[Transcriber's Note:
There are two styles of footnotes used in this work:
Footnotes text enclosed in square brackets are by the editor.
Footnotes text not enclosed in square brackets are by the author.
Examples of footnotes:
[Footnote 1: [This note is by the editor]]
[Footnote 2: This note is by the author]]
THE
GREVILLE MEMOIRS
(SECOND PART)
VOL. II.
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
_THE GREVILLE MEMOIRS_
(_SECOND PART_)
A JOURNAL OF THE REIGN
OF
QUEEN VICTORIA
FROM 1837 TO 1852
BY THE LATE
CHARLES C. F. GREVILLE, ESQ.
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
IN THREE VOLUMES--VOL. II.
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1885
_All rights reserved_
CONTENTS
OF
THE SECOND VOLUME.
CHAPTER XI.
Dissolution of Parliament discussed by Ministers--Death of Mr.
Barnes--Impending Dissolution--Mdlle. Rachel in Hermione--Ladies
of the Bedchamber--Question of Dissolution--Defeat of the
Government--Vote of Want of Confidence--Government defeated on
Peel's Resolution--Ascot Races--Dispute of Lord Stanley and Mr.
Handley--Impending Elections--Conservative Reaction--The Queen
at Oxford--The Queen at Chiswick--Whig Confidence--Parliament
prorogued--Lord Campbell made Chancellor of Ireland--The Prince
declines to dine at the Waterloo Banquet--Visit to North
Wales--Conway Castle--Penrhyn Castle--Carnarvon--Beddgelert and
Llanberis--Result of the Elections--Results of the Dissolution--A
decided Tory Majority--Wise Conduct of Lord Melbourne--The
Speakership--Sir Robert Peel's Liberal Views--Dr. Wiseman--The
Queen at Woburn--Lord John Russell's Moderate Views--Judgement on
Wood's Will--Last Council of the Whigs _page_ 1
CHAPTER XII.
Debate on the Address in the Lords--Conservative Majority in the
New Parliament--Sir R. Peel's Audience of the Queen--Auspicious
Policy of Peel--Council at Claremont--Change of Ministry--Lord
Melbourne's Message to Sir R. Peel--What Sir R. Peel said to
the Queen--Lord Melbourne's View of the recent Appointments at
Court--The Duke of Wellington on the recent Appointments--A
Party at Windsor--Future Course of Events predicted--Visit to
Woburn--Junius--Jobbing at the Foreign Office--Contempt for the
late Government--Summary--Louis Philippe--Forgery of Exchequer
Bills--The Tower Fire--Birth of the Prince of Wales--Delicate
Questions--Prince Albert receives the Keys of the Cabinet
Boxes--Charles Elliot--Strength of the Government--Lord Ripon and
John Macgregor--French Intrigues in Spain 31
CHAPTER XIII.
Anecdotes about the Exchequer Bill Forgery--M. de St. Aulaire
Ambassador in London--Morbid Irritability of the Duke--Macaulay
on Street Ballads--Sir Edmund Head, Poor Law Commissioner--The
Duke's Delusion--The Lord Chief Justice closes the Term--Armorial
Bearings of the Prince of Wales--Relations of Ministers with
the Queen--Lord William Russell recalled from Berlin--Arbitrary
Appointment of Magistrates--Anecdote of Sarah, Duchess of
Marlborough--Lord Spencer on the Corn Laws--Lord Lieutenancy of
Northamptonshire--Visit to Bowood--Mrs. Fanny Kemble--Macaulay's
Conversation--Macaulay's Departure--Lord Ashburton's
Mission--The Chinese War--Unpopularity of Lord Palmerston--A
Diplomatic Squabble--Prussian Treatment of Newspapers--Fire
at Woburn Abbey--Duke of Wellington himself again--King of
Prussia arrives--Proceedings of the Government--The Duke of
Buckingham resigns--Relations with France--Opening of the
New Parliament--King of Prussia's Visit--The Speech from the
Throne--Lord Palmerston's Hostility to France--The Queen and Her
Ministers--Dispute about a Scotch Judge--Corn Laws--A Letter
from Jellalabad--The Corn Law Debate--The Battersea Schools--A
Calm--Sir Robert Peel's Budget--The Disaster at Cabul--Death and
Funeral of the Marquis of Hertford--Sir Robert Peel's Financial
Measures--The Whig View of Peel--Archdeacon Singleton--Lord
Munster's Death--Colonel Armstrong--Theatricals at Bridgewater
House--Summary of the Session--The Occupation of Afghanistan--Lord
Wellesley's Opinion--Afghan Policy of the Government--Lord
Ashburton's Treaty--The Missing Map _page_ 55
CHAPTER XIV.
Visit to Broadlands--The American Treaty--Lord Palmerston on the
American Treaty--The Stade Dues--The Withdrawal from Cabul--The
Queen at Sea--Woburn--Baroness Lehzen--Lord Ponsonby--Turkey--The
Grove, Lord Clarendon--Public Scandals--Bishop Blomfield's
Charge--Puseyism--Mr. Thomas Grenville--Anecdote of Porson--Death
of Mr. Irby--Anecdote of Lord North--Lord Melbourne
ill--Macaulay's Lays of Rome--Canadian Affairs--A Council--Bad
State of the Country--Mr. Grenville's Conversation--A Happy
Family--The Reform Bill of 1832--End of the China War--Judge
and Jury Court--Lord Ellenborough's Proclamation--Lord John
Russell on the American Treaty--Madame d'Arblay's Journal--Lord
Ellenborough--Manuscript of Antonio Perez--Lord Palmerston and
the 'Morning Chronicle'--Moderate Whig Views--The Whigs and
O'Connell--The Bedchamber Dispute--Sir David Dundas--Summary of
the Year 1842 104
CHAPTER XV.
The Duke of Wellington on the Afghan War--Charles Buller--Lord
Ellenborough's Extravagance--Assassination of Edward
Drummond--Nomination of Sheriffs--Opening of the Session
of Parliament--Lord Ellenborough's Position--Disclosure of
Evidence on the Boundary Question--Debate on Lord Ellenborough's
Proclamation--Lord Ellenborough vindicated--Lord Brougham's
Activity--Lord Palmerston attacks the American Treaty--Lord
Althorp's Accession to Office in 1830--Death of John Allen--Death
of the Duke of Sussex--Death of Mr. Arkwright--Death of Lady
William Bentinck--Death of Lord Fitz Gerald--Lady W. Bentinck's
Funeral--The Temple Church--Racing--State of the Country--The
Privy Council Register--Ascot; the King of Hanover--Difficulties
of the Government--A Tour on the Continent--The Rothschilds _page_
137
CHAPTER XVI.
Results of this Tour--Ireland--The Irish Church--Decline
of Sir Robert Peel's Popularity--Position of Sir Robert
Peel--King of Hanover in London--The Duke of Wellington on
the Duke of Marlborough--Anecdote of Talleyrand--Debates on
Ireland--Parliament prorogued--The Queen's Yacht--Review of the
Session--The Queen at Eu--Agreement there--The Queen of Spain's
Marriage--Miss Berry and Lord Orford--Ranke and Macaulay at
Kent House--A Council on Crutches--Chatsworth--Prosecution of
O'Connell--Society--O'Connell--Lord Brougham's Action against
Fonblanque--Death of Hon. Edward Villiers--The Irish Trials--Law
against Betting--The Education Question--The Duc de Bordeaux's
Visit--Lord Melbourne after his Illness--King George II.
robbed--Royal Visit to Chatsworth--The 'Times' on the Duc de
Bordeaux's Visit--The Westminster Play--Lord Melbourne--Our
Relations with Rome--The Dublin Jury Lists--Lord Ellenborough and
the Court of Directors--O'Connell's Remedies for Irish Discontent.
187
CHAPTER XVII.
Opening of Parliament--State of Parties--The Duke of
Wellington's Health--The Duke's Correspondence with Lord
Haddington--Constitution of the Judicial Committee--Debate
on the State of Ireland--Lord Hertford's Will--A Pun of
Jekyll's--Lord Melbourne--The Irish Church--The Privy Council
Bill--Anecdote of Mr. Pitt's Peers--Cambridge--Lord Ellenborough's
Recall--Lord Brougham's Hostility--The Factory Bill--Lord Hardinge
Governor-General of India--Lord Brougham on Lord Hertford's
Case--The Emperor of Russia in London--Government Defeat on the
Sugar Duties--Sir Robert Peel resolves to resign--The Opening
of Letters at the Post Office--The Case of 'Running-Rein'--Lord
Brougham's Privy Council Bill--Summary of Events--The Tahiti
Quarrel with France--The O'Connell Judgement--Lord Stanley goes to
the Upper House 222
CHAPTER XVIII.
