Foreign Difficulties--Conduct of Peel on the Resignation of Lord
Grey--Manners Sutton proposed as Tory Premier--Coolness between
Peel and the Duke--Embargo on Dutch Ships--Death of Lord
Tenterden--Denman made Lord Chief Justice--_Tableau_ of Holland
House--The Speakership--Horne and Campbell Attorney- and
Solicitor-General--The Court at Brighton--Lord Howe and the
Queen--Elections under the Reform Act--Mr. Gully--Petworth--
Lord Egremont--Attempt to reinstate Lord Howe--Namik Pacha--
Lord Lyndhurst's Version of what occurred on the Resignation of
Lord Grey--Lord Denbigh appointed Chamberlain to the Queen--
Brougham's Privy Council Bill--Talleyrand's Relations with Fox
and Pitt--Negro Emancipation Bill--State of the West Indies--
The Reformed Parliament meets--Russian Intrigues--Four Days'
Debate on the Address--Peel's Political Career.
London, October 7th, 1832 {p.324}
I went to Newmarket on the 30th of September, to Panshanger on
the 5th, and came to town on the 6th. Great fears entertained of
war; the obstinacy of the Dutch King, the appointment of Soult to
be Prime Minister of France, and the ambiguous conduct of the
Allied Courts look like war. Miguel has attacked Oporto without
success; but, as he nearly destroyed the English and French
battalions, he will probably soon get possession of the city. It
is clear that all Portugal is for him, which we may be sorry for,
but so it is. The iniquity of his cause does not appear to affect
it.
October 12th, 1832 {p.324}
Lady Cowper told me at Panshanger that Palmerston said all the
difficulties of the Belgian question came from Matuscewitz, who
was insolent and obstinate, and astute in making objections; that
it was the more provoking as he had been recalled some time ago
(the Greek business being settled, for which he came), and
Palmerston and some of the others had asked the Emperor to allow
him to stay here, on account of his usefulness in drawing up the
minutes of the proceedings of the Conference; that Lieven had by
no means wished him to stay, but could not object when the others
desired it. Accordingly he remained, and now he annoys Palmerston
to death. All this she wrote to Madame de Lieven, who replied
that it was not the fault of Matuscewitz, and that he and Lieven
agreed perfectly. She talked, however, rather more pacific
language. This clever, intriguing, agreeable diplomatess has
renewed her friendship with the Duke of Wellington, to which he
does not object, though she will hardly ever efface the
impression her former conduct made upon him. My journal is
getting intolerably stupid, and entirely barren of events. I
would take to miscellaneous and private matters if any fell in my
way, but what can I make out of such animals as I herd with and
such occupations as I am engaged in?
Euston, October 26th, 1832 {p.325}
[Page Head: TORY ATTEMPTS TO FORM A MINISTRY.]
Went to Downham on Sunday last; the Duke of Rutland, the
Walewskis, Lord Burghersh, and Hope. Came here on Wednesday
morning; the usual party. At Downham I picked up a good deal from
Arbuthnot (who was very garrulous) of a miscellaneous description,
of which the most curious and important was the entire confirmation
of (what I before suspected) the ill blood that exists between the
Duke of Wellington and Peel; though the interests of party keep
them on decent terms, they dislike one another, and the Duke's
friends detest Peel still more than the Duke does himself. He told
me all that had passed at the time of the blow-up of the present
Government, which I have partly recorded from a former conversation
with him, and his story certainly proves that the Duke (though I
think he committed an enormous error in judgment) was not
influenced by any motives of personal ambition.
[Page Head: MANNERS SUTTON PROPOSED AS PREMIER.]
As soon as the King sent for Lyndhurst the latter went to the
Duke, who (as is known) agreed to form a Government, never
doubting that he was to be himself Prime Minister. Lyndhurst went
to Peel, who declined to take office, and he then went to Baring.
Lyndhurst and Arbuthnot sent for Baring out of the House of
Commons, and took him to old Bankes' house in Palace Yard, where
they had their conversation with him. He begged for time to
consider of it, and to be allowed to consult Peel, to which they
assented. He afterwards agreed, but on condition that Manners
Sutton should also be in the Cabinet. Lyndhurst had about the
same time made overtures to Manners Sutton, and though nothing
was finally settled it was understood he would accept them. So
matters stood, when one day (it must have been the Wednesday or
Thursday) Vesey Fitzgerald called on the Arbuthnots, and in a
conversation about the different arrangements he intimated that
Manners Sutton expected to be Prime Minister, and on asking him
more particularly they found that this was also his own
impression. The next morning Arbuthnot went off to Lyndhurst's
house, where he arrived before Lyndhurst was dressed, and told
him what had fallen from Fitzgerald, and asked what it could
mean. Lyndhurst answered very evasively, but promised to have the
matter cleared up. Arbuthnot, not satisfied, went to the Duke and
told him what had passed, and added his conviction that there was
some such project on foot (to make Sutton Premier) of which he
was not aware. The Duke said he did not care a farthing who was
Premier, and that if it was thought desirable that Sutton should
be he had not the smallest objection, and was by no means anxious
to fill the post himself. I asked whether the Duke would have
taken office if Sutton had been Minister, and was told that
nothing was settled, but probably not.
The same day there was a meeting at Apsley House, at which the
Duke, Lyndhurst, Baring, Ellenborough, and (I think) Rosslyn or
Aberdeen, or both, were present, and to which Sutton came, and
held forth for nearly four hours upon the position of their
affairs and his coming into office. He talked such incredible
nonsense (as I have before related) that when he was gone they all
lifted up their hands and with one voice pronounced the
impossibility of forming any Government under such a head. Baring
was then asked why he had made Sutton's coming into office the
condition of his own acceptance, and why he had wished him to be
Prime Minister. He said that he had never desired any such thing
himself, and had hardly any acquaintance with Sutton, except that
as speaker he was civil to him, and he dined with him once a year,
but that when he had gone to consult Peel, Peel had advised him to
insist upon having Sutton, and to put him at the head of the
Government. This avowal led to further examination into what had
passed, and it came out that when Lyndhurst went to Peel, Peel
pressed Manners Sutton upon him, refusing to take office himself,
but promising to support the new Government, and urging Lyndhurst
to offer the Premiership to Sutton. At the same time he put Sutton
up to this, and desired him to refuse every office except that of
Premier. Accordingly, when Lyndhurst went to Sutton, the latter
said he would be Prime Minister or nothing, and Lyndhurst had the
folly to promise it to him. Thus matters stood when Lady Cowley,
who was living at Apsley House, and got hold of what was passing,
went and told it to her brother, Lord Salisbury, who lost no time
in imparting it to some of the other High Tory Lords, who all
agreed that it would not do to have Sutton at the head of the
Government, and that the Duke was the only man for them. On
Saturday the great dinner at the Conservative Club took place, at
which a number of Tories, principally Peers, with the Duke and
Peel, were present. A great many speeches were made, all full of
enthusiasm for the Duke, and expressing a determination to support
_his_ Government. Peel was in very ill humour and said little; the
Duke spoke much in honour of Peel, applauding his conduct and
saying that the difference of their positions justified each in
his different line. The next day some of the Duke's friends met,
and agreed that the unanimous desire for the Duke's being at the
head of the Government which had been expressed at that dinner,
together with the unfitness of Sutton, proved the absolute
necessity of the Duke's being Premier, and it was resolved that a
communication to this effect should be made to Peel. Aberdeen
charged himself with it and went to Peel's house, where Sutton was
at the time. Peel came to Aberdeen in a very bad humour, said he
saw from what had passed at the dinner that nobody was thought of
but the Duke, and he should wash his hands of the whole business;
that he had already declined having anything to do with the
Government, and to that determination he should adhere. The
following Monday the whole thing was at an end.
