WAR HINDERS REFORM
1854-1855
A Scheme of Reform--Palmerston's attitude--Lord John sore let and
hindered--Lord Stratford's diplomatic triumph--The Duke of
Newcastle and the War Office--The dash for
Sebastopol--Procrastination and its deadly work--The
Alma--Inkerman--The Duke's blunder--Famine and frost in the
trenches.
ALL through the autumn of 1854 Lord John Russell was busy with a scheme
of Parliamentary reform. The Government stood pledged to bring forward
the measure, though a section of the Cabinet, and, notably Lord
Palmerston, were opposed to such a course. As leader of the House, Lord
John had announced that the question would be introduced to Parliament
in the spring, and the Cabinet, therefore, took the subject into
consideration when it resumed its meetings in November. A special
committee was appointed, and Lord John placed his proposals before it.
Every borough with less than three hundred electors was to be
disfranchised, and towns with less than five hundred electors were to
lose one of their representatives. Seventy seats, he argued, would be
gained by this plan, and he suggested that they should be divided
between the largest counties and the great towns. He proposed greatly
diminishing the qualifications alike in counties and boroughs. He laid
stress on the necessity of calling into existence triangular
constituencies, in which no elector should have the power to vote for
more than two of the three candidates, and wished also to deprive the
freemen of their guild qualification. Lord Palmerston had no relish for
the subject. His predilections, in fact, leaned in quite the opposite
direction. If his manner was genial, his temper was conservative, and he
was inclined to smile, if not to scoff, at politicians who met such
problems of government with other than a light heart. He was therefore
inclined at this juncture to adopt Lord Melbourne's attitude, and to
meet Lord John with that statesman's famous remark, 'Why can't you let
it alone?'
[Sidenote: PALMERSTON AND REFORM]
Devotion to one idea, declared Goethe, is the condition of all
greatness. Lord John was devoted from youth to age to the idea of
Parliamentary reform, and in season and out was never inclined to
abandon it. Probably Lord Palmerston would have adopted a less hostile
attitude if he had been in his proper element at the Foreign Office; but
being Home Secretary, he was inclined to kick against a measure which
promised to throw into relief his own stationary position on one of the
pet subjects of the party of progress. Whilst the Cabinet was still
engaged in thrashing the subject out, tidings of the battle of Sinope
reached England, and the popular indignation against Russia, which had
been gathering all the autumn, burst forth, as has already been stated,
into a fierce outcry against the Czar. Two days after the news of
Russia's cowardly attack had been confirmed, Palmerston saw his
opportunity, and promptly resigned. Doubtless such a step was determined
by mixed motives. Objections to Lord John's proposals for Parliamentary
reform at best only half explains the position, and behind such
repugnance lay hostility to Lord Aberdeen's vacillating policy on the
Eastern Question. The nation accepted Lord Palmerston's resignation in a
matter-of-fact manner, which probably surprised no one more than
himself. The Derbyites, oddly enough, made the most pother about the
affair; but a man on the verge of seventy, and especially one like Lord
Palmerston with few illusions, is apt to regard the task of forming a
new party as a game which is not worth the candle. The truth is,
Palmerston, like other clever men before and since, miscalculated his
strength, and on Christmas Eve was back again in office. He had received
assurances from his colleagues that the Reform proposals were still open
to discussion; and, as the Cabinet had taken in his absence a decision
on Turkish affairs which was in harmony with the views that he had
persistently advocated, he determined to withdraw his resignation.
The new year opened darkly with actual war, and with rumours of it on a
far more terrible scale. 'My expectation is,' wrote Sir G. C. Lewis on
January 4, 'that before long England and France will be at war with
Russia; and as long as war lasts all means of internal improvement must
slumber. The Reform Bill must remain on the shelf--if there is war; for
a Government about to ask for large supplies and to impose war taxes,
cannot propose a measure which is sure to create dispersion and to
divide parties.' France, in spite of the action of the Emperor over the
question of the Holy Places, had not displayed much interest in the
quarrel; but a contemptuous retort which Nicholas made to Napoleon
III.'s final letter in the interests of peace put an end to the national
indifference. The words 'Russia will prove herself in 1854 what she was
in 1812,' cut the national pride to the quick, and the cry on that side
of the Channel as on this, was for war with Russia. The Fleets were
ordered to enter the Black Sea, and on February 27 England and France
sent a joint ultimatum to St. Petersburg, demanding that the Czar's
troops should evacuate the Principalities by April 30.