'The Policy of England to Ireland'--Ministers object to
the Publication--Could the Book be delayed and published
anonymously?--Visit to the Grange--Buckland--Visit to
Broadlands--Visit to Woburn--Prince Albert complains of want
of Secrecy--Visit to Ampthill--Baron Rolfe--The Master of the
Rolls to sit at the Judicial Committee--The Queen knew nothing
of the Irish Book--Reconciliation of Thiers and Palmerston--Mr.
Gladstone resigns on the Maynooth Endowments--Changes in
the Cabinet--Sidney Herbert--Lord Lincoln--Precarious
Position of French Ministry--Mr. Gladstone's Resignation
transpires--Sensitiveness of the French Government--Debate in the
House of Commons--Gladstone's Resignation unintelligible--Mr.
Duncombe's Letters--Death of Rev. Sydney Smith--Publication of
the 'Policy to Ireland'--Death of Robert Smith (Bobus)--Death
of Miss Fox--Visit to Althorp--Effects of the Irish Book--Whig
and Tory Opinions--The Maynooth Grant--Meeting of Thiers and
Guizot--Debate on the Maynooth Grant--Macaulay's Speech--Divisions
in the Tory Party--Possibility of a Whig Government--Break-up
of Parties--Birkenhead--Depression--Visits to the Grove and to
Broadlands--Lord Melbourne--Opinions on the Irish Book--Sir Robert
Peel's Improved Position--Embarrassment caused by the Queen's
Absence from England--A Queer Family _page_ 258
CHAPTER XIX.
Death of Earl Spencer--His Character--M. Thiers in
England--Fever of Speculation--Cabinets on the Corn Laws--'Every
Man in his Humour'--Dickens on the Stage--'Alarm' wins a
great Stake--Visit to Worsley--Manchester--Death of Lady
Holland--Bretby--Southwell--Sherwood Forest--Announcement of the
Repeal of the Corn Laws--A Ministerial Crisis--Sir Robert Peel
resigns--Lord John Russell sent for--Lord Wharncliffe's account
of the Crisis--Proceedings of the Whigs--The Court--Attempts
at an Understanding--Sir Robert Peel's Position--Lord Grey
disagrees--Communication to Sir Robert Peel--Lord John undertakes
to form a Government--Dénouement of the Crisis--Lord Howick
refuses--Lord John Russell gives up the task 295
CHAPTER XX.
Sir Robert Peel returns to Office--Death of Lord Wharncliffe--Tory
View of the Whig Failure--Views of Sir Robert Peel and his
Colleagues--Favourable Position of the Cabinet--Lord Howick's
Statement--Lord John defended by his Friends--The Letters
of Junius--True Causes of the Whig Failure--The Corn Law
Measure under consideration--A Vindication of Peel--Irritation
of the Duke of Wellington and the Tories--Lord Melbourne's
Vehemence--Lord Granville--Lord Bessborough in favour of
Coercive Measures in Ireland--Consequences of Lord John's Letter
on Corn Law Repeal--The Peelite Party--Sir Robert's Peel's
Speech--Disclosure of Sir Robert Peel's Measure--Lord John's
View of it--Sir James Graham's View--The Movement for immediate
Repeal--The League press for immediate Repeal--Lord John's
Engagement--Hesitation on the subject of immediate Repeal--Lord
Stanley's growing Opposition--Mr. Sidney Herbert's Views and
Conduct--More moderate Counsels--Approaching Fate of the Peel
Ministry--No Dissolution--Inconsistency of Ministers--The
Westminster Election--Lord Stanley heads the Protectionist
Opposition--Lord John Russell's Inconsistency--Mr. Disraeli
leads the Protectionists in the Commons--The Conquest of the
Punjaub--Division on the Corn Bill--Lord George Bentinck's
Speech--Lord Hardinge blamed _page_ 334
CHAPTER XXI.
Signs of the Weakness of Government--The Irish Coercion
Bill--Lord John Russell on Ireland--Protectionist Opposition--The
Oregon Question--Lord Brougham canvassed--Weakness of the
Protectionists--Embarrassments of the Government--Violence of the
Protectionists--The Victories in India--Change of Opinion amongst
the Farmers--State of Ireland--Intentions of the Government--Lord
Palmerston visits Paris--A Scheme of Alliance with the
Protectionists--Lord John Russell's Resolution--Lord Stanley's
Violence--The Duke of Wellington's Dissatisfaction--Anecdote of
the Father of Sir Robert Peel--Sir Robert Peel and Disraeli--Lord
Palmerston in Paris--Irish Coercion Bill--The Protectionist
Alliance--Conversation with Sir Robert Peel--Conversation with Sir
James Graham--The Factory Bill--The last Debate in the Commons
on the Corn Bill--Intrigues with the Protectionists--Defeated by
Lord John Russell--Meeting at Lansdowne House--Fine Speech of
Lord Stanley--'Alarm' wins the Emperor's Cup--Violent Attacks
on Sir Robert Peel--The Conduct of Sir Robert Peel to Mr.
Canning--Brougham and Stanley in the Lords--Opposition of the
Whigs to the Coercion Bill--Anxiety of Lord John Russell to get
back to Office--Mr. Disraeli renews the Attack on Peel--Lord
George Bentinck and Disraeli worsted by Peel 374
CHAPTER XXII.
Fall of Sir Robert Peel--Lord John's Interview with
Peel--Lord John and the Duke--Lord Clarendon and Lord
Aberdeen--Favourable Position of the new Ministry--Lord
Melbourne's Disappointment--Smooth Water--Generous Conduct
of Lord Aberdeen--Restoration of Magistrates removed from
the Commission as Repealers--The Irish Arms Bill--Distrust
of Lord Palmerston--The Arms Bill given up--The Bishop of
Oxford's Exhortations--Differences with France--An Exchange of
Appointments--Squabble between Lord George Bentinck and Lord
Lyndhurst--Macaulay on Junius--Lord Chesterfield--Bretby and
Woburn--Lord John Russell's Moderation--The Spanish Marriage--Bad
Faith of the French Government--Unanimous Censure of the Spanish
Marriages--Lord Bessborough in Ireland--Correspondence on the
Spanish Marriages--Council of the Duchy--The Annexation of Cracow
to Austria--Action of Lewis Ferrand--Strange Intrigue imputed to
Louis Philippe--Conversation with Count Jarnac on the Spanish
Marriages--The Queen and Sir Robert Peel--M. Guizot's Note on the
Spanish Marriages--Decoration of the Peninsular Soldiers--State of
Ireland _page_ 401
A JOURNAL
OF THE
REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA
FROM 1837 TO 1852.
CHAPTER XI.
Dissolution of Parliament discussed by Ministers--Death of Mr.
Barnes--Impending Dissolution--Mdlle. Rachel in Hermione--Ladies
of the Bedchamber--Question of Dissolution--Defeat of the
Government--Vote of Want of Confidence--Government defeated on
Peel's Resolution--Ascot Races--Dispute of Lord Stanley and Mr.
Handley--Impending Elections--Conservative Reaction--The Queen
at Oxford--The Queen at Chiswick--Whig Confidence--Parliament
prorogued--Lord Campbell made Chancellor of Ireland--The Prince
declines to dine at the Waterloo Banquet--Visit to North
Wales--Conway Castle--Penrhyn Castle--Carnarvon--Beddgelert and
Llanberis--Result of the Elections--Results of the Dissolution--A
decided Tory Majority--Wise Conduct of Lord Melbourne--The
Speakership--Sir Robert Peel's Liberal Views--Dr. Wiseman--The Queen
at Woburn--Lord John Russell's Moderate Views--Judgement on Wood's
Will--Last Council of the Whigs.