I am not sure that I have stated these occurrences exactly as
they were told me. There may be errors in the order of the
interviews and _pourparlers_, and in the verbal details, but the
substance is correct, and may be summed up to this effect: that
Peel, full of ambition, but of caution, animated by deep dislike
and jealousy of the Duke (which policy induced him to conceal,
but which temper betrayed), thought to make Manners Sutton play
the part of Addington, while he was to be another Pitt; he
fancied that he could gain in political character, by an opposite
line of conduct, all that the Duke would lose; and he resolved
that a Government should be formed the existence of which should
depend upon himself. Manners Sutton was to be his creature; he
would have dictated every measure of Government; he would have
been their protector in the House of Commons; and, as soon as the
fitting moment arrived, he would have dissolved this miserable
Ministry and placed himself at the head of affairs. All these
deep-laid schemes, and constant regard of self, form a strong
contrast to the simplicity and heartiness of the Duke's conduct,
and make the two men appear in a very different light from that
in which they did at first. Peel acted right from bad motives,
the Duke wrong from good ones. The Duke put himself forward, and
encountered all the obloquy and reproach to which he knew he
exposed himself, and having done so, cheerfully offered to resign
the power to another. Peel endeavoured to seize the power, but to
shield himself from responsibility and danger. It is a melancholy
proof of the dearth of talent and the great capacity of the man
that, notwithstanding the detection of his practices and his
motives, the Tories are compelled still to keep well with him and
to accept him for their leader. No cordiality, however, can exist
again between him and the Duke and his friends, and, should the
Whig Government be expelled, the animosity and disunion
engendered by these circumstances will make it extremely
difficult to form a Tory Administration. [In a short time it was
all made up--forgiven, if not forgotten.]
November 7th, 1832 {p.329}
[Page Head: EMBARGO ON DUTCH SHIPS.]
Came to town on Sunday. The answer of the Dutch King to the
demand of England and France that he should give up Antwerp was
anxiously expected. It arrived on Monday afternoon, and was a
refusal. Accordingly a Council met yesterday, at which an order
was made for laying an embargo on Dutch merchant ships, which are
to be sequestrated, but not confiscated. The French army marches
forthwith, and Palmerston told me they expected two or three days
of bombardment would suffice for the capture of the citadel,
after which the French would retire within their own frontier.
The combined fleets will remain at the Downs, for they can do
nothing on the coast of Holland at this season of the year. There
is a good deal of jealousy and no friendly spirit between the
English and French sailors; and the Duke of Richmond told me
yesterday that the Deal pilots desired nothing so much as to get
the French ships into a scrape. Great excitement prevails about
this Dutch question, which is so complicated that at this moment
I do not understand its merits. Matuscewitz, however, who is
opposed _totis viribus_ to the policy of England and France, told
me that nobody could have behaved worse than the King of Holland
has done, shuffling and tricking throughout; but they say he is
so situated at home that he could not give way if he would. A few
days must now decide the question of war or peace. All the
Ministers, except Brougham, Lord Holland, Grant, and Carlisle,
were at the Council yesterday--the Archbishop of Canterbury for a
prayer (for we omit no opportunity of offering supplications or
returning thanks to Heaven), and the new Lord Chief Justice to be
sworn a Privy Councillor.
[Page Head: DENMAN LORD CHIEF JUSTICE.]
Lord Tenterden died on Sunday night, and no time was lost in
appointing Denman as his successor. Coming as he does after four
of the greatest lawyers who ever sat upon the Bench, this choice
will not escape severe censure; for the reputation of Denman as a
lawyer is not high, and he has been one of the most inefficient
Attorneys-General who ever filled the office. It has been a
constant matter of complaint on the part of the Government and
their friends that the law officers of the Crown gave them no
assistance, but, on the contrary, got them into scrapes. Denman is
an honourable man, and has been a consistent politician; latterly,
of course, a Radical of considerable vehemence, if not of
violence. The other men who were mentioned as successors to
Tenterden were Lyndhurst, Scarlett, and James Parke. The latter is
the best of the puisne judges, and might have been selected if all
political considerations and political connexions had been
disregarded. Lyndhurst will be overwhelmed with anguish and
disappointment at finding himself for ever excluded from the great
object of his ambition, and in which his professional claims are
so immeasurably superior to those of his successful competitor;
nor has he lost it by any sacrifice of interest to honour, but
merely from the unfortunate issue of his political speculations.
When he was made Chief Baron a regular compact was made, a secret
article, that he should succeed on Tenterden's death to the Chief
Justiceship; which bargain was of course cancelled by his
declaration of war on the Reform question and his consequent
breach with Lord Grey; though by far the fittest man, he was now
out of the question. It will be the more grating as he has just
evinced his high capabilities by pronouncing in the Court of
Exchequer one of the ablest judgments (in Small _v._ Attwood) that
were ever delivered. [It was afterwards reversed by the House of
Lords.] Scarlett, who had been a Whig for forty years, and who has
long occupied the first place in the Court of King's Bench, would
have been the man if his political dissociation from his old
connexions, and his recent hostility to them, had not also
cancelled his claims; so that every rival being set aside from one
cause or another, Denman, by one of the most extraordinary pieces
of good fortune that ever happened to man, finds himself elevated
to this great office, the highest object of a lawyer's ambition,
and, in my opinion, one of the most enviable stations an
Englishman can attain. It is said that as a Common Serjeant he
displayed the qualities of a good judge, and his friends
confidently assert that he will make a very good Chief Justice;
but his legal qualifications are admitted to be very inferior to
those of his predecessors. [He made a very bad one, but was
personally popular and generally respected for his high, and
honourable moral character.]
Tenterden was a remarkable man, and his elevation did great
credit to the judgment which selected him, and which probably was
Eldon's. He had never led a cause, but he was a profound lawyer,
and appears to have had a mind fraught with the spirit and genius
of the law, and not narrowed and trammelled by its subtleties and
technicalities. In spite of his low birth, want of oratorical
power, and of personal dignity, he was greatly revered and
dreaded on the Bench. He was an austere, but not an ill-humoured
judge; his manners were remarkably plain and unpolished, though
not vulgar. He was an elegant scholar, and cultivated classical
literature to the last. Brougham, whose congenial tastes
delighted in his classical attainments, used to bandy Latin and
Greek with him from the Bar to the Bench; and he has more than
once told me of his sending Tenterden Greek verses of John
Williams', of which the next day Tenterden gave him a translation
in Latin verse. He is supposed to have died very rich. Denman was
taken into the King's closet before the Council, when he was
sworn in; the King took no particular notice of him, and the
appointment is not, probably, very palatable to his Majesty.
November 15th, 1832 {p.331}
Sheriff business at the Exchequer Court on Monday; saw Lyndhurst
and Denman meet and shake hands with much politeness and grimace.