[Sidenote: AN INDIGNANT PROTEST]
The interval of suspense was seized by Lord John to place the Reform
proposals of the Government before the House of Commons; but the nation
was by this time restless, dissatisfied, and preoccupied, for the blast
of the trumpet seemed already in the air. The second reading of the
measure was fixed for the middle of March; but the increasing strain of
the Eastern Question led Lord John to announce at the beginning of that
month that the Government had decided not to bring forward the second
reading until the end of April. This announcement led to a personal
attack, and one member, whose name may be left in the oblivion which has
overtaken it, had the audacity to hint that the leader of the House had
never intended to proceed with the measure. Stung into sudden
indignation by the taunt, Lord John promptly expressed his disdain of
the opinion of a politician who had no claim whatever to speak in the
name of Reform, and went on, with a touch of pardonable pride, to refer
to his own lifelong association with the cause. When he turned to his
opponent with the words, 'Does the honourable gentleman think he has a
right to treat me----,' the House backed and buried his protest with its
generous cheers. Lord John Russell, in power or out of it, was always
jealous for the reputation of the responsible statesmen of the nation,
and he did not let this occasion pass without laying emphasis on that
point. 'I should be ashamed of myself if I were to prefer a concern for
my own personal reputation to that which I understood to be for the
interests of my country. But it seems to me that the character of the
men who rule this country--whether they be at the moment in office or
in opposition--is a matter of the utmost interest to the people of this
country, and that it is of paramount importance that full confidence
should be reposed in their character. It is, in fact, on the confidence
of the people in the character of public men that the security of this
country in a great degree depends.'
A few days later it became plain that war was at hand, and a strong
feeling prevailed in Parliament that the question of Reform ought to be
shelved for a year. Lord John's position was one of great difficulty. He
felt himself pledged on the subject, and, though recognising that a
great and unexpected emergency had arisen, which altered the whole
political outlook, he knew that with Lord Palmerston and others in the
Ministry the question was not one of time, but of principle. The sinews
of war had to be provided. Mr. Gladstone proposed to double the income
tax, and Lord John urged that a period of increased taxation ought to be
a period of widened political franchise. He therefore was averse to
postponement, unless in a position to assure his Radical following that
the Government recognised that it was committed to the question. Lord
Aberdeen was only less anxious than Lord John for the adoption of a
progressive and enlightened home policy; in fact, his attitude in his
closing years on questions like Parliamentary reform was in marked
contrast to his rigidly conservative views on foreign policy. He
therefore determined to sound the Cabinet advocates of procrastination
as to their real feeling about Reform, with the result that he saw
clearly that Lord John Russell's fears were not groundless, since Lord
Palmerston and Lord Lansdowne bluntly declared that they meant to retire
from office if the Government went forward with the Bill.
[Sidenote: 'GOD DEFEND THE RIGHT']
Lord John felt that he could not withdraw the Bill unconditionally, and
therefore resignation seemed the only honourable course which was left.
After deliberate consideration he could see no other choice in the
matter, and, on April 8, relinquished his seat in the Cabinet. The
Court, the Prime Minister and his colleagues saw at once the gravity of
the position, for the Liberal party were restive enough under Lord
Aberdeen, without the withdrawal from his Cabinet of a statesman of the
first rank, who was not anxious for peace at any price. Lord John's
position in the country at the moment rendered it probable that a
quarrel with him would bring about the downfall of the Government. His
zeal for Reform won him the respect and support of the great towns, and
the determination which he shared with Palmerston to resist the
intolerable attitude of the Czar made him popular with the crowd. A
recent speech, delivered when Nicholas had recalled his Ambassador from
London, had caught, moreover, the sympathies of all classes of the
community. 'For my part, if most unexpectedly the Emperor of Russia
should recede from his former demands, we shall all rejoice to be spared
the pain, the efforts, and the burdens of war. But if peace is no longer
consistent with our duty to England, with our duty to Europe, with our
duty to the world, we can only endeavour to enter into this contest with
a stout heart. May God defend the right, and I, for my part, shall be
willing to bear my share of the burden and the responsibility.'