_May 7th_, 1841.--All the world thinks and talks of nothing but the
division next week and its consequences. The Whig masses are clamorous
for a dissolution, and are every day growing more so, endeavouring
to make out that the gain is sure; some for one purpose and some
for another are stimulating the Government to make this desperate
plunge. Lord Melbourne, however, is exceedingly averse to it. In
the Cabinet, Duncannon, Normanby, and Palmerston are all strongly
and unhesitatingly for it. Clarendon, who is against a dissolution,
set before Melbourne, the other day, all the reasons _for_ such a
measure, in order to elicit his opinion, and see if those reasons
shook his previous convictions; but Melbourne said that he could not
find anything in them to make him change his mind, and he thought
the Crown ought never to make an appeal to public opinion unless
there were solid grounds for believing that it would be responded
to by the public voice. Yesterday there was a Cabinet, at which the
question was fully discussed, and the result was satisfactory and
creditable. The general opinion was that nothing should be decided
till the state of public opinion in the country was seen, and the most
careful investigation had been made into the electioneering prospects
of the Government, so that a reasonable and probable conclusion might
be arrived at as to the result; and unless it should appear that
there is a strong probability of Government acquiring a majority by
a fresh election, the notion of a dissolution will be given up. This
deliberation is undoubtedly due to the Queen and to the party, and I
am assured there is a prevailing disposition to deal fairly with the
evidence that will be before them. The Queen, though very unhappy,
acquiesces in this view of the matter. From what Lady Palmerston told
me last night, Her Majesty is prepared, in the last necessity, to
resign herself to her fate.
_May 8th._--Mr. Barnes died yesterday morning, suddenly, after having
suffered an operation. His death is an incalculable loss to the
'Times,' of which he was the principal editor and director; and his
talents, good sense, and numerous connexions gave him a preponderating
influence in the affairs of the paper. The vast power exercised by the
'Times' renders this a most important event, and it will be curious to
see in what hands the regulating and directing power will hereafter
be placed. Latterly it must be owned that its apparent caprices and
inconsistency have deprived it of all right and title, and much of
its power, to influence the opinions of others, but this has been
the consequence of the extraordinary variety of its connexions and
the conflicting opinions which have been alternately, and sometimes
almost, if not quite, simultaneously, admitted to discharge themselves
in its columns. Barnes was a man of considerable acquirements, a
good scholar, and well versed in English, especially old dramatic
literature.[1]
[Footnote 1: [Mr. Barnes was succeeded in the Editorship of the
'Times' by Mr. John Delane, then a young man of about four and
twenty. It is unnecessary to remind the present generation with
what assiduity, tact, and success he fulfilled the duties of
his important position for more than thirty years. The friendly
relations which had for some time subsisted between Mr. Greville
and Mr. Barnes were strengthened and consolidated under the
administration of his successor. Mr. Delane was well aware that he
could nowhere meet with a more sagacious adviser or a more valuable
ally. He owed to Mr. Greville his first introduction to political
society, of which he made so excellent a use, and where he
gradually acquired the esteem of men of all parties and a position
which no editor of a newspaper had before enjoyed. The influence
of the 'Times' newspaper during the ensuing ten or fifteen years
can hardly be exaggerated, and, as compared with the present state
of the press, it can hardly be conceived. Not a little of this
influence was due to those who assisted the staff of the paper by
information and counsel, derived from the best and highest sources
both at home and abroad, and amongst these the author of these
Diaries played an active and important part, some traces of which
will from time to time be discovered in the pages of this work.]]
[Sidenote: EDITORSHIP OF THE 'TIMES.']
_May 9th._--The debate on the sugar duties began on Friday night by an
extraordinarily good speech from John Russell, as was admitted by his
opponents, who qualified the praise, as usual, by calling it a good
_party_ speech. Handley and Lushington declared against Ministers--one
on Corn, the other on Sugar. The certainty of a majority against
Government is now generally admitted, and it is expected to be large.
The question of dissolution gains ground. The strong supporters of
Government are more and more urgent, and they say that they must
choose between the dissolution of Parliament or the dissolution of the
party; that Ministers had no right to bring forward such measures and
then shrink from appealing to the country on them; that if they do not
dissolve, many of their old Whig supporters will retire in disgust,
and not contest their seats when the dissolution under another
Government takes place. I see clearly that all this is making a strong
impression, and that the resolution of those who think and feel they
ought not to dissolve is waxing faint. Meanwhile the Queen is behaving
very well. She is very unhappy at the situation of affairs, and at the
change with which she is menaced, but she is acting with dignity and
propriety. She says she will express no wish and no opinion; whatever
she is advised to do she will do, but she remains perfectly passive,
and makes no attempts to urge Melbourne to take any course which
his own judgement does not approve. This the Duke of Bedford told
me yesterday, and it is to her credit. The Tories will not believe
that the Government have any thought of dissolving. Wharncliffe and
Ellenborough both told me that they had not the slightest idea of
their venturing on such a measure. Besides other objections there is a
great technical difficulty in the shape of the sugar duty, which will
expire in the beginning of July, before Parliament could meet again.
Ellenborough said that the merchants would keep back their sugar
(which they would be able to do in great measure), and then pour it in
after the day had expired, free of duty, to the loss to the revenue
probably of a million, and that the only way to counteract this would
be by an Order in Council, which they would never dare pass merely for
a party purpose as this would be.
[Sidenote: DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT DEBATED.]
_May_ 11_th._--The question of dissolution is still contested, and
the Whigs of Brooks's and the young and hot-headed are making such a
clatter, and talking with so much violence and confidence, that they
have produced a strong impression that the measure is intended. I
have had long conversations with Clarendon, Normanby, and the Duke of
Bedford. The second, to my great surprise, talked very reasonably and
moderately, and told me distinctly he was opposed to a dissolution;
that he saw no way of getting over the difficulty about the sugar
duties, and that if they attempted it and failed, they should go out
with discredit. From the other two I learned that Melbourne is in a
state of great agitation and disquietude, labouring under a sense
of the enormous responsibility which rests upon him, embarrassed on
one side by the importunities of his friends, and, on the other,
alarmed at the danger of taking so desperate a step; and he says
very truly and sensibly that in his opinion the Queen should never
make an appeal to the people which was not likely to be successful,
and that he does not like to take upon himself the responsibility
of carrying on the Government (while such important questions are in
agitation) during the interval, with the almost certainty of meeting
at the end of the term a hostile majority of the House of Commons. Of
the Government with different shades of opinion, and each influenced
by different motives and considerations, I think the most decided
for a dissolution is Palmerston (who has never any doubts or fears,
and is for fighting everybody), and the most against it Macaulay.
The violent dissolutionists make light of the sugar difficulty, and
talk of bringing in a Bill to meet the emergency, which they flatter
themselves the Opposition would suffer to pass, because they would not
venture, as they call it, to stop the supplies; and I was surprised
to hear that John Russell, on whom the idea of the party being broken
up seems to have made a great impression, partook of this notion.
But in the midst of all this apparent doubt, I have none how it will
end, and that they will not venture to dissolve when the moment for
decision arrives. They are in fact preparing for resignation, for
the Duke of Bedford came to me yesterday morning to consult me as
to the course which the Ladies ought to adopt, a matter which is
occupying the serious attention both of Melbourne and Lord John; and
to do them justice, they seem only anxious to put matters in train
for averting any repetition of the embarrassment which proved fatal
to Peel two years ago, and which might again be productive of a good
deal of difficulty and some unpleasant feeling. They want to make
things go on smoothly, and to reconcile the dignity of the Queen
with the consistency of Peel. Their own feelings, and those of the
Ladies themselves, would suggest resignation, but then they shrink
from the idea of deserting the Queen. Nice questions of conduct
present themselves, which require much consideration. I told him I
did not think the difficulty was now so great, for the question of
an exclusively political household had been settled by the recent
appointments of Tory Ladies, and that Peel might very well consider
the circumstances as having changed, and that he is thereby himself
released from the obligation of doing the same thing over again. But
I advised the Duke of Bedford to go and talk the matter over with the
Duke of Wellington, which he agreed to do. I think this will pave the
way to some satisfactory arrangement, and at all events it will show
a good disposition on the part of the present Ministers to aid rather
than embarrass their successors. I rode with the Duke of Wellington
yesterday, and had a little, but very little, talk with him about the
present crisis. He does not talk as he used to do, and he struck me as
miserably changed. His notion was that they would neither resign nor
dissolve, but endeavour to go on as they have heretofore done.
I went to see Mdlle. Rachel make her _début_ last night, which she
did in Hermione.[2] As far as I could form an opinion, with my little
habitude of French tragedy, and difficulty of hearing and following,
I thought her very good--a clear and beautiful voice, graceful, with
dignity, feeling, and passion, and as much nature as French tragedy
admits of, I wish we had anything as good. The creatures who acted
with her were the veriest sticks; and the concluding scene of the
madness of Orestes excited the hilarity of the audience far more than
Laporte's Mascarille, which came after it, though that was very good.
