposition will +require the zealous co-operation of all who wish well to the Liberal +cause, and who are against Derby. Newcastle talked to me last night +about Aberdeen's speech, acknowledged its deficiencies, and said he had +told Aberdeen what he thought of it. Aberdeen acknowledged it all, said +he was so unaccustomed to make such statements, that he had forgotten or +overlooked it, and wished he could have spoken it again to repair the +omission. They all seem _at present_ very harmonious in their +intercourse. + + THE CLAIMS OF THE PEELITES. + +After dinner last night John Russell and Charles Wood went off to meet +Aberdeen, for the purpose, I believe, of settling some of the +arrangements not yet fixed. Clarendon told me that Charles Wood had been +of use in stimulating John Russell to interfere and prevent some of the +proposed changes which the Peelites wished Aberdeen to make in the list +as originally settled between him and Lord John, and it is very well +that he did. It is impossible not to see that Lord John himself, though +now willing to co-operate and do his best, has never been hearty in the +cause, nor entirely satisfied with his own position; and this has +probably made him more lukewarm, and deterred him from taking a more +active and decided part in the formation of the Government. We are just +going down to Windsor, the old Government to give up seals, wands, etc., +the new to be sworn in. They go by different railways, that they may +not meet. It is singular that I have never attended a Council during the +nine months Lord Derby was in office, not once; consequently there are +several of his Cabinet whom I do not know by sight--Pakington, Walpole, +and Henley. With my friends I resume my functions. + +[Footnote 1: It was, however, Lord John who prevented Mr. Cardwell, the +President of the Board of Trade, from having a seat in the Cabinet, on +the ground that there were already too many Peelites in it.] + + +_December 29th._--I went down to the Council yesterday at Windsor with +the _ins_, and we saw nothing of the _outs_, who went by another train +and railway. Palmerston was there, looking very ill indeed. They all +seem on very cordial terms. Graham told me he had had a very friendly +conversation with Palmerston, and was greatly rejoiced at being again +united to his old colleague. He acknowledged that it was a great mistake +in Aberdeen to have offered the Mastership of the Horse to Lord Jersey. +Aberdeen has now proposed the Lord Steward's place to Carlisle, which he +will probably not take, and possibly be offended at the offer. I suppose +Aberdeen has been subjected to pressure from various quarters, but might +have made a better selection and distribution than he has done. + + + LORD ABERDEEN'S ADMINISTRATION. + +_January 5th_, 1853.--The elections are all going on well, except +Gladstone's, who appears in great jeopardy. Nothing could exceed the +disgraceful conduct of his opponents, lying, tricking, and shuffling, as +might be expected from such a party. The best thing that could happen +for Gladstone would be to be beaten, if it were not for the triumph it +would be to the blackguards who have got up the contest; for the +representation of Oxford is always an embarrassment to a statesman, and +Peel's losing his election there in 1829 was the most fortunate event +possible for him. The only speech of the new Ministers calling for +special notice is Palmerston's at Tiverton, which appears to me to +conceal an _arrière-pensée_. He spoke in civil, even complimentary, +terms of the Derby Government, so much so, that if any break-up or +break-down should occur in this, and Lord Derby return to office, there +appears no reason why Palmerston should not form a fresh coalition with +him; and it looks very much as if he was keeping this contingency in +view, and putting himself in such an attitude as should enable him with +some plausibility to join the camp of such a restoration. + +The Cabinet of Lord Aberdeen's Administration consisted of the following +Ministers:-- + + Earl of Aberdeen First Lord of the Treasury + Lord Cranworth Lord Chancellor + Earl Granville Lord President of the Council + The Duke of Argyll Lord Privy Seal + Mr. Gladstone Chancellor of the Exchequer + Viscount Palmerston Home Secretary of State + The Duke of Newcastle Secretary for Colonies and War + Lord John Russell (and later + the Earl of Clarendon) Foreign Secretary + Sir James Graham First Lord of the Admiralty + Mr. Sidney Herbert Secretary at War + Sir Charles Wood President of the Indian Board + Sir William Molesworth First Commissioner of Works + The Marquis of Lansdowne without office. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + A Royal Commission on Reform--M. de Flahault on the Emperor + Napoleon--Lord John's Blunder--Disraeli's Negotiation with the + Irish Members--Lord Beauvale's Death--Lady Beauvale's + Grief--Napoleon III. and Mdlle. de Montijo--Parliament meets--The + Emperor's Marriage--Disraeli's Attack on Sir C. Wood--Dislike of + Mr. Disraeli--Lord John Russell leaves the Foreign Office--Lord + Stanley's Liberal Votes--Disraeli's Opinion of his Colleagues--The + Government in Smooth Water--England unpopular abroad--Massimo + d'Azeglio--The Austrians in Italy--The Bishop of Lincoln--The Duke + of Bedford's Papers--Lord Palmerston leads the House--Social + Amenities--Rancour of Northern Powers against England--Friendly + Resolution of the Emperor Napoleon III.--Difficulties at Home--The + India Bill--The Eastern Question--The Czar's Proposals--Russian + Assurances--The Royal Family. + + +_Bowood, January 12th,_ 1853.--I came here on Monday to meet the +Cannings, Harcourt,[1] and Lady Waldegrave, the Bessboroughs, +Elphinstone, Senior, and the family. Senior talked to me about the +Government and Reform, and the danger of their splitting on the latter +question and propounded a scheme he has for obviating this danger. He +wants to have a Royal Commission to enquire into the practice of bribery +at elections and the means of preventing it, or, if possible, to have an +enquiry of a more extensive and comprehensive character into the state +of the representation and the working of the Reform Bill. We talked it +over, and I told him I thought this would not be a bad expedient. He had +already spoken to Lord Lansdowne about it, who seemed not averse to the +idea, and promised to talk to Lord John Russell on the subject. Senior, +when he went away, begged me to talk to Lord Lansdowne also, which I +attempted to do, but without success, for he seemed quite indisposed to +enter upon it. + +[Footnote 1: George Granville Harcourt, Esq., M.P., eldest son of the +Archbishop of York, and third husband of Frances, Countess of +Waldegrave.] + + + LORD JOHN'S ARRANGEMENT DISAPPROVED. + +_Beaudesert, January 19th._--To town on Saturday and here on Monday, +with the Flahaults, Bessboroughs, Ansons, my brothers and the family. +Lord Anglesey and M. de Flahault talk over their campaigns, and compare +notes on the events of Sir John Moore's retreat and other military +operations, in which they have served in opposing armies. Flahault was +aide-de-camp to Marshal Berthier till the middle of the Russian +campaign, when he became aide-de-camp to Napoleon, whom he never quitted +again till the end of his career. His accounts of what he has seen and +known are curious and interesting. He says that one of the Emperor's +greatest mistakes and the causes of his misfortunes was his habit of +ordering everything, down to the minutest arrangement, himself, and +leaving so little to the discretion and responsibility of his generals +and others that they became mere machines, and were incapable of acting, +or afraid to act, on their own judgements. On several occasions great +calamities were the consequence of this unfortunate habit of Napoleon's. + + +_London, January 24th._--The Duke of Bedford called here this morning. I +had not seen him for an age; he was just come from Windsor with a budget +of matter, which as usual he was in such a hurry that he had not time to +tell me. I got a part of it, however. I began by asking him how he had +left them all at Windsor, to which he replied that the state of things +was not very satisfactory. The Queen disapproved Lord John's arrangement +for giving up the seals of the Foreign Office on a given day (the 15th +February) which had not been previously explained to her Majesty, as it +ought to have been. She said that she should make no objection if any +good reason could be assigned for what was proposed, either of a public +or a private nature, any reason connected with his health or with the +transaction of business, but she thought, and she is right, that fixing +beforehand a particular day, without any special necessity occurring, is +very unreasonable and absurd. Then they are all very angry with Lord +John for an exceeding piece of folly of his, in announcing to the +Foreign Ministers, the day he received them, that he was only to be at +the Foreign Office for a few weeks. This, as the Duke said, was a most +unwise and improper communication, particularly as it was made without +any concert with Aberdeen, and without his knowledge, and, in fact, +blurted out with the same sort of levity that was apparent in the Durham +letter and the Reform announcement, with both of which he has been so +bitterly reproached, and which have proved so inconvenient that it might +have been thought he would not fall again into similar scrapes. The +Foreign Ministers themselves were exceedingly astonished, and not a +little annoyed. Brunnow said it was a complete mockery, and they all +felt that it was unsatisfactory to be put in relation with a Foreign +Secretary who was only to be there for a few weeks. + +The Queen is delighted to have got rid of the late Ministers. She felt, +as everybody else does, that their Government was disgraced by its +shuffling and prevarication, and she said that Harcourt's pamphlet +(which was all true) was sufficient to show what they were.[1] As she is +very honourable and true herself, it was natural she should disapprove +their conduct. + + DISRAELI AND THE IRISH BRIGADE. + +Yesterday Delane called on me, and gave me an account of a curious +conversation he had had with Disraeli. Disraeli asked him to call on +him, which he did, when they talked over recent events and the fall of +the late Government, very frankly, it would seem, on Disraeli's part. He +acknowledged that he had been bitterly mortified. When Delane asked him, +'now it was all over,' what made him produce such a Budget, he said, if +he had not been thwarted and disappointed, he should have carried it by +the aid of the Irish Brigade whom he had _engaged_ for that purpose. +Just before the debate, one of them came to him and said, if he would +agree to refer Sharman Crawford's Tenant Right Bill to the Select +Committee with the Government Bill, they would all vote with him. He +thought this too good a bargain to miss, and he closed with his friend +on those terms, told Walpole what he had arranged, desired him to carry +out the bargain, and the thing was done. No sooner was the announcement +made than Lord Naas and Sir Joseph Napier[2] (who had never been +informed) came in a great fury to Disraeli and Walpole, complained of +the way they had been treated, and threatened to resign. With great +difficulty he pacified or rather silenced them, and he was in hopes the +storm had blown over, but the next day he found Naas and Napier had gone +to Lord Derby with their complaints, and he now found the latter full of +wrath and indignation likewise; for Lord Roden, who had heard something +of this compromise (i.e. of the Tenant Right Bill being referred to +Committee), announced his intention of asking Lord Derby a question in +the House of Lords. Added to this, as soon as the news reached Dublin, +Lord Eglinton and Blackburne testified the same resentment as Naas and +Napier had done, and threatened to resign likewise. All this produced a +prodigious flare up. Disraeli represented that it was his business to +make the Budget succeed by such means as he could, that the votes of the +Brigade would decide it either way, and that he had made a very good +bargain, as he had pledged himself to nothing more, and never had any +intention of giving any _suite_ to what had been done, so that it could +not signify. He did not succeed in appeasing Lord Derby, who, a night or +two after in the Lords, repudiated all participation in what had been +done, and attacked the Irishmen very bitterly. Disraeli heard this +speech, and saw at once that it would be fatal to the Budget and to +them, as it proved, for the whole Brigade voted in a body against the +Government, and gave a majority to the other side. He seemed in pretty +good spirits as to the future, though without for the present any +definite purpose. He thinks the bulk of the party will keep together. +Delane asked him what he would have done with such a Budget if he had +carried it. + +He said they should have remodelled their Government, Palmerston and +Gladstone would have joined them (_Gladstone_ after the debate and their +duel!); during the intervening two or three months the Budget would have +been discussed in the country, what was liked retained, what was +unpopular altered, and in the end they should have produced a very good +Budget which the country would have taken gladly. He never seems to have +given a thought to any consideration of political morality, honesty, or +truth, in all that he said. The moral of the whole is, that let what +will happen it will be very difficult to bring Lord Derby and Disraeli +together again. They must regard each other with real, if not avowed, +distrust and dislike. Disraeli said that Derby's position in life and +his fortune were so different from his, that their several courses must +be influenced accordingly. It is easy to conceive how Lord Derby, +embarked (no matter how or why) in such a contest, should strain every +nerve to succeed and fight it out; but the thing once broken up, he +would not be very likely to place himself again in such a situation, and +to encounter the endless difficulties, dangers, and mortifications +attendant upon the lead of such a party, and above all the necessity of +trusting entirely to such a colleague as Disraeli in the House of +Commons without one other man of a grain of capacity besides. As it is, +he will probably betake himself to the enjoyment of his pleasures and +pursuits, till he is recalled to political life by some fresh excitement +and interest that time and circumstances may throw in his way; but let +what will happen, I doubt his encountering again the troubles and +trammels of office.[3] + +[Footnote 1: Mr. William Harcourt published a pamphlet at this time on +'The Morality of Public Men,' in which he censured with great severity +the conduct of the late Ministers.] + +[Footnote 2: Lord Naas was Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Sir Joseph +Napier Attorney-General for Ireland, in Lord Derby's Administration of +1852. Lord Eglinton was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and the Right Hon. +Francis Blackburne Irish Lord Chancellor.] + +[Footnote 3: A singularly unfortunate prediction! The alliance of Lord +Derby and Mr. Disraeli remained unbroken, and continued long enough to +enable them (after a second failure) to bring the Conservative party +back to power.] + + + DEATH OF LORD BEAUVALE. + +_January 30th._--Yesterday morning Frederic Lamb, Lord Beauvale and +Melbourne, with whom both titles cease, died at Brocket after a short +but severe attack of influenza, fever, and gout. He was in his +seventy-first year. Lady Palmerston thus becomes a rich heiress. He was +not so remarkable a man in character as his brother William, less +peculiar and eccentric, more like other people, with much less of +literary acquirement, less caustic humour and pungent wit, but he had a +vigorous understanding, great quickness, a good deal of general +information, he was likewise well versed in business and public affairs, +and a very sensible and intelligent converser and correspondent. He took +a deep and lively interest in politics to the last moment of his life, +was insatiably curious about all that was going on, and was much +confided in and consulted by many people of very different parties and +opinions. He never was in Parliament, but engaged all his life in a +diplomatic career, for which he was very well fitted, having been +extremely handsome in his youth, and always very clever, agreeable, and +adroit. He consequently ran it with great success, and was in high +estimation at Vienna, where his brother-in-law, Palmerston, sent him as +Ambassador. He was always much addicted to gallantry, and had endless +liaisons with women, most of whom continued to be his friends long after +they had ceased to be his mistresses, much to the credit of all parties. +After having led a very free and dissolute life, he had the good fortune +at sixty years old, and with a broken and enfeebled constitution, to +settle (as it is called), by marrying a charming girl of twenty, the +daughter of the Prussian Minister at Vienna, Count Maltzahn. This Adine, +who was content to unite her May to his December, was to him a perfect +angel, devoting her youthful energies to sustain and cheer his +valetudinarian existence with a cheerful unselfishness, which he repaid +by a grateful and tender affection, having an air at once marital and +paternal. She never cared to go anywhere, gave up all commerce with the +world and all its amusements and pleasures, contenting herself with such +society as it suited him to gather about them, his old friends and some +new ones, to whom she did the honours with infinite grace and +cordiality, and who all regarded her with great admiration and respect. +In such social intercourse, in political gossip, and in her untiring +attentions, his last years glided away, not without enjoyment. He and +his brother William had always been on very intimate terms, and William +highly prized his advice and opinions; but as Frederic was at heart a +Tory, and had a horror of Radicalism in every shape, he was not seldom +disgusted with the conduct of the Whig Government, and used sorely to +perplex and mortify William by his free and severe strictures on him and +his colleagues. He nominally belonged to the Liberal party, but in +reality he was strongly Conservative, and he always dreaded the progress +of democracy, though less disturbed than he would otherwise have been by +reflecting that no material alteration could possibly overtake him. His +most intimate friends abroad were the Metternichs and Madame de Lieven, +and his notions of foreign policy were extremely congenial to theirs. +Here, his connexions all lying with people of the Liberal side, he had +nothing to do with the Tories, for most of whom he entertained great +contempt. Brougham, Ellice, and myself were the men he was most intimate +with. He was very fond of his sister, but never much liked Palmerston, +and was bitterly opposed to his policy when he was at the Foreign +Office, which was a very sore subject between himself and them, and for +a long time, and on many occasions, embittered or interrupted their +intercourse; but as he was naturally affectionate, had a very good +temper, and loved an easy life, such clouds were always soon dispersed, +and no permanent estrangement ever took place. He was largely endowed +with social merits and virtues, without having or affecting any claim to +those of a higher or moral character. I have no doubt he was much more +amiable as an old man than he ever had been when he was a young one; and +though the death of one so retired from the world can make little or no +sensation in it, except as being the last of a remarkable family, he +will be sincerely regretted, and his loss will be sensibly felt by the +few who enjoyed the intimacy of his declining years. + + + LADY BEAUVALE. + +_February 8th._--Yesterday I went to see the unhappy Lady Beauvale, and, +apart from the sorrow of witnessing so much bodily and mental suffering, +it is really a singular and extraordinary case. Here is a woman +thirty-two years old, and therefore in the prime of life, who has lost a +husband of seventy-one deprived of the use of his limbs, and whom she +had nursed for ten years, the period of their union, with the probable +or possible fatal termination of his frequent attacks of gout constantly +before her eyes, and she is not merely plunged in great grief at the +loss she has sustained, but in a blank and hopeless despair, which in +its moral and physical effects seriously menaces her own existence. She +is calm, reasonable and docile, talks of him and his illness without any +excitement, and is ready to do everything that her friends advise; but +she is earnestly desirous to die, considers her sole business on earth +as finished, and talks as if the prolongation of her own life could only +be an unmitigated evil and intolerable burden, and that no ray of hope +was left for her of any possibility of happiness or even peace and ease +for the future. She is in fact brokenhearted, and that for a man old +enough to be her grandfather and a martyr to disease and infirmity; but +to her he was everything; she had consecrated her life to the +preservation of his, and she kept his vital flame alive with the +unwearied watching of a Vestal priestess. She had made him an object and +an idol round which all the feelings and even passion of an affectionate +heart had entwined themselves, till at last she had merged her very +existence in his, and only lived in, with, and for him. She saw and felt +that he enjoyed life, and she made it her object to promote and prolong +this enjoyment. 'Why,' she says, 'could I not save him now, as I saved +him heretofore?' and not having been able to do so, she regards her own +life as utterly useless and unnecessary, and only hopes to be relieved +of it that she may (as she believes and expects) be enabled to join him +in some other world.[1] + + +[Footnote 1: She lived, however, and married Lord Forester, _en +secondes noces_, in 1856.] + + +_February 9th._--Yesterday Clarendon told me a curious thing about the +Emperor Napoleon and his marriage, which came in a roundabout way, but +which no doubt is true. Madame de Montijo's most intimate friend is the +Marchioness of Santa Cruz, and to her she wrote an account of what had +passed about her daughter's marriage and the Emperor's proposal to her. +When he offered her marriage, she expressed her sense of the greatness +of the position to which he proposed to raise her. He replied, 'It is +only fair that I should set before you the whole truth, and let you know +that if the position is very high, it is also perhaps very dangerous and +insecure.' He then represented to her in detail all the dangers with +which he was environed, his unpopularity with the higher classes, the +_malveillance_ of the Great Powers, the possibility of his being any day +assassinated at her side, his popularity indeed with the masses, but the +fleeting character of their favour, but above all the existence of a +good deal of disaffection and hostility in the army, the most serious +thing of all. If this latter danger, he said, were to become more +formidable, he knew very well how to avert it by a war; and though his +earnest desire was to maintain peace, if no other means of +self-preservation should remain, he should not shrink from that, which +would at once rally the whole army to one common feeling. All this he +told her with entire frankness, and without concealing the perils of his +position, or his sense of them, and it is one of the most creditable +traits I have ever heard of him. It was, of course, calculated to engage +and attach any woman of high spirit and generosity, and it seems to have +had that effect upon her. It is, however, curious in many ways; it +reveals a sense of danger that is not apparently suspected, and his +consciousness of it; and it shows how, in spite of a sincere wish to +maintain peace, he may be driven to make war as a means of +self-preservation, and therefore how entirely necessary it is that we +should be on our guard, and not relax our defensive preparations. I was +sure from the conversations I had with M. de Flahault at Beaudesert, +that he feels the Emperor's situation to be one of insecurity and +hazard. He said that it remained to be seen whether it was possible that +a Government could be maintained permanently in France on the principle +of the total suppression of civil and political liberty, which had the +support of the masses, but which was abhorred and opposed by all the +elevated and educated classes. The limbs of the body politic are with +the Emperor, and the head against him. + + +_February 11th._--Parliament met again last night. Lord Derby threw off +in the Lords by asking Lord Aberdeen what the Government meant to do, +which Aberdeen awkwardly and foolishly enough declined to give any +answer to. The scene was rather ridiculous, and not creditable, I think, +to Aberdeen. He is unfortunately a very bad speaker at all times, and, +what is worse in a Prime Minister, has no readiness whatever. Lord +Lansdowne would have made a very pretty and dexterous flourish, and +answered the question. Lord John did announce in the House of Commons +what the Government mean to do and not to do, but they say he did it +ill, and it was very flat, not a _brilliant_ throw-off at all. + + + MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON III. + +_February 16th._--Yesterday Cowley arrived from Paris. He called on me, +and gave me an account of the state of things there and some curious +details about the Emperor's marriage and his abortive matrimonial +projects. He confirms the account of Louis Napoleon's position set forth +in Madame de Montijo's letter. The effect of his marriage has been very +damaging everywhere, and the French people were not at all pleased at +his calling himself a 'parvenu,' which mortified their vanity, inasmuch +as they did not like to appear as having thrown themselves at the feet +of a parvenu. For some time before the marriage was declared, Cowley, +from what he saw and the information he received, began to suspect it +would take place, and reported it to John Russell. Just about this time +Walewski went to Paris, and when Cowley saw him he told him so. Walewski +expressed the greatest surprise as well as mortification, and imparted +to Cowley that a negotiation had been and still was going on for the +Emperor's marriage with the Princess Adelaide of Hohenlohe, the Queen's +niece, at that time and still with the Queen in England. This was begun +by Lord Malmesbury, and the Emperor had regularly proposed to her +through her father. A very civil answer had been sent by the Prince, in +which he said that he would not dispose of his daughter's hand without +her consent, and that he had referred the proposal to her, and she +should decide for herself. The Queen had behaved very well, and had +abstained from giving any advice or expressing any opinion on the +subject. They were then expecting the young Princess's decision. This +being the case, Cowley advised Walewski to exert his influence to stop +the demonstrations that were going on between the Emperor and Mlle. di +Montijo, which might seriously interfere with this plan. The next day +Walewski told Cowley that he had seen the Emperor, who took him by both +hands, and said, 'Mon cher, je suis pris,' and then told him he had +resolved to marry Mlle. de Montijo. However, on Walewski representing +the state of the other affair, he agreed to wait for the Princess +Adelaide's answer, but said, if it was unfavourable, he would conclude +the other affair, but if the Princess accepted him he would marry her. +The day following the answer came: very civil, but declining on the +ground of her youth and inexperience, and not feeling equal to such a +position. The same day the Emperor proposed to the Empress. Cowley says +he is evidently much changed since his marriage, and that he is +conscious of his unpopularity and the additional insecurity in which it +has involved his position. + + +_February 19th._--Lord Cowley told me something more about the marriage. +He saw the Queen on Thursday (17th), who told him all about it. The +first step was taken by Morny, who wrote to Malmesbury, and requested +him to propose it, stating that the Emperor's principal object in it was +to 'resserrer les liens entre les deux pays.' Malmesbury accordingly +wrote to the Queen on the subject. She was annoyed, justly considering +that the proposal, with the reason given, placed her in a very awkward +situation, and that it ought not to have been mentioned to her at all. +The result was what has been already stated, but with this difference, +that the Queen set her face against the match, although the girl, if +left to herself, would have accepted the offer. However, nobody knows +this, and they are very anxious these details should not transpire. The +two accounts I have given of this transaction seem to me to afford a +good illustration of the uncertainty of the best authenticated +historical statements. Nothing could appear more to be relied on than +the accuracy of Cowley's first account to me, and if I had not seen him +again, or if he had not imparted to me his conversation with the Queen, +that account would have stood uncorrected, and an inaccurate version of +the story would have been preserved, and might hereafter have been made +public, and, unless corrected by some other contemporaneous narrative, +would probably have been taken as true. The matter in itself is not very +important, but such errors unquestionably are liable to occur in matters +of greater moment, and actually do occur, fully justifying the +apocryphal character which has been ascribed to almost every historical +work.[1] + +The Queen seems to be intensely curious about the Court of France and +all details connected with it, and on the other hand Louis Napoleon has +been equally curious about the etiquette observed in the English Court, +and desirous of assimilating his to ours, which in great measure he +appears to have done. + + DISRAELI'S ATTACK ON SIR CHARLES WOOD. + +Last night there was the first field day in the House of Commons, +Disraeli having made an elaborate and bitter attack on the Government, +but especially on Charles Wood and Graham, under the pretence of asking +questions respecting our foreign relations, and more particularly with +France.[2] His speech was very long, in most parts very tiresome, but +with a good deal of ability, and a liberal infusion of that sarcastic +vituperation which is his great forte, and which always amuses the House +of Commons more or less. It was, however, a speech of devilish +malignity, quite reckless and shamelessly profligate; for the whole +scope of it was, if possible, to envenom any bad feeling that may +possibly exist between France and England, and, by the most exaggerated +representations of the offence given by two of the Ministers to the +French Government and nation, to exasperate the latter, and to make it a +point of honour with them to resent it, even to the extent of a quarrel +with us. Happily its factious violence was so great as to disgust even +the people on his own side, and the French Government is too really +desirous of peace and harmony to pay any attention to the rant of a +disappointed adventurer, whose motives and object are quite transparent. + +[Footnote 1: Further details with reference to the marriage of the +Emperor will be found in Lord Malmesbury's _Memoirs_, vol. i. pp. 374 +and 378, which confirm Mr. Greville's narrative.] + +[Footnote 2: Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, made +a speech to his constituents at Halifax on February 3, in which he +commented in severe language on the despotic character of the Imperial +Government of France. The speech was thought to be unbecoming in the +mouth of a Cabinet minister, and Sir Charles apologised for it. But Mr. +Disraeli made it the subject of a fierce attack in the House of +Commons.] + + +_February 20th._--Disraeli's speech on Friday night was evidently a +political blunder, which has injured him in the general opinion, and +disgusted his own party. It is asserted that he communicated his +intention to his followers, who disapproved of it, but he nevertheless +persisted. The speech itself was too long; it was dull and full of +useless truisms in the first part, but clever and brilliant in the last; +and his personalities were very smart and well aimed; but there was not +a particle of truth and sincerity in it; it was a mere vituperation and +factious display, calculated to do mischief if it produced any effect at +all, and quite unbecoming a man who had just been a Minister of the +Crown and leader of the House of Commons, and who ought to have been +animated by higher motives and more patriotic views. This was what the +more sensible men of the party felt, and Tom Baring, the most sensible +and respectable of the Derbyites, and the man of the greatest weight +amongst them, told me himself that he was so much disgusted that he was +on the point of getting up to disavow him, and it is much to be +regretted, as I told him, that such a rebuke was not administered from +such a quarter. It does not look as if the connexion between Disraeli +and the party could go on long. Their dread and distrust of him and his +contempt of them render it difficult if not impossible. Pakington is +already talked of as their leader, and some think Disraeli wants to +shake them off and trade on his own bottom, trusting to his great +abilities to make his way to political power with somebody and on some +principles, about neither of which he would be very nice. Tom Baring +said to me last night, 'Can't you make room for him in this Coalition +Government?' I said, 'Why, will you give him to us?' 'Oh, yes,' he said, +'you shall have him with pleasure.' + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL LEAVES THE FOREIGN OFFICE. + +Lord John Russell has taken leave of the Foreign Office, and has had an +interview with the Queen and Prince, satisfactory to both. She has been +all along considerably annoyed at the arrangement made about his taking +the Foreign Office only to quit it, and his leading the House of Commons +without any office, which she fancies is unconstitutional, and the +arrangement was announced in the newspapers without any proper +communication to her. The consequence has been some little soreness on +both sides, but this has now been all removed by explanations and +amicable communication. The Queen attacked him on the constitutional +ground, but here _elle l'a pris par son fort_, and he easily bowled over +this objection.[1] Then she expressed her fear lest it should be drawn +into a precedent, which might be inconvenient in other cases, to which +he replied that he thought there was little fear of anybody wishing to +follow the precedent of a man taking upon himself a vast amount of +labour without any pay at all. Then she said that a man independent of +office might consider himself independent of the Crown also, and +postpone its interests to popular requirements; which he answered by +saying that he did not think any Minister, as it was, thought very much +of the Crown as contradistinguished from the people, and that he was not +less likely to take such a part as she apprehended by holding an office +of 5,000_l._ a year, from which a vote of the House of Commons could at +any moment expel him. + +[Footnote 1: The objection taken by Her Majesty was to Lord John +Russell's proposal that he should retain his seat in the Cabinet and the +leadership of the House of Commons without holding any special office in +the Government. But in fact, as a Privy Councillor of the Crown, a +Minister, with or without office, is under precisely the same +obligations to the Sovereign and to Parliament. He appears to have +satisfied them both, and to be satisfied himself, which is still more +important.] + + +_February 25th._--The Jew question and the Maynooth question have been +got over in the House of Commons without much debate, but by small +majorities. The most remarkable incident was young Stanley[1] voting +with the majority in both questions, and speaking on Maynooth, and well. +As he is pretty sure to act a conspicuous part, it is good to see him +taking a wise and liberal line. Disraeli voted for the Jews, but did not +speak, which was very base of him. Last night I met Tomline at dinner, +who is a friend of his, and told me a great deal about him. He has a +good opinion of him, that is, that he has a good disposition, but his +personal position perverts him in great measure. He says he dislikes and +despises Derby, thinks him a good 'Saxon' speaker and nothing more, has +a great contempt for his party, particularly for Pakington, whom they +seem to think of setting up as leader in his place. The man in the House +of Commons whom he most fears as an opponent is Gladstone. He has the +highest opinion of his ability, and he respects Graham as a statesman. +Tomline told me that his system of attacking the late Sir Robert Peel +was settled after this manner. When the great schism took place, three +of the seceders went to Disraeli (Miles, Tyrrel, and a third whom I have +forgotten), and proposed to him to attack and vilify Peel regularly, but +with discretion; not to fatigue and disgust the House, to make a speech +against him about once a fortnight or so, and promised if he would that +a constant and regular attendance of a certain number of men should be +there to cheer and support him, remarking that nobody was ever efficient +in the House of Commons without this support certain.[2] He desired +twenty minutes to consider of this offer, and finally accepted it. We +have seen the result, a curious beginning of an important political +career. Now they dread and hate him, for they know in his heart he has +no sympathy with them, and that he has no truth or sincerity in his +conduct or speeches, and would throw them over if he thought it his +interest. + +[Footnote 1: The present Earl of Derby, who succeeded his father as +fifteenth Earl in 1869. He entered public life as Under Secretary of +State for Foreign Affairs in 1852.] + +[Footnote 2: This anecdote is related on the authority of Mr. Tomline +as stated in the text. It was mentioned in the lifetime of Lord +Beaconsfield, and in justice to him it must be said that he altogether +denied the truth of the story.] + + + WHIG MALCONTENTS. + +_March 1st._--The Government seem upon the whole to be going on +prosperously. They have at present no difficulty in the House of +Commons, where there is no disposition to oppose their measures, and an +appearance of moderation generally, which promises an easy Session. John +Russell has spoken well, and seems to have recovered a great share of +the popularity he had lost. Aberdeen has done very well in the House of +Lords, his answers to various 'questions' having been discreet, +temperate, and judicious; in short, up to this time the horizon is +tolerably clear. On the other hand the divisions have presented meagre +majorities, and the Government have no _power_ in the House of Commons, +and live on the goodwill or forbearance of the several fractions of +which it is composed. John Russell is in his heart not satisfied with +his present position, and not animated with any spirit of zeal or +cordiality, though he is sure to act honestly and fairly the part he has +undertaken. There is still a good deal of lurking discontent and +resentment on the part of those who were left out, and of the Whig party +generally, who are only half reconciled to following the banner of a +Peelite premier; of the malcontents the principal are Carlisle and +Clanricarde, who are both in different ways very sore; Normanby is +dissatisfied, Labouchere, Seymour, and George Grey not pleased, but +except Clanricarde none have shown any disposition to withhold their +support from the Government, or even to carp at them. Aberdeen seems to +have no notion of being anything but a _real_ Prime Minister. He means +to exercise a large influence in the management of foreign affairs, +which he considers to be the peculiar, if not exclusive, province of +himself and Clarendon. Palmerston does not interfere with them at all, +but he must do so, if any important questions arise for the Cabinet to +decide, and then it is very likely some dissension will be the +consequence. There are four ex-Secretaries for foreign affairs in this +Cabinet, all of whom will naturally take part in any discussion of +moment. Argyll began rather unluckily, running his head indiscreetly +against Ellenborough on an Indian petition. He is burning with +impatience to distinguish himself, and broke out too soon, and out of +season; but he was not unconscious of his error, and it will probably be +of use to him to have met with a little check at his outset, and teach +him to be more discreet. He spoke again last night, and very well, on +the Clergy reserves, when there was a brilliant passage of arms in the +Lords, in which Lord Derby and the Bishops of Exeter and Oxford +distinguished themselves. + +News came by telegraph last night that the dispute between Turkey and +Austria is settled, which will relieve us from a great difficulty. If it +had gone on, we should have had a difficult part to play, and unluckily +the good understanding that was reviving between us and Vienna has all +been upset by the late attempt on the Emperor's life,[1] which has +thrown the Austrians into a ferment, and renewed all their bitter +resentment against us for harbouring Kossuth and Mazzini, to whom they +attribute both the _émeute_ at Milan and the assassination at Vienna +severally. They are no doubt right about Mazzini and wrong about +Kossuth, but fortunately for us the first is not in England and has been +abroad for some time, and it will probably be impossible to bring any +evidence against Kossuth to connect him with the Hungarian assassin. But +these troubles and attempts, the origin of which is attributed to men +residing here, and, though neglected by the Government, more or less +objects of popular favour and sympathy, render all relations of amity +impossible between our Government and theirs, and the disunion is +aggravated by our absurd meddling with such cases as the Madiai and +Murray at Florence and at Rome, which are no concern of ours, and which +our Government does in compliance with Protestant bigotry. What makes +our conduct the more absurd is that we do more harm than good to the +objects of our interest, for no Government can, with any regard to its +own dignity and independence, yield to our dictation and impertinent +interference. The Grand Duke of Tuscany said that the Madiai would have +been let out of prison long ago but for our interference. John Russell's +published letter on this subject, which was very palateable to the +public, was as objectionable as possible, and quite as insolent and +presumptuous as any Palmerston used to write. + + AUSTRIAN OPPRESSION IN ITALY. + +Last night the Marquis Massimo d'Azeglio came here. He was Prime +Minister in Piedmont till replaced by Count Cavour, and is come to join +his nephew, who is Minister here. He is a tall, thin, dignified looking +man, with very pleasing manners. He gave us a shocking account of the +conduct of the Austrians at Milan in consequence of the recent outbreak. +Their tyranny and cruelty have been more like the deeds in the middle +ages than those in our own time; wantonly putting people to death +without trial or even the slightest semblance of guilt, plundering and +confiscating, and in every respect acting in a manner equally barbarous +and impolitic. They have thrown away a good opportunity of improving +their own moral status in Italy, and completely played the game of their +enemies by increasing the national hatred against them tenfold. If ever +France finds it her interest to go to war,[2] Italy will be her mark, +for she will now find the whole population in her favour, and would be +joined by Sardinia, who would be too happy to revenge her former +reverses with French aid; nor would it be possible for this country to +support Austria in a war to secure that Italian dominion which she has +so monstrously abused. + +[Footnote 1: The Emperor of Austria was stabbed in the neck on February +18, by Joseph Libeny, on the ramparts of Vienna, fortunately without +serious consequences. The assassin had not the remotest connexion with +anyone in this country.] + +[Footnote 2: Remarkable prediction, verified in 1859.] + + +_March 3rd._--Lord Aberdeen has gained great credit by making Mr. +Jackson, Rector of St. James's, Bishop of Lincoln. He is a man without +political patronage or connexion, and with no recommendation but his +extraordinary merit both as a parish priest and a preacher. Such an +appointment is creditable, wise, and popular, and will strengthen the +Government by conciliating the moderate and sincere friends of the +Church. + +The Duke of Bedford writes to me about his papers and voluminous +correspondence, which he has been thinking of overhauling and arranging, +but he shrinks from such a laborious task. He says: 'With respect to my +political correspondence, it has been unusually interesting and +remarkable. I came so early into public life, have been so mixed up with +everything, have known the political chief of my own party so +intimately, and of the Tory party also to a limited extent, that there +is no great affair of my own time I have not been well acquainted with.' +This is very true, and his correspondence, whenever it sees the light, +will be more interesting, and contribute more historical information, +than that of any other man who has been engaged in public life. The +papers of Peel and of the Duke of Wellington may be more important, but +I doubt their's being more interesting, because the Duke of Bedford's +will be of a more miscellaneous and comprehensive character; and though +his abilities are not of a very high order, his judgement is sound, his +mind is unprejudiced and candid, and he is a sincere worshipper of +truth. + +For the last few days John Russell has been kept away from the House of +Commons by the death of the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, when Palmerston +has been acting as leader, taking that post as naturally and undoubtedly +belonging to him, and his right to it being entirely acquiesced in by +his colleagues of both camps. They say that he has given great +satisfaction to the House, where he is regarded with the same favour and +inclination as heretofore, and _personally_ much more acceptable than +Lord John. Cobden dined with John Russell the other day, and, what is +more remarkable, Bessborough told me he met Roden at dinner the other +day at the Castle at Dublin, St. Germans and he on very goodhumoured +terms. These are striking examples of the compatibility of the strongest +political difference with social amenities. Cobden, however, is not in +regular opposition to the Government, but in great measure a supporter. + + + ALLIANCE OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND. + +_March 10th._--I met M. de Flahault last night, just returned from +Paris. He said that he found there a rancour and violence against us +amongst the Austrians, and Russians and Prussians no less, quite +inconceivable. He talked to them all and represented to them the +absurdity of their suppositions and exigencies, but without the +slightest effect; he found the Emperor, however, in a very different +frame of mind, understanding perfectly the position of the English +Government, and completely determined to maintain his alliance with us, +and not to yield to the tempting cajolery of the Continental Powers, who +want him to make common cause with them against us. Such is their +madness and their passion, and such the necessity, real or fancied, in +which they are placed by the revolutionary fire which is still +smouldering everywhere, and their own detestable misgovernment (at least +that of Austria, which the others abet), that they are ready to +cooperate with France in coercing and weakening us, and to sacrifice all +the great and traditional policy of Europe, in order to wage war against +the stronghold and only asylum of constitutional principles and +government. + +Flahault said that the Emperor has had an opportunity of placing himself +in the first year of his reign in a situation which was the great object +of his uncle's life, and which he never could attain. He might have been +at the head of a European league against us, for these powers have +signified to him their willingness to follow him in such a crusade, the +Emperor of Russia and he being on the best terms, and a cordial +interchange of letters having taken place between them. But Napoleon has +had the wisdom and the magnanimity to resist the bait, to decline these +overtures, and to resolve on adherence to England. Flahault said that he +had had an audience, at which he frankly and freely told the Emperor his +own opinion, not being without apprehension that it would be +unpalateable to him, and not coincident with his own views. While he was +talking to him, he saw him smile, which he interpreted into a sentiment +that he (Flahault) was too _English_ for him in his language and +opinions, and he said so. The Emperor said, 'I smiled because you so +exactly expressed my own opinions,' and then he told him that he took +exactly the same view of what his true policy was that Flahault himself +did. Flahault suggested to him that, in spite of the civilities shown +him by the Northern Powers, they did not, and never would, consider him +as one of themselves, and they only wanted to make him the instrument of +their policy or their vengeance; and he reminded him that while England +had at once recognised him, they were not only in no hurry to do so, but +if England had not recognised him as she did, he would not have been +recognised by any one of those Powers to this day, all which he +acknowledged to be true. + + HOSTILITY OF AUSTRIA. + +The prevailing feeling against England which Flahault found at Paris has +been proved on innumerable occasions. Clarendon is well aware of it, and +does his best, but with very little success, to bring the foreign +Ministers and others to reason. Madame de Lieven writes to me in this +strain, and even liberal and intelligent foreigners like Alfred Potocki, +who has been accused of being a rebel in Austria, writes that we ought +to expel the refugees. At Vienna the people are persuaded that there is +some indirect and undefinable participation on the part of the British +Government in the insurrectionary and homicidal acts of Milan and +Vienna, and they have got a story that the assassin Libeny had a letter +of Palmerston's in his shoe. Unreasonable as all this is, we ought to +make great allowance for their excited feelings, for they have a case +against us of a cumulative character. It goes back a long way, and +embraces many objects and details, and is principally attributable to +Palmerston, partly to his doings, and perhaps more to his sayings. They +cannot forget that he has long been the implacable enemy of Austria, +that he advised her renunciation of her Italian dominions, and that he +and his agents have always sympathised with, and sometimes aided and +abetted most of the revolutionary movements that have taken place. Then +there was the Haynau affair, and the lukewarmness and indifference +which the Government of that day, and Palmerston particularly, exhibited +about it; then the reception of Kossuth, the public meetings and his +speeches, together with the speeches at them of Cobden and others of +which no notice was ever taken, and finally the transaction about +Palmerston's receiving Kossuth and his famous answer to the addresses +presented to him from Finsbury and Islington. All these things satisfy +the foreign Governments that we are not only politically but nationally +their enemies, and that we harbour their rebellious subjects out of +hatred to them, and that we regard with sympathy and a secret +satisfaction the plots which they concoct in safety here and go forth to +execute abroad. And when they are told that our laws afford these people +an asylum, which no Government has the power to deny them, and that +Parliament and public opinion will not consent to arm the Government +with the powers of restraint or coercion they do not possess, they only +explode the more loudly in denunciations against that free and +constitutional system which is not only a perpetual reproach, but, as +they think, a source of continual danger to their own. So much for +foreign affairs. + +At home, while the political sky is still serene enough, there are some +rocks ahead, and I think the Government in peril from more than one +cause. First and foremost there is the Indian question. There is +something ominous in the conjunction between a Coalition Government and +an India Bill, and if they don't take care, they will get into a +scrape.[1] The Opposition is broken and disorganised, and at present +there is no disposition on the part of the extreme Liberals to join in +any strong measures against the Government; but this is a question on +which all the scattered fractions might be made easily to combine, and +there are already symptoms of a possible combination _ad hoc_ in the +Indian Committee of the House of Commons. Lowe is very much +dissatisfied with Charles Wood, and with the intentions of Government, +and even talks of resigning; and the 'Times' is going into furious +opposition on the Indian question, and is already attacking the +Government for their supposed intentions. This, therefore, is assuming a +serious aspect. There is besides the Budget and the difficulty of the +Income Tax, and these two questions are enough to put them in great +perplexity. + +[Footnote 1: The Charter of the East India Company being about to +expire, Sir Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control, +introduced in an elaborate speech a Bill for the future government of +India by the Company, which changed the constitution and limited the +patronage of the Court of Directors. The Bill was finally passed on July +28.] + + +_March 19th._--The question of Indian government and the renewal of the +Charter is every day increasing in importance and attracting more and +more of public attention. It is a matter of great difficulty for the +Government to deal with. They are threatened by enemies, and pressed by +friends and half friends, who want them to postpone any measure for +another year or two years. They, on the contrary, stand pledged, and +think they ought to propose something this year. It presents a field on +which the various fractions of hostility and semi-hostility to the +Government may meet and combine, and perhaps place them in great +difficulty. The Committees are going on taking evidence with the +knowledge that the Government will probably not wait for their several +reports before proceeding to legislation. Granville has got the +management of the Government measures in the House of Lords, and is +working very hard at Indian affairs. Yesterday I met at dinner at +Ellice's two able men just arrived from India for the purpose of giving +evidence, a Mr. Halliday and a Mr. Marchmont. They are for maintaining +the present system, but with many reforms and alterations; they spoke +highly of Lord Dalhousie as a man of business. + + + CONVERSATION OF THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. + +_March 24th._--As I never see Clarendon now, who is entirely absorbed in +the duties of his office, he engaged me to go and dine with him alone +yesterday, that we might have a talk about all that is going on, and he +told me a great deal of one sort or another. I learnt the state of our +relations with France and Russia in reference to the Turkish business, +and he gave me to read a very curious and interesting despatch +(addressed to John Russell) from Seymour, giving an account of a long +conversation he had had with the Emperor Nicholas about Turkey and her +prospects and condition, and his own intentions and opinions, which were +amicable towards us, and very wise and moderate in themselves, +contemplating the dissolution of the Turkish Empire, disclaiming in the +strongest terms any design of occupying Constantinople--more than that, +declaring that he would not do it--but supposing the event to happen, +not thinking the solution of the problem so difficult as it is generally +regarded. He threw out that he should have no objection, if a partition +was ever to take place, that we should appropriate Egypt and Candia to +ourselves. He seems to have talked very frankly, and he said one curious +thing, which was that Russia was not without a revolutionary substratum, +which was only less apparent and less menacing than in other parts +because he possessed greater means of repression, but nevertheless that +the seeds were there. It is lucky Dundas is a prudent man, and refused +to carry his fleet up to the vicinity of the Dardanelles at Rose's +invitation, or mischief might have ensued. As it is, we disapprove of +Rose's proceedings and have approved Dundas's, at the same time ordering +him not to move without express orders from home, and moreover Clarendon +refused to give Stratford Canning any discretionary authority to send +for the fleet (though it was afterwards given), which he had asked to be +entrusted with. Clarendon is much dissatisfied with the conduct of the +French Government, who were in a great hurry to send off their fleet, +and they sent orders to sail on the mere report of what Rose had done, +and without waiting to learn the result of his application to the +Admiral; and they did this, although they knew the despatches were on +the road, and that a very few hours would put them in possession of the +actual state of the case. Moreover, Cowley moved heaven and earth to +induce Drouyn de Lhuys to withdraw the order to sail, but without +effect. They persisted in it, after they knew we were not going to stir, +and Cowley could not see the Emperor, who he says was evidently avoiding +any communication with him. Still very friendly language continues to +pass between us, and our Government are inclined to attribute this +unwise proceeding to the vanity of the French, their passion for doing +something, and above all the inexperience and want of _savoir faire_ in +high matters of diplomacy of the Emperor and his ministers. There is not +one amongst them who is fit to handle such delicate and important +questions, the Emperor, who governs everything by his own will, less +than any; and Drouyn de Lhuys, who has been for many years engaged more +or less in the Foreign Office, is a very poor and inefficient minister. + + THE EASTERN QUESTION. + +Clarendon told me he had seen Brunnow, and after recapitulating to him +all the various causes for alarm, resting on facts or on rumours, +especially with regard to Russia and her intentions, he said that our +Government had received the word of honour of the Emperor that he had no +sinister or hostile intentions, and disclaimed those that had been +imputed to him, and that on his word they relied with such implicit +confidence that he had not the slightest fear of disquietude. Brunnow +was exceedingly pleased, and said that was the way to treat the Emperor, +who would be excessively gratified, nothing being dearer to him than the +confidence and good opinion of this country, and he said he would send +off a courier the next day, and Clarendon should dictate his despatch. +The instructions given to Menschikoff have been enormously exaggerated, +the most serious and offensive parts that have been stated (the +nomination of the Greek Patriarch, &c.) being totally false.[1] I asked +what they were, and he said nothing but a string of conditions about +shrines and other ecclesiastical trifles. Walewski seems to have done +well here, condemning the conduct of his own Government, and not +concealing from them his own opinion, and entirely going along with us. +It was on Saturday night that the courier arrived with Rose's and +Dundas's despatches, and a few of the Cabinet met on Sunday at the +Admiralty to talk the matter over. Clarendon sent for John Russell from +Richmond, and he thought it advisable to summon Palmerston to this +conciliabule, to keep him in good humour, which it had the effect of +doing. There were himself, Palmerston, John Russell, Aberdeen, and +Graham. He had written to Lord John on Saturday night, and sent him the +despatches; he got an answer from him, full of very wild talk of strong +measures to be taken, and a fleet sent to the Baltic to make peremptory +demands on the Emperor of Russia. This, however, he took no notice of, +and did not say one word to Aberdeen about it, quietly letting it drop, +and accordingly he heard no more about it, nobody, he said, but me, +knowing what Lord John had proposed. I asked him what were Palmerston's +views. He replied that he did not say much, and acquiesced in his and +Aberdeen's prudent and reserved intentions, but he could see, from a few +words that casually escaped him, that he would have been ready to join +in more stringent and violent measures if they had been proposed. His +hatred of Russia is not extinguished, but as it was, there was no +expressed difference of opinion, and a general agreement. He said he had +had a prejudice against Gladstone, but he now liked him very much, and +Granville had already told me the same thing. + +Aberdeen likes his post and enjoys the consciousness of having done very +well in it. He is extremely liberal, but of a wise and well-reasoned +liberality. As it has turned out, he is far fitter for the post he +occupies than Lansdowne would have been, both morally and physically. + +The Queen is devoted to this Government, and expressed to Aberdeen the +liveliest apprehension lest they should get themselves into some scrape +with the India Bill, and entreated he would run no risks in it. +Aberdeen, in announcing this one day to the Cabinet, said that the best +thing for them to do was to bring forward a measure of so liberal and +popular a character as to make any serious opposition impossible. +Clarendon agreed in this, and I told him that this had long been my own +idea, and that what they ought to do was to throw open the civil and +military appointments to competition, and to grant appointments after +examination to qualified candidates, just as degrees are given at the +universities. We passed the whole evening together, talking over all +matters of interest, and he told me everything he knew himself. + +[Footnote 1: Whilst these pacific assurances were given in London, +Prince Menschikoff arrived in Constantinople on March 2, and commenced +that arrogant and aggressive policy which led in the course of the year +to hostilities between Russia and the Porte. It has, however, only +recently transpired, by the publication of Lord Malmesbury's _Memoirs_ +(vol. i. p. 402), that when the Emperor Nicholas came to England in +1844, he, Sir Robert Peel, then Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, +and Lord Aberdeen, then Foreign Secretary, drew up and signed a +Memorandum, the spirit and scope of which was to support Russia in her +legitimate protection of the Greek religion and the holy shrines, and to +do so without consulting France. To obtain this agreement was doubtless +the object of the Emperor's journey. It bore his own personal signature. +The existence of this Memorandum was a profound secret known only to the +Queen and to those Ministers who held in succession the seals of the +Foreign Department, each of whom transmitted it privately to his +successor. Lord Malmesbury received the document from Lord Granville, +and on leaving office in 1853 handed it to Lord John Russell. This fact, +hitherto unknown, throws an entirely new light on the causes of the +Crimean War. The Emperor of Russia naturally relied on the support of +the very ministers who had signed the agreement and were again in power, +whilst Lord Aberdeen was conscious of having entered into an engagement +wholly at variance with the course of policy into which he was +reluctantly driven.--H. R.] + + +_April 4th._--I went to Althorp last week, and returned for a Council on +Friday. After it Graham and I stayed behind, when he talked about the +Government and their prospects, which he thought pretty good; they were +going on in great harmony, and the greater, he thought, because they had +originally had such diversities of opinion. This led to a disposition to +mutual concession, and feelings of delicacy towards each other. The +Queen is extremely attached to Aberdeen, more than to any minister she +had ever had. Lord John's position anomalous and unsatisfactory, and +always a question whether he would not become disgusted and back out. +Graham said that Clarendon was doing admirably--better than he had +anticipated. + + THE ROYAL CHILDREN. + +Lady Lyttelton, whom I met at Althorp, told me a great deal about the +Queen and her children; nothing particularly interesting. She said the +Queen was very fond of them, but severe in her manner, and a strict +disciplinarian in her family. She described the Prince of Wales to be +extremely shy and timid, with very good principles, and particularly an +exact observer of truth; the Princess Royal is remarkably intelligent. I +wrote this because it will hereafter be curious to see how the boy grows +up, and what sort of performance follows this promise, though I shall +not live to see it. She spoke in very high terms of the Queen herself, +of the Prince, and of the simplicity and happiness of her private and +domestic life. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Weakness of the Government--Gladstone's Budget--A Conversation with + Disraeli--Suicidal Conduct of the Tories--Their Irritation--A + Charge against Mr. Gladstone defeated--The Stafford + Committee--Harmony of the Government--Electoral + Corruption--Impending War--Success of the Government--Macaulay's + Speech on the Judges' Exclusion Bill--Erroneous Predictions from + Paris--Unsettled Policy as to the War--Lord John's Anti-Catholic + Speech--The English and French Fleets sail for the + Dardanelles--Conduct of Austria--Russia means War--Attacks by the + Opposition--Explanations desired--Attempted Mediation--Lord + Aberdeen's Confidence shaken--Divisions of Opinion--Terms of + Accommodation--Lord Palmerston's Views--Prospect of Peace--Division + in the Lords on the Succession Duties Bill--Friendly Relations of + Lord Palmerston and Lord Clarendon--Fears of War--Hopes of + Peace--Lord Palmerston and Mr. Cobden--Rejection of the Vienna + Note--Lord Palmerston courted by the Tories--Lord John Russell's + Position--The Duke of Bedford's Part in the last Crisis--Dangers at + Constantinople--Lord Stratford's Influence--Suspected Intrigue of + France with Russia--Lord Palmerston goes to Balmoral--Sir James + Graham's View--Lord Stratford's Conduct--Importance of the Vienna + Note--A Cabinet summoned. + + +_London, April 21st_, 1853.--I have had such a bad fit of gout in my +hand, that I have been unable for some time past to write at all, though +there has been plenty to write about. The Government has been sustaining +defeats in the House of Commons on detached questions of taxation, much +to their annoyance and embarrassment, and which were more serious from +the inference to be drawn from them than for their intrinsic importance. +They were caused by the meddling and absurd crotchets of some of their +friends, and the malignity and unprincipled conduct of their enemies: +the first bringing forward motions for reduction of certain items, +merely to gratify clients or constituents, and the Tories joining with +the Radicals in voting for things which they opposed when they were +themselves in office, reckless of consistency or of consequences. But +the whole affair was unpleasant, as it displayed strikingly how little +authority the Government has over the House of Commons, and the +difficulty, if not impossibility, of carrying on the service of the +country. + + MR. GLADSTONE'S BUDGET. + +These little battles were, however, of little moment compared with the +great event of Gladstone's Budget, which came off on Monday night. He +had kept his secret so well, that nobody had the least idea what it was +to be, only it oozed out that the Income Tax was not to be +differentiated. He spoke for five hours, and by universal consent it was +one of the grandest displays and most able financial statement that ever +was heard in the House of Commons; a great scheme, boldly, skilfully, +and honestly devised, disdaining popular clamour and pressure from +without, and the execution of it absolute perfection. Even those who do +not admire the Budget, or who are injured by it, admit the merit of the +performance. It has raised Gladstone to a great political elevation, +and, what is of far greater consequence than the measure itself, has +given the country assurance of a _man_ equal to great political +necessities, and fit to lead parties and direct governments. + + +_April 22nd._--I met Gladstone last night, and had the pleasure of +congratulating him and his wife, which I did with great sincerity, for +his success is a public benefit. They have been overwhelmed with +compliments and congratulations. Prince Albert and the Queen both wrote +to him, and John Russell, who is spitefully reported to have been +jealous, has, on the contrary, shown the warmest interest and +satisfaction in his success. The only one of his colleagues who may have +been mortified is Charles Wood, who must have compared Gladstone's +triumph with his own failures. From all one can see at present, it +promises certain success, though many parts of the Budget are cavilled +at. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to find any common ground +on which Radicals or Irish can join the Derbyites to overthrow it, and +the sanguine expectations which the latter have been entertaining for +some time, of putting the Government into some inextricable fix, have +given way to perplexity and despondency; and they evidently do not know +what to do, nor how to give effect to their rancour and spite. Lord +Derby had a great meeting not many days ago, at which he recommended +union, and cheered them on in opposition, of course for form's sake, +talking of _moderation_ and _principles_, neither of which he cares a +fig for. Mischief and confusion, vengeance against the coalition, and +taking the chance of what may happen next, are all that he and Disraeli +are bent upon. I met the latter worthy in the street just before the +Budget, a day or two previous. He asked me what I thought of the state +of affairs, and I told him I thought it very unpleasant, and it seemed +next to impossible to carry on the Government at all, everybody running +riot in the House of Commons, and following his own fancies and +crotchets; nor did I see how it could be otherwise in the present state +of parties and the country; that since Peel's administration, which was +a strong Government, there had been and apparently there could be none. +The present Government was not strong, and they were perpetually +defeated, on minor points indeed, but in a way that showed they had no +power to work through Parliament. I said of course they would dissolve +if this continued, but that Gladstone's Budget might make a difference +one way or the other. Disraeli scouted the idea of a dissolution, by +which, he said, they would certainly gain nothing. Why, he asked, did +not the Peelites join us again, as they might have done, and got as good +terms as they have now, and then there would have been a strong +Government again? As I don't want to quarrel with anybody, I restrained +what it was on my lips to say--'You could not possibly expect them to +join you'--but I did tell him that, even if the present Government could +not maintain itself, of all impossible things the most impossible was +the restoration of his Government _tale quale_, to which he made no +reply. To be sure, the Protectionist seceders from Peel have now drunk +the cup of mortification, disgrace, and disaster to the very dregs. They +are a factious and (as I hope) impotent Opposition, under the +unprincipled guidance of men, who, clever and plausible though they be, +are totally destitute of wisdom, sincerity, and truth. They have not +only lost all the Protection for the maintenance of which they made such +struggles and sacrifices, but they have likewise brought upon themselves +the still heavier blow to the landed interest which is going to be +inflicted in the shape of the legacy duty. Had they possessed more +foresight, and been less violent and unreasonable, this would not have +happened to them; for if Peel's original Government had held together, +and they had been content to accept his guidance, no Budget would have +contained this measure. Schemes might have been devised to lighten their +burdens, or to increase the compensations they really have obtained in +other ways; but, be this as it may, they would certainly have been saved +from this direct impost, which I doubt if Peel himself ever +contemplated, but which he would certainly have spared them if they had +not deserted him, nor would his successors have departed from his policy +in this respect. But from first to last their conduct has been suicidal +in every respect. + + + SUICIDAL CONDUCT OF THE TORIES. + +_May 3rd._--The Government is going on very flourishingly. A capital +division in the House of Lords on the Canada Clergy Reserves Bill,[1] on +which occasion there was a scene between Derby and Clarendon, in which +both were, to my mind, in the wrong. The whole affair appears in all the +newspapers, but what does not appear is the rather absurd termination of +it, when, after much excitement and strong language interchanged, the +belligerents ended by drinking each other's healths in water across the +table. The victory in the Lords has been followed up by one still more +important in the House of Commons on the Income Tax, which was carried +by 71, a great many of the Opposition voting with Government, much to +the disgust of their friends. These divisions have filled the Derbyites +with rage and despair, and nothing can exceed their depression and their +abuse of the Budget and its authors. What vexes and provokes them so +much is the ascendency and triumph of the Peelites. They could endure +it in the Whigs, but their hatred of the name and party of Peel is +inextinguishable. + +[Footnote 1: This was a Bill abolishing the title of the Protestant +Clergy to certain portions of waste lands in the Colony.] + + +_May 15th._--At Newmarket last week, during which the Budget was making +its way very successfully through the House of Commons, where Gladstone +has it all his own way. The Speaker told me he was doing his business +there admirably well. While I was at Newmarket came out the strange +story of Gladstone and the attempt to extort money from him before the +police magistrate.[1] It created for the moment great surprise, +curiosity, and interest, but has almost entirely passed away already, +not having been taken up politically, and there being a general +disposition to believe his story and to give him credit for having had +no improper motive or purpose. Nevertheless it is a very strange affair, +and has not yet been satisfactorily explained. It is creditable in these +days of political rancour and bitterness that no malignant attempt has +been made to vilify him by his opponents or by the hostile part of the +press. On the contrary, the editor of the 'Morning Herald' wrote him a +very handsome letter in his own name and in that of the proprietor, +assuring him of their confidence in his purity and innocence, and that +nothing would induce them to put anything offensive to him in the paper, +and they had purposely inserted the police report in an obscure part of +the paper. It is very fortunate for Gladstone that he was not +intimidated and tempted to give the man money, but had the courage to +face the world's suspicions and meet the charge in so public a manner. + +[Footnote 1: An attempt had been made to extort money from Mr. +Gladstone on a spurious charge, which he met by instantly giving the +delinquent into custody and meeting the case at a police office.] + + THE STAFFORD COMMITTEE. + +The Stafford Committee has at length closed its proceedings, after +exposures of the most disgraceful kind, which are enormously damaging +not only to Augustus Stafford himself but to Lord Derby and his +Government. The Duke of Northumberland comes clear out of it as to +corruption, but cuts a wretched and ridiculous figure, having failed to +perform the duties or to exercise the authority of a First Lord while he +was at the Admiralty. Disraeli's evidence was nothing but an attempt to +shirk the question and involve it in a confusion of characteristic +verbiage which only excited ridicule. This affair has done great harm to +them as a party, and served to make them more odious and contemptible +than they were before.