John Leech, in one of his inimitable cartoons in 'Punch,' caught the
situation with a flash of insight which almost amounted to genius, and
Lord John became the hero of the hour. One verse out of a spirited poem
entitled 'God defend the Right,' which appeared in 'Punch' at the time,
may be quoted in passing, especially as it shows the patriotic fervour
and the personal enthusiasm which Lord John Russell's speech evoked in
the country:
'From humble homes and stately domes the cry goes through the air,
With the loftiness of challenge, the lowliness of prayer,
Honour to him who spoke the words in the Council of the Land,
To find faith in old England's heart, force in old England's hand.'
A week before the appearance of these lines, the cartoon in 'Punch'
represented Lord Aberdeen, significantly arrayed in Windsor uniform,
vainly attempting to hold back the struggling British lion, which sees
the Russian bear in the distance, and exclaiming, 'I _must_ let him go.'
Lord John's resignation meant much, perhaps everything, to the
Government. Great pressure was put upon him. The Queen and the Cabinet
alike urged him to abandon his intention of retirement; whilst Lord
Palmerston, with that personal chivalry which was characteristic of him,
declared that in a moment of European crisis he could be better spared,
and was ready to resign if Lord John insisted upon such terms, as the
price for his own continuance in office. Every day the situation abroad
was becoming more critical, and Lord John saw that it might imperil
greater interests than any which were bound up with the progress of a
party question to resist such appeals. He, therefore, on April 11
withdrew his resignation, and received an ovation in the House of
Commons when he made it plain that he was willing to thrust personal
considerations aside in the interests of his colleagues, and for the
welfare of his country. Mr. Edward Miall has described the scene. '"If
it should be thought that the course he was taking would damage the
cause of Reform"--the noble Lord paused, choked with the violence of his
own emotions. Then arose a cheer from both sides of the House, loud and
long continued.... Every eye was glistening with sudden moisture, and
every heart was softened with genuine sympathy.... The effect was
electric. Old prejudices long pent up, grudges, accumulated discontents,
uncharitable suspicions, all melted away before that sudden outburst of
a troubled heart.'[36]
[Sidenote: THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN]
Throughout the spring diplomacy was still busy, though it became every
week more and more apparent that hostilities were inevitable. Lord
Stratford achieved, what Lord Clarendon did not hesitate to term, a
'great diplomatic triumph' when he won consent from the Porte to fresh
terms in the interests of peace, which met with the approval, not only
of England and France, but also of Austria and Prussia. The Czar began
at length to realise the gravity of the situation when Austria moved in
February fifty thousand men to the frontier of the territory which
Russia had seized. When the Russian troops, a few months later,
evacuated the Principalities, Austria and Prussia, whose alliance had
been formed in defence of the interests of Germany, were no longer
directly concerned in the quarrel. Thus the war which England and France
declared at the end of March against Russia was one which they were left
to pursue, with the help of Turkey, alone. Lord John Russell urged that
it should be short and sharp, and with characteristic promptitude
sketched out, with Lord Panmure's help, a plan of campaign. He urged
that ten thousand men should at once be raised for the Army, five
thousand for the Navy, and that the services of fifteen thousand more be
added to the Militia. He laid stress on the importance of securing the
active aid of Austria, for he thought that her co-operation might make
the difference between a long and a short war. He proposed that Sweden
should be drawn into the Alliance, with the view of striking a blow at
Russia in the North as well as on her southern frontier. He also
proposed that English and French troops should be massed at
Constantinople, and submitted a plan of operations for the consideration
of the Cabinet.
Lord John knew perfectly well that radical changes were imperative in
the administration of the Army. The Secretary for War was, oddly
enough, Secretary for the Colonies as well, and there was also a
Secretary at War, who controlled the finances at the bidding of the
Commander-in-Chief. The Ordnance Department was under one management,
the Commissariat under another, whilst the Militia fell within the
province of a third, in the shape of the Home Office. Lord John Russell
had seen enough of the outcome of divided counsels in the Cabinet, and
insisted, in emphatic terms, on the necessity of separating the duties
of the War and Colonial Departments, and of giving the Minister who held
the former post undisputed control over all branches of the executive.