Rachel was received with great applause, and when called on at the end
of the piece, was so overcome that she nearly fainted, and would have
fallen had not somebody rushed on the stage to support her. Charles
Kemble, Young, the actor, and Mrs. Butler were there, and greatly
admired her; but the latter told me she would go home and act over
there the last scene of Orestes, which tickled her fancy more than
Hermione had struck her imagination.
[Footnote 2: [The chief part in Racine's tragedy of 'Andromaque.']]
[Sidenote: LADIES OF THE BEDCHAMBER.]
_May 12th._--The Duke of Bedford communicated with the Duke of
Wellington yesterday morning through Arbuthnot. After some hesitation,
because Melbourne had come to the conclusion that the Ladies had
better all resign, the Duke of Wellington said he had never talked
upon the subject to Peel, and he could say nothing himself; but he
knew that there was an earnest desire to avoid any renewal of the
old dispute, and that the circumstances were now in every respect so
different, from the Queen's being married and the appointments of Tory
Ladies, that he did not think there would be any occasion for it.
Indeed, he thought, and so did Peel, that much of what had occurred
before had arisen from mistake, and that if John Russell had in the
first instance communicated with the Queen, instead of Melbourne, all
would have been cleared up. It was agreed that what had passed should
be communicated by the Duke of Wellington to Peel, and to Peel only,
whenever (if at all) he thought it right and advisable to make the
communication. This puts the affair in a good train. Melbourne means
to advise the Queen to send for Peel himself at once, and without any
intermediate, which is very wise, and will facilitate an amicable
adjustment of delicate points. Lord John has written the Queen a
letter, setting before her the actual state of the case, but giving no
opinion of his own.
_May_ 16_th._--The debate was again adjourned on Friday night, having
lasted a week, very languidly carried on, and up to the present time
with very few good speeches since John Russell's; Sir George Grey, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Labouchere on one side; Gladstone
and Stanley the best on the other. All is speculation, and nobody
has any certainty what will be done. The Government people say, that
everything tends to sanction a dissolution: that the reports from the
country are in favour of their measures, and the Anti-slavery cry a
failure. But the truth is, there is no great feeling in the country
one way or the other, but an extraordinary apathy or indifference.
The Whigs persist that Peel would not venture to thwart their attempt
to get the necessary supplies passed; the Tories maintain that Peel
will never make himself the accomplice of a dissolution under the
pretence of not opposing the supplies. But while the majority of the
Cabinet seem now not indisposed to dissolve if they can, Melbourne's
objections continue the same, and he will have to determine upon his
own course, supposing the majority of his colleagues declare for
dissolving. It is, I think, impossible that he as Prime Minister
should give way upon a point of such vital importance. He must tell
the Queen what his opinion is, and then the question will arise,
whether she will consent to anybody else attempting to carry on the
Government without him, and whether John Russell (the only possible
alternative) will undertake it. Probably neither she, nor he, would
try the experiment. Of the Government, the man most resolute, and
desirous of trying a dissolution, is the Chancellor (Lord Cottenham),
and Macaulay the most decided the other way. This is what few
uninformed people would imagine, but there is no stronger political
partisan than the Chancellor, or any man more prepared to go all
lengths for his party.
I talked to Arbuthnot the other day about the Ladies, and the
communication he had had with the Duke of Bedford. He said Peel
was well disposed to do everything to conciliate the Queen; but
now Melbourne has got a notion that he means to insist upon three
resignations; and though he means to advise the Queen to consent to
them, John Russell is much disturbed at the idea of what he thinks
would be mortifying and derogatory to her. The Duke of Bedford told me
this, and he fancies that some indirect communication has taken place,
through some women, between Melbourne and Peel, by which the former is
apprised of the latter's intentions.
[Sidenote: DISSOLUTION RESOLVED ON.]
_May 19th._--They divided yesterday morning at three o'clock; division
pretty much what was expected.[3] A very fine speech, three hours
long, from Peel, which John Russell said he thought remarkably able
and ingenious, but not statesmanlike. He has, however, always a
prejudice against his great antagonist, and a bad opinion of him.
Palmerston answered him in a speech, of smart, daring, dashing
commonplaces, not bad, but very inferior to Peel. Yesterday morning
the Cabinet met, and they resolved not to resign, but to make an
attempt at dissolution. John Russell had asked Peel the night before
to let a day pass, that they might consult before they stated to the
House of Commons the course they meant to pursue. Thus Melbourne's
weak vacillating mind has been over-persuaded, and he consents to
what he so highly disapproves. Clarendon has likewise been brought
round, for he was also for resignation, and against dissolution.
Feeble resolves, easily overthrown, and here are both, these Ministers
consenting to a measure, upon the pretext of its being required by
public opinion, when in point of fact it is only insisted upon by the
most violent of their own adherents, who think any evil tolerable but
that of their party being weakened, and who would create confusion,
and stir up excitement merely for the sake of embarrassing their
opponents on their accession to office.
In the midst of all this, and while the decision of Ministers
was doubtful, a _tracasserie_ was very near growing out of the
communications which have taken place concerning the Ladies. After I
had been told by the Duke of Bedford that Peel was going to insist
on certain terms, which was repeated to me by Clarendon, I went to
Arbuthnot, told him Melbourne's impression, and asked him what it all
meant. He said it was all false, that he was certain Peel had no such
intentions, but, on the contrary, as he had before assured me, was
disposed to do everything that would be conciliatory and agreeable to
the Queen.
[Footnote 3: [This division was taken on Lord Sandon's motion
against the reduction of the duty on foreign sugars, which
was carried against the Government by a majority of 36 in a
House of 598. On May 24 Sir Robert Peel moved a direct vote of
non-confidence in Ministers, which was carried on June 4 by a
majority of _one_--312 for the motion, 311 against it. On June 7
the intended dissolution of Parliament was announced by Lord John
Russell.]]
_May 25th._--After the great division the Whigs were all in high
spirits at thinking they had so quietly carried their point of
dissolution, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer immediately
introduced the Sugar Duties without comment and in the regular way.
Nothing was said, but all the Tories were desirous of doing something,
though the greatest doubt prevailed among them as to the steps it
would be proper and feasible to take. They were content, however, to
leave the matter in the hands of their leaders, and yesterday morning
Peel convened a meeting at his house, made them a speech, in which
he told them all the objections there were to meddling with the
supplies, and proposed the resolution of which he gave notice last
night, which was hailed with general satisfaction.[4]
[Footnote 4: [The terms of Sir R. Peel's Resolution were that 'Her
Majesty's Ministers do not sufficiently possess the confidence of
the House of Commons to enable them to carry through the House
measures which they deem essential to the public welfare, and that
their continuance in office under such circumstances is at variance
with the spirit of the Constitution.']]
_May 30th._--Having been at Epsom the whole week, I had no time to
write, nor could I turn my mind to politics or from the business of
the place to any other subject. I never saw greater difference of
opinion than exists about Peel's resolution, the debate on which is
dragging its slow length along. It was at first supposed (though by
no means universally) that he was sure of a majority, and that unless
he had such certainty it was a very false move. As the discussion
proceeds it seems pretty clear that all the Corn and Sugar Whigs will
rally round the Government again on the vote of confidence, and the
prevailing opinion is at the present moment that Peel will be beaten
by a very slender majority. But people seem now to think that it does
not much signify what the result may be. The Whigs are determined to
dissolve, and the Tories now aver that they wish for a dissolution as
speedily as may be, and they think that this division will prevent
the Government from doing what they suspect was their intention, viz.
to linger on through the Session and dissolve in the autumn. Then
they consider that another great advantage will be obtained from this
fight--that of ascertaining once for all whom they are to regard as
friends or enemies, and it settles the question of opposition to those
Corn Law supporters, who merely went against this Budget, but who have
no intention of changing sides altogether.
[Sidenote: VOTE OF CENSURE CARRIED.]
_June 6th._--The division took place on Friday night, and there was
a majority of one against the Government. For the last day or two it
was a complete toss-up which side won, and it evidently depended on
the few uncertain men who might or might not choose to vote. As it
was, it all turned on an accident. John Russell wrote to Sir Gilbert
Heathcote (who never votes), and begged him to come up on Thursday,
and to vote. Sir Gilbert did come, but, as there was no division that
night, he went home again, and his vote was lost. They left no stone
unturned to procure a majority, and brought down a lord who is in a
state of drivelling idiotcy, and quite incapable of comprehending what
he was about. This poor wretch was brought in a chair; they got him
into the House, and then wheeled him past the tellers. Charles Howard,
Melbourne's private secretary, told me he thought it a monstrous and
indecent proceeding. The Government people now want them to bring on a
debate about Corn, and John Russell is to announce to-morrow what he
means to do; but it would be so strong a case to convert the House of
Commons into a mere debating society for their party purposes, that I
don't think they can attempt it.