[1] They are now irretrievably defeated, and +though they may give much trouble and throw difficulties and +obstructions in the way of the Government, it is all they can do. Every +day adds to the strength and consistency of the Government, both from +their gaining favour and acquiring influence in the country, and from +the ruin in which the Tory party is involved, and the total +impossibility of their rallying again so as to form another Government. +This latter consideration has already produced the adhesion of some +moderate and sensible men who take a dispassionate view of affairs and +who wish for a strong and efficient Government, and it will produce +still greater effects of the same kind. + +[Footnote 1: Charges of misconduct in the department of the Admiralty +were brought against Mr. Augustus Stafford, who had held office under +the late Government. They were investigated by a Select Committee of the +House of Commons.] + + +_May 22nd._--I met in a train a day or two ago Graham and the Speaker, +not having seen Graham for a long time. Since my friends have been in +office I have hardly ever set eyes on them or had any communication with +them. Graham seemed in excellent spirits about their political state and +prospects, all owing to Gladstone and the complete success of his +Budget. The long and numerous Cabinets, which were attributed by the +'Times' to disunion, were occupied in minute consideration of the +Budget, which was there fully discussed, and Gladstone spoke in the +Cabinet one day for three hours, rehearsing his speech in the House of +Commons, though not quite at such length. Graham again said Clarendon +was doing admirably. Palmerston he thinks much changed and more feeble, +his energy much less, and his best days gone by. He thinks Lord John's +position without office an unfortunate one, and regrets he did not stay +at the Foreign Office or take another; he thinks his influence impaired +by having none. He talked of a future Head, as Aberdeen is always ready +to retire at any moment, but it is very difficult to find anyone to +succeed him. I suggested Gladstone. He shook his head and said it would +not do; and he was for John Russell, but owned there were difficulties +there too. He considered Derby and the Tories irretrievably ruined, +their characters so damaged by Stafford's Committee and other things; he +spoke of the grand mistakes Derby had made. Gladstone's object certainly +was for a long time to be at the head of the Conservative party in the +House of Commons, and to join with Derby, who might in fact have had all +the Peelites if he would have chosen to ally himself with them instead +of with Disraeli; thus the latter had been the cause of the ruin of the +party. Graham thought that Derby had committed himself to Disraeli in +George Bentinck's lifetime in some way that prevented his shaking him +off, as it would have been his interest to do. The Peelites would have +united with Derby, but would have nothing to do with Disraeli. Bad as +the cases were that had come forth at the election committees, that of +Liverpool was worse than any of them, and would create a great scandal. +Forbes Mackenzie could not face it, and would probably retire; but it is +doubtful if this would prevent an enquiry and exposure, and when +boundless corruption appeared at such a place as Liverpool, with its +numerous constituency, it was a blow to the representative system +itself, and showed the futility of attempts to destroy bribery and +improper influence. + + + APPROACHING RUPTURE OF RUSSIA AND TURKEY. + +_May 30th._--Great alarm the last two or three days at an approaching +rupture between Russia and Turkey, as, if it takes place, nobody can +pretend to say what the consequences may be. Vast indignation of course +against the Emperor of Russia, who certainly appears to have departed +from the moderate professions which he made to Seymour a short time ago, +and the assurances that were given to us and France. But Clarendon, whom +I saw yesterday, is rather disposed to give him credit for more moderate +and pacific intentions than his conduct seems to warrant. He says that +he is persuaded the Emperor has no idea of the view that is taken of his +proceedings here, and that he thinks he is requiring no more than he is +entitled to; and it is only the other day that Nesselrode congratulated +Seymour on the prospect of everything being satisfactorily settled, +having no doubt of the Turks accepting the last proposals made to them, +a copy of which Nesselrode showed him. Still, though matters look very +black, Clarendon is not without hopes of war being averted and some +means found of patching up the affair, the Emperor having promised that +he will in no case resort to _ulterior measures_ without giving us +notice of his intention. The difficulty for him now is to recede with +honour, as it would be to advance without danger. He has once before +receded after to a certain degree committing himself, and he may not +choose to do so a second time. Then he is naturally provoked with the +French, who are in fact the real cause of this by their intrigues and +extortions about the holy places; and we suspect that he is, besides +this, provoked at the Montenegrin affair having been settled by Austria +without his having a finger in that pie. All these considerations +combined make great confusion and difficulty. Brunnow is in mortal +agony, dreading above all things the possibility of his having to leave +this country. + +The Government continues to go on very well; the Opposition got up a +debate on the legacy duties in the House of Lords the other night, which +only served to prove how entirely Derby's influence has declined even +there. They had thought themselves sure of beating the Government, but +not only were they defeated, but accident alone (people shut out and +absent) prevented their being defeated by a considerable majority. The +Cabinet is going on in the greatest harmony, and the men who were +strangers up to the time of its formation have taken to each other +prodigiously. Aberdeen unfortunately wants the qualities which made Lord +Lansdowne so good a leader, and is rather deficient in tact and temper +in the House of Lords as he used to be formerly, when he attacked Lord +Grey's Government and Palmerston's administration of foreign affairs +always with too much asperity; but in spite of these defects he has not +done ill even there, and in the Cabinet he is both liked and respected, +being honest, straightforward, and firm, very fair, candid, and +unassuming. Granville tells me that of the whole Cabinet he thinks +Aberdeen has the most pluck, Gladstone a great deal, and Graham the one +who has the least. He speaks very well of Molesworth, sensible, +courageous, and conciliatory, but quite independent and plain spoken in +his opinions. + + +_June 1st._--John Russell made an imprudent speech the night before last +on the Irish Church, giving great offence to the Irish and the +Catholics. He could not help, as leader of the Government, opposing a +proposition having for its object the destruction of the Irish Church, +but he might have done it with more tact and discretion, and not in a +way to elicit the cheers of the Tories. The Tail will pay him off for +this whenever they can. _Quantum mutatus ab illo_, who broke up a +Government for the sake of an appropriation clause. + +Last night Macaulay reappeared in the House of Commons, and in a speech +of extraordinary power and eloquence threw out the Judges' Exclusion +Bill.[1] It was the first time he had spoken, and though his physical +strength is impaired he showed that his mental powers are undiminished. + + UNPOPULARITY OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT. + +Senior called on me a day or two ago, just returned from Paris, where he +has been living and conversing with all the notabilities (principally of +the Liberal party), and he tells me there is but one opinion amongst +them, that this Empire cannot last, and they only differ as to the time +it may last. Most of them think it will be short. Thiers gives it only a +year, Duchâtel alone thinks it will go on for some years. The +unpopularity of Louis Napoleon increases and his discredit likewise, +and as soon as the unpopularity shall extend to the army, it will be all +over with him. The Opposition which has sprung up, which has increased +rapidly and will increase still more in the Corps Législatif, is deemed +to be very important and significant, and they think it will be +impossible for him to go on with such a body so constituted and +disposed, and he will have to decide upon suffering the embarrassment it +will cause him, or having recourse to a _coup d'état_, a measure which +would be hazardous. There are no fresh adhesions to the Court beyond the +half dozen men of rank or name who have already joined it, and who are +hated and despised for having done so. While such is the opinion of the +people of mark at Paris, they are nevertheless sensible of the danger +which would accompany a counter revolution, and of the uncertainty of +what might follow, what influences might prevail, and what form of +government be adopted; but they seem generally to think that while in +the first instance there would be a succession of provisional +arrangements and fleeting transitory governments, it would end in the +restoration of the monarchy under Henri V., but that this would not take +place by the acceptance and triumph of any divine hereditary right, but +must be adopted by the nation and ratified by a national vote. + +[Footnote 1: A Bill was before Parliament which would have excluded the +Master of the Rolls from the House of Commons, he being the only Judge +who could sit there. The Judge of the Admiralty Court had already been +excluded. Macaulay opposed the Bill with such force and eloquence that +he changed the opinion of the House, and defeated the measure. An +unusual occurrence.] + + +_June 5th._--I saw Clarendon on Friday morning for a few minutes; he +takes a very gloomy view of the Russo-Turkish question, and is greatly +disgusted at having been deceived by the Emperor; he says he is harassed +to death with the whole affair, and with the multiplicity of business he +has besides; he has a difficult task to perform, taking a middle +position in the Cabinet between the opposite opinions of those who are +for more stringent measures and those who, like himself, are for +patience and moderation. Palmerston, in whom his ancient Russian +antipathies are revived, is for vigour, and as in former times 'leading +John Russell by the nose,' Clarendon and Aberdeen for moderation; but he +is beset by different opinions and written suggestions and proposals, +and all this worries him exceedingly. I asked him how the Court was, +and he said very reasonable, their opinions being influenced of course +by Aberdeen. + +He talked with great disgust of John Russell's speech on the Irish +Church, how unfair it was as well as unwise, and how reckless of the +damage it caused to the Government, and the embarrassing and awkward +situation in which he thereby placed many of their supporters. These are +the general sentiments with regard to that speech, which was neither +more nor less than speaking the Durham letter over again, and, +considering what that famous letter cost him, he might have been +expected to steer clear of such a scrape. But he is more than ever the +creature of impulse and of temper, and he seems to have lost a great +deal of his tact and discretion, and certainly he is no longer fit to be +either head of a Government or leader of the House of Commons, and +perhaps the latter position in such a Government as this suits him still +less than the former would. When I came to town yesterday morning I +found that several of the Irish Roman Catholic members of the +Government, occupying subordinate offices (Messrs. Keogh, Monsell, and +Sadleir), had resigned in consequence of Lord John Russell's speech, but +an hour afterwards I learnt that they had been induced to remain by an +assurance from Lord Aberdeen that Lord John did not express the +sentiments of the Government on this subject. + +Charles Wood brought on the India Bill on Friday night in a speech of +unexampled prolixity and dulness. There is not yet time to ascertain how +the plan is likely to be received, but I suspect it will meet with a +great deal of opposition, although, as it is more favourable to the +existing interests than was expected, it will very likely pass, as, if +Leadenhall Street was to go further, it would certainly fare worse. + + +_St. Leonards, June 7th._--I am here for Ascot, a lovely place and +divine weather. The affair with the Irish has ended as harmlessly as +anything so awkward could do. Mr. G. H. Moore asked some rather +impertinent questions in the House of Commons on Monday, which Lord +John answered in an easy, nonchalant, jesting manner. The House laughed, +nobody said anything, and there it ended, but the Brigade will probably +seek opportunities of showing their teeth and of revenging themselves on +Lord John. It has been rather mortifying for him, but he has taken it +very quietly, and Aberdeen's letter to Monsell was shown to him and +received his assent. The French are behaving very well about the Eastern +question, and I begin to think that it will in the end blow over, as +diplomacy will probably hit upon some expedient for enabling the Emperor +of Russia to do what his real interests evidently point out. + + + THE ALLIED FLEETS AT THE DARDANELLES. + +_June 13th._--I came back from Ascot on Friday, having met Clarendon on +Thursday on the course, who gave me an account of the state of affairs. +On Saturday I met Walewski at dinner, and had much talk with him, and +yesterday I saw Clarendon again. The great event has been the sailing of +our fleet from Malta to join the French fleet at the mouth of the +Dardanelles, to the unspeakable satisfaction of the French Government, +who desire nothing so much as to exhibit to all Europe an _entente +cordiale_ with us; and Walewski said to me that, however the affair +might end, this great advantage they had at all events obtained.[1] The +Emperor of Russia will be deeply mortified when he hears of this +junction; for besides that it will effectually bar the approach of his +fleet to Constantinople, if he ever contemplated it, there is nothing he +dislikes and dreads so much as the intimate union of France and England. +His Majesty is now so greatly excited that nothing can stop him, and he +told Seymour the other day that he would spend his last rouble and his +last soldier rather than give way. Still he professes that he aims at no +more than a temporary occupation of the Principalities, and renounces +all purpose of conquest. The Russian army will therefore certainly march +in, and it will be the business of the other Governments to restrain +the Turks and prevent a collision, which Walewski thinks they can +certainly do. + +Austria holds the same language that we do, but will not act. Clarendon +sent for Count Colloredo on Saturday (who never hears from Buol), and +set before him in detail all the dangers with which Austria is menaced +by the possibility of war breaking out in the East, and above all by +that of France being brought into the field in hostility with Austria. +In such a case the French would be quite unscrupulous, and excite all +the revolutionary spirit, which, though now repressed, is thickly +scattered over every part of the Austrian Empire, from Milan to Hungary. +Colloredo acknowledged the truth of the representation, and promised to +report textually to Buol what Clarendon said. + +All now depends on the Emperor Nicholas himself. If he adheres to his +determination not to advance beyond the Principalities, time will be +afforded for negotiations, and some expedient may be found for enabling +him to recede without discredit, and without danger to his own +_prestige_ at home. The French and English feel alike on this point, and +are conscious that the Emperor has gone too far to recede. He is pushed +on by an ardent and fanatical party in Russia, and is not entirely his +own master. Both Governments are therefore willing to make allowance for +the exigencies of his position, and to assist him to the uttermost of +their power in getting honourably out of the scrape into which he has +plunged himself and all Europe. + +[Footnote 1: Orders were sent to Admiral Dundas on June 2 to sail for +the Dardanelles, and the fleet proceeded to Besika Bay, together with +the French fleet.] + + + DIVIDED OPINIONS IN THE CABINET. + +_June 22nd._--The Opposition papers (especially the 'Morning Herald' and +the 'Press,' Disraeli's new journal) have been making the most violent +attacks on Aberdeen and Clarendon, calling for their impeachment on the +ground of their conduct in this Eastern quarrel, particularly charging +them with having been cognisant of and approved of Menschikoff's +demands, which have occasioned all the hubbub. At last it was thought +necessary to make a statement in reply, which was done by the 'Times' on +Thursday last. The article was a good one, but contained an inaccuracy, +about which Brunnow wrote a long but friendly letter of complaint to +Clarendon. The day after this, another article was inserted to set the +matter right, with which Brunnow was quite satisfied; but the +explanations of the 'Times' failed to stem the torrent of abuse, and the +Tory papers only repeated their misrepresentations with greater +impudence and malignity than before. It was thought necessary a stop +should be put to this, and it was proposed to Clarendon to let +discussions come on in both Houses, moved by Layard in the Commons, and +Clanricarde in the Lords, which would afford an opportunity for the only +effectual contradiction, Ministerial statements in Parliament. Last +night I met him at the Palace, when we talked the matter over. He is +still of opinion that it is essential to delay the explanations and put +off all discussion till the matter is decided one way or another. He +thinks so in reference to the case itself, leaving out of consideration +the convenience of the Government; he thinks that any discussion in the +House of Commons will elicit a disposition for peace _à tout prix_, +which would seriously embarrass affairs, and only confirm Russia in the +course she is pursuing. I do not think so, but his opinions are founded +on what he hears Cobden has said, and on the _animus_ of the peace +party. He told me again what a task his is in the Cabinet, standing +between and mediating between Aberdeen and Palmerston, whose ancient and +habitual ideas of foreign policy are brought by this business into +antagonism, and he says the difficulty is made greater by Aberdeen's +unfortunate manner, who cannot avoid some of that sneering tone in +discussion which so seriously affects his popularity in the House of +Lords. He is therefore obliged to take a great deal upon himself, in +order to prevent any collision between Palmerston and Aberdeen. It +appears that Palmerston proposed on Saturday last that the entrance of +the Russians into the Principalities should be considered a _casus +belli_, in which, however, he was overruled and gave way. The Cabinet +did not come to a vote upon it, but the general sentiment went with +Aberdeen and Clarendon, and against Palmerston. He seems to have given +way with a good grace, and hitherto nothing has occurred of a +disagreeable character; on the contrary, both Clarendon and Granville +tell me Palmerston has behaved very well. Clarendon thinks (and in this +I concur) that the country would never forgive the Government for going +to war, unless they could show that it was absolutely necessary and that +they had exhausted every means of bringing about a pacific solution of +the question, and nobody here would care one straw about the Russian +occupation of Moldavia and Wallachia. + +That all means have not been exhausted is clear from this fact. The +Austrians, who are more interested than anybody, have moved heaven and +earth to effect a settlement, and the Emperor of Russia has himself +asked for their '_bons offices_' for that end. They have entreated the +Turks on the one hand to strike out some _mezzo termine_ compatible with +their dignity and with their previous refusals of Menschikoff's terms, +promising that they will urge its acceptance on the Emperor with all +their force, and on the other hand they have implored the Emperor to +delay the occupation of the Principalities, so that by temporising, +mediation, and a joint action and a judicious employment of diplomatic +resources and astuteness, it is still possible some mode may be hit upon +of terminating the quarrel. + + +_July 9th._--For the last fortnight or three weeks little has occurred +which is worth noting. The Eastern Question drags on, as it is likely to +do. Aberdeen, who ten days ago spoke very confidently of its being +settled, now takes a more desponding view, and the confidence he has +hitherto reposed in the Emperor of Russia is greatly shaken. Clarendon +has long thought the prospect very gloomy, but they are still +endeavouring to bring about an accommodation. The question resolves +itself into this: what are the real wishes and views of the Emperor? If +his present conduct is the execution of a long prepared purpose, and he +thinks the time favourable for the destruction of Turkey, no efforts +will be availing, and he will listen to no proposals that we can +possibly make. If, on the contrary, he is conscious that he has got into +a dilemma, and he wishes to extricate himself from it by any means not +dishonourable to himself, and such as would not degrade him in the eyes +of his own subjects, then, no doubt, diplomatic astuteness will sooner +or later hit upon some expedient by which the quarrel may be adjusted. +Which of these alternatives is the true one, time alone can show. +Meanwhile the expense to which the Turks are put in the wretched state +of their finances will prove ruinous to them, and, end how it may, the +fall of the Turkish dominion has been accelerated by what has already +taken place. There has been a great deal of discussion about bringing on +debates on the Eastern Question in both Houses, but all the leading men +of all parties have deprecated discussion, and it was finally determined +last night that none should take place. Disraeli alone, who cares for +nothing but making mischief, tried to bring it on, but in the House of +Lords Derby took a different and more becoming course, and recommended +Clanricarde to give it up. Disraeli urged Layard to persevere. Granville +told me yesterday that while he lamented that Aberdeen was not a more +judicious and conciliating leader in the House of Lords, and was so +inferior in this respect to Lord Lansdowne, he liked him very much, +thought he was a very good Prime Minister, and, above all, anything but +deficient in political courage, in which respect he was by no means +inferior to Palmerston himself. + + THE INDIA BILL CARRIED. + +The Government have been going on well enough on the whole. Their +immense majority on the India Bill was matter of general surprise, and +showed the wretched tactics of Disraeli, as well as his small influence +over his party, for he could not get one hundred of the Tories to go +with him. A few small holes have been made in Gladstone's Budget, but +nothing of consequence. Tom Baring, however, told me he thought +Gladstone had made some great mistakes, and that Graham would have been +a better Chancellor of the Exchequer; but this I much doubt. Popularity +is very necessary to a Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Graham would +never have been so persuasive with the House as Gladstone. + + + WARLIKE VIEWS OF LORD PALMERSTON. + +_July 12th._--The 'Times' newspaper, always famous for its versatility +and inconsistency, has lately produced articles on the Eastern Question +on the same day of the most opposite characters, one warlike and firm, +the next vehemently pacific by some other hand. This is of small +importance, but it is indicative of the difference which exists in the +Cabinet on the subject, and the explanation of the inconsistency of the +'Times' is to be found in the double influence which acts on the paper. +All along Palmerston has been urging a vigorous policy, and wished to +employ more peremptory language and stronger measures towards Russia, +while Aberdeen has been very reluctant to do as much as we have done, +and would have been well content to advise Turkey to accept the last +ultimatum of Russia, and so terminate what he considers a senseless and +mischievous quarrel. Clarendon has had to steer between these two +extremes, and while moderating the ardour of Palmerston, to stimulate +Aberdeen, and persuade him to adopt a course congenial to public opinion +in this country, which, however inclined to peace and abhorrent of war, +is not at all disposed to connive at the aggrandisement of Russia, or to +submit to the insolent dictation of the Emperor. The majority of the +Cabinet have supported Clarendon, and approximate more nearly to the +pacific policy of Aberdeen than to the stringent measures of Palmerston. +When the two articles appeared in the 'Times,' to which I particularly +allude, Clarendon approved of the first, and found great fault with the +other, while Aberdeen wrote to Delane and expressed his strong +approbation of the second, and his conviction that the public would +sooner or later take the views therein set forth. Clarendon tells me +that he has no doubt Aberdeen has on many occasions held language in +various quarters that was not prudent under the circumstances, and was +calculated to give erroneous impressions as to the intentions of the +Government, and he thinks that the Emperor himself has been misled by +what he may have heard both of the disposition and sentiments of the +Prime Minister, and of the determination of the House of Commons and +the country at large to abstain from war in every case except one in +which our own honour and interests were _directly_ concerned. + +I had a long talk with Clarendon on Sunday, when he told me that the +chances of peace were a little better than they had been, inasmuch as +there seemed to be a disposition at St. Petersburg to treat, and the +Austrian Government was now in earnest bringing to bear all their +influence on the Emperor to accept reasonable terms of accommodation. +Colloredo brought him the copy of a despatch to St. Petersburg, which he +said was excellent, very frank and free in its tone. Austria seems more +fully sensible of the danger to herself of any war, which would +inevitably let loose the revolutionary element all over the world. +Clarendon has drawn up the project of a Convention which embraces all +the _professed_ objects of the Emperor, and which the Turks may agree +to; he sent it to Paris, whence Drouyn de Lhuys has returned it, with +the full concurrence and assent of the French Government, and it went to +Petersburg yesterday. The reception of this proposal will determine the +question of peace or war. + + +_July 14th._--G-- said to me this morning that Palmerston is beginning +to stir up matters afresh. I saw him yesterday morning at Holland House +in close confabulation with Walewski, with whom I have no doubt he +interchanged warlike sentiments, and complained of the lukewarmness of +Aberdeen and Clarendon. It is evident that he is _at work_, and +probably, according to his ancient custom, in some underhand way in the +press. His flatterers tell him that a majority of the House of Commons +would support _him_ and a warlike policy, and though he may wish to +believe this, and perhaps does, he will hardly go the length of trying +to break up this Cabinet, with the desperate hope of making another +Government himself, based on the policy of going to war. Certain +newspapers are always asserting that the Cabinet is divided and in +dissension, and at the same time accusing it of timidity and weakness, +urging strong measures, and asserting that, if we had employed such long +ago, Russia would have been frightened, and never have proceeded to +such lengths. But the Government are resolved, and wisely, to avoid war +as long as they can, and if driven on to it, to be able to show the +country that they had exhausted all means of preserving peace. + + +_July 18th._--At last there appears a probability of this Turkish +question being amicably settled. On Saturday I was told that despatches +were just come from Sir Hamilton Seymour of a more favourable character, +and representing the Imperial Government as much more disposed to treat, +with a real disposition to bring the negotiations to a successful issue. +My informant added that Palmerston predicted that none of the projects +and proposals which have emanated from the different Courts would be +accepted at Petersburg, which he thought they all would. Yesterday I saw +Clarendon, and found matters even in a still more promising state. After +the Cabinet Walewski went to him, and communicated to him very important +news (of a later date than Seymour's letters) from St. Petersburg, which +to my mind is decisive of the question of peace. It appears that both +France and Austria have been concocting notes and projects of a pacific +tendency to be offered to the Emperor. There have been several of these, +some framed at Constantinople, others at Paris. A short time ago the +French Government prepared one, which it submitted to ours; Clarendon +thought it would not answer, and told them so. They asked whether he had +any objection to their sending it off to St. Petersburg and Vienna and +making the experiment. He replied, none whatever, and though he did not +think it would succeed, he should rejoice if it did, as, provided the +affair could be settled, it did not matter how. In the meantime he drew +up his own project of a Convention, which went to Paris, and received +the cordial approbation of the Emperor; and this document is now on its +way to Petersburg. In the meantime the French project was sent there, +Castelbajac took it to Nesselrode, who read it very attentively, and +said that he liked it very much, but that he could give no positive +answer till he had submitted it to the Emperor. The same afternoon he +saw the French minister again, and told him that he had laid the project +before the Emperor Nicholas, and that His Majesty was not only +satisfied, but grateful for it, 'non seulement satisfait, mais +reconnaissant,' and that the only reason he did not at once close with +it was that his ally, the Emperor of Austria, had also submitted a +proposal, and he did not like to take another from another Court +exclusively without previous communication with him. Clarendon thinks +that his proposal will be still more agreeable to the Emperor than the +French one, and that he will probably end in taking it; nor will there +be any difficulty in this, because our's is so fully concurred in by +France as to be in fact her's as much as our's. + + + SUCCESSION DUTIES BILL. + +_July 31st._--Having been at Goodwood the last week, I have not troubled +myself with politics, either home or foreign, nor have any events +occurred to excite interest. The most important matter here has been the +division in the House of Lords on Monday last on the Succession Duties +Bill, on which the Opposition were signally defeated. For a long time +the Government were very doubtful of obtaining a majority, but their +whippers-in were more sanguine at last. Great exertions were made on +both sides, the Derbyites whipped up all the men they could lay their +hands on, and the Government fetched their ministers from Paris and +Brussels, and the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The majority was greater +than either side expected, and Derby and his crew were exceedingly +disconcerted, and Derby himself much out of humour. When Bessborough +went over to him after the division, and said 'Lord Aberdeen wants to +know if you will object to the Bill being read a third time on Thursday +next,' he pettishly replied, 'The Bill may go to the devil for all I +care; I shall take no further trouble about it.' + + +_August 1st._--I saw Clarendon as usual yesterday (Sunday), when he read +to me a letter from Sir Hamilton Seymour, giving an account of his +delivering to Nesselrode the Convention which Clarendon sent over, as +well as reading to him Clarendon's private letter, which was a stinging +one, but very good. Nesselrode said of all the projects he liked that +the best, and if it was tendered to them _from Vienna_, he thought it +might do as the basis of an arrangement, but he could give no positive +answer till he had submitted it to the Emperor. At the Cabinet on +Saturday Clarendon read Seymour's letter, when his colleagues begged +they might see the private letter of his which was alluded to, and he +produced and read that likewise. It was generally approved of, but the +next day Palmerston wrote a note to Clarendon, in which he expressed the +warmest approbation of his note, and added that he had only refrained +from saying all he thought of it at the Cabinet lest _his_ approval +might make others think it was too strong. He added that he rejoiced +that the management of our foreign affairs was in such able hands, and +that, in fact, he (Clarendon) could do and say what Palmerston himself +could not have done. It was a very handsome letter, very satisfactory +both to Clarendon personally and as showing that there is no +disagreement on the Eastern Question in the Cabinet, or at least between +Palmerston and Clarendon, which is the essential point. Their union and +friendship are remarkable when we recollect their past antagonism and +Palmerston's jealousy of Clarendon, and the persuasion of both himself +and Lady Palmerston that Clarendon was always waiting to trip up his +heels and get his place. All these jealousies and suspicions were, +however, dissipated when Clarendon refused the Foreign Office last year, +since which time they have been the best of friends, and Palmerston was +quite satisfied at his having the Foreign Office. With regard to the +chances of a pacific settlement, the assurances from St. Petersburg are +all very favourable, but the acts of the Russian generals in the +Principalities are quite inconsistent with them, and between these +conflicting manifestations Clarendon is in no small doubt and +apprehension as to the result. + + + NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIA AND TURKEY. + +_London, August 8th._--Ever since last Monday, when Clarendon made a +speech in the House of Lords on which a bad interpretation was put in +reference to the question of peace or war, there has been a sort of +panic, and the public mind, which refused at first to admit the +possibility of war, suddenly rushed to the opposite conclusion, and +everybody became persuaded that war was inevitable. The consequence was +a great fall in the funds, and the depreciation of every sort of +security. So matters remained till the end of the week. On Saturday +afternoon I met Walewski, who told me he had that day received a letter +from Castelbajac (the French Ambassador at St. Petersburg), informing +him that the Emperor had signified his willingness to accept the +proposal which was then expected from Vienna, and last night fresh news +came that the proposal had arrived, and he had said he would take it, if +the Turks would send an ambassador with it, exactly as it had been +submitted to him. This I heard late last night, and Granville considered +it conclusive of an immediate settlement. But this morning I went to +Clarendon and found him not so sure, and not regarding the pacific +solution as so indubitable; there still remain some important matters of +detail to be settled, though certainly the affair wears a much more +favourable aspect, and there is every reason to hope it will all end +well. But while this proposal was concocted at Vienna, the Cabinet here +(last Saturday week) made some small verbal alterations in it, so that +ultimately it will not be presented for the Emperor's formal acceptance +word for word the same, and if he wants a pretext to back out of his +present engagement, he can therein find one, as he only agreed to take +it if it was word for word the same. Then it has not yet been submitted +to the Turks, and it is by no means sure they may not make difficulties, +or that Stratford Canning may not raise obstacles instead of using all +his influence to procure their agreement, so that Clarendon does not +consider that we are _out of the wood_, though he expects on the whole +that it will end well. If it does it will be the triumph of diplomacy, +and a signal proof of the wisdom of moderation and patience. Granville +says it will be principally owing to Aberdeen, who has been very staunch +and bold in defying public clamour, abuse, and taunts, and in resisting +the wishes and advice of Palmerston, who would have adopted a more +stringent and uncompromising course. + + +_August 9th._--At Court yesterday Aberdeen was quite confident of the +settlement of the Eastern affair, and Brunnow, who was there with the +Duchess of Leuchtenberg to see the Queen, very smiling. Clanricarde +interrupted Clarendon in the House of Lords, and made a violent speech. +Clarendon answered very well, without committing himself. The Government +are in high spirits at the prospect of winding up this prosperous +Session with the settlement of the Eastern Question: nothing else is +wanting to their success. + + +_August 11th._--I saw Clarendon yesterday. Nothing new, but he said he +fully expected Stratford Canning would play some trick at +Constantinople, and throw obstacles in the way of settlement. This seems +to me hardly possible, unless he behaves foolishly as well as +dishonestly, and it can hardly be believed that his temper and Russian +antipathies will betray him into such extravagant conduct. It is, +however, impossible to consider the affair as '_settled_.' + +Yesterday all the world went to the great naval review at Portsmouth, +except myself. It appears to have been a fine but tedious sight, for +Granville set off at 5.30 A.M., and only got back at one in the morning. + + +_August 27th._--Since the 11th I have been absent from town, at +Grimstone for York races, then at Hatchford, and since that gouty. While +at York the Session closed with _éclat_ by a speech of Palmerston's in +his most flashy and successful style. John Russell gave a night at last +for the discussion of the Turkish question, and made a sort of +explanation, which was tame, meagre, and unsatisfactory. After some +speeches expressive of disappointment and disapprobation, Cobden made an +oration in favour of peace at any price, and this drew up Palmerston, +who fell upon him with great vigour and success. The discussion would +have ended languidly and ill for the Government but for this brilliant +improvisation, which carried the House entirely with it. It was not, +however, if analysed and calmly considered, of much use to the +Government as to their foreign policy, for it was only an answer to +Cobden, and Palmerston did not say one word in defence of the policy +which has been adopted, nor identify himself with it, as he might as +well have done. Though there was nothing in it positively indicative of +dissent and dissatisfaction, any one might not unfairly draw the +inference that, if Palmerston had had his own way, he would have taken a +more stringent and less patient course. However, nothing has been made +of this, and on the whole his speech did good, because it closed the +discussion handsomely, and left the impression of Palmerston's having +cast his lot for good and all with his present colleagues, as is really +the case. + + TURKISH DIFFICULTIES. + +The Session ended with a very flourishing and prosperous speech from the +Throne, and nothing was wanting to the complete success of the +Government but the settlement of the Turkish question, which, however, +seems destined to be delayed some time longer; for the Turks have +refused to accept the Vienna note, except with some modifications, +though these are said to be so immaterial that we hope the Emperor will +not object to them. But all this is vexatious, because it reopens the +whole question, causes delay and uncertainty, and keeps the world in +suspense and apprehension. Granville told me that what had occurred +showed how much more sagacious Aberdeen had been as to this affair than +Palmerston, the former having always maintained that there would be no +difficulty with the Emperor, but if any arose it would be from the +Turks; whereas Palmerston was always sure the Turks would make none, but +that the Emperor would refuse all arrangements. + + +_August 28th._--It seems the Turks, after a delay of ten days from +receiving the proposition, sent it back to Vienna, asking for some not +important alterations; but immediately afterwards they required a +stipulation for the evacuation of the Principalities, and guarantees +that they should not be occupied again. It is very improbable that the +Emperor will listen to such conditions. Nesselrode has all along told +Seymour that they (the Russians) mean in fulfilment of their pledges to +evacuate the Principalities, as soon as they have got the required +satisfaction, but that it must not be made _a condition_, and entreated +him to abstain from any demand which might give an air of compulsion to +the act, much in the same way as we have told Nesselrode he must not +attempt to make any stipulation about the withdrawal of our fleet. +Clarendon thinks that the Emperor is certain to reject the Turkish +terms, and that the Turks are very capable of declaring war thereupon; +for in their last communication they said that they were prepared for +'toutes les éventualités,' and he suspects that Stratford has not _bonâ +fide_ striven to induce them to accept the proffered terms. Their +rejection is the more unreasonable because the proposal is a hash-up of +Menschikoff's original Note, and that which the Turks proposed in lieu +of it, but in which the Turkish element preponderates, so that not only +are their honour and dignity consulted, but in refusing they recede from +their own original proposal. + +The Queen is gone to Ireland, and Lord Granville with her, who is +afterwards to attend her to Balmoral. This is new, because hitherto she +has always had with her either the Premier or a Secretary of State. +Granville is to be relieved when circumstances admit, but at present +there is no other arrangement feasible. Aberdeen and Clarendon are both +kept in town till the question is settled. Newcastle got leave to go to +Clumber for his boys' holidays, and Her Majesty does not desire to have +the Home Secretary. + +But Charles Villiers told me last night that Lord Palmerston's influence +and popularity in the House of Commons are greater than ever, and if +this Government should be broken up by internal dissension, he would +have no difficulty in forming another, and gathering round him a party +to support him. This is what the Tories are anxiously looking to, +desiring no better than to serve under him, and flattering themselves +that in his heart he personally dislikes his colleagues, and in +political matters agrees with themselves. They pay him every sort of +court, never attack him, and not only defer to him on all occasions, but +make all the difference they can between him and the rest of the +Government; nor does he discourage or reject these civilities, though he +does not invite them, or say or do anything inconsistent with his +present position, but he probably thinks the disposition towards him of +that large political party enhances his value to his own friends and +increases his power, besides affording to him a good alternative in case +anything should happen to break up the present Government or separate +him from it. + + +_September 2nd._--For the last week the settlement of this tedious +Turkish question has appeared more remote than ever, and Clarendon was +almost in despair when I saw him a few days ago, and the more so because +he suspected that Lord Stratford was at the bottom of the difficulties +raised by the Divan. However, according to the last accounts it would +seem that Stratford was not to blame, and had done what he could to get +the Turks to comply with the terms of the Conference. At this moment the +affair wears rather a better aspect, and my own belief is that it will +be settled. It is a great bore that it drags on in this way, creating +alarm and uncertainty, shaking the funds, and affecting commerce. + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S POSITION. + +The Duke of Bedford, of whom I have seen nothing for a long time, called +on me a few days ago, and talked over the present state of affairs, and +the position of Lord John Russell. He said Lord John was now quite +satisfied with it, and rejoiced at his own comparative freedom, and his +immunity from the constant attacks of which he used to be the object; +and he is now conscious that, by the part he has acted in waiving his +own pretensions, he has not only not degraded himself, but has greatly +raised himself in public estimation and acquired much credit and +popularity, besides rendering the country a great service. He is very +well with his colleagues, and gratified at the deference shown him, and +the consideration he enjoys in the House of Commons. There, however, I +know from other sources, all the popularity is engrossed by Palmerston +and by Gladstone, and Lord John has foolishly suffered Palmerston to +take his place as leader very often, because he chose to stay away at +Richmond, and not come near the House. + +The Duke took this opportunity of telling me what is now a very old +story, but which he said he thought he had never told me before, and I +am not sure whether he did or not. It was what happened to him at the +time of the formation of this Government last year, of which he was +evidently very proud. Just before the Derby Government broke down, and +before that reunion at Woburn of which so much was said, the Prince gave +him to understand that they should look to him for advice if anything +occurred, which they were every day expecting. The Duke was at Woburn, +and one morning when the hounds met there and half the county was at +breakfast in the great hall, word was brought him that a messenger had +come from Osborne with a letter for him. He found it was a letter from +the Prince, in which he informed him that this was despatched by a safe +and trustworthy hand, and nobody was to know of its being sent; that the +Derby Government was at an end, and the Queen and Prince were anxious +for his opinion on the state of affairs, the dispositions of public men, +and what course they had better take. The Duke had recently been in +personal communication with all the leaders, with Aberdeen and Lord +John, Newcastle, Clarendon, Lansdowne, Palmerston, and others, and he +was therefore apprised of all their sentiments and in a condition to +give very full information to the Court. He sat himself down and with +the greatest rapidity (his horse at the door to go hunting) wrote four +or five sheets of paper containing the amplest details of the sentiments +and views of these different statesmen, and ended by advising that the +Queen should send for Lords Lansdowne and Aberdeen--as she did. Lord +John had already told him he did not wish to be sent for. After this of +course he could not resent the advice the Duke gave; and happily Lord +John was firm in resisting the advice of some of those about him, and +acted on the dictates of his own conscientious judgement and the sound +advice of his friends. + + + OPPOSITION OF LORD STRATFORD. + +_September 3rd._--I dined last night _tête-à-tête_ with Clarendon and +heard all the details of the state of the Turkish question, and read the +interesting correspondence of Cowley, with his accounts of his +conversations with the Emperor, and many other things. Clarendon is +very uneasy because he thinks the Emperor Nicholas' pride will not let +him accept the Note as modified by _the Turks_, though he would have +accepted the same Note if it had been presented originally by the +Conference. This is one danger. The next is one at Constantinople, where +there is a strong bigoted violent party for war, disposed to dethrone +the Sultan and replace him by his brother. This brother (of whom I never +heard before) is a man of more energy than the Sultan, and is connected +with the fanatical party. The Sultan himself is enervated by early +debauchery and continual drunkenness, and therefore in great danger +should he by any unpopular measures provoke an outbreak from the violent +faction. Clarendon thinks that Stratford has encouraged the resistance +of the Divan to the proposals of the Conference, and that he might have +persuaded the Turks to accept the terms if he had chosen to do so and +set about it in a proper manner; but Clarendon says that he has lived +there so long, and is animated with such a personal hatred of the +Emperor, that he is full of the Turkish spirit; and this and his temper +together have made him take a part directly contrary to the wishes and +instructions of his Government. He thinks he wishes to be recalled that +he may make a grievance of it, and come home to do all the mischief he +can. Westmorland wrote word the other day that Stratford's language was +very hostile to his Government and the Ministers of all the other Powers +at Constantinople, thought he had actually resigned, and reported the +fact to Vienna. + +The most important question now pending is what to do with the fleets. +They cannot remain much longer in Besika Bay, and must either retire to +Vourla or enter the Dardanelles. The Emperor Napoleon wishes they should +enter the Dardanelles, but only a little way, and not go on to +Constantinople; and Clarendon takes the same view, proposing a _mezzo +termine_. The Emperor professes an earnest desire for a peaceful +solution, and the strongest determination to act in concert with England +to the end, and his views seem very sensible and proper. But, +notwithstanding this disposition, in which he probably is sincere, +there is reason to believe that he is all the time keeping up a sort of +secret and underhand communication with Russia, and the evidence of this +is rather curious. It appears that he has recently written a letter to +the Duchess of Hamilton, in which he says that he believes the Russians +will not evacuate the Principalities, and that he does not care if they +stay there. This letter the Duchess showed to Brunnow, and he imparted +it to Aberdeen, who told Clarendon, but none of the other Ministers know +anything of it. Clarendon wrote word of this to Cowley, and told him to +make what use of it he thought fit. In the first instance he said +something to Drouyn de Lhuys of the Emperor's entertaining views +different from our's, which Drouyn repeated to the Emperor, who spoke to +Cowley about it, and protested that he had no separate or different +objects, when Cowley, without mentioning names, told him what he had +heard of his having written. The Emperor made an evasive answer to this, +but gave many assurances of his determination to act with us heartily +and sincerely. This incident seems to have made a great impression both +on Cowley and Clarendon, particularly as both know something more. +Cowley says he knows that the Emperor has a private correspondence with +Castelbajac, of which Drouyn de Lhuys is ignorant, and Seymour writes to +Clarendon that he has observed for some time past a great lukewarmness +on the part of the French Minister in pressing the Russian Government, +and an evident leaning to them. As the Duchess of Hamilton has no +intimacy with Brunnow, it appears very extraordinary that she should +communicate to him a letter of the Emperor's, and such a letter, which +would be a great indiscretion unless he had secretly desired her to do +so; and all these circumstances taken together look very like a little +intrigue between the Emperor and the Russian Court, which would also be +very consistent with his secret, false, and clandestine mode of +conducting his affairs. It is probable enough that he may wish to keep +on good terms with Russia and at the same time maintain his intimate +connexion with England. That he is bent on avoiding war there can be no +doubt, and for very good reasons, for France is threatened with a +scarcity, and he is above all things bent on keeping the people supplied +with food at low prices; and for this object the French Government is +straining every nerve and prepared to make any amount of pecuniary +sacrifice; but the necessity for this, which absorbs all their means, +renders it at the same time particularly desirable to maintain peace in +Europe. + + DISPOSAL OF THE FLEET. + +There never was a case so involved in difficulties and complications of +different sorts, all the particulars of which I heard last night; but +the affair is so tangled, that it is impossible to weave it into an +intelligible and consistent narrative, and I can only jot down +fragments, which may hereafter serve to explain circumstances connected +with the _dénouement_, whenever it takes place. John Russell and +Palmerston are both come to town, so that a little Cabinet will discuss +this matter. Palmerston is extremely reasonable, does not take the part +of the Turks, but on the contrary blames them severely for making +difficulties he thinks absurd and useless, but is still for not letting +them be crushed. He is on the best terms with Clarendon, and goes along +with him very cordially in his policy on this question. Both Palmerston +and Lord John seem to agree with Clarendon on the question of the +disposal of the fleet better than Aberdeen, who is always for trusting +the Emperor, maintaining peace, and would be quite contented to send the +fleet to Vourla or Tenedos, and would see with regret the more energetic +course of entering the Dardanelles. However, there is no chance of any +material difference on this score, and I have no doubt, if the question +is not settled before the end of the month, the fleets will anchor +within the Straits and there remain. + +I was glad to find that the Queen has consented to let Palmerston take +his turn at Balmoral, and Aberdeen has informed him that he is to go +there. It was done by Aberdeen speaking to the Prince at Osborne, who +said he thought there would be no difficulty. The Queen acquiesced with +the good sense she generally shows on such occasions, being always open +to reason, and ready to consent to whatever can be proved to her to be +right or expedient. + + + LORD STRATFORD'S GOOD FAITH. + +_September 4th._--I went to Winchester yesterday, and fell in with +Graham in the train, so we went together and had a great deal of talk, +mostly on the Eastern Question. He thinks the Emperor of Russia will not +accept the Turkish alterations, and he is very hot against Stratford, to +whom he attributes all the difficulties. He has heard that Stratford has +held language hostile to the Government, and he is inclined to think not +only that he has acted treacherously towards his employers, but that +proofs of his treachery might be obtained, and he is all for getting the +evidence if possible, and acting upon it at once, by recalling him; he +thinks the proofs might be obtained through the Turkish Ministers, and +if they can be, he would not stop to enquire who might be displeased, or +what the effect might be, but do it at once. He acknowledges, however, +that it would not do to act on surmises or reports, and that nothing but +clear proofs of Stratford's misconduct, such as will satisfy Parliament, +would render such a step justifiable or safe. With regard to the fleets, +he says there is no reason why they should not remain in Besika Bay, and +it is a mistake to suppose they could not, and he is very decidedly +against their entering the Dardanelles in any case, because it would be +contrary to treaty and afford the Emperor of Russia a just _casus +belli_; and he maintains that his having (contrary to treaties and +international rights) occupied the Principalities affords no reason why +we should infringe them in another direction. When this question comes +to be discussed, his voice will evidently be for not entering the +Dardanelles, though he acknowledges that we cannot retreat while the +Russians remain where they are. He talked a great deal about Palmerston, +of whom he has some distrust, and fancied he has been in communication +with Stratford, and that he would concur with him in his proceedings, +and he expressed great satisfaction when I told him that Palmerston and +Clarendon were on the most cordial and confidential terms, and that the +former entirely disapproved of the conduct of the Turks (which is that +of Stratford) in regard to the Note. He thinks Palmerston looks to being +Prime Minister, if anything happened to Aberdeen, but that neither he +nor John Russell could hold the office, as neither would consent to the +elevation of the other. On the whole, he inclines to the opinion that +Palmerston has made up his mind to go on with this Government and his +present colleagues, that he means to act fairly and honestly with and by +them, and has no _arrière pensée_ towards the Tories, though he is not +sorry to have them always looking to him, and paying him, as they do, +excessive court. It ensures him great support and an easy life in the +House of Commons, where, however, he says Palmerston has done very +little this year, and he does not seem much impressed with the idea of +his having gained very considerably there, or obtained a better position +than he had before. + + +_September 8th._--I saw Clarendon on Sunday. There is nothing new, but +he said he would lay two to one the Emperor does not accept the modified +Note; it will be a contest between his pride and his interest, for his +army is in such a state of disease and distress that he is in no +condition to make war; on the other hand, he cannot without extreme +humiliation accept the Turkish Note. What will happen, if he refuses, +nobody can possibly divine. The four Ministers met to discuss the +matter, and were very harmonious; Palmerston not at all for violent +measures, and Clarendon said he himself was the most warlike of the +four. I told him of my journey with Graham and all that he had said. He +replied that he knew Graham was very violent against Stratford, but that +it would be impossible to make out any case against him, as he certainly +had read to the Turkish Minister all his (Clarendon's) despatches and +instructions, and he gave the most positive assurances, which it would +be difficult to gainsay, that he had done everything in his power to +induce the Turkish Government to give way to the advice of the +Conference, and whatever his secret wishes and opinions might be, there +was no official evidence to be had that he had failed in doing his duty +fairly by his own Government; therefore it would be out of the question +to recall him. + + +_September 20th._--At Doncaster all last week; I found Clarendon +yesterday very much alarmed at the prospect in the East. He thinks it +will be impossible to restrain the Turkish war party; he told me that +the Conference at Vienna had imparted their Note to the Turkish +Ambassador there, and both he and his dragoman had expressed their +entire approbation of it. They had considered this to afford a strong +presumption that it would not be unpalateable at Constantinople, but it +was not sent there because this would have occasioned so much delay, and +it was desirable to get the Russians out of the Principalities as +speedily as possible. The Russian generals had actually received orders +to prepare for the evacuation, which the Emperor would have commanded +the instant he heard that the Turks were willing to send the Vienna +Note. The Emperor Napoleon has again given the strongest assurances of +his determination in no case whatever to separate his policy from ours, +his resolution to adhere to the English alliance, and to maintain peace +_à tout prix_, which he frankly owns to be indispensably necessary to +the interests of his country. The Austrians are already beginning to +hang back from taking any decided part in opposition to Russia, and +while still ready to join in making every exertion to maintain peace, +they are evidently determined if war breaks out to take no part against +Russia, and this disposition is sure to be improved by the interview +which is about to take place between the Emperors of Russia and Austria. + + + PROSPECTS OF WAR. + +_September 26th._--I have been at Hatchford all last week. I saw +Clarendon on Thursday before I went there, and heard that two ships of +each fleet were gone up the Dardanelles,[1] and that the rest would +probably soon follow, as the French were now urging that measure. He was +then going to Aberdeen to propose calling the Cabinet together, the +state of affairs becoming more critical every hour, and apparently no +chance of averting war. The prospect was not the brighter from the +probability of a good deal of difference of opinion when they do meet. +He showed me a letter from Palmerston, in which he spoke very coolly of +such a contingency as war with Russia and Austria, and with his usual +confidence and flippancy of the great blows that might be inflicted on +both Powers, particularly alluding to the possible expulsion of the +Austrians from Italy, an object of which he has probably never lost +sight. Meanwhile the violence and scurrility of the press here exceeds +all belief. Day after day the Radical and Tory papers, animated by very +different sentiments and motives, pour forth the most virulent abuse of +the Emperor of Russia, of Austria, and of this Government, especially of +Aberdeen. + +[Footnote 1: The British vessels were steamers, the 'Retribution' and +another. There was at that time only one line-of-battle ship in each +fleet having steam power; all the other vessels of the line were sailing +ships.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + The Conference at Olmütz--The Turks declare War--Lord Palmerston's + Views--Lord Palmerston lauded by the Radicals and the + Tories--Failure of the Pacific Policy--Lord Aberdeen desires to + resign--Lord John to be Prime Minister--Obstacles to Lord John's + Pretensions--Danger of breaking up the Government--Lord John's + Wilfulness and Unpopularity--Alliance of the Northern Powers + defeated by Manteuffel--Conflict of the two Policies--Meeting of + Parliament discussed--French Refugees in Belgium--General Baraguay + d'Hilliers sent to Constantinople--Mr. Reeve returns from the + East--Lord John's Reform Bill--The Emperor of Russia writes to the + Queen--Sir James Graham's Views on Reform, &c.--Opponents of the + Reform Scheme--Abortive Attempts at Negotiation--The Four Powers + agree to a Protocol--Lord Palmerston threatens to secede--Lord + Palmerston resigns on the Reform Scheme--Lord Palmerston opposed to + Reform--Effects of Lord Palmerston's Resignation--Conciliatory + Overtures--Lord Lansdowne's Position--Lord Aberdeen's Account--Lady + Palmerston makes up the Dispute--Lord Palmerston withdraws his + Resignation--Baraguay d'Hilliers refuses to enter the Black + Sea--War resolved on--Review of the Transaction. + + +_October 4th._--I went to The Grove on Saturday, and spent great part of +the afternoon on Sunday reading the Eastern Question despatches, printed +in a Blue Book to be laid by-and-by before Parliament. On Sunday came +Westmorland's account of his interviews with the Emperor of Russia and +Nesselrode at Olmütz, which sounded very satisfactory, for the Emperor +was very gracious and pacific, and Nesselrode in his name disclaimed in +the most positive terms any intention of aggrandising himself at the +expense of Turkey or of claiming any protectorate, or asserting any +claims inconsistent with the sovereignty and independence of the Sultan, +and moreover signified his willingness to make a declaration to that +effect in such form and manner as might be hereafter agreed upon. All +this was very well, and served to confirm the notion that, if some +sensible men, really desirous of settling the question, could be +brought together, the accomplishment would not be difficult; but the +distance which separates the negotiating parties from each other, and +the necessity of circulating every proposition through so many remote +capitals, and the consequent loss of time, have rendered all conferences +and pacific projects unavailing. + + TURKISH DECLARATION OF WAR. + +Yesterday morning a messenger arrived, bringing the telegraphic despatch +from Vienna, which announced the determination of the Turks to go to +war, and that a grand Council was to be assembled to decide on the +declaration, news which precluded all hope of adjustment;[1] and +yesterday afternoon the further account of the decision of the Council +was received. Such of the Ministers as are in town met in the afternoon, +and it was decided that all the rest should be summoned, and a Cabinet +held on Friday next. + +It will be no easy matter to determine what part we shall take, and how +far we shall mix ourselves up in the quarrel as belligerents. It will be +very fortunate if the Cabinet should be unanimous on this question. +Palmerston has hitherto acted very frankly and cordially with Clarendon, +but the old instincts are still strong in him, and they are all likely +to urge him to recommend strong measures and an active interference. +Granville told me last night he thought Palmerston was not at all +displeased at the decision of the Turks, and as he still clings to the +idea that Turkey is powerful and full of energy, and he is quite +indifferent to the danger to which Austria may be exposed, and would +rejoice at her being plunged in fresh difficulties and threatened with +fresh rebellions and revolutions, he will rather rejoice than not at the +breaking out of hostilities. He will not dare to avow his real +propensities, but he will cloak them under other pretences and pretexts, +and give effect to them as much as he can. He has been speechifying in +Scotland, where, though he spoke very handsomely of Clarendon, he did +not say one word in defence of Aberdeen, or anything calculated to put +an end to the notion and repeated assertions that he and Aberdeen had +been at variance on the Eastern Question. I find Aberdeen feels this +omission very much, and it would certainly have been more generous, as +well as more just, if he had taken the opportunity of correcting the +popular error as to Aberdeen, after having been reaping a great harvest +of popularity at his expense. + +Palmerston's position is curious. He is certainly very popular, and +there is a high idea of his diplomatic skill and vigour. He is lauded to +the skies by all the Radicals who are the admirers of Kossuth and +Mazzini, who want to renew the scenes and attempts of 1848, and who +fancy that, if Palmerston were at the head of the Government, he would +play into their hands. On the other hand, he is equally an object of the +flattery and praise of the Tories, who cannot get over their being +succeeded by a Peelite Prime Minister, and they cling to the belief that +there can be no real cordiality, and must be complete difference of +opinion, between Aberdeen and Palmerston, and they look forward to the +prospect of their disunion to break up this odious Government, and a +return to office with Palmerston at their head. These are the political +chimeras with which their brains are filled, and which make them take +(for very different reasons) the same part as the Radicals on the +Eastern Question. My own conviction is that both parties reckon without +their host. Palmerston is sixty-nine years old, and it is too late for +him to look out for fresh political combinations and other connexions, +nor would any object of ambition repay him for the dissolution of all +his personal and social ties. He will, therefore, go on as he does now, +accepting such popularity as is offered him as a means of enhancing his +own importance in this Cabinet; and, in the event of any accident +happening to it, of making his own pretensions available. + + +[Footnote 1: The declaration of the Turkish Council or Divan, held on +October 3, was to the effect that, if the Principalities were not +evacuated in fifteen days, a state of war would ensue. To this the +Emperor of Russia responded on October 18 by a formal declaration of +war. War being declared, the Straits were opened, and, at the request of +the Sultan, the allied fleets entered the Dardanelles on October 22.] + + +_October 6th._--Delane was sent for by Lord Aberdeen the night before +last, when they had a long conversation on the state of affairs, and +Aberdeen told him that he was resolved to be no party to a war with +Russia on such grounds as the present, and he was prepared to resign +rather than incur such responsibility. This was the marrow of what he +said, and very important, because not unlikely to lead to some +difference in the Cabinet, and possibly to its dissolution. + + + FAILURE OF THE PACIFIC POLICY. + +_October 7th._--Clanricarde called here yesterday morning; he is very +strong against the Government and their policy, and maintains that if we +had joined France and sent the fleet up when she did, the Emperor of +Russia would then have receded, as his obstinacy was entirely caused by +his conviction that France and England would never remain united, and +that nothing would induce the latter to make war on Russia. He said this +idea had been confirmed by the language of Aberdeen, who had continually +spoken of his determination to avoid war to Brunnow and others, and in +his letters to Madame de Lieven--_la paix à tout prix_. Clanricarde, +however, himself said he would not declare war against Russia, and we +might defend Turkey without going that length. I went and told Clarendon +all he had said (in greater detail), and he owned that it was more than +probable that Aberdeen had held some such language as was attributed to +him; indeed, he had more than once had occasion to remonstrate with him +upon it. Clarendon was very uneasy at the prospect of the discussion +about to take place, and contemplates as extremely probable the +breaking-up of the Government on the question of war. Palmerston has +been very reserved, but always on the same friendly terms with his +colleagues, and Clarendon in particular; but Lady Palmerston as usual +talks _à qui veut l'entendre_ of the misconduct of the whole affair, and +affirms that, if Palmerston had had the management of it, all would have +been settled long ago. As matters have turned out, it is impossible not +to regret that we were perhaps too moderate and patient at first; for as +the course we have adopted has not been successful, it seems unfortunate +we did not try another, which might have been more so. But this is +judging _après coup_, and nothing is so easy as to affirm that, if +something had been done, which was not done, success would have +attended it. + + +_October 8th._--The Cabinet went off very well yesterday, no serious +difference of opinion about anything, and a good concurrence both as to +what had been done and what ought to be done hereafter. Lord Aberdeen is +well pleased. + + +_Newmarket, October 12th._--This morning I met the Duke of Bedford on +the heath, who told me he wanted very much to speak to me about certain +communications he had received which made him extremely uneasy, and full +of apprehension of coming difficulties, threatening the very existence +of the Government. It seems that a short time ago Lord Aberdeen imparted +to John Russell his wish to resign, and to place the Government in his +hands. He said that he had only taken his present post because his doing +so was indispensable to the formation of the Government, and had always +contemplated Lord John's eventually succeeding him, and he thought the +time was now come when he might very properly do so. He did not +anticipate any insurmountable opposition in any quarter, and he should +himself speak to Gladstone about it, who was the most important person +to be consulted, and he was in fact only prevented doing so, as he had +intended, by not being able to go to Scotland, where he had expected to +meet Gladstone. Whether Aberdeen had spoken to Gladstone since his +return to London, the Duke of Bedford did not know. No steps appear to +have been taken with regard to Palmerston, nor does it appear that any +progress was made in accomplishing this change. The Queen had been +apprised of Aberdeen's intentions. Such was the state of things when a +short time ago the Duke received a letter from Lord John, in which he +said that matters could not go on as they were, and that there must be +some changes; and that very soon he could no longer act without being +primarily responsible for the policy of the Government--in other words, +without resuming his post of Prime Minister. This is all the Duke knows, +as Lord John entered into no explanations or details, and he is in total +ignorance of the grounds of his brusque determination, and of what can +have occurred to produce it. He sees, however, all the difficulties and +embarrassments that in consequence of it are looming in the distance, +and how very possible it is that the Government may be broken up. All +this we very fully discussed, but without either of us being able to +guess what it all means, or what the result will be of Lord John's +putting his intentions into execution. + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S PRETENSIONS. + +_October 16th._--I came to town yesterday morning, and in the afternoon +went to the Foreign Office, and saw Clarendon, to whom I imparted what +the Duke of Bedford had told me. He said he knew it all, Aberdeen having +told him what had passed between John Russell and himself; but having +made Clarendon give his word of honour that he would not say a word of +it to anybody, so he said, 'I would not mention it even to you, to whom +I tell everything.' He then, however, went into the whole question, and +told me what had passed, which did not exactly agree with the Duke's +story. According to Clarendon, Lord John went to Lord Aberdeen before +Parliament was up, and told him he could not consent to go on in his +present position, to which Aberdeen replied, 'Very well, you only meet +my own wishes, and you know I always told you that I should be at any +time ready to resign my place to you.' + +Nothing more seems to have taken place at that time, nor till lately, +when Lord John went again to Aberdeen, and repeated his determination +not to go on; but this time the communication does not seem to have been +received by Aberdeen with the same ready acquiescence in the proposed +change, and some plain speaking took place between them. I infer, but as +Clarendon did not expressly say so I put it dubiously, that Aberdeen had +spoken to Gladstone and ascertained that he would by no means agree to +the substitution of John Russell, and should go with Aberdeen if he +retired. At all events, while Aberdeen told him that he was prepared, if +he wished it, to broach the matter to his colleagues, he intimated to +him that it was evident he wanted to turn him out, and put himself in +his place, but that he (Aberdeen) could not agree to retire at this +moment, and before Parliament met, and that Lord John had better well +consider the step he was about to take, as it would in all probability +break up the Government, and asked him if he was prepared to encounter +the odium of doing so, more especially as he must remember that he had +only consented to form this Government on Lord John's own assurance to +him that he was himself unable to form one. He asked him if he was +secure of Palmerston's concurrence in the change he proposed, and he +replied that he did not expect to find any difficulty in that quarter. +This was the substance of what passed between them, Aberdeen being +evidently a good deal nettled, and thinking Lord John is behaving very +ill. This is Clarendon's opinion also, and he thinks, if Lord John +persists, the Government will be inevitably broken up, for a +considerable part of the Cabinet will certainly not consent to have Lord +John again placed at the head of the Government. Clarendon does not +believe a word of Palmerston's being a party to it, and he knows that +both Gladstone and Newcastle would resign. Graham he is not sure of, but +inclines to think he would retire with Aberdeen, especially if Aberdeen +has any compulsion or ill-usage to complain of. For the moment, however, +this storm has blown over, as Lord John has signified to Aberdeen that +he does not mean to press the matter again for the present. The Queen, +when it was mentioned to her, was anything but approving of or +consenting to the change. + + THEIR MISCHIEVOUS EFFECTS. + +In all this matter there is little doubt that Lord John has been +instigated by his connexions, and they none of them, Lord John himself +included, have sense enough to see that the course he is adopting is +quite suicidal, and would be not less fatal to his own reputation and +popularity than to the Government he belongs to. He failed as Prime +Minister, and no credit attended his Administration, and no regret his +fall. The popularity he lost, he in good measure regained by his conduct +on the formation of this Government, when he waived his own pretensions, +and for the public good consented, after having held the first place, to +accept the second; but the world does not know how reluctantly and +grudgingly he did this, and how sorely his pride and vanity suffered on +that occasion. The position he occupied of leader of the House of +Commons without an office was anomalous, and many thought it +objectionable, but he himself insisted on it, and it proved successful. +The House of Commons not only accepted it, but were pleased to see a man +so eminent eschewing office with its functions and emoluments, and +gratuitously devoting himself to the service and the business of +Parliament. He became popular again in the House, and would have been +more so if he had not chosen to quit the Treasury Bench early every +afternoon, and go down to Richmond, leaving Palmerston to do his work, +and ingratiate himself with the House. Aberdeen reminded Lord John that +this position, which he now found intolerable, was one he had chosen to +make for himself; that he had not only declared he could not form a +Government, but that every office had been at his disposal, and he had +been invited to take the greatest offices, or, if he preferred it, any +smaller one, but that he had insisted on holding none. Aberdeen is quite +right not to resign now, or before Parliament meets, where he must +appear as Minister to defend his own policy. + +I expect that Lord John will not renew his demands for some time, if at +all; but if he does, this is what will probably take place. The +Government will be broken up, Lord John will try to form one and will +fail, and the Government will again be constituted minus Lord John. +Nobody would, I think, go out with him. This is supposing (which I think +certain) that Palmerston would not make common cause with him, but +prefer to remain with the rest. There would then remain the great +difficulty of the lead of the House of Commons and the part Palmerston +would play; but, dangerous as it would be, it would probably be found +necessary to trust him with the lead, most distasteful though it would +be both to Aberdeen and to the Queen. + + +_October 18th._--The Emperor of Russia moved heaven and earth to bring +about a new Holy Alliance between himself, Austria, and Prussia, in +which he would have succeeded if it had not been for the wisdom and +firmness of Manteuffel,[1] who was proof against all his seductions. +Austria consented, but only on condition that Prussia did likewise. The +King of Prussia would have given way with his characteristic weakness, +but Manteuffel would not hear of it, and contrived to keep his master +straight. In an interview of two hours between the Emperor and +Manteuffel _tête-à-tête_, the Emperor employed all the means he could +think of to prevail on the Prussian Minister, but all in vain; he +refused positively to allow Prussia to depart from her neutrality. This +had the effect of keeping Austria neutral also, and that of making the +Emperor more inclined to peace; but the Turkish declaration of war and +peremptory summons to him to quit the Principalities leave him no +alternative but that of taking up the gauntlet thus thrown down. + +[Footnote 1: Count Manteuffel was the Prussian Minister for Foreign +Affairs, and the leading member of the Prussian Cabinet. He was accused +of sacrificing Prussian interests to those of Austria at the Conference +of Olmütz; but in fact he succeeded in defeating what would have been a +very formidable confederacy of the German Powers with Russia.] + + + OBJECTIONS OF LORD PALMERSTON. + +_November 2nd._--All last week at Newmarket, during which nothing of +moment occurred but the renewed attempts at negotiation, and the consent +of the Turks to defer the commencement of hostilities. I saw Clarendon +the day before yesterday, who told me how matters stood, and showed me a +despatch just received from Vienna with a copy of a very moderate and +pacific Note from Nesselrode to Buol, showing that there is every +disposition at St. Petersburg to patch matters up. Clarendon told me +that he was heartily sick of the whole question, in which the double +trouble and difficulty were cast upon him of reconciling the Russians +and the Turks and of preserving agreement in the Cabinet, where Aberdeen +was always opposing measures of hostility towards Russia, and Palmerston +for pushing them forward. He said he steered between the two, and that +he and John Russell were more nearly agreed than any of the others; he +told me at the same time a characteristic trait of Palmerston. The Turks +having determined to plunge into war against the advice of their +protectors, especially against our's, and it having been made known to +us that the Sultan and his Ministers were not disinclined to be guided +by us, but that they were themselves overruled and driven to this +extreme course by the Grand Council, it became necessary in Clarendon's +opinion to notify to the Turkish Government that, since they had thought +fit to take their own independent course, we should reserve to ourselves +the right of acting according to our own discretion, and not consider +ourselves bound to be dragged into a war at the heels of the Grand +Council, which is an assembly of ruffians and fanatics, by whom it would +be utterly inconsistent with the dignity of our Crown that our policy +should be governed and influenced. It seems too that this is a point on +which the Queen feels very strongly, and is exceedingly anxious that the +honour and dignity of the Crown should not be compromised. Accordingly +Clarendon drew up a despatch to this effect, to which the Cabinet +acceded, and Palmerston also, though with some reluctance. However, he +not only saw the proposed despatch, but he made some alteration in it +with his own hand, thereby of course subscribing to it. Just after this +Clarendon went to Windsor, and submitted the despatch to the Queen and +the Prince; they objected to it that it was not strong enough in their +sense, but Clarendon prevailed upon them to waive their objections, and, +as it had been agreed to in the Cabinet, to let it go. But before it was +gone Clarendon received a letter from Palmerston, strongly objecting to +the despatch altogether, and desiring Clarendon to inform Lord Aberdeen +that he would be no party to such a communication. This was extremely +embarrassing. Clarendon spoke to Aberdeen, and afterwards (at Aberdeen's +suggestion) informed the Queen what had occurred. Her Majesty said, 'I +advise you not to attach much importance to this communication. I know +Lord Palmerston from much experience, and it is probably only an attempt +to bully, which, if you take no notice of it, you will hear no more of.' +The result justified the Queen's sagacity, for Clarendon sent off the +despatch, and at the same time wrote word to Palmerston that he had done +so, giving him sundry reasons why he could not do otherwise, to which +he received in reply a very good-humoured letter, merely saying that, as +it was gone, it was useless to say any more about it, and probably it +would do no harm. + +There has been talk abroad and discussion in the Cabinet about the +meeting of Parliament. Lord John and Lord Aberdeen both wished +Parliament to meet, the first because he is always hankering after the +House of Commons, the latter because he wished Parliament to decide on +the question of peace or war, so that in the one alternative his hands +might be strengthened, or in the other he might have a pretext for +resigning. But both Clarendon and Palmerston were much against it, and +now that there is a fresh prospect of peace, it is rendered more +unnecessary and undesirable. + +King Leopold is here, still uneasy (though less than he was) upon the +subject of his _démêlés_ with the Emperor of the French. The cause of +them is the libellous publications of the French refugees in Belgium. +They compose the most outrageous attacks of a personal nature on him and +the Empress, which they have printed in Belgium, and get these papers +smuggled into France, and disseminated amongst the lower classes, and +particularly the troops. This naturally gives the Emperor great offence, +and Leopold would afford him redress if he could; but the Constitution +was made by journalists, and the unrestrained liberty of the press is so +interwoven with the Constitution, that the Legislature itself has no +power to deal with the case, nor any power short of a Constituent +Assembly. All this Leopold has submitted to his powerful neighbour, and +their relations seem to be more amicable; for very civil letters have +passed between the two monarchs, through the Prince de Chimay, whom +Leopold sent to compliment the Emperor when he went lately to Lille. + + + LORD STRATFORD'S INFLUENCE. + +_November 10th._--All attempts at settling the Eastern Question by +_Notes_ have been rudely interrupted by the actual commencement of +hostilities. Meanwhile the Notes sped their way, but at Vienna it was +deemed no longer possible to settle it in this manner, but that there +must now be a regular treaty of peace, the terms of which the Allies +might prescribe, and there is now a question of having a Congress or +Conference here, to carry on the affair. It is, however, difficult to +make out what the French are at, and, with all our intimacy, we must +keep on our guard against all contingencies on the part of our Imperial +neighbour. Nobody knows what is his real motive for sending Baraguay +d'Hilliers to Constantinople. Francis Baring, when I told him of this +appointment, said it could be only for the purpose of quarrelling, for +he was the most violent of men, and was certain to quarrel with +whomsoever he had to deal. If this be so, his quarrelling with Lord +Stratford is inevitable, and it is by no means improbable that Louis +Napoleon is tired of playing second fiddle to us, and sends this General +there for the express purpose of counteracting our superior influence, +and, by the tender of military counsel and aid, to substitute his own +for ours. + +Reeve is just returned from the East, having spent some time at +Constantinople, and he came home by Vienna. Lord Stratford treated him +with great kindness and hospitality, and talked to him very openly. He +says that Stratford exercised a great but not unlimited influence and +control over the Turkish Government, and of course is very jealous of +the influence he possesses; for example, he boasted to Reeve that he had +carried a great point, and had procured the appointment of the candidate +he favoured as Greek Patriarch, an interference which, if it had been +made by the Emperor of Russia, whose concern it is much more than our's, +would have excited in us great indignation. Such an exercise of +influence and in such a matter, of which the Russians are well aware, is +calculated to exasperate them, and it is not unnatural that the Emperor +should feel that, if any foreign influence is to prevail in Turkey, he +has a better right than any other Power to establish his own. Reeve has +a very poor opinion of the power, resources, and political condition of +Turkey, and does not doubt the military success of the Russians. He says +that the corruption is enormous--everybody bribes or is bribed. The +Greek Patriarch whom Stratford got appointed had to pay large sums to +Redschid Pasha and his son. The whole State is rotten to the core. + + + EFFECTS OF DEMOCRATIC REFORM. + +_November 12th._--This morning John Russell breaks ground on the Reform +plan, by referring his scheme to a Committee of the Cabinet, which is to +meet at his house, consisting, besides himself, of Granville, Newcastle, +Graham, Charles Wood, and Palmerston. I am afraid he will propose a +lower franchise, probably 5_l._, in spite of many warnings and the signs +of the times, which are very grave and alarming--nothing but strikes and +deep-rooted discontent on the part of the working classes. I am in +correspondence with Ellesmere on the subject, and have sent his letters +to John Russell, who does not appear disposed to admit the force of his +reasoning against lowering the franchise. This Committee will probably +be on the whole favourable to a democratic measure, Lord John from old +prejudices and obstinacy, Graham from timidity, Newcastle because he has +espoused Liberal principles; Granville will be inclined to go with Lord +John, and Palmerston alone is likely to stand out against a democratic +scheme, unless Charles Wood should go with him, of whose opinions on the +question of Reform I know nothing. Aberdeen is himself a Reformer, but I +hear he is resolved not to consent to a 5_l._ franchise. I confess to +great misgivings about this project in the present state of the country, +and dread the further progress of democratic power. The success of the +great Reform Bill and the experiences of twenty years without any of the +apprehensions of the anti-Reformers having been realised, are now in my +opinion sources of danger, as they create an opinion that progress, as +it is called, is not only necessary, but perfectly safe. It consoles me +for growing old that I shall not live to see the confusion in which this +well-ordered State is likely to be involved, the period of peril and +suffering it will have to go through, and the reaction, which will +restore order and tranquillity at the expense of that temperate and +rational freedom, which we alone of all the nations of the earth are in +possession of. I see no reason why, if we choose recklessly, and without +any cause, to cast away the good we enjoy, we should be exempted from +paying the penalty which our folly and wickedness would so richly +deserve. The above question in all its ramifications is infinitely more +important than the Russian and Turkish quarrel, but there is no saying +how the former may be indirectly and consequentially affected through +the latter by means of the political differences which may arise out of +it. Everything now looks black in the political horizon, and the war +which has begun between the principals can hardly fail to extend itself +sooner or later to the collateral parties. + + +_November 15th._--Yesterday morning having met Clarendon on the railway, +he from Windsor, I from Hillingdon, I got into the carriage and went +home with him. He told me all he had to tell, of what he had to go +through with the conflicting proposals of Palmerston and Aberdeen in the +Cabinet: the latter as averse as ever to any strong measures, and always +full of consideration for the Emperor; the former anxious for war, and +with the same confidence and rashness which were so conspicuous in him +during the Syrian question, insisting that nothing will be so easy as to +defeat Russia, and he now goes the length of urging that none of the old +treaties between her and the Porte should be renewed. All this +_jactance_, however, does not go much beyond words, for he evinces no +disposition to separate from his colleagues or to insist on any course +which the majority of the Cabinet object to. + +The Emperor of Russia has taken the unusual step of writing an autograph +letter to the Queen. Brunnow, who was rather puzzled, took the letter to +Aberdeen, and asked what he was to do with it. Aberdeen told him to take +it to Clarendon, who sent it to the Queen. She sent it to him to read, +and he suggested certain heads of an answer, but did not communicate the +letter, nor the fact of its having been received, to any one but +Aberdeen. The Queen wrote an answer in French, and he says a very good +one. + +Cowley has sent him an account of a conversation he lately had with the +Emperor Napoleon, in which he said that the condition of France and the +rise in the price of provisions, so deeply affecting the working +classes, made him more than ever bent upon preserving peace, and he +proposed that the Powers should be invited to concur with England and +France in drawing up a scheme of pacification and arrangement, which +should be tendered to the belligerents, and whichever should refuse to +accept it should be treated as an enemy. Clarendon said that there were +many objections to this plan, but he seemed to believe in the sincerity +of the Emperor's desire for peace, in spite of the opposite presumption +afforded by Baraguay d'Hilliers' mission, and its accompaniment of +French officers. He attributes that mission to the wounded vanity of +France, and the determination of the Government to send some man who +shall dispute the influence of Stratford, and assert that of France. The +character of Stratford had been fully explained to Baraguay d'Hilliers, +and he went, ostensibly at least, with instructions and an intention to +act with him in harmony, but this the character of the two ambassadors +will probably render quite impossible. + +The Queen told Clarendon an anecdote of Palmerston, showing how +exclusively absorbed he is with _foreign_ politics. Her Majesty has been +much interested in and alarmed at the strikes and troubles in the North, +and asked Palmerston for details about them, when she found he knew +nothing at all. One morning, after previous enquiries, she said to him, +'Pray, Lord Palmerston, have you any news?' To which he replied, 'No, +Madam, I have heard nothing; but it seems certain the _Turks have +crossed the Danube_.' + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S REFORM BILL. + +In the afternoon I called on Graham at the Admiralty, and had a long +talk with him about the Government and its prospects, and the +disposition and intentions of John Russell and of Palmerston. He is, +contrary to custom, very cheerful and sanguine on these points; he was +apprised of all that Lord John has said and done, but except on one +occasion, just about the time of the prorogation, has had no +communication with Lord John himself on the subject. He is now satisfied +that Lord John has abandoned his designs, and has made up his mind to go +on as he is, and he infers this from his frank and friendly conduct +about the Reform Bill, which he has not kept to himself, but submitted +to a Committee for the purpose of bringing it before all his colleagues +in a very good spirit, and quite willing to have Palmerston on this +Committee, from whom the greatest opposition was to be expected. Graham +said their first meeting had gone off very pleasantly, and Palmerston +had urged much less objection than he had expected; he thinks therefore +that his own reflexions and his knowledge of the difficulties which +would oppose themselves to his purpose have determined Lord John to +acquiesce in his present position, nor is he afraid of Palmerston +separating himself from this Cabinet, thinking that at his age he will +not speculate so deeply for the chance of greater power and a higher +place, to be purchased at the certain sacrifice of all his social +relations and personal connexions, and he therefore expects Palmerston +will conform to the general sentiments and decisions of his colleagues, +both as to foreign policy and to Reform. Graham said he approved +entirely of Lord John's scheme, and thought his proposed measure good +and safe. + + +_November 27th._--Council at Windsor on Friday 25th. The Queen was +afflicted by the Queen of Portugal's death, though they never saw each +other but once when they were children. I heard the particulars of the +Reform Bill, which (if there is to be one at all) seems as little +mischievous as can be. It seems to have encountered little or no +opposition in the Cabinet, and Lord John considers it as having been +accepted and settled there. Lord Lansdowne has not pronounced himself +positively; but though, no doubt, he dislikes it exceedingly, they think +he will not retire upon it, and up to the present time he has indicated +no such intention. Graham, who is always frightened, told me on Friday +he was very uneasy lest Lansdowne should decline to be a party to it. + +Palmerston has written a letter to Lord John, strong in the beginning, +denouncing the measure as unnecessary and unwise, and complaining of his +having originally committed his colleagues to it, by declaring his own +opinion without any previous consultation and concert with them. Then, +after criticising the Bill (ably, as I am told), he ends by announcing +that he shall consent to it. He sent copies of this letter to Aberdeen +and to Lansdowne. + +I brought Clarendon from the station to Downing Street, when he told me +that he had begun some fresh attempts at renewing negotiations. The +proposal of the Emperor Napoleon to force terms on the two parties would +not do, but he had sent a proposal of some sort (I could not exactly +make out what), which, contrary to his expectation, Buol had agreed to; +but he did not seem very sanguine about any result from this beginning. +He said nothing could exceed the difficulties of the case, nor the +embarrassments of his own position. The Turks are now indisposed to +agree to anything, or to make any concessions whatever, and of course +the Emperor of Russia neither will nor can make peace and withdraw, +without some plausible satisfaction. Then at home the difficulty is just +as great between Palmerston, who is all for going ahead, and wants +nothing less than war with Russia, and Aberdeen, who is in the other +extreme--objecting to everything, and proposing nothing. John Russell is +very reasonable, and agrees almost entirely with Clarendon; but whenever +he thinks he is going to be outbid by Palmerston, is disposed to urge +some violent measures also. He said he had a regular scene with Aberdeen +the other day. After this Note (or whatever it was) had been discussed +and agreed to in the Cabinet, and all settled, Aberdeen came into his +room, and began finding fault with it, and raising all sorts of +objections, when Clarendon, out of all patience, broke out: 'Really, +this is too bad. You come now, after it has all been settled in the +Cabinet where you let it pass, and make all sorts of objections. And +this is the way you do about everything; you object to all that is +proposed, and you never suggest anything yourself. What is it you want? +Will you say what you would have done?' He declares he said all this +with the greatest vivacity, being really exasperated. Aberdeen had +nothing to say, and knocked under. The truth seems to be that the +attacks upon him in the newspapers (though they don't know it) are +pretty well justified, and very little exaggerated; nor is the idea of +Palmerston's real inclination much mistaken. They have by accident very +nearly hit upon the truth. Aberdeen, it seems, objects particularly to +have any Conference _here_, and if there is to be anything of the kind, +it seems likely to take place at Vienna, where, however, somebody would +be sent to assist, if not to supersede, Westmorland. + + + PROTOCOL OF THE FOUR POWERS. + +_December 10th._--The Protocol just signed at Vienna brings the four +Powers together again, and Austria not only signed it with alacrity, but +Buol told Westmorland, if the Emperor of Russia was found unmanageable, +'Nous irons avec vous jusqu'au bout.' The Turks are now desired to say +on what terms they will make peace, and I expect they will reply that +they will not make peace at all till the Principalities are evacuated. +It seems very doubtful whether this fresh opening will lead to any +result between two Powers so impracticable as the belligerents. + +The Duke of Bedford has been endeavouring to persuade Lord John to +reconsider the franchise in his Reform Bill, and Lord John tells him not +to be afraid of its going too low, and that there is more chance of its +appearing too niggardly. Aberdeen said it was not yet settled. +Meanwhile, the Bill is drawn and privately printed. Lord John considers +it to have been accepted by the Cabinet, and that he is sure of the +acquiescence of the two principal dissentients--Lansdowne and +Palmerston. The former went out of town, only saying that he hoped the +landed interest would have its due share of influence. Palmerston's +letter I have already mentioned; but the other day Lady Palmerston held +forth to the Duke against the Bill, and said that it was not settled at +all, but was still under the consideration of the Cabinet; from which he +infers that Palmerston is still making or prepared to make objections +and difficulties. Between Reform and the Eastern Question, I think this +Government would infallibly be broken up but from the impossibility of +another being formed. I am still persuaded Palmerston will not try a new +combination, and break with all his old friends and associates for the +purpose of putting himself at the head of some fresh but unformed +combination. Great as his ambition is, he will not sacrifice so much to +it, and risk so much as this would oblige him to do. + + +_December 12th._--I begin to think that I am after all mistaken as to +Palmerston's intentions, and that his ambition will drive him to +sacrifice everything and risk everything, in spite of his age and of all +the difficulties he will have to encounter. I have said what passed +between the Duke of Bedford and Lady Palmerston about Reform. This +morning the Duke of Bedford came here, and told me he had called on +Clarendon on Saturday, when he said to Clarendon that he was very uneasy +about Palmerston, and thought he was meditating something, though he did +not know exactly what he was at. Clarendon interrupted him--'Certainly, +he is meditating breaking up the Government; in fact, he told me so.' At +this moment it was announced that two or three foreign Ministers were +waiting to see him, when he abruptly broke off the conference, and they +parted. I said, 'Depend upon it, what Clarendon alluded to was not the +Reform Bill, but the Eastern Question; and it is on that that Palmerston +is making a stir.' The Duke said he thought so too; indeed, he was sure +of it, because Clarendon did not trouble himself about Reform, and he +had already told him more than once what excessive trouble and annoyance +he had had between the widely opposite views and opinions of Aberdeen +and Palmerston, and that he had only been able to go on at all from the +agreement between Lord John and himself. However, Lord John is to see +Aberdeen this morning, and his brother afterwards; and before the day is +over we shall learn something more of this disagreeable matter. My +belief is that the differences between Aberdeen and Palmerston have +arrived at a height which threatens a break up, and that, with reference +to this occurring, Palmerston is also going back on the Reform question; +that if he does separate from the Government, he may reserve to himself +to work _both_ questions. But I refrain from further speculations, as in +a few hours they will be resolved into certainty of some sort. + + + LORD PALMERSTON'S RESIGNATION. + +_Panshanger, December 14th._--It turned out that Palmerston had _struck_ +on account of Reform, and not (ostensibly, at least) about foreign +affairs. John Russell was indignant, and inveighed to his brother +against Palmerston in terms of great bitterness, saying he was +absolutely faithless, and no reliance to be placed on him. Of this fact +these pages contain repeated proofs, but I own I am amazed at his making +this flare up on the question of Reform. But his whole conduct is +inexplicable, and there is no making out what he is at. The news of the +Turkish disaster in the Black Sea is believed, but Government will do +nothing about it till they receive authentic intelligence and detailed +accounts of the occurrence.[1] So Clarendon told Reeve on Monday, but he +is disposed to take a decisive part if it all turns out to be true; and +yesterday Delane had a long conversation with Aberdeen, who owned that +if the Russians (as they suppose) attacked a convoy of transports at +anchor, it is a very strong case, and he thought war much more probable +than it was a few days ago, and he did not speak as if he was determined +in no case to declare it. This does not surprise me, in spite of his +previous tone; for he has gone so far that he may be compelled in common +consistency to go farther. + +[Footnote 1: The Russian fleet in the Black Sea attacked and destroyed +the Turkish squadron in the harbour of Sinope on November 30. This +decisive event, which was at variance with the previous declarations of +the Emperor of Russia, compelled the British and French Governments to +order their fleets to enter the Black Sea and occupy it. The Russian +fleet withdrew within the harbours of Sebastopol.] + + +_London, December 17th._--Yesterday morning the news of Palmerston's +resignation was made public. It took everybody by surprise, few having +been aware that he objected to the Reform measure in contemplation. I +received the intelligence at Panshanger, and as soon as I got to town +went to Clarendon to hear all about it. He had been quite prepared for +it, Palmerston having told him that he could not take this Bill. +Clarendon says Palmerston behaved perfectly well, and in a very +straightforward way from first to last. When he was invited to join the +Government, he told Aberdeen and Lansdowne that he was afraid the +Reform Bill would bring about another separation between them. When the +time arrived for discussing the Bill, and John Russell proposed to him +to be on the Committee, he said that he accepted, because, although he +saw no necessity for any Reform Bill, and he entirely disapproved of +John Russell's having committed himself to such a measure, he would not +(as matters stood) absolutely object to any measure whatever, but would +join the Committee, discuss it, state all his objections, and endeavour +to procure such alterations in it as might enable him to accept it. +Finding himself unable to do this with the Committee, he still waited +till the measure had been brought before the whole Cabinet; and when he +found that his objections were unavailing, and that the majority of his +colleagues were resolved to take Lord John's scheme, nothing was left +for him but to retire. He said he might have consented to a smaller +measure of disfranchisement, and the appropriation of the disposable +seats to the counties, but to the enlarged _town_ representation, and +especially to the proposed franchise, he could not agree; and moreover +he said he was not prepared, _at his time of life_, to encounter endless +debates in the House of Commons on such a measure. The first time, +Clarendon said, he had ever heard him acknowledge that he had _a time of +life_. Clarendon showed me a very friendly letter Palmerston had written +to him, expressing regret at leaving them, and saying he (Clarendon) had +a very difficult task before him, and, 'as the Irishman said, I wish yer +Honner well through it.' He has never hinted even at any dissatisfaction +as to foreign affairs as forming a part of his grounds for resigning. + +Clarendon said he thought it would ere long be the means of breaking up +the Government, and I thought so too; but, on reflecting more +deliberately upon the matter, I am disposed to take a different view of +the political probability, and of the part which Palmerston will play. +As I have been so constantly opposed to him, and have both entertained +and expressed so bad an opinion of him on a great many occasions, I feel +the more both bound and inclined to do justice to his conduct upon this +one, in which, so far as I am informed, he really has been +irreproachable. The first thing which seems to have suggested itself to +everybody is that he has resigned with the intention of putting himself +at the head of the opponents of Reform, of joining the Derbyite party, +and ultimately coming into office with Derby, or forming, if possible, a +Government of his own. I doubt all this, and judge of his future conduct +by his past. If he had been actuated by selfish and separate objects of +ambition, and really contemplated transferring himself from the Whig to +the Tory party, or setting up an independent standard, instead of +breaking with this Cabinet on the question of Reform, he would certainly +have done so upon the Turkish war, as he easily could. He would then +have gone out amidst shouts of applause; he would have put the +Government into an immense difficulty, and he would have reserved to +himself to take whatever course he thought fit about Reform. He has +acted much more honestly, but less cunningly for his own interest, +supposing that he has the views and projects that are attributed to him. +Lord Lansdowne is placed in great embarrassment, for he agrees entirely +with Palmerston; and if he acts consistently on his own convictions, he +will retire too--that is, cease to form a part of the Cabinet. Clarendon +expects he will do so. + + + MOTIVES OF LORD PALMERSTON'S RESIGNATION. + +_Hatchford, December 21st._--On Monday when I came to town from +Goodwood, where I went on Sunday, I found a letter from Lady Palmerston, +very friendly indeed. She said her son William had told her what I had +said to him about Palmerston and his resignation, which had gratified +her. She then went on to explain why he had resigned, and why at this +moment instead of waiting longer; she said he would have accepted a +Reform Bill, but wanted Lord John's to be altered, had proposed +alterations, and written to Aberdeen to urge them, and upon Aberdeen's +reply that his suggestions could not be taken, he had no alternative but +to resign, and he had thought it fairer to the Government to do so at +once, and give them time to make their arrangements, than to put it off +till the last moment, when Parliament was on the point of meeting. I +confess I think he was right in so doing, and I was greatly provoked +with the 'Times' for attacking him, twitting and sneering at him, and +finding fault with him for his desertion; so provoked that I wrote a +letter to the 'Times,' which appeared on Tuesday, with my opinion +thereupon. + +On Tuesday morning I was surprised at receiving a letter from Lord +Lansdowne, entreating I would tell him what was said, and what was the +state of public opinion about Palmerston's resignation, giving me to +understand that he was as yet undecided what course he should adopt, and +should not decide at all events till he had seen the Queen next Friday; +he also said that he had been greatly surprised at this happening '_so +soon_, whatever might have been the case later, having occurred +(marvellous to say) before there had been any decision taken by the +Government as such on the whole matter, or any ground for me at least to +think that issue would be joined upon it without that apparently +essential preliminary.' I wrote to him in reply all I had heard of the +reports and notions floating about, and said I hoped his determination +would eventually be not to withdraw, and I sent him Lady Palmerston's +letter to me, which I said seemed to me somewhat at variance with his +statement, in as much as Palmerston evidently considered that the matter +was settled. I don't understand, however, why he wrote to Aberdeen, if +the question was still before the Cabinet, and not yet definitively +settled. Assuming Lord Lansdowne's statement to have been correct, +Palmerston ought to have disputed the matter in the Cabinet, and if +overruled there, he might have resigned, and not till then. + +Delane went to Aberdeen, and asked him for his version of the affair, +when he said at once he had no hesitation in saying that the Eastern +Question was the cause and the sole cause of Palmerston's resignation; +that he had all along been opposing what was done, and might have +resigned upon it any time for months past, and that but for that +question he would have swallowed the Reform Bill. Delane observed, if +this was true, Palmerston had acted a very highminded and disinterested +part. It has been imprudent of the Government papers to insist so +strenuously that Palmerston resigned solely on account of Reform, and +that there was no difference on foreign policy, because this elicited a +violent article in the 'Morning Post,' insisting in turn that the +Eastern Question was the real cause of his retirement, and everybody +will believe that this was inserted or dictated by himself. It is +strange to find myself the advocate and apologist of Palmerston, when +the preceding pages are brimful of censure of his acts and bad opinion +of his character; but, whatever prejudices I may have or have had +against him, they never shall prevent my saying what I believe to be +true, and doing him ample justice, when I think that he is acting +honourably, fairly, and conscientiously. This letter of Lord Lansdowne's +has a little shaken my convictions, but still I am struck with the fact +of his having refrained from resigning on the Eastern Question, when by +so doing he might have damaged the Government immensely, and obtained +for himself increased popularity and considerable power if these were +his objects. + + + LADY PALMERSTON'S STATEMENT. + +_London, December 22nd._--I went to town this morning, called on Lady +Palmerston, found her in good spirits and humour, and vastly pleased at +all the testimonies of approbation and admiration he has received. She +exclaimed with exultation, 'He is always in the right in everything he +does,' a position I could not confirm, and which I did not care to +dispute. We then talked of the present crisis, when to my no small +amazement she said that she saw no reason now why it should not be made +up, and he should not remain, that he left the Government with regret, +liked his office, and had no wish to quit his colleagues, but could not +consent to such a measure as Lord John had proposed. She then +recapitulated what she wrote to me, and complained of Aberdeen's having +replied to Palmerston's note in such a style of peremptory refusal; if +he had only expressed regret at the difference, and proposed a fresh +reference to the Cabinet, it might have been avoided. Still, she thought +if they were disposed to be reasonable it was possible to repair the +breach. Palmerston had never had any answer to his letter of +resignation, no notice had been taken of it, nor had the Queen's +acceptance of his resignation ever been conveyed to him. She talked with +bitterness of the articles in the 'Times,' and of his resignation having +been so hastily published, and said he had all along been very much +dissatisfied with the conduct of the Eastern Question, and convinced +that, if his advice had been taken at first, we should not be in our +present dilemma and embarrassing position, and he had only consented to +stay in the Government, when overruled in his suggestions, because he +thought he could nevertheless effect some good by remaining, and tender +essential aid to Clarendon. I expressed the strongest desire that the +matter might be patched up, and entreated her to try and bring it about. +Palmerston was gone out, so I did not see him. + +I then went to the Office, and directly wrote to Graham, who was at the +Cabinet, begging him to see me, and telling him I had reason to believe +Palmerston was not disinclined to stay. Meanwhile Bessborough called on +me, and told me all the reports from Marylebone and other parts of the +metropolis, as well as the country; all represented Palmerston's +popularity to be immense, great enthusiasm about the Eastern Question, +and profound indifference about Reform; and he said there was a report +that Palmerston was not unlikely to stay in, and that it was of the +greatest importance that he should. He also said that Hayter declared +there was no chance whatever of their carrying the Reform Bill in the +House of Commons, especially if Palmerston headed the opposition to it. + +He was hardly gone when Graham came to me. I told him all that had +passed between Lady Palmerston and me, and entreated him to see if +something could not be done. He said he himself should be too happy to +bring it about if possible, and he had no personal ground of complaint, +but he did not know how Lord John might be disposed, particularly as +Palmerston in one of his letters had spoken in very uncourteous terms of +him and Aberdeen. He said it was wonderful how Palmerston, quite unlike +most men, was often intemperate with his pen, while he was always very +guarded in his language. In reply to some of the things Lady Palmerston +had said, he told me that the difficulty was that Palmerston's +objections went to the _principle_ of the measure, and though the +details might still be open to discussion, it was impossible they could +concede the principles of the measure without dishonour, and this was +not to be thought of. That with regard to fresh reference to the +Cabinet, Palmerston had stated all his objections to the Cabinet, when +they had been considered and overruled, therefore another reference to +the _Cabinet_ would have been useless. He asked me if Palmerston was +prepared to give up his objections. I said I presumed not, but he must +understand that I did not know what he was prepared to concede or +require, only what I had repeated, that he was not disinclined still to +remain if the matter admitted of adjustment. He said the office was +still open, and that the Cabinet then going on was not about filling it +up, but entirely on the Eastern Question. After a good deal of talk we +parted, he promising to see what could be done to bring about a +compromise and reconciliation. + + A RECONCILIATION. + +I then wrote to Lord Lansdowne telling him what had passed, and +suggested that, as he is to see the Queen tomorrow, he should invoke her +assistance to settle this affair, and so the matter stands. I am +satisfied that at this moment Palmerston would prefer staying where he +is to anything else, present or prospective, and he does not wish to +embark in fresh combinations; but it is impossible to say what he may +not do under fresh circumstances, and if he is exposed to all the +attractions of excessive flattery and the means of obtaining great +power. If this Government should be overthrown, I see no other man who +could form one. Derby is in such a deplorable state of health that I do +not think he could possibly undertake it, and though Palmerston's +difficulties would be great, they would not be insurmountable, and the +very necessity of having a Government, and the impossibility of any +other man forming one, would give him great facilities, and draw a great +many people from various parties to enlist under him. It is, therefore, +of immense importance that there should be a compromise now, for I am +strongly of opinion that if there is not the Government will not be able +to go on. What I fear is that, if a negotiation should be begun, the +parties will not come to terms, and neither be disposed to make +sufficient concessions. Lady Palmerston hinted at Aberdeen's going out, +which she said he had always professed his readiness to do, but I gave +her to understand that if he did, Lord John would insist on taking his +place, which would not, I apprehend, be more palateable to Palmerston +than the present arrangement. + + +_December 24th._--I went to town this morning to hear what was going on. +I found Granville who told me there was a negotiation on foot, conducted +by Newcastle, who had been to Palmerston yesterday and discussed the +matter. Palmerston was to give his answer at twelve to-day; Granville +did not think any concessions about Reform were to be made to him, and +nothing more than an agreement that the whole question should be +reconsidered. He was to write a letter, saying there had been 'a +misunderstanding,' said he was evidently dying to remain, full of +interest in foreign politics, and could not bear to be out the way of +knowing and having a concern in all that is going on, and probably by no +means insensible to the difficulties of another position, that of being +the leader of an Opposition, and still more to the having to form and +carry on a Government should that Opposition be successful. All this I +think exceedingly probable. I then went to Clarendon, where I learnt +that Palmerston had given his answer, and that he meant to stay. He had +written a letter, not exactly such a one as they could have wished, but +which must do; and though it was not yet formally settled, it had gone +so far that it could not fail now. Both Clarendon and Granville told me +John Russell had behaved admirably, which I was glad to hear. Granville +thinks Palmerston has no _rancune_ against Aberdeen, but a good deal +against John Russell. Granville said I had made a bad selection in +writing to Graham on Thursday about Palmerston's staying in, as of all +the Cabinet he was the man most against him, and most opposed to his +return; but Clarendon said for that very reason he was very glad I had +addressed myself to Graham, and that I had since written him a strong +letter, as I did yesterday, setting forth as forcibly as I could the +expediency of a reconciliation and the danger of Palmerston's separating +himself from them, and the infallible consequences thereof. + + BARAGUAY DECLINES TO ENTER THE BLACK SEA. + +Walewski has been making a great flare up about the article in the +'Times,' stating that Dundas wanted to pursue the Russian fleet after +Sinope, and that Baraguay d'Hilliers put his veto on the operation. +Clarendon assured him the statement was inserted without his privity, +and he had nothing to do with it. Walewski then asked him to authorise a +formal contradiction in the 'Globe,' or to let it be officially +contradicted in the 'Moniteur.' Clarendon declined the first, and +advised against the latter course. I offered to speak to Delane about +contradicting it in the 'Times,' which I afterwards did. He said the +fact was true, and he had received it from various quarters, and it was +useless to contradict it; but there was no reason the 'Moniteur' should +not do so if they liked, so I sent him to Clarendon to talk it over and +settle what was to be done to smooth the ruffled plumage of the French. + +On Thursday at the Cabinet the resolution was taken which amounts to +war. The French sent a proposal that the fleets should go into the Black +Sea, repel any Russian aggression, and force any Russian ships of war +they met with to go back to Sebastopol, using force in case of +resistance. We assented to this proposal, and orders were sent +accordingly. This must produce hostilities of some sort, and renders war +inevitable. It is curious that this stringent measure should have been +adopted during Palmerston's absence, and that he had no hand in it. It +will no doubt render the reconciliation more agreeable to him. This +incident of his resignation and return, which has made such a hubbub not +only here but all over Europe for several days, is certainly +extraordinary, and will hardly be intelligible, especially as it will +hereafter appear that he has withdrawn his resignation with hardly any, +or perhaps no, conditions. On looking dispassionately at it, it seems to +me Palmerston and Aberdeen have both been somewhat to blame. Lord +Lansdowne left town ten days or a fortnight ago, with a distinct +understanding, as he affirms, that the question of the Reform Bill was +not to be definitively settled till after Christmas, and though he was +aware of Palmerston's objections, he had no idea he would take any +decisive step till then. A few days after he was gone to Bowood, +Palmerston wrote to Aberdeen, a most unnecessary and ill-judged act. +Aberdeen--instead of referring in his answer to the above-named +understanding, and giving no other answer, replies that he has consulted +John Russell and Granville, who think that nothing can be proposed that +will remove his objections, and that he agrees with them, on which +Palmerston sends in his resignation in a letter described to be brief +and peremptory in its tone. All these letters were wrong, and none of +them ought to have been written. I see they (his colleagues or some of +them) think Palmerston never had really any intention of quitting his +post, but _more suo_ tried to bully a little, not without hopes that he +might frighten them into some concessions on the Reform Bill, and +meaning, if he failed, to knock under, as he has so often done upon +other occasions. I am much inclined to suspect there is a great deal of +truth in this hypothesis, being struck by Lady Palmerston's mildness and +abstinence from violence and abuse, and the evident anxiety of both of +them for a reconciliation, and again by the very easy terms on which he +has been induced to stay. There has been no exaction or dictation on his +part, but, so far as appears at present, something very like a +surrender. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Lord Palmerston's Return--The Czar's Designs--Uncertain + Prospects--A Dinner of Lawyers--Preparations for War--The Reform + Scheme modified--Russian Preparations for War--Entry of the Black + Sea--Intrigues of France with Russia--Attacks on Prince + Albert--Virulence of the Press--Attitude of Russia--Reluctance on + both sides to engage in War--Prince Albert's Participation in + Affairs of State--Opening of Parliament--Vindication of Prince + Albert--Offer of Marriage of Prince Napoleon to Princess Mary of + Cambridge--Publication of the Queen's Speech--The Hesitation of + Austria--Justification of the War--The Blue Books--Popularity of + the War--Last Efforts for Peace--The Emperor Napoleon's + Letter--Lord John's Reform Bill--Difficulties arising--The + Greeks--Objections to the Reform Bill--Postponement of the Reform + Bill. + + + LORD PALMERSTON RESUMES OFFICE. + +_Bowood, December 26th._--I came here to-day through town, where I saw +_en passant_ Granville and Clarendon; received a letter this morning +from Graham, telling me everything was arranged and Palmerston would +stay, which of course I knew long before. Clarendon thought Newcastle +had managed it exceedingly well, inasmuch as by this mixture of +conciliation and firmness he had got Palmerston to write and withdraw +his resignation, without any conditions; indeed, Clarendon considers +that Palmerston has virtually acceded to all the provisions of Lord +John's Bill to which he had objected. Whether his actions correspond +with this idea we shall see hereafter. The letter he has written they +say is 'artful and cunning,' but Aberdeen does not appear dissatisfied +with it; and as it is a considerable concession in him to write any +letter at all, they are right not to quarrel about the expressions. On +the whole, I am now of opinion that Palmerston will be damaged by this +proceeding. Nothing could justify his resignation at such a crisis but a +case of urgent necessity, and if he really was urged to it by such a +necessity, he clearly could not be justified in recalling his +resignation five or six days afterwards, finding himself exactly in the +same situation as he was in before it. It seems to me that he is +certainly on the horns of this dilemma, that he was either wrong in +resigning or wrong in returning. I told Lord Lansdowne so, but he did +not say much in reply; and I find the language of this place is all +favourable to Lord Palmerston, which I presume to be from their +sympathising in his objections to Reform; and they throw most of the +blame on Aberdeen for writing to him the letter he did, in which no +doubt he erred. However, they are all very glad it is made up, and +justly think that the less that is said about it hereafter the better. I +think now that some steps had been taken towards a reconciliation even +before the Thursday when Lady Palmerston spoke to me, and the Queen knew +on Thursday that the reconciliation was highly probable; for she wrote +to Lord Lansdowne that evening, and told him he need not come to Windsor +on Friday, which letter he received just as he was going to set off. The +Tories and the Radicals are equally puzzled, perplexed, and disgusted, +and do not know what to say. They accordingly solace themselves with +such inventions and falsehoods as it suits their several purposes to +circulate. + +Clarendon received a letter from Cowley while I was with him, in which +he said he sent him a paper tending to show that the Emperor of Russia +was bent upon the destruction of Turkey, and prepared to run every risk, +and encounter any enemy, in the pursuit of that object. This is, I +think, very likely; and what is equally likely that, _per damna per +coedes_, and with much danger and damage to himself, he will +accomplish the ruin of the Turk. But all speculation must be vague and +fallacious as to the results of such a war as is now beginning. + + +_January 3rd_, 1854.--I returned from Bowood on Saturday, having had +no conversation whatever on politics with Lord Lansdowne--and of course +I sought none. News came there that the Turks had accepted the proposal +of the Allied Powers to enter into a negotiation, and we are now +waiting to see what the Emperor of Russia will be disposed to do; but +almost everybody thinks he will refuse to treat, and certainly he will +never admit, as the preliminary condition of negotiation, that no former +treaties shall be revived. The Cabinet meets to-day for the purpose, I +conclude, of resuming the consideration of the Reform Bill. The only +thing Lord Lansdowne did say to me was, that he had had several +conversations with John Russell when he was at Bowood, and that he +thought he had made an impression on him; he evidently expected that +Lord John would make concessions in his Bill which might satisfy, or +partly so, him and Palmerston. + + + PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. + +_January 5th._--I dined on Tuesday with the Chancellor, Lord Cranworth: +an array of lawyers, the Chancellor of Ireland (a coarse, vulgar-looking +man, with twitchings in his face), Lord Campbell, Alderson, Coleridge, +and the Solicitor-General (Bethell); besides these Aberdeen, Graham, and +one or two more men. + +I sat next to Graham and had much talk. He said the Cabinet that morning +had gone off easily, and he thought matters would proceed quietly now. +Palmerston is quite at his ease and just as if nothing had happened, +which was exactly like him. Graham thinks the Emperor of Russia is +determined on war, and will not consent to negotiate; he said he had +been as anxious as any man to maintain peace, but if we were driven to +go to war, he was for waging it with the utmost vigour, and inflicting +as much injury as we could on Russia, and that we might strike very +severe blows. It was commonly supposed Sebastopol was unassailable by +sea, but he was not satisfied of that, as they are not in possession of +sufficient information to be at all sure about it, but that he did not +know what a powerful fleet with the aid of steam could not accomplish. +He was inclined to believe that such a fleet might force the entrance to +the place and destroy the Russian fleets, but that it would probably +cost many ships to effect such an operation. In discussing the +probability of Russia and Turkey being brought to terms we agreed that +the conditions accepted by the Turks should prove a sufficient basis. +When I asked him whether this would not satisfy even Palmerston, and +whether he would not be desirous of peace if it could be so brought +about, he said he thought not, that Palmerston's politics were always +personal, and that nothing would satisfy him now but to _humiliate_ the +Emperor. + +Yesterday afternoon I saw Clarendon at the Foreign Office. He said the +Cabinet went off smoothly enough, and Palmerston did not appear +dissatisfied; confirmed what Graham said of his easy manner--no +awkwardness or reserve. Aberdeen had written to him in answer to his +letter recalling his resignation, saying he wondered he should have +thought the matter of the Reform Bill _final_; and John Russell, when it +was all over, called on him. The alterations in the Reform Bill were +principally these: to extend somewhat the disfranchisement and to give +more of the seats to the counties (which was what both Lord Lansdowne +and Palmerston wished), and to reduce the county franchise from 20 to +10, taking Locke King's plan, the town franchise to be 6_l._, with three +years' rating, as originally proposed. This is intended to admit the +working classes; as Clarendon said, the _principle_ of the last Reform +Bill having been to _exclude_ them, and this to _admit_ them. It seems +now that Lansdowne and Palmerston will not dissent from this plan, +though they do not like it. The various propositions were put to the +vote _seriatim_ in the Cabinet and carried _nem. diss._, so that, +instead of everything having been conceded to Palmerston (as the lying +newspapers proclaimed), nothing has been; and he has, on the contrary, +knocked under. + +Clarendon showed me the Note submitted to the Turkish Government with +the proposals as the basis of negotiations, to which we have not yet +received a formal answer; but from a confused telegraphic message they +think the Turks have accepted them. These terms will then have to go to +St. Petersburg. But meanwhile the notification to the Emperor of the +orders to our fleets was to reach St. Petersburg this day, and Clarendon +thinks it exceedingly likely this will produce an immediate declaration +of war on his part. His warlike preparations are enormous, and it is +said that the Church has granted him a loan of four and a half millions +to defray them. I told Clarendon what Graham had said to me of +Palmerston's disposition. He said he did not know, but it was not +unlikely, and quite true about personal motives always influencing his +conduct; and that he had always pleased himself with the reflexion that +the downfall of Louis Philippe might be traced to the Montpensier +marriage, which had really been the remote cause of it. Graham had told +me that Stratford was now really anxious for peace, for he began to see +the possibility of war bringing about the substitution of French +influences at Constantinople in place of Russian, and of the two he +infinitely preferred the latter. Clarendon confirmed this. + + + THE ATTACK ON SINOPE. + +_January 6th._--All going on very amicably in the Cabinet, and Pam and +Johnny the best friends possible, cutting their jokes on each other, and +Palmerston producing all his old objections to the Reform Bill just as +if it was discussed for the first time. From what has been settled in +regard to the fleets at Constantinople I think we are running an +enormous risk of some great catastrophe.[1] It appears that Admiral +Hamelin declared it was impossible to enter the Black Sea with safety, +and Baraguay d'Hilliers agreed with him. Dundas was of the same opinion, +but said he was ready to go if ordered. Stratford was not convinced of +the danger as Baraguay d'Hilliers was. Before the opinion of the French +Admiral could reach Paris orders were sent out for the fleets to enter, +and though some discretion is left to the Admirals, the orders are so +precise that it is extremely probable they will obey them in spite of +the danger, great as it is; for the Black Sea is so dark they can take +no observations, and so deep it cannot be sounded, perpetual fogs (which +make the darkness), and no harbour where the fleets can take refuge. If +the fleets should meet with any serious disaster, the indignation and +clamour here would be prodigious, and the most violent accusations would +be levelled at the Government. It would be said that they would not let +the fleets go during the summer and safe seasons, when they could have +done anything they pleased; but, having allowed the Sinope affair to +take place, and failed to bring about peace, they now send the fleets +when they can do no good and prevent no mischief, and only expose them +to damage or destruction. + +[Footnote 1: On November 30 the Russian fleet from Sebastopol attacked +the Turkish squadron in the harbour of Sinope and destroyed it. It was +this violent action on the part of Russia that at once decided the +British and French Governments to occupy the Black Sea with their +fleets. The Russian ships withdrew within the harbour of Sebastopol, +which they never left again. I believe that Admiral Dundas and Admiral +Lyons proposed to enter the Black Sea at once and intercept the Russian +vessels before they could reach Sebastopol, but this proposal was +overruled by the French officers, who were disinclined to act until they +received peremptory orders from the Emperor.] + + +_Broadlands, January 8th._--I came here on Friday; nobody is here but +the Flahaults and Azeglio; I walked with Palmerston yesterday and talked +of the Turkish question. He thinks the Emperor will not declare war on +receiving news of the orders to the fleets, but send some temporising +answer. He said that if these orders had been sent four months ago, the +whole thing would have been settled, which may or not be true; he is +very confident of the success of our naval operations, and of the damage +we may do to Russia; he has never alluded to Reform or anything +connected with it, and is in very good humour. + + + NEWSPAPER ATTACKS ON PRINCE ALBERT. + +_January 15th._--I have never yet noticed the extraordinary run there +has been for some weeks past against the Court, more particularly the +Prince, which is now exciting general attention, and has undoubtedly +produced a considerable effect throughout the country. It began a few +weeks ago in the press, particularly in the 'Daily News' and the +'Morning Advertiser,' but chiefly in the latter, and was immediately +taken up by the Tory papers, the 'Morning Herald' and the 'Standard,' +and for some time past they have poured forth article after article, and +letter after letter, full of the bitterest abuse and all sorts of lies. +The 'Morning Advertiser' has sometimes had five or six articles on the +same day all attacking and maligning Prince Albert. Many of these are +very vague, but the charges against him are principally to this effect, +that he has been in the habit of meddling improperly in public affairs, +and has used his influence to promote objects of his own and the +interests of his own family at the expense of the interests of this +country; that he is German and not English in his sentiments and +principles; that he corresponds with foreign princes and with British +Ministers abroad without the knowledge of the Government, and that he +thwarts the foreign policy of the Ministers when it does not coincide +with his own ideas and purposes. He is particularly accused of having +exerted his influence over this Government to prevent their taking the +course which they ought to have done with regard to Turkey, and of +having a strong bias towards Austria and Russia and against France. Then +it is said that he is always present when the Queen receives her +Ministers, which is unconstitutional, and that all the papers pass +through his hands or under his eyes. He is accused of interfering with +all the departments of government, more particularly with the Horse +Guards, and specifically with the recent transactions and disagreements +in that office, which led to the retirement of General Brown, the +Adjutant-General. Then he and the Queen are accused of having got up an +intrigue with foreign Powers, Austria particularly, for getting +Palmerston out of office last year; that she first hampered him in the +Foreign Office, by insisting on seeing his despatches before he sent +them off, and then that she compelled John Russell to dismiss him on the +ground of disrespectful conduct to herself, when the real reason was +condescension to the wishes of Austria, with which Power the Prince had +intimately connected himself. Charges of this sort, mixed up with +smaller collateral ones, have been repeated day after day with the +utmost virulence and insolence by both the Radical and the Tory +journals. For some time they made very little impression, and the Queen +and Prince were not at all disturbed by them; but the long continuance +of these savage libels, and the effect which their continual refutation +has evidently produced throughout the country, have turned their +indifference into extreme annoyance. I must say I never remember +anything more atrocious or unjust. Delane went to Aberdeen and told him +that immense mischief had been done, and that he ought to know that the +effect produced was very great and general, and offered (if it was +thought desirable) to take up the cudgels in defence of the Court. +Aberdeen consulted the Prince, and they were of opinion that it was +better not to put forth any defence, or rebut such charges in the press, +but to wait till Parliament meets, and take an opportunity to repel the +charges there. One of the papers announced that a Liberal member of +Parliament intended to bring the matter forward when Parliament meets, +but I do not expect he will make his appearance. At present nobody talks +of anything else, and those who come up from distant parts of the +country say that the subject is the universal topic of discussion in +country towns and on railways. It was currently reported in the Midland +and Northern counties, and actually stated in a Scotch paper, that +Prince Albert had been committed to the Tower, and there were people +found credulous and foolish enough to believe it. It only shows how much +malignity there is amongst the masses, which a profligate and impudent +mendacity can stir up, when a plausible occasion is found for doing so, +and how 'the mean are gratified by insults on the high.' It was only the +other day that the Prince was extraordinarily popular, and received +wherever he went with the strongest demonstration of public favour, and +now it would not be safe for him to present himself anywhere in public, +and very serious apprehensions are felt lest the Queen and he should be +insulted as they go to open Parliament a fortnight hence. In my long +experience I never remember anything like the virulence and profligacy +of the press for the last six months, and I rejoice that Parliament is +going to meet and fair discussion begin, for nothing else can in the +slightest degree check it, and this, it may be hoped, will. + + + VACILLATION OF THE FRENCH. + +_January 16th._--The attacks on the Prince go on with redoubled +violence, and the most absurd lies are put forth and readily believed. +It is very difficult to know what to do, but the best thing will be a +discussion in the House of Commons, if possible in both Houses. It is +now said that Sir Robert Peel is going to raise one. Clarendon told me +yesterday that he should not be surprised if the Emperor of Russia were +to recall Brunnow and not Kisseleff, as he is more particularly incensed +against England, knowing very well that we have acted consistently and +in a straightforward direction throughout, while the French have been +continually vacillating, and have kept up a sort of coquetry with him; +for example, Castelbajac congratulated the Emperor on the Sinope affair, +and said he did so as a Minister, a soldier, and a Christian. A pretty +Government to depend on, and which our stupid and ignorant press is +lauding to the skies for its admirable and chivalrous conduct as +compared to ours. + + +_January 21st._--For some days past the Tory papers have relaxed their +violence against the Court, while the Radical ones, especially the +'Morning Advertiser,' have redoubled their attacks, and not a day passes +without some furious article, and very often five or six articles and +letters, all in the same strain. It is not to be denied or concealed +that these abominable libels have been greedily swallowed all over the +country and a strong impression produced. The press has been infamous, +and I have little doubt that there is plenty of libellous matter to be +found in some of the articles, if it should be deemed advisable for the +Attorney-General to take it up. There can be little doubt that the Tory +leaders got alarmed and annoyed at the lengths to which their papers +were proceeding, and have taken measures to stop them. The Radical +papers nothing can stop, because they find their account in the libels; +the sale of the 'Advertiser' is enormously increased since it has begun +this course, and, finding perfect immunity, it increases every day in +audacity and virulence. One of the grounds of attack (in the 'Morning +Herald' and 'Standard' principally) has been the illegality of the +Prince being a Privy Councillor. In reply to this I wrote a letter (in +my own name) showing what the law and practice are, but incautiously +said the argument had been advanced by a member of the _Carlton Club_, +whereas it was in fact a member of the _Conservative_, and I had +imagined the two Clubs were the same. This mistake drew down on me +various letters, attacking and abusing me, and for several days the +'Morning Herald' has been full of coarse and stupid invectives against +me, supplied by correspondents, who, from the details in their letters, +must be persons with whom I live in great social intimacy. They are, +however, of a very harmless description, and too dull to be effective. + + +_January 25th._--I wrote a letter in the 'Times' (signed Juvenal), +showing up the lies of the 'Morning Advertiser,' and how utterly +unworthy of credit such a paper is. I find Palmerston and Aberdeen have +come to an understanding as to what shall be said in the way of +explanation, which is a good thing. It is not to be much, and they will +tell the same story. One faint ray of hope for peace has dawned. The +Emperor on receiving our Note has not recalled Brunnow, but ordered him +to ask for explanations, and he is only to withdraw if the answer is of +a certain tenor. Clarendon told him he could not give him an answer at +the moment, and Seymour had said in the P.S. to his last despatch, 'For +God's sake don't give Brunnow any answer for three days.' It is clearly +one of two things--the Emperor meditates making peace, or he wants to +gain time. The fact is, _he has got the answer_, for our instructions to +the Admirals (which were communicated to him) explain our intentions. In +a few days more we must receive his reply to the pacific overture. + + + COUNT ORLOFF'S MISSION TO VIENNA. + +_January 29th._--Brunnow has not received his answer, but is to have it +on Tuesday, when I imagine he will announce his departure. Kisseleff has +not had his either, and there is some disagreement as to the answers +between us and the French Government. Clarendon has sent to Paris the +answer he proposes to give, but the French wish not to give Kisseleff +any answer at all, nor even to tell him what it is, but to send their +answer through their Ambassador at Petersburg, to which Clarendon +strenuously objects. This is only for the purpose of delay, the Emperor +Napoleon being so reluctant to go to war, and anxious to put off the +evil day as long as he can. It is not wonderful, for the accounts of the +distress in France, the stagnation of trade, and the financial +embarrassments, and the consequent alarm that prevails as well as +suffering, make it very natural that the Government should shrink from +plunging into a war the duration of which is doubtful, but the expense +certain. Colloredo told me the other day that he thought Orloff's +mission to Vienna afforded a good prospect of peace, because he was sure +Orloff would not have accepted the mission unless he had really expected +to bring it to a successful issue, but Clarendon told me last night that +Orloff is only empowered to propose the same conditions which the +Emperor originally insisted on, and that his real object is to detach +Austria and Prussia from the alliance, by any means he can and by +offering them any terms they please. + +The attacks on the Prince are subsiding, except from the 'Morning +Advertiser,' which goes doggedly on in spite of its lies being exposed. +John Russell told me the other day that soon after the Queen's marriage +she asked Melbourne whether the Prince ought to see all the papers and +know everything. Melbourne consulted him about it, and he thinks that he +consulted the Cabinet, but is not quite sure of this. However, Melbourne +and Lord John (and the whole Cabinet if he did consult them) agreed that +it was quite proper she should show him and tell him everything, and +that was the beginning of his being mixed up in public affairs. Why he +did not then begin to be present at her interviews with her Ministers I +do not know, but that practice began when Peel came in, and Lord John +said he found it established when he came back, and he saw no objection +to it. He told me last night that the Queen had talked to him about the +present clamour, which of course annoyed her, and she said, if she had +had the Prince to talk to and employ in explaining matters at the time +of the Bedchamber quarrel with Peel, that affair would not have +happened. Lord John said he thought she must have been advised by +somebody to act as she did, to which she replied with great candour and +naïveté, 'No, it was entirely my own foolishness.' This is the first +time I have heard of her acknowledging that it was 'foolishness,' and is +an avowal creditable to her sense. Lord John said, when Lord Spencer was +consulted on the matter he replied, 'It is a bad ground for a _Whig_ +Government to stand on, but as gentlemen you can't do otherwise.' + + +_February 1st._--Parliament met yesterday, a greater crowd than usual to +see the procession. The Queen and Prince were very well received, as +well as usual, if not better; but all the _enthusiasm_ was bestowed on +the Turkish Minister, the mob showing their sympathy in his cause by +vociferous cheering the whole way. The night went off capitally for the +Government in both Houses. In the Lords Derby made a slashing speech, +but very imprudent, and played into Aberdeen's hands, who availed +himself thereof very well, and made a very good answer, which is better +to read than it was to hear. Derby afforded him a good opportunity of +vindicating the Prince, which he did very effectively, and then Derby +followed him and joined in the vindication, but he clumsily allowed +Aberdeen to take the initiative. Clarendon answered Clanricarde, who was +hostile, but not very bitter; the former showed how much he suffers from +want of practice and facility. I thought he would have failed in the +middle, but he recovered himself and went on. Derby was put into a great +rage by Aberdeen's speech, and could not resist attacking _me_ (whom he +saw behind the Throne). He attacked my letter (signed C.), in which I +had pitched into the Tories for their attacks on the Prince. I saw his +people turn round and look towards me, but I did not care a fig, and was +rather pleased to see how what I wrote had galled them, and struck home. +In the Commons the Government was still more triumphant. The Opposition +were disorganised and feeble; all who spoke on that side took different +views, and very little was said. John Russell made a very good speech, +and took the bull by the horns about the Prince, entered at once on the +subject, and delivered an energetic vindication of and eulogium on him +in his best style. It was excellent, and between his speech and +Aberdeen's and all those who chimed in, that abomination may be +considered to be destroyed altogether, and we shall probably hear no +more of it. + + OFFER OF MARRIAGE TO PRINCESS MARY. + +This evening ---- told me a secret that surprised me much. I asked him +casually if he knew for what purpose Prince Napoleon was gone to +Brussels, when he told me that he was gone to try and get King Leopold +to use his influence here to bring about his marriage with the Princess +Mary, the Duke of Cambridge's sister; that for a long time past +Palmerston had been strongly urging this match with the Queen, and had +written heaps of letters to press it, having been in constant +communication about it with Walewski and the Emperor himself. They had +made such a point of it that the Queen had thought herself obliged to +consult the Princess Mary herself about it, who would not listen to it. +The negotiator did not make the proposal more palateable, and he did not +recommend himself the more, by suggesting that such a match was very +preferable to any little German prince. It is incredible that he should +have mixed himself in an affair that he could hardly fail to know must +be very disagreeable to the Queen, besides that the Princess is not +likely to sacrifice her country and her position for such a speculation, +so hazardous and uncertain at best, and involving immediate obligations +and necessities at which her pride could not fail to revolt. + + +_February 2nd._--The above story, put together with some other things, +leads to strange conjectures about Palmerston, which seem to justify the +suspicions and convictions of the Court and others about him. I have +before alluded to his intimate connexion with Walewski, and the +notorious favour with which he is regarded by the Emperor, who considers +him as his great _appui_ here. + +Before proceeding I must, however, refer to another matter, which seems +to have no connexion with it. There is always great anxiety on the part +of the press to get the Queen's Speech, so as to give a sketch of it the +morning of the day when it is made, and those who do not get it are +very jealous of those who do. There has been great bother about it on +some former occasions, once particularly, because one of the Derbyites +gave it to their paper, the 'Morning Herald,' it having been +communicated in strict confidence, and according to recent custom, to +the leaders of the party. The other day Aberdeen refused to give it even +to the 'Times,' and of course to any other paper, and he begged +Palmerston not to send it to the 'Morning Post,' which is notoriously +his paper. Nevertheless, the Speech appeared in the 'Times,' and what +seemed more extraordinary, in the 'Morning Advertiser,' the paper which +has been the fiercest opponent of the Government, and the most +persevering and virulent of the assailants of the Prince. How these +papers got the Speech nobody knows, but as there were four dinners, at +which at least a hundred men must have been present, it is easy to +imagine that some one of these may have communicated it. Delane has +friends in all parties, and he told me that he had no less than three +offers of it, and therefore he had no difficulty. But how did the +'Morning Advertiser' come by it? It is politically opposed to both the +Ministry and the Derbyites; but it must have got the Speech from some +person of one or the other party, with whom it has some community of +interest or object. The run upon the Prince was carried on equally by +the 'Morning Herald' and the 'Morning Advertiser' till within ten days +of the meeting of Parliament, when the former was stopped; the latter +never ceased. I have heard it surmised more than once that these attacks +proceeded from Paris, and were paid for by the Emperor Louis Napoleon, +but I never could believe it. The other day I met M. Alexandre Thomas at +dinner at Marble Hill, and we came to town together. He told me he had +no doubt the abuse of the Prince was the work of the Emperor, and paid +for by him. It did not make much impression on me at the moment; but +now, putting all these things together, I cannot help partaking in the +opinion that the whole thing has been got up, managed, and paid for by +Louis Napoleon, Walewski, and another person here. Brunnow received his +answer yesterday, with many civilities and regrets, _de part et +d'autre_. Orloff as we hear has failed in his mission to cajole the +Austrian Government, but _non constat_ that Austria will act a firm part +against Russia. If she would only announce her intention to do so, the +matter would probably be settled; for Russia would, as we believe, +certainly come to terms, if she was sure of Austria acting against her, +so that, in fact, Austria holds the decision in her own hands, and the +greatest service she can do to Russia herself would be to compel her to +surrender, as she may still do with an appearance of credit and dignity. + + + PUBLICATION OF OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. + +_February 9th._--Nobody now thinks of anything but of the coming war and +its vigorous prosecution. The national blood is up, and those who most +earnestly deprecated war are all for hitting as hard as we can now that +it is forced upon us. The publication of the Blue Books has relieved the +Government from a vast amount of prejudice and suspicion. The public +judgement of their management of the Eastern Question is generally very +favourable, and impartial people applaud their persevering efforts to +avert war, and are satisfied that everything was done that the national +honour or dignity required. I have read through the thick volumes, and +am satisfied that there is on the whole no case to be made against the +Government, though there are some things that might perhaps have been +better done; but what is there of any sort, or at any time, of which as +much may not be said when we have been made wiser by experience and +events? These Books are very creditable in the great ability they +display. As Lord Ellenborough said in the House of Lords, the case had +been most ably conducted, both by Government and its agents. Clarendon's +despatches are exceedingly good, and in one respect greatly superior to +Palmerston's when he was at the Foreign Office: they are very measured +and dignified, and he never descends to the scolding, and the taunts, +and sarcasms in which the other delighted. Palmerston always wrote as if +his object was to gain a victory in a war of words, and have the best of +an argument; Clarendon, on the contrary, keeps steadily in view a great +political object, and never says a word but with a view to attain it. +Stratford's despatches are very able, and very well written, but they +leave the impression (which we know to be the truth), that he has said +and done a great deal more than we are informed of; that he is the real +cause of this war, and that he might have prevented it, if he had chosen +to do so, I have no doubt whatever. His letters have evidently been +studiously composed with reference to the Blue Book, and that he may +appear in a popular light. I find he has been all the time in +correspondence with Palmerston, who, we may be sure, has incited him to +fan the flame, and encourage