It was perhaps an undesigned coincidence, but none the less unfortunate,
that the statesmen in the Aberdeen Government who were directly
concerned with the war were former colleagues of Sir Robert Peel. Lord
Aberdeen's repugnance to hostilities with Russia was so notorious that
the other Peelites in the Cabinet fell under the suspicion of apathy;
and the nation, exasperated at the Czar's bombastic language and
high-handed action, was not in the mood to make fine distinctions. The
Duke of Newcastle and his friend, Mr. Sidney Herbert, were regarded,
perhaps unjustly, as lukewarm about the approaching campaign; but it was
upon the former that the brunt of public censure ultimately fell. The
Duke was Secretary for War and the Colonies. It was an odd combination
of offices which had existed for more than half a century. The tradition
is that it had been brought about in order that the Secretary for the
Colonies, who at the beginning of the century had comparatively little
to do, but who possessed large patronage, might use that patronage on
behalf of deserving military men.
[Sidenote: THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE'S FAILURE]
In the immediate prospect of hostilities, it was felt to be imperative
that two posts of such responsibility should not be held by the same
Minister; but the Duke was adverse to the proposed change. It was,
however, brought about in the early summer, and the Duke was given his
choice of the two posts. He decided to relinquish the Colonies, and thus
the burden of the approaching conflict fell upon him by his own
deliberate act. Sir George Grey was appointed to the vacant office. The
Duke of Newcastle's ambition outstripped his ability, and the choice
which he made was disastrous both to himself and to the nation. Because
some men are born great, they have greatness of another kind thrust upon
them; and too often it happens that responsibility makes plain the lack
of capacity, which the glamour neither of rank nor of place can long
conceal. The Duke of Newcastle was born to greatness--for in the middle
of the century the highest rank in the Peerage counted for more in
politics than it does to-day--but he certainly did not achieve it as War
Minister.
There is no need to relate here the more than twice-told story of the
Crimean War. Its incidents have been described by historians and
soldiers; and, of late, gallant officers who took part in it have
retraced its course and revived its memories. In one sense it is a
glorious chapter in the annals of the Queen's reign, and yet there are
circumstances connected with it which every Englishman, worthy of the
name, would gladly forget. Although the nation did not take up arms with
a light heart, its judgment was clouded by passion; and the first great
war since Waterloo caught the imagination of the people, especially as
Lord Raglan, one of the old Peninsular heroes, was in command of the
Army of Invasion. England and France were not satisfied merely to
blockade the Black Sea and crush the commerce of Russia. They determined
to strike at the heart of the Czar's power in the East, and therefore
the Allies made a dash at the great arsenal and fort of Sebastopol. It
did not enter into their reckoning that there might be a protracted
siege. What they anticipated was a swift march, a sudden attack, and the
capture of the stronghold by bombardment. The allied forces--25,000
English soldiers, 23,000 French, and about 5,000 Turks--landed in the
Crimea in September, 1854, and stormed the heights of the Alma on the
20th of that month. Then they hesitated, and their chance of reducing
Sebastopol that autumn was lost. 'I have been very slow to enter into
this war,' said Lord Aberdeen to an alderman at a banquet in the City.
'Yes,' was the brusque retort, 'and you will be equally slow to get out
of it.'
[Sidenote: BALACLAVA AND INKERMAN]
Divided counsels prevailed in the camp as well as in the Cabinet.
Cholera attacked the troops, and stores began to fail. Prince
Menschikoff, defeated at Alma, seized the opportunity which the delay
gave him to render the harbour of Sebastopol impassable to hostile
ships; and General Todleben brought his skill as an engineer to the task
of strengthening by earthworks the fortifications of the Russian
stronghold. The Allies made the blunder of marching on Sebastopol from
the southern instead of the northern side of the harbour, and this gave
time to the enemy to receive strong reinforcements, with the result that
120,000 men were massed behind the Russian fortifications. Meanwhile a
rumour that Sebastopol had fallen awakened short-lived rejoicings in
England and France. The tidings were contradicted in twenty-four hours,
but most people thought, on that exciting 3rd of October, that the war
was virtually at an end. The Emperor Napoleon announced the imaginary
victory of their comrades in arms to his assembled troops. Even Mr.
Gladstone was deceived for the moment, and there is a letter of his in
existence to one of the most prominent of his colleagues, full of
congratulation at such a result. The chagrin of the nation was great
when it learnt that the Russians were not merely holding their own, but
were acting on the aggressive; whilst the disappointment was quickened
by the lack of vigour displayed by the Cabinet. The Allies fought, on
October 25, the glorious yet indecisive battle of Balaclava, which was
for ever rendered memorable by the useless but superb charge of the
Light Brigade. Less than a fortnight later, on November 5, the Russians
renewed the attack, and took the English by surprise. A desperate
hand-to-hand struggle against overwhelming odds ensued. Then the French
came to the aid of the English troops, and the battle of Inkerman was
won.