_June 12th._--All the past week at a place called Harewood Lodge
with the Beauforts for Ascot races. Dined at the Castle on Thursday;
one hundred people in St. George's Hall; very magnificent, blazing
with gold plate and light, and very tiresome. In the evening Mdlle.
Rachel came to recite, which she did _à trois reprises_ on a sort of
stage made in the embrasure of the window, from 'Bajazet,' 'Marie
Stuart,' and 'Andromaque.' It is so much less effective than her
acting (besides my unfortunate inability to follow and comprehend
French declamation) that it was fatiguing, but it served to occupy the
evening, which is always the great difficulty in Royal society. The
Queen was pretty well received on the course, and her party consisted
in great measure of Tory guests.
On Monday John Russell announced very properly that after the vote
last week he should not go on with any business but that which was
indispensable, and Peel extorted from him an engagement to dissolve
and reassemble Parliament as soon as possible. This latter point
was, I think, contrary to their intentions, and that they would have
delayed to call Parliament together as long as they decently could
if Peel had not urged it. It was a great mistake, after Lord John's
announcement on Monday, to bring on the Chancery Reform Bill, on which
they got beaten, and suffered a severe and just rebuke from Peel. It
was, in fact, inconsistent with their own declaration, and probably
merely attempted for the sake of the patronage.
On the other hand, Peel and Stanley each were betrayed into great
blunders, very unworthy of them, but each of them curiously
illustrative of the characters of the two men. In the debate last week
Stanley attacked Handley with great asperity, and, at the moment,
with signal success, accusing him of manifold inconsistencies and
tergiversations, and how he had at the period of Peel's attempt
in '35 consulted him, and attended meetings at his house. Handley
afterwards wrote to Stanley, and the correspondence appeared in
the newspapers, from which it is clear that Stanley's statement
of facts was altogether incorrect. He had dashed it all out from
imperfect recollection; doubtless not meaning to say anything untrue,
but not giving himself the trouble to verify the accuracy of his
recollections, and consequently he is exposed to the mortification
of being compelled to acknowledge that his facts and his charges
are unfounded. This damages a man like Stanley, and takes from the
confidence which his word ought always to inspire. It would not have
happened to Peel, who would never have attacked any man without
carefully ascertaining that his facts were correctly stated, nor
would he have brought forward charges upon any loose and random
recollections.
On the other hand, Peel committed a blunder in repeating the absurd
charge of the double Budget, which was no doubt put into his head by
some of the low hangers-on of his party, and to which, if he had a
more generous mind, or a greater knowledge of mankind, or more free
communication with other men, he could never have given one moment's
credit. It afforded the Government an opportunity once for all of
denying this stupid charge, and in a manner which extorted from Peel
an expression of his own conviction that it was not true, and this
sets the matter for ever at rest. Stanley would not, I think, have
fallen into this mistake; he would not have suspected anything of the
kind, nor would Peel have got into such a scrape as Stanley.
[Sidenote: APPROACHING ELECTIONS.]
All the world is now preparing for the elections, and all, as usual,
sanguine in their expectations of the result, but I don't believe the
Government really expect much gain, and they feel that their days are
numbered. Normanby told me the day before yesterday that he expected
none, but that they were obliged to pretend to expect it.
_June_ 18_th._--Everybody occupied with the approaching elections,
but no excitement in the country, no enthusiasm for any party or
men, no feeling for any measures, but as far as one can judge
(appearances being always fallacious in electioneering matters) the
current steadily running in the Conservative interest. There seems
every probability of Peel's having a large majority, and it is very
desirable that he should, that we may at last have a Government
clearly and positively supported by the House of Commons, which can
act with something like freedom and confidence instead of living as it
were from hand to mouth, never knowing whether Ministers are to be in
a majority or minority on any one question. John Russell had a great
meeting in the City the other day, was rapturously received, and Jones
Lloyd made a very fine speech in proposing him to the meeting as their
candidate.
The Queen went to Nuneham last week for Prince Albert's visit to
Oxford, when he was made a Doctor. Her name was very well received,
and so was the Prince himself in the theatre; but her Ministers,
individually and collectively, were hissed and hooted with all the
vehemence of Oxonian Toryism. Her Majesty said she thought it very
disrespectful to the Prince to hiss her Ministers in his presence;
but she must learn to bear with such manifestations of sentiment and
not fancy that these Academici will refrain from expressing their
political opinions in any presence, even in her own. They will think
it quite sufficient to be civil and respectful to her name and her
Consort's person, and will treat her obnoxious Ministers just as they
think fit.
_June 20th._--At Chiswick yesterday morning a party for the Queen and
Prince Albert, who wished to see the place. The Duke of Devonshire,
who had resolved to give no entertainment on account of Lady
Burlington's death last year, only invited his own relations, and
Normanby and John Russell, the two Secretaries of State, were the only
exceptional guests. It rained half the time and it was very formal.
Duncannon told me that he could not believe in the great Tory gains,
for his accounts represented matters as very favourable to his party,
and he only wanted to know the truth and not be flattered into any
false expectations: in fact, both sides are equally confident, and
apparently one upon as good grounds as the other.
_June 23rd._--Parliament was prorogued yesterday with a very short
speech. Nothing new about the elections, but unabated confidence on
both sides, though the Whigs cannot expect to counterbalance the loss
of almost all the counties. They start with a loss of fifteen seats,
given up without contest. Everybody is wondering at the numerous
changes they are making, shuffling their cards at a great rate when
the game is all but over, and the greatest disgust is expressed at the
removal of Plunket and the appointment of Campbell.[5] Nobody would
believe it at first, and when I told Clanricarde of it, he said if it
were done and a vote of censure were moved upon it in the House of
Lords, he would support the motion. But it is now said that he accepts
the office with an engagement not to take the pension. He told Sheil
so, but who will believe there is not some juggle in this, or that he
would give up a business worth 10,000_l._ a-year to hold the Irish
Seal for two months, and be left without any emolument at the end of
that time?
[Sidenote: EXCURSION TO NORTH WALES.]
Prince Albert would not go to the Duke's Waterloo dinner. The Duke
invited him when they met at Oxford, and the Prince said he would send
an answer. He sent an excuse, which was a mistake, for the invitation
was a great compliment, and this is a sort of national commemoration
at which he might have felt a pride at being present.
[Footnote 5: [The Ministry, being on the verge of dissolution,
compelled Lord Plunket to resign the office of Lord Chancellor
of Ireland in order to bestow it, with a peerage, on Sir John
Campbell, the English Attorney-General. He went to Ireland and sat
in Court a few times and then retired without a pension. But this
was justly considered as one of the most outrageous jobs which any
Government ever sanctioned. Lord Campbell afterwards filled much
higher offices in England, and he presided for several years in the
Court of Queen's Bench, and died Lord Chancellor.]]
_Chester, June 24th._--Parliament having been dissolved yesterday,
all the world are off to their elections, and I resolved to start
upon an excursion to North Wales, which I have long been desirous of
seeing, and which I can now do with great facility and convenience
in consequence of Lord Anglesey's having established himself for a
short time at Plas Newydd, so there I am bound. I was induced to make
this expedition partly by my wish to see the scenery of North Wales
and the Menai Bridge, and partly from a desire to stimulate my dull
and jaded mind by the exertion and the object. I think of all the
tastes and interests I have ever had, of all sources of pleasure, that
which adheres to me the most, which is still the least impaired and
dulled, is my pleasure in fine scenery and grand objects whether of
nature or art, and it is to rouse me to the contemplation of better
things and give if possible a wholesome stimulus to my thoughts that
I am making this experiment. I could not procure a companion, but was
very near getting Landseer, who would have come with me if he had not
been obliged to paint every day this week at the Palace; and I also
proposed the trip to Dr. Kay, who was prevented by his avocations from
accepting the offer. I started by the six o'clock train and arrived
here at three o'clock; set off to Eaton, where I saw the outside of
the house only, a vast pile of mongrel Gothic, which cost some hundred
thousands, and is a monument of wealth, ignorance, and bad taste. I
did not see the gardens, nor the front towards the Dee, which are, I
believe, the best part. The woody banks through which the Dee runs and
the reach of the river are very pretty. Walked afterwards round the
walls and through the arcades, so to call them, of the curious old
city, unlike any English town I ever saw, and not unlike Bologna.