the Turks to push matters to extremities. I +should like to know what Palmerston would have said, when he was at the +Foreign Office, if one of his colleagues had corresponded with any one +of his Ministers abroad, in a sense differing from that in which he +himself instructed him. The wonderful thing is the impunity which he +continues to enjoy, and how, daring and unscrupulous as he is, and +determined to have his own way, he constantly escapes detection and +exposure. The good case which the Government has put forward, and the +approach of war, have apparently extinguished or suspended all +opposition, and the Session, which everybody expected to be so stormy +and dangerous, bids fair to be as easy as possible. Great difference of +opinion exists as to the wisdom of committing our Baltic fleet to +Charles Napier. It was, however, decided at the Cabinet yesterday that +he should have it,[1] and we have got a very powerful squadron ready. +The war is certainly very popular, but I don't think its popularity will +last long when we begin to pay for it, unless we are encouraged and +compensated for our sacrifices by some very flattering successes. + +[Footnote 1: There was a question of appointing Lord Dundonald, a far +abler man; but he was seventy-nine, and besides he made it a condition +that he should be allowed to destroy Cronstadt by some chemical process +of his own invention.] + + +_February 15th._--Several days ago there was a short discussion in the +House of Lords, in which the Government did not cut a good figure. +Aberdeen made a declaration in favour of peace, saying 'war was not +inevitable,' which produced an explosion against him, and it was so +imprudent _in him_, and so calculated to mislead, that Clarendon +insisted on his rising again and saying that no negotiations were going +on, threatening to do so himself if Aberdeen did not. He complied, but +the whole thing produced a bad effect, although there are no +negotiations to which we are a party. Austria is making a new attempt +with the Emperor, to which she was encouraged by Orloff before he went. +We are satisfied with the conduct of Austria, but though she has +rejected the Russian overtures, she will not engage to join us against +Russia in certain contingencies. If she would do this, it would most +probably settle the affair, and make the Emperor agree to reasonable +terms. + + LETTER OF NAPOLEON TO NICHOLAS. + +This morning appears in all the newspapers the autograph letter of the +Emperor Napoleon to the Emperor Nicholas, which has been so much talked +of. If the Emperor of Russia at once closes with it, he will place us in +a great dilemma, but it may produce peace. On Sunday Clarendon told me +all about this letter. The Emperor took it into his head to write it, +and sent a copy here for the approval of our Government. Clarendon made +many objections, particularly to the suggestion of a simultaneous +withdrawal of the Russian troops and the Allied fleets, and to the +separate negotiation of Turkey, two points we had all along laid great +stress upon. Walewski returned the letter with the objections raised by +us, and soon after informed Clarendon that the letter had been altered +according to our suggestions, and the objectionable parts omitted; but +he did not bring him the amended letter. Clarendon wrote to Cowley, and +said what had passed, and that he was glad the alterations had been +made, but was surprised the letter, as altered, had not been shown to +him. Cowley told Drouyn de Lhuys, who said they had sent the letter to +Walewski, and he could not think why Clarendon had not seen it, and he +wrote to Walewski desiring him to take it to Clarendon. He did so, when, +much to his annoyance as well as surprise, he found that they had only +made a few verbal alterations, and left the really objectionable parts +nearly the same as before. This may put us in a very awkward position. +If the Emperor Nicholas agrees, we must either agree also to what we +entirely disapprove, or disavow the French, and perhaps separate from +them; and it will be very embarrassing if the Government are asked in +Parliament whether they were a party to this letter and its proposals. +Clarendon told me this was only one of many instances in which the +conduct of the French had been very _louche_ and insincere. He thinks +this more attributable to Drouyn than to his master, and Walewski has +behaved with great loyalty and straightforwardness; but hardly a week +has passed that he has not had to complain of something done by the +French Government in a separate or clandestine manner, or of some +proposal which they ought not to make, and this makes one of the +difficulties of the position of which nobody is aware--a fine prospect +to be married to such a people on a great question; but what can be +expected from the Government of such a Sovereign and such Ministers? It +confirms my long settled opinion, that we are always in extreme danger +of being thrown over by them. With regard to the whole question (and +omitting these details) the Emperor Napoleon has behaved well enough to +us; for he has adhered steadily to the joint policy, though it is his +interest to maintain peace, and public opinion in France runs as +strongly that way as here it runs in the opposite direction. + +The day before yesterday John Russell introduced his Reform Bill, having +resisted the most urgent representations and entreaties to postpone it. +His speech was very tame, and nothing could be more cold than its +reception. The few remarks that were made were almost all against it, or +particular parts of it, and it has excited no enthusiasm in any quarter. +The prevailing impression is that it will not pass if it is persisted +in. If any Reform Bill were to be proposed at all, this does not seem to +be a very bad measure, and some points in it are good; but nobody wanted +any measure, and the few Radicals who do, do not care for the +particular measures Lord John proposes, and ask for other things which +he will not hear of, so that he offends and alarms the Conservatives +without conciliating the Liberals, and he disgusts and provokes his own +adherents by his refusal to defer his Bill. Palmerston and his clique +are sure to abuse it, and to employ all the underhand means they can to +stir up opposition to it. + + + INSURRECTION OF THE GREEKS. + +_February 20th._--John Russell answered the questions put in the House +of Commons about the Emperor Napoleon's letter very dexterously, telling +the truth, but in a way not offensive to the Emperor. He also made an +excellent speech on the debate on the Blue Books, brought on by Layard +in a bitter speech very personal against Clarendon. The House of Commons +as well as the country are so excessively warlike that they are ready to +give any number of men and any amount of money, and seem only afraid the +Government may not ask enough. I expect we shall have had quite enough +of it before we have done with this question, and that our successes and +the effect produced on Russia will not be commensurate with the +prevailing ardour and expectation here. The most serious of all +difficulties seems to be rapidly coming, the insurrection of the Greek +population; and this is a matter which has already caused a good deal of +difference of opinion and debate in the Cabinet, one half wanting to +assist in putting down the Greeks, the other half opposing this scheme. +The danger of attacking the Greeks is, that we should thereby throw them +at once into the arms of Russia, whereas the true policy is to persuade +them if possible to be quiet, and induce them to look up to us for +protection and future support. It is an element in the question of great +importance, and very difficult to deal with. It is disgusting to hear +everybody and to see all writers vying with each other in laudation of +Stratford Canning, who has been the principal cause of the war. They all +think that, if he had been sincere in his desire for peace, and for an +accommodation with Russia, he might have accomplished it, but on the +contrary he was bent on bringing on war. He said as much to Lord Bath, +who was at Constantinople. Lord Bath told him he had witnessed the +fleets sailing into the Black Sea, when he replied, 'You have brought +some good news, for that is _war_. The Emperor of Russia chose to make +it a personal quarrel with me, and now I am revenged.' This Lord Bath +wrote to Lady Ashburton, who told Clarendon. I asked John Russell +yesterday why he sent Stratford back to Constantinople. He said when he +sent him the quarrel was between France and Russia, and only about the +Holy Places; they knew nothing there of Menschikoff's demands, and +nobody was so qualified as Stratford to assist in settling the original +affairs. + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S REFORM BILL. + +_February 25th._--Last night Clarendon made a capital speech in the +House of Lords, far superior to any he ever made before, and the best +that has yet been made in defence of the Ministerial policy. He has got +on wonderfully since the Session began, each of his speeches being much +better than the preceding one, till at last he has made one of very +great merit and power, as all admit. It was spirited, dignified and +discreet. I began to fear he would never get over the misfortune of his +want of early practice, and never excel as a speaker; but this speech +was so good, that I now hope he will, having acquired confidence and +facility, speak up to the level of his ability. The rage for this war +gets every day more vehement, and nobody seems to fear anything, but +that we may not spend money and men enough in waging it. The few sober +people who have courage enough to hint at its being impolitic and +uncalled for are almost hooted down, and their warnings and scruples are +treated with indignation and contempt. It does now appear as if Austria +had made up her mind to act with us, and that we may depend upon her. +The French made known to the Austrian Government some time ago that, in +the alternative of her taking a hostile part, she must expect to be +attacked in Italy, and Clarendon early in the business pointed out to +Colloredo all the serious consequences his Government had to apprehend +in all parts of her dominions if she abetted Russia. With a war so +popular, and supported cordially by Parliament, and a flourishing +revenue and trade, Government would look round on a cloudless horizon, +if it were not for the Reform Bill, which is a matter replete with +uncertainty, difficulty, and danger. Nobody has an idea whether it will +be carried in the House of Commons; almost all the friends of Government +want Lord John to withdraw it, and the Cabinet is divided on the +subject, Lord John, Graham, and Aberdeen being strongly in favour of +pressing it on at all hazards, Palmerston violently against. He has now +reproduced all his own objections and arguments against the Bill itself, +as well as against forcing it on now, quite justified in the latter, but +unjustifiable in the former course. Having once knocked under, and come +back to office, consenting to swallow it, however reluctantly, it is too +late to cavil at the Bill itself; but he may consistently and properly +unite his voice with the voices of all prudent and moderate men, and +strenuously resist its being persevered in at this moment against a +feeling and opinion which are all but universal. On the whole, I rather +expect (but with much doubt) that Lord John will yield to the general +sentiment, and consent to postpone it. + + +_February 27th._--We are on the very verge of a Ministerial crisis. John +Russell will listen to no reason about his Reform Bill, he insists on +going on with it, and will have it that his honour and character demand +that he should, and he says, 'When the honour of public men is +preserved, the country is safe.' Clarendon dined here yesterday, and +told me he thought Lord John would break up the Government. It is, in +fact, a political duel between Lord John and Palmerston. ---- thinks, +and probably he is right, that at the last moment Palmerston will give +way, but in the meantime he himself and all his followers and admirers +are moving Heaven and earth to defeat the measure, and to set up +opposition to it--none more active than Hayter, Secretary to the +Treasury, whose borough is one of those to be disfranchised. Everybody +thinks Sir Edward Denny's motion will be carried, and if it is that Lord +John will retire. If it were not for the difficulty about leading the +House of Commons, this would not signify. I do not see how any +arrangement is possible but that Palmerston should take the lead, but I +do not know if this will not lead to other resignations. Clarendon is +indignant at the state of things brought about by Lord John's obstinacy. +He told me that Graham supported Lord John vehemently, but that Aberdeen +took no strong part, and had behaved very well. Having accepted Lord +John's Reform measure, and pledged himself to it, he was ready still to +abide by that pledge. There never was such a _mess_ as it all is. +Clarendon is now very hot on this war, which he fancies is to produce +great and uncontemplated effects. He says for very many years past +Russia has been the great incubus on European improvement, and the real +cause of half the calamities that have afflicted the world, and he +thinks a great opportunity now presents itself of extinguishing her +pernicious influence, and by liberating other countries from it, the +march of improvement and better government will of necessity be +developed and accelerated, and in this way civilisation itself may be +the gainer by this contest. The Emperor Napoleon has earnestly pressed +that our contingent should be put under the command of the French +Marshal, to which we have altogether objected, and he has acquiesced, +though reluctantly. We have agreed on a sort of _mezzo termine_, viz. +that, in the event of a battle in which both forces are engaged, they +should be under one Commander-in-Chief, who must be the Frenchman. +Clarendon lamented that he had got no better Minister at Vienna than +Westmorland just now, who though well meaning is nearly useless, as +Colloredo is here, who will take nothing on himself. He says Castelbajac +at St. Petersburg has really not represented the French Government at +all, nor acted in any way in conjunction with Seymour, but been all +along a base courtier of the Emperor Nicholas. Clarendon has again and +again remonstrated through Cowley with Drouyn de Lhuys on this +inconsistency, and Drouyn has always replied that he is quite aware of +it, and has been at least as much annoyed at it as we could be, but that +the Emperor would never allow him to be recalled. I asked Clarendon +whether, now that war really was inevitable, Aberdeen was more +reconciled to it, and he said not at all; he yielded to the necessity, +but very sulkily, and in the discussions relating to it in the Cabinet +he took no part, and evinced a total indifference, or rather disgust. +However, he expressed great admiration of Clarendon's speech, which he +said was the best he ever heard. Lord John has sent to his brother to +come to town, telling him a crisis is at hand. Granville, who is all +with Lord John, personally and politically a Reformer, and highly +approving of this Bill, is going to him to-day to see if he can prevail +on him to give way to the general opinion, and at all events to put him +in possession of what is said and thought on the subject. + + + THE REFORM BILL POSTPONED. + +_March 6th._--After a great struggle John Russell was persuaded to put +off his Reform Bill, but only till the end of April, so that in a few +weeks the same embarrassment will begin again. The satisfaction at its +being deferred at all is great and general, and everybody thinks that +some expedient will be devised for putting it off again, when the time +comes, and so that we shall be rid of it for this year. All the Cabinet +was for putting it off, except Graham and Aberdeen. The former has +devoted himself to Lord John, and goes heart and soul with him. Why +Aberdeen took that view I cannot imagine, unless he wished to bring +about a crisis, and to make his escape by favour of it. My own opinion +at present is, that on April 27 Lord John will insist on bringing it on, +and abide the consequences. The tenour of his speech and still more that +of Aberdeen, the same night, lead me to that conclusion. The Radicals +with old Hume at the head of them, approved of the course Lord John +took, but expressly with the understanding that he really meant and +would bring it on at the period to which it was postponed; and as he is +sure to be incessantly urged on by his _entourage_ to be firm when the +time comes, and he will be very reluctant to encounter the indignation +and reproaches of his reforming friends and adherents, the chances seem +to me to be in favour of the battle taking place. I think his speech on +putting it off was not at all good, nor what he ought to have said. He +laid himself open to an attack from Disraeli, which was very just, and +he could not answer it. It was quite absurd to ground the postponement +on the war and its exigencies, and it was moreover not the real and true +reason. He put it off because he was importuned by everybody to do so, +because Hayter proved to him that he would infallibly be defeated, and +because there was no other way of preventing a break-up of the +Government. He might have anticipated Disraeli's philippic by reverting +to what he had before said, repeating his own conviction that the war +afforded no reason for not going on with the Bill; but that he found so +many of his own friends and such a general concurrence of feeling in the +House of Commons on the other side, added to great indifference in the +country, that he had thought it right to defer to those opinions, and +give up his own to them. Such a defence of his conduct as this would +have been more effective and more consistent with the truth, but it +would have involved something like an acknowledgement of error, from +which it is probable that his pride and obstinacy revolted, so he made +what I think was a very bad speech. If he does bring it on again in +April, I expect he will be defeated, and then retire. In any case his +retirement will lead to Palmerston's elevation, as leader of the House +of Commons if Lord John goes alone, as Prime Minister if Graham and +Aberdeen go with him, and there seems no alternative, unless Lansdowne +can be induced to replace Aberdeen, which some think not impossible, +though it would only be for a short time. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Dinner to Sir Charles Napier--A Ministerial Indiscretion--Doubts as + to the Reform Bill--Discontent of Lord John Russell--The Secret + Correspondence with Russia--War declared--Weakness of the + Government--Mr. Greville disapproves the War--Divisions in the + Cabinet--Withdrawal of the Reform Bill--Blunder of the + Government--The Fast Day--Licences to trade in War--Death of the + Marquis of Anglesey--Mr. Gladstone's Financial + Failures--Dissolution of Parties--Mr. Gladstone's Budget--Lord + Cowley's Opinion of the Emperor's Position--The House of Commons + supports the War--Disraeli attacks Lord John Russell--A Change of + Plans--Lord John Russell's Mismanagement--Attacks on Lord + Aberdeen--Popularity of the War--Government Majority in the + Lords--Attitude of the German Powers--A Meeting of the Liberal + Party--An Appointment cancelled--Expedition to the Crimea--English + and French Policy united in Spain--Close of the Session--The + Character of Lord Aberdeen's Government--Effect of the Quarrel with + Russia--Lord Palmerston's Resignation--Waywardness of the House of + Commons. + + + DINNER TO SIR CHARLES NAPIER. + +_London, March 13th_, 1854.--The only event of recent occurrence was +the dinner given last week to Sir Charles Napier at the Reform Club, +with Lord Palmerston in the chair. Everybody disapproves of the whole +proceeding, which is thought to have been unwise and in bad taste. The +only Ministers there besides Palmerston were Graham and Molesworth, and +the former made an excessively foolish, indiscreet speech, which has +been generally censured, and to-night he is to be called to account for +it in the House of Commons. It is marvellous that a man of mature age, +who has been nearly forty years in public life, should be so rash and +ill-judged in his speeches.[1] There seems now to be a better chance of +John Russell's again putting off his Reform Bill next month. There are +not two opinions, except among the extreme Radicals, of the expediency +of his doing so, and his best friends (including his brother) greatly +regret that he did not put it off _sine die_ instead of to another fixed +day. + +[Footnote 1: At this dinner at the Reform Club, Sir James Graham made +an intemperate speech in which he said: 'My gallant friend (Napier) says +that when he goes into the Baltic he will declare war. I, as First Lord +of the Admiralty, give my free consent to do so. I hope the war may be +short, and that it may be sharp.' Sir Charles Napier's subsequent +performances in the Baltic did not at all correspond to this heroic +language, and did not add to his former reputation.] + + +_March 20th._--There has been a little episode, not very important, but +which being entirely personal caused some noise in the world. About a +week ago, or perhaps more, appeared the Petersburg 'Gazette' with a sort +of manifesto, complaining bitterly of the conduct of the British +Government, which was said to be the more inexcusable as a confidential +correspondence had taken place between the two Governments, and we had +been all along informed of their views and intentions. The 'Times' +published this (as did all the other papers), and with it a peremptory +denial of its truth, stating that John Russell, then Foreign Secretary, +had sent an indignant refusal to the proposals made to us. Derby took +this up in the House of Lords, complaining of State secrets having been +imparted to the 'Times,' and insinuating his belief that Aberdeen had +communicated them. Aberdeen denied the imputation with some resentment, +and said that a flagrant breach of confidence had been certainly +committed, and he had reason to believe that the culprit was a man +formerly in the Foreign Office as clerk, though now out of it, who had +been appointed by Lord Malmesbury. On this Malmesbury flared up, and +desired to know his name, which Aberdeen said he did not know. On a +subsequent night Malmesbury again took the matter up, and challenged +Aberdeen to give the name and produce his proof. Aberdeen said he had +received the information in a way which left no doubt on his mind of its +truth, and he was willing to leave the matter to the gentleman himself, +and if he denied it, he would acknowledge that he was mistaken and had +been misinformed. By this time everybody was aware that a young man of +the name of Astley was the accused party. He wrote a letter to +Malmesbury denying the charge, but his letter was not very distinct. +However, Malmesbury read it in the House, and called on Aberdeen to +retract the charge, which he immediately and completely did, and there +the matter ended; but though the man is thus acquitted, and the +Opposition papers abuse Aberdeen (who in fact was very imprudent to +mention it), there seems no doubt that he really did babble about this +matter, though it is very certain it was not from him the 'Times' got +its information.[1] The story told is this: Astley talked of the +correspondence to some person in a railway carriage. That person told it +to Lady Ashburton, who repeated it to Clarendon. When thus talked of, it +might easily get to the 'Times;' and the only wonder is, it did not get +into many other papers besides. + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S REFORM BILL. + +Lord John Russell continues in a very perplexed and uncertain state +about his Reform Bill, and hesitates whether to bring it on or not next +month. On one hand he is urged to do so by his little knot of domestic +adherents, by Graham vehemently, and to a certain degree by Aberdeen; on +the other he is entreated and argued with by all the rest of his +colleagues, by his brother, by Hayter, and by an immense majority of his +political friends and supporters. Still he hesitates. He has got a +notion, and others tell him so, that his character is concerned in +bringing it on, and that he is bound to risk everything to maintain it. +Graham is quite inconceivable; always rash at one moment and cowardly at +another, he is now, and on this question, in his rashest mood, and he +has persuaded himself, and tries to persuade Lord John, that if he +perseveres and is beaten (which he cannot disguise from himself is +probable, if not certain) he will only have to go out in order to return +in triumph as Prime Minister. If a dissolution is proposed, and the +Cabinet consent to it, he fancies a new Parliament will give him +everything; if the Cabinet will not dissolve, Lord John, Graham and +Aberdeen would retire, the Government be broken up, and Lord John would +have Parliament and the country with him in forming another. All this I +believe to be pure delusion. By persisting in his course he may, and +probably would, break up the Government, but he would destroy himself, +he would never be forgiven by his party or by the country at large for +breaking up the Government at such a moment as this, and all his visions +of success and power would soon be dispersed. Whatever else might +happen, he would be excluded from office, probably for ever. His +discontent with his present position the more inclines him to take this +hazardous step, because he wants a change of some sort. + +The Duke of Bedford came to me the other day to tell me Lord John was +determined no longer to go on as he now is, and it seems that he is +moved principally by pecuniary considerations.[2] He is poor and has a +large family. While he is in office he is obliged to incur expenses by +giving dinners and parties, and this additional expense is defrayed by +the Duke, but in a very unsatisfactory way. Lord John sends him a sort +of estimate or account of his extra expenses, and the Duke pays the +money. It is not surprising that Lord John dislikes such assistance as +this, and though he never complains, he is probably mortified and +provoked that his brother does not once for all give him a sum of money +or a large annuity. Everybody else is amazed that he does not do this; +but though he is much attached to Lord John, admires and is proud of +him, his love of money is so great that he cannot bring himself, even +for his brother, to do a generous thing on a great scale. His colossal +fortune, which goes on increasing every day, and for which he has no +use, might well be employed in making his brother easy, and in buying +golden opinions for himself; but the passion of avarice and the pleasure +of accumulation outweigh all such considerations, and he falls in +readily with Lord John's notion of taking an office for the sake of its +emoluments. The present idea is to have this matter settled before +Easter, to turn out Mr. Strutt from the Duchy of Lancaster, and put +Lord John in the place, with an increased salary during his occupation +of it. Nothing, however, is settled about it yet. + +The publication of the secret correspondence with Russia has excited +great interest, and does great credit to the Government, but it +increases the public indignation against the Emperor, because it exposes +the extreme duplicity of his conduct; and as he must have been aware +that such would be the inevitable result of publicity, it is difficult +to conceive what induced him to provoke it, unless Walewski's conjecture +is the true one. He thinks that the Emperor thought it would make bad +blood between us and France, fancying that we had not imparted the +correspondence to the French Government, in which he was mistaken, as we +had done so. + +[Footnote 1: The indiscretion, such as it was, appears to have been +that of Lord Aberdeen himself, and Lord Malmesbury quoted with a good +deal of wit and _à propos_, in the House of Lords, Sancho Panza's +saying, 'that a cask may leak at the top as well as at the bottom.'] + +[Footnote 2: Lord John at this time had a seat in the Cabinet and led +the House of Commons without any office in the Ministry and without any +salary.] + + + WAR IS DECLARED. + +_March 29th._--The die is cast, and war was declared yesterday. We are +already beginning to taste the fruits of it. Every species of security +has rapidly gone down, and everybody's property in stocks, shares, &c., +is depreciated already from twenty to thirty per cent. I predict +confidently that, before many months are over, people will be as +heartily sick of it as they are now hot upon it. Nobody knows where our +fleets and armies are going, nor what they mean to attempt, and we are +profoundly ignorant of the resources and power of Russia to wage war +against us. As the time for action approaches, Austria and Prussia grow +more reluctant to engage in it. The latter has proclaimed her +neutrality, and unless some events should make a change in her policy, I +do not believe the former will ever be induced to _act_ with us and +against Russia. The Government here are in a very weak unsatisfactory +state. They are supported in carrying on war, but in every other respect +they are treated with great indifference, and appear to have very little +authority or influence either in Parliament or in the country. Nobody +seems to have risen in estimation, except perhaps Clarendon, who has +done his work well and got credit for it. Palmerston and Graham have +positively disgraced themselves by their dinner to Napier, and the +foolish speeches they made both there and in the House of Commons +afterwards. I do not know what Palmerston's popularity might turn out to +be if it should be tested by some change which brought him forward, but +he certainly has greatly lost ground this year by his whole conduct from +his resignation down to this time. Gladstone, the great card of the +pack, has forfeited by the failure of his financial schemes a good deal +of the credit he had obtained. John Russell has offended everybody by +his obstinacy about his ill-timed Reform Bill, so that the Government +does not stand very high, and is only strong in the weakness of all +other parties. They are constantly beaten on small matters in the House +of Commons, which produces a bad effect. Up to this moment nobody knows +what John Russell means to do about the Reform Bill; if he puts it off +again, he ought to do so to-morrow, when the discussion will take place +about the declaration of war. + + +_April 2nd._--The debates in both Houses were marked by great bitterness +on the part of the Opposition, by Derby in one House, and by Disraeli +and Layard in the other. The war fever is still sufficiently raging to +make it impossible for any man who denounces the war itself to obtain a +patient hearing. Nobody ventures to cry out against it but Bright in the +House of Commons, and Grey in the House of Lords, but already I see +symptoms of disquietude and alarm. Some of those who were most warlike +begin to look grave, and to be more alive to the risks, difficulties, +and probably dangers of such a contest. I cannot read the remonstrances +and warnings of Bright without going very much along with him; and the +more I reflect on the nature of the contest, its object, and the degree +to which we are committed in it, the more uneasy I feel about it, and +the more lively my apprehensions are of our finding ourselves in a very +serious dilemma, and being involved in great embarrassments of various +sorts. Amongst other misfortunes, one is the discredit into which +Gladstone has fallen as a financier. Notwithstanding his extraordinary +capacity, most people who are conversant with the subject of finance +think he has greatly mismanaged his affairs, and suffered his notions or +crotchets to get the better of his prudence, and consequently that he +has prepared for himself as Chancellor of the Exchequer very great +difficulties. His Budget last year was so popular, and his wonderful +readiness and skill in dealing with everything relating to finance +excited so much admiration, that his reputation was prodigious, and he +was not only the strength of the Government, but was marked out as the +future Prime Minister whenever changes took place. All this _prestige_ +is very much diminished; and although his failures are in great measure +attributable to accidents over which he had no control, many who are not +unfriendly to him think he has been rash, obstinate, and injudicious, +and no longer feel the same confidence in him which they did a short +time ago. + + + DIVISIONS IN THE CABINET. + +_April 3rd._--The Duke of Bedford has just been here, as uneasy about +the state of affairs and as disgusted and alarmed at the war as I am. He +does not know what Lord John will do about the Reform Bill, but fears +rather than hopes as to his intentions. Aberdeen had desired that there +should be a Cabinet before Easter, and that Lord John should _then_ +determine what he would do, but Palmerston requested that the final +decision should only be made on the 26th, the day before that on which +it is to come on. What his object is, they do not know. The Duke in +talking to Lord John suggested the certainty of his breaking up the +Government by bringing on his measure, and the enormous evil this would +be, to which Lord John replied that if he knew what the internal state +of the Government was, he would perhaps not think the evil of the +dissolution so great. The fact is, that when the Opposition, as is their +wont, taunt the Government with their internal disagreement and want of +cordiality and union, they are much more right than they themselves are +aware of. The Duke told me that the Queen told him the other day that +she had herself written to Lord John urging him to give up bringing on +his Bill. Not long ago the Queen was in favour of proceeding with it, +but circumstances were very different at that time. + + +_April 15th._--This has been a week of excitement. It had been settled +that on Monday last John Russell should announce his intention with +regard to the Reform Bill. His uncertainty still prevailed, and he got +into such a state of mind about it that it made him ill. He could not +sleep, and was in a terrible state of vexation and perplexity. Aberdeen +then proposed to him to give up the Bill, but to obtain from the Cabinet +a unanimous consent to his pledging them to go on with it hereafter at +some indefinite time. On Saturday there was a Cabinet, at which he made +this proposal, but Palmerston and Lansdowne both refused their consent, +and Lansdowne was in conversation with his friends very vehement about +it. Graham appears to have been reasonable at this Cabinet, and ready to +adopt the course proposed to Lord John. It was eventually settled that +he should announce the abandonment of the Bill, and make the best +statement he could, not pledging the _whole_ Cabinet as he had intended; +but before this he urged them to accept his resignation, which they +refused, and then Palmerston begged he might resign, which they refused +equally. So matters stood on Saturday night, and everybody believed it +was settled. On Sunday Lord John's doubts and fears returned, his mind +became unsettled again, and he was inclined to withdraw from his +agreement and to go on. To the surprise of the whole House of Commons, +when Monday came, Lord John only said he would make his statement the +next day. Everybody saw something was wrong, and the curiosity and +excitement were very great. All Monday and Tuesday mornings were passed +in conferences and going backwards and forwards, the Duke of Bedford +being called in to work upon Lord John. He did his best, and at last on +Tuesday morning he and others finally persuaded Lord John to adhere to +what had been determined and withdraw his Bill. This he did in a very +good speech, full of an emotion and manifestation of sensibility which +succeeded completely with the House, and he was greeted with prodigious +cheering and compliments and congratulations on all sides. Nothing could +in fact go off better, or in a way more gratifying to him, and the +Government appears to have been strengthened by the operation. His +emotion was sincere, because he is no actor, but it was in my opinion +totally uncalled for; and as there is but a step between the sublime and +the ridiculous, it might just as well have appeared ridiculous; but +fortunately for him his audience were disposed to take it _au grand +sérieux_. Even his brother, partial as he is to him, takes the same view +of this that I do, and has written to me that as Lord John has often +been abused when he did not deserve it, so he has now been overpraised. + + + A FAST DAY. + +_April 24th._--When this Government was formed, its principal merit was +supposed to be its great administrative capacity, and the wonderful way +in which the business of the country was to be done. It has turned out +just the reverse of what was expected, for they commit one blunder after +another, and nothing can be more loose, careless, and ignorant than the +way in which their business is conducted. All sorts of mistakes and +embarrassments are continually occurring in the House of Commons, and I +have had occasion to see ample proofs of what I say, in all that has +been done and is doing about licences and trade permissions, consequent +on the recent declarations and Orders in Council.[1] Now another matter +has occurred, discreditable from the carelessness which has been +evinced. When it was thought necessary to order a fast day for the war, +the Queen set her face against it. She thought it very absurd (as it is) +and objected _in toto_. Aberdeen with some difficulty overcame her +objections, setting forth that it had been done by George III., and that +the religious part of the community would make a clamour if it were not +done. So she gave way, but still insisted it should not be a 'fast,' so +they settled it should be a day of 'humiliation.' The Archbishop of +Canterbury fully concurred, and the proclamation was issued accordingly. +But the other day the merchants took alarm, and represented that, as the +word 'fast' was omitted, the case would not come within the provisions +of Masterman's Bill, and that bills of exchange, &c., would be payable +on the day itself, and not the day before as provided by that Act, and +that all sorts of confusion would arise. The Bank of England took the +Solicitor General's opinion, who thought that such would be the law. A +great difficulty arose, for time pressed. The Chancellor thought the +case would stand, and was for taking the chance, but the Cabinet on +Saturday decided that it would be safer to correct the error even thus +late. Aberdeen went to the Queen and told her, and this afternoon there +is to be a Council to turn the 'day of humiliation' into a 'fast day,' +in order that 'merchants' bills may be presented on one day instead of +another, and that banking operations may not be deranged. The ridicule +this throws on the religious part of the question is obvious, and the +effect it ought to have is to discontinue these preposterous +observances, which all sensible people regard as a mockery and a +delusion. But all this ought to have been provided for, and the law +officers ought to have foreseen the consequences and advised +accordingly. In Peel's time this never would have happened; but with a +nominal Premier, a Home Secretary who will give himself no trouble about +the details of his office, and an Attorney General who does nothing, +knows nothing of law, and won't attend to anything, it is no wonder that +such things and many others occur. + +To return to the question of trading licences. When we went to war, the +Government, I believe very wisely, resolved to relax belligerent rights +and give all possible latitude to trade, with no more restrictions and +reservations than were essentially necessary for carrying on the war. +But this resolution involved a revolution of the old system and the +necessity of completely constructing a new one, and as they long ago +knew war was inevitable, they ought to have well considered all this, +and framed their regulations before they issued their orders. But not a +bit of this was done, and the consequence was a state of unparalleled +confusion and embarrassment, applications from all sides, and hosts of +petitions for leave to export goods of different descriptions. The +Government at last set to work to deal with these cases, but in a very +irregular, unbusinesslike way. Some two or three of them met in +Committee at the Council Office, and with the help of Cardwell, +President of the Board of Trade but not in the Cabinet, and Dr. +Lushington, who has nothing to do with the Government, they have +contrived to scramble through the business; but the _laches_ and +indifference of those who ought to be most concerned, and the loose way +of proceeding, have been very striking. Some would not come at all, some +came for a short time, different people attended on different days, so +that different opinions prevailed, and no regular system was +established. The other day, on Cardwell's saying these questions would +be taken up as soon as Parliament met and Government called to account, +I suggested to ---- that, such being the case, he ought to get Lord John +Russell to attend the Committee. He said he would ask him, 'but John +Russell could not bear details; he doubted if he would come, and, if he +did, would be of no use, as he would be sure to go to sleep;' and this +is the way business of the greatest importance is transacted. + +[Footnote 1: On the outbreak of the war a Committee of Council was +summoned to consider and frame divers Orders with reference to the +prohibition of the export of military and naval stores, the detention of +Russian ships, and questions of trade in Russian produce. Dr. +Lushington, the judge of the Admiralty, was a member of this Committee, +besides several Cabinet Ministers. The French Government proposed to +revert to the old system of licences to trade with the enemy; but this +proposal was not agreed to by Great Britain. The Russian trade was left +open, except when stopped by blockade. Licences were issued by the Privy +Council for the export of military and naval stores to neutral ports.] + + + DEATH OF THE MARQUIS OF ANGLESEY. + +_May 3rd._--The death of Lord Anglesey, which took place a few days ago, +has removed one of the last and the most conspicuous of the comrades of +the Duke of Wellington, who all seem to be following their commander +very rapidly. I have lived with Lord Anglesey for so many years in such +intimacy, and have received from him such constant kindness, that I +cannot pass over his death without a brief notice. + +A more gallant spirit, a finer gentleman, and a more honourable and +kindhearted man never existed. His abilities were not of a very high +order, but he had a good fair understanding, excellent intentions, and a +character remarkably straightforward and sincere. In his youth he was +notoriously vain and arrogant, as most of his family were, but as he +advanced in age, his faults and foibles were diminished or softened, and +his virtues and amiable disposition manifested themselves the more. He +distinguished himself greatly in the command of the cavalry in Sir John +Moore's retreat, but was not employed in the Duke's army during the +subsequent years of the Peninsular war. In the Waterloo campaign he +again commanded the cavalry, not, as was supposed, entirely to the +Duke's satisfaction, who would have preferred Lord Combermere in that +post. He lost a leg at the battle of Waterloo; for this wound Lord +Anglesey was entitled to a very large pension, of which he never would +take a shilling. He was a great friend of George IV., and exposed +himself to unpopularity by taking the King's part in the Queen's trial; +but their friendship came to an end when Lord Anglesey connected himself +with the Whig party, and when he went to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant he +deeply offended the King by his open advocacy of the Roman Catholic +cause in 1829. The Duke of Wellington, then Minister and about to give +up the Catholic question, quarrelled with Lord Anglesey and recalled +him. For some years past they had not been on very friendly terms. Lord +Anglesey was jealous of the Duke, and used to affect to disparage his +capacity both as a general and a statesman, and this political +difference completed their mutual estrangement. These hostile feelings +did not, however, last long; Lord Anglesey had a generous disposition, +and was too fair and true to do permanent injustice to the Duke. I do +not know how the reconciliation between them was brought about, but +their temporary alienation was succeeded by a firm and lasting +friendship, and the most enthusiastic admiration and attachment +entertained by Lord Anglesey towards the Duke. For many years before the +death of the latter, the two old warriors were the most intimate friends +and constant companions, and every vestige of their former differences +and antipathies was effaced and had given way to warm sentiments of +mutual regard. When the regiment of Guards became vacant, King William +sent for Lord Anglesey and announced to him that he was to have it; he +of course expressed his acknowledgements; but early the next morning he +went to the King and said to him that he felt it his duty to represent +to him that there was a man worthier than himself to have the regiment, +that Lord Ludlow had lost his arm at their head, and that he could not +bear to accept that to which Lord Ludlow was so justly entitled. This +remonstrance, so unselfish and honourable, was accepted, and the +regiment was conferred on Lord Ludlow.[1] + +[Footnote 1: George James, 3rd Earl of Ludlow in the peerage of +Ireland, and created a baron of the United Kingdom in 1831, was born +December 12, 1758, and died April 16, 1842, when the titles became +extinct. He served with distinction in the army, and was colonel of the +38th regiment of foot.] + + + A FINANCIAL FAILURE. + +_May 7th._--The failure of Gladstone's Exchequer Bill scheme has been +very injurious to the Government, and particularly to him. The +prodigious applause and admiration with which he was greeted last year +have given way to distrust and apprehension of him as a finance +minister, and the repeated failures of his different schemes have in a +very short time materially damaged his reputation, and destroyed the +prestige of his great abilities. All practical men in the City severely +blame him for having exposed himself to the risk of failure, and +reproach him with the folly of trying to make too good a bargain, and by +so doing exposing himself to the defeat he has sustained. The +consequences will not probably be serious, but the Government is +weakened by it, and the diminution of public confidence in Gladstone is +a public misfortune. + +Next in importance to the financial difficulty is the Oxford Bill, with +which Government have got into a mess, and they are struggling through +the measure with doubtful and small majorities, having been beaten on an +important point, and now quite uncertain if they shall be able to carry +it. I fell in with Graham yesterday, and spoke to him about these +things, when he replied that Gladstone's failure was very unfortunate, +but he had no doubt he would make a great speech in his own defence on +Monday night. With regard to Oxford, he said it was quite true that they +could not depend on carrying the clauses of their bill, but that was +because in the present state of the House 'they could not carry a +turnpike bill,' they were absolutely without power, and 'it was a state +of things that could not go on.'[1] Last night I had a talk with Charles +Wood on the same subject, and he said that the truth was, a revolution +had silently been effected. Parties were at an end, and the House of +Commons was no longer divided into and governed by them; and that the +predicament in which this Government is placed would be the same with +every other, and business could no longer be conducted in Parliament in +the way it used to be. All this is in my opinion quite true, and what +has long struck me. Whether the extreme elasticity of our institutions, +and the power of adaptation to circumstances which seems to pervade +them, will enable us to find remedies and resources, and that the +apparent derangement will right itself, remains to be seen. But it is a +condition of affairs full of uncertainty, therefore of danger, and which +makes me very uneasy whenever I think of it. It is evident that this +Government is now backed by no great party, and that it has very few +independent adherents on whom it can count. It scrambles on with casual +support, and its continuing at all to exist is principally owing to the +extreme difficulty of forming any other, and the certainty that no other +that could be formed would be stronger or more secure, either more +popular or more powerful. + +[Footnote 1: Lord John Russell introduced a bill to make further +provision for the good government of the University of Oxford and the +colleges therein, which passed both Houses, with some amendments, in the +course of the session.] + + + MR. GLADSTONE'S BUDGET. + +_May 7th._--It is scarcely a year ago that I was writing enthusiastic +panegyrics on Gladstone, and describing him as the great ornament and +support of the Government, and as the future Prime Minister. This was +after the prodigious success of his first Budget and his able speeches, +but a few months seem to have overturned all his power and authority. I +hear nothing but complaints of his rashness and passion for experiments; +and on all sides, from men, for example, like Tom Baring and Robarts, +one a Tory, the other a Whig, that the City and the moneyed men have +lost all confidence in him. To-morrow night he is to make his financial +statement, and intense curiosity prevails to see how he will provide the +ways and means for carrying on the war. Everybody expects that he will +make an able speech; but brilliant speeches do not produce very great +effect, and more anxiety is felt for the measures he will propose than +for the dexterity and ingenuity he may display in proposing them. +Parliament is ready to vote without grumbling any money that is asked +for, and as yet public opinion has not begun to waver and complain; but +we are only yet at the very beginning of this horrible mess, and people +are still looking with eager interest to the successes they anticipate, +and have not yet begun to feel the cost. + + +_May 10th._--Gladstone made a great speech on Monday night. He spoke for +nearly four hours, occupying the first half of the time in an elaborate +and not unsuccessful defence of his former measures. His speech, which +was certainly very able, was well received, and the Budget pronounced an +honourable and creditable one. If he had chosen to sacrifice his +conscientious convictions to popularity, he might have gained a great +amount of the latter by proposing a loan, and no more taxes than would +be necessary for the interest of it. I do not yet know whether his +defence of his abortive schemes has satisfied the monetary critics. It +was certainly very plausible, and will probably be sufficient for the +uninformed and the half-informed, who cannot detect any fallacies which +may lurk within it. He attacked some of his opponents with great +severity, particularly Disraeli and Monteagle, but I doubt if this was +prudent. He flung about his sarcasms upon smaller fry, and this +certainly was not discreet. I think his speech has been of service to +his financial character, and done a good deal towards the restoration of +his credit. + + +_May 12th._--Cowley called on me yesterday, when we talked over the war +with all its etceteras. He said the Emperor had been most reluctant to +go into it, but was now firmly resolved to pursue it vigorously, and +not to desist till he had obtained fair terms of peace; above all things +he is bent on going on with us in unbroken amity. Cowley thinks his +political position as secure as any position can be in France, and +certainly the country seems satisfied with his rule. His social position +is unimproved and rather worse; his marriage was a fatal measure; he +would have done far better if he could have married the Hohenlohe girl, +who was dying to be Empress, and Cowley thinks the Queen was wrong to +prevent the match. In that case the Court might have been very +different. In the beginning, after his marriage, he attempted to purify +it as well as he could, and to get rid of all the disreputable women +about it; but by degrees they have all come back again, and now they are +more _encanaillées_ than ever. + +The French Government have given a strong proof of their goodwill to us +by recalling Baraguay d'Hilliers from Constantinople, and not sending +another ambassador, as they find none can possibly live on good terms +with Stratford. Cowley says the war might have been prevented, he +thinks, and particularly if Stratford had not been there. The Emperor +would have made greater concessions if Stratford had not been at +Constantinople, and another ambassador would have striven to preserve +peace instead of being, as he was, bent on producing a war. + +Edward Mills tells me Gladstone's recent speech has immensely raised +him, and that he stands very high in the City, his defence of his +measures very able, and produced a great effect; he said he lately met +Walpole, who told him he had the highest admiration of Gladstone, and +thought he had more power than ever Peel had even at his highest tide. + + + DEFEATS OF THE GOVERNMENT. + +_May 28th._--I have been so much occupied with the very dissimilar +occupations of preparations for Epsom races in the shape of trials, +betting, &c., and the finishing and correction of an article in the +'Edinburgh Review' on King Joseph's Memoirs, that I have had no leisure +to think of politics, or to record what has been going on in the +political world, nor in truth has much material been furnished either by +domestic or foreign transactions. The last fortnight in Parliament has +been going on much in the way in which the present Government always +goes on, and Gladstone, whom I met at dinner the other day, repeated to +me very much what Graham had said some time before, about their utter +inability to carry their measures in the House of Commons. There is, +however, one important exception to this rule, and that is one of vital +importance. On everything which relates to the war, and on all questions +of supply, they can do whatever they please, and have no difficulty, and +encounter no opposition. Tom Baring's motion on Monday last exhibited a +striking proof of this; he introduced it by an able speech, and he +mustered all the support that could be got, and yet he was defeated by +above 100. I met Disraeli in the street the next day, when he said, +'Your Government is very strong.' I said, the war which was supposed to +be their weakness turns out to be their strength. They can carry +everything which appertains to that, and nothing else. And so it is; no +sooner do they get a great majority on some important question than they +find themselves in a minority, perhaps more than one, on something else. +John Russell got beaten on his Oaths Bill the other night, a victory +which was hailed with uproarious delight by the Opposition, though +leading to nothing, and only mortifying to John Russell personally. +These defeats, however, do not fail to be morally injurious to the +Government, and to shake their credit. It was an ill advised measure, +which drew down upon itself those who are against the Jews and those who +are against the Catholics. Palmerston has been showing ill humour in the +House of Commons, and has ceased to be so very popular as he used to be +there. They have great difficulty in getting on with the University +Bill, and Gladstone told me the other night he was very doubtful if they +should be able to bring it to a successful end. All the Tories and High +Churchmen are against it of course, and the Dissenters regard it with no +favour because it does not do for them what they desire; so it is left +to the support of the friends of Government and those who sincerely +desire a good measure of reform for those bodies. + + +_June 5th._--I was at Epsom all last week. In the beginning of it or the +week before there was a great passage of arms in the House of Commons +between John Russell and Disraeli, not a very creditable exhibition, but +which excited greater interest than more important matters. Though +Disraeli began the attack, Lord John threw the first stone of offence, +which he had better have let alone. In reply to this Disraeli broke out +with inconceivable violence and made the most furious assault upon John +that he could, saying everything most offensive and provoking. Lord John +made a rejoinder, and was followed by Bright, whose speech was very +hostile and spiteful, and much more calculated to annoy Lord John than +that of Disraeli, though much less vituperative. Disraeli seems inclined +to have recourse to his old tactics against Peel, and to endeavour to +treat John Russell, and Gladstone when he can, in the same way, hoping +probably to re-ingratiate himself with his own side by giving them some +of those invectives and sarcasms against their opponents which are so +congenial to their tastes. This course will not raise him either in the +House or in the country, and he will not find in Lord John a man either +so sensitive or so vulnerable as Peel, and he can make out nothing +against a man who refuses place, patronage, and emolument, and gives his +gratuitous services at a great personal sacrifice because he thinks it +his public duty to do so. There is nothing new in the condition of the +Government; they are very firmly seated in their places, the House of +Commons supporting them by large majorities in all their great measures +and those which involve a question of confidence; but having no +dependable majority on miscellaneous questions, nor even knowing whether +they can carry any measure or not, it is idle to twit them with being a +Government on sufferance and Lord John with not 'leading' the House of +Commons. A revolution has taken place in the conditions of the political +existence of governments in general and their relations with Parliament, +and there is at present no likelihood that any government that can be +formed will find itself in different circumstances, or that the old +practice by which a government could command the House of Commons on +almost everything will ever be restored. Whether the new system be +better or worse than the old may be doubtful, but governments must make +up their minds to conform to it for the present at least. In the course +of the next few days the division of the Colonial from the War +Department will take place. There seems little doubt that Newcastle will +elect to take the War Department, and Clarendon told me yesterday he +thought he would be the best man for it, warmly praising his energy, +industry, and ability, and his popular and conciliatory qualities. Their +great object is to prevail on Lord John to take the Colonial Office, +which I expect he will eventually do, but not without much reluctance +and hesitation. Granville tells me he is in a dissatisfied state of +mind, in which he will probably long remain, especially as his +_entourage_ will always do their best to foment his discontent. + + + THE PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL. + +_June 11th._--Yesterday and the day before the world was made acquainted +with the recent arrangements and appointments, which have been received +with considerable disapprobation.[1] Nobody can understand what it all +means, and why John Russell, if he was to take office, was to insist on +so strange an arrangement, and such a departure from the invariable +practice of putting a peer in the office of President of the Council. +Nothing can be more ungracious than the air of the whole proceeding: he +turns out Granville to make room for himself, and turns out Strutt to +make room for Granville. It seems that they wanted him to be Colonial +Secretary, but this he would not hear of on the score of his health, and +as it is now admitted as an axiom that the leader in the House of +Commons has enough to do, and cannot efficiently discharge the duties of +a laborious department, it was reasonable enough that Lord John should +decline the Colonies; but there seems no sufficient reason for his not +taking the Duchy of Lancaster, for the more completely the office is a +sinecure, the more consistent his taking it would appear. However, he +would be President of the Council or nothing. I have been amazed at his +indelicacy and want of consideration towards Granville, who deserved +better treatment at his hands. Granville has always been his steady and +stout adherent, defending his Reform Bill, holding himself his especial +follower in the Coalition Cabinet, and ready to support him or go out +with him if necessary. It was therefore particularly odious to insist on +foisting himself into Granville's place, and inflicting on him the +mortification of going downstairs. Granville behaved very well about it, +with great good humour, only anxious to do whatever was best for the +general interest, and putting aside every personal consideration and +feeling; and his conduct is the more meritorious, because he dislikes +the arrangement of all things. Aberdeen behaved very kindly to him, and +told him, if he objected to the change, he would not consent to it, and, +cost what it might, would tell John Russell he could not and should not +have the place. Granville proposed to go out, at least for a time, but +Aberdeen said he could not spare him, and nothing could be more +flattering than all he expressed of his usefulness in the House of +Lords, and of the value of his services. Personally, therefore, he loses +nothing; for though he preferred the Council Office to the Duchy, his +conduct has raised him in everybody's estimation, and he will play a +part even more prominent than he did before. + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S POSITION. + +One reason why Lord John should not have come to the Council Office was +the embarrassment he will be sure to find himself in about questions of +education, his reputation and his antecedents, as well as his political +connexions, making him peculiarly unfit to be at the head of the +Education Department; and I am inclined to agree with Vernon Smith, who +said to me the other day that it would infallibly end in Lord John's +bringing in next year an impracticable Education Bill and withdrawing +it. George Grey's coming into office will be of use to the Government. +Newcastle's being War Minister is sure to be attacked, and all the +Palmerstonians are indignant that Palmerston is not in that place, which +never was offered him, nor was he consulted about the arrangement. I +think there is still a considerable opinion that he would make a good +War Minister, though everybody is aware he makes a very bad Home one, +and the _prestige_ about him and his popularity are greatly worn out. +They have been obliged to go back to the reign of Henry VIII. to find a +precedent for a commoner being President of the Council, when they say +there was one, but I don't know who he was. + +[Footnote 1: Lord John Russell insisted on taking the office of Lord +President of the Council, which has always been held by a peer, and to +effect this change Earl Granville was removed from the higher office of +Lord President to that of Chancellor of the Duchy. The Right Honourable +Edward Strutt, who had been Chancellor of the Duchy with a seat in the +Cabinet, was dismissed from office, but he was subsequently raised to +the peerage with the title of Lord Belper. This transaction reflected no +credit on the author of it, who consulted nothing but his own dignity +and convenience.] + + +_June 21st._--At St. Leonards last week for Ascot races, where I got +wet, and have been ever since confined with the gout. The 'Times,' +though by way of supporting the Government, went on violently attacking +John Russell about the recent changes. Lord John was very well received +in the City at his election, and at the opening of the Crystal Palace he +was more cheered than anybody. This morning the Duke of Bedford came +here and told me he had had a good deal of conversation with his brother +about this business, to which he (the Duke) had been a stranger while it +was going on. Lord John said that when the Government was formed he had +proposed to Aberdeen that he should be President of the Council, but +Aberdeen had objected on the score of its being so unusual, therefore he +was only going back to his original design. He had an invincible +repugnance to taking the Duchy of Lancaster or any inferior office. Both +when the Government was formed and now, he would have much preferred to +have kept aloof, and to have led in the House of Commons that section of +the Whig party which would have followed him, but he found this +impossible, and as the Government could not have been formed without +him, and could not now go on without him, he was obliged to sacrifice +his own inclination. I said I could not conceive why he could not go on +as he was till the end of the session, and then settle it, that his +pushing out Granville had a very ungracious appearance, and he would +have done much better to take the sinecure office of the Duchy, it being +quite absurd to suppose that he could be degraded by holding any office, +no matter what. The Duke owned it would have been better to wait till +Parliament was up before anything was done, and he regarded the question +of the particular office much as I do. + +There was a discussion in the House of Lords on Monday night on the war, +when Lyndhurst made a grand speech, wonderful at his age--82; he spoke +for an hour and a quarter with as much force and clearness as at any +time of his life: it was greatly admired. Clarendon spoke well and +strongly, and elicited expressions of satisfaction from Derby, after +whom Aberdeen rose, and imprudently spoke in the sense of desiring +peace, a speech which has been laid hold of, and drawn down upon him a +renewal of the violent abuse with which he has been all along assailed. +I see nothing in his speech to justify the clamour, but it was very ill +judged in him with his antecedents to say what he did, which malignity +could so easily lay hold of. + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL VOTES WITH THE TORIES. + +_June 25th._--There never was such a state of things as that which now +exists between the Government, the Party, and the House of Commons. John +Russell made such a hash of it last week, and put himself and his +Government in such a position, that nothing but the war, and the +impossibility which everybody feels there is of making any change of +Government in the midst of it, prevents the immediate downfall of this +Administration. Last week John Russell opposed the motion for the +abolition of Church rates in a flaming High Tory and Church speech. The +motion was rejected by a slender majority, but his speech gave great +offence to the Liberal party and his own friends. Immediately afterwards +came on the motion in the University Bill for admitting Dissenters to +the University. This John Russell opposed again, although in his speech +he declared he was in favour of the admission of Dissenters, but he +objected to the motion on various grounds. The result was that he went +into the lobby with Disraeli and the whole body of the Tories, while the +whole of the Liberal party and all his own friends and supporters went +against him and defeated him by a majority of 91. He took with him six +or seven of his colleagues, and two or three of the underlings. +Molesworth, Bernal Osborne, and some more stayed away, and some others +voted in the majority. In the majority were found Christopher and a few +Tories besides, who, however, only voted with the object and hope of +damaging the bill itself and procuring its rejection in the House of +Lords. Never was man placed in so deplorable and humiliating a position +as John Russell, and nothing can exceed his folly and mismanagement in +getting himself into such a scrape. The indignation and resentment of +the Liberals are boundless, and I think he has completely put an +extinguisher on himself as a statesman and as the leader of a party; +they never will forgive him or feel any confidence in him again. There +was a capital article on him and his proceedings in the 'Times' +yesterday, which was not acrimonious, like some others on him, and was +perfectly just and true. + +The victorious Liberals managed their affairs very ill. Instead of +resting satisfied with a victory which must have been decisive (for +after all the House of Commons had affirmed the principle of admitting +the Dissenters by so large a majority, neither the House of Lords nor +the University would have ventured to oppose it), they imprudently +pressed on another division[1] in which they were beaten, though by a +small majority, and this of course does away with a good deal of the +effect of the first division. Between the recent changes which were +universally distasteful, and his extraordinary maladroitness in these +questions, Lord John is fallen prodigiously in public favour and +opinion, and while he is, or has been till very recently, dreaming of +again being Prime Minister, it is evident that he is totally unfit to be +the leader of the Government in the House of Commons even in a +subordinate post. He communicates with nobody, he has no confidence in +or sympathy with any one, he does not impart his intentions or his +wishes to his own political followers, and does not ask to be informed +of theirs, but he buries himself at Richmond and only comes forth to say +and do everything that is most imprudent and unpopular. + +The House of Commons is in a state of complete anarchy, and nobody has +any hold on it; matters, bad enough through John Russell, are made worse +by Aberdeen, whose speech the other night has made a great, but I think +unnecessary clamour; and Layard, who is his bitter enemy, took it up in +the House of Commons, and has given notice of a motion on it which is +equivalent to a vote of censure. Almost at the same moment Aberdeen, +with questionable prudence and dignity, gave notice in the Lords that on +Monday he should explain the speech he made the other night. Layard's +design can hardly be matured, because they never can permit a speech +made in one House of Parliament to be made the subject of a motion and +debate in the other. It is, however, incontestable that clamour and +misrepresentation have succeeded in raising a vast prejudice against +Aberdeen, and that he is exceedingly unpopular. + +The people are wild about this war, and besides the general confidence +that we are to obtain very signal success in our naval and military +operations, there is a violent desire to force the Emperor to make a +very humiliating peace, and a strong conviction that he will very soon +be compelled to do so. This belief is the cause of the great rise which +has been taking place in the public securities, and all sorts of stories +are rife of the terror and dislike of the war which prevail in Russia, +and of the agitation and melancholy in which the Emperor is said to be +plunged. But the authentic accounts from St. Petersburg tell a very +different tale. They say, and our Consul just arrived from St. +Petersburg confirms the statement, that the Emperor is calm and +resolute, that his popularity is very great, and the Russians of all +classes enthusiastic in his cause, and that they are prepared to a man +to sacrifice their properties and their lives in a vigorous prosecution +of the war. + +Footnote 1: It seems it was Mr. Walpole who insisted on the second +division, which he did for the express purpose of neutralising the +effect of the first, hoping to get a majority, which he did, and it was +rather dexterously done. + + + UNPOPULARITY OF LORD ABERDEEN. + +_July 9th._--It is remarkable that the Government are unquestionably +stronger in the House of Lords than in the House of Commons, as has been +clearly proved by the result of the Oxford University Bill. Derby +endeavoured to alter it, and was completely defeated. There were several +divisions, in all of which the Government obtained large majorities, and +at last Derby said it was evidently useless to propose any alterations, +as the Government could do what they pleased in that House. The session +is drawing to a close; that is, though it will last a month longer, all +important business is over. The Government will end it much in the same +condition as they were in at the beginning of it, only that their +weakness and want of popularity have been manifested in a thousand ways +during the session. Aberdeen's explanatory speech and the publication of +his despatch of 1829 have given rather a turn to the current against +him; for though his violent opponents still snarl at him and abuse him, +the impartial people begin to think he is not so bad as he has been +represented, and the excessive absurdity of the charges with which he +has been assailed begins to strike people. There is still, however, a +strong prejudice against him, particularly amongst the extreme Liberals, +and I saw a long letter from Sir Benjamin Hall to the Duke of Bedford +setting forth the discontent of the Liberal party and vehemently urging +that the Government should be immediately modified, Aberdeen retire, and +Lord John Russell again be Minister, with Palmerston as War +Minister--perfectly absurd and impracticable, but showing what the +notions are of the ultra-Radicals. The Tories, agreeing in nothing else, +concur with the Radicals in hating Aberdeen because he represents the +Peel party, and is Minister as the successor of Sir Robert Peel, for +whose memory their hatred is as intense as it was for his person when he +was alive. The war goes on without any immediate results, and without, +as far as can be seen, a probability of the attainment of any signal or +important successes. The foolish public here, always extravagant and +impatient, clamour for attacks upon Sebastopol and Cronstadt, and are +very indignant that these places are not taken, without knowing anything +of the feasibility of such operations. We now begin to believe that +Austria is going to side actively with us, but we do not feel certain of +it, nor shall we till she actually enters on the campaign. + + +_July 19th._--Within a few days everything is changed. In respect to +Austria, the intrigues of Russia with Prussia, and the determination of +the King to do everything that he can or that he dares to assist his +imperial brother-in-law, have had the effect of paralysing the Austrian +movements, and suspending the operation of her Treaty with Turkey. She +cannot venture to declare war against Russia and to march her army into +the Principalities while there is a large Russian force on the borders +of Galicia, and the Prussians are in such an ambiguous attitude and +disposition, that she can not only not depend upon Prussia to execute +their defensive Treaty by protecting her dominions in the event of their +being attacked by Russia, but she cannot depend upon not being taken in +flank by Prussia as the ally of Russia. Clarendon told me on Sunday that +it was impossible to make out what Austria was about, or what she really +means to do. There is no doubt about Prussia, and he still inclines to +believe that Austria's disposition to act with us is unchanged, but that +she is compelled to act a cautious and dilatory part by her uncertainty +as to Prussia. + +On Monday John Russell convoked his supporters and quasi-supporters to a +gathering in Downing Street, when he harangued them on the state of +affairs and the difficulties of the Government, intimating the necessity +of being better supported if the Government was to go on at all. There +are differences of opinion as to the way in which the meeting went off, +and whether it was on the whole satisfactory. The principal speakers +were Bright, Vernon Smith, and Horsman, the two latter bitter enough +against the Government. Bright, rather hostile, spoke well and alluded +to Aberdeen in a friendly spirit, as did Hume. The meeting gradually +melted away, so that Lord John had no opportunity of making a reply, +which was a pity, as he might have answered the objectors. The best +proof, however, that on the whole it was successful, was afforded by the +fact that there was neither debate nor division on the War Secretary's +estimate moved for by Lord John that night. All went off with the +greatest ease. I am in hopes therefore that the Government is somewhat +in better plight than it was. + + + AN APPOINTMENT CANCELLED. + +_August 4th._--I have been out of town for the greater part of the time +since the 19th ultimo, at Goodwood, nearly ten days. Nothing very +important has occurred in politics. As the session has drawn towards a +close, the Government have, on the whole, done rather better in +Parliament, that is, the Opposition have been quite incapable of +striking any blows or doing them any injury. The points that were +expected to be made against them entirely failed, and, with the +exception of one personal matter, they have had no difficulties or +annoyances to vex them. This matter was the case of----, the +_dénouement_ of which took place two days ago; after being Gladstone's +private secretary for two years, this gentleman was appointed by +Newcastle, just before he gave up the Colonies, to be Governor of South +Australia. The appointment was criticised, but about ten days ago it was +called in question in the House of Commons, and at the same time rumours +were rife that he had been gambling in the funds and had lost money; he +denied, and authorised his friends to deny the imputation, but some of +the Carlton runners got scent of his transactions and followed it up +with such perseverance that he became alarmed and thought himself +obliged to prevent the shame and odium of detection by confessing the +fact. The consequence was that the appointment was cancelled, and the +whole matter explained and discussed on Thursday night in the House of +Commons, when George Grey made a long statement. The discussion upon it +was very creditable to the House, for there was no personal animosity +and no coarseness or inhumanity displayed, but, on the contrary, +forbearance and good nature towards the individual. Any expectation of +being able to wound Gladstone through him has quite