November 20th, 1832 {p.331}
Dined at Holland House the day before yesterday; Lady Holland is
unwell, fancies she must dine at five o'clock, and exerts her
power over society by making everybody go out there at that hour,
though nothing can be more inconvenient than thus shortening the
day, and nothing more tiresome than such lengthening of the
evening. Rogers and Luttrell were staying there. The _tableau_ of
the house is this:--Before dinner, Lady Holland affecting illness
and almost dissolution, but with a very respectable appetite, and
after dinner in high force and vigour; Lord Holland, with his
chalkstones and unable to walk, lying on his couch in very good
spirits and talking away; Luttrell and Rogers walking about, ever
and anon looking despairingly at the clock and making short
excursions from the drawing-room; Allen surly and disputatious,
poring over the newspapers, and replying in monosyllables
(generally negative) to whatever is said to him. The grand topic
of interest, far exceeding the Belgian or Portuguese questions,
was the illness of Lady Holland's page, who has got a tumour in
his thigh. This 'little creature,' as Lady Holland calls a great
hulking fellow of about twenty, is called 'Edgar,' his real name
being Tom or Jack, which he changed on being elevated to his
present dignity, as the Popes do when they are elected to the
tiara. More rout is made about him than other people are
permitted to make about their children, and the inmates of
Holland House are invited and compelled to go and sit with and
amuse him. Such is the social despotism of this strange house,
which presents an odd mixture of luxury and constraint, of
enjoyment physical and intellectual, with an alloy of small
_desagrements_. Talleyrand generally comes at ten or eleven
o'clock, and stays as long as they will let him. Though everybody
who goes there finds something to abuse or to ridicule in the
mistress of the house, or its ways, all continue to go; all like
it more or less; and whenever, by the death of either, it shall
come to an end, a vacuum will be made in society which nothing
will supply. It is the house of all Europe; the world will suffer
by the loss; and it may with truth be said that it will 'eclipse
the gaiety of nations.'
November 27th, 1832 {p.332}
At Roehampton from Saturday till Monday. The Chancellor had been
there a few days before, from whom Lord Dover had picked up the
gossip of the Government. There had been a fresh breeze with
Durham, who it seems has returned from Russia more odious than
ever. His violence and insolence, as usual, were vented on Lord
Grey, and the rest of the Cabinet, as heretofore, are obliged to
submit. I have since heard from the Duke of Richmond that the
cause of this last storm was something relating to Church Reform,
and that he had been forced to knock under. I fancy he wanted to
go much further than the others, probably to unfrock the Bishop
of Durham and Bishop Phillpotts, the former because he is a
greater man in the county than himself, and the latter from old
and inextinguishable hatred and animosity.
[Page Head: THE SPEAKERSHIP.]
There has been another dispute about the Speakership. All the
Cabinet except Althorp want to put Abercromby in the chair, and
Althorp insists on having Littleton. The former is in all respects
the best choice, and the man whom they ought, from his long
connexion with the Whigs and his consistency and respectability,
to propose, but Althorp thought fit to commit himself in some way
to Littleton, who has no claims to be compared with those of
Abercromby (having been half his life in opposition to the present
Government), and he obstinately insists upon the expectations held
out to him being realised. Lord Grey, though very anxious for
Abercromby, thinks it necessary to defer to the leader of the
House of Commons, and the consequence is a very disagreeable
dispute on the subject. Abercromby is greatly mortified at being
postponed to Littleton, and not the less as Althorp has always
been his friend. The language of Dover, who is a sort of jackal to
Brougham, clearly indicates the desire of that worthy to get rid
of Lord Grey and put himself in his place. All these little
squabbles elicit some disparaging remarks on Lord Grey's weakness,
folly, or cupidity. _Haeret lateri_--the offer of the Attorney-Generalship,
and the day of vengeance is intended to come.[1]
[1] [This refers to Lord Grey's having offered the
Attorney-Generalship to Brougham when Government was
formed.]
After considerable delay Horne and Campbell were appointed
Attorney- and Solicitor-General; the delay was occasioned by
ineffectual attempts to dispose of Horne elsewhere. They wanted
to get some puisne judge to resign, and to put Horne on the
Bench, but they could not make any such arrangement, so Horne is
Attorney. Pepys was to have been Solicitor if the thing could
have been managed. I don't think I picked up anything else,
except that the King was very averse to the French attack upon
Antwerp, and consented to the hand-in-hand arrangement between
France and England with considerable reluctance. The fact is he
hates this Government so much that he dislikes all they do.
Lord Lansdowne is just come from Paris, and gives a flourishing
account of the prospects of King Louis Philippe and his
Government, but as he is the Duc de Broglie's intimate friend his
opinion may be prejudiced. The King appears certainly to have
rather gained than not by the attack which was made on him, from
the coolness and courage he evinced, and it is a great point to
have proved that he is not a coward.
Brighton, December 14th, 1832 {p.334}
Came here last Wednesday week; Council on the Monday for the
dissolution; place very full, bustling, gay, and amusing. I am
staying in De Ros's house with Alvanley; Chesterfields, Howes,
Lievens, Cowpers, all at Brighton, and plenty of occupation in
visiting, gossiping, dawdling, riding, and driving; a very idle
life, and impossible to do anything. The Court very active,
vulgar, and hospitable; King, Queen, Princes, Princesses,
bastards, and attendants constantly trotting about in every
direction: the election noisy and dull--the Court candidate
beaten and two Radicals elected. Everybody talking of the siege
of Antwerp and the elections. So, with plenty of animation, and
discussion, and curiosity, I like it very well. Lord Howe is
devoted to the Queen, and never away from her. She receives his
attentions, but demonstrates nothing in return; he is like a boy
in love with this frightful spotted Majesty, while his delightful
wife is laid up (with a sprained ancle and dislocated joint) on
her couch.
Brighton, December 17th, 1832 {p.334}
On Sunday I heard Anderson preach. He does not write his sermons,
but preaches from notes; very eloquent, voice and manner perfect,
one of the best I ever heard, both preacher and reader.
[Page Head: MR. GULLY.]
The borough elections are nearly over, and have satisfied the
Government. They do not seem to be bad on the whole; the
metropolitans have sent good men enough, and there was no tumult
in the town. At Hertford Duncombe was routed by Salisbury's long
purse. He hired such a numerous mob besides that he carried all
before him. Some very bad characters have been returned; among the
worst, Faithful here; Gronow at Stafford; Gully, Pontefract;
Cobbett, Oldham; though I am glad that Cobbett is in Parliament.
Gully's history is extraordinary. He was taken out of prison
twenty-five or thirty years ago by Mellish to fight Pierce,
surnamed the 'Game Chicken,' being then a butcher's apprentice; he
fought him and was beaten. He afterwards fought Belcher (I
believe), and Gresson twice, and left the prize-ring with the
reputation of being the best man in it. He then took to the turf,
was successful, established himself at Newmarket, where he kept a
hell, and began a system of corruption of trainers, jockeys, and
boys, which put the secrets of all Newmarket at his disposal, and
in a few years made him rich. At the same time he connected
himself with Mr. Watt in the north, by betting for him, and this
being at the time when Watt's stable was very successful, he won
large sums of money by his horses. Having become rich he embarked
in a great coal speculation, which answered beyond his hopes, and
his shares soon yielded immense profits. His wife, who was a
coarse, vulgar woman, in the meantime died, and he afterwards
married the daughter of an innkeeper, who proved as gentlewomanlike
as the other had been the reverse, and who is very pretty besides.
He now gradually withdrew from the betting ring as a regular
blackleg, still keeping horses, and betting occasionally in large
sums, and about a year or two ago, having previously sold the Hare
Park to Sir Mark Wood, where he lived for two or three years, he
bought a property near Pontefract, and settled down (at Ackworth
Park) as John Gully, Esq., a gentleman of fortune. At the Reform
dissolution he was pressed to come forward as candidate for
Pontefract, but after some hesitation he declined. Latterly he has
taken great interest in politics, and has been an ardent Reformer
and a liberal subscriber for the advancement of the cause. When
Parliament was about to be dissolved, he was again invited to
stand for Pontefract by a numerous deputation; he again hesitated,
but finally accepted; Lord Mexborough withdrew, and he was elected
without opposition. In person he is tall and finely formed, full
of strength and grace, with delicate hands and feet, his face
coarse and with a bad expression, his head set well on his
shoulders, and remarkably graceful and even dignified in his
actions and manners; totally without education, he has strong
sense, discretion, reserve, and a species of good taste which has
prevented, in the height of his fortunes, his behaviour from ever
transgressing the bounds of modesty and respect, and he has
gradually separated himself from the rabble of bettors and
blackguards of whom he was once the most conspicuous, and tacitly
asserted his own independence and acquired gentility without ever
presuming towards those whom he has been accustomed to regard with
deference. His position is now more anomalous than ever, for a
member of Parliament is a great man, though there appear no
reasons why the suffrages of the blackguards of Pontefract should
place him in different social relations towards us than those in
which we mutually stood before.