Some polyglot poet has cut these lines on the window of the room I
occupy in this inn (the Royal Hotel):
In questa casa troverete
Toutes les choses que vous souhaitez:
Vinum, panem, pisces, carnes,
Coaches, chaises, horses, harness.
In the evening Robert Grosvenor[6] came to me, who is here for his own
election, and to assist in the desperate contest which they expect
between Wilbraham and Tollemache. He told me (which I doubt) that if
Palmerston had gone to Liverpool he would certainly have come in.
[Footnote 6: Lord Robert Grosvenor, brother of the first Marquis of
Westminster, afterwards Lord Ebury.]
_Plas Newydd, Sunday, June 27th._--Left Chester at half-past eleven
on Friday morning, having stopped to hear service at the Cathedral,
a poor, but very ancient building, with fine chanting, which I
particularly like. A rainy day, nothing particular in the road till
Conway, where the Castle is very fine, a most noble ruin, and the old
walls of the town, with their numerous towers, so perfect, that I
doubt if there is anything like them to be seen anywhere. It presents
a perfect fortress of those times (the end of the thirteenth century),
and Conway is so well worth seeing, that it alone would repay the
trouble of the journey. The Castle appears to have been habitable and
defensible till after the Civil Wars, the great epoch of the ruin of
most of these ancient edifices. From Conway a fine and striking road
along the seashore, and round the base of Penmaen Mawr, a mountain
nearly as high as Snowdon; crossed the Menai Bridge at dusk, with
barely light enough to see the wonderful work, and arrived at this
place between ten and eleven o'clock. Nobody here; Lord Anglesey
not yet arrived in his yacht, which was beaten about on her passage
by stormy weather. This is a most delightful place on the margin of
the Menai Strait, with the mountains in full view, presenting as the
clouds sweep round and over them, and as they are ever and anon lit
up by the sun, glorious combinations and varieties of light and
shade. All day yesterday wasted in looking out for Lord Anglesey (who
arrived in the afternoon), or occupied in dipping into travels in, and
accounts of North Wales, and in making out excursions for the few days
I have to spend here.
[Sidenote: PLAS NEWYDD.--PENRHYN CASTLE.]
We all went down to-day in the boats of Lord Anglesey's cutter to
Bangor to attend the service in the Cathedral, passing under the
Menai Bridge, which I had not been able to see well on my way to Plas
Newydd. A poor Church at Bangor, Cathedral service, but moderate
music. The Church is divided into two, half for the English and half
for the Welsh; the nave is made the parish Church, and there the
service is done in Welsh. There were very few, if any, of the common
people at the English afternoon service; in fact, few of them speak
anything but Welsh. It has an odd effect to see the women with their
high-crowned, round hats on in church; the dress is not unbecoming.
After the service we were followed by a crowd to our boats, and they
cheered Lord Anglesey when he embarked.
_June 28th._--We walked to the Menai Bridge, where we got into a car
and drove to Penrhyn Castle, a vast pile of building, and certainly
very grand, but altogether, though there are fine things and some good
rooms in the house, the most gloomy place I ever saw, and I would
not live there if they would make me a present of the Castle. It is
built of a sort of grey stone polishable into a kind of black marble,
of which there are several specimens within. It is blocked up with
trees, and pitch dark, so that it never can be otherwise than gloomy.
We then went to the ferry, and got a boat in which we sailed over
to Beaumaris, and went up to Baron's Hill (Sir Richard Bulkeley's),
with which I was delighted. The house is unfinished and ugly, but the
situation and prospect over the bay of Beaumaris are quite admirable.
Nothing can be more cheerful, and the whole scene around, sea, coast
and mountains, indescribably beautiful. They compare this bay to
that of Naples, and I do not know that there is any presumption in
the comparison. Just below the house is the old Castle of Beaumaris,
a very remarkable ruin, in great preservation, both the Castle and
the surrounding wall. Drove home in another car; these cars are most
convenient conveyances and in general use in these parts.
_June 29th._--This morning at eight o'clock went with Lord Anglesey in
the 'Pearl' to Carnarvon, where he was, as Constable of the Castle,
to receive an address. All the town assembled to receive him, and
he was vociferously cheered and saluted with music, firing of guns,
procession of societies, and all the honours the Carnarvonites could
show him. After the ceremony we went to see the Castle, which is much
finer and larger, as well as in better preservation, than Conway, but
not in so grand a situation. Both Conway and Carnarvon were tenable,
if not habitable, till after the Civil Wars, and I do not know why
they were suffered to decay any more than Warwick, which has survived
the general wreck. Carnarvon must have been much more magnificent
than Warwick, but it has no surrounding domain, and is actually in
the town. We then sailed about in the cutter, and saw Snowdon and the
other Snowdonian mountains very advantageously.
[Sidenote: THE WELSH PEOPLE.]
_July 2nd._--On Wednesday I went on an excursion with Augustus Paget
to see the country. We set off at eight in the morning in a boat to
Carnarvon, where we breakfasted, got into a car, which took us to
Beddgelert, walked to Pont Aberglasslyn and back, then in another
car to Llanberis, saw the cascade, changed cars, and went to Moyldon
Ferry, where we hired the boat of a _slater_, in which we were
rowed home. We then went all round Snowdon; but the weather got so
bad in the afternoon that ascending the mountain was out of the
question. Nothing can be finer than the scenery between Beddgelert
and Llanberis, and the latter is very wild and picturesque, though
I was a little disappointed with the lakes. Yesterday and to-day it
did nothing but rain, so any more exploring was out of the question,
but I hope to come again into North Wales. I have never travelled
in any country which appeared more completely foreign. The road
from Beddgelert is perfectly Alpine in character, and the peasantry
neither speak nor understand anything but Welsh, so that it is
impossible to hold any communication with them. The women, in point
of costume, have no resemblance to English women. Besides the round
hats which they almost all wear, and which, though not unbecoming,
give them a peculiar air, many, though not all of them, wear a sort
of sandal on their feet, without soles I believe, but with something
bound round their naked feet, the nature and purpose of which I could
not exactly make out. The women are generally good-looking, with a
vigorous frame, and a healthy cheerful aspect; all the common people
are decent in their appearance, and particularly civil and respectful
in their manner. The cars, which have in great measure taken the
place of postchaises, are very convenient, though, being totally
uncovered, are only fit for fine weather. The horses which draw
them--one horse--are excellent, and they go very fast; but the charge
for them is enormous--a shilling a mile. It is really extraordinary
that the English language has not made its way more among the mass
of the people. It is spoken at all the inns, but, with the exception
of people employed about the house or grounds of a proprietor, very
few speak it, and many of those in his actual employment are wholly
ignorant of it. A lad of eighteen years old here, who works about
the house or on the water, and is in Lord Anglesey's service, cannot
speak a word of English. The country seems to be very ill-provided
with schools, nor is English taught at all in those which do exist.
Nothing can be less advanced than education in these parts. The
Welsh are generally poor and wages are low; their food consists
principally of potatoes and buttermilk; the average wages of labour
is about nine shillings a week. The people, however, are industrious,
sober, contented, and well-behaved; they do not like either change or
locomotion, and this makes them indifferent about learning English.
They would rather remain where they have been accustomed to work, and
live upon smaller wages, than go a few miles off to Carnarvon, where
they might earn a couple of shillings a week more. The new Poor Law
is only in partial operation here. There is a workhouse at Pwlhelly,
and there are Boards of Guardians and all the machinery requisite; but
the law is unpopular, and it has never been rigidly and universally
enforced. The people are extremely averse to its establishment, and
the old system works well enough, for which reason its operation has
not been much meddled with, and they hope that some expedient will be
found to prevent its being carried into effect here.
_Llangollen, July 3rd._--Left Plas Newydd this morning, and came to
this place, stopping to see Pennant's slate works--a beautiful road,
certainly, for the greater part of the way.
_London, July 9th._--I slept at Llangollen on Saturday night. On
Sunday morning early clambered up to the ruin--a mere heap of
rubbish--of the Castle of Dinas Bran, and after breakfast walked
to Val Crucis Abbey, where there are inconsiderable remains of a
Cistercian convent in a delightful spot. Then set off in magnificent
weather, and, travelling through a beautiful country, arrived at
Shrewsbury, only stayed there an hour, and slept at the place between
that and Wolverhampton. Next morning went on to Newmarket, and got
there on Monday night: very pleasant expedition, and in some measure
answered my purpose--at least, for the time. However, I have tried
travelling and scenery, and I will go again.