failed. He is a +clever fellow enough and well educated, but he has been very imprudent, +and contrived at once to lose his place of private secretary, his +government, his seat in Parliament, his character, and his money. + +At last it does now appear as if Austria was going to join us completely +against Russia, and the invasion of the Crimea is about to take place in +complete ignorance of the means of resistance and defence possessed by +Russia, and whether it will be a nearly impossible or comparatively easy +enterprise. + +Clarendon, when I saw him last Sunday, expressed great alarm at the +state of affairs in Spain, from the weakness of Espartero, the +difficulty of any cordial union between the military chiefs, so long +rivals, and above all from the republican element which is so rife in +Spain, and which may produce effects extending far beyond that country. +He said that the French Government were acting in complete harmony and +concert with us; the Emperor is much alarmed at the state of Spain, but +resolved to go with us in the policy of non-interference, and to take no +part but such as we should take also. If he adheres to this wise course, +it will cement the alliance between the countries, and bind us to him +more than anything that could happen, and it will form a great and happy +contrast to the policy of Louis Philippe and the conduct of Palmerston +and Guizot. + + + PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. + +_August 14th._--The session closed on Saturday, and, all things +considered, the Government wound it up tolerably well. Clanricarde, true +to the last to his spiteful opposition, gave Clarendon an opportunity of +making a parting speech on foreign affairs, of which he acquitted +himself very successfully, and placed himself and the Government in a +very good position as respects our diplomacy and the conduct of the war. +But though all immediate danger is removed from the Government, and, +unless they fall to pieces during the recess by any internal +dissensions, they will probably go on unscathed, the state of affairs is +very unsatisfactory, and pregnant with future troubles and difficulties. +The Government in its relations with the House of Commons throughout the +past session has been extraordinary, and I believe unprecedented. From +the Revolution to the time of the Reform Bill, that is during 150 +years, the system of Parliamentary government had been consolidating +itself and was practically established; the Sovereign nominally, the +House of Commons really, appointed the ministers of the Crown, and it +was settled as an axiom that when the Government was unable to carry its +measures, and was subjected to defeats in the House of Commons, its +resignation was indispensable--not indeed that any and every defeat was +necessarily fatal, because governments have often been beaten on very +important questions without being ruined or materially weakened, but it +was supposed that repeated defeats and Government measures repeatedly +rejected implied the withdrawal of the confidence and support of +Parliament so clearly that in the aggregate such defeats were equivalent +to an absolute vote of want of confidence, which is in itself a sentence +of political death. In former times the Crown was a power, and the House +of Commons was a power, generally blended and acting harmoniously +together, but sometimes resolving themselves into their separate +elements, and acting independently, perhaps antagonistically, towards +each other. In modern times, and more entirely in our own, this separate +and independent action ceased, the Crown became identified with the +majority of the House of Commons, and no minister, when he could no +longer command that majority so as to be certain of carrying out all, or +nearly all, his measures of government and legislation, could continue +to be minister, and was obliged as a matter of course to surrender +office to those who were in possession of, or could count upon, that +command. The ministers were taken from the ranks of the Parliamentary +majority, and when once appointed it was considered indispensable and +certain that the same majority would place confidence in them, accept at +their hands all the measures they should concert and propose, and +support them against all hostile attacks, the spirit of party and +combination suppressing all individual prejudices, crotchets, fancies, +and partial or local influences. The Government and the party were bound +by a sort of mutual allegiance to each other, and supposed to be, and +usually were, animated by the same spirit and a communion of opinion +and interest. Such were the general relations and such the normal state +of things, liable to occasional variations and disturbances, bringing +about various political changes according to circumstances. But the +system was complete, and practically it worked well, and conduced to the +prosperity and progress of the country. + + REVIEW OF PARTIES. + +When the great measure of Reform in Parliament was introduced in 1831, +apart from all question of party struggles there was the still greater +question considered by many reflecting people, whether the new +Parliamentary and electoral system would be found compatible with the +old practice of government by means of party and steady Parliamentary +majorities. The Duke of Wellington in particular expressed his +apprehension that it would not, and he put the question which has so +often been quoted and referred to, 'How is the King's Government to be +carried on?' He did not, so far as I remember, develope his thoughts at +the time, and argue the matter in detail, but it is very evident that +what he anticipated was some such state of things as that at which we +now appear to have arrived. For a long time his apprehensions appeared +to be groundless, and certainly they were not realised by the course of +events. In consequence of political circumstances which I shall not stop +to specify and explain, notwithstanding all the changes which were +effected, the governments contrived to go on without any insuperable +difficulties, and without any striking difference from the way in which +governments had been previously conducted. The popularity of the Reform +Bill Administration supported them for a few years, and the Tory +reaction, together with the great abilities of Sir Robert Peel, +supported the Conservative Government for a few years more. Matters went +on better or worse, as might be, till the great Conservative schism in +1846, which completely broke up that party, and produced a final +separation between the able few and the numerous mediocrity of the +party. Ever since that time the House of Commons has been in a state of +disorganisation and confusion: the great party ties had been severed. +After the repeal of the Corn Laws and the establishment of Free Trade it +was difficult to find any great party principles which could be +converted into bonds of union, and every day it became obviously more +and more difficult to form any government that could hope to be strong +or permanent. John Russell succeeded on the fall of Peel, but the +Peelites warmly resented the conduct of the Whigs in Peel's last +struggle, and, though they hated Derby and his crew much more, never +gave Lord John's Government a cordial support. + +Next came the quarrel between Palmerston and Lord John and the fall of +the Whig Government. Many people, and Graham especially, were of opinion +that a Derby Government _for a time_ was an inevitable but indispensable +evil, and after one abortive attempt at length a Derby Government was +formed. From the beginning nobody thought it could last; the wretched +composition of it, its false position, and the mixture of inconsistency +and insincerity which characterised it, deprived it of all respect, +authority, and influence, and it was the more weak because divided and +dissatisfied within, and because all the more honest and truthful of the +party were disgusted and ashamed of the part they were playing. Thus +feeble and powerless, despised by the public and detested by the Court, +the first moment that the different parties and sections of parties +combined to overthrow them, their destruction was inevitable, and after +enjoying office for one year they fell. + +It was easier to turn them out than to find a good and strong government +to replace them. It was obvious that neither the Whigs nor the Peelites +could form a government, still less Palmerston or the Radicals, and it +became a matter of absolute necessity to attempt a coalition, which, +whatever objections there might be to coalitions, would at least have +the advantage of filling the several offices with able men. + +When the Queen had a short time before, in anticipation of the event, +consulted the Duke of Bedford as to whom she should send for when Derby +resigned, he had advised her to send for Lord Lansdowne and Lord +Aberdeen, being himself conscious that Lord John could not again form a +government, at least not at that time. She did send for them, and each +of them very sincerely and earnestly endeavoured to persuade the other +to accept the post of Prime Minister, and the task of forming a +Government. Lansdowne was ill at the time, and while it is very doubtful +whether anything would have induced him to come forward, his attack of +gout was enough to ensure his peremptory refusal, and nothing remained +but that Aberdeen should make the attempt. The task was difficult and +unpleasant, for it was impossible not to make many people discontented +and mortified, inasmuch as places could not be found for all who had +previously been in office, or who aspired to it, and it was no easy +matter to decide who should be taken in, and who left out. Aberdeen +resolved to make the coalition very comprehensive, and as much as +possible to form a government which should represent the Opposition +which had turned Derby out, but he put almost all the Peelite leaders +into good offices, and the exclusions were principally on the Whig side. +For a long time it was very doubtful whether John Russell would enter +the Government at all, but Aberdeen was so well aware that he could not +do without him that he announced his determination to throw up the +Government unless Lord John consented to join. After much hesitation, +and a struggle between his family and some malcontent hangers on who +wished him to keep aloof, on one side, and the wisest of his political +friends and colleagues who urged that it was his duty to come forward on +the other, Lord John consented to lead the House of Commons, but without +an office. He proposed indeed to take the Presidency of the Council, to +which Aberdeen objected, but gave him the choice of every other office. +He said that if he could not be President of the Council he would be +nothing at all, and so it was settled. Next came the negotiation about +Palmerston, who first refused, and afterwards, at the pressing +solicitation of Lansdowne, agreed to join. Molesworth came in to +represent the Radicals; Monsell and Keogh (not in the Cabinet) +represented the Irish, and so the Coalition Government was completed. + + THE COALITION GOVERNMENT. + +Very strongly composed, it never, however, was so strong as it looked. +The Ministers, Aberdeen, John Russell, Palmerston, having consented to +act together, were too sensible, too gentlemanlike and well-bred, not to +live in outward good fellowship with each other, but their respective +and relative antecedents could not be forgotten. There could be no real +cordiality between Palmerston and Aberdeen, or between Palmerston and +John Russell, and both the latter all along felt uncomfortable and +dissatisfied with their respective positions. Lord John fancied he was +degraded, and his flatterers endeavoured to persuade him he was so, by +joining a government of which he was not the head, and by serving under +Aberdeen. Palmerston could not forget the long and bitter hostility +which had been carried on between himself and Aberdeen upon foreign +policy, and still less his having been turned out of the Foreign Office +by John Russell. The Whigs were dissatisfied that the Peelites, who had +no party to bring to the support of the Government, should have so large +a share of the offices, and above all the great bulk of the Whig party +could not endure that a Peelite should be at the head of the Government, +and of all the Peelites they most particularly disliked Aberdeen, so +that they yielded a reluctant allegiance, and gave a grudging and +capricious support to the coalition. + +Nevertheless, the first session of Parliament was pretty well got +through, principally owing to Gladstone's successful Budget, the great +ability he displayed in the House of Commons, and the efficient way in +which the public business was done, while the numerous measures of +improvement which were accomplished raised the reputation of the +Government, and gave them security if not strength. The session of 1853 +closed in quiet, prosperity, and sunshine, but during the recess clouds +began to gather round the Government; they were beset with internal and +external difficulties. John Russell became more and more discontented, +and at last he announced to Aberdeen that he was resolved not to meet +Parliament again in his present position, and intimated his intention to +be once more Prime Minister or to quit the concern. In the meantime the +Turco-Russian quarrel had begun, the hostile correspondence with Russia +was in full activity, the public mind in a high state of excitement, +the press bellowed for war and poured forth incessant volleys of abuse +against the Government, but more particularly against Aberdeen, who was +singled out as the object of attack, and the persevering attempts to +render him unpopular produced a certain amount of effect. The Cabinet +became divided as to the mode of carrying on the dispute and the +negotiations, some being for what were called vigorous measures, that +is, for threats and demonstrations of force which could only lead to +immediate war, while others were for exhausting every attempt to bring +about an accommodation and preserve peace. Something was known or +suspected of these divisions, they were published and commented on with +enormous exaggerations and the most unscrupulous violations of truth, +and the Tory and Radical newspapers vied with each other in the violence +of their denunciations of Aberdeen, and, in a less degree, of Clarendon. + +When this fury was at its height, the world was startled and astounded +by the news of Palmerston's resignation. It is needless to state here +the history of that affair, which I have already recorded in ample +detail. It was in vain that the 'Times' proclaimed that it was the +Reform Bill and not the Eastern Question which was the cause of it. The +statement was scouted with the utmost scorn, and the public incredulity +was confirmed when the 'Morning Post,' which was notoriously devoted to +Palmerston, asserted the direct contrary. Everybody imagined that the +Government would go to pieces, that when Parliament met there would be +prodigious revelations, and that the Eastern Question with its supposed +mismanagement would prove fatal to the Coalition Cabinet. The Derbyites +were in raptures, and already counted on Palmerston as their own. Great +as had been the public surprise and the exultation of the Carlton Club +at Palmerston's resignation, greater still was that surprise and the +mortification and disappointment of the Carlton, when a few days +afterwards it was announced that Palmerston had changed his mind and was +not going to resign. Nobody could comprehend what it all meant, and +ample scope was afforded to every sort of conjecture, and to all the +statements and inventions that anybody chose to circulate. But as about +the same time the Eastern affair progressed a step or two, and some +energetic measures were adopted, the most plausible explanation was, +that Palmerston had resigned because enough was not done, that the +Government had been frightened into doing what he had before advised, +and that, on their adopting his suggestion, he had consented to remain. +In process of time the truth began to ooze out, but it never was +completely known till Parliament met, and even then many people +continued to believe that though the Reform Bill was the pretext, the +Eastern Question was the real cause of Palmerston's conduct. + + THE BLUE BOOKS. + +These threatening clouds cleared away. Aberdeen told Lord John nothing +should induce him to resign after all the attacks that had been made on +him, and he would meet Parliament and defend himself. Lord John gave up +his demands, and consented to go on leading the House of Commons. +Palmerston agreed to swallow the Reform Bill, and at length Parliament +met. Everybody was ravenous for the Blue Books, which as soon as +possible were produced. Their production was eminently serviceable to +the Government, and though some criticisms were made, and there were +some desultory attacks in both Houses, and the press continued to be as +scurrilous and abusive as ever, the general impression was extremely +favourable. Clarendon's despatches were highly approved of, and all fair +and candid observers, including many who had found fault with the +Government before, declared that they were perfectly satisfied that our +policy had been wise and proper, and the whole of the negotiations very +creditable to all who had been concerned in carrying them on. So little +did the event correspond with the general expectation, that the Eastern +Question, which had been considered to be the weak part of the +Government, turned out to be its greatest strength; and the war which +eventually broke out has been the principal cause of their being able to +maintain themselves in power. It is now the fashion to say that if it +were not for the war, they would have been turned out long ago. It is +certainly true that their power in the House of Commons has been limited +to all that concerns the war, in respect to which they have had no +difficulty to contend with. The estimates have been granted without a +semblance of opposition, and they have received hearty and unanimous +support in every measure and every demand requisite for carrying on the +war, nor, though exposed to some adverse criticism, have they been +seriously assailed with regard to their diplomacy or their warlike +preparations. + +But while this, which is the most essential, has also been their +strongest point, on everything else, without exception, they have been +almost powerless, and the House of Commons has run riot with an +independence and waywardness and a caprice of which it would be +impossible to find an example. The Government has had no majority on +which it could depend, and it has never brought forward any measure +which it could count upon carrying through. Obliged to withdraw many +measures altogether, and to submit to the alteration of others till they +became totally different from what they originally proposed, their +defeats have been innumerable, and nobody seems to have the smallest +scruple in putting them in a minority upon any occasion; at the same +time it was very evident that the House of Commons was determined that +they should continue in office, for whenever any vital question arose, +or any vote which could be construed into a question of confidence, and +therefore involved the existence of the Government, they were always +sure of a majority, and the Derbyite opposition, while they were able to +worry and insult them by partial defeats and by exposing their general +weakness, found themselves miserably baffled whenever they attempted +anything which had a tendency to place the Government in serious +embarrassment. The whole conduct of the Session, and the relations of +the Government with the House of Commons, presented something certainly +very different from what had ever been seen before in the memory of the +oldest statesman, implied a total dissolution of party ties and +obligations, and exhibited the Queen's Government and the House of +Commons as resolved into their separate elements, and acting towards +each other in independent and often antagonistic capacities. Disraeli +was always reproaching the Government with holding office on what he +termed the unconstitutional principle of not being supported by a +majority of the House of Commons, and of living from hand to mouth; but +though this was a plausible topic, he knew very well that no other +government could be formed which could exist otherwise, and that the +House of Commons, while it buffeted the Government about _au gré de ses +caprices_, was quite determined to keep it alive, and not to allow any +other to be substituted for it. At present it is difficult to see how +this state of things is to be altered, and time alone can show whether +great parties will again be formed, and governments be enabled to go on +as in times past, powerful in a consistent and continual Parliamentary +support, or whether a great change must be submitted to, and governments +be content to drag on a precarious existence, taking what they can get +from the House of Commons, and endeavouring to strengthen themselves by +enlisting public opinion on their side. + + PRECARIOUS TENURE OF THE MINISTRY. + +With regard to the prospects of this Government, much depends on the +progress of the war; for though they have done their part and are not +responsible for failure or success, they are sure to be strengthened by +success or weakened by failure. But much depends also upon what passes +in the Cabinet. John Russell, whose mind is in a state of chronic +discontent which was suspended for a time, is again becoming uneasy and +restless, and will soon begin making fresh difficulties. Then his Reform +Bill, which he gave up so reluctantly, is still in his thoughts, and he +will most likely insist upon bringing it forward again, a proposition +which is sure to produce dissension in the Cabinet. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Difficulties of the Campaign--Prince Albert and the King of + Prussia--The Prince goes to France--Military Commanders--Critical + Relations of the Ministers--The Crimea--The Emperor Napoleon and + Prince Albert--Austria and the Allies--The Landing in the + Crimea--The Battle of the Alma--Royal Invitations--The Crimean + Expedition--Lord John's Hostility to his Colleagues--False Report + from Sebastopol--The Crimean Campaign--Anecdotes of Lord + Raglan--The Russian Defence--Trade with the Enemy--Anecdote of + Nesselrode--John Bright's Opinion of the War--Defence of + Sebastopol--The Balaklava Charge--The Judges at the Nomination of + Sheriffs--Lord John takes more moderate Views--The Battle of + Inkerman--Impolicy of the War--Inkerman--Spirit of the + Nation--Military Enthusiasm--Parliament summoned--Want of + Foresight--Accounts of the Battle--Lord Raglan as a + General--Sufferings of the Army--Agreement with Austria--Opponents + of the War--Meeting of Parliament--The Government attacked--The + Foreign Enlistment Bill--Foreign Enlistment Bill passed--Mr. + Bright's Speech on the War--Review of the Year. + + +_August 29th_, 1854.--I have been out of town since the above was +written; at Grimston for York races, where Lord Derby was in high force +and spirits, carrying everything before him at the races, and not a word +was ever uttered on politics. There is no news, but dreadful accounts of +the health of both armies and of the prevalence of cholera both abroad +and at home. The French particularly, who have lost the most, are said +to be completely demoralised and disheartened, and to abhor the war +which they always disliked from the beginning. My present impression is +that we shall come to grief in this contest; not that we shall be beaten +in the field by the Russians, but that between the unhealthy climate, +the inaccessibility of the country, and the distance of our resources, +Russia will be able to keep us at bay, and baffle our attempts to reduce +her to submission. + + + PRINCE ALBERT AND THE KING OF PRUSSIA. + +_September 4th._--At The Grove for a couple of days, where I had much +talk with Clarendon, and he showed me a great many papers about +different matters: a very good letter written by Prince Albert to the +King of Prussia, who had written to him a hypocritical letter, asking +where the English and French fleets were going to winter, and whether he +might depend on them in case he was attacked by Russia in the Baltic, +which Clarendon said was a mere artifice to obtain knowledge of our +plans, that he might impart them to the Emperor Nicholas, as he well +knew he was in no danger of being attacked by Russia. The Prince wrote +an excellent answer, giving him no information, and entering into the +whole question of Prussian policy without reserve. He starts to-day to +Boulogne, invited by a letter from the Emperor himself, beginning 'Mon +cher frère,' replied to very well and civilly by Prince Albert who +began, 'Sire et mon cher frère.' Clarendon said Aberdeen was as hot as +any one upon the Crimean expedition. + +They are not at all satisfied with Lord Raglan, whom they think +oldfashioned and pedantic, and not suited to the purpose of carrying on +active operations. They wanted him to make use of the Turkish light +cavalry, Bashi-Bazouks, who under good management might be made very +serviceable, but he would have nothing to say to them; and still more +they are disgusted with his discouragement of the Indian officers who +have repaired to the army, and who are, in fact, the most efficient men +there are. They look on General Brown as the best man there, and have +great expectations of Cathcart. It is very curious that neither the +Government nor the commanders have the slightest information as to the +Russian force in the Crimea or the strength of Sebastopol. Some +prisoners they took affirmed that there were 150,000 men in the +peninsula, but nobody believes that, except Dundas who gives credit to +it. They are impatient for the termination of Dundas's period of +service, which will be in December, when Lyons will command the fleet. + + +_September 11th._--I went to The Grove on Friday, but was brought up on +Saturday by gout, and detained in London ever since. We had much talk +about a variety of things. The Prince is exceedingly well satisfied +with his visit to the Emperor. The invitation to Windsor appears to have +been publicly given in an after dinner speech. Clarendon said a great +deal about the Government, its prospects and its difficulties, and of +the conduct and dispositions of different men in it, that the Peelites +had all behaved admirably, and he has a very high opinion of Newcastle, +who is able, laborious, and fair. He does not see so much of Aberdeen as +he did last year while the question of peace or war was still pending. +He and Aberdeen do not very well agree, and therefore Aberdeen does not +come to the Foreign Office as he used to do. I asked him in what they +differed, and what it was Aberdeen now wanted or expected. He said that +Aberdeen was quite of opinion that a vigorous prosecution of the war +afforded the best chance of restoring peace, and that he was as eager as +anybody for the expedition of Sebastopol, but he was out of humour with +the whole thing, took no interest in anything that was done, and instead +of looking into all the departments and animating each as a Prime +Minister should do, he kept aloof and did nothing, and constantly raised +objections to various matters of detail. In the Cabinet he takes hardly +any part, and when differences of opinion arise he makes no effort to +reconcile them, as it is his business to do. In short, though a very +good and honourable man, he is eminently unfitted for his post, and in +fact he feels this himself, has no wish to retain it, but the contrary, +and only does so because he knows the whole machine would fall to pieces +if he were to resign. John Russell Clarendon thinks a necessity as +leader of the House of Commons, but he is disgusted with his perpetual +discontent and the bad influence exercised over him by his confidants, +and he thinks he has not acted a generous part towards Aberdeen in +suffering him to be attacked and vilified as he has been by his (John's) +followers and adherents, who endeavour to make a distinction between him +and Aberdeen, which is equally unconstitutional on principle and false +in fact. The same thing applies to Palmerston, and they have neither of +them stood forward as they ought to have done in Aberdeen's defence, +and claimed a joint responsibility with him in every act of the +Government. We talked over what could possibly be done if Aberdeen did +retire, and I suggested that he (Clarendon) might take his place, and +that the rest would be more willing to accept him for the head of the +Government than any other man. He expressed the greatest disinclination +to this idea, to which he never could consent, but owned his present +office was extremely agreeable to him and deeply interesting. +Nevertheless, I do not think, if the case occurred and the place was +offered to him _consensu omnium_, that his scruples would be +insurmountable. + +So certain are they of taking Sebastopol that they have already begun to +discuss what they shall do with it when they have got it. Palmerston +wrote Clarendon a long letter setting forth the various alternatives, +and expressing his own opinion that the Crimea should be restored to the +Turks. Clarendon is dead against this, and so, he told me, is Stratford. +At Boulogne the Emperor and Newcastle agreed that the best course will +be to occupy the Crimea and garrison Sebastopol with a large force of +English and French, and hold it _en dépôt_ till they can settle +something definitive; and Clarendon leans to this arrangement, which +will at least be a gain of time. + + + VISIT OF PRINCE ALBERT TO FRANCE. + +_London, September 19th._--At The Grove again last week, where as usual +I heard a great deal of miscellaneous matters from Clarendon and read a +great many despatches from different people. I asked him what the Prince +had told him of his visit to Boulogne, and what his opinion was of the +Emperor. He said the Prince had talked to him a great deal about it all +at Osborne, and this is the substance of what he said as far as I +recollect it: The Prince was very well satisfied with his reception; the +Emperor took him in his carriage _tête à tête_ to the great review, so +that they conversed together long and without interruption or witnesses. +The Emperor seems to have talked to the Prince with more _abandon_ and +unreserve than is usual to him. The Prince was exceedingly struck with +his extreme apathy and languor (which corresponds with what Thiers told +me of him) and with his ignorance of a variety of matters which it +peculiarly behoved him to know. He asked the Prince a great many +questions about the English Constitution and its working, relating to +which the Prince gave him ample and detailed explanation, and Clarendon +said that all that he repeated as being said to the Emperor was as good, +sound, and correct as it possibly could be. The Emperor said that he +felt all the difficulties of his own position, and enlarged upon them +with great freedom, particularly adverting, as one of them, to the +absence of any aristocracy in France. The Prince, in reply to this, +seems to have given him very judicious advice; for he told him that any +attempt to _create_ an aristocracy in France resembling that of England +must be a failure, the conditions and antecedents of the two countries +being so totally dissimilar; that he might confer titles and +distinctions to any amount, and so surround himself with adherents whom +he had obliged, but that he had better confine himself to that and not +attempt to do more. When they parted, the Emperor said he hoped it would +not be the last time he should have the pleasure of seeing His Royal +Highness, to which the Prince replied that he hoped not, and that he was +charged by the Queen to express her hope that he would pay her a visit +at Windsor, and give her an opportunity of making the Empress's +acquaintance, to which the Emperor responded 'he should be very glad to +see the Queen at Paris.' This _insouciant_ reception of an invitation +which a few months before he would have jumped at is very unaccountable, +but it meant something, for it was evidently a _mot d'ordre_, because +when the Prince took leave of Marshal Vaillant, he said he hoped he +would accompany the Emperor to Windsor, where, though they could show no +such military spectacle as the Emperor had shown him, they would do what +they could, to which Vaillant replied, 'We hope to see Her Majesty the +Queen and Your Royal Highness at Paris.' There seems no disposition at +present to give him the Garter which is supposed to be the object of his +ambition, and which Walewski is always suggesting. + +Clarendon is extremely disgusted at the conduct of Austria and her +declaration of neutrality, and he said that the complaints of the doings +of the Austrians in the Principalities were not without foundation. +Drouyn de Lhuys spoke very openly to Hübner on the subject, and pitched +into the Austrian Government without stint or reserve, and Cowley sent a +despatch in which all he said was detailed, with the addition that it +was Drouyn de Lhuys' intention to embody it in a formal despatch to +Bourqueney to be communicated to the Austrian Government. + + + LANDING IN THE CRIMEA. + +_September 22nd._--The army has landed in the Crimea without opposition. +It is difficult to conceive that the Russians should have been so +utterly wanting in spirit, and so afraid to risk anything, as to let the +landing take place without an attempt either by land or sea to obstruct +it. They have a great fleet lying idle at Sebastopol, and though, if it +had come out, its defeat and perhaps destruction would have been +certain, it would have been better to perish thus, _vitam in vulnere +ponens_, and inflicting damage on its enemy as it certainly might have +done, than to remain ingloriously in harbour and wait to be taken or +destroyed, as it infallibly will be when the town itself shall fall. +Great indignation is expressed at the prospect of Napier's returning +from the Baltic without making any attempt on Cronstadt, or to perform +any exploit beyond the Bomarsund affair. He is detested by his officers, +and they one and all complain that he has been so little adventurous, +and maintain that more might have been done. The justness and +correctness of this, time will show. + + +_October 2nd._--At The Grove on Saturday, where I generally pick up some +scraps of information from Clarendon on one subject or another. On +Saturday came the news that Sebastopol had been taken, which we did not +believe a word of, but after dinner the same evening we got the +telegraphic account of the victory gained on the 20th on the heights +above the Alma, and yesterday Raglan's telegraphic despatch was +published. It is nervous work for those who have relations and friends +in the army to hear of a 'desperate battle' and severe loss, and to +have to wait so many days for the details and casualties. The affair +does not seem, so far as we can conjecture, to have been very decisive, +when only two guns and a few prisoners were taken. If it had depended on +St. Arnaud, the expedition would have put back even after it had sailed; +while actually at sea, St. Arnaud, who stated himself to be ill and +unable to move, summoned a council of war on board the 'Ville de Paris.' +The weather was so rough that it was determined that it would not be +safe for Raglan to go, as with his one arm he could not get on board; so +Dundas went, and General Brown, and some other officers deputed by +Raglan to represent himself, together with the French Admiral. A +discussion took place which lasted several hours. St. Arnaud strongly +urged that the expedition should be put off till the spring, and he +objected to all that was proposed as to the place of landing--in short, +threw every obstacle he could in the way of the whole thing. Dundas and +all the English officers vehemently protested against any delay and +change of plan, and represented the intolerable shame and disgrace of +putting back after having actually embarked, and their opposition to the +French general's proposal was so vehement that he ended by giving way, +rose from his sick bed, and consented to go on. He declared that he only +agreed to the place proposed for landing in consequence of the urgent +representations of his allies, and this he wrote home to his own +Government. He is a very incapable, unfit man, and Clarendon told me +that his own army recognised the great superiority of Raglan to him, and +that the French were all delighted with the latter. + + THE INVITATION TO WINDSOR. + +It seems that there was some misunderstanding as to the invitation given +by the Prince to the Emperor at Boulogne, and the latter gives a very +different account of what passed from that given by the Prince. The +Emperor says that when he took leave of the Prince, he said, 'I have not +been able to give you such a reception as I could have wished, but you +see I am only occupying an hotel; if you will come to Paris, where I +should be delighted to receive the Queen, I could give her and yourself +a more fitting reception;' and then, he says, the Prince invited him to +Windsor, which he only seems to have taken as a civility unavoidable +under the circumstances. It is impossible to say which account is the +true one, but I rather believe that of the Emperor to be correct. +Clarendon wrote this to the Queen, whose answer I saw; she said the +intention was to make the invitation something between a cordial +invitation and a mere civility, which the Emperor might avail himself of +or not, according to his convenience. However, Her Majesty says she +thinks the matter stands very well as it is, and she desires it may be +notified to the Emperor that the most convenient time for his visit, if +he comes, will be the middle of November. + +The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Napoleon have both been strongly +opposed to the Crimean expedition; the latter, they say, does nothing +but cry, and is probably a poor creature and a poltroon. I am surprised +the Duke should be so backward; however, I hope to hear he has done his +duty in the field. The clamour against Dundas in the fleet is +prodigious, and the desire for his recall universal, but he will stay +out his time now, which will be up in December. It is the same thing +against Napier in the Baltic; he will come away as soon as the ice sets +in, and next year Lyons will be sent in his place, as the war will then +be principally carried on in the north. + +I think a storm will before long threaten the Government from the +quarter of John Russell, who has been for some time at Minto. He wrote +to Clarendon the other day, and alluded to the necessity of having an +autumn session, to which Clarendon replied that he was not so fond of +Parliament as Lord John was, and deprecated very much any such measure. +To this Lord John sent as odious and cantankerous an answer as I ever +read, and one singularly illustrative of his character. He said that he +was not fonder of Parliament than other people, and his own position in +the House of Commons had not been such as to make him the more so, and +that it had been rendered more disagreeable by the fact of the two +morning papers which professed to support the Government being always +personally hostile to him; but, he went on, if we were fortunate enough +to obtain a complete success in the Crimea, he did not see why he should +not be at liberty to retire from this, which he thought the very worst +government he had ever known. Of course, if there was any failure, he +must remain to bear his share of the responsibility of it. Clarendon was +immensely disgusted, but wrote back a very temperate answer. He said +that it was equally difficult to go on with him and without him, for the +Whigs, though often very angry with him, would follow him and would not +follow anybody else. He thinks, however, that he is in a state of mind +to create all sorts of embarrassments, and particularly that he will +propose to bring forward his Reform Bill again, the consequences of +which nobody can foresee. He says Palmerston has behaved much better, +for though he might complain, having been disappointed in certain +objects he had (such as being War Minister), he has made no +difficulties, and been very friendly. Clarendon confirmed what I had +heard, that Aberdeen is in a state of great dejection and annoyance at +the constant and virulent attacks on him in the press; his mind is +dejected by the illness of his son, whom he never expects to see again, +and this renders him sensitive and fretful, and he is weak enough to +read all that is written against him instead of treating it with +indifference and avoiding to look at the papers whose columns are day +after day full of outrageous and random abuse. + + +_October 8th._--The whole of last week the newspapers without exception +(but the 'Morning Chronicle' particularly), with the 'Times' at their +head, proclaimed the fall of Sebastopol in flaming and triumphant +articles and with colossal type, together with divers victories and all +sorts of details, all which were trumpeted over the town and circulated +through the country. I never believed one word of it, and entreated +Delane to be less positive and more cautious, but he would not hear of +it, and the whole world swallowed the news and believed it. Very soon +came the truth, and it was shown that the reports were all false. +Anybody who was not run away with by an exaggerated enthusiasm might +have seen the probability that reports resting on no good authority +would probably turn out untrue, but the press took them all for gospel, +and every fool follows the press. When the bubble burst, the rage and +fury of the deluded and deluding journals knew no bounds, and the +'Times' was especially sulky and spiteful. In consequence of a trifling +error in a telegraphic despatch they fell on the Foreign Office and its +clerks with the coarsest abuse, much to the disgust of Clarendon. + + +_October 20th._--At Newmarket all last week; very successful on paper, +but won very little money. I am every day more confirmed in my +resolution to get rid of my racehorses, but shall do it gradually and as +opportunities occur, and then confine myself to breeding. The two +objects I now have in view are this, and to get out of my office. I want +to be independent, and be able to go where and do what I like for the +short remainder of my life. I am aware that 'man never is, but always to +be blest,' and therefore when I have shaken off racing and office I may +possibly regret both; but my mind is bent on the experiment, and I fancy +I can amuse myself with locomotion, fresh scenes, and dabbling in +literature _selon mes petits moyens_. Of politics I am heartily sick, +and can take but little interest in either governments or the +individuals who compose them; with the exception of Clarendon I am on +intimate and confidential terms with no one. + + BATTLE OF THE ALMA. + +Ever since the news came of the battle of the Alma, the country has been +in a fever of excitement, and the newspapers have teemed with letters +and descriptions of the events that occurred. Raglan has gained great +credit, and his march on Balaklava is considered a very able and +judicious operation. Although they do not utter a word of complaint, and +are by way of being fully satisfied with our allies the French, the +truth is that the English think they did very little for the success of +the day, and Burghersh told some one that their not pressing on was the +cause (and not the want of cavalry) why the Russian guns were not taken. +The French, nevertheless, have been well disposed to take the credit of +the victory to themselves. + +Burghersh tells two characteristic anecdotes of Raglan. He was extremely +put out at the acclamations of the soldiers when he appeared amongst +them after the battle, and said to his staff as he rode along the line, +in a melancholy tone, 'I was sure this would happen.' He is a very +modest man, and it is not in his nature any more than it was in that of +the Duke of Wellington to make himself popular with the soldiers in the +way Napoleon used to do, and who was consequently adored by them. The +other story is that there were two French officers attached to +headquarters, very good fellows, and that the staff were constantly +embarrassed by the inveterate habit Raglan had of calling the enemy 'the +French.' He could not forget his old Peninsular habits. + +In this war the Russians have hitherto exhibited a great inferiority in +their conduct to that which they displayed in their campaigns from 1807 +to 1812, when they fought the battles of Eylau and Borodino against +Napoleon. The position of Alma must have been much stronger than that of +Borodino, and yet how much more stoutly the latter was defended than the +former. Then their having allowed the allies to land without molestation +is inconceivable, and there is no doubt that they might have attacked +Raglan with great effect as he emerged from the wood on his march to +Balaklava, but all these opportunities they entirely neglected. I +expect, however, that they will make a vigorous defence at Sebastopol, +and that the place will not be taken without a bloody struggle and great +loss of life. + + RUSSIAN TRADE. + +Within the last few days a very important question has arisen, the +decision of which is a very difficult matter. It has been found that the +commerce of Russia has not been materially diminished, as their great +staples (hemp, &c.) have passed regularly through the Prussian ports, +being brought there by land, and it is now desired to devise some means +of putting an end to this exportation. Clarendon has written to Reeve +about it, and Granville has obtained returns of the amount of hemp and +linseed imported from Russia in past years and in the present, from +which it appears that though there is a diminution it is not a very +considerable one. The effect produced is only the inevitable consequence +of the policy that was adopted deliberately and after great +consideration at the beginning of the war; and how that policy is to be +adhered to, and the consequences complained of prevented, is the problem +to be solved. A blockade of the Prussian ports in the Baltic has been +suggested--a measure, as it seems to me, very questionable in point of +right and political morality, and certain to be attended by the most +momentous consequences. Such a measure may not be without precedent, or +something resembling precedent; but no Power with anything like +self-respect or pride could tamely submit to such an outrage and such an +insult, and as it would certainly afford a _casus belli_, Prussia could +hardly, without abandoning all claim to be considered a great Power, +abstain from declaring war _instanter_; and, whatever may be the +sentiments of the Prussian nation and of the Germans generally with +regard to Russia, it is by no means unlikely that such an arbitrary and +imperious proceeding would enlist the sympathies and the passions of all +Germans without exception in opposition to us, and to France if she +became a party to it. + + +_Newmarket._--Granville told me on Saturday morning that he was much +alarmed at the disposition evinced by John Russell, and he expects an +explosion sooner or later. + + +_London, October 30th._--I returned last night and found a meeting of +the Committee of Council settled for to-day, to consider the question of +stopping Russian trade. Wilson has drawn up a paper in which he +discusses the various modes of accomplishing this object, and recommends +that the Queen should forbid all trade with Russia, and prohibit the +importation of Russian produce, and require certificates of origin for +tallow, hemp, &c. John Russell writes word that he cannot attend the +meeting, but is ready, though reluctant, to vote for Wilson's proposal. +Granville and Cardwell are both dead against it, after a discussion at +the Council Office at which the majority were against the proposal. + + +_November 4th._--At The Grove from Wednesday to Saturday; the Walewskis, +Lavradios, Granvilles, Azeglio, and Panizzi were there, a pleasant party +enough. Walewski told me a curious thing which he said he knew to be +true. We were talking of Nesselrode, and I asked if he knew what his +present position was with his Emperor. He said he had been out of +favour, but latterly had resumed all his influence and was very well at +Court; that although in the beginning of the quarrel he had done his +best to moderate the Emperor and to preserve peace, it was nevertheless +true that he was perhaps the immediate cause of the war, which had +turned upon the acceptance or refusal of the Turkish modifications of +the Vienna Note; that when they arrived the Emperor was inclined to +accept them, and that Nesselrode dissuaded him from doing so, advising +him to adhere to the unaltered Note, not to listen to the modifications, +and insisting that, if he did so, the allies would compel the Turks to +waive their demands and to accept the Note in its original shape. +Walewski also said that the Emperor was exceedingly incensed when the +fatal circular, which made the Vienna Note an impossibility, was +published. He said it was never intended for publication, and he found +great fault with the document itself, insisted on knowing by whom it had +been composed, and ordered the author to be brought before him. The man +(whose name I forget) was not to be found, and events which pressed on +drove it out of His Majesty's mind. + +In the 'Times' of yesterday appeared a very able letter of Bright's with +his view of the war, and the faults committed by our Government in +respect to it, which letter as nearly as possible expresses my own +opinion on the subject. I have never agreed with those who fancy that by +mere bluster we might have averted the war, but I think by more firmness +towards not only Russia but towards Turkey, and still more towards the +press and the public excitement here, together with a judicious +employment of the resources of diplomacy, we might have prevented it. +However, we are in for it, and I not only see no chance of getting soon +out of it, but I do not feel the same confidence that everybody else +does, that we are certain to carry it to a successful end. + + + SEBASTOPOL BESIEGED. + +_London, November 13th._--At Worsley all last week; nothing was thought +of but the war, its events and vicissitudes. The tardiness of +intelligence and the perplexity and agitation caused by vague reports +and telegraphic messages drive everybody mad; from excessive confidence, +the public, always nose-led by the newspapers, is fallen into a state of +alarm and discouragement. There is no end to the mischief which the +newspapers and their correspondents have done, are doing, and no doubt +will continue to do. There does not seem at this moment more reason to +doubt that we shall take Sebastopol than there ever was, but the +obstinate defence of the Russians indicates that its capture will not be +effected without a tremendous struggle and great sacrifice of life. On +the other hand, the Russians, instead of despairing of being able to +hold the place, are full of confidence that they will be able to +protract their defence, till our losses, and still more the weather, +will compel us to raise the siege, and then they expect to compel us to +abandon the Crimea altogether, and to make our re-embarkation a +dangerous and disastrous operation. It is to be hoped that such a +calamitous result is not in store for us, but there is no disguising +from ourselves that we have got a much tougher and more difficult job on +our hands than we ever contemplated, and that our success is by no means +such a certainty as we have all along flattered ourselves that it would +be; for supposing we succeed in entering the place by storm, our work +will then be not nearly done. Sebastopol is not invested, and when the +Russian garrison finds itself no longer able to hold the place, there is +nothing to prevent its evacuating it on the other side and effecting a +junction with the main Russian army. We shall then have to reduce the +forts on the northern side, to put the place in a state of defence, and +commence a fresh campaign against Menschikoff in the centre of the +Crimea. All this presents an endless succession of difficulties, +demanding large supplies and resources of all sorts which it will be no +easy matter to afford. We are now talking of sending every soldier we +possess to the scene of action, and expending our military resources to +the last drop, leaving everything else at home and abroad to take care +of itself, a course which nothing but an extreme necessity can justify, +while at the same time it cannot be denied that having gone so far we +cannot stop halfway, and having committed so large a part of our gallant +army in this unequal contest, we are bound to make the greatest +exertions and sacrifices to prevent their being overwhelmed by any +serious disaster. But this very necessity only affords fresh ground for +condemning the rashness with which we plunged into such a war and +exposed ourselves to such enormous dangers, and incurred such large +sacrifices for so inadequate an object. + +It is not very easy to ascertain what the feeling is in Russia about the +war, but there is reason to believe that the nobles are getting very +sick of it, and are very discontented with the Emperor, not so much for +having engaged in it as for the manner in which it has been carried on. +At St. Petersburg there prevails an intense hostility to us, and great +wrath against Austria, and instead of yielding, or any thought of it, +the notion is that they mean to redouble their efforts next year, and +bring into the field far greater forces than they have yet done. I +perceive that the question of the disposal of the Crimea (when we get +it) is still undecided. Some fancy that we ought to hold it, as a great +advantage to have the power of offering it back to Russia when the +question of peace arises. I am more inclined to the other view, of +destroying the place, and if possible the harbour, and, after carrying +off or destroying all the ships, to abandon the peninsula and leave the +Russians to reoccupy it if they please. This would be very consistent +with the object with which the war was professedly undertaken, and the +Crimea, without Sebastopol and without a fleet, would be no longer +formidable to Turkey for many a year to come; but no doubt there would +be difficulty in this as in any arrangement, and much difference of +opinion, not unlikely to produce dissension, amongst our allies and +ourselves. There is good reason to believe that our late naval attack on +the forts was a blunder, and that it did no good whatever. If Lyons had +been in command, he probably would have declined to make it, and he +could have ventured to exercise his own discretion, which Dundas could +not. Then it was very badly arranged, and this was the fault of the +French Admiral, who at the last moment insisted on altering the plan of +attack, and (contrary to the advice of all his officers) Dundas gave way +to him. In this, however, it is not fair to blame the English Admiral, +who may have acted wisely; for his position was delicate and difficult, +and he had to consider the alliance of the countries and the harmonious +action of the two fleets, as well as the particular operation. + + + BALAKLAVA. + +_November 14th._--Yesterday morning we received telegraphic news of +another battle, from which we may expect a long list of killed and +wounded. The affair of the 25th, in which our light cavalry was cut to +pieces, seems to have been the result of mismanagement in some quarter, +and the blame must attach either to Lucan, Cardigan, Captain Nolan who +was killed, or to Raglan himself. Perhaps nobody is really to blame, +but, if any one be, my own impression is that it is Raglan. He _wrote_ +the order, and it was his business to make it so clear that it could not +be mistaken, and to give it conditionally, or with such discretionary +powers as should prevent its being vigorously enforced under +circumstances which he could not foresee, or of which he might have no +cognisance. + +It is evidently the plan of the Russians to wear out the allied armies +by incessant attacks and a prolonged defence, sacrificing enormous +numbers of men which they can afford, but considering that they gain on +the whole by the disproportionate, but still considerable, losses they +inflict upon us. It is quite on the cards, if they can keep up the +spirit of their men, who show great bravery though they cannot stand +against our's, that they may _cunctando restituere rem_, and compel us +at last to raise the siege, and at St. Petersburg they are very +confident of this result. Here, though people are no longer so confident +and elated as they were, no human being doubts of our ultimately taking +the town. + +Yesterday we had rather an amusing scene in the Court of Exchequer at +the nomination of sheriffs, which does not often supply anything lively. +The Head of Caius College, Cambridge, and this year Vice-Chancellor, +was on the list, and Judge Alderson vehemently protested against his +remaining there. A long discussion ensued, in which almost everybody +took part, whether his name should be kept on or not, and if he should +be struck off the roll. At last Alderson moved he should be struck off, +to which somebody moved as an amendment (a course I suggested) that he +should be omitted, but not struck off. It was to be put to the vote, +when I asked if Alderson himself could vote, whether it was not a +meeting of the Privy Council, at which the judges _attended_ to give in +names for sheriffs, and that Privy Councillors only could vote as to the +choice of them. Alderson vehemently denied this view, and asserted that +it was no meeting of the Privy Council, the proof of which was that the +Chancellor of the Exchequer took precedence of the Lord President, and +that the puisne judges had a right to vote. They then desired to see the +Act of Richard II., which the Chancellor examined and read out, and +afterwards he gave it as his opinion that the judges could vote, and +this opinion was acquiesced in by the rest. Ultimately they all agreed, +Alderson included, to accept the course I had proposed, and the Doctor's +name was omitted from the list, but not struck off the roll. + + +_November 15th._--The Duke of Bedford tells me that Lord John is in a +better frame of mind than was apprehended not long ago, by no means +satisfied with his own situation, and complaining of much that +appertains to the Government, but conscious that his position cannot be +altered at present, and not at all disposed by any captious conduct to +break up or endanger the Government itself. With regard to Reform he is +extremely reasonable, feeling the difficulty of his own antecedents in +regard to the question; he is ready to conform himself to the +necessities of the case, and does not think of urging anything +unreasonable and impracticable. He is naturally enough very anxious that +the Government should manage their affairs in Parliament better this +year than last, and not expose themselves to so many defeats and the +mortification of having their measures rejected or spoilt, and his +notion seems to be that they should introduce and announce fewer +measures, only such as are urgent and generally desired, and such as +they may reasonably expect to carry, and, having taken that course, to +stand or fall by them; this is the wisest and most becoming course, and +I hope it will be adhered to and succeed. Its success depends very much +on Lord John's own conduct, and the way in which he treats the Whig and +Liberal party. I hear nothing of the intentions and expectations of the +Opposition, but Lyndhurst tells me he considers them extinct as a party +and in no condition to get into power. He spoke very disparagingly of +Disraeli, and said his want of character was fatal to him, and weighed +down all his cleverness. + + + BATTLE OF INKERMAN. + +_November 16th._--A telegraphic despatch arrived from Raglan with +account of the battle of the 5th,[1] from which we learn only that we +were entirely successful in repulsing the Russian attack, but that our +loss was very great. Another long interval of suspense to be succeeded +by woe and mourning; but besides the private misery we have to witness, +the aggregate of the news fills me with the most dismal forebodings. +Raglan says the Russian force was even greater than at Alma, and vastly +superior to his own. Menschikoff says that he is assembling all his +forces, and preparing to take the offensive, that their numbers are very +superior, and he confidently announces that he shall wear us out, and +that our army _cannot escape him_. I do not see how the siege is to be +continued by an army itself besieged by a superior force and placed +between two fires. The reinforcements cannot possibly arrive in time, +and even if they were all there now, they would not be sufficient to +redress the balance. I dread some great disaster which would be besides +a great disgrace. Whether every exertion possible has been made here to +reinforce Raglan, or whether anything more could have been done, I +cannot pretend to say; but if matters turn out ill there will be a fine +clamour, and principally from those rash and impatient idiots who were +so full of misplaced confidence, and who insisted on precipitating our +armies on the Crimea, and on any and every part of the Russian +territory, without knowing anything of the adequacy of our means for +such a contest. To overrate the strength and power of the allies, and to +underrate that of Russia on her own territory, has been the fault and +folly of the English public, and if they find themselves deceived in +their calculations and disappointed in their expectations, their rage +and fury will know no bounds, and be lavished on everybody but +themselves. In the height of arrogance few exceptions were found to +those who imagined it would be quite easy to crumple up Russia, and +reduce her to accept such terms as we might choose to impose upon her. +All the examples which history furnishes were disregarded, and a general +belief prevailed that Russia would be unable to oppose any effectual or +prolonged resistance to our forces combined. When the successes of the +Turks at the beginning of the war became known, this confidence not +unnaturally became confirmed, and boundless was the contempt with which +the Russians were treated; and the bare idea of granting peace to the +Emperor except on the most ruinous and humiliating terms was scouted. We +now see what sort of a fight the Russians can make; and though the +superhuman valour and conduct of our troops still inspire confidence and +forbid despair, it is evident that we have rashly embarked in a contest +which from the nature of it must be an unequal one, and that we are +placed in a position of enormous difficulty and danger. + +[Footnote 1: The battle of Inkerman was fought on November 5.] + + +_November 23rd._--Last week at Savernake and at The Grange; came back on +Tuesday; and yesterday morning arrived the despatches with an account of +the furious battle of Inkerman, in which, according to Raglan's account, +8,000 English and 6,000 French resisted the attack of 60,000 Russians, +and eventually defeated and drove them back with enormous loss, our own +loss being very great. The accounts of Raglan and Canrobert do not quite +agree as to the numbers engaged, but, admitting that there may be some +exaggeration in the estimate of the numbers of the Russians and of their +loss, it still remains one of the most wonderful feats of arms that was +ever displayed; and, gallantly as our troops have always behaved, it +may be doubted if they ever evinced such constancy and heroism as on +this occasion--certainly never greater. My brother lost his youngest and +favourite son in this battle--a boy of 18, who had only landed in the +Crimea a few weeks before, and who was in a great battle for the first +and last time. This is only one of innumerable instances of the same +kind, and half England is in mourning. It is dreadful to see the misery +and grief in which so many are already plunged, and the universal terror +and agitation which beset all who have relations engaged in the war. But +the nation is not only as warlike as ever, but if possible more full of +ardour and enthusiasm, and thinking of nothing but the most lavish +expenditure of men and money to carry on the war; the blood that has +been shed appears only to animate the people, and to urge them to fresh +exertions. This is so far natural that I, hating the war, feel as +strongly as anybody that, now we are in it, and our soldiers placed in +great jeopardy and peril, it is indispensable to make every possible +exertion to relieve them; and I am therefore anxious for ample +reinforcements being sent out to them, that they may not be crushed by +overwhelming force. + + MILITARY CRITICISMS. + +In reading the various and innumerable narratives of the battle, and the +comments of the 'correspondents,' it is impossible to avoid coming to +some conclusions which may nevertheless be erroneous; and I have always +thought that people who are totally ignorant of military matters, and +who are living at ease at home, should not venture to criticise +operations of which they can be no judges, and the conduct of men who +cannot explain that conduct, and who are nobly doing their duty +according to their own judgement, which is more likely to be right than +any opinions we can form. With this admission of fallibility, it still +strikes me that there was a lack of military genius and foresight in the +recent operations. It is asserted that our position was open and +undefended, that General Evans had recommended that precautions should +be taken and defences thrown up, all of which was neglected, and nothing +done, and hence the sad slaughter which took place. This was Raglan's +fault, if any fault there really was. It is admitted that no tactical +skill was or could be displayed, and the battle was won by sheer courage +and firmness. Then Cathcart seems to have made a false and very rash +move which cost his own life and 500 men besides. These are melancholy +reflexions, and the facts prove that we have no Wellingtons in our army +now. + + +_November 26th._--Government have determined to call Parliament together +on the 12th of December, though it stands prorogued to the 14th. This is +done under the authority of an Act, 37th George III. ch. 120. In the +present state of affairs they are quite right, and it is better for them +to have fair Parliamentary discussion than clamour and the diatribes of +the press out of doors. The 'Times,' as usual, has been thundering away +about reinforcements, and urging the despatch of troops that do not +exist and cannot be created in a moment. I had a great battle with +Delane the other day about it, and asked why he did not appeal to the +French Government, who have boundless military resources, instead of to +our's who have none at all, and accordingly yesterday there was a very +strong article entirely about French reinforcements. + + ADMINISTRATIVE BLUNDERS. + +In the course of our talk he did, I must confess, make some strong +charges against the Government, and particularly Newcastle. He +complained that after the expedition was sent to the Crimea they +remained idle, and made no attempt to form an army of reserve or to send +continual reinforcements to supply the casualties which everybody knew +must occur, and this is true. Again, when he returned from the East[1] +he went to Newcastle and urged him to make an immediate provision of +wooden houses against the winter, which would in all probability be +required, and he suggested that this should be done at Constantinople, +where, all the houses being built of wood and the carpenters very +skilful, it might easily be done at a comparatively small expense, and +whence the conveyance was expeditious and cheap. His advice was not +taken; nothing was done, and now that the winter is come, and the +troops are already exposed to dreadful suffering and privation, the work +is begun here, where it will cost four times as much and, when done, +will require an enormous time to convey the houses to the Crimea, +besides taking up the space that is urgently required for other +purposes. I was obliged to confess that this was inexcusable negligence +and blundering, and I repeated what had passed to Granville last night, +who could make no defence, and only said that Newcastle, with many +merits, had the fault of wishing to do everything himself, and therefore +much was not done at all; and that the fact was, nobody ever imagined we +should be reduced to such straits, and there was a universal belief that +all would have been over in the Crimea before this, and that such things +would not be required. I am afraid Newcastle, who is totally ignorant of +military affairs of every sort, is not equal to his post, and hence the +various deficiencies; nor is Sidney Herbert much better--very well both +of them in ordinary times, but without the ability or the resource +necessary to deal with such an emergency as the present. + +I saw a letter yesterday from Charles Windham, a Q.-M.-General on poor +Cathcart's staff, with an account of the battle, and he says that if, +directly after the march on Balaklava, Sebastopol had been assaulted, it +must have been taken. This corresponds with the reports of Russian +deserters, who declare that there were only 2,000 men in the place after +the battle of Alma. There is always so much difference of opinion and +fault finding in such affairs that it is not easy to come to a sound +conclusion thereupon. + +[Footnote 1: Mr. Delane had gone to the theatre of war in the autumn, +and was there with Mr. Kinglake, the brilliant historian of the Crimean +War.] + + +_November 29th._--My surviving nephew arrived from the Crimea yesterday +morning. He gave me an account of the battle, and denies that General +Cathcart ever refused, or was ever offered, the aid of General Bosquet, +as has been stated. He says that Cathcart was not in command, and it was +not therefore to him that the offer would have been made, and that +Cathcart did not go into action till he was sent for by General +Pennefather, when he got his Division out, and went on the field. He was +killed quite early, about twenty minutes after he reached the field of +battle. My nephew confirms what has been said about the +non-fortification of the position, which seems to have been an enormous +blunder, against which most of the Generals of Division remonstrated. He +says Cathcart was opposed to the expedition to the Crimea, not thinking +they were strong enough, and he strongly advised, and in opposition to +Raglan, that the place should be attacked immediately after the battle +of Alma, while the Russians were still panic struck, and before they had +time to fortify the town on the south side. He says he left the army in +good health and spirits, but not expecting to take Sebastopol this year. +Their sufferings had not been very great, though it was a hard +life--plenty to eat, but mostly salt meat. He thinks, though the French +behaved very gallantly and their arrival saved the army, that they might +have done more than they did; and a body of them that came late on the +field actually never stirred and did nothing whatever. + +In the evening I met Clarendon at the Travellers', and had a long talk +with him about all sorts of things. He has been much disturbed at the +'Times,' especially as to two things--its violent abuse of Austria and +its insertion of a letter from the Crimea, reflecting severely on Prince +Napoleon. With regard to Austria it is peculiarly annoying, because we +are now on the point of concluding a tripartite Treaty which is actually +on its way to Vienna, and in a day or two it will be decided whether she +signs it or not; and nothing is more calculated to make her hang back +than such articles in the 'Times.' Then as to Prince Napoleon, it has +annoyed the Emperor and all his family beyond expression, and to such a +degree that Drouyn de Lhuys has written an official letter to Walewski +about it--a very proper and reasonable letter, but still expressing +their vexation, and entreating that such attacks may, if possible, be +prevented for the future. + +We talked over Lord Raglan and his capacity for command, and we both +agreed that he had given no proofs of his fitness for so mighty a task. +Clarendon said he was struck with the badness of his private letters, +as he had been from the beginning by those from Varna, showing that he +had evidently not a spark of imagination and no originality. We both +agreed that it would never do to hint a doubt about his merits or +capacity, and at all events that he is probably equal to anybody likely +to be opposed to him. His personal bravery is conspicuous, and he +exposes himself more than he ought. It is said that one of his +aides-de-camp remonstrated with him and received a severe rebuff, Raglan +telling him to mind his own business, and if he did not like the fire to +go to the rear. Clarendon says there is no chance of taking Sebastopol +this year, nor of taking it at all till we have an army strong enough to +drive the Russians out of the Crimea. For this, 150,000 men would be +required to make it a certainty; but with this force, no Russian army, +however numerous, could resist the allies, and then the place would +fall. This is a distant prospect. I expressed my wonder at the Russians +being able to obtain supplies, and he said they got them from the Don +and from Kertch. + + + SUFFERINGS OF THE ARMY. + +_December 5th._--I was at Middleton on Saturday and returned yesterday. +There I saw a letter from Stafford, who is at Constantinople tending the +sick and wounded, writing for and reading to them, and doing all the +good he can--a very wise and benevolent way of re-establishing his +reputation and making his misdeeds at the Admiralty forgotten.[1] He +says he had heard so much of the sufferings and privations of the +soldiers, and of the bad state of the hospitals, that he resolved to go +there and judge for himself of the truth of all that had been written +and asserted on the subject; that he did so, and found the very worst +accounts exceeded by the reality, and that nothing could be more +frightful and appalling than it all was. It had greatly improved, but +still was bad enough. The accounts published in the 'Times,' therefore, +turn out to be true, and all the aid that private charity could supply +was no more than was needed. I believe there has been no lack of zeal +and humanity here, but a great deal of ignorance and inexperience, and, +above all, culpable negligence on the part of Lord Stratford, who had +_carte blanche_ from the Government as to expense, and who, after having +done his best to plunge us into this war, might at least have given his +time and attention to provide relief for the victims of it; but it seems +that from some fit of ill-temper he has chosen to do nothing, and +evinced nothing but indifference to the war itself and all its incidents +ever since it broke out. This I am assured is the case. His wife has +been very active and humane, and done all she could to assist Miss +Nightingale in her mission of benevolence and charity. But to return to +Stafford's letter. He says that while nothing could exceed the heroism +of our soldiers, the incapacity of their chiefs was equally conspicuous, +and that the troops had no confidence in their leaders; he adds, it is +essential to give them a good general if the war goes on. This, and much +more that I have heard, confirms the previous impression on my mind that +Raglan is destitute of military genius or skill, and quite unequal to +the command of a great army. It does not appear, however, that the enemy +are better off than we are in this respect, and we do not know that in +England a better general would now be found. The man, Stafford says, in +whom the army seem to have the greatest confidence is Sir Colin +Campbell. All this is very serious, and does not tend to inspire a great +expectation of glorious results. From what Clarendon said to me it is +evident that _he_ does not think much of Raglan, but it would never do +to express any doubt of his ability or of his measures in public. Delane +told me yesterday that he had received letters without end in this +sense, and that he entertained the same doubts that I did, but should +take care not to give utterance to them in the 'Times.' This reserve is +the more necessary and even just because, after all, the opinions may +not be well founded; and, as it is impossible to change the command, it +is very desirable not to weaken the authority and self-confidence of +the General by casting doubts upon his conduct of the war. + +[Footnote 1: Mr. Augustus Stafford had been Secretary to the Admiralty +under Lord Derby's first Administration, where he was supposed not to +have done well; but when the accounts arrived of the sufferings and +privations of the army in the dreadful winter of 1854-5, Mr. Stafford +was one of the first persons to go out and endeavour to relieve the +deplorable condition of the troops.] + + +_December 11th._--For the last week the Austrian Treaty has occupied +everybody's thoughts, though, as the exact terms of it are not yet +known, people do not very well know what to expect from it. The great +question that lies behind it is, whether Prussia will follow in the wake +of Austria, and the rest of Germany with her. If all Germany joins the +Allies it seems absolutely impossible that Russia should offer any +effectual resistance to such a combination of forces; and it will then +be to be seen what impression can be made on an Empire which, with many +political deficiencies, nature has made so strong for defensive +purposes, and, if the contest continues, whether the opinions and object +of the Allies will not diverge and ultimately break up the alliance. + + MR. BRIGHT ON THE WAR. + +Bright has published his letter in a penny form (or somebody has done it +for him) with _pièces justificatives_ extracted from the Blue Books and +from other sources, and in my opinion he makes out a capital and +unanswerable case. He does not, indeed, prove, nor attempt to prove, +that the Emperor of Russia is in the right absolutely, but he makes out +that he is in the right as against England and France, and he shows up +the conduct of the Western Powers very successfully. But in the present +temper of the country, and while the war fever is still raging with +undiminished violence, all appeals to truth and reason will be totally +unavailing. Those who entertain such opinions either wholly or in part +do not dare to avow them, and all are hurried along in the vortex. I do +not dare to avow them myself; and even for holding my tongue, and +because I do not join in the senseless clamour which everywhere +resounds, I am called 'a Russian.' The progress of the contest has +changed the nature of public opinion, for now its principal motive is +the deep interest taken in the success of our arms and the safety of the +band of heroes who have been fighting in the Crimea. This is, of course, +right and patriotic, and a feeling which must be common to those who +have been against, and those who have been for the war. + + +_Panshanger, December 14th._--The debates on Tuesday night were on the +whole satisfactory, and not bad for the Government. Derby made a +slashing, effective philippic on the text of 'Too late,' asserting that +the fault of the Government had been that they had done everything too +late. Newcastle answered him, but was dull and feeble, totally unequal +to meet Derby in debate. His case was not bad, but he could not handle +it with effect. Government did better in the Commons, where Sidney +Herbert made a capital speech, and produced a very good case in a very +complete and satisfactory manner. He proved that reinforcements had been +sent out month after month, and that they had never folded their hands +and stood still as Derby charged them with having done. All the rage for +the war which is apparent in the country was manifested in both Houses. +According to present appearances, there will be very little done on the +part of the Opposition against the Government during this short session. + + +_December 17th._--These smooth appearances were deceitful, for the +Government met with an unexpected and violent opposition to their +Foreign Enlistment Bill, and only carried the second reading by a +majority of 12. Ellenborough, puffed up with conceit and soured by +disappointment and the nullity of his position, commenced a furious +attack on this bill in an able speech replete with bitterness and +sarcasm. Derby, too happy to join in any mischief, brought the support +of his party, and a debate ensued, in which, as usual, the speaking of +Ellenborough and Derby gave them the advantage, but the Government got a +majority enough for their purpose. The bill itself is very unpopular, +nobody can tell why, except that all sorts of misrepresentations were +made about it the first night, and people have not yet been undeceived. +I doubt if it was worth while to bring in such a bill, but it is certain +if they had not done so, and immediately, they would have been furiously +reproached by those who oppose them now, and above all accused of being +'too late.' The imprudent speech which John Russell made about Austria +the first night elicited a violent attack on him in the 'Times,' which +is sure to have put him in very bad humour. The speech and the attack +were equally unjustifiable and mischievous. I have no idea why he said +what he did, unless it was for the sake of appearing to fall in with the +vulgar prejudice against Austria. + + + THE FOREIGN ENLISTMENT BILL. + +_December 18th._--The dislike of the Foreign Enlistment Bill is very +general, but nobody can give any reason for their opposition to it.