COMING BACK TO POWER
1857-1861
Lord John as an Independent Member--His chance in the City--The
Indian Mutiny--Orsini's attempt on the life of Napoleon--The
Conspiracy Bill--Lord John and the Jewish Relief Act--Palmerston in
power--Lord John at the Foreign Office--Cobden and Bright--Quits
the Commons with a Peerage.
LORD JOHN came prominently to the front in public affairs in the brief
session of 1857, which ended in Lord Palmerston's appeal to the country.
He spoke against the Government during the discussions in the House of
Commons on the conduct of the Persian War, and he exercised his
independence in other directions. Even shrewd and well-informed
observers were curiously oblivious, for the moment, of the signs of the
times, for Greville wrote on February 27: 'Nobody cares any longer for
John Russell, everybody detests Gladstone; Disraeli has no influence in
the country, and a very doubtful position with his own party.' Yet
scarcely more than a fortnight later this cynical, but frank scribe
added: 'Some think a reaction in favour of John Russell has begun. He
stands for the City, and is in very good spirits, though his chances of
success do not look bright; but he is a gallant little fellow, likes to
face danger, and comes out well in times of difficulty.' Between these
two statements the unexpected had happened. Cobden had brought forward
a motion censuring the conduct of the Government in the affair of the
lorcha, 'Arrow,' at Canton, and the three statesmen on whom Greville had
contemptuously pronounced judgment--Russell, Gladstone, and
Disraeli--had supported the Manchester school, with the result that the
Government, on March 4, suffered defeat by a majority of sixteen votes.
Parliament was dissolved in the course of the month, and the General
Election brought Lord Palmerston back to power, pledged to nothing
unless it was a spirited foreign policy.
[Sidenote: THE CITY FIGHTS SHY]
The personal ascendency of Lord Palmerston, whom Disraeli cleverly
styled the Tory chief of a Radical Cabinet, carried the election, for
there was a good deal of truth in the assertion that nobody cared a
straw for his colleagues. The Peace party suffered defeat at the polls,
and, amongst others, Cobden himself was turned out at Huddersfield, and
Bright and Milner Gibson were his companions in misfortune at
Manchester. A vigorous attempt was made to overthrow Lord John in the
City, and his timid friends in the neighbourhood of Lombard Street and
the Exchange implored him not to run the risk of a contested election.
He was assured in so many words, states Lady Russell, that he had as
much chance of being elected Pope as of being elected member for the
City; and the statement roused his mettle. He was pitted against a
candidate from Northampton, and the latter was brought forward with the
powerful support of the Registration Association of the City of London,
and in a fashion which was the reverse of complimentary to the old
statesman.
Lord John was equal to the occasion, and was by no means inclined to
throw up the sponge. He went down to the City, and delivered not merely
a vigorous, but vivacious speech, and in the course of it he said, with
a jocularity which was worthy of Lord Palmerston himself: 'If a
gentleman were disposed to part with his butler, his coachman, or his
gamekeeper, or if a merchant were disposed to part with an old servant,
a warehouseman, a clerk, or even a porter, he would say to him,
"John--(laughter)--I think your faculties are somewhat decayed; you are
growing old, you have made several mistakes, and I think of putting a
young man from Northampton in your place." (Laughter and cheers.) I
think a gentleman would behave in that way to his servant, and thereby
give John an opportunity of answering that he thought his faculties were
not so much decayed, and that he was able to go on, at all events, some
five or six years longer. That opportunity was not given to me. The
question was decided in my absence, without any intimation to me; and I
come now to ask you and the citizens of London to reverse that
decision.' He was taken at his word, and the rival candidate from
Northampton was duly sent to the neighbouring borough of Coventry.
The summer of 1857 was darkened in England by tidings of the Indian
Mutiny and of the terrible massacre at Cawnpore. In face of the disaster
Lord John not merely gave his hearty support to the Government, but
delivered an energetic protest against the attack of the Opposition at
such a crisis, and moved an address assuring the Crown of the support of
Parliament, which was carried, in spite of Disraeli, without a division.
At the same time Lord John in confidential intercourse made it plain
that he recognised to the full extent the need of reform in the
administration of India, and he did not hesitate to intimate that, in
his view, the East India Company was no longer equal to the strain of
so great a responsibility. He brought no railing accusations against the
Company, but, on the contrary, declared that it must be admitted they
had 'conducted their affairs in a wonderful manner, falling into errors
that were natural, but displaying merits of a high order. The real
ground for change is that the machine is worn out, and, as a
manufacturer changes an excellent engine of Watt and Boulton made fifty
years ago for a new engine with modern improvements, so it becomes us to
find a new machine for the government of India.'