[Sidenote: DEFEAT OF THE WHIG PARTY.]
_July 11th._--I find London rather empty and tolerably calm. The
elections are sufficiently over to exhibit a pretty certain result,
and the termination of the great Yorkshire contest by the signal
victory of the Tories--a defeat, the magnitude of which there is no
possibility of palliating, or finding any excuse for--seems to have
had the effect of closing the contest. The Whigs give the whole thing
up as irretrievably lost; and though some of them with whom I have
conversed still maintain that they did right to dissolve, they do not
affect to deny that the result has disappointed all their hopes and
calculations, and been disastrous beyond their worst fears. They now
give Peel a majority of sixty or seventy. The most remarkable thing
has been the erroneous calculations on both sides as to particular
places, each having repeatedly lost when they thought the gain most
certain. The Whigs complain bitterly of the apathy and indifference
that have prevailed, and cannot recover from their surprise that
their promises of cheap bread and cheap sugar have not proved more
attractive. But they do not comprehend the real cause of this apathy.
It is true that there has not been any violent Tory reaction, because
there have been no great topics on which enthusiasm could fasten, but
there has been a revival of Conservative influence, which has been
gradually increasing for some time, and together with it a continually
decreasing confidence in the Government. They have been getting more
unpopular every day with almost all classes, and when they brought
forward their Budget the majority of the country, even those who
approved of its principles, gave them little or no credit for the
measure, and besides doubting whether the advantages it held out were
very great or important, believed that their real motives and object
were to recover the popularity they had lost, and to make a desperate
plunge to maintain themselves in office. It was all along my opinion
that their dissolution was a great blunder, that they would have
consulted their own party interests better, and still more certainly
the success of the fiscal measures they advocate, by resigning. But
they thought they could get up excitement, and by agitation place
matters in such a state that their successors would be unable to
govern the country. This their understrappers and adherents kept
dinning into their ears, and by urging the Cabinet one day in the
name of the Queen, another in that of the Party, and setting before
them the most exaggerated and erroneous representations of the state
of public opinion, they at last persuaded Melbourne, Clarendon, and
the two or three others who were originally against dissolution,
to acquiesce in that desperate and, as it has turned out, fatal
experiment. They richly deserve the fate that has overtaken them, for
their conduct has been weak and disgraceful, and as no Ministry ever
enjoyed less consideration while they held power, so none will ever
have been more ignominiously driven from it. They have tenaciously
clung to office, and shown a disposition to hold it upon any terms
rather than give it up; and when at last they have made a formal
appeal to the country, and demanded of public opinion whether they
should stay or go, they have been contemptuously and positively bid to
go. They have done their utmost to make the Queen the ostensible head
of their party, to identify her with them and their measures, and they
have caused the Crown to be placed in that humiliating condition which
Melbourne so justly deprecated when the question was first mooted. In
no political transaction that has ever come under my notice have I
seen less principle and more passion, selfishness, absence of public
spirit, and less consideration for the national weal. Rage for power,
party zeal, and hatred of their antagonists have been conspicuous in
the whole course of their language and conduct.
_August 4th._--It is nearly a month ago that I wrote the above, and
in the meantime the elections progressed in favour of the Tories, and
ended by giving them a majority of above eighty. Nothing was left
for the Whigs but to comfort themselves with reflexions upon the
united state of their minority, and hopes of the disunion that would
prevail among the Tories; and upon these considerations, and upon the
distresses and embarrassment of the country, which they trust and
believe will make Peel's Government very difficult, they build their
sanguine expectations of being speedily restored to office. Above all,
they look to Ireland as a great and constant source of difficulty,
and they evidently hope that O'Connell's influence will now be
successfully exerted to render the government of Ireland impossible.
And they insist upon the certainty, almost the necessity, of the
Orangemen being so _exigeants_ that Peel will have as much difficulty
in dealing with them as with the O'Connellites, and between both that
he will be inevitably swamped. In these fond anticipations I believe
they will find themselves egregiously disappointed, especially in
what they expect from the Orangemen. My own expectation is that the
Orangemen will no longer aspire to an exclusiveness and ascendency
which are unattainable, and that with the protection, justice, and
equality which they will obtain under a Conservative Government they
will rest satisfied, and will not be fools enough to quarrel with
Peel, and open a door to the restoration of the Whigs, because he does
not do for them what it would be unreasonable to require, and what he
never can have the power to do.
[Sidenote: LORD MELBOURNE'S ADVICE TO THE QUEEN.]
The next thing from which the Whigs hope to derive benefit is the
hostile disposition of the Queen towards the Tory Government, and this
they do their utmost to foster and keep up as far as writings and
speeches go; but I do not believe that Melbourne does any such thing,
and he alone has access to the Queen's ear and to her secret thoughts.
With him alone she communicates without reserve, and to none of his
colleagues, not even to John Russell, does he impart _all_ that passes
between them. The best thing she can possibly do is to continue in her
confidential habits with him as far as possible, for I am persuaded
he will give her sound and honest advice; he will mitigate instead of
exasperating her angry feelings, and instruct her in the duties and
obligations of her position, and try at least to persuade her that
her dignity, her happiness and her interest are all concerned in her
properly discharging them. He has faults enough of various kinds, but
he is a man of honour and of sense, and he is deeply attached to the
Queen. He will prefer her honour and repose to any interests of party,
and it is my firm conviction that he will labour to inspire her with
just notions and sound principles, and as far as in him lies will
smooth the difficulties which would be apt to clog her intercourse
with his successors.
_August 10th._--The Tories were beginning to quarrel about the
Speakership, some wanting to oust Lefevre but the more sensible and
moderate, with Peel and the leaders desiring to keep him. The latter
carried their point without much difficulty. Peel wrote to four or
five and twenty of his principal supporters and asked their opinions.
All, except Lowther, concurred in not disturbing Lefevre, and he said
that he would not oppose the opinions of the majority. So Peel wrote
to Lefevre, and gave him notice that he would not be displaced. The
Whig papers, which were chuckling at the prospect of an early schism,
were very sulky, and much disappointed at this settlement of the
question. It would have been a very bad beginning for Peel if he had
been overruled by the violence of the Ultra Tories. If he takes a high
line, taking it moderately and discreetly but firmly, if he evinces
his resolution to lead and not be driven, to govern the country
according to his own sense of its necessities and rights, and to moral
and political fitness, he may be a great and powerful Minister; but if
the party he leads is so disunited, or so obstinate and unreasonable,
that they will not consent to be led on these terms, if they will
put forward their wants and wishes, and insist upon his deferring
to their notions, prejudices, and desires, contrary to his own
judgement, and to the sense and sentiment of the country, his reign
will be very short. The party will be broken up, and the Government
soon become paralysed and powerless. To this consummation, in full
reliance upon his weakness, and the exactions of his party, the hopes
of the defeated Whigs are anxiously directed, but I think they will
be disappointed. All Peel's conduct for some time past, his speeches
in and out of the House of Commons, upon all occasions, indicate his
resolution to act upon liberal and popular principles, and upon them
to govern, or not at all. That many will be dissatisfied, and many
disappointed, there can be no doubt; but on the whole I think the
dissidents will, with few exceptions, come into his terms; and as to
the conscientious few, who on certain points will inflexibly maintain
their opinions or principles, he will be able to afford to lose them.
No man ever acquires greatness of mind, which is innate; but a man may
acquire wisdom, and one may act from prudence as another would do from
magnanimity. Peel's mind is not made of noble material, but he has an
enlarged capacity and has had a vast experience of things, though from
his peculiar disposition a much more limited one of men. If he takes
a correct and a lofty view of his own situation--and to be correct
it must be lofty--he will succeed, and the really essential thing is
that he should have a deep and determined feeling that possession of
office is utterly worthless if it is to be purchased by concessions
and compromises which his reason condemns, and that he should enter on
the Government with an unalterable determination to stand or fall by
the principles he professes.
[Sidenote: DR. WISEMAN.]