[1] +It is, however, so great that it is not certain that it can be carried +through the House of Commons, and so little is the Government cared for +that I doubt many being found who will incur the resentment of their +constituents or give an unpopular vote to save them. If they should be +beaten, I think they must go out. John Russell is in a bad disposition +of mind, as may be gathered from his _entourage_, who are in rabid +opposition. Lord John, however, will probably do what he can to make +this measure go down, as I find he is himself the author of it; but I +much doubt if he would care for the Government being broken up, and he +is not unlikely to regard such a catastrophe as the event best +calculated to restore him to the post he so much covets. It is certainly +possible that Derby, conscious he could not make a Government himself, +would offer to support the Whig section of this Cabinet with all the +Peelites eliminated from it, and that an attempt might be made to form a +Government with Lord John, Palmerston, and perhaps Ellenborough. +However, all this is vague speculation, and not worth following out. + +[Footnote 1: The object of the Foreign Enlistment Bill was to enable +the Government to enlist 15,000 foreigners in the British army to be +drilled in this country. It was denounced and opposed especially in the +House of Lords as a dangerous and unconstitutional measure, but it +eventually passed, and a considerable number of Germans were enlisted +under it.] + + +_December 20th._--Government got a majority of 39, better than was +expected. Lord John threatened to resign if he was beaten. The debate +will not do them much good when it is read, nor serve to render their +measure more popular. Everybody thinks the whole affair has been grossly +mismanaged, and that, instead of making a mystery of their intentions, +they ought to have thrown out such intimations of them as would have +elicited public opinion; but the truth is, not one of them had the least +suspicion that the measure would meet with any resistance or even +objection, nor would there have been any if Ellenborough had not started +the hare, and then Derby and his party joyfully availed themselves of +the opportunity to do mischief, and joined in the cry. When the bill was +announced, Derby never dreamt of opposing it. The arguments against the +measure seem to me very plausible, except the constitutional one, which +is all stuff, and in which none of those who urge it are sincere; on the +other hand, the former precedents do not apply in this case. The best +argument for it is, that Raglan wants trained men as soon as possible, +and complains that they send nothing but boys, who are of little use at +first, and who die in great numbers under the hardships and privations +the climate and the operations inflict on them. Not only were the +Government totally unconscious of the opposition they should encounter, +but, when they found the steam was getting up, they neglected to enter +into such explanations and make out such a case as might, if well done, +have extinguished dissension in the beginning. All this displays a want +of prudence and foresight, for in a matter of such importance it is not +enough to say that they did not expect any fault to be found with their +proposal, and they ought to have employed some means to see what was +likely to be thought of it before they committed themselves to it. They +ought to have ascertained how it was to be carried into effect, and if +they could count upon its success, and to be able to give Parliament +some assurance of it, instead of saying they had taken no initiative +steps out of affected deference to constitutional scruples, and knew not +how they were to get the men they are asking for. It seems the general +opinion of their own friends that they have mismanaged their case, and +plunged into a difficulty they might have avoided. + + LORD RAGLAN'S DEFICIENCIES. + +The best way of avoiding it would have been to raise a regiment or two +without applying to Parliament at all, mustered and arrayed them at +Malta or at Heligoland, or wherever they pleased out of England, and +sent them off as an experiment to the Crimea. Then, if they had done +good service, and Raglan had expressed his satisfaction and asked for +more, they might have raised any number and landed them here without +cavil or objection; but to have adopted this course they must have seen +the necessity of feeling their way, which not one of them did. The great +complaint now is the want of organisation and good arrangement in the +Crimea and generally at and about the seat of war, the confusion that +has taken place in forwarding and distributing supplies, and the want of +all expedients for facilitating the service in its various branches. +There is much truth in all this, but the responsibility for it rests +upon Raglan, who, if he had been of a prompt and energetic character, +would have looked to these things, seen what was wanting, and have taken +care to provide everything and set the necessary machinery in motion. He +had _carte blanche_ from the Government as to money and everything else, +and, if he had concerted what was necessary with Stratford, and insisted +on his exerting himself, I believe none of the complaints would have +been made, and none of the deficiencies have been found. This is what +the Duke of Wellington would have done, and his despatches are full of +proofs that it is what he was always doing. + + +_December 24th._--The third reading of the Enlistment Bill carried by +38, after a very fine speech from Bright, consisting of a part of his +letter with its illustrations. In my opinion this speech was +unanswerable, and no attempt was made to answer it. He was very severe +on both Lord John and Palmerston. It is impossible that such reasoning +as Bright's should not make _some_ impression in the country; but I do +not think any reasoning however powerful, or any display of facts +however striking, can stem the torrent of public opinion, which still +clamours for war and is so burning with hatred against Russia that no +peace could be deemed satisfactory, or, even tolerable, that did not +humble Russia to the dust and strip her of some considerable territory. +Yesterday the 'Times' ventured on an article against Raglan as the +cause of the disorder and confusion and consequent privations which +prevail in the army. Delane wrote to me about it, and said he was aware +he should be bitterly reviled for speaking these truths. I agree +entirely with what he said, and see no reason why the saddle should not +be put upon the right horse. + + +_The Grove, December 31st_, 1854.--The last day of one of the most +melancholy and disastrous years I ever recollect. Almost everybody is in +mourning, and grief and despair overspread the land. At the beginning of +the year we sent forth an army amidst a tumult of joyous and triumphant +anticipation, and everybody full of confidence and boasting and +expecting to force the Emperor Nicholas in the shortest possible time +humbly to sue for peace, and the only question was, what terms we should +vouchsafe to grant him, and how much of his dominions we should leave +him in possession of. Such presumptuous boasting and confidence have +been signally humbled, and the end of this year sees us deploring the +deaths of friends and relations without number, and our army perishing +before the walls of Sebastopol, which we are unable to take, and, after +bloody victories and prodigies of valour, the Russian power hardly as +yet diminished or impaired. All last week I was at Hatchford with Lord +Grey, when we did nothing but talk over the war, its management and +mismanagement, Raglan, etc. Grey's criticisms are clever and not unfair, +far from favourable to the Government, but detesting Derby, of whom he +has the worst opinion, formed from a very ancient date and upon long +experience of his character and conduct. Grey's idea is that there has +been much mismanagement here and still greater on the spot, and that +Raglan is quite incompetent and, as far as we can see, nobody else any +better. The opinion about Raglan appears to be rapidly gaining ground, +and the Ministers have arrived at the same conclusion. + + THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. + +I came here yesterday to meet Cowley, come over for a few days from +Paris, and to have a talk with him and Clarendon. Cowley says that the +alliance between the two countries is very hollow, and in fact there is +nobody in France really friendly to us except the Emperor, Persigny, +and perhaps Drouyn de Lhuys. The Emperor is bent on pursuing the war +with vigour, and is sensible of the importance to himself of the French +flag being triumphant. I asked him what they thought of our armies and +our generals; he said from the Emperor downwards they had the highest +admiration for the wonderful bravery of the troops, but the greatest +contempt for the military skill of the commanders, and for all our +arrangements and _savoir faire_. He told us the following anecdote as a +proof of the blundering way in which our affairs are conducted. +Newcastle wrote to him lately to beg he would ask the French Government +to give us a model of certain carts their army used in the Crimea, the +like of which our people there had applied to him for. The French +Minister replied that he could give drawings, but had no model; but at +the same time he advised us not to think of having similar ones, as +these carts are so ill adapted for the purpose that they had discarded +them, and had ordered others and better ones to be made, which were now +in course of construction _at Malta_. So that we propose to get these +machines without finding out whether they are suitable or not, while the +French supply themselves with the proper article _in our own territory_. + +I find from Clarendon that he is not only fully alive to Raglan's +inefficiency, but has all along suspected it, and now the Government +seem to have the same conviction; still they can take no step in the +matter, for he has done nothing and omitted nothing so flagrantly as to +call for or justify his recall, and if they were to recall him they do +not know where to look for a better man to replace him. The war has +hitherto failed to elicit any remarkable abilities or special aptitude +for war, except in one instance, that of Captain Butler, the defender of +Silistria, a young man of remarkable promise who, if he had lived, would +probably have done great things and have risen to distinction. + +Canrobert writes to his Government that he hopes soon to attempt the +assault, but the Emperor and M. Vaillant by no means approve of it, and +have sent him orders not actually prohibiting it, but enjoining caution +in such a manner as will most probably effectually deter him from doing +anything. They all think that the capture of the place could only be +achieved (if at all) at a great cost of life, and that the captors could +not hold it for many hours, as they would be pounded from the Northern +forts which entirely command the place. + +We discussed Austria and what she will do when the Russian answer comes +to the last communication of the Conference at Vienna, and what she can +do. Even if she recalls her ambassador from St. Petersburg and declares +war, Cowley thinks she will never cross bayonets with the Russians or +fire a shot unless attacked; and he believes, on what appear good +grounds, that if any fighting takes place between the Austrians and the +Russians, the former will get beaten, and that the Russian army is much +the best of the two. This is the reverse of the general notion, but it +seems that the Austrian officers themselves are of that opinion. It is +no wonder, therefore, that they have no mind to go to war and to +encounter this danger to accommodate us, whom they still cordially hate +on many accounts, but especially for the Haynau affair, which still +rankles in their hearts and in which they think their uniform was +insulted. _À propos_ of this, Clarendon told me that the Queen was +talking to him very lately about this affair, and told him that she had +entreated Palmerston at the time to write some expression of regret to +the Austrian Government, but that nothing would induce him to do it, and +he never did. + + NEGOTIATIONS WITH FRANCE. + +I asked Clarendon what was Palmerston's present tone about the war. He +said he was very uneasy about the army and its condition, but just as +confident as ever as to the final result of the war, and as lofty in his +ideas of the terms of peace we should exact from Russia. He is all for +restoring the Crimea to Turkey, and, what is more, he has persuaded the +Emperor Napoleon to embrace that opinion. As usual, he never sees any +difficulty in anything he wishes to do. I told Cowley and Clarendon what +Grey said--viz. that he agreed entirely with Bright's letter, and that +the war might have been avoided by either of the two courses--to have +told the Emperor of Russia in the beginning we would make war on him if +he persisted, and compelled to understand that we really meant it, or to +have forced the Turks to accept the Vienna Note; and, in either case, +war would have been avoided, but that, the Cabinet itself being divided, +everything was done in a spirit of compromise, and a middle course +adopted which led to all the mischief. Cowley answered the first +alternative and Clarendon the second. Cowley said that one of the great +difficulties of the British Government was to secure concert with the +French, and to explain their own conduct without hurting the +susceptibility of their allies or divulging what passed between the two +Governments. The French were perpetually blowing hot and cold, with a +false air of vigour superior to our's at one moment, and at another +wanting to do what our Ministers would have been torn to pieces for +consenting to. For instance, in spite of us they would send their fleet +to the Dardanelles to support the Turks, and afterwards they proposed to +send the two fleets to Constantinople to compel the Sultan to sign the +Vienna Note. Cowley told me this war in its present shape and with these +vast armaments had gone on insensibly and from small beginnings, nobody +could well tell how. In the first instance, the Emperor told Cowley he +had no intention of sending any land forces to the East, and when we +proposed to him to despatch there a small corps of 5,000 English and +10,000 French he positively declined. Soon after Sir John Burgoyne was +sent to examine and report on the state of the country, and he gave an +opinion that it would be desirable to send such a force to occupy a +fortified position at Gallipoli in case of the Russians making a sudden +attack with their fleet on Constantinople, in which case our fleets +might be in some danger. Cowley took him to the Emperor, to whom he told +his story. The Emperor said he thought his reasons good, and this was a +definite and tangible object, and he would send the troops. When Raglan +was offered the command of the forces we were to send out, he said he +would not go with less than 20,000 men; and when we agreed to send this +force, the French said if we sent 20,000 they must send 40,000, and so +the expedition began, and it has since swelled to its present +magnitude--our's in consequence of the clamour here and pressure from +without, and their's to keep pace with our's in relative proportions. +With regard to the Vienna Note, Clarendon said Stratford never would +have let the Turks sign it, and if they had recalled him the Cabinet +here would have been broken up, Palmerston would have gone out, +Stratford would have come home frantic and have proclaimed to the whole +country that the Turks had been sacrificed and betrayed, and the uproar +would have been so great that it would have been impossible to carry out +the intention. I think the first answer is more weighty than the last, +and that the popular clamour and Palmerston's secession ought to have +been encountered at whatever hazard rather than persist in the fatal +course which could hardly fail to lead, and did eventually lead, us into +this deplorable war. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Lord John's Views on the Ministry--Gloomy Prospects--Attacks on + Lord Raglan--Russian and Prussian Diplomacy--Lord Palmerston more + in favour--French View of the British Army--Russian + Negotiations--Lord John Russell in Paris--Conference at + Vienna--Lord Raglan unmoved--Terms proposed to Russia--Failure of + the Duke of Newcastle--Hesitation of Austria and France--Deplorable + State of the Armies--Chances of Peace--Meeting of + Parliament--Further Negotiations--Lord John Russell + resigns--Ministers stay in--The Debate on Roebuck's + Motion--Resignation of Lord Aberdeen--Lord John Russell's real + Motives--Lord Derby sent for--and fails--Wise Decision of the + Queen--Ministerial Negotiations--Lord Palmerston sent for--The + Peelites refuse to join--Lord Palmerston forms a Government--Lord + Palmerston's Prospects--Lord John Russell sent to Vienna--Lord + Palmerston in the House of Commons--General Alarm--Difficulties of + Lord Palmerston--The Peelites secede--Lord John accepts the + Colonial Office--Sir George Lewis Chancellor of the + Exchequer--Death of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia--Lord Palmerston + supposed to be a weak Debater--Weakness of the Government--Fresh + Arrangements--The Budget--The Press. + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S POSITION. + +_January 2nd,_ 1855.--I received yesterday a letter from the Duke of +Bedford relating to the views and position of Lord John Russell. He had +talked over his position with the Duke, disclaimed any wish to be again +Prime Minister, but desired Lord Lansdowne should be in the post; that +he liked personally both Aberdeen and Newcastle but thought them unfit +for the emergency. He had proposed that Palmerston should be War +Minister but was overruled, and now (the Duke asks) what is he to do if +a vote of censure on the management of the war is proposed in the House +of Commons, thinking as he does that it has been mismanaged? He would +willingly break up this Government, which he really thinks a very bad +one (what he wrote to Clarendon being his deliberate opinion), if he +could see a chance of a better being substituted, and if he thought +Derby could carry on the war more efficiently, which he does not. This +letter is a complete reply to the objection Clarendon urged against +Palmerston's being War Minister, for if Lord John himself wished it, +nobody else could well object. He ought to have insisted on it, and, if +he had, it must have been done. + +Nothing can wear a gloomier aspect than affairs do at home and +abroad--the Government weak, unpopular, dispirited, and divided, the +army in the Crimea in a deplorable state, and the prospects of the war +far from brilliant, no confidence in the commanding officers there, and +no likelihood of finding more competent ones, everybody agreeing that +till we have 150,000 men in the Crimea we cannot count on taking +Sebastopol, and the difficulty of ever assembling such a force appearing +very great. So far as I can collect, the violent articles which the +'Times' emits day after day have excited general resentment and disgust. +They overdo everything and, while they are eternally changing their +course, the one they follow for the moment they follow with an +outrageous violence which shocks everybody. But as those who complain +most of the 'Times' still go on reading it, the paper only gets more +rampant and insolent, for as long as its circulation is undiminished it +does not care what anybody thinks or says of it. + + +_January 4th._--I wrote the Duke an answer with my opinion on Lord +John's position and obligations, which has elicited another from him +this morning. He says that it was a few weeks ago that John made a +formal proposal to Aberdeen that Palmerston should replace Newcastle at +the War Department. Aberdeen desired time to consider, and then refused. +Subsequently the matter was renewed, when Palmerston himself objected, +and then it necessarily ended. The Duke thinks that Lord John will not +now stir it again, and will make up his mind to go on, and to defend his +Government in the House of Commons. He consulted Sir George Grey, Lord +Lansdowne, and Panmure, and they all advised him not to resign. It is +strange that while this is imparted to me 'very confidentially,' and I +had heard nothing of it before, it is currently reported, and stated +positively in the 'Morning Herald,' that Lord John and others, +mentioned by name, have insisted on Newcastle's being turned out. That +some part of what has occurred has got out is clear, and I incline to +think that some of his satellites have set to work, and that, by way of +assisting Lord John's object, they have given notice of what was going +on to some of the Derbyites. There is a mysterious allusion to some +impending event in the 'Press' on Saturday last, which looks very like +this. + + CENSURES OF LORD RAGLAN. + +The 'Times' goes on against Raglan with greater vehemence every day, and +will not be restrained by any remonstrances. Evans has put himself in +communication with Delane (though certainly having no hand in these +attacks) and has sent him an account of his having addressed a letter to +Canrobert many days before the battle of Inkerman for the purpose of +getting him to assist in taking precautionary measures to resist the +attack he was persuaded the Russians would make, and Canrobert's answer, +in which he says that his means are curtailed by the necessity of +providing for the defence of Balaklava, and of extending his line and +making dispositions 'dans l'intérêt de la situation commune,' but that +he has ordered Bosquet to move nearer to Evans' division, and to be in +readiness if anything should happen. There was a passage omitted in the +printed letter of Evans to Raglan in which he alludes to the neglect of +the precautionary measures he had recommended. + +Gortschakoff has declared the Emperor of Russia will accept the first, +second, and fourth articles of the four points, and will consider of the +third. This may mean that he really wishes to make peace, or only be +done for the sake of Austria, and to give her a pretext for not +declaring against him. Clarendon is satisfied with Usedom, but not at +all with his proposals. He says the King of Prussia has sent him to try +and make a treaty with France and England entirely out of jealousy and +mortification at Austria having made one, but he does not propose one +similar to the Austrian Treaty, only a _defensive_ one. Clarendon says +the King in his heart hates Russia and winces under the influence he +submits to, that he is indignant at the insults which have been heaped +on him by his Imperial brother-in-law, and the contumely with which he +has been treated, but, being physically and politically a coward, he has +not energy to shake off the yoke he has suffered to be imposed on him. + + +_Aldenham, January 6th._--I came here to-day. I saw Cowley yesterday, +who has been to Windsor, and tells me that he finds by conversations he +has had with Stockmar that the Queen is much softened towards Palmerston +and no longer regards him with the extreme aversion she did. On the +other hand, she is very angry with John Russell, and this is, of course, +from knowing what he has been doing, and resentment at his embarrassing +and probably breaking up the Government. This relaxation in her feelings +towards Palmerston is very important at this moment, and presents the +chance of an alternative which, if this Government falls, may save her +from Derby and his crew, whom she cordially detests. I hear Newcastle is +very low, as well he may be, for no man was ever placed in so painful a +position, and it is one from which it is impossible for him to extricate +himself. When the Government goes to pieces, as I am persuaded it will, +the Queen is very likely to send for Palmerston, and he and +Ellenborough, as War Minister, might make a Government that would +probably stand during the war, and which in present circumstances the +House of Commons and the country could not but support. My notion is +that Lord John would not take any office, but would support Palmerston, +and advise all his friends and followers to do so. I know no reason why +Ellenborough should not act with anybody, and many of the present +Government might stay in, and certain changes be made which would let in +more Whigs, and so conciliate that party, while the Conservatives would +abstain from supporting any Government which did not contain Aberdeen +and Newcastle. Gladstone might be a difficulty; Clarendon would be none, +for he and Palmerston have pulled very well together, and I have no +doubt Palmerston would be very happy to keep him. This opens a new +prospect, and one very preferable to having Derby and his friends in +office again. + + CANROBERT'S OPINION OF BRITISH ARMY. + +I asked Cowley about Canrobert's confidential letters to his Government +on the state of our army of which I had heard. He said it was very true, +and he had seen several of these letters, in which Canrobert said that +nothing could exceed his admiration of the British soldiers, but he was +convinced the army would disappear altogether, for their organisation +and management were deplorable; and he entreated his Government, if they +possibly could, to interpose in the interest of the common cause to +procure some amelioration of the organisation, without which nothing +could save the army from destruction. The Emperor, Cowley said, never +mentioned our troops or commanders to him except in terms of respect and +with expressions of his admiration, but he knew that to others he spoke +in a very different tone, and said that our army was commanded by an old +woman. + + +_January 12th._--I returned to town last night. The Emperor of Russia's +acceptance of the four points, as interpreted by us, of course excites +hopes of peace, but I think few people are sanguine as to the result. It +is suspected to be only a dodge to paralyse the action of Austria, but +unless there was some secret concert with Austria, which is not likely, +I cannot see what Russia is to gain by accepting conditions which she +does not really mean to abide by. Such conduct could only deceive the +Allies for a short time, and, as there is no question of any suspension +of military operations, nothing would be gained in that respect, while +as soon as some decisive test of the Emperor's sincerity was applied, +his real meaning must be made manifest, and then not only would the +_acharnement_ of the Western Powers be increased, but it would be quite +impossible for Austria not to join the Coalition, and to act verily and +indeed against Russia. These reasons would induce me to put faith in the +Russian announcement; on the other hand, it is barely credible that the +Emperor should consent to the sacrifice of Sebastopol in the present +state of the campaign, and with the almost certainty that we cannot take +it for many months to come, if at all. + +John Russell is gone to Paris, not for any political object, but merely +to see one of his wife's sisters; but his journey there and +conversations with the Emperor may not be without some consequences. I +hear almost daily from the Duke of Bedford on the subject of John's +conduct, the conduct of the war, and the state of the Government. For +the present he appears to desist from doing anything to make an +explosion. The curious thing is that the public, and particularly the +Derbyite, newspapers should be so well informed as they are of what is +going on. Though the immediate danger of a break up seems to be over, I +still think the _animus_ Lord John exhibits, the manifold difficulties +of the Government, and their undoubted though unjust unpopularity, will +before long break them to pieces. + + +_January 14th._--I met Clarendon last night and had a talk about affairs +at home and abroad. John Russell at Paris is satisfied with his +conversation with the Emperor, who agreed that we could make no peace +but one which would be glorious for us. Clarendon does not believe the +Emperor of Russia really means to sacrifice Sebastopol, and thinks when +he sent his acceptance of the four points he was not apprised of what +had passed in the Conference, which was merely verbal. Gortschakoff, in +a passion, said, 'I suppose you mean to limit our naval force, or to +dismantle Sebastopol, or both;' to which they replied, 'Yes'; but +nothing was put in writing to this effect. This makes a great +difference, but I do not despair. There is a great question about a +negotiator, and the Queen and Prince want Clarendon himself to go. He +refused point blank; he does not like to leave it to Westmorland alone. +I suggested Canning, but he thought Canning had not had experience +enough, and that it ought to be a Cabinet Minister, and asked, 'Why not +Palmerston?' I objected the difficulty of relying on him, his hatred of +Austria, and the terror he would inspire; and I said Granville might do, +but that I saw no reason why he should not go himself if he had reason +to think it was likely to succeed, though I would not go merely to +return _re infectâ_. We then talked of Lord John and of Newcastle. He +said that Newcastle is exceedingly slow, and has a slow mind, but that +there is no case whatever for turning him out, and he cannot be blamed +for the failures in matters of detail, and as for the great measures the +responsibility belongs alike to all. Lord John never is and never will +be satisfied without being again Prime Minister, which is impossible. I +said the Duke of Bedford assured me that his brother did not _now_ want +to be Prime Minister. 'What does he want then?--to retire altogether?' +'Yes,' said Clarendon, 'that is his intense selfishness; utterly +regardless of the public interests, or of what may happen, he wants to +relieve _himself_ from the responsibility of a situation which is not so +good as he desires, and to run away from his post at a moment of danger +and difficulty. If we had some great success--if Sebastopol were taken, +for example--we should hear no more of his retirement.' As matters are, +however, Clarendon thinks very ill of them abroad and at home. This +disposition of Lord John's keeps the Government in constant hot water, +and no confidence can be placed in Raglan, while it is impossible to +find anybody who would, as far as we can judge, do any better. + + LORD RAGLAN'S COMPOSURE. + +The Court are exceedingly annoyed and alarmed at Raglan's failure; the +Prince showed Clarendon (or told him of) a letter from Colonel Steele, +who said that he had no idea how great a mind Raglan really had, but +that he now saw it, for in the midst of distresses and difficulties of +every kind in which the army was involved he was perfectly serene and +undisturbed, and his health excellent! Steele meant this as a panegyric, +and did not see that it really conveyed a severe reproach. The +conviction of his incapacity for so great a command gains ground every +day; he has failed in those qualities where everybody expected he would +have succeeded best, even those who thought nothing of his military +genius. But, having learnt what he knows of war under the Duke, he might +at least have known how _he_ carried on war, and have imitated his +attention to minute details and a general supervision of the different +services, seeing that all was in order and the merely mechanical parts +properly attended to on which so much of the efficiency as well as of +the comfort of the army depended.[1] + +[Footnote 1: It may be proper to remark that a different and far more +favourable view of Lord Raglan's capacity as a General will be found +_infra_ at the beginning of Chapter XII. of this Journal, upon the +evidence of Sir Edmund Lyons, who was entirely in the confidence of the +Commander-in-Chief.] + + +_January 19th._--We are still uncertain as to the real intentions of the +Emperor of Russia, and whether he means to accept the terms offered by +the Allies; but my own impression is that he will not accept them _in +our sense_, and that he never will consent to the sacrifice of +Sebastopol till we have taken the place and destroyed the +fortifications, thereby rendering its dismantling a _fait accompli_. +There is certainly nothing in the present state of our affairs which +warrants our lofty pretensions, and the proposal of terms so humiliating +to the Emperor. The only possible grounds that can be imagined for his +acceptance are, his own knowledge of the state of his own country and of +the resources he can command for carrying on the war, and a +dispassionate and farsighted calculation of the disposition and of the +resources of his opponents. It is not impossible that he may foresee +that he must eventually succumb in a contest so unequal and in which the +number of his enemies increases every day. He may deem it better to make +certain sacrifices now, with the view of being able before long to +retrieve his losses, than to expose himself to the chance and great +probability of being obliged to make much greater sacrifices hereafter, +and such as it will be more difficult for him to repair. The Duke of +Bedford tells me that Aberdeen and Clarendon are both hopeless of peace, +and that Lord John and Palmerston do not consider it so absolutely +hopeless; Aberdeen says the negotiations will not last half an hour. + + ILL CONDUCT OF THE WAR. + +The accounts from the army are as bad as possible; one-third of it is in +the hospitals, and the quays of Balaklava are loaded with enormous +stores of every kind, which it was impossible to transport to the camp. +Very intelligent people therefore entertain the greatest apprehension of +some catastrophe occurring whenever the severity of the winter, which +has hitherto been comparatively mild, sets in. The best security is in +the equally distressed state of the Russians, and in fact nothing but +this can account for their having left us alone so long. + +The Duke of Bedford and I talked over the state of affairs here, and the +political possibilities in the event of this Government falling to +pieces or being compelled to resign. We both desire any arrangement +rather than another Derby Government, and we agree in thinking that on +the whole the best would be for Lord Lansdowne to undertake the +formation of a Government, if he can be persuaded to do so, which does +not appear wholly impossible. This would satisfy Lord John, who would +then remain in his present office, half a dozen of the present Cabinet +would go out, some Whigs might replace them, and the thing would +undoubtedly go on for a time. It is impossible for Newcastle to continue +to conduct the war, with the universal clamour there is against him and +the opinion of his own colleagues (at least of such of them as I know +the opinions of) that he is unfit for the post. He has two very great +faults which are sufficient to disqualify him: he is exceedingly slow, +and he knows nothing of the qualifications of other men, or how to +provide himself with competent assistants; nor has he any decision or +foresight. He chose for his under-secretaries two wholly incompetent men +who have been of no use to him in managing and expediting the various +details of the service, and he has a rage for doing everything himself, +by which means nothing is done, or done so tardily as to be of no use. +Then all the subordinate Boards are miserably administered, and the +various useless, inefficient, or worn out officers have been suffered to +remain at their posts, to the enormous detriment of the service. The +genius of Lord Chatham or the energy and will of the Duke of Wellington +would have failed with such a general staff here, and with such a +Commander-in-Chief as Hardinge, and with the _fainéantise_ of Raglan. + + +_January 20th._--It is only by degrees one can unravel the truth in +political affairs. John Russell told me last night that Austria has +never given in her adhesion to our condition of making the destruction +of Sebastopol a _sine quâ non_ of peace. She joins us in insisting on +the '_faire cesser la prépotence_,' but the means of accomplishing this +remain to be discussed. This is very different from what I had imagined, +and makes it anything but certain that she will join her forces to +our's, if the negotiations fail in consequence of our demands. We are +now endeavouring to bring the Court of Vienna into an agreement with us +as to the conditions to be required, and it is no easy matter to get the +Cabinet to agree upon the wording of the communications we make to her. +This arises from the necessity of looking to the effect of what will +appear in the Blue Books. Blue Books, Parliamentary discussions, and the +Press tie up the hands of a Government, fetter its discretion and +deliberate policy, and render diplomatic transactions (especially with +Governments whose hands are more free) excessively difficult. Granville +told me yesterday morning that the course of Russia had been more +straightforward than that of England and France, and this morning he +reminded me of having said so, and added that we were in a great +diplomatic mess, France always finessing and playing a game of her own; +and I infer from what he said that, having got all she can out of us, +she is now coquetting with Austria, and disposed to defer to her wishes +and objects, and to be less _exigeante_ towards Russia. This is only of +a piece with what Clarendon has often said to me about France and her +way of dealing with us; however, if France will only insist on making +peace on plausible terms, and with the semblance of its being an +honourable and consistent peace, we cannot do otherwise than acquiesce +in her determination, and if we only follow the lead she takes the +public here must needs be satisfied. This is Granville's own idea, as it +is mine, and God grant that affairs may take this turn, and so we may +get out of the tremendous scrape we are in, the escape from which will +be cheaply purchased by the fall of the Government--a consequence that +is almost certain if it does not happen before anything can be done. + +Day after day the accounts from the Crimea represent a more deplorable +state of things, entirely confirmative of Canrobert's statements to his +own Government, and it is difficult to read them and not apprehend some +fatal catastrophe. We know nothing of the state of the Russians either +within or without Sebastopol, and this ignorance is not one of the least +remarkable circumstances in this war, but we must conclude either that +their condition is as bad as our's, and that they are unable to attack +us, or that their policy is to let the winter do its work, and that they +do not think it necessary for them to fight sanguinary battles with very +doubtful results when disease is ravaging the allied army and producing +effects as advantageous for them as the most complete victories could +do, as surely, only more gradually. + + + ABORTIVE NEGOTIATIONS. + +_January 22nd._--Every day one looks with anxiety to see and to hear +whether the chances of peace look well or ill, and at present they look +very ill. Clarendon seems to set his face against it--that is, he +considers it hopeless; and it is not promising that the negotiations +should be under the management of one who has no hopes of bringing them +to a successful issue, and whose despair of it evidently arises from his +determination to exact conditions that there is no chance of obtaining. +I hear, too, this morning, that the instructions to Bourqueney are to be +as _exigeant_ as possible--not very wise pretensions anyhow, but they +rather indicate the tone adopted by England than the real intentions of +France, for it is one thing to make great demands and another to persist +in them. It is, however, idle to speculate on the progress of a +negotiation which must be so largely influenced by the operations and +events of the war. Parliament meets tomorrow, and I think a very short +time will elapse before the fate of the Government is decided by some +vote about the conduct of the war. I think the Government themselves +desire it, and, conscious of the state of public opinion and of the +deplorable state of affairs, and most of them thinking there has been +great and fatal mismanagement, they wish the question to be decided, +would not be sorry to be driven out by an adverse vote, and consider +that it would be a better and more respectable way of ending than by +those internal dissensions, which, like a cancer, are continually +undermining them. John Russell sees nothing but difficulties in the +formation of another Government of a Whig complexion including a large +portion of the present Ministers, and says that he does not think Lord +Lansdowne _would_, or that he or Palmerston _could_ accomplish it. He +means now to stand by his colleagues, to accept his share of +responsibility, and defend what has been done. + + +_January 23rd._--Parliament meets to-day, and probably no time will be +lost in attacking the Government, but it is impossible yet to know +whether they will be harassed by a continual succession of skirmishes +and bitter comments on details, or whether some grand and decisive +assault will be made. The general impression is that the War Department +cannot remain in Newcastle's hands, and if he cannot be got rid of +without the whole Ministry going to pieces it must so end. I think this +is pretty much the opinion of the Ministers themselves; and though I +believe they all, or most of them, personally like him, they seem, so +far as I can see, to be agreed that he is unequal to his post. + +With regard to peace, the prospect looks anything but bright. The +negotiations will not begin till we receive positive information as to +the meaning of the Emperor of Russia in accepting the four points. Some +weeks ago Clarendon wrote a despatch to Westmorland, in which he stated +explicitly the meaning we attached to the four points, but this has +never been put officially before the Emperor, that we know of. Buol +acquiesced, as I understood, in our explanation, but John Russell +distinctly told me that Austria had never signified her concurrence in +making the demolition of Sebastopol a _sine quâ non_ condition. Now, +however, some fresh communication has been made by Austria to Russia, +and we will not begin the negotiation until Austria shall have signified +to us that the Emperor's acceptance is such as will warrant us in +negotiating. I am not sufficiently acquainted with all the details to +form a conclusive opinion, but, as far as I can see, we have been +hanging off from being perfectly explicit, and have never yet come to a +complete understanding with Austria, much less with Russia, and I am +afraid of our Ministers committing themselves in Parliament by some +declarations and professions of intentions which may make peace +impossible and break up the negotiations at once, for as to Russia +consenting to dismantle Sebastopol, I look upon it as impossible, and +absurd to expect it. I earnestly hope that Bourqueney may be instructed +to come to an understanding with Austria, and that, if we insist on +terms impossible to obtain, our two Allies may compel us to give way, or +leave us to fight the battle alone. The only thing quite certain is that +we are in a state of the utmost doubt, danger, and perplexity at home +and abroad, all of which is owing to our own egregious folly and +unskilfulness, and the universal madness which has pervaded the nation. + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL RESIGNS OFFICE. + +_January 24th._--The Government is at an end, or at least it probably +will be before the end of the day. The Duke of Bedford has just been to +me to tell me that last night, after returning from the House of +Commons, Lord John wrote a letter to Aberdeen to resign his office, and +he will not attend the Cabinet to-day. Nobody knows it but Aberdeen +himself, and I am not permitted to tell Granville even, but it will be +announced to the Cabinet this morning. The immediate cause of Lord +John's resignation is Roebuck's motion, of which he gave notice last +night, for a Committee to inquire into the conduct of the war; it is +intended as a hostile motion, and would have been turned into a vote of +censure and want of confidence. Besides this, it seems Hayter had told +Lord John that the aspect of the House was bad, and members of the +Government party disinclined to attend. Accordingly, he said he could +not and would not face the motion; Graham and Sidney Herbert might +defend the conduct of the war, but _he_ could not. Heaven only knows +what will occur. Lord John took no time to consider, but sent his +resignation at once, the moment he returned from the House. I told the +Duke that I thought he had made himself obnoxious to very just reproach, +running away from such a motion, and explaining (as he must do) that he +could not defend the conduct of the war. He will naturally be asked how +long he has been dissatisfied with its management, and why he did not +retire long ago. The Duke said he was aware of this, but he endeavoured +to make out that the case bore some analogy to that of Lord Althorp in +1834, when he resigned in consequence of a motion of O'Connell's. But +this was altogether different. Nothing can, in my opinion, justify Lord +John, and his conduct will, if I am not mistaken, be generally +condemned, and deprive him of the little consideration and influence he +had left. It has been vacillating, ungenerous, and cowardly, for after +all, in spite of errors and mistakes, the conduct of the war admits of a +defence, at least as to many parts of it, and it would have been far +better to stand up manfully and abide the result of the battle in +Parliament, than to shirk the fight and leave his colleagues to deal +with the difficulty as best they may, trying to escape from the +consequences of a responsibility which nothing he can say or do can +enable him to shake off. + + + MR. ROEBUCK'S COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY. + +_January 26th._--Yesterday morning the Cabinet met, and after some +discussion they resolved unanimously not to resign, but to encounter +Roebuck's motion. Aberdeen went down to Windsor, and there is another +Cabinet this morning. I saw John Russell in the afternoon, and told him +in very plain terms what I thought of his conduct, and how deeply I +regretted that he had not gone on with his colleagues and met this +attack with them. He looked astonished and put out, but said, 'I could +not. It was impossible for me to oppose a motion which I think ought to +be carried.' I argued the point with him, and in the middle of our talk +the Duke of Bedford came in. I asked him if he did not think the +remaining Ministers were right in the course they have taken, and he +said he did. I then said, 'I have been telling John how much I regret +that he did not do the same,' when John repeated what he had said +before, and then went away. After he was gone the Duke said, 'I am very +glad you said what you did to John.' The town was in a great state of +excitement yesterday, and everybody speculating on what is to happen, +and all making lists of a new Government according to their +expectations or wishes; most people place Palmerston at the head. In the +House of Lords Derby asked me what it all meant. Clarendon came up while +we were talking, and gave Derby to understand that he would probably +have to take office again, expressing his own eagerness to quit it. I +now hear that Lord John has been leading the Cabinet a weary life for +many months past, eternally making difficulties, and keeping them in a +constant state of hot water, determined to upset them, and only doubting +as to what was a fit opportunity, and at last taking the worst that +could be well chosen for his own honour and character. He is not, +however, without countenance and support from some of his adherents, or +from those who were so impatient for the destruction of this Government +that they are satisfied with its being accomplished, no matter how or by +whom or under what circumstances; and as he has been long accustomed + + to sit attentive to his own applause + +from a little circle in Chesham Place, so he will now be told by the +same set that he has acted a very fine and praiseworthy part, although +such will not be the verdict of history, nor is it, as far as I can see, +of the best and wisest of his own contemporaries. Nobody entertains a +doubt of Roebuck's motion being carried by a large majority against the +Government. + + +_January 30th._--For the last three days I have been so ill with gout +that I could not do anything, or follow the course of events. John +Russell made a cunning and rather clever speech in explanation of his +resignation, George Grey a good one and strong against Lord John. +Opinions fluctuated about the division, some, but the minority, fancying +Government would have a majority because the proposed Committee is so +excessively difficult and in all ways objectionable; but when it became +known that the Derbyites meant to vote in a body for the motion, no one +doubted the result, and it became only a question of numbers.[1] Lord +John seems to have felt no regret at what he has done, and at exciting +the resentment and incurring the blame of all his colleagues; and he +goes so little into society, and is so constantly patted on the back at +home, that the censure of the world produces no effect on him. They tell +me he is in high spirits, and appears only to be glad at having at last +found the opportunity he has so long desired of destroying the +Government. Everybody appears astonished at the largeness of the +majority. Gladstone made a very fine speech, and powerful, crushing +against Lord John, and he stated what Lord John had never mentioned in +his narrative, that he had been expressly asked in December whether he +still wished the change to be made which he had urged in November, and +he had replied that he did not, that he had given it up. This +_suppressio veri_ is shocking, and one of the very worst things he ever +did. + +Aberdeen went down to Windsor this morning to resign. It is thought that +the Queen will send for Lansdowne, and ask him if he can make a +Government, or will try, and, if he declines, that he will advise her to +send for Palmerston; if Palmerston fails, then she can do nothing but +take Derby. It seems likely now that we shall have either a Whig or a +Derbyite Government, and that the Peelites will be left out altogether. +The difficulties are enormous, and though everybody says that at such a +crisis and with the necessity of attending to the war, and the war only, +no personal prejudices or antipathies should prevent anybody from taking +office if their services can be of use, men will not be governed by +motives of such pure patriotism; and, whoever may make the Government, I +expect there will be many exclusions and many refusals to join. Some say +that, if Derby comes in, and with the same or nearly the same men as +before, he ought to be kicked out at once, but I do not think so, and, +much as I should abhor another such Government, I think in present +circumstances it must be allowed the fairest play, and be supported +unless and until it commits some flagrant errors. + +[Footnote 1: Mr. Roebuck's Motion for a Committee of Enquiry was +carried on the 29th of January by a majority of 157 in a House of 453 +members present.] + + +_January 31st._--The division was curious: some seventy or eighty +Whigs, ordinary supporters of Government, voted against them, and all +the Tories, except about six or seven who voted against the motion; +Cobden and Bright stayed away. John Russell's explanation, had he spoken +the truth, would have run in these terms: 'I joined the Government with +great reluctance, and only at the earnest entreaty of my friends, +particularly Lord Lansdowne. From the first I was disgusted at my +position, and I resolved, unless Lord Aberdeen made way for me, and I +again became Prime Minister, that I would break up the Government. I +made various attempts to bring about such a change, and at last, after +worrying everybody to death for many months, I accomplished my object, +having taken what seemed a plausible pretext for doing it.' + + + THE GOVERNMENT BROKEN UP. + +_February 1st._--Contrary to general expectation, the Queen did not send +either for Lansdowne or Palmerston, but at once for Derby. He went +directly to Palmerston, who declined to join him. He is trying to form a +Government, and I see the Whigs are chuckling over the probability of +his failing and being obliged to give it up, when they evidently flatter +themselves that it will fall again into the hands of John Russell. +Rather than this should occur, I would prefer that Derby should succeed, +and, if he can get no foreign aid, that he should reconstitute the +wretched Government he had before. My disgust at the conduct of my Whig +friends is intense. Although they were to the last degree indignant at +the conduct of John Russell, they have, ever since the interregnum +began, been dancing attendance on him, evincing every disposition to +overlook the enormity of his conduct and to reform the party with a view +of carrying him again to the head of affairs and making another pure +Whig Government. I confess I thought that nobody could refuse to serve +at the present crisis, and, if the Queen sent for Derby, Palmerston, if +invited, could not help joining, and taking the War Department; but I +was wrong. I see in no quarter, as far as I have been able to observe +and judge, any disposition to discard prejudices, antipathies, and +personal feelings and interests, and to make every consideration yield +to the obligations which the present emergency imposes. However, the +game is not half played out yet. Meanwhile we are exhibiting a pretty +spectacle to Europe, and I don't think our example will tempt other +nations to adopt the institutions of which we are so proud; for they may +well think that liberty of the Press and Parliamentary government, +however desirable they may be when regulated by moderation and good +sense, would be dearly purchased at the expense of the anarchy and +confusion which they are now producing here. + + + LORD DERBY SENT FOR. + +_February 2nd._--The Queen herself decided to send at once to Derby, and +the result proves how wise her decision was, for she is relieved from +the annoyance of having him, and he is placed in such a position that he +cannot embarrass her new Government when it is formed. Derby went to +Palmerston, invited him to join and to bring Gladstone and Sidney +Herbert with him. On their declining he gave it up, and Her Majesty then +sent for Lord Lansdowne. + +Last night the Duke of Newcastle defended himself in the House of Lords +against John Russell, and replied to his statements in the House of +Commons, and did it very successfully, carrying the House with him. The +whole affair, as it is gradually evolved, places John Russell in a +disgraceful and odious light, and ought to demolish him as a public man, +for he has shown himself to be actuated by motives of pique, personal +ambition, and mortified vanity, and to have been insincere, vacillating, +uncandid, and untruthful. The Duke's statement was crushing, and appears +to me not to admit of a rejoinder. It ought to cover him and his +wretched clique with confusion; but they will probably attempt to brazen +it out, and doggedly to insist that John was justified in all he did. +The discussion last night was very characteristic of Derby. If ever +there was an occasion in which seriousness and gravity seemed to be +required of a man in his position, it would seem to be that of last +night; but his speech was nothing but jeering at the late Cabinet and +chaffing Newcastle; it was really indecent, but very smart and funny, if +it had not been so unbefitting the occasion. + + +_February 4th._--No one can remember such a state as the town has been +in for the last two days. No Government, difficulties apparently +insurmountable, such confusion, such excitement, such curiosity, +everybody moving about craving for news, and rumour with her hundred +tongues scattering every variety of statement and conjecture. At last +the crisis seems to be drawing to a conclusion. The Queen has behaved +with admirable sense of her constitutional obligations. When Aberdeen +took down his resignation, she told him she had made up her mind what to +do, that she had looked at the list of the division, and found that the +majority which had turned out her Government was composed principally of +Lord Derby's adherents, and she should therefore send for him. Aberdeen +said a few words rather discouraging her; but she said, though Lord +Palmerston was evidently the popular man, she thought, according to +constitutional practice, Lord Derby was the man she ought to send for. +It has been seen how Derby failed; then she sent for Lord Lansdowne, +whom she desired to consult different people and see what their opinions +and inclinations were, and report them to her. This was on Friday. He +did so and made his report, after which, on the same principle which had +decided her to send for Derby, she resolved to send for John Russell, +his followers having been the next strongest element of the victorious +majority. Accordingly, on Friday night or early yesterday morning, she +placed the formation of a Government in his hands. He accepted it, and +began by applying to Palmerston, offering him any office he chose to +take. Palmerston did not refuse, but his acquiescence seems to have been +of a hesitating and reluctant kind, and nothing was definitely settled +between them. Gladstone and Sidney Herbert, and afterwards Graham, +decidedly refused; Clarendon desired to have some hours to consider of +it. However, the result of his applications was so unfavourable that +last night he considered his attempt virtually at an end, though he had +not actually given it up this morning, and some further communication +was taking place between him and Clarendon, which was to be decisive. As +soon as this is over, the Queen will play her last card, and have +recourse to _the man of the people!_--to Palmerston, whom they are +crying out for, and who, they fondly imagine, is to get us out of all +our difficulties. From all I hear, I think he will make a Government, +because he really wishes and is determined to do it, and many of the +most important who would not join John Russell will join him. In the +course of to-day I imagine it will all be settled. The impression made +by Newcastle's speech against Lord John has been prodigious, far greater +and more general than I imagined, and it is confidently affirmed that, +if he had taken office and stood again for the City, he would have been +beaten. He still shows fight against Newcastle, and intended to have +answered him and vindicated himself in the House of Commons yesterday, +if he had not been detained so long by the Queen that the hour was up +when he got there. He means to return to the charge to-morrow. In the +course of all these transactions he urged Lansdowne himself to take the +Government, and offered to continue at the Council Office and lead the +House of Commons, or to take no office at all, and give him independent +support in the House of Commons, or to go to the House of Lords and give +him his best assistance there; but Lord Lansdowne declined all these +offers. + + +_February 5th._--I have often had occasion to remark on the difficulty +of avoiding making false or erroneous statements in affairs like those I +am treating of, for the reports which we hear from different people +generally vary considerably, and sometimes the same thing repeated by +the same person varies also; not that there is any intention to +misrepresent or mislead, but circumstances apparently trifling are +narrated differently according as the narrator has been impressed by, or +remembers them, and thus errors creep in and accumulate, and at last it +becomes difficult to reconcile statements that have become conflicting +by degrees. However, I can only jot down what I hear, and reconcile the +accounts afterwards as well as I can. Yesterday afternoon I saw +Clarendon, who confirmed his refusal to join Lord John, but with some +slight difference as to the details. He said he had spoken very openly +to him, but so gravely and quietly that he could not take offence, and +he did not. It was not till he received Clarendon's final refusal that +he wrote to the Queen and threw up his commission. + + LORD PALMERSTON TAKES OFFICE. + +Her Majesty had seen Palmerston the day before, and told him if Lord +John failed she should send for him, and accordingly she did so +yesterday evening. Palmerston had told Lord John, as soon as he received +the commission he should go to him. At present he has only invited +Clarendon and Charles Wood (Whigs) to join him. Clarendon of course is +ready, but Charles Wood demurs, and insists that unless Lord John will +take office in the Government he cannot join, and that the whole thing +will be a failure. Lord John is very averse to take office, and the more +averse because he must then go to the House of Lords, for of course he +cannot remain in the Commons, not leading it. The Duke of Bedford has +been here in a grand quandary, seeing all sorts of difficulties, and in +fact they spring up on every side. He agrees with Lord John, but was +shaken by the arguments of Wood, which are backed up by George Grey and +Panmure. I argued vehemently against Wood's view, and strongly advised +Lord John's not taking office, and I convinced the Duke, who is gone +back to Lord John to talk it all over with him again. On the other hand, +the Peelites want the Government to be restored, with Aberdeen again at +the head of it, and it is very questionable whether they will join at +all, and, if they do, not without much difficulty and negotiation, which +will at least consume valuable time. In short, at this moment the +formation of a Palmerston Government, which was to be so easy, is a +matter of enormous difficulty. The Queen wrote a civil and even kind +answer to Lord John's note giving the task up. + + +_February 6th._--Great disappointment and dismay yesterday, the Peelites +having refused to form part of Palmerston's Government. Graham, +Gladstone, and Sidney Herbert all declined unless Aberdeen formed a part +of it. Sidney Herbert was very willing to join, but would not separate +himself from Gladstone, who was deaf to all entreaties and +remonstrances. It is believed that Graham is the one who has persuaded +Gladstone to take this course. Aberdeen is anxious, or pretends to be +so, that they should join, and Newcastle certainly is. What Gladstone +says is, that unless Aberdeen is in the Cabinet he can have no security +that his (Aberdeen's) principles will be acted on, and that he may not +be called upon to be a party to measures, relating either to war or +peace, of which he disapproves. However, I have only heard second hand +what he says in conversation with others. It has been in vain +represented to him that there will be an explosion of indignation +against them all in the country for refusing their aid at such a crisis, +and their conduct will never be forgiven. All this, he says, he is aware +of, but his objections stand on too high ground to be shaken. Palmerston +means not to be baffled, and, failing the Peelites, to turn to the Whigs +and make the best Government he can. His popularity, which is really +extraordinary, will carry him through all difficulties for the present. +It was supposed that his popularity had been on the wane, but it is +evident that, though he no longer stands so high as he did in the House +of Commons, and those who know him can easily see he is not the man he +was, in the country there is just the same fancy for him and sanguine +opinion of him as ever. John Russell made a rejoinder to Newcastle in +the House of Commons last night--a plausible speech enough, and it +served to set his friends and the Brooks's Whigs crowing again, and +saying he had made out a complete case; but I do not see that it made +his case a bit better than before. All who are at all behind the scenes +are aware of the fallacies and deceptions in which his statements +abound, and that they are of a nature that may not be exposed. + + + THE PALMERSTON ADMINISTRATION. + +_February 7th._--Yesterday Aberdeen and Newcastle, particularly the +latter, renewed their endeavours to prevail on Gladstone to give up his +scruples and to join the Government, and at last they succeeded, and in +the evening Palmerston was able to announce that he had accomplished his +task and the Government was formed. John Russell, on his side, pressed +all his Whig friends to unite with Palmerston, and by these means the +difficulties were gradually overcome. Lord Lansdowne would not take the +Council Office, but agreed to be the organ of the Government in the +House of Lords, though he seems afraid this should be thought to have +committed him to more trouble and responsibility than he is inclined to +take, and it is only a sort of quasi-leadership that he will own to. I +find the Queen did propose to him to form a Government, and under +certain conditions he was not unwilling to undertake it, but of course +he much prefers the present arrangement. It is admitted on all hands +that both Aberdeen and Newcastle have behaved very well, and done all in +their power to facilitate Palmerston's arrangements. It is, however, +much to be regretted that these Peelites have acted in concert and _as a +party_, and I see from the fact a vast deal of embarrassment and +opposition to the Government in prospect. Already the Derbyites are +sulky and angry to the greatest degree, and the Whigs not a little +indignant that so much anxiety has been shown to get Gladstone and his +friends, and such a high price paid for them; and the fact of their +forming so large and important a part of the Government will secure the +fierce hostility of the Derbyites, and make the support of the Whigs +very lukewarm. The latter, too, will be influenced by John Russell, who, +in spite of his present professions of amity and promises of support, is +sure to be very soon a _frondeur_, and then in open and direct +opposition. He told Clarendon 'he meant to give his best support to the +Government.' Clarendon said, 'You do; well, at what do you think I value +your support?' 'What?' he asked. 'Not one sixpence.' '_At first_ +Palmerston will meet with no opposition to signify; if he does, he has +only to dissolve, and the country will give him a majority. But +opposition will gather about him soon enough; extravagant expectations +are raised of the good he is to do and the great acts he is to perform, +all which will only lead to disappointment and mortification. If the +luck which for many years accompanied him should do so still, and some +unexpected success crown his administration, he may thus gain a great +position; but it is idle to depend on the chapter of accidents and, +according to all human probability, he is destined to carry on a +disastrous war or to make a peace (the wisest thing he can do) which +will be humiliating, because so wholly incommensurate with our +extravagant expectations and ridiculous pretensions. However, if any man +can make such a peace it is Palmerston, and it is much better that +Aberdeen should have no concern with the Government, for it would be +much more difficult if he was in the Cabinet, and supposed to have any +hand in it.[1] + +[Footnote 1: The Administration formed by Lord Palmerston was composed +as follows:-- + + First Lord of the Treasury Viscount Palmerston + Lord Chancellor Lord Cranworth + Lord President Earl Granville + Lord Privy Seal Duke of Argyll + Home Secretary Sir George Grey + Foreign Secretary Earl of Clarendon + Colonial Secretary Right Hon. Sidney Herbert (and, on + his resignation, Lord John + Russell) + Secretary at War Lord Panmure + Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr. Gladstone (and, on his + resignation, Sir G. Cornewal + Lewis) + Board of Control Sir Charles Wood + First Lord of the Admiralty Sir James Graham (and, on his + resignation, Sir Charles Wood, + who was replaced at the Board of + Control by Mr. Vernon Smith) + Board of Trade Right Hon. E. Cardwell (and, on + his resignation, Lord Stanley of + Alderley) + Postmaster General Viscount Canning + Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Earl of Carlisle + Woods and Forests Sir Benjamin Hall.] + + +_February 8th._--Now that all is settled there is a momentary lull, and +people are considering what sort of an arrangement it is, and how it is +likely to succeed. Many of those who know better what Palmerston really +is than the ignorant mob who shout at his heels, and who have humbugged +themselves with the delusion that he is another Chatham, entertain grave +apprehensions that the thing will prove a failure, and that Palmerston's +real capacity will be exposed and his _prestige_ destroyed. Some wish +for a dissolution while his popularity is still undiminished, fancying +it will give him a sure majority and will protect him against any +change of opinion; but, unless the Derbyites give him an opportunity by +some vexatious opposition, he can hardly dissolve, and if he did, though +he would gain by it for a time, any change of opinion that might take +place would be found no less in the House of Commons than in the +country. + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. + +_February 13th._--The political wheel turns rapidly round, and strange +events occur, none more remarkable than John Russell's career during the +last month, and the unexpected positions in which he successively +appears. A few weeks ago breaking up his own Government, deeply +offending colleagues and friends, and making himself generally odious, +then trying to form a Government and finding nobody willing to act with +him; he appeared to be in the most painful position of isolation, and +everybody expected that his anomalous and unsatisfactory state would +render him mischievous, and soon conduct him into a troublesome +opposition to the Government. Very differently have matters turned out. +He began by evincing a good and friendly spirit, and scarcely is the +Government formed, when Clarendon proposes to him to go to Vienna as +Plenipotentiary to treat for peace, and John at once accepts the offer, +and yesterday morning his mission was publicly announced. It was a happy +stroke of Clarendon's in all ways, and it was wise in Lord John to +accept it, for it has all the appearance of a patriotic and unselfish +act, will cause his recent misdeeds to be forgotten, and replace him in +the high situation from which he was fallen. It is a very good thing for +him to be thus withdrawn from Parliament for a time. There he is always +in danger of saying and doing something foolish or rash, and it will +leave his followers in a condition to attach themselves to the +Government without abandoning their allegiance to him, which will +relieve all parties from embarrassment.