Petworth, December 20th, 1832 {p.336}
[Page Head: EARL OF EGREMONT.]
Came here yesterday. It is a very grand place; house magnificent
and full of fine objects, both ancient and modern; the Sir
Joshuas and Vandykes particularly interesting, and a great deal
of all sorts that is worth seeing. Lord Egremont was eighty-one
the day before yesterday, and is still healthy, with faculties
and memory apparently unimpaired. He has reigned here for sixty
years with great authority and influence. He is shrewd,
eccentric, and benevolent, and has always been munificent and
charitable in his own way; he patronises the arts and fosters
rising genius. Painters and sculptors find employment and welcome
in his house; he has built a gallery which is full of pictures
and statues, some of which are very fine, and the pictures
scattered through the house are interesting and curious. Lord
Egremont hates ceremony, and can't bear to be personally meddled
with; he likes people to come and go as it suits them, and say
nothing about it, never to take leave of him. The party here
consists of the Cowpers, his own family, a Lady E. Romney, two
nieces, Mrs. Tredcroft a neighbour, Ridsdale a parson, Wynne,
Turner, the great landscape painter, and a young artist of the
name of Lucas, whom Lord Egremont is bringing into notice, and
who will owe his fortune (if he makes it) to him. Lord Egremont
is enormously rich, and lives with an abundant though not very
refined hospitality. The house wants modern comforts, and the
servants are rustic and uncouth; but everything is good, and it
all bears an air of solid and aristocratic grandeur. The stud
groom told me there are 300 horses of different sorts here. His
course, however, is nearly run, and he has the mortification of
feeling that, though surrounded with children and grandchildren,
he is almost the last of his race, and that his family is about
to be extinct. Two old brothers and one childless nephew are all
that are left of the Wyndhams, and the latter has been many years
married. All his own children are illegitimate, but he has
everything in his power, though nobody has any notion of the
manner in which he will dispose of his property. It is impossible
not to reflect upon the prodigious wealth of the Earls of
Northumberland, and of the proud Duke of Somerset who married the
last heiress of that house, the betrothed of three husbands. All
that Lord Egremont has, all the Duke of Northumberland's
property, and the Duke of Rutland's Cambridgeshire estate
belonged to them, which together is probably equivalent to
between L200,000 and L300,000 a year. Banks told me that the
Northumberland property, when settled on Sir H. Smithson, was not
above L12,000 a year.[2]
[2] [The eleventh Earl of Northumberland, Joscelyn Percy,
died in 1670, leaving an only daughter, who married
Charles Seymour, ninth Duke of Somerset. This lady is
described as 'the betrothed of three husbands,' because
she was married at fourteen to Henry Cavendish, son of
the Duke of Newcastle, who died in the following year.
She was then affianced to Thomas Thynne of Longleat,
who was assassinated in 1682; and at last married to
the Duke of Somerset. The eldest son of this marriage,
Algernon Seymour, who succeeded to the Dukedom of
Somerset in 1748, was created Earl of Northumberland on
the 2nd of October, 1749, and Earl of Egremont on the
following day, with remainder (as regards the latter
title) to his nephew Sir Charles Wyndham, who succeeded
him in February 1750. The Earldom of Northumberland
passed at the same time to Sir Hugh Smithson, son-in-law
of Duke Algernon, who was created Duke of Northumberland
in 1766. The titles and the vast property of the Duke of
Somerset, Earl of Northumberland, thus came to be divided.
George O'Brien Wyndham, third Earl of Egremont, to
whom Mr. Greville paid this visit, was born on the 18th
of December, 1751. He was therefore eighty-two years
old at this time; but he lived five years longer, and
died in 1837, famous and beloved for his splendid
hospitality and for his liberal and judicious patronage
of the arts, and likewise of the turf.]
Brighton, December 31st, 1832 {p.338}
Lady Howe gave me an account of the offer of the Chamberlainship
to her husband again. They added the condition that he should not
oppose Government, but was not to be obliged to support them.
This he refused, and he regarded the proposal as an insult; so
the Queen was not conciliated the more. She likewise told me that
the cause of her former wrath when he was dismissed was that
neither the King nor Lord Grey told her of it, and that if they
had she would have consented to the sacrifice at once with a good
grace; but in the way it was done she thought herself grossly
ill-used. It is impossible to ascertain the exact nature of this
connexion. Howe conducts himself towards her like a young ardent
lover; he never is out of the Pavilion, dines there almost every
day, or goes every evening, rides with her, never quitting her
side, and never takes his eyes off her. She does nothing, but she
admits his attentions and acquiesces in his devotion; at the same
time there is not the smallest evidence that she treats him as a
lover. If she did it would be soon known, for she is surrounded
by enemies. All the Fitzclarences dislike her, and treat her more
or less disrespectfully. She is aware of it, but takes no notice.
She is very civil and good-humoured to them all; and as long as
they keep within the bounds of decency, and do not break out into
actual impertinence, she probably will continue so.
[Page Head: NAMIK PACHA.]
Two nights ago there was a great assembly after a dinner for the
reception of the Turkish Ambassador, Namik Pacha. He was brought
down by Palmerston and introduced before dinner to the King and
Queen. He is twenty-eight years old, speaks French well, and has
good manners; his dress very simple--a red cap, black vest,
trousers and boots, a gold chain and medal round his neck. He did
not take out any lady to dinner, but was placed next the Queen.
After dinner the King made him a ridiculous speech, with abundant
flourishes about the Sultan and his friendship for him, which is
the more droll from his having been High Admiral at the time of
the battle of Navarino, to which the Pacha replied in a sonorous
voice. He admired everything, and conversed with great ease. All
the stupid, vulgar Englishwomen followed him about as a lion with
offensive curiosity.
* * * * *
1833.
January 3rd, 1833 {p.339}
Lady Howe begged her husband to show me the correspondence
between him and Sir Herbert Taylor about the Chamberlainship. It
is long and confused; Taylor's first letter, in my opinion, very
impertinent, for it reads him a pretty severe lecture about his
behaviour when he held the office before. Howe is a foolish man,
but in this business he acted well enough, better than might have
been expected. Taylor, by the King's desire, proposed to him to
resume the office; and after some cavilling he agreed to do so
with liberty to vote as he pleased, but promising not to be
violent. So stood the matter on the 9th of September. He heard
nothing more of it till the 5th of November, when young Hudson[3]
wrote by the King's orders to know definitely if he meant to take
it, but that if he did he must be 'neutral.' Howe wrote back word
that on such terms he declined it. I told him my opinion of the
whole business, and added my strenuous advice that he should
immediately prevail on the Queen to appoint somebody else. I
could not tell him all that people said, but I urged it as
strongly as I could, hinting that there were very urgent reasons
for so doing. He did not relish this advice at all, owned that he
clung tenaciously to the office, liked everything about it, and
longed to avail himself of some change of circumstances to
return; and that though he was no longer her officer, he had ever
since done all the business, and in fact was, without the name,
as much her Chamberlain as ever. Lady Howe, who is vexed to death
at the whole thing, was enchanted at my advice, and vehemently
urged him to adopt it. After he went away she told me how glad
she was at what I had said, and asked me if people did not say
and believe everything of Howe's connexion with the Queen, which
I told her they did. I must say that what passed is enough to
satisfy me that there is what is called 'nothing in it' but the
folly and vanity of being the confidential officer and councillor
of this hideous Queen, for whom he has worked himself up into a
sort of chivalrous devotion. Yesterday Howe spoke to the Queen
about it, and proposed to speak to the King; the Queen (he says)
would not hear of it, and forbad his speaking to the King. To-day
he is gone away, and I don't know what he settled, probably
nothing.