As the winter approached, the position of the Allies grew perilous, and
it seemed likely that the plans of the invaders would miscarry, and the
besieging Allies be reduced to the position of the besieged. Before the
middle of November winter set in with severity along the shores of the
Black Sea, and a hurricane raged, which destroyed the tents of the
troops, and wrecked more than a score of ships, which were carrying
stores of ammunition and clothing. As the winter advanced, with bleak
winds and blinding snow, the shivering, ill-fed soldiers perished in
ever-increasing numbers under the twofold attack of privation and
pestilence. The Army had been despatched to the Crimea in the summer,
and, as no one imagined that the campaign would last beyond the early
autumn, the brave fellows in the trenches of Sebastopol were called to
confront the sudden descent of winter without the necessary stores. It
was then that the War Office awoke slowly to the terrible nature of the
crisis. Lord John Russell had made his protest months before against the
dilatory action of that department, and, though he knew that personal
odium was sure to follow, endeavoured at the eleventh hour to persuade
Lord Aberdeen to take decisive action. 'We are in the midst of a great
war,' were his words to the Premier on November 17. 'In order to carry
on that war with efficiency, either the Prime Minister must be
constantly urging, hastening, completing the military preparations, or
the Minister of War must be strong enough to control other departments.'
He went on to contend that the Secretary of State for War ought to be in
the House of Commons, and that he ought, moreover, to be a man who
carried weight in that assembly, and who brought to its debates not only
vigour of mind but experience of military details. 'There is only one
person belonging to the Government,' added Lord John, 'who combines
these advantages. My conclusion is that before Parliament meets Lord
Palmerston should be entrusted with the seals of the War Department.'
[Sidenote: INCAPACITY IN HIGH PLACES]
This was, of course, an unwelcome proposition to Lord Aberdeen, and he
met it with the declaration that no one man was competent to undertake
the duties of Secretary of State for War and those of Secretary at War.
He considered that the latter appointment should be held in connection
with the finances of the Army, and in independence of the Secretary for
the War Department. Lord John replied that 'either the Prime Minister
must himself be the acting and moving spirit of the whole machine, or
else the Secretary for War must have delegated authority to control
other departments,' and added, 'neither is the case under the present
_regime_.' Once more, nothing came of the protest, and, when Parliament
met on December 12, to indulge in the luxury of dull debates and bitter
personalities, the situation remained unchanged, in spite of the growing
sense of disaster abroad and incapacity at home. The Duke of Newcastle
in the Lords made a lame defence, and his monotonous and inconclusive
speech lasted for the space of three hours. 'The House went to sleep
after the first half hour,' was the cynical comment of an Opposition
peer. As the year ended the indignation in the country against the Duke
of Newcastle grew more and more pronounced, and he, in common with Lord
Aberdeen, was thought in many quarters to be starving the war. The truth
was, the Duke was not strong enough for the position, and if he had gone
to the Colonial Office, when that alternative was offered him, his
reputation would not now be associated with the lamentable blunders
which, rightly or wrongly, are laid to his charge. It is said that he
once boasted that he had often kept out of mischief men who, he frankly
admitted, were his superiors in ability. However that may be, the Duke
of Newcastle ignominiously failed, at the great crisis in his public
career, to keep out of mischief men who were his subordinates in
position, and, in consequence, to arrest the fatal confusion which the
winter campaign made on the military resources of the nation. Lord
Hardinge, who on the death of the Duke of Wellington had succeeded to
the post of Commander-in-Chief, assured Lord Malmesbury in January 1855
that the Duke of Newcastle had never consulted him on any subject
connected with the war. He added, with considerable heat, that not a
single despatch had been submitted to him; in fact, he had been left to
gather what the War Minister was doing through the published statements
in the newspapers.
The Duke of Newcastle was a sensible, well-intentioned man, but allowed
himself to be involved in the management of the details of his office,
instead of originating a policy and directing the broad course of
affairs with vigour and determination. He displayed a degree of industry
during the crisis which was praiseworthy in itself, and quite phenomenal
in the most exalted branch of the Peerage, but he lacked the power of
initiative, and had not sufficient force and decision of character to
choose the right men for the emergency.