[1] + +[Footnote 1: The Conference of the Great Powers which was to open at +Vienna, to which Lord John Russell was sent as British Plenipotentiary, +had been convoked for the purpose of negotiating on the basis of the +four points which contained the demands of the belligerent Allies and +had been accepted as a basis of negotiation by the Emperor of Russia. +These points were as follows:-- + +1. That Russia should abandon all control over Moldavia, Wallachia, and +Servia. + +2. That Russia should relinquish her claims to control the mouths of the +Danube. + +3. That all Treaties calculated to give Russia a preponderance in the +Black Sea should be abrogated. + +4. That Russia should renounce the claim she made to an exclusive right +to protect the Christians in the Ottoman Dominions. + +It was on the third of these points that the principal difficulty of the +negotiation arose, and that the Conference failed to conclude a +peace.] + + +_February 17th._--Palmerston presented himself to the House of Commons +last night for the first time as Minister, and not apparently with a +very brilliant prospect of success. He made a tolerable speech, giving a +rather meagre account of the formation of his Government, with the usual +promises of vigour. The great point he had to handle was the disposal of +Roebuck's Committee, which he is determined, if he can, to get rid of. +The success of this, his first great operation, seems very doubtful. One +man after another got up and declared he should vote for its going on. +Roebuck insists on it; and Disraeli announced his determined opposition +to any attempt to quash it. If Palmerston fights the battle and is +beaten, he must try what a dissolution will do for him; and I think the +success of it would be very doubtful, for, in spite of all the clamour +that was raised by his name, and his apparently vast popularity in the +country, it looks as if it was of a very shadowy, unsubstantial kind, +and would very likely be found wanting at a general election. The temper +of the House seems to be anything but good, and unless we are very soon +cheered and encouraged by much better accounts from the Crimea, this +Government will not fare much better than the last. The 'Times' is going +into furious opposition, and Palmerston will soon find the whole press +against him except his own paper, the 'Morning Post,' and the 'Morning +Chronicle,' neither of which have any circulation or any influence in +the country. The whole conduct of the 'Times' is a source of great +vexation to me, for I am to the last degree shocked and disgusted at its +conduct and the enormous mischief that it is endeavouring to do; and I +have for many years had intimate personal relations with its editor, +which I do not well know how to let drop, and I am at the same time not +satisfied that their unbroken maintenance is consistent with the +feelings I entertain, and which ought to be entertained, towards the +paper. + + + ROEBUCK'S COMMITTEE ACCEPTED. + +_February 19th._--The Government have determined to knock under about +Roebuck's Committee, and they would have done much better to have done +so at first. What they are now doing will not strengthen them or avert +future attacks; but the state of the House of Commons is such that +nothing but some very unexpected turn can enable them to go on long. +Palmerston has no authority there, the House is in complete confusion +and disorganisation, and, except the Derbyites, who are still numerous +and act together in opposition, in hopes of getting into power, nobody +owns any allegiance or even any party ties, or seems to care for any +person or any thing. There seems a general feeling of distrust and +dissatisfaction, and, except the scattered Radicals and Revolutionists, +who wish to upset everything, nobody seems to know what he would be at, +or what object he wishes to attain. For the first time in my life I am +really and seriously alarmed at the aspect of affairs, and think we are +approaching a period of real difficulty and danger. The press, with the +'Times' at its head, is striving to throw everything into confusion, and +running a muck against the aristocratic element of society and of the +Constitution. The intolerable nonsense and the abominable falsehoods it +flings out day after day are none the less dangerous because they are +nonsense and falsehoods, and, backed up as they are by all the regular +Radical press, they diffuse through the country a mass of inflammatory +matter, the effect of which may be more serious and arrive more quickly +than anybody imagines. Nothing short of some loud explosion will make +the mass of people believe that any serious danger can threaten a +Constitution like our's, which has passed through so many trials and +given so many proofs of strength and cohesion. But we have never seen +such symptoms as are now visible, such a thorough confusion and +political chaos, or the public mind so completely disturbed and +dissatisfied and so puzzled how to arrive at any just conclusions as to +the past, the present, or the future. People are furious at the untoward +events in the Crimea, and cannot make out the real causes thereof, nor +who is to blame, and they are provoked that they cannot find victims to +wreak their resentment on. The dismissal of Aberdeen and Newcastle seems +an inadequate expiation, and they want more vengeance yet, hence the cry +for Roebuck's absurd Committee. Then, after clamouring for Palmerston +from a vague idea of his vigour, and that he would do some wonderful +things, which was founded on nothing but the recollection of his former +bullying despatches and blustering speeches, they are beginning to +suspect him; and the whole press, as well as the malignants in the House +of Commons, tell them that they have gained very little, if anything, by +the change, and they are told that it is not this or that Minister who +can restore our affairs, but a change in the whole system of government, +and the substitution of plebeians and new men for the leaders of parties +and members of aristocratic families, of whom all Governments have been +for the most part composed. What effect these revolutionary doctrines +may have on the opinions of the people at large remains to be seen; but +it is evident that the 'Times,' their great propagator, thinks them +popular and generally acceptable, or they would not have plunged into +that course. + +I sat next to Charles Wood at dinner yesterday and had much talk with +him on the state of affairs, and found that he takes just the same view +that I do, and for the first time he is alarmed also, and so, he told +me, is Sir George Grey. He talked much about Raglan, and said that the +Government had been placed in the most unfair position possible, it +being impossible to throw the blame of anything that had occurred on +him, or even to tell the truth, which was that, so far from his making +any exertions to repair the evils so loudly complained of, and sending +away inefficient men, he never admitted there were any evils at all, or +that any of his people were inefficient, or anything but perfect; and he +said that Raglan had never asked for anything the want of which had not +been anticipated by the Government here, and in no instance was anything +required by him which had not been supplied a month or more before the +requisition came. Palmerston, too, said to me that nothing could exceed +the helplessness of the military authorities there; that they seemed +unable to devise anything for their own assistance, and they exhibited +the most striking contrast to the navy, who, on all emergencies, set to +work and managed to find resources of all sorts to supply their +necessities or extricate themselves from danger. + + + THE PEELITES RESIGN. + +_February 20th._--Nothing certainly could be more mortifying than the +reception Palmerston met from the House of Commons on the first night +when he presented himself as Minister, nothing more ungracious or more +disheartening. His entreaty to _postpone_ the Committee was received +with a sort of scorn and manifestation of hostility and distrust. His +position was at once rendered to the last degree painful and difficult. +He cannot avert the Committee, he cannot submit to it without deep +humiliation; many of his colleagues are supposed to shrink from the +disgrace of such a submission and to prefer any alternative to it. +Already there is a general impression that this Government cannot last +long; nobody thinks they would gain anything by a dissolution, the +result of one would be uncertain; but the probability seems to be that +the Conservatives would gain and the Radicals likewise, while the Whigs +would lose, and Peelites and Moderates would be scattered to the winds. +We should most likely see a Parliament still more ungovernable than +this, unless a widespread alarm in the country should rally the whole +Conservative and anti-revolutionary element to Derby and his party, +which would bring them all into office for a time. Palmerston spoke much +better last night than the first night, and with a good deal of spirit +and force; but he has a very uphill game to play, and must already be +aware how fleeting his popularity was, and on what weak foundations it +was built. + + +_February 23rd._--Graham, Gladstone, and Sidney Herbert have resigned, +greatly to the disgust and indignation of their colleagues, to the +surprise of the world at large, and the uproarious delight of the Whigs +and Brooks's Club, to whom the Peelites have always been odious. These +stupid Whigs were very sorry Palmerston did not leave them out when he +formed his Government, and take whomever he could get instead of them; +and they are entirely indifferent to the consideration that the greater +part of the brains of the Cabinet is gone out with these three, that it +is exceedingly difficult to fill their places, and that we exhibit a sad +spectacle to all Europe, with our Ministerial dissensions and +difficulties and the apparent impossibility of forming anything like a +stable Government. The first thing done was to send off for John Russell +at Paris, and ask him if he would come back and join the Government. +Cardwell was offered the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, which he +refused. It is much to be regretted that these Peelites do not now +dissolve themselves as _a party_ and make up their minds to act +independently and according to their several opinions and circumstances. +Aberdeen much disapproves of the exodus of the three, and was very +anxious Cardwell should accept; but he does not choose to separate +himself from the rest. + + +_February 24th._--Never was I more surprised than when I heard that John +Russell had accepted the Colonial Office and joins the Government, still +continuing in the House of Commons, and of course acting under +Palmerston. When we think of all he has been doing for the last two +years, his discontent at being in a subordinate capacity though still +leader of the House of Commons, and the various pranks he has played in +consequence thereof, it is inconceivable that he should consent not only +to take office under Palmerston, but to serve under him in the House of +Commons. But it is impossible not to give him credit for patriotic +motives in making such a sacrifice of personal pride and vanity. What +his conduct may be if the Government lasts long enough to allow him to +come home and take his place in it, may be considered doubtful. Last +night the retiring Ministers gave their explanations--Graham in a very +good speech; Gladstone was too diffuse, and Sidney Herbert feeble, but +coming after Graham they had nothing new to say. There is much to be +said for and much against their conduct. If they had accepted office +under Palmerston with the condition that he should try and get rid of +the Committee and that they should retire in case he failed, there would +have been nothing to say, because without doubt they ought not to hold +high offices while a Committee of the House of Commons is sitting in +judgement on their conduct; but the whole course of proceeding is so +anomalous, and the exigencies of the time are so great and peculiar, +that on the whole I think they ought to have stayed in. Palmerston +speaks almost every night, and his speeches do not read amiss; but +everybody says they are feeble and flat, and nothing at present +indicates anything like stability or a long existence to the present +Government. The tone of the House of Commons last night was on the whole +rather pacific than not. Bright made an admirable speech, the peroration +of which was very eloquent. + + + SIR GEORGE LEWIS CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER. + +_February 25th._--This morning George Lewis came to me very early and +told me Palmerston had proposed to him to be Chancellor of the +Exchequer; he set forth very fairly all the reasons for and against +accepting. We discussed the whole subject, and I asked him whether he +felt sufficient confidence in himself to undertake an office of such +vast importance, whether he had sufficiently turned his attention to +financial matters and had mastered the principles and details of +finance. He said he thought he was sufficiently versed therein to +undertake it, having given much attention to taxation and its +principles, and to political economy generally, though he did not know +much about the Funds, but supposed sufficient knowledge about them was +easily attainable. Finally I advised him to accept, and he said he +should make up his mind to do so. So the Admiralty, Colonial Office, and +Exchequer are settled. There is much difficulty and much discussion and +difference of opinion about some of the other places. They are very +wisely going to take in Laing, but very unwisely will not give a place +to Lowe, who, if left out, will contrive to do them some damage. +Granville has moved Heaven and earth to get Lowe an office, but +Palmerston and others set their faces against him. Lansdowne has most +unreasonably and unwisely insisted on Vernon Smith being taken in, and +it is at present intended to make him President of the Board of Control. +He is very unpopular and totally useless, and just the man they ought +not to take in; while Lowe is just the man they ought, to meet the +prevailing sentiment about old connexions and new men. + + + DEATH OF THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS. + +_March 2nd._--News just arrived that the Emperor of Russia is dead. John +Russell had telegraphed from Berlin that he was given over. This great +and unexpected event must have the most important consequences whether +for peace or for war. A disputed succession is not impossible, as it has +long been reported that the Grand Duke Constantine was disposed to +contest the succession with the Cesarewitch, but this will probably turn +out to be a fable. It is supposed that the new Emperor has been all +along inclined to peace, and that he was in disgrace with his father on +that account. If this be true, it renders it still more probable that he +will be anxious to put an end to this destructive and dangerous war, and +the Allied Powers may be less exacting with him than they were disposed +to be with the late Emperor. On the other hand, should the war unhappily +continue, the death of Nicholas is likely to damp the ardour of the +Russians and to relax their exertions, so that we can hardly fail to +profit by it. Clarendon is gone over to Boulogne to confer with the +Emperor Napoleon. + +There seems something like a lull here for the moment, and less of +excitement and violence than there was. Palmerston has not been in +office a fortnight, and already he is enormously _baissé_; his speeches +night after night are miserable. The truth is, he never had any power as +a debater, and he is out of his element as leader in the House of +Commons, where he has to answer everybody, to speak on every subject, +and to be continually debating more or less. He has made a few great +speeches, prepared, and on his own subject of foreign affairs, and every +now and then a smart chaffing retort which excited the hilarity of the +House, and that has been all he could do. Then he seems supine and +undecided; he does not fill up the vacant places or seemingly endeavour +to do so, and he does not put good men in the places he does fill up, +all of which does him harm in general estimation. Clarendon has told +Lady Palmerston very frankly that he will soon ruin himself in public +opinion if he goes on in this way. Few things are more extraordinary +than the notion that was abroad of Palmerston's fitness and efficacy. +Never was there a greater delusion, and never one that is so rapidly +being dissipated. + + +_March 10th._--It is remarkable that, though seven days have elapsed +since the news of the death of the Emperor of Russia reached us, and +that we heard of it by electric telegraph the very day it happened, we +are still without authentic and detailed information of what has since +occurred at St. Petersburg; and of the manifesto of the new Emperor, +which is looked for with so much curiosity, we have only a partial +extract or imperfect summary, so that we have still no means of judging +whether the chances of peace are improved by the accession of Alexander +II. + +Palmerston's Government does not seem to take root or gain much +strength; every day seems to prove the more clearly that he is unfit for +the task he has taken on himself. He inspires neither respect nor +confidence, and is totally unable to manage the House of Commons; his +speeches are feeble and bad, and he is not always prudent and +conciliatory, but, on the contrary, pettish and almost offensive. He +finds great difficulty in filling the vacant offices, and he evinces +much want of tact and good management in his endeavours to do so, +offering and retracting his offers in a very loose way. For example, he +offered Sir Robert Peel the Clerkship of the Ordnance, which he +accepted; and then he found Monsell did not mean to resign it, so he had +to withdraw the offer. Then he told him he should be Colonial +Under-Secretary if John Russell would consent. John Russell would not +consent, and then he offered him a seat at the Admiralty. Sir Robert in +some dudgeon demurred, and Palmerston, inferring from his ill humour +that he would not take this place, offered it to Henry Brand, who +accepted, desired his writ might be moved for, and went to the railway +station to go down to the place he represented. Just as he was starting, +a messenger arrived with a letter from Palmerston saying Sir Robert Peel +had taken the Admiralty, so he could not have it, and the gentleman had +to return home without any office at all. This is a sad way of doing +business, and will not make him more popular. Grenville Berkeley +(whipper-in) told me he thought Palmerston was doing rather better +latterly and that there was a better disposition in the House of +Commons; but Jonathan Peel, who is a shrewd, dispassionate observer, and +tolerably impartial, though with no good will to the present Government, +told me a different story. He says the Government is as weak as +possible, Palmerston wretched, and the House of Commons ill disposed and +unruly, and he thinks it absolutely impossible that this concern can +last many weeks. The Derbyites are quite confident of forcing their way +to office, and quite determined to do so; but it is their game to damage +the present Government as much as possible, and they will do everything +in opposition but what may recoil upon themselves after they have got +into office, and no other consideration will restrain them. I regard +with the utmost dislike the prospect of their return, because I think +their conduct so monstrously unprincipled. I hear Gladstone is very much +out of humour, and expect soon to see him and his small band in overt +opposition to the Government. Many fancy that it will end in his joining +Derby, but so do not I. I am not sure that he would be indisposed if a +proper occasion presented itself, but I do not believe any consideration +or any circumstances whatever would induce the Derbyites to admit him +again into their party. Their indignation--that is, of a great many of +them--was unbounded at Derby having offered him office the other day, +and at the great meeting at Eglinton's such manifestations of resentment +were made on that account as to make it nearly impossible (for in these +days nothing is quite impossible) for any future attempt at +reconciliation and reunion to be made. + + +_March 11th._--A fresh shuffling of the cards is being arranged by which +Frederick Peel is to go to the Treasury, _vice_ Wilson, Vice President +of the Board of Trade; Sir Robert to the War Department, _vice_ his +brother; and Henry Brand to the Admiralty. Palmerston seemed to consider +all the blunders he made about these offices rather a good joke than a +mischievous _gaucherie_. 'Ha, ha!' he said, 'a Comedy of Errors.' George +Lewis told me this morning he thinks the temper of the House of Commons +more favourable, and, if he can succeed in producing a palateable +Budget, that they may get on; he told me the revenue was extremely +flourishing and the country very rich, but the expenses are enormous. He +means to meet them by a loan, but the question is of what amount, and +how much of the additional expense shall be provided by it. He will want +ninety millions to cover the whole. + + LORD CLARENDON AND THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. + +Clarendon was much pleased with his visit to the Emperor, who talked to +him very frankly and unreservedly about everything. They lit their +cigars and sat and talked with the greatest ease. He said the Emperor +spoke to him about the English press, and all he said was sensible and +true; that he was aware that a free press was a necessity in England, +and as indispensable as the Constitution itself, and that he had +hitherto believed that the editors of the principal newspapers had the +good of their country at heart, and always acted from conscientious +motives; but that he could no longer entertain that opinion. The press +during the past months, and the 'Times' particularly, had done an +incalculable amount of mischief to England and to the alliance between +us. The effect produced by their language in Germany was most injurious, +and of service only to Russia. When the English papers talked of their +own country in the way they did, of its degradation and disgrace, its +maladministration, the ruin of its military power, and the loss of all +that makes a nation great and powerful, though he (the Emperor) knew +what all this meant, and how much or how little of truth there was in +such exaggerated statements, yet in France they were generally believed, +and it became very difficult for him to reconcile the nation to an +alliance for which he was reproached with making sacrifices and shaping +his policy in accordance with our's, when it was evident from our own +showing that our alliance was not worth having, and our impotence was so +exposed that, whenever peace should put an end to the necessity of the +alliance, we should be entirely at their mercy; and while such was the +feeling in France, in Germany it was still stronger, and there the +'Times' had succeeded in creating a universal conviction that we are in +the lowest condition of weakness and inefficiency: at all of which he +expressed the greatest regret. I was surprised to hear Clarendon say +that he did not believe the resources of Russia to carry on the contest +to be in any sensible degree exhausted, that her commerce had not +suffered at all, and as to her finances she could go on for a good while +with her paper money and the gold which, in a certain quantity, she drew +from the Ural Mountains.[1] + +[Footnote 1: In justice to the conductors of the 'Times' it must be +said that although the language of the paper was violent and extremely +annoying to the Government and its Allies, yet it was by the power and +enterprise of the press that the deplorable state of the army was +brought to the knowledge of the public and even of Ministers themselves; +and it was by the 'Times' that the first steps were taken to supply the +deficiencies of the Administration. The fund raised by voluntary +contributions for this purpose amounted to 25,000_l._ and competent +persons were sent out to apply it to the most pressing wants of the +army.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + The Vienna Conference--Literary Occupations--A Roman Catholic Privy + Councillor--Negotiations at Vienna--The Emperor Napoleon in + London--The Emperor's brilliant Reception--Russia refuses the Terms + offered--The Sebastopol Committee--Debate on the War--Visit to + Paris--Resignation of M. Drouyn de Lhuys--The Emperor's Journey to + the Crimea--The Repulse at the Redan--Visit to Thiers--A Dinner at + the Tuileries--Conversation with the Emperor--M. Guizot on the + War--Death of Lord Raglan--A Dinner at Princess Lieven's--The + Palace of Versailles--Revelations of Lord John Russell's + Mission--Dinner with the Emperor at Villeneuve l'Étang--Lord John + Russell's Conduct at Vienna--Excitement in London--Lord John's + Resignation--Lord John's Conduct explained--'Whom shall we + Hang?'--Prorogation of Parliament. + + +_March 31st_, 1855.--Three weeks have passed away and I have had +nothing to say; nor indeed have I anything now of the least importance, +and can only glance at the general aspect of affairs. The Government, on +the whole, seems in a somewhat better condition. They say Palmerston +speaks better than he did, and his good humour and civility please. At +last the offices, except the Under-Secretaryship to the Colonies, are +filled up. Lord Elgin and Lord Seymour successively refused the Duchy of +Lancaster, and after going a begging for many weeks Lord Harrowby has +taken it. Laing and Wilson, and I think somebody else, declined the Vice +Presidency of the Board of Trade, and they have got Bouverie. + +Within these few days the hopes of peace have waxed faint. The fatal +third point is an insurmountable obstacle, and it seems likely that we +shall be condemned to fight it out more fiercely than ever, and without +Austria, who, as I all along expected, will not join us in forcing hard +conditions on Russia. It remains to be seen whether we or Austria are +in fault, assuming the rupture of the negotiations to be inevitable. If +Austria recedes from what she had already agreed to, she is; if we +require anything more, we are. Drouyn de Lhuys has been here for +twenty-four hours, and goes on to Vienna directly to bring things to a +conclusion one way or another. Clarendon is pleased with him. The +Emperor is to be here in three weeks. + +Having no public events nor any secret information to record, I must put +down my own private concerns, uninteresting as they are. I am busy on +the task of editing a volume of Moore's correspondence left to me by +John Russell, and finishing the second article upon King Joseph's +Memoirs.[1] These small literary occupations interest and amuse me, and, +being quite out of the way of politics, and seeing nobody, except +Clarendon at rare intervals, who can or will tell me anything, it is +well I can amuse myself with them; and now that I am growing old (for I +shall be sixty-one the day after to-morrow) it is my aim to cultivate +these pleasures more and more, and make them my refuge against the +infirmities which beset me, and the loss of youth. My great fear is lest +my eyesight should fail, and I earnestly hope I may die before such a +calamity should befall me. + +The war goes languidly on, and I hear Raglan and Canrobert are +squabbling instead of acting, and that it seems to be more the fault of +Canrobert; but the melancholy truth is that there are two incompetent +generals in command, who have no skill or enterprise, and are letting +the opportunity for attacking the enemy slip away. A divided command and +two independent armies are in themselves an immense drawback, but when +they begin to disagree it becomes fatal. We have now an enormous force +there, and yet they seem incapable of doing anything and of striking any +great and serious blow. + +[Footnote 1: Mr. Greville wrote the review of the Memoirs of King +Joseph Bonaparte which appeared in two successive articles of the +_Edinburgh Review_.] + + + THE CATHOLIC OATH. + +_April 1st._--I went to a Council yesterday and got into a difficulty. +Without any previous notice, Mr. Monsell, a Roman Catholic, came to be +made a Privy Councillor. I had never sworn a Roman Catholic and did not +know what to do, so I proposed to Monsell to put it off till another +day, and meanwhile I would ascertain how he was to be sworn. The +difficulty was told to the Queen, and the Prince set about finding what +was to be done. He looked out the 10th George IV. (Emancipation Act), +and, just as we were summoned into the Queen's presence, Granville +brought the volume, put it into my hands, and told me I must administer +to Monsell the oath set forth there, in lieu of the oaths of abjuration +and supremacy. I was sure it was a mistake; but there was no time to +remonstrate, and I was compelled to bring him in and administer the +oath. As soon as I got back to my office and looked into the matter I +found it was all wrong, and that he had not, in fact, been sworn at all. +What he ought to have done was to take this oath in one of the Law +Courts, and then to have the Privy Councillor's oath administered to +him, and so I sent him word. + +Afterwards I met Sidney Herbert, and he told me what he believed to be +the cause of Drouyn de Lhuys' coming here, and the actual state of +affairs at Vienna. We have proposed the reduction of the fleet; the +Russians refuse. The Emperor Napoleon would like, if possible, to obtain +some great success in the Crimea, and is not indisposed to continue the +war if he can see a reasonable hope of such an achievement; but when he +despairs of this his mind inclines to the other alternative, to make +peace (which would be popular in France), and he does not care very much +about the terms and is not averse to waive the condition as to the +fleet. But our Government want to insist on it, or go on with the war, +and Sidney Herbert believes they have succeeded in talking over Drouyn +de Lhuys and persuading him to join us in this determination, and to +carry it off to Vienna. However, he is very likely to be talked over +again there, and it remains to be seen whether the Emperor, if he really +wishes for peace, will not join with Austria in opposing us, and +accepting some other conditions. I always fancied that we had come to a +regular unmistakeable agreement with Austria what we should ask of +Russia, and that she had bound herself to join in the war if the terms +agreed in were refused, but, according to Sidney Herbert, this has never +been done. Clarendon did, indeed, _at last_ state distinctly to Austria +the terms on which France and England meant to insist, and Austria +expressed her concurrence in them as a matter of opinion, and her desire +to obtain them, consenting also to unite her efforts to theirs in +attempting to obtain them; but she never consented to go to war if they +were not conceded, therefore we have no reason to complain of her if the +negotiations break off on these grounds, and she refuses to depart from +her neutrality. She has all along said, she wished with all her heart we +could succeed in taking Sebastopol, but as we had not succeeded, and +apparently could not, it was impossible to press very stringent terms on +Russia; and she has never held out any expectation to us of joining in +the war against Russia, unless Russia refuses such reasonable and not +humiliating terms of peace as she herself thinks indispensable for the +objects to the attainment of which she has all along been a party. The +best chance of peace now is that the Emperor Napoleon may think he is +not likely to do any great things in the Crimea and that peace is his +best policy, and he is the real arbiter of peace and war. If he prefers +following in the wake of England, and to defer to our war policy, peace +will ascend to Heaven, and the odious war will be resumed with more fury +than ever, and no one can guess how long it will last, nor what will be +the end of it. + + + THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON AT WINDSOR. + +_April 17th._--Yesterday I went out 'with all the gazing town' to see +not the least curious of the many curious events I have lived to +witness, the entry of the Emperor and Empress of the French into London. +The day was magnificent, the crowd prodigious, the reception not very +clamorous, but cordial and respectful. A fine sight for them to see such +vast multitudes, so orderly and so prosperous, and without a single +soldier except their own escort. The Queen received them with the utmost +cordiality, and omitted none of the usual forms practised between +Sovereigns. She met the Imperial pair at the entrance to the Castle, +embraced the Emperor and then the Empress when she was presented to +her. + + +_April 20th._--The visit of the Emperor has been one continued ovation, +and the success of it complete. None of the Sovereigns who have been +here before have ever been received with such magnificence by the Court +or by such curiosity and delight by the people. Wherever and whenever +they have appeared, they have been greeted by enormous multitudes and +prodigious acclamations. The Queen is exceedingly pleased with both of +them; she thinks the Empress very natural, graceful, and attractive, and +the Emperor frank, cordial, and true. He has done his best to please +her, talked to her a great deal, amused her, and has completely +succeeded. Everybody is struck with his mean and diminutive figure and +vulgar appearance, but his manners are good and not undignified. He +talked a very long time to Lord Derby on Tuesday at Windsor and to Lord +Aberdeen on Wednesday. This last was very proper, because he had a great +prejudice against Aberdeen, and fancied he was his enemy, which Aberdeen +knew. When he was invested with the Garter, he took all sorts of +oaths--old feudal oaths--of fidelity and knightly service to the Queen, +and he then made her a short speech to the following effect:--'I have +sworn to be faithful to Your Majesty and to serve you to the best of my +ability, and my whole future life shall be spent in proving the +sincerity with which I have thus sworn, and my resolution to devote +myself to your service.' The fineness of the weather brought out the +whole population of London, as usual kept in excellent order by a few +policemen, and in perfect good humour. It was a beautiful sight last +night when the Royal and Imperial party went to the Opera in state; the +streets lit by gas and the houses illuminated and light as day, +particularly opposite the Travellers' Club, where I was. I am glad the +success of the visit has been so great, and the contentment of all the +parties concerned so complete, but it is well that all will be over +tomorrow, for such excitement and enthusiasm could not last much longer, +and the inconvenience of being beset by crowds, and the streets +obstructed, is getting tiresome. + +I saw Cowley for a moment yesterday. He told me the Russians refused any +conditions which imposed loss of territory or limitation of naval +forces, and they declined to offer any counter project, though they are +ready to discuss anything we propose. He therefore considers the +continuance of the war unavoidable, and does not believe Austria will +join in it, though Drouyn de Lhuys still writes his own expectation that +she will. He said they had never said or done anything which bound them +to join, and that their diplomacy had been much more adroit and +successful than our's, but that this was principally the fault of the +French, who never would consent to take a peremptory course so as to +compel them to be explicit. The consequence of this is, that it will be +impossible to produce the diplomatic correspondence, and its retention +will put Parliament and the press in a fury, and expose the Government +to attacks which they will find it very difficult to repel or to +silence. They cannot give the reason why, and their enemies and +detractors will believe, or at least insist, that they do not dare +disclose their own share in the transaction. I asked Clarendon how it +was that the French Government in their last paper in the 'Moniteur' +said so positively that they had secured the cooperation of Austria if +the last conditions were refused by Russia; he replied that he supposed +they said so in order to make it the ground of an accusation against +Austria when the Conference broke up and she refuses to declare war. +Clarendon thinks we shall get the better of Russia, but that it will be +by blockading her ports and ruining her commerce, and not by military +operations, and that this may take two or three years or more, but is +certain in the end.[1] + +[Footnote 1: The failure or suspension of the negotiations for peace at +Vienna was formally announced to Parliament on May 21, and the protocols +of the Conference laid upon the table.] + + + THE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE. + +_May 24th._--The Sebastopol Committee is finished, and the result proves +that it is a very good thing to have had it, for no ill consequences +have come of it, and the evidence has benefited instead of injuring both +the Government and those who were most bitterly abused, especially +Hardinge and Newcastle, about the latter of whom there has been a +considerable reaction of opinion. In Parliament nothing has taken place +of much consequence. Ellenborough gave battle in the Lords and was +signally defeated. Layard had announced a hostile motion in the House of +Commons, which he has since given up to Disraeli, who brings forward a +regular want of confidence motion tonight, which will decide the fate of +the Government. Sir Francis Baring has moved an amendment which the +Peelites will not vote for, because it pledges the House to support the +war, they having now become furiously pacific; as if they were not +unpopular enough already, they are now doing all they can to mar their +own efficacy by giving their enemies a plausible case for attacking and +abusing them, and by breasting the tide of warlike zeal and passion, +which, though very absurd and very mischievous, is too strong and too +general to be openly and directly resisted at present. It is quite fit +and becoming to reason with it, and to endeavour to bring the public to +a more reasonable frame of mind, but great tact, caution, and good +management are required in doing this. It is very difficult to make out +what Gladstone and his friends (for it would be ridiculous to call them +a party) are at, and what they expect or desire in reference to their +political future. Palmerston is said to have done better in the House of +Commons lately than he did at first, but it is curious to see how +completely his popularity has evaporated. All the foolish people whose +pet he was, and who clamoured for him with the notion that he was to do +every sort of impossible thing, now that they find he can do no more +than other men, and that there never was any real difference between him +and his colleagues, are furious with him because they so deceived +themselves, and want to break the idol they set up. + + +_May 30th._--The division last Friday night gave Government a larger +majority than anybody expected,[1] and if it did not give them +permanent strength it averted immediate danger. Gladstone made a fine +speech, but gave great offence to all who are not for peace, and exposed +himself to much unpopularity. The discussion is only suspended till +Parliament meets again, when the amendments will be debated, and there +will no more divisions; but in the meantime the news which has arrived +of the successes in the Crimea, and the fair prospect there appears of +still greater advantages, must serve to silence the advocates of peace +and encourage those who are all for war, and to render a contest popular +which is likely to be crowned with brilliant results, and, as many +imagine, to give us the means of dictating peace on our own terms. I +believe in the prospect of success, but not that it will reduce the +Russians to make peace on our terms, particularly as the conditions will +infallibly be harder than before. But I do marvel that they did not make +peace at Vienna on the terms which were there offered them, when they +must have known that all the chances of war were against them. The +Emperor of Russia might have taken warning from the history and fate of +Napoleon, who constantly refused the terms he could have obtained, and +continually insisted on something more than his enemies would give him, +and by this obstinacy lost his crown. The most interesting incident +which occurred last week was the scene at the end of the debate between +Graham and John Russell, who had a fight of considerable asperity; and +according to all appearances the Peelites and the Whigs are completely +two. When Graham was reconciled to Lord John two or three years ago, he +vowed that nothing should separate them again, but 'quam parum stabiles +sunt hominum amicitiæ,' and now they appear to be as antagonistic as +ever. But, to be sure, Graham could not contemplate or foresee all the +tricks which Lord John played during the whole time he was a member of +Aberdeen's Government. + +Notwithstanding the success of Government in the House of Commons and of +the armies in the Crimea, things are in a very unsatisfactory and +uncomfortable state here, and nobody knows what will happen. There is no +confidence in any party or any men, and everybody has a vague +apprehension of coming but undefined evil and danger. The world seems +out of joint. + +[Footnote 1: Mr. Disraeli's Motion condemning the Government for their +misconduct of the war was rejected by 319 to 219. Lord John Russell +made a warlike speech in the course of this debate.] + + + A VISIT TO PARIS. + +_Paris, June 17th._--Having resolved to go to Vichy for my health, here +I am on the road; I crossed over yesterday morning, a very disagreeable +but short passage from Folkestone, good journey by rail, and got here at +nine o'clock, being lodged very hospitably at the Embassy. French +carriages on the railway are much better than ours, particularly the +second class; the country between Boulogne and Paris looks well and +thriving. I had some talk with Cowley last night before we went to bed, +when he gave me an account of the circumstances of Drouyn de Lhuys' +resignation.[1] He also descanted on the difficulties of the Government +here and of the maintenance of the alliance, which he attributes up to +this time entirely to the good faith and fairness of the Emperor +himself, and his determination that nothing shall interrupt the good +understanding between the two countries, on which he is above all things +bent. The Emperor says it is a great misfortune that there are no men of +capacity or character whose services he can command, nor in fact any +men, if he could command their services, in whom the public would be +disposed to place confidence. Cowley had no very good opinion of Drouyn +de Lhuys, and said no reliance could be placed in him; but in some +respects he is a loss, because he has a certain capacity and clean +hands, he is enormously rich, and guiltless of any peculation or +jobbery. When Drouyn announced that he meant to go to Vienna, Lord +Cowley urged him to go to England first and come to an understanding +with the Cabinet there as to the terms which should be proposed at the +Conference. He consented and went, and Cowley urged Clarendon to have +the agreement put down in writing that there might be no mistake about +it. This was done, and Drouyn went to Vienna. When he took upon himself +to make the proposition he did, it was in direct opposition to his +agreement with us, but he thought he should bring the Emperor to concur +with him and to sanction it. The Emperor seemed at first disposed to do +so, and when he saw Cowley intimated as much to him. Cowley submitted +that it was quite contrary to the understanding with us, and objected on +every ground to the proposal. The Emperor said he really got quite +confused in the intricacies and details of this affair, but he would see +Drouyn again and speak to him upon it. Cowley requested (a very strange +request as he owned) that he might be present at the interview. The +Emperor seemed somewhat surprised, but acquiesced. When Cowley came he +found Drouyn had been there an hour, and that Marshal Vaillant was also +present. They went over the ground again and Drouyn said what he had to +say, when Cowley merely said he would not go into the general question +and would only ask whether M. Drouyn's proposal was in conformity with +what had been settled in London, and he appealed to Marshal Vaillant +whether the termination of the war on such terms would be advisable. It +was impossible to maintain that the terms were consistent with the joint +agreement, and Vaillant declared that if the French army was brought +away, and a peace made on conditions which would appear to tarnish the +honour of their arms, he would not answer for the consequences. This put +an end to the discussion. Drouyn de Lhuys retired, and as soon as he got +home sent his resignation to the Emperor, who wrote him back a very +goodhumoured answer advising him to recall it, and expressing a wish +that he would come and talk the matter over with him, when he had no +doubt they should come to a satisfactory understanding. Drouyn +persisted, and then the Emperor accepted his resignation and sent for +Walewski. I asked Cowley how Walewski was likely to do, and he said +wretchedly, and that he was not of a calibre to fill such a post. + + THE EMPEROR'S JOURNEY TO THE CRIMEA. + +He told me all about the intended journey of the Emperor to the Crimea +and why it was given up. The Emperor was bent on it, while all the +Ministers deprecated it and did all they could to prevent it. They +suggested that, if any misfortune occurred while he was there, he could +not quit the army; if any success, he would infallibly stay to pursue +it, so that his speedy return could not be counted on. This failed to +move him. The intention was that Jérome should be, not Regent, but Chief +of the Council of Ministers, and they advised Jérome only to consent to +take this office on condition that he was invested with the same +despotic power as the Emperor himself. This His Majesty would not +consent to, as the Ministers foresaw, and this was the reason why the +expedition was given up. + +[Footnote 1: At the Conference at Vienna M. Drouyn de Lhuys departed +from the conditions of peace agreed to between the French and British +Governments, and was disposed to accept the more favourable terms which +were supported by Austria. This led to his disavowal and resignation on +his return to Paris. It turned out that Lord John Russell, the British +envoy to the Conference, had taken a similar course.] + + +_Paris, June 23rd._--I came here to pass through to Vichy, and +accordingly on Tuesday last to Vichy I went. I arrived there in the +evening, found a detestable apartment without a fireplace; the weather +was intolerable, it never ceased raining, and the cold was intense. +Finding that it was useless to take the waters or baths in such weather, +and being disgusted with the whole thing, I resolved to return to Paris, +which I did on Friday, and here I am comfortably established in the +Embassy again. + +On my arrival I was greeted with the painful intelligence of the repulse +sustained by the French and English on the 18th in the attack on the +Mamelon and Redan batteries, and of the great losses which both armies +had suffered. This failure has cast a great gloom over Paris and London, +and the disappointment is greater because we had become so accustomed to +success that everybody regarded failure in anything as impossible. +Cowley told me that the Emperor was excessively annoyed, and the more +because they entirely disapprove of Pélissier's proceedings. Without +tying him down or attempting from hence to direct the operations of the +campaign, they had given Pélissier the strongest recommendations to +abstain from assaults which they had reason to believe would not be +decisive and would cost a vast number of lives, and they were very +anxious the operations against the Russians in the field should be +pressed instead. There had been some half angry communications between +the Government and Pélissier, who had talked of resigning the command. +The opinions of the Government had been principally formed from those of +General Niel, who had constantly reported his conviction to the above +mentioned effect, and had earnestly deprecated these assaults. Then +there is reason to apprehend that such unsuccessful attempts may produce +bad blood and mutual accusations between the allied forces. Already +Pélissier and Raglan have begun to cast the blame of the failure on each +other, though apparently the difference has not yet swelled to any +serious amount. I have always thought that it would have been better to +have no divided command, but to place an English corps under a French +commander-in-chief, and a French squadron under an English admiral. This +was what the Emperor proposed, and he wrote a letter himself on the +subject, which Cowley promised to show me. We have had much conversation +about the Emperor, his character and his capacity, and I am puzzled how +to understand and to do justice to the latter. Being such as he is +represented to be, and having the defects he has, it is difficult to +comprehend his having accomplished the great things he has, and raised +himself to such a situation and such a height of personal power. + + +_June 24th._--Last night I went to Thiers', where I found Mignet, Roger +du Nord, and others of his adherents, none of whom I recollected, nor +they me. This morning I called on Achille Fould, who told me the Emperor +knew I was here and would like me to be presented to him, and it was +settled that this should be done. I am nothing loth, for I have a +curiosity to see this remarkable man and to converse with him. Madame de +Lieven told me this morning that not long before the Revolution of '48 +Jérome Bonaparte had entreated her to exert her influence to get him +made a peer. + + + A DINNER AT THE TUILERIES. + +_June 26th._--Yesterday morning arrived an invitation to dine at the +Tuileries the same evening. I went there, was ushered into a room with +eight or ten men in it, none of whom I knew except Count Bacciochi, +whom I had met at Fould's the day before--three in uniform, the rest in +plain clothes. A man, whom I suppose to be the _aide de camp de +service_, came forward to receive me and invited me to sit down. +Presently the same or another man came and said 'Milord' (they all +milorded me), _'vous vous mettrez à table, s'il vous plaît, à côté de +l'Empereur à sa droite._' I was then taken into the next room, which +adjoins the cabinet of the Emperor. In a few minutes His Majesty made +his appearance; he immediately came up to me, bowed very civilly, and +asked me the usual questions of when I came to Paris, etc. In a minute +dinner was announced and we went in. As we walked in he said to me, +'L'Impératrice sera bien fâchée de ne vous avoir pas vu.' At dinner, +which did not last above twenty-five minutes, he talked (a sort of +dropping conversation) on different subjects, and I found him so easy to +get on with that I ventured to start topics myself. After dinner we +returned to the room we had left, and after coffee, seeing me staring +about at the portraits, he said all his family were there, and he told +me who they all were and the history of these portraits, which, he said, +had made the tour of the world. + +After this he asked me to sit down, which I did at a round table by his +side, and M. Visconti on the other side of me, and then we had a +conversation which lasted at least an hour and a half on every +imaginable subject. It was impossible not to be struck with his +simplicity, his being so natural and totally without any air or +assumption of greatness, though not undignified, but perfectly _comme il +faut_, with excellent manners, and easy, pleasant, fluent conversation. +I was struck with his air of truth and frankness, and though of course I +could not expect in my position and at this first interview with him +that he should be particularly expansive, yet he gave me the idea of +being not only not reserved but as if, when intimate, he would have a +great deal of _abandon_. It was difficult to bring away all the subjects +he discussed, and I do not know that he said anything wonderfully +striking, but he made a very favourable impression on me, and made me +wish to know more of him, which I am never likely to do. + +He talked of the war and its conduct, of the faults committed, and of +the characters and talents of the generals engaged, comparing them, much +to their disadvantage, with the generals of the Empire. I asked him +which were the best, and he said all the African generals were much of +the same calibre: Changarnier, Lamoricière, St. Arnaud, Canrobert, +Pélissier--very little difference between them. The war they waged in +Africa was of a peculiar character, and did not render them more capable +of conducting great strategical operations in Europe. He talked of +Thiers and Odilon Barrot, and described scenes with the latter in +Council when Barrot was his Minister; of the 'Times' and its influence; +of Spain; in short, of a vast variety of subjects; of the Exhibition +here, and with some appearance of disappointment that the people will +not go to it. His simplicity and absence of all _faste_ were remarkable; +thus, I asked him what he thought of the Hango affair, when he said it +was not so bad as had been reported. 'I have had an account of it from +Admiral Penaud to-day; should you like to see it?' I said 'Yes,' when he +got up, went into his cabinet, and came back with the letter in his +hand; and a little while after, when we were talking of the siege of +Sebastopol, he asked if I had ever seen a very good engineer's map of +the whole thing; and when I said I had not, he said, 'Then I will show +you one;' and he again went into his cabinet and brought it out. After +this long palaver he took leave of me, shaking hands with much apparent +cordiality. + + +_June 27th._--Bosquet has written to the Emperor that these assaults on +the Russian works are only a useless waste of time. Marshal Vaillant has +told Cowley that they agree in this, but they must either recall their +general or let him go on in his own way, and if they interfere, the +blame of any disaster will inevitably fall on them, no matter what might +be the cause. I dined with Flahaut yesterday; in the morning rode round +all the boulevards, a grand promenade by which Paris is well seen; and I +met Guizot at Madame de Lieven's, who talked of the war and asked how +it was ever to end. 'People go to war,' he said, 'to make conquests or +to make peace; you profess not to intend the first, how do you propose +to effect the second? By reducing Russia to accept your terms--can you +do so? will she yield? If not, what then?--you may wound her, but you +can't strike her in a vital part; and the more barbarous she is, the +more she will consent to suffer and the less she will be disposed to +yield.' He gave me an account (in short) of the bother about the Academy +and the Emperor's interference. They do not mean to give way, but they +think he will; if he does not, he will have to dissolve them. + + + DEATH OF LORD RAGLAN. + +_Paris, July 5th._--One of my attacks of gout came on this day week and +disabled me from going anywhere, doing anything, and still more from +writing anything. In the meanwhile we received the news of Lord Raglan's +death.[1] Though they do not care about it here, there has been a very +decent display of sympathy and regret, and the Emperor wrote to Cowley +with his own hand a very proper letter. There is good reason to believe +that the fatal termination of Lord Raglan's illness was in some (perhaps +in great) measure produced by vexation and disappointment at the failure +of the 18th, and annoyance at the many embarrassments of his position. +It is certain that for a considerable time great disunion and poignant +differences existed between him and the French generals. Canrobert wrote +home a very unhandsome letter, in which he gave as one of his reasons +for resigning the impossibility of going on with Raglan. I believe +Raglan complained of Canrobert with much better reason. On the 18th +Pélissier changed the plan of attack that had been agreed on between +them; and, besides all the mistakes that occurred in the French +operations, there seems to have been a want of continual and active +concert between the two commanders-in-chief during the operations. +Raglan proposed a general attack on the town when the assaults failed, +which Pélissier refused to agree to. There is a fair probability this +would have succeeded, as an English force did get into a part of the +town, stayed there some time, and got away unobserved. There is now a +bad feeling, a disposition to recrimination, between the two armies +which may have very bad effects, and it is awful to think our army is +under an untried man of whom nothing is known, and who is not likely to +have more weight with, and receive more consideration from, the French +generals than his predecessor. However desirable unity of command may +be, in the present temper of the troops and after all that has occurred +it would be impossible. General Torrens, who is here, speaks in high +terms of Raglan, especially of his magnanimity in bearing all the blame +which has been thrown upon him and never saying one word in his own +vindication, which might have entirely exonerated him but have done some +injury to the cause. Torrens thinks that in all or almost all in which +he has appeared most obnoxious to censure he could have triumphantly +excused himself, and have proved that the causes were attributable to +others and not to himself. His must have been a painful as it was an +ungrateful service, and it was a melancholy and untimely end. + +[Footnote 1: Lord Raglan died in the Crimea on June 28.] + + +_Paris, July 6th._--I went yesterday to the Exhibition in the morning; +then to Notre Dame and the Luxembourg Gardens and drove about Paris; +dined _en trio_ with Madame de Lieven and Guizot, when there was of +course nothing but political talk. Guizot thinks there has been not only +a series of diplomatic blunders, but a wonderful want of _invention_, +not to strike out some means of adjusting this quarrel, in which I agree +with him. This morning Labouchere and I went to Versailles. Fould had +given me a letter to the Director of the Museum there, M. Soulié, whom +we found very intelligent, well informed, and obliging. We told him our +object was to avoid the _giro regolare_ of the endless rooms fitted up +with bad pictures by Louis Philippe, and to see the apartments full of +historical associations from the time of Louis XIV. down to the +Revolution. We were completely gratified, and he took us over everything +we wished to see, being admirably qualified as a cicerone by his +familiarity with the localities and the history belonging to them. We +saw all the apartments in which Louis XIV. lived, and what remains of +those of Madame de Maintenon. The Palace has been so tumbled about at +different times, and such alterations made in it, that it is not always +easy to ascertain correctly where the rooms of certain personages were, +but our guide proved to our complete satisfaction that certain rooms he +showed us were those which really did belong to Madame de Maintenon. We +saw too in minute detail the apartments of Louis XVI. and Marie +Antoinette, and the passages through which she fled to escape from the +irruption of the mob on the 5th of October. The whole thing was as +interesting as possible. + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S RETURN. + +_Paris, July 9th._--I meant to have left Paris last night, but, an +invitation arriving to dine with the Emperor at St. Cloud today, I put +off going till tomorrow. I went yesterday to Versailles to see the +_grandes eaux_ and was disappointed, and dined there with the +Ashburtons. This morning telegraphic news came of a Russian sortie last +night; no details of course. Yesterday we were thrown into consternation +by the intelligence from London of the revelations of John Russell in +the House of Commons and the discussion thereupon. Le Marchant wrote to +Labouchere and told him the effect was as bad as possible, and the whole +case very deplorable. My own opinion is that nobody could have acted +more indiscreetly and unjustifiably than John Russell has done, and he +has sacrificed his character and authority in a way which he will find +it difficult to get over. But I am disposed to agree with him that the +terms proposed by Austria, if they could have been brought to maturity +and carried out, were quite sufficient to make peace upon, and that the +negotiations ought to have continued in order to endeavour to bring +about this result. The effect of this public announcement to the whole +world, that the English Minister at the Congress as well as the French +one was willing to accept the terms proposed by Austria, will not fail +to make a great sensation, and produce a considerable effect both in +Germany and in France. In England it is doubtful whether it will have +any other result than to damage John Russell himself, and increase the +vulgar prejudice against public men. My own idea is that it will render +the war still more unpopular in France, and the English alliance +likewise, because it will encourage the prevailing notion that the war +is carried on for English interests and in deference to the wishes of +England. Though John Russell declared that the resolution of the Emperor +to part with Drouyn de Lhuys and reject the Austrian proposal had been +made before the intention of the English Cabinet was known, this will +not be believed, or at all events everybody will be convinced that he +knew what the sentiments of England were, and that he really acted in +conformity with them, as was beyond all doubt the case. + + + A DINNER AT VILLENEUVE L'ÉTANG. + +_July 10th._--I dined at Villeneuve l'Étang. We went to the Palace of +St. Cloud in Cowley's carriage, where we found an equerry and one of the +Emperor's carriages, which took us to Villeneuve. A small house, pretty +and comfortable enough, and a small party, all English--Duke and Duchess +of Hamilton, Lord Hertford, Lord and Lady Ashburton, General Torrens and +his _aide de camp_, Cowley and myself, the Duc de Bassano, Comte de +Montebello, the _aide de camp de service_, and M. Valabrègue, _écuyer_, +that was the whole party. The Emperor sat between the two ladies, taking +the Duchess in to dinner. It lasted about three quarters of an hour, and +as soon as it was over His Majesty took us all out to walk about the +place, see the dairy and a beautiful Bretonne cow he ordered to be +brought out, and then to scull on the lake, or _étang_, which gives its +name to the place. There were a number of little boats for one person to +scull and one to sit, and one larger for two each; the Emperor got into +one with the Duchess, and all the rest of the people as they liked, and +we passed about half an hour on the water. On landing, ices, etc., were +brought, and the carriages came to the door at nine o'clock, a _char à +banc_ with four _percherons_ and postillions exactly like the old French +postboy, and several other open carriages and pair. The two ladies got +into the centre of the _char à banc_, Cowley, Hertford, and I were +invited to get up before, and the Emperor himself got up behind with +somebody else, I did not see who. We then set off and drove for some +time through the woods and drives of Villeneuve and St. Cloud, and at +last, at about ten o'clock, we were set down at the Palace. There we all +alighted, and, after walking about a little, the Emperor showing us the +part which Marie Antoinette had built and telling some anecdotes +connected with Louis XVIII. and Louis Philippe, and the Château, he +shook hands with all of us very cordially and dismissed us. His Majesty +got into the _char à banc_ and returned to Villeneuve, and we drove back +to Paris. When we were walking about the court of the Château (it was +quite dark) the sentinel challenged us--'Qui va là?' when the Emperor +called out in a loud voice, 'L'Empereur.' + +Of course, in this company there was nothing but general conversation, +and I had no opportunity of having any with His Majesty; but he was +extremely civil, offering me his cigars, which I declined, and +expressing anxiety that I should not catch cold. He made the same +impression on me as before as to his extreme simplicity and the easiness +of his intercourse; but I was struck with his appearance being so very +_mesquin_, more than I thought at first. + +Lady Ashburton told me she had received a letter from Ellice, telling +her that the affair in the House of Commons had produced the most +serious effect, and that it would probably end in the retirement of John +Russell, and eventually to a change of Government. He had got a story, +which I utterly disbelieve, that Milner Gibson had been instigated by +John Russell himself to give him this opportunity of saying what he did, +which was certainly more than he need have said.[1] Lord John seems for +some time past to have been bereft of his senses, and to commit nothing +but blunders one after another. What has been passing in his mind, and +what his real objects are or have been, it would puzzle anybody to say. +If he had personal views and wanted to regain the station and power +which he had lost, never did any man take such false steps and pursue so +erroneous a course to obtain his ends. He had in some measure retrieved +the character and consideration which he forfeited by his conduct at the +beginning of this year; but I do not see how he is ever to get over +this, nor how his followers can any longer have any confidence in him, +and I do not believe the country at large ever will. As to his opinion +on the terms of peace, I agree with it, and think it would have been +wiser to close with Buol's proposal, and to continue to negotiate; but +this makes no difference as to his conduct in the affair, for which +there is no excuse. He never ought to have committed himself at Vienna; +his instructions were clear and precise and quite inconsistent with +Buol's proposition. He might have engaged to bring it before his +Government, but should, especially as he was a Cabinet Minister, have +abstained from expressing any opinion of his own upon it. He appears at +Vienna to have been easily talked over, and to have been exceedingly +wanting in diplomatic finesse and penetration; but all I have picked up +here in conversation proves to me that there have been errors +innumerable and the greatest mistakes in the conduct of these affairs +throughout, and the exigencies of the alliance and the necessity of +concerting everything to the most minute particular with both Cabinets +have produced results not less unfortunate in diplomacy than in war. The +affair before Sebastopol the night before last turns out to have been of +no importance, only a demonstration against the English lines. + +[Footnote 1: On July 6, Lord John Russell declared in the House of +Commons, in answer to a question put by Mr. Milner Gibson, that he was +personally convinced that the terms proposed at Vienna by the Austrian +Government gave a fair prospect of the termination of hostilities, but +that on his return to England the Government declined to accept them. M. +Drouyn de Lhuys, the French envoy, had also been in favour of these +terms. This declaration appeared to be wholly inconsistent with the +warlike speech which Lord John had made, on his return, on May 24. Sir +E. B. Lytton then gave notice of a motion condemning the conduct of the +Ministers charged with negotiating at Vienna; but Lord John Russell +anticipated the inevitable vote of censure by resigning office, and he +was succeeded in the Colonial Department by Sir William Molesworth. This +transaction was held to reflect deep discredit on Lord John Russell's +conduct, and justifies the severe language applied to him in the text, +but this was somewhat mitigated by Mr. Greville in a subsequent +passage.] + + + LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S EXPLANATION. + +_London, July 13th._--I left Paris on Tuesday night at 7.30, got to +Calais at three; low water and steamer three miles out at sea; went out +in a boat in a torrent of rain which had lasted the whole journey and +all day. Train was just gone when we got to Dover, but we arrived in +town about eleven. I found a precious state of affairs, all confusion +and consternation, Bulwer having given notice of a motion of want of +confidence on account of John Russell, whose affair has brought himself +and the Government to the very brink and almost to the certainty of +ruin. There is as much excitement against Palmerston's Government, all +on account of Lord John, as there was a few months ago against Aberdeen. +I found Brooks's in a state of insurrection, and even the +Attorney-General (Cockburn) told me that the Liberal party were resolved +to go no further with John Russell, and that nothing but his resignation +could save the Government, even if that could; that they might be +reconciled to him hereafter, but as long as the war lasted they +repudiated him. Meanwhile he has not resigned. There was a long Cabinet +the day before yesterday in which they discussed the state of affairs, +and what measures could be taken. Lord John offered to resign, but they +would not hear of it, and came to a resolution to stand or fall +together. I saw Clarendon yesterday, who was fully aware of the +imminence of the danger and of the probability of their being out on +Monday; he said Lord John's whole conduct was inconceivable, and he knew +not to what to attribute his strange speech, in which he had made for +himself a much worse case than the circumstances really warrant and +given to the world impressions which are not correct; for in point of +fact he did not urge Buol's proposal upon the Cabinet, but when he laid +it before them and found it not acceptable, he at once yielded to all +the arguments against it, and instead of making any attempt to get peace +made on those terms, he joined with all his colleagues in their +conviction of the necessity of carrying on the war vigorously; and this +conviction induced him to make the warlike speech with which he is now +reproached as being inconsistent with the opinions he was entertaining +(as it is said) at the time he made it. Yesterday he attempted to make +something of an explanation, but he only floundered further into the +mire, and was laughed at. Everybody thinks he made his case worse +rather than better, but he really seems to have lost his head. His whole +conduct at Vienna and here has exhibited nothing but a series of +blunders and faults, and he has so contrived it, that no explanations he +can possibly make will extenuate them, or place him in a tolerable light +in the eyes of the public. In the morning yesterday I had occasion to +call on Disraeli about some business, when he talked over the state of +affairs very freely and gave me to understand that he intended and +expected to turn out the Government and to come in with his party, but +he owned that their materials for forming a tolerable Government were +very scanty, that he would not attempt their old Government over again, +but, except Lytton Bulwer, of whom he spoke in terms of high praise, he +knew not where to find any fresh men worth anything. + + +_Bath, July 19th._--I came here on Saturday night. In the course of +Friday morning I met Drumlanrig, who told me the subordinate place men +had caused John Russell to be informed that if he did not resign they +should, and vote for Bulwer's motion on Monday. This produced his +resignation, but under circumstances as mortifying as possibly could be, +and which must have made him deeply regret that he did not resign at +first, although he is not to be blamed for having yielded to the wishes +of his colleagues, and I am satisfied he did so from the best motives. +It was no sooner known that he had resigned than the excitement began to +subside, and everybody thought that Bulwer would withdraw his motion, +and at all events nobody doubted that it would come to nothing. The +motion was withdrawn but the debate took place, and such a debate!--it +was impossible to read it without indignation and disgust. Bulwer's +speech was a tissue of foul abuse with the grossest and most wilful +misrepresentations and endeavours to draw inferences he knew to be false +and fallacious, with the hope and purpose of damaging the characters of +the Ministers. In these times, when the great evil is the bad opinion +which the public has been led to entertain of public men, Bulwer +endeavours, for a mere party purpose, to aggravate that hostile feeling +and to make the world believe that, in a great party and a Cabinet +composed of men whose characters have never been impugned, there is +neither truth, sincerity, nor good faith, and by producing such an +impression to bring the aristocracy into greater disrepute. Disraeli, of +course, spoke in the same tone, Palmerston was very bad, and his speech +was quite unbecoming his position. John Russell's defence was not +calculated to relieve him from the weight of obloquy and unpopularity he +had brought on himself, and the whole thing was unsatisfactory, except +that it denoted the end of the contest and the disappointment of the +Opposition, whose hopes had been so highly raised. + + APOLOGY FOR LORD JOHN. + +After much consideration of John Russell's conduct, I think it is not +obnoxious to the severe censure with which it has been visited, and +though he has committed errors, they are venial ones and admit of a fair +explanation. Had not Buol's publication revealed to the world what had +passed between them confidentially, nothing of it would have been known, +and he would have been left to the enjoyment of the popularity he had +gained by his anti-Russian speech. The statement about him in Buol's +Circular naturally led to questions, and then it was necessary to tell +everything and lay bare the arcana of Cabinets and Conferences; and when +he endeavoured to explain his own conduct it became, amidst all the +complexities of the case itself, its endless variety of details and +confusion of dates, next to impossible to unravel it satisfactorily, and +quite impossible to protect himself from the imputations which an +unscrupulous and malignant assailant could easily contrive to bring +against him; and in this great difficulty he displayed no tact and +ingenuity in extricating himself from the dilemma in which he was +placed; on the contrary, he went blundering on, exposing himself to many +charges, all plausible and some true, of inconsistency, inaccuracy, and +insincerity, and he made in his speeches a case against himself which +left very little for his enemies to do. It might be strange in any other +man, but is perhaps only consistent in him, that he is now more +indignant with the friends who refused to follow and support him on +this occasion than either ashamed or angry with himself for having +blundered into such a scrape. He writes, meanwhile, to his brother, who +has sent me his letter, in these terms:--'I have endeavoured to stand by +and support Palmerston, too much so, I fear, for my own credit, but had +I resigned on my return from Vienna, I should have been abused as +wishing to trip him up and get his place: in short, the situation was +one of those where only errors were possible. I have acted according to +my own conscience; let that suffice.' False reasoning and wounded pride +are both apparent in this letter, but he is quite right when he says +that 'only errors had become possible.' There is no course he could have +taken that would not have exposed him to bitter attacks and reproaches, +and these unavoidable errors were not confined to himself. + + LORD JOHN'S CONDUCT AT VIENNA. + +The first thing that strikes me is that the Cabinet ought to have +accepted his resignation when he first tendered it; but there were no +doubt difficulties and objections to that course, and their reluctance +to let him throw himself overboard was not unnatural and was generous. +The defence which his conduct really admits of may be (to state it very +briefly) thus set forth. I put it loosely, and as it strikes me, taking +a general view of the case; to make it more accurate and complete, the +dates and the documents should be before me, which they are not. He went +to Paris with instructions precisely corresponding with what was +verbally arranged in London between Drouyn de Lhuys and the Cabinet, and +they were conjointly to propose the conditions which the two Governments +had agreed to require from Russia; but still they were not the bearers +of an Ultimatum, they did not go to give law to Russia, or as judges to +pronounce sentence upon her. They went to confer and to negotiate, to +endeavour to obtain the precise terms which would be entirely +satisfactory to their two Governments, and failing in this to see what +they could obtain. If they were instructed to insist on the limitation, +just as they proposed it at the Conference, and to accept nothing else, +nothing either short of it or varying from it, then the very idea of a +Conference and a negotiation was a mockery and a delusion. It was a +mockery to invite the Russian plenipotentiary to make proposals, and the +conduct of the Allies was disingenuous and deceitful. Certainly Austria +never contemplated, still less would she have been a party to, such a +course of proceeding; and her notion was, and, of course, that of Russia +also, that there should be a _bonâ fide_ negotiation, and an attempt to +bring about an understanding by the only way in which an understanding +ever can be brought about--mutual concessions. We proposed the +limitation scheme, and Austria backed us up in it cordially, sincerely, +and forcibly, at least to all appearance. Russia rejected it on the +ground of its incompatibility with her honour and dignity. Then Russia +made proposals, which the Allies, Austria included, rejected as +insufficient. John Russell and Drouyn de Lhuys appear to have fought +vigorously in the spirit of their instructions, but when they found +there was no chance of the Russians consenting to the limitation, they +both became anxious to try some other plan, by which peace might +possibly be obtained, and they each suggested something. At last, when +the Conference was virtually at an end, as a last hope and chance Buol +produced his scheme. John Russell had already committed himself to an +approval of the principle of it, by the plan he had himself suggested, +and, when he found that both his French and Turkish colleagues were +willing to accept it, it is not surprising that he should have told Buol +privately and confidentially that he acquiesced in it, and would urge it +on his Government. As it has turned out, this was a great indiscretion +for which he has been severely punished. As he had every reason to +believe that Buol's plan would not be acceptable to his own Government, +what he ought to have done was to give notice to Clarendon that such a +proposal had been made, and to beg it might be considered before any +final resolution was taken, and to tell Buol that he had done so; to +promise that he would submit to the Cabinet all the arguments that had +been used in its favour, but to abstain from any expression of his own +opinion, and shelter himself from the necessity of giving any by the +tenour of his own instructions. When he found the French Minister for +Foreign Affairs consenting, he might very well suppose that the French +Government would not reject the proposal, and that he should not be +justified in putting a peremptory veto on what France was disposed to +accept as sufficient. Besides, although he has never put forward such an +argument in any of his speeches, he may have thought, as I do, that +'counterpoise' and 'limitation' were the same thing in principle, and +the only difference between them one of mode and degree. Buol's +counterpoise involved limitation, our limitation was to establish a +counterpoise; therefore, even in the spirit of the instructions and +arguments of the French and English Governments, their plan of +limitation having failed, Buol's plan of counterpoise was entitled to +consideration,[1] and the only question ought to have been whether it +would have been effectual for the purpose common to all, and whether it +would be an honourable mode of terminating the war. + +John Russell's fault was committing himself to Buol as approving his +plan before he knew how it would be viewed at home; but I see neither +impossibility nor inconsistency in his having regarded it favourably at +Vienna, and being biassed by all the arguments in its favour which there +beset him on all sides, and when he returned to England and found the +opinions of all his colleagues adverse to it, and heard their reasons +for being so, that he should have been convinced by them, have +subscribed to the general decision, and joined cordially with them in +the vigorous prosecution of the war. Having come finally to this +conclusion, his warlike speech was not unnatural, and he made it +probably very much to prove to his own colleagues that he was in earnest +with them. There was no necessity for his proclaiming what had passed at +Vienna, as nothing had happened in consequence, and the question was not +what impression had been made on his mind there in the course of the +negotiations, but what was the opinion and what the resolution at which +he finally arrived when all was over. But he has repeatedly in the +course of his career contrived to do a vast deal of mischief by a very +few words, and so it was in this instance. When he was driven to +_confess_ that he had endorsed Buol's proposal, and said that he was +still of the same opinion, his opponents were able with every appearance +of truth to say that he had intended to conceal what he had done at +Vienna, and to deceive the country, both as to his past conduct and his +present opinions; and as it was obvious from his own avowal that he +still was of the same opinion as at Vienna, his war speech was +hypocritical and insincere, and he was unfit to be in a Cabinet pledged +to carry on the war earnestly and vigorously. Against such an attack it +was very difficult to make a good defence, and I doubt whether the most +lucid and circumstantial statement and the most natural explanation of +his own motives and sentiments at different periods of the transaction +would have received a patient hearing and dispassionate consideration. +The House of Commons and the public were in that frame of mind that will +not listen, and cannot be fair and just, and he became, and could hardly +avoid becoming, the victim of his own want of caution and prudent +reserve and the excessive complication of the circumstances and details +of the case. + +[Footnote 1: The proposal submitted to the Conference by Count Buol was +that each of the Powers should have the right to maintain a limited +naval power in the Black Sea. The whole discussion turned upon +suppression of the naval supremacy of Russia in the Black Sea and the +manner in which it was to be effected.] + + + COMMAND OF THE ARMY. + +_London, July 28th._--I returned from Bath yesterday; went to Newmarket +in the evening and returned this morning. There is nothing new at home +and abroad; to all outward appearance the siege standing still, but they +say it is going on in a safe and judicious manner calculated to bring +about success. General Simpson wants to resign, but no man fit to +succeed him can be found.