[3] ['Young Hudson' was the page of honour who was sent to
Rome in the following year to fetch Sir Robert Peel,
when, as Mr. Disraeli expressed it, 'the hurried Hudson
rushed into the chambers of his Vatican.' He grew up to
be a very able and distinguished diplomatist, Sir James
Hudson, G.C.B., who rendered great services to the
cause of Italian independence.]
[Page Head: LYNDHURST AND MANNERS SUTTON.]
Lyndhurst dined here the day before yesterday. Finding I knew all
that had passed about the negotiations for a Tory Government in
the middle of the Reform question, he told me his story, which
differs very little from that which Arbuthnot had told me at
Downham, and fully corroborates his account of the duplicity of
Peel and the extraordinary conduct of Lyndhurst himself. He said
that as soon as he had left the King he went to the Duke, who
said he must go directly to Peel. Peel refused to join. The Duke
desired him to go back to Peel, and propose to him to be Prime
Minister and manage everything himself. Peel still declined, on
which he went to Baring. Baring begged he might consult Peel,
which was granted. He came back, said he would take office, but
that they must invite Manners Sutton also. They did so, and
Sutton refused. Vesey Fitzgerald, however, suggested to Lyndhurst
that if they proposed to Sutton to be Prime Minister perhaps he
would accept. Another conversation ensued with Sutton, and a
meeting was fixed at Apsley House on the Sunday. In the meantime
Lyndhurst went down to the King and told him what had taken
place, adding that Sutton would not do, and that the Duke alone
could form a Government. At Apsley House Sutton talked for three
hours, and such infernal nonsense that Lyndhurst was ready to go
mad; nor would he decide. They pressed him to say if he would
take office or not. He said he must wait till the next morning.
They said, 'It must be very early, then.' In the morning he put
off deciding (on some frivolous pretext) till the afternoon. He
went to the House of Commons without having given any answer. The
famous debate ensued, and the whole game was up.
All this tallies with the other account, only he did not say that
Peel had desired Baring to insist on Sutton, and had advised
Sutton to take no place but the highest, nor that he had without
the Duke's knowledge offered Sutton that post, and concealed from
Sutton his subsequent opinion of his incapacity and determination
that he should not have it. I asked Lyndhurst how he managed with
Sutton, and whether he had not come to Apsley House with the
impression on his mind that he was to be Premier. He said that
'he had evaded that question with Sutton'--that is, all parties
were deceived, while the Duke, who meant to act nobly, suffered
all the blame. He showed great disregard of personal interests
and selfish views, but I shall always think his error was
enormous. It is remarkable that this story is so little known.
They had a dinner and dancing the night before last at the
Pavilion for New Year's Day; and the King danced a country dance
with Lord Amelius Beauclerc, an old Admiral.
London, January 11th, 1833 {p.341}
Came to town with Alvanley the day before yesterday. Howe plucked
up courage, spoke to the King and Queen, and settled Denbigh's
appointment,[4] though not without resistance on the part of
their Majesties. Lord Grey came down, and was very well received
by both. At the commerce table the King sat by him, and was full
of jokes; called him continually 'Lord Howe,' to the great
amusement of the bystanders and of Lord Grey himself. Munster
came down and was reconciled, condescending _moyennant_ a douceur
of L2,500 to accept the Constableship of the Round Tower. The
stories of the King are uncommonly ridiculous. He told Madame de
Ludolf, who had been Ambassadress at Constantinople, that he
desired she would recommend Lady Ponsonby to all her friends
there, and she might tell them she was the daughter of one of his
late brother's sultanas (Lady Jersey). His Majesty insisted on
Lord Stafford's taking the title of Sutherland, and ordered Gower
to send him an express to say so. One day at dinner he asked the
Duke of Devonshire '_where he meant to be buried!_'
[4] [William Basil Percy, seventh Earl of Denbigh, was
appointed Chamberlain to Queen Adelaide at this time,
and remained in the service of her Majesty--a most
excellent and devoted servant--to the close of her
life.]
[Page Head: STATE OF THE TORY PARTY.]
I received a few days ago at Brighton the draft of a Bill of
Brougham's for transferring the jurisdiction of the Delegates to
the Privy Council, or rather for creating a new Court and sinking
the Privy Council in it. Lord Lansdowne sent it to me, and
desired me to send him my opinion upon it. I showed it to
Stephen, and returned it to Lord Lansdowne with some criticisms
in which Stephen and I had agreed. It is a very bungling piece of
work, and one which Lord Lansdowne ought not to consent to, the
object evidently being to make a Court of which Brougham shall be
at the head, and to transfer to it much of the authority of the
Crown, Parliament, and Privy Council; all from his ambitious and
insatiable desire of personal aggrandisement. I have no doubt he
is playing a deep game, and paving the way for his own accession
to power, striving to obtain popularity and influence with the
King; that he will succeed to a great degree, and for a certain
time, is probable. Manners Sutton is to be again Speaker. Althorp
wrote him a very flummery letter, and he accepted. The Government
wants to be out of the scrape they are in between Abercromby and
Littleton, and Sutton wants his peerage. Everything seems
prosperous here; the Government is strong, the House of Commons
is thought respectable on the whole and safe, trade is brisk,
funds rising, money plentiful, confidence reviving, Tories sulky.
January 17th, 1833 {p.343}
The Government don't know what to do about the embargo on the
Dutch ships. Soon after they had laid it on they made a second
order allowing ships with perishable goods to go free; and
thinking the whole thing would be soon over, they desired this
might be construed indulgently, and accordingly many ships were
suffered to pass (with goods more or less perishing) under that
order. Now that the King of Holland continues obstinate they want
to squeeze him, and to construe the order strictly. There have
been many consultations what to do, whether they should make
another order rescinding the last or execute the former more
strictly. Both are liable to objections. The first will appear
like a cruel proceeding and evidence of uncertainty of purpose;
the last will show a capricious variation in the practice of the
Privy Council, with which the matter rests. Their wise heads were
to be put together last night to settle this knotty point.
Wharncliffe showed me a paper he has written, in which, after
briefly recapitulating the present state of the Tory party and
the condition of the new Parliament (particularly as to the mode
in which it was elected, or rather under what influence), he
proceeds to point out what ought to be the course for the Tories
to adopt. It is moderate and becoming enough, and he has imparted
it to the Duke of Wellington, who concurs in his view. I wonder,
however, that he is not sick of writing papers and imparting
views, after all that passed last year, after his fruitless
attempts, his false moves, and the treatment he received at the
hands of the Tories; but he seems to have forgotten or forgiven
everything, and is disposed to wriggle himself back amongst the
party upon any terms. He acknowledges one thing fully, and that
is the desperate and woebegone condition of the party itself, and
the impossibility of their doing anything _now_ as a party.
Lord Lansdowne received very complacently my criticisms on
Brougham's Bill, and has acknowledged since he came to town that
it would not do at all as it now stands. The King has been
delighting the Whigs, and making himself more ridiculous and
contemptible by the most extravagant civilities to the new
Peers--that is, _to_ Western and about Lord Stafford. He now
appears to be very fond of his Ministers.