[Sidenote: THE ORSINI PLOT]
Before the upheaval in India had spent its force fresh difficulties
overtook Lord Palmerston's Government. Count Orsini, strong in the
conviction that Napoleon III. was the great barrier to the progress of
revolution in Italy, determined to rid his countrymen of the man who,
beyond all others, seemed bent on thwarting the national aspirations.
With other conspirators, he threw three bombs on the night of January
14, 1858, at the carriage of the Emperor and Empress as they were
proceeding to the Opera, and, though they escaped unhurt, ten persons
were killed and many wounded. The bombs had been manufactured in
England, and Orsini--who was captured and executed--had arranged the
dastardly outrage in London, and the consequence was a fierce outbreak
of indignation on the other side of the Channel. Lord Palmerston,
prompted by the French Government, which demanded protection from the
machinations of political refugees, brought forward a Conspiracy Bill.
The feeling of the country, already hostile to such a measure, grew
pronounced when the French army, not content with congratulating the
Emperor on his escape, proceeded to refer to England in insulting, and
even threatening, terms. Lord John, on high constitutional grounds,
protested against the introduction of the measure, and declared that he
was determined not to share in such 'shame and humiliation.' The
Government were defeated on the Conspiracy Bill, on February 19, by
nineteen votes. Amongst the eighty-four Liberals in the majority occur
the names, not merely of Lord John Russell and Sir James Graham, but Mr.
Cardwell and Mr. Gladstone. Lord Palmerston promptly resigned, and Lord
Derby came into office. Disraeli, as Chancellor of the Exchequer and
leader of the House of Commons, proceeded with characteristic audacity
and a light heart to educate the new Conservative Party in the art of
dishing the Whigs.
[Sidenote: THE JEWISH RELIEF ACT]
The new Ministry was short-lived. Lord Derby was in advance of his
party, and old-fashioned Tories listened with alarm to the programme of
work which he set before them. For the moment Lord John was not eager
for office, and he declared that the 'new Ministers ought not to be
recklessly or prematurely opposed.' He added that he would not sanction
any cabal among the Liberal party, and that he had no intention whatever
of leading an alliance of Radicals and Peelites. Impressed with the
magnitude of the issues at stake, he helped Lord Derby to pass the new
India Bill, which handed the government of that country over to the
Crown. He held that the question was too great to be made a battle-field
of party, but thorough-paced adherents of Lord Palmerston did not
conceal their indignation at such independent action. Lord John believed
at the moment that it was right for him to throw his influence into the
scale, and therefore he was indifferent to the passing clamour. The
subsequent history of the English in India has amply justified the
patriotic step which he took in scorn of party consequences. The Jewish
Relief Act became law in 1858, and Lord John at length witnessed the
triumph of a cause which he had brought again and again before
Parliament since the General Election of 1847, when Baron Rothschild was
returned as his colleague in the representation of the City. Scarcely
any class of the community showed themselves more constantly mindful of
his services on their behalf than the Jews. When one of them took an
opportunity of thanking him for helping to free a once oppressed race
from legal disabilities, Lord John replied: 'The object of my life has
been not to benefit a race alone, but all nationalities that suffered
under civil and religious disabilities.' He used to relate with evident
appreciation the reply which Lord Lyndhurst once gave to a timid
statesman who feared a possible Hebrew invasion of the woolsack. The man
who was appointed four times to that exalted seat retorted: 'Well, I see
no harm in that; Daniel would have made a good Lord Chancellor.'
Everyone recognised that the Derby Administration was a mere stop-gap,
and, as months passed on, its struggle for existence became somewhat
ludicrous. They felt themselves to be a Ministry on sufferance, and,
according to the gossip of the hour, their watchword was 'Anything for a
quiet life.' There were rocks ahead, and at the beginning of the session
of 1859 they stood revealed in Mr. Disraeli's extraordinary proposals
for Reform, and in the war-cloud which was gathering rapidly over Europe
in consequence of the quarrel between France and Austria about the
affairs of Italy. Mr. Disraeli's Reform Bill taxed the allegiance of his
party to the breaking point, and when its provisions were disclosed two
of his colleagues resigned--Mr. Spencer Walpole the Home Office, and Mr.
Henley the Board of Trade, rather than have part or lot in such a
measure. There is no need here to describe in detail a scheme which was
foredoomed by its fantastic character to failure. It confused great
issues; it brought into play what Mr. Bright called fancy franchises; it
did not lower the voting qualification in boroughs; its new property
qualifications were of a retrograde character; and it left the working
classes where it found them. It frightened staid Tories of the older
school, and excited the ridicule, if not the indignation, of all who had
seriously grappled with the problem.
[Sidenote: LORD GRANVILLE'S IMPOSSIBLE TASK]
The immediate effect was to unite all sections of the Liberal Party.