[1] I have read the pamphlet 'Whom shall we +Hang?' and think it makes a very good case for the late Government, +especially Newcastle, but it is so long that few people will read it; +and though it may convince and satisfy some one here and there, it will +not suffice to stem the torrent which is so swollen by ignorance and +malice. At Brooks's this afternoon I met Fitzroy, who said a great deal +to me about the condition of the Government, of the state and +disposition of the House of Commons, and Palmerston's management there, +and his conduct as a leader. + +[Footnote 1: Upon the death of Lord Raglan General Simpson, an officer +of whom little was known, succeeded, as senior in rank, to the command +of the army. He retained the command but a short time, General +Codrington having been appointed by the Government to succeed him.] + + +_London, August 14th._--Since my last date I have been to Goodwood, and +since then here, having had nothing to note beyond what has appeared in +all the newspapers. Parliament was prorogued yesterday, after a session +of average duration, but marked by a great many incidents of a +disagreeable character, and exhibiting a downward tendency as regards +the future tranquillity and prosperity of the country. The last few days +were marked by an angry contest provoked by Lord Grey in the Lords, not +altogether without cause: the Limited Liability Bill came up so late +that, according to the Standing Order, it could not be considered. +Government moved the suspension of the Order, which was carried, but +there was no time to discuss properly the provisions of the bill, and it +was hurried through the House by force, probably in an incomplete form. +Grey was very angry, and fought it tooth and nail, declaring his +opposition to a Government which had, he insisted, behaved so ill. Mr. +Monsell was made a Privy Councillor, the oath having been altered to +meet his scruples, in spite of all the remonstrances I could offer +against such an unworthy compliance as this appears to me. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + The Queen's Visit to France--Sir George C. Lewis on the + War--Inefficiency of Lord Panmure--The Queen and the Emperor--Lord + John Russell's Estrangement from his Friends--The Fall of + Sebastopol--The Queen on the Orleans Confiscation--The Prince + Regent's Letter on the Holy Alliance--Ferment in Italy--The Failure + at the Redan--Lord John's Defence--General Windham--Lord John + Russell's Retirement--Death of Sir Robert Adair--Adieu to the + Turf--Progress of the War--Colonial Office proposed to Lord + Stanley--Lord John Russell's Position--Relations with Mr. + Disraeli--Mr. Labouchere Colonial Secretary--Negotiations for + Peace--The Terms proposed to Russia--The King of Sardinia and M. de + Cavour at Windsor--The Demands of the King of Sardinia--Lord + Palmerston presses for War--Lord Macaulay's History of England--An + Ultimatum to Russia--Death of the Poet Rogers--French + Ministers--The Emperor's Diplomacy--Sir George C. Lewis's Aversion + to the War--Quarrels of Walewski and Persigny--Austria presents the + Terms to Russia--Baron Seebach mediates--The Emperor's Difficulties + and Doubts. + + +_London, August 21st._--The Queen as usual has had magnificent weather +for her Paris visit, and all has gone well there except that unluckily +she arrived after her time at Boulogne and still more at Paris, +consequently the Emperor was kept waiting at Boulogne, and the whole +population of Paris, which turned out and waited for hours under a +broiling sun, was disappointed, for they arrived when it was growing +dark. However, in spite of this, the scene appears to have been very +fine and animated. Clarendon, who is not apt to be enthusiastic, writes +so to Palmerston, and tells him that Marshal Magnan said he had known +Paris for fifty years, and had never seen such a scene as this, nor even +when Napoleon returned from Austerlitz. + +George Lewis called on me yesterday. I have hardly seen him during the +session, and, having advised him to take his present office, I was glad +to be able to congratulate him on his success. He was very natural +about it, and owned that he had every reason to be satisfied with his +reception both by the House of Commons and the City. I found that his +sentiments about war and peace were identical with my own. He had been +all along against the war, and thought it ought to have been prevented, +and might have been in the outset, and that peace ought to have been +made the other day; but, as he was in no way responsible for the war, he +had nothing to do but to submit to the _fait accompli_ and to do his +best to raise the necessary supplies in the most advantageous manner. It +is evident that, if there could have been a potential peace party in the +Cabinet, he would have been one of them, but as it is he kept his real +sentiments to himself and subscribed to the decision of the majority. We +talked of the session and its incidents. He said history recorded +nothing like the profusion with which the present House of Commons was +inclined to spend money. It was impossible to ask for too much; their +only fear seemed to be lest the war should not be conducted with +sufficient vigour, and to accomplish this they were ready to vote any +amount of money. Lewis thinks the rage for war as violent as ever, and +the zeal of the country not at all diminished, he sees no symptoms of +it. The wealth and resources which the crisis has developed are most +curious; thus, he reduced the interest on Exchequer Bills not long +ago--an operation he believes never before attempted in time of war. War +has had little or no effect on trade, which is steady and flourishing; +but he thinks, unless some great successes infuse fresh animation into +the public mind, that before long they will begin to tire of the +contest, and to reflect that it is being carried on at an enormous cost +for no rational object whatever, and merely from motives of pride and +vanity and a false notion of honour. Charles Villiers thinks +differently, and that there is already a manifest change of opinion, and +that opposition to the war has already begun. I wish I could see some +symptoms of it, but, though there may be some, I think they are slight. +Lewis thinks John Russell has completely done for himself by his last +speech. He was recovering from the effects of his first; there was a +reaction in his favour; his friends were anxious to be reconciled to him +and to renew their support and confidence, when he played into the hands +of his enemies and made his own position worse than it was before. + +Lewis told me that he was much struck with the mediocrity of Panmure, +who was one of the dullest men he ever knew, and that he was by far the +least able man in the Cabinet, and as bad as possible as Minister of +War--prejudiced, slow, and _routinier_. It is evident that Newcastle was +a much abler man, and if he had happened to have come after Panmure, he +would have been as much belauded as he has been abused. + + + BATTLE OF THE TCHERNAYA. + +_September 5th._--A complete stagnation in every way; no news whatever +since the battle of the Tchernaya,[1] and nobody has the least idea, +Ministers included, of the state and progress of the war. I asked +Granville, who is just come from Paris, if he knew anything, and he said +he did not, and that the Emperor, whom he had seen a day or two ago, +complained of being equally in the dark. His Majesty, Granville said, +was very low about the war, and complained that none of the expeditions +and diversions had been undertaken which might have advanced the cause +more rapidly. Pélissier seems to be very much _déconsidéré_ and thought +worth very little as a general. + +I saw Clarendon one day last week for a short time, but had no +opportunity of hearing the details of his sojourn at Paris. He said the +Queen was delighted with everything and especially with the Emperor +himself, who, with perfect knowledge of women, had taken the surest way +to ingratiate himself with her. This it seems he began when he was in +England, and followed it up at Paris. After his visit the Queen talked +it all over with Clarendon, and said, 'It is very odd; but the Emperor +knows everything I have done and where I have been ever since I was +twelve years old; he even recollects how I was dressed, and a thousand +little details it is extraordinary he should be acquainted with.' She +has never before been on such a social footing with anybody, and he has +approached her with the familiarity of their equal positions, and with +all the experience and knowledge of womankind he has acquired during his +long life, passed in the world and in mixing with every sort of society. +She seemed to have played her part throughout with great propriety and +success. Old Jérome did not choose to make his appearance till just at +the last moment, because he insisted on being treated as a king, and +having the title of _Majesté_ given him--a pretension Clarendon would +not hear of her yielding to. + +[Footnote 1: The battle of the Tchernaya was fought on the 16th August, +when General Liprandi attacked the French and Sardinian armies in their +lines, with a large force, but was repulsed with great loss.] + + +_September 7th._--I had a long visit from the Duke of Bedford this +morning, who came to talk to me about his brother John, his position and +prospects. He has seen John and heard from him in great detail all his +case, and he has likewise seen Clarendon and heard his and the +Government's case. He tells me that he has never in his life suffered +more pain than at hearing these cases and witnessing the bitter feelings +which exist and the charges which are mutually made, especially between +Clarendon and Lord John. The latter thinks he has been very ill-used by +most of his former colleagues, but especially by Clarendon, whose +conduct he thinks both unjust and ungrateful. Clarendon wrote to him +while he was at Vienna in such a tone and language that Lord John had +determined to resign his embassy and return home, and had actually +written a letter to Clarendon for the purpose, but he gave up doing so +partly because he felt that it would make a prodigious noise all over +Europe and partly because, having consulted his brother-in-law, George +Elliot, he prudently advised him against such a step; but he felt +deeply, and resented what he thought bad conduct towards himself. I read +to the Duke all that I had written about John in the preceding pages, +against which he had nothing to say. He asked his brother how he came to +speak so ill _for himself_ in the House of Commons, and he replied that +he was embarrassed by the impossibility of saying everything that he +knew, especially the fact, which I have mentioned, of the way in which +the Emperor Napoleon determined to throw over Drouyn de Lhuys and to +reject the Vienna proposals. This was told to John by Baudin; and one of +the things he complains of is that the Cabinet never was informed of +what had passed, and its members were allowed to suppose, like the +public, that the Emperor's rejection had been spontaneous, instead of +having been suggested and urged upon him by us. John bitterly feels his +own position, his estrangement from his old friends, and, above all, the +unkindness and ingratitude he thinks they have been guilty of towards +him. He is now intent upon his own vindication, and is preparing to +compose it with a view of giving it to the world, though he does not +know, and it is difficult to determine, in what shape. He seems less +dissatisfied with his old enemy Palmerston than with any of the others, +and says he thinks Palmerston is the best man there is at present to be +Prime Minister. After Clarendon he most reproaches Charles Wood. + + + THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. + +_September 17th._--Went to The Grove with Clarendon last Saturday +sennight; on Monday to Doncaster, where I had no time to write anything +but bets in my betting-book, all of which I lost. On the Saturday we +heard from General Simpson by telegraph that the assault was to take +place that day. We were kept in suspense all Sunday, but on Monday +morning read in the 'Times' that the Malakoff was taken, but we had no +idea then that the city with all its vast defences would fall +immediately after, but I heard it the same night at the Huntingdon +station.[1] + +I heard a great deal from Clarendon about the royal visit to Paris, and +details connected with it, and we talked over the quarrel with John +Russell, at which he expressed great regret, though not without +bitterness. Clarendon said nothing could exceed the delight of the Queen +at her visit to Paris, at her reception, at all she saw; and that she +was charmed with the Emperor. They became so intimate, and she on such +friendly terms with him, that she talked to him with the utmost +frankness, and even discussed with him the most delicate of all +subjects, the confiscation of the Orleans' property, telling him her +opinion upon it. He did not avoid the subject, and gave her the reasons +why he thought himself obliged to take that course; that he knew all +this wealth was employed in fomenting intrigues against his Government, +which was so new that it was necessary to take all precautions to avert +such dangers. She replied that, even if this were so, he might have +contented himself with sequestrating the property and restoring it when +he was satisfied that all danger on that score was at an end. I asked +Clarendon what he thought of the Emperor himself, and he said that he +liked him, and he was very pleasing, but he was struck with his being so +indolent and so excessively ignorant. The Prince of Wales was put by the +Queen under Clarendon's charge, who was desired to tell him what to do +in public, when to bow to the people, and whom to speak to. He said that +the Princess Royal was charming, with excellent manners, and full of +intelligence. Both the children were delighted with their _séjour_, and +very sorry to come away. When the visit was drawing to a close, the +Prince said to the Empress that he and his sister were both very +reluctant to leave Paris, and asked her if she could not get leave for +them to stay there a little longer. The Empress said she was afraid this +would not be possible, as the Queen and the Prince would not be able to +do without them; to which the boy replied, 'Not do without us! don't +fancy that, for there are six more of us at home, and they don't want +us.' The Emperor himself proposed to the Queen to go to the Chapel +consecrated to the memory of the Duke of Orleans upon the spot where he +met with his fatal accident and expired. It is creditable to her that +she talks without _gêne_ or scruple to the Emperor about the Orleans +family, making no secret of her continued intimacy with them, and with +equal frankness to them of her relations with him. She wrote to the +Queen Marie Amélie an account of her going to the Chapel and of the +Emperor taking her there, and received a very amiable reply. The first +thing she did on her return was to receive the Duc and Duchesse de +Montpensier. + +Clarendon told me a few things besides of no great importance, and which +I am not sure that I recollect: about Spain, he said that matters were +going on better there and the Government had contrived to get money--the +Spaniards were very anxious to take part in the war, but he had +discouraged it entirely. As to Naples, that we were calling the +Neapolitan Government to account for their recent impertinence to us, +but that Palmerston and he had disagreed as to what should be done, +Palmerston, according to his old habit, wanting to send ships of war to +Naples and to proceed to violence, while he was opposed to having +another Pacifico affair on our hands, and proposed to proceed with +caution and quietly. + + MARRIAGES OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. + +While they were in the yacht, crossing over, Prince Albert had told him +that there was not a word of truth in the prevailing report and belief +that the young Prince of Prussia and the Princess Royal were _fiancés_, +that nothing had ever passed between the parents on the subject, and +that the union never would take place unless the children should become +attached to each other. There would be no mere political marriage. The +Prince showed Clarendon all the correspondence which had taken place +between the Emperor of Russia and the Prince Regent about the Holy +Alliance, which he said was very curious, and George IV.'s letter +declining to be a party to it very good indeed. These documents were +left in Lord Liverpool's papers, and fell into the hands of Harcourt, +who married his daughter. Harcourt lent them to the Prince to read, but +exacting a promise that he would not take a copy of them, and he had +since repeatedly pressed the Prince to return them. I told Clarendon +they ought not to be returned, or at least that Harcourt ought to be +desired to give them to be preserved in the Government Archives, for +they can in no way be considered as private property. Lord Liverpool's +papers were for the most part destroyed, but these were preserved. This +is all I can recollect of what he told me. + +[Footnote 1: The final bombardment of Sebastopol commenced on the +morning of September 5th, and continued without intermission until the +8th, when the Russians blew up their magazines and in the night +evacuated the southern portion of the city. The intelligence of the fall +of Sebastopol reached England on the afternoon of Monday, September 10, +and was received with great enthusiasm throughout the country.] + + +_September 23rd._--At The Grove from Saturday to Monday; nobody there +but Reeve; nothing very particular. Clarendon said Prussia was very +anxious to interpose to renew negotiations, but they would not hear of +her interference, and if anything was done it could only be by Austria. +He showed me a paper sent by Hudson with an account, very brief, of the +state of Italy, which is in fermentation though not in open disturbance. +The Sicilian malcontents sent to the King of Sardinia an offer of their +crown for one of his sons. He replied, 'You have need of a man, and a +boy will be of no use to you.' This they took for a refusal, and they +are now thinking of a Coburg; in no case will they have a Murat. I +forget what the Neapolitan Liberals want, but I doubt if the country +will have either the courage or the power to emancipate itself. + + + GENERAL CHARLES WINDHAM. + +_September 28th._--No fresh news, but a letter from Charles Windham (the +hero of the Redan), in which he gives an account of that affair which +corresponds very closely with the report of Russell, the 'Times' +Commissioner. He gives a poor character of the generals in the Crimea, +and says the troops, except some of the old soldiers, behaved by no +means well. The whole thing seems to have been grievously mismanaged on +our part.[1] + +I have had much correspondence with the Duke of Bedford about Lord John +and his case, which the Duke says, now that he has heard it all and seen +the correspondence, he thinks much better than he had supposed, and that +John was meditating the publication of a defence of himself, but could +not determine in what shape it should be. I earnestly advised him to +dissuade his brother from publishing anything, as he could not make an +effectual defence of his conduct without making revelations that would +be held unjustifiable and cause all sorts of ill humour and +recriminations, and render his position, both personal and political, +worse than it now is. Some communications in a friendly spirit have +taken place between Lord John and Clarendon, but I can see that there is +still existing a great deal of soreness and a not very cordial feeling +between them. I have been reading Lord Grey's speech on the war, which +he has published in a pamphlet, and I think it excellent and +unanswerable. I long to write something on the subject and to add to +Grey's argument on other parts of the case. I do not care about the +unpopularity of doing so, and am only deterred from taking so much +trouble by feeling that it would be unavailing, and that to attempt to +make the public listen to reason and take a dispassionate view of the +various questions connected with the war on which they have been so +completely bamboozled and misled, would be like Mrs. Partington and her +mop. + +[Footnote 1: The British attack on the Redan failed, whilst the French +attack on the Malakoff succeeded, to the extreme annoyance of the +British army and public: but in his assault Colonel Charles Windham (as +he then was) displayed the most signal bravery, which in some measure +redeemed the credit of the British forces. This circumstance gave him an +amount of popularity and distinction which his rank in the army and his +previous services did not altogether justify.] + + +_October 2nd._--I have been in correspondence for a long time with +Charles Windham, and had a letter from him written a few days after his +great exploit at the Redan. I showed his letter to Granville, and he to +Palmerston and Clarendon. I was glad to find every disposition to reward +his bravery and conduct, and Henry Grenfell told me they had made him a +general and were going to give him a division, as Markham and Bentinck +are both coming home. This was no more than was reasonable to expect; +but great was my astonishment when I was told yesterday morning that +they were thinking of making Windham _Commander-in-Chief_, and I was +asked to give any of his letters to me, from which extracts might be +made to show to the Cabinet to enable them to judge of his character and +talents. I offered to get his journal and letters, from his wife and +others, which I did; but at the same time I said I thought it a +hazardous speculation to raise him _per saltum_ from being a colonel and +brigadier to the command of a great army. B---- said this was true, but +the matter pressed and they did not know where to find a man. This +morning I gave him some papers, and he then told me Simpson had +resigned, and it was necessary to come to some immediate decision. +Codrington would have been undoubtedly chosen if he had not apparently +(for as yet we know very little) failed in what he had to do on the 8th. +With regard to Windham what the Cabinet will do I know not. I suggested +that it would be better to try him first in his command of a division +and go on if possible for some time longer, but Simpson's resignation +compels them to come to some immediate decision, and they do not like to +appoint another man _pro tempore_. I still incline to the opinion that +Windham's extraordinary promotion from so low to so high a rank, and his +passing over the heads of such multitudes of officers, will occasion +great jealousy, envy, heart-burning, and resentment, besides casting a +slur on the whole service in the eyes of the world; for when every +general in the service is passed over, and a colonel appointed who has +never done any but subordinate work, and shown extraordinary bravery and +coolness, but no aptitude for command, because he has had no opportunity +of so doing, every general and superior colonel now on service will feel +himself insulted and a stigma cast upon him. I am not at all sure +Windham may do better than any other man would do, but to justify such +an appointment he ought to do far better; and, though he is a sharp +fellow enough, I have never seen anything in him which indicates real +genius or a superior intellect. + + +_October 7th._--At Woburn, where the Duke and I had much conversation +about Lord John and his position, and he showed me a great many of +John's letters to him about his quarrel with the Government and the +conduct of Clarendon to him, which he cannot forgive, though they are +again corresponding with ostensible amity. The Duke owns that he does +not see how John can take any prominent part in public life, at least +for the present, and indeed considers it probable that his career as a +statesman is closed; and, what is more, John seems to consider it so +himself and to acquiesce in his position, though what his secret +aspirations may be none can tell. He has, however, determined to give +up his house in town, which looks like retirement. I strongly advised +that John should go to the House of Lords, where he might still act a +dignified and useful part; his position in the House of Commons would be +very anomalous and disagreeable, and it is not at all certain that he +would not lose his seat in the event of an election--very doubtful +whether he would be returned again for the City; and the thing most to +be deprecated is that he should stand and be defeated for that or any +other place. The Duke neither agreed nor dissented, but he owned what I +said of John's position was true, though he still thought he would be +very reluctant to quit the House of Commons for ever, and retire to the +Lords. + + DEATH OF SIR ROBERT ADAIR. + +On Tuesday last, after a few days' illness, Sir Robert Adair died at the +age of 93, having preserved his faculties, and especially his remarkable +memory, quite to the last. He was the last survivor of the intimate +friends of Fox and of the political characters of his times. He had +entertained a warm affection for Fox, and he preserved a boundless +veneration for his memory; and the greatest pleasure he had was in +talking of Fox and his contemporaries, and pouring forth to willing +circles of auditors anecdotes and reminiscences of the political events +with which he had been mixed up, or of which he had been cognisant in +the course of his long life. This he did in a manner quite remarkable at +so advanced an age, and he never had any difficulty in finding listeners +to his old stories, which were always full of interesting matter, and +related to the most conspicuous characters who flourished during the +reigns of George III. and George IV. + + +_October 29th._--All last week at Newmarket, and probably very nearly +for the last time as an owner of racehorses, for I have now got rid of +them all, and am almost off the turf, after being on it more or less for +about forty years. I am sorry that I have never kept any memoranda of my +turf life, which might have been curious and amusing; for I have known +many odd characters, and lived with men of whom it would have been +interesting to preserve some record. Perhaps I may one day rake together +my old recollections and trace the changes that have taken place in this +racing life since I first knew it and entered into it, but I cannot do +so now. + +Since I last wrote, the war has proceeded without any great events, but +with the same progress and success on the side of the Allies which have +marked the contest throughout and have excited my wonder. The most +important of these successes has been the defeat of Mouravieff at Kars +by the Turks under English officers, which, after what Clarendon told +me, was the very last thing I expected. The death of Molesworth has made +a difficulty for Palmerston; I knew so little of him that I cannot +pretend to say anything about him. That of Lord Wharncliffe touches me +more nearly; but this is more matter of private regret than of public +concern, as the part he played in life was never important, though very +honourable. The appointment of Codrington seems to be well taken, more +perhaps because nobody can suggest a better choice than from any +peculiar merits of the new Commander-in-Chief.[1] + +[Footnote 1: The Right Hon. Sir William Molesworth, Secretary of State +for the Colonial Department, died on October 22, 1855, aged 45. John, +2nd Baron Wharncliffe, also died on the 22nd. General Sir William +Codrington had been appointed to the command of the British forces in +the Crimea, on the resignation of General Simpson.] + + + LORD STANLEY. + +_London, November 7th._--The event of the last few days has been the +offer of the Colonial Office to Lord Stanley and his refusal to take it. +When Palmerston proposed it to him he said that he could not give an +answer without consulting his father, which _implied_ that he would +accept if his father gave his consent. He posted down to Knowsley, from +whence he had just come, and entered the room where Derby was playing at +billiards, and much to his astonishment saw his son suddenly return. +'What on earth,' he cried out, 'has brought you back so soon? Are you +going to be married, or what has happened to you?' Stanley said he +wanted to speak to him, and carried him off. What passed is not known, +but of course he advised his son to refuse office. He wrote to +Palmerston in very becoming terms, and, I hear, a very good letter. He +had, if not consulted, certainly imparted to Disraeli what passed, for +Disraeli told me so. I think he judged wisely in declining, for it would +have been an awkward thing to pass at once from the Opposition side of +the House to the Treasury Bench, and take high office in a Cabinet +without having any political or personal connexion with a single member +of it, and to which he has hitherto been opposed generally, although +upon many subjects his opinions have much more coincided with theirs +than with those of the party to which he still nominally belongs. He is +young and can afford to wait, and his position and abilities are certain +before long to make him conspicuous and to enable him to play a very +considerable part. He is exceedingly ambitious, of an independent turn +of mind, very industrious, and has acquired a vast amount of +information. Not long ago, Disraeli gave me an account of him and of his +curious opinions--exceedingly curious in a man in his condition of life +and with his prospects. Last night Lord Strangford (George Smythe) +talked to me about him, expressed the highest opinion of his capacity +and acquirements, and confirmed what Disraeli had told me of his notions +and views even more, for he says that he is a real and sincere democrat, +and that he would like if he could to prove his sincerity by divesting +himself of his aristocratic character and even of the wealth he is heir +to. How far this may be true I know not: if it be true, it may possibly +be ascribed in some degree to his own consciousness that the realisation +of his ideology is impossible, and at all events time will show whether +these extreme theories will not be modified by circumstances and +reflexions. Nothing appears to me certain but that he will play a +considerable part for good or for evil, but I cannot pretend to guess +what it will be. At present he seems to be more allied with Bright than +with any other public man; and, as his disposition about the war and its +continuance is very much that of Bright, it would have been difficult +for him to take office with Palmerston, whose whole political existence, +or at least his power, rests on the cry for war and its active and +energetic prosecution. + + +_London, November 12th._--I saw John Russell on Saturday morning to have +a talk with him about the state of affairs and the questions of peace +and war. There still exists a great deal of bitterness between him and +Clarendon, he thinking that he has been very ill used by Clarendon and +others of his former colleagues. He is particularly sore about their +allowing so many things to be said to his disadvantage concerning the +Vienna negotiations which they know to be untrue, without saying a word +to contradict them and cause justice to be done to him, particularly in +reference to the matter of Austria having engaged to join if Russia +refused her last proposals. George Grey denied that Austria had so +engaged, and none of the others ever admitted it, whereas it was +perfectly true. Lord John and I do not agree as to the earlier part of +the question, because he was originally a party to the war while I was +always against it. He was, however, rather against it quite at first, +being, as he told me, with Aberdeen, and against Clarendon and +Palmerston, who were all along inclined to go to war. He had been at the +Mansion House dinner the night before, where he was very ill received, +though he would not allow it; he prefers to flatter himself that the +signs of his unpopularity were not so strong and marked as everybody +else who was present thought them. + +I likewise saw Disraeli and had some talk with him. He told me that he +had now nothing whatever to do with the 'Press,' and that the series of +articles in that paper on the war and in favour of peace were all +written by Stanley. He said he had received a letter from Stanley to +this effect: 'My dear Disraeli,--I write to you in confidence to tell +you that I have been offered and have refused the Colonial Office. As it +is due to Lord Palmerston to keep his offer secret, I have told nobody +of it but yourself and my father, and I beg you not to mention it to +anybody.' On receiving this he said he began to concoct an answer in his +mind of rather a sentimental kind, and conveying his approbation of the +course he had taken, but before he put pen to paper he got the 'Times' +with Stanley's letter to Sir----, which was tantamount to a disclosure +of the whole thing, on which he wrote instead, 'Dear Stanley,--I thank +you for your letter, but I had already received your confidential +communication through your letter to Sir----.' + +I have occasion to see Disraeli very often about ----'s affairs, about +which he has been wonderfully kind and serviceable, and on these +occasions he always enters on some political talk, and in this way we +have got into a sort of intimacy such as I never thought could have +taken place between us. + + + MR. LABOUCHERE TAKES OFFICE. + +_London, November 24th._--After his failure with Stanley, Palmerston +applied to Sidney Herbert, who went to Broadlands, but, finding that he +and Palmerston could not agree upon the subject of war and peace (the +details of their disagreement I do not know), he declined the offer of +the Colonial Office. Palmerston then sent for Labouchere, who +accepted.[1] He called on me the day after and told me he had been to +Broadlands, that Palmerston had told him everything about the state of +affairs and his own views and opinions, and, as he could find nothing +therein to object to, he had accepted the office. As Labouchere is +certainly moderate, this would indicate more moderation on the part of +Palmerston than Sidney Herbert found in him, unless Labouchere and +Sidney Herbert take totally dissimilar views of affairs. + +After this, a few days ago, I had a long conversation with George Lewis, +who told me that France and Austria were endeavouring to bring about +peace, and that communications were going on between France and our +Government on the subject, and he said, moreover, that Palmerston was by +no means so stiff and so bent on continuing the war as was generally +supposed. This intelligence appeared to me to explain what I could not +understand in his communications with Sidney Herbert and Labouchere; +for, if the Emperor has really intimated to our Government his +determination to try and make peace, Palmerston must needs come down +from his very high horse and evince a disposition to go along with our +Imperial ally, who has got the whole game in his own hands, and whom we +must perforce follow when he is determined to take his own course. Then +our warlike propensities may be probably restrained by the alarming +prospect of financial difficulties which Lewis sees looming in the +distance. He said to me, 'I am sure I do not know how I shall provide +ways and means next year, for the enormously high prices will be a great +blow to consumption, and the money market is in a very ticklish state.' +I said, 'You will have to trust to a great loan, and ten per cent. +income tax;' to which he assented. They have now patched up the +Government, by getting Baines to take the Duchy of Lancaster with a seat +in the Cabinet--a very respectable man, who cannot speak, and who will +be of no use to them. Neither he nor Labouchere will add much to their +strength, but they are both very unexceptionable appointments. I think +that, in spite of the undiminished violence of the press, the prevailing +opinion is that there is the beginning of a change in the public mind, +and an incipient desire for peace; and I agree with Disraeli, who thinks +that, when once the current has fairly turned, it will run with great +rapidity the other way. + +[Footnote 1: The Right Hon. Henry Labouchere, born in 1798, a highly +respected member of the Whig party, who filled many offices in Liberal +Governments. He was created Baron Taunton on his retirement from office +in 1859, and died in July 1869.] + + + PROPOSALS FOR PEACE. + +_November 27th._--At length there really does appear to be a prospect of +putting an end to this odious war, and my conjectures of a few days ago +are assuming the shape of realities. Yesterday morning I met George +Lewis in the Park and turned back and walked with him to the door of his +office, when he told me the exact state of affairs. I had received a +letter from the Duke of Bedford in the morning, who said that Charles +Wood, who was at Woburn, had told him the statement in the 'Press' a +week ago was so substantially accurate that they must, he thought, have +received their information from some French official source. This was in +itself confirmatory of all I had already inferred and believed. Lewis's +story was this: The Austrians have framed a proposal for peace which +they offer to send to Russia, and, if she refuses it, Austria engages +to join the Allies and to declare war. The Emperor Napoleon agrees with +Austria, and is resolved not to go on with the war if peace can be +arranged on the Austrian terms. This resolution he has communicated to +us, and invited us to accede thereto; Walewski's letters are not merely +pressing, but even peremptory. It is in fact a second edition of the +Vienna Conference and proposals, with this difference, that, while on +the last occasion the Emperor knocked under to us and reluctantly agreed +to go on with the war, he is now determined to go on with it no longer, +and requires that we should defer to his wishes. Our Government are +aware that they have no alternative, and that nothing is left for them +but to acquiesce with a good grace and make the best case they can for +themselves here, the case being that the Emperor is determined to make +peace, and that we cannot carry on the war alone. This was the amount of +Lewis' information, to which he added the expression of his disgust at +the pitiful figure we cut in the affair, being obliged to obey the +commands of Louis Napoleon, and, after our insolence, swagger, and +bravado, to submit to terms of peace which we have already scornfully +rejected; all which humiliation, he justly said, was the consequence of +our plunging into war without any reason and in defiance of all prudence +and sound policy. Afterwards I saw Charles Villiers and had a talk with +him. He told me Clarendon had been sent for on Sunday to Windsor in a +great hurry to meet Palmerston there. The Queen had received a letter +from the Emperor, brought by the Duke of Cambridge, which no doubt +contained in a private and friendly shape to her the communications +which Walewski had already made officially to the Government and she +wanted to know what answer she should send to it. Charles Villiers told +me that Palmerston had already thrown out a feeler to the Cabinet to +ascertain if they would be willing to carry on the war without France, +but this was unanimously declined. I can hardly imagine that even +Palmerston really contemplated such a desperate course. + + +_November 29th._--I met Sidney Herbert last night. He seems to know +what is going on and thinks we shall have peace; he only doubts whether +the terms will be such as Russia will accept, for he is not convinced, +as I am, that Austria has already settled that with Russia. He told me +that, when Palmerston offered him office, he had not received the French +communication, and was ignorant that it was coming. + + +_December 4th._--At The Grange the last four days, where I found +everybody in total ignorance of what is passing about peace, except +Sidney Herbert, who told me that the plan is _neutralisation_. On coming +back yesterday I met Lord Malmesbury just come from Paris; he is +supposed to be the person who supplied all its information to the +'Press' paper, and I believe it was he. He confirmed the Emperor's +desire for peace, but thought it very doubtful whether Russia would +accept the terms of the Allies. He told me likewise that Pélissier has +sent word he is in a fix, as he cannot advance or expel the Russians +from their positions; and James Macdonald told me the Duke of Cambridge +is going again to Paris to represent us at a grand council of war to be +held there, to decide on future operations. If it were not that the +Allies seem infallible and invincible, and the Russians unable to +accomplish anything, offensive or defensive, I should augur very ill +from this council of war, for nothing can be worse than to have a set of +men at Paris forming plans to be executed by another set in the Crimea +who have had no share in the deliberations. + +This morning the Duke of Bedford writes me word that Westmorland tells +him he has heard from Clarendon the state of affairs, and the answer we +have sent to France, and he augurs ill of peace, as he thinks there can +be no agreement with Russia on such terms; and the 'Morning Post,' which +has long been quite silent about war or peace, has this morning an +article which is evidently a regular Palmerstonian manifesto, decidedly +adverse to any hope of peace, for it is certain that Russia will +continue the war, _coûte que coûte_, rather than submit to such +conditions as the 'Morning Post' says we are to impose on her. I am +persuaded Palmerston and Clarendon will do all they can to prevent +peace being made on any moderate terms, and the only hope is that the +Emperor Napoleon may take the matter into his own hands and employ a +_douce violence_ to compel us to give way. + + + THE PROPOSALS MODIFIED. + +_December 5th._--I met Charles Villiers last night, who told me a good +deal of what is going on, and cleared up some matters. The Austrian +proposal transmitted here by the Emperor Napoleon was considered by the +Cabinet and sent back with amendments--that is, it was made more +stringent. The Emperor consented to send it so amended to Vienna, and it +remains to be seen what course Austria will take--whether she will send +it in its present shape to Russia or adhere to her own edition, and +whether, if she does send it, she will (supposing it to be rejected) +join the Allies and declare war. The latter, I think, she will not do, +nor be bound to do. Next is the question what the Emperor Napoleon will +do if Austria declines to adopt the amended version, or if Russia should +reply she would take the original proposal, but not our amendments. The +Emperor is certainly very anxious to make peace, and when he is bent +upon a thing he generally does it, and my own opinion and hope is that +he will refuse to give way to us _now_ as he did last May. It is +universally admitted that every man in France desires peace ardently. +There is, Charles Villiers tells me, great uneasiness amongst +Palmerston's adherents, and some idea that, if peace cannot be had on +the terms he has insisted on, he will be no party to making it, and if +the majority of the Cabinet are for taking the original terms proposed, +supposing the Emperor Napoleon again to press their acceptance, that he +will resign, throw himself on the popular enthusiasm for the war, and +leave his colleagues to make an unpopular peace. If Palmerston was forty +instead of seventy he would probably do this; but he has not time to +wait for fresh combinations and to speculate on distant chances, so he +will probably consent to make peace if he is obliged by France to do so, +and trust to fortune to enable him to reconcile Parliament and the +country to it. This is rendered more likely by Disraeli having made a +communication to the Government that he and Stanley will be ready to +support any peace they may now make. + + +_December 6th._--I saw George Lewis yesterday, who told me the state of +affairs so far as he recollects it; but it is evident that he takes but +a secondary interest in the details of diplomacy, however anxious he may +be about the results, and what passed shows the extreme difficulty of +keeping clear of mistakes, even when one's information is derived from +the best sources. He said he did not think Russia would accept the +offered terms, and Clarendon thought not also. The terms which it will +be most difficult for her to swallow are the neutralisation of the Black +Sea, which as worked out is evidently worse than limitation, for she is +to have no fortress and no arsenal there, so that she will, in fact, be +quite defenceless, while the other Powers can at any time collect fleets +in the Bosphorus and attack her coasts when they please. Then she is to +cede half Bessarabia to the Turks, including the fortress of Ismail, the +famous conquest of Souvaroff when he wrote to the Empress Catherine, +'_L'orgueilleuse Ismailoff est à vos pieds_;' and they are not to repair +Bomarsund, or erect any fortress on the Aland Isles. The alterations we +made in the scheme sent to us were not important, and what surprised me +much was, the terms, instead of being tendered by Austria, were +concocted at Paris by Walewski and the Emperor--at least so Walewski +asserts, but there must I think be some incorrectness in this, for it is +impossible to doubt that the Emperor and Austria really concerted them +between themselves, though Walewski may have had a hand in the matter in +some way. However, the terms are gone or going directly to St. +Petersburg. I earnestly hope they may be accepted, be they what they +may. Russia is to be asked whether she will take them Yes or No, and, +upon the preliminaries being signed, hostilities will cease. I asked if +Russia might not accept as a basis, and negotiate as to modification and +details, but Lewis professed not to understand how this is, or whether +her acceptance generally would or not bind her to _all_ the conditions +precisely as they are set forth. He knows nothing in fact of diplomacy +and its niceties and operations. + + M. DE CAVOUR AT WINDSOR. + +Lord John Russell met Clarendon at Windsor Castle,[1] but refused to +hear what Clarendon offered to tell him of the state of the negotiation; +he thought he should compromise his own independent action if he did. He +says, 'Were peace to be made on the four points newly explained and +enlarged, I would do nothing but applaud and support.' The only men Lord +John communicated with at Windsor were Cavour and Azeglio. He writes: 'I +asked Cavour what was the language of the Emperor of the French; he said +it was to this effect: France had made great efforts and sacrifices, she +would not continue them for the sake of conquering the Crimea; the +alternative was such a peace as can now be had by means of Austria, or +an extension of the war for Poland,' etc. The Sardinians, Ministers and +King, are openly and warmly for the latter course. I suspect Palmerston +would wish the war to glide imperceptibly into a war of nationalities, +as it is called, but would not like to profess it openly now. I am +convinced such a war might suit Napoleon and the King of Sardinia, but +would be very dangerous for us in many ways. Cavour says if peace is +made without anything being done for Italy, there will be a revolution +there. Clarendon is incredulous. + +[Footnote 1: The King of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel, arrived in England +on the 30th November, accompanied by his Minister, M. de Cavour. Lord +Clarendon and Lord John Russell were invited to Windsor to meet the +King.] + + + THE KING OF SARDINIA. + +_London, December 11th._--I met Clarendon at the Travellers' on Friday +evening, and had a talk with him. He did not seem inclined to enter much +into the question of peace and war, but he told me that Buol declared +most solemnly that he had had no communication with Russia about _the +terms_, and that he had only slight hopes that peace might be made. Of +the terms themselves Clarendon did not say a word. He talked a great +deal about the King of Sardinia, and gave me an account of his +conversations both with the King and Cavour. He thinks well of the King, +and that he is intelligent, and he has a very high opinion indeed of +Cavour, and was especially struck with his knowledge of England, and our +Constitution and constitutional history. I was much amused, after all +the praises that have been lavished on Sardinia for the noble part she +has played and for taking up arms to vindicate a great principle in so +_unselfish_ a manner, that she has after all a keen view to her own +interest, and wants some solid pudding as well as so much empty praise. +The King asked Clarendon what the Allies meant to do for him, and +whether he might not expect some territorial advantage in return for his +services. Clarendon told him this was out of the question, and that, in +the state of their relations with Austria, they could hold out no such +expectation; and he put it to the King, supposing negotiations for peace +were to take place, and he wished his pretensions to be put forward by +us, what he would himself suggest that a British Minister could say for +him; and the King had the candour to say he did not know what answer to +give. Cavour urged the same thing, and said the war had already cost +them forty millions of francs, instead of twenty-five which they had +borrowed for it and was the original estimate, and they could only go on +with it by another loan and fresh taxes, and he did not know how he +should propose these to the Chambers without having something +advantageous to offer to his own country, some Italian acquisition. They +would ask for what object of their's the war was carried on, and what +they had to gain for all their sacrifices and exertions. Clarendon said +they must be satisfied with the glory they had acquired and the high +honour their conduct had conferred on them; but Cavour, while he said he +did not repent the part they had taken, thought his countrymen would be +very little satisfied to have spent so much money and to continue to +spend more without gaining some Italian object. They complained that +Austria had, without any right, for a long time occupied a part of the +Papal territory, and suggested she should be compelled to retire from +it; but Clarendon reminded him that France had done the same, and that +this was a very ticklish question to stir. + +The King and his people are far better satisfied with their reception +here than in France, where, under much external civility, there was very +little cordiality, the Emperor's intimate relations with Austria +rendering him little inclined towards the Piedmontese. Here the Queen +was wonderfully cordial and attentive; she got up at four in the morning +to see him depart. His Majesty appears to be frightful in person, but a +great, strong, burly, athletic man, brusque in his manners, unrefined in +his conversation, very loose in his conduct, and very eccentric in his +habits. When he was at Paris his talk in society amused or terrified +everybody, but here he seems to have been more guarded. It was amusing +to see all the religious societies hastening with their addresses to +him, totally forgetting that he is the most debauched and dissolute +fellow in the world; but the fact of his being excommunicated by the +Pope and his waging war with the ecclesiastical power in his own country +covers every sin against morality, and he is a great hero with the Low +Church people and Exeter Hall. My brother-in-law said that he looked at +Windsor more like a chief of the Heruli or Longobardi than a modern +Italian prince, and the Duchess of Sutherland declared that, of all the +Knights of the Garter she had seen, he was the only one who seemed as if +he would have the best of it with the Dragon. + +My hopes of peace wax fainter. Everybody seems to think there is no +chance of Russia accepting our terms, or of her proposing any that the +Allies would accept. Lewis told me yesterday evening that he expected +nothing, and that Russia had now made known (but in what way he did not +say) that she was disposed to treat. Meanwhile Palmerston continues to +put articles in the 'Morning Post' full of arrogance and _jactance_, and +calculated to raise obstacles to peace. I told Lewis so, and he said it +was very foolish, and that he held very different language in the +Cabinet, but this is only like what he did in '41, when he used to agree +to certain things with his colleagues and then put violent articles in +the 'Morning Chronicle' totally at variance with the views and +resolutions of the Cabinet. Labouchere told me that he thought the +condition of the cession of Ismail ought never to have entered into the +terms proposed to Russia. + + +_December 14th._--My hopes of peace, never very sanguine, are now +completely dashed, for Lewis told me last night that he thought the +terms were at last pretty well agreed upon between England, France, and +Austria. I was greatly surprised, for I thought they had been agreed +upon long ago and must be by this time on their way to St. Petersburg. I +said so; and he replied, 'Oh no, they are only just on the point of +being settled.' It was quite extraordinary, he said, how eager +Palmerston was for pursuing the war. I gathered from him that our +Government has been vehemently urging that of France, through Cowley, to +be firm in pressing the most stringent terms on Russia, and particularly +not to consent to any negotiation, and to compel her to accept or +refuse. I said this was not reasonable, and that we had no right to +propose the terms as an ultimatum. That, he replied, was exactly what we +were doing, that Cowley was very urgent with the Emperor, who appeared +to be intimidated by him, and that he was evidently very much in awe of +England and afraid of having any difference with us. I said I could not +believe that the Emperor would not leave himself a loophole, and if, as +was most probable, Russia declined the terms, but offered to negotiate, +that he would agree to that course, which, however, Lewis clearly +thought he would not do against our inclination. I was greatly surprised +to hear this, because I had a strong impression that the Emperor, when +he really desired anything very much (as I believe that he did this +peace), would obstinately persevere in it; and it seems so obviously his +interest to gratify his own people rather than to be led by this +country, that I was persuaded he never would consent to this proposal +being _un dernier mot_, and thus to ensure the failure of the attempt. +Palmerston, who is the most obstinate man alive in pressing any object +he has once set his mind upon, was sure to press the French Government +with the utmost vehemence and pertinacity as soon as he found there was +a chance of making them yield to his will. + + + MACAULAY'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. + +_December 17th._--This morning the two new volumes of Macaulay's History +came forth. The circumstances of this publication are, I believe, +unprecedented in literary history; 25,000 copies are given out, and the +weight of the books is fifty-six tons. The interest and curiosity which +it excites are prodigious, and they afford the most complete testimony +to his immense popularity and the opinion entertained by the world of +his works already published. His profits will be very great, and he will +receive them in various shapes. But there is too much reason to +apprehend that these may be the last volumes of his history that the +world will see, still more that they are the last that will be read by +me and people of my standing. Six years have elapsed since the +appearance of the first volumes, and these two only advance about ten +years. He announced at the outset that he meant to bring down the +history of England to a period within the memory of persons still +living, but his work has already so much expanded, and of course will do +so still more from the accumulation of materials as he advances, that at +his present rate of progress he must live much beyond the ordinary +duration of human life, and retain all his faculties as long, to have +any chance of accomplishing his original design; and he is now in such a +precarious state of health that in all human probability he will not +live many years. It is melancholy to think that so gifted an intellect +should be arrested by premature decay, and such a magnificent +undertaking should be overthrown by physical infirmities, and be limited +to the proportions of a splendid fragment. He is going to quit +Parliament and to reside in the neighbourhood of London. + +This morning the 'Morning Post' has published the terms which are +offered by the Allies and are now on their way from Vienna to St. +Petersburg. They were already pretty well known, but it is the first +time that Palmerston (for the article is evidently his own) has +announced them so openly and distinctly, and they state _totidem verbis_ +that it is an Ultimatum which is sent to St. Petersburg. I believe this +course to be unprecedented, and it is certainly unfair. If Russia had +applied to the Allies and expressed a desire for peace, if she had asked +them on what terms they would consent to terminate the war, it would +have been quite fair and reasonable that they should have stated the +precise conditions, adding if they pleased that they would consent to no +others and to no change whatever in them, though it may be doubted if it +would be wise to be thus peremptory. But to send to Russia and propose +to her to make peace, and accompany the proposal with an Ultimatum and +an announcement that they would listen to no remonstrances or +suggestions, much less any alterations, and that she must say Yes or No +at once, is a stretch of arrogance and dictation not justified by the +events of the war and the relative conditions of the belligerents, or by +any usage or precedent that I ever heard of. + +Reports are very rife of the distressed state of Russia and of her +inability to make head any longer against the Allies, but very little is +really known of the condition of the country, of its remaining +resources, and of the disposition of the people. Nobody can doubt that +the terms are deeply humiliating to the pride of such a Power, which has +been long accustomed to stand in so high a position and hold such lofty +language; and if she consents to accept the offered terms, it must be +that her enormous losses have really incapacitated her for going on with +the war, and that her Government is conscious that the next campaign +will be still more disastrous to her than the two preceding ones have +been. I have very little doubt that Palmerston has hastened to publish +these terms in hopes that they may find acceptance with a considerable +part of the public here, and that they may the more tightly bind the +Emperor Napoleon, and, in the event of Russia sending any conditional +acceptance and proposing to treat, that he may be unable to enter into +any negotiation whatever. It has surprised me that he should have so +completely given way to Palmerston as he has done. + + + DEATH OF MR. ROGERS. + +_December 21st._--The poet Rogers died two days ago at the age of 93. I +have known him all my life, and at times lived in a good deal of +intimacy with him, but for some years past he had so great an aversion +to me that I kept away from him and never saw anything of him.[1] He was +an old man when I first made his acquaintance between thirty and forty +years ago, or probably more. He was then very agreeable, though peculiar +and eccentric; he was devoured by a morbid vanity, and could not endure +any appearance of indifference or slight in society. He was extremely +touchy, and always wanted to be flattered, but above all to be listened +to, very angry and mortified when he was not the principal object in +society, and provoked to death when the uproarious merriment of Sydney +Smith or the voluminous talk of Macaulay overwhelmed him and engrossed +the company; he had a great friendship nevertheless for Sydney Smith, +but he never liked Macaulay. I never pretended, or could pretend, to be +a rival to him, but I was not a patient and attentive listener to him, +and that was what affronted him and caused his dislike to me as well as +to anyone else of whom he had the same reason to complain. His voice was +feeble, and it has been said that his bitterness and caustic remarks +arose from the necessity of his attracting attention by the pungency of +his conversation. He was undoubtedly a very clever and accomplished man, +with a great deal of taste and knowledge of the world, in the best of +which he had passed his life. He was hospitable, generous, and +charitable, with some weaknesses, many merits, and large abilities, and +he was the last survivor of the generation to which he belonged. + +[Footnote 1: Samuel Rogers, the author of the _Pleasures of Memory_ +(which was published in 1792), was born at Stoke Newington in 1762. His +father was a banker, and he remained a partner in the bank all his life. +He died on December 18, 1855.] + + +_The Grove, December 23rd._--Came here for Christmas. No other guests +but the family. We have had some talk about the peace propositions and +other odds and ends. Clarendon told me that Walewski and Persigny are +bitter enemies, and their estrangement the greater because Walewski is a +corrupt jobber and speculator, and Persigny an honest man. When Drouyn +de Lhuys resigned the Foreign Office, much to the Emperor's annoyance +and regret, he did not know where to find a man, and he determined to +appoint Walewski because he knew not whom else to take. Not choosing to +send the offer to him through Drouyn, he employed Cowley, and requested +him to telegraph in cypher to Clarendon a request that Cowley would send +for Walewski and communicate to him the Emperor's intentions. A curious +shift to be reduced to, but throughout the Eastern Question Cowley has +acted the part of Foreign Minister to the Emperor almost as much as that +of Ambassador. + +Lewis this morning recapitulated to me the exact circumstances of the +overtures from France about peace. It arrived here on a Saturday; was +submitted to the Queen on Sunday, who approved of it; on Monday (or +Tuesday) it was read to the Cabinet, when no discussion took place, but +Palmerston shortly said, without giving any reasons, that he thought we +must agree to the proposal, which was generally concurred in. The next +day there was another Cabinet, when they examined in detail all the +articles and discussed them. A few alterations were made, none of which +were of any importance except the Bomarsund question. The cession of +Bessarabia and the neutralisation of the Black Sea both formed part of +the original proposal, and the latter was particularly insisted upon, +and reasoned out at considerable length by France, for it turns out that +the Emperor has never had so much in view the object of _making peace_ +(not expecting, nor ever having expected, that these proposals would be +accepted) as the object of securing the active cooperation of Austria, +which he expects to do. Austria engages, if Russia refuses the +conditions, to put an end to diplomatic relations between the two +Empires, and Napoleon thinks this cannot fail to end in hostilities, and +to this extension of the alliance he looks for bringing the war to a +conclusion. He thinks, moreover, that, when Austria has declared war, +Russia will attack her defenceless frontier, and that as any attack upon +Austria will compel the whole of Germany to assist her and to take part +in the war against Russia, this offer will lead to Prussia and the whole +of the German States being engaged on the side of the Allies, and that +such a confederacy cannot fail to bring the war to a successful issue, +because Russia would be absolutely incapable of offering any resistance +to it. This is a new view of the policy and motives of France, but I +very much doubt if the whole of the Emperor's scheme will be realised. +Even though Austria may take up arms, it is probable that Russia will +act strictly on the defensive, and will avoid giving any cause to the +German States to depart from their neutrality. We both agreed that the +conduct of Austria is quite inexplicable, and that Russia will never +forgive her for the part she has acted and is acting now. + + + CRITICISMS ON THE WAR. + +_The Grove, December 24th._--George Lewis and I have been walking and +talking together all the morning. He is fully as pacific as I am, and +entertains exactly the same thoughts that I do, of the egregious folly +of the war, of the delusion under which the English nation is labouring, +and of the wickedness of the press in practising upon the popular +credulity in the way it has done. He seems to like to talk to me on this +subject, because he can talk freely to me, which he could hardly do with +any of his own colleagues, still less in any other society. This morning +he again recurred to the circumstances of the negotiations now going on, +and he gave me an account of the transaction which puts the whole thing +in a very ridiculous light, which would be very comical if it were not +so very tragical. 'Think,' he said, 'that this is a war carried on for +the independence of Turkey, and we, the Allies, are bound to Turkey by +mutual obligations not to make peace but by common consent and +concurrence. Well, we have sent an offer of peace to Russia of which the +following are among the terms: We propose that Turkey, who possesses one +half of the Black Sea coast, shall have no ships, no ports, and no +arsenals in that sea; and then there are conditions about the Christians +who are subjects of Turkey, and others about the mouths of the Danube, +to which part of the Turkish dominions are contiguous. Now in all these +stipulations so intimately concerning Turkey, for whose independence we +are fighting, Turkey is not allowed to have any voice whatever, nor has +she ever been allowed to be made acquainted with what is going on, +except through the newspapers, where the Turkish Ministers may have read +what is passing, like other people. When the French and Austrian terms +were discussed in the Cabinet, at the end of the discussion someone +modestly asked whether it would not be proper to communicate to Musurus +(the Turkish Ambassador in London) what was in agitation and what had +been agreed upon, to which Clarendon said he saw no necessity for it +whatever; and indeed that Musurus had recently called upon him, when he +had abstained from giving him any information whatever of what was going +on. Another time, somebody suggesting in the Cabinet that we were bound +to Turkey by treaty not to make peace without her consent, Palmerston, +who is a great stickler for Turkey, said very quietly that there would +be no difficulty on that score; in point of fact, the Turk evidently + + 'Stands like a cypher in the great account.' + + +_The Grove, December 26th._--Since I have been here Clarendon has +resumed all his old habits of communication and confidence with me, has +told me everything and shown me everything that is interesting and +curious. I wish I could remember it all. Such fragments as have remained +in my memory I will jot down here as they recur to me. Here are letters +from Seymour at Vienna describing his good reception there, gracious +from the Court, and cordially civil from the great society, especially +from Metternich who seems to have given the _mot d'ordre_. Metternich +talked much to Seymour of his past life and recollections, complimented +him for his reports of conversations with the Emperor Nicholas, and said +that many years ago the Emperor had talked to him (Metternich) about +Turkey in the same strain, and used the same expression about '_le +malade_' and '_l'homme malade_,' when Metternich asked him '_Est-ce que +Votre Majesté en parle comme son médecin ou comme son héritier_?' Also +letters from Bloomfield (Berlin) and from Buchanan (Copenhagen) with +different opinions as to the probability of Russia accepting or +refusing--the former for, the second against; some curious letters from +Cowley, full of his indignation against Walewski; the quarrels of +Persigny and Walewski; the perplexity of the Emperor, his desire for +peace, his hopes that Russia may lend a favourable ear to the proposals; +Cowley's suspicions of Walewski, and in a smaller degree of the Emperor +himself, especially of His Majesty's communications with Seebach, the +Saxon Minister, and not impossibly through him with St. Petersburg. + +A curious anecdote showing the strange terms the parties concerned are +on: One day Cowley was with Walewski (at the time the question of terms +was going on between France and Austria) and the courier from Vienna was +announced. Walewski begged Cowley, who took up his hat, not to go away, +and said he should see what the courier brought. He opened the +despatches and gave them to Cowley to read, begging him not to tell the +Emperor he had seen them. In the afternoon Cowley saw the Emperor, who +had then got the despatches; the Emperor also gave them to Cowley to +read, desiring him not to let Walewski know he had shown them to him! + + DISPUTES OF FRENCH MINISTERS. + +There has been a dreadful _rixe_ between Walewski and Persigny. I have +forgotten exactly the particular causes, but the other day Persigny went +over to Paris partly to complain of Walewski to the Emperor. He would +not go near Walewski, and told the Emperor he should not; the Emperor, +however, made them both meet in his Cabinet the next day, when a violent +scene took place between them, and Persigny said to Walewski before his +face all that he had before said behind his back; and he had afterwards +a very long conversation with the Emperor, in which he told him plainly +what danger he was in from the corruption and bad character of his +_entourage_, that he had never had anything about him but adventurers +who were bent on making their own fortunes by every sort of infamous +_agiotage_ and speculation, by which the Imperial Crown was placed in +imminent danger. 'I myself,' Persigny said, 'am nothing but an +adventurer, who have passed through every sort of vicissitude; but at +all events people have discovered that I have clean hands and do not +bring disgrace on your Government, like so many others, by my profligate +dishonesty.' 'Well,' said the Emperor, 'but what am I to do? What remedy +is there for such a state of things?' Persigny replied that he had got +the remedy in his head, but that the time was not come yet for revealing +his ideas on the subject. + +As we went to town, we talked over the terms proposed to Prussia. +Clarendon said he could not understand the policy of Austria nor what +she was driving at. She had entered very heartily into plans of a +compulsory and hostile character against Russia, who would never forgive +her, especially for proposing the cession of Bessarabia. I said I +thought the most objectionable item of their propositions (and I +believed the most unprecedented) was the starting by making it an +Ultimatum. He replied that it was Austria who tendered the Ultimatum, +and that it was not exactly so, the sharp edge having been rounded off +by the mode to be adopted, which was as follows: Esterhazy was to +communicate the project to the Cabinet of St. Petersburg, and say he had +reason to believe that the Allies would be willing to make peace on +those terms; he was then to wait nine days. If in that time the Russian +Government replied by a positive negative, he was, as soon as he got +this notification, to quit St. Petersburg with all his embassy; if no +answer was returned at the end of nine days, he was to signify that his +orders were to ask for an answer in ten days, and if at the end thereof +the answer was in the negative, or there was no answer, he was to come +away, so that there was to be no Ultimatum in the first instance. 'But,' +I said, 'what if Russia proposed some middle course and offered to +negotiate?' 'His instructions were not to agree to this.' 'Well,' said +I, 'but when you abstain from calling this an Ultimatum, it is next to +impossible that Russia should not propose to negotiate, and if she does +beg that her proposal may be conveyed to the Allies before everything +is closed, it will be very difficult to refuse this; and is it not +probable that France and Austria will both vote for entering into +_pourparlers_; and, if they do, can you refuse?' He seemed struck with +this, and owned that it was very likely to occur, and that, if it did, +we should be obliged to enter into negotiation. So probable does this +contingency appear, that there has already been much discussion as to +who shall go from hence to the Congress, if there is one. I said he had +much better go himself. He expressed great dislike to the idea, but said +the Queen and Prince wished him to go, and that Cowley urged him also, +and was desirous of going with him. I see he has made up his mind to +prevent any negotiation if he can, and, if it is unavoidable, to take it +in hand. + + NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE. + +This afternoon Persigny arrived from Paris and came directly to the +Foreign Office. The Emperor had given him an account of his interview +with M. de Seebach,[1] who had gone off directly afterwards _viâ_ Berlin +to St. Petersburg. The Emperor told him to do all he could to induce the +Russian Government to consent to the terms, and to assure them that, if +they did not, it would be long enough before they would have any other +chance of making peace; that he wished for peace, but that above +everything else he was desirous of maintaining unimpaired his alliance +and friendship with England; that England had most fairly and in a very +friendly spirit entered into his difficulties and his wishes; that she +was a constitutional country with a Government responsible to +Parliament, and that he was bound in honour to enter in like manner into +the obligations and necessities of this Government. They had had some +differences of opinion which were entirely reconciled; they were now +agreed as one man, and no power on earth should induce him to separate +himself from England or to take any other line than that to which he had +bound himself in conjunction with her. This announcement, which the +Emperor made with great energy, carried consternation to the mind of +Seebach, and he resolved to lose no time in getting to St. Petersburg +to make known the Emperor's intentions. + +It is thus evident that the Emperor's mind is divided between his +anxiety to make peace and his determination to have no difference with +England; but his desire for peace must be great when, as Clarendon +assures me, it was not without difficulty that he was deterred from +ordering his army away from the Crimea. The feeling here towards the +Emperor seems to be one of liking and reliance, not unaccompanied with +doubt and suspicion. He is not exempt from the influence of his +_entourage_, though he is well aware how corrupt that is, and he listens +willingly to Cowley and to whatever the English Government and the Queen +say to him, but his own people eternally din into his ears that we are +urging him on to take a part injurious to his own and to French +interests for our own purposes, and because our Government is itself +under the influence of a profligate press and a deluded people; and +although he knows that those who tell him this are themselves working +for their own private interests, he knows also that there is a great +deal of truth in what they say. His own position is very strange, +insisting upon being his own Minister and directing everything, and at +the same time from indolence and ignorance incapable of directing +affairs himself, yet having no confidence in those he employs. The +consequence is that a great deal is ill done, much not done at all, and +a good deal done that he knows nothing about, and he is surrounded with +quarrels, jealousies, and struggles for influence and power both between +his own Ministers and between them and the foreign diplomatists at his +Court. + + LORD PALMERSTON'S POSITION. + +We have had a good deal of talk about Palmerston. Clarendon says nothing +can go on better than he and Palmerston do together. They seldom meet +except in the Cabinet, and their communications go on by notes between +Downing Street and Piccadilly. Palmerston, much more moderate and +reasonable than he used to be, sometimes suggests things or expressions +in despatches, which Clarendon always adopts or declines according to +his own ideas, and Palmerston never insists. Palmerston is now on very +good terms with the Queen, which is, though he does not know it, greatly +attributable to Clarendon's constant endeavours to reconcile her to him, +always telling her everything likely to ingratiate Palmerston with her, +and showing her any letters or notes of his calculated to please her; +but he says it is impossible to conceive the hatred with which he is +regarded on the Continent, particularly all over Germany. An agent of +his (Clarendon's) who, he says, has supplied him with much useful +information, has reported to him that he finds the old feeling of +antipathy to Palmerston as strong and as general as ever, and that it is +as much on the part of the people as of the Governments, both thinking +they have been deceived and thrown over by him. + +[Footnote 1: M. de Seebach was the Saxon Minister in Paris, through +whom many of these communications passed.] + + +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + + + + PRINTED BY + SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE + LONDON + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Greville Memoirs (Third Part) +Volume I (of II), by Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40680 *** |