January 19th, 1833 {p.344}
I have at last succeeded in stimulating Lord Lansdowne to
something like resistance (or rather the promise of it) to
Brougham's Bill. I have proved to him that his dignity and his
interest will both be compromised by this Bill, which intends to
make the Chancellor President of the Court, and _ergo_ of the
Council, and to give him all the patronage there will be. Against
these proposals he kicks; at least he is restive, and shows
symptoms of kicking, though he will very likely be still again. I
sent the Bill to Stephen, who instantly and _currente calamo_
drew up a series of objections to it, as comprehensive and acute
as all his productions are, and last night I sent it to Leach
(who hates the Chancellor), and he has returned it to me with a
strong condemnatory reply. Stephen having told me that Howick
would be too happy to oppose this Bill, on account of the
influence it would have on Colonial matters, particularly about
Canada, I took it to him, but he declined interfering, though he
concurred in Stephen's remarks.
January 22nd, 1833 {p.344}
[Page Head: VISIT TO HARTWELL.]
Dined with Talleyrand the day before yesterday. Nobody there but
his _attaches_. After dinner he told me about his first residence
in England, and his acquaintance with Fox and Pitt. He always
talks in a kind of affectionate tone about the former, and is now
meditating a visit to Mrs. Fox at St. Anne's Hill, where he may
see her surrounded with the busts, pictures, and recollections of
her husband. He delights to dwell on the simplicity, gaiety,
childishness, and profoundness of Fox. I asked him if he had ever
known Pitt. He said that Pitt came to Rheims to learn French, and
he was there at the same time on a visit to the Archbishop, his
uncle (whom I remember at Hartwell,[5] a very old prelate with
the tic-douloureux), and that he and Pitt lived together for
nearly six weeks, reciprocally teaching each other French and
English. After Chauvelin had superseded him, and that he and
Chauvelin had disagreed, he went to live near Epsom (at Juniper
Hall) with Madame de Stael; afterwards they came to London, and
in the meantime Pitt had got into the hands of the _emigres_, who
persuaded him to send Talleyrand away, and accordingly he
received orders to quit England in twenty-four hours. He embarked
on board a vessel for America, but was detained in the river off
Greenwich. Dundas sent to him, and asked him to come and stay
with him while the ship was detained, but he said he would not
set his foot on English ground again, and remained three weeks on
board the ship in the river. It is strange to hear M. de
Talleyrand talk at seventy-eight. He opens the stores of his
memory and pours forth a stream on any subject connected with his
past life. Nothing seems to have escaped from that great treasury
of bygone events.
[5] [Mr. Greville had paid a visit with his father to the
little Court of Louis XVIII. at Hartwell about two
years before the Restoration, when he was eighteen
years of age. His narrative of this visit has been
printed in the fifth volume of the 'Miscellany of the
Philobiblon Society,' but it may not be inappropriately
inserted here.]
A VISIT TO HARTWELL.
April 14th, 1814.
I have often determined to commit to paper as much
as I can remember of my visit to Hartwell; and, as the
King is about to ascend the throne of his ancestors, it
is not uninteresting to recall to mind the particulars
of a visit paid to him while in exile and in poverty.
About two years ago my father and I went to
Hartwell by invitation of the King. We dressed at
Aylesbury, and proceeded to Hartwell in the afternoon.
We had previously taken a walk in the environs of the
town, and had met the Duchesse d'Angouleme on
horseback, accompanied by a Madame Choisi. At five
o'clock we set out to Hartwell. The house is large, but
in a dreary, disagreeable situation. The King had
completely altered the interior, having subdivided
almost all the apartments in order to lodge a greater
number of people. There were numerous outhouses, in
some of which small shops had been established by the
servants, interspersed with gardens, so that the place
resembled a little town.
Upon entering the house we were conducted by the
Duc de Grammont into the King's private apartment. He
received us most graciously and shook hands with both
of us. This apartment was exceedingly small, hardly
larger than a closet, and I remarked pictures of the
late King and Queen, Madame Elizabeth, and the Dauphin,
Louis XVII., hanging on the walls. The King had a
manner of swinging his body backwards and forwards,
which caused the most unpleasant sensations in that
small room, and made my father feel something like
being sea-sick. The room was just like a cabin, and the
motions of his Majesty exactly resembled the heaving of
a ship. After our audience with the King we were taken
to the _salon_ a large room with a billiard table at
one end. Here the party assembled before dinner, to all
of whom we were presented--the Duchesse d'Angouleme,
Monsieur the Duc d'Angouleme, the Duc de Berri, the
Prince and Princess de Conde (_ci-devant_ Madame de
Monaco), and a vast number of ducs, &c.; Madame la
Duchesse de Serron (a little old _dame d'honneur_ to
Madame d'Angouleme), the Duc de Lorges, the Duc
d'Auray, the Archeveque de Rheims (an infirm old
prelate, tortured with the tic-douloureux), and many
others whose names I cannot remember. At a little after
six dinner was announced, when we went into the next
room, the King walking out first. The dinner was
extremely plain, consisting of very few dishes, and no
wines except port and sherry. His Majesty did the
honours himself, and was very civil and agreeable. We
were a very short time at table, and the ladies and
gentlemen all got up together. Each of the ladies
folded up her napkin, tied it round with a bit of
ribbon, and carried it away. After dinner we returned
to the drawing-room and drank coffee. The whole party
remained in conversation about a quarter of an hour,
when the King retired to his closet, upon which all
repaired to their separate apartments. Whenever the
King came in or went out of the room, Madame
d'Angouleme made him a low curtsy, which he returned by
bowing and kissing his hand. This little ceremony never
failed to take place. After the party had separated we
were taken to the Duc de Grammont's apartments, where
we drank tea. After remaining there about three
quarters of an hour we went to the apartment of Madame
d'Angouleme, where a great part of the company were
assembled, and where we stayed about a quarter of an
hour. After this we descended again to the drawing-room,
where several card tables were laid out. The King
played at whist with the Prince and Princess de Conde
and my father. His Majesty settled the points of the
game at 'le quart d'un sheling.' The rest of the party
played at billiards or ombre. The King was so civil as
to invite us to sleep there, instead of returning to
the inn at Aylesbury. When he invited us he said, 'Je
crains que vous serez tres-mal loges, mais on donne ce
qu'on peut.' Soon after eleven the King retired, when
we separated for the night. We were certainly 'tres-mal
loges.' In the morning when I got out of bed, I was
alarmed by the appearance of an old woman on the leads
before my window, who was hanging linen to dry. I was
forced to retreat hastily to bed, not to shock the old
lady's modesty. At ten the next morning we breakfasted,
and at eleven we took leave of the King (who always
went to Mass at that hour) and returned to London. We
saw the whole place before we came away; and they
certainly had shown great ingenuity in contriving to
lodge such a number of people in and about the
house--it was exactly like a small rising colony. We
were very much pleased with our expedition; and were
invited to return whenever we could make it convenient.
January 24th, 1833 {p.346}
I have at last made Lord Lansdowne fire a shot at the Chancellor
about this Bill. He has written him a letter, in which he has
embodied Stephen's objections and some of his own (as he says, for
I did not see the letter). The Chancellor will be very angry, for
he can't endure contradiction, and he has a prodigious contempt
for the Lord President, whom he calls 'Mother Elizabeth.' He
probably arrives at the sobriquet through Petty, Betty, and so on.
Dined with Talleyrand yesterday; Pozzo, who said little and
seemed low; Talleyrand _talked_ after dinner, said that Cardinal
Fleury was one of the greatest Ministers who ever governed
France, and that justice had never been done him; he had
maintained peace for twenty years, and acquired Lorraine for
France. He said this _a propos_ of the library he formed or left,
or whatever he did in that line, at Paris. He told me he goes
very often to the British Museum, and has lately made them a
present of a book.
January 26th, 1833 {p.347}
[Page Head: ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.]
[Page Head: HENRY TAYLOR ON ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.]
It seems that the Government project (or perhaps only the fact
that they have one) about West Indian emancipation has got wind,
and the West Indians are of course in a state of great alarm. They
believe that it will be announced, whatever it is to be, in the
King's Speech, though I doubt there being anything but a vague
intention expressed in it. Of all political feelings and
passions--and such this rage for emancipation is, rather than a
consideration of interest--it has always struck me as the most
extraordinary and remarkable. There can be no doubt that a great
many of the Abolitionists are actuated by very pure motives; they
have been shocked at the cruelties which have been and still are
very often practised towards slaves, their minds are imbued with
the horrors they have read and heard of, and they have an
invincible conviction that the state of slavery under any form is
repugnant to the spirit of the English Constitution and the
Christian religion, and that it is a stain upon the national
character which ought to be wiped away. These people, generally
speaking, are very ignorant concerning all the various difficulties
which beset the question; their notions are superficial; they pity
the slaves, whom they regard as injured innocents, and they hate
their masters, whom they treat as criminal barbarians. Others are
animated in this cause purely by ambition, and by finding that it
is a capital subject to talk upon, and a cheap and easy species of
benevolence; others have satisfied themselves that slavery is a
mistaken system, that the cruelty of it is altogether gratuitous,
and that free labour will answer the purpose as well or better,
and get rid of the odium; and thousands more have mixed feelings
and opinions, compounded of some or all of the above in various
degrees and proportions, according to the bent of individual
character; but there are some persons among the most zealous and
able of the Abolitionists who avail themselves of the passions and
the ignorance of the people to carry this point, while they
carefully conceal their own sentiments as to the result of the
experiment. I say some because, though I only know (of my own
knowledge) of one, from the sagacity of the man and the conformity
of his opinions with those of others on this and other topics, I
have no doubt that there are many who view the matter in the same
light. I allude to Henry Taylor,[6] who rules half the West Indies
in the Colonial Office, though with an invisible sceptre. Talking
over the matter the other day, he said that he was well aware of
the consequences of emancipation both to the negroes and the
planters. The estates of the latter would not be cultivated; it
would be impossible, for want of labour; the negroes would not
work--no inducement would be sufficient to make them; they wanted
to be free merely that they might be idle. They would, on being
emancipated, possess themselves of ground, the fertility of which
in those regions is so great that very trifling labour will be
sufficient to provide them with the means of existence, and they
will thus relapse rapidly into a state of barbarism; they will
resume the habits of their African brethren, but, he thinks,
without the ferocity and savageness which distinguish the latter.
Of course the germs of civilisation and religion which have been
sown among them in their servile state will be speedily
obliterated; if not, as man must either rise or fall in the moral
scale, they will acquire strength, with it power, and as certainly
the desire of using that power for the amelioration of their
condition. The island (for Jamaica may be taken for example, as it
was in our conversation) would not long be tenable for whites;
indeed, it is difficult to conceive how any planters could remain
there when their property was no longer cultivable, even though
the emancipated negroes should become as harmless and gentle as
the ancient Mexicans. Notwithstanding this view of the matter, in
which my friend has the sagacity to perceive some of the probable
consequences of the measure, though (he admits) with much
uncertainty as to its operation, influenced as it must be by
circumstances and accidents, he is for emancipating at once. 'Fiat
justitia ruat coelum'--that is, I do not know that he is for
immediate, unconditional emancipation; I believe not, but he is
for doing the deed; whether he goes before or lags after the
Government I do not at this moment know. He is, too, a high-principled
man, full of moral sensibility and of a grave, reflecting,
philosophical character, and neither a visionary in religion nor
in politics, only of a somewhat austere and uncompromising turn of
mind, and with some of the positiveness of a theorist who has a
lofty opinion of his own capacity, and has never undergone that
discipline of the world, that tumbling and tossing and jostling,
which beget modesty and diffidence and prudence, from the
necessity which they inculcate of constant compromises with
antagonist interests and hostile passions. But what is the upshot
of all this? Why, that in the midst of the uproar and confusion,
the smoke and the dust of the controversy, one may believe that
one sees a glimmering of the real futurity in the case--and that
is a long series of troubles and a wide scene of ruin.
[6] [Afterwards Sir Henry Taylor, K.M.G., author of 'Philip
van Artevelde.' Nearly forty years later Sir H. Taylor
continued to fill the same position described by Mr.
Greville in 1833. He resigned in 1872.]
January 30th, 1833 {p.349}
The intentions of Government with regard to the West Indies (or
rather that they have intentions of a nature very fatal to that
interest) having got wind, the consternation of the West India
body is great. A deputation, headed by Sir Alexander Grant,
waited upon Lords Grey and Goderich the other day, and put
certain questions to them, stating that the prevalence of
reports, some of which had appeared in the newspapers, had
greatly alarmed them, and they wished to ascertain if any of them
had been authorised by Government. Lord Grey said 'certainly not;
the Government had authorised nothing.' They asked if he would
reappoint the Committees. He would give no pledge as to this, but
they discussed the propriety of so doing, he seeming indisposed.
To all their questions he gave vague answers, refusing to
communicate anything except this, that nothing was decided, but a
plan was under the consideration of the Cabinet in which the
interests of all parties were consulted. He added that he could
not pledge himself to give any previous intimation of the
intentions of Government to the West India body, nor to disclose
the measure at all until it was proposed to Parliament. There are
in the meantime no end of reports of the nature and extent of the
proposed measure, and no end to the projects and opinions of
those who are interested.
I dined at Lord Bathurst's yesterday, and sat next to Lord
Ellenborough, who said that he was convinced the best thing the
proprietors could do would be to agree instantly to stop their
orders, which he believes would compel Government to arrest their
course. I am not enough acquainted with the subject to judge how
far they might operate, but I doubt it, or that in the temper of
the people of this country, or rather of those zealots who
represent it, and with the disposition of this Government to
yield to every popular cry, the fear of any consequences would
prevent their going on. It would, I believe, only give them and
the House of Commons a pretext for refusing them pecuniary
compensation. I was much amused with a piece of vanity of
Ellenborough's. We were talking of the war between the Turks and
the Egyptians, and the resources of Egypt, &c., when he said, 'If
I had continued at the Board of Control I would have had Egypt,
got at it from the Red Sea; I had already ordered the formation
of _a corps_ of _Arab guides_!'
February 1st, 1833 {p.351}
[Page Head: RUSSIA AND TURKEY.]
The Reformed Parliament opened heavily (on Tuesday), as
Government think satisfactorily. Cobbett took his seat on the
Treasury Bench, and spoke three times, though the last time
nobody would stay to hear him. He was very twaddling, and said
but one good thing, when he called O'Connell the member for
_Ireland_.
Saw Madame de Lieven the day before yesterday, who fired a tirade
against Government; she vowed that nobody ever had been treated
with such personal incivility as Lieven, 'des injures, des
reproches,' that Cobbett, Hunt, and all the blackguards in
England could not use more offensive language; whatever event was
coming was imputed to Russia--Belgium, Portugal, Turkey, 'tout
etait la Russie et les intrigues de la Russie;' that she foresaw
they should be driven away from England. With reference to the
war in Asia Minor, she said the Sultan had applied to the Emperor
for assistance, 'et qu'il l'aurait, et que le Sultan n'avait pas
un meilleur ami que lui,' that the Egyptians would advance no
farther, and a great deal more of complaint at the injustice
evinced towards them and on their political innocence. In the
evening I told all this to Mellish of the Foreign Office, who
knows everything about foreign affairs, and he said it was all a
lie, that Russia had offered her assistance, which the Sultan had
refused, and she was, in fact, intriguing and making mischief in
every Court in Europe. George Villiers writes me word that she
has been for months past endeavouring to get up a war anywhere,
and that this Turkish business is more likely than anything to
bring one about.[7]
[7] [The state of the Ottoman Empire was most critical. In
the latter months of 1832 the victorious troops of
Mehomet Ali had forced their way across the Taunus; the
peace of Koniah was concluded early in 1833 with the
Egyptians; and the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi with the
Russians in July 1833.]