Lord John led the attack, and did so on the broad ground that it did not
go far enough; and on April 1, after protracted debate, the measure was
defeated by a majority of thirty-nine votes in a House of six hundred
and twenty-one members. Parliament was prorogued on April 19, and the
country was thrown into the turmoil of a General Election. Lord John
promptly appealed to his old constituents in the City, and in the course
of a vigorous address handled the 'so-called Reform Bill' in no
uncertain manner. He declared that amongst the numerous defects of the
Bill 'one provision was conspicuous by its presence and another by its
absence.' He had deemed it advisable on the second reading to take what
seemed to be the 'most clear, manly, and direct' course, and that was
the secret of his amendment. The House of Commons had mustered in full
force, and the terms of the amendment had been carried. The result of
the General Election was that three hundred and fifty Liberals and three
hundred and two Conservatives were returned to Westminster. Parliament
met on May 31, and Lord Hartington moved an amendment to the Address
which amounted to an expression of want of confidence. The amendment was
carried by a majority of thirteen on June 12, and Lord Derby's
Administration came the same night to an end. The result of the division
took both parties somewhat by surprise. The astonishment was heightened
when her Majesty sent for Lord Granville, an action which, to say the
least, was a left-handed compliment to old and distinguished advisers of
the Crown. Happily, though the sovereign may in such high affairs of
State propose, it is the country which must finally dispose, and Lord
Granville swiftly found that in the exuberance of political youth he had
accepted a hopeless commission. He therefore relinquished an impossible
task, and the Queen sent for Lord Palmerston.
[Sidenote: PALMERSTON'S MIXED MULTITUDE]
In the earlier years of Lord John's retirement from office after the
Vienna Conference his relations with some of his old colleagues, and
more particularly with Lord Clarendon and Lord Palmerston, were somewhat
strained. The blunders of the Derby Government, the jeopardy in India,
the menacing condition of foreign politics, and, still more, the
patriotism and right feeling of both men, gradually drew Palmerston and
Russell into more intimate association, with the result that in the
early summer of 1859 the frank intercourse of former years was renewed.
More than twelve years had elapsed since Lord John had attained the
highest rank possible to an English statesman. In the interval he had
consented, under strong pressure from the most exalted quarters, to
waive his claims by consenting to serve under Lord Aberdeen; and the
outcome of that experiment had been humiliating to himself, as well as
disastrous to the country. He might fairly have stood on his dignity--a
fool's pedestal at the best, and one which Lord John was too sensible
ever to mount--at the present juncture, and have declined to return to
the responsibilities of office, except as Prime Minister. The leaders
of the democracy, Mr. Bright and Mr. Cobden, were much more friendly to
him than to Lord Palmerston. Apart from published records, Lady
Russell's diary shows that at the beginning of this year Mr. Bright was
in close communication with her husband. Lord John good-humouredly
protested that Mr. Bright alarmed timid people by his speeches;
whereupon the latter replied that he had been much misrepresented, and
declared that he was more willing to be lieutenant than general in the
approaching struggle for Reform. He explained his scheme, and Lord John
found that it had much in common with his own, from which it differed
only in degree, except on the question of the ballot. 'There has been a
meeting between Bright and Lord John,' was Lord Houghton's comment, 'but
I don't know that it has led to anything except a more temperate tone in
Bright's last speeches.' Mr. Cobden, it is an open secret, would not
have refused to serve under Lord John, but his hostility to Lord
Palmerston's policy was too pronounced for him now to accept the offer
of a seat in the new Cabinet. He assured Lord John that if he had been
at the head of the Administration the result would have been different.
Both Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright felt that Lord Palmerston blocked the way
to any adequate readjustment in home politics of the balance of power,
and they were inspired by a settled distrust of his foreign policy. Lord
John, on the other hand, though he might not move as swiftly as such
popular leaders thought desirable, had still a name to conjure with, and
was the consistent advocate, though on more cautious lines, of an
extension of the franchise. Moreover, Lord John's attack on Palmerston's
Government in regard to the conduct of the Chinese war, his vigorous
protest against the Conspiracy Bill, and his frank sympathy with
Mazzini's dream of a United Italy, helped to bring the old leader, in
the long fight for civil and religious liberty, into vital touch with
younger men of the stamp of Cobden, Bright, and Gladstone, of whom the
people justly expected great things in the not distant future. Lord John
knew, however, that the Liberal camp was full of politicians who were
neither hot nor cold--men who had slipped into Parliament on easy terms,
only to reveal the fact that their prejudices were many and their
convictions few. They sheltered themselves under the great prestige of
Lord Palmerston, and represented his policy of masterly inactivity,
rather than the true sentiments of the nation. Lord Palmerston was as
jaunty as ever; but all things are not possible even to the ablest man,
at seventy-five.