The Cabinet might falter and the War Office dawdle, the faith of the
soldiers in the authorities might be shaken and their hopes of personal
succour be eclipsed, but the charity of womanhood failed not to respond
to the call of the suffering, or to the demands of self-sacrifice.
Florence Nightingale, and the nurses who laboured at her side in the
hospital at Scutari not only soothed the dying and nursed the sick and
wounded, but thrilled the heart of England by their modest heroism and
patient devotion.
Before Parliament met in December, Lord John Russell, in despair of
bringing matters to a practical issue, informed his colleagues that,
though he was willing to remain in the Cabinet, and to act as Leader of
the House during the short session before Christmas, it was his
intention to relinquish office at the close of the year. The objection
was raised that it was unconstitutional for him to meet Parliament in a
responsible position if he had arrived at this fixed but unannounced
resolution. He met this expression of opinion by requesting Lord
Aberdeen to submit his resignation to the Queen on December 7. The
correspondence between Lord Lansdowne and Lord John, and the important
memorandum which the latter drew up on December 30, which Mr. Walpole
has printed, speak for themselves.[37] It will be seen that Lord John
once more insisted that the Secretary of State for the War Department
ought immediately to be invested with all the more important functions
hitherto exercised by the Secretary at War, and he again laid stress on
the necessity in such a crisis that the War Minister should be a member
of the House of Commons. He complained that, though he was responsible
in the Commons, Lord Aberdeen did not treat him with the confidence
which alone could enable a Leader of the House to carry on the business
of the Government with satisfaction. He declared that Lord Grey treated
Lord Althorp in a different fashion, and that Lord Melbourne, to bring
the matter nearer home, had shown greater consideration towards himself.
He added that he felt absolved from the duty of defending acts and
appointments upon which he had not been consulted.
[Sidenote: LORD LANSDOWNE AS PEACEMAKER]
[Sidenote: A FRANK STATEMENT]
Lord Lansdowne succeeded for the moment in patching up an unsatisfactory
peace, but it was becoming every day more and more obvious that the
Aberdeen Government was doomed. The memorandum which Lord John drew up,
at the suggestion of Lord Lansdowne, describes in pithy and direct terms
the privations of the soldiers, and the mortality amongst men and
horses, which was directly due to hunger and neglect. He shows that
between the end of September and the middle of November there was at
least six weeks when all kinds of supplies might have been landed at
Balaclava, and he points out that the stores only needed to be carried
seven or eight miles to reach the most distant division of the Army. He
protested that there had been great mismanagement, and added: 'Soldiers
cannot fight unless they are well fed.' He stated that he understood
Lord Raglan had written home at the beginning of October to say that, if
the Army was to remain on the heights during the winter, huts would be
required, since the barren position which they held did not furnish wood
to make them. Nearly three months had, however, passed, and winter in
its most terrible form had settled on the Crimea, and yet the huts still
appeared not to have reached the troops, though the French had done
their best to make good the discreditable breakdown of our commissariat.
'There appears,' concludes Lord John, 'a want of concert among the
different departments. When the Navy forward supplies, there is no
military authority to receive them; when the military wish to unload a
ship, they find that the naval authority has already ordered it away.
Lord Raglan and Sir Edmund Lyons should be asked to concert between them
the mode of remedying this defect. Neither can see with his own eyes to
the performance of all the subordinate duties, but they can choose the
best men to do it, and arm them with sufficient authority. For on the
due performance of these subordinate duties hangs the welfare of the
Army. Lord Raglan should also be informed exactly of the amount of
reinforcements ordered to the Crimea, and at what time he may expect
them. Having furnished him with all the force in men and material which
the Government can send him, the Government is entitled to expect from
him in return his opinion as to what can be done by the allied armies to
restore the strength and efficiency of the armies for the next campaign.
Probably the troops first sent over will require four months' rest
before they will be able to move against an enemy.' Procrastination was,
however, to have its perfect work, and Lord John, chilled and indignant,
told Lord Aberdeen on January 3 that nothing could be less satisfactory
than the result of the recent Cabinets. 'Unless,' he added, 'you will
direct measures, I see no hope for the efficient prosecution of the
war;' for by this time it was perfectly useless, he saw, to urge on Lord
Aberdeen the claims of Lord Palmerston.
FOOTNOTES:
[36] _Life of Edward Miall, M.P._, by A. Miall, p. 179.
[37] _Life of Lord John Russell_, by Spencer Walpole, vol. ii. 232-235.