February 2nd, 1833 {p.351}
Dinner at Lord Lansdowne's for the Sheriffs; soon over and not
particularly disagreeable, though I hate dining with the
Ministers; had some conversation with Goderich about Jamaica; he
says Mulgrave has done very well there, perhaps rather too
vigorously, that the dissolution of the Assembly under all
circumstances is questionable, but he must be supported; he hopes
nothing from another assembly, nor does Mulgrave, who says that
they are incorrigible. The fact is their conduct paralyses the
exertions of their friends here, if, indeed, they have any
friends who would make any exertions.
February 4th, 1833 {p.352}
At Court for the King's Speech and the appointment of Sheriffs.
Lord Munster and Lord Denbigh were sworn Privy Councillors. The
West Indians have taken such an attitude of desperation that the
Government is somewhat alarmed, and seems disposed to pause at
the adoption of its abolitionary measures. George Hibbert told me
last night that if they were driven to extremities there was
nothing they were not ready to do, and that there would be
another panic if Government did not take care, and so Rothschild
had told them.
I dined with Madame de Lieven yesterday, who is in the agonies of
doubt about her remaining here. It turns upon this: Stratford
Canning has been appointed Ambassador at St. Petersburg, and the
Emperor will not receive him. Palmerston is indignant, and will
not send anybody else. If the Emperor persists, we shall only
have a Charge d'Affaires at his Court, and in that case he will
not leave an Ambassador at ours. There seems to be at present no
way out of the quarrel. Stratford Canning's mission to Madrid
cannot last for ever, and when it is over the point must be
decided.
The people of Jamaica have presented a petition to the King (I
don't know exactly in what shape, or how got up), praying to be
released from their allegiance. Goderich told me that it was very
insolent. Mulgrave's recent _coup de theatre_ is severely
condemned. Nothing can save these unhappy colonies, for all
parties vie with each other in violence and folly--the people
here and the people there, the Government here and the Government
there.
February 10th, 1833 {p.353}
[Page Head: DEBATE ON THE ADDRESS.]
After four days' debate in the House of Commons (quite
unprecedented, I believe) the Address was carried by a large
majority.[8] Opinions are of course very various upon the state of
the House and the character of the discussion. The anti-Reformers,
with a sort of melancholy triumph, boast that their worst
expectations have been fulfilled. The Government were during the
first day or two very serious, and though on the whole they think
they have reason to be satisfied, they cannot help seeing that
they have in fact very little power of managing the House.
Everybody agrees that the aspect of the House of Commons was very
different--the number of strange faces; the swagger of O'Connell,
walking about incessantly, and making signs to, or talking with,
his followers in various parts; the Tories few and scattered; Peel
no longer surrounded with a stout band of supporters, but pushed
from his usual seat, which is occupied by Cobbett, O'Connell, and
the Radicals; he is gone up nearer to the Speaker.
[8] [The first Reformed Parliament met and was formally
opened on the 29th of January, 1833. After the election
of the Speaker (Manners Sutton) the King delivered his
Speech from the Throne on the 5th of February.]
The whole debate turned upon Ireland. O'Connell pronounced a
violent but powerful philippic, which Stanley answered very well.
Macaulay made one of his brilliant speeches the second night, and
Peel spoke the third. It was not possible to make a more
dexterous and judicious speech than he did; for finding himself
in a very uncomfortable position, he at once placed himself in a
good one, and acknowledging that his situation was altogether
different from what it had been, he contrived to transfer to
himself personally much of the weight and authority which he
previously held as the organ and head of a great and powerful
party. He pronounced an eulogium of Stanley, declared that his
confidence in Government was not augmented, but that he would
support them if they would support law and order. The Government
were extremely pleased at his speech, though I think not without
a secret misgiving that they are likely to be more in his power
than is pleasant. But the benefit resulting from the whole is
that the Radicals all opposed the Government, while Peel
supported them; so that we may hope that a complete line of
separation is drawn between the two former, and that the
Government will really and boldly take the Conservative side. On
the whole, perhaps, this bout may be deemed satisfactory.
February 14th, 1833 {p.354}
[Page Head: CHARACTER OF PEEL.]
The night before last Althorp brought forward his plan of Irish
Church Reform, with complete success. He did it well, and Stanley
made a very brilliant speech. The House received it with almost
unanimous applause, nobody opposing but Inglis and Goulburn, and
Peel, in a very feeble speech, which scarcely deserves the name
of opposition; it will be of great service to the Government.
O'Connell lauded the measure up to the skies; but Sheil said he
would bite his tongue off with vexation the next morning for
having done so, after he had slept upon it. It was clear that
Peel, who is courting the House, and exerting all his dexterity
to bring men's minds round to him, saw the stream was too strong
for him to go against it, so he made a sort of temporising,
moderate, unmeaning speech, which will give him time to determine
on his best course, and did not commit him. Poulett Thomson said
to me yesterday that Peel's prodigious superiority over everybody
in the House was so evident, his talent for debate and thorough
knowledge of Parliamentary tactics, gained by twenty years of
experience, so commanding, that he must draw men's minds to him,
and that he was evidently playing that game, throwing over the
ultra-Tories and ingratiating himself with the House and the
country. He, in fact, means to open a house to all comers, and
make himself necessary and indispensable. Under that placid
exterior he conceals, I believe, a boundless ambition, and hatred
and jealousy lurk under his professions of esteem and political
attachment. His is one of those contradictory characters,
containing in it so much of mixed good and evil, that it is
difficult to strike an accurate balance between the two, and the
acts of his political life are of a corresponding description, of
questionable utility and merit, though always marked by great
ability. It is very sure that he has been the instrument of great
good, or of enormous evil, and apparently more of the latter. He
came into life the child and champion of a political system which
has been for a long time crumbling to pieces; and if the perils
which are produced by its fall are great, they are mainly
attributable to the manner in which it was upheld by Peel, and to
his want of sagacity, in a wrong estimate of his means of defence
and of the force of the antagonist power with which he had to
contend. The leading principles of his political conduct have
been constantly erroneous, and his dexterity and ability in
supporting them have only made the consequences of his errors
more extensively pernicious. If we look back through the long
course of Peel's life, and enquire what have been the great
political measures with which his name is particularly connected,
we shall find, first, the return to cash payments, which almost
everybody now agrees was a fatal mistake, though it would not be
fair to visit him with extraordinary censure for a measure which
was sanctioned by almost all the great financial authorities;
secondly, opposition to Reform in Parliament and to religious
emancipation of every kind, the maintenance of the exclusive
system, and support, untouched and unconnected, of the Church,
both English and Irish. His resistance to alterations on these
heads was conducted with great ability, and for a long time with
success; but he was endeavouring to uphold a system which was no
longer supportable, and having imbibed in his career much of the
liberal spirit of the age, he found himself in a state of no
small perplexity between his old connections and his more
enlarged propensities. Still he was chained down by the former,
and consequently being beaten from all his positions, he was
continually obliged to give way, but never did so till rather too
late for his own credit and much too late for the interest at
stake. Notwithstanding, therefore, the reputation he has
acquired, the hold he has had of office, and is probably destined
to have again, his political life has been a considerable
failure, though not such an one as to render it more probable
than not that his future life will be a failure too. He has
hitherto been encumbered with embarrassing questions and an
unmanageable party. Time has disposed of the first, and he is
divorced from the last; if his great experience and talents have
a fair field to act upon, he may yet, in spite of his selfish and
unamiable character, be a distinguished and successful Minister.