Although Lord John was not willing to serve under Lord Granville, who
was his junior by more than a score of years, he saw his chance at the
Foreign Office, and therefore consented to join the Administration of
Lord Palmerston. In accepting office on such terms in the middle of
June, he made it plain to Lord Palmerston that the importance of
European affairs at the moment had induced him to throw in his lot with
the new Ministry. The deadlock was brought to an end by Lord John's
patriotic decision. Mr. Gladstone became Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Lord Granville President of the Council; and amongst others in the
Cabinet were Sir G. C. Lewis, Mr. Milner Gibson, Sir George Grey, and
the Duke of Argyll. Though Cobden would not accept a place in the
Government, he rendered it important service by negotiating the
commercial treaty with France, which came into force at the beginning of
1860. Next to the abolition of the Corn Laws, which he more than any
other man brought about, it was the great achievement of his career.
Free Trade, by liberating commerce from the bondage under which it
groaned, gave food to starving multitudes, redressed a flagrant and
tyrannical abuse of power, shielded a kingdom from the throes of
revolution, and added a new and magical impetus to material progress in
every quarter of the globe. The commercial treaty with France, by
establishing mercantile sympathy and intercourse between two of the most
powerful nations of the world, carried forward the work which Free Trade
had begun, and, by bringing into play community of interests, helped to
give peace a sure foundation.
Parliament met on January 24, and in the Speech from the Throne a Reform
Bill was promised. It was brought forward by Lord John Russell on March
1--the twenty-ninth anniversary of a red-letter day in his life, the
introduction of the first Reform Bill. He proposed to reduce the county
franchise to 10_l._ qualification, and the borough to 6_l._; one member
was to be taken from each borough with a population of less than seven
thousand, and in this way twenty-five seats were obtained for
redistribution. Political power was to be given where the people were
congregated, and Lord John's scheme of re-distribution gave two seats to
the West Riding, and one each to thirty other counties or divisions, and
five to boroughs hitherto unrepresented. The claims of Manchester,
Liverpool, Birmingham, and Leeds were recognised by the proposal to add
another representative in each case; and the claims of culture were not
forgotten, for a member was given to London University. Gallio-like,
Lord Palmerston cared for none of these things, and he made no attempt
to conceal his indifference. One-half of the Cabinet appear to have
shared his distaste for the measure, and two or three of them regarded
it with aversion. If Cobden or Bright had been in the Cabinet, affairs
might have taken a different course; as it was, Lord John and Mr.
Gladstone stood almost alone.
The Radicals, though gaining ground in the country, were numerically
weak in the House of Commons, and the measure fell to the ground between
the opposition of the Tories and the faint praise with which it was
damned by the Whigs. Even Lord John was forced to confess that the
apathy of the country was undeniable. A more sweeping measure would have
had a better chance, but so long as Lord Palmerston was at the head of
affairs it was idle to expect it. Lord John recognised the inevitable
after a succession of dreary debates, and the measure was withdrawn on
June 11. Lord John's first important speech in the House of Commons was
made in the year of Peterloo, when he brought forward, thirteen years
before the Reform Bill of 1832 was passed, proposals for an extension of
the franchise; and his last great speech in the House of Commons at
least showed how unmerited was the taunt of 'finality,' for it sought to
give the working classes a share in the government of the country.
[Sidenote: ACCEPTS A PEERAGE]
Early in the following year, Lord John was raised to the peerage as Earl
Russell of Kingston-Russell and Viscount Amberley and Ardsalla. 'I
cannot despatch,' wrote Mr. Gladstone, 'as I have just done, the
Chiltern Hundreds for you, without expressing the strong feelings which
even that formal act awakens. They are mixed, as well as strong; for I
hope you will be repaid in repose, health, and the power of
long-continuing service, for the heavy loss we suffer in the House of
Commons. Although you may not hereafter have opportunities of adding to
the personal debt I owe you, and of bringing it vividly before my mind
by fresh acts of courage and kindness, I assure you, the recollection of
it is already indelible.' Hitherto, Lord John--for the old name is the
one under which his family and his friends still like to apply to
him--had been a poor man; but the death, in the spring of this year, of
his brother the Duke of Bedford, with whom, from youth to age, his
intercourse had been most cordial, placed him in possession of the
Ardsalla Estate, and, indeed, made possible his acceptance of the
proffered earldom. Six months later, her Majesty conferred the Garter
upon him, as a mark of her 'high approbation of long and distinguished
services.' Lord John had almost reached the age of three score and ten
when he entered the House of Lords. He had done his work in 'another
place,' but he was destined to become once more First Minister of the
Crown, and, as Mr. Froude put it, to carry his reputation at length off
the scene unspotted by a single act which his biographers are called
upon to palliate.