_August 12th._--The day before yesterday I met Dr. Wiseman at dinner,
a smooth, oily, and agreeable Priest. He is now Head of the College at
Oscott, near Birmingham, and a Bishop (_in partibus_), and accordingly
he came in full episcopal costume, purple stockings, tunic and gold
chain. He talked religion, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Puseyism,
almost the whole time. He told us of the great increase of his
religion in this country, principally in the manufacturing, and very
little in the agricultural districts. I asked him to what cause he
attributed it, if to the efforts of missionaries, or the influence of
writings, and he replied that the principal instrument of conversion
was the Protestant Association, its violence and scurrility; that
they always hailed with satisfaction the advent of its itinerant
preachers, as they had never failed to make many converts in the
districts through which they had passed; he talked much of Pusey and
Newman, and Hurrell Froude whom Wiseman had known at Rome. He seems
to be very intimate with Dr. Pusey, and gave us to understand not
only that their opinions are very nearly the same, but that the great
body of that persuasion, Pusey himself included, are very nearly ripe
and ready for reunion with Rome, and he assured us that neither the
Pope's supremacy nor Transubstantiation would be obstacles in their
way. He said that the Jesuits were in a very flourishing state, and
their Order governed as absolutely, and their General invested with
the same authority and exacting the same obedience, as in the early
period of the institution. As an example, he said that when the Pope
gave them a College at Rome, I forget now what, the General sent for
Professors from all parts of the world, summoning one from Paris,
another from America, and others from different towns in Italy, and he
merely ordered them on the receipt of his letters to repair forthwith
to Rome. He invited me to visit him at Oscott, which I promised, and
which I intend to do.
Yesterday I went to Windsor for a Council, and there I found the Duke
of Bedford. After the Council I went into his room to have a talk.
He gave me an account of the Queen's visit to Woburn, which went off
exceedingly well in all ways. She was received everywhere with the
greatest enthusiasm, and an extraordinary curiosity to see her was
manifested by the people, which proves that the Sovereign as such
is revered by the people. I asked him if she was attentive to the
Duke of Wellington, but he said that the Duke kept very much in the
background, and his deafness, he thought, deterred the Queen from
trying to converse much with him. However, though it is clear that she
showed him no particular attention, the Duke was highly satisfied,
for he told the Duke of Bedford so, and said he thought this progress
a very good thing. The Duke had no conversation on politics with
Melbourne. He told me that Melbourne had worked hard to reconcile the
Queen's mind to the impending change, and to tranquillise her and
induce her to do properly what she will have to do; and the Prince has
done the same, and that their efforts have been successful. The Ladies
mean to resign, that is, the Duchesses of Sutherland and Bedford and
Lady Normanby. He gave me to understand with reference to what passed
some time ago between Peel, Arbuthnot, and himself, that Peel had had
some sort of private communication on the subject, but he would not
tell me all he had to say, making the mysterious for no reason that I
could discover, and promising a fuller explanation in a short time.
[Sidenote: LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S INTENTIONS.]
But what was of much greater importance than any questions about
these Ladies was a letter which he showed me from his brother John
written a day or two before his marriage, in which he told him what
his political intentions were. He said that while he would be in his
place to support what he considered the good cause (a somewhat vague
phrase), he would adhere to a moderate course, and he was aware in so
doing that he should run the risk of giving great offence to many of
his party, and probably of determining his own exclusion from office.
This declaration is in exact conformity with his intentions, when the
Tories were on the point of coming in two or three years ago, and when
he published his famous Stroud letter. I believe he will adhere to
this resolution, which cannot fail to have an important influence upon
the prospects and the position of the Opposition party. It proves how
fallacious is their reckoning of the union that is to prevail among
them, and how much greater elements of disunion exist among the Whigs
than among the Tories, though they have not yet of course begun to
exhibit the symptoms of it. But Lord John, besides his intention to
adopt the passive course of moderation, has a mind to make an attack
upon O'Connell. He has been lately reading over O'Connell's speeches
at different places, and is so disgusted and exasperated at them that
he told the Duke of Bedford he felt exceedingly inclined to attack him
in the House of Commons. This, however, the Duke means to dissuade him
from doing. It would be unnecessary, and such an open and early schism
would throw the whole Whig party into confusion, and excite their
indignation, against their leader. But when such are his sentiments,
and when the three hundred men who compose the Opposition consist of
three distinct sections of politicians,--the great Whig and moderate
Radical body, owning Lord John for their leader, the Ultra Radicals
following Roebuck, and the Irish under O'Connell,--and when the Whig
leader abhors the Roebuck doctrines, can hardly be restrained from
attacking O'Connell, and is resolved to be meek and gentle with his
Tory antagonists, it does seem as if Peel's difficulties, whatever may
be their nature or magnitude, would not be principally derived from
the compact union of his opponents. Lord John said that they should
leave the country to the Tories in a very good condition, excepting
only the financial distress, _which their measures would have
relieved_--a tolerably impudent assertion in both respects.
_August 14th._--The letter of John Russell's to which I have alluded
was a very amiable and creditable production. As it was written
in habitual confidence to his brother, it is impossible to doubt
his sincerity. After speaking of his political intentions, and his
probable exclusion from office, he proceeded to say that he looked
forward with delight to his establishment at Endsleigh and to the
opportunity of resuming some long neglected studies, and he said
that he should be under the necessity of attending to those domestic
economies which he had also not had time to think of; that he cared
not for poverty; should have a sufficiency for comfort, and could
always by writing and publishing add a few hundreds to his income. I
was struck with the calm philosophy and the unselfish patriotism which
his letter breathed, and with the grateful feelings he expressed at
the happiness which seemed yet to be reserved for him. It is pleasant
to contemplate a mind so well regulated, at once so vigorous, honest,
and gentle; it cannot fail to be happy because it possesses that
salutary energy which is always filling the mind with good food, those
pure and lofty aspirations which are able to quell the petty passions
and infirmities which assail and degrade inferior minds, and, above
all, those warm affections which seek for objects round which they may
cling, which are the best safeguard against selfishness, and diffuse
throughout the moral being that vital glow which animates existence
itself, is superior to all other pleasures, and renders all evils
comparatively light.
[Sidenote: JAMES WOOD'S WILL.]
_August 18th._--The day before yesterday the Judicial Committee gave
judgement in the great case of James Wood's Will, reversing the
whole of Sir Herbert Jenner's judgement both as to the will and the
codicil. The surprise was great and general, for everybody expected
that the judgement would have been affirmed, and this impression was
the stronger, because they had had so little discussion and so few
meetings on the matter. They seem to have made up their minds as the
cause went on, and they kept the secret so well, that nobody had the
least notion what their decision would be, everybody guessing at it
from their own opinions, or the circumstance I have alluded to.
Brougham was there,[7] and arrived long before the appointed hour. He
told me that Lyndhurst would deliver the judgement, and, he concluded,
would affirm. Soon after Lyndhurst arrived, when he took Brougham
aside, and told him what they were going to do. I never saw a man so
pleased. He came up to me and, giving me a great poke in the side,
whispered: 'See how people may be deceived; they are going to reverse
the whole judgement.' Lord Lyndhurst read the judgement, the delivery
of it lasting about an hour. It was, I think, very superficial, and
when he reversed so elaborate a judgement as Jenner's, it was due to
the character of the Judge below, as well as to the importance of
the cause, to go into much greater detail, and to reason the case
more, and reply to those legal grounds on which Jenner's judgement
was grounded. On these they did not touch at all. Having satisfied
their minds that the documents were authentic, and that it was the
intention of the testator that the four executors should have his
money, they decided accordingly, stepping over the technical objection
which arose upon the disjunction of the papers A and B, and discarding
from their minds, as they were right in doing, all consideration of
the misconduct of the parties interested. But it struck me as very
extraordinary that they should not have expressed a stronger opinion
on that point, and that they should have allowed Alderman Wood to take
his 200,000_l._, and Philpotts his 40, or 50,000, without one word of
animadversion upon their behaviour. The Chancellor had said on the
Saturday preceding that he thought the judgement would be reversed.
[Footnote 7: [Lord Brougham had not heard the appeal, nor did Dr.
Lushington sit on it, on account of their supposed intimacy with
Alderman Wood, who was one of the principal legatees.]]
_August 24th._--On Saturday at Windsor for a Council, for the Speech:
the last Council, I presume, which these Ministers will hold. Nothing
particular occurred. I believe that the Queen is extremely annoyed at
what is about to take place, and would do anything to avert it; but
as that is impossible, she has made up her mind to it. She seemed to
me to be in her usual state of spirits. The truth is, when it comes
to the point, that it is very disagreeable to have a complete change
of decoration, to part with all the faces she has been accustomed to,
and see herself surrounded with new ones. That, however, is a very
immaterial matter in comparison with the loss of Melbourne's society,
and of those confidential habits which have become such an essential
part of her existence.
[Sidenote: